FBCLG Sunday Worship 8.22.21

hey [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] let's go [Music] [Music] i will [Music] oh [Music] ah [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Applause] no come on [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] don't you wait another minute [Music] is [Music] [Music] don't you wait another minute just get up and on your feet [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] make you glorious amen praise the lord everyone come on can we do as psalms 34 1 says i will bless the lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my mouth come up with the clapping of the hands come on and bless i will bless the lord is [Music] is [Music] hallelujah is [Music] he has done great things for me [Applause] [Music] god has done great things for me is let's just hold me [Music] [Applause] has done is things for me [Applause] [Applause] is me [Music] and marvelous things hey that's why i give him glory i will bless him at all times his pride shall be in my mouth anyone grateful for life health and shrimp hallelujah he gave you another chance to give him glory come on zion come on give him glory hallelujah hallelujah we're just going to speed it up i will bless the lord at all times so what we want you to do is just clap your hands with us if you're watching online come on put them hand emojis in that comment section come on [Music] hey here we go [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Applause] [Music] he has [Applause] me [Applause] [Applause] [Music] for me [Applause] [Music] come on and give him let your voice [Music] [Applause] everybody [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] that's it come on [Music] [Applause] for the rest of my life [Applause] you deliver me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hey come on put your hands together hey i don't know about you but god has been good to me he's been painful everybody [Applause] [Music] even when i got a lot of bread [Applause] i will thank you [Applause] [Applause] thank you [Applause] [Music] [Music] here we go [Music] [Applause] is [Music] his holy name his wonderful name his magnificent name the line of tudor he is the lord of lords he is the great i am come on [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth did you come to bless the lord this morning put your hands together and give god a hand clap of praise hallelujah if you're able please stand for our invocation hallelujah gracious god we thank you for today a day that we've never seen before we thank you god for the privilege that you have allowed us to enter into the sanctuary to give you praise god we pray now that your spirit will breathe on us god that we would feel your presence god in the name of jesus we ask you to bless this service god and accept our worship in the name of jesus we pray amen and amen come on everybody uh [Applause] [Applause] oh [Music] is hallelujah put your hands together and give them glory hallelujah [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you know [Music] don't wait don't wait don't wait no [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] don't [Music] now when the tears stream down and there's no one around and you feel like all hope is gone [Applause] [Music] i made hallelujah [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] right now [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] he changed [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] i know [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] shout right now [Applause] [Music] should we wait that you don't know [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] yes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] praise the lord praise the lord [Applause] don't wait till the battle is over shout now somebody should have something to shout about the lord has brought us through a year and a half of a pandemic and he's still carrying us we have something to shout about praise the lord hallelujah good morning first church it is women's day and i'm i am excited to be here with such beautiful women aren't you glad the lord woke you up this morning praise the lord [Applause] as always we are excited and thankful that you continue to support fbc that you continue to give god glory and we pray that god blesses you on today amen now i want to give a quick shout out to our former first lady donna sauris hallelujah [Music] she's in the house [Music] it's so great to see you and also mother sauris is in the house praise god [Applause] amen amen we are so thankful to see you and doing well god bless you both amen [Applause] so now our sister helen daniels is going to come forward she's going to give us a few words from the women's auxiliary [Music] amen [Applause] first i want to say good morning to everybody and i want to thank god because he's the head of my life and he have kept me we have had a rough summer the sickness came and we all just don't hardly know what to do but god is taking care of all of us [Applause] i don't really know what to say but i want to thank god for all of you thank god for keeping each and every one of us i'm a little nervous because i didn't have no idea i would be speaking this early to anyone but i'm so happy to be back in church this is my first sunday since we've been back i didn't get a chance to come last week because i was out of town and but i did hear the service i always look every sunday i worship at home with you guys i enjoy listen to you seeing you sometimes seem like i was here with you but thank god he of course and today is women's day i want to thank the women's for staying together it's been we haven't had a chance to get together because of this our virus but we're still talking to each other praying for each other and the same thing for the church members and i want to thank reverend thomas for speaking for us today we're so happy to have her and she know i love her we've we've had a good life together yes we when we were going for every year we go for the um retreat and she would be there a lot of times and we always was happy to have her um what can i say thanks to everybody for coming out today and women let's stick together let's stay together let's work together because that's what it takes because god loves all of us and whatever we do we're going to do for the lord thank you thank you [Music] amen we thank sister helen daniels for those kind and loving words yesterday we had our backpack giveaway i want to thank sister gina bowser and her sister dina bowser um for spearheading the zaiki bowser backpack giveaway but during that time i spoke with a woman who is a member of this church who gave her testimony she said her entire family her her husband her daughter had covet but she was in the hospital for several weeks on a ventilator and i started to shout and dance because i believe in miracles and she was here yesterday giving out backpacks god is good all the time hallelujah so if you're having doubts of what god can do just trust and believe songwriter says oh it is jesus [Music] it's not the doctors it is not your friends if you're looking for answers it's jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] gracious god we thank you for this day we thank you for your mercy and your grace god we thank you for being with us today god allowing us back into the sanctuary god where we can give you praise but god we learn that we can