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Bonus episode: Built to Last: Community, Trials, and a Faith That Holds · Fostering Faith

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  And so we snuck in a little episode on this Wednesday.
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  And so in episode five of our Rooted series,
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  Built to Last, community trials and faith that
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  holds. And so deep faith is personal. It is never
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  designed to be private. And so in this final
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  Rooted episode... We're going to be talking about
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  why Christian community is essential, how trials
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  expose and strengthen our foundation, and what
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  it looks like when faith feels difficult. And
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  we're going to be talking about Hebrews 10 and
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  12, James 1, and Jesus teaching in Matthew 7.
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  This episode should help you build life that
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  keeps you turned towards Christ. And so welcome
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  back to Fostering Faith. I am your host Tracy,
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  and today we're going to be closing out our September
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  Rooted series, A Faith That Holds. This month
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  we have talked about abiding in Christ, receiving
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  scripture, praying honestly and obeying an ordinary
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  life. And today we're going to be bringing these
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  practices into two places where faith is tested
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  and strengthened, community and trials. Deep
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  faith is personal and it is never designed to
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  be private. And we cannot borrow someone else's
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  relationship with Jesus, but it could also cannot
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  live the New Testament vision and discipleship
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  alone. We are called a body, a family, a household,
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  living stones. being built together. And faith
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  that never faced pressure looks strong until
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  the storm arrives. And Jesus ends the Sermon
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  on the Mount with two builders, both here in
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  his words, both built a house, both face rain,
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  floods and winds. The storm is not evidence and
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  one builder was abandoned. The storm comes to
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  both. The difference is the foundation. And so
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  let us pray. And so dear Heavenly Father, thank
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  you that we are established as in Christ. For
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  the listener who is alone, provide a safe, faithful
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  community. For those that are in a storm, give
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  endurance. Show us where our foundations are
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  shallow and teach us to build on the words of
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  Christ. Hold us whenever we feel weak. We pray
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  this in Jesus' name. Amen. And so you need people
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  to remind you that they're here to help us. And
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  so Hebrews 10 tells believers not to neglect
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  gathering together to encourage one another,
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  especially as the day of Christ approaches. Why?
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  Because we forget. We forget God's faithfulness
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  when the week is hard. We forget who we are when
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  shame gets loud. We forget hope when grief narrows
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  our vision. Christian community is one of God's
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  gifts for remembering. And so just remember in
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  the Old Testament, Joshua's people forgot who
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  he was because there was nobody there to remind
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  them. whenever they passed by altars and that
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  was like the so important thing about the building
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  of the altars and so you could go by oh remember
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  whenever he brought us to the red sea oh oh remember
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  this and oh remember that and so if sometimes
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  whenever we're so lost in the storm we can't
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  see up or down we forget the altars that he has
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  built and that's why it's so important to have
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  people surround us with those memories oh you
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  remember that last time that you went through
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  the storm oh you remember this time and so we
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  often forget about those people there are there
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  to remind us. And so getting into those small
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  groups. And so oftentimes the fall seasons of
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  small groups will start in your churches. And
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  so get plugged in, get plugged in to a small
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  group. And so you need people there to remind
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  you of the truth without minimizing your pain.
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  People who can celebrate you without competing,
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  correct you without controlling, listen without
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  making your story about them, and pray whenever
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  your words are gone. And other people need that
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  from you. Community is not merely attending the
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  same event. You can sit in a crowd of a church
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  and remain completely alone and unknown. It's
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  the back row specialist. I used to be one. It
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  was I would get in and get out. A biblical fellowship
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  requires presence, honesty, service, patience,
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  forgiveness, and shared devotion to Christ. And
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  it's beautiful. And it's inconvenient. People
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  misunderstand. Schedules collide. Personalities
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  differ. Someone forgets. Someone speaks carelessly.
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  Community does not work because Christians are
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  easy. It works because Christ is faithful and
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  teaches his people to forgive. And so safe community
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  is not boundary -free community. And so Christian's
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  love does not require unlimited access. Forgiveness
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  does not automatically restore trust, and reconciliation
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  requires truth. repentance, and safety on both
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  sides. And so Romans 12 says, if possible, as
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  far as it depends on you, live in peace with
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  everybody. That wording recognizes that peace
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  does not depend only on one person. You can pursue
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  peace and still set boundaries. You can forgive
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  and still decline to return to a harmful pattern.
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  Healthy community welcomes accountability, but
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  accountability is not control. A trustworthy
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  person points you towards Jesus, respects wise
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  boundaries, and tells the truth with love. It
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  does not demand secrecy that protects harm. If
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  you are experiencing church hurt, I am going
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  to tell you now, get over it and find another
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  group. I'm not going to tell you that. I'm not
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  going to tell you that. And so if you're experiencing
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  church hurt, it's, oh, just get over it and find
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  another group. Wounds need honest healing. But
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  I also do not want the failure of people to permanently
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  isolate you from the gift that God intends. Move
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  carefully. Ask God for wise, safe people. Let
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  trust grow at speed. Because we are broken people.
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  It is not turturt. It is people hurt. People
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  are flawed. We make mistakes. But it's about
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  going back and looking and revisiting those hurts
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  and taking that to Him. And so trials reveal
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  foundations. James 1 says to consider it great
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  joy when we experience various trials because
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  the testing of faith produces endurance. James
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  is not saying that pain feels joyful. He is naming
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  what God can produce through a trial. Test reveals
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  what is real. Pressure shows us where we are
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  placed, where we trust our faith. And so financial
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  crisis may reveal our security is rooted in control.
