E e e all The Rock and let the god of my salvation be exalted the Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock and let the god of my salvation be exalted Jesus Christ he died for me and he took away my sin I will live with him for eternity sing it
Church you know the sound good you know the Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock and let the god of my salvation be exalted I will call upon the Lord amen please be seated amen amen good morning church morning I catch my breath after that verse T that good
Amen welcome here uh welcome all of our members our church family we’re so glad to see you today uh welcome to all of our visitors May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of the father The Fellowship of the spirit who was and is
And is to come be with all of you this morning praise be to God uh welcome this morning we uh so glad you’re here everybody who’s online who is on YouTube or Facebook we’re glad that you guys are here with us too and we want to welcome
You to our wor worship if you are visiting with us we want to ask you to do something for us log on you can take a little uh connection card in the back of the compu in front of you fill that out put that in one of those black
Security depos uh deposit boxes on your way out or you can go to good theo. church track.com a handy little website we have for our our guests and our members and please fill out that connection card there you’ll see connection card and you can fill that
Out there as well just to mark yourself present members of our church family we ask you also to register your attendance with a green card or you can also go on the church track and do it there as well now we do have as always several things happening so we have bulletins available
There’s some out there I see and I’m sure there’s some out in the other Foy years you can get this not only has our order of worship on the front when you open it up there’s lots of announcements and prayer requests and and the like things happening I want to point out a
Couple of them this morning one is today the last day to buy strawberries for our Honduras Mission fundraiser and so we’ve been talking about this a little bit lately and one way they raise money for this uh pricey trip to go help and do the work in Honduras is by making
Strawberries chocolate covered strawberries if you want to sign up for them and pay for them you can do that in the back um walk out those back doors turn left you’ll see a big bar and you can sign up there and there’s more information in the bulletin about that
We want to welcome a new brother to our family this morning uh Rob Jenkins is here Rob would you mind standing up for us welcome [Applause] Rob Rob is the son of Bruce and Paulie’s lived away for a little bit he grew up here so some of y’all may know him and
Remember him but he’s back now coming back home so welcome Rob and uh I encourage you to talk to him come meet him and just welcome him but also for the men I want you to know next Sunday you’ve got a special opportunity we have our men’s fellowship breakfast next
Sunday morning at 8:00 it’ll be in our Family Life Center back there and what we like to do with these is use these as opportunities to uh to actively get to know one another so I’ve picked out guys and I’ve asked them just to tell us your
Story Rob’s going to tell us his story next week and I want to tell you I’ve heard his story he told me his story you will not want to miss this man okay it’s a powerful powerful story Testament to the grace of God so I encourage you to come next week
And get to know rob a little bit and hear from him one more thing to mention February 25th is an event we we’re calling open night with the elders one thing we try to do we want to communicate very well and efficiently and accurately here we want you guys to
Know whatever you want to know that’s going on if we’re not communicating clearly we want to use this as an opportunity to do that and and so we’ve opened this opportunity up we’re going to meet together on February 25th 5:00 p.m. in the FLC it’ll be our evening
Worship have some songs and prayer and scripture reading and then our Shepherds will get up there and just answer questions that you guys have submitted several of you have asked questions and so uh we encourage you to submit them the way you submit them is you you can
Write them down take one of these green cards if you want to or the white cards write the question down sign your name on it put it in one of those black boxes or we also have a handy form again on Church connect Goodman oaks. church
Track.com that you can fill that out and that’ll be sent to these Shepherds and they’ll get that so take advantage of this opportunity also if there’s something we want to let you know as well they’ll they’ll let as they’ll let you know as they have many times if
There is something you want to meet them about personally they meet every other Monday night um here at the church building so contact them if you want to meet with them uh to talk about something something if you need to talk about something ask something or I want
The shepherd to pray for me they love they they would love to do that so just contact them if that’s what you uh desire or need we like to begin our worship with song and a word from scripture in Psalm 133 I want to read this just these three
Short verses as we go into our worship behold how good and pleasant it is when Brothers dwell in unity it is like precious oil on the head running down on the beard on the beard of Aaron running down on the collar of his robes it is
Like the Dew of Herman which falls on the mountains of Zion for there the Lord has commanded the blessing life forever more this is God’s word than amen Tod come lead us in some more songs a common love for each other common gift to the Savior common holding us to the
Lord a common strength when we’re wey a common Hope For Tomorrow a common Joy in the truth of God’s word a common love for each other a common gift to the Savior common Bond holding us to the Lord come strength when we’re we a come and Hope For Tomorrow a common joy in the truth of God’s word you’re my brother you’re my sister so take me by the hand together we will work until he comes you f that can defeat us when we’re walking hand in
Hand as long as there is love we will stand we will stand yes we will stand one by one hand in hand as long as as there is love we will stand and you’re my brother you’re my sister so take me by the hand together we will work until he
Comes there’s no fo that can defeat us when we’re walking hand in hand as long as there is love we will stand and we will stand yes we will stand one by one hand in hand as long as there is love we will Stand amen good morning church morning let us all go to God In Prayer Heavenly Father we come to you this morning so gracious and humble and thankful to be able to be here this morning Father God thank you Father God we ask that you bless this worship service today Father God continue to
Bless Matthew and our ministry team as they continue to feed our mind bodies and souls with the word that you have for us father God father God we ask ask that all of the um the preaching and the the preparation father God will continue to allow this church to become the true
