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Hey, welcome to Pray Lakes Church online. Uh, wanna welcome in all of our campuses here online. It's exciting to have all of us together in a happy new year. We're really excited that you're here with us. We just thought it would be a great idea to give you guys, um, a little bit of a break from your campus pastor this weekend.

So all of us are joining online, so you're welcome, especially those of you who are in Fort Dodge. How about that? Yeah. And if you're wondering, if you're wondering, by the way, did we call each other before we did this? We did not. Um, so it just kind of follows the pattern of redheaded red, bearded shack, it wearing pastors. How about that? Yeah.

But we are, no matter, We are, we do wanna, Uh, start with that before anything else. We are a no matter church, if you're new, uh, we need you to hear this right away. Uh, we're a no matter church, doesn't matter who you are, where you've been, what you've done, or what's been done to you, uh, we need you to know God loves you.

Uh, we love you, and we're really glad that you're here with us. Yeah, Yeah. And you're joining us kind of on a interesting week. We've never done anything like this before that I can recall anyways.

Um, so this last weekend of 2023, right before we get into 2024, we thought it'd be kind of a cool idea just to look back and, uh, kind of reflect a little bit on some of the moments that we've experienced together at Prairie Lakes Church here over this past year.

And so throughout the, the, this part of our service, we're gonna be doing just that. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, here we're gonna kick to, uh, just a few videos and then we'll be back. Uh, but we're gonna start with what was our top performing, uh, video on Facebook and probably one of the hardest, uh, moments that I've laughed, uh, this year.

Um, our Iowa Doctrine video. So let's, let's kick to the next clip. Hello and welcome back to your class, Iowa Doctrine 1 0 1. I'm glad to see you took your class seriously last week and have dressed for Iowa's actual fourth season, the spring of deception, where you think it may just be spring, but in fact you actually get Iowa's fifth season.

Third winter. That is exactly right. Can anyone tell me what comes after third winter? Uh, the pollinating and then potholes And then It's actually spring. That is exactly right. Welcome to class. Alright, let's start with some basics.

What is Iowa's state Bird? Hawkeye? No, Cardinal, no Tornado. Also no Panther, no. Iowa State bird is the gold finch. Oh, that's on me, man. That's me. Sorry. My bad. My bad. That's a good Iowa apology. No worries there.

That'll help you get some points back later. Rapid fire, when I say these responses, what I actually mean is No. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. No, no, no. Yeah. No. Oh, no, you're fine. Yeah, no, yeah, I'm sorry. But unfortunately, yes.

Yeah, no, for sure. Definitely. Alright, everybody got that? Yeah, no, for sure, for sure. Everything that the light touches is Heaven Is what's known as Iowa. What's that red place over there? That's Nebraska. You must never go there.

Alright, time to review our basic Iowan food groups. Say it with me now. Casey Casey's breakfast, pizza, sweet corn, jello salad, ranch tenderloin, Scot. Great. And any one of these can be substituted for anything on a stick at the Iowa State Bear.

Exactly. Picture this. The tornado siren in your neighborhood just went off. Do you go to your A basement? B bathtub. C Front porch. See, front porch and a lawn chair. Yeah. No, for sure. But remember, you have to take a video for the local news, otherwise it didn't count.

Finish this phrase with me. The weather wouldn't be that bad without the wind Humidity. Yes. Time for a math problem on average. How long is an Iowan? Goodbye. I mean, it's at least 15, 20 minutes with a couple. Alright, it's about that time.

And you have at least four goodbyes because you have one living room. Goodbye. Uh, one doorway goodbye. One front porch goodbye. One driveway goodbye. And you have to wave goodbye as you drive away. That is exactly right. Well done.

I am just so proud. And that ends our class for today. Now, let's get out there and show them what Iowa nice is all about. Let's go. Whoa. Oh no. Wait. My bad. No, first you, you all, it. We shouldn't make it hard for, for people to find God.

We shouldn't make it hard for people to, to, to look for God. And, and that's guides us. And we think that's what the church should be. And we think that's what a no matter church is. So at Prairie Lakes Church, here's what you're getting into.

Here's what no matter means. We say it every weekend, but let's dig into it so everybody knows this. This is us. This is what we do because we think this is what Jesus is like. And this is what the church ought to be like. Okay?

So here's the first one. No matter, right? So we say this no matter who you are, okay? So, so, so no matter who you are, no matter, you could walk into this no matter church called Prairie Lakes. And, and you can look for God, no, no matter who you are, like what side of the tracks you're from, what the color of your skin is, no matter what your background is.

No matter if you grew up in a nice home or a dysfunctional home, right? No matter who you are, male or female, rich or poor, no matter you can look for God here or no matter where you've been, where you been.

Some of us have wandered off and found ourselves on a trail we never thought we'd be. But you need to hear this about a no matter church, A no matter church says this because this is what Jesus says. You can always Come back.

You've never wandered too far away. You can always turn around. Jesus never gives up. You know, we can think about all our buddies or our friends out there who boy, they really need no matter. Yeah, you know what I need? No matter.

'cause every once in a while I find myself on a trail that I just didn't know I'd, I'd be on Dion, no matter who you are or where you've been. And here's the third one or what you've Done, What you've done, you can pick your stupid mistakes, right?

