First Wednesday, May 2026
Type: Wednesday Evening Service
Series: First Wednesday
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Tom Van Kempen
First Wednesdays are different kinds of services. They are broken up into smaller segments, and usually include interactive elements.
When life feels overwhelming and the enemy is closing in, the path forward begins with remembering what God has already done — his faithfulness in the past becomes the foundation of faith for the present battle. Out of that remembrance, a new song is born: a decisive, prophetic act of the will that shifts the soundtrack of your circumstances and opens the door to divine rescue, healing, and provision. On the other side of the fight, a beautiful picture emerges — flourishing families, abundant provision, and a deep, lasting happiness that comes not from what we have, but from whose we are.
-
(Keep in mind this is done by an AI using an audio recording, and it includes singing which is particularly difficult for AI transcription engines. This transcript should be taken with a grain of salt. 😏)
It's first Wednesday worship.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
We've been waiting for this.
Come on, stand to your feet.
God, we just love you tonight.
We've come in expecting.
God, we've come in ready to give you our Best praise.
We're coming after you tonight, God.
We thank you for the word that will be shared tonight.
We thank you, Lord God, for our time worshiping you, praying together, receiving communion.
Lord, all that you have in store.
For us tonight.
We want to let you know that we love you.
We welcome you.
Can you just lift your hands and just open up your mouth and say, Father, I welcome you into this gathering tonight.
Come and have your way.
Father, have your way.
Holy Spirit, come and have your way.
Speak to me.
Touch me tonight.
May my worship, Lord God, be pleasing to you.
May it be acceptable.
Let your kingdom come and your will be done, O God.
We love you.
We welcome you.
Come and have your way.
For your glory and for your fame.
We worship you, Jesus.
Blessed be your name.
Somebody say amen.
And amen.
Put those hands together and give him a clap offering of praise because he's been so good to us.
Yeah.
Here we go.
Everybody say this.
This is my story.
I testify.
Blessings on blessings you all my life.
Where I start with memory.
How good?
Few times too much, should my tears turn too great Chains of depression are broken by grace We must not remember How could you be?
I won't declare that you've been so so so so so good You've been so so So goodies were nice for you.
When I start remembering How you carried my cross, call me by name, you look like I was You didn't leave me that way, was that now I live, yeah that's what you did so, so so so so so good From morning to night, the lows and the heights I look back on my life and know that I see human so, so, so, so, so, so good.
Yes Lord, he's been good.
Just give him a wave offering tonight.
Come on.
So good to me.
Yes, you have.
Whoa!
When I say God is good, you say all black eye When I say all the time You say God is good When I say God is good You say all black eye When I say all the time You say bodies, when I say God is good, you say all that When I say all the time, you say bodies, when I say God is good, you say all the time, when I say God.
You say God is so so strong so so good You can so so so so so good From morning to night, the flows and the eyes.
I look back on my life, know that I see from morning to night, the flows and the eyes.
I took back for my life, no that I see so that Missy apps I five your neighbor and say he's been good to me.
So good, so good.
You've been so good, so good, so good.
You've been so so so so so My lord You been so so so so so good Time and time again You beat so So so so so good Oh my king You feel so so so so good to me This cat.
Woo.
Somebody shout Amen.
He's in the room.
Woo!
I said he's in the room.
Look out, anything could happen.
Yeah.
Come open, the doors make our way The king is in the room The king is in the room Expecting for strongholds to break Cause we know what you can do We know what you can do I wanna see lives change Broken hearts may knew that keys in the road.
Jesus There's freedom and life anywhere you bring Jesus we lie to you We're late now All of us shouted out The king is in the road I know the king is in the road Comes free, all the captives run free.
He's tearing down the wall.
He's tearing down the wall.
I know there's great shaking now when we say the name of us.
Link and center This freedom I like every way to raise Jesus, we bow only to you.
All up the ground, the kings and the Fear has to flee, shame has to leave A B for the key, a B for the key, change that a rake, drop bombs away, a brief away.
Whoa, fear.
Has to flee tonight, Shane has to leave.
Be for the king, be for the king, Shane's after break.
Drop on the way.
The king is in the road, the king is in the road.
There's freedom and life anywhere you pray.
Jesus be love, only to you lay down.
