On Sunday, guest speaker Pastor Gene Appel from Eastside Church shared an inspiring message on what it means to be faithful in the Church based on Colossians 1:1-8.

Below you’ll find a video, audio and text summary and transcript of Gene’s message as well as some questions for personal reflection and small groups to discuss.

Faithful in the Church: Moving from Playing Church to Being the Church

The question of what it means to be a "faithful church" is one many grapple with in their faith journey. In his recent message, the Gene Appel delves into Colossians 1:1-8 to explore the qualities of a church that embodies true faithfulness. He reflects on his experiences, the ways people approach church life, and four essential marks of a church that isn’t just "playing church" but truly being the church.

Rediscovering What It Means to Be a Faithful Church

Drawing from his childhood, Gene recalls how, as a pastor’s kid, he and his siblings would “play church” at home. Yet, as he’s observed in over 40 years of ministry, even adults can get caught up in “playing church.” Sometimes, people are so busy with the functions of church life that they lose sight of what it means to actually be the church. Reflecting on D. Martin Lloyd-Jones’ haunting words—“I built a crowd, but I did not build a church”—Gene challenges us not to settle for superficial growth but to build something lasting, genuine, and true to the calling of Christ.

Key Marks of a Faithful Church

The heart of the message focuses on four main qualities that mark a faithful church. These qualities, based on the apostle Paul’s commendation of the Colossian church, provide a model for believers who seek to move beyond attending church services and truly live out their faith.

1. Passionate Faith

   The Colossians were known for their faith in Christ, a faith that was not merely superficial but deeply passionate. Gene observes that there are different types of people in every church: “drive-through people,” who treat church like a fast-food restaurant, “flu-shot people,” who want just enough of church to feel safe, and the “committed core,” who are deeply engaged and active in their faith. It is this last group—the committed core—that embodies the passionate faith Paul praises in the Colossians. True faith goes beyond casual attendance and inspires involvement, growth, and transformation.

2. Inclusive Love

   Faithful churches are also marked by an inclusive love that extends beyond social or cultural boundaries. The Gene recalls his own experiences of loneliness and heartache, particularly a Christmas Eve when he found himself dining alone in a Las Vegas casino. In that moment, he felt an intense compassion for others who might be equally lonely. This experience reshaped his understanding of inclusive love and reinforced the importance of a church community that embraces everyone. A faithful church extends its arms to people from all walks of life, creating a welcoming space for everyone, regardless of their background, appearance, or circumstances.

3. Dynamic Message

   The gospel, as Paul describes, is “bearing fruit and growing.” Gene emphasises that the gospel message is not stagnant; it is a powerful, transformative force that grows and produces fruit. Sharing this message dynamically requires a willingness to adapt, change, and even challenge comfort zones to reach new generations. Gene shares a story of how a church member initially resisted, but then embraced, a contemporary worship service geared towards younger attendees. This openness to creative, relevant expressions of the gospel is essential to a church that seeks to grow and connect with those who might otherwise feel disconnected.

4. Motivating Hope

   Lastly, Paul notes that the faith and love of the Colossians stemmed from their hope stored in heaven. This hope is not only a promise for the future but a source of strength and endurance in challenging times. Reflecting on his own life, Gene shares memories of his father’s passing and his anticipation of reuniting with loved ones in heaven. This motivating hope in Christ sustains the church, helping believers endure hardship, loss, and uncertainty with a heart fixed on eternal promises.

Moving Beyond the Surface

In the final part of his message, Gene challenges us to consider whether we are part of the “crowd” or the “church.” Are we attending church services for comfort, or are we fully invested in the mission of building a Christ-centered community?

Faithful churches are made up of faithful individuals who make daily choices to live with passion, inclusivity, and a commitment to spreading the gospel message. For this Gene, a church is not just a place or event but a living, breathing community that bears witness to the hope found in Christ.

