Fellowship Chicago's 71st Church Anniversary Worship Experience Pastor James T. Meeks Sept 12, 2021

welcome aboard the virtual ship with fellowship chicago while we can't have church traditionally we can still be the church consistently new method same message new platform same power new season same dove now let's go into our worship experience [Music] [Applause] everybody [Applause] [Applause] let's go all aboard all aboard we got to go [Music] [Applause] praise the lord everybody come on wherever you are we want to lift up the name of jesus this morning whether you're here live with us or whether you're watching virtually we came to lift up the name of jesus the name of jesus should be lifted high and we want to bless you this morning hallelujah [Music] [Applause] come on help me say oh [Music] we will [Music] says this you alone are exhausted your name be lifted above all the earth above our heavens yeah so no one can rival your words said we will rise when darkness falls to lift your name above all other thrones shine your light shine through words yes it's such a wonderful name your name we will rise is [Music] hallelujah is listen this part i love listen we cast down our crowns humble ourselves we bow down just to honor you we cast down our crowds we bow down just to wonder you say humble ourselves ourselves if you know that god has been great if you know that god is to be lifted hallelujah [Applause] hallelujah come on and put those hands together put those hands together if you're glad to be alive come on i said put those hands together and help me give god praise on this sunday morning from the rising of the sun till the going down of the same the name of the lord is worthy to be praised i have a feeling that some of you are just looking at me i don't want you to spectate i want you to participate and do what the bible says do oh magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together fellowship chicago happy 71st birthday can somebody turn up this morning and give god praise for carrying us for 71 years come on make some noise right there in your kitchen praise god right there in your bedroom praise god for being a faithful god my grandma will put it like this down through the ears god's been good to us tell somebody around you god show nothing good come on tell somebody else god has shown up been good to fellowship chicago i am elated i am excited i'm standing here with our first lady this morning can y'all show some love to lady bree isn't she looking quite queenly today we salute you and we thank you for your presence with us today and to our praise team help me thank god for our music ministry amen all of you who have blessed us already somebody just make the devil upset and shout hallelujah hallelujah it is the highest praise it simply means praise yah and that's what we will do on this day i mean even today is so special on so many levels it's not just our 71st church anniversary but literally in 2018 it was our first time preaching here at fellowship on the second sunday of september 2018 it was my first time preaching here pastor jenkins invited me to share for the 68th church anniversary so it's a celebration on so many levels we're so excited and let me tell you this we're standing on the shoulders of giants can you all help me thank god for the memory the legacy of the reverend dr clay evans come on let's thank god for him and while you're clapping keep clapping for his wife the late miss luther may holland shared evans come on let's thank god for her and while you're clapping give it up for pastor p.c.j come on charles jenkins we thank god for him and dr tara ross jenkins come on make some noise make some noise and keep on clapping for your current first lady can we turn up [Music] we thank god for our history and our futurity and in the building today we have a living legend among us she was there on that day september 10 1950 reverend clay evans was standing with five other people brother roberts bragging brother robert bond reverend ferris evans reverend joseph evans he might be a reverend now if he's not a reverend mr joseph evans and there was one lady in the crew her name was miss ludella evans reed she's in the room today come on y'all 71 years ago she stood with our founding pastor and we salute you mama lou we love us from you and you're looking good you're getting younger every time i see you we love you and we celebrate you we're going to celebrate her later and reverend faris evans is still alive he's not able to be here today but help me thank god for another living legend a founding member of our church and then finally before our service is over we will celebrate fellowship's co-pastor the reverend jesse lewis jackson who without we would not be in this building today come on let's thank god for him and i'm happy to report although he and his wife did battle with coven 19 both of them are healing well can we thank god for healing power lady bree say something to us hey y'all [Music] good morning good morning good morning to my fellowship family happy anniversary it is a privilege and an honor just to celebrate on this special day and i just wanted to say happy anniversary and good morning and we love you all so much can we give it up for our amazing pastor look at him he's shy come on let the people see you isha shot look yes yes so thank you fellowship for just you know being with us and trusting us in our leadership we love you all so so much and happy anniversary man amen let the church say man listen we have a bad sister in the house who's about to come and bless us in her own way her name is none other than miss crystal rucker she was with us last december and she's with us again to bless us she's on her way to the pulpit to lead us in our pre-sermonic selection and today we're excited because the pastor the inevitable pastor of salem baptist church of chicago pastor james t meeks is our morning anniversary preacher can you all turn up and thank god for one of the coolest black brothers in chicago and his wife is with us let's show some love to lady mix as well we are so excited he really needs no introduction he is the reverend senator james t meeks he's going to come in his own way do it in his own way and he has to leave us to get to his church for their 11 o'clock service so he sacrificed his time and his morning to come and make sure to turn up with us for our 71st church anniversary and watch this today 43 years ago he started pastoring i'm telling y'all this is his 43rd pastoring anniversary so pastor meeks you don't even look 43 years old god really been good to you man would you lift your right hand to pastor meeks and repeat after me pastor meeks let the lord have his way point your right hand to sister crystal rucker and say sister sister let the lord have his way come on put those hands together as they come to bless us on this anniversary hallelujah how many you know the lord deserves our worship hallelujah happy anniversary thank you for having me pastor and lady sharp this song just says you deserve my worship hallelujah will you worship with us this morning hallelujah just says this you deserve my worship hallelujah you deserve my praise oh lord adoration and glory [Music] it belongs to you always oh lord you deserve my worship [Music] when i think of the goodness of jesus and all that he's done for me oh my soul cries out hallelujah [Music] for saving me [Music] [Music] [Music] can you stay [Applause] [Music] how you is me because give me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you deserve my worship you desire my praise i can't help [Music] [Applause] think about it about how good he's so good to me thank you for taking the care of me [Applause] you do money [Music] everybody lift your hands this made a way open up your mouth and say thank you lord say thank you lord say thank you lord and that is why i say oh lord we praise your name give the lord [Music] hold on if god has done anything for you today that you know beyond the shadow of a doubt you could not have done for yourself [Music] [Applause] just one time before the preacher comes everybody give god what you feel like he deserves [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] come on let's bless him let's bless him let's bless him he deserves our praise he deserves our worship he deserves all the glory and the honor giving honor to god thank you so much miss rucker for that wonderful wonderful selection i'm just excited to be in the fellowship baptist church nobody can say fellowship like consuela york mother york used to stand here and say this is the fellowship baptist church nobody can say fellowship like mother york i'm excited to be here i feel like i'm at home i don't feel like i'm a stranger here at all i feel like i'm at home i remember the day when you talking about shouting and praising i remember the day when reverend clay evans adopted me as a son who you talk about somebody that was excited to somebody that was happy when i was adopted a son a fellowship and i was in the family i still brag about the fact that i'm in the family reverend sharp i walked in the door i started to wear my blue jeans and gym shoes and then i i saw how clean you were i was glad i decided to wear my easter suit this morning let me say first of all to the fellowship family how proud i am of the way you all have carried on everything everything everything that you all do is first class mama lou we love you amen we love you we love you and thank you reverend sharp for remembering and always remembering that there were people who came before you and we can never forget the people who laid the foundation in which we're standing on now the evans family means so much to the city of chicago [Applause] and i owe so much of my ministry every sunday night at nine o'clock if i couldn't get here i had my radio in my hand and i was listening to fellowship and it was something about what fellowship was able to do in the message of jesus christ that made me want to be a preacher and made me want to emulate what i learned and what i saw at fellowship so thank you fellowship for everything that you all have deposited in my life can we pray our father and our god we honor you for the sainted memory of reverend clay evans we thank you so much for his life for his wife for their family and all that they have done to make chicago a great place we thank you for this 71st anniversary and all the people who were saved under this ministry be our teacher and our preacher is our prayer in jesus name amen very familiar passage of scripture luke chapter 22 verse 31 luke chapter 22 two verses verses 31 and 32 and to all the members of salem who are watching hey y'all we got church in 30 minutes and the lord said simon simon behold satan have desired to have you that he may sift you as weak watch this but i have prayed for thee that thy faith failed not and when thou art converted you are you going to come through this and when you come through it strengthen your brother i want to talk from the subject what does satan want to take from you what does satan want to take ask the person next to your neighbor what does the devil want to take from you amen first thing i need to tell you is fellowship is that the devil is after something amen and if you don't think that the devil is after something that's a good sign of the fact that he almost got you right now because the devil is after something how do i know that i hear my master saying in john chapter 10 verse 10 that the thief cometh not but for to steal heal and destroy but he said there's another part of it but i've come that you might have life and that you might have that life more abundantly i came to tell you today that if you and i had to sum up uh 2020 and now 2021. if we just look back to do a 18 month in review of 2020 and 2021 most of us if we were honest would say pastor these last 18 months have been a year and a half straight from hell did you hear what i said i said these last 18 months have been rough for 18 months we've had to deal with something called corona virus we hadn't heard the no corona virus we couldn't even pronounce coronavirus when it first came out but for 18 months we've had to deal with it for the last 18 months we've had to walk around wearing masks now i will add that mass do look make some people look better but for the last 18 months we've had to walk around wearing masks the worst part about it for me and for reverend sharp is for the last 18 months people have not been able to come to church whoever heard of that do you know that during the last pandemic 100 years ago no church is closed but this time this is the first time in the history of the world that the church has closed for 18 months people have not been able to go to their office to work for 18 months we've not been able to go to a sit-down restaurant and when we do go in a restaurant the only time we can take off our mass is when we are eating for 18 months we've not been able to properly take a vacation thanksgiving last year was canceled whoever heard of cancelling thanksgiving i'm used to the whole family being together everybody's sitting around the table and then this thanksgiving little sad thanksgiving just me and my wife just sitting there other kids couldn't come people couldn't come and not only that christmas turned around and it was the same thing and they are predicting this year that by the time we get back to thanksgiving again we're going to be back where we were last thanksgiving i said these 18 months have been tough is there anybody that agree with me they've been tough [Applause] many people have caught the virus and many of us have lost friends and relatives and neighbors watch this there are many things as believers now there are many believers that are starting to get tired are you with me there there are many church folk that are starting to get weary and that many of us if i must add that are starting to get downright depressed and we're wondering we're wondering and i mean wonder if there's anybody here who are wondering how much more can we take and the question that i'm asked most often by the members of our church is pastor how do we deal with all of this misery that's around us listen fellowship to deal with the heartache and the pain that's around us we got to realize that as believers is there anybody here saved maybe i'm the only one here going to heaven anybody here say tell somebody next to you i'm saved tell somebody on the other side i'm saved as believers we got to realize now that the devil is trying to take something from us we're in a fight y'all i said we're in a fight and the devil is trying to take something from us i came by in the 24 minutes that i have left to try to equip somebody to try to harm you i came by today to try to give you something to fight back with because if somebody is trying to take something from you you just can't