A Community of Comforters

[0:00] I'm thankful for my mom because she makes the food. We're thankful for our mom because she's always there for us.

[0:14] And she loves us no matter what. We love you, Mom. Hey, Nina, why are you thankful for Mommy? Because she loves me. Because she's helping me do dishes.

[0:30] I'm thankful for Mom because she does a lot of things for us. She cleans and cooks for the family, and I appreciate it. We're thankful for our Mommy because she makes my favorite meals.

[0:42] She loves me unconditionally. She's very gracious. She homeschools us. She's a great example of honoring. She taught us how to memorize passages of Scripture.

[0:55] And all because she loves us. I'm thankful for my mom because she is loving, kind, and fun. One example is she goes on bike rides with me.

[1:06] Our mom is loving, kind, caring, helpful, and she helps me at school with whatever's struggling. I'm thankful for my mom because she's selfless. I'm thankful for my mom because she helps me at that gift.

[1:20] I'm thankful for my mom because she's loving. She snuggles us in the bed at night. She takes a strawberry picking, and she's a good, loving mama. She cooks good food.

[1:34] She reads us books, and she does school for us. Why are you thankful for Mommy? I don't know why. Say, she snuggles me. She snuggles me.

[1:45] And she loves me. She loves me. We love you, Mama. I'm thankful for Mommy because she's always there when I need her. I'm thankful for my mom because she helps me with school.

[1:57] I'm thankful for Mom because she helps me make good decisions. Happy Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day. We love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day.

[2:07] Um, because she feeds us and loves us. And I'm thankful because... I'm thankful because Mommy holds me.

[2:22] I'm thankful for my mom because of the love and patience that she shows us. We love you, Mommy. Love you, Mom. Love you, Mom. Being a mom can be hard, especially in the midst of this pandemic.

[2:33] If you're anything like me, I've had days that have been wonderful, some that have been absolutely crazy, and some days that have just been hard. One of the things I've been reminded of and wanted to encourage you with is that God is sovereign, which means He's ultimately in control.

[2:49] And He actually wanted us to be moms in the midst of this unique season. So let's embrace the gifts, the opportunities, and the challenges of this season. And let's keep reaching out to one another and trusting Jesus.

[3:01] Hope you have a wonderful day being honored and celebrated. I'm thankful for my mom because she always says that I do a good job preaching even when I know I don't.

[3:19] The kids' ones were better. But anyways, happy Mother's Day to all of you moms. And welcome to everyone joining us this morning. Welcome to our Sunday service. This morning is actually a special one for all of us because we're entering into phase one of reopening here in North Carolina, which means we can begin to gather in groups of 10 or less.

[3:37] So maybe you find yourself, if you feel comfortable, with some friends worshiping this morning. If not, we certainly encourage you in the weeks to come to get together with friends. Maybe invite some people over from your community group or maybe go over to someone else's house in your church community.

[3:52] We think there's real value in worshiping together, praying together, and bearing one another's burdens. As we turn to worship, I want us to reflect on a passage in the book of Job.

[4:02] All of us are carrying different burdens and anxieties and troubles. And what we tend to want to do is we want God to just give us an answer, give us a solution. But sometimes he doesn't do that.

[4:13] And what he actually wants us to do is he calls us to just worship him. In Job 38, it says, The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. He answered Job in the middle of his troubles out of the whirlwind and said, Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

[4:28] Tell me if you have understanding. Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out of the womb and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors and said, Thus far shall you come and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed.

[4:42] This creator God who is sovereign over all the earth, over the wind and the waves and the sea and made everything, calls us to just direct our focus to him.

[4:52] So this morning, whatever we have going on in our lives, we can cast our cares on the Lord. And let's just lift up our eyes and worship him together. Jesus, we come to you and we just want to remind our hearts that you're bigger than we can imagine.

[5:06] And whatever we're going through, maybe we don't have an answer for it. Maybe it's still going to be hard and it's still going to hurt. But Lord, you want us to just direct our eyes to your immense grandeur.