Questions for Personal Reflection

1. Do I view my participation in church as a “drive-through” experience, or am I genuinely committed to growing my faith and serving others?

2. How inclusive is my love for others? Are there people I struggle to embrace or welcome?

3. In what ways do I cling to the hope of heaven, especially in difficult seasons? How does this hope shape my outlook and actions?

Questions for Small Group Discussion

1. What does it mean to be part of the “committed core” of a One Church, and why is it challenging yet rewarding?

2. How can we, as a group, encourage each other to grow from “drive-through” or “flu-shot” approaches to faith into a passionate, committed relationship with Christ?

3. What steps can we take to make our small group and church more inclusive? How do we ensure everyone feels welcomed and valued?

4. How do we share the gospel in ways that are relevant and engaging to those around us? Can you think of ways we might need to adapt to reach different generations?

5. How does the hope of heaven influence our attitudes and actions in day-to-day life? In what ways can we remind each other of this hope?

6. What are some ways we might unintentionally “play church” instead of fully engaging in our faith? How can we encourage a more genuine commitment in our group?

7. Gene talked about the dangers of focusing on “building a crowd” instead of “building a church.” What are some signs of a church focused on crowd-building, and how can we safeguard against this in our group and wider church community?

Conclusion

This message is a call to be intentional about faith, inclusivity, sharing the gospel, and clinging to hope. As each member of the church examines their role, they contribute to building a community that embodies Christ’s love and light. Whether you're reflecting on your own journey or discussing with a group, may these questions inspire a deeper, more engaged relationship with Christ and His church. A faithful church begins with faithful individuals who, together, are committed to being the church rather than just playing church.

Sermon Transcript

You know, many children grow up playing house, playing doctor, or playing with dolls. I grew up as a pastor's kid, and we grew up at our house playing church. We would actually have little church services in the living room. I have three older sisters, and they'd do a little worship team. One of my brothers would say a prayer, and I would give a sermon. Then, we would hit Mum or Dad four or five times with the offering bucket before they realised what was happening. It was a very profitable experience for us growing up. And, you know, many years have gone by since those years of playing church. I've been in ministry over 40 years now, and here's something I've learned: as adults, sometimes we can play church too. Sometimes we're so busy going through the motions of what a church does that we forget what a church is.

D. Martin Lloyd-Jones was, from all outward appearances, a very successful pastor in the city of London. He was a best-selling author, and when he retired at the end of his ministry season there, he made a statement that’s kind of haunting to me as a pastor. He said, "I built a crowd, but I did not build a church. I built a crowd, but I did not build a church." You know, I don't want to come to the end of my ministry days one day and realise, hey, we were busy building crowds, but we didn't really build the Church of Jesus Christ. So, from time to time, we need to remind ourselves: what does a church look like when it's really working right?

I spend a lot of time thinking about this, probably more time than you would guess. One of the passages that I come back to again and again is found in Colossians, chapter 1, where we find a church there that gives us a picture, like a flesh-and-blood example, of a faithful church. Paul addresses them in verse 2 of Colossians 1, and I want you to notice how he describes this church. He says, "To God's holy people in Colossae, the…” – everybody say this word out loud with me – “the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ." Interestingly, this isn't a church that Paul had ever visited; he'd never spoken there. This is not a church that he founded or pioneered. Everything he knew about this church was based on what others were saying about it, based on rumours. And based on those rumours, he says, "Oh, there are faithful brothers and sisters in that church – that's a faithful church."

And it raises the question in my mind: okay, so why did he put them in that category? Why did he say they were a faithful church? What should mark your life, what should mark my life in this church if we want this to be a faithful church? To be not playing church, but being the church?

Notice in verses 3 and 4, he continues, and he says, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your…" – everybody say it – "faith in Christ Jesus." He says, "We have heard of your faith." It's what they were known for. You see, faithful, dynamic, supernaturally empowered churches are always marked at least by four things that we see in this passage. The first grows right out of that verse: it’s marked by people who possess a passionate faith. I think there must have been something extraordinary about the faith of the Colossians because he is so specific to mention their faith: “faith, I have heard of your faith.”

