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Kindness as the Way of Christ Live Sermon · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

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  Welcome to Have Faith, Let It Begin. This is Ariel Santana.
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  Can you believe I'm seven years old already? I'm old enough now to introduce my dad.
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  Ladies and gentlemen, your host, my dad, Angel Santana.
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  You know, we live in a time when everyone has something to say. Our phones speak.
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  Our social media accounts speak.
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  Our news headlines speak. and our opinions speak, but sometimes our hearts don't.
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  And it's easy to be loud. It's easy to be right.
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  It's easy to react, but it's not always easy to be kind.
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  And yet, if we claim the name of Christ, kindness is not optional.
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  Today, we will talk about letting our words reflect grace, letting our faith
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  show up in compassion and remembering that being like Christ matters more than being correct.
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  So come and let us worship the God who loves us and whose steadfast love,
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  whose mercy never fails.
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  We come to reflect his grace, to walk in his kindness and follow the way of Christ.
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  As we bring in the light of Christ, remember the words of our Lord and Savior.
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  Jesus said, I am the light of the world. May his light shine not only in our
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  understanding, but in our speech,
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  in our tone, and our treatment of one another. The light of Christ.
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  So we are adding something today, if you notice in your bulletin,
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  something I discussed with all of you. It's called the scripture overview.
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  And as I stated before, when I was younger, the minister or the pastor would
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  come up here and start reading from the Bible. And I used to always say,
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  I don't understand exactly what he's talking about.
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  So one of the things I've started to institute and put into my style of preaching
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  for the future is a scripture overview, kind of like a synopsis of what we're going to be hearing.
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  So here is your scripture overview.
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  Before we hear God's word, let me briefly connect these passages.
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  In Micah, God answers a powerful question.
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  What does the Lord require of us? Not perfection, not loud righteousness,
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  but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
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  It's simple, but it's not easy.
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  Justice, mercy, humility. Then in James, we will see that what it looks like is real.
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  It's real everyday life. We are told to be quick to listen, slow to speak,
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  and slow to become angry.
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  And then James takes it even further.
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  Do not merely listen to the word, do what it says.
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  In other words, kindness is not just something we agree with.
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  It's something we practice.
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  Together, these passages remind us that faith is not proven by how loudly we
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  speak, but how faithfully we live.
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  So now we go into Micah, chapter six, verse eight. The word of the Lord.
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  He has shown you, O mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you
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  to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. The word of the Lord.
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  And then we go into James chapter one, verses 19 through 22.
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  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this.
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  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry,
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  because human anger does not produce the righteous that God desires.
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  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and
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  humbly, accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
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  Do not merely listen to the word, and so do receive yourselves.
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  Do what it says. The word of the Lord.
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  One of my favorite parts of the day is the children's message.
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  So all children, please calm down.
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  Pastor Jim, stay in your seat, okay?
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  Just because you're retired doesn't mean you could come up and partake in the children's messages.
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  How are you? What's up? How's it going? Good. What's going on? Hey, what's up?
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  We got a lot more kids coming. Our crocuses are swimming by elephant in their
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  hands. Our flowers. Really? Yeah. Wow.
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  All right. Well, while they're coming up, I got something to show you guys. All right.
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  So, I took this from my kids this morning. So, what do we got here?
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  We got a plate, right? We got a spoon. Okay.
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  Now, what is this? What do we use toothpaste for?
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  Brushing our teeth. Okay. Okay. Well, before I do this, let me ask you a question.
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  Hi, Noah. Have you ever said something out loud or something to someone that
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  you kind of wish you can take back?
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  You ever make a mistake and say something? Maybe accidentally yell at mommy
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  or maybe you accidentally yell at your little brother or your little sister
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  and you kind of wish you could take it back? How many of us have done that?
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  Let's ask the adults. How many of us have done that? Oh, yeah, exactly.
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  Well, let me show you something. Sometimes we can't take things back And how do I explain that?
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  Let me take this toothpaste We're going to put toothpaste on this plate Okay,
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  now I need a volunteer Okay, I need you to take this spoon and put all of that
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  back in the toothpaste You can't?
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  You want to try? Go ahead, cry, he's going to try Can you get it all in without,
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  you know, go ahead, try It's not hard, it's not easy, is it?
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  No, you think he can do it? No, he can't do it, he says Okay.
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  Do you think you can do it?
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  No. Well, you see, when we say words out loud, we can't take them back,
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  just like we can't take the toothpaste and put it back in the toothpaste bottle.
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  But you know what we can do? We can say, I'm sorry.
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  Saying you're sorry is the best thing you can do.
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  You know, Jesus teaches us to be kind, to be kind to one another,
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  to be kind to your brothers, your sisters.
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  Today, guess what we're going to talk about? Being kind.
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  So I hope that today's lesson will remind you to be kind to one another.
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  Can we do that? Yeah. How about we pray?
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  Okay. Let's do a quick prayer. All right. Let's go over here and down here.