You can pick your stupid, your dumb decisions and your impulsive messes. Not one of them disqualifies you from coming to Jesus. Not one of them would Jesus look at and say, well, you know, I had you. I had you, I had your back all the way until that one.

That was too far. There's not such a thing. You can always come back to him. You, you can always, he died on the cross. And when he died, he didn't died for most of the sins. He didn't die for 99% of the sins. He died for 100%.

Even the stuff that you've done, Even the stuff that you're carrying around. And he can forgive you and he can set you free and he can put you at peace. It's what he does. It's, it's who he is. Your past mistakes do not limit God's love for you.

This is it. If you're tired of carrying it and you're sick of it, you can literally say, forgive me Jesus. And you can make the decision to say, I'm gonna live my life different. I'm gonna live it for you. I'm gonna let you drive instead of me.

And it doesn't matter what you've done. He covers it all. All right. Covers it all. Okay? So no matter, let's be really clear on this, no matter who you are, no matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, and here's the last one. No matter what's been done to you, listen, we can't explain why did that happen?

Why did that happen? Why did that happen to them? Why did it happen to her? Why them? Listen, we don't know, but it's been a part of the human existence because of the thing called sin. And what we know is it just, it happens. It's a part of the bag. And what we know is this, that this Jesus says, no matter what's been done to you, even if it wasn't your fault, he can take That.

And he's the only one who can do this. And he can move you from being a victim to being a victor. He's the only one, My friends. Uh, this is Prairie Lakes. This isn't gonna change because the Bible isn't gonna change and Jesus isn't gonna change.

And this is who we are. This is who we are. We're no matter church, we're becoming no matter followers of Jesus because we believe that Jesus changes everything. Those laws that we sin and shame. They were like prisons that we could escape.

But he came and he died and he rose. Those walls are re those giant is. This is who he is. He loves us. This is, this is what he does.

He said he us, he the cross, the, those chains we called came and he died. And heroes the are who he loves us. This is what he does.

He says He the cross the heaven. This is God. King Jesus who rescued me from Nan grave. He did, he did. Who gets the gl?

Praise nobody but Jesus who rescued me from that grave. He did. He did. Who gets the gl? Nobody but help. Mrs. Our Mrs. He loves us. Mrs. This is what he does.

He says he the cross. The Hey, one of the things that, uh, I love the most about our church kind of falls underneath that no matter umbrella. But I love the fact that we do not shy away from talking about some more difficult or some more uncomfortable, complicated things.

Um, and why I love that is because difficult, uncomfortable, complicated things. There's a lot of our lives that kind of fall underneath that headline. And, and it's the part of our lives that God really shows up in.

And he shows up just in some incredibly gracious, loving and truthful ways. And I love the fact that we dive into those things around here at Fray Lakes. Yeah. So we're gonna get to jump to a few clips here, um, that we actually, uh, are from messages that we heard the most positive feedback from you.

Um, and it also is, is data informed. They're the most replayed, most watched on demand, uh, videos that we had this year. So we're gonna jump into some topics like stress, um, and grief and boundaries. So let's go ahead and kick to those.

What is anxiety? We're gonna talk about two types. And here's the first type of anxiety. Anxiety is temporary or chronic feelings of fear, restlessness, or unease. Now we all experience this. All of us feel this at times in our lives. We feel anxiety.

It's a normal part of our humanity. And the, the human process, the human emotional range anxiety's a part of it. Okay? Now we all experience this, but sometimes it becomes more serious. And it's what we call clinical anxiety.

And here's what clinical anxiety is. It's lasting or chronic feelings of fear, restlessness, or unease, which disrupt a person's daily activities for an extended period of time. It's more intense than regular anxiety. And it lasts longer than typical anxiety.

That is clinical anxiety. 'cause listen, we all have bad days. We all have anxious thoughts and a time that's disruptive. But clinical anxiety is when anxiety happens enough and deep enough that it becomes disruptive to our lives. And clinical anxiety is diagnosable.

In fact, there's five different anxiety disorders that we can have based on symptoms. And it often requires medication counseling or therapy and intervention. If you struggle with anxiety, my friends, you're not alone. There's a lot of coast sufferers.

And if you don't, you just need to know that a lot of people around you wrestle with this personally, which I'm gonna share with you right now. A little bit of my story. Okay? So here's my disclaimer. Uh, I've been a Christ follower for 25 years. I've been in vocational ministry my entire adult life.

I've got a master's degree in counseling. So if anybody should be able to manage their anxiety, it should be me. If anybody is not anxious or stressed, it should be me. But here's what you need to know. I've always been a pretty nervous, high strung, high achieving person.

I work hard. I like to perform well. I put a ton of pressure on myself. And some of you're nodding 'cause you're like, that sounds just like me. So I started having physical symptoms of anxiety when I was a senior in college.

And at the time it wasn't a big deal. It was pretty manageable and it kind of went away. But, but anxiety really revealed itself in my life. In 2006, I had my first full-blown panic attack and I thought I was dying. Literally B's about to go to the er.

