YouTube video uvVG0-D-ifI

Heat. feel. Hey I don't want to [music] Hey.

Hey. Hey. Here [music] we go.

[music] Down. Hey. Hey.

Hey, hey, hey. All right. All right.

Good morning, church. How's everybody doing? >> Good.

All right. Hey, if you're a guest here, please text [music] the word guest to the number on the screen. Uh, and after service, please stop by the check-in desk at the front door so we can connect with you.

Hey, listen. If you are a student here this morning, please stand up. Stand up, students.

All right. Show of hands. if you are [music] excited for school tomorrow.

I didn't think so. All right, everybody else, please stand up with me as we pray. All right, let us pray.

Father, we thank you so much for allowing us to come into your house, Lord, this morning [music] to worship you. Lord, we thank you for all the students and families here that gather this morning. Lord, we pray [music] that you love on them this school year.

You keep them safe, keep them encouraged. Uh Lord, we just ask that you stay with us throughout the rest of our day [music] in Jesus name. Amen.

[music] We waited for this day. We gathered [music and singing] in your name, calling out to you. [music] Your glory like a fire awakening [singing] desire fill our hearts with truth.

You're the [music and singing] reason we're here. You're the reason we're singing. [music] Open up the heavens.

We want to see you. Open up the floodgates. A mighty [music and singing] river flowing from your heart and feeling every part of our [music] praise in this place.

[music] Your glory [singing] on our face. We're looking to the skies. descending like a [music] cloud awakening [singing] in us now.

Lord, unveil our eyes. You're the [music] reason we're here. You're the reason we're singing.

[music] Open up the we want [music] to see you. Open up the floodgates. A [music] mighty river flowing from your heart and feeling [music] every part of our praise.

Yes. Say open up the heavens. We want to see you.

Open up the floodgates. [music] A mighty [singing] river flowing from your heart and feeling [music] every part of our pray. Show us, show us your glory.

[singing and music] Show us, show us your power. Show us, show us your glory, [singing] Lord. >> We want to see you.

Show us. Show [music] us your glory. Show us, show us your power.

Show us, show us your glory, [music] Lord. Open up the heavens. We [music] want to see you.

Open up the floodgates. A mighty [music] river flowing from your heart and feeling [music and singing] every part of our praise. >> [music] >> Yes, Lord.

Open up the heavens. We want [music] to see you open up the [singing] floodgates. A mighty river flowing from your heart and feeling every [music and singing] part of our praise.

>> [music] >> Fill this place with your presence. [music] Show us, show us your glory. [singing and music] Show us, show us your power.

Show [music and singing] us, show us your glory, Lord. Fill this place [music] right now. Show us, show us your glory.

[singing and music] Show us, show us your power. [singing] Show us, show [music] us your glory, Lord. Come on, sing [music] it out, people.

>> Show us, show [music and singing] us your glory. Show us, show [music] us your power. Show [singing] us, show us your glory, Lord.

[music] Your love [music and singing] so great, Jesus, in all things. I've [singing and music] seen a glimpse of your heart. A billion years still [singing and music] I'll be singing.

How can [singing and music] I praise you enough? How can I [music and singing] praise you enough? You [music] are the Lord [singing] Almighty.

I'll shine in all the stars in glory. [music] Your love [singing] is like the wildest ocean. Oh, [music and singing] nothing else compares.

[music and singing] Creation calls all to [music and singing] the Savior. We are alive for your praise. In earth [singing and music] and sky, no one is higher.

Our God [music] of wonders, you reign. Our God of [music and singing] wonders, you reign. You [music] are the Lord Almighty, outshining all the stars in glory.

Your love is like the wildest [music] [singing] ocean. Oh, nothing else compares. [music and singing] You are the Lord Almighty.

Outshining [music and singing] all the stars in glory. Your love is like the wildest ocean. Oh, nothing else compares.

[music] [singing] Not to us, but to [music and singing] your name. Lift up all praise [singing] not to us but to [music] your name. We lift [singing] up all praise.

Not to [music] us but to your [singing] name. We lift up all [music and singing] praise. Not to us but to your [music and singing] name.

name we lift up all praise. [music] You are the Lord Almighty, outshining all the stars [singing] in glory. Your [music] love is like the wildest ocean.

Oh, nothing else compares. [music and singing] cares. You are [music] the Lord Almighty, outshining [music and singing] all the stars in glory.

Your love is [music and singing] like the wildest ocean. Oh, [singing] nothing else [music] compares. You are the Lord [music] Almighty, outshining all the stars [singing and music] in glory.

Your love is like the wildest [singing] ocean. [music] Oh, nothing else compares. When I was lost and all alone, [singing] your presence was where I found home.

You were there and you're here. right now. In every high, in every low, you never left me without hope.

[snorts] You were good and you're [singing] good right now. I've witnessed your faithfulness. [music and singing] I've seen you breathe life [music and singing] within.