Church on God’s Mission father God we ask that you continue to uh just continue to bless us as we continue to bless one another father God as we continue to um have the ability to open the doors of this building and continue to worship and fellowship with one
Another father God we are so thankful father God we just ask you just bless us as we take this word as we continue to just uplift ourselves and uplift the your word and continue to magnify you and we see you in all that we do father
God these are the things that we ask in your glorious name amen amen good morning church morning I will be reading 1st Samuel chapter 18: 1-4 and chap 19: 4-7 as soon as he had finished speaking to Saul the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him
As his own soul and Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul and Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and
Gave it to to David and his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt and Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him let not the king sin against his servant David because he has not sinned against you and because his deeds have brought good
To you for he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel you saw it and rejoiced why then will you sin against innocent Blood by killing David without cause and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan Saul
Swore as the Lord lives he should not be put to death and Jonathan called David and Jonathan reported to him all these things and Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in his presence as before this is God’s word than my eyes are dry my face
Is old my heart is hard my prayers are cold and I know how I all to be alive to you and dead to me what can be done to an old Heart Like Mine sof and it up with oil and wine the oil is you your spirit of love please
Wash me a new in the wine of your blood my eyes are dry my faith is old my heart is hard my prayers are cold and I know how I are to be alive to you anded to me and what can be done to an old Heart Like Mine
Soften it up with oil and wine the oil is you your spirit of love please wash me a new in the wine of your blood the oil is you your spirit of love please wash me UN in the wine of your blood good morning church morning the prophet Isaiah says in chapter
53 surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken Smitten by God and Afflicted but he was pierced for our transgression he was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are
Healed Isaiah goes on to describe this sin bearing servant to a lamb that is led to the slaughter and opens not his mouth this was something that people of the day could relate to but did not understand the words spoken or written fast forward now to the New Testament in first
John John the Baptist is being questioned by the priest and the Levites they were sent there by the Pharisees to question him about his baptism they asked him was he the Messiah was he Elijah was he a prophet they demanded an answer John said I am as one who clears
The way as the prophet Isaiah said then he answered him by saying there is one among you whom you do not know whose sandal I’m not worthy to untie and the very next day John saw Jesus approaching him and said Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
World this is he of whom I have said after me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me I myself did not know him but for this purpose I came baptizing with water that he might be revealed to Israel and John bore witness I saw the
Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it remained on him I myself did not know him but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me he on whom you see the spirit descend and remain this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and I have
Seen and I have borne witness that this is the Son of God the people of the day weren’t sure what he actually spoke of when he referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God and then the Son of God they knew The Prophecy of the Messiah they knew it
Well but didn’t understand John’s reference back to Isaiah 53 age was this the Messiah it can’t be they expected the the Messiah to be a ruler king who would return them to the glory they had under King David a warrior king someone great in Statue like Saul someone who would defeat the Romans
And make all things right in their world once again in their mind they didn’t understand the prophecy they were about to be involved in over the next few short years they would see greatness among them God In the Flesh Mercy Miracles and yes treachery in the end the end at the
Cross Jesus wasn’t what they expected but he was perfection Perfection for his coming work now we think about us so every sin the hidden and the hurtful the big and the small was taken care of by God’s own son on the cross instead of defining ourselves and others by our sins and our
Shortcomings we must remember the perfect body of work of Jesus on the cross so while sin threatens to tear us apart each day Jesus death on Calvary continues to knit us back together again what an honor it is to find ourselves side by side at the foot of the
Cross what a privilege to be unified by Jesus completed and perfect work remembering always his sacrifice was a life given not taken men would you come forward today we take communion together remembering the words from Isaiah he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities the punishment that brought
Us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed as we eat and drink the communion fix your eyes on Jesus remembering his sacrifice was for everyone we know that we’re brought together by what he’s done in our lives these simple sacraments that we’re about to partake
Of strengthen us and bind us together would you bow with me Please Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be your great and your glorious Name Lord it is with humbled hearts that we come before your throne of mercy and of Grace and Thanksgiving for your son who was given in our stead that we might have that hope of an
Eternal life with you Lord as we partake of this bread which to us as Christians represents the body of our Lord and savior may we look back in our Mind’s Eye and see the the pain and the suffering that was done for our stad it’s in his name we pray amen Amen Need need we Are Wa therefore since we’re surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set
Before him in endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God would you bow with me Please a wise and merciful Heavenly Father this morning we come before you and we as we partake of the cup the fruit of the vine which to us as Christians represents the shed blood blood of our Lord and savior as he hung on the cross Lord let us look back to the
Cross and see the the blood shed for us may we take of it in a manner worthy of the sacrifice given it’s in Christ’s name we pray amen Here Going for for separate and apart from the Lord’s Supper we have an opportunity to give back to God what we have been blessed with Co changed the way we do things we no longer pass an offering plate or collection or basket uh but there are black boxes that each one of the exits