[5:17] You're over it all. And so we see how great you are. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's worship this awesome God together. Good morning, guys.

[5:35] Sing how great thou art. God bless you. Oh, Lord, my God. When I also wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands of me.

[5:51] I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

[6:04] Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art.

[6:15] How great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art.

[6:27] How great thou art. Yes, how great thou art. How great thou art. And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, I know it's just a night.

[6:51] There's King Tainy, that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin.

[7:07] Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

[7:20] Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

[7:33] Yes, you are King Jesus in all the earth. When Christ shall come, reach out of that foundation and take me home.

[7:53] Joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow in humble adoration and live proclaim.

[8:06] My God, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

[8:23] Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

[8:40] Oh, how great thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

[9:01] Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art.

[9:16] Oh, how great thou art. Oh, how great thou art. Oh, how great thou art. Oh, how great thou art.

[9:27] Oh, how great thou art. Oh, how great thou art. Oh, how great thou art. Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring Worthy of every breath we could ever bring We live for you, we live for you Jesus, the name above every other name Jesus, the only one who could ever sing We're worthy of every breath we could ever bring

[10:29] We live for you, we live for you Sing holy Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes and wonder Show me who you are and fill me with your heart And lead me in your love to those around me Worthy Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring You're worthy of every breath we could ever breathe

[11:31] We live for you Oh, we live for you Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes and wonder And show me who you are And fill me with your heart And lead me in your love to those around me Sing I will build my life Sing I will build my life And I will build my life upon your love It is a firm foundation

[12:32] I will build my life upon your love I will put my trust in you alone And I will not be shaken I will build my life upon your love It is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone And I will not be shaken Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes and wonder Show me who you are And fill me with your heart

[13:35] And lead me in your love to those around me I will build my life upon your love It is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone And I will not be shaken God, we just thank you so much That we have the honor and the privilege And the opportunity to be able to worship you today God, we just thank you for the stillness that we have To be in your presence And God, we just ask that you use that time That we can just sit in your presence And just experience you

[14:37] God, intimately God, we thank you that you are a God That we can put our whole trust in God, sometimes we just get so caught up And we put our trust in our job And our finances And our spouse And other earthly things And God, they just fail us every single time But God, you never fail us You are always there You are our firm foundation God, help us to put our hope And our trust in that this morning We thank you We love you We ask these things in your name Amen Amen, guys It is so good to be with you This morning And as we've been doing This is just a great little opportunity Maybe just to shoot a quick message To a friend Someone you wish that you were alongside This morning We're going to transition now Into a time of prayer Hey, good morning church My name is John I'm one of the pastors here at One Harbor It's an honor to spend Sunday morning with you So let's take five minutes

[15:39] And pray for a few things That have been on our heart as a church this week One, let's pray for the local church Not just One Harbor But all the churches Here in eastern North Carolina And also let's pray for the global church This concept of brothers and sisters all around the world That love Jesus Let's pray for them Two, let's pray for singles Those that are widowed And people that have had to go through this pandemic In isolation In Genesis chapter 2 God even says that it's not good that man should be alone So let's pray for them That are in isolation right now And three, let's pray for more salvations That even in this time Where we're not able to meet as a church Or be out in the community That God would be working in hearts That don't know him yet And that a lot of people would be saved through all this And also let's pray for us as believers

[16:39] That our hearts would be deepened And we would grow In a deeper relationship with God And our faith would be increased So yeah, let's take five minutes And pray for all these things And then we would love to know Thank you.

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[37:54] Thank you. You know, I mean, listen to what Paul says in Romans 12.

[38:57] He says, bless those who persecute you. Where did he learn that, Jesus? Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice.

[39:09] Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. This subject of peace has gotten down deep into their hearts, and it's changing their actions towards each other. Don't be haughty. Associate with the lowly.