So I pour out my praise again. [singing] You're worthy, God. [music] You're worthy of all of it.

Your promises [singing] never fail. I've got stories I'll live [music and singing] to tell. So I'll pour out my praise again.

[singing and music] You're worthy, God. You're worthy of all of it. [music] You left [music and singing] the throne and chose the cross.

Laid down your life to rescue [music] us. The Savior then and the Savior now. [music and singing] Believe [music] in death was not the end.

You conquered [music] hell [singing] so I could live. Resurrecting dead. Resurrecting now.

Resurrecting [music and singing] dead. Resurrecting now. [music] I've witnessed your faithfulness.

[music and singing] I've seen you breathe life within. So I pour out my praise again. You're worthy, [music] God.

You're worthy of all of it. Your promises never [music and singing] fail. I've got stories I'll live to tell.

So I pour out my [music and singing] praise again. You're worthy, God. You're worthy of all [music] of it.

[music] You're good and I've witnessed it. You're strong and I've witnessed it. You're constant.

I've witnessed it and I'm confident. I'll see it again and again. You love and I've witnessed it.

You heal and I've witnessed it. You stay and I've witnessed it and I'm confident. I'll see it again [singing] and again.

[music] You're good and I've witnessed it. [music] You're strong and I've witnessed it. You're constant.

[music and singing] I witnessed it and I'm confident I'll see it [music and singing] again and again. You love and I've witnessed it. [music] You heal and I've witnessed it.

You say that I've witnessed it and I'm confident. I'll see [music] it again and again. I've witnessed your faithfulness.

[music and singing] I've seen you rev my lips for pour out my praise again. [music] You're worthy, God. You're worthy of all.

Your promises never [music and singing] fail. I've got stories I'll live to say. [music] So I'll pour out my [singing] praise again.

You're worthy, [music] God. You're worthy of all of it. To the broken, I'll witness day.

To [music] the hurting, I'll witness it. To the [music] lost, I will witness it. And I'll [singing] tell them this.

[music] I'll tell them what I witness. To my family, I'll witness [music] it. To my city, I'll witness them.

To the nations, [music] I'll witness it. And I'll tell them this. I'll tell [music] them what I witness.

I've witnessed your faithfulness. I've seen you breathe life within. So I pour out my praise again.

[singing] You're worthy, God. You're worthy of all of it. Your promises [singing] never fail.

I've got stories I'll live [singing] to tell. So I'll pour out my praise again. [singing] You're worthy, God.

You're worthy of [singing] all good. God, you are so [music] worthy. You are so worthy of anything that we could bring you.

I'm [music] so grateful that we get to stand in this room together and praise your name. Lord, I pray that if anyone showed up here this morning hurting or broken, that they leave here knowing that that you are always with [music] them in every single walk. I pray for our pastor as he brings us this message.

In your name I pray. Amen. >> Well, good morning everybody.

I have a a special guest with me today. This is our Rock Hill City Mayor, John Gettis. Thank you so much for being here today.

talking to us. You and I have known each other for quite a while now. >> Yeah.

And I'm the better forest, dude. >> Well, thank you. That's kind.

I think we met first back maybe the early 90s. Mid90s. >> Mid90s with the No Room for Racism.

That's correct. >> Uh you were I think you were chair. >> I was.

>> And uh got to know each other and done some good things together since. And u I appreciate you being here today. Uh as I mentioned to you, we this year are focused on learning how as the people of God to love other groups.

And this summer, we're focused on learning to love our nation, be good citizens, how to love this community, our city, and the county. And if you can share with us something you're really excited about that's happening in Rockill that you think would be good for everybody just just to know if they don't know it. >> Well, it's an exciting time to be in Rockill.

I think we all know that. Uh, next year in 2027, the city will celebrate its 175th year in existence in incorporation. And so we're really working hard to line up opportunities for the year for us to celebrate, to recognize from whence we've come, right?

To recognize all the things we have in common, and really to take a step back and think about the sacrifices and the >> the risk people before us took to build the community we get to enjoy today. So, it'll be a year-long celebration. >> Okay.

Is there anything that you're in a position to be able to share with our people to that they can anticipate happening here beyond the celebration in the near future? >> Yeah, there's some some things we're seeing downtown really booming. Uh Jim Shore, who is renowned artist, is opening up a museum and shop in downtown Rock Hill.

So, we're really excited to see him open up the first quarter, I think, of of uh 2027. The Norman family is opening up the Lantern Hotel. It's on the corner of Oakland and Maine that the workforce in that hotel.

30% will be those of all abilities. Okay. >> So, it's sort of a continuation of what we're seeing at Miracle Park and making sure that our community is a community for all people.

