**CHOIR SINGS**

You may be seated.

Christ invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sins and seek to live in peace with one another. Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another. Will you join me?

Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will. We have broken your law. We have rebelled against your love. We have not loved our neighbors. And we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us go to the Lord in prayer, in silent prayer, confessing our sins before him.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. Amen.

I want to welcome everyone to the house of the Lord here at John Wesley. We are excited that members and guests and those joining us online have come to worship. I'm Marty Dunbar, one of the pastors. It's great, of course, always to see friends and families gathering together in worship of our Lord.

This is a special Sunday today for us as the God is Big Enough campaign. It's sort of, it's not really coming to an end, but it's Reveal Sunday. And so I'm going to have Josh Fox come up here in just a moment, one of our co-directors of the campaign. And he's just going to share some words with you and reveal the number before you. I want you to remember, this has just been one week and what he's going to share with us. And so I believe it's amazing news.

A couple other things you can see on the back of your bulletin that are important. It is the season of Lent that kicks off this week. And so Ash Wednesday service is actually happening this Wednesday. And so it's amazing to think it's Ash Wednesday already, but it is.

We're going to have ashes on the lawn from 8:30 to 9:30. If you just want to stop in and drive through your car, we would love to serve you the ashes for the day. If you can make it to our midday service at 12:05 here in the sanctuary. And then also at 6:30, we have a similar service, a little bit more grand with some other music that goes on. But that's at 6:30 here in the sanctuary. And we even have our Wednesday night dinners that precede that still.

A couple other things, the blood drive is going on today. If you'd like to be a walk-in to the blood drive, please go to the Wesley Activity Center, the gym area, and you can do that. Also, the Lenten study that we were going to be doing for the season of Lent is called Listen to Him. It will drive our series during Lent. But you are asked really and would love for you to purchase the book, the Everyday Devotion that goes along with it. You can do the QR code or you can look this up on the Seedbed website, and it will ship you the book.

That starts on Tuesday, actually. But next Sunday, we also start the series as a whole large group in the Wesley Activity Center at 10:15. So a lot of the Sunday school classes will be gathering, as well as those who don't have small groups or a JW group. You can join us as well for this series during Lent.

Well, I'm going to have Josh come up. And he can share the great grand news. And he is also going to say a few words to you. Josh, you can speak from wherever you'd like, brother. Thanks. Thanks, Josh. Appreciate your words, your leadership and Karen as well.

And again, you know, Josh is mentioning that just to let y'all know we're at maybe 135 pledges and that's fantastic. In one week, we're $250,000 away from our goal, but there's still a hundred pledging units out there, like giving units. That's like husband and wife or one single person that usually give to the church that have not turned that in. And again, it has nothing to do with the money. We talked about last week, this is a spiritual opportunity for us.

And so I'd love for you to commit to prayer. Uh, and if you can give, if you can offer something, that would be fantastic because we need to hit our goal and go beyond. But let's get up. Let's greet those around us in the name of Christ. Let's say hi to somebody. And we don't know very well, have a conversation with them. Amen.

Again, thank you choir. Thank you, part of our children's choirs. Lisa, we appreciate that very much for the beautiful song. Leads us right into what I'm going to be chatting about and talking about here in just a moment.

So I want to tell you a story, a story about the guardians of the flame. And in the land of Eldoria, where golden fields meet the horizon and rivers sang their way to the sea, there stood this ancient city. It was called a Lumora. And a Lumora, at the heart of that city, lay the sanctuary of the flame, where an eternal fire burned, never flickering, never failing.

It was said that this flame had been ignited generations ago by the hand of the divine, a symbol of faith, wisdom, the covenant between a people and their creator. The responsibility of tending to this fire fell upon the guardians of the flame, a line of devoted keepers who ensured that its light would never die. Each generation was chosen, not by birthright, but by calling. They were trained from childhood, learning the ancient ways, the sacred prayers, and the stories of those who came before them.

Among the newest called was a boy named Ezrin. He was the son of a fisherman. Though he was not of noble blood, he was chosen for the depth of his faith, his keen mind, and the fire that already burned within his heart. He trained under the eldest guardian, Master Malachi, a man whose wisdom was as vast as the stars. Malachi would say, "Ezrin, this flame does not belong to us. We are but stewards. It was given by those before us, and we must pass it on undimmed to those who come after us."

For years, Ezrin devoted himself to the sacred duty. He watched over the flame through wind and storm. He learned the prayers. He taught others about the faith it represented. But he could not foresee the dark times ahead. And one fateful night, the sky darkened. Unnaturally, a storm unlike any before swept over the city. It was called the black wind. That's what prophecy had told the people. It carried the whispers of forgotten evils and the cold of faithlessness. It tore into the city. It toppled towers and flooded streets. Worse still, it reached the sanctuary of the flame.