praise you anywhere and wherever we are god you are with us so we thank you this morning we bless your name lord because you are worthy to be praised god we thank you for those who are with us this morning those who you have touched and made whole god we continue to pray for those who are sick among us we pray for those who have received a report from the doctor this week god we give it to you father we trust you this morning we trust you for healing in our bodies god you said you would never leave us or forsake us and we stand on that promise this morning god knowing that you are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think we pray for those who are hearing the sanctuary god while their body is here god their mind may be wondering about their health and their family god we ask that you would bring peace this morning lord father we pray for those who are streaming online those who are worshiping far and near god we ask that you would just comfort and bring peace to their lives lord you know what they stand in need of god we ask that you would intervene on their behalf god we thank you for what you are about to do god you have gone before us so we place everything in your hands cause you know the outcome lord we pray that you would just continue to lead and guide us god help us to remain on one accord lord we pray this morning lord for our preacher who has come across the country god we thank you for dr thompson this morning god we thank you for safe travels this morning god we pray now that you would just give her peace in her spirit father we know that she has prepared use her in a special way this morning god allow us to be receptive of your word god and lord god we pray for dr quick this morning god we pray that you would just continue to lead in god him bless his family on every side god we continue to lift up the sauris family god be with them on their new journey god continue to protect them god in a special way lord we pray now that our worship would be receptive to you god that it would be a sweet sweet aroma unto you o lord bless us now in a special way bless the women of this church of god we thank you that we can celebrate women today god we know that we have been fearfully and wonderfully made god we thank you for the women of this church and those who serve god we ask a special blessing upon each and every ministry god in the name of jesus we pray this prayer we give it all to you god we love you we adore you we magnify you god because you are so worthy [Music] we pray this prayer in the name of jesus amen and amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] is is [Applause] [Music] good morning family i'm brianna and this is the bulletin your weekly fbclg announcements it's women's day lg is sending love to all women may god bless you always and thank you to everyone who supported the zaki bowser enrichment foundation get your school on backpack drive because of your help our youth can go back to school confident and ready now let's take a look at this week's announcements if you wish to join us live on sundays for our in-person worship service you must register to attend registration will be open tomorrow august 23rd for service on sunday august 29th we want to ensure we are following the proper guidelines visit the church website to register fbclg in partnership with the new jersey department of health is offering free covet 19 testing on saturday september 4th from 11 a.m to 2 p.m right here at fcclg join us for our hearts we win prayer call on wednesdays at 6 30 a.m just a few minutes to start your day here's a look at the dial in information save the date on saturday october 2nd the sister to sister network will be having their annual 5k run and walk for life this year it will be virtual to learn more visit s2scnj.org the d3 ghana 2022 beyond the return tour is open for registration now until august 31st visit firststeptours.com backslash d3 for more information and to register for questions please email ghana mydfree.org join dr stories and the d3 team and experience culture history wildlife and more be sure to follow us on facebook instagram and twitter so you can learn the latest and interact with us and don't forget to sign up for our weekly eblast newsletter have a great week and i'll see you next time on the bulletin if you're worshiping with us in person please drop your offering in the bins located at the back doors while exiting now here's our operatory prayer and a list of all the ways you can give let's pray our offertory prayer together holy god your steadfast love has never failed and we return to you a portion of what you have provided to us in jesus name amen [Music] [Applause] just wanna pray forever [Applause] [Music] they all belong to you yes [Music] [Applause] thank you [Applause] [Music] good morning first baptist we praise god for yet another day let's give god a hand clap for praise that the lord is good and worthy of our praise that god gets all of our honor and glory just because we have one more opportunity to praise god i am so excited and i just want to once again give honor to first lady sorry and mother stories for their presence [Music] you will never hear me refer to her as former first lady she will always have that distinction as well as mother stories we praise god and we celebrate and honor the fact that pastor stories just had a birthday on saturday so we celebrate you sir for your birthday for your continued growth and health we thank god as we come for this women's day some may think it's an anachronistic day that we set a day aside to honor women and the reason i say some may say it's anachronistic because every day we should be honoring women every day we should be honoring women and our young girls we've got to teach young men to honor women and our young girls raise them to be gentlemen and honorable one of the things that we're going to look at as a church is how we teach the scripture about women i've been asking a lot of people questions as a child who are the first five women you learn about in the bible and they inevitably tell me samson and delilah eve sarah women who brought down men we've got to be careful about white evangelical teaching that gives us eve made adam e the apple or delilah destroyed samson or sarah made him rape that egyptian slave we got to be careful so we're going to honor women we shouldn't just do it one day we've got to review how we teach the bible who we say we are as an institution so this is the day that we begin to consciously rethink and so i want to honor pastor sorrys who did a great correction in aligning our church with the word the bible teaches us a priscilla an aquila two deacons it's in your bible and so first baptist we have realigned ourselves so that the women are part of our diaconate they are deacons as well as our men because we read the bible and we honor the word of god as correct and so i'm very proud to be a part of an institution that understands that though we have women's day every day we honor women and so today we have this great opportunity uh dr suarez called me several months ago and said we've got to have a women's day and i want to make sure that that you're aware of who our preacher would be if you have any objections or if you have someone and he mentioned a woman that calls me some pause the reverend dr jacqueline thompson is not just a preacher she is a prophet a priest she has a wicked sense of humor