Uh where contributions attendance cards things like that can be placed and there’s also online giving as well we’ve all heard it before nobody’s perfect and it’s true we’re all far from Perfection but through being generous we can experience a a kind of perfection afforded To Us by Jesus
Am giving generously brings us a little closer to perfection by the way we are a truly generous congregation here one that I admire very greatly would you bow with me as we pray for the offering please wise and merciful Heavenly Father God of abundance now our hearts are full of
Thankfulness for the generous hearts of those of this congregation um is as we give this day let us be gracious in what we purpose back to you for we know all good things come from you may the financial gifts given today be multiplied so that the work of this congregation continues to
Grow and glorify God in all that we do it’s in Christ’s holy name we pray amen amen children can be dismissed at this time children’s church um you be standing As we sing this song before the scripture and Matthew’s lesson you know you know the everyday world is is
Really uh brings you down you go out every week and it’s just like a it’s just a a fight to to get encouragement but when you come together as a group of people we have here a great church just a a kind word of saying you know I
Appreciate you you know you don’t know what people going through in life everybody’s different but but it’s just encourages me with your singing and this morning you it’s it’s really good so you don’t Hear What I Hear up here but I wish you did and and matter of fact I
Should stand y’all should just come over here and we just sing together you know I mean y’all looking at me like man this gu crazy but uh I said but uh but you’re sounding great this morning so bind us together bind us together Lord bind us together with cor that cannot be
Broken bind us together Lord bind us together Lord bind us together with love and there is only one God and there is only one king and there is only one body and that is why we can sing oh oh bind us together Lord bind us together with cords that cannot be
Broken and bind us together Lord bind us together Lord bind us together with love and there is only one God and there is only one king and there is only one one body and that is why we can sing sing Church bind us together Lord us together with cords that cannot be
Broken bind us together Lord bind us together Lord bind us together with love please be seated amen our scripture reading before our sermon this morning will be from 1st Samuel 20: 40- 42 and continuing on in chapter 23: 15-8 and Jonathan gave his weapons to
His boy and said to him go and carry them to the city and as soon as the boy had gone David Rose from beside the stone heat and fell on his face to the around and bowed three times and they kissed one another and wept with one another David weeping the most then
Jonathan said to David go in peace because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord saying the Lord shall be between me and you and between my Offspring and your Offspring forever and he rose and departed and Jonathan went into the city David saw that saw that Saul had
Come out to seek his life and David was in the Wilderness at Z at heresh and Jonathan Saul’s son Rose and went to David at heresh and said and strengthened his hand and God and he said to him do not fear for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you you
Shall be king over Israel and I shall be next to you Saul my father also knows this and the two of them made a covenant before the Lord David remained at heresh and Jonathan went home this is God’s word I want to say a kind word to somebody
This morning I just noticed this morning I’ve known this but I recognized it this morning we have a couple ladies here who do a lot of behind many ladies who do a lot of behind the scenes work but there are two of them who uh have spruced
Things up for us uh two ladies who do these flower arrangements that y’all see in front of me and behind me they’ve they do that Peri periodically I just want to recognize them for a moment Angie O’Reilly and Mara Smith yall would you mind standing up for a second I
Didn’t ask them to do this thank you thank you all right thank you Mara’s going to get me I can see it in her eyes she’s get good I didn’t talk about that beforehand all right uh we’re talking about growing deep here at Goodman Oaks
That is our theme for the year 2024 we want to grow deep and the idea is is and we want to grow out and grow up and be a congregation that blesses the community around us and does many many good Ministries and works but to do that we
Recognize we also as individuals and as a church we have to grow deep ourselves and expand our root system and grow deeper in our faith in our discipleship and in many many ways Paul the Apostle Paul said that the things written before time were written for our instruction
That we through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures might have hope Romans 154 is what I’m doing these first few weeks of this series of this year is just going through some people in the Bible in the Old Testament who faced hardship but in one way or another that
Hardship helped them to grow deep and so today let’s consider one of the great friendships of the Bible that will encourage us to grow deep in our own friendships because we all need somebody to stick closer than a brother will you pray for me our father and God we firmly believe
That you are here that you see us and that you hear us you are more present in this room than we are you are closer to us than our own breath father turn us into a radically friendly people people who don’t use other others but who befriend others and I pray father that
You will give me Clarity of Mind concision of speech compassion and conviction of heart that I may preach your word for your glory and for our good May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our
Rock and Our Redeemer in Jesus name we pray amen amen a young boy was sent to the corner grocery store by his mother one day for a loaf of bread The Story Goes it took him a long time to get back much longer than it should have just to get a loaf
Of bread and when he finally returned his mom said where have you been I have been worried sick about you and the young boy said well on the way to the grocery store I saw a little boy with a broken bicycle and he was crying so I
Stopped and helped him and the the mother said well I didn’t know you knew anything about fixing bicycles I don’t the little boy said I just stayed and cried with him that little boy knew something about what it means to be a friend now that
May be a sacaran sweet story but I think it speaks to something within us they’re calling it a loneliness epidemic we are more socially and digitally connected than we’ve ever been than gener ations ago could have ever imagined yet at the same time we are more socially and
