All In: Loving God with All Your Heart
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Audience 00:01
Sermon title all in all your heart.
Rev. Steve Ezra 00:09
Some of you look like you should be on the beach right now. You look amazing.
If you're new to us, we don't always dress like this. It is Florida. You're in
the right place. Our children's ministry. All summer they've been doing theme
Sundays for children's church. And today their theme is Hawaiian theme. And we
thought a few weeks ago, why not let's just join and play along, support them
in what they're doing. Later on in the service will dismiss the children to
children's church and they'll go. Great age appropriate environment to hear
more about the God who loves them. We just thought this morning we'd play along
and enjoy a nice, relaxing Hawaiian Sunday. And a lot of you played along, so
congratulations. That's fun. Speaking of children's ministry, Family
ministries, we are partnering with downtown Zephyr Hills on Sunday, august
tenth.
Rev. Steve Ezra 00:54
They are having a down back to school celebration downtown. There's going to be
vendors, there's going to be food, there are going to be some giveaways and
things. And instead of deciding to fight the traffic in the parking, since they
use lots of our parking lots on that Sunday, we're going to join them. So on
Sunday, august tenth, from nine in the morning until noon, we are going to open
up Cooper hall. We're going to open up our fellowship hall and we are offering
a pancake breakfast. We just want to invite people in so that they can see our
church, be a part of it. It's going to happen simultaneously with our two
worship services. This is all going to be just like normal. We'll have
children's church as normal, but you might hear some commotion over there
because we're going to open up for a pancake breakfast for the community that's
coming to the back to school Sunday.
Rev. Steve Ezra 01:37
And we're also going to be handing out free school supplies. We want to just
continue to be a blessing to our community. If you'd like to help us with that,
if you want to donate all kinds of needed supplies, pens and crayons. And
they'll say crayons or crayons, I know where you're from. All right, crayons,
pencils, notebooks, whatever, you can donate those, bring them to the church
office. You can even bring them next Sunday here. And if we got some boxes around
that, we'll do that. We're going to give those away. But we want to be a
blessing in the community. So that's not next Sunday, that's Sunday, august
tenth. Just Know that that's going to be happening. If you are new with us
today, welcome again. We don't ordinarily look like this. We're just having fun
today. If you're brand new with us, if you would be so kind as to fill out a
let's Connect card in the pew right in front of you.
Rev. Steve Ezra 02:23
We've got some cards. They say let's connect. We just want to get connected
with you in name, address. We won't spam you with mail and emails and things.
If you want more information, we'd be happy to share it. If you've got any
prayer requests, that's on the back of that card. If you make any commitments
this morning, a commitment to grow deeper in your faith, a commitment to
Christ, let us know. We want to be able to serve you and surround you with the
love of this church. If this is your very, very first Sunday, you fill out that
card and hang on to it. At the end of the service, go see one of the ushers out
there in the narthex and they'll give you a gift bag. Our way of just saying
thanks for being here. Our United Women in Faith puts those bags together and
otherwise you can put them in the offering plates as they're passed during the
service. But we're here today to worship the Lord.
Rev. Steve Ezra 03:07
That's what we're going to do. As you're able, I invite you to stand. Let's
stand. And we will be called to this time of worship by our liturgist, Ros
Hill.
Audience 03:18
Good morning everyone. Looks so bright and bright. I would like to invite you
to join us in the call to worship. And this is responsive children of Putting.
Rev. Steve Ezra 03:32
The Lord in Prayer together. We need to have a moment of celebration and
dedication. If you were here in May, and I don't even remember what Sunday in
May it was, whatever sermon I was doing and preaching, I had mentioned a few
things, a couple of projects I think the church was working on at the
playground for our children and seeking to get a new drum set for our band at
the nine thirty service. But also for this service, once in a great while we do
use the drums back here. The drums that we had up on stage were like fifteen
years old and were just completely worn out. It was just time to look at
getting some new ones. And it just so happened that in the week after that
Sunday in May, we had three families step forward and gave money to buy a new set
of drums for the church. Now that may not seem like a big deal if you've never
Bought drums before. They are not cheap by any means.