The guardians stood firm, shielding the fire from the storm's fury. But the wind hollered at them with voices of doubt. "Your faith is but a dying ember. The fire will not last through the night. Why do you fight for something that will one day be forgotten?" One by one, the guardians faltered. Some fled. Others lost heart. The flame wavered. Ezrin did not waver or abandon his post. He stood against the wind, whispering the sacred prayers. "This fire is not ours. It is the light of those before us and the hope of those to come."

With trembling hands, he cupped the flame, shielding it with his own body. It flickered violently, nearly extinguishing. But Ezrin would not let it die. And the storm raged for hours, but he stood unmoved. His arms burned from the strain. His voice, hoarse from prayer. And then just as the dawn began to break, the dark wind ceased.

When the people emerged from their homes, they feared the worst. Had the flame been lost? Had the covenant been broken? But then they saw him, Ezrin. He stood in the sanctuary entrance. The eternal flame stood burning in his hands, though weary, he had kept the faith. The flame had endured. And the people of the city gathered. And they began to light their torches again from the sacred fire. They carried their light into their homes, into the village, and into their lives. And so, the faith that they shared, they passed on.

We saw this awesome tragedy. Now, the faith that the Golden Sun Era started, the warning of the Chad. He had an enemy of the... And it wasn't just merely a story, but it was a living fire. So like the guardians of the flame, the followers of Jesus Christ are entrusted with something that is greater than themselves. We're entrusted with a faith that has been given to us and by those who came before us. A faith really, which is not ours to keep, but to nurture and to pass on.

So the challenges of these times, the challenges of the times in the future, we will always have seasons of life within the church and individually that will try to extinguish faith and extinguish the flame. The question will always remain, will we ensure the flame of faith continues to burn in this place? What we do today does determine whether the next generation will stand in light or possibly be left in darkness. So it does matter what we do today.

Now, we have learned some spiritual truths during our God is Big Enough campaign. During this series, we have talked about some movements of God and the truth behind those movements of God. And what does a great move of God have its foundation in? First of all, faith. Faith is the foundation. We talked about in Ephesians 3:20-21, which is our core verse. First, we have to trust God's power. We have to trust that God is enough. He is big enough.

And then we talked about how God's dream exists, and God's dream requires our participation. His plan is in motion, whether we want to be a part of it or not, but we are called to respond to it. We're called to build. We're called to plant. We're called to trust. That was Jeremiah 29. Then we talked about the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, where Jesus talks. He says, true investment is kingdom-minded. That's the very thing that if you put your resources in, your time, your faith in, it must align with eternal values. And when you do that, it's an eternal investment in our life.

Last week, we talked about what does it mean to live sort of this crucified life, but most of all, then, the crucified life and salvation leads us into living the sacrificial life. And living sacrificially is our response to what God has done for us. And every day, we should surrender to him, and we need to give up ourselves and take on Christ. And that was Romans 12.

Well, this week, if you have your scriptures, we're going to actually look at Psalm 78, verse 4. So if you have your Bible, you can turn to Psalms, which is usually the middle of your Bible, and it's 78, verse 4. And we're going to learn that faith is meant to be passed on. And we probably already know that. But we're going to remind ourselves. And we find this truth in Psalm 78, chapter 4. And this is what it says:

"We will not hide these truths from our children. We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders."

And so what I want to do is, you keep your scriptures there. We're going to just sort of break down that one verse. It teaches us a lot of these important truths about a faith being passed on. The beginning of that says, "we will not hide." And the author of this is not David, but one of his worship leaders that he has appointed. And he says, "we will not hide. We will not conceal. We will not keep it secret." That's actually all of what it means. And we don't assume that the next generation will know these things. And so we actually have to give it to them. We actually have to share it with them so that they can hear it, so they can get it.

A lot of times, we, as we grow older, we say, "well, the times are just different. You know, people need to make their own decisions. Times are different." That's an understatement. Times are way different, aren't they? Times is constantly the culture and life and our environment. Everything is changing all the time. But the truth still stands. God's truth of love and grace still stands.

And so the verb being used there, "we will not hide," really makes it causative. It's like we will do something. We will have this active responsibility, and we're not going to hold something for ourselves. We are going to have an active decision that we will not neglect this thing. We are called to teach it. We are called to share it. And that's what we call Christian discipleship. Discipleship is part of the means of grace in the church. It's a part of what we have to practice. And God's grace works through the moments of discipleship in our life.