that we all need to pray about i'm praying about it right now because i don't know what's going to happen when she gets this mic so i'm just going to bless the lord before i give it to her and i am not affiliated with a lot of preachers i was sort of raised outside of the church i tell people i've just gotten over my heathen ways the lord is still working with me and so early on in my career i knew i needed a church whisperer dr thompson is my church whisperer she corrects me when i don't honor the protocol and she's the person i call when i have questions he's raised in the church father was one of the iconic preachers in the country and in the bay area dr thompson has not only traveled this country in reach of justice for our people she is also a graduate of uc berkeley a graduate of the howard divinity school where she worked with the famous theologian kane hope felder she has a doctor of ministry degree she's a published author she's a homiletician par excellence we are pleased to have this woman of god she will preach us correctly transform us through the word empty herself to the ruach and awaken us to a new understanding of what god would have us to hold i am so pleased and honored that my dear sister followed me from california to come to the east coast to bless us with her gifts we honor the alan temple baptist church out of which she serves as the first female pastor in more than a hundred years of its history [Applause] first baptist we have a preacher and we will have a preached word so after the ministry of music the reverend dr jacqueline thompson will bless us if you would just point in her direction and if you're online just point at the screen lord empty the preacher of all that you don't need fill her with all she may not have stand her firmly behind the cross that she may be the prophet we need in a dying world give her word that corrects us that stands us up turns us around and transforms us lord we pray for her mother right now in the name of jesus that all she loves and holds dear is undergirded by your word and when she is done and emptied fill her with the overflowing cup that she may feel your joy and hear the words well done amen the reverend dr jacqueline thompson will be our preacher for the morning praise the lord [Music] of the gospel of jesus christ [Applause] lord it is god's power [Music] it is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] come on help us oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] everyone [Music] it is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] is [Applause] glory [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] salvation [Applause] [Music] yesterday [Music] [Music] [Music] jesus christ [Applause] [Applause] jesus christ [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yes oh [Applause] oh [Music] me [Applause] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] is [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Applause] [Applause] me we are [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] wow [Music] praise the lord everybody let me check where i am praise the lord everybody i know it's been a while since you've seen me but ain't nothing changed with me i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth now if there's anybody that's not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ come on you came in the building you might as well magnify the lord with me come on let's exalt god's name together because despite how you feel about it god is good and god is good all the time dr quick i would have painted had i not believed i would live to see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living and if you're seated next to somebody that don't believe it just wait on the lord be of good courage i promise you he gonna strengthen your heart come on first baptist it's been a while but god is still good from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the lord's name is worthy to be praised is there anybody that can say god i thank you for keeping me i thank you for allowing me to be in this place right now i thank you that when the devil thought he had me i got away i thank you it is because of the lord's mercies that we have not been concerned and i don't know about you but i'm glad about it i'm so very grateful that i've long stopped needing help when it comes to praising god god has been so good to me that if you don't say nothing i promise you i can bless them all by myself i wish i had a few i don't need everybody but just a few folks that say when i think over the last 16 17 months i don't need no praise team i don't need no music i don't need no chilling when i think about the goodness of jesus come on keep clapping keep clapping your hands and help me celebrate this day your pastor amen your pastor and my brother none other than dr dante quick come on we celebrate him keep clapping keep clapping we also recognize and i know he won't mind because we both understand that it's good to recognize the shoulders of who we stand so come on clap your hands we thank god for dr sorry thank god for lady dinosaurs who i love with my whole heart for mother stories for our women's auxiliary leader for all of you my brothers and sisters in christ you may have your seats some trust in horses some trust in chariots i'm still trusting in the name of the lord because i've lived a little while and the name of the lord is a strong tower the righteous can run therein and be saved i bring you greetings from allen temple baptist church and i greet those of you who are online who are joining us and even some of allen temple who i know they decided they coming to your church today and not going to their own church amen it's good to be with you and it's good to be in the house of god any house of god ladies you look wonderful as usual we haven't been able to retreat but anybody grateful and can say we're still here and we're grateful to god that we're still here bringing you greetings from allen temple baptist church now one thing the pandemic has done is it's forced me to have to preach a little shorter not that i was very long to begin with but you know now they want you to get out quick so you gotta try and do it in 20 minutes or so but my flight don't lead to tomorrow so if you don't pray [Music] we could be here but i need some of y'all to pray is that all right so we believe god could give us a quick word hallelujah i am grateful to be here with you this woman's day and so they sent me a scripture text that hopefully we can meditate and turn our thoughts upon they told me that we were going to be in psalm 42. and they gave me specifically verse 4 as our focal text but you don't mind if we read the entire thing is that all right so i'm going to be reading from a translation known as god's word translation it may be a little different for you but we believe god gonna bring it all together is that all right can i tell you i'm so very happy that you decided to call my friend as pastor i am i'm so very happy i'm so very happy and the reason being is because there are a lot of people who pastor but not a lot of them should can i tell the real truth since i got a plane ticket you are blessed to have someone who not only loves god but who loves people who understands that pastoring is a privilege and that it ought to be taken seriously someone who is not afraid to wade into deep waters and to challenge you to go deeper in your relationship