Rev. Steve Ezra 04:28
And it was just an amazing act of generosity from these three families and lots
of stories like that. Oh my goodness, many stories of the generosity that you
demonstrate over and over again. But we, from these three families, we got a
new set of drums, getting them from Sweetwater, which is a great place in Fort
Wayne, Indiana. They're here. We've actually had them for the last couple of
Sundays, but it just finally got them tuned in and dialed in and they sound
absolutely marvelous. It was last year that we got a brand new grand piano
which clearly sounds marvelous. And we dedicated that to the Lord's purposes
and we're going to do that with these drums this morning as we pray. Percussion
is part of how we worship the Lord. There's percussion in the Psalms and in the
Old Testament, one of the ways that we sing our praises to God. And I do praise
God that we can gather together Sunday after Sunday and worship in our hearts
through music.
Rev. Steve Ezra 05:19
And so we're going to dedicate these drums for the Lord's purposes. But I do
want to say a special word of thank you to those families that made it
possible. What a great gift for us. Before we pray, I've got a quick update on
our prayer list. People we've been praying for received word yesterday that
Richard Briggs, one of our longtime, very faithful members, Bubba, most of them
known by Bubba, he had a work related accident yesterday. I think he fell off a
ladder and he is in the ICU at Saint Joseph Hospital in Tampa. I think he's
gonna be okay, but from what I've got, his body is pretty beat up. I haven't
received like the latest updates and we'll see him after our worship services
today. But if you would pray for Richard, for Bubba, for his wife Duran as he
heals from his accent yesterday and add that to the list of others that we've
been praying for within our church family.
Rev. Steve Ezra 06:07
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Eternal God, we give you thanks for the freedom
that we have to worship you, that we can come into this place week after week
and we can say the name Jesus and we can say that he is King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. And we can do so without fear. We have freedom to worship you,
freedom to sing songs of praises to you. We don't take that freedom for
granted. We thank you for it. We thank you for the ongoing faithfulness and
generosity of spirit which builds up our community of faith and has for well
over one hundred years now. For those persons that gave generously to enable us
to buy a new instrument that hopefully will last us another ten, fifteen, even
twenty years. As we sing our praises to you, Father God, thank you for this new
drum set. We dedicate it to your worship, to your praise, to the glory of your
name. And we thank you for the gift of music that enables us to talk to you
from our hearts.
Rev. Steve Ezra 07:20
Father, help us to worship faithfully week after week, month after month, to do
so with great joy for what you have done for us in Jesus Christ. Help us to
continue to grow, to reach more and more people with the good news of Jesus
Christ. Help us to fulfill the mission that you've given us to make disciples
of Jesus. Not just converts, but disciples of Jesus. Followers of Jesus, we
pray this morning for those members of our church family who couldn't be here,
for those who were sick, for those who are dealing with injuries, certainly for
Baba as he is in the hospital in this moment. But for others who we have been
praying for those who are dealing with disease and sickness. We pray for those
in our church family who are discouraged, depressed or we're lonely. We pray
that you would meet their needs as well. We pray that you would use us to be
your hands and feet, to minister to others, to serve others, to encourage them
and to pray for them and to love them through whatever trials and difficulties
that they're facing in this time.
Rev. Steve Ezra 08:33
Lord God in and all we thank you for Jesus Christ through his work on the
cross. We are saved. We can be born again, born into a new life. Lord, may we
get an even deeper taste of this new life this morning as we sing and as we
pray and as we hear your word proclaimed these things. We pray in Jesus name as
together we pray the prayer that he taught his disciples by saying, Our Father
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and
the glory forever. Amen. You set us free from all that might hold us captive.
And so as we bring these gifts to you, we do so in gratitude. Our hearts are
just abounding in thanksgiving for your.