The keys in the road For yes, the Lord we and the Lord you want all that raise the keys in the road This freedom and light anywhere we pray.
Jesus revived on it to you.
Oh, I can't wait to see what you would do Every mouth is gonna be.
Oh, prepare the way The Room, prepare the way prepare the way he's in the room, prepare the way.
Bring birthways in the room.
Heavenly Father, we come to you right now in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
And Lord, we We are preparing the room.
We're preparing the way with our song, with our praise, with our heart attitudes, Father God.
And we ask that literally the Holy Spirit of the living God invade this sanctuary.
Be present in our midst, Father God.
Be here to heal.
Be here to transcend form, be here to change, we pray today, and bless this evening's service all the way through to the very end, we pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
And together everyone says Amen and amen.
Before you're seated, stay standing just for a moment because uh I just want to welcome you to First Wednesday because uh our first Wednesday services are Yeah, that's good.
They're a little bit different than our normal.
There's a lot of uh congregational involvement that's involved, and so we want you to participate in in any way that you can.
Tonight's message comes specifically from Psalm chapter 144.
And it's literally a prayer.
And so tonight's message is entitled A Prayer of Rescue.
And I want you to be thinking, is there anything tonight that you need to be rescued from?
Or through or in, and God will do it in the name of Jesus Christ who can say amen.
That's what God wants to do.
So the prayer begins in verses one and two with a blessing.
So as a congregation, we're gonna read these first two verses together before we're seated.
So I want you to pay attention to the screens and look up here and uh pray or say this along with me beginning with the word blessed.
Are you ready?
One, two, three, blessed be the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle, my loving kindness and my fortress, my high tower and my salvation.
My shield and the one who in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me.
You may be seated.
Thank you for your participation.
And as you can see, Pastor Thomas, I still need work because I missed a word in there.
I said salvation and it was deliverer.
Please forgive me for that.
This is what I want you to understand about this very special psalm.
And that is, as through you read the entire psalm, the entire prayer, one of the things that becomes apparent.
Is that the psalmist, the one who's writing this psalm, is under a brutal attack.
Things are looking bleak, and in desperation, he turns to God.
The psalmist is crying out, blessed be the Lord.
And in these first two verses, we find what I would call very familiar themes.
Now, it says that this psalm is written by David, which makes a lot of sense because he repeats themes that David has already communicated in earlier Psalms.
And so what David is doing is he's looking back at his history with God.
And he's recollecting or he's remembering things that make a difference in his life.
God is my rock.
God is my loving kindness.
God is my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, my refuge, my strength.
And we get started with tonight's message.
With something you get to do.
And this is what I'm going to ask you to do is if God has ever done anything in your life If he's ever answered a prayer, if he's ever performed a miracle, if he's ever spoken to you in any way, shape, shape or form.
I want you during the next song that the worship team is about ready to to begin to sing.
I want you to come forward and I want you to come to one of these altars right here and you will find a bunch of sticky notes just like this So what I want you to do is I want you to write down one word, maybe a phrase at the very most, a sentence of some kind that says rescuer.
That says, my my fortress, that says, God delivered me.
Something monumental, and this is what I want you to do.
We are gonna use this pulpit as a wall of remembrance.
And as you write this thing down, you're going to come up and take the sticky note And you're going to place it right here on this wall of remembrance.
And hopefully we have like 30, 40, 50 different names or deliverances of God on this pulpit right here and we can praise and worship God.
Who can say amen?
So just follow the the lead and when they're singing feel free to come on up.
You are saying you are the undefeated one.
My life and my salvation When the wicked, my enemies and my foes came upon me to eat of my flesh They stumbled and fell I'm getting on my defender my victory.
Refuge, no one around You are the God, you are the God of the breakthrough One, two, three, say, breakthrough.
You are the guy of the three.
I can't see my way through And I really don't know what to do I'm not to do The walls come down and I shall Strong frame than I praise you.
So I wanna praise you.
You are the God.
You are the God of breakthrough.
Yes, man.
Come on, say you are You are the undefeated one, my life, and my salvation.
And with the wicked, my enemies and my foes are only the heat of my flesh, they stumble and fell.
Omnipotence, say, omnipotence, almighty, defender my victory, my refuge, the one I run to you are.
You are the God of the breakthrough.
Always gotta break through or two safe breakthrough.
You are the God of the breakthrough.