with god unlike him i i deal with a lot of pastors and a lot of ministers but i love and respect him not just for the pastor he is but for the man that he is and in these days and times we need men and women of god with integrity and with character and who actually live what they preach so come on help me celebrate one more time before we go to the word dr dante quick amen the bible says in psalm 42 in god's word version as a deer longs for flowing streams if it is your custom and you were able please then so my soul longs for you o god my soul thirst for god for the living god when may i come to see god's face the writer says my tears are my food day and night he said people ask me all day long where is your god i will remember these things as i pour out my soul how i used to walk with the crowd and lead it in a procession to god's house i sang songs of joy and thanksgiving while crowds of people celebrated a festival why are you discouraged my soul why are you so restless put your hope in god because i will still praise him he is my savior and my god my soul is discouraged that is why i will remember you in the land of jordan on the peaks of hermann and mount mizar one deep sea calls to another at the roar of your water sprouts all the white caps on your waves have swept over me the lord commands his mercy during the day and at night his song is with me a prayer to the god of my life i will ask god my rock what have you forgotten me and why must i walk around in mourning while the enemy oppresses me while shattering my bones my enemy tums me they ask me all day long where is your god why are you discouraged my soul why are you so restless put your hope in god because i will still praise him my god and my savior i know you don't get it and you know i like it like that so i need you to just have a little bit of faith and help the preacher is that all right it's gonna get us closer to 20 minutes just look at somebody even with your mask on and say i will still praise it if they didn't look at you they the wrong one so find somebody else turn around and say i will still praise him they can't see your mouth moving but i need somebody to make a declaration in this place to anybody that was wondering and say i will steal praise him you may have your seats i prayed and asked the lord what god would have me to share with you at this moment in this place at this hour and there was a phrase that kept coming to me over and over again and the phrase was mother the power of memory i promised them that i wasn't going to walk and i was going to stay in place i didn't walk already y'all pray for me the power of memory gentlemen you may not know but some of the ladies are familiar at times of retreat i've shared with you that i am living with and caring for a mother that's living with dementia and so when you are dealing with someone who has alzheimer's who has dementia you come to respect the power of memory in a whole new way as i look at her deal with the changes and the challenges both physical and emotional and and even mental as she's losing a sense of herself and a sense of everything that she's known you've come to understand how powerful memory really is memory being defined as the ability to recall to have recollection of events of persons of places of things of information our memories are powerful so much so that it's not just really about the ability to recall but it's also how we define and identify ourselves in the world our memories are part of what connects us to one another our memory is part of what guides us in life some of you didn't need gps to get to church today why because you remember the route that you take over and over and over memory is powerful and we know that memory is powerful because we are challenged when we can't remember but not only is memory powerful i'm suggesting to you this morning that memory is also political there is an author by the name of pj brandise that wrote a book that is entitled the power of memory in politics and she is suggesting that memory is political because political people get to decide what is available to be remembered and not only what is available to be remembered but how you are able to remember it oh don't talk to me and look crazy today we know that memory is political because there is a whole branch and segment of our government that wants us to act like what occurred on january 6 did not occur they want us to act like we did not watch you go into the capitol and terrorize what is supposed to be the most sacred place in the land memory is political [Applause] that's why in the old testament texted in jewish culture the one thing they always challenge you to do is remember don't ever forget the holocaust don't ever forget coming out of the exodus so why are we so easy to forget the holocaust that we suffered right here in this very nation because memory is political and when you can decide what somebody can remember and what they can forget you have power over them but not only is memory political but i'm suggesting lady donna that memory is necessary for a life of faith that intrinsic and the understanding of the old testament covenant was the idea of memory every time you read a chapter or a book in the old testament it says remember it says don't forget that was moses's challenge in the book of deuteronomy as he was preparing to die where the people going to remember their covenant and just in case you thought it was just an old testament thing jesus comes back in the new testament and gives us the lord's supper and says as often as you do this do this what what you say to me in remembrance of me because memory is necessary for a life of faith and dr quick one of the tragedies of the many tragedies for me of this pandemic has been the attempt of the enemy to steal our memory we have forgotten some things as a result of the pandemic can i tell the real truth corporately we've we've forgotten some things i i believe the first thing we've forgotten is how to act not anybody in here because you all are so cultured and you are so trained but other places i go it seems like we have forgotten civility and what it means to actually be a citizen that is not living by yourself but connected to other people so much so we have politicized the idea of wearing a mask not just to protect you but to protect your neighbor it's we have forgotten what it means to be decent and in order so much so when flying on airplanes there have been so many on-air incidents since the pandemic that the travel association is trying to institute fines for half a million dollars and jail time because we don't know how to come on board sit in our seat put our seat belt on take out a book turn on a movie and fly somewhere we have forgotten some things i think we have forgotten the power of community because this social isolation has made us think that it's just about me myself and i but is there anybody that still remembers that you are only as strong as the one you are connected to and that if you don't ensure that your neighbor is okay i promise you sooner or later it's gonna impact you our memory has been challenged as a part of this pandemic but the text comes to speak to us as to how we can use memory to get back to an authentic place of praise in god the writer says he's honest and open about where he is he says my soul longs for god as a deer painted after the water so my soul is there anybody can identify and to say