You know, over the years, after many years in ministry, I've observed there's basically three types of people in every church. One is what I would call the "drive-through" people. These are the people who look at this place as having a kind of "McChurch" view of church. It’s like they pull up in the drive-through on Sunday morning, and they hear, "Welcome to One Church! Can I take your order, please?" "Yes, I'd like a wonderful service today with inspiring music and a practical message from God's word, and wonderful childcare – would you like cheese on that?" And they just drive through church. They might do this for several years: no connection, no life change, no real involvement. It's just a drive-through approach to spirituality. And listen, if you don't move beyond a junk-food-type approach to spirituality, you'll never grow to be a fully committed disciple of Jesus.

There's a second type of person I've noticed in every church. These are what I call the "flu shot" people. How many of you have ever had a flu shot? Show of hands. Yes, my wife Barbara and I get flu shots every year. And it’s interesting; when you get the flu shot, they're actually injecting you with a little bit of the virus, right, so that you build up the antibodies to fight the flu if it comes your way. There are some people who approach their spiritual growth and their spiritual experience kind of like a flu shot. They want just enough in them that it prevents them from getting the full-blown disease of following Jesus. It's like, "I've got my fire insurance with Jesus. When I die, I know I'm all covered there, but I want just enough that I don't get the full-blown deal, the full-blown sickness." So they show up to church a couple of times a month, shake a couple of hands, put a couple of dollars in the offering, but there's no life change, there's no connection, there's no real involvement. They've got a mild case of Christianity instead of the full-blown deal.

There's a third group of people in every church, and these are what I call the "committed core." These are the people who make this place go. These are the people that you'll find in the trenches on their knees, praying for God to move. These are the people who open up God's word and say, "Word of God, speak." These are the people who are not afraid to get in community in small groups, take off their mask and say, "Hey, this is who I really am, and this is how I could use your prayer and encouragement in my life." These are people that you'll find serving; these are people that you'll find sacrificing, giving to vision offerings. These are not the drive-through people, you know, just kind of with a “McChurch” view. These are not flu-shot people looking for just enough of God that it prevents them from getting the full disease. These are the committed core of One Church.

And to the committed core of this church, whether you've been a part of this church for 25 years, 25 months, or even 25 days, I want to say to you: thank you, thank you, thank you for giving of your best, for worshipping with passion, for not getting weary in well-doing. You're reaping a harvest because you didn't give up.

And I can't help but wonder if there aren’t some of you here today who've felt a little bit of conviction and thought, "You know, it's time for me to leave my drive-through, flu-shot spiritual ways and become a part of the committed core of One Church." Listen, you're needed in this church – you really are.

Faithful churches are marked by people who possess a passionate faith, and second, they’re marked by people who extend an inclusive love. I want you to notice in the last part of verse 4 here, Paul says, "We have heard of the love you have for all God's people." The love you have for all God's people. Paul says this isn't a church with cliques; this isn’t a church where you have to meet certain criteria for who's accepted and who's not accepted, who's in and who's out. This is a church for all God's people. And when he says that, I picture a church with arms outstretched for one another. Instead of being exclusive, they’re very inclusive. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, rich or poor, wounded or healed, what colour your skin is, or what language you speak – it's for all God's people.

Now, I know you don't know me personally, but in my family, in my personal life right now, this is just one of those eras that’s fantastically joyful, with so much to be thankful for. My wife Barbara and I will celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary in January. We have three kids who are all now grown and married, and we have three grandsons with two more grandsons on the way right now. We love our grandchildren so much we wish we would have had them first, to be honest with you. This is such a tremendously joyful and fulfilling time in our lives that sometimes it's easy to forget that it's not always been that way.