lay down and surrender huh speaking of reverend jesse jackson he says the ground is no place for a champion we just can't lay down and surrender we just can't lay down and not fight back i hear the apostle paul saying in ephesians chapter 6 finally my brother be strong in the lord and then the power of his might said you're in a fight so you got to put on the whole armor of god that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for we are in a fight and we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of darkness against spiritual wickedness in high places and so the first thing i came by to tell you uh it's a lot of misery it's a lot of pain there's a lot of a lot of problems to go around but the first thing god sent me by to tell somebody is that the problems you're facing are not your fault will you tell somebody the problems are not your fault i said the problems that we're facing are not our fault the best satanic trick there is is to try to make you think that the problems that you're having are all your fault i came by to tell somebody today you didn't cause coronavirus you didn't go to wuhu china and bring no virus back here you did not shut down the united states economy you did not close down the churches of america you did not make everybody have to wear a mask you didn't cancel thanksgiving in christmas last year and of all the stuff let me tell you this of all the stuff that you and your family are going through none of it is your fault do you know that people are always trying to find a fault or cause some blame in john chapter 9 jesus and his disciples ran up on the blind man and the disciples asked him this question watch this whose fault is it who who did sin that this man was born blind watch this did his parents sin or did he sin listen now if he was born blind then how did he sin before he was born but people are always trying to find fault and people always think that if there is trouble is somebody's fault jesus said not so tell somebody not so he said this man didn't sin his mama didn't sin his daddy didn't see it but jesus said sometimes there are things that happen so that god can show himself strong sometimes things happen so that the works of god can be made manifest sometimes things happen so that god can show out you know we always want miracles is there anybody here that want a miracle in your life is there anybody here that want a miracle tell somebody i want a miracle well let me tell you that there's never been a miracle in the bible without a problem first if you want a miracle then that means that you get ready for a problem because problems come first and then miracles come you don't believe me you don't believe me there's a problem there's a problem at the wedding of canaan and galilee the problem was the wine runs out and then jesus steps in and then there is a miracle there is a problem there is a problem when jesus is preaching too long and everybody gets hungry and then they don't have any food and then jesus steps in and takes two fish and five loaves of bread there's a problem at the red sea pharaoh's army is behind him and the sea is in front of them there's a problem and then god steps in and says step stretch out your rod moses so that the people can go through on dry ground i'm telling you now there's always a problem before there is a miracle and so if you have a problem this morning you be of good cheer because you are next in line for a miracle the man in the bible the man in the bible that had more trouble than any other person in the bible is a man named job but job didn't do anything to cause his problems job chapter 1 verse 1 says there was a man in the land of us whose name was job a perfect man an upright man one who fears god and he stays away from evil all i'm trying to do is convince somebody this morning that you didn't do anything to inherit the trouble that you're dealing with stop blaming yourself stop thinking all your family ain't under no curse your family ain't under no hex ain't no witch then got to your family ain't nobody got a voodoo doll somewhere sticking pins in it uh what you're going through is not your fault number two the devil cannot touch us unless he gets god's permission first holy is the lamb i said the devil cannot touch us unless he gets god permission first look at the text look at the text look at the text uh it says uh satan has come and the lord said simon simon behold satan desired to have you that he may sift you as we the amplified version says in luke 22 31 that the devil has come to me to ask for permission are you with me here jesus said simon the devil just asked me for my permission to allow him to bother you i came to tell somebody today that i don't care what the devil wants to do in your life since you don't belong to yourself since you have an owner you see if i want your car i got to come to you and ask for permission to use your car are you with me here where you belong to the most high god and if the devil or anybody else wants to bother you they got to get permission from your owner watch this and if god grants that permission for the devil to test us to tempt us or to bother us it's only because god knows that he's already set you up to win huh [Applause] by uh in the book of job the devil came to god and said uh god said where you been man the devil said i'm just walking around just trying to find somebody that i could bother it was god who suggested job god said have you considered my servant job now why would god recommend job i'll tell you why god recommended job because he knew that job was equipped to handle anything that the devil was getting ready to throw at him are you with me here you see the devil cannot throw a thing at us that is not on god's pre-approved list you see god already knows how much you can handle i'm talking to somebody that's going through something right now i said god knows what you can handle i remember a time my daughter jamie when she was about three years old or four years old she was learning how to read and she would read everything that she would see on the street and so we were driving one day i was taking her to school and she saw a sign and the sign said she said ask me a question daddy what is cap city and i said baby ain't no such word as cap city she said oh yes it is it i i just saw it on on before we came over the bridge it said cap city two tons i said oh baby that's funny that's not cap city that word is capacity word is capacity not cap city and she said well what what does that mean and now i find myself in a conversation with a four-year-old i said that that means that the capacity for this bridge is two tons and she said uh how do they know that i said well because structural engineers they come along and they measure the bridge and they know how much weight a bridge can take so that they'll know not to put a truck that's too heavy on the bridge and then it dawned on me reverend sharp that if structural engineers come along and they weigh the capacity of bridges then surely our god before he allows anything to come into our lives he weighs our capacity he weighs our capacity for pain he weighs our capacity for pressure he weighs our endurance that's why the songwriter said we mamalu we are our heavenly father's children but this is one thing he knows he knows yes he knows and i'm so glad my jesus knows he knows just how much we can bear are you with me here uh uh if it comes your way god knows how