See my way through I really don't know what to do.
I look to you way through Walls gone down when I shot through Songhall afraid when I break through.
So I want Rachel You are the God You are the God of the breakthrough You are the God of the breakthrough When I can't see my way through I really don't know I don't think you break through Walls come down when I shine through Strongholds break when I break through.
So I wanna praise you, you are the God.
You are the God of the breakthrough.
How many believe God has a breakthrough for us tonight?
Come on, shout if you believe that.
Breakthrough in our health, breakthrough in our finances, breakthrough in our marriages breakthrough in our culture breakthrough in every area of our life breakthrough in our mind and in our heart and our soul oh yeah breakthrough in my heart breakthrough in My mind, breakthrough in my spirit, breakthrough in my soul, breakthrough in my weakness, breakthrough in my struggle.
You are the God, you are the God of the breakthrough in My words break doing my praise, great you and I'm And glorify your name.
Break through when I dance.
Break through when I shout.
You are the God.
You are the God.
Break through in my heart.
Break through in my mind.
Bre You are the God, you are the God Braith through my worse, break through my praise, break through and I live in more if I break through and I dance.
Break through in my shout, you are one more time.
Break through in my heart, break through in my mind, break through in my spirit, break through in my soul, break thro Doing my weak fray, do it myself You are the God, you are the God of the breakthrough in my words, breakthrough in my praise, breakthrough when I lift, glorify your name, break through when I dance, breakthrough when I shout, you are the God, you are the god You are the God of the breakthrough, you are the God of the breakthrough, when I can't see my way through, and I really don't know what to do.
I look to you breakthrough.
Walls come down when I shout through Strong or great when I breakthrough So I wanna raise you, you are the God You are the God the breakthrough You are the God When I can't see my way through I really don't know what to do I learned to heal way through Walls come down when I shall flu Some home afraid when I breakthrough So I wanna praise you You are the God You are the God of the breakthrough Wow.
Wow.
Well, I'll just read a couple of these for you so that you know what other people have written.
Savior, healer, freedom.
He's my Healer from past, present, and future issues.
He delivered me from smoking cigarettes.
He delivered me from anxiety.
He brought me a faithful friend.
The list goes on and on.
He's given me a brand new assignment.
I could spend the rest of the night just talking about these things alone right here.
This is what God has done in the past, and this is what David was doing when he was writing this psalm.
He was trying to stir up his heart to remember what is it that God has done for me in the past, because it's going to apply in the present.
Who can say amen?
And that's why the longer that you're a Christian, the better the Christian life should get.
Better and better and better.
The next two verses are a reminder of who you are as a human being.
What I love about this is look, Psalm 144 verses 3 and 4.
Lord, what is man that you take knowledge of him or the Son of Man, that you are mindful of him.
Man is like a breath.
His days are like a passing shadow.
So I looked at this and and God takes a genuine interest in your humanity.
He takes a genuine interest in your life.
This word for acknowledge right here is the the Hebrew word yada and it means to know you closer than anyone else in the entire universe.
God knows everything about you, and he wants you to know everything about him who can say amen.
And here's the funny thing.
These two verses express a great conundrum.
If you don't know what a conundrum is, it's two things that don't seem to make sense.
God is eternal, and we're not.
God has been always here, and the scripture says that our life is like a breath.
Our days are like a passing shadow.
There's an irony here.
A shadow is only visible when when there is a great light behind it.
We feel small and temporary, like a breath, but but the only reason we have a shadow at all is because the light of the world is shining from behind us.
Standing right there all the time.
Who can say amen?
Listen, our significance doesn't come from the length of our life.
It doesn't come from the accomplishments of life.
Our significance comes from who we're connected to.
It's Jesus Christ.
It's the God of the entire universe.
So in essence, the first four verses paint a picture of a mighty and loving God who is deeply invested in all of us.
And with that backdrop, in the next four verses, five, six, seven, and eight, the psalmist makes a request And I'm going to summarize it very quickly.
The request is this.
God, come down and rescue me.
That's what it is.
Four verses.
God come down and rescue me.
Now, here's what I need everybody to know God doesn't always rescue us the way we want Him to rescue us.
As a matter of fact, He doesn't always even rescue us from the fight.
He just gives us the tools to persevere during the fight.