[39:21] Never be wise in your own sight. Like repay no one evil for evil. I mean, these are all things that like deal with this subject of peace. Give thought to what you do, what is honorable on the sight of all.

[39:33] And I love this last little charge he gives. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. As it depends on you.

[39:45] In this season of social distancing and all the rest, man, a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff's really been taken from us, you know. But we've lost control on a lot of things.

[39:58] But there's always one thing that depends on you and me, and that's our response. And that's what he says here. Hey, for you, as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

[40:11] Become a person of peace. We are to be a people of peace. And I think a lot of us want to be like this, but we're not really sure how to do it. So I'm just going to give us a few just, I think, things we've seen in the scriptures that help you and I become more like this.

[40:26] More of a person of peace. Firstly, I think we become a people of peace by being empathetic. When you and I care about others like we care about ourselves.

[40:38] You know, like Jesus said, when we love others like we love ourselves. When we begin to think about others and consider them.

[40:50] When we think about the fact that peace is not something everyone knows and experiences. When you and I forget that life is hard for others, we withhold peace.

[41:02] But when we go into situations and conversations and in the back of our heads and our hearts is this sort of just general remembering.

[41:14] The pain and brokenness that everyone experiences and that everyone hides. When that's like always in the back of our heads and our hearts. It's just awareness, this empathetic awareness of how hard life really is for everybody.

[41:29] When that's there, when we become people who we just find ourselves wanting to bring peace into every situation. Because we care about others. So that's one way I think we can become a people of peace is by being empathetic.

[41:43] I think another one, we become a people of peace by remembering the gospel. The gospel, if you're not yet following Jesus and you're just watching this. This is the word the Bible uses. It's the good news of what Jesus has done.

[41:56] His life and his death and his resurrection in our place. The gospel doesn't start with good news. You know, here's what Jesus did for you. It actually starts with bad news. You were a sinner and I was a sinner who deserved death and hell and there was no getting out of it.

[42:13] No amount of good deeds, no amount of, you know, giving to charity, no amount of anything would have ever fixed that. But God fixed it. There was war between us and God and it ended.

[42:25] But it didn't end because God agreed to disagree. It ended because God in love sent his son to die in our place, to give us peace. Ephesians 2 spells this out directly.

[42:37] But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off. You're far off. You're not even close, right?

[42:50] You've been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he, Jesus, he himself is our peace. And when you and I, when we become the kinds of Christians, for those of us who are Christians, when we become the kinds of Christians who forget this, we forget what Jesus did to bring us peace.

[43:09] We become the worst versions of ourselves. And sadly, that's the face that a lot of the watching world sees of Christianity. It's really tragic.

[43:20] But when we remember, the more we remember the gospel, the more we begin to, the kinds of people who want to give peace because we're like, hey, we have a relationship with God that we do not deserve. God has done something in love for us that we do not deserve and we want everyone to have that.

[43:35] And that kind of leads to the next thing. We become a people of peace by sharing the gospel. We don't just remember it for ourselves. We share it with others. And I think of what Jesus said in the beginning of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. He said, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

[43:50] The lot to that verse, we don't have time to get into it right now, but pretty powerful language there. Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers. Those who go out bearing this message, this message of God's peace, they become sons and daughters of God.

[44:05] They resemble their older brother, Jesus. You can tell who their dad is because they go out with this message of peace. And so we become a people of peace by sharing the gospel.

[44:17] Just a couple more. We become a people of peace through committing to Christian community. And I use those words intentionally, that committing. We don't just sort of dip our toe into church every now and again.

[44:29] We become a people of peace by throwing ourselves into the pool of Christian community. With all of its weird, you know, people and difficult people, including us, right? We just throw ourselves in there.

[44:41] And what we find is that this kind of peace that God gives, it really isn't something that can be experienced fully in a vacuum. We really get the fullness of it by working it out with other people. In Philippians 4, we read this, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

[44:56] That, like, epic, amazing peace that Jesus was talking about back in John 14, it's going to guard your hearts. Remember what Jesus said? Don't let your heart be troubled. And your minds, don't let them be afraid in Christ Jesus.