much we can bear then pastor get up get to the point get to the point uh there are many things in life of a believer that the devil wants to take from us he's trying to take something he's after your prayer life i said he's after our prayer life don't forget now the master told us that men should always pray and not faint whatever you're going through now i want to encourage you to take it to the lord in prayer heaven is still open god still hears and answers prayer i hear the bible saying you have not there's a reason that you have not there's a reason that things have not come together the way that you expect for them to come together he said you have not because you you ask not and so the devil is after many things the devil is after our obedience but then the devil the devil is after our prayer life but next of all he is after our obedience i said to the devil listen you can't do whatever you want to do if you are a child of god as a matter of fact if you have children and you let them do whatever they want to do shame on you because god has given us some stuff and obedience is better than sacrifice so the devil is after our prayer life the devil is after our obedience and then the devil is after our study time now listen now the devil don't want you in this book i i said the devil does not want you in this book that's why the first psalm says blessed is the man that walketh in the council of the ungodly nor stand it in the way of the sinners nor sit it at the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the lord and in this law does he meditate day and night come on now brothers and sisters let's get back to the bible amen we always talking about who said what and what they said on cnn and what they said on fox and what they said on msnbc what did he say here what did he say here what he says here is what counts are you with me here this word meditated in the first psalms gives us a picture of a cow and a cow i didn't know this until i studied it but a cow has two stomachs and and if a cow uh is chewing something a cow chews up something he choose the same thing for eight hours because after the first four hours he swallows it and then regurgitates it and then he chews on it all you got to find you some words that you chew on like that you you got to find you some scriptures that you chew on like that i can do all things through christ that's all just one little piece of scripture but chew on it all day long the earth is the lord's in the fullness thereof the world and they that the world they just find it and chew on it god has not given me the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind chew on that word all day long as you as you go along just chew on the lord is my shepherd and i shall not want the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall i fear the lord is the strength of my life whom shall i be afraid just find you a word and just chew on it all day long so the devil is after your prayer life he's after our obedience he's after our study time but watch this the number one thing that the devil is after the number one thing that the devil is trying to take from us the number one thing that the devil would love in the midst of this pandemic to destroy the devil is after our faith will you tell somebody next to you the devil is after our faith look at what jesus said now when the lord said simon simon behold satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as weak but i prayed for you that your faith fails not are you with me here he said i pray for you now that your faith fails not after telling peter that the devil was after him jesus said you ain't got to worry because i prayed for you do you know that that's worthy of a dance right there that that's worthy of a shout right there to know that jesus is praying for you to know that jesus is pulling for you to no matter fact matter of fact watch this now 71st year anniversary fellowship baptist church the bible says reverend sharp watch this seeing is how we are compassed with so great a cloud of witnesses do you know that everybody who's come through fellowship mama lou all of the saints of the ages do you know that pastor evans and everybody they're sitting over the balcony of heaven they looking this way and they cheering us on come on y'all come on ship you can make it don't faint don't get weary that's what that great a cloud of witnesses are doing not only are we standing on the foundation that they built but now they're in heaven praying for us and in addition to them praying for us jesus is praying for us what did jesus pray i'm out of here i'm almost through what did jesus pray did he pray that peter not have a difficult time no you're gonna have some difficulty in this life did he pray that peter not have to cry no you're gonna have to cry in this life did he pray that peter uh uh would be drama free no as long as you're living you're gonna have some drama jesus prayed for him he prayed that his faith fails not why somebody asked me why because if you have faith you can make it whether you got to cry or not i've had to cry before i'm gonna have to cry again matter of fact trouble in my way i cry sometime i lay awake at night but that's all right because i've learned by having faith that jesus will fix it you see if you have faith you can make it whether you got drama or not if you got faith you can make it whether you have difficult times or not because faith says something faith talks to you do you know that faith talks to you faith says i'm going through the water but i'm not going to drown faith says i'm going through the fire but it's not going to burn me faith says i'm going through the valley of the shadow of death but yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i shall fear no evil because god is with me i know 2020 and 21 have been rough i know that you and i had to go through some tough times but don't lose your faith i don't care what you have to go through don't lose your faith because i hear job saying though he slay me yet will i trust him and that's all god is trying to get us to say god i'll trust you when i can't trace you god i'll trust you even though it hurts me god i'll trust you even when i don't understand you got to have some faith touch somebody and say neighbor whatever you do don't lose your faith you got to have faith because faith does something faith call it those things which be not as though they were faith says my family is healed faith says my household will be okay faith says my mind will be okay faith says we will get through the virus faith says church will open back up again faith says i'll always have income that's how shadrach meshach and abednego made it through the fairness they said we believe our god is able to deliver us i hear habit habica saying in the message version of the bible though the cherry trees won't blossom though the strawberries won't ripen though the apples got worms in them though the fields have stunted their growth though the sheep pens are sheepless and though the cattle barns are empty yet i will rejoice yet i will wait on the lord if you're like a ship that's tossed and driven batted by an angry seat you got to get you a song and the song is the lord will make a way is there anybody here that's had some ups and downs is there anybody here that life turned you around but you can testify this morning that the lord i said the lord i didn't say your good looks i didn't say your education i