Back in the 1980s, both my wife Barbara and I went through painful divorces out of similar circumstances. The woman that I was married to told me one night that she was in love and involved with another man, and that she was leaving the next morning. And she did, and despite relentless attempts at reconciliation, she never returned. And believe me, I know, I know it's only by the amazing grace of our God that I'm even standing here all these years later.

I'll never forget my first Christmas alone again after going through all of that. I was a pastor of a church in Las Vegas, where I pastored for 18 years. After our Candlelight Christmas Eve services that night, my intention was to grab something to eat at a drive-through, go home, do some laundry, and pack. Then I was going to catch a flight on Christmas morning to another part of the US and spend Christmas Day with 20 members of my family. I got away from the church that night about 9:30 after our last service, and I drove down the road. There was a little chicken drive-through place, and they were closed. I thought, "No problem," and next door there was a taco drive-through place, so I went over there, and they were closed. I thought, "Well, there’s a hamburger place about 10 minutes away," so I drove over there – they were closed. I had never seen Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, so quiet. And now I'm thinking, "Well, I'll go to my supermarket; they're open 24 hours a day." My supermarket was closed.

And I'm starting to get depressed. I'm feeling sorry for myself, having a little pity party, thinking about all the nice families who are having their Christmas gatherings around their Christmas tree, and here I am all by myself on Christmas Eve. But I was determined to find something to eat, so I drove out to the east edge of Las Vegas, where there’s a country-western-themed casino called Sam’s Town. I pulled up to the car park and was surprised – the place was hopping and busy, cars everywhere. I walked into the casino; people were playing the slot machines, the video poker machines, and all the table games. I went to a 1950s-style diner restaurant that they had there, sat down at a table for four all by myself, and ordered what they called the "Blue Plate Special." And I thought, "This is like a bad dream. I can't believe this. I just spoke for thousands of people, and here I am at Sam’s Town on Christmas Eve, eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy alone." And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, somebody put a coin in the jukebox, and Elvis started singing in my ear, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Absolutely true.

And I appreciate your sympathy – thank you, it means so much to me. Well, I started laughing, probably to keep from crying, and the thought that just overwhelmed me was, "Gene, here you are, one of the most blessed guys in the world. You've got a church family that has stood with you through thick and thin. You've got more close friends than anyone should legally be allowed to have. You're flying home in the morning to spend Christmas Day with 20 members of your family. And if you, of all people, can be lonely tonight, imagine how difficult this night is for those who don't have anyone." And as I walked out of the casino that night and watched all the people playing the games and everything, it was like the Holy Spirit sent a dart right into my soul. The thought that just overwhelmed me was, "They don't have anywhere else to go tonight either. Why else would they be here on Christmas Eve?"

Friends, I'm telling you, God needs churches that extend inclusive love because right now, on the street where you live, in your community, sitting in the row that you're sitting in right now, I can guarantee you there are some people who are just struggling to hang on. There are people just struggling to hang on to their marriage, people who are struggling to hang on to their sobriety. There are widowed people and divorced people and single people who are going to walk out of church today and watch some couples holding hands or families loading up in their vehicles, and it's just going to hurt a little bit. There are people battling illnesses or caring for someone with an illness, and they're just tired. There are some parents who have sons and daughters who are just breaking their hearts right now, and they don't know what else to do or how else to pray. There are people who are just struggling to hang on financially right now – they want to hang on to their business one more month, they want to hang on to their car one more month, they want to hang on to their house one more month.

And listen, our God needs Jesus-built churches that will extend inclusive love to hurting people, love to wounded people, love to people like Gene Appel. God needs churches who will not care where people have been or the mistakes they've made in their life, but only the direction their feet are pointing today in the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Amen?