Rev. Steve Ezra 09:41
For your grace, for your mercy. May these offerings, these tithes, may they be
signs of our faithfulness to you, that we are rooted in you, that we are
bearing fruit for your kids kingdom. And let these gifts be used to bring Hope
to bring healing and new life to those in need, especially our brothers and
sisters in Texas. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
Audience 10:02 During our service that we dismiss the
children through fifth grade to join the other children already in church. The
leader will be in front of the sanctuary to lead the children to the classroom
across from the nursery in Cooper hall, and parents may pick up their children
immediately following the worship service. Our scripture reading today is from
Jeremiah twenty nine ten to fourteen, and it's from the new international
version. This is what the Lord says. When seventy years are completed for Babylon,
I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you
and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then he will call on
me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find
me when you seek me with all your heart.
Audience 11:27 I will be found by you, declares the
Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. I will be gather you from all the
nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring
you back to the place from which I carried you into exile. And this is the word
of God for the people of God. And since we're focused on Deuteronomy six four
five in this worship series, and since I have a Jewish background, Pastor Steve
asked me to share Deuteronomy six four five in its original Hebrew. Not that we
expect you to understand Hebrew, but we want you to hear the beauty of this
beginning part of the Shema. Shemaan yisrael el adonoi eloheinu adonoi echad li
hafta livavcha uvkol nafshecha uvkol nehodecha. And this translated is hear, O
Lord, hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength.
Rev. Steve Ezra 12:55
Amen. Amen. Thanks, Roz. You can hear some of the words that you use in Hebrew.
We do those, the Elohim, some of those words in Christmas carols and things.
And so you can kind of hear the length of that, but it's just. It's absolutely
beautiful. So let me begin this morning. We're going to continue from where we
started last week. Let me ask you, are you all in when it comes to memorizing
scripture? You all in? All right. Maybe not maybe. Okay. That's all right.
Either way, you're loved here. You were here last Sunday. You remember that? I
challenged us. We got this four week series on being all in for God. Challenged
us to use the four weeks to memorize this scripture, not in the Hebrew. I'd be
really impressed if you did in English, memorize Deuteronomy six, verses four
and five, whatever Bible translation you want. Very short passage of scripture,
but it's just hugely important not only to Christians, but also to those in
Judaism.
Rev. Steve Ezra 13:57
As Roz read that verse, I say it again. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the
Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength. That's it. Very short. This is the key scripture
for all four weeks of this all in worship series. It's the key for us because
it's the first part of the great commandment, that great commandment according
to Jesus, love God, love your neighbor. And it's the first part of the Shema,
which is the centerpiece of daily morning and evening prayer service in
Judaism. Hugely important scripture again for Christians in Jews. Did. Did
anyone take me up on the challenge? Did. Did you take me up on the challenge?
Anyone here Memorize it. Okay, one Mar. Excellent. You got it. You did all
right. Any one of you courageous enough to stand up and do it right here and
now? Just. All right, all right, here we go.
Rev. Steve Ezra 14:58
Say it out loud and proud.
Roz Hill 15:02 The Lord is our God.
Audience 15:03 The God is one.
Rev. Steve Ezra 15:10
Amen. That takes a lot of courage. A lot of courage. I'm going to give you a
gift bag from Peterbrook Chocolatiers in Tampa. Eight gourmet chocolate parts.
Now, y' all wish you stood up, didn't you? Yeah. See what I bring you all next
Sunday. That took a lot of courage. You're going to find out who your friends
are after the circus, when they line up for where those pieces are. Gourmet
chocolate hearts. They're awesome. You don't have to do this. Seriously. I
mean, if you're up with a challenge I don't think about. In my five years here,
I've never challenged you to memorize the scripture. This is a great one to
memorize. If you do it, memorize Deuteronomy six, verses four and five.
Whatever translation you want. Hide God's word in your heart. As Psalm one
hundred nineteen says, we usually use the new international version. What's in
the pews?
Rev. Steve Ezra 16:16
New international, but whatever version you want. Last week we considered the
first part of this scripture. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
one. All the voices in the world around us, all the noise in our world. God is
constantly seeking to break through that. He wants to reach us and to remind
us. Say, I am here. I am here. I am not just the Lord. I am your God and I'm
right here. This one, undivided, unique, only God. He wants us to know him. He
wants us to love him as he loves us. God is all in for us. Always has been. All
in for us. Last Sunday we talked about this first part and what we need to do.