So that we actually come out better and stronger on the other end.
God knows that whatever you're going through right now, it's actually preparation for where he's taking you.
It's preparation.
It's training for the the task and the vision and the mission he has for your life.
So you don't ever have to worry who can say amen.
So at this point, the psalmist starts getting inspired.
The psalmist starts beginning to write a new song, the scripture says.
And so I need you to understand one of the reasons why we play so much music during a church service is because we believe there's power in music.
We believe that it is a special gift.
Yes.
It's a special gift that God has given us as individuals.
It's a special gift that God has given the church.
And it is to be a gift that literally bridges a couple of things.
For example, music can bridge us from our secular existence to the very presence of God.
Music has the potential to bridge our past victories to our current battles and empower us to move forward in Jesus' name.
So oftentimes while we are singing and worshiping and raising our hands and and meditating on everything that God's done for us in the in the past.
The Holy Spirit will begin to speak into your heart and your imagination and give you words and phrases.
Sometimes those words are just melodies or phrases like some of these that you wrote that you sing over and over and over again.
Sometimes there are entire songs that you share with the body of Christ.
And sometimes they are a prophetic sound that literally comes from a musical instrument.
Like this.
That sounded like it.
Came from heaven to me.
Now you might be thinking, Oh That came from Steve.
He came up with that himself.
Listen to the actual scripture, Psalm 144, verse 9.
I will Will you repeat that with me?
I will.
It is an act of your own will.
The Holy Spirit will never superimpose his will upon your will.
You have to make a decision that I'm going to cooperate with God and the Spirit has freedom to use you in a supernatural way.
Verse 9 says, I will sing a new song to you, O Lord.
On a harp of ten strings, I will sing praises to you.
When the psalmist says, I will sing a new song, it is a decisive pivot in his life.
Remember, he's in a battle, he doesn't know what to do.
He starts remembering God and God says faithfulness.
He finally gets to the point where he asks God for something and in the middle of the turmoil he says I'm going to sing a new song.
It's time to get prophetic right now.
It's time to believe for something big in Jesus Christ right now.
It's not time to step up back it's time to be bold so this is a decisive moment he's he's still under attack but he chooses to change the soundtrack of his life Listen, listen, this is important.
You can't always defeat a new enemy with an old melody.
Are you hearing me?
You cannot always defeat a new enemy with an old melody.
What is the new song that you need to start singing over your situation in this very moment.
It's an act of the will.
And the verse says it's also an act of worship And the worship is so profound that in verses 10 and 11, he begins to speak prophetically.
God gives salvation.
God delivers his people.
God rescues those who need rescuing.
God uses music to remind people of who he is and to inspire people towards greater faith who can say amen.
So this is what I want to do right now.
I want to pray for anyone who's in need of rescue.
If you need rescuing in your health, Your finances, your relationships, whatever it is, I just want you to stand right where you're at.
We're not going to be coming forward.
You just stand And your standing is an act of faith.
Your standing is indicating to God that you need him.
That is faith in and of itself.
So I want you to know that God is already hearing your request in this moment.
I'm going to pray, then you worship with the worship team when we're done.
Heavenly Father, we come to you in Jesus' name.
And you see literally a majority of the men and women in this house are standing.
That means we are a very needy people.
Father God, my body is broken in so many places.
So I understand those who are in need of physical healing today because I need it I need healing in my voice.
I need healing in my foot, Father God.
I need healing all over my body.
And so do many people in this congregation.
Well, the scripture teaches us that God is the great physician, that in a moment he can speak over any sickness, disease, or illness.
And it will be gone instantaneously in Jesus' name.
So, Father God, I am believing that tonight will be a night of miracles.
I am believing, Father God, that blood pressure will come down, cholesterol levels will come down, and that those things, Father God, that need to be Elevated, they will be elevated in Jesus' name.
I pray for disease to be stricken in its tracks, to no longer progress in bodies, Father God, and for you to take charge in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
I pray, Father God, for miracles and relationships.
I pray for marriages to be restored.
I pray for children to love their parents and parents to love their children and vice versa in Jesus' name.
I pray, Father God, for there to be a reconciliation in our community.
I pray that people who are rivals, Father God, will become friends.
I pray that people are on opposite sides of the political screen spectrum will respect and love each other in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
And I pray that your kingdom will come in the name of Jesus Christ.