that for the last 15 months it's just been different we appreciate technology we appreciate the ability to be able to worship online but it ain't the same is there anybody who's been able to say that you've had times in your walk where you prayed but you're not sure god answered and you cried out to god but you weren't really able to feel his presence i didn't come for everybody i need honest saints in the building that say as spiritual as i am and as saved as i am and as long as i've walked with god i've had some times when my soul has cried out for the lord i appreciate the writer because he tells the truth about a real walk with god that sometimes we don't tell ourselves it's interesting that we are now wearing our mask on the outside because pre-pandemic we came but we were wearing masks on this [Applause] but when you really need god there is nothing that can stand in the way of you seeking after what it is you really need from god he said my soul thirsts after you and he said my tears are the only thing i eat every day why he said because my enemies are taunting me and they're saying where is your god and don't you know there are people who believe because we are in a pandemic that god has abandoned us don't you know there are people who believe and who have taught that god must be angry with us don't you know there are people who are looking to see how the church handles it and they're saying where is your god even if we're honest some of us ourselves when we look at the struggles and the challenges that we deal with in the world and deal within our own houses have said now lord where are you i'm trying to send you i'm trying to fill you lord where are you but the writer does for us some things that we're going to need to do if we really going to get back to an authentic place of praise he activates his memory he says i will remember and the first thing he says he'll remember is he'll remember how he used to lead the procession into the house of god and mother sorry i think that's one of the things that we need to remember is what it really meant to be in the house of god i know to worship the lord we worship in spirit of truth that it's no longer about a particular place but is there anybody honest enough to just say it's something about being in the house there's something about walking through the doors there's something about hearing the songs of zion there's something about when i clap my hands you clap your hands and when i say hallelujah you say thank you jesus can i tell the real truth the pandemic has made some of us lazy i won't talk about you i'll talk about me on first sunday when we were preparing for a communion i made the mistake of saying that i know some of you right now are probably sitting in napa because that is wine country in california and you are watching and participating in this communion service with wine let me tell you about oakland saints oakland saints took a selfie with the bottle of wine in napa at the resort posted it on facebook and said hey pastor we are in napa and we taking communion with you [Applause] can i tell the real truth i know some people are still concerned about the virus but it amazes me that we are only concerned about the virus when it's time to return to church we didn't been to walmart costco we didn't been on a plane we didn't been to the family reunion we hadn't been to a picnic we didn't hosted a picnic at our house but when it comes to the house of god well i don't know are they mad can i talk to the real saints in the building if you gonna have a real authentic praise with god i'm gonna need you to remember what it felt like to walk in the place and hear a word of deliverance remember what it felt like to sing the songs of zion to be able to have somebody put their hands on you and pray for you he said i will remember [Applause] we got to be careful because for us the church is not just a place the black church has been the center of what god used to deliver us as a people and if we lose the significance of the thing that god gave us we will find ourselves fighting a different kind of fight out there in the world is there anybody that knows our ancestors loved church so much when they didn't have a building they were gathering what they call the hush harvest and they would sing swing low sweet oh i need a few folk that can say i'm happy to be in the i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of because whatever i need is in the house when i need joy it's in the house when i need healing it's in the house when i need prayers for my kids it's in the house [Applause] y'all forgive me said i wasn't gonna act like i was from oakland amen but he said i will remember when the enemy taunts me when they ask me where is my god i will remember how it was when i sang and i led the procession into the house of god and sometimes while we are dealing with the struggles of this pandemic we lost how significant these places were dr quick while we were pre-recording every friday and we would use different members of the church to come in you know just to make sure that people were participating there would be sometimes we would pre-record and we would have to delay recording because somebody who had not been in the building would come in and they would stop at the back of the sanctuary because they were so overwhelmed at just the idea and isn't that the all god deserves isn't that the reverence god deserves should we not be so hearty that we take for granted that we will always be able to do it the way we've always done it shouldn't we be able to say god forgive us for the way we've taken your place and your people for granted god i thank you that i don't have to be scared that somebody is gonna come kill me for opening my mouth and worshiping your name i thank you that i don't have to worship in a hut in hiding i thank you that i'm able to walk through these doors and say this is the day [Applause] so when you are struggling remember the word that has come from this pulpit remember the prayers that were prayed when you got the diagnosis remember the good times of joy and celebration that remember because there is such a thing as the theology of place whether we want to accept it or not god told old testament folk when you come in this place he said i'll answer your prayer anywhere but when you come in this place it's something special i'm gonna do for you he goes on to say why are you discouraged on my soul why are you downcast put your hope in god for i will still praise my god my savior it reflects the roller coaster ride we've been on this whole pandemic sometimes we're up and sometimes we're down because in the next verses he says but my soul is discouraged but i am challenged but they do have covet but i am struggling but i am grieving because we have lost someone he said but i'm not gonna stay here because you do know that is the goal of the enemy is to have you stay in that place but sometimes you have to do like david and encourage yourself in the lord and say i may grieve for just a little while but i got to come out of this he goes on to say not only will i remember you as i come into the house he said but i will remember you where from the jordan on mount hermon and mount mizar what is he saying he says i'll remember god not just god's house but i will actually remember god mess me up because i said well what exactly about god are you going to remember there are so many things and