Selah Sunday 2025

SELAH

THIS WORD GETS SPOKEN A LOT IN MY HOUSE

WHILE MY DAUGHTER MAY HAVE YOU BELIEVE TODAY IS NAMED AFTER HER, TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY WE ARE SETTING ASIDE TO DO WHAT THE NAME MEANS.

THE WORD SELAH APPEARS 74 TIMES IN THE BIBLE.

SLIDE: SELAH: TO PAUSE AND SHIFT OUR ATTENTION TO WHAT GOD IS SAYING

ART

READ: PROVERBS 4:20-21 ESV

GOD TELLS US TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HE IS SAYING.

ATTENTION MEANS INTENTIONAL

WE CAN’T JUST MERELY SAY “I’M REFLECTING ON LIFE” AND HOPE TO GET ANY MEANINGFUL INSIGHT.

WE STOP IN ORDER TO SHIFT OUR FOCUS ON THE FINE DETAILS OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE.

WHAT MAKES US APPRECIATE ART?

IT’S NOT THAT THE MATERIALS USED ARE OF HIGH VALUE

IT’S OBSERVING HOW AN ARTIST USES THE MATERIALS WE ALL HAVE ACCESS TO

TO ORGANIZE THEM IN A WAY THAT DRAWS OUR EMOTIONS TO FOCUS ON EVERY DETAIL.

SLIDE: WHAT KIND OF DETAILS HAVE YOU SEEN GOD ORGANIZE IN YOUR LIFE THIS YEAR?

CHURCH ON MISSION

I WANT TO LOOK AT THE DETAILS OF THIS YEAR AND SEE WHAT GOD HAS BEEN DOING IN OUR MIDST

WE HAVE NOT BE STILL VERY MUCH THIS YEAR

WE HAVE BEEN ON MISSION TO OUR COMMUNITY

SLIDE: 4,095 MEALS GIVEN

LET THAT SINK IN

SLIDE: 2,500 MEALS

THIS SUMMER WE PARTNERED WITH CONVOY OF HOPE AND HOPEFULLS

WE HAD 19 PEOPLE FROM BALES GO TO PACK UP 500 MEAL BAGS EACH CONTAINING 5 MEALS

WE DELIVERED THOSE BAGS IN AUGUST TO UNION HILL ELEMENTARY FOR THEIR OPEN HOUSE

HERE’S THE REALITY: THE SCHOOL HAS 550 STUDENTS. ALTHOUGH WE WERE ABLE TO DELIVER 500 BAGS, THAT WASN’T EVEN ENOUGH TO GET A BAG TO EVERY STUDENT.

I DON’T SAY THIS A FAILURE, BUT TO WAKE US UP TO THE OPPORTUNITY

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND THERE’S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE

I THANK YOU THAT THIS SUMMER WE DID NOT SIT IDLE BUT WE ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY TO HELP MEET THE NEEDS OF 5OO FAMILIES.

SLIDE: 1,095 HOPEFULLS

EVERY MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY WE DELIVER TO ALLEN JAY AT TRIANGLE LAKE MONTESORI

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY

IT ADDS UP

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MEALS, ITS WHAT THAT NUMBER REPRESENTS

ONE THOUSAND AND NINETY-FIVE TIMES A CHILD DIDN’T HAVE TO WONDER WHERE THEIR NEXT MEAL WAS COMING FROM.

ONE THOUSAND AND NINETY-FIVE TIMES A STUDENT COULD FOCUS ON SCHOOL INSTEAD OF THEIR GROWLING STOMACH.

YOU CAN GET INVOLVED AS WE PLAN TO GIVE EVEN MORE MEALS THIS SPRING!

SLIDE: OCC 57

THIS FALL WE CAME TOGETHER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR PRESCHOOL TO RAISE MONEY FOR OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

WITH YOUR GENEROSITY WE HAD A GOAL TO FILL 50 BOXES

WE EXCEEDED OUR GOAL AND WERE ABLE TO FILL 57 BOXES

HOW MANY COULD WE FILL IF WE BEGIN NOW PUTTING A LITTLE MONEY BACK EACH MONTH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR?

SLIDE: CHURCH GROWTH

GOD DIDN’T JUST CALL US TO GO OUTSIDE OF THESE WALLS, GOD HAS BEEN DOING WORK INSIDE THESE WALLS AS WELL.

SLIDE: ONE SALVATION

THIS ONE STATISTIC MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN ALL OF THE MOVEMENT AND MADNESS OF THIS YEAR

THIS IS THE STAT THAT HEAVEN JOINED IN CELEBRATION

THIS IS THE MISSION OF JESUS TO SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST

SLIDE: FIVE BAPTISMS

THIS SHOULD NEVER GET OLD

WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BAPTIZE 5 PEOPLE WHO PUBLICLY PROFESSED THEIR FAITH IN JESUS

THIS IS THE GREAT COMMISSION

WE WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW ALL AUTHORITY BELONGS TO JESUS AND HE IS FAITHFUL TO BRING MANY SONS AND DAUGHTERS INTO THE KINGDOM.