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  We'll do a quick circle and we'll do a quick prayer. Okay. Come on.
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  Yeah, it's okay. Come on down here. Do a circle. Come here, Noah.
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  All right. Let's do a quick prayer. Ready? Here we go.
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  Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day.
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  As the sun shines and the temperature rises, we ask you, Lord,
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  to let the shine of the Holy Spirit come through these children.
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  As we know, as they say in the Bible, a little child should lead them.
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  Lead these children out into the world of kindness, not rudeness.
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  Let them shine. Let them know that you are with them.
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  Bless every children today and every day as they go to school and all the faculties
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  of all school districts all over the world.
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  In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Before you leave, I got something for you.
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  I love tic-tac-toe. Who loves tic-tac-toe?
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  So I found on the coolest place ever, Amazon, okay, this TikTok thing.
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  So it's a little basket, little thing. And inside you have pieces.
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  And it actually goes really well with our sermon today. Talks about faith,
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  being strong, goodness, brave, honesty, humble.
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  And inside of the pieces, you have four pieces of the fish, says Jesus.
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  And then you have five pieces of a circle.
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  So as you're going to play, instead of playing tic-tac-toe, you're going to play fish in circle.
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  Okay? So that's for you. That's for you.
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  This is for you. You want to give them out? Here, give them out.
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  Just to the kids. Here you go. Let's make sure everybody gets one. Go ahead.
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  Good. Good. Here, Ariel.
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  All right, you can go back, okay? Enjoy.
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  Best part of our day is children's message.
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  Love tic-tac-toe. Oh, I got to fix the camera. All right, so let's pray together.
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  Heavenly Father, at this time, we are going to come together as one, one body of Christ.
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  And today, we are going to learn and talk about being kind, because kindness
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  is the way of Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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  So I stated in the beginning of the service that we live in a world where everyone
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  has an opinion, and most of them are posted immediately.
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  We live in a culture where being bold is applauded, being loud is rewarded,
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  being sharp is considered strength.
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  But there's a quote I've carried with me for many years.
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  If you're right and you're rude, then you're wrong.
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  That may not be a Bible verse, but I'm convinced that Jesus would nod at it.
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  Because Jesus never separated truth from love. He never sacrificed kindness to win an argument.
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  And he never humiliated someone just to prove a point.
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  So this morning, I want us to wrestle with something simple, but deeply.
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  Challenging too. What does it mean to be kind? What does it mean to be kind the way Christ is kind?
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  Jesus said something that still defines us today.
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  By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
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  Notice what he didn't say. He didn't say that they'll all know they'll all know
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  who you are or how correct you are.
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  He didn't say they'll all know you how sharp your theology is.
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  He didn't say they'll all know you by how many debates you win.
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  He said, love one another.
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  Love is the marker and kindness is the evidence.
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  And here's the hard truth. You can be spiritually accurate Morally disciplined,
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  Intectually sound And still push away people from Christ.
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  If you lack kindness You can do
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  that Truth without love Becomes noise
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  When Jesus asked What commandment
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  mattered most He answered clearly Love the
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  Lord your God with all your heart And love your neighbor
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  as yourself That's it Not
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  win your neighbor Not correct your neighbor Not overpower your neighbor Love
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  your neighbor Love them And love When it's genuine Shows up as kindness Kindness
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  isn't weakness Kindness isn't obedience.
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  Me share something personal with you. One place where I've learned this lesson
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  about kindness is social media.
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  Now, I'll be honest with you. I used to criticize this platform called TikTok.
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  We hear about all the negativity on TikTok, the division, the inappropriate content. It's there.
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  And some of us criticize it. It's, you know, because it is there.
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  There's negativity in social media. But here's what I've learned.
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  It's not just about the platform. It's about how you choose to show up on it.
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  There are mornings when I log on
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  before work and find myself talking with people from all over the world.
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  I have a familiar group who is with us today.
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  There's about 15 of us watching us right now.
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  They're all on the TikTok listening to me because I told them that the sermon
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  was about them. So naturally they're coming on.
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  But there are people on there like Sajid from Pakistan, from Jade to Australia.
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  There are different religions, Muslim, Christians, Catholics.
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  Agnostics, atheists, people who never met the Lord.
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  And something beautiful has happened. We ask questions. We listen.
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  We respect one another. And sometimes we even pray together.
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  And guess what? We all get along. Not because we agree on everything,
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  but because we've chosen kindness.
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  Just this past week, a gentleman logged on and had a little too many drinks of soda.
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  And we immediately realized the change in his personality. We knew something was off.
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  We noticed that he had gotten into his vehicle, so we asked him to please not drive.
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  God would have his miracles and the way he can perform, it's a blessing.
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  We asked, he's a truck driver, so he tries, so he's always traveling.
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  We asked Wally, where are you right now?
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  And he told us, and without hesitation, Kirby, I'm 34 minutes away from you.
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  He got up, got in his car and got Wally and drove him to his hotel room.
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  When Wally returned to his hotel room, he logged back in and began to cry.