Faithful churches are marked by people who possess passionate faith, people who extend inclusive love, and third, they're marked by people who share a dynamic message – a dynamic message. In verse 5 of Colossians 1, Paul talks about the word of truth, the gospel that has come to them, and then he says this in verse 6: "The gospel that has come to you is bearing fruit and growing…" Notice that phrase, "bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace." You see, the gospel is a dynamic message; it was producing fruit, and it's amazing how powerful the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is. When the simple message of the gospel, that God loved us so much he sent his Son to die for our sins on a cross, was buried, and rose again – which we're going to celebrate around the communion table later today – when that simple message is communicated in a way that's relevant and people can apply it and understand it, it changes lives. It was happening in Colossae; it was happening all over the world. It's happened in your life; it's happened in my life. It's happening in One Church, where this message is passionately communicated.

Let me tell you, when we share this dynamic message in a way that people can relate to, that’s culturally relevant, it produces a couple of things in a local church. One thing it produces is a growing church. Most Bible scholars and commentators agree that when Paul talks about the gospel bearing fruit and growing, he's talking about an ever-increasing number of people becoming followers of Jesus Christ. And friends, this is why I should never worry, and you should never worry, that your church might get too big. My guess is that Tim has heard, in his many years in ministry even prior to coming to One Church, something I’ve heard over the years, which is, "Hey, Gene, don’t you think the church is big enough now? Don’t you think, like, we have enough services? Everything’s just right; the campus is just the right size, you know? Isn’t it big enough now? Really, this church is too big." And that always makes me laugh a little bit – it tickles me a little bit.

Let me ask you ladies a question: have you ever said, "I will never shop at that Chadstone Shopping Centre again because it's just too big"? It’s huge, gargantuan! Or guys, let me ask you, have you ever said, "No, I’m going to take a pass on those Melbourne Cricket Grounds tickets because the stadium is just too big – it’s massive!" Do you know what? A church that has God's heartbeat for people who are far from God and is centred in a population centre like Melbourne, the largest city in Australia – I understand now, come on, you’re number one, you're number one! – it should be big. It should be reflective of the population. If not, something’s unhealthy, because Jesus said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Friends, the problem is never that the church is getting too big. Do you want to know what the problem is? Can we be honest about it? The problem is that hell is getting too big. The problem is that too many people are going there. The problem is that 173,000 people die in our world every 24 hours – one every 3 seconds – and most are dying without the Son of God in their life.

You know, whenever I meet a follower of Jesus who isn't concerned about reaching people far from God or who thinks their church is big enough or too big, it tells me one thing: it tells me they don't rub shoulders enough with people who are far from God. Because when you do, God just keeps them right in front of you, and it affects how you pray for them, it affects how you build friendships, it affects how you invite to church, it affects how you plan church services, it affects how you give, it affects how you preach. Never once in scripture do we ever find a church being instructed to pull back or slow down or to be satisfied with some numerical goal that they've reached. The mandate is always to go and make disciples because faithful churches share a dynamic, transformational message.

And also, the dynamic message of the gospel of Jesus Christ leads to churches needing to be creative, to realise it's not all about me. It’s not just about me, my family, our wants, our preferences; it's about others. About a decade ago, our church relocated to a new campus that was about 15 minutes from where we used to be. In our early weeks, we moved into a beautiful room like this, and I wanted to have a week where we just saturated that congregation, that new facility, with worship. I have a good friend who's a worship leader in the US, who produces music. Maybe you've heard some of his songs before – his name is Lincoln Brewster. And I asked Lincoln, "Would you come and just spend a weekend with us, and, man, let's just have a worship concert to fill every nook and cranny of our building with worship?" So he agreed to come, and it was a rocking weekend of worship.