SLIDE: 3 NEW MEMBERS

EARLIER THIS YEAR, BEFORE YOU EVEN KNEW MY NAME, YOU WELCOMED THREE NEW MEMBERS TO BALES

JESUS CAUSES US TO BELONG TO HIS KINGDOM, MEMBERSHIP IN THE LOCAL CHURCH IS ABOUT SETTING ROOTS AND GROWING IN A COMMUNITY TO REACH THE COMMUNITY WITH THE MISSION OF JESUS.

I LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING MORE IN 2026

SLIDE: ONE CHILD DEDICATION

THAT WAS JUST MINUTES AGO!

FAMILIES GROWING TOWARDS JESUS WILL ALWAYS BE A GREAT THING

WE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO SUPPORT FAMILIES

WE SUPPORT THROUGH PRAYER

I HAVE A VISION THAT AT BALES WESLEYAN CHURCH WE WILL BLESS EVERY CHILD

EVERY TIME YOU SEE A CHILD I URGE YOU TO BLESS THEM

WE ALSO SUPPORT WHEN WE SERVE WITH CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

WE SUPPORT WHEN WE INVEST IN CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

WE VALUE FAMILIES AND EQUIPPING AND ENCOURGING THEIR FAITH

SLIDE: ATTENDANCE INCREASE

5.5% INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE

WITH ZERO MARKETING

ZERO STRATEGY

THE STRATEGY WAS TO GET BOTH OF MY FEET IN ONE PLACE HERE, SEEK THE LORD, START WALKING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE HEALTHIEST NEXT STEP.

IMAGINE WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN WE ACTUALLY TRY TO TELL JAMESTOWN WE ARE HERE AND WE HAVE A CHURCH FAMILY YOU CAN GROW IN.

SLIDE: INCREASED GENEROSITY

NOT ONLY ARE MORE PEOPLE COMING SINCE LAST YEAR, MORE PEOPLE ARE BEING GENEROUS

WE HAVE A GENEROUS CHURCH

MORE PEOPLE STEPPED UP AND SAID “I TRUST THE LORD WITH THE FINANCES I HAVE AND I WANT TO PARTNER WITH BALES WESLEYAN TO SEE THE GOSPEL GO OUT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THIS BUILDING!”

SLIDE: INCREASED GIVING

I WILL RARELY TALK ABOUT FINANCES

LIFE IS HARD RIGHT NOW AND I AM WELL AWARE OF THE MANY MINISTRIES WE SEE THAT MISAPPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR BIGGER BUILDINGS AND BETTER PRODUCTIONS.

I’M NOT KNOCKING THE BIGGER CHURCHES, I’M ACKNOWLEDGING THE REALITY THAT MANY PEOPLE DON’T SEE THAT AS A SIGN OF IMPACT BUT AS AN INSULT TO THE HURTING IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

I WANT TO CELEBRATE THAT DESPITE OUR ECONOMY AND ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, GIVING HAS GONE UP BY 7.5% SINCE LAST YEAR.

I WANT TO BE VULNERABLE AND SAY I’VE SEEN THE NUMBERS OF WHAT COVID DID IN THIS CHURCH COMMUNITY.

THE NEEDS OF THIS CHURCH REMAINED THE SAME THROUGH COVID BUT THE ATTENDANCE AND GIVING WERE VIRTUALLY CUT IN HALF.

I BELIEVE IT’S A TESTAMENT TO THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD AND YOUR FAITHFULNESS TO GIVE THAT THIS CHURCH IS NOT JUST SURVIVING THE AFTERMATH OF COVID, BUT WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE SIGNS OF GROWTH AGAIN!

ONE LAST THING I WANT TO CELEBRATE

THANK YOU FOR ASKING ME TO BE YOUR PASTOR

IT’S NO SMALL DECISION TO INSTALL A PASTOR

READ: 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-5 ESV

2 Timothy 4:1–5 ESV

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

I TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY THE CALL OF GOD TO GIVE MY LIFE TO SERVICE IN THE CHURCH

I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN AN ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS FOR MANY YEARS

WE WERE BOTH SEEKING THE LORD AND GOD IN HIS WISDOM WORKED THIS OUT TO BRING OUR FAMILY HERE TO BE A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY.

BUT This is only the beginning…

IF GOD DID THIS IN 7 MONTHS, WHAT’S POSSIBLE IN 12?

IF GOD DID THIS WITH A SMALL GROUP OF BELIEVERS, WHAT’S POSSIBLE WITH DOUBLE?

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF PAUSING AND REFLECTING ISN’T JUST THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BUT THE GRAITIUDE FOR WHAT GOD HAS DONE.

LET’S PRAY AND THANK GOD FOR 2025 KNOWING WE CAN TRUST HIM IN 2026

PRAY