We need to put away our idols, whatever they may be. Not little golden statues,
most of us, us don't have that. But whatever idols are worshiping success or
worshiping money or romance and self, put them away. And instead hear God's
voice, hear his voice through all the noise of the world.
Rev. Steve Ezra 17:23
Worship the one true God who revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ. God is all
in for you. The question is, are you all in for God? What does that even mean?
That's what this scripture is. That's what we're exploring. What does it mean
to be all in for God on our side? Well, it says it means that we are to love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your
strength. That's the second part of this verse that we're memorizing together.
Deuteronomy six five. Today we're going to look at the first phrase. Loving God
with all your heart. Why you got chocolate hearts? I don't know if I can get
chocolate soul. We'll figure that one out next Sunday. We'll figure it out.
What does it mean to love God with all your heart? What does it mean to love
anyone or anything with all your heart? I mean, is it just emotion? Is it
action? Is it devotion?
Rev. Steve Ezra 18:24
I think the way to get into this is we need to put this verse in its historical
context. We're in Deuteronomy. It's the fifth book of the Bible. Moses here is
preparing the Israelites for life in the promised land. God had delivered them
from slavery in Egypt. It came to movie night Tuesday night. You saw that
interpretation. God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, and then he gave
them laws and commands and guidelines for their life together as his people to
create their new identity and for them to be a light to the world world. And
Moses, what he's doing here in Deuteronomy, particularly in his passages, he's
reminding them of their core identity. What makes them unique. What is the core
part of their identity? It's loving God, Loving God. Again, this passage became
known as the first part of the Shema, the simple confession in Judaism.
Rev. Steve Ezra 19:18
It starts with hear, O Israel, hear. And the word here doesn't just mean to
listen, it means to listen and obey. Loving God with all your heart, that's the
foundation of a life that honors God. That's what it means to go all in with
God. It's part of the great commandment as said by Jesus in Matthew chapter
twenty two and in Mark chapter twelve, and in Luke chapter ten, Jesus gave us
the great commandment. Love God, love your neighbor, love God, love your neighbor.
The great commandment and love for God begins, it says right here, it begins
with the heart. Now let's think about the heart. We're using it metaphorically,
as in many things we do not biologically. We know what the cardiac muscle does,
right? It pumps the blood. But the Hebrew word for heart, here, it's used in
Deuteronomy six. Five it's pronounced, and Roz will correct me on this, it's
pronounced Lev.
Rev. Steve Ezra 20:11
That last consonant is like a V or a B. It you go, never Lev. Yeah, Lev, Lev.
And this word refers to both thought and feeling. So to love God with all your
lev, it entails being totally mindful of God's teachings and accepting them
wholeheartedly, unreservedly. Now, there's a single term here. And by using
this single term for thought and feeling, this lev, that's what we translate,
heart, both mind and emotions, they're encompassed in this all consuming love.
Loving God with all of our heart, it means our deepest affections and desires
are set on him. In Hebrew thought, the heart is not just the seat of emotions
like we think of. In modern English, we say heart. We think of it in terms of
emotions. It is that. But in the Hebrew way of thinking, it's also the center
of our thought, of our will, our will and our intentions. So it includes mind
and rational capacity, what we might today associate with brain.
Rev. Steve Ezra 21:17
Basically, when it says heart, we would say heart and mind, heart and brain. To
love God with all your heart means to devote your thoughts, your choices, your
intentions fully to God. Heart and brain, not biologically feelings and
thoughts. In other words, the way that the Hebrews use this word, heart, Leb,
it's not just where we feel emotions. It's the very core of our being, the
essence of our being. So when the Bible says to love the Lord your God with all
your heart, it's saying, love God with your entire inner person. Let your love
for God control your decisions, shape your desires. Drive your affections. We
see this word in other places in the Old Testament, First Samuel, chapter
sixteen, verse seven, says, the Lord does not look at the things people look
at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. The
heart.