the spirit said it don't matter because there are so many things about god to remember and sometimes part of the challenge of being isolated is in many ways we forget god we forget that god has never slumbered since the beginning of creation we forget that god is still sovereign we forget that even in the midst of bad times god is good and still worthy of can i rehearse it for somebody that you ought to at least make a decision to remember god i remember his sovereignty his sufficiency the fact that he died for me i remember god is kind and god is compassionate and god is good and god is faithful and god is merciful and god is long-suffering and god is all-powerful and god is all-knowing and god is omnipresent at the same time what will you remember i'll remember how he kept me and how he blessed me and how he made a way for me how god protected me how god changed me how god delivered me how god opened doors for me how god stayed the hand of the enemy i will remember [Applause] they didn't really understand the significance of saying from jordan to mount hermon to mount mizar but here's here's the significance for me mount hermon is a mountain large mountain some say 10 to 12 000 feet high mount mizar means little hill which means whether i'm up on a high mountain or whether i'm down on a little hill i will still remember i don't need everybody i just need a few folks you ain't got to think of everything think of one thing just one thing is there one thing that you can think of that say i know that this was god it wasn't my education it wasn't my degree it wasn't my sorority it wasn't my fraternity it wasn't my connection there is one thing that i know if it had not been for the lord who was on my [Applause] i don't know what your thing is but i know you got something i need you to bring it to mind right now he said i will remember god then he goes on to say my enemies are taunting me why am i walking around mourning because they keep saying to me where is your god big old church look at it testing and giving away backpacks but where is your god if your god is who you says god is why are you going through this and why are you going you know how folk do you always running down there to that church giving them people all your money but where is your god now but then the writer switches once again and says the very same thing in verse 11 that he said in verse 5. he said why is your soul discouraged he said put your hope in god for i will yet praise my god my savior mother it messed me up because i said lord i don't i don't see it i don't see what the point of it is but then it came to me not only will he remember the place of god not only must you remember your god but you must remember your refrain you don't get it and i like it like that the continued use of a repeated course of words in poetry or music is known as a refrain you will find it throughout many of the psalms so there will be some dialogue for those of you who are writers and who are poets and then there will be a refrain and then there'll be some more and then they'll come back to that same refrain and it is designed to bring the hearer or the listener back to something that is important and i said well my god there it is because just like in poetry and in music there is a refrain we need a refrain for our life we need something that we say something that we recite something that we remember that brings us back to the main point of the matter i know you don't get it but remember how the ancestors used to say no matter what the situation was the lord will make a way somehow that that is a refrain that they will come back to to remind them of how good that is not only would they say that they would say the lord may not come when you want him but he's always what you need a refrain for your own life it don't matter what it is but you need to have something that you can recite that brings you back to the power of god the lord is my shepherd i shall not want the lord is my light and my salvation here is mine i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth your life needs a refrain that no matter what occurs when you say that thing it brings you back to where you need to be some folks refrain i like job though he's liking me yet will i trust him some folks refrain to trust in the lord with all your heart lean not to your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him god will direct your path you have to remember what is your refrain and if you don't have one find you one that's what they were trying to teach us in vacation bible school when you would have a memory verse and all they would say what's john 3 16 and you'd have to stand up and recite it little did we know that they were planting in us refrains that would bring us back during times of trouble my shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory how you gonna pay for it i don't know all i know is my god shall supply all my needs well what if the treatment don't work god is my healer [Applause] you need a refrain for your life that is the only way that you can come back and say i will steal even though we have a delta variant i will bless the lord at all times we may still be in a pandemic for longer than we think i will bless the lord at all times but the church just opened what if you have to shut it down that's all right i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth well what what what if the kids have to come out of school oh well i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth well what if they have to shut everything down again i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth i will praise him when we in a pandemic i will praise him will we not in the pandemic if the doors are open i will bless the lord if the doors are closed i will bless the lord because god is good and worthy to be praised from the rising of the son [Applause] you gotta decide no matter what you face that you will yet praise them notice in the beginning he started out with his soul longing for god but he ended and don't you know that's how the story always goes we start out not knowing how it's going to work out what god is going to do whether it's going to work in our favor but by the time you finish talking to yourself and talking to the lord and dealing with the saints who understand that your walk with god is not just about show you end up on a high note of praise that says whether i'm up or whether i'm down i will still because they used to tell us if god don't do nothing else and this is my testimony if god doesn't do another thing god is all ready come on i need a few folks just look back over your life some of us can tell the truth we got in schools we never should have gotten into graduating not through any goodness of our own but god got us through we putting kids through college now and didn't know how we were going to do it we have served the god that has kept us in spite of ourselves and if god is able to bring us this far don't you know god is able to carry you the rest of the way all god says is put your hope in god don't let your soul be downcast god is able to do anything but fail but dr quick here is the challenge because there's always a challenge what the writer was really saying and i promise you i'm done is that sometimes mother sorry and lady donna y'all know i say this all the time sometimes our souls get tired we're trying we want to but it's just something down in here that