Physically isolated than ever before in many many ways ways our previous generation could would not envy there’s a study came out last year a survey done that found according to the whole world’s population this is not just America it’s not just the Western cultures the entire world a quarter of
The entire world’s population is lonely not not just kind of lonely not just want kind of wanting somebody I mean very lonely I mean lonely to the point that it affects your mental health that it affects your physical health and there are even connections with loneliness to early
Mortality I’m not here to talk about surveys and studies like that I’m here to talk about the scripture and the Bible gives us a prescription for loneliness it’s called friendship companionship God Who Never Was and is not alone now made us not to be alone
And as I’ll talk about a little bit in a moment when God made the world and saw that everything was good he saw one thing that wasn’t good man alone that is not good in God’s eyes we have all wherever you are this morning we have all felt that pain of loneliness of
Needing a friend in a time of heart hardship of wanting a friend in a time of solitude of missing a friend in a time of loss well this morning we can see and learn all of that in this famous relationship of Jonathan and David now David’s life is uh is difficult to
Preach on because it’s so big we know more about David’s life than anybody in scripture there’s more written about this man in the Bible than anybody else and it’s not even close so the narrative arcs in David’s life for big that’s why we had four different scriptures kind of
Crammed into two different readings this morning because that’s the Arc of David’s friendship with Jonathan it spans several pages in scripture and I want to tell you three things about it one the importance of friendship two I want to talk about from their friendship what friendship even is what are the
What makes up a good friendship and then three the power we need to be friends first the importance of friendship I need to just kind of cover the Arc of their relationship here right after David killed Goliath Jonathan recognized something in him Jonathan saw David and recognized God was choosing
Him to be the next great future leader of Israel and that’s pretty remarkable he that he saw God had anointed David to be the next king not him most people would think well my dad’s the king I’m going to be the next one up but he know
God sees something in him God has done something in David he’s going to be the next king and Jonathan goes right along with that evidenced by him giving him his robe and his sword and his belt and all that stuff that is a symbolic gesture of he him basically giving him
His crown he’s giving up all of his Royal Authority and giving it to David why because he saw God was doing something in him and he gave that up for him so over the next few years David lives with the royal family lives in the Royal Court while Jonathan perceived
That God was doing something in David and he loved it Saul also perceived that God was doing something in David and he hated it he wanted to kill David numerous times there in the court he tried to kill David he had men chase him he physically chased to himself many
Many times over the course of many many scriptures so in the in the second scripture we read Jonathan is there for David throughout all of that while his dad’s trying to kill his best friend Jonathan is trying to save his best friend sometimes he’s successful and the second scripture he was he convinced
Saul to turn his heart back toward David and Saul kind of saw it another way welcome David back in the house but in the third time he was not successful with Saul in the third time Saul through this party tried to get David to come Jonathan recognized if David comes it’s
A trap and Saul’s going to try to kill him so he devised this plan with this little boy I’m going to go shoot some arrows and target practice and they worked out a plan because he’s telling David if you come you will die do not come then the fourth scripture we read
In 1st Samuel 23 this is the last time they see each other they renew their Covenant they had a covenant in chapter 18 and then he renews the Covenant in chapter 23 after that Jonathan F Faithfully follows his father on a very ill-advised battle to mount gilboa where
Both of them die that’s the Ark of their friendship now what are we to take from this what can we learn from this friend there there’s a lot more detail there we don’t have time to get into but what can we learn from this the first thing I
Want to point out is the Covenant you see this whole story is bracketed by this Covenant in chapter 18 they make a covenant in chapter 23 they renew the Covenant and the time in between that is the most dangerous perilous time in David’s life and that’s saying a lot
David had a lot of bad times to come after this time but this is the most dangerous perilous time in his life Jonathan’s friendship brackets the evil in the story this Covenant is what is the boundaries of this evil and on a narrative level what you’re seeing in
The scripture is showing us something on a spiritual level it’s showing us Jonathan’s friendship contained the evil in David’s life what I’m trying to tell you the only reason David survived Saul trying to kill him was his friendship with Jonathan and you might say hang on now preacher I don’t recall David writing
Any psalms about oh Jonathan oh you are my shepherd I shall not want Jonathan I love you Jonathan no okay right God is his sword and shield God’s his buckler his Fortress his strength but the one way God showed his goodness and his grace to David was by giving him a
Friend named Jonathan the name means gift of God something Jonathan Calvin is very frequently telling me the name Jonathan means gift of God it is what it is all right a friend loves at all times but a brother is born for adversity you can’t get through adversity without
Friends you can’t get through life without adversity you know what that means you can’t get through life without friends you have got to have friends in your life true friends you say wait a second preacher again time out here you say friends you need friends to get through hardships and afflictions and
Bad times what about siblings what about spouses don’t they get you through hard times yeah they do if they are your friend in as much as they are your friend if your siblings your friend sure they can help you if your spouse is your friend surely she he or she can help you
Sometimes you and I know they’re not having a roommate is not going to get you through some hard times broad shoulders and big biceps will not get you through adversity ladies all right good looks and a gentle touch ain’t going to help you through your Dark
Night of the Soul Men I’m I’m going to help somebody this morning tell you if you’re going to get through life you need more than that you need a friend to get you through life whether it’s a true friend or whether it’s a spouse or a sibling who
Is also a friend you need a friend you say well Matthew I just I’m not seen it yet I can tell some of y’all are you’re not with me yet on this take a little convincing here I’m doing okay by myself well I think you really know you have
