OUC Virtual Worship Experience - 05/08/21

yes no more good your heart uh oh oh ah do so [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning and welcome to another edition of sam school here at the oakwood university church my name is dr tucson williams and again i have the privilege of opening the word of god with you as we study his word about the covenant promise that god made to us in the beginning and how he fulfills that promise all the way till he comes again but before we go any further let's bow our heads and let's pray dearly father we are so thankful for another opportunity to come before your presence we ask that you guide our hearts and minds as we study your word in jesus name we pray amen this week we're looking at abraham's seed how god had kept his promise from abraham all the way throughout the number of generations that preceded him but before we go any further i also want to remind you about every monday we're studying the book of revelation we're already at revelation chapter 19 and this is one of the best parts because we see how god wins and so we've titled this week's message when jesus stands up so if you have not had an opportunity to join us please send us your information so that we can send you the link and get started you can email us at info oucsv.org and we will be sure to connect with you all right we are talking this week about abraham's seed and our text the highlighted text is first peter chapter two and verse number nine first peter chapter two and verse nine says this but you are a chosen people a royal priesthood a holy nation god's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into this wonderful light now this text is extremely critical because it allows us to see the foundation upon which god has placed those people that he called but it's also important because we see as we study the old testament how god's people when they recognize that they were god's quote unquote special people they thought they were special just because they got up in the morning just because they belong to the jewish nation and here we're going to see some very specific things that god does to those he calls number one he calls them from what they were to something even greater and that my friends is good news he says they are a royal priesthood and a holy nation but notice the responsibility of those people that god called the bible says they may declare the praises of him and this is the focus paul's right there don't miss that the first part here that far as the obligation is that our responsibility of those who are the called out ones is to glorify and honor god that is the purpose and the foundation of the covenant it says he calls you out of darkness and into this wonderful light the idea coming out of darkness says before god called you things were bad things were rough things were challenging and now your life has changed and as a result of that we share with others what god has done for us what we see as we read the old testament is that while israel thought that they were believed that they were god's chosen people and they had inherited this covenant is in it from his forefathers it did not exhibit the same strength of conviction as its predecessors often did and what we see and what we're going to see throughout the day as we study the lesson was that how god's people because they got comfortable in the blessings of god they did not realize the importance of obedience but notice now what god wanted to do for his people if you read the lesson you heard the story about the clock major who had a watch outside and at one point that watch that clock that made everybody in the town know exactly what time it was the watch stopped working and because of it people got to work late kids did not get to class on time so many things were off because the clock that functioned to make sure everyone knew what time it was was off there were times in israel's history where god placed israel in the very middle in the midst of nations ezekiel says in the strategic bridge land between three continents africa europe and asia they were to be the spiritual clock of the world ladies and gentlemen we see over and over and over again a responsibility for those who god has called for a special purpose and when they do not fulfill their purpose many men and women are sidetracked and some may even be lost as a result of the fact that god's people did not do what they were called to do but in spite of those people on a grand level where people were not faithful to god god always has a remnant we're going to spend some time on that word later today and our study this week focuses on the identity and role of god's true israel in every age including our own throughout history god has what we identify as an israel or a special group of people that are designed to do what he's called them to do let other that means let other people know what time it is in earth's history we're going to see that even right now the year 2021 god has a special group of people who's called to do something extremely special so that men women boys and girls can know what time it is we spent some time in deuteronomy today and this one text comes from deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse number 6. the bible says this for thou art a holy people unto the lord thy god the lord thy god has chosen thee to be a special people now highlighted that because i want to make sure we understand this idea you were not special that you weren't special and that's the reason that god called you no the specialness came when god selected you there was not anything great about you there was anything special about us as a people know when god called us that's what made us special it says god called us unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth the lord specifically had chosen the hebrew people to be his special representatives on the earth the word translated special here in the hebrew means a valued property or a peculiar treasure if you read the story of abraham isaac and jacob take a moment take take a couple weeks and just just read the story you will be perplexed at the level of degradation and just sheer just foolery because just just just the idea of how wretched these groups were abraham lied about his lie about his wife being his sister multiple times isaac just was indifferent and played favorites with his sons jacob over and over again cheated trying to get over trying to do bad things to get good results and we see how god continued to be with them and you looking at this because somebody would wonder god why would you choose these people but the beauty about this is the fact that god chose him made them special he knew what was inside of them and this is the reason why we have dead we've been talking about noah and abraham when god spoke to noah he said noah found grace in the eyes of god the fact that god chooses in people who are insufficient the fact that god chooses people that have challenges and issues it should only be a reminder to us and the rest of the world that god does not call us when we are perfect he calls us and perfects us and that is good news ezekiel chapter 16 and verse number eight says this later i passed by this is how god looks at his people later i passed by and when i looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love i spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body i gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you declares the sovereign lord and you became mine the idea that god is calling to someone who had no clothes someone who was out and destitute gives us a background or an imagery of the fact of where we were and what would have happened had god not come in and stepped in and taken care of us this choice was totally the act of god in fact the new testament says there's nothing we can do in and of ourselves to make god love us all of our righteousness is as filthy rags old testament says this is an expression of god's grace there was nothing that was found in the people themselves that made them deserve the grace there couldn't be because grace is something that comes undeserved grace is something that god gives us that we cannot earn and the fact that we're looking at this and identifying this fact lets us know this is good news the lesson brought out this idea from um this the commentary on deuteronomy she talking about israel was a small group of people without great culture or prestige she possessed no special personal qualities which would warrant such a choice the election was a act of god alone the ultimate cause for that choice lay in the mystery of divine love yet the fact that this got excuse me the fact that god did love israel and did choose her thereby honoring his promise to the fathers she had been chosen by virtue of yahweh's love for her had she been liberated from slavery she had been liberated from slavery in egypt as by display of yahweh's divine power throughout history god stepped in and took care of his people in spite of the fact that they did not always treat him the way he treated them it's been consistent throughout history god calls us god saves us and then gives us the opportunity to obey and so some of the questions what is what does that mean what does that look like we're here on the screen you have a picture of a billboard and the billboard is blank and on the canvas of that billboard god displays his work in our lives for the rest of the world to see that billboard is an example of you and it's an example of me of how god wants to choose wants to use us to let the world know those people are passing by those individuals who god has given us an ounce of influence over god allows them to come into our lives so that they can see what god has done and that is the purpose of the remnant that is the purpose of god's special and called people that is the purpose of the individuals who god uses to let the world know of what he is trying to do and so we see this over and over again and the idea here is to understand the only reason why we're standing by the highway the only reason why god has called us as an as a opportunity for someone to see him is because of god's grace notice in genesis chapter 50 and verse number 24 how god promised to the forefathers how he was going to give them a particular area of land this promise of land that god gave to israel was first given to abraham and then repeated to isaac and jacob for generations god had given them this promise and it took a while for it to be fulfilled but it did not mean the promise was no longer binding understand the process genesis 50 and verse 24 says then joseph said to his brothers i am about to die but god will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised to oath of abraham isaac and jacob notice what god said in the book of deuteronomy about this same land this idea was a covenant promise the covenant was based on god's blessings and also god's curses and the blessings came as god's people that were saved that trusted in him were obedient to god and then the curses came between those individuals those same group of people chose not to follow him notice what the bible says in deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 15. deuteronomy 28 verse 1 and verse 15. if you fully obey the lord your god and carefully follow all his commands i give you today the lord your god will set you high above all nations of the earth notice now this was a time where god has already demonstrated his power this was god speaking to the children of israel after they come out of the bondage of pharaoh this was where god was going to unleash his promises and his blessings and he said whatever i ask you to do i need you to do that and god said i will set you high above all nations of the earth not because you had a great military not because you had a great economic system simply because you trust in me god says there's going to be blessings and throughout the bible even right now we can see how god has been faithful to his people as we are obedient to what he's called us to do but also notice verse 15 it says however if you do not obey the lord your god and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees i am giving you today all these curses will come upon you and overtake you the first part of deuteronomy 28 outlines the blessings israel would receive if they followed god's will the other section verse 15 onward deals with the curses that would befall them if they did not these curses were largely though not holy brought about by simply giving sin scope to work out its own evil results what that simply means is when we draw away from god by not obeying we remove ourselves from his protection we remove ourselves from the peace that comes in trusting in god and as a result of that we know the bible says in the new testament that the the li the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and that's the reason why the curse has come when we remove ourselves from the protection of god we open ourselves to what the enemy has for us galatians chapter 6 and verse 8 says he that soweth unto his flesh shall reap of the flesh reap corruption the lesson brought out this powerful point it says despite all the promises of the land all the things that god promised to give to his people those promises were not unconditional which means god gave them a promise and it was linked to their obedience or their trust in what god said they came as a part of a covenant israel had to fulfill her end of the bargain if not the promise could be nullified god already did his part god consistently was faithful on his side then now the ball would be in israel's court the lord made it very clear more than once that if they obeyed the land would be taken from them you know there's another land that's promised not a land of milk and honey but a land that's where we'll never grow old we'll never have to worry about going to a morgue or spending time in a nursing home a land where we can literally spend time with jesus jesus and be with him forever but there are conditions for us to get there as well we have to trust in the provisions that god has given to us and that is accepting jesus christ as our lord and savior and following him like revelation 14 says following the lamb wither so ever he goes so again i want to review this covenant process and we're going to see this over and over again throughout this quarter number one god acts and then we respond we talked about this god initiates this plan of salvation after we make a mistake and then the obedience remember we talked about with jonah assuming with noah a couple of weeks ago the concept is getting on the ark or doing whatever god asks us to do god displaying his grace and we are true we have the opportunity to have faith in the process through which he chooses to save us in noah's day it was the ark in our day now it is accepting jesus christ as our lord and savior but notice what jeremiah says in jeremiah 19 verse excuse me jeremiah 11 verse 8 it says yet they obeyed not nor inclined their ear but walked everyone in the imagination of their evil heart this is a challenging text notice after all the promises and all the things that god did for his people they still chose not to obey therefore god says i will bring upon them all the words of this covenant which i commanded them to do but they did them not here god is talking about giving them exactly what he promised in deuteronomy chapter 28 and all this does it lets us know that when god speaks both positively in promises or negative that comes in these curses god fulfills his promise unfortunately the history of israel was for the most part a repeated pat repeated pattern of apostasy followed by divine judgments then repentance and a period of obedience only briefly under david and solomon did israel control the full extent of god's promised territory let me pause in the lesson and just ask you how many times in your life can you go back and see that you are living the promises of god one of the things that we find so i find so interesting is in my life personally is that the moments where i choose to do my own thing and go my own way that's when life gets so hectic but i'm so tempted to live that way i want to do what i want to do i don't want to obey and those are the moments where i have to say god i need your spirit to help me do what you've already told me i could do but i have to rely on a power that's greater than myself notice what jeremiah says in jeremiah chapter three in verse one it says they say if i put if a man put away his wife and she goeth from him and become another man she shall return shall he return to her again shall not that land be greatly polluted but thou has played the harlot in with many lovers talking