He says, for we do not have a high priest, meaning Jesus, who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are. Yet he did not sin. He did not sin. Jesus never sinned.

Not one thought, not one desire, not one action, not one emotion that Jesus felt was ever sinful. Even in his anxiety and his turmoil in the garden in Luke 22, he allowed his anxiety to help him in that it drove him to dependence, to prayer, to ask others to pray for him, to, to model for the disciples what a to do in situations where we feel like anxiety's overwhelming when anxiety comes.

His anxiety wasn't sinful. And neither is your feeling of anxiety. And here's what this means. Feeling anxiety is neutral. It's a tool that presents us with an opportunity to examine our lives. And here's what else this means. Don't miss this.

God understands how you feel. God understands your anxiety. And he knows it because he's felt it. And because Jesus has felt it, he can empathize with us When we do, he knows what it's like to be in the spot that we're in when we feel anxious.

And that is so important, my friends. And that changes everything. The mindset shift that can change everything in terms of how you experience anxiety is that anxiety is neutral. Anxiety is not bad. How we respond to anxiety can either be helpful or unhelpful.

Now, here's how I want to close friends. God can redeem your anxious heart and God can bring good through your anxiety. Dear anxiety, you and I are complicated. You are my worry. You are my fear.

You are my racing thoughts and my sleepless nights. You keep me on edge. You are my hyperactivity. You're the reason I hide. Yet you and I are complicated. You keep me safe. You keep my feet moving forward. You alert me when no one else will.

You're a friend who shows up like an enemy. Dear anxiety, you make me need grace. And at times, maybe you are that grace. Take this fainted heart. Take these tainted hands, wash me in your love.

Come like grace again. Even when my strength is lost, I'll praise you. Even when I have no song. I'll praise you even when it makes no sense to sing louder than I'll sing.

You'll pray. I'll only sing. You pray Dear anxiety, you are my fight. You are the pits in my stomach. You're the race in my heart. You're the name of my sleepless nights. You're the face of my relationship problems.

You keep me from making friends. You permeate my loneliness dear. Anxiety, you keep me home when I'd rather go. You hold me back when I'd rather speak. You keep me stuck when I want to move. Dear anxiety, you feel like my battle, my ocean, my trial, my fight, my pain.

Yet you and I are complicated. Dear anxiety, once in a while you get it right. You hold me back when true danger lurks you keep me awake until that problem is solved. You fester in my soul until I turn back to God.

Take this mountain, take this ocean, tears me through the come like grace, even when the fight seems lost, I you, even when it hurts the words, I'll praise you even when it makes no sense to sing louder than I'll sing you praise.

Oh, I'll sing you praise. Oh, I'll only ing you praise, Dear God. I love how familiar you are with my humanity, how you remain.

No matter my intention or direction. Being human is hard God. And you know it In my heart. Birds only for you. You are all, you are all I want. Dear God. Being anxious is hard. And you know it.

You don't see me as weak. You want me, all of me, even if I don't want you. But I do. God, I do want you. I need you In my soul, only for you. And I'll sing till the morning has come.

Dear God, I don't expect you to take away my anxiety. I need something else from you. I need your love. I need you near, I need to know you will never go In my heart burn. So for you that you're all, you're all one, Dear God, being human is hard and you are the answer, God, you help me to want you, you help me to run towards you instead of away from you.

You are with me. I am not alone. You are for me. I am here for you. I will sing to you. Hello. In my soul away. It's only for you. And I'll sing to the miracle.

I'll sing you pray. Let's do a definition real quick. Okay, let's, let's define this. 'cause there's all kinds of ways to look at this, but toxic people, and this isn't like the all in all definition, this is kind of mine that I kind of put together are destructive.

Okay? So that's really important. Destructive repeat offenders. Okay? So it's not something that does something dumb once in a while like me. Okay? Or you, but destructive repeat offenders that hurt you and inject poison into every relationship.

And here's like a little summary. It's repeated bad behavior that hurts you. Okay? It, it hurts you. And if we don't put some space, Good, healthy space, and we're gonna talk about how to do it between us and toxic people, okay?

If you don't put space in there, what's gonna happen Is it, it's gonna ruin you, it's gonna burn you. Okay? It, it just is. If we don't get boundaries in place, uh, it it's gonna be, it's gonna be to your demise. Now, um, let, let me illustrate that like this.

Now I, I've done lots of things from the stage. I've been bit by a snake. I've had gallons of water, I've had chains, I've had, I've had, um, uh, all kinds of things go on. I've been on top of a ladder. I, I don't think after 34 years of this, 33 years of this, I don't think I've ever had fire.

So if this place goes down, it'll be okay. We'll be fine. But, but watch this. Okay? If you allow toxic people to stay in proximity to you, and you put no boundary or space between you and them, your whole life is gonna catch on fire. But if you'll put space in between, it'll stop the effects of the toxic people on you.

It'll stop it in its tracks. And this is, this is, this isn't just me. This is biblical principles, okay? It's biblical principles. And again, these are the words of Jesus. And he's talking about this. And here's what he says. When there's a spot like this, and there's somebody that, that is, that is sinning against you, okay?