The same way it already occurs in heaven.
It can be brought to this earth in Jesus' holy and precious name.
I pray For financial deliverance, Father God.
There are some in this house, Father God, that are barely getting by.
There are some who who are past due and bills, Father God.
There are some who don't know where they're gonna even get their next meal, possibly.
But Father God, you are the great provider you will see them through in Jesus' name so I pray that the testimony of so many on this pulpit will be the testimony of every single person in this house today.
I pray that that you will supply.
I pray that you will provide and I pray that the testimony of what you started tonight will ring out throughout this community and that your kingdom will grow and your name will be blessed.
We pray this tonight in Jesus' holy and precious name.
And together everyone shouts.
Hallelujah!
Pray Praise.
Let everything die I back.
Praise the Lord.
Let everything that I've had.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Praise in the valley.
I'll praise when I'm short, I'll praise when I'm tired I'll praise when I'm number I'll praise when to run dead Cause grace is no water, my best is to hide As long as I'm freed, I've got a reason to go Oh my soul, oh my soul I pray when I feel it I'll face what I know Christians control My phrase is aware My brain is the shout that preachers hold out and so I'm breathing I've done Para o brinchão de pé, o maço, o maçon.
I hope you walk my wife so live I'm gonna keep some Always comes for song, race comes to rain, praise comes to rotating the way All race comes for anything, race comes for true, race comes to the light.
I've placed touch for so it's cut you all that you in the grave I'll place cut for wheel praise cuts for true ways Thank you, my Lord, all my soul.
I won't be quiet, my guy is a lie.
How could I be with a time?
I won't be quiet, my guy is a lie.
How could I be?
I won't be quiet, my God is alright.
How can I decide?
Let everything that I've heard.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Let everything that I've heard.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let everything die us well!
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let everything die us well!
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Woo!
You may be seated for a moment.
After receiving a new song from God, and that's what we were just got done talking about, singing about, a prophetic picture is birthed inside of the psalmist.
In the concluding four verses of this chapter, we get a picture of what the psalmist is believing for.
And by extension, that means these are things that we can believe God for also.
So this is what is amazing to me.
Psalm 144 verse 12. starts this way, that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, that our daughters may be as pillars sculptured in palace. style.
The first picture he sees is a picture of a healthy family.
Boys and girls.
And if you turn around right now, you will be seeing little young men and women Children of the elementary age walking down this aisle right now.
Now listen.
As these kids are moving towards the front, I want you to look at them through the lens of the verse that we just read.
Psalm 144. 12 declares that our sons will be like plants grown up and flourishing in their youth They don't have to wait until they're old men and old women.
They can actually flourish right now in the name of Jesus Christ.
But what this scripture also tells us is that these kids' lives.
Are like seeds in the kingdom of God.
As they pick up, you might be wondering, what are they picking up?
They're picking up flower pots right now that actually have seeds in them and we're asking the moms and the dads just to take these home and and plant them and to see what happens and you will see a an analogy between this growing plant and your son and your daughter We believe that growing is not accidental.
It's the result of being planted in the right soil.
Who can say amen?
Because we're not just raising children.
We're tending a garden of future leaders. future worshipers, future government leaders, future world changers in the name of Jesus Christ.
Listen, as they find their seats, let's join our hearts in the commitment to provide the rich soil that they need.
Let's let's Make sure that they hear the word of God.
Let's make sure that they they receive the Holy Spirit.
Let's make sure that they fall in love with Jesus Christ.
And that they obey his admonition to get water baptized and to grow into the disciples that God wants him to be.
Now here is what is beautiful.
Tonight you get to be witness of a number of young kids that are actually going through water baptism. themselves.
So if you take these pots home and and you uh deal with those things, what's going to happen is you're gonna have to put water inside of the dirt so that the seeds actually begin to grow.
And while the seeds demand physical water to grow, the young people entering the baptismal tank tonight are already declaring something.
They're declaring that they have been washed. by the blood of Jesus Christ.
They are declaring that they are being watered by the Holy Spirit for the rest of their lives.
They're declaring that that out of their souls is going to flow rivers of living water.
Who can say amen?
And so I don't see anybody up there yet, do you?
Oh, here they come, here they come.
This is Pastor Sheena right now.
Let's give her a round of applause.