Only gotten where you are because somebody helped you get there you had a friend you had a parent who was a friend to you and helped you you had some other friend who guided you along the way but in case I still haven’t convinced you I want to make a theological argument
About this in the Garden of Eden one of the most important aspects of creation that we read in Genesis to was when God made the world he said it was good but there’s that one thing that wasn’t good right he saw man alone and he said this
Is not it is not good that man should be alone and so now we read this now 2024 in a very sexualized culture and a very perverse culture we can’t read Genesis 2 without thinking of us of some implications about sex or gender or marriage and there’s lots of them there
But can I give you a more basic implication from Genesis 2 in the beginning even Paradise in the beginning when Adam was there with the presence of God he’s literally in paradise and it still wasn’t enough he still needs a friend y’all didn’t hear what I just
Said apparently so I’m I’m going to say it again being in the presence of God without sin without any problems before anything has gone wrong he’s walking with God in the cool of the day and it’s still not enough for him he still needed something being lonely is not a sign of
Your imperfection wanting companionship is not a sign you are weak it is a sign you are like God because even God himself has never existed by himself we believe the Bible teaches and Christianity teaches the Triune God one God that is also three distinct persons father son and spirit God has never been
Alone you are made in the image of God he did not make you to be alone he didn’t make Adam to be alone he didn’t make David to be alone and so what I’m saying is if you want to be all that God made you to be you need a friend amen
Now I’m about to tell you what friendship is but I want to say something else about this and this really blew my mind as I was studying the friend of David and Jonathan I didn’t know this see I I’ve always read their story kind of thinking like Jonathan and David are something like
College buddies you know frat Bros or something you know they grew up together kind of they they both had respectable dads men respectable men as their fathers both Men of War you know maybe a similar life stage similar age and I thought that’s what made them friends
And I was absolutely wrong about this now I’m going to try some math for a second y’all stick with me okay I’m going try math for a minute here in the Bible what we read are these dates and ages in 1 Samuel now I want to go ahead
And say that the chronology of 1 Samuel is notoriously difficult the Ancients didn’t consider time and timelines as important as we do they’ll tell a story this story that goes back here is told way way up here and it’s all jumbled up sometimes it just wasn’t a priority for
Them like it is us but we do have enough for rough sketch David was Jesse’s youngest son Jonathan was Saul’s oldest son David was 30 years old when he began to Reign which was after Saul and Jonathan died okay as early as 1st Samuel 13 Jonathan was a commander in
Saul’s Army toward the beginning of his Reign that means Jonathan had to have been about 20 years old rough I would say at least 20 years old at that point in the story Saul reigned 40 years 20 40 take my shoes off carry the one Jonathan was about 60 years old when
He died meanwhile David was turning 30 years old what I’m telling you here with this is that David’s very best friend in the world the man that saved his life I mean the man with whom his soul was knit the man that he loved as his own soul was as
Much as 30 years older than him I’ll give you a second to let that sink in I know it’s taking a second here to let that sink in this is very profound one of the most intimate powerful true friendships in the Bible was by people who were in completely different places
In life different statuses different everything and I hope you hear that I hope you’re listening to me church I hope you’re listening to me me my young brothers and sisters who look at the older brethren in this church like they’re out of touch because they can’t
Take a good selfie or they don’t know the difference between tick tocking and twerking you know they don’t know anything let me tell you your older Brethren have got power and perspective that will save your life they know how to stick to their marriage vows when
They don’t want to they know how to get through grief and hardship they know how to get on their knees and pray they know how to make it through life in difficult times you need to be listening to them and getting close to them amen now older
Brethren all right I want to talk to y’all too for a second okay those of you who always complain about kids these days they don’t know nothing post memes on Facebook back when I was a kid we had street lights and told us when to go
Home blah blah blah blah blah you look at these kids they don’t know nothing this and that these kids have the potential to go as far as you are and farther they want to get married they want to stay married they want to make it through grief they want to know how
To pray they want to make it through hardship and you have got to be the ones to teach them whether you want to be a mentor to them or a heartfelt mom or sister or just talk to that kid in your youth in your small group I want to tell
You the kids are all right Brethren okay and I will go ahead and say this personally I trust a 16-year-old will Brandy a lot more than I would trust a 16-year-old Matthew crow that fool didn’t know his ear from a hole in the ground okay they’re all right so you
Need to talk to these kids get to know these kids and tell them what Paul told the Philippians the things you have received and learned and heard and seen in me do and the God of Peace will be with you we have got to stop dismissing each other and start discipling each
Other we’ve got to stop hurting each other and helping each other we’ve got to stop fighting each other and start befriending each other amen amen preach Matthew Crow I’ll do it okay that’s why friendship’s important but you you hear that and say well how
Do I do it though like what what is is it what what is friendship okay we see that in David and Jonathan here as well what is friendship I want to suggest there are two core components that make up a true friend and friendship faithfulness and transparency okay faithfulness first of
All Jonathan and David make that that Covenant with each other that’s not the norm I realize we adults don’t do that you don’t make a covenant with your friend necessarily you don’t have to do that kids by the the way have no problem doing that it’s nothing for a little
Five six-year-old to go up to a friend and say or to another kid and say will you be my friend and then the kid says yeah I’ll be your friend and let’s go play they don’t know it but they’ve made a covenant with each other when they do
That now it’s that’s not the norm we don’t have to do that but this idea of Covenant shows faithfulness a friend is there for you A friend is not a user a friend is not somebody who just comes to you when it’s convenient for them or they use you when
