First of all, let me be... I cry at Hallmark commercials, I'm sorry. Just an emotional guy. I just want to tell you what a joy and a privilege it is to be here on this occasion. And, you know, the scripture says in Hebrews chapter 12, let us, therefore let us, due to the fact that we have a great crowd of witnesses. There is in this room a support system that's incredible. I hope that one of the lessons you'll learn, and you've been taught since you were just a baby, the value of church. And 59 times in the New Testament, there's the admonition of one another. Care for one another, love one another, pray for one, encourage one another. All the more as you see the day. I believe the day is drawing near, folks. I believe the Lord's returning. We're in that season. And if there's one thing, one area that I hope above all you'll become so proficient at, and that is being the church, being engaged in each other's lives. But there's an incredible support system in here. I saw Ms. Talley here. I'm so thankful for two people that were sensitive to the Holy Spirit's calling to begin a Christian school in 1982. As a matter of fact, the first building we built, we had bought from an army base. And yeah, we paid pennies on the dollar. The expense was just getting it here. And we were educating. They were using that as a barracks to train men. And we're still using it today to train children. And so I speak on my wife's behalf. It is such a joy to be a part of kingdom education. and to see individuals engaged in one another, it's just incredible. And Chris, I hope that you'll just be overwhelmed tonight before you go to bed. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will just overwhelm you in a sense of gratitude. You know, we often talk about a partnership at Arlington Heights Christian School. The partnership was easy when we have families like this. because we're just a secondary influence. You guys are the primary faith influence. And it is such a joy when you know you've got that support system in place. Kingdom education becomes easy. And I'm thankful. You know, I'll never forget, Chris. I don't coach anymore. You know, I'm getting old, and I don't coach anymore, and I'm not in the classroom anymore. And I'm saddened by it, because I don't have the engagement with the kids. And that breaks my heart. But I remember in practice, Chris was running some routes, and I had an assignment. And I was going to play either cornerback or safety. And he had to read what I was going to do and then act accordingly. And on this particular day, he didn't read it right. And he just hit me. He just hit me. And, you know, I was pretty tall in stature. And he said, I think he said, Pastor Dan, I think there was a tree out there I hit. And I act cool, I act cool like it didn't hurt me. And I was like, you okay, son? And when he walked away, I was like, oh, I got hit by a bowling ball. But I miss that stuff. I miss being engaged in the life of students. But tough act to follow, two incredible men that I got to partnership with in ministry, Coach and Mr. Herb and Dad. So I just want to bring some things from my heart, and then we're going to pray the blood of Jesus over you. You know, we're engaged in spiritual warfare. You know that. Every day's a battle. And I'll tell you this, the battleground that Satan so often use is in our mind. And the strategy he uses is questions. Sometimes he'll make a statement and we'll call into question some things, right? That's what he did when Eve was in the garden. He said, did God really say, for the first time, Eve, who trusted so much in her sovereign Lord, never once called into question anything he did, began to doubt God. And that's what the devil does. And you're about to engage in some huge decisions and some huge steps. And Coach, you said it well. I was raised by a father who was a drill sergeant at Fort Port, Louisiana. I mean, it was crazy. My dad would throw a quarter on the bed, and if it didn't bounce, I'd have to make it up again. And my dad, when he was raised, was raised in an abusive home. And so he felt like, I need the military to get my life right. And when he finished the military, he found out there was only one way to get to the right life, and that was through Christ Jesus. I'm so thankful that God changed his life. But you're going to be with an incredible amount of men. And and some of them are gonna call things and put some things into your minds. You see we've got three enemies It's not just the Satan. It's the enemy of the flesh and the enemy of culture others And I just I want you to hold fast to the principles that you've been taught all throughout your life at home at school and in your church because never more will they become that much more relevant. In the middle of the fire, when the devil puts those things into your mind, right? There's a scripture in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, it says that we're to take every thought Every lofty thought, I didn't bring my Bible this morning, I feel like a heathen. Every lofty thought that raises itself above the knowledge of God, that's God's Word. When that happens, we're in deep trouble. We're in deep trouble. And so what I hope will take place is all those, you know, the scripture says, God's word does not return void, but sets forth to do his intended purpose. But it's amazing. And I appreciate, coach, have a life verse, right? Because when the devil begins to put those thoughts in your, you know what I'm talking about, Chris, he's probably already done that plenty of times in your life, hadn't he? Anybody can testify in the room of that happening in your life? Absolutely, absolutely, every day. As a matter of fact, Sunday morning before I preach, you know, it's cool to have like-minded pastors in the school, and we talk about it so often on Sunday morning before we preach. I mean, there's all these thoughts, like, where are these coming from, right? The devil doesn't want the Word to go forth, so he puts these thoughts. So when that happens, listen, I hope that you'll take the Word of God. and place it, right, in its rightful place, that you'll demolish those strongholds. And a stronghold is a position that the enemy has where he's just, you know, that scripture says, therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of litmus, let us, right, so that we can, what, run the race. And so often the devil will do what he can to entangle us. All right, so hold high the word of God, okay? And remember, listen, remember the counsel that your parents gave you. Remember the counsel that your siblings gave you. Yes, actually, your younger siblings and your older siblings, right, brought counsel in your life. And listen, one of the joys of parenting is