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Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Song 499 Keep on the Firing Line Music Song 499 Let's learn this song together on the first If you're in the battle for the Lord and right Keep on the firing line If you win my brother surely you must fight Keep on the firing line There are many dangers that we all must face If we die of fighting it is no disgrace A coward in the service he will find no place So keep on the firing line Oh you must fight be brave against all evil Never run or even lag behind If you would win for God and the right Just keep on the firing line God will only use the soldier he can trust Keep on the firing line If you wear a crown then bear the cross you must Keep on the firing line Life is but to labor for the master dear Help to banish evil and to spread good cheer Great you'll be rewarded for your service here So keep on the firing line Oh you must fight be brave against all evil Never run or even lag behind If you would win for God and the right Just keep on the firing line When we get to heaven brother we'll be glad Keep on the firing line I will praise the Savior for the call we have Keep on the firing line When we see the souls that we have helped to win Leading them to Jesus from the paths of sin With a shout of welcome we will all march in So keep on the firing line Oh you must fight be brave against all evil Never run or even lag behind If you would win for God and the right Just keep on the firing line Amen with that we'll have our announcements Good morning everybody. Welcome to your Foundation Baptist Church. Hope everybody's nice and thawed out. Can I get a bulletin please? One of the ushers bring me a bulletin. Trash this one. These two. Thanks. Alright. If you need a bulletin just lift up your hand. One of the ushers will bring you a bulletin. Somebody got missed. On our front cover we have our verse of the week. It says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep for thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety. Psalm chapter 4 verse 8. Fitting verse after the ice and snow storms that we've had. And it's nice to be back in church. So it's good to see everybody this morning. And on our inside page there just a short message. And obviously you can feel free to come talk to me after church for any spiritual matters that you might have. I'm very open. So just come up and talk to me for anything that you might need. And if you need to be baptized or you're not 100% sure you're going to heaven please don't hesitate to come and talk to me after the service. Or tap one of the ushers. The guys that have the pins on their jacket that say usher. They'd be able to show you what the Bible says it takes to go to heaven. Or they'd be happy to help you and answer any questions you have about baptism. So our service times are Sunday morning. Preaching service is 10 30 a.m. Our Sunday evening service is at 3 30 p.m. We'll be in Exodus chapter number 30 tonight. And I'm continuing my series this morning on being decently in an order. And so that's going to be number two in the series. And I'm going to be talking about behaving in the house of the Lord. And then Thursday evening Bible study we are in the book of Ezra. We're going to be in chapter number two this Thursday. And then our soul wanting times are listed below. And the soul wanting time has not been changed in the bulletin. And it's supposed to be we meet in here at 1 o'clock now. That's still a go right Brother Sean? OK. So that 1 10 should be 1 o'clock. So Rylan will you look at your bulletin and make a little edit there and make sure that gets changed to 1 p.m. And then the other soul wanting times there to choose from. So if you've been hankering to get out and go soul wanting it looks like most everything is pretty much thought out out there. But there might be some icy patches out there. So just be aware of that. Watch where you go and look before you leap and that kind of thing. So and then the praise report you can see the salvation baptisms attendance totals from two weeks ago. And we're still in the New Testament challenge. So hopefully you're on track and on task for that. You've had plenty of time I think maybe not having a couple of church services so that probably should have been able to catch you up. But anyway I'm I'm doing a different one. I'm trying to get it done earlier than normal. I'm not quite there yet but a lot of people have e-mailed me and told me that they're already finished yet. So if you finish don't text me or WhatsApp me. It's OK if you've done so already. I'm not mad at you or anything like that but please just e-mail the church at Sure Foundation Baptist at gmail dot com and let me know that you finished the challenge. OK. And there'll be a nice prize for anybody that completes the New Testament challenge. And by the end of the month here in February 3rd through 4th is the official launch of the Indianapolis Sure Foundation Baptist Indianapolis. And I just like to say Indy because it's a lot easier to say but S.F.P.C. Indy. That'll be Saturday February 3rd will be a special preaching service at 10 a.m. I'll be preaching and then there'll be an 1130 a.m. to 1 p.m. lunch and fellowship and a 1 p.m. to 3 30 p.m. soul winning time for Saturday and then I'll be flying home. But Sunday we're going to have our first regular services. Brother Justin Zong who is leading the church plant is going to be preaching the 11 a.m. service. And Brother Josh is going to be preaching the 4 p.m. service. So and then yeah so Brother Justin is going to be the boots on the ground leading the church is looking. The church building is looking great. It's all painted. The mother baby room is done and framed in and painted and looks nice. And so they're just they sent me some pictures yesterday. It's looking pretty sharp so they're good to go. They had a big snow and ice storm too but that's just like normal for their I guess this time of year. So but hopefully the weather will hold up. So please pray that that launch goes well and that we have some decent weather going there and I don't get trapped in some kind of snowstorm in Houston. So stranger things have happened but that's the route I chose to fly home. So anyway there's a homeschool Valentine's party here at the church building and that'll be at on February 10th. And there'll be pizza and games that'll be at 10 a.m. here at the church building. And I put sign up in the homeschool group. Is that OK that I said that or to see Miss Sherry for any details. My wife Miss Sherry. So that's the 10th. And then February 16th we have our annual married couples sweetheart banquet. And so if you're married you qualify. So the married couple sweetheart banquet. We have a Japan theme this year. And so feel free to appropriately dress up for that. And we always have a lot of fun doing that. And Pastor Jones is going to be preaching for us a marriage challenge and then he's also going to be preaching for us Sunday night. So it'll be great to see Pastor Jones and Miss Jessica here for that. And I did talk to a sushi place around town. I'm not going to say the name so they ban us or something. But there is some choice. So basically they're going to. They said no at first to my first proposal but then when I when I kind of narrowed it down. So basically. If you're a couple and you're going to go you have to RSVP because if you don't then you're not going to get you're not going to get to eat. So I need to know what you're going to have what you pick from the menu options that we have choices on. So basically it's going to be three different bento combination plates or a certain selection of sushi rolls. So there's sushi rolls are pretty good there. But you can. So as a couple you can pick two sushi rolls or you can pick a bento plate each. So those will be the options I'll get the menus. You. Danger for him. Trusting Jesus. That is all. Trusting as the moments fly. Trusting as the days go by. Trusting him whatever befall. Trusting Jesus. That is all. Trusting him while I shall last. Trusting him tell her be past. Till within the Jasper wall. Trusting Jesus that is all. Trusting as the moments fly. Trusting as the days go by. Trusting him whatever befall. Trusting Jesus that is all. Good to see you brother Robert would you bless the Auburn for us. Father Lord. Just before a great day in church Lord thank you for allowing us to come back here Lord. And Lord I just ask that you bless these services Lord. The fellowship and the singing Lord. And ask that you also bless this offering Lord. Lord thank you so much for Jesus Christ and what he did for us in our lives. And Lord thank you for that free gift of salvation. God bless the rest of the remainder of this day in Jesus name Amen. Thank you. Alright go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3 if you don't have a Bible there should be a Bible under the seat in front of you. 1 Timothy 3 1 Timothy 3 the Bible reads. This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless. The husband of one wife. Vigilant. Sober. Of good behavior. Given to hospitality. Apt to teach. Not given to wine. No striker. Not greedy of filthy lucre. But patient. Not a brawler. Not covetous. One that ruleth well his own house having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house. How shall he take care of the church of God. Not a no vice. Lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without. Lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave. Not double tongued. Not given to much wine. Not greedy of filthy lucre. Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved. Then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave. Not slanderers. Sober. Faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husband of one wife. Ruling their children in their own house as well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchased to themselves a good degree. And great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things write I unto thee hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God. Which is the church of the living God. The pillar in the ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Justified in the spirit. Seen of angels. Preached unto the gentiles. Believed on in the world. Received up into glory. Brother Bill will you pray for us? Heavenly Father we thank you again for the reading of your word. Just a pleasure Pastor. For the love of the Holy Ghost. And we use your spirit to get people here to hear. We'll send you to receive the message. It's in the trade. Amen. Alright we're in 1 Timothy chapter number 3. Let's look down at verse number 14 where the Bible reads. These things write I unto thee hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God. Which is the church of the living God. The pillar in the ground of the truth. And my sermon this morning is decently in an order part 2 behavior in the church. So like I said in the announcements I'm preaching the second sermon in this series. And I think I'm going to wrap it up probably next week with just another sermon about being decently in order in our soul winning presentations. But last week or two weeks ago my first sermon was about having order in the church services themselves. And some things are going to overlap into different areas of these sermons. Of course some of the things I'm going to preach about this morning. And these aren't real easy sermons to preach about. Because people's toes are going to get stepped on. That's just the way it is. And so if I was just going to get up here and preach everything that everybody likes. And everything that everybody feels good about. Then I'd be a false prophet. So I have to get up sometimes and preach hard truths. And the spirit that I have about preaching sermons like these is not to hurt people. It's not to make people feel bad. It's to help people. And edification is what preaching is supposed to bring forth. It's supposed to help people. It's supposed to chip off the problems that people have. And help them to look inwardly and say hey I got a problem in this area I need to shore it up. So when it's talking about behavior in the church here in verse 15. It says that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God. You know obviously Paul is talking to Timothy. This is a pastoral epistle. He's talking about how he is supposed to behave in the church. But isn't everybody supposed to behave in the church? I mean it's not just the pastor that's supposed to behave. Obviously the pastor is held to high standards. And those standards need to be met. But also the people that go to church are held to a high standard as well. Because the last time I checked we are also made kings and priests unto the Lord our God. And he holds up. In the New Testament people think that being a Christian is easier. And it kind of is. But we are also held to a higher standard because of the grace that we have. Now obviously we don't have to cut up and carve animals. And wash our hands in a bowl. And wash our feet in a bowl before we walk in and pray to God. And all the things that we have been talking about in our Exodus series. But the Bible says let all things be done decently and in order. And God is a God of order. He is a God of decency. And he is a God of judgment. And so he wants things to be done right. He doesn't micromanage the church. There is obviously a lot of room for us to hold our church services in the way that we want to in a lot of ways. But is singing a part of our services? They should be. Is preaching a part of our services? Yes they are. Is being sent out sowing part of a church? Yes. And sadly the music is wrong in a lot of churches. The preaching is wrong in a lot of churches. The Bible version is wrong in a lot of churches. And there is no sowing going on in a lot of churches. And really what they have become is a glorified babysitter club. And a place for people to mingle and trade their business practices. And get rich to exchange business cards. And to have some kind of more clean living country club. Where you don't have to be rich to join it or whatever. But so behavior in general and as a member associated with our church is an important thing. You know we should know. And obviously we have a mix in this room right now of people who have been going to our church for a long time. And also people that are pretty new to our church. And so you are like well you preached stuff like this before. Yeah but you know these things need to be repeated. And you know sometimes when things slip you know we need to be reminded of things that need to be taken care of. Or you know things that you know sometimes new things you know new problems arise that need to be addressed. So and I am not saying our church has this huge problem. I don't think we do. I think we have a great church. But we do need to be short up from time to time about certain things. So now the word behave means to act or conduct oneself in a specified way. Especially toward others. That is one definition. So to act or conduct oneself. So we have behavior that we ourselves are responsible to do. But also another definition is to conduct oneself in accordance with accepted norms of a society or group. Now I guess you could say this is a church group or whatever. You know we are a congregation of the Lord. And so there are accepted norms. You know there's accepted norms in churches. But there's also accepted norms in society. You know we all wear clothes out in society because it is you know obviously everybody knows you should just wear clothes right. I mean everybody here is wearing clothes today. Thank you for wearing clothes today. But everybody just knows it's just the normal thing to do. Now obviously you know to what degree people you know will sin with what clothes that they wear and don't wear and what not. But at church most people know they should be covered up and you know that's just the way it is. But obviously a lot of churches aren't like that. So you know these are things that are behavioral issues that have to be addressed. And so not every rule of our church is based upon a specific chapter and verse that you can say. Well here's the chapter and verse for this specific rule that we have. But really First Corinthians 1440 kind of lets us umbrella those things. So let all things be done decently and in order. So if there's a church rule that is made you know it's because of it falls under that umbrella. So the first thing I want to talk about this morning is talking about dress. Dress appropriately for church. And really we should you know the main the first thing about dressing appropriately is that we you know obviously the Bible does teach to cover up your nakedness. And the Bible defines our nakedness for us. Go ahead and turn to