And I'm gonna trick.
See, I Sina, how many people have we got?
Eight.
We've got eight that are being water baptized tonight.
Lead the way.
All right, guys.
We are so excited to be baptizing some of our walk babies that have become church babies.
Thank you parents for being here tonight and family and letting us share in this special moment.
First up we have Myron Alright, rainbow everybody.
Alright.
Let's turn this way.
Remember, hold your nose.
Hold your nose.
Other hand.
Other hand.
Myron, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Hold the handle.
Hold that hand up.
Alright, Jeremy, you ready?
Next up we have Jeremy.
I do it, I'm good, I hope.
We don't want him to get wet.
We'll give him back, okay?
Can you wait to everybody?
Alright, hold your nose.
Hold your nose.
Jeremy, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Alright, next up is Miss Victoria.
Good.
Wait until everybody.
Alright, hold your nose.
Victoria, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
Yes, I am.
I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Come on, Harmony.
Next up is Miss Harmony.
Harmony, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
Okay, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It just keeps going.
Come on, Jeky.
Nice and sick.
Nice and slight.
Come on.
Alright, wait a minute everybody.
Alright.
I see you, mommy.
Hold your nose.
Hold on.
Jeking, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Come on Gavin You good no way little buddy Alright Hold your nose Gavin have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I know that you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Come on, Miss Madison.
Slow, slow, slow.
There you go.
You know wave it, everybody?
Hold your nose for a minute.
Madison, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I now baptize you in the name of the Father. the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Okay.
Come on, Caden.
Last but not least is my friend Hayden.
Hayden waving everybody.
Oh you ready?
Hold your nose.
Hold your nose.
Hold your arm.
Nope.
Hold your arm.
Caden, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Uh it doesn't get any better than that, just so you know.
So what was flashing through my mind as I was watching them was graduation services.
You know what I'm talking about when kids are graduating, they're waving at their parents and stuff like that.
But I need you to know that water baptism is not a graduation.
Water baptism is an initiation.
It is the beginning of the walk with God.
And the actual goal is discipleship.
The actual goal is for them to grow into the young men and young women that God wants them to be.
And so we're going to take an offering at this point. time so if the ushers would come forward and and if you're new here you are under no obligation to put anything in the offering okay because this isn't even an offering that goes to the church This is an offering that is going to go to summer camp and vacation Bible school for the young people that you see right here.
Because everyone can't afford the the prices of everything are going up.
They're they're they're getting exorbitant.
And so I believe this is just Pastor Tom, okay?
I believe that camps and vacation Bible schools are like specialized.
Soil.
And the seeds that these children are oftentimes start producing fruit and sprouting for the very first time at Vacation Bible School. for the very first time at an elementary school or a middle school or a high school camp.
And so we want to make a way for them to go.
So every dollar that's collected tonight is going to go towards some child in this church going to either vacation Bible school or summer camp who can say amen.
Heavenly Father, I pray that you'll bless these offerings right now.
I pray that whoever places any money into them will be uh Given back in the name of Jesus Christ.
I pray that you will multiply the seeds that they are planting so that it will be ex- Expressed in a in a beautiful way in the lives of these children.
And I pray, Father God, that every boy and every girl, every young man and every young woman who desires To go to camp or VBS will be able to go this summer because all the money is available in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
We pray, and together everyone says, Amen.
I wanna cop a little louder than before I wanna sing a little louder than before.
I wanna jump higher than before.
I wanna shout a little louder.
I wanna clap a little louder than before.
I wanna sing a little louder than before.
I wanna spin wilder than before.
I wanna shout a little louder.
I want to cut.
I wanna love a little deeper than before.
I wanna worship deeper than before.
I just got a shadow now.
No more shackles, no more chains, no more bondage.
I am free.
No more shackles, no more.
No more shackles, no more cheese, no more badge, I am free, yeah I won't be bound by the end, no more shackles, no I've battled I agree.
No more, no more shackles, no more shades, no more bodies, I am free Say no more shackles and no more No more shaky, no more joke, no one did shut and free No Shakespeare, no more shaky.
No more judge, I sing Oh sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
You may be seated the The second picture that you see in these verses is a picture of provision and protection.
Psalm 144, verses 13-14.
Listen to what it says.
That our barns, this is what the Summist is believing, that our barns may be full.