He says in verse 15 of Matthew 18, he says, if your brother or sister sins go and point out their fold just between the two of you, and if they listen to you, you have won them over. Okay? So, so the, the, the, the principle is listen, you, you, you go and you go just you and him.

And the idea is you don't come with all your friends and gang up. But, but if it's, if it's safe, you, you gotta sit with that person. You gotta say, listen, this is, this is what, this is the behavior that you're displaying to me.

And you know what? We're all ready for this. The, the, the person's gonna go. I do not, ah, they're gonna get you. And they very well could. But there's also the chance, There's also the chance. This is the first time somebody loved him enough and cared enough in the name of Jesus to say, what you're doing is unacceptable.

I love you still, but what you're doing is unacceptable. And I I'm not gonna put up with it. It may actually bring restoration them. Look what, look what Jesus says. He says, and, and if they listen to you, you've won 'em over.

Okay? And, and he says, okay, now if that doesn't work, he says, in the next verse 16, he says, but if they will not listen, take one or two others along so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Right? Then he says, okay, well if, if they're gonna, they're gonna pin you in the corner and, and, and they're not gonna listen.

Well, that's when you get a, a counselor or, or, or a part of the family involved or a friend involved, or your pastor involved, or a mediator or a counselor involved. And, and you do that. And, and then, and then it goes farther.

And it says this is that if they will still refuse to listen, tell it to the church. And if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or tax collector. Now, if it's a non-believer, there's no thing thing inside the church here.

But, but there's, there's just levels to just keep going with this. Because the idea of confronting this behavior, if you don't do it, it's gonna continue. It's inevitable. You identify the issue to emit the pain, you confront both sides.

Boundaries are, you need to put boundaries up 'cause that's where the release comes. And you can trust Jesus with the process. You can trust him with the process. I believe that, um, as you walk through grief, it's important to know kind of a first definition, author and speaker.

Brene Brown says, grief is processing several emotions as you attempt to reaffirm or reconstruct a world of meaning and purpose after the loss. There are a few things that I believe are true. Back in my day, we were taught that grief is a linear process that goes through several stages and ends with acceptance.

Personally and professionally, I've never had that experience to be true. And so I think instead, um, when you're processing the emotions, they look like any emotion you can possibly think of pasted on the outside of a ball, and that ball sits on the floor.

The emotion on the bottom is what you feel. But a, a breeze could take it some way. Somebody could pick it up and bounce it, and all of a sudden you're feeling something else, um, right away. And I think that processing emotions and grief can feel like that.

Oftentimes, once you get through grief, it doesn't mean that it is something that never is a part of your life. It's something that you've now adapted or assimilated into how you experience things. I believe that everybody's experience of grief is unique, but oftentimes research puts them in three very big broad categories.

Uh, one type of loss is a sudden or traumatic loss. These are things like losing someone to an accident or a heart attack. Perhaps it's a child that falls into a pool, but it's something that's very traumatic. A lot of times shock and denial are big parts of that type of grief.

Then there's a category of anticipatory grief. So these are the griefs that happen because someone is going through a very long illness. Maybe somebody has muscular dystrophy and their ability to, uh, be mobile is declining. Maybe it's people who've experienced cancer and they go through a long journey.

Um, and sometimes it's dementia where you watch that loved one continue to move forward and to, um, lose part of who they are. The runway is usually a lot longer. And goodbyes start with the lasts. Um, and so those things I think are super important to understand when you can see the grief coming.

The last one is something that the research calls disenfranchised grief. And those are just grief losses that happen. And society may not consider them really grief. I think our society's gotten a lot better with miscarriages for people because there's not a baby and there's not a name, and sometimes there's not a burial in those situations, but disenfranchised grief can include a job loss or divorce or a move.

And so I think sometimes just having someone to accept that that is a true loss and that the things that you are experiencing, the emotions you're processing and so forth, are just as real. You know, an interesting one about disenfranchised grief is like people who choose a divorce can feel that way.

And that seems very counterintuitive, but the fact is, your roles change and your routine changes and your responsibilities change. A lot of financial changes happen the way that you parent kids can happen and those types of things. You need someone in your corner that can just say to you, all of those emotions are real, and it's okay to even grieve a loss that you chose.

The last thing that I would love to talk about is the fact that I believe that grief is really hard on relationships, especially the ones that are closest to you. And so, um, I think that a few things are just really important when it comes to those relationships.

You experience the loss, perhaps of the same person, but your relationship to that person is a little bit different. So I would just encourage you, listen well to the other person's journey of grief because it's different than yours, even though they're a loved one too.

I think that it's also important to give as much grace as you can to them, even though you don't understand that. At the same time, I think that relationships change. So you need to talk to that person about how your relationship to them has changed and what you want moving forward.

I would say no matter whether you have a faith in God or not, that questions of why God come up when it comes to grief and loss. And one thing that I have learned is that God isn't afraid of those questions and he's not afraid of wrestling with you on the hard things.

Um, I don't understand why a father would be taken or a mother would be taken. I don't understand what purpose God has in that in the long haul or how that fits into his plan. But what I do know, um, is that my emotions can be brought to him and that he'll listen and that he'll be patient with me as I'm angry or that I'm super sad, or that I just am so distraught that I don't know what to do.