Isaiah Chapter 47. This is specifically dealing with women. Now the Bible specifically defines nakedness as the loins to the thighs. It's defined in scripture by God. Now this is for women right here but I'll also show you where the Bible specifically says that it is nakedness when it's dealing with men also. But Isaiah Chapter 47 in verse number 1 the Bible says, So it's talking about virgin daughters of Babylon. Isn't that what it's talking about? The context is talking about women. So he's talking about hey pass over the rivers but to do that you're going to have to bare the leg and uncover the thigh. So pull up the dress that you're wearing. It's not saying pull down your pants. I made this point a while back where they're not because women didn't wear pants back then. And it wasn't to pull your pants down and walk across the river like this. They had to pull their dresses up because they wore dresses. And so that's what this is talking about. It says, So it's saying that once they expose their thighs to walk across the river, So some people are not ashamed to show their shame. And in our society today it's not as big of a deal as it should be. But if you try to go to any kind of swimming pool where there's mixed bathing as they would say, where men and women are there together, you're going to see a lot of nakedness. And look, guys are more geared toward that looking than women would be. But women look too. I mean to think that women don't look at men in lust, that's just not true. They do. So why would it be so appropriate to not uncover your nakedness at church? Well, because we're a church. This is the house of God. We should be behaving ourselves in the house of God. You're like, well, how does this happen? Well, you can wear too short of a skirt or too short of a dress and when you sit down your nakedness is showing. And you're like, well, I'm not showing my naked nakedness, but if you're uncovering the thigh, so that the first thing that men are going to look at when they look in that direction, they're going to look right at your thighs. That's what men do. They can't help themselves in a lot of ways. And yeah, you're like, well, we're Christians. Look, we're all humans too. We're all sinners too. So we should not put ourselves in a position where we're causing other people to sin. So it says, Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man. So God clearly is saying that when the thigh is uncovered here, what's he saying? Your nakedness is being showed as a lady. Now let's turn to Exodus 28, verse 41. And I'm just saying, at church, we should never be dressed inappropriately to where we're causing... I mean, just think about this, ladies. If you're wearing something that's drawing the eyes of somebody else's husband to body parts of you, then you are... I'm not saying it's your fault that they're sinning necessarily, but you are putting people at a disadvantage. And especially men have a problem in this area. And so you don't want... like, you know what you look like when you go out of the door. You know how long your skirt is. You know how your shirt is cut. And so I would just say that you should try to make sure that you're only trying to look appealing to your husband. I'm not saying to wear a Cobra Commander outfit where you have two eye slits and a hood. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying dress like a weirdo. I'm not saying to wear a Little House on the Prairie dress. I mean, because you can draw attention to yourself in other ways, too, to where you look like a freak. I've talked about the wizard outfits that guys wear, too, with these religious men. Well, they're like wearing some kind of... I mean, Catholic priests. What are they wearing? Basically a dress with a backwards collar. To what? So when the people see them, they go, There's a religious holy man. When I'm just wearing a shirt and tie or whatever, people just might think I'm a businessman. Now, this is how businessmen dress. And I'm not wearing an Armani suit or Versace or whatever. It's just a regular suit. It's not like something flashy or something. So we shouldn't draw... In general, we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves with the outfits that we wear and try to get everybody to look at us by the clothing that we wear. So whether that's over-the-top modesty, where you're just... Like I said, there's extremist Muslims out there, and they make their women completely cover up with a black outfit, and they literally... When I said Cobra Commander, and he laughed, because you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the two eye slits. That's all that you can see. And they completely just look like they're wearing a tent. That's ridiculous. Now, look at Exodus 28, verse 41. It says, And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother and his sons... Talking about the britches that they were supposed to make for their priestly garments. And his sons with them, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them. So this outfit is setting them apart for ministering to God, right? It says, And that they may minister unto me in the priest's office, and thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness. Now, breeches, I explained this in a sermon a couple weeks ago, or two or three weeks ago, that they're like short pants. That's what they are. And they have a breach. A breach is when you have a split in something. You know, Uzzah touched the ark, and God made a breach in him. What does that mean? That he split him. What it means. And so, to cover their nakedness. That's why they were wearing them. To cover their nakedness from the loins, even unto the thighs, they shall reach. So, what is God defining here? He's defining for us what nakedness is, isn't it? To cover their nakedness from the loins, even unto the thighs, shall they reach. The loins is this area right here. So, you're covering from here to the thighs. That is the nakedness that God is saying that you should cover up. And it says, And they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons, and when they come into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place, that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever unto him and his seed after him. So, let me just ask you this, though. Do you think that they're the only ones that were supposed to cover up their nakedness when they came into the congregation? Or do you think that everybody at church was supposed to do that? He's just saying that they, you know, I mean, if they didn't wear the specific things that they were supposed to wear and wash a certain way that they were supposed to, they were to die. God would kill them for it. So, what about shirts, though? There's no, people say, well, being shirtless isn't nakedness. Okay, well, but is it a norm of society to go around shirtless? It's not, is it? Now you're like, well, what about guys at the beach? People believe different things about that, whatever. But I would say, again, are you being modest, though? Is it modesty? I mean, if you're going around and you're holked out and you're just trying to draw attention to how ripped you are and you're trying to draw the attention of women to look at you because you're so shredded or whatever, I mean, it's not modesty. So, I mean, it might be prideful. I don't think that guys go on social media and show their shredded abs and their guns and their big biceps and muscles for people not to look at them. They do it so people will look at them and go, ooh, you're so ripped. You're so tough. You're so buff. And it's vanity, at the least. But you know that it's not normal to walk around without a shirt. Everybody here has a shirt on, okay? And nature does teach you that it is a sensual thing for men to like women's breasts, okay? I'm just going to be blunt. It's just a thing, okay? And you're like, well, that's just weird. It's natural. It's a natural thing. I'm sorry it's an uncomfortable truth that I'm dealing with this morning, but it is true. And it is more true that men are more attracted to women's breasts than women are attracted to men's chests. That is true. I mean, I'm not a woman, though, so I guess maybe I'm just speaking out of turn here, but let me have you turn to Proverbs 5, verse 18. Because there's arguments about this, too, where people are like, well, you know, it's not really a sensual or sexual thing or