Craig Groeschel - Different Values in an Unholy Culture
Okay, I'm ready to teach today. Who's ready to help me, all of our churches, to hear God's word today? Pastor Danny, Pastor Danny in Overland Park, let me try this again. I need a little more from Overland Park. I might need some help from them. I'm ready to teach today. Who's ready to help me today, all of our churches? We're in the book of First Peter in a message series called "Different". If you were not with us last week, we looked at the context of First Peter. Peter was riding into a group of people that were extremely persecuted. Nero had most likely burned Rome, blamed the Christians. They were already hated, and they were going through extreme trials, and Peter was gonna tell them a lot of different things.
A couple of dominant themes is hope, it comes again and again. You're gonna see the hope that we have in the coming kingdom of our lord. And then he's gonna tell them that this world is not your home, and because this world is not your home, you're called to be different. This world is not our home, we're just passing through, we're sojourners. We're aliens, we're strangers. Because this world is not our home, we're called to be different, we're set apart. We will be different in the way we raise our children, we'll be different in the way we communicate love, we'll be different in the way we live. If we're followers of Jesus, we will be different. In fact, I would love today if all of our churches, if you would help me do something a little bit different. Every location, all 27 Life.Churhes, would you mind just right now standing to your feet in honor of reading God's word? All of our churches, if you would, let's just stand together, and I wanna set the tone for our message today.
We're gonna talk about different values in an unholy culture. This is God's word, First Peter chapter one, verses 13 and following. Peter said, "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written," God says, "'Be holy, because I am holy.' Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear". This world is not your home. You are passing through. Because this world is not your home, it is not your location that designates your values. It is your destination, where we are going, that sets the tone for how we are to live. The challenge for so many of you, and I just wanna say it, and I want you to feel it. The biggest obstacle that so many people have today to fully following Christ is the desire to fit in.
We want to be liked, we want to be accepted, we want to be like everybody else, but if we're following Jesus, we will not look like the rest of the world. We will be set apart, and we will be different. In fact, when you think about what normal is today, I honestly don't wanna have anything to do with what I see as normal. What is normal? Normal is paycheck to paycheck, isn't it? Normal is tension in marriages and divorce, isn't it? Normal is a mind full of lust and jealousy and envy. Normal is overwhelmed and overworked. Normal is stress and anxiety and sleepless nights. I believe that God did not call us to live a normal life on this world, but to be set apart and to be much different. The problem is, Jesus said there is a broad road and a wide path, and most people are on it. The challenge with that path is it leads toward destruction. That is the normal road, but there is a different road. It's a smaller path, the gate is not quite as big, and Jesus said only a few people are on that road, and that road leads to life. I would just ask you today to just be real honest and examine, which path are you traveling? Are you on the broad one that leads toward destruction, or are you set apart? Are you different? Because if you're a follower of Jesus, this world is not your home. God calls you to be different.
So, Father, today I pray that by the power of your holy spirit, you would do something that only you can do. God, I need a lot of help with this message. Would you personalize it? Would you internalize it, God? Would you help us be transformed from the inside out, God, that you would raise a standard above the culture of this world, but God, you would impart to us the values of the kingdom that is to come, God. May we live as strangers, foreigners, aliens, serving you, the king of kings, the lord of lords. Empower us, God, to be different. For your glory, we pray this in Jesus' name, and everybody said, "Amen, amen".
All of our churches, why don't you find about five people, high five 'em right now, tell 'em, "You are really different. You are really, really different. You are crazy different". As you guys are being seated, let me just say this up front. All of our churches, if you are perfect, like if you never ever mess up, this message is not for you. You have a by, you can just click out right now if you're perfect. This is a message for those who are not perfect. If you wonder, maybe you're new here, "Hey, is that pastor guy perfect"? just ask the person who knows me and they will tell you, "No way, he's not". But just to even illustrate it more, I wanna tell you one of my more embarrassing moments of imperfection. It's a story I've told before, but it's got an application that will be a little bit different. When I got married to Amy, we were, I was 23, she was 20 years of age, and we bought our first home together. It was a little two-bedroom, one-bathroom house that she said was her dream home that we could live in forever, and that was true until we had six kids, and then that one bath didn't work.
