 Good afternoon pastor David. Hey John. Welcome everybody to a random moment with pastor David unfiltered. Well pastor today's the last Thursday of the year. Yeah, and we're getting ready to ring in the new year just to plug in friends and family of our church We have our New Year's Eve service at 7 p.m. We have guest speaker Brendan Bealer and after our time in Bible study We're gonna have a time of fellowship open mic a time for posole So invite your friends and family would be a great way to ring in the new year with the church family with that pastor You know our 2021 has been in some senses a very trying year for a lot of people and at the same time We've also seen God's great hand it work in our church and wanted to get a little bit of your feedback when we reflect Back to this past year and and exciting to see what the Lord's gonna do in 2022 is our new slogan, right? Yeah, I don't know what the Lord's gonna do. I I haven't ever known what he's going to do I've never been able to get him to tell me so all I know is that what I plan on doing until the Lord says to stop is to To just do what I normally do here at the church, which is do my best to give a good Bible study and To shepherd the people that's the best that I can so Who knows that the next year Will be bringing to us John. I don't have a clue. I do know that That the enemy is working overtime To keep this nation in fear. I do know that fear is his greatest weapon You know and that He uses it and His mouthpieces are constantly spewing it and The thing that is concerning to me in this next year is how much more fear is going to be poured out on the people of the United States and The innocent and The naive seem to be giving in to an awful lot of propaganda So I don't know what's going to happen next year. I don't know if churches are Going to continue to be depleted. I Don't know if there may be a great revival. I don't know it may be the onset of a revival in that The churches that are teaching the word of God Even though numbers may not be what they have been in the past. I suspect that God has been purifying those churches Excuse me and I Think that the foundations that are being re-established right now even in our church are Going to have a Beautiful work that is going to be built on it. Yes, because I Was saying this the other day that I Prayed that God would give me a church that loved the word that God would give me a group of people who wanted to please him and we're generous in heart and Had a heart to reach out to the lost and Over the course of this last year. We've seen that We don't have the amount of people that used to show up anymore for a thousand and one reasons but I do know that those who are showing up right now want to be here and Those who are serving want to serve and So this upcoming year, I believe we're going to do more evangelism we're going to do more to try and reach this lost world and I don't know how long the Lord's going to give me to remain here as a pastor. I've Reached an age where I have to begin to wonder if it's a growing to the time where I should be stepping aside and giving it to somebody else I don't know that that's going to happen this year this upcoming year But I'm preparing in the event that it will I'm not planning on stepping aside, but that doesn't mean the Lord Isn't going to move me to do so. So I'm trying to remain Very open to whatever the Spirit of God is saying for us here at the church And so I don't know what 2022 is going to bring But I do know that I want to be prepared for whatever it does bring and I do want to be faithful and I do want to minister to The people that God gave me to minister to and that's about it That's what I'll do. Amen. And you know when leaving looking back past her to this last year. We celebrated 40 years We the milestone that we just celebrated on Monday as a church was your 51st spiritual birthday So we look back at the at the even in the difficult times where it was a difficult year but yet God faithfully had his hand on our church and And looking forward to what he's going to continue to do in our church this upcoming year And so yes, so we can look back and say what a Difficult year, but what a great year and what a great year. Hopefully that's going to come Well, you know, I think it depends on how we go about looking at what is great and what is difficult to be honest with you, John You know, I don't I don't see great necessarily as being Not that you're saying this by the way. I'm just responding to How I hear words sometimes I Don't know what great is in the kingdom of God anymore. You know, I think a lot of people think great is lots of people showing up and Enthusiasm and I think that that's great. I love that but sometimes they They seem to think that great is only when there are a lot of overflows or a lot of excitement And I don't see it that way and I've learned that because we've gone through 40 plus years now in this ministry and I've seen the church's plan expands the point of bringing chairs out and then we've gotten to the point where I have to remove chairs So I don't know anymore John 51 years has taught me that the only gauge I can have for whether God is moving or not Is for me just remain faithful at what I'm called to do and to sow seeds into people's lives and purrfully To see some of those seeds blossom. That's about it. I mean, I Don't know anymore. I Don't I do I do know that What I'm called to do is try and teach people and what I'm called to do is try to have a group of people in my staff That that do the same right so To try and reach the men to try and reach the women, you know to try and care for the children and the single moms and the fatherless little boys and those are the things that we do here and In some people's eyes, that's not very much and that's not enough. It's not exciting enough Other people's eyes. They say that is what the church is supposed to do And so when I think about what God wants to do, I believe that what he wants to do is He wants to work in us that we become more like your son, right? And so my desire is to try and encourage people to see that Not everybody cares anymore, John. Not everybody listens And that that to me is Something I'm concerned about Where people can stand in line to see a movie or go to a concert or stand in line to get on a plane and fly somewhere But when it comes to church, they stay home. They watch a little bit on TV Then they go do whatever it is that they want and say it's because of COVID. I don't know. So we're in a place right now Where I'm evaluating what ministry is and what ministry is here at this church and At this point I Feel that the Lord has done some very sweet things amongst us and But for me the way I gauge it is whether people are engaged with the Lord if whether they're growing Whether they're involved in Bible studies, whether they're serving God Whether they're witnesses in their community whether they have a heart of worship. That's kind of how I gauge those things so You know, I think we have a great group of people. I love them very much and I'm very grateful for them and I would like to see the Lord add to the church I would love to see people with the hunger to know God's Word to show up and We'll see what he does this year. There are a lot of churches in our area. It's not like there's only one or two There are quite a number of churches and I just pray that every church that's teaching the gospel and loving the people will be filled with people that That we can change this society and so this this nation can get back on the right track and May may God bless us this upcoming year to have a heart to reach more people and to train more That's the best I can say amen. Well, thank you pastor and we do look forward for the 2022 year, but you hit it right on the head, you know, what's the greatest desire? What do you want to see as people grow closer to Jesus Christ and Income back to church. Yeah, that'd be nice if they would I mean if they want to right I mean we've got we've got quite a number of people who watch us online and I'm blessed to be able to do that I really am I am so grateful for the online viewers because because they are watching and and I miss them I would love to have them with us and I do pray that this year perhaps they will come home Well, thank you pastor David and and again friends and family want to invite you guys to come out and join us on Chris excuse me New Year's Eve, which is Friday night at 7 p.m We do have a guest speaker and then on Sunday at 8 30 and 10 45 a.m Is pastors taking us through the book of Mark? You're actually taking us through mark chapter 7. Yeah, this upcoming week Yeah, and the encounter with the syrophoenician woman the syrophoenician woman also known as the Canaanite Which is an interesting when you do a little history Which I'll do it makes it more plain why it was So odd that she had come to Jesus. So yeah, that'll be good and so invite your friends and family It's gonna be a great study and and again. Thank you again pastor David for Leading us faithfully as a shepherd this last year and continue that you may lead us again and down the road will continue So thank you again friends for tuning in. God bless you and happy New Year