whatever. And it's just like, well, have you read Song of Solomon before? I mean, he kind of talks about it a lot. Like, he brings it up more than once. He's like, there are like two cantaloupes or whatever. He's like, you know, anyway, I'm not going to go too deep into this, but I'm starting to get a little verklempt here. No, I'm just going to... This is uncomfortable, all right? So Proverbs 5, verse 18 says, Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe. Let her breast satisfy thee at all times. So if it's not a thing, then why is the Bible talking about it, being something that satisfies you? It's not the breast milk, folks. That's not the part that's satisfying, okay? Because that is weird, all right? And be thou ravished always with her love. This is talking about something between a man and a wife that you should be enjoying. And it says, And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? So he's saying, don't go to other women and want to look at theirs and embrace theirs. Be satisfied with your wives and let them satisfy you at all times. But it's specifically talking about that area, right? I know this is uncomfortable. We're going to get past this. Just hang on. But I'm just saying that to say that it's not something that's enticing for men's eyes to look at, then if you believe that, then I'm sorry, but you're just a stone cold idiot. I mean, it's just not true, okay? You're just like, you're in the clouds on this one. And you're like, well, I've never heard that before. Well, what did the Bible say? That's why we base everything that we believe on from the Bible. So let's get past the uncomfortableness. There's a couple more uncomfortable things I want to say, though. Cover up both cracks when you're at church. There's a crack in the front, ladies, that you should cover up. And then men and women in the back. Nobody wants to see, especially men, the crack in the back, all right? So keep those things covered, front and back. Tight form revealing clothing is probably not a great, I mean, and especially, well, I mean, for both. Guys, nobody wants to see you in tight jeans, all right? And ladies, tight revealing clothing reveals your form, but skinny jeans are faggy looking. I mean, guys, don't wear faggy looking clothing. I mean, I know it's hard to find stuff nowadays because the faggardom of our culture right now is just basically trying to effeminize men and making them soy boys. Like, you know, eat red meat, guys. Stay away from the soy milk. Be manly. You know, build your testosterone. And don't cut it off with skinny jeans, all right? But clothes and jewelry that draw attention, you know, those are things that women should avoid. I'm not going to go to the verses about it, but the Bible talks about not having really expensive clothing and broided hair and over gaudy jewelry and things like that. And then, again, the prairie dresses and the wizard outfits. We just shouldn't be drawing attention to ourselves in really any way to try to make us look more spiritual or holy. And for people to go, oh, look, they're wearing that? They must be super holy. They must be super righteous. And that you're just like, hmm. We shouldn't be wanting to be seen of men to appear righteous on the outside. Obviously, covering yourself up is that, but people don't necessarily think because you're covered up that you're righteous. They just think you're covered up. Maybe you're cold all the time or something. I don't know. But obviously, you know, a lot of when my daughters used to go out with my wife shopping or something, Russians around here would always walk up and go, ruski, ruski? They'd always think that my daughters and my wife were – no, you're not my wife, but my daughters were Russian. And they'd always try to walk up and speak Russian to them because in our culture today, skirts and dresses is just not a thing anymore. But in churches, I think it should be, right? So some people have mixed beliefs on crosses. Now, I would say this. If you believe your cross that you wear has special powers or makes you more holy or is, you know, it's just worn in order to make you appear more spiritual, then you're wearing it for the wrong purpose. So – and you're also believing something that the Bible doesn't teach. And it's kind of, you know, Catholic mysticism and borders on, you know, obviously Orthodox people wear – you know, Jesus is still not on the cross. A lot of Catholics and Orthodox will wear crosses that have Jesus hanging on it still or whatever. And, you know, so people have different, you know, beliefs on the whole cross thing, but they don't have special powers. You're not going to ward away vampires because vampires aren't real or werewolves or anything like that. So you're not going to – you know, despite how many exorcism movies you've watched, crosses don't have any power to ward off demons and stuff like that. It's just two sticks put together or, you know, jewelry made to look like that or whatever. So I just wanted to mention that really quickly. But does it matter what we wear to church? Of course it does. And anybody that thinks it doesn't, you know, I just – I beg to differ. So now at this church we don't have a dress code per se. You're like, well, what does this have to do with behavior? Well, if the behavior is hurtful and harming other people in our church by the not covering up, by the exposing your nakedness, then it is a behavioral issue, isn't it? So, you know, and again, we don't have a dress code here. So if some lady shows up wearing pants to our church, then look, I don't want you to walk up to them and go, hey, you should really be wearing a dress. You know, you're an abomination or something like that. Don't do that. Let people come to these conclusions on their own. Let the Bible teach them what it says. I don't want – I think that is just bizarre when people do that. I don't like that. Don't – you know, if you want to guarantee that someone is never going to come back, then go ahead and do that. But I don't want you doing that. You know, let them learn. You know, if you just go – and I talked about this the last time, like trying to drag people out soul wanting that just started coming to our church. Just give people time to figure things out because not everybody has been taught these things. And to walk up and embarrass somebody about what they're wearing is just not right. So they'll learn pretty quickly. And we know what the Bible says, but if you just say, hey, you're wearing clothing that's pertaining to a man or whatever, don't do that. Let them have a chance. But I'll say this note. As a pastor of the church, I do have a dress code for some things. And for a man that I would potentially send out, my policy would be that your wife and daughters must be skirts and dresses only. So I don't want to send somebody out that as soon as they get out and they're pastoring their own church that they say, surprise, we all wear pants. Because you know what that's going to do? It's going to destroy your church immediately. You can't go in false pretenses and say, hey, this whole time I've believed something different. And then those people went and joined your church or followed you and then all of a sudden now you're going to teach them something that they don't believe. It's going to be a train wreck. So keep that in mind. If you come to this church and you want to be sent out as a pastor, that is something that I would require. And for men serving in the church in the role of an usher or a soul winning captain or preaching or song leading or Bible reading, you must have a shirt, tie, jacket, dress, pants and shoes. Now, as far as like, people say, what about jeans and whatever? It's like, depending on the situation, but I don't want some song leader coming up here wearing jeans every single time. Obviously, we're out on a soul winning trip or something like that. But shirts and ties are in most situations what I require. Preaching every time. Jacket, depending on the weather. And when I say dress shoes, I'm just saying, if you're wearing Nike flights or something, it kind of just looks dorky. Just try to look professional. That's all I'm saying. In the 80s, in the music ministry, skirts and dresses are required. So is going soul winning. I don't think that's too much to ask. So, how is that behavior? Well, because if you can't follow simple basic rules and just keeping