Rejoice in the Lord

We're coming to the verse that talks about and see if I can get this to click. I've got 59 seconds to do this introduction. Okay, you can tie me hear the verse that talks about rejoice in the Lord and we thought would it be great for you guys to hear from a variety of people about what that means because I think that's a phrase that we look at and say yeah, that's a great phrase. What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord? So I've invited lay in my lovely wife are children's minister to share and then Jean Welsh and then Nick grounds our new student Minister and then I will close down at the end and each of us will have a 7 minute timer on the screen. Were you see that? 30 second one. So we've each got 7 minutes you get to hold us accountable. We'll just have fun here as we each share one way. We rejoice in the Lord and we hope it's encouraging for everyone here to go to walk away and say Here's a way I can apply that verse to my life. Here's how I can rejoice in the Lord. So without further do I introduce my lovely but slightly nervous wife to come and share.

Good morning. Okay, let me start by saying I don't know and the children's ministry here and one of the reasons that I'm a children's ministry cuz I love kids and I'm super comfortable talking and sharing with kids. I am not comfortable talking and sharing with all of you. So I am going to try to mentally just think that you're 10 or under and my son Carter's always tells me that I talk to everyone as if you're in 3rd grade. So for the next few minutes just enjoy check a second childhood. I'm going to start with a quote. It's even on the hardest days. I feel gratitude because I know this these people they are my friends. God has made it true that my joy is their joy and their pain is my pain in this unlikely place. He has made relationships beautiful that quote is from a book called Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors. This was one of the speaker via video on our hill and dale women's retreat when I heard the topic good for this message this talk this morning on the women's retreat instantly came to mind for me back in February 13th of us travel to Bedford Kentucky for two nights. We have the gold just getting away from you and to have time to focus on the Lord and just to get to know each other better. During those two days. We heard some really inspiring teaching and preaching by Katie and by Lisa and Francis Chan all of the video. It was impactful and really important. We had some really good food. We had some great conversations, but I would have to say the most impactful part of the retreat for me with the time that we spent prayer for one another. We spent a lot of time praying for each other. We spent six hours praying for each other that weekend. We shared our burdens and our needs and we just brought those together to the Lord for each other. An amazing thing happened to our prayer time on the retreat these women's lives became intertwined and a deep connection was made we got home from The Retreat and we started a group text so that we could easily encourage one another and to be there for each other. There has been a lot of ministry that has happened to this group text each other we shared together. We have meant needs we have provided meals. We given rise we care for babies for an example of a Ministry hopping through our texts. We had one friend that was at the doctor and needed a ride to the hospital. So a text when out a few minutes later one of us was there to pick her up and give her a ride. Another text went out and the second friend came met her at the hospital to sit with her for a while another text. When I arrive to relieve the second find so she could go home and take care of her family. It was amazing and exciting to see it all happened so quickly and with such willingness to share each other's burdens. This is how life is supposed to be in Hebrews 10:23 to 325. It says let us hold unswervingly to the hope that we profess for he who promised is faithful and let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and Good Deeds not giving up meeting together as summer in the habit of doing but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching it was because these women were willing to meet together and to spend time together and to be known that these deep connections were able to be made We want the women's ministry to continue to grow here at Hillandale. We are starting a monthly Fellowship for any and all women. We're calling it R&R which stands for raw and real our goal will be to encourage each other and just to build each other up simply to do life together our first get together. We on Friday May 18th at 6:30. And I hope that all of you women can come there is so much wisdom and love in the women out in these two years and I would just love for us to share that with each other. I want to finish with a quotes from one of the women on the women's retreat and it is this I have never prayed over that many people for as long as we did but I but I kind of didn't want it to stop. I came home rejuvenated but also emotionally tired only because there are burdens that we carry and we shouldn't carry them alone. I feel more connected to each of you now because we shared both Joy and Pain burdens and Praises. I hope to share more praises and shouts of Joy when these prayers are ants Chains are broken. We see beauty from ashes and we see that God is in the details.

Has my time started.