>> What are some challenges, problems that we're facing in Rock Hill that that is good for our citizens to know about? >> Well, we've seen a lot of progress, right? We've seen since since I became mayor in 2018, our poverty rate has fallen from 18 and a half to 13% last time we checked.

And so we think the answer to that, what we're really focusing on is how do we bring highpaying wages to Rockill? How do we use our assets, our quality of life, our tax structure, all of those things that so many people work so hard for for so many years to our benefit, but to make sure that the economy that we have of the future, we make it so people are earning wages so they can afford to buy a house. >> The struggle for some people to really make ends meet and then how that ties into the housing market and some of the people who are displaced that that's something our city is struggling with on some level.

Yeah, I think you can all ride. We can all ride around Rockill and we've never seen a homeless population in Rockill like we see now. Yeah.

Right. And for whatever reason that is, it is. How do we provide uh care?

How do we provide brotherly love? How do we do the things that we do to help people that, you know, that are trying to get back? But but also, how do we make sure we're stemming the tide of that?

Okay. How do we make sure we've got jobs so that if someone's working in these higher pay wages and they get sick, it doesn't wipe out their savings. They've been able to build up more, right?

Build equity in their home, send their kids to college, you know, the things that we all know because that's what built this country. You know, back in the 1950s when you had the GI Bill and Eisenhower was building the interstates, >> it set us up for a huge boom in our country. Well, we can do that again.

And that's really where we we've spent a lot of time at the city is how do we invest in our utilities? How do we make good sound policy decisions so that we can differentiate ourselves with other uh communities in the Charlotte metro region and also in the state of South Carolina >> and that becomes part of the business recruitment etc. Talk about how you could see our our members here at First Baptist but others in the community as well engage in what already is and and and make a difference.

So you tell me what you love to do and I'll tell you where we can go do that together. That's sort of the way I look at it. >> What are some of the agencies, some of the groups that that need volunteers that you think are having an impact?

>> You know, you can go to so many organizations that we uh feed the hungry certainly Hope House. Yeah. You know, they do just great work and they help not just pathways, not just food, but you know, spiritual development, >> right?

>> Human development, pay electric bills, all of those things. And that makes a huge difference. and pathways really is sort of leading in that regard in a lot of in a lot of uh context.

>> It's kind of becoming a front door to help people get connected to different Okay. All right. >> How would you encourage our people to pray for our community?

>> So, my wife and I have raised three boys. They're all adult men now. But when they were little, one of the prayers that they we all got in the rut of saying at the end of their prayers was, "Dear God, please make the bad guys good guys." Right?

Please open up people's hearts. Please make sure that we all recognize fruits of the spirit in others and reward that by acting the same way. It really is relationships.

You and I have known each other for over 30 years. And Steve, the leadership you bring to our community, what you've done through your church, your ministry, tending your flock. It's inspiring.

>> So, one person gets involved, that creates a ripple. A lot of people get involved. That creates a lot of ripples.

That that uh that impacts a lot of people. One last thing. I know you have surgery coming this uh coming Wednesday, right?

>> Yes, sir. That's correct. >> Put surgery and be be out of commission for a little bit.

>> Well, don't tell anybody. They'll try to sneak things by me. >> Don't don't don't tell anybody what you just heard, but uh >> never had surgery in my life.

Guy, they're going to reconstruct my left foot. So, >> okay. >> I'm I'm happy to do it because of the quality of life I want later in life.

I'm a little nervous. >> Well, just know that we'll be praying for you and we'll be praying in the service today as well. >> Thank you very much, >> John.

Thank you so much. Appreciate you, brother. >> Thank you, Reverend.

>> Thanks. I do invite you to be praying for his surgery this Wednesday. Go ahead.

[applause] Pray that his surgery goes well. He mentioned in that conversation homelessness and in our community and the poverty rate. And if you were here last Sunday when I interviewed uh Chris Watts, our chief of police, he talked about some of the challenges that our law officers face.

And homelessness is one of those. uh addictions, you know, drug addictions, alcohol uh problems and u mental illness uh is a problem especially for those who don't want help. And that impacts our schools as well because you have children who are growing up in poverty.

They're growing up in families where their parents uh are addicted to some uh some narcotic of of some kind. and that impacts those children's ability to consistently be at school, to get enough sleep, to have enough food, and and uh that just takes a toll. So, all of these are are real issues.

And one of the reasons we've been interviewing, you know, the superintendent and the chief of police, and I did this video interview with the mayor is to help us better know what's going on in our community because we are taught to pray for our community, pray for our leaders. our memory verse for July, you know, he he encourages us to pray for all who are in authority. We're supposed to pray for our leaders.

And so knowing what's going on helps us uh do that. And this year, as you know, over here on the walls, why we exist as a family of faith to love God, love people, make disciples come straight from scripture. And if you love God, you're going to love people.