about israel and their relationship to god yet return to me again saith the lord god is saying even though israel you've cheated on me even though you've played me like a fool i still want to accept you and ladies and gentlemen that is grace surely as a wife treacherously departed from her husband so have you dealt treacherously with me o house of israel saith the lord god loves us so much that even when we turn our back on him he still with open arms accepts us as if we never left him the last few minutes we're going to talk about this idea of a remnant what is the purpose of the remnant it hurt the term comes around heard several times many of you even growing up in church here this term we are the remnant what does that mean and what obligation do the remnant have the purpose of god in creating and preserving a faithful remnant of people that are trustworthy and gonna come to keep his commandments and promises the bible says preserving a faithful the lesson scheme he brings out the purpose of god in creating and preserving a faithful remnant was the same as it had been for all of israel to use them as is divinely appointed instruments for declaring my glory among the nations the purpose of the remnant is to declare not what they have done the purpose of the remnant is not to let people know how good or how smart they are the purpose of the remnant is to let people know look what god has done in my life and if he can do it with me as wretched and as miserable how challenging i have been to him then he can do the same thing for you micah chapter four and verse six and seven and talking about this concept of remnant in that day declares the lord i will gather the lame i will assemble the exiles and those who i have brought with to grief i will make the lame my remnant those who drive away a strong nation the lord will rule over them in mount zion from that day and forever throughout the bible the idea the context of the old testament of the old testament the content of the remnant were people who were not good in and of themselves they became great when they were able to accept that god loved them in spite of their insufficiencies in spite of their challenges in spite of the ways that they did not choose to follow god if they accepted what god did in their lives even though they were wretched and miserable and poor blind and naked as the revelation chapter 3 says god still loved them god still accept them god still with open arms finds a way to save them notice what paul says in the book of galatians chapter 3 for you are all sons of god through faith in christ jesus for as many of you as we're baptized into christ have put on christ therefore there is no neither jew nor greek there is neither slave nor free there is neither male nor female for all for ye are all one in christ and if you are christ then you are abraham's seed and heirs according to that promise here we see right now where we're living you don't have to be connected to abraham you don't have to be trace your lineage back to the one of the 12 sons of israel no we are connected to abraham through faith in the love and the the sacrifice of jesus christ the bible says when we go down into the water of watery grave of baptism and come back up we come back up into a newness of life and into the body of christ the same promises god wanted to give abraham he provides for all of his children the beauty about these promises about this covenant is that there isn't anything that we have to do to get right with god in fact the bible says while we were yet sinners christ died for us the idea that he knew how messed up and how jacked up and how crazy and strange and how just just completely just off we were and yet and still god calls us notice what prophets and kings says page 369 and 370. there's no distinction on account of nationality race or caste is recognized by god he is the maker of all mankind all men are of one family by creation and all are one through redemption christ came to demolish every wall of partition to throw open every compartment of the temple courts that every soul may have free access to god his love is so broad so deep so full that it penetrates everywhere it lifts out of satan's influence those who have been deluded by his deceptions and places them within reach of the throne of god the throne encircled by the rainbow of promise in christ there is neither jew nor greek bond nor free family we are living in the last days of earth's history and the gospel must go out to every nation kindred tongue and people there's no one that god does not want to see and the fact that he's allowing you to hear this message says he wants you to be a part of this family of believers he wants you to understand that he in spite of what you've done and where you are and what life has brought your way he still loves you and wants you to be a part of this remnant the remnant does not mean i'm the only one that's going to be saved and everyone else on the outside is going to be lost no the purpose of the remnant is to go out and let people know the shout out with a loud voice and let folks know that gospel is for whosoever accepts jesus christ as a lord and savior and loves him and is crazy enough to follow him with us wherever he goes if it says keep my commandments they will do it if he says love my neighbor they will do it if it means turning the other cheek they will do whatever it is god asks his people to do they will do i want to challenge you as we're studying the concept of the remnant that you make this not just an intellectual idea where you're studying to learn what happened with abraham isaac and jacob but no think about your family those people god has entrusted you a measure of influence and find creative ways to let them know what god has done in your life so that they can see the power of god still moves may god bless you as we continue to study [Music] hello oakwood university church family and friends welcome to this week at the ouc i'm aaron roper and i'm kaylee bird we're happy and blessed to have you join us today for our virtual worship experience please tell us where you are joining us from in the chat feature we hope that you will be richly blessed by today's service through our preaching teaching music and children's ministries join us at 5 pm today for our zoom sabbath afterglow program that will take place as we review the sabbath school lesson with elder ronald lang if you would like to join us please use the meeting id 24800-43316 and the password is 4321. join us for our new ay program for youth and young adults entitled ay snap which features popular videos with spiritual application a y snap will take place this afternoon at 5 pm on our ouc attic and ouc social media platforms prayer opens special treasures and we believe in the power of prayer so if you would like to request special prayer please feel free to fill out our virtual connect card by visiting oucsda.org connect also please feel free to join our daily prayer call at 6 pm please call 605-475-4120 and enter the access code number 8483 if you haven't been listening to the recent episode of breathe podcast you have been missing out on a treat join us this monday for a new episode of breathe with host dr carlton t byrd and co-host david person the briefed podcast airs each monday on spotify apple podcast stitcher google podcast and any of your favorite podcast platforms join us this monday may 10th at 6 p.m for another bible 101 bible study with dr toussaint williams this week's topic will be the marriage supper of the lamb for the zoom information please email us at info ouc sda.org calling all youth and young adults please note that uncut will be airing every two weeks please join us again this friday evening may 14th at 7 pm for our next uncut naomi parchment will be hosting also we invite all young adults to join us for our weekly young adult zoom bible study which will also take place this friday may 14th at 8pm for more information please email yam oucsda.org also for all of our youth don't forget to subscribe to our ouc attic youtube channel for youth sabbath school discussion starters we also want to remember those who are sick and sudden in our church family due to the covenant 19 pandemic we request that you not visit any of these individuals but instead keep them in your prayers send them an encouraging card or give them a telephone call to check on them that's all for this week at the ouc if there are any church events that you would like to have mentioned in this announcement segment please feel free to email us at info ouc sda.org also please remember to stay connected with us by visiting our website at oucsda.org or by following our social media platforms to know what is happening at our church may god continue to bless you and have a blessed sabbath not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching welcome to the oakwood university church in huntsville alabama on the campus of oakwood university welcome to the oakwood worship experience [Music] it is with great expectancy that we look forward to all the blessings and all the revelations that we will experience in this service today so wherever you are you wanted you to join us as we sing as we pray and as we meditate so we and the praise team want to welcome you to the service welcome come on [Music] wherever you are make it a place [Music] [Music] [Music] today [Music] [Applause] [Music] i don't know about you but i need some [Music] peace [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] and in his courts oh yeah [Music] is [Music] is [Music] but in spite of what you've been through we will give him praise with a smile on your face and with joy in your heart oh yeah i don't know about you but i need this service [Music] [Music] [Music] oh yeah just one more time enter his gigs [Music] happy sabbath everybody it is a blessing to be able to gather in god's house and gather in your homes or wherever you may be on this sabbath day this week has been a very intense week we celebrated on wednesday cinco de mayo and so i want to say a special word of appreciation for those who are watching us with uh with hispanic heritage then this weekend here at the oakwood university complex we have graduation weekend and so to those graduates who are graduating from oakwood university we want to say congratulations then tomorrow we celebrate mother's day and to all mothers and those who are mothers at heart we want to say happy mother's day but the most important thing is the fact that today is the sabbath and we are here to worship god and so as you gather and as we come together and as we wait with an air of expectancy god is here he is waiting to bless us he is looking to bless us and it's an opportunity for us to praise god and to let him know how much we love him because he first loved us so let us pray father we want to thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to come once again on your sabbath day to gather in our homes or maybe on the beach or wherever we may be to worship you and as we offer you our offering of thanks and praise we ask that you would bless us we ask that you would speak to us we ask that you would save us we pray these things in jesus name amen thank you very much pastor goodrich we want to say good morning to everyone and happy sabbath to each and every one of you this is the day that the lord hath made let us rejoice and be glad in it i was glad when they said it to me let us go into the house of the lord i'm here in the sanctuary you may be at home you may be in your car you may be in a park wherever you are make that a sanctuary right now wherever you are make your life make your body make your very big uh sanctuary right now that god might dwell within you today praise be to god i'm so grateful it's the sabbath i'm so grateful that we can come aside from all of our weekday chores and responsibilities and let go and let god praise god from whom our blessings flow thank you for joining us for the virtual worship experience of the oakwood university church as pastor goodrich has shared it has been a busy week busy busy busy week i i think about my week and what has transpired we began the week with our spring breath of life board executive board meeting praise the lord god is doing great things through the breath of life ministry and then on wednesday morning i had to board a flight to california to do a recording at the loma linda university church for a program the north american division is doing and i said i would do a quick turnaround but i was paying for it i left on wednesday and they had the recording wednesday afternoon and then flew back thursday and got back here in huntsville and i said i'm not as young as i used to be those quick turnarounds but god is good he has sustained me on yesterday we had the funeral service for sister maria boyle's son and we want to keep that family in prayer and i'm here today preaching the word of god and i'm so excited praise be to god and we're excited that you have chosen to join us today it's not too late invite your family invite your friends invite loved ones to join us we have a powerful worship experience ready today the praise team is going to sing we have a special interview relative to mothers with mother christine johnson that's the mother of irvin magic johnson and sister cookie johnson that's the wife of urban magic johnson they're gonna join us and be with us and then we're gonna preach the word of god we've got some baptisms today hallelujah we've got some baptisms today we have a candidate that is wheelchair bound but the candidate says i've got to be baptized and we're going down in the water today and that individual is going to be baptized hallelujah praise be to god god has something special in store for each and every one of us today so it's not too late invite your family invite your friends loved ones to join us as we worship god today in the beauty of his holiness we want to say happy sabbath secondly we want to say happy mother's day that's right to all of our mothers happy mother's day and i want those ladies to know if you did not necessarily birth a child but you've helped rear a child you are a mother and we wish you a happy mother's day as well so to all of our ladies happy mother's day if we were together in person in church we would have a carnation or a rose or some token to let you know how much you mean to us but we simply say today happy mother's day and we love you all very very much not just happy mother's day to everyone but i have to stop and be specific now i want to wish my wife danielle a happy mother's day you are the best mother happy mother's day i want to wish my mother carol bird a happy mother's day i want to wish my mother-in-law carolyn mounster a happy mother's day i have to do that because i believe that happy mother's day to everyone but i have to tell my wife my mother and my mother in love happy birthday to happy mother's day excuse me today now let me get to the birthdays happy sabbath happy mother's day happy now birthday we begin with kiara polight kiara is turning 13 years old tomorrow i can't believe it i remember when i held in my arms and presented her to the lord and dedication i remember baptizing her and now kiera is a teenager she will be a teenager tomorrow happy birthday to her and not only to cara but cara i'm saying here at cara happy birthday kara but happy birthday to her mother linda rivers polite mother and daughter linda and kara happy birthday to both of you holbrook i don't know what you're going to do you got to celebrate mother's day you got to celebrate your wife's birthday and your daughter's birthday you probably have to get a second job in the month of may but happy birthday kara happy birthday linda as well then anna ware one of our teenagers here at the church anna happy birthday to you today then julian morris happy birthday alicia resort happy birthday courtney brathwaite happy birthday brother jonathan swann that's right jonathan swann happy birthday in fact after church today at 3 55 p.m if you want you can meet at the cross creek development the clubhouse there at cross creek development in madison and there's going to be a drive-by and everyone they say is invited to wish jonathan a happy birthday happy birthday jonathan swann to you today asha nevada i can't believe it 14 years old happy birthday her dad brother aaron vidal just celebrated her birthday as well not too long ago brother of it all happy birthday to you jedidah basin happy birthday to you deidra miles happy birthday merry minor happy birthday keisha forts and keisha happy birthday god's been good to you sister jacqueline battle happy birthday to you as well crystal smith happy birthday rose phillips tomorrow happy birthday elaine