So Ask ...

Kind of a year. Was 2025. Kind of a year was 2025. Now there's a lot of angles from which we could explore that question. We could explore it, of course, from a very broad angle. As I looked at some of the top news stories from the last year. Uh, there are a lot of things a lot of memories, some of which I. Either may may not have even been familiar with or had forgotten about, but they they came to mind. Of course, one that's not far from our minds is tariffs, and the news surrounding tariffs and the effects of, uh, those tariffs, some being good, others being not so good, but having seen the effects of those things and the trade Wars this year.

Uh, the effects of, uh, ice and? Immigration and Customs, the the things and issues surrounding that. That have taken place this year. Of course, there have been. Uh, this. This year was the year that the first American Pope was appointed by the Catholic church, but he's a White Sox fan, so I don't know what to think about that, uh, the, uh, there, of course, have been some ongoing conflicts around the world that we've continued to read about with, uh, Israel and Hamas we've seen, of course. Uh, what's gone on continuing with Russia and the Ukraine and the continued negotiation?

Uh, Lord willing towards a piece there. Of course. We noted the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Uh, this fall, and have seen the effects wide-ranging from that event that has taken place this year. And this one, I suppose, is sort of comical in its own way, but the theft of the crown jewels from the Louvre. I thought that was a pretty interesting thing to read about, um. And to watch that take place, but uh, just always interesting to look back on the scope of more broadly, what's taken place. Either in the United States or around the world in the past year.

I do think about back back for our own church. And for the things that our leadership has been praying about and the goals that that our leaders have said is, we've come together in prayer. Uh, we things that we were praying for this year. Pray for a budget and for having some things in in writing that we've been working on getting and writing, and we've had a great team working with that. To help make that happen, we had been praying about bringing our youth pastor on full-time and that has taken place this year. We're glad to have Zach on board with us, uh, in that role, and we've been praying about what does it look like?

For our church to be a church of 250 people on an average weekly basis. And, uh, we've noted. And then, you, some of you've been sitting in the midst of it, whether you're sitting at this service, sitting at the next service, uh, you don't always. You don't always see whether you're sitting in one service or the other, the cumulative number of the people sitting in the pews or the people that are present at a service. But, as we've looked back on the year, we've noted that that number of our average attendances continued to tick up and that we have even been just under or even over that number of 250 a handful of times this year.

So, we've been wrestling with what does it look like to be a larger church than the church that we have been previously? And the Lord has been blessing us to see these things coming into fruition. Personally, how's it been for you 2025? I know, for me, it's been an interesting year. Uh, I guess I could put it that way. Uh. Had a status report that I had to work on in the earlier part of this year, and that continued into the middle of this year, and then into the later part of this year, in which, uh, I had to go and have my first ever colonoscopy.

In the process of that, I know it's not comfortable for some of you, but we have to talk about it because I want to be honest with you about my health. And that's okay, right? We can do that. I, I, I went in in the early part of this year, and I had some things removed, and I went in again in May, and I had some other things another procedure done. And as a doctor took those samples back, he said. This is not cancer, but it is pre-cancerous. It's a good thing you came here now in May rather than six months from now, because we might have been having a different conversation.

And so. Uh, I've been grateful that God's provided for me to get that care this year, and it's a reminder to some of you aging men. Go ahead and get that checked out, among other things. But it is a a reminder. To me that this life is not infinite. It is finite every day matters. I told my family as we gathered at Christmas. And every year that we're together. It matters every, every moment that we have counts, and so we ought to make them make those moments count because we're not promised tomorrow. We're not promised next year. None of us, none of us, are.

And some of you have been reminded of that in other ways, too. With difficult Health diagnosis. Or with difficult losses in your own family that have affected your own family greatly and deeply this year. I just I think about that as I've reflected on my own time here with this church. Now, coming up on our 15th year. And I am reminded my time here is not infinite. It will come to an end at some point, and I am. Replaceable, and I must hold on to my role here. As someone who's a steward of it that will hand it off to someone else one day, and we not not hold our status. Any of us in the task that we have the places that we are with type fists.

As if it. Never go away. Or never, not be ours. We ought to hold on to. The jobs that we have the stuff that we have. We got to hold on to those things Loosely. But we ought to hold on to Jesus tightly. And this year has been a reminder to me of that and to some of you as well in a variety of ways. I, I share all that to share with you. And we do this as we come to the end of each year. You've been around me long enough to know. I take some time with us together as a church just to reflect on where we've been and where we're headed as a church, uh, coming out of 2025 and coming into 2026.