So in 26, we're focused on learning from scripture what it means to love people. And we started this summer talking about what it means from the scriptural perspective to love our nation. And we're shifting as we wrap up summer uh to how do we love our community?

Not not the way psychologist tell us tells us to love people or the way social media or the culture, but what does God in his word say about how we are to love people. And and one of the groups we are to care about are those who are who are less fortunate than us. those who are needy, those who are poor, those who are addicted, those who have different different problems.

And so I want I want to talk about that in the sermon today. And there's really three or four things I want to say. The first is this.

As the people of God, as followers of Jesus, we are supposed to care and help. The second thing is you can't fix everybody. Some people don't want help.

The third is we do this because we care, but that's not why the church exists. We do it because we care, but that's not our purpose. So, take your Bible and open it with me to the book of Deuteronomy in your Old Testament, chapter 15.

Deuteronomy, chapter 15. And um we're going to be reading a passage of scripture where God through Moses is giving the Hebrew people, the Jewish people as they enter the promised land regulations, the law. Now listen, as believers, we are under grace, not under the law.

So the particular commands of the law do not apply to us. But the principles behind the law do you see the difference? So the principles, the truth applies to us as followers of Christ.

But the law, the Old Testament law, the Bible makes this clear, was given for the nation of Israel. So we got to distinguish between the regulations of the law and the principles of the law. You you you with me?

So, what we're going to read is a passage where he's giving regulations to the people of Israel concerning how they are to treat other people. And you'll notice in particular, he says, "Here is how you are to treat your fellow Jews, your fellow Hebrews." For us, fellow believers, family of faith. Here are some things about how you are to treat non-Hebrews, non-Jews, Gentiles, foreigners, for us people who are not believers.

And what you find is running through all of these regulations is the principle of kindness and generosity. They were supposed to be kind and generous to everyone. But there are also some differences.

You'll notice there is a special level of generosity, a special level of love they were to show to one another. This is one of the principles I want to bring out. It doesn't mean that you love the others less than you think.

You love everyone. You love the lost. You love the needy.

But there's this principle you're to love your family and your family of faith a notch more. It's not that you love one group less than you should love them. is that you love the other group in an extraordinary way.

So, Deuteronomy 15, do you have your Bible with you today? Let me see it. Hold it up.

Hold it up. We are a people of the book. What does that mean?

The word of God is the only authority for what we believe and how we live. Because this is God's truth. This is God's word.

Our truth does not come from what anybody thinks. Does not come from what anybody feels. It comes from one place.

in one place only what God says. And that's why we always bring the Bible, always bring the word of God with us to worship. Deuteronomy 15, let's read together starting at verse 7.

We'll come back in a few minutes and look at some other verses as well. Deuteronomy 15:7, he says, "If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers in any of your towns, in your land, which the Lord your God has given you, so to the Jews, you're going into the promised land. And when you're there and in your towns and villages, if there's somebody poor among you, he says, "You shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand." You like a a tightfisted person, stingy, doesn't want to give and be generous.

Do not close your hand toward your poor brother. Verse eight, but you shall freely open your hand. Extend it.

Be generous. Open your hand to him and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need and whatever he lacks. Drop down to verse 11.

For the poor will never cease to be in the land. Therefore, because of this, I command you, saying, you shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your ne to to your needy and poor in your land. Now, I want to take a few moments and walk through these verses and share with you these three or four lessons that I mentioned a moment ago.

The first is this. It's it's obvious here. We are supposed we are supposed to care and help those who have needs.

I mean, there's there's no way to read this and not see that it is a command. God expects us as the people of God, as followers of Jesus, to be generous and kind to those who are poor and those who have issues, those who struggle, those who have have uh needs. That's obvious.

those of you who've been doing the Bible reading plan with us for the past several years and especially if you've been in a Dgroup and we've been reading through the Old and New Testament. I mean, I I'm I'm confident that one of the things that's jumped out at you is how many Bible verses talk about the responsibility we have to care for people who are needy, to care for immigrants and strangers. I mean, the Bible talks about that a lot.

There's no way to systematically read the word of God and not understand that because we love God, we are to love people. And that means loving people who are strangers, loving people who are in need and being kind and generous toward them. Let me just remind you of some verses from, for instance, the book of Proverbs.

There are many in the Old Testament. Isaiah says it very clearly, but I want you to look at what Proverbs 14:31 says. He who oppresses the poor taunts his maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors him.

You can't do it. But if, let's just imagine, let's pretend if you could walk up and stand right in front of God, into the face of God, make fun of God, you wouldn't do it. But the Bible says when you oppress the poor, when take advantage of them, treat them badly.

That's what you're doing. You're making fun of God. You're taunting God who created them in his image.

And he says, "Don't do that." Proverbs 19:17, "One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord." You, you remember Jesus telling the parable of, you know, there are people who are in prison. There are people who are naked. There are people who are hungry.