didn't say your money in the bank i didn't say your popularity i said the lord he will he will make a way somehow don't let go of your faith i don't care what you give up don't give up your faith don't give up your faith don't give up your faith [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] somebody ought to give god some praise that after everything you lost you still got your faith can you just write it in the chat i still have my faith tell somebody around you look tell them i lost a lot now but i still have my faith you didn't say it you didn't say it go and look at somebody around you and tell them i've lost a lot now but i still [Music] [Music] matter of fact we didn't come this far because we're smart we didn't come this far because we're educated we didn't come this far because we're so wise we didn't come this far because we've been so careful but the songwriter said we've come this far [Music] [Laughter] lord have mercy [Music] ah go and touch yourself say thank god i still have my faith thank god i still have my faith if you're like me sometimes you've been knocked all the way to the ground but when you got down there you were able to tap into something inside of you and hold on to something that the devil could not touch somebody ought to just give god a wave offering and say god thank you for my faith thank you that you've been with me thank you for never leaving me nor forsaken me thank you that in the valley i i found a song thank you that in the middle of my battle i still felt you telling me to keep on going can you all help me thank god for pastor james t meeks come on let's thank god for this powerful man of god today you know my prayer for you is that you won't let the devil take everything he's trying to take don't let the devil take everything he's trying to take i've talked to people who are just over this virtual experience they're so over virtual church they don't know what to do don't let the devil block your blessing listen i don't care how god blesses me if it's got to be through a youtube station facebook clip whatever however god wants to bless me i'm open for god blessing me and i don't want you to become distracted i don't want you to become disconnected while we're still navigating through this pandemic god wants you to hold on to your faith go on and point your finger somebody like you're mad at him and say you got to hold on you've got to hold on you've got to hold on because there's something on the other side that's going to be better than where you are right now if you don't know christ if you don't know jesus christ the one who the preacher said is praying for you i want you to get to know him today i want you to know jesus he's fighting for you he believes in you you know and that's something you've got a savior who's not just asking you to believe in him but you and i have a savior who believes in you he believes you're going to make it he believes you're gonna get through it he believes in you when you don't believe in yourself god and that's something believes in you he's already prayed for you and the texts blessed me so richly this morning he said and when you are converted go strengthen to somebody else all that means is and when you come out of this go be a blessing to somebody else you're gonna be saved so you can help somebody else get saved come on here god's gonna bring you out so you can help bring some other people out if you need christ email us info fellowship chicago.com crystal rucker is coming back to bless us with this good old gospel classic because when you walk with christ there really is a change do i have a witness there really is a change in your life if you don't know christ come on write us email us text us and come on and follow christ join the church [Music] a change oh change has come over me come on and sing along if you know it he changed he changed [Applause] [Music] he washed away as he did all of my sins and that he made me [Music] does anybody know what i'm talking about he washed me he washed me [Applause] [Music] and now i sit [Music] do what must be [Music] yes it is yes it is [Applause] [Music] it's a wonderful change [Music] i'm not the same person anymore he saved me he set me free be in christ thank you look down in my knees yes it is [Applause] god changed [Music] [Applause] can i do this one time [Music] [Music] the angels in [Music] it's a change group i say it y'all more time [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] just one time around [Music] can you help me [Music] [Applause] peculiar [Applause] everybody clap your hands [Applause] clap your hands say change change changes delivered [Music] [Music] watch it [Music] everybody clap your hands everybody [Music] the angels in heaven [Music] the angels in heaven [Music] [Music] yay [Applause] [Music] all the chains we can clap your hair [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] oh [Music] what oh [Music] angels in heaven [Applause] [Music] [Applause] lord to do it only the lord [Applause] [Music] maybe i'm the only one [Music] maybe i'm the only one that ain't always been safe and i just want to thank god i just want to thank god for my change [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] while you were singing the lord spoke to me and said i didn't just change you i changed it because there's some stuff you've been through that you couldn't get yourself out of and he didn't just change me but there are about 200 of us who can give god glory this morning because he didn't just change me he changed it this and that somebody open your mouth throw your head back say i am no i've been changed [Applause] [Music] i was sick but now i'm healed i was broke but now i'm better i was depressed but now i'm happy i was falling apart but he put me together somebody thank god for change somebody thank god for change somebody think tell three people he can still change it he can still change it he can still i don't know what your it is but he can still change hey do me a favor listen i know we got all these masks on but can you find somebody around you and say neighbor can you do me a favor you shout cause he changed it for me and i'm a shout because they changed it for you are you all ready let's give god up i know i've been changed [Music] but the lord made a way but the lord held my hand but the lord stood me up but the lord blessed my life but the lord kept my family but the lord i give you praise give you praise give you praise [Music] you changed my life changed my life didn't he change your life he broke you through it brought you through how many times did he do it [Music] he'll keep doing more yeah he's still doing more 71 years later still doing more than revenue as expected still doing more than still doing more than even i expected he'll do more he'll do more only god can do it only god can do it only god can do it i still know he can do it put those hands together put [Music] [Music] he'll change your life he'll change your life [Music] y'all got to quit now we got to quit [Music] 30 more seconds going to get your shout in gonna get your shout in go ahead and get your shout in when we we [Music] [Applause] [Music] one more time [Music] somebody to have some victory give god some praise he'll change your life he'll change your life he changed my life and it ain't no secret what god can do what is done for others he will y'all excuse me y'all sit down y'all sit down y'all stand out man