We loved this house. In fact, I've got a picture of it. This is the only picture I have, and yes we are matching, and yes, we're in love, and no, we do not care. That was us in front of our little house. We love this place. The only problem was, since it was built in 1910, it only had one closet, and it was about this big, in the whole house. So, we had more stuff than would fit in that closet. So, thankfully, it had a basement. We had just moved into the house. The only problem was, we didn't know that the basement flooded. So, we put all of our valuable stuff in the basement, Amy's wedding dress, and whatever things we had, and the night before I was gonna preach my very first message ever for my pastor, I was excited, this big rainstorm hit, I mean big time. Amy happened to look down in the basement, and she started screaming, "My wedding dress, my wedding dress, it's flooding". I said, "Stand back, honey. Here I come to save the day".
And I ran down there into the basement, knowing that the previous owners had left a sump pump in the basement, which should have been a clue to dummy that perhaps water got in the basement. I was down there in almost waist-deep water looking for that pump. Finally found it with my feet, reached down, and found a cord. I thought, "Okay, this is good. There must be a place to plug this in somewhere," and sure enough, there was. The previous owners had left an extension cord that went all the way to the rafter just above me, and it was right up there, and so I thought, "Well, look what the Lord provided". Now, you may be thinking, "It's probably not wise to plug something in when you're standing waist-deep in water". I want you to know that I did think of that, but I also thought to myself, "I am faster than the average male". So, I thought to myself, "If I'm really fast, like, I mean, so fast your eyes can almost not see, I might be faster than the speed of electricity".
So, suddenly, I can do this. So, Amy was standing on the steps, looking down at me, and she's like, "Do something, don't get hurt, be careful, do something". "I've got this, I've got this". So, the last thing I remember was the prongs touching, and I felt a shock come through my body that I pray none of you ever feel. It started down at my feet, moved rapidly through my body. There was a bad word that formed in the back of my brain, and when the force of the electricity hit that word, it pushed it up through my brain with such velocity, my mouth was not able to contain the force of the word, and it came out. And it didn't just came out, but it kept coming out and kept coming out, and kept coming out. And my wife's eyes looked about this big. You're wondering what level of bad word it is, 'cause you know there's levels right? There's kind of like entry-level profanity, there's mid-level profanity, there's expert-level profanity that will get you in trouble.
I won't tell you what word it is, you can just wonder. But my wife's eyes were in a sheer panic, knowing the last thing I say before I meet Jesus might rhyme with duck in the middle of the basement, and it's just coming out, and I cannot even contain it. It wouldn't stop. Finally, finally it stopped, and she didn't know whether to pray, call the ambulance, whatever, and smoke coming out of my hair. Not really, but I laugh about it now, but at the time, I felt incredible shame. Because before I was a follower of Jesus, that's just the way I was. That would happen, I would say that kind of stuff, and then the same mouth that uttered that word was the mouth that was supposed to proclaim the goodness of God the next day. How could someone that has that within them, with integrity proclaim God's word? You may say, "That's not that big a deal, everybody would do it," and the truth is, a lot of people would, but we're not called to live like a lot of people. We're called, as Jesus followers, to be set apart and to be different.
Now, here's the sort of good news. The sort of good news is, I did learn over time to stop saying words in situations like that. In other words, I got control of my mouth and didn't speak like that externally. The problem is, internally, those words didn't stop. I was outwardly conformed to the right standard, but inwardly, I was still sinning in my mind, and that is a real issue before God. I wanna use that today to introduce, and I'll come back to this big idea, what is God's call to us in this world today to holiness? How does this play out in the life of a Jesus follower? What I wanna do is look again at the text in First Peter chapter 1, verse 14, and this is what Scripture says. Peter said this, he said, "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance".
In other words, there's some of you who need to hear this, if you're a Jesus follower now, you should know better. There was a time when you didn't know, you go back in your life when you did whatever, but now that you're engaged and following Jesus, you should have some wisdom not to live like you used to live. He says, "But just as he who called you," just as God has called you, "is holy, so be holy in all that you do; for it is written," and God says, "'Be holy, because I am holy.' What I want you to know is the text does not say, "Be happy because I am happy". Did you notice that? God did not say, "Be happy because I am happy," he said, "Be holy because I am holy". I would argue today, what I call the theology of happiness is one of the most dangerous thoughts in Western Christianity. Those of you at church online in many parts of the world, this would not apply to you at all, but where I live, there are so many people who actually believe that God's highest and supreme calling for us is our happiness, that above all else, God wants us happy.