And. As a pastor. You know, a lot of things. There's a lot of things that I know that I certainly don't share here. The pulpit is not a place to share. People's details about their lives or certain things that are going on with them, but I certainly look. And I see the lay of the land, both the good, the bad, and the Ugly. And I see it and and. As I as I look at it. I'm just reminded that. Is a beautiful thing. Being a part of a church is a beautiful thing, but it's not always.

Clean and nice and easy. Sometimes it can be messy. Sometimes it can be difficult to navigate the things that we are in. Sometimes we sit and we. Lord, we have this need. Lord, I see this whole Lord. I see this thing that we're not doing. Maybe in the way that, I believe, according to your word, we should be doing it. Lord, what do we need here? And I just have had this impressed upon me. This. This verse and I've shared this with our leaders. I've shared this with our staff. Just that. This verse, in particular from James chapter 4, verse 2.

Has been impressed upon me by the Lord, and I just share it with you. This morning, I set it up by going back to verse 1. Of James, chapter 4. But I want us. I want us to hear this. Because the Lord is impressed upon me and I, and I believe it is a word for us as well. What causes corals and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are more within you? You desire what you do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight in quarrel.

You do not have because you do not ask you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions, you adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God, or do you suppose that it is to no purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in. But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble submit yourselves. Therefore, to God, resist the devil.

And he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you Sinners and purify your hearts. You double-minded, be wretched, and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to Gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. Let us just pray for a moment over this Lord father. We thank you for this year, and we thank you for your good words that remind us.

Of of the things that we do not have because we do not ask. Lord, there are our passions at war within us. A war within your people, even within your church, to stay. Lord, help us. To focus on that which is of utmost importance. To give ourselves to you. To give ourselves toward the ends of prayer humbling ourselves before you. Seeking your will? Seeking to live as you would have us live. Lord, please help us in this task. We pray it in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. The piece of that whole passage that I just read that really was impressed upon me was in verse 2 there.

When James writes and says, you do not have because you do not ask. I want you to think back on your own life. To think about the things that you've worried about the things that you've struggled with, the things that you. You know, they have just sat upon you. And you wondered about why isn't this right? Why isn't that right? Even you may have wondered it about the church at points, right? Do not have because we do not ask. It is impressed upon us from the word that the people of God ought to be a people of prayer and people who are devoted to God a people. As he says there, in verse 10 who are humbled before the Lord, who then will exalt?

Especially as we. As as I as a pastor now. I don't know. Five, plus years serving in the role that I've been in. And us as a church coming through the many happenings of last year's. It's been a good season that we've been in. But there are challenges as well right alongside us. And not everything is always as we want it to be. And so the Lord has just been impressing this upon me. You do not have some of the things that you desire because you do not ask for them. You have not asked for them. You have not spent the time in prayer that you ought.

Either in? The number of people who are praying. Or you personally. Have not spent enough time in prayer and prayer focused on. The things that your church needs. The things that you as a Believer need. I sat with this scripture, pressing upon me for a time, and I really do believe it is not just a word for me, but it is a word for us as a church. We must be a people who are praying to God for the things that we desire. The things that we need? Places where we see man. We need more people here. We need more effort here. We need more care here.

Let us ask the Lord for it. And let us communicate those things to one another. That's my prayer for us. Moving forward into 2026, and I want us to go back to the words of Jesus related to the words of James here, Matthew chapter 7.

Part of The Sermon on the Mount. And now, again, a verse that you are familiar with. But I want to just read the passage again. Matthew, chapter 7. Versus. Through 11. Let us hear the words of Jesus this morning, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. And it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks fines and the one who knocks, it will be open to the one who knocks. It will be opened. Which one of you if his son asks him for bread? We'll give him a stone.

Fish will give him a serpent. If you then, who are evil? Know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? Again, these are the words of Jesus, the word of the Lord, and we want to hear these words for us this morning. I do want us to to hear these words, especially as we've been in these last few weeks. Opening up the gifts, right? And we've hung those different ornaments. We've taken those truths home, those scriptures home, and we've thought about them. We've meditated on them. We've placed them before us, and we remembered. God gives such good gifts.

Living rooms as the the gifts were tore open. Uh, it reflects the the place of your heart as well as we've torn open these gifts. The place that we've been in here as we've opened up these gifts, and we have hearts of praise toward our God, who, as we've seen, has given the best gifts to his children to his church. He has given us Jesus. He has given us eternal life. He has given us a faith to believe in him. He has given us his holy spirit to help us to serve and to walk in him.