that's it we're in the red zone we're in the red zone right through here and the praise they know in the red zone at this point i'm out of control of the service the holy ghost is up in here the holy ghost and got on the ship and whatever he wants to do [Music] [Laughter] i need about 500 of y'all watching just right he changed my life he changed my life you changed my life yes we got to quit now we got to quit [Music] i dare you to look back over your life there's always two people in the room one just came to look and the others got a real testimony you you don't need nobody to push you all you need is a a smidgen of a thought to you if you just get a smidgen of a thought how he kept you how he preserved you how he healed you how he pulled you out of stuff you didn't know how you were coming out of restored your joy reclaimed your personhood let you remind you who you are in him do i have at least a hundred of y'all who can just jump up and holler i know he is able to do it [Music] i'm trying to move on but my soul a lot of people have died from caroma but a whole lot happened died because he snatched you and kept i'm doctor said one thing but jesus said another because he can change it let me leave it alone [Music] to god be the glory to god my my might be the glory to [Music] those things [Music] those things what you talking about kept me in my right mind those things kept me in perfect peace those things didn't let the plane fall out the air those things still got food on the table those things still have a few garments to wear through the week those things got my children got my grandchildren got my sisters and my brothers kept my mama and my daddy kept my aunties and my uncles boasting [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] with his power and with his power he he has raised [Music] we be the glory for all the things lord you kept me when i couldn't even keep myself [Music] you you have done hallelujah [Music] [Music] all the things [Music] um [Music] when i woke up this morning i was just filled with gratitude filled with a lot of gratitude we're in a holy place fellowship chicago is a holy place a lot of history in this place and i was reflecting may not mean much to some of you all but i was reflecting past evan served 50 years pastor jenkins served right at 20 years my first two years one of the main fears that i've carried is lord don't let the ship sink while i'm trying to lead pandemic nobody in the room everybody may not agree it's been hard sickness and death it's been our constant companions for the last 18 months and i never forget one day the lord snatched me up has he ever done that to you where he had to remind you of some stuff he said this is my church yeah and the gates of hell shall not prevail and i'm telling you we're a special church god is protecting this church god's hands on this church and two years almost in a pandemic we've been able to grow people are still getting saved people are still being baptized we've seen almost a 40 percent increase in giving now y'all y'all listening but you're not listening because when god has his hands on it [Music] he'll bless you with burdens all around you he'll feed you in a famine he'll secure you in a storm and so if he can keep this house i speak prophetically he's able to keep your house god will protect and keep you from all harm you'll come out and be able to sing like crystal record now we might we may not be able to hit all those notes like but we'll be able to sing like he changed us what a wonderful change can you just put those hands together and praise god for all of the work that god has done in us through us around us among us we've got to get off the ship today but we've been so richly blessed one more time let's thank god for our preacher today pastor james t meeks and help me thank god for the queen and i miss miss crystal rucker this powerful anointed vessel of god can fellowship can y'all help me thank god for her let her know we appreciate her thank you for spending your sunday with us and to each and every one of you all of our guests who are on the virtual ship today hey it's giving time now it's giving time now we've been blessed and uh some some people probably have logged off you know some folks attention spans are very short but it's giving time now can we thank god that he's given us resources to give come on let's thank god that we have resources to give and as i named we've not stopped being the church even when the building has been closed and your generosity has helped us to do that so i want to challenge you today give your tithes give your offerings and for those of you who want to sow a sacrificial gift today before the month is over will you join us we've done it year after year it's 71 years so even if you can't do it this week before september is over would you so above your tithes and offerings a 71 seed towards the work the ministry and the mission of fellowship chicago can somebody praise god for that come on let me thank god for that i want to encourage you to do that whenever you have an opportunity to give you are positioning yourself in a window seat whenever i fly i like to sit by the window it helps my anxiety on planes i like to see even if the plane gets shaky i want to be able to lift that little lid and open and say all right yeah okay we still up here it's a window seat when you are a child of god when you give you position yourself at a window seat and the bible says that he will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you don't have room enough to receive am i the only somebody who needs a window seat i want to see by the window that god keeps pouring out of so i challenge you to give your tithes and offerings join me and our leaders in doing that and before the month is over we're gonna see 71 dollar c before the month is over i challenge you to do that and if some of you said listen things are tight with a pandemic rep hold on now hold on now i want to i can't do do what you can do make sure the number seven and the number one are in it for those of you to give seventeen dollars hey man come on somebody come on give give one dollar and seventeen so i don't care how you do it but make sure you participate in this season don't say you love a place and you don't support a place don't say you love love is an action word if you love it prove it if you love god show it and we one of the ways we do that is through our giving i thank you so much we're keeping in prayer our own mis adoration nicole patton her mother passed just a few days ago we're praying for you nicole we love you we're praying for brittany willy one of our members her grandmother mrs shirley gardner went home to be with the lord and we're praying for you as well at 12 to 2 we're about to turn up outside i'm going to take this good little country suit off and uh we're going to go outside and have a good time i hope to see you from 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock we're having our our anniversary celebration drive through uh yeah yeah yeah yeah we're gonna have a drive-through there'll be tequila and i'm just kidding i'm just kidding i'm just kidding we would not have any drinks at the drive-thru but come through we want to see your face even if you don't have but a little bit of time sacrifice come on by so your church your leaders can see your face today and we will be doing free vaccinations today from 12 to 2. somebody praise god for