They need something for you A friend is somebody that is there for you Proverbs 18 says there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother friends stick that’s faithfulness friend a friend will stick to you through hard times they’re not a user who’s like always evaluating
I I got this cost benefit calculator going on my mind am I getting enough out of this relationship do I need to bail from this relationship in some somehow there are there are economic relationships like that you don’t go to Kroger and Shop or all de super low or
Walmart you don’t shop there because you’re friends with the store or the owner or something you shop there because they give you this at a reasonable price or whatever now if the price changes you can go somewhere else you might be friendly when you go there but you go somewhere else friendship
Cannot be that way and can I tell you as a minister in the church a lot of us have far fewer friendships than we think we do all right some of us have some deep friendships go a long way a lot of us though we come in here we got we’re
Good Southerners we got relationships a mile wide and an inch deep we’re friendly with each other but sometimes it doesn’t go deep and that’s what enables us to go Church shopping you don’t like this I’ll just go somewhere else then right a friend sticks closer than a brother a friend sticks through
Hard times even when they have have to give a lot more than they get friends will never let you down Jonathan is always constantly sticking to David friendship is faithfulness the second thing is friendship has to be transparent I’m going to go ahead and tell you I’m going
To camp out here for about three or four minutes okay because this is big transparency Jonathan and David’s relationship has transparency it says in chapter 18 Jonathan loved David as his own Soul okay that’s a very very intimate phrase some commentators even argue this is a metaphor for
Transparency to love someone as your own soul means you see them and they see you they see your soul they see what’s inside you it’s a metaphor for a vulnerability of letting somebody in and so faithfulness and transparency if you’re faithful you never let a friend down if you’re transparent you always
Let your friend in amen okay both of those are vital now you might say I don’t I’m not really sure what you’re talking about transparency preacher what what does transparency and friendship look like well let me give you four ways to be transparent in your friendship first be open in your
Feelings men don’t roll your eyes at me men are looking at me like Gray he’s going to tell us to hold hands and sing Kum bya and all this kind of stuff all right listen if you read your Bible there are numerous times like Acts 20 when Paul says goodbye to the Ephesian
Elders Jonathan and David when they’re saying goodby they know they won’t see each other you’ve got grown men weeping and kissing each other all right now there there are commentators well this is a sign of subordination it’s a nice little gesture they do like walking into downtown Abbey and kissing Lord Gram’s
Hand or something like that no that’s not what it is okay there there are some cult cultural distinctions they were a little Freer with their emotions than sometimes we in America tend to be but this is what it is you’ve got a man two men weeping with one another kissing
Each other now there’s one commentator made an interesting argument I want to throw this out there for y’all to chew on and consider back in those ancient times when men were really Warriors I mean they were really going out there and their their life was on the line every
Single day they weren’t slinging kettle bells around a gym all right they’re out there actually fighting the enemy okay they are they’re going out to hunt not for the sport of it but because they have to feed their families they’re going through this back in those days
When men knew they were warriors when they knew they were tough they didn’t have to put up a front and hide their emotions now men don’t we don’t know that we’re tough so we have to put on a facade and pretend that we’re tough or somebody might think something about us
If we share our feelings which is the definition of insecurity all right we don’t admit we we have we all have those little boys and little girls inside us that need that help be open with your feelings you ain’t got to say amen I know I’m right Brothers okay
SEC okay second edit that out please okay second uh friends are open are open with their feelings friends are open with their common life friends don’t dress up for friends right if in fact you can’t dress up for your friend your friend’s going to see you dressed up and
Say why are you dressed up cuz they know you you let them in your common that means what you got to do to have a friend is carve out time in your schedule and your daily life to let friends in it takes time but you’ve got
To open it up to do that I don’t have time for friends you say we say that sometimes times well we’ve got time for what’s important to us if friends are important to us we will make time for them open up your open be open with your
Feelings be open with your common life open up your decisions to your friends I’ve lost the friendship over this cuz I didn’t do this open up your decision so for example if you are making a big life decision or rather your friend makes a big life decision and doesn’t ever talk
To you about it that’s a good sign you don’t have a friend they’re not your friend right that they’re a used or they’re using you when they need to I did that to somebody before a preacher friend of mine he I told everybody about this big deal and he called me hey you
Didn’t come tell me about this and that was pretty much the end of the friendship and I felt really bad about that friend if you are a friend to somebody it doesn’t mean you’re making decisions for them or they’re making decisions to you but it shows you’re
Willing to receive counil from them it shows that you’re really transparent and it shows that your arms really are open to them if you open up with decisions fourth the fourth thing you need for uh transparency open with your feelings your common life decisions but also your
Flaws be open with your flaws this is the hard one for us Isn’t It ultimately if you tell somebody that you think is your friend listen brother sister that I’ve noticed it’s about you think this is a problem you tend to do this to whatever it is and then they
Bail on you they are not your friend okay they are a user using you for whatever good things you give them Hebrews 13:3 says exort one another daily lest you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin sin is deceitful you don’t see your biggest problems you don’t know the biggest problems in your
Heart you think you do but if you do it’s because somebody else has pointed it out to you you need somebody in your life who can see you and that you deputize you give them a hunting line license and say come after me give somebody The Authority in your life to