Um, so I have hope that one day I will see my family and those that I've missed, but I'm also, um, very confident that he meets you in the moments however difficult they are. If you've experienced a loss, please find someone who will listen well to your story, ask you good questions, and encourage you to take steps in your journey.

And to those, um, who are loved ones, find a lot of grace with them. Tell them about your expectations and your relationship with them and move forward. So at this point in the service, you've got a just a small taste of who we are, um, at Prairie Lakes Church.

And one of the things that we really value, um, is getting connected. Uh, we call it connecting relationally here, um, at Prairie Lakes Church. And the first step in that is, is really to become known to kind of raise your hand and, uh, take that step to move from being anonymous, uh, to being known. Yeah.

Yeah. And this is something that we as pastors, we talk about this all the time, and it can feel a little bit like it's just a script on repeat. Like, Hey, should get connected or whatever. Here's what we know, okay?

Um, some of us are coming to church and, um, we're coming from a different church and we want to get connected and we wanna be known and we wanna be seen. And then there's others of us who we're kind of new to this whole thing.

It's just that's difficult for us to do and there's a different kind of pace. But listen to me, okay? Whether you wanna start anonymously or whether you are looking for a church family, the value really is still the same.

Um, we are not meant to live and walk this journey alone. So, um, as mechanical as it might sound, how would we get connected here at Prairie Lakes? Yeah. So if, if you're in that spot right now where this is your first time, you're brand new or, or you've just been here for a while and you're ready to take that step to become known, uh, all you need to do right now is fill out our welcome card.

It only takes 30 seconds. Um, and you can get the link to that by texting new to 9 9 5 8 1. Um, and just as an added incentive, uh, we really value this step. We wanna get you an Amazon gift card, uh, if you take that step.

Uh, so if you text new to 9, 9 5 8 1, you take the 30 seconds to fill that out. Um, I'm gonna get you that Amazon gift card sent here today. Yeah. So, hey, hopefully by this point of our service, you kind of have a little bit of a feel if you didn't already for kind of who we are and what we're about.

And, and for this next portion, um, a little bit more of the same, we wanna share with you actually's some kind of cool conversations we had and shared with you, um, over the course of this year. So we talked about stress with some you and I coaches. I got a chance to talk with, um, pastor Andy Stanley down in Atlanta.

There's a couple other things we just wanna give you a feel for. So take a look. I'm ready, friends, I'm, I'm, I'm ready. I'm ready to switch seats For 33 years.

I have been a pastor for 30 of those 33. I have been a lead or senior pastor, 25 of those years. I've been the senior lead pastor at First Baptist slash Prairie Lakes in Iowa. And, and it's awesome.

And it's a seat that I love and God has used, but my friends hear this from me. I'm not retiring, but I am ready, I am ready to switch seats, not leaving the team, not gonna spend more time with the kids, not moving, but I'm ready to switch seats.

I, I, I am. It's time for, for somebody else to come and lead this thing that can, I believe, can take us faster and farther to where God wants us to go. And this next chapter for me is, I'm, I'm ready. I'm engaged to help the next guy lead this place to where God wants it to go.

Succession's not retirement, but I am ready to switch seats and I'm going to, with all that being said, I, I want to say to all of Prairie Lakes right now that your elders, um, after the recommendation of a long process with the succession team, um, have voted unanimously and joyfully, um, to present Pastor Jesse Tink as our lead pastor candidate.

And I am, I'm really excited and humbled for that. So, praise God, same, excited, humbled, and also terrified. How about that? Yeah, you Can, you can All those things, right? It's, let's just go ahead and add add that in there. Yeah.

So, and, uh, we're, we're really, we really are, we're, uh, I am excited, uh, humbled and, and, uh, terrified, um, to be here in this moment. Uh, 'cause I'll, lemme just start by saying this. I I, I didn't, I I didn't expect, um, to be standing here as a candidate to be your successor.

And, uh, so my story with, with Prairie Lakes really starts, um, I mean this has been my, my church, my entire adult life. You and I met when I was 18, 18 years old. Yes. And, and let's be optimistic about reaching a culture that is what culture always has been.

Yeah. I mean, this is what Jesus laid down. And we're gonna celebrate this in just a couple weeks. Yeah. That's what Jesus laid down his life for. I'm most excited about reaching, reaching people who just, they don't know, they dunno. And, and helping them see a God who loves them so much that he sent his son.

Uh, if you're new or newer around here, just to catch you up to speed, we're talking about John's succession and installing a new lead pastor back in May, the members of Prairie Lakes Church voted to call Jesse Tink as our new lead pastor.

And at the same time, we're not getting rid of this guy. And we're not getting rid of K. They're still gonna be here in the capacity of founding pastor and teaching pastor. So, Jesse, Aaron, Jude, and Ellie, here we are.

And how did we get here? We got here by God's spirit. He led you and he led us as a church. And now we're gonna walk with him forward in his spirit because we love him and we wanna serve him. Congregation as, uh, representatives of Prairie Lakes Church, the Board of Elders Commissions, you, Jesse Tank, to serve as lead pastor from this day forward, faithfully staying in step with the Holy Spirit and being obedient to his calling on your life and on the life of the church.