that listen i know you're tired of hearing it but we need you to be vaccinated and you get money if you come and get vaccinated we're giving 50 gift cards and 100 gift cards away for those who are vaccinated if you do pfizer i think you get fifty dollars if you do johnson and johnson i think you do i think you get a hundred dollars because that's one shot uh huh but just come on and get your shot and then on tuesday we have red cross blood drive that's happening from 1 pm to 6 pm right here at the church and then next saturday y'all i'mma be installed finally i'm finally about to be installed officially let me be clear i have been pastoring since december 31st 2019 i got when somebody says now he ain't the real pastor until he's installed the devil is a liar oh i've been pastoring but we are about to officially celebrate the insta can y'all give god praise for this we're going to turn up hey the legacy continues we're going to thank god for that uh next saturday next sunday my pastor dr e dewey smith jr will be with us and we will celebrate next tuesday next uh not next tuesday but the tuesday after next tuesday wednesday thursday for our installation revival this is a time for the church and so your absence and your lack of participation is felt so i want you to be a part of this i know it's virtual but please be a part of this this is a major moment in our church's life listen y'all we are honoring people who laid the foundation of fellowship chicago i want you to turn your attention to the screens quickly for f and n and then we're going to move right into some amazing tributes don't jump off the ship just yet give us a good 10 more minutes we're going to honor these people who are deserving of double honor and we'll be right back god bless you thank you [Music] happy anniversary sunday fellowship my name is damian martin and this is your weekly edition of fnn fellowship news network [Music] come out today from 12 p.m to 2 p.m for our 71st church anniversary drive-thru anyone that pulls up will have a special anniversary gift bag as well as we'll have some music out there we want everyone to come on out and guess what we'll have a cold vaccination bust on our premises so anyone that wants to get the kobe vaccine you'll get a hundred dollar gift card right there on the spot to get your vaccine today so come on out pull up and fellowship with us this tuesday from 1 p.m to 6 p.m we'll be hosting a blood drive here at our church come on out and give blood and you'll receive a 20 gift card head over to fellowshipchicago.com to sign up for your appointment today hey family did you know that we started a podcast check out anchored by pastor reginald wayne sharp jr on any podcast streaming platform head over to fellowshipchicago.com to click the link or you can literally visit apple google spotify and more check it out today and now we have some special announcements for you check them out it's our church anniversary month fellowship is turning 71. [Music] that's 71 years of ministry and service 71 years of kinship a friendship a relationship 71 years of god being awesome 71 years of excellence and god doing more than we ever expected you do not want to miss this praise party after church we are having an anniversary drive-through we will have music and special anniversary gifts to give away pull up from 12 p.m to 2 p.m to fellowship with us september 18th 19th 21st 22nd and 23rd is the official installation celebration for our very own senior pastor reverend reginald wayne sharp jr take a look at what we have in store the pastoral installation celebration join us september 18th through the 23rd as we celebrate the installation of pastor reginald w sharp jr at fellowship chicago featuring pastor emeritus dr charles jenkins his grace is sufficient for me you might have to pivot twist turn adjust rearrange rethink reconsider recalibrate but say it dr e dewey smith jr your works don't bring your salvation now i don't work to get saved i work because i am saved and the installation revival tuesday dr marcus cosby the truth of the matter is i'm saved by the power of the lord jesus christ and can nobody take my salvation the bible says those who are in [Music] [Applause] [Music] fry brown blessings [Music] blessings and glory thanksgiving [Music] guests saw mr karen clark shearer bishop walter scott thomas because god has brought you a higher brought you higher and it does not yet appear it does not yet appear what you shall become but you shall be like him [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the legacy continues the pastoral installation celebration streaming live on facebook youtube and fellowshipchicago.com sunday september 26th is hero sunday a fellowship hero is someone who goes over and beyond at the church in their community or in their career we will honor those individuals on this day we want everyone on board as we set sail into 71 years of fellowship we are praying for the family of mrs shirley gardner the grandmother of brittany willie mrs valerie evans the mother of adoration nicole patton please keep these families and all those that have experienced the loss of a loved one in your prayers and that's a wrap for this week's edition of fnn check out our social media pages or our website for these announcements and more for real-time updates text fellowship chicago to 559-49 again that's fellowship chicago one word to 55949 happy anniversary and have a great week [Music] today we honor fellowship chicago's living legends reverend dr ferris d evans is a preacher teacher counselor organizer administrator and friend reverend ferris proudly worked alongside his brother reverend clay evans as one of the organizers of the fellowship missionary baptist church of chicago pastor ferris was licensed and ordained by reverend clay evans and in 1961 reverend ferris d evans moved his family to gary indiana and accepted the pastorate of the clark road missionary baptist church after serving clark road baptist church for 56 and a half years pastor emeritus ferris d evans continues as a trailblazer for other clergymen and laypersons alike and has been an avid gary indiana supporter for civic and civil rights and community affairs dr lou della evans reid is nationally known as one of the most outstanding ministers of music this side of heaven her majestic and powerful directing style has enhanced worship services for over 70 years dr reed has played many pioneering roles in her lifetime from being the only woman member in the organizing of the fellowship missionary baptist church of chicago to being appointed minister of music in 1963 when it was unusual for a woman to hold such a position over the years dr evans reed has received numerous awards including an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from arkansas baptist college in little rock arkansas at age 91 dr evans reed continues to be engaged with choirs teaching sunday school mentoring encouraging and supporting all that require and request her services she is a living example of what proverbs 18 16 declares a person's gift makes room for him and brings him before great people the reverend jesse lewis jackson senior founder and president of the rainbow push coalition is one of america's foremost civil rights religious and political figures reverend jackson began his activism during the civil rights movement of the 1960s advocating desegregation organizing sit-ins and working alongside dr martin