The problem with the theology of happiness is that when we believe above all else God wants us happy, that gives us permission to justify behaviors that are either sinful or unwise. When we believe above all else, God wants me happy, that if there is something that doesn't make me happy, then I want to do that which makes me happy even if it is wrong, sinful, or unwise. And you see this all the time. It's the person in the mirror struggling, "Well, this person doesn't make me happy, so I'm leaving. God surely doesn't want me unhappy". Or, "I want this thing so bad, I'll just steal this thing, or leverage myself in debt that's unwise, or whatever, to get this thing, because that thing will make me happy". Or, "I'm dating some person, and yeah, we're both Christians and we know that we really should remain pure, and we should wait until marriage to share the gift of love making, but you know, I'm a man, and man, we got needs. You know, I got needs, I got needs. God made me this way, and I got needs, and we're in love anyway, and we're already married in our hearts. You make me so happy". Boom boom boom, right? Whatever it is. Just fill in the blanks.
The problem is that whenever we think God exists to make us happy, then essentially, God exists to serve us. But God does not exist to serve us, we exist to serve God, and God calls us to be set apart and different. If God just wants us happy, then suddenly, risk, inconvenience, and suffering couldn't possibly be God's will. So, people think, "Well, I'm going through a hard time, God must not be with me," and they walk away from God. And without knowing it, when we idolize happiness, then suddenly we start to worship prosperity, ease, and comfort, which are idols which take our heart off the one true God. God's highest calling for us is not our happiness. God's highest calling for us is our holiness to be set apart and to please him. Happiness is based on happenings, happenings are not always pleasant. There is a joy in serving God, there is a fulfillment, there is a purpose in calling that goes well beyond happiness. God's highest calling for us is not just how we feel about our current moment. I hope this is gonna speak to somebody today. God is calling us to be holy.
What does that mean? If God's calling us to be holy, what does that mean? The Greek word that's translated as holy is the word hagios, and this word means to be holy, or it means to be set apart. It means to be different, it means to be pure. God says, "Be different because I am different, be pure because I am pure. Be set apart because I am set apart, be holy because I am holy". In other words, there are those of you that, you are different in some ways because you're following Jesus. If you are not different in any way, if you look like everybody else, spend money like everybody else, raise your kids like everybody else, live like everybody else, blend into culture like everybody else, I would submit to you, you are not following Jesus, because when you follow Jesus, you will be different from the things of this world. You will not hate your enemy, you will love your enemy. You won't seek revenge, you will seek to forgive. You're not living just for the things of this world, you're living for the eternal kingdom, because this world is not your home. You're different and set apart.
For example, I'll tell you something that's a little bit different about my two oldest daughters that are married now, Katie and Mandy. They both got married in the last couple of years, and I've forbidden my third daughter to get married for five years. It's just a rule in our house. We are recovering from two weddings in two summers in a row. Mandy and Katie, this is different, they were actually virgins when they got married, which, wouldn't you agree, that's a little different in this world today. That's a little different. They were virgins. In fact, they weren't only virgins, but they've only kissed one guy, and that obviously is the guy that they married. You may say, "Wow, that's really different". I'll tell you, it's not only different, but it's not 'cause they're ugly, either. They're very pretty girls. It's different because of the values that they have.
You may say, "Now, Craig, how in the world, in this world, did you instill those values in your daughters"? The answer is, I didn't, and we didn't. In other words, we tried to help teach them about purity, but we didn't teach them to only kiss one guy. Don't tell my other kids, but that's higher than my standards. I wasn't expecting that. That wasn't our values, that was their values. Now, where did those values come from? Let me just tell you this. Our goal, very early on, when they were little bitty kids, was to teach them that our family follows Jesus, and we believe they can follow Jesus. So, we modeled this, and we'd live out following Jesus, and we tried to give them the courage and the boldness to be different. We follow Jesus, and the courage and the boldness to be different. I'm gonna tell you, one of the ways we did this, and the way I'm gonna tell you could be a little controversial, so I'm gonna give it context. What I'm not doing is I'm not making a theological statement about a holiday. What I am doing is I'm making a practical statement about how we need to parent.