Correct you to approve you to exhort you Proverbs 276 says faithful are the wounds of a friend profuse are the kisses of an enemy friends can wound each other friends can hurt each other and take it that’s why friendship changes you and Cart tol said something about marriage I think it’s true about
Friendship though he said marriage isn’t meant to make you happy it’s meant to make you aware of yourself and for friendship it’s the same way if you got a real good friend they will make you a better person that’s why transparency is so important now I know I’m making
Youall uncomfortable talking about this goad how do you do it though how do we get to where we are kind of guarded kind of you know cordial relationships hi how you doing how’s your mom and them those kind of friendships to real true friend ship we need power from somewhere else
To do this all right where do we get that strength look at Jonathan again so Jonathan was covenantal he could have easily done two different things than he did Jonathan could have easily said you know what um David’s a threat I’m going to S with my dad and I’m going to kill
David that way I’ll be the prince still or he could have said you know what David you’re I like you I can conspire I can actually have my dad assassinated that happened all the time and then I you can be king and I can be your prime
Minister he didn’t do either of those did he Jonathan was transparent with them both and he was faithful to them both faithful to his father and faithful to his friends does that remind you of anybody in John 15 Jesus Christ said no longer do I call you servants for as the
Servant does not know what his master is doing I have called you friends for all all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you David was saved by the sacrificial friendship of Jonathan who helped him he saved him and
I want to tell you you will be saved by the sacrificial friendship of Jesus Christ Jesus is vulnerable he’s transparent and he is faithful Jesus lets you in and he doesn’t let you down how more vulnerable can you be than Jesus Christ he opened his arms for you
He literally nailed his arms open for you to come in and he did not let you down over and over it says in the Bible that he could have called all those angels to stop all of his suffering but he didn’t do it right he he hang there
On the cross seeing them betray him hearing them mock him seeing his friends forsake Him and he stayed on the cross amen he asked his friends to stay awake for him and and they couldn’t do it yet he repa them by being on the cross for
Them now I want to tell you Jesus is a true friend and Jesus did not die for the world in general I’m going to talk to somebody this morning Jesus did not die just for the world he died specifically for you Jesus died for you knowing everything about you knowing all
Your dark secrets that nobody else knows knowing the darkest dir direst places in your heart and he still died for you and I want to tell you if you want to make a friend with somebody if you want to be brave enough and courageous enough to
Open up to a friend and let them inside you the way to do that is to know Jesus Christ sees what’s in you and he still loves you if you know that you can have the confidence to open up to somebody else if you see his faithfulness you can
Be faithful to somebody else amen he’s a friend you can when somebody else finally opens up to you and they share their life with you you can say you too me too me too he’ll be your friend today he will be your friend and I will speak for this church I will challenge
This church as a whole we will be your friend and what you were going through we want to be a church where no one walks alone we will walk with you whether it’s down the aisle we baptized into Christ repenting of your sins having your sins forgiven in the waters
Of baptism or whether it’s just to unload a burden and to have ask somebody to help you carry that burden we will walk with you in whatever need you have once you come now while we stand and sing this song of encouragement for all that you’ve done I
Will thank you for all that you’re going to do for all that you promised and all that you are is all that has carried me through Jesus I thank you and I thank you thank you Lord and I thank you thank you Lord thank you for loving and setting me free thank you for giving your life just for me how I thank you Jesus I thank you gratefully thank you thank you for all that you’ve done I will thank you for all that you’re going going to do for all that you promised
And all that you are is all that has carried me through Jesus I thank you and I thank you thank you Lord and I thank you thank you Lord thank you for loving and setting me free and thank you for giving your life just for me how I thank you Jesus I thank you and greatfully thank you thank thank you me see thank all right church happy day baxton Parker has decided to put on Christ in
Baptism this morning yeah happy for proud of you backton now this is a very big moment I know we got small groups or yall might have somewhere to G fight if you got to do what you got to do do what you got to do but this is a
Big moment we want to make it a big moment something we do here at Goodman Oaks is we have well the Bible teaches us to have make the confession of faith and we do that but we use this as an opportunity not just for baon to get up
Here by himself and make his own singular confession but much like you go to a wedding and it reminds you of your own W marriage every baptism ought to remind you of your baptism to help you remember your baptism so we invite you to make this confession Again Church
First I want to ask Aon and his family to come join me up Here appreciate them being with him today so what I’m going to do if you’ve been baptized into Christ please stand up yes so I’m going to ask y’all some questions I’m going to ask Church you some questions and you say we believe okay Al back and he’ll say I believe
Church do do you believe in God the Father Almighty creator of Heaven and Earth We Believe amen baxton do you believe in God the Father Almighty creator of Heaven and Earth I believe church do you believe in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who has conceived
By the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary suffered under pontious pilate was crucified died and was buried the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty from there he will come to judge the
Living living and the dead amen baxton do you believe in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary suffered under pontious pilate was crucified died and was buried the third day he rose again from the
Dead he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty from there he will come to judge the living and the dead I believe amen church do you believe in the Holy Spirit the holy Christian Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of
Sins the resurrection of the body and of Life Everlasting We Believe amen baxton do you believe in the Holy Spirit the holy Christian Church the communion of saints the Forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and of Life Everlasting amen well based on that confession y’all go get ready to be