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  And he began to tell us how much of a miracle that would have been, that it was actually.
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  And we all said, hey, look at the bright side.
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  Anytime you pass through and the trucks drive by, if you have anything good,
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  just dump it off the truck. We'll pick it up and we'll say that.
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  No, I'm just joking. No. But, you know, it was fun. It was fun to know that,
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  And, you know, Wally is somebody who doesn't follow the Lord openly.
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  I'm not just putting him out there. He knows.
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  But he feels at home and at peace when we're on line together.
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  So maybe that little piece of God's greatness, his grace and his kindness,
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  maybe that little seed was planted while he's joining us today.
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  I read in Colossians chapter four, verse six, it says, let your conversations
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  be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you know how to answer everyone.
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  It doesn't say win every argument. It says full of grace.
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  And that's what people are hungry for.
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  But kindness doesn't always come without a cost. There's something else I need to share.
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  Since I decided to follow God's calling, my life, ever since I began in ministry school.
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  Ever since I said I believe God is calling me to be a pastor,
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  I've noticed changes, not just in me, but in others around me.
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  And I wish I could tell you they're all positive, but the truth is,
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  some people walked away. Some grew distant.
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  Some choose not to be near me. And some just didn't understand what I was trying to do.
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  And let's be honest, we all want to be liked. We all want to be long.
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  We all want people to want us to be around us. But here's one of the hardest
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  lessons that I've learned.
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  You cannot force people to stay when God is calling you to grow.
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  When I told people I was pursuing this calling, I knew there might be resistance.
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  What I didn't expect was to lose most of my friends.
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  And that hurt. That still hurts sometimes.
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  But here's what I've come to understand. Jesus didn't call me to collect approval.
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  He called me to spread his word. And sometimes when you walk toward your calling,
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  not everyone walks with you, but here's the beautiful part.
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  The same God who allowed some people to step away also brought me new people into my life.
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  Just like my TikTok community, there are people from all over the world who
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  now say, when I log on, it's the pastor.
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  And that's my nickname. They don't even call me angel. They just call me pastor.
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  Mornings, my phone rings and sometimes someone will say, you have to jump on right away.
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  Somebody needs some prayer. Someone needs prayer right now. Can you pray with us? And I do. I log on.
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  Some of those people once said they don't believe in God. So what changed?
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  Did I lose friends or did God expand my reach?
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  Maybe my decision didn't cost me relationships. Maybe it revealed where I was truly needed.
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  Kindness and obedience will sometimes reposition you exactly where God wants you most.
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  So here's a question for all of us today. Are we more concerned with being liked or being faithful?
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  Are we more concerned about being right or being Christ-like?
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  Because Christ-likeness looks like kindness.
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  It looks like listening before speaking. It looks like patient when irritated,
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  It looks like compassion when someone doesn't think they like you It looks like
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  choosing grace instead of pride The world is not lacking opinions The world
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  is lacking compassion So here's my challenge for all of you this week Don't try to change the world.
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  Do one intentional act of kindness. One moment where you choose gentleness,
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  one comment you soften, one person you truly listen to, one apology you offer.
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  Be the kind of Christian who makes people curious about Jesus.
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  Because when kindness leads, Christ is near.
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  Think about that. When kindness leads, Christ is near.
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  Being right doesn't have to say to someone, I'm always right.
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  No, being right doesn't save anyone. Jesus does.
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  And the way he reaches hearts is not through humiliation, but through love.
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  So many of our words can be full of grace.
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  So today as you go about to the world find the goodness find the grace find
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  the kindness That's what we were intended to be.
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  We were filled with love Created by our heavenly father.
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  May our hearts reflect mercy and may our lives preach kindness Louder than our own opinions amen.
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  I believe we go into prayer of blessing. Okay, we can do that.
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  Prayer of blessing, and then we'll go right into the Apostles' Creed. Heavenly Father.
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  Grant the words that we've heard today through your grace be so gifted and guided
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  within our hearts that they may bring forth in us the fruits of the spirit of
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  the honor and praise that you provide us in your holy name.
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  Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Our time of worship is now concluded.
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  Please join us downstairs as a family as we come together for some fellowship.
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  Reminder that tonight I will be here with all of those that are attending the Lenten series.
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  Please pray for me. It'll be my second sermon of the day.
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  And yeah, one that I can't wait to do. Receive today's benediction.
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  As you leave here today, may words be slower, your hearts be softer,
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  your spirits be guided by grace, when the world invites you to react.
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  May you choose to respond when pride tempts you to provide yourself right.
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  May love remind you to be Christ-like. May the Lord make you quick to listen,
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  slow to speak, and gentle in your tone.
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  May your kindness be louder than your opinions. May your compassion outshine your certainty.
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  And may your life reflect the mercy that God has shown you.
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  Go into this week remembering that being right may win arguments,
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  but kindness wins hearts.
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  Walk in the love of Christ, speak with the grace of Christ, and shine with the light of Christ.
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  In Jesus' name we pray, amen.