So, it goes on, and it says, "these truths from our children." So we won't hide these truths from our children. It implies responsibility of God's people. It implies this truth belongs to the next generation, our children. There's a parallel idea. Actually, you can find it throughout the Bible. But I want to make note in Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 6 through 7, where there are some well-known verses, but it says, "and you must commit yourself wholeheartedly to these truths or commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you're on the road and when you go to bed and when you are getting up."

This is, I think, an important part of what it means to have a communal faith. We have a communal faith, not just Lone Ranger faith. We have the responsibilities to pass it on to the next generation. And the responsibility, you could say, of the elders, of those who are mature in faith, have the responsibility for the upkeep of the community.

I think about that in our JW Next Generation ministry that we have here. Did you know that we do have parents that are involved in our ministry? We typically would, right? But we have people that are not parents. They're not even grandparents. And they are shaping our children's discipleship. They are helping pull this thing off every Sunday morning, every confirmation season. We have folks of all ages that are discipling young people, children, and youth in our church. And I just want to say thank you to all those volunteers and all of our volunteers that work in our Next Gen ministry, but also all of the staff, you know, that work there, that do such a great job that we can trust with the hearts of our children and our youth. We want to thank you as well. You're doing an amazing job.

Now, the scripture goes on. It says, "we will tell." Not only will we not hide, but we will tell. And this is a declaration, a proclamation. This is not a casual storytelling. I mean, this means something. This is an intentional thing that's going to happen. And we're going to make something known. If you study the original Hebrew, it actually says, "we will tell." And when it says tell, there is an intensity behind that work. It's not like I'm talking to Stephen. "I got to tell you something, Stephen." It's no, it's like, "I got to tell you something, Stephen." That's what this is. There's an intensity there.

And what will we tell? Well, God's story. We're going to tell God's kingdom mission. We're going to teach about the characteristics of what it means to be a kingdom citizen. And we need to explain God's work to the next generation, to the present generation, to anybody who wants to listen by living, being a living illustration ourselves.

Now, in the Wesleyan tradition of things, it values personal testimony. John Wesley, our namesake, I mean, when he started things and people began to rally and have this movement of God, they cared about personal testimonies. And I want to challenge us. I want to challenge you, as Josh was talking about revival, and it doesn't begin out there. That's been the problem with our church, all churches. It doesn't begin out there. It begins here.

And we need to be more open. We need to be more vulnerable about our God stories, because God has made a collection of beautiful stories, where he has done some mighty works and wonders, and we can't hide those things. And when we share those things, people are inspired. They're transformed. It shapes people. Well, God uses those in some amazing ways.

So then it goes on. It talks about the next generation. "We will tell the next generation." We already knew that was coming, but, you know, the future age is really what that is. We will tell the future age. It's central to God's work to continue faith, the continuity of faith. Each generation would respond to the next. And so in Psalm 145, verse 4, it even says, "let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. Let them proclaim your power."

If we don't tell our stories, how are they going to know that? If we don't tell the story of the church, how are they going to know those mighty acts, the proclamation of his power? In Psalm 102, verse 18, it says, "let this be recorded for future generations so that a people not yet born will praise God." The families and the children that will walk these halls when we're long gone.

I think about Charles Wesley, who was John Wesley's brother. Charles Wesley, he wrote 6,500 plus hymns. Did y'all know that? I mean, it's a crazy amount. And why did he do that? Well, because he designed hymns. Hymns were to help people memorize scripture. Hymns were to help teach theological truths. Singing theology is the Wesleyan method of passing on the faith. It was. It is. And it was. I mean, it was a key part of that.

As we sing "God is Big Enough," as we sing that song, it might be a melody that we don't fully kind of grasp because we wrote it, Stephen and Adrian wrote it, and it's like, "okay, I don't know that song," but when we sing at the end, like, just look at the words as well. As you sing the song, look at the words. So it's designed to help us proclaim God's glorious deeds.

Then it went on, God's glorious deeds, the deeds of the Lord. I was trying to think, you know, what would be a really cool, like, little illustration? People help kind of think about, like, glorious deeds of the Lord. You know, there's got to be some really cool, glorious deeds, you know, or I could tell a neat little short story or whatever. And then I thought to myself, have you ever seen the glorious deeds of God in your life? You're a living illustration of that.

If you haven't seen the glorious deeds of God in your life, maybe I would challenge you to do something so big, God has to show up. And if you do something so big, God has to show up, you're going to see some glorious deeds of the Lord in your life.

Let's go on. Let's wrap this up. At the end of 78, verse 4, it says, "about his power and his mighty wonders." God is big enough. I mean, he's got power. He's got might. He has strength. To what? To deliver and redeem. This is spiritual matters. We pass down not just knowledge, but we pass down the very, we are a demonstration of the transformative power of God in redemption and deliverance. God's power has changed our life. And that's what we pass down. His amazing grace is working.