Jesse, do you affirm that you are ready to accept the role of lead pastor? I do. Congregation, lemme go ahead and pray for us. Lord, we're just so excited and thankful to hear how you have been so faithful to this congregation over the many years and the exciting stories that we heard this morning.

Lord. Lord, we're just also excited to see, uh, how you'll work through each of us over the next few years to reach Iowa. Lord, in your name we pray, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thanks buddy. Hang out here for just a Second.

Being in a leader leadership role, I think stress comes with that, uh, because we do have to wear so many hats and it never shuts off for Us. Something as simple as travel, being away from your families.

Um, I think being in a leadership position, obviously Coach Warren has another level to that leadership position, but I know all of our coaches on staff carry that responsibility of, of being a leader in our program, our community for the university.

The stress from, um, just making sure as the leader, that everybody is having a good experience. And, and sometimes that's outta your control, but you still want to control that as as much as you can. And when it doesn't, um, happen that way, you, you take a, the brunt of that burden.

Sometimes it, it comes out in where, where I snap at people or I'm, I'm short with people. Um, sometimes it, it comes out where I don't sleep or I don't eat as, as well as I should. I don't, I take the time to have the self care that I need to.

Um, my mind is always, uh, making sure that everybody else is taken care of. And that is my priority. While I've had to learn, um, that if I don't take care of myself, it's hard for me to really give to others what I need to be able to give to others.

Yeah. I think you can manage stress in a lot of ways. Coach always talks about being mentally, um, physically, spiritually, physically fit, all that. But I think it comes natural for us having been an athlete and we coach it, but we have a lot of rhythm and routine to what we do spiritually and physically and mentally.

So physically, I mean, because we do tend to lose some sleep. I, I try to be really try to get my eight hours of sleep. Um, and I make it a priority. She's grumpy. If she dies, I'm grumpy. I'm really grumpy. If I don't get my eight hours, everybody knows it.

It shows on my face, my right eyeball gets red. Like it's tough. It does. That's true. Everybody knows if I didn't get my eight hours, There really isn't a downtime in, in our profession. But I, I make it a priority to, when I go home, I really try to focus on, um, the, the family piece and being, um, present with my family.

Um, I think with smartphones, it's, it's, uh, it, it can take away from that where, um, you're home but you're not really home. Uh, so I, I try to, when I get home, put my phone aside or my iPad aside and, and just spend time being at home.

We, we do a lot of our work on our phone, emails, coaches, I mean, AAU coaches, high school coaches, recruits, um, recruits, parents, your own players. They're constantly reaching out. So for me, I, I set, um, time away from my phone every night.

I put it on silent for a certain amount of hours so I can just get away. Um, and then just with social media, um, like I don't, I don't have notifications on, I don't let that consume my time because it's easy, it's easy to fall into a trap and every time you get a notification, you're constantly looking at your phone.

So for me, time away from my phone, because I'm on my phone so much is really good for me and my, my help. It's not if when adversity strikes, um, and we do as a whole are young women in included a terrific job of, of adapting.

'cause you, you have to be able to adapt. And, um, that all comes with it. Um, but again, the consistency I think, in which you go about things, helps you handle things when life gets turned upside down for me, it stays true to my prayer, my devotion, my working out.

Um, and then again, trying to be intentional about what I'm grateful for. Um, I would be lying to you if I would tell you it's not stressful as we get closer to the end. 'cause it is. But I really try to stay consistent in my routine. We get Out of our routine.

We tell each other, we notice, we notice it in each other. And so, um, you know, for us especially, I think routines and rhythms work, um, and we can tell, we can tell when we get off rhythm and add routine. Yes. And every once in a while it's good. Yep.

Um, 'cause sometimes that means we just need to rest and, and that's okay as well. I, Um, but we do, we, we send each other Christian podcasts to, to, to listen to, and then we come in and we talk about 'em. Mm-Hmm. Um, so I, I do think, like I said about when you're surrounded by people that really understand that the family piece, the spiritual piece, um, things are going to get tough.

But when you know who you're in the battle with, it it, it makes that battle a lot easier. We're not just colleagues, we're friends, we're family. Um, and you see it in how we connect. Uh, you see it when we're outside of basketball. And for me, um, in what we do and how we do it, that is a really important piece of, um, who we are and what we do.

Um, and I think that also helps all of us, um, with the stress piece because it's really important that you're surrounded by people that you love, that you care, that are going to make you better, um, and have the same aspirations, um, and can speak truth and can speak power, uh, into you.

And when you're surrounded with people like that, there's a lot of stress, but there's not any amount of stress that you can't get through it to her. I'm Totally new to all this. I'm worried I won't get it. Yeah. But isn't the Bible full of errors?

I feel guilty for not reading it. Yeah. But Christians don't actually live up to this. Yeah. But there's no way. This is completely true. And there's crazy stuff in here. You're making it too complicated. I'm totally new to all this. I've tried it before.

Doesn't the Bible contradict itself? It's pretty messed up. Isn't the just a bunch of random, this is Extensive. This is so Outdated, can't contradict Itself. This We have for the last couple of weeks, um, we have been, like you mentioned, um, going through, uh, content on the basis of your book, uh, not in it to win it.