Rev. Steve Ezra 22:19
You see God, he just doesn't want our outward obedience. He wants our
affections. And I think this is where many people struggle, because we can get
to the places in our lives where we're just kind of going through the motions
of our faith. And you've done some of that today, and it's a good thing to do
that you come to church. But we can get to a place whether whatever happens to
us in life that just beats us up, discourages us, demoralizes us. And we get to
the place where we're just going through the outward motions of church and
prayer and giving, but our hearts are growing cold and our hearts can be
divided. Now, the best way to understand this is anyone who's ever parented a
toddler or a young child, you know that it is possible to be outwardly obedient
and inwardly disobedient, right? It just takes a child to show you that way. My
wife would say, I'm still that way today.
Rev. Steve Ezra 23:20
So sometimes I think we all have that capacity. Outwardly obedient, but
inwardly disobedient, loving God with all of our hearts, it means to be
outwardly and inwardly obedient to God. And that goes a long way in helping us
to understand what it means to love God with all your heart. It's your thoughts
and your feelings. It's your desire, it's your emotions. I just recently last
few weeks rewatched a classic nineteen eighties teen comedy. Was kind of
surfing Netflix or whatever, looking for something to watch. And I landed on
Better Off Dead with John Cusack. I don't know if you're familiar with that
movie. Just a quintessential nineteen eighties teen comedy, Better Off Dead.
It's about a teenage boy who is just so desperately in love with this girl named
Beth. And then his subsequent desperation when Beth dumps him until eventually,
later on in the movie, he falls in love with a foreign exchange student who
lives across the street.
Rev. Steve Ezra 24:19
But initially, this whole movie is about him being consumed with his love for
Beth. It's almost excessive. It's not healthy. He's got her pictures
everywhere. It's in his bedroom, in his car, in his school locker, in his
wallet. Beth is first in his thoughts when he wakes up in the morning. Beth is
last thing on his mind when he goes to bed. At night. I mean, just think about
someone who is deeply in love. Maybe that's you. Maybe you're at that point,
maybe you're just deeply in love with someone. Everything in your life just
orbits around that person that you love. You talk about them all the time,
think about them all the time. You prioritize them in so many ways in your
life. Now, this can get pathological. It can get kind of obsessive. That's not
what we mean. Not obsessive, not unhealthy, but a healthy and satisfying, a
joyful and fulfilling kind of all consuming love.
Rev. Steve Ezra 25:14
And that's the kind of love that God deserves. Love the Lord your God with all
your heart. It means that he's first. Before anything or anyone. He's first.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Jesus said in Matthew, chapter six,
verse twenty one, this is Jesus, he said, for where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also. What do you treasure the most? What competes for your
heart? How do you know? How do you know where your treasure is? Well, I know it
pretty easily. Where do your treasures of time and money go? Mentioned a few
possibilities last Sunday if you were here. Possible idols. Things that people
struggle with in our culture today. Things like success, idolizing success.
Some people prioritize their careers over their spiritual health, sometimes
over their families, over their relationships. It's all about the idol of
success.
Rev. Steve Ezra 26:18
Some people idolize comfort. They love ease, a life of ease more than anything.
And unwilling to sacrifice when the occasion may be for them to sacrifice
something in some way. People idolize other people. You can idolize your
family. You can't make an idol of your family. You can make an idol of almost
any human relationship, whether it's a Hollywood person or just someone that
you know. Relationships can become idols. The thing is God. God doesn't want to
be just part of our lives. He just. He doesn't want to be just a part of. God
wants to be in every part of our lives. It's not that we neglect all the other
stuff. We don't neglect family, we don't neglect work. We do that. But God
wants to be a part of all of that, not just a portion of it. When you make
decisions, is God your first consideration? Do your thoughts and your
affections, do they naturally drift towards God during the day?
Rev. Steve Ezra 27:19
If someone looked at your calendar, your schedule, what you do with your time,
someone looked at your bank account, if they could possibly look at your
thought life, would they say, now there's a person who loves God with all their
heart. In John fourteen fifteen, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commands.