So, when I talk about this holiday, if this offends you or makes you mad, I really don't care at all. I'm not making a statement about the holiday. If you want to email me, email me at craig@idon'tgivearip.com. It is a real email address and there's an auto-response that's just for you if you email me there. So, again, I'm not making a theological statement about the holiday, this is a practical statement. Our kids were young, and we wanted to train them as Jesus followers, we're different. So, we had lots of things, we wouldn't watch certain shows, and we would go to church. Even when we're on vacation, we go to church. We still do that today, because we're people who need the body of Christ. We wanted something that was a little more dramatic that would set the tone in their hearts, and so when they were like, my oldest daughter was maybe four years of age, I studied, on Halloween, to answer a question for a Q&A series that we were doing, and what I recognized was what I kind of knew, but the origins of Halloween are very spiritually dark. You can do the research, and they're there.
So, we got to thinking about it, and we thought this would be a good example to teach our children, on this thing we're going to be different. Now, you ask me, do I think it's wrong, dangerous, or evil for kids to innocently be Scooby Doo or Micky Mouse and Wonder Woman and go trick or treat? The answer is no, no, no, not a bit. You wanna do that all day long, I think that's totally fine, innocent, no big deal, but in our family, what we wanted to do is say, because we know and understand the roots of this, we're actually gonna be different, and we're not gonna trick or treat. Now, that can be pretty devastating to a kid, unless you show them that different is good. Their favorite restaurant at the time was a restaurant called Chuck E Cheese. There is one day a year where nobody goes to Chuck E Cheese, and guess what day that is? Halloween night, there ain't nobody at Chuck E Cheese. So, we would say, "We don't do this, because as followers of Jesus, we're different, but we're gonna go to Chuck E Cheese and blow it out".
And for a tightwad dad who'd never spend anything, who would just give them free reign, they felt sorry for all your poor kids wearing a costume out in the cold, begging for candy, when they got unlimited candy, pizza, prizes, and they loved it. So, what we did was we said, "As Jesus followers, there are gonna be some things we're going to do that are going to be different from others," and that trained them, I believe, at a very early age to say, "Yes, we're going to be different". Again, I'm not trying to make a statement about Halloween, but here's what I am trying to say. Parents, hear me carefully. If you're not different in any way, you can never expect your children to be different. I want you to feel that. If you are not different in any way, you cannot expect your children to be different. It's quiet in here right now, and it should be. If we are not set apart, how do you expect your 16-year-old not to do drugs? How do you expect them not to end up pregnant when they're 17, because this is what everybody is doing. We have to be set apart in our own example and give our children the courage to be willing to be set apart, not just to be weird, but because we're following a higher mission and a calling.
Our God says, "Be holy because I am holy," therefore we're going to be different. Peter goes on to say this, I wanna look at verse 14. He says, "So you must live as God's obedient children," and then I love the way the New Living translates it. It says, "Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires". Don't slip back, don't slip back, don't slip into it, don't fall into your old ways. There are some of you today, if I could just be honest, you got on fire for Jesus, and then what happened? You slipped back, you slipped back into something. Don't slip back. I love that imagery, because how many of you know you can slip into sin? Anybody know what I'm talking about? You can fall into trouble. I have never heard anyone say, "I slipped into righteousness". I have never heard anyone say, "I was walking along, and I tripped and became holy. Whoa, I'm so holy, I have no idea how that happened. That was an accident. I'm just righteous, wow, okay".
What happens is, your enemy will undercut you, will lie to you, will sneak into you. Your spiritual enemy, his name is Satan, he is the father of lies, he is the prince of darkness, he is the great deceiver. He doesn't come at you with obvious tactics, like, "Hey, hey, you ought to be a devil worshiper. Yeah, yeah". He doesn't come at you with little horns and his pitchfork and a little tail thing, "Hey, you ought to sacrifice chickens in your garage," he doesn't do that. What does he do? He's much too smart for that. He does the same thing to us that he did back in the garden of Eden when the serpent said to Adam and Eve this, "Did God really say you shouldn't eat the fruit from that tree? Did God really say you can't do that"? This is the very same thing that has played out again and again and again. "I mean, look at the era we live in. Does God really say that's wrong? I mean, that might have been wrong a long time ago, but hey, we're new and enlightened today. Did God really say that you can't do this and you can't go there and that you shouldn't watch that show? I mean, it's really funny, I mean, it's really amazing, and I know there's some naked people, I know there's some cussing, I know there's some violence, but it's really, really funny".