And when you feed them, when you clothe them, it's like you're doing it to him. And when you do not feed them and do not clothe them and you neglect them, ignore them, it's like you're neglecting him. Why?

He created them in his image. That alone gives them value and worth. And so, how you treat people who are unfortunate speaks volumes about how you're treating God.

And we don't always think about it that way, but scripture says that. Look at uh Proverbs 31:es 8 and 9. He says, "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate." Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the afflicted and need it.

Speak for those who have no voice. Speak for the powerless. And I know sometimes in our divided country and partisan politics, we're afraid to speak up sometimes because we don't want to be thought we're supporting this group and not that group.

Listen, partisan politics is irrelevant to this issue. God says as his people, speak for the voiceless. So many verses in the Old Testament we could look at.

Let me show you a couple from the New Testament. There are many in the New Testament. Just real quickly, look at 1 John chapter 3 16 and following.

He says, "We know love to the by this what that he laid down his life for us." How do we know God loves us? Jesus died for us. He sacrificed himself.

In the same way, he says, "We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, sacrifice for others." Verse 17, "Whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him." Same thing we were reading Deuteronomy. Don't close your heart. Don't be tightfisted.

You see you have stuff and you see someone who doesn't. He says don't close your heart. If you if you close your heart, he asked the question, how does the love of God abide in him?

Little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and truth. We exist to love God. Love people make disciples.

Here's the thing. If you love God, you're going to love people. And if you love people, you're going to care about the needy.

Because loving people involves caring about those who are struggling in life. And so many of you in this room and in this church do that so well through volunteering and ministries that we do as a church through your volunteering with groups in the community in your own individual lives helping people. There are many in this church who are involved in social services and uh even some I talked to who are involved in the legal system who really really care for people.

And by the way, if you're not sure how to volunteer and serve in this community, be here tonight. Be here tonight. Following our um annual business meeting at five o'clock, we're going to have a ministry expo.

And all around the perimeter of this room will be ministries that we partner with in this community that you can volunteer with to serve to help. Come and go to those go to those uh exhibits after the after the the business meeting and pick up literature, talk to them, learn how what they do and how you might be able to plug into that and serve people in this community. And while you're doing that, we're going to have some good Mexican ice cream for you to eat.

So, it's going to be a good night. Okay? So, I hope you'll you'll be here for that.

So the first lesson is we are to care and we are to help. Now here's the second one. Generosity starts at home.

Generosity starts at home. And by that I mean two things. First starting at home means with one another, with fellow believers.

With fellow believers. Now, now go back to Deuteronomy 15 and let's look at the very first three verses. Verse one, start there.

He says, "At [clears throat] the end of every seven years, you shall grant a remission of debts." This is the manner of remission. Every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor. He shall not exact it, demand payment of his neighbor and his brother because of the Lord's remission has been proclaimed.

Verse three, from a foreigner you may exact it. You may expect or or or demand payment, a non-Jew, but your hand shall release whatever whatever of yours is with your brother. Now, there were two things in the Old Testament.

Remember these this is the law God gave the Jewish nation. The principle applies to us. The regulations do not.

And and the regulation he gave them, this is called the Sabbath year. every seven years there was to be a forgiveness of debt. There's another one called the Jubilee which was every 50 years that had to do with property and stuff that we won't get into this morning.

But what he's saying here is every seven years if and and it's a different culture. They didn't have banks and stuff like we do. So it's people helping people.

And if you help someone every seven years you were to forgive that debt to a fellow Jew. Now he says here very clearly a foreigner, a gentile, someone who's not a Jew, you don't have to forgive it. You can expect payment.

You can require payment. You can exact it from them. Now, does that mean you're being mean to the Gentile?

No. Because they weren't doing anything wrong or mean to the Gentile, but he's saying you are to go extra in how you show love to your fellow Jews. Now, there probably were individuals who practiced this, but there's no record in scripture or otherwise that as a nation they ever really put this into full practice.

But yet, it was an expectation. It was something God told them to do. So, the principle is is is is generosity.

But here's what I want you to catch for this one because I said the second the point here is is generosity begins at home. What he's saying is you can be generous and kind and loving to everyone and you are to help the needy and the poor. But he says your love toward your fellow Hebrews, we ratchet it up in forgiving those debts from one another, between one another every seven years.

So, do you get what I'm saying? That you you are to be kind and generous because a gentile would not owe you something if you had not been generous and helped them in the first place. But when it comes to your fellow Jews, you go, you love them even more every seven years by forgiving that debt if you choose to help people that way.

And so here's this principle that you love everyone and you help everyone, but what you owe to your brothers and sisters among the Hebrew people. And the New List, the New Testament lays out this same principle. There are ways that you and I as believers are supposed to love one another that goes up and above and beyond what is expected in how we show love to everybody in this world.