Another way to kind of diagnose it. Loving God with all of our hearts. It's not
just how we feel. It's in what we do. It shows up in obedience. Now, to be
clear, obedience is not about earning God's favor and love. Obedience is a
response to God's love. And that's different. When we truly love God, we want
to please Him. You know, when you truly. You know that you truly love your
husband, you truly love your wife, you truly love your kids, your parents, your
grandparents. When you truly love them, you want to do things for them, you
want to bless them.
Rev. Steve Ezra 28:21
You want to be generous with them, with your time, with your resources. You
want whatever is good and healthy and right for them in this world. You just
want to bless them. That's what love is. And it's the same with God. When we
truly love God, you. You want to please Him. How do we obey God? With our
heart. At times, we need to submit our will to his will. At times, we need to
trust his commands, even when it's hard, even when we don't understand. But to
trust his commands, we need to seek his glory, even over our own glory. Now, if
we were to continue on in this key scripture, we're in Deuteronomy six. This
whole thing, it continues. And this kind of helps us to understand that it's
about doing, it's about living, it's about loving God with all of our hearts.
It's about what we do. Let me finish in verse six. Memorizing four and five.
Verse six. Since these commandments that I give you today.
Rev. Steve Ezra 29:15
This is Moses saying to the Israelites. These commandments that I give you
today are to be on your heart. Impress them on your children, talk about them
when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and
when you wake up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your
foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. It's
saying that love leads to action. If you love God, you will love others practically
in what you do. Love, not just in what you say or how you feel. If you love
God, you'll love other people practically in how you live. If you love God, you
will forgive freely. God has forgiven you. Not always easy, but God has
forgiven us. If we love someone, we will forgive them. We will do the hard work
of forgiving them. If we. We love God, we will serve joyfully. We will give
generously we will worship passionately.
Rev. Steve Ezra 30:20
Let's bring this all home. Let me wrap this up. Loving God with all your heart.
It's not about being perfect. It's about being devoted. So what do we do? What
do you do? What's your takeaways here today? I give you three things. Probably
give you more. I'm going to give you three things to take away this morning. So
examine your heart. Talking about heart. Examine your heart. What is competing
for God's place in your life? What is competing for first place in your life
with God. Examine your heart. Second thing, grow your love for God. Do those
things that help you to grow your love for God. Pray, talk to him, Listen to
him. Read the word of God. Meditate on scripture. Reflect on it. Memorize it as
the case may be. Worship him. Examine your heart. Grow your love for God. Third
thing is live it out. Your third takeaway. Just live it out this week. Let love
drive your obedience to God.
Rev. Steve Ezra 31:22
Love God with your life, with how you live with your heart and with your brain,
your feelings and your thoughts. Love God and then remember the beautiful truth
that we get from First John, chapter four, where it says, says we love because
he first loved us. Starts and ends with God. God who is all in for us. God
loved us with all his heart. Even when our hearts are far from Him. God loves
us with all his heart, with all that he is. God was all in for us before we
could ever be all in for Him. And he proved that love in Jesus. Jesus who gave
his whole life so that our life could be saved and restored. Let's pray
together. Loving Father, help us to love you with all our hearts. Not half
heartedly, not occasionally, but holy. Search our hearts this morning. Help us
to examine our hearts. Show us anything that takes your place at the center of
our lives. Help us to set it aside so that we can put you back in the middle of
the end.
Rev. Steve Ezra 32:51
Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that our love, love for you about done. With
our time of worship, the Lord today it is my honor to let you know that we are
receiving seven new members into our church family today. Karen Harwell is
coming forward and she is going to invite five of those persons forward. Let
you know their names a little bit about them. One of them is going to be
baptized today as well. We had two at our first service at nine thirty, but
we've got five here at this service. Karen, please invite them forward.
Roz Hill 33:37 Good morning.
Rev. Steve Ezra 33:38
Good morning.