And, uh, yeah, our first question is, you know, you're, before you're an author or speaker pa you're a pastor. Um, the question is, were you seeing some things in like your people or your church, um, that prompted you to write this book? And, and what were those?

Yeah. And, and I'm glad you said that about me being a pastor. Um, I, I really am first and foremost a local church pastor. And, and, and being in a multi-site situation like you are, when we started adding campuses, I kept kind of getting pushed up to the top of the pyramid a little bit.

And I didn't like it. And I, I decided, no, I wanted to be a lead pastor at a local church. So I currently am a lead pastor at one of our campuses, um, because I just like the nuts and bolts of church. So to answer your question, yes. Um, you know, in the past, you know, several years, we don't need to review all of that.

Um, people got, were very angry. Some people in our church we're angry with me, uh, started getting voicemails, direct messages, email, um, letters, um, and they're upset and they're gonna leave the church. And like has happened in so many churches around the United States, they weren't leaving the church because of our theology.

Even our music, remember when people used to leave the church because of music, um, wasn't our children's programs. It wasn't the, the, you know, the normal suspects. It was, they were upset with me for not doing something I had never done for not talking about things I'd never talked about.

And, um, for not taking a stand. And as you know, Jesse, when people say we need you to take a stand, what they really mean is they want you to take their stand, right? And if you're not gonna take their stand, then just shut up and don't take any stand.

Right? So I don't know where you have joined us from this weekend. I'm guessing some of us, um, around the TV in our living rooms, maybe with our family, others of us on our phone or our laptop, or maybe taking a break from our family or maybe taking a break from our families.

But wherever you have joined us from, we're really, really grateful that, uh, that you did. Uh, 2023 was quite a, uh, quite a year. Quite a year. And, uh, I know as we've looked back, uh, one of the things that we could clearly see was just how faithful and generous God has been with us.

And, uh, we have no reason to think that he will be any different in, uh, in 2024. So, hey, as we get going, uh, into the new year, a couple things. First is we're, I'm very excited about where we're starting in the new year.

We're gonna start a series called Everything is Different, and we're just walking through the book of Ephesians. It's always kind of cool when we just kinda walk through Bible books. So, uh, look out for that. And the second thing is this. Okay, it's December 31st, which means it's the last day.

If you're gonna make a contribution to Pray Lakes, it's the last day you can kind of do that. Um, so post-Market or get online and take care of that. Um, one more time. We're very grateful for, um, your investment and what God's doing.

And, uh, let's just keep on being generous. Yeah. So, again, grateful, uh, to spend some time with you here today. Uh, happy New Year. Uh, kids, uh, you're gonna be up in just a couple minutes. Uh, we're gonna close down with one song and then you're up next.

So happy New Year's. We'll see you back next week, everyone. Lord, I confess that I've been a criminal of stolen your breath and sang my own song. And Lord, I confess that I'm from innocent and these shackles, I scar had a crimson and that, and thank God prodigal made for your And then Jesus.

A I see bright crimson robes draped over the ashes. A wide open tomb where there should be the children are singing and dancing, laughing. The Father is this. Families are singing and dancing.

The father is. And this our homecoming and heaven is our homecoming. This is the world will know how. The world will see that we live what we believe, everything we do, every word we speak.

Let us live for this one thing. We'll, we'll love one another, love one another with love like no other that we found in you. Love one another, love one another. Yeah. Love one another. That's what we'll do.

There's not greater love than one who came to give it all away. You lay down your life aing. We'll live do the same. We'll we'll love one another, love one another.

Love that we in you love one another, love one another. That's what we're alive. We're alive for love one another. We're alive. We're alive with love like no other. We're alive.

We're alive for sisters and brothers. We're we're alive. Love one another, love One another, love one another. Love Like no other that we found in you. Love On another, Love On another Love On another.

That's why we'll do love another love. Another love like no other that we found in love one another. Love one another. Yeah. Love one another. That's what we'll do. Another we're we're no other.

We're brother. We're one another. Welcome To the show. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the show. Hey everyone. Welcome to story love. This week we're talking about friendship.

While we take a look at the story of someone who was not only a great friend, but also a great musician. My show Play A Sin. Welcome To the show. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the show. Hey, I'm Skylar. And I'm Sebastian.

Sebastian, what's taking so long? Just a minute. Today we're talking about friendship, which is using your words and actions to show others you care. You okay? No worries. Normally Sebastian and I would be out here together, but Sebastian promised he was putting together something really awesome and fun working On it.

Just like how he promised he'd be out here to help me host Sebastian. You better not be goofing off. I would never How did that get back there, Sebastian? Okay. Okay. Okay. Ta Sebastian has promised something awesome.

Sebastian has delivered. That's your awesome surprise. No, this is phase one of my awesome surprise. The cart of Mystery. It's mysterious. All right. But what is it? Yes. Is it something I can eat?

No. Is it something scientific? There may be some science involved. Is it the large hatching collider? The world's largest particle accelerator? I suppose that wouldn't fit underneath it. Just just tell me what the surprise is.