The next day, I got an email from a 76-year-old grandfather in our church named Marlin. He'd been around the church for a long time. He has kids in the church; he has grandkids in the church. Here’s what he wrote me: "Gene, I felt compelled to drop you a note about the service this morning. When I saw the video clip last week about the visit by Lincoln Brewster this weekend, I frankly was not impressed." So I'm like, okay, where's this going? "It seemed to portray the image of a pure rock concert, which would be loud, without much socially redeeming value. As a result, it seemed like many of the oldsters in my age group were inclined to just skip going to church this Sunday." I thought, oh, my heart was breaking as I read that. But then he continued, "I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of just ruining my ears on a rock concert, I had what I felt was one of the more meaningful worship experiences of my life. Sure, the music was a little loud, but I could handle that. Yes, the lights flashing and all were also very tolerable to this old man. The message, though, was obviously there, and the target audience seemed to be there as well. I had four young girls in the row ahead of me, and they were obviously really ‘with the program’. I decided, rather than dwelling on what I didn’t care for about Lincoln’s presentation, that I would instead expend my energy praying for these young people around me, that needed to be reached, and that they would be touched in a life-changing way." What a spirit! He wrote, "We usually never know what happens as a result of our prayers, but it is still much more worthwhile to pray than to just sit there and complain because this worship wasn't quite what I was raised with. Thanks, Gene, for taking this bold step to reach out to the younger generation rather than just being content to try to pacify us old folks." Marlin, how great is that spirit, right?

And, you know, I shared that letter with our church, and I think there were a whole lot of grandparents like Marlin saying, "I want to be like Marlin. I want to have that spirit too because I want my kids and my grandkids and the next generation to experience the power of Jesus Christ, the dynamic message of the gospel, to change their life." Amen?

Now, being faithful in the church is challenging, and there are times you want to quit. There are discouraging times; there are times you want to give up. And that’s when, fourth, we need to be people who cling to a motivating hope. So, question: where did this passionate faith, where did this inclusive love that the Colossians had, come from? Paul shows us in verse 5. He says, "They spring from the…" – everybody say this word – "the hope that is stored up for you in heaven." Gang, whenever we get discouraged, whenever we feel like throwing in the towel, whenever we feel like playing church instead of being the church, Paul says focus on your hope. Scripture sometimes calls it the blessed hope of heaven.

I love to go home, don’t you? In fact, there's no place I'd rather be. You know it's true: there's no place like home. There's no door I would rather walk through than the front door of our home; there's no coffee I would rather drink than out of my mug around our kitchen table; there’s no bed I'd rather sleep in than my own bed with my pillow. I love to go home. And it’s that thought of going home that makes this image of heaven so attractive to me.

When I was 14 years old, I had been out fishing with my dad and my grandfather one day. We have a lake home on a lake in northern Minnesota in the US. We’d been fishing, came back, and Dad wasn't feeling very well. Well, we found out he had had a massive heart attack. He went to the local little hospital where we were, and four days later his condition worsened, and he had to be transported from that little hospital to a larger hospital about an hour and a half away. So all the family went to that other hospital to wait for the ambulance to arrive, except my brother Mike and I, who went back to our family cabin. We were in charge of packing some things, and then we were going to go meet the rest of the family. I remember being back at that cabin packing, and I saw a familiar car drive up the road. It was my dad's best friend, and I'll never forget it. He got out of the car, put one arm around me just like this, and he put one arm around my brother Mike just like this, and he said, "Boys, I've got some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is your daddy's gone to heaven today, and the bad news is he isn't with us any longer."

I can't wait to see my dad again. When I get to heaven, I'll be home. I can’t wait to see my mum, can’t wait to see our one-day-old granddaughter, Maisie Joy, who went to be with Jesus just a little over a year ago. See, heaven is my hope. Being faithful in the church costs us a lot. It costs us physically, it costs us emotionally, it costs us spiritually, financially. So when you feel like throwing in the towel, cling to your motivating hope that is waiting for you in heaven.