cultural norms and church norms, then it is rebellion. It's rebellion. There's nothing rebellious in your heart. I showed you the verses. If you can't understand that nakedness is from the loins to the thighs and that you shouldn't walk around shirtless. Nobody walks around shirtless. Don't be stupid. That's just idiotic to think that you can just walk around shirtless. I'm talking about in normal settings. And obviously, all the time with women. Now, the second thing I want to talk about is hair length. Go ahead and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Controversial subject number two. It's not going to get any easier, folks. So, this is also a really controversial topic. And you're like, well, how does hair length have anything to do with church behavior? Well, again, it's one of those obedience, rebellion type situations. Look at 1 Corinthians 11, 2. It says, Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. So, what Paul's about to teach here is an ordinance, isn't it? Because he wouldn't just say, keep these ordinances as I delivered them to you. And now I'm going to talk about hair length for the next 15 verses or whatever. But that's not an ordinance. It is an ordinance. It's just not an ordinance that pictures necessarily the death, burial, and resurrection or the death of Christ or whatever. But it does picture what God looks like, what his hair looks like. What Jesus' hair looks like. You're like, well, Jesus doesn't really have hair. Yeah, he does. When he was on earth, he did have hair. He was a man. He wasn't bald. But he also didn't have long hair. He didn't have the hair of a woman either. But a lot of people teach, and a lot of churches teach, a false doctrine with this passage. And they'll say that women have to cover their hair with a head covering. Now, this is really taught a lot in Slavic communities. And it's taught in, I don't know if it's an Orthodox thing or what it is, but it's also what people would call bunners, I guess, in this area. But what are they called? They're apostolic Lutherans, right? There's a bunch of them out by Yakult and all that. And they wear these things, these head coverings. And, yeah, Amish. Does anybody else know any other cultures or Christian cultures that does this? Mennonites. Okay? This just shows that they're not saved. And you know why? Because if you plainly read this, then you're not going to come away thinking that you have to wear a head covering. Okay? Look at verse 2. It says, Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. But I would have you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. So he's given us an order of headship and authority here. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. So he's going to talk about covering here. So he's talking about a man praying or prophesying. He's talking about preaching or praying in general, right? If you do this having your head covered, it dishonors your head. Now, I've gone to Baptist churches walking in wearing just a, like, not a baseball cap, but just like a nice hat, and had the deacon go, Take that hat off. You're in the house of God. It's like, anyway, it was annoying. But anyway, he just tried to make me feel like a piece of dirt for wearing a hat inside the building. But anyway, so it says, But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is even all one as if she were shaven. So talking about her not having her head covered. You're like, well, yeah, so it's teaching about head coverings, right? Well, let's read on. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. Now, what does that word shorn mean? It means, talk about shaved, like having your head shaved, right? It says, But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. So if she doesn't have a head covering on, then she should just go bald. Is that what it's saying? No, let's read on. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? So what is it talking about? What is this talking about? It's talking about your hair. When your head is covered, that means you have hair that's covering your head. This is what it's talking about. And if it's uncovered, that means that your hair is short. This is what it's talking about. So what does it say though? That if a man has long hair, it's a shame unto him. So why do men have to have short hair? Because they're in the image of God. So does God have long hair? Does Jesus have long hair? All these pictures that people have of Jesus with long hair is not biblical. It's trying to make Jesus look like some fag hippie with a dress on and make that image burned into your mind. But that's not the case. Jesus did not have long hair. You're like, well he was a Nazarene. He was from Nazareth, but he wasn't a Nazarite though. He didn't make a Nazarite vow. He wasn't Samson. And I don't think Samson had locks that were braided together. It had a specific look to it. And that was because he was a lifelong Nazarite. He had a lifelong Nazarite vow. And he had to keep his hair long. And that was the exception to the rule. It wasn't like every man had that thing. Because Paul had a Nazarite vow. And then when he went to Jerusalem, he shaved it off. And did his sacrifice or whatever. So look what it says, verse 13. Judging yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. What is it saying? Your hair is given for you for a covering. It's not saying to put on some kind of piece of garment or cloth or a rain cover. And if you want to do that so your hair don't get messed up, that's one thing. But for religious purposes, head coverings are not biblical for women. That's not what it's talking about. Proof right there. It's talking about long hair. It's a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering. To cover what? Her hair. So what's it saying? What's it teaching? Women should have long hair, men should have short hair. Isn't that what it's saying? So if you have long hair as a man, the Bible says it's a shame. If you have short hair as a woman, the Bible's saying it's a shame and you should just shave your head bald. Isn't that what it said? So why is this a behavioral thing? And look, I'm not saying if you have long hair you can't come to this church. I'm just telling you what the Bible says. We don't have, well, I shouldn't say this, but I try to be graceful about this kind of stuff. If the Bible says it, then if you're saved, you should just look at what the Bible says and then accept it and believe it. I mean, we have natives that are going to our church in Yakima and this got preached a few times. It wasn't like they were just preaching to this one guy. But in the Native American culture, having long hair is a thing. This guy just went home and chopped his hair off because the Bible says to do it. The Bible says to keep short hair. And then it says, but if a man be contentious, we have no such custom neither in the churches. And people will try to say, well, you don't have to do this. What do you think, he's just undoing it with the last verse here? That's not what he's saying. So your hair length is a behavioral ordinance. And why is Paul, if this isn't something that's a church issue, then why is he saying it to a church? Because it is a church issue. Because he's saying this is an ordinance in the church that men should have, if a man gets up with long stringy dreadlocks like Daniel Fusco over at, what's that church called? Crossroads. Crossroads and gets up talking with his hands and being all faggy up in front of everybody. He's an abomination for doing that. He's not supposed to be preaching behind God's pulpit with long hair. You're like, you're just being mean. No, I'm just, I'm preaching the Bible. I mean, he's at the biggest church in Vancouver, the biggest church in Portland, I think. And he gets up and everybody just accepts the fact that he has long hair because he's so cool and he's so hip, man. Well, he shouldn't be standing up there. Joyce Meyer shouldn't be preaching because she's a woman, number one, but she also has short hair. So she's just a double abomination. And you're like, well, it says, well, you know, if she has her head covered, she can preach. Look, women can preach. They just can't preach the Bible behind the pulpit, but women in our church preach every week at doors to people to get them saved. So women can preach. It's just the preaching of God's Word in front of the congregation is done by men. It's just the