francis happy birthday dr vincent anderson dr anderson happy birthday brother vernon strodia brother vernon happy birthday brother joseph daly joseph daly happy birthday to you brother robert nichols happy birthday brother nichols dr charlie jo morgan dr morgan happy birthday to you as well sister ruby dean mays that's right ruby dean mays happy birthday to you charles sims happy birthday brother sims and then last but not least she's still looking good sister jerry banfield sister banfield happy birthday to you so we say happy sabbath happy mother's day and happy birthday let's quickly go to our announcements now a couple of announcements we're going to share at this time don't forget this afternoon at 5 p.m central time a y snap with boss man and kaboom that's right 5 p.m today now we want to be clear graduation for oakwood university and we're going to talk about that in a minute we'll begin at eight o'clock but at five o'clock we will have a y snap with bossman and kaboom we also want to let you know beginning this upcoming week our breath of life podcast breathe we'll talk about evangelism why evangelism is still relevant make sure you tune into our breathe podcast the breath of life podcast that will begin its newest airing on this coming monday may the 10th don't forget that on wednesday we will resume our food giveaway wednesday we will resume our food giveaway this wednesday may the 12th 11 a.m make sure that you join us if you're in the north alabama area as we want to distribute you to our church members and our community residents in the rear parking lot of the family life center we also want to let you know that our health services center is open and is available to each and every one of you licensed facility licensed staff we accept all major health insurances we also want to let you know we're open on tuesdays wednesdays and thursdays from 9 a.m to 5 p.m and we're still offering free covet 19 testing that's right we're still offering free covet 19 testing if you have not if you have insurance we will not charge you a copay if you don't have insurance just come on anyway and we will take care of you tuesday wednesday and thursday the oakwood university health services center specializing in family medicine also offering covet 19 testing and with the tests it is a rapid test so in 15 minutes you will find out whether you're positive or negative as it relates to covet 19 we still offer that service at our health services center we want to let you know about oaktown merchandise merchandise for your kids merchandise for the young merchandise for the young at heart we all are wearing oaktown hats caps skull caps t-shirts sweatshirts we have something for everyone so we invite you to visit our oakwood university church market or order online www.oucsda forward slash shop forward slash shop and you will be able to secure your oakwood university church oaktown merchandise next sabbath we're going to have a special sabbath and we want to encourage you to be a part of our virtual worship experience next sabbath we are very excited that on next sabbath our special guest will be none other than gospel artist gospel writer gospel composer trained musician richard smallwood the month of may is national mental health month and minister smallwood has just written his autobiography entitled total praise and in this biography he stresses his mental health journey the challenges he's had the ups he's had the downs he's had and he's agreed to join us next sabbath may the 15th right here in our oakwood university church virtual worship experience will be richard smallwood in addition to his interview and testimony with us about mental health we are excited that dr jason ferdinand and our vocal ensemble and our string ensemble and also stevie mackey will join us next sabbath in our music ministry and pay special tribute to minister richard smallwood commemorating the 25th anniversary of his most uh well-known i would say musical piece total praise 25 years since he wrote and performed that song and on next sabbath our music ministry will provide special music special arrangement of this song so tell your family tell your friends tell your loved ones next sabbath special virtual worship experience mental health month we will interview and speak with richard smallwood and our music department will have a special musical rendition of total praise that's a lot i've shared today but if you have forgotten anything or missed anything the good news is you can go back and watch the rebroadcast of this virtual worship offering or you can go to our website or you can go to our mobile app secure it in the app store ouc connect or the google play store oakwood university church and on this app it will tell you everything you need to know relative to what is taking place here at the oakwood university church i want to remind all of our graduates from the oakwood university church on the kindergarten level 8th grade level 12th grade level graduate undergraduate level graduate level professional school turn in your name your level of educational attainment and your school to the church office on monday wednesday or friday or you can email that information to us at info oucsda.org because we want to give you a tangible gift all members of the oakwood university church make sure you turn this information in we want to give you a tangible gift from your church we are proud of you we praise god with you and we celebrate this academic milestone in your life today at 8 00 pm oakwood university will have its commencement exercises at the von braun arena here in huntsville alabama for those who are not in huntsville you can watch it on the oakwood university youtube channel or facebook page if you are here in person the only way you will be granted admittance into the von braun arena is if you have a ticket though we celebrate our young people and celebrate our young at heart who are graduating we still have to be covet compliant with that in mind persons will only be granted entrants if they have a ticket there's no cost but you need a ticket so please don't bombard the von braun arena and say i want to get it i want to get in you have to have a ticket as we want to be kobe compliant if you have not a ticket it's okay everyone like i said you can watch online you can watch the virtual commencement exercise 8 p.m today the speaker is bakari sellers 8 pm today as we praise god for our students the class of 2021 at oakwood university that's at 8 00 pm this evening may god continue to bless you may god continue to be with you as we worship god together it's time for sister naomi and the praise team to come now lift their voices and you lift your voice at home or wherever you might be because we serve a god who's able to do exceedingly abundantly and above all we can ever ask for or think according to his power that worketh in us and so let's get ready to clap our hands let's get ready to stomp our feet let's get ready to lift our voices knowing that the god we serve he's [Music] able hallelujah we believe god to be able to do exceedingly and abundantly if you believe that could you celebrate at home hallelujah [Music] [Music] oh you could ask [Music] you just what he said he's gonna do yeah [Music] don't give up on god [Music] hallelujah could you celebrate jesus right there [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yes [Music] [Music] your help at your heart [Music] yes let me say [Music] [Music] we trusted you [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] cause he won't kill you practice something him yourself right now [Music] hallelujah phoebe palmer said it a different way she said sinners come while christ is yet pleading now for you he's interceding hoist air grace and time the minute shall proclaim the victory finish because he is able so with all your might and all your strength this morning let's sing this well-loved hymn of the oakwood university church and all over the world low he comes low jesus comes let's take it right here on verse one everyone's singing [Music] oh [Applause] the promised [Music] is [Music] christ [Music] he knows [Music] is [Music] jesus christ [Music] [Applause] let's see about all these nations [Music] let's read our lord jesus christ [Music] jesus christ [Music] oh yeah sinners come while christ is bleeding bring it out [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] love jesus christ jesus christ [Music] jesus christ [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] us [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] hallelujah hallelujah praise be to god i didn't know if the sopranos had it in him to go up some more hallelujah praise god low he comes thank you dr ferdinand thank you praise team musicians sister naomi i tell you what i i don't want to rub it in but i i don't know what you're sensing on the internet i don't know what you're sensing on your television but i know i'm feeling the holy ghost up in this place right now lo he comes watch these saints with eyelids waiting praise be to god thank you so very very very much hallelujah we want to wish taylor griffith happy birthday i want to wish darren mullins a happy birthday we want to wish james winkfield jr a happy birthday and all the way from brooklyn new york the hanson place church we want to wish kennedy scott a happy birthday today god bless you god bless you i don't know about you i praise god for another sabbath i praise god that we can celebrate mothers i praise god we can celebrate birthdays and anniversaries but i'm so excited that the promise is clear that one day he that will come shall come and he's not going to tarry low he comes i'm so glad troubles don't last always and we'd be made doing for a night but joy comes in the morning time low jesus comes during the interim jesus made it clear he said occupy till i come now you need to understand in that occupying things get tough things get rough in that occupying there are some people that get sick there are people that contract cancer there are people in the occupying that contract the coronavirus during the occupying there are some marriages that don't seem to work out during the occupying there are some children that go astray doing the occupying even right now as i stand here there is a prospective graduating senior who's trying to get the money together right now to be able to pay the business office at oakwood so tonight that student can watch bart all of this takes place in the occupying but i'm so glad that in the occupying we can trust god [Music] and trusting that he will never leave us nor forsake us today we're praying for the oboyo family as they mourn the loss marie does of her son marie you gotta trust god today marie disarmed she's been sick again we still another week don't know what's going on but she's got to trust god elder claude clara thomas claude thomas was taken to the hospital just this week he's there huntsman hospital we got to trust god good friend of mine iris wilson charleston south carolina's sick hospitalized you got to trust god marcia burnett ivan donato bayvon will write joyce burnett corwin miller nephew of annette spencer who will have brain surgery this week you got to trust god deanna spencer nixon for praising god that you trusted him and he gave birth to a son carter diana you're out of the hospital he's out of the hospital because you trusted god and god healed god made a way sharon macleod her mother elaine macleod there in toronto canada we've got to trust god because the songwriter said when i call you [Music] you will answer when i call you you will deliver and the good news is you can call him late in the midnight hour you can call him in the morning you can call him in the noonday but when you call god will answer when you're called god will deliver we don't have to dread or worry about the terror by night because we've got angels all around us it's prayer time oakwood is prayer time and i serve a delivering god i serve a prayer answering god i serve a miracle working god all we've got to do is trust him so wherever you are you're at home if you're in the hospital if you're in a nursing facility wherever you are right here now i dare you to trust him trust him where you cannot trace him and i believe i'm confident that he will deliver the praise team is going to sing this song as we prepare for prayer today pastor north will come and he will pray with us he will pray for us he will intercede on our behalf and we believe that god is going to hear and answer our prayers because we trust him i won't dread terror by night [Music] because i've got angels [Music] all around me so i [Music] today i will not fear i choose faith over fear because i you are trust refugees [Music] is [Music] and i won't tread [Music] [Music] so i will not i will let's do that one more time [Music] you are my fortress you are [Music] and i won't train [Music] [Applause] [Music] angels are all around us [Music] is [Music] when i call you [Music] [Music] and i will not tread [Music] is [Music] i will can we just take 10 seconds just to give god praise for our praise and worship team leading us to the throne of grace father in heaven lord we just want to thank you today because you again have shown yourself to be true you again oh god have shown yourself to be trustworthy you again oh god you have delivered us once again and we just stopped by to say thank you today lord we believe in you god and we are looking to you each and every moment god for you to continue to work in our lives today god we come celebrating the wives the mothers the grandmothers the mother figures in our lives god thank you for their strength thank you for their courage thank you god for their prayers lord that have brought many of us through and and i would ask that you would continue to bless our mothers bless our wives bless our grandmothers bless our mother figures god in our lives keep them o lord and may tomorrow lord be one of the best days of their lives as we celebrate them god we don't want to leave out those mothers who have lost children god we ask that you would stop by there right now that they would sense and feel your presence that they would know god that you you will never leave them nor forsake them god be a bomb and gilead to a mother that's lost a child god we also pray for for those individuals during this season who have lost a mother or a mother figure lord this time may be the hardest time for them as they have memories of their loved one so god would you touch them as well would you stop by them as well let them feel your presence today father we come celebrating our our graduates this weekend specifically here at oakwood university lord many of them didn't know how they were going to make it lord they didn't know where the money was going to come from they were challenged god financially challenged academically but lord grace and mercy kept following them god and here they are successful so lord we ask that grace and mercy keep following them keep pushing them keep believing in them god keep helping them achieve success and any one god who is celebrating and graduating god and one day we're looking forward to that day where we will graduate into the pearly gates jesus lord help us and hold us until that day god we lift up those who are still sick those who are struggling with an affliction those who are feeling lonely and depressed and those who are struggling in some way god there's even somebody who's watching or listening and they're on the verge of giving up and god to be honest we've all been there god where we were ready to throw in the towel but i'm so glad god that you aren't a god that quits that you are a god that gives up that you're a god that keeps chasing and that keeps coming after us lord until we surrender thank you jesus oh god lord we're asking that you would let your holy spirit fall afresh in this place lord we're thankful that we have a leader in dr byrd that is committed to you and committed in setting vision and committing to moving forward lord god we're so thankful for the baptismal candidates today as they go down in the watery grave of baptism and come up in the newness of life and so god i ask that you give dr bird strength today strength to proclaim your word strength to tell it like it is god god continue to bless your manservant bless his family keep him god cover him god and let him declare your word today with power and when it's all said and done lord may we be changed that we would look a little bit more like jesus because we've been in his presence today we thank you for hearing and answering and believing and working with us it is in the worthy and wonderful name of jesus that we pray and give thanks let the church say amen and amen hallelujah hallelujah and