Now, before I close, I want to say a word about your pastor. I think very few people here probably understand the pressure that the senior or lead pastor of a church like One Church feels in their life every day – a church with hundreds and hundreds of people. But I can tell you, maybe I understand it more than others. From day one of a pastor's ministry, most of us wonder, "Can God use somebody like me with all my faults, all my limitations?" And then as a church starts to go forward, we wonder, "Is our vision really from God, or are we too far out on the limb of faith? And what's the fine line between faith and foolishness?"

And while all that's going on, there's a marriage to build into, there are kids who need their dad, there are funds to raise, there are pandemics to navigate, there's a church staff to lead, there are sermons to prepare, there are broken people to comfort, there are naughty folks to straighten out, and there are preschoolers leading an insurrection in the children's ministry. There are weddings to perform, and there are funerals to conduct. Very, very few people understand the challenges of being a pastor of a church like One Church.

And Tim, I just want to say to you and Melissa, I'm sure you know, you started this ministry at a really rough time when we were in the COVID era, and people didn’t know you, and you didn’t know them, and what a challenging time. And I’m sure there have been some dark nights of the soul, especially in those early years where it would have been so easy to throw in the towel and give up. But you didn’t, and here you are. You didn’t bail out; you didn’t quit on God; you didn’t quit on the church. You’re still standing, you’re still married, you’ve got three kids that are nuts about you, and you’ve still got a vital faith, and you’re clinging to that motivating hope that is up for you in heaven. On behalf of everyone in this church today, I just want to honour you for staying faithful in this church in a challenging season, and I know the best days of One Church are still ahead – the best days of this church are still ahead.

So, Paul had never been to Colossae; everything he knew about that church was based on what other people were saying about it, based on rumours. Do you know what I wonder? I wonder if a year from now, two years from now, five years from now, Paul were to hear rumours about One Church, what kind of rumours would he hear? My prayer is that he would hear rumours of people who possess passionate faith, who extend inclusive love to hurting people in their community, who keep sharing in relevant ways the dynamic message of Jesus that changes lives now and for eternity, and of people who cling to their motivating hope.

Well, you see, it's up to us – it's up to you and me – because faithful churches are always made up of faithful individuals who stay faithful until Jesus comes back. So may we be like those first dozen followers of Jesus. Steven Curtis Chapman recalls: nobody stood and applauded them. They knew from the start that this road would not lead to fame. All they really knew for sure was that Jesus had called to them. He said, "Come, follow me," and they came. With reckless abandon, they came. May we join with them and declare, "We will abandon it all for the sake of the call. No other reason at all but the sake of the call. Wholly devoted to live and to die for the sake of the call."

Because we're the Church of Jesus Christ. May we be faithful until he returns. Amen? Amen.

Could we all bow our heads together?

God, I thank you for the privilege of serving with this fantastic church today, and I thank you that this has never been a church that's been about playing church, but it's about being the church. I pray for all the new chapters that are ahead, and my prayer is very simple: that this church, this pastor, and this team will always be known as people who possess passionate faith. May there be a committed core in this church, and maybe some are ready today to leave their drive-through, flu-shot spiritual ways. May we be unusually loving towards others and inclusive of those who are hurting and who need hope. And may we just keep sharing to new generations in fresh ways the message that never, ever changes – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God, I thank you for the hope of heaven that awaits us. May we never get discouraged, clinging to the blessed hope that's ahead.

With our heads bowed and as we continue to pray, in just a moment, we're going to have the privilege to share in the Lord's Supper together – this gospel message that's proclaimed in bread representing the body that was broken, the cup of the new covenant, the blood poured out for our sins. As the ushers come forward in a few moments and begin dismissing us row by row to share in this meal, may we use this as an opportunity to reaffirm and recommit all over again our own commitment to the Church of Jesus Christ.

As we eat the bread and drink the cup today, may it be a moment where we thank God for the body of Christ – his body broken on a cross for us, and his body, the Church of Jesus Christ, which is his presence in this world.

God, we thank you for this table and the privilege to meet around it, and we lift our prayers with gratitude in the name of your son Jesus.

Amen.