Now, we reflect in it, and now we ask. Okay, Lord, we see what you have done. Do you intend to do with us now? What do you intend to do in us now? And I want us to just reflect this morning. Then, on these three things that Jesus says that we ought to do to ask to seek and to knock? The. Thing that Jesus says to us. Is that we ought to ask, and it will be given to us. As we are God's people, and we come into his family, he changes our minds. He changes our hearts, and he fills us with new thoughts, new desires.

So that when God's people pray? They ask for the things that God would desire to be done. How did Jesus teach us to pray? Our Father, who's in heaven Hallowed, be your name. You Kingdom Come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. Classes as we forgive those who trespass against us lead us not into temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil. Jesus taught us to pray.

Asking for his kingdom to come, his will to be done. That should be the central desire of our prayers as he brings our hearts into line with his heart. The things that we ask for all of a sudden aren't selfish desires. It's not, Jesus, give me a sports car. Okay, Jesus. Give me another boat, Jesus, give me a house down by the lake. It's not those types of prayers. The Lord May provide for some of those things to happen, but the thing is. We don't pray for that. We don't pray for that. We ask for his glory, his kingdom, his will to be done. And to work in.

So, our prayers should be focused on this. First and foremost? We should have prayers that desire. To see God's will done to see God's kingdom come. I'm very grateful to serve alongside a group of Elders that, as we come together. Um, our meetings. Have a very good prayer Focus. Now, we haven't always have space to grow in that. But I am grateful to see prayer. Make a move in our leadership from a place where it was maybe more perfunctory or cursory. To a place where it's essential and where we all spend some time praying together and asking for God's will to make it clear in our midst amongst us.

And so our our elders. As we pray together, we take those goals that I mentioned earlier, even for this year. And those are at the Forefront of our mind. The Forefront of our prayers, we're talking about it, and we're reflecting on it as we pray at the end of each meeting. And so, coming into the 2026, our elders have continued in prayer. And we continued to ask the Lord looking at the lay of the land, knowing some of the needs of our church. Lord, what would you have us do? Would you have us lead, and how would you have us serve? How would you have us Shepherd your people?

Well, there are things that we are praying for this year. I'm going to share those with you this morning because I do think it's important for us as a church to take hold of those things and to pray jointly together about these things. One thing that we're praying about? Is? This idea. I term it as this. I wrote it down in my notes, as this every family matters. Every family matters. As you know over the last few years, we've been on a journey where we've been spending a lot of time on figuring things out with a building in with finances and different things connected to the programming, and how all those things happen, Staffing, Etc, and so forth.

Building up of those things. And those are a building towards growth as a church. But at the end of the day. We are not called to be managers. We're called to be Shepherds. And the people of the church matter. And number one. I want you to know this. As you let us know of a need, that becomes a top priority thing for us. So, I don't want you to ever sit. Something difficult you're dealing with and suffering. Or pain? And not have. Interaction with our leaders with our elders, have somebody that's coming to you, praying with you.

Showing the care that a Shepherd ought to show. But I also want you to know that. We want to make sure that we are getting out and with the people being with you hearing. What are the things that need you need prayer for? What do you? What do you need us to? How can we serve you better? How can we help better connect you with God's people?

Of our elders. And that is a bold goal. That every family matters and we want to be.

Better Shepherds. A goal for us. As well. The Lord has put it on our hearts. Just in terms of now having a better defined finance and lay of the land in a church that we would have. That would bridge The Divide between. What is budgeted in? What is? What is given? And that Gap. If if we were to help the market, we've written some things about this. Some of you, this is not new to some of you, uh, certainly is. We've written some things about it in the newsletter, but there we have noted is a gap because of.

Uh, we, of course. If the giving was just toward everything that takes place here and our staff. We easily cover that the giving here easily covers that, but we do have a monthly mortgage payment now. Ongoing, we want as much of that light campaign Finance that's being given sacrificially. By so many of you, you've stepped up. We want as much of that to go towards paying down. That we have. And we have seen so many blessings because of the Family Life Center, but we want to be able. To bridge that Gap, and we are bathing that in prayer.

And I hope that you will join us on that. God has called us to take steps of faith, and we want to be a people who take steps of faith and who lift these things to the Lord together in prayer.