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  Rejection may reveal how deeply approval defines
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  us. Delay may reveal that we trust God's timing
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  only when it matches ours. Revelation can be
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  painful, but it is mercy. God shows a weak place
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  so we can strengthen it. The aim is endurance,
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  not a dramatic amount of spiritual intensity,
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  but the capacity to teach and keep trusting and
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  keep obeying and keep returning to Jesus over
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  time. Endurance does not mean you never feel
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  tired. It means that tiredness does not get the
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  final vote. It does not mean that you never question.
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  It means you bring the question to God instead
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  of building our life around it. And so fixing
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  our eyes on Jesus. And so Hebrews 12 tells us
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  to run with endurance the race set before us.
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  Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter
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  of faith. We often fix our eyes on the storm,
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  on other people's pace. And I have said this
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  time and time again, just... We often, even that's
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  like you're at the gym and you're running on
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  a treadmill and you're like at a 6 .3 or whatever.
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  And then the guy next to you or the girl next
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  to you is just running and they're like at a
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  6 .7 or another 7, they're at an 8. And you try
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  to look over at them and then you lose your footing
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  and try to fall off the treadmill. It's because
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  you lost your focus. Your face is not on that.
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  And so oftentimes too, you'll see people that
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  are in like Olympics or they're in their race.
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  And if they turn their head and not keeping their
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  head forward, they lose because they're concentrating
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  on the guy behind them. It really can take your
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  off and just misguide you. And so fixing your
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  eyes on Jesus, returning to who and what he said
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  and what he has done. Enduring the cross, despising
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  its shame and seated in the right hand of God.
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  Our endurance is not vague optimism. It is anchored
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  in the risen King. Jesus is not standing at the
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  finish line, shouting for you to try harder.
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  By his spirit and his presence is with you in
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  the race. He began the work. He sustains the
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  work and he will complete the work. And so what?
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  what it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday. And
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  so perseverance may look like getting out of
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  bed and praying an honest sentence. It may look
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  like going back to counseling, attending a group
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  when isolation feels easier, opening up a scripture
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  after a season of dryness, or choosing not to
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  numb pain with a habit that once controlled you.
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  It may look like asking for help before the crisis
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  becomes collapse. And there's no shame in needing
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  support. Galatians 6 tells us to carry one another's
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  burdens. Some burdens are too heavy to carry
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  alone. At the same time, the same passage teaches
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  each person to carry their own load. Healthy
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  community helps us take over that responsibility
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  and supports obedience rather than replacing
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  it. If you're walking through severe anxiety,
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  depression, trauma, and thoughts of harming yourself,
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  prayer and professional help do not compete.
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  Please tell a trusted person and reach out to
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  a qualified professional. If you're in any immediate
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  danger, contact the local emergency services
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  or crisis services that where you live. God can
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  care and meet us with skilled help. Faithful
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  friends, pastors, physicians, counselors, we
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  are all here to help one another. And so, build
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  a rooted support system. This week, write down
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  four names or spaces. One person who can pray
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  with you, one person that you can tell the truth,
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  one person that you can encourage, one community
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  where you can show up consistently. If that space
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  is blank, it's not condemnation, it's direction.
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  Ask God for the next step. Visit your next step
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  in your church. Send one message. Visit one group.
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  Invite one person to coffee or walk. Community
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  usually begins with an ordinary act of courage.
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  Then write your storm plan. When pressure arises,
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  what truth will you return to? Who will you contact?
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  What spiritual rhythm will you protect? And what
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  warning signs tell you that you're in isolation?
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  Do not wait for the storm to design the foundation.
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  And so as we go back through this month, where
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  is God invited you to remain? What scripture
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  is He planting in you? What honest prayers do
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  you need to keep praying? What faithful yes is
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  still in front of you? Who is part of your community?
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  Where is endurance growing? And so our anchor
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  passage says, as you receive Christ Jesus your
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  Lord, so walk with Him rooted and built up in
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  Him and established in faith. The picture is
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  clear. Life with Christ is sustained by grace
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  and not manufactured willpower. God is the gardener
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  and the builder. He is the farmer. We participate
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  through trust and obedience. But grace is underneath
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  the entire process. Your faith does not hold
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  because your grip is perfect. It holds because
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  Christ is holding you. And so let's end in prayer.
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  Father God, thank you so much for this month.
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  Thank you for what you've hidden in our roots
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  that you are growing. Establish us in Christ.
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  Teach us to abide. Receive your word and pray
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  honestly and obey quickly. Love your people and
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  endure trials with hope. Heal church wounds and
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  lead us towards a safe community. Strengthen
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  our learned listeners and tired listeners. Bring
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  help to those persons who feel alone. Expose
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  our weak foundations with mercy and rebuild them
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  on the words of Jesus. When storms come, remind
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  us that you are present. Whenever we stumble,
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  help us return. Let us, our lives, abound in
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  thanksgiving, not because we are circumstances
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  is easy, but because Christ is faithful. And
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  we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So thank you
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  so much for staying tuned for this little bonus
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  episode. We thank you that we have walked through
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  Rooted with Me, and this series helped you. Go
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  back and listen to it again with a small group,
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  with a friend, in your small groups that hopefully
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  you're going to be starting. Share this episode,
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  follow Fostering Faith, and leave us a review
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  so more people can find the show. Visit Fostering
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  Faith Media for the companion guides, our blog
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  posts, our reflections. Sign up for their emails.
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  We are going to keep building from here. We cannot
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  wait to meet you in our next series. Until then,
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  stay rooted in Christ and remember, you can do
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  hard things because God is with you. Have a wonderful
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  week. We love you guys. Bye.