Baptized now amen you you may be seated on before Bon goes back um I had the opportunity to talk with bton about this on Wednesday night Ministries not you know it sometimes just not nine to you know whatever we we talk till about 9 to 9:30 Wednesday night with him and
His mom and I I take this opportunity to say this because in youth ministry when it’s been amazing over the time that I’ve done youth ministry where you find out what a kid’s real convictions are and why they want to be baptized and what you learn about them in that moment
When you have the conversation so I asked Bon why wanted to do this and one of the biggest reasons he said you know I just really want to think a lot differently and in a way what he’s saying there is I want the gift of the holy spirit amen it’s amazing what the
Holy Spirit can Empower you to do and so um he wants that connection and he wants to be born again and he wants the commitment to Jesus Christ so I just wanted to bring his commitment forward things that we talked about so you would know all right
So Bon’s going to go that way and I’ll go that way and you’ll see us in a minute while they’re getting ready there’s one more thing we want toh share with you um um Judy you come on up Judy Sullivan I got a a note here from Judy I want to
Read as she’s walking up here and this will be apparent What’s Happening Here praise be to God hi I’m Judy Sullivan and I had a stroke I want to share my testimony I’m here to show you a miracle this has to do with last Sunday’s sermon so you need
To think back talked about endurance and going through storms weather and storm it has been on my mind and heart all week I do not like being front center but God has demanded I do this in the early morning hours on Friday June 9 2023 my life was turned upside down by
The time they got me to the hospital my left left side was 100% useless you can see her now today I want to show you that God will bring you through the storm God will part your Red Sea God will turn your desert sin into a
River she continues I’m now 90% back my daughter and son-in-law were warned that I might not make it through the weekend I’m glad they didn’t tell me that I spent 2 and a half months in rehab in Hoover Alabama on August 15th I came home with covid they laid me out for 5
Weeks sent me back almost to the beginning I’ve been in rehab here ever since but by the love and grace of God I’m able to live at home alone with minimal help I’m able to walk sort of into this place of worship and praise my Lord I’ve had blessings every day I can
Do something each day that I couldn’t do before and there’s no time for me to give you all the nitty-gritty details the past 8 months if you’re in interested you can just talk she’ll show you pictures too I’ll tell you that okay I want to say thank you for all the
Prayers calls texts and the ones who’ve been driving me around for months I want to publicly thank Joyce shup for giving half her life to me since August 15th without her I’d have had to go into a nursing home or at best assisted living she deserves a lot more than a puny
Thank you Hallelujah all right Joy and and she ends on this note I want you to hear this when God demands something of you you do it praise be to God thank you [Applause] [Applause] Judy let’s sing a couple verses of a couple songs number 18 faithful love faithful love flowing down from The Thorn cover Crown makes me whole saves my soul watches wider than snow faithful love drives each tear reaches down each tear holds my hand when I can stand on my own faithful love from
Above came to Earth to show The Father’s Love and I’ll never be the same for I seen faithful love face to face and Jesus is his name what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh is the flow that makes me white as snow no other Fountain I know nothing but the blood of Jesus see your family thank you’all for being here today and thank you for everyone who walked down with baxton have his parents his grandparents here also his mentors and other church members step forward
To uh show up for baxton on the best day of his life the day that God transformed him from the inside out Bing upon your confession I’m now going to baptize you in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit for the beginnings of your SS [Applause] Amen Ignore that thumping the the pump underneath um Joy you’re a real good friend appreciate that excellent um sadly I have a few uh deaths to report Donna’s mother Bertha Newman passed away this morning she was 103 years old uh and then also we found out that yesterday Brandy Whit’s grandmother also
Passed away so we’ve got new life here but you know that we’ve said goodbye to a number of folks right unfortunately that’s uh part of we need friends to get through times like this as well so Brandy and Donna need our support and encouragement you know to
Get through this time of grief for them um I was also informed that Julie golden had to have surgery on her hand she had fallen braced herself thumb got dislocated had to put a pin in it this is the thumb on her dominant hand as well so uh it’s a little
Awkward but uh you know she hadn’t braced herself she might have fall broken a hip or something right so uh still um uh we be in prayer for Donna as well I’m not aware of any other prayer requests so I’m going to close with the benediction and then a
Prayer the Lord bless you and keep you may the Lord shine his face upon you and be gracious unto you and may the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace let’s pray well father we certainly Rejoice at decisions that are made like baxton and others throughout this world to uh
Become part of your body uh the body of Jesus Christ and to uh uh be justified and and uh buried into the death of Jesus and uh now the the challenge is to live a life of righteousness a challenge that will be a LIF long struggle but he
Won’t be doing it alone as as we’ve just heard we’re thankful for for that decision the courage that it took also and uh there’s no way that he can anticipate what’s going to happen in his life no way to know how Satan is going to attack uh but we thank you for the
Gift of the holy spirit that he just received now that enables him to live a life of righteousness and and pleasing to you we pray for those who are struggling uh Judy still is improving and she has some uh Improvement uh yet to attain to uh we’re we’re grateful
For that you brought her out of hopelessness into a place of hope pray for uh Julie and her rehab of her uh hand that pray that she can get uh full use of that soon we pray for those who Donna and uh Brandy lost loved ones uh
Linda of course just very recently lost her husband uh um they’re going through times of loneliness and and uh we we thank you though father that uh you are always with us during the dark times even though we go through this Valley of the shadow of death thank you
For always being with us even to the End of the Age be with us in our small groups this afternoon and this evening uh be with us this week as we strive father to be friends to to one another and to those around us and thank you for
Your promises that are always yes in Jesus we pray in his name amen amen e
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