because we believe it we're going to sing it in picturing this time when i come [Music] every single time i'm in trouble thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] when i trust you [Music] oh i will not dread [Music] hello [Music] me [Music] know and every week here at the opal university church producers directors camera operators production assistants video editors sound engineers and many more work to diligently ensure that you are blessed who are preaching teaching music children's youth and community outreach ministries since the covid19 pandemic began we've been able to reach thousands of people with the good news of the saving gospel of jesus christ we praise god for the things that he has done through our virtual worship experiences on sabbaths we also praise god that our media ministry has expanded tremendously programs including our holiday specials namely the awakening for easter and glory for christmas shown on nbc and abc television respectively coupled with our youth program huntsville's got talent along with oaktown children's ministries friday night uncut and so much more we praise god we need and solicit your continued financial support as we seek to continue the work of seeing men women boys and girls coming to a saving relationship with jesus christ with your continued prayers and support we can create additional content to reach people with the good news of jesus christ and cover the production costs associated with providing equality meaningful virtual worship experience please note you can faithfully return your tithe and combine budget offerings in several ways you can give in person by visiting our church office on mondays and wednesdays from 9 00 am to 5 pm and on fridays from 9 a.m to 12 noon or you can mail your gifts to the oakwood university church at 5500 adventist boulevard huntsville alabama 35896 or you can share your gifts online through our church website at oucsda.org or you can cash app us by utilizing our cash app handle dollar sign ouc sda you can also utilize our oakwood university church mobile app ouc connect or you can use the adventist giving app and donate your financial gifts under the oakwood university church week after week god has been faithful to us he has given us more than we deserve and we want to thank him for his faithfulness towards us but then week after week you our viewing audience has been faithful to us for you have supported our ministry you've prayed for us you've returned a tithe you have given liberal offerings and we want to thank you for that and one of the main reasons why we do what we do is to allow men women boys and girls to hear the good news of jesus christ and upon hearing the news responding to the invitation of giving their lives to jesus christ and this morning we have three individuals who have heard the good news and who have responded to the call of jesus christ and have decided and pledged in their hearts that they will give their lives to jesus through baptism so i'm inviting dr byrd to come now and to share who these candidates are and to give us a little bit about these three baptismal candidates hallelujah thank you pastor goodrich hallelujah we are praising god for the three candidates that will be baptized today and this is what the ministry is all about this is why you give like you give why we worship god like we do to see men women boys and girls coming to a saving relationship with jesus we have three candidates to be baptized today the two that are in the pool tyler hill tyler is the grandson of sister ethel mcclendon miles sister miles and elder cathy davis have been studying with tyler and we praise god that tyler is in the pool now pastor north has him and he will be baptized come on say amen at home we want to invite those in the sanctuary his grandmother sister myles and elder davis if you would stand they are here to support him and all those who want to support media teams and pastors standing at home lift your hand i want to take this time the opportunity to entertain a motion that's subject to the baptism of the three individuals today that they've become members of the oakwood university church they've gone through the vows and we are ready now if there's a motion let me hear you say so moved it's been moved is there a second it's been moved and property second amen father bless this water transpose it into a healing stream in jesus name amen we also have with tyler wendy von da west housing wendy van dar west susan now wendy will be baptized by elder de souza who has been studying with her we are excited because wendy's going to be baptized but also her son john will be baptized in just a minute but because tyler of your decision to follow jesus christ all the way windy because of your decision to follow jesus christ all the way it is our privilege to baptize you tyler hill wendy wanda wes susan in the name of the father the name of the son and the name of the holy spirit let the church say amen hallelujah take me to be baptized one more time take me to the water [Music] all right we are praising god today and we're thanking god now that jaan jaan the son of windsor john ron there wes cruzin is now going to be baptized now you need to understand i don't want to say that yan is disabled john is differently able you don't hear what i'm saying yon was born in zimbabwe his father is from south africa but he lives now right here in huntsville alabama and he is excited about being baptized today now john is in a wheelchair but that's all right because i read in the word of god that there was a paralytic that wanted to come and see jesus there was a paralytic who wanted to be healed by jesus the bible says that his friends had to lower him through the roof to see jesus well today we have some friends we call them deacons and they're going to lower yon into the baptismal pool today hallelujah somebody and john is going to be lowered down in the baptismal pool and he's going to be baptized today let the church say amen and so as we are preparing for yon to get now in the water we're going to sing that course again take me to the water let's see it everybody [Music] i love jesus come on now [Applause] i love jesus [Music] all right we have the deacons in the water with pastor de souza and the elder desousa has his hands lifted and we are ready now for yard to go down in the watery grave of baptism those in support of yon i would invite you to stand at this time father from south africa mother right here in huntsville born in zimbabwe but he plans to be a citizen of the new jerusalem it's our privilege today to baptize you yard in the name of the father in the name of the son in the name of the holy spirit let the church say hey hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah take me to the water to be baptized i love jesus none but the righteous hallelujah shall see god we're gonna sing that course one more time hallelujah for y'all today sing it one more time take me to the water everybody now take me to the water [Music] hallelujah hallelujah praise god praise god another three individuals go down the watery grave of baptism tyler hill wendy van daar west hussein jaan vanda west hussein corona virus can't stop cannot stop the gospel of jesus christ coronavirus can't stop it being differently abled can't stop it we have the promise in the word of god that god has given us power power to preach his gospel power to share his gospel power to live his gospel and the bible is clear that daily god will add to the church such as should be saved praise the name of jesus he's my rock he's my sword he's my shield i think sometimes we take for granted people giving their lives to the lord jesus oh but it's nothing like seeing individuals go down in the watery grave of baptism their sins are dead their sins are buried and then god places a sign out there by the water and he tells the devil leave him alone because there's no fishing allowed if any man be in christ he's a new creature all things are passed away i thank god that all things can become new we praise god today for tyler and wendy and jan we want to keep prayer up to date for the washington family specifically the eulo washington family we prayed for her last sabbath we received the unfortunate news this week that she passed and so we want to remember her children wayne and wanda the entire family her sister sister shirley sane fordham and uh the entire family during this their hour of bereavement and loss we also want to remember sister judy charles dent in prayer her sister marjorie childs jackson her sister lost her husband robert jackson this week sister dent's sister marjorie and her husband robert had been married for over 60 years but he passed this week and so we want to remember marjorie childs jackson sister judy charles dent the entire child's family you know not too long ago they buried their brother and so now the sister's husband has passed and we want to keep them in prayer it's now time for us to minister to our children it's time for oaktown to take place and so we welcome pastor mark rafael and the oaktown children's ministries team hi kid i'm charissa and welcome to oaktown live next up our news team happy mother's day mommy and my mom and mama see i love you hi i'm amir and i'm sad by monday but we're not we will tell you the mid projects but we're not instead we're gonna say to all of our mothers three words happy mother's day and to our mom we have three words for you we love you that's all for now next up we will never sing the uptown song and remember octagon d the place to be [Music] a town is a place for me cause jesus died and set me free it's where i grow and christ and deep both towns come and go uptown is a place for me cause jesus died and set me free that's where i grow in christ and deep uptime come and go oh time coming god come to jesus i'll say i'm coming go go for jesus hold town come and go come to jesus uptown come and go come to jesus happy mother's day mommy happy mother's day granny happy mother's day mama dear i love you good morning boys and girls i'm pastor raphael and welcome to oaktown live where we come to know jesus and go to whoa that's right live jesus well let's see we had carissa to do the welcome we had america and seth to do the news and we had rain to do the oakdown song didn't they do an amazing job they really did let's put our hands together for them well um next we're going together forever whatever together forever whatever together forever whatever uh what are you guys talking about we're friends and we're going to be together forever whatever wow how long have you guys been together a long time yes a long long long long long long oh okay they get it jamie yes we get it and being together forever whatever is great guys really great oh thanks and in fact pastor we're so together you can go get ready and we'll introduce the story and the announcements are you sure oh yes absolutely okay well i'll see you guys next up is our children's story after these announcements wait tony aren't you forgetting something what could he be forgetting you know what's coming up this weekend oh yes that's right well santa's mother's day weekend we wanted a wish miss ellen gold goodridge miss kirsten hardware and miss joe prick a happy mother's day hey guys i think we should actually go this way for a change no i think we should go the same way this way well i don't know i think we should go that way no you're obviously wrong that way already what happened to together forever oh whatever i'm still going this way happy mother's day to all of our mothers we love you and thank god for each of you and we have made a pictorial tribute for you that we will show during children's time we have included all pictures sent in by the due date which was monday may 3rd and speaking of due dates please don't forget that the due date for all other may projects is monday may 10th sorry no exceptions see our newsletter for details well up next we will have two children share a scripture about the fruit of the spirit just before our children's story but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace forbearance kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control against these things there is no law galatians 5 20 22 and 23 [Music] did you notice that that scripture goes with our series the fruit and gifts of the spirit well it does thank you so much gabriel and mia they did an awesome job well we've been talking about the fruit of the spirit during oaktown live and remember what the fruit of the spirit is basically it's the character or attitude or actions of jesus well today we're going to talk about love one of the fruit of the spirit and before i talk about it through a story about a mother i want to ask you a question do you know what this means on my shirt yes it means love last week we learned this symbol for love this week we learned this symbol for love can you do it with your fingers excellent that's love well when my son mark was about two years old we took him to the park well we had taken to the park before then but this particular time we took him to a new park we had not been there before and there was this slide you see the slide here well the slide that you saw earlier it was like the one on the screen right now it was really really really really tall in fact it was taller than i am and even if i stretch my hands out it was that tall it was super tall but i had no worries my son mark was adventurous and athletic and he could do it but his mother sister phil did not agree with my viewpoint but anyway he got on the site he walked up on the slide and we'll just use this as my son mark and he got up on there and i was expecting kids that he was gonna go down like this because that's how slides are designed but he did not go down the slide he went over the slide and you know what pastor bell did pastor phil did nothing he was in shock but sister rafael came to the rescue and she leaped from the bench because we were sitting on the bench she leaped from the bench and she twirled in the air and i kid you not and she caught him before he hit the ground now if i wasn't there i wouldn't believe the story but it happened she risked herself to save mark and she hurt herself when she went to the ground but she didn't care because she loved him and that's what love does love cares for people and it protects people even at the risk of getting hurt and that's what sis rafael did sister phil i love you happy mother's day you're so awesome well kids guess what your mothers are just as awesome and they love you and they would do anything for you because they love you and love is one of the fruit of the spirit and it's only the holy spirit who can give you that love how many of you want the love that the holy spirit gives i do too well listen up next we're going to go ahead and have a new song well it's not new but it's a song that we're using now for the fruit and the gifts of the spirit thing it's called always represent the savior and it helps us to remember to use the fruit and the gifts of the spirit at all times all right i'll see you after the song [Music] that is wonderful that is [Music] that is [Music] when you play when you act let the angels birth [Music] is [Music] that is [Music] happy mother's day mommy and happy mother's day grandma we love you isn't god wonderful how many of you always want to represent the savior with the fruit and the gifts of the spirit i do too well you know what you need to do next right you need to ask your parents to go online to please go online to oucsda.org oaktown to download the kids sermon notes so you can participate in the sermon and so you can become eligible for a prize but we all know the greatest prize right it's the message god has for us through dr byrd and some kids have been listening to the messages and participating in the sermons and they've made a decision to get baptized and if you've made a decision to get baptized and went on to oucsda.org slash connect hyphen card and said that you wanted to get baptized then you're going to be on our oaktown live baptismal classes online baptismal class i'm so excited about it if you're making a decision today when pastor byrd preaches then you will also get a call this week and those who have already contacted us will get a call this week about or be contacted this week about the baptismal class well up next we will have our music kid and our post kid and i will see you during children's time [Music] hi kids do you thank god for your mother's love i do let's pray dear god thank you for our mother's love and thank you for your love too please bless our mothers for all the amazing things they do for us in jesus name i pray amen well kids next week we'll have a new post kid lippy you i