We are to love everybody because they're all created in the image of God. We are to help and help the needy. But the scripture also says there is another level of love that we owe one another as members of the family of faith.

Are you hearing what I'm saying, church? Now, this is new for some of you. I know that.

But it's biblical. It's not that we love that that means that we decrease love for the needy or that we decrease love for the person who's not a believer. What it says is you love them, but when it comes to your fellow believers, you take it up a notch.

That's the biblical teaching. Love everybody, but especially your family of faith. Now, when I say it begins at home, I'm not talking just about our family of faith, fellow believers.

I'm also talking about your earthly family. Look on the screen at 1 Timothy 5:8. He said, "If anyone does not provide for his own family, his own and especially those of his own household." So what he's saying is by your own and household.

Household your immediate family, your own goes beyond your immediate family. You with me? Your extended family.

He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. that that generosity and kindness is to start with our earthly family. And in that same chapter, he he he makes it even clearer.

Let's go back up in chapter 5 to verses 3 and 4. He said, "Honor widows who are widows indeed." Now, let me explain something. In Paul's writing to Timothy, there seems to have been in some of the churches an office.

You know, we have the office of deacons, for instance. There seems to have been an office was called widows. It was for It was four widows and it was a group that the church helped.

And then those widows also had some responsibility. But he lays down in Timothy regulations, guidelines for which widows can be part of the group because just because you're a widow doesn't mean you're part of that group. You care for everybody, but there was a level up of care for certain ones.

And they laid down regulations for that. The Bible never lays out just this blanket thing to do the same thing all the time for everybody. And so he said, "Honor widows who are widows indeed." And here he gets into the regulations a little bit.

But if any widow has children or grandchildren, I'm a grandfather. In the Jewish culture, you could write and and it would be accurate to say that my grandch I'm I'm the father of my grandchildren. Why?

Because they've still descended from me. So you could go back multiple generations and that person be the father of of four generations down. And so what he's saying here, if there's a widow and she has children, grandchildren, they must learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents, parents, grandparents, etc.

For this is acceptable in the sight of God. He's saying we owe our parents and grandparents. Generosity starts at home.

Kindness starts at home. And in our culture, unfortunately, there's this new movement that in some people uh psychology and counselors are taking the place of God. And what some of those therapists are saying is taking pla taking the place of the word of God because they're affirming some of the unhealthy thoughts of young adults.

And so you have young adults cutting off their parents because their parents didn't always agree with them on everything or their parents weren't perfect. Now, I'm not talking about a parent who sexually abused a child. I'm not talking about a parent who was a drug addict and and neglected their child, but there are so many young adults today cut it off their parents because their parents weren't perfect or didn't agree with me and that hurt my feelings.

And I'm going to tell you something. Any young person who does that is going to have a horrible day when they stand before Jesus on the judgment day. I got news for you.

Your parents weren't perfect. You know what? When you have kids, you're not going to be much better.

>> You're just going to make some different mistakes. And God says, "Children and grandchildren, you owe your parents and grandparents." Generosity starts at home. Here's the third thing.

You can't fix everybody. We're to care. We're to be generous.

We're to serve. We're to give. But we can't fix everybody.

I had a friend known him for almost four decades here in Rock Hill. I won't say his name. Back in the early and mid 90s when we were both younger, he he came to church here pretty faithfully.

He was talented, had skills, had a good job, a good career, had a family, started making bad decisions. lost his family, lost his career, lost his livelihood. He became addicted to drugs.

He's homeless. Three or four years ago, his extended family, his siblings, because his parents were both dead, his siblings put him in a facility, treatment facility. When he got out, what do you think is the first thing he did?

He went and bought more drugs. Tragic happens all the time. Couple years ago, I was buying groceries at food line and I was walking to my car in the parking lot and I heard someone call my voice, call my name and I I turned around and I looked and it was him.

He rolled up to me on his bicycle. Lives out in the woods. We talked and what do you think he wanted?

>> Huh? >> He wanted some money for >> Well, that's what he wanted. But what did he tell me?

>> Food. Wanted money for food. And I said to him, "Hey, listen.

I'm not going to give you money. money. But over here is uh Subway, McDonald's, KFC, Mary's Cafe, Bowl Jangles, a Chinese pl several places.

And I'll go with you right now. I'll buy lunch. I'll buy you the biggest lunch you want.

We'll sit down, eat it together, and talk. And after lunch, I'll go into the grocery store with you, and I'll buy you some groceries. What do you think he did?

He cussed me out. I NEVER THOUGHT I'D EVER SEE THE DAY WHEN YOU WOULD BE SO HEARTLESS. We got into a shouting match at the parking lot of food line.

And in front of everybody walking by, I said, "I'm not giving you a dime. I will never give you a dime, but I will take you and buy you food right now." What would he have done if I'd given him cash? Come on, get real.