Funny doesn't make wrong right. Funny doesn't make wrong right. "Did God really say I can't smoke the funny weed? Where does it say that in the Bible? Did God really say I can't listen to this or hang out with," whatever it is, you fill in the blanks. This is the part that I don't wanna get just nitpicky, I want you to be open to wherever you're falling prey to, "Did God really say..". "Well, I'm better than a lot of people. I mean, you should see my friends". A lot of people aren't to standard. God says, "Be holy, be set apart, because I am holy". As Jesus followers, we are different, different. One of the ways that we're different is that we need each other, we absolutely need each other. I'm trying to figure out how to help people in this culture today be effective followers of Jesus, because what I'm seeing is the opposite. Let me just tell you what I'm seeing. I understand everybody's busy. I see people who have good intentions, who really do love God, who make it to church once or twice a month, and that's about it, honestly. No real time in God's word, no real personal worship, no real fellowship and strengthening.
That's one of the reasons why, honestly, we're talking a lot about life groups right now, because you can't live a victorious life coming to church a couple times a week and thinking that's gonna give you the spiritual strength to do it. There's too much pressure, too much opposition. So, what we do is we gather together once a week with other believers, and we strengthen each other, because we need it, because I need it, because we pray for each other, we strengthen one another. I put in your notes the four questions that we're gonna look at this week. This might demystify it for some of you. "What do they do there? Do they, you know, do we have to play with snakes"? or whatever. This is what, these are the questions we're gonna ask, and this'll kind of get your mind even going. This might be something you wanna discuss even at your next meal.
Here's our four questions that will help take what we're hearing today and move it from hearing to application. First question, what are the three areas I struggle most trying to fit in? If you can't name it, you can't defeat it. Let's name it. When is a time I put my happiness above God's call for holiness? Really powerful question. What are the biggest ways that I'm different from the world? The biggest ways I'm different. Many of you are different, we wanna celebrate that. And then the most important question, what is the biggest area that God wants me to be different? In other words, what is God showing you right now? What is it in your life that God wants to do a work and to set you apart to be different? You may say again, "Why does this even matter"? Once again, look at God's word, First Peter 1, and now we're gonna look at 18 and following. This is what Peter said. He said, "For you know, it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from this empty way of life".
It wasn't with the things of the world that you were brought out of this life, this empty way of life handed down from your ancestors, but it was with "the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect". It was the perfect work of Jesus on the cross when he shed his blood. Peter said, "He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God". Through Christ you are set free, through Christ you find life, through Christ you find victory, through Christ you overcome your addiction, through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, why? So that "your faith and hope are in God". Your faith and hope are not in you, your faith and hope are not in your ability to get it right, your faith and hope are in God. "Be holy because I am holy". It's through Christ that you are redeemed. I hope you'll hear this, this is so important. Being holy is not the pathway to knowing Christ.
You can't holy your way to him. Being holy is not the pathway to knowing Christ, but knowing Christ is the pathway to holiness. It starts with him, it begins with him, it's all about his power, his presence, it's his spirit. We need to understand, I'm not talking about an outward behavior modification. "I try to be good, I try to please God". I'm not talking about outward behavior modification, I'm talking about an inward spiritual transformation. I'm different, not that you don't hear me say the bad words on the outside, but now my mind is different, I don't think them on the inside. It's not that I have to be holy, it's that I want to be holy. It's not that I've got to do this, it's that I desire to do this, because the more time I spend with him, the more I want what he wants, the more I recognize this world is not my home, I'm just passing through.
I'm following the standards of the king of kings and the lord of lords, and he calls me to be different. Not just morally, not just in my behavior, but how I treat people and how I show love and what I do with my resources and how I express his light and love into this world, and it's not about my effort, it's all about his power. It's not about my goodness, it's all about his goodness. It's not about my strength, but it's about his strength in me. It's because he dwells in me that I can be different. Not outward behavior modification, but inward spiritual transformation. My old life is gone, now he dwells within me, and it's because he is in me that I have the ability to be different. Be holy because he is holy. How holy is God? God is so holy that moral man cannot look upon him in his purest essence and live.