hope so bye kids happy mother's day mom access to health care is often difficult for many particularly in our urban areas and communities to combat this challenge the oakwood university church health services center is available to you with licensed and board-certified physicians and nurse practitioners to service you in family medicine telehealth services home visits physical examinations and weight loss management the oakland university church health services center is able to meet the medical needs of the entire family all major health insurance including aetna blue cross blue shield cigna health spring humana tricare united health care and adventist risk management are accepted along with medicare and medicare avoid major wait times and choose the state licensed oakwood university church health services center where you will get individualized and personal medical care in a nurturing environment center hours are 9 a.m to 5 p.m tuesdays wednesdays and thursdays to learn more about our licensed medical team and to set your appointment please call 256-837-1255 extension 201 or visit us at ouc-s-d-a dot o-r-g backslash health services and please know that walk-ins are also welcome well we're continuing in our worship here at the oakwood university church as you know it is mother's day weekend and one more time i want to give a shout out to my lovely wife danielle wishing her a happy mother's day my mother carol bird and my mother-in-law carolyn mounter and wish all of them and all of our mothers a happy mother's day with us today in our worship i'm so excited my other mother if you will mother christine johnson and my sister another mother mother cookie johnson they are both with us on this blessed sabbath and they're going to share an interview with us today relative to mother's day and motherhood welcome mother christine johnson and welcome sister cookie johnson thank you thank you you're very very very welcome ladies we're grateful that you have joined us and we're going to get right into our interview today we're going to begin with mother christine johnson mother johnson you are a mother grandmother and great-grandmother and motherhood has changed over the years tell us if you will how has motherhood changed over the years from your perspective uh motherhood has changed over the years for me is um that i've grown older but i still think that children is not um uh growing up this this time you know through these these years they are not growing up as we grew up my mother was a mother who taught us you know values and morals and so today it don't seem like that they have you know that in in um that in their minds today is you know how they how they are growing up and so motherhood is is very important but um mothers is just today is so young and they are not like mothers when i was growing up okay very very good so we recognized times have changed and with times changing mothers in many cases becoming younger motherhood has changed let me go now to cookie cookie what did your mother best instill within you and did you pass that on to your children you know i the one main thing that i remember from my mother that she she and she basically she showed me more than telling me was a work ethic my mother was a hard worker and even even when she wasn't you know when she was just a homemaker she worked from sun up to sundown to make sure that house was in order everything was clean we were clean we were taken care of you know and the food was on the table i just watching her you know be a mom was a great example for me and then when she uh had got a divorce and had to go into the workforce she went out she found a job you know she took care of her family you know she never skipped a beat she never apologized she just did what she had to do and that instilled in me a great work ethic and uh also that you know if there's anything you want in this world you know you have to work for it and you have to work hard for it um and i just always remember that from her and it and it carried on into my life you know all of the goals i had going to college you know pursuing my career after college starting my own company that little bit of watching her and understanding that work ethic carried me through my entire life very good very good now i want to come back to you cookie because you talked about hard work you talk about work ethic your mother had it she instilled it within you you sought to instill it within your children your husband is a famous basketball player a famous uh famous entrepreneur famous executive and so he has a very exhaustive schedule a lot of people don't know though that you too have a very exhaustive schedule you talked about your own company and so both of you have been very busy in your lives very demanding schedules how did that work with rearing your children specifically how did you manage being a mother and a good mother as you are to your children given your schedule and your husband's schedule um you know balance that's the key word balance so you have to learn how to balance it all and the first i think the first rule is especially as a couple is to have the support of the other you know each other has to support the other and when i decided to go into work because in the beginning when the kids were smaller i didn't work but later on i did when i decided to to start working my husband supported me you know and then when i wasn't there he was there or when we both weren't there we made sure there was a family member there you know and and relying on your village is super important and i know for black people that's just what we do you know we call in the moms we call in the aunts you know when we can't do it all and don't be afraid to do that don't feel like you're you know that you're inadequate or you're not handling it if you have to call somebody to help you don't be afraid to reach out and help somebody because you know that's what family is we all love each other we all support each other and that's what we're there for um and i think that's the main thing that helped us get through is being having that village to support us uh having that understanding between us that it you know that we support one another and when you do that you can find that balance and the last thing and one thing that my husband does and he taught me to do it too is to find that balance of working really hard and then finding that time to relax and enjoy you know have that family time you know or you know like when we we have date night on friday night or have that family time on sunday with the family try to get together on sundays or or you know once or twice a month if you can whatever it is to find that balance of work and play you have to have that balance if not it doesn't work or you're burning out very good very good so we're talking about it takes a village to raise a child and then also the importance of balance importance of balance all right let's go to mother christine johnson uh we know both of you are christian women mother christine johnson a lot of people may or may not know she is a church elder in her local church there in lansing michigan i've had the privilege of preaching at that church mother johnson how important is it to set the foundation for faith in god with your family how important is that uh that's that's very important uh because if you don't have christ in your life if you don't have christ at the center of your life then you know your life it's not it doesn't uh go well so i always had a family worship with my children we had family worship and i let them sometimes pick the subject that they want to talk about and let them pray and so you have to have that that uh family that you have to have the family worship as i said we have a sabbath dinner together and then we can talk about the the uh the the sermon and talk about what we learned from that sermon and how we can best uh uh put it in our lives and work it in our lives and and so people can see christ within us so uh christian christ is the key to everything and if you don't have christ in your life then like i said there is a lot of things would go wrong so we we just thank god that we have christ in our lives and i want to share a scripture that says you know a scripture said um um but my cry my god shall supply all your needs according to his his riches and glory and god will supply all our need everything we need god got it for us and all we have to do is ask for it amen amen i'm a witness uh having been in lansing with the johnson family on a sabbath uh true enough you go to church bethel seventh-day adventist church and then after church there is a huge scrumptious wonderful meal that is often uh prepared i've been able to sit at that dinner table so i can attest to that thank you very much cookie let's go back to you all right let's talk about values now are there certain values that you sought to instill within your children that perhaps you saw your mother instill with you are there certain values mother johnson talked about scripture she quoted my god shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory but let's talk now about values any values in particular yeah i i think that it's so important in the beginning to set that the ground you know to set those um it's still those morals and values in your in your children you know respect you know respect your elders respect one another you know all those kind of old school morals and values are super important i don't care what year we're in that that you have to start that in the beginning you know and if you start that with your children in the beginning then they'll become respectful uh people and they respect others not only respect themselves number one respect others you know and and help and helping others you know and that's the other thing too is teaching them that you know to be self-sufficient to be secure and confident but also always reach out and help someone else always look at that if there's somebody out there in need that you you can help you know try to help don't be so self self absorbed in yourself that you can't help others you know and in the beginning i just think that that is just so important and i tell you in this world today where kids have access to the internet and that's all they do all day is they're talking to their friends and they're always looking up they think they know everything so sometimes it's hard as parents trying to tell them you know what's important and they go oh no that's not right or you know or um you know if you're trying to discipline them uh you know this is illegal i can call you know the police on you or what you know what i'm saying they they're always looking for something on that from that internet the internet says so i i think it's important as parents that we're still um you know teaching them discipline along the way and saying listen you still have to respect me you know from day one you still have to respect me and because another the all the philosophies now with the children and the rearing child care and the rearing of children is you know talk to your children you know listen to them and and we want to do that we do want to listen but we got to find that balance again you got to find that that fine line between understanding them and listening to them but also giving them discipline i think discipline is still super important very very good you know the old bible text spare the rod spoil the child discipline is important not not saying that the rod is the only way you discipline i would be very clear saying no and respecting no when it's important that that's very true because someone's going to listen and say pastor murder is advocating giving the rod no i'm not saying that but like cookie has just shared sometimes just saying no you know everything is not yes yes yes sometimes it's no so with that i want to now ask you uh you talked about respect we're on this uh interview today and i have you cookie and i have you mother johnson and cookie you married mother johnson's son and praise god you all are still together happy and we thank god for that and we praise god for you when you met irvin did you sense that level of respect that he had for his mother right away okay right away and i tell you that's one of the things i loved about him right away um because because even with the respect he treated me with i could tell he got that from his parents he he received that from his mother he received that from being you know growing up with those with that respect and he showed it to me and i i automatically you know because a lot of guys um in today's time don't they don't respect women like that you know um and i re i thought i saw that in him right away and it was one of the main reasons why i loved him so i know that he received that from his mother and then after meeting her i definitely knew that she is a wonderful lady and you're right it's interesting when i'm in your presence all three of you uh you you can see the respect he has for you cookie uh you're his wife but you also see that respect that deference he gives his mother mother christine johnson mother christine johnson i want to ask you this what advice would you give to mothers today what advice any general advice you would give to mothers today the face i say to mothers today is that uh make your children respect you um help them to understand that um that you need respect and that was what i did for my children as growing up i said to them you are going to respect me if you do nothing else and um if if they don't respect their parents they're not going to respect the teacher they're not going to respect the pastor and they're not going to respect anyone so respect come started at the home in the home and parents have to realize that um if like i said if they don't respect the parents then they're not going to respect anybody and so i i i say to parents love your children give time to them sit down and talk with them and you can find out a lot with uh from children if you just sit and talk with them and i used to do that when my children was in school i would sit down and let them you know talk to me ask them about school and you you can find out so many things when you just sit down and talk with the children uh don't you do all the talking but let them talk to you and you will find out uh what's going on love your children there are so many times that we don't show love to our children we have to show love because christ show love to us and continue to help them to be educated you know and make sure they go they get a good education and so uh the bottom line is make christ first of all things make sure you have worship in your home worship with your children don't you do all the praying and all the reading but let them uh have time let them have time that they can uh pick the subject and pray and and you know let them know what god uh uh what that god loves them and so it's it's a lot to be learned from children we think we know it all but we don't know it all we can learn a lot from children so all i can say is make make sure they respect you make sure they go to church make sure they read the word and when you do that and make sure they get a good education you'll find out your children would be loving and kind and other people will love them as you love them beautiful it's interesting you say you talked a little bit about worship have worship in your home and you're so right that's so important in my home my wife and i uh of course we're there and then we have our three daughters one is a rising junior because the school year's over so i'll say she's a rising junior one is a rising college freshman because the school year's over she's about to graduate as you know from high school but she's a rising freshman and then we have a rising second grader she's finishing up first grade here at oakwood evidence academy our first grader who is rising to be a second grader she is our worship leader when we have worship in the home and she leads out and you're so correct by allowing her to lead out you can see leadership qualities in her she tells us what to sing tells us when we're going to recite our memory texts tells us we're going to give testimonies and even we get to the end of the worship uh she tells us when we're going to pray and not only she tell us when uh we're gonna pray and who's gonna pray uh but she tells us the order in which we're gonna pray so one evening we're having worship in my home in our home and she tells me i'm gonna pray first and i say well i wanna pray last i should close out the prayers i'm the daddy and then she said okay daddy you won't be praying and she said mommy you will pray first she quickly let me know she was in charge of worship so i'll never say again when i'm gonna