[45:07] But what's happening here? Well, it's not an individual that's being talked to. That's how we read the Bible a lot of times. It's actually a group of people. He says, your hearts, plural. Your minds, plural.

[45:19] Your, plural. Finally, brothers, plural. All of this is meant to show us that actually there's a plurality to these words about experiencing the peace of God.

[45:29] We experience it in deeper and unique ways when we experience it with others, when we work it out with others. So there's this charge. Whatever's honorable, whatever's just, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever's commendable.

[45:41] If there's anything that's excellent or anything worthy of praise, think about these things. This is how you do this. And what you've learned and received and heard and seen me practice these things.

[45:51] And I love this. And the peace of God will be with you. So there's this expression of peace that we get from God that we can only really find when we live it out in Christian community.

[46:05] We have these shared experiences with others. You know, it's not just our heart that needs peace. It's others' hearts that need peace. And sometimes we can approach Christianity pretty selfishly and we can say, I'm actually fine this week, so I'm not going to go.

[46:20] I'm fine this week, so I'm not going to whatever. And what that implies is that really this is just about us and not about us being part of something bigger. And so the peace that God gives us is actually meant to be worked out together.

[46:32] And, you know, there's times where my heart doesn't feel as needy, but someone else's heart does. And there's tons of times, you know, where every day where I have to call some friends or some brothers and say, hey, guys, if you can pray for me, I'm feeling this and that.

[46:47] And we give that peace to one another. Lastly, we become people of peace by depending on the Spirit. In Galatians 5, we read about the fruits of the Spirit in verse 19 through 23.

[47:01] And we read there that the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

[47:13] I like that little bit at the end because a lot of us are thinking about what can we actually do? What are we allowed to do now? What are we allowed to do now? And what the Scripture says here is there's never a time where this is going to be illegal.

[47:26] And it's nice to have something that's not illegal, right? It's nice to have something we can actually do. So if you've been, like, bored to tears, here's something you can do. We can, by the Spirit's help, produce peace like a tree produces fruit.

[47:40] That's the imagery here, the fruit of the Spirit. We find ourselves producing peace alongside love and joy and patience and kindness and gentleness and self-control and all those incredible things.

[47:54] Now, does that sound like you, if you're honest, over the last season? This is a wrong time for a spouse to be like, not you, or something like just, and if you already did it, I'm really sorry.

[48:04] I mean, I should have given you a bit of a heads up there, but does this sound like you over the last season dealing with the coronavirus and all of the implications? Do you, have you been the kind of person just over, you know, flowing with all kinds of patience and gentleness and, you know, self-control and kindness and goodness and love and joy and peace?

[48:25] Well, I can tell you, I'm embarrassed to say that I wish I would have been more like that. And so what we do here is we don't kind of hang our heads low or we're going to do better and try harder.

[48:36] We don't do that. We actually, we actually come to God, the Holy Spirit, and we say, help us. And that might be a thing for you today to say, Holy Spirit, help me to bear better fruit.

[48:48] The challenges of this coronavirus, no matter what phase we're in, the challenges may change, but they're going to be around for a while. And you and I, we need to be people who rely on the Holy Spirit.

[49:00] Help us to bear better fruit. Make me more of a person of peace. Help me to go into situations and bring peace. If you're watching this and you're not yet a follower of Jesus, man, you can know this Jesus right now.

[49:16] You may not feel very formal. You might be watching in a car or watching at your house or, you know, but right now, all the important things are happening. Jesus is drawing you to himself.

[49:31] The Holy Spirit's working on your heart and causing you to see Jesus for who he really is. And all you really need to do is just pray a simple prayer. Maybe something like, Jesus, heal my heart.

[49:43] Jesus, give me peace. Jesus, Jesus, I don't deserve that. I deserve the opposite of that. But I know that you love me.