The Wesleyan view of this, of God's grace, is threefold. Fits right into what Josh was talking about earlier about sanctification. But this topic of salvation and the threefold understanding of God's grace, you can see it. So there's this word prevenient. You might have heard it before. Prevenient grace. That means before. So God's power works before you even know who God is. Then there's justifying. And God's power works during your choice of salvation. He has justified you through Jesus Christ and his acts on a cross. And then the last thing is your sanctification. And he's sanctifying you. And that's after. You have already made all these decisions, but he is sanctifying you.

And God's power works after your decisions of faith. I think about miracles and wonders. I think about the spiritual treasures and God's kingdom treasures that last forever. Those are the things that last forever, like redemption and deliverance and love. And just a personal question. We can rally the troops. We can get excited. But, you know, who in here has been redeemed by Jesus Christ? Anybody? Anybody want to lift their hand? Right? You've felt it. You've been there. Who in here has ever been delivered from something?

Anybody? Right? You've been delivered. I mean, first of all, we've been delivered to eternal life. So you think about the Great Commission. It's a powerful opportunity. You know, it's a call to discipleship of leaving a legacy. Matthew 28, what did Jesus say? He said, "therefore, go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

And I think about the greatest legacy is to connect people to Jesus Christ. And that's our mission as a church. And that's an amazing legacy. And that legacy is built through faithfulness. That is a legacy that is built by daily centered, Christ-centered living. That is a legacy that is a responsibility to pass on and not an option. And that is a legacy that proclaims, I believe, God is big enough.

We will not hide these truths from our children. We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. We will.

Let's go to God in prayer. Gracious God, mighty gracious God, thank you for all that you have done and continue to do in our midst as a people and as a church. Thank you for the opportunity that we have to give ourselves, but also give our resources. Lord, we are doing something mighty in this moment in time of this church. Thank you for the faithfulness of those who sit in this room, those who have gathered here already in one other service, and those who can't make it here, but they are willing to be faithful.

Thank you for their stories as you have opened their hearts and their minds to what you and who you are and what you have called us to be in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen.

On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, he broke it, he gave it to his disciples, he said, "take and eat, this is my body." It was broken for you. And then he took the cup and he gave thanks. And he said, "take and drink. This is the blood of the new covenant that was shed for you and shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."

In remembrance of these mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as holy and living sacrifices. In union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

Let us pray. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ. That we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ. One with each other. One in ministry to all the world. Until Christ comes in his final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son, Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit and your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father, now and forever.

And with the confidence of the children of God, let us pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

I want to remind or want to tell you, this is not the John Wesley Methodist Church table. This is the Lord's table. Our table is open to all those of faith and grace who come forward in faith and grace. And so you'll be handed a piece of bread and then have the opportunity to take a little cup of juice and just partake of that at the rails as the ushers direct you.

If you can't make your way up here, after everyone's served up here, the choir's served, the other members and guests are served, we will head your way and we will serve you where you are. So just let one of the ushers know that.

So the table is now open as the ushers come forward and the servants come forward. But you are welcome to come forward to God's table now. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

If you'd like to join this portion of the Body of Christ, we would love for you to do that. We have a way of doing that. Reach out to one of the pastors. We'll get you plugged in. Reach out to the church office. We'd love to get you plugged into our launch pathway.

And so let's stand, join together in our closing chorus, "God is Big Enough." Thank you.

So as you go from this place, may you love God, may you embrace beauty. May you live life to the fullest. Go in peace. Amen. And amen. May you live.

Subject: Guardians of Faith: Nurturing the Next Generation



Dear John Wesley Church - Houston,



I hope my email finds you reflecting on the importance of passing on our faith to the next generation.



Last Sunday, we explored the powerful message from Psalm 78:4, reminding us that we are called to not hide the truths of God from our children but to actively share His glorious deeds and mighty wonders. Just as Ezrin stood firm against the storm to protect the eternal flame, we too must nurture and pass on our faith, ensuring that the light of Christ continues to shine brightly in the lives of those who come after us. This is not merely a task but a sacred responsibility that we must embrace as a community of believers.



As we embark on this journey of discipleship, I challenge each of you to reflect on how you can share your own God stories with the younger generations in our church. Let us be intentional in our conversations and actions, creating opportunities to teach and inspire those around us. Remember, the legacy of faith we leave today will shape the future of our church and the lives of countless individuals who will walk these halls long after we are gone.



Blessings,

John Wesley Church - Houston Team