pray because she's the worst leader and told me when to pray at a certain time but anyway cookie i want to pose the same question to you what advice would you give mothers um as we talked about before i think build a good foundation for your children instill in their morals and values um and respect like ma ma said and um making sure that there is a balance between you know listening to the children and making sure that they have a voice but also if they cross that line you have to learn you know know how to say no and be a disciplinarian you know um it's okay to do that as a parent you don't have to be their friend um and then also just i love i love to to make sure that my children know that they can do and be whatever they want to be you know and one of my favorite scriptures is um i could do all things through christ who strengthens me you know and i try to to lead and and raise my children on that by letting them know they are you know you are you know beautiful you you you are powerful you can do whatever you want just believe in god you know christ follow him and he can get you there put him first in your life and then all these other things will be added unto you um you know so making sure that they have morals and values but also making sure that god is in their life i've got to say that first making sure that god is in their life especially at a young age so that when they go older and maybe stray away they'll come you know god will will pull them back because once you instill them in them when they're young it will come back i promise they will come back to god and when you put god first in your life everything else falls into place amen that is so true we're going to close but before we do cookie i'm going to ask you if you would joining this tribute uh to your mother your mother i don't want to say in law but mother in love mother christine johnson and i want you to give a sentence or two just in tribute to mother christine johnson at this time um mom i just want you to know i love you you are the best mother-in-law a woman can have i tell everyone that and i tell all my friends i said that my mother-in-law can live with me and you know most people are like oh god she's just visiting make sure she's you know leave my mother-in-law could come in move in with us and stay with us because we love her so much she's so such an easy going person and she just brings love and you know i don't know peace with her everywhere she goes and when she's around you you just want to just stay near her all the time because she just gives you that that love and that peace and you just feel so safe and secure around her and i i just want you to um i just want to say have a happy mother's day we love you so much i wish we could be there to give you a big hug but just feel this big hug through here and know that we love you and we celebrate you tomorrow on sunday thank you thank you cookie you are sweet daughter i don't say daughter-in-law i said daughter because you seem like my daughter and i love you so much and i thank you for marrying my son and being so good to him and my grandchildren that is so kind that's so wonderful wonderful wonderful well you've heard it thank you so much mother christine johnson thank you to my sister cookie johnson may god continue to bless you may god continue to bless your families we love you both and happy mother's day for myself my wife danielle our daughters and the oakwood university church family happy mother's day and we love you thank you pastor we love you and now we will continue in our worship today and we're excited that we have the dynamic and inspiring oakwood university church praise team they will come now and bless us in song and after they would have completed their music ministry yours truly will return to preach the word of god [Music] do you do when you've done all you can and it seems like it's never enough and what do you say when your friends turn away and you're all alone all alone tell me what do you get when you've given your own land it seems like you can't make it through well you just stand and when there's nothing left to do you just stand watch the lord see you through cause after you've done all you can [Music] the guilt of your past tell me how do you deal with the shame and what do you say when your friends turn away and you're all alone come on and it feels like you can't make it through a child you just stand when there's nothing left to do you just stand watch the lord see you through [Music] cause after you've done all you can you [Applause] [Music] you [Applause] yes god has a plan tell [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you just [Applause] [Music] [Applause] don't show [Applause] victory is not just [Applause] [Music] whatever [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i [Music] went to the lawyer you went to everybody [Music] you've done all you can you just my brother my sister [Music] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah you need to stand in your situation stand hallelujah god hallelujah able to do exceedingly abundantly [Applause] hallelujah i don't have anybody to go to but my lord is my savior don't give up don't give it [Music] don't you [Music] [Applause] [Music] you just [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] praise god thank you brother david hector and brother stephen manders praise team after you've done all you can you just stand praise be to god we're going to get in the word now and on this mother's day sabbath if you will and share and so i want to take this opportunity to invite you to turn to the book of proverbs and we're going to go to a familiar passage when we talk about ladies when we talk about women today we talk about mothers and so i invite you to turn to proverbs chapter 31. proverbs chapter 31 and we're going to begin reading at verse number 10. proverbs 31 verse 10 and we're going to read all the way to verse 31. now some of you saying pastor that's a lot of verses but they're short verses so we'll be okay proverbs chapter 10 verse number proverbs 31 verse number 10 the word of god says who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above ruby's the heart of her husband does safely trust in her so that he shall have no need of spoil she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life she seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands she is like the merchant's ships she bringeth her food from afar she rises also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household and a portion to her maidens she considereth the field and buyeth it with the fruit of her hand she planteth a vineyard girded her loins with strength and strengthened with her arms she perceiveth that her own merchandise is good her candle goeth not out by night she laid her hands to the spindle and her hands hold this staff she stretched out her hand to the poor yay she reached forth her hands to the needy she is not afraid of the snow for her household for all her household are clothed with scarlet making herself coverings of tapestry her clothing is silk and purple her husband is known in the gates when he sitteth among the elders of the land she makes fine linen and settleth it and deliver the girdles and to the merchant strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come she opened her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness she looked well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness her children rise up and call her blessed her husband also and he praises her many daughters have done virtuously thou excellus them all favor is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman that feareth the lord she shall be praised give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates today i want to challenge you on the subject praise god for mothers praise god for mothers father in heaven lord right now as we go into your word we pray that the power of your holy spirit will penetrate hearts and minds right now and as we share this word with your people far and near we pray that your anointing would make the difference in our lives today instruct us inspire us stir us and then oh god save us forgive me of my sins and we praise you in advance for what you're gonna do today in jesus name amen praise god for mothers mothers are some of the most under appreciated women in the world they're underappreciated because of the roles and responsibilities of a mother include everything now if i were to read or offer a job description for a mother it would go something like this number one it's a permanent job number two the successful applicant must be prepared to do hard work number three the workplace is often a challenging and chaotic environment number four applicants must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours including nights and weekends and be on call 24 hours a day number five extensive chauffeuring duties are required but your travel expenses will not be reimbursed number six some overnight travel will be required including trips to camping sites on rainy weekends countless sports tournaments in faraway places and youth congresses and youth federations with a bunch of your clients friends must be willing to be hated at least temporarily until someone needs some money must be willing to bite their tongue repeatedly must possess great physical stamina and be able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in three seconds just in case the screams from the backyard are genuine or that's and not someone just crying wolf or plane number 10 must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges such as small gadget electronics repair mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers must number 11 screen phone calls maintain calendars and coordinate the production of multiple homework projects number 12 must have the ability to plan an organized social gatherings for clients of all ages number 13 must be able to handle the assembly and product safety testing of hundreds of toys and battery operated devices must number 14 prepare and hope for the best but be prepared for the worst number 15 responsibilities include floor maintenance laundry ironing cooking and custodial work throughout the place of employment number 16 there are no promotion prospects your job is to remain in the same position for years years without complaining constantly restraining up restraint retraining and updating your skills so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you number 17 there is no experience required because no other form of employment is totally relevant but on-the-job training is offered on a continually exhausting basis number 18 there are no wages or bonuses job satisfaction is hopefully what you'll receive number 19 you pay every bill for your client until they turn at least 18. and sometimes it's even beyond that and when you die you have to give them whatever is left the strangest thing about this reverse salary scheme is that you should enjoy it and wish you could only do more number 20 there is no health or dental insurance no pension no tuition reimbursement no paid holidays and no bonuses are offered and then number 21 the tenure for this job is for the rest of your life mothers do everything praise god for mothers somebody's not getting let me try this illustration an elementary school teacher was teaching her class about the positive and negative ends of a magnet and so she said to her class that magnets pick up things she said it's the magnet's job there's a force inside the magnet to pick up things she continued now the word magnet she said has six letters in it and remember the function of the magnet is to pick up things the magnet has positive and negative sides it picks up things after telling this to our students after drilling this into our students minds and heads the teacher then gave them a test and on the test she asked them what has six letters starts with an m and picks up things fifty percent of the class wrote mother she picks up things she's always busy somebody knows what i'm talking about she's always providing she's always doing something for the ones she loves she's always concerned about her family in fact she will neglect herself to look out for her husband and look out for her family that's a mother and so on this mother's day sabbath i like to remind everyone to be good to their mothers appreciate their mothers more because the promise of god is if you honor your mother if you honor your father your days will be long upon the land which the lord thy god gives thee and when the bible says your days will be long upon the land it's not just talking about numerical years but what it's saying is if you treat your mother right if you treat your father right you'll have a blessed life god will bless your going out god will bless your coming in god will bless your finances god will bless your health god will bless your marriage god will bless your children god will bless you god will open doors for you because if you're no good to your mother if you're no girl to your father then you're going to be no good to anybody else this is mother's day weekend the time when families pay special tribute to their mothers in various ways we fix them a special brunch we take them out for dinner we buy fresh flowers for them we buy them special gifts but the sad thing is that oftentimes mother's day is really just a time when families try to atone for an entire year of neglect and disrespect and a lack of appreciation family circle magazine conducted a poll and found that 86 percent of mothers think they don't get enough respect and then 80 percent of the 86 percent say that mothers who stay home get even less respect but today i want to praise god from others today i want to praise god for my wife my daughter's mother today i want to praise god for my mother today i want to praise god for my mother-in-law today i want to praise god for all the mothers in my life all the mothers in the church all the mothers who have made a difference in all of our lives now most people whether they're christians or not would agree that we are living now in a post-christian era that doesn't mean that the church is dead that doesn't mean that christianity is dead but it does mean that the influence that biblical christianity once had in our culture has diminished to a point where it wouldn't be recognized by christians from 100 or 200 years ago and this diminishing includes morality family and parenting listen to me secular humanistic reasoning has taken the place of biblical truth when it comes to setting the parameters for home and the family but a christian should see the home the christian should see marriage the christians should see parenting as framed within the parameters of god's authoritative word and the truth of god's word should not only shape our beliefs and practices in all areas of our lives but the truth of god's word the bible should absolutely guide us through life and so our opinions our beliefs are only legitimately christian to the degree that they line up with god's word you see friends of mine the problem today is simply this our minds have been darkened by secularism and sin and a lot of folks can't tell the difference if something is secular or if something is biblical now as christians we should expect that from the world but sadly we're seeing the same thing in the church as well the trend in the church that we're seeing is that church folks are acknowledging the sufficiency of god and the bible but they fail to see a need to subject their personal opinions reasoning and emotions to the guidelines of scripture in all areas of our lives including what happens in the home we read romans 12 2 where it says do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and we read this text and then we think that this text only applies to our moral behavior but not things like marriage or raising kids so we leave these things up to pop culture psychologists and talk show hosts but let me be clear today before there was dr phil there was god before there was oprah there was god and all of our relationships should be directed by the word of god whether it's education whether it's finances whether it's our jobs our marriages or our children when we talk about a godly woman when we talk about a godly mother we can't help but go to proverbs 31 and these verses are in the form these 21 verses are 22 verses are in the form of a skillful acrostic built around the hebrew alphabet of 22 letters verse 10 begins with the first letter verse 11 begins in the second letter verse 12 the third letter and so on until we get to verse 31 the 22nd letter but let's read the first verse verse number 10 the word of god says who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies now you need to understand as we uh take a look at this text and unpack it virtuous doesn't mean we have what we have come to make the word virtuous mean when we think virtuous we oftentimes think pure we oftentimes think unblemished we oftentimes think a woman who has high moral standards and while these attributes are correct relative to the application of the word virtuous virtuous in this text in the hebrew means a woman a power which means she's strong which means she's sturdy which means she's solid she has a strong character she's not easily pushed around she's a woman of valor she's a woman of great courage in the face of danger especially in battle because a virtuous woman recognizing we're fighting spiritual battles each and every day some translations have even said that the virtuous in this context means the strength of an army if we apply these words we'll then say who can find a woman who has the strength of an army yes she's pretty yes she's beautiful yes she's attractive yes she smells good yes she looks good yes she's nice but she has the strength of an army she's powerful she's good looking but don't cross her she's poised but don't get on her bad side she's graceful but don't rub her the wrong way she's dignified but don't take her for granted she's virtuous because she's strong she's sturdy she's solid she's powerful and she has the strength of an army her price is above rubies which means she can't be bought no man can buy her because she can take care of herself y'all don't hear what i'm saying she's married because she wants to be married she's married not because she has to be married and then if she's unmarried if she's by herself if she's single that's okay too because she still has the strength of an army in fact by herself she's still powerful by herself she's still strong she's still searched dirty she's still solid for some women they understand that it's better to be happily unmarried than to be unhappily married her price is above rubies but look at verse number 11 the heart of her husband does safely trust in her so that she he shall have no need of spoil put another way her husband trusts her and he never has a reason to regret it this is not just that he can trust her because she's not a flirt or an adulterer but he can trust her and he can speak to her about anything because she always has the best interest of the one she loves constantly on her mind she wakes up thinking about her loved ones she goes to bed thinking about her loved ones she puts her loved ones before she puts herself sadly we are living in a world today we are living in a new contemporary modern society where many mothers only want to look out for themselves they're sharp they're dressed they look good but their children look a mess hair not comb clothes not clean teeth not brushed elbows not lotion you've got children now but you only care some ladies about themselves you say i want to have some fun now but let me help somebody understand that when you have children your days for fun your days for hanging out your days for kicking it are over it's not about you it's about your children your days for finding yourself and discovering who you are are over you should have discovered yourself before you got married you should have discovered yourself before you started having children now you got to put yourself on the back burner and give your whole self to your children are you hearing what i'm saying because a godly woman is trustworthy stop being on social media all day stop taking selfies all day long you have a different responsibility now your children and your family they must come first because the text says that this woman is trustworthy verse number 12 she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life in other words she as a habit of life does good for her husband and her family this is in contrast to the foolish woman in proverbs chapter 14 verse 1 where it says the wise woman builds her house but the foolish woman tears it down with her hands the foolish woman tears down her husband the foolish woman tears down her children tears down her household with her own hands instead of doing and providing good things for them but this woman in proverbs 31 because of her price because of her trustworthiness because of her goodness she's a blessing to her family she's not just looking out for herself but she's looking out for her husband and her children verses 13-19 they let us know that not only is she trustworthy but verses 13 through 19 let us know that she's an industrious woman she's a working woman she's not a lazy woman verse 13 says she seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands she is like the merchant ships she bringeth forth her food from afar she rises also while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household and portioned to her maidens she considered the field and buyeth it with the fruit of her hands she planted the vineyard she girded her loins with strength and strengthened her arms see receiveth that her merchandise is good her candle goes out not by night she layeth hair her hands to the spindle and her hands hold to this staff what is the verses what are these verses saying they're letting us know that this woman is industrious in the home this woman is industrious for her family a godly woman works a godly woman labors she serves a godly woman makes sacrifices she gets up early she stays up late she gives her children time you see it's a new day today back in the day it used to be that the family would sit down together at the dinner table to eat together every night talk to each other how was your day how did things go today but we don't talk anymore we're too busy we're on our phones we're too busy texting facebooking and instagramming we're too busy tweeting we go to the gym we go shopping we hang out with friends and we're too busy to talk to our children but a godly woman takes time for her children a godly mother talks with her children verse 20 through 22. she stretches out her hands to the poor yeah she reaches for their hands to the needy she is not afraid of the snow for her household for all her household are clothed with scarlet she making herself coverings of tapestry her clothing is silk and purple while she is caring for her home a godly woman a godly mother also has a mind for the poor she's compassionate she extends her hands to care for the needs of her family but she also uses those same hands to reach out to the less fortunate she's not self-absorbed she's not about me myself and i but she helps others versus 23-25 her husband is known in the gates when he sitteth among the elders of the land she make a fine linen and sullivan and deliver girdles unto the merchant strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come all right i like this part this couplet says that her husband is respected at the gates her husband is respected in the city she has a husband who is worthy of respect back in the day when this text was written marriages were arranged marriages were not like they are today but in today's day a woman has choices a woman can pick a good man instead of a fool she can pick a winner instead of a loser she can pick a worker instead of a whiner she can pick a lover instead of a liar she can pick and encourage her instead of an excuse maker she can speak a jesus follower instead of a jesus faker she can consider and contemplate will he be a good husband will he be a good father it's not arranged you have a choice verse 26 she openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness now i'm going to take some time on this one she openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness in other words a godly mother knows how to talk she's not loud she's not uncouth she's not cussing but she's a lady i wish i had a witness in this place the bible is teaching us in this verse verse 26 that when a lady speaks she has something worthwhile to say and she knows how to say it kindly i told you a couple of weeks ago that every young woman needs to cling to an older godly woman every ruth needs a naomi to learn something to learn somebody needs to tell you how to present yourself as a respectable woman somebody needs to tell you how to present yourself as a classy lady somebody needs to tell you how you talk to other people somebody needs to tell you how you dress when you come to church and present yourself to god you need an older woman to tell you baby your skirt is too short you need an older woman to tell you it ought to be short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the subject matter you need an old enough woman to tell you it's too tight it's too much somebody has to tell you fix yourself up comb your hair don't be loud and common stay out of mess and confusion somebody who will tell you walk like a woman of god talk like a woman of god carry yourself like a woman of god be graceful be careful friends of mine and listen to me good be careful friends of mine with all this stuff you're doing to yourself and to your body what am i talking about people aren't hiring you on a job with this piercing here or this piercing there pat it all up and your body's exposed to all that people ain't trying to hire people like that when you apply for a job listen to me when you submit your job application when you submit your resume the employer at the job you're applying to looks at your facebook page looks at your instagram account and they will then ask you about it and if you're half naked in a picture how you gonna be applying for a job teaching children and you're half dressed if you're gonna be on your facebook page if you're gonna be going off your instagram page and telling all your business how can that business trust you with their business trying to help somebody teach our young children some respect teach our young children some discipline back in the day our mothers they taught us back in the day our mothers they taught us about religion what did they say you better pray that stain comes out of that garbage they taught us how time travels if you don't straighten up i'ma knock you into the middle of next week they taught us logic because i said so that's why they taught us ernie keep crying and i'll give you something to cry about they taught us anticipation you just wait till we get home they taught us receiving you're gonna get it when we get home they taught us medical science if you don't stop rolling your eyes your eyes are gonna get stuck like that they taught us the circle of life i brought you in this world and i'll take you out they taught us genetics you act just like your father they taught us the science of osmosis shut your mouth and eat your food they taught us how to become an adult if you don't eat your vegetables you'll never grow up they taught us stamina you're gonna sit there until that spinach is gone they taught us about whether that room looks like a tornado went through it they taught us about envy there are millions of less fortunate children in the world who don't have wonderful parents like you do they taught us wisdom when you get to be my age you'll understand they taught us justice one day you'll have kids and i hope they turn out just like you teach your children i said teach your children teach your children respect teach your children discipline speaking of discipline and respect my mind goes back to almost a little over five years ago april of 2016. you all will remember in baltimore maryland when that mother jumped on her son because he was participating in the baltimore riots you remember that after freddie gray had been killed and he died in police custody and you will remember cnn abc cbs nbc even fox news were all reporting about the baltimore riots people were throwing rocks people were throwing bricks y'all remember that lady i'm talking about you remember she jumped on her son and she beat her son every which away now he was 17 years old he was taller than her he was bigger than her but she was the bomber and somebody knows that he can be bigger than mama he can be taller than mama he can be stronger than mama but she's still the mama i wish i had a witness in this place but the news stations they began to interview this lady and they asked her why were you tearing off his clothes she said because i bought those clothes they said how did you recognize it was your son he had a mask on he had a face covering over his face you couldn't see him she said i know my son i know how my son walks and we need mothers right now in this last and evil day who know their children and who will walk up to their children and when their children aren't act living right when they're acting up they will discipline them and say say something else you got to put the fear of god in them you've got to teach them some respect you've got to give them discipline because if you raise them at home the probability is greater that they won't be killed in the streets discipline is love god chastises those whom he loves praise god for mothers but then the text closes in verse 27 she looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of her idleness her children rise up and call her blessed her husband also and he prays with her many daughters are done virtuously but thou excellest them all favor is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman that feareth the lord she shall be praised give her the fruit of her hands let her own works praise her in the gates that's the king james version but i like how the message bible puts it the message bible puts it this way she keeps an eye on everyone in her household she keeps them all busy and productive her children respect and they bless her her husband joins in with words of praise many women have done wonderful things but you've outclassed them all charm can mislead and beauty soon fades but the woman to be admired the woman to be praised is the woman who fear lives in the fear of the lord the message bible close it out like this give her everything she deserves adorn her life with praises you see friends of mine a godly woman loves the lord a godly mother loves the lord a godly mother knows how to raise her children in the fear and the admonition of the lord a godly woman knows how to take time with their children a godly woman knows how to speak a godly mother knows how to pray a godly mother knows how to discipline praise god today for mothers i said praise god today from mothers if i didn't have my mother i don't know where i would be if you didn't have your mother you don't know where you would be but praise god for mothers while you were we weren't praying for you your mother was praying for you while you weren't saving for you your mother was saving for you while you weren't thinking about you your mother was thinking about you praise god for mothers and more than anything else your mother wants to see you saved but more than your mother jesus he wants to see you saved john 15 13 greater love hath no man than this who would lay down his life for friend for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life who wants to be saved today who wants salvation today who is that mother watching right now who is that grandmother watching right now who is that parent watching right now and you want salvation for your child i challenge you today to be a godly mother i challenge you today to be a godly woman i challenge you today to be a godly parent somebody said well pastor you talk about the mother's day father's you included don't worry next month we coming with you something for you come on say amen i say it all the time i love my daughters i love christian i love kaylee i love carissa my wife she loves our daughter she loves christians she loves kaylee she loves charissa and we're excited about how god is blessing them in their lives we're excited about how they are growing academically we're excited about the fact that kristin says i want to be a doctor katie says i want to be a pharmacist charissa says i want to be a judge and i want to be the first woman pastor of the oakwood university church hallelujah but if they say they didn't want to be a doctor or a pharmacist a judge or a pastor [Music] they said they wanted to be a street sweeper they said they wanted to just be a crafts woman they wanted to be a sanitation engineer while that now may not be my greatest ambition for them if they wanted to do it and they were saved then i've done my job what has happened to us what has happened to us that we think we can chase the world gain the world give me jesus you've got one shot with your child more than anything else you should want salvation for your child so lord help me to be a good father help my wife to be a good mother help our children to see jesus in us lord help