That's it. I know it doesn't look like much, but we gotta put it together first. Okay, then let's Make make, let's make it Assembly stations ready. Did you read the instructions?

I gotta say, this does look kind of cool. Great. Let's get started. First up supplies. If you're following along at home, you're going to need two craft sticks. A wide rubber band, two smaller rubber bands, a straw and a pair of scissors.

Step one, use the scissors to cut two pieces of a straw that are about an inch and a half long. Step two, stretch the thick rubber band around one of the craft sticks. Step three, place your second craft stick on top and attach it to the first one with a small rubber band.

Make sure it's on the same end as the straw. Secure the second straw with another small rubber band. And there you have it. You are now a proud owner of your very own harmonica All you have to do is just move the straw up and down to adjust the pitch.

Slide the straw to play higher or lower. Moving the straw pieces closer together causes the rubber band to vibrate at a higher frequency, which is what causes a higher note. It Kind of sounds like a Kazoo, but wait, there's more because why not stop at one awesome instrument when you can have your very own Buildable band.

I mean, we've got everything here. Like we've got a shaker made from soda bottle with popcorn in it. I mean, we got a box. Guitar tin can drum set ready to rock. You know it. 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4. Whoa. Thank you. Sorry.

Love Gotta say you Promised something awesome And fun and you did not disappoint. I always keep my promises mostly, but speaking of promises, it's time for The story.

Before the story Today we're in the books of first and second Samuel, which tell the story of David, who was called a man after God's own heart. While David was still a boy, God chose a man named Saul to rule over Israel, but Saul didn't listen to God.

So God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint David as a sign that he would one day be king of Israel. Though David started out as a shepherd, he caught Saul's attention when he faced down a huge giant After that, king Saul appointed David as both the leader of his armies and his personal musician.

God blessed David and he won many battles. The people loved him. David even became best friends with Saul's son, Jonathan. But the people loved David so much that Saul became jealous. He wanted to get rid of David. And That's where our Story starts. Take it away.

Hey everyone. I am Padma. Hi. Today we have a thrilling tale of friendship and promises. Promises broken and promises kept. As David grew in popularity, king Saul became so jealous that he gave orders for David to be killed.

As David's best friend, Jonathan ran to warn David, My father is looking for a chance to kill you. Find a place to hide in the field. My father and I will come and stand there. I'll speak to him about you, and then I'll tell you what I find out.

Jonathan begged his father not to hurt David, Please don't do anything to harm David. He hasn't done anything to harm you, and what he's done has helped you a Lot. Saul, listen to Jonathan and promised You can be sure that David will not be put to death.

Jonathan told David. So David returned to the palace, but Saul didn't keep his promise. One night, Saul's jealousy of David became so great that he picked up a spear and hurled it at David. Soon after David went to find Jonathan, What have I done?

What is my crime that your father's trying to kill me? Never my my father wouldn't kill you, he promised. I'm telling you the truth. Look, tomorrow's the new moon feast. Talk to your father while I hide in the field. If he's not trying to kill me, come and tell me. But if he is, I'll let you know.

I promise. But in return, please always be kind to me as long as I live and never stop being kind to my family. I promise. Jonathan kept his promise. He returned to his father and discovered that Saul really did want to kill David. And the moment he found out, he warned his friend so David could flee far away.

Years passed. David escaped Saul again and again. Until one day, Saul and Jonathan were both killed During a battle, David was heartbroken over the death of his best friend. He mourned for days, but eventually David was made king in Saul's place.

When David was king, he remembered the promise he made to take care of Jonathan's family. My friend Jonathan is gone. Is there anyone still left of his household? God has been very kind to me, and I would like to be kind to that person as well.

Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth is still alive. He's unable to walk because of an injury he received as a child. Bring him here so I can keep my promise to Jonathan and show him the Lord's kindness. David had Mephibosheth brought to the palace and welcomed him with open arms.

Who am I that you should pay attention to me? Don't be afraid. You can be sure that I will be kind to you because of your father, Jonathan. I'll give you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and I'll always provide whatever you Need. Some people looked down on Mephibosheth because he couldn't walk, but David made Mephibosheth a permanent member of his royal household, keeping the promise he made to his friend Jonathan, all those years before the end. Okay.

That was pretty epic. I know, right? So what's our part in the story? Well, to start with, we can remember how God has always kept promises to us. God promised to send us a savior and then followed through by sending Jesus.

And just as Jonathan and David kept their promises to each other, we can make sure to keep our promises to our friends as well. Keeping Your promises helps build trust between you and your friends.

It can help friendships grow, Right? Like say you borrow a toy or a game from a friend, and promise to give it back the next day. Make sure you don't accidentally leave it at home. Speaking of, here's the pen you lent me, thanks, Or say you promised to let your friend pick the next game. When you guys play together, Even if you really don't like the game your friend chooses, it's important to keep your promise and give him a turn.

I think you've got it. See you next time. Bye. So here's the thing, friends, keep their promises. Can I promise you a musical outro? How about we just sing something instead? Yes. So long, long faja. We hate to go, but that's, but that's our show. All right.

And now it's time for us to say goodbye. Thanks for joining us in the Story Lab. See, see you next time.