That's how holy God is, and because of who he is and because of what he's done, we step off of the broad road that leads toward destruction and we step onto the narrow one that leads to life, and when people from over there yell and laugh and say, "That's weird, that's different, that's different," say, "Hey, let me tell you what. Sometimes different is better". And I would advise you to find out just how much better different is, because this road leads to life, and it's the road that I pray that you are on. If you are following Jesus, you will not look like the rest of the world. You will be different and set apart. So, Father, today I pray, God, that we would be even more conformed to your image. Help us, God, by your power, by your power, internally, to be different.
All of our churches, as you're reflecting in prayer today, those of you that are followers of Jesus, you might say, "I recognize some areas". Let me just tell you, this is the spirit of God showing them to you. I recognize some areas that I want to be different, not because I have to, but because I want to please God, I want my life to represent him. I want your help, God, to be different. Empower me, God, to be different and to pursue you in righteousness. If that's you today and you see some areas, all of our churches, would you just lift up your hands? God's speaking to you and showing you right now.
Father, I thank you so much that you're doing what I don't have the power to do, but you're personalizing this. And God, I pray that it would be very, very real to us. I pray, God, I pray for some teenagers that face enormous pressures, pressures earlier than what I faced, and they're much more intense. God, I pray you'd give them boldness. God, give them a heart to know you and serve you, and God, I pray that their different life would be appealing to others, and God, even when they're persecuted and mocked, we find comfort in that, because we know, God, that if you were persecuted, Jesus, we would be as well. Give them boldness. God, I pray for parents. I pray, God, that in our homes we would set some standards. We're different, our family is different. We know, God, if we're not different, we can't expect our children to be different, so God, give us the courage to hear from you of how you call us to be different, knowing that we all won't look the same, but in our home, as far as we go, this is how we serve our savior. God, for those who are battling with addictions, I pray, in the name that is above every name, that you would give them power, God, to break those addictions. God, you be the one who breaks the strongholds. Change our mindsets. God, I pray that we're not striving in effort on the outside to do what's right, but by your power on the inside you live through us a life that would be pleasing to you. God, help us, because this world is not our home, to be different, to be holy, and to be set apart in a way that honors you.
As you keep praying today at all of our churches, there would be those of you that right now, if you're just being honest, you're going, "Yep, that's not me. I'm not holy, and not even close". Let me just tell you, that's a really good place to start, because that's all of us. Every single one of us. Sometimes we'll try to compare and say, "Well, I'm better than a lot of people". A lot of people are not to standard. God's standard is holiness, and the truth is, every single one of us, all of us fall short. This is why God's good news is so amazing. God loves us so much that he did something for us that we are not able to do for ourselves. Jesus is called the lamb of God. What does that mean? In the Old Testament, people would make a temporary sacrifice of a lamb without blemish. Jesus became the permanent sacrifice, God, in the flesh, who was without sin, who shed his precious blood as a covering for all of our sins, Jesus died. On the third day he rose from the dead, defeating death, hell, and the grave. Why? So that anyone, and this includes you, who calls on his name would be saved, forgiven, and made new.
At all of our churches there are those of you, you're here, and you recognize you need his forgiveness, you need his grace. When you call on his name, he forgives every sin you've ever committed. He'll make you completely brand new. There are those of you, this is why you're here. Today is the day of your salvation, and you know it. All of our churches, you say, "Yes, I need his grace, I need his forgiveness. I turn from my sin, I turn toward Jesus". That's your prayer. Lift your hand high right now. All over the place lift them up and say yes. Right back over here, God blessed you in this section over here, right back over here, right close to me, and over here, as well. Bless you right back here and toward this section, way back in the back, lift 'em up high. Way back here, somebody ought to give God even more praise than that. Church online, you click right here. Others right here, say, "Jesus, I wanna follow you, I surrender my life to you". Would you pray out loud with those around you, pray,
Heavenly Father, I give you my life. Jesus, save me from my sins. Fill me with your spirit so I could be different and follow you. My life is not my own. I give it to you. Thank you for new life. Now you have mine. In Jesus' name, I pray.