>> He bought drugs. I don't give cash to people. I'll buy them food.

I'll I'll go pay a power bill. These are things I've done. I'll put someone up in a hotel for a night when it's cold.

I'll let someone work, do something I need done, and then let them earn it and pay them. You remember when Chief Watts was talking last Sunday, he said, you know, the challenges the officers face, mental illness and homelessness, and he said, the biggest challenge are those, especially on the homeless side, who don't want help. You can't make everybody want help.

You can't fix everybody. And why do I say that? Because some people think you can.

You can't. In fact, YOU CAN'T FIX ANYBODY. You can give them an opportunity.

You can love them. You can GIVE THEM A BOOST. You can help them.

But they have to be able and willing to help themselves. And I bet you there are many of you in this room, you have members of your extended family. You have relatives who are just like that.

And you've tried to help and they go back and make the same bad decision after bad decision after bad decision after bad decision after bad decision. Am I right or wrong? >> Now, that doesn't mean we don't care and we don't try.

But you've got to stop carrying around with you this idea that you can fix everybody. Because if you don't learn how to balance this and understand this, you will drive yourself crazy. It will consume your life.

Back to Deuteronomy 15 verse 11. He said, "The poor will never cease to be in the land. Therefore, because of that, I command you freely open your hand." Now, this verse is sometimes misused.

It is not saying because you will always have poor, you are not to care, you're not to give, you're not to serve, you're not to help. It's not an excuse not to be generous. But it is saying you're always going to have poor.

And you can't totally fix that problem. And notice this verse is in the same passage. It's part of the same regulations where he said to the Jewish people, every seven years you were to forgive the debt of your fellow Jews.

And yet he's saying when that happens, you're still going to have poor people. Why? Because they'll go out and make the same mistakes again.

You can't fix that unless they want to change their lives. Jesus quoted that verse more than once. On one occasion, he was in the home of a man named Simon the leper, reclining at a table, sharing a meal.

An unnamed woman walked in holding a container of very, very expensive perfume. Not what you buy at Walmart or Target. Expensive.

Really expensive. And she poured it out on his head. This was just a few days before his crucifixion.

So she was anointing him for burial. And the Bible says some of those in the room got angry and said, "That is wasteful. We should have sold that expensive perfume and given the money to the poor." And Jesus said, "She has done a good deed to me." And then alluding to Deuteronomy 15:11, he said, "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." Listen, Jesus is our priority.

Now, some people may not understand that. I I can't help that. Jesus is our priority.

It's so easy in the religious world and and and and other places to make what we do our priority to make serving our priority. Make this make the building make the make our priority is not what we do. Our priority is not where we are.

Our priority is Jesus. And when you when you stop making Jesus your priority and you make something else your priority, you get sideways. It's Jesus, folks.

Do you hear me? It's Jesus. It's Jesus.

It's Jesus. And that leads me to my last point. Just a quick one.

Our purpose is to love Jesus and make him known. Sometimes you hear people say, you know, the church's purpose is to feed the poor, get rid of hunger. You hear people say, you know, well, church shouldn't spend money doing that ministry.

Church shouldn't spend money do building that building, etc. We should give all that to the poor. And I hear that, but listen, the truth is, listen, we are to love people and we are to love the needy and we are to be generous and we are to be kind.

We are to care because like we said, if you love God, you're going to love people. And if you love people, you're going to care about the needy. They are created in the image of God.

But Jesus did not die on the cross to rid the world of poverty. Did he? Why did he die on the cross?

to rid the world of a greater poverty, a spiritual poverty. An addiction created by sin. Ruin and death created by sin.

So people could be forgiven, people could be saved, be transformed. It is amazing how many good ministries and I won't name names but good ministries started by Christians to help the needy and to help them know Jesus over time become less Christian and more secular and still help the needy but have nothing to do with Jesus anymore. Our priority is Christ and we care because of Christ.

And we can never forget that we are open-handed to the needy because we care. Guess what? You tell people about Jesus, you invite people to church because you care.

And just as you are not to be closedhearted to the needy, to the poor, you're not to be closedhearted to the lost. Poverty is horrible. Addictions, you can't put it into words.

I came from a family of alcoholics. I'm going to be honest with you. I hate alcohol.

I hate alcohol. When you grow up around alcoholics, you've got nothing for it. It's horrible.

It's horrible. My philosophy is if I never took the first drink, I'd never be a drunk because everything starts with the first one. Don't know how I got on all that.

We're to care, but we are to care about Jesus more. and we are to care about losses. So you go out in this community and you serve and you volunteer.

You help people in your neighborhood. You help people at work. You help classmates.

You help those who have needs. But you also help them to come to Jesus. Now, you can't make anybody come to Jesus just like you can't make anybody stop drinking.

I'm not responsible for fixing anybody and I'm not responsible for anybody's salvation. I'm just responsible for loving and caring and doing my part and then I leave the rest in the hands of God and with them. It's their it's their choice, not mine.