Praying about? Together, asking the Lord to provide another 20 people. Another 10 families who would join with our church. Some of you have noted the last few weeks here, we've had some baptisms. We've had some families joining with us and we are a growing church, but sometimes just people coming in the door doesn't mean people are necessarily connecting or sticking, and we want to help people connect and stick and know this is my church. I'm a part of it. I take hold of.

And so we, we are praying. For 20 people to respond to Christ this year. We're praying for 10 new families to join with us. And finally, we are praying for this, and this is something that you may or may not be aware of, but in the year. 2026, it is our church is 150th anniversary. Is pretty impressive for a church to be, not just present and not just a building on a corner, but to be a place that people are coming to and is thriving 150 years later. That's a big deal. We are praying that the Lord would help us just to honor him and to celebrate what he continues to do here with and in and Among Us.

In the coming year. 150 years. So, these are the things that our our leaders have been oppressed upon our heart that we have been asking the Lord for. So, Jesus says, right, what does he say, he says, ask, and you will receive? Seek, and you will find. That's the second thing that I want us. Take a moment to pause and look at today as a church as we look ahead to 2026. Is, will this be a year in which we continue to seek to grow in the Lord, My Hope, and my prayer? Look back in this past year.

We see how we've learned to know God's heart better for his church. Work that he did in that early church in the book of Acts. As we've gone through this whole book. We've been learning how God provided. That the the word would be preached. The Holy Spirit would move that 3, 000 people would respond on that day of Pentecost, and that the church would continue to grow. Growing in the practices of? The Apostles teaching prayer Fellowship, breaking a bread being together as God's people. We've seen how those things have continued to play out. I hope that you've grown in your knowledge of God and his desire for his church this year.

But, of course, we don't want that ever to stop. We should always desire to grow in the knowledge of our God and of who he is. And I believe that's Jesus heart when he says seek. And you will find. We, we are in this moment in these times As We Gather together preparing ourselves. Not just for this next year, but for eternity. Knowing the god that we will be with for eternity. That's the desire of the church. And so, this morning, I continue to remind you of of things that we ought to be doing to grow in the knowledge of our God.

We, of course, in this next year. I always develop a preaching plan. Two or three years out, but sometimes it changes, and there's curveballs and we adapt it. And the in this coming year, uh, it is no different. There are some things that are the same as what I plan two or three years ago, and there's some things that are a little different in the beginning part of this year. We're going to be exploring letter than Titus and Paul's words there. Taking some of the things that we've learned about in the book of Acts and now exploring a very practical letter to the church. How it is God's grace and peace to God's people moving forward? We'll be exploring that.

Exploring the profit Malachi? And we've not not. We, of course, we went through a revelation here a couple years ago, but we've not. Actively into any of the profits, and so we're going to start with Malachi this year, and we'll have a short series there as well.

In the later part of the year, among a couple other series and one that will celebrate our 150th anniversary, we're going to. Get into the Book of Genesis, and we're going to pick up where we left off here a few years ago in chapter 12 and the stories of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph very, very much, looking forward to exploring those on into 2027 with you as well. That is the preaching plan for this year, and I hope that again you understand you are invited. You are welcome to be here to be receiving these words discussing these things.

And growing in your own knowledge of the word and your own ability to steady it for yourself. One other thing that we're doing this year. Just as we talk about seeking the Lord is, we want to know Jesus better. And one of the challenges that that I'm putting forward, and you may have your own Bible reading plan. You may have your own challenge your own group of people that you work with to. To study God's word, and that's great. I want you to keep doing that if you do that. If you don't have something, we are going to have a another a reading plan that's actually going to be. We'll have some instructions about it coming up in this week's email.

In our church app, and it's just going to be reading through the gospels. Uh, every day, a chapter every day, and basically, if you follow it, you would read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John four times this year. But the challenge being this? Let's know Jesus better. Let's know his teachings better. Let's know his heart better. And let's follow him with all of ours. That's the challenge that that I put forward to you today. If you don't have a Bible reading challenge, I encourage you to be in the word. And I just encourage you generally to have a plan of discipleship growing. Who are you connecting with that? You might grow to follow Jesus.

More and more each day. Jesus says they're back. Matthew 7. Asking it will be given to you seek and you will find knock. And it. The door will be opened to you. The opportunity. What's being placed in front of the church as the? Asks and the church seeks. We ask for what we desire from God that we believe is in line with his will. We seek what he would have us do and and knowing him better. And then he says, knock. Persist in the asking. Prayers are not meant to be simply a one-time thing, especially.