luther king jr reverend jackson was ordained on june 30th 1968 by reverend clay evans and received his earned master of divinity degree from chicago theological seminary in 2000 for his work in human and civil rights and non-violent social change reverend jackson has received more than 40 honorary doctorate degrees and frequently lectures at major colleges and universities including howard yale princeton morehouse harvard columbia stanford and hampton over the past 40 years reverend jackson has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment peace civil rights gender equality and economic and social justice thank you to our living legends and happy 71st anniversary to fellowship chicago come on come on come on let's give it up let's give it up let's give it up mama lou is in the house today we want to first acknowledge her would you come over mama lou come on over mama lou we have something for you we want you to know that we love you we appreciate the foundation you stood beside your brother you stood beside your brother in 1950 you stood beside him and founded this church helped to found this church and from 1963 you were the minister of music we appreciate you and we celebrate you because without you i don't know how strong fellowship would be you've played a major role in helping this church survive these 71 years you've been a part of all 71 of them and today we salute you can you all help me show some love to miss ludella evans reid we want to hear from you we want to hear from you help her with that thank you to god yeah yeah be the glory yes i'm like reverend me say he set me up away at you [Music] yeah it was him yes and it sealed him seven no one years as of today the weather was i'm gonna make it short briefly the weather looked like it looked today yes ma'am sun was shining and i want you to know i was only 20. oh i don't think i ever been 20 before but it was god that had us to lay this out and to keep going and it's to god be the glory thank you reverend shaw and thank you committee god bless you we love you we love you we're going to get a picture with you let's get a picture with you let me hold the ship for all right stay right there come here all right y'all give it up for mama lou next we have standing in the gap for the reverend ferris evans another founding member of our church we have deacon michael evans standing in the gap for reverend ferris evans can you all celebrate reverend ferris evans i know he's watching today his family is watching today we want you to know we salute you thank you deacon michael evans for standing in for your uncle would you say a few words today i think my uncle would say the lord will make a way somehow god has been good to fellowship baptist church we've got a great family immediate family fellowship family he would say he would be so grateful to you be so grateful to you for you for your thoughtfulness so in honor of my uncle fair says at home convalescent right now but he's still here amen he would say thank you amen amen come on let's thank god let's get a picture [Applause] you've been vaccinated amen come on let's thank god for reverend ferris evans and the living legend among us no words are adequate for him we're so glad that god has healed him from covet 19 we're praying for he and his wife dr jacqueline jackson his son is standing in his state today but reverend jackson already knows how we feel about him can you help me thank god for his son jonathan jackson the one and only bless you brother thank you would you say some words for us please sir praise god i'd like to say the prayers of the righteous availeth much i am proud to be before you today accepting this honor on behalf of fellowship on behalf of my father reverend jesse jackson my parents are survivors of covet i want to thank god for all of the prayers that came out of fellowship i haven't been able to thank all of you individually but i do miss ludello claudette brother michael michelle and so many others reverend sharp thank you for looking back for those that set a foundation god will bless you and your ministry continuously for remembering the foundation and the last point i would like to leave and ludella like you i'm about to get off before i get put off is that it was an unusual relationship my father reverend jesse jackson meeting reverend clay evans ones from brownsville tennessee one's from greenville south carolina reverend evans used to brag about he didn't read the paper much very much focused on personal salvation he met my father reverend jesse jackson who was coming to town talking about a man named reverend martin luther king and that was called social salvation and my father wanted me to let you know today it takes two wings to fly we need personal salvation and social salvation reverend evans would tell me the ten commandments tell us we do five things for god and we do five things for man let us reach out and help one another and give god the glory [Applause] come on one more time for our living legends and can you help me come on anniversary team these are just a few of the crew can you help me thank god for our anniversary team that have done an immaculate job making sure that this 71st church anniversary is wonderful they're here today miss porsche gibson miss yvette greene and miss kim hollowell and all the others that are working come on y'all make some noise for our anniversary team we're getting ready for the drive-through that's happening in 15 minutes we're about to turn up outside but before we do that can we close with a simple prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving it is no secret what god can do stand with me for those of you in the building and for those of you who are watching live i pray that you have a blessed week i pray that your week is blessed i pray that everything you touch this week that it would work out the way it's supposed to work out lift your hands and receive the benediction may your struggles keep you near the cross may your troubles show that you really do need god may your battles end the way they should and may your bad days prove that god is good i pray your whole life proves that god is good and let the people say amen amen and hey man air high five somebody and tell them have a good week have a good week have a good week what he's done for others he'll do for you it is foreign it is [Music] we love you see you soon [Music] thank you for worshiping with fellowship chicago on the virtual ship we've always had a commitment of service and during this season we've increased our efforts to serve you better we have made it easy for you to stay connected to get the complete resources you need you can email us at info fellowship chicago dot com call the church office tuesday through friday 9 a.m to 5 p.m at 773-924-3232 and our social media on instagram twitter and facebook for real-time updates you can text fellowship chicago to 55949 we have exciting and informative resources throughout the entire week designed specifically with you in mind go to fellowship fellowshipchicago.com for the full schedule until we dock again thank you for your prayers and financial support of fellowship chicago remember we are in this together shock your spirit

Channel: FellowshipChicago

Views: 3,918

Rating: 4.9166665 out of 5

Keywords: Worship Service, Pastor Sharpe, Fellowship Chicago

Id: 1rpJLvvTblM

Length: 109min 40sec (6580 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021