me to be a good pastor help the children here at oakwood church the young people help them see jesus in me more than anything i want to see them saved so how can i be a godly mother read proverbs 31 how can i be a godly woman read proverbs 31 how can my children learn to love jesus read proverbs 31 and then apply it to your life [Music] more than anything else should be the salvation of my kids i can preach across this country i can preach across this globe but woe be unto me if my family is lost and i've recognized in this life there are no guarantees there are no guarantees but if i do what the lord has told me to do train up a child in the way he should go and when they're old they will not depart from it if i do what the lord has told me to do in my humanity and i let him do what he does in his divinity that i can trust you [Music] praise god for my mother praise god for my grandmothers praise god for my great grandmothers praise god today for my great great grandmothers who all knew this message and because they knew this message and they loved the lord jesus they shared it from mother to daughter from mother to daughter and then down to us and now preaching the gospel it's not a chore it's a joy sharing the love of jesus is not a burden but it's a blessing because i want to see jesus when he comes and i want to take my wife my children and as many people as i can with me to see king jesus so today praise god for mothers today you're watching [Music] and you're a mother you're a father you're a grandmother you're a grandfather and you're saying lord take my children they've wondered but god i'm believing you i'm believing the promise i trained them up i did the best i could but lord bring them back to you for somebody today you see your son you see your daughter drifting they don't love the church they don't love the things of god they don't love jesus like they should or their actions don't suggest that they do and you're saying lord god some ways somehow speak to them turn them around save them and i believe when you pray that prayer god will because god can because god is the joy he's the strength of my life he removes all pain misery and strife he he promised to keep me never to leave me never to come short of his word and so today's appeal is simple somebody today you're praying for a family member you're praying for your child you're praying for your grandchild you're praying for yourself you're praising god for your mother you're praising god for your grandmother but more than that you want to see your family you want to see your legacy see your children saved today that's your prayer that's your desire i want you right now to go to the website of the oakwood university church and i want you to click on that button that says special prayer because today you're praying you're praying for your child you're praying for your grandchild this thing is serious serious our young people are tested and tried on every level our young people are dealing with temptations each and every day our young people we're afraid for them to even to go out we don't know many times if they're gonna come home and we have to make sure that there's nothing between their soul and the savior so today you want a responsibility you want special prayer special prayer for your family special prayer for your children your grandchildren we're gonna sing this course the god is the joy and the strength of my life and as we sing that chorus i want you to go to the website of the open university church and i want you to make a decision for jesus today today because god is the joy of the [Music] strength [Music] oh yes it is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah [Applause] [Music] one more time somebody is watching [Music] you're praying and you need prayer for your child but there's somebody else who's watching today and you're saying even me even me let some drops fall on me lord save me not next week not next month not next year but god save me right now maybe you haven't been the mother you should have been maybe you haven't been the father you should have been the grandparent you should have been and you're saying lord save me and for somebody today you need baptism for someone else you need re-baptism for someone you need to join this church by profession of your faith your body your transfer of membership whoever wherever however just as you are you're saying lord save me today is your day and so that's my appeal today lord save me god save my children [Music] save my family and and i believe that someone else that's your desire today we're gonna sing this one more time and as we sing this one more time god has given you extended time to make a decision for him praise god for your mother she's been praying for you praise god for your father your grandmother your grandfather they've been praying for you but today you've got to make a decision for jesus your salvation is weighing in the balance [Music] god wants you god died to save you god's coming back to get you and god is the joy and the strength of my life [Music] yes [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] i don't know who you are [Music] i don't know where you are [Music] i don't know where you're watching from but i want to tell you today praise god for mothers i'm so glad my mama prayed for me [Music] i believe i've got a witness who's watching right now that's so glad you're so glad your mama prayed for you while you yet have breath in your body where you at have the blood of jesus flowing in your hands invite you because of a mother's prayer for you to surrender your life to the lord jesus [Music] if somebody else is praying for their son their daughter their grandson their granddaughter don't give up don't throw in the towel don't give up on your child god is with you christ won't fail you [Music] gotta trust god you will save your child because he will and he can [Music] father heaven lord today [Music] i praise you and i thank you for our mothers [Music] i thank you for what they've done for us in our lives [Music] i thank you that lord they instill within us good values i'm thankful that lord they taught us about jesus and i'm thankful that lord through their teaching and through the life they've lived and modeled that lord we can see jesus in them and then lord there's somebody else who might be in a different category they may not have had that modeling they may not have had that example but lord you've spoken to them today and they're saying more than anything they want to be saved seal that decision in the name of jesus today save me god save danielle save the girls save my church family [Music] i pray this prayer i ask these things in jesus name [Music] amen thank you for tuning in to the services of the oak university church today we praise god for our mothers [Music] mothers we're praying for you church we're praying for our children we're praying for our grandchildren [Music] join us next sabbath same place same time same youtube channel same facebook page same website we'll have a mental health day emphasis richard smallwood will be with us stevie mackey will be with us our string ensemble and vocal ensemble and we're going to praise god once again from the study of this word [Music] may god bless you may god keep you to all of our mothers happy mother's day eight o'clock this evening join oakwood university for the commencement exercises they will be streamed live local university facebook page and youtube channel stay tuned now as pastor mark rafael the oaktown children's ministries team come to us and bless us now with children's time [Music] hi kids i'm anaya welcome to old town live next up passport phil happy mother's day mom teemo and bubby i love you hi kids are you excited that it's children's side i sure am especially because i want to say happy mother's day to my dear wife rhonda to my mom carol dolly raphael to my mother-in-law mary reed i love you all and i'm so excited well anaya thank you so much for our welcome and next up our interview with brother [Music] idk hi brother idk hi hi today we continue our series the fruit and gifts of the spirit and while we will have a lesson on the gifts of the spirit here during children's time we will also show a few presentations on the fruit of the spirit what's wrong i don't know i don't know why you can talk about the fruit of the spirit today i think the gifts are quiet enough you know unfortunately it seems that people want to have the gifts of the spirit more than the fruit have you noticed that well uh i uh well kids before we have our lesson on the gifts of the spirit let's watch these presentations on the fruit of the spirit i don't know why he said that about people wanting to give someone the fruit uh you see i love the gifts and love is the fruit of the spirit so i was he was wrong with that now uh simon from samaria has found in acts 8 he wanted to buy the gifts but i don't want to buy the gifts but i do love em but i guess i should uh love the fruit too dear friends let us love one another for love comes from god everyone who loves handsome lord and god and knows god whoever does not love does not know god because god is love this is how god showed his love among us he sent his one and only son into the world that we might live from him this is love not that we love god but that he loves us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice from our sins dear friends since god so loved us we also ought to love one another no one has ever seen god but if we love one another god lives in us and his love is made complete enough [Music] [Music] hi kids i love that because felicia recited a scripture about love and oh lujimi and sage showed us how they love strawberries and did you know strawberries are believed to be good for the heart so even the strawberries go with love thank you felicia olujimi and sage for helping us with the fruit of the spirit well last week we talked about how the holy spirit has given us special abilities as found in first corinthians 12 and we'll talk more about first corinthians 12 later in this month in addition to the gifts in first corinthians 12 we talked about how there are other ways that the holy spirit can bless us with special abilities to do things for jesus in fact we talked about multiple intelligence or eight ways to be smart do you remember any of the eight ways that we talked about last week well let's give you a chance to talk to your parents or tell them what you remember okay ready set go tell them okay here they are word smart number smart body smart picture smart people smart nature smart music smart and self-smart did you get any of those well parents please email me your child's name and which intelligences they got right to oaktownlive gmail.com and i will put their name in a drawing for next week but for now let's look at some of your neighbors showing different ways god has made them smart so for word smart we have someone sharing a poem and someone sharing a memory verse this poem is dedicated to my loving mother kevin my mother is so special i love her very much she takes good care of me and never makes a fuss i pray god watches over her and provides for all her needs may he help me show her how much i love her dearly it began and god created the heavens in the f this is one one thank you text and epiphany for showing us word smart well that's all for today because we want to show our mother's day pictorial tribute what's wrong we haven't seen picture smart and i'm sure i'm not the only one or curious about all i'm glad you reminded me we do have time for one more kids picture smart can be drawing or animation like micah does and we'll talk about his specific gift on next week but picture smart can also be the ability to take great pictures with a camera or the ability to film videos what's wrong i don't think we need that gift in the church well if we didn't have people who are smart with the camera how could we show oaktown and teach kids more about jesus through videos and live stream through youtube facebook and our webpage so kids as we end today's lesson on gifts of the spirit i want to show you a way to be picture smart while at the same time giving a tribute to an oakwood university student who is graduating today the ou student i want to honor today is courtney curtis and she is smart with the camera technically speaking she is graduating with a bachelor of arts in film and television production she is graduating with the associate of science in photography and she is graduating with a minor in broadcasting journalism let's put our hands together for her what's wrong that's really impressive what she's doing or done but that just shows us that kids have to be an adult to be camera smart well that's not true kids can be smart with a camera before they're adults besides courtney was not always an adult isn't that a cute picture what's wrong i don't know i miss that because i just at all our hotel kids could grow up to do great things uh using their picture smarts now and later but but i do have to say that i think courtney's accomplished a lot but i never seen her help in oaktown well actually without courtney and others we couldn't broadcast oaktown courtney directs the camera shots and the sound levels among other things for old town live and sometimes she films oaktown live i'm joshua [Music] [Music] news team now stay their position for right now and as you can see progress has been 30. so thank you courtney for working with oaktown and for showing kids they can be picture smart through television film photography and broadcasting journalism and congratulations to you for graduating from oakwood university class of 2021 well it's time to acknowledge the birthdays of those registered in oaktown so let's see who will have a birthday today or who will have a birthday by friday jayla jewell mira grayson zachary realty emily dion israel amber anisa carly kiana happy birthday god has blessed you with one more happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday happy happy birthday to you [Music] happy birthday to each of you praise god god has blessed you with another one well it's time for our weekly giveaway for those registered in hope town and i picked malik p congratulations you will get your gift this coming week well the special moment we've all been waiting for our pictorial tribute to our mothers happy mother's day to all of our mothers we love you and thank god for each of you so here is our pictorial tribute we have included all pictures sent in by the due date which was made third on monday if you sent your picture in by the due date but do not see your picture please let us know remember we only included one picture from each child we also included the mothers of our media team and the mother and spouses of our pastors from the enjoy god chose to give me breath to when you held me in your arms every moment every little step it makes me happy to see you smile [Music] on the day that i went on my first date [Music] when i learned to drive a car that you get to see me graduate it makes me happy to see you smile look mama [Music] [Music] i wrote you a song cause it makes me happy [Music] to see you smile [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you know you taught me my first memory verse and you taught me to love god [Music] but you showed me how he really loved [Music] when you gave me all your heart [Music] i'm sorry if i've ever caused you hurt [Music] if i've ever made you cry [Music] because you've brought so much joy to me and it makes me happy to see you smile [Applause] [Music] [Applause] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] i wrote you a song cause it makes me happy see you smile [Music] from the day god chose to give me breath to when you held me in your arms every moment every little step it makes me happy to see you smile on the day that i went on my first date [Music] when i learned to drive a car that you get to see me graduate it makes me happy to see you smile [Music] am i doing it right [Music] thank you christian lawson for producing that video for our mothers thank you patrick rafael for the song to honor our mothers and thank you mothers for your incredible love for us it makes us happy to make you smile let's pray dear father thank you so much for our mothers thank you so much for the multiple ways you have made us smart and thank you for courtney curtis and please bless her and the entire oakwood university graduating class of 2021 in jesus name amen [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Oakwood University Church

Views: 33,632

Rating: 4.9031477 out of 5

Keywords: ouc, worship, prayer, faith, love, hope

Id: yENjM1NzrOY

Length: 228min 40sec (13720 seconds)

Published: Sat May 08 2021