has to be worked out in us and we say god we still been going but i'm tired not the tired that coffee can fix not the tired that an extra shot of espresso or b12 because you know we taking everything we watching youtube we're building our immune system with everything d345 67b one through 29. zinc ginger echinacea i see you says i know me too me too it's not just you just tell your neighbor it's me too we're looking for every vitamin every pill every mineral and god help the people in mississippi they're going to the feed store but there is a tiredness in your soul this is the point of the text that only god can fix and the songwriter understood that it wasn't enough for him to just return to the house of god in body because i'm grateful that god is bringing us back but i do not believe god wants to bring us back the same if we come back the same way we left we will have wasted a good pandemic and we will have missed the message and the call of god at this hour is there anybody who says god i hear you and whatever you need to do in me i want to be used for your glory i don't want to just be a bench warmer i don't want to just sit and critique what should be happening and what's not happening i want to be as the saints of old but say on the battlefield for my lord is there any i don't need everybody just a few folk that say god change me if you have to use me however you want to use me remove whatever you got to remove bring whatever you got to bring but don't let me stay the same at this hour our souls get tired so if that's you this is what i want to do because we know we're socially distant we're not touching nobody but if you say my soul is tired and i need an encounter and a touch from god won't you just stand do you mind doing that can we be naked and not ashamed in the sanctuary can we mask our mouths but not our hearts and say god i am tired i promise you from the pulpit to the pew we are all struggling with something the pandemic is not just weighed heavy on our finances or on our economy or on our churches it's weighed heavy on our souls this may be our first pandemic but i promise you it's not god's i promise you in the same way that god has kept us before god is able to keep us even through this can you imagine i saw you all advertise the trip to ghana would be free i haven't been blessed yet to go to africa but i hope to go but if i'm not mistaken is that where they have the underground dungeons where slaves work right where the slaves were taken and put on the ship brought to new worlds all over the can you imagine what those native africans must have been thinking because we we teach that what they practiced was witchcraft but i promise you it wasn't they knew god what were they telling themselves about god in that moment we know that there were some who threw themselves overboard rather than endure the torture in the belly of those boats they are our heroes and then there were others who stayed and who landed in virginia in 1619 who many of us descended from and lady donna i'm so scared to check ancestry i got so many second third fifth sixth cause i'm related to everybody but the same god who kept them when they didn't know where they were being taken and the same god who kept them in the belly of the ships while they were chained to one another like sardines the same god who kept babies who were left on boats as they gave birth but their mothers went overboard the same god that brought them to a land when they didn't speak the language the same god that let them endure being whipped and being brutalized and yet they still knew enough about the goodness of god to run down and praise and circle dance and do the shout and you mean we can't give god no glory cause we got to wear a mask and take a vac the devil is a liar we descended from a people who have been through worse and the same god who kept them i will yet and still praise god but lord if when you're honest today we get tired and so i pray right now for everyone who was standing and even those who were seated who who still tired too god they just too tired to stand we are in your sanctuary in this place where you have done so many things changed so many lives transformed communities not just here abroad even in africa from this place we stand here this morning your sons and your daughters and we yield and offer ourselves to you and we say as the deer penteth after the water so our soul loans for you oh god god if we're honest about it we know we've messed up we've done things we've said things we've behaved in ways that you are not pleased with but can we thank you for the blood of jesus that covers our lives and makes us white as note you look beyond our faults and you see our needs we need you today oh god we stand here oh god saying that our souls are weary some of our souls are discouraged some of our souls are tired and yet we hope in you we believe you god because we're here but we ask even now for a fresh infilling of your holy spirit we ask even now for a touch that only you can give god as we lift our hands we say spirit of the living god fall fresh right now god we ask that you feel each and every person in a brand new way oh god touch them in their innermost part of their being oh god put a joy in their heart in a clapping in their hands and a leaping in their feet let them know that all things work together for the good of them that love you them that are called according to your purpose god we lay it all down we lay down children that we can't make do right god we lay down grandchildren that we worry about we lay down challenges in our finances in our relationship in our health we lay it at your feet oh god because we know you are well able to carry our burdens when we cannot god we thank you because we know you're a keeper we thank you because just when we get to the edge you bring us right back we thank you oh god that just when we've seen you do everything you do something else we thank you oh god just for being god we remember how you've healed and delivered in this place we remember how you saved and baptized in this place we remember your goodness and your mercy your kindness your protection and your provision god some of us can look back over the last 15 months and we can say we never would have made it if it had not been for you so won't you touch we can't touch one another god but you can touch us so we ask for a touch of god touch us in a way that we know we have had an encounter with you the songwriter said it's your countenance your presence your face that strengthens us oh god so we thank you for new strength for new joy for new callings for new awakenings for new sight for new vision for new vigor for a new praise o god for a new dance for a new way to worship and praise you and we declare though you slay us yet will we trust you because you're still the god of resurrection you're still the god that can breathe on dead things and bring it back to life you're still the god that in three days resurrected our savior so you can resurrect the marriage and you can resurrect somebody on a ventilator and you can resurrect a child that seems to be way when you are able to bring dead things back to life again so i bring you my dead situation oh god and i lay it at your feet right now in the name of jesus and say have your way lord have your way lord have your way lord in jesus name and because we are people of faith we don't wait till the battle is all that