way it is, okay? I didn't make the rules. So when we go through this passage, you know, this is a heart issue. And so when people want to deliberately break this rule, then I just know that there's something in their heart, and they're like, well, you know, I don't care. I think Jesus did have long hair. Well, then go ahead and think that. But if the Bible says that you're dishonoring the Lord by having long hair as a man, then I just know that you have a heart issue. You have an issue with the Bible. You don't believe it. That's the problem. So these are things that are, you know, and this is an easy thing. And you're like, well, what's long hair, Pastor? Don't ask stupid questions. You know what long hair is. You know the difference. Does Joe have long hair? Everybody, look at Joe. Look at his hair. Does he have long hair? No, he doesn't. Look at Kayla. Does she have long hair? Yes, she does. Now, I'm not saying you have to be these weird people that, if you have super long hair, okay, I shouldn't say weird people. If you're these people that have the train of long hair that like, you know what I'm talking about? They grow it for the rest of their lives. I mean, that's over the top, isn't it? Where they have to like, anyway, you know what I'm saying. Don't get too crazy with stuff, all right? But we shouldn't be blurring the lines with long or short. You know, is it, people just want to, sometimes people just want to get to the line and just be real close to it, but not quite. I mean, don't be that person. Don't be lukewarm with your haircut. You know what I'm talking about? Like, Jesus said, if you're lukewarm, I'll spew thee out of my mouth. And I think that when you're blurring the lines with stuff, and you're trying to get just as close to the line as you can, I think it's still rebellion. I think it's lukewarmness. I think it's just disrespect for God's word. And I think that you just need to get your heart right if you feel that way. If you're a woman, He expects you to keep your hair long. And you're like, well, all the women, you know, all the baby boomer women, the baby boomer generation failed us, folks. And our nation is in woe and many problems because of that generation. Not every baby boomer was bad. I'm not saying that. But that generation failed us in a lot of major ways. And their haircuts is just a part of it. Women's haircuts, as soon as they turn 50, it seems like they chop all their hair off. And then from behind, you can't really tell whether a couple walking down the street is the man, or who's the man who's the woman. Because they're wearing the same pants, the same sweatshirt, and the same haircut from behind. God wants there to be a difference between men and women. Why is that such a big deal? Oh, I know, because it's just being jammed down our throats every single week. And, you know, just accept all this weirdness and accept all this garbage to where, you know, drag queens, story hours happening at high schools and in public libraries and in public settings. But, you know, a football player gets up and says, I just want to thank Jesus. You know, that's cut from the live television broadcast. That's the world we're living in. Don't go for the world for your doctrine, folks. Don't look at Hollywood and the media companies for what you think is cool. You know, why don't you look at what God wants and what God says and say, that's what I think is cool. I think what God thinks is cool, that's what's cool. God is way cooler than Lil Nas X, the queer, that puts blood in his shoes and puts Luke, you know, I saw Satan fall from heaven or whatever as his logo. And has videos where he's, you know, stripping on Satan or whatever. And pole dancing down to hell. He's an open queer. And that's what our kids are watching? I hope you're not watching that garbage. But that's the world we're living in, folks. And you know what, in our churches there should be a difference between men and women. A clear difference. When they see us walking down the street and coming to their doors, they should see men and women that look different. Not that they look the same. So, I don't care what the other churches are doing. But in our church, we should go by what the Bible says, and the Bible says there should be a difference between our haircuts, between the way we dress, and in everything in our speech and our behavior, too. So, if, you know, and look, guys, if you have a man bun, I'm already suspect of you. Just saying. And, ladies, if you butch your hair, you look like a man. What is the first thing a lesbian does? They do a butch haircut. They wear a shirt like CJ's wearing right there. He looks like a man. But that's what they want to look like, too. And isn't it funny how the transvestites that are men that want to look like women, they grow their hair long, they put on makeup, they paint their nails, and then they, what, wear dresses and skirts, they get rid of the pants, and they take all these things, they want to look like a woman, right? They dress like a woman. They want to look like a woman, and they grow their hair long so that they can look like a woman. Because that's what they want to look like. So why would you want to look like something that you're not? You know what I mean? That's just, let's look like what we are. That's what God made you to be, so embrace that. Embrace what you look like. So let's turn to Leviticus 19. You're like, oh, Leviticus. But, you know, I think that our behavior and our speech should be appropriate also in church. Leviticus 19 verse 15 says, You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment. Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Thou shalt not go up and down as a tail-bearer among thy people. Look, and you're like, well, how does this apply to the New Testament? Because this still applies now. This is a moral law in God's Word. And our people should not be going up and down as a tail-bearer, pushing gossip and drama behind the scenes and all this stuff. Look, stop it. If you're doing it, stop. It's wrong, it's wicked. You know that thing that says thou shalt not? It's a commandment. And so when everybody just wants to have the scoop and the drama on everything, and you're repeating things and things that might or may or may not be true, even if it is true and it's not your business, then don't repeat it. Because some things that are tail-bearing... You know, what is tail-bearing? What is it? To take a story and then you bear it and give it to somebody else. That's like the meaning of the word. It says, don't go up and down as a tail-bearer among thy people. Neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor. I am the Lord. Now, there's colons sometimes in the Bible here. You'll notice that in verse 15. And basically a colon is an explanation of that previous statement, or a list that comes afterwards. Look at verse 17. It says, thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor. So it's not saying you should never rebuke thy neighbor, but it's in the context of thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart. So if you're rebuking them because you hate them in your heart, that's when it's wrong. I don't like this person, so every time I see them, I'm just going to rebuke them about something. That's where it's wrong. And not suffer sin upon them. Sinning against someone just because you hate them in your heart, that's wicked. That's wrong. Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people. We're not supposed to avenge ourselves. Even amongst our own people especially. But thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord. Look, in the Old Testament, God was a loving God then too. People get this weird idea that God didn't love people in the Old Testament. He did love people. Love thy neighbor as thyself is quoted by Jesus in the New Testament. But it's also found in Leviticus chapter 19. And he's talking about what? How we should treat fellow believers. How we should treat people in our own church and our congregation. And these are a lot of really great things that he's saying here. Not to hate our brother. Not to rebuke them because you hate them. You shouldn't even hate them in the first place. Or going around and tail bearing. And tail bearing, you know, the word gossip isn't in the Bible. In case you didn't know that. But we just know gossip as people trying to get the juicy details. But here's the thing about gossip and or tail bearing. Tail bearing is the biblical word for it. Is that a lot of times, by the time you get the story, it's not what it really was. It's just not, the whole truth isn't being told. And so then you're just, and if you repeat that, then it's just repeated. And then when it finally gets to wherever, it's just totally untrue. Like most of the story. And, you know, that's a big reason why. But also, just because you know about something, doesn't mean it's your business to tell it to everybody else. And so I think that God's people have a real problem with this. Or just believing the first thing that you hear about somebody. You hear something, you instantly believe it. You hear something out of the mouth of one witness, and you instantly believe it. And what does the Bible say about that? Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. Don't make up your mind about something before you hear all the facts and know all the truth about something. Because, and this is, in the day and age that we live in, and in the internet age, this kind of stuff happens all the time, and the rumor mills fly. And let me just tell you this, you don't always know all the details. So if you don't know, don't rush to judgment on something that you don't know. And if it's not your business, then you don't need to know. And I just, I can't really stress that any more than I already am. Turn to Ephesians chapter four. Turn to Ephesians chapter four. While you're turning there, I'm going to read Proverbs 11, 13. Proverbs 11, 13 says, a tale bearer revealeth secrets. So it doesn't say that they're lying. It says that they revealeth secrets. But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. You're like, well, you're saying cover it up. Conceal. You're not supposed to cover things up. What does the Bible say, though? He that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. So what I'm saying is that I'm not saying cover up crazy, wicked things. I'm saying that if you are in the know about something, that it's a secret that's not everybody else's business, then it's your duty as a faithful person. It says that he is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. Then if it's not your business that has nothing to do with you, then why are you repeating something that has nothing to do with you? Why are you spreading something that has nothing to do with you? Why is it your business? I just don't, you know, maybe just being a pastor, it's just something that really bothers me, I guess. But look what the Bible says in Ephesians 4, 29. It says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. Now people will go, this is cussing. See, this is talking about cussing. That's a different subject, okay? I would say things that are filthy is included in this. It says, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Is it possible, see we're all filled with the Holy Spirit, or we all have the Holy Spirit, maybe we're not always filled with the Holy Spirit, but we have the Holy Spirit, we're sealed unto the day of redemption. We can't lose the Holy Spirit like you could in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is with us wherever we go, whatever we watch, whatever we hear, whatever we say, the Holy Spirit is with us. And in the context of this verse, it's not just talking about sinning. In the context of this verse, it's talking about how you treat other people, and what you say. Can you grieve the Holy Spirit, yes or no? It says, he wouldn't say don't do it if you can't do it, right? And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, and notice these two words that are next, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. He didn't forgive you because you're so great of a Christian, or you're so good, or you're so special. He only forgave you because of Christ, and what he did for you. And everybody's messed up in this room in one way, shape, or form. He's saying put away all this bitterness. You're not better than everybody else. You're not better than everybody in this room. Quit thinking you're so good, and so special, and so anointed. You're not better than everybody. You should just forgive people, and give people the benefit of the doubt. And not just jump to every conclusion that you see or hear about. Because gossiping and tell-bearing is hurtful, it's harmful, and it's evil communication. And you know what? It grieves the Holy Spirit when God's people are behaving in this way. It's wicked. And I'll say this, being rude to other people in church and when visitors are here, confrontational to other people in our church when you don't have to be. You know, why can't you just let something go? Do you have to just attack everything, every slight that you think somebody did something wrong to you? You don't have to. You can suffer yourself to be defrauded every once in a while, can't you? That's what Paul said, instead of just making a big deal about it, why don't you suffer yourself to be defrauded? You know, because the truth is, we have a hard enough time with the world being defamed, being slandered, being backbitten, being railed against all the time, when we don't need God's people doing it too. So don't just assume that everything you hear is always true, and don't assume that everything that you see on the internet is always true also, and especially if there's only one witness. Be nice, be kind, be loving, be forgiving, and give people the benefit of the doubt. Let's look at the fourth thing. Following clearly laid out church rules. So this one will be fun. All right. Retract toes. Pop them back out. Galatians 3. Galatians 3, 19. Galatians 3, 19. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions. So the law was added because why? Because people were just committing sin. So God added the law because Jesus didn't come until many years later after Moses. So he already had to wipe the earth out 1,500 years after it already started because man was so corrupt and so violent and so wicked that he had to destroy the earth with the flood. And he only saved eight souls from the water. Noah and his sons and their wives. And so he started over, his first reset. And so then it started to get bad again. God made that covenant with Moses and he gave them a bunch of laws and rules to go by because there has to be, God has to punish sin and he also made the law so we could know what sin is so that we know what's right and what's wrong. So the law is still effective today for us to know what sin is. We're not saved by keeping the law. We're not saved by doing the law. It's not proof that we're saved because we keep the law. But the only reason I'm really pointing that out is because sometimes I make up rules around here and you're like, well, why are you doing this? Where does the Bible say this and this and that? And it's just like, see my first point. Decently and in order. But Matthew 18, 18 says, verily I say unto you, whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loose in heaven. Now, of course, I'm ripping both verses completely out of context. But I'm using them to add a point here. Is that God, you know, again, so like in the context of Matthew, it's talking about church discipline. So, and I think it's like when you mark somebody or throw them out for something that they've done wrong, then God's gonna keep that binding in heaven. So when people receive, other churches receive someone they know has been kicked out of another church, I think that God's gonna put some wrath upon that church. And, you know, when, the point is, is that God binds the things that we do here. And I'm not saying that God makes my rule about the water coolers or something. Like, he's like, that's a sin. They get the death penalty or something. I'm not saying that, okay? I'm just saying that God allows the leadership, you know, just like he allows mom and dad, he says obey your mom and dad and the rules that they tell you to do, obey them. He doesn't say just as long as it's one of my commandments. He does say obey them in the Lord, but cleaning your room, if that's not in the Ten Commandments, I'm not cleaning my room. I mean, that's stupid, come on. So obviously we all have to have, there has to be some order, law and order and non-anarchy in our lives. I'm just saying that because sometimes I do have to make some general rules or safety or common sense rules around