watching, and my wife can testify, is my children still love each other, but they like each other. They like each other, they like hanging out. Sometimes they'll FaceTime me, they'll be together. It just blesses me so much, I'm like, Keep that relationship going. You guys call each other when you feel like you're just, oh, you know, the thoughts are, call your siblings, right? You guys will listen. Andres, I know you will, right? Yeah. You guys be there for one another. And then I appreciate so much. I was gonna do it whether you asked me or not, but we were gonna pray over your son. Tomorrow's Mother's Day, Leti, and I hope that the Holy Spirit just overwhelms you in joy and peace. You know, one of the things that my mom used to do when I go out on Friday nights, I'd come home and she'd be in a rocking chair. She loved to rock. She'd be in a rocking chair and she'd want me to kiss her goodnight. And I thought it was because she loved me, but later on she said, no, it wasn't because she loved me. Well, she loved me, but she said, I wanted to see if I could smell alcohol in your breath. And she did. And she would quiz us and ask all these questions. And then she said, I want you to know that every night that you were out, I was praying the blood of Jesus over you. And you know, the blood of Jesus is such a powerful thing. And we don't hear it being preached today. It was the blood of Jesus that when placed on the doorpost of the mantel that caused the death angel to pass over. It brought protection. And sometimes we don't know how to pray for our kids, do we, parents? It's just so overwhelming, but I wanna encourage you to pray the blood of Jesus. Now, there's nothing more powerful, I believe, than a mother praying the blood of Jesus over their sons and their daughters. And so we're gonna do that this evening. And so Chris, I just want you to stand right smack down right there in the middle. And then we're gonna form two circles. So I think we can do this. We're gonna form two circles. Kind of stand in the middle. One's gonna be an inner circle and that's gonna be your family. I want you guys just to surround Chris. Kind of get in the middle because we're gonna have to have some. Yeah, right there. You guys just form, join hands and just form a circle. And then I want those that taught Chris, or coached Chris, or pastored Chris, or people in his church that were mentors, okay? If you feel so compelled, I want you, we'll make it happen. I want you to come and I want you to form another circle outside this circle. So come right now, come on. Yeah, you guys just circle around these guys. And if you would, just lay hands on him, all right? In church, I want you to do this. I want you to just extend your hand out, okay? If it gets tired, put the, you know, use the other hand to hold it up, but don't let that, don't let down. We're gonna be like Moses and Aaron, right? Or her. Her and Aaron, excuse me, holding up Moses' hands. But let's pray over Chris, okay? Gracious Heavenly Father, this moment that we're in right now is a holy moment. The scripture says in James chapter 5, verse 16, It says, let us pray. Because there's something about prayer. We're not sure that we understand all the nuances. I know for a fact we don't understand in detail the power behind it, but we know, Lord Jesus, that you've asked us to pray. And the scripture says that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The power works And so we've gathered around this young man as a symbol to say, Lord Jesus, we love him. We're in partnership with you. We've answered the call, Lord Jesus, that you impressed upon our heart, and that is to invest in this young man. And so God, I pray that today, Lord Jesus, He would just be overwhelmed in a sense of peace, that He'd be overwhelmed in a sense of purpose, that He'd be overwhelmed knowing without a doubt the call that's before Him. I'm not sure he knows all the details, but God, he knows, Lord Jesus, that he's to seek first your kingdom and all your righteousness, Lord Jesus. And so, God, I pray for him and I pray for his family, Lord Jesus. I'm sure that they're going through some mixed emotions, Lord Jesus. God, I pray that you would reward them. God, I know that their role will change. They'll always be parents, but now they'll be advisory parents. Sometimes that's even more challenging because they're no longer under our roof, no longer have that sort of jurisdiction and somewhat control. So God, I pray your blessings over Chris and over Leti. I pray that you would strengthen them day by day. And Lord Jesus, that they would rejoice with the good news God, that when they hear the things that maybe strike fear into them, Lord, I pray, Lord Jesus, that they would pray that blood of Jesus over Chris. God, we're believing you're gonna bring protection in his life. We're believing, Lord Jesus, that you're gonna bring provision in his life, that everything that Chris has need of, that you're gonna supply. You promised that, and I thank you for that, Lord Jesus. And God, I pray, Lord, that you'd bless this church. I pray that you'd overwhelm them in the blessing of this moment, Lord Jesus. God, that they would have this sense of knowing that because of their obedience, Lord Jesus, Christ is gonna do some wonderful things. And so, God, we thank you for this time that we've had to be together, Lord Jesus. God, thank you for the fellowship they're going to have. As we say in Jesus name, amen. We break bread together. I pray that we'd sense your presence there as well. And God, we thank you. Thank you that you've given us everything that we have need of for a life of godliness. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that resides in Chris. And I pray that daily he would fan into flame that gift of God. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have graced him with an incredible church, the household of faith, that God, even on the ship or in his sense of duties, Lord Jesus, that the church would rally around his life, Lord. God, I'm thankful, Lord Jesus, for the Word of God. And I pray that he would take the liturgy for this big giving to him. In addition, your Holy Scripture, which is the standard, the precedence, and God, that every day he'd grow in your grace. Thank you, God, for what you're gonna do. He who began a good work, you'll be faithful to carry it on to completion. Thank you for that promise until the day of your returning. So God, we just glory in you. We're thankful, Lord Jesus, for you are our Savior, you are our Redeemer, and to you be the glory. And we ask all these things in the name to which there is no name above the name of Jesus. And the whole church says together in Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen.