Lord, you are an awesome God. Thank you that you are a great God. And Lord, we've come today to worship you and to come into your presence with our brothers and sisters in this church family. Lord, our desire is to lift you up and to be a light for you. You've done so much for us, Lord. Lord, we pray that you would help us to fulfill what you've called us to be and called us to do as a church and as individuals who claim your name, Lord. Lord, we know you're here with us this morning. We commit this time to you in Jesus' precious name. Amen, amen. Well, today I want to talk about this. This is our annual business meeting. I thought I'd talk about the church at 35,000 feet. And what I mean by that is seeing the big picture of the church. How many of you have ever been to the Grand Canyon? Ever been to the Grand Canyon? All right, I still remember the first time I went to the Grand Canyon. We drove up to this national park got out of our cars, and we began to walk up this little hill that was approaching the edge of the Grand Canyon. And the more I walked up this hill, the more I saw the grandeur of the Grand Canyon in front of me. It was amazing, and many of you probably have had that same experience. First walking up to this canyon that is so massive, it makes you feel so small. And yet I remember watching the Grand Canyon from a plane at 35,000 feet. It kind of looked something like this. And I realized that I was only looking at a corner of the Grand Canyon. What I saw was just a piece of that much bigger canyon, that much bigger picture that I could finally see from a plane at 35,000 feet. And my desire this morning is we kind of review the year and talk about the church and what it means is to see the church in a big picture fashion. What's God's plan for the church? Now we know that the church is not a building, amen? It is absolutely not a building. If this building burned down, it wouldn't impact the church because the church are the people of God. That's what the church is comprised of. It's not a building. We call this building a church, but really, you are the church. And you've been called for a specific purpose. You've been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You've been bought with a price. And because of that, we have a challenge in front of us to use our lives in a way that glorifies God. The world wants us to serve ourselves. The world wants us to find the hero in our lives, in ourselves. But the Word of God tells us something radically different, that we are sinners, that we are totally corrupt approach to life. But as we come to Jesus Christ, we find what life is all about. We find the true meaning of life. And that's what the church is. It's the body of believers coming together, worshiping together, encouraging one another, building one another up so that we can more effectively serve Jesus Christ in this world. And my prayer would be here at Riverview Church, more than anything else, you would sense a love and a unity and the presence of God as you come together and worship Him and open up His Word And you find that in His Word are the words of life. That this book is truly written by God. God wrote a book. It's in your hands. And that today when we open it up, we find the words of life. We find our guidebook for life. We find where we came from, why we're here, where we are going. And we find it with confidence in the Word of God. That's my prayer today. The bottom line as we talk about the church is we continue God's amazing story of the church. which began before the beginning of time. As we seek to glorify God in everything, we do by shining His light brightly. You know, the story of the church began before creation. God knew in His mind, in His heart, that you would be here today. He knew the days you would live before you lived them. He knew every person that would be part of the church around the world. He knew that Adam and Eve would sin. He knew that there would be a fall. And even before that fall, he had a plan in place to solve our sin problem. That's my first point this morning. God always had an answer for our sin problem. And my prayer would be that every one of us would realize, better than those who don't know Jesus Christ, that we have a sin problem. That before Jesus Christ came into our lives, we were helpless and hopeless. We were lost. I'd like you to turn your Bibles to Genesis 3. Genesis 3. John 3 is a great passage as well. but that's not where we're turning right now. As you know, God placed Adam and Eve in this beautiful garden after He created them in His own image. Adam and Eve were the only beings that were created in the image of God. That's why their life has special value. They were created in God's image. They were separate from the rest of the animal kingdom. Evolutionists want to tell us that's not the case, that we're just a progression through the animal kingdom, that we are the highest evolution of the animal kingdom. That's not the case in God's Word. God created Adam and Eve specifically, stamped His image upon them, gave them authority to rule and have dominion on this planet. And in the Garden of Eden, God told them they were to enjoy every tree that bore fruit, but there was one tree they were to stay away from, the tree of the knowledge of, Good and evil, exactly. There was one tree to stay away from. God said, enjoy the whole garden. Every tree is yours, except for one. What does that tell us? that God created Adam and Eve as free, responsible, moral agents. They were responsible for their actions. See, God did not want us to be programmed robots that were programmed to worship Him. He created you a responsible, moral agent. You have the ability to respond, yes or no. God gave Adam and Eve so much to enjoy, but one tree they were to stay away from. As you know the story, they obeyed God and they lived happily ever after. Is that the story? No, not at all. They walked with God. They fellowshiped with God. But instead of obeying God, they disobeyed God. Both Eve and Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disobeyed God. And at that moment, spiritual death came into the world. And a debt was accumulated that was too big to repay. Kind of reminds you of America today. A debt was so big that it's almost too big to repay. In this case, in Genesis chapter 2, it was. And as you know, in Genesis chapter 3, let me start at verse 1, the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. This is not a fairy tale, this is a real story, an encounter that Adam and Eve had with Satan, that Eve had with Satan. He said to the woman, did God actually say to you, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? Do you hear what the serpent is doing? He's saying, did God actually say you can't eat of all the trees? Did He actually put a limit on you that said you can't eat from one of these trees? Do you hear how He twisted the perspective? He twists it. God is limiting you, Eve. You should be allowed to eat from every tree, any tree. And God had given something to Adam and Eve that was wonderful, but the serpent twisted it. And Adam and Eve both ate from the tree. I'd like you to jump. Verse 12, you see when God confronts Adam, Adam said, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit and I ate. Do you see what's happening? Adam is blaming Eve for what he did. He's placing the blame somewhere else. Then the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done? The woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. The woman is pointing to the serpent, blaming someone else. See the Habit of blame shifting is as old as sin itself. What do I do when I sin? I want to blame somebody else. I want to blame it on my spouse, or my kids, or my circumstances, instead of taking responsibility, which the Word of God tells us to do. No, you are responsible. See, sin would not be sin if you did not have the ability to say no to that sin. But you do have the ability. Then the Lord said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." See, even in the very beginning, Genesis 3.15, God had a plan for our sin. He talked about the offspring of the woman bruising, a better translation would even be, I think, crushing the head of Satan. Yet Satan would bruise his heel. See, Satan would have what seems to be a victory over Jesus, but Jesus would have the ultimate victory over Satan and sin and death. Even in the very beginning, God had a plan for our sin problem. Theologians call this the first good news, the Proto-Evangelium. The first good news that we find in the Bible, the first pointing towards Jesus in the Old Testament is found right here in Genesis 3.15 at the very beginning. See, God had a plan for you. God had a plan for your sin. God had a plan for the church to be in existence, for there to be a redemptive plan for every human being. Because the reality is the wages of sin, as Romans says, is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And my prayer would be that that message would never get old in your life. That you would never be like stale about that. You know, I've heard that so much before. That's old news to me. I don't rejoice in that anymore. But that every day when you get up, you sense the victory that you have in Jesus Christ. That in the very beginning, God had a plan for our sin problem. He had the answer. Even when Adam and Eve disobeyed and sin and death entered into the world. If you have your Bibles, turn to Romans 5. We're going to turn to another passage that talks about how sin entered into the world. We're going to jump around a little bit as we understand the big picture of the church and what it's all about. Romans 5.12 talks about it. It says this, Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, that was Adam, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all have sinned. For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come." See, Adam was the first perfect man without sin, but he failed. So God sent the next perfect man, Jesus Christ, who did not fail. He lived a sinless life and laid down his life for you and for me on the cross. See, the law was never meant to bring us to heaven. The law was never given as a means by which we could be good enough to get to heaven. The law was a tutor to train me to see in my flesh that I have sinned. And when I look at the Word of God, I think, I'm not like that. I don't meet God's standard. See, the law was a tutor to bring me to the cross so that I would kneel at the cross and say, Lord, you died on the cross for me. You took the penalty for my sin. See, Adam was a type of the perfect man who was to come, the perfect man who would not fail, the God-man who was worthy to take your sins and mine upon the cross. That's why you're here this morning. That's why even in the midst of trials and tribulations in this world, there can be joy in our hearts because we know this is just a breath. and then this world is gone, our lives are gone, but we will spend eternity with the God who created us, who loved us enough to die on the cross for us. That's why we're here. That's why Riverview Church exists. That's why we have a challenge. That's why we have a mission that should give us hope and courage and joy every day, that we have something in our lives much bigger than ourselves. We have the church, the body of believers around the world, and if you've done any traveling at all, And you meet people who know Jesus Christ, you know there's an immediate bond, even though they may come from a different culture, even though they were raised differently than you. There was an immediate bond. We were in Phoenix with my daughter, I think I mentioned it a few moments ago, at this volleyball tournament. And I was at a store, and I happened to see we were wearing wristbands, and I happened to see an elderly gentleman and his wife and his daughter that were there at the store, but they had the wristbands. So I said, hey, you're at the volleyball tournament. And he said, yeah, we are. And I said, well, we are too. And we started talking. He was from Alaska. He has this hunting lodge in Alaska that you can only fly to. You can't drive to it. He has five airplanes. And that team from Alaska had come down to try to win the tournament. And you know what? I started to watch the Alaskan team, and they won. They beat every other team in the tournament. They won the whole thing at the 18's division. But then I found out, as we began to talk, I told him I was a pastor, and he went to a church up there, and I found out he was a brother in Christ. And so he came to my daughter's games, I came to the Alaskan team games. There was a bond that was built immediately between my family and his, because we are believers. My prayer would be that here at Riverview Church, every time you walk in, there may be differences that you have, with people as far as how you were raised or where you grew up or what your background is. But if you love Jesus Christ, you look at everyone else in this room as my brother and my sister. We are part of God's family because we've all experienced the reality of a God who loves us enough to die on the cross for us. But the story didn't stop there. As God had a plan for our salvation, for the payment of our sin, because the penalty of sin is death, Therefore, a death was required for our sin. God did this. God chose Israel to bring about that answer. I'd like you to turn your Bibles to Genesis chapter 22. Go back to Genesis. We're jumping around a little bit. This is important to understand how the church came about and what the church is all about. Genesis chapter 2. This is when God called Abraham to sacrifice the one and only son that Sarah and Abraham had together. His name was Isaac. I'm not going to read the whole passage. You can read it, but you probably know the story. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac and sacrifice his son. You might say, how could he do that? That's so horrible. Again, it was a pointing to Jesus Christ. See, God did not allow Abraham to sacrifice his son. You know the story, or you may know it. Before Abraham could take the knife and slaughter his own son, God stopped him and said, Abraham, now I know that you wouldn't withhold anything from me, because you're willing to give your only son for me. But on that same mountain, I believe, is where Jesus Christ was given as a sacrifice for our sins. See, God did what He would not allow Abraham to do. He sacrificed His own Son on that very same mountain for you and for me. And the more we read Genesis 22 and think of the horror of a dad being asked to sacrifice his own son, we're reminded of the fact that the Heavenly Father did that for us when He sacrificed His only son for us. And it was not stopped, it continued. He was nailed to a cross for you and for me. In Genesis chapter 22 verse 15, look what it says here after Abraham was stopped from sacrificing his son, the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven and said, by myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, that you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son. I will surely bless you. I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of the heaven, as the sand that is on the seashore. If you've ever been out at night looking up at the stars in the heaven, they're uncountable, innumerable. Ever stood on a beach? By the sea, the sand is uncountable. That's the message here. Abraham, your offspring will be uncountable, innumerable. I will surely bless you as the stars in the heaven and the sand in the seashore. Your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. See, Abraham would become the father of the nation of Israel. and God predicted that the offspring of Abraham would bless the entire earth again appointing to Jesus Christ to the Messiah who would come to the one who would die on the cross for the sins of all the world and all the nations of the earth would be blessed by the offspring of Abraham through the nation of Israel you probably know the story that Isaac married and had sons Esau and Jacob Jacob grew up, got married. He had 12 sons. Those 12 sons led to the 12 tribes of Israel. God chose one tribe in the nation of Israel through whom the Messiah would come. In that tribe of Judah, the tribe through whom the Messiah would come, God would choose one family, the family of David. That the offspring of David would lead to a throne that would never end. It would be an eternal throne. Jesus would be the Lion of Judah. The one whose reign would never, ever end. God chose one nation, then one tribe, then one family for that answer to come. That answer was Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. The one who had laid down his life for your sins and for mine. Here's the next thing we need to understand about the church. Jesus as Messiah fulfilled the requirements of the law. So when Jesus came, what was the purpose of why he came? Let's turn our Bibles to Matthew 5.17. If you have your Bibles, turn there. We're jumping around a little bit. Matthew 5.17. Now, when you read this passage, you need to understand how powerful these words are. Can you imagine being there? A Jew who has studied the law, the Old Testament, your whole life. The law was the center of your life. The worship in the synagogue was the center of your life. You were longing for the Messiah to come, the one who was predicted in the Old Testament. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 5. He says this, do not think that I come to abolish the law or the prophets. I'm sure the people standing there go, whew, what a relief. Jesus didn't come to abolish the law or the prophets. Then he said this, I have not come to abolish them, but to what? Fulfill them. Can you imagine standing there and hearing Jesus saying that? I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill the law. What does that say? Jesus is saying this more clearly than we would need. He was saying so clearly, the law points to me. The law and all the requirements, all the ceremonial washings, all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, everything a priest had to do to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur, all of that pointed to me. Pointed to me. I fulfilled all of that. That's why we don't have sacrifices today. That's why we don't have to enter the Holy of Holies through a high priest. We are called as priests and priestesses to come directly into the presence of God. Why? Because we have God living inside of us. And I'll talk more about that in a second. But we have direct access to God. We don't have to go through all the ceremonial washings and cleansings that the priests of the Old Testament had to do. Why? Because you've been made clean. by the blood of Jesus Christ. See, the blood of the rams and the goats and all the other offerings, they were just the covering of sin. It was to cover sin until the real answer for sin came. That was Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He was the ultimate sacrifice for sin. All the blood of the lamb and the goats, all they did was cover sin until the real sacrifice for sin came. That was Jesus Christ. See, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, fulfilled the requirements of the law. Turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 3. We're jumping around a bit. Romans chapter 3. Another powerful passage that talks about our relationship to the law. Romans chapter 3, verses 23 through 28. It says this, and it's a verse that we're all pretty familiar with. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God So it's very clear from the Bible's perspective that everyone is sin, fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift. So clear, right? It's not by works, it's a gift. Let's move on. Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood. What does that word propitiation mean? It means this, that where there is sin, there is a judgment by God on that sin. Where sin exists, there is a judgment on that sin. A propitiation is a fancy word to say Jesus satisfied the wrath of God. Jesus satisfied the judgment of God. The judgment of God has been met already by the death of Jesus on the cross. It was a satisfaction of the judgment of God. And it says this, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith. There it is again. This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." See, Jesus fulfilled the law. That's why we can, by faith in Him, be free from the requirements of it. It's not by works. See, if you go back to works and you say, I'm going to heaven because I'm a good person. I'm going to heaven because I've done all these good deeds. I'm going to heaven because I'm involved in the community. I've given a lot to charitable organizations. Those are works. See, if you rely on works, you destroy faith. If you rely on works, you destroy the work of Jesus on the cross, because the work of Jesus on the cross is enough. And by faith in Him, we are set free. We're set free. He fulfilled the requirements of the law. Well, we all know what happened, that in the life of Jesus, Jesus was rejected by the Jews. Jesus was rejected because of the struggle they had with seeing Jesus as the Son of God, and that He was a challenge to their sacrificial system, that He came to fulfill the law. So what happens in Acts chapter 2? The church is born as God continues His work. Let's turn to Acts chapter 2. Turn to the left from Romans, Acts chapter 2. The church is born. The nation of Israel, which had been chosen to bring about the Messiah, had rejected Jesus as Messiah. Verse 1 of chapter 2, When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as a fire appeared to them, and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues as God gave them utterance. Now there was dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. It was more than just a miracle of speaking in different languages, it was a miracle of hearing in your own. It didn't matter where you were from, you were hearing the message in your own language. They were amazed and astonished saying, we are not all Galileans, but not all these are who are speaking Galileans, and how is it that we hear each one of us in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene and visitors from Rome. Both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God, and all were amazed and perplexed, saying to another, what does this mean? But others were mocking, saying they are filled with wine. See, at that moment, the church was born. At that moment, the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit took up residence in the hearts of believers. No longer would the plan of God be primarily done for the nation of Israel. God was now taking a remnant, a remnant of believers from the nation of Israel to be the church, and other Gentiles added into that number. See, the birth of the church was in the city of Jerusalem, about 30 A.D. When you read the passage in Acts chapter 2 about what the church was involved in, it was an amazing beginning to the movement of the church that God has created. Look at verse 42 of Acts chapter 2. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers. What a great outline for us, amen? They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, Breaking of bread, they were eating meals together. Some say it was an allusion to communion as well. And the prayers. And all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together, and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings, and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, they were meeting every day. That's how excited they were about the Word of God. Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. What a great message, amen? There was something so radically different about this fellowship of human beings that came together in the church, that people wanted it. They wanted more of it. They came every day, breaking bread together, following the Word of God and its teachings together, living it out together, sharing with one another as everyone had need. I'm so thankful that so much of that is going on here at Riverview, that there are people who love the Word of God, that there are people who love to give to others who have need, that there is a fellowship going on here, that we are united in faith, that it's all for Him. It's not about anyone else but about Jesus Christ, and that's who we're lifting up. See, the outline is great. Praising God and having favor with all the people. See, there was such a radical difference in the fellowship of believers that the whole community was impacted. All the people saw the church with favorable eyes. And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. They saw the reality of Jesus Christ in the people that were called the church. The word church in the Greek is ekklesia. It means to be called out of. People being called out of the world. Still living in the world, but living differently than the world. Great challenge for us as Riverview Church, amen? That we're living in the world, but people see something so radically different in us. The way we live, the way we handle adversity, the way we handle triumph is all changed by our relationship with Jesus Christ. See, the church was moving from law to grace. The concept of law in the Old Testament was prevalent. But now under Jesus, it's the concept of grace, that we are saved by God's amazing grace, amen? Saved by God's amazing grace. I love what Romans 6 says, for sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law, but under grace. There's a freedom in Christ that we have. We don't have to worry about all the sacrificial systems of the Old Testament, all the ceremonial washings to somehow stand clean before God. We're saved by God's grace. What then, are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means. We're not to continue in sin, that God is so gracious to us. Because God is so real in our lives, He changes us, and we want to be like Him, and there's a motivation from the inside out to be like Him. That's what Riverview Church is all about. It's all for Him, and we keep our eyes on Him, and we want to be like Him, and we want to live like Him, and He is the priority of our lives. See, when the Old Testament existed. And under the Old Testament, there was the law. The law was the tutor that was to show us that we needed a Savior. But when Jesus died on the cross, that remnant of true believers in the nation of Israel, because there were many that rejected Christ, that remnant ultimately became the church in the New Testament. As Gentiles began to be added to the church, and people from all over the known world began to be added to the church, God bringing people from every different background, every different tribe, tongue, and nation together in the church. We're the continuation of that, right here in Bonzel. We're the continuation of the story of the church. And Israel, I believe, there still are promises for the nation of Israel. As the nation was reborn in 1948, I believe there are still promises that remain for the nation of Israel that will be fulfilled in prophecy. But God's main program, God's main methodology of changing the world is the church. You're part of that story. That's why you're here today. We're here to change the world for Jesus Christ. We are part of that story, and for whatever reason, about 33 years ago, God raised up a little fellowship called Riverview Church. It ultimately became Riverview Church, and exists here today by God's hand, by God's power. We're moving from the focus being a nation to the focus being a body of believers. Every part of the body having its part. At the volleyball tournament that I was at, my daughter's team started out pretty well. 6,000 girls from all over the nation that came to this tournament. They started off well, but then they began to experience injuries. One girl sprained her knee and couldn't play anymore. Another girl got food poisoning. She couldn't play anymore, flew back home. Another girl hurt her knee. Another girl sprained her ankle. One girl from the team couldn't even make the trip. The last game of the tournament, my daughter's team had to forfeit the game. They didn't have enough players to put on the court. I'm thankful the body of believers here at Riverview Church has every part here today. And our call is to make sure that every part of the body, every part of the team is functioning in such a way that we are following God's plan. This is what it says in Romans 11. So too, at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace. There is this group of true believers that are in the world to make an impact for Jesus Christ. And then in 1 Corinthians 12, we see this, that God has arranged all the members in the body, each one of them as He chose. That you have a gift and an ability, a part in the body, just like our physical body has many different parts, so you in this church have a part that you're to play. That you can enter into the work of God and make a difference For him, that leads me to the final point, it's this. The church grows as people discover and use their gifts. The church grows. The story that we have today is to be faithful in the use of our gifts. There are a variety of gifts with the same spirit. There are varieties of service, but the same Lord. See, as Riverview Church, we're doing this all for him. As every part of the body does its part, as every part of the body becomes a light for Jesus Christ, in the world where He has placed you. I believe with all my heart that today we ought to be inspired by the life of Jesus Christ. That when we look at His life, He was willing to lay down His life for us. And He challenges us to lose our lives for Him. To give up our agenda and to adopt His. We're inspired by a life. The words are powerful in Acts chapter 4. There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We're inspired by that life, by that message. Here's the next thing. We're instilled with a mission. The mission of Riverview Church was given to us by Jesus Christ. We don't need to reinvent it. We don't need to come up with a new one. It was given us by Jesus. He said this, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. See, that's why we say in our bulletin that we have a passion for loving God and loving others. It encompasses the two great commandments. Would you join in that and continue to love one another and to love God with a passion that is radically different than that of the world's? And that we are to go out, like Matthew 28 says, and make disciples that as we look to the future, we're to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. See, the church is all about this. We want to equip you, we want to make sure you're feeling equipped and trained to go out and make a difference, to build up people around you, and in so doing, help bring them to maturity, to a mature walk in faith, That's why in our bulletin every week we have this vision. Let me just remind you of it as we close. It's this, the Word of God. That we're following and proclaiming it passionately, without apology. We don't follow the Word of God apologizing to the world about it. Here's the next thing. We worship God. We focus and enter in wholeheartedly as we worship Him every Sunday and then make this response from this service one that is a lifestyle of worship. The third thing is this, fellowship. that we are connecting and serving selflessly. The fourth one is this, prayer, that we are approaching God faithfully and asking Him faithfully, believing in the power of prayer. And lastly, it's this, witness, that we are seeking and reaching out to those who are lost, seeking out to those who are lost all around us. And that's our hope, amen, that one day we will see Jesus face to face. We are ingrained with this amazing hope that this life is not all there is, that you have a purpose in this world. Romans 1.16, Paul writes this, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The power of God to salvation. May we sense that power here at Riverview Church. May you sense that power in your life. May you never question in your life why you're here, why you're part of the church, and what the church is all about, because we do have this amazing purpose given to us by God. Amen, church? Amen. Let's pray together. As our heads are bowed, may in your heart today you sense, you know what, I'm part of the church. God has instilled the church with a vision We have this amazing hope and it's given to us by the very Word of God, by the words of Jesus Christ who died and rose again. My prayer would be as we leave this place, every one of us would realize that we are now entering our mission field. As we leave this building and go out to the communities and the workplaces, the activities of our lives, God has placed us as a light for Him in those locations. Lord, today we come before you and worship you. Lord, may we rejoice in the fact that we are part of the church, not a building, but an organic, vibrant, living body of believers. We're here for a purpose. Lord, we love you today. Thank you for dying on the cross for us. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's all stand together just a second.