Now I know I know you don't have barns today for the most of us But it's basically saying that your bank accounts will be full.
Can anyone say amen?
That's what he's believing for, supplying all kinds of produce. that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields, that our oxen may be well laden, that there be, listen to this No breaking in or going out, that there be no outcry in the streets Are you listening to what he's saying?
He's saying all my needs and all the needs of my family are going to be completely taken care of in Jesus' name.
And then he goes a step further and he says that crime is going to go down.
There's not going to be any break-ins any longer.
The people are going to be safe and secure because everyone cares and loves for one another.
Who can say amen?
That's what he's communicating.
Now listen, this isn't going to be easy.
I'm not saying it's simple.
Proverbs chapter 14, verse 4 says this: where there are no oxen, the manger is clean.
Are you listening to what he's saying?
He's saying, yeah, if if if you actually go down the path he's talking about, it's gonna get a little messy.
If you want cows in the barn, there's some mistakes that happen.
There are some messes that are made.
Growth is messy.
If you want the increase for your kids, for your life, for your church, and for your community, we have to be okay with the mess that comes with it.
Think of the little pots that we had here.
You probably don't know this, but uh we put some a seed in it earlier today, and we didn't know that the seed had been marinating in cow manure.
I walked into this room at eleven thirty today and it smelt like a farm.
That's what it smelt like And it was stinky and smelly, and for your benefit, we got rid of those seeds and we got packaged seeds instead.
Not the ones that were sitting in fertilizer, but uh we got some packaged seeds instead.
And so soil is dirty Water spills, kids make noise, but a clean barn is an empty barn.
Embrace the holy mess of a growing family and a growing church who can say amen number three and finally a picture of happiness and contentment so I want you to see what happens here He's going through a real struggle.
And so he starts calling out to the God that he knows, the God who's given him victory And then he says, God, rescue me, come down, protect me.
And he starts singing this prophetic music that the Holy Spirit is Placed into his heart, and he begins to visualize life on the other side of the battle.
And he begins with family because that's the building block of all society.
Then he starts thinking about prosperity and how God is going to take care of all of their needs.
And then he starts thinking about the end product is happiness. and contentment.
So verse 15 says this happy are the people who are in such a state, happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
So you know what this verse makes me think about?
The holiday Thanksgiving.
And whenever I think of Thanksgiving, I I start getting pictures of what's happened in my life over the years.
And thanksgiving has always involved three things in my life.
It first is about family.
We would always gather together as a family It always centered around food.
There was always a big turkey, some ham, something like that.
And we always talked about our faith.
Because the the basis of thanksgiving, you can't be thankful just to nobody.
Somebody had to have done this and that somebody is God who can say amen.
And so you wrap those three things together and you've got this attitude of thanksgiving that is absolutely beautiful.
So tonight I want to invite you all to come forward at this time, and we're going to eat a meal together.
It's called communion.
It's called the Lord's Supper.
And if you don't feel comfortable with that, that's okay.
We will take the elements to you if you would desire.
But I I want us to get in this space right here in the front And uh we are going to pass the plates family style.
You probably know what I mean.
If you're sitting at a table with eight or ten people from your family, somebody grabs the turkey, they take a piece, and they pass it to the next person.
That's how we're gonna distribute both the wine and the bread today.
It's just gonna be family style.
Hand it out.
Hand it out.
Don't hold on to it.
I don't want you holding on to it.
You're passing it.
Yes, we're passing it one to another.
Go ahead, grab it, and just start passing it out.
That's how it's done in the family.
There are no deacons or or important people who are handing it out It's mom and dad, it's brother and sister, it's family members, it's cousins, it's aunts, it's uncles.
That's who we are as the body of Christ We are related to one another through the blood of Jesus Christ who can say amen.
And so I just need you to know that That my desire for Oxford Assembly of God Church is that something special and beautiful take place here My desire is that we actually start seeing each other as family.
That we actually start treating one another as family.
It's not just something that the pastor says once in a blue moon.
It's something that we live out every single day of our lives.
Who can say Amen?
Amen.
I'll take one.
Oh.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I do need one person to grab one of those plates and take it back to the people who are sitting because I don't want anybody left out if they desire.
No one has to partake of communion if you don't want to.
This is freedom for you to choose, freedom for you to express your worship towards God in whatever way you desire tonight.
Now, we believe that communion is super, super important.
We believe that this little container contains the gospel message in such a beautiful way that we want everyone to live it and everyone to experience it.
So let me just tell you a little bit about this as you're still Passing out everything.
On the bottom, and you can do this right now if you've got it, I want you to pull the little tag and a cracker will fall out into your hand.
That cracker represents the the flat bread that Jesus passed out to his disciples 2,000 years ago.
And think about this.
It was almost exactly 2,000 years ago because Jesus probably died on the cross around 30 A.
D.
And we're at 20.
26, 2000.
So it's almost exactly 2,000 years ago that Jesus died on the cross.
And this is what Jesus said.
He said, This piece of bread represents my body.
Which is going to be broken for you.
So earlier tonight we prayed for healing of bodies.
This is the proof that we can ask that in Jesus' name.
Because he, the night before he was betrayed, he took this bread and he broke it and he gave it to his disciples and said, Eat this in remembrance of me.
And then three days later He rose from the dead, which tells us that Jesus really is exactly who he says he is.
He's the second person of the Trinity.
He is equal with God.
He's called the Son of God He's called the Son of Man because he was willing to die on the cross for you and for me.
Because we were the ones who were supposed to die on the a horrible death.
But instead, Jesus took that place for us.
Is there anyone who does not have communion, but they desire to have it?
Anybody?
So on the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, he blessed it, he broke it, he gave it to his disciples, and he said, Eat this in remembrance of me.
Let's eat the bread together.
So now you can pull that top label off.
And before I get there, those of you who prayed for healing tonight, I just need you to know that God works in a spectacular way during communion services.
I've seen more healings during communion than all over all other services combined.
So as you start walking out of this place tonight, do not be amazed if all of a sudden the limp is gone.
Do not be amazed if the pain disappears.
Do not be amazed if the headache goes away.
That's how our God works.
And He still does miracles today.
Who can say Amen?
That's the God that we serve.
So all of a sudden we're left with this grape juice, which is the fruit of the vine.
And in Jesus' day, yes, they they drank real wine, just so you know, but it was probably 1% alcohol.
It wasn't like the wine we have today, especially for a communion meal.
It might have been 2% alcohol, but but it was it was just as close to grape juice as it is to to wine today, okay?
And and so Why I say that is because there's a lot of legalism in regards to issues like this.
And one of the reasons why Jesus came back was to let us know that we can't keep the law.
None of us will ever be good enough to do what the Bible says we need to do.
So we needed Jesus to save us.
Who can say amen?
So only Jesus was the only perfect one ever.
Only Jesus was worthy to die for everybody else's sins.
And to think about it.
There's probably what 8 billion people in the world today?
Maybe over the course of history there might be another 5 to 10 billion.
So maybe 15 billion people in the history of the world.
And every sin from every person rested on one man's shoulders.
Every you wonder why he was crying in the Garden of Eden?
You wonder why his tears contained blood?
Because the physical body in which he was abiding, his essence.
The physical body couldn't really contain all of that pain and all of that pressure.
And the body began to break long before he went to the cross.
Long before the sword was thrust, or the spear is thrust into his side.
Long before the crown of thorns was placed upon his head.
Those were just things to fulfill prophecy.
Sin is what broke Jesus.
Sin is what made Jesus so sad.
And yet the Bible says, who for the joy set before him.
Do you know what that joy is?
That joy is your face.
Jesus was looking down history 2,000 years into the future and he saw you.
He saw your face.
He saw this evening and he recognized that person is going to accept me.
It's worth it.
That person is going to get saved.
It's worth it.
Eight kids are gonna get water baptized at Oxford AG.
It's worth it in Jesus' name.
And so while he was on that cross, his blood was literally shed.
And Jesus says this.
He says, this blood, this cup, represents my blood, which is going to be a new covenant for all of you.
All covenants were established through the shedding of blood.
And the last and greatest covenant is the covenant that God kept with Jesus, and you and I are the beneficiaries of it.
And this is it right here.
So Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me.
Let's drink the cup together.
I would like to ask the prayer partners to stand on this side of the altar benches in case somebody needs prayer.
We've got one last song of celebration.
You are free and dismissed if you want to go. now but we encourage you stay with us for this last song.