As it may need more prayer from you. It may need more yielding from you more obedience from you. We continue to come back and ask. Speak and knock. Will you look at the examples that he used there and especially? The one of a son who asks him for bread would give him a stone. We know that sometimes having children our kids. Us one time, and we may give it to them, but they may sometimes have to ask us multiple times. They may ask us multiple times, can we can? We can we? And finally, we yield, and we say, yes.

And God has given us that ability and prayer that we can come to him again and again and again. And ask for the thing that we need. And to. And think about this. That the god of the universe. Would hear what we have to say what we have to ask for. And would say yes to us. Would Grant what we ask for. This is a big deal, and we ought to be ready as a people who are knocking, who are coming back and again. This is a persistence and prayer thing, right? And so this is an encouragement to pray. If you're not praying, pray if you pray occasionally. Pray more if you pray a lot. Inform your prayers. Continue to fuel your prayers.

As people. How are your prayers engaged in the upcoming year and knocking? Asking God for what we desire. And seeing him open a door. And you know what the implication is there, right, that as the door opens that you've asked for to open, what do you need to do? Got to take a step, right? When the do when the opportunity is open. Okay, now what do we do we respond? And that is the the challenge for the church this morning that, as we are hearing of this, we're seeing this opportunity. The Lord desires that we pray more. The Lord desires that we are engaged in prayer. We ought to persist and persevere in it. Okay, so are we ready to respond?

Being engaged in that because every one of us, if you've got breath in your lungs and a thought in your mind, can be engaged in that. But how else can we be doing these things? Well, we can be doing these things in a variety of ways, especially to affect. You know, some of the things that we were talking about that. We're asking God for as a church. As as as our leaders are praying for opportunities to meet with families. Ability. Are you going to be ready? Are you going to be thinking about ways that we can pray for you?

Ways that we can serve you ways that you're looking to connect, perhaps more, with God's people. Are you going to be ready to respond to that? As we look at what we mentioned about our church's giving, how would you respond to that? Again, we do not coerce anyone into giving here. God loves a cheerful Giver, and that will always be true. So, as you hear these things, do not feel that we are. Strongarming, anyone? Because we're not, we're simply presenting a need. God's people to prayerfully consider. I know, in my own family, we will. We will pray about, we will consider, or do we need to give more in this coming year?

Or do we? How do we need to respond? Our our leaders are praying that if there are some who are not giving this year that they understand, sometimes you you kind of sit back and go well. Is there really a need for me to give? Yeah, there is there is. And we would love for you to join us in being a new Giver here. At armor Christian Church, we've also just present our leaders have desired to establish Financial Peace University and have that be an offering that, for those that have not gone through that, that process of being able to budget and prioritize giving as one of their their things that their family is committed to, that the Lord would desire from us.

Variation about that next week. We're praying, and I, I would just ask that you would pray for this too. That there would be Legacy givers who would give towards the future of this church. About Stella friends and the fact that if she had not given what she had given.

We are today. She had a vision for the future of this church. Perhaps there are others who would have a vision in the same way for the future provision for this church? And so. We continue to knock. How would we knock? Well, we would knock and ask the Lord Lord as new people need to respond. New people need to hear the gospel and respond to it. How would they respond? Well, we're going to need to be ready with a word. And open doors. When people have opportunity to hear from us, the reason for the hope that we have, we're going to have to be ready to express that.

Be ready with a witness of Jesus Christ. We're going to have to be ready to speak the truth. You will have opportunities this year, especially as you have prayed for it. And that will lead our church to growth. Continued faithfulness, walking with Christ.

This morning we've seen Jesus speak to us and say. Ask. And you will receive seek and you will find knock and the door will be open to you.

It's my prayer that, as we've spoken of God's gifts. That he's given to us and Church. Let's be clear. If the last four weeks gifts that we'd explored was all got to give us, he's given us more than enough. Has been. So, so good to each of us. Who are believers who follow him? He has been so good to us. Let us not leave gifts that he has given to us unopened or unused for his purpose, as he has given you a gift or a talent to be used for his glory. Would you use as he's given you means to be able to serve God's people, would you, as he's given you the ability to give? Would you, as he's given you the time to pray? Do not waste it.

My prayer is that 2026 this year? Would be a year. When we've opened God's gifts. And we've seen all kinds of. Mess of wrapping paper left on the floor. And the celebration of what God has done. In a in a way that we have not yet seen. My prayer is that we would see his blessings. You would join me in that prayer today, too.

Transcribed by Pixel