It's tough to follow someone that is such a lovely lady and said so much in 7 minutes while less than so I get some of your time.

And you're in trouble.

Okay, we'll get serious. I'll try to in Philippians the Apostle Paul mentions two, very important words that we are sending our attention on this morning one is joy, and the other is to rejoice. And it's not only found in Philippians, but all the way through the part of the Old Testament part of the New Testament and then Webster. I looked up Webster just to see exactly what he had to say and he gives a definition practically the same for the two words. I glad and happy feeling so Robbie gave us our assignment and we are to develop the theme and make it personal to our lives perhaps in the past some church that you have attended had a Sunday school class called The Joy class. And those three letters stand for Jesus others and you in that order and this is the order that should be a part of our Lives everyday. Now the usual sermon we learn in Bible college has three points and mine has eight or seven seven minutes, but I've had a lot of joy in my life. And I Rejoice all those joyful days. There was a great day in my life. This is number one at Broadway Christian Church. If I walk down that aisle and made my decision for Christ. brother Orville Morgan baptize me the watery grave of Christian baptism that day following Brother Morgan was Doctor arde Joven. And he was just an outstanding person agree Pulpit preacher. a person that I looked up to and had a lot of respect for he seemed later to take a great interest in my life and probably one of the reasons that I'm in the ministry today is because the Brotherhood open. And he officiated at our wedding ceremony also. And preach my ordination sermon. Number to it was a joyous day when I graduated from Lafayette High School and entered the University of Kentucky. And then about a year later, I felt like hey, I'm ready because of the influence of my youth Minister and because of my grandmother says example, I love dearly and she was one who failed I made no mistakes ever in my life. And so attended Bible College loved every minute of it and and then in my senior year. I was calling to the glensboro Christian church in Anderson County. We live only about 11 miles now from that church. It was a wonderful congregation and the first day that I walked into the sanctuary. I looked over at The Pianist. And she was so cute. And I did what you probably should not do in the ministry date the piano star anybody any are all within the church, but we did and I have not regretted a minute of it and then on the 26th of this month, we celebrate our 61st Year together.

Well, we begin today's date. Finally, we got married and the church people were such an encouragement to me and everything went great. I worked hard it have a church and the Lord blessed every moment of it and the congregation grew and it was one of these churches there were no problems in the church now boy, what a way to start out a a Ministry and there was real Joy each Lord's day and we have been married. I would be the first to get Mary held on all of the credit for those years and our two boys and our six grandchildren. Number 3 and has been a joy to be at the side of Mary Helen all these years. And if there would be illness and any one of our Lives we just took care of each other. And she actually has had more difficulty in life than I have had physically. And these recent problems have really mounted up as you fell in Pigeon Forge a year ago this coming in August, but I Rejoice that I have been able to be her doctor or nurse her Minister and it was just a joy to take care of her and at the same time working in my Ministry with a keynote. So I think I was burning the candle at both ends for a while, but that did not hurt. And then we are number for I take joy in our sons. David and John just to really good boys and never given us an ounce of trouble in our lives both attended Kentucky Christian College both graduated from there and Dave is in Franklin, Tennessee right now. And and so just before this he served the mega church in Wichita, Kansas John John right out of college ministered for about six years as youth minister in Campbellsville Christian Church went from their right to the Lexington Fayette County Police Department for about 17 years. He served as chaplain of that and and it was really a great experience for him. And now he is in forensics with the police department and also serving as minister of Music at Indian Hills. Church in Danville number 5 I Rejoice that one night Gary Blake He and I sit together in our family room in Palomar and we talked about the senior Adult Ministry here and I was asked to accept that Ministry. Now. This is 16 17 years ago that all of this happened. So you see how long you have had had to put up with me except it all the challenges and there's these people. In our teenager group are wonderful. Wonderful people. I have worked with them. I have prayed with them. I've been by their side in many experiences within their lives and is one happy family and we are all really good friends, and I hope the program has grown numerically. It has grown spiritually. and his is gone grown to be a joyous occasion for all of us number 6 there is joy and worship when we enter this ordertorium each large day realizing how many people really prepare for this hour hour-and-a-half worship service, they put their lives into it and I have been able although not all of you all are teenagers but I have been able through the years. I've been here. The minister to you too, and to be by your sides when I would be needed number seven. There is joy in our Sunday school class before we come into worship led by Tom Cruise and Gordie Sutton Greyjoy. Great teaching Great Fellowship, which really causes me to Rejoice before we ever enter this building number 8, I take joy in the good days of my life. And also the days that maybe they weren't so good. But rejoice in the Lord has been with me all the way. And I'm happy. Physically strong at this moment at least and full of joy, simply because the Lord has been so good and to our family.

Hello again. Wonderful to see you guys this morning.

So this is going to sound really familiar to my students. I'm right now. I am in a 4-week teaching series called No god with the kids and I wanted to go I wanted to start this this run up to Summer with spending four weeks talking about different ways. We can get to know God and cultivate a relationship with him. The summer time is hard for kids and I think that's really important to speak about that and see how a healthy relationship with God. And for me, I'm going to start off this morning by talking about the question that Robbie's asked us to ponder. What brings joy to us your life. When do we Rejoice what times and for me there's a particular time and I think the psalmist and I think that everyone there is a critical consensus that David that's what most of the song and I'm going to start by reading Psalms 19 this morning one of the most powerful ones and I'm sure you are familiar with this. It starts like this. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands day after day. They pour Force speech night after night. They were reviewing knowledge. They have no speech they use. No words. No sound is heard from them yet. Their voice goes out into all the Earth their words to the ends of the world in the heavens. God is pitched a tent for the sun. I love this. I think this is beautiful. I told my students. I'm going to imagine that a young David a Shepherd boy with the Sheep In The Hills And I was looking at the stars with it with the ukulele or something.

Proclaim the glory of God and that's really weird for me. I find most of my joy when I get into that in a moment. I also think Apostle Paul who coincidentally were sharing one of his his verses that speak about what is versus this morning. I think in the start of Rome munteanu this and we know Paul was a good Jew and he was well learned and I think Paul when he opens up in Romans chapter 1 probably had something similar with David was thinking, turn there in Romans chapter 1 Paul says in verses 18 through 20, the wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven against all the goodness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness since since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them and this is what I want you guys to cash. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what is made what has been made that people are without excuse. I think that Paul is saying you're some people disagree without going to have some disagreement about what Paul saying, I think it's pretty clear what he saying. I think he's saying the heavens proclaim the glory of God if you go outside and you look around you will see that God's fingerprints or overall. Everything is made. It's awesome. It is in an eagle and you see it's almost like I described as the master artist. It's one of my favorite ways to do imagine him and he has a powerful thing cuz we can kind of comprehend things that we couldn't otherwise it helps put new life and breathe New Life the meaning of things and if we step outside with you creation and we look and we think God is the master artist. If we look careful enough, we'll see the signature him in the bottom right corner and will see that God has signed his name of her what he's maybe he's revealed himself in his creation. Now, I don't want to not give an example. I think example really needs to is really powerful for this kind of the specific message in from me this this this moment about three years ago. I kind of came to grips with this. I understood this true that Paul and David were trying to speak about for the first time. I was actually driving to the Red River Gorge. I'm a rock climber and I'd love to spend time out there. I was out there yesterday in the rain great. Not really but it was all the time especially in the fall in the spring was driving out and I was observing. It was a beautiful fall in the fall is the best weather to get on clime. I was observing the trees and there's something unique about North America. I'm sure you guys know where I'm going with this during the fall time the leaves change in a way that it doesn't change anywhere else in the world and it's truly spectacular amazing to it's breathtaking honestly, and I had this moment when I looked out at night, it's what it hit me like it was like this realization. That the God is revealed his nature in his work within his creation. We see it in the fall and I'm going to read something to you guys. I've been I've been thinking about this for the past three years and I finally wrote this a couple weeks ago. I wrote this down cuz it's so powerful to me and coincidentally. That's how I started up with. This is how I started off my series with the young ones downstairs. This is what I wrote. As a rock climber, I really enjoy climbing in Kentucky's Red River Gorge during the fall straight. Hiking through the forest in the midst of autumn stimulates the senses as I hike to the Crag. I'm over combine extraordinary rib colored as a sea of trees radiate yellows oranges and reds. It is a rich and vibrant scene that nourishes my soul. What is even more brilliant to me is the message that Autumn time in Kentucky for claims? Well, there is an extraordinary degree of Beauty in the fall. It is really a somber occasion. For what? The Observer is witnessing is a beautiful death. But the beauty is fleeting for all have experienced Autumn know that winter is inevitably coming. Winter is inevitable nature sings. Hope for all who have witnessed winter in Kentucky know that the season of death and everybody gives away to the most spectacular season of New Life Spring. This is precisely the Brilliance of the Gospel that threw the death of the most beautiful soul. New life is given to all who seek it and we have the we have the fortune to witness this every season in Kentucky at the fall changes to Winter in winter season of that gives away to the most beautiful season of life. And that is where I Rejoice most personally, I love to step outside and I love to encounter God in creation. It tells us so much about him. If we just look we can see. Thank you guys so much.