we give you glory right now we shout right now we act like we already have it until you do it so i clap my hands and i bless you i open up my mouth and i bless you fall fresh right now in jesus name in jesus name in jesus name in the name of jesus and the people of god said amen come on put your hands together if come on and bless the lord if you believe it come on and give god glory [Music] if you believe it today we thank you oh god for fresh anointing we thank you okay for a new strength and power we thank you okay for new doors that you're opening we thank you o god for new ways that you are making we thank you o god for new pathways we thank you all i will still i will still [Music] even in a pandemic i will still even in the new varian i will still [Music] bless his holy and righteous name because you're worthy you're worthy you are worthy to be praised come on what are we singing we singing what we thinking we singing whatever y'all say [Music] amen [Music] is that how come we are for christ we know that right at the time of invitation you may be viewing us online or with us in the sanctuary and the only way any of this works is you have to have a relationship and a relationship takes two [Music] so if you are here today and you know nothing about the jesus that we talked about i'm talking to you we don't serve a god of coincidence we don't serve a god of happenstance god orders our steps so we can be where we need to be hear what we need to hear experience what we need to experience to make a decision for god so whether you are viewing us online or whether you are here in the sanctuary and you need a relationship with christ this is your opportunity to come second invitation if you don't mind sometimes it's not that we don't have a relationship with christ but if we're honest our relationship is not what it should be you do know you can be in relationship it don't mean the relationship is good sometimes we have to recommit ourselves or rededicate ourselves to that relationship with god it's been over 15 months if you are here today and you say i feel like i need to reconnect to recommit myself to my walk with god this is your opportunity to come because the one thing that we ought to be post pandemic is delivered from the opinions of people i don't care who see me i don't care what they think about me i've decided this is about me and god so whatever i need to do is what i'll do last invitation maybe you've been watching a viewing or coming and visiting and you don't have a church home i can testify first baptist is a wonderful church for you to make your church home and you have a wonderful pastor who would love to be your pastor so as they lead us in song if that's you if you need a relationship if you need to recommit or rededicate yourself or if you need a church home this is your time is that all right can we help them sing this do we know this to you [Music] oh [Music] my sister [Music] [Applause] come on [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we all for crying [Music] and give god praise for our preacher of the morning the reverend doctor jacqueline thompson [Music] [Applause] we are extending ourselves to you these are perilous times the bible says it's not good for us to walk alone what is a church and why is it important a church is important because when you're sick you want a group of people to stop and pray for you a church is important because when you're missing we want somebody to know you ain't there i saw all the backpacks being given away yesterday the church is important and as dr thompson reminded us the church is important because sometimes we get tired i needed her message this morning my children missed their flight the other day and i drove from newark to jfk we got to jfk and they missed the flight at jfk by 10 minutes we drove from jfk to south orange new jersey to my family we got up three hours later and drove to philadelphia for a six o'clock flight that was delayed 40 minutes i drove back from philadelphia to my home i wasn't just physically tired i was emotionally drained i couldn't wait to come to church because i needed god to fill my cup first baptist must never take for granted what it means when it says where two or more are gathered that god's spirit can heal what is broken empower what is weak find what is lost lift what is fallen love what is lonely that god can do all things and in christ we can jump over mountains we can run through walls anybody know that god can give us the strength just to make it one more day so we invite you to be a part of an experience if you're at home you may not be able to hit the qr code just type in i want to be a part of the experience now one thing you all learn about me is i don't believe in competition i'll never compete with another church the only competition we have is satan so if if it's dr thompson that's bringing you to christ alan temple is online i don't care where you go i just want you to go and trust god so i praise god for her would you join me in celebrating the reverend dr jacqueline thompson and a beautifully priest word would you join me in celebrating this music ministry and what god has used them to do for us today would you join me in celebrating the ushers the deacons the trustees and everybody who made this place safe for you today would you join me in celebrating dr sorry's first lady stories mother stories and their presence today lastly would you join me in celebrating each and every one of you who made it through the rain who said i'm going to trust god at all times now this is an inside joke don't tell the people online but you know we'll go through a storm to get to a finals four we'll go through a storm to get to the nfl championship game but i can't tell you how many people told me it's raining they're not gonna come to church if you got up you got dressed you drove through the rain when you end up in a hospital and you call on god god will remember how you got up you got dressed you drove through the storm you drove to the rain god will come by your hospital room late at the midnight hour give god praise that the lord reign didn't stop my worship [Applause] i was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the lord it's time to go home y'all somebody's got some chicken getting ready to fry would you stand with me for our benediction we're going to pray for the safe travel of dr thompson back to oakland california now on to the one who is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all you can ask and or expect the god of abraham isaac jacob the god of mama and papa the god who brought us through slavery and the god who brought us through bull connor the god who brought us through ronald reagan the god who brought us through george's book the god who brought us to donald trump the god who brought us to comet that god may rest rule and abide in your lives now and forevermore amen amen amen have a blessed week first baptist may god keep you hallelujah [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yes [Applause] everybody [Applause] [Applause] thank you for worshiping with us at first baptist church of lincoln gardens for more information on our services and ministries please visit us at fbcsomerset.com [Music]

Channel: fbcsomerset

Views: 2,676

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Id: hJYa5CfG488

Length: 124min 46sec (7486 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 22 2021