[49:55] I know that you died in my place to give me peace. I want it. Heal my heart. And if you prayed something like that this morning for the first time, man, it would be, I mean, just an absolute privilege for us if you let us know.

[50:10] We love to get some folks around you and make sure you got a Bible and, you know, help give you some resources to encourage you in this new journey of following Jesus. So just shoot us an email or call us at the office and we'd love to get up with you.

[50:23] If you're watching this and you're already a follower of Jesus, we're going to transition now to a time of responding by taking communion together. And, you know, when we do this, there's a lot of ways to approach communion.

[50:35] But in a sense, I want us to think about this kind of way this morning. It's kind of like walking into a historic battlefield. If you've ever done that, you know, maybe here or abroad, you were somewhere on vacation or on a field trip and you walked into a historic battleground.

[50:51] It may have been hundreds of years since that battle was fought, but there's just something solemn about it. Why? Because when you're there, you realize that the peace that you experience or enjoy came with a cost.

[51:02] Like a fresh sense of, man, this cost something huge. I think when we come to communion, there's a sense of that walking into a historic battleground.

[51:14] The sense of soberness that this peace came with a cost. We weren't given peace because we, you know, agreed to disagree with God. We were given peace through the violent yet willing sacrifice of Jesus for us.

[51:30] And so he told us to gather around communion, the bread and the cup, and to remember him. And in this context, whatever troubles our hearts, whatever brings us fear, this is a moment that can help bring our hearts back to a place where we're going, yes, Jesus, we remember that peace that you give us.

[51:48] We're going to trust that voice. We come to honor the one who didn't heal our wounds lightly. Thank God for that. That he didn't tell us peace, peace, and yet there was no peace.

[52:00] And when Jesus said, peace, I give you, he meant it. He wants us to have our hopes up. He wants us to put our hopes in him. It's graphic, a broken body and shed blood, but it healed us.

[52:12] In Colossians, we see that he made peace by the blood of his cross. And so don't let this be some just sort of ritual you go through right now. This is a moment to honor Jesus and to apply this peace.

[52:24] And maybe this is a moment to say with those that you're watching this with, Hey, man, I've let my heart go here or there. My mind go here or there. Would you guys pray for me that the peace of God would come and rule like an umpire in my heart again?

[52:38] Take some time to do that now. And then we're going to stand. I'd encourage you to stand and we're going to worship together. We're going to sing together. If you're able to give, we recognize that a lot of people aren't able to. But if you're able to give, man, it'll be such a huge blessing.

[52:51] You can do that online or you can mail a check in. Or there's a slide here where you can see the number to put for the location that you are a part of.

[53:02] For the rest of us, now's the time for us to stand and to worship this Jesus who's done all this for us. God bless you guys. God bless you guys.

[54:08] God bless you guys.

[54:38] God bless you guys.

[55:08] We'll sing out hallelujah And we will cry out hallelujah Shout it Go on and scream it from the mountains Go on and tell it to the masses He is God Yes you are Shout it Go on and scream it from the mountains Go on and tell it to the masses He is God

[56:14] Yes And all we'll sing out hallelujah And we will cry out hallelujah And all we'll sing out hallelujah And we will cry out hallelujah We sing hallelujah We sing hallelujah We sing hallelujah Sing hallelujah Lord, we thank you that you're good You're faithful The one who is always true from beginning to end

[57:17] The one that we can trust in Lord, we pray that you would lead us As we go out As we shout from the mountains That you are God We love you We thank you We praise you Guys, it has been an absolute privilege To be with you this Sunday morning Go, you know, empowered by the reality Of what we just sang That he's with us He's for us He's for the broken For the downtrodden For the weary And he's sending us with this incredible news That he loves us Just as we are Guys, we've got six days to make disciples To push back darkness And to do it all for the sake of the gospel We love you Have a great week You know what it is You know what it is