And you must learn to live that way or you'll end up in a mental hospital. What's God saying to you? If you've been stingy, tight fisted, not generous, I invite you to the altar and you can confess that and ask the Lord to forgive you and ask the Lord to give you an open, generous heart.

If you've not been witnessing and inviting people to church, not been praying for lost people, come to the altar and ask God to forgive you for that, to give you a passion for those who are going to hell. Because you know what? As horrible as poverty is, it ends [music] with death.

But spiritual death is eternal. Hell is forever. Come and pray.

Pastors are coming as we stand to sing. Come to a pastor if you'd like to join this church or request baptism. Come to a pastor if you'd like to fall in love with Jesus.

Give your heart to Jesus and be saved. You can be saved right now because Jesus came to die on that cross so you could be saved [music] today. Come to a pastor.

Come and join this church. We had a older man [music] join in the 8:30 service. Come and join right now.

You can do that. You can do that. Come and pray about whatever.

Maybe there's someone in your extended family, a good friend who's made a mess of their life. Maybe they deal with addiction. Come and pray for them.

Never stop praying for them. Come and pray. Maybe you've been neglecting your family.

They need your [music] care and you not you've not been giving it. Maybe you're a young teenager or an adult, young adult, and and you've been seeing things on social media, and you've been thinking about cutting off your parents. Get on your knees and confess that to God and [music] repent of that.

Because you know how you learn to love people, how you learn to work through things in life is by loving and [music] working through. If you're waiting for the perfect world and the perfect family, you're never going to have it. You've got to learn how to love people through imperfections or you will never know what real love is because there's no perfect people.

You're not one and nobody in your life is. And you got to learn to love through the messes. That's when you find freedom.

So let's sing and you come right now. Come on quickly. Come on.

son. [music] They called him Jesus. [singing] He came to love.

[singing] [music] Heal and forive. He lived and died. >> [music] >> to [singing] b my [music] [singing] empty grave is there to prove my savior lives because he [singing] lives.

I can face tomorrow because he [music] lives. All [singing] fear is gone because I [singing] know he holds [singing] the future and [music and singing] life is worth the living just because he lives. >> [singing] [music] >> It's a beautiful song.

[music] Our priority is Christ. His life gives [music] us life. Thank you.

And you can be seated. Before they introduce this person, let me uh share with you that u despite what you might think or you might hear in social media, research shows, and it's held [music] true for decades, it's still true. The most generous people in America when it comes to giving are Christians.

And it's not even close. As a group, the most generous people when it comes to giving are those who go to church, not those who don't. And you'll hear churches put down and Christians put down.

You take away the generosity of Christians and this country is in a mess when it comes to the social services. Most generous people in this country, far and away, data supports this. It's [music] not an opinion.

This is fact. And those of you in this room, those who go to church, [music] don't ever let anybody tell you otherwise. So just because we love God first and we love each other most doesn't mean we don't care and love.

Don't let anybody lie to you. And young people don't believe the lies. Most generous people in this country are the people who are in rooms like this every [music] Sunday.

Hands down. Not even close. All right, that's your extra sermon for the day.

All right, who's doing the Brother Grant? >> All right, so this is Declan McGovern coming [music] up. So Dean, he accepted Christ a few years ago when you were in third grade, but [music] he told me, he said, "This summer I've just been really growing in my faith, and I can't um" God prompted him that he wanted to come up and just say, "Hey, I know Jesus, [music] and I want to follow up with Believer's Baptism soon, so we'll celebrate.

[applause] >> [music] >> And uh we're going to let you and your mom and dad go back to the decision room. We're happy for you guys. Look forward to his baptism.

Now remember, tonight the annual business meeting followed by the ministry expo and the Mexican ice cream. During the business meeting, you're going to get a detailed update from the renovation team about the new construction that's being planned. I can tell you that construction drawings are now past 75% complete and within a couple of weeks or so they will be [music] at 95% complete and the bidding proc the submission process to the city for approval can can start and we can get their feedback.

But the church is going to vote before we build anything. So we need you to be here tonight to hear that detailed report because when those construction drawings are at 95% we can get really good numbers. We've been waiting to have really good numbers before we bring a a recommendation to vote.

And so within the, you know, next month, you're probably going to be asked to vote on building and moving forward with that project. So I hope you'll be here tonight to hear about what's what's uh going on. And then the ministry [music] expo as well.

And uh the last thing is continue praying for the students and invite someone to come and fill any seats in the room that are empty today. Invite them to come and fill those seats next week. Would you stand for our closing?

As Jesus looked upon us with mercy, may we see [music] those in need with compassion. May the Holy Spirit who drew us to Christ open our hearts to see those in need. May the peace and joy of our Lord be with you today and always.

Amen.