I very much appreciate Leanne and Jean and Nick for sharing and I hope you've heard something that you can grab onto about rejoicing in the Lord. I want to share briefly and honor the time that I have one thing that occurred to me is some may hear this phrase rejoice in the Lord and it may it may lay on you like a wet blanket, maybe something that you think I don't know how to do that or I can't even imagine doing that because I know there are those who love Jesus who follow the lord who love the Bible and follow scripture and yet they struggle with depression. And it's so hard to imagine feeling. Joyful. Sometimes even those who are extroverts and seemed like they wake up every morning laughing can struggle with depression. And so I ask myself. What does this phrase sound? Like? How how do we rejoice in the Lord when it's immediately something that we feel challenged by now that may not be true all of our life there maybe seasons in which we find it easy to rejoice in the Lord because of our life circumstances because of deep relationships. We may have because of perspective that we look back upon good things in our life because of routines of of embracing the outdoors and seeing the Lord, but even those who nominally are. Joyful our life may have seasons in which they're overwhelmed and they struggle to be joyful. So I thought what do you do when you just think I can't imagine rejoicing in the Lord. I think there's three things we can do. I think one you need to spend some time remembering what the Lord has done for you and Jean really model that in so many ways looking back on his own life and noting points of joy and celebration. Each of us can do that. It's good. Sometimes I think to remember what our lives were like before Christ is good to remember the circumstances and the people the individuals the church's the family Gene mention his grandmother the people who came into our life and showed us the grace of God the gospel itself. And remember how we were able to see that light and begin to walk in a New Direction. It's good to remember times when we prayed by the bedside of a loved one and God answered those prayers. It's good to remember a time when we were rushing to the bank to get a check in the bank in time and maybe we didn't make it and somehow The check didn't go through and we didn't bounce everything. We have the grace of another 24 hours and we say thank you Jesus you I was praying that I would have that opportunity. I remember my sweet grandmother telling my mother that they had bought a bed for my mom when she was little and this was in the forties and they were very poor farmers and it was a big deal to have any sort of debt any store to purchase and she would take a dollar a month I think to pay on that bed for my mom and she said one month. She did not have the money and it just crushed her because they were not the kind of people who would ever not pay their bill and she prayed God. I don't know how we can do this, but please help us and she started walking to town to pay that bill with no money and on her way. She found a dollar on the path. That was unheard of and unusual and shoe to this day would say if she were here that was the Lord answering that prayer and all of us can back go back and remember moments and when the Lord clearly answer to prayer and lifted our Spirits rescue. Saved us from the consequences of her own mistakes, whatever category might be in spend some time remembering. Maybe make a list of people in times and dates and things and which the Lord has been good to you and delivered you and when you spend that time remembering you can do the second thing. You can renew your relationship with God right in this moment because those memories are reminding you of his grace and his goodness his love and his provision. If he's done those things for us back then how much more will he do now? We're told again and again through the gospels to the teaching of Jesus looked even Earthly heavenly father or parents were care for their child how much more will our heavenly father who is even more full of love care for us when we were in need and soul that remembering can lead us in the moment in which were struggling or depressed or down to renew our relationship with the Lord and emphasize gratitude and graciousness. Even if we're struggling in that moment. We were saved by grace. Amen. And we all preach it. We all know it. We all believe it. I was lost. I was found I was walking away from God now. I'm walking toward him and it's the grace of Jesus Christ that saved me. We also need to be reminded that we walk by grace. Ever even after following him for a number of years if we stumble if we fall if we're depressed if we're not leaning on him if we're focused on her own worries and not on his Provisions that his grace meets us and those moments and we can renew our relationship with him. I remembering that he's good and his graciousness and lastly. I think we can take those two things and we can reimagine our future. Because sometimes I think we get stuck in in depression or discouragement and we only imagine that lasting for the rest of our lives. I've got this struggle. I've got this failure. I got this mark on my record even like Paul. I've got this Thorn and we just say it's just going to be that way forever. And we just kind of get stuck in that mode only only imagine the rest of our life the rest of our future that we're going to struggle with whatever that is. But if we remember the Lord's goodness and his grace and his forgiveness and we renew our relationship with him, then we can let those things allow us to reimagine the rest of our walk with the Lord that we can reimagine it with the great joy that forgiveness provides that we can reimagine it with faith in God in the future that we can imagine things that we struggle with now that we think we're going to always struggle with by faith we can imagine them gone. At what people of Faith should be moving toward a faith-filled vision of the future Paul talks about that pressing forward in this very chapter where he talks about Rejoice. Is it look there's a lot of things behind me. I could worry about both sin and accomplishments. I can rest on my Laurels the awards. They gave Olympic Champions during those days. I can say what I got that done. Now. I'm just going to focus on other things. Paul says, I forget all of that both struggles and accomplishments, and I press forward toward knowing Christ and so we can reimagine and renew our relationship with God. In such a way that true joy and rejoicing comes on the horizon again in our lives because we made an account of things for which to be grateful to God and we paused in this very moment and thanked him and we've trusted him for the future.