Roz Hill 33:39 I would like to invite
those that are joining this morning to come forward up front to the stage. It's
exciting to see that our church family is continuing to grow. So after the
service, if you have a moment, please come up front and meet and welcome our
new members. We'll start with Debbie. Debbie Adams is transferring from Trinity
Lutheran Church in Oscoda, Michigan. Debbie likes playing cards with friends,
helping with our food pantry, and sewing her husband, Gary. Gary Adams is
joining us by Reaffirmation of Faith. He was born in Michigan and moved to
Zephyr Hills in twenty eighteen. Gary is retired and loves to golf. Donald Van
Nick moved to Florida from Ohio. He loves family time, reading and exercising.
Cheryl Wilson is joining us by reaffirmation of her faith. Cheryl works as an
administrative assistant and loves music, dancing, and the Pittsburgh Penguins
and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rev. Steve Ezra 35:16
Can you do both? Okay.
Other 35:21 Her husband, Bob. Bob
Wilson is also joining us by getting baptized and reaffirming his faith. Bob is
a retired US Postal worker and likes to watch hockey, golfing, and listening to
live music.
Rev. Steve Ezra 35:36
I'll have membership questions for all of you here in a moment, but we're going
to start with Bob, who's coming to baptize her this morning. So, Bob, the
questions that we talked about last Sunday. Do you renounce the devil in all
his works, and do you reject the evil powers of this world? If you do, respond
by saying, I renounce them. Do you repent of your sin, turn to Jesus Christ and
confess him as your Lord and Savior? Do you accept the responsibility to resist
evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves by the
grace and power of God? All right. I always thought, when he's here and he's
not here, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, may that same spirit work within
you? The best part of my job. I love that. The symbol of someone proclaiming
their faith in Jesus Christ. Amen. Doesn't get any better than that. Beautiful.
Rev. Steve Ezra 37:07
He's been a Christian for a while, but it was time for him to publicly be
baptized. So, questions for all of you. I'll jump down here so I can see you.
For all of you becoming members today. Okay. Do you believe in God the Father,
Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit? Do you confess Jesus Christ as your
Savior? Put your whole trust in his grace and promise to serve him as your
Lord? Do you receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures?
Do you promise according to the grace given you to keep God's holy will and
commandments and to walk in the same all the days of your life as a faithful
member of Christ's Holy Church, Will you be loyal to Christ through the Global
Methodist Church here and joining with your brothers and sisters around the
world, do all in your power to fulfill its mission. Will you be a faithful
member of this church, First Methodist Church of Zephyr Hills, doing everything
in your power to strengthen our ministries by your prayers, your presence, your
gifts, your service and your witness.
Rev. Steve Ezra 38:16
All right, members of the household of God, if you're a member here, you've got
a part to play. They made a promise. They are committed to Christ. Family here,
let's reaffirm our commitment to them. Members of the household of God, I
commend these persons to your love and care. Do everything in your power to
increase their faith, to confirm their hope and perfect them in love. If you'll
do that, respond with me. We give thanks for all that God has already given you
and we welcome you in Christian love as members. Together with you in the body
of Christ and in this congregation, we renew our covenant faithfully to
participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our
gifts, our service and our witness that in everything God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for
these persons who have decided to make a commitment to your church.
Rev. Steve Ezra 39:12
They've already made a commitment to you. They know what Jesus did for them and
they're eternally grateful for what he did for them. They've been baptized,
that outward sign of the inward grace. And then here they stand before all of
us, making a commitment to this particular church. Father God, you brought them
here. It's no accident that they're here. And we thank you for doing so. We
look forward to getting to know them better, to seeing how you will use them
for your purposes. Help us, those of us who have been here a while, to open up
our circles of friendships to them around the hospitality tables between
services and in our small groups and Bible studies and on our ministry teams,
just to open them up to our new members so they will truly be embraced and feel
a part of this family. God in and all. We thank you for the life that we have
in Jesus.
Rev. Steve Ezra 40:00
We pray for your blessing upon them and all of us. In his name. Amen. Amen.
Let's welcome our five of our seven new members here. Members of this morning,
welcome.