Ultimately, there's an invitation here this morning. I'm going to buy the worship team to come forward.

All of that starts with doing what Hunter did this morning making an intentional deliberate decision to say I believe. In Jesus that he's the one sent from God and that he's the son of God and that he is Lord as demonstrated in history by his miracles and his resurrection from the dead and he is Savior by his only willing intentional laying down his life for you and I and because of Christ identity. I choose to follow him. That's the decision we make and that's the decision you're invited to this morning. If you've never made that decision, I invite you to think about who Christ is and place your faith in his identity and trust him with your life. Give Jesus your life your sins your struggles your faults your gifts your strengths your victories everything you give to him as an act of honoring the Lord who gave his life for us. That's the invitation. Stop your following Christ now and in your in a moment of discouragement. I invite you they'll be folks in the back and the front that you can come pray with during this song We Love Like Leanne said at the women's retreat would love to have a little Retreat right here this morning, and we love to pray with you and pray for you. If you got spiritual needs or concerns, or if you've got physical needs her things are weighing on you. Come share that with us and let us bear one. Another's burdens. If Paul says in Galatians, let us be the body of Christ one another but you can only be cared for as much as you allow yourself to be known. And so you have to reach out let us pray for you. Let us know what we can do for you come to the whim of the group go to the men's study. Come forward for prayer. Let us do that during this time this morning. It's all a chance for us to celebrate the core of our faith trusting in Jesus not in ourselves and some days. We feel pretty good about how we're handling life when we don't think it's much about trust in Jesus and other days. We feel overwhelmed and we think more quickly about it, and there's times when we still feel so overwhelmed where shamed we think we can trust Jesus. Guess what and all three of those times. It is all the same. He is good and faithful and longing for us to turn and trust in him. I'll be in the back Freddy decisions your prayer. Please come come. Let me pray for you. If you have a decision this morning, please stand as we sing Our Song