here. As transgressions happen, laws have to be made, okay? So I just kind of want to go over some new or reiterated rules that we have here, just so people know and understand. And one of the things that I've kind of implemented recently is that about ushers correcting misbehaving children. So just when the children are doing things that are dangerous, I don't want to have to be the bad guy all the time. When people aren't watching their kids and they're doing something that I think is dangerous, I will correct them, but I don't want to, you know, I think that, well first of all, just take this. If I have to say something, that means you're not watching your kid, okay? If the ushers have to say something to you or your kids, you're not watching them. Look, nobody's perfect. I'm not saying you're a bad parent or something. You know, kids are mischievous and their foolishness is bound on the heart of a child. I don't think kids should be perfect. They're not gonna be. So, but like, don't be that, don't be, you know, like, they just have it out for my kid. Well, maybe your kid's just being bad. You know, if your kid's always being the one that the ushers are having to correct, then maybe you should just spend a little more time focusing on what they're doing. You know, I realize people want to fellowship before and after the services, but they shouldn't be able to go into whole rooms and destroy and rampage and terrorize with nobody looking in on it. So ushers are allowed to correct misbehaving children. I'm not saying spank. I'm just saying they're allowed to tell them, you know, don't climb on the baptistry or leave so-and-so's violin alone. Get off the piano. Don't climb on the tables. Don't get into the hot water, stuff like that. Stay out of the mother-baby room, okay? So if someone's correcting your child, don't freak out about it, okay? Because if it comes to me, you know what I'm gonna say? Why weren't you watching your kid? So it's always gonna come back to the parent's responsibility, you know? Obviously, I don't want the, you know, do you think that the ushers want to do that? They didn't come to me and go, Pastor Thompson, we just have to have a meeting with you. We want to correct the kids. They didn't do that. Actually, I felt really weird even asking them to do it. But, you know, I mean, sometimes it just gets out of control and I just think that, you know, if they're doing something dangerous or wrong or sneaky, then they should be able to say something to them and I want them to. The water cooler doctrine, okay? Both the water coolers are broken now, by the way. So good luck getting water today. I don't know what happened, but they're broken. And so it's perfect timing for me to preach about this because the water cooler doctrine is, so we have the water cooler over there that does not have hot water in it, all right? You're like, Pastor, are you getting this petty? I have to. So the other water cooler I put up on a table so that kids couldn't get into it, and you know what the kids do now? They climb up on the table and get the hot water anyway. Even after being told not to, even after adults are telling them, hey, get down from there, they're turning around and giving adults a dirty look. If they did that to me, we'd be going right to the parents. So people have suffered long about stuff like this and really it's just ridiculous. If you allow your kid to do that to adults, that's just wrong, you know? It should be corrected. And I don't mean by you just saying no. Don't do that anymore, Johnny. That's not the correct thing I'm talking about. But I don't want, this is like the, and you might not have been here when I said this before, but I don't want kids under 18 getting hot water for any reason, all right? I don't want them getting coffee. I don't want them getting tea. I don't want them getting hot cocoa. You're like, well, that's pretty strict, Pastor. Well, because of transgressions, laws have to be made. And you're like, well, that's just not right. Well, where in the Bible does it say that I have to provide coffee, tea, or anything to anybody? Can you find that verse somewhere? Because I can't. And, you know, the problem is, is that even if one of those teenagers give a hot cup of water to a little child, what does that hot water, what can that hot water do to a little child that can scold them and burn them, right? So do you want that happening? Do you want your four-year-old climbing up on a table and getting boiling hot water out of that thing when they're not even supposed to be climbing up there? And the reason why it was put up there in the first place is because we didn't want kids getting hot water. You know, I mean, we found a box, somebody here, the people at Cleaning the Church found a box of those little single-use creamers, half, half gone. Somebody, I don't know who it was, and look, you don't have to come and admit anything after the service, this isn't, I'm not a Catholic priest, okay, was peeling them open and drinking them underneath the tables to where the point where they, I mean, your kid, whatever kid is doing this, you're gonna get diabetes, okay? You can't just drink single, you know, just sit there and chug continuously things of creamer. It's bad for you. I know it's sweet, but I don't know what they're doing. But there's other things that I've heard of, children opening up the sugar things and doing this. Licking the sugar out of, I mean, does that make you want adults to go and scoop some of that sugar into your coffee? Look, that stuff shouldn't be happening. And somebody told me, they said, you don't want to know some of the things that are going on with those water coolers, pastor, and I was just like, no, you're right, I don't want to know. But if you're watching your kids, that kind of stuff is not gonna happen. And I just feel like I don't want to take things away. I don't want to be like that. I don't want to be Officer Thompson. I want to be a good cop. I don't want to be a bad cop. But sometimes you make me be a bad cop because you're being too good of a cop with your kids. You're allowing them to just run rampantly and do whatever they want, and you can't do that. There has to be some kind of order. And then as far as just like clean up after yourselves, this isn't a restaurant where you just leave all your crumbs and stuff on the floor. Obviously, we have people that come in and clean every couple weeks. Well, excuse me. We have people that come in every week and clean. Ladies that have dedicated time and work hard around here. And I'm not saying that you have to clean everything exactly. If you can just take a couple minutes and just kind of tidy up your area the day of church that you leave, and if your kid was eating crackers in the mother-baby room and you just walk off and leave, somebody has to clean that mess up. I'm just saying. So just be a little bit respectful because this is a big square footage to vacuum. And when it gets just trashed beyond belief, there's people that come in here and clean it, and they don't have a lot of accolades. They're in the background in the shadows doing this. They don't ask for a lot. But I just want to say thank you to the dedicated crews that come in here and clean this church because it wouldn't get done without them. And I just really appreciate it. So thank you. You know who you are. I don't want to say your name or whatever because I don't want to embarrass you or whatever. But I do really appreciate that. But that being said, I mean, if you can't be one of those people that are dedicated to come in every couple weeks, maybe you just can't for whatever reason. But can you take a couple minutes and just tidy up your spot? I mean, sometimes we forget, and you're grabbing on your kids, and you're taking them, or you're just not thinking, you're talking, and you forget stuff. I understand that. And I'm not perfect either. I'm not saying I am. But I just think that if you make a giant food mess and your kids make a giant food mess, maybe you should take a little bit of time and clean it up. So horseplay. And this goes along with the children also. So there's been a rule of no running the church for a long time. What I've noticed is that it's become more, and it's become worse. And the reason why, I mean, it's not like I don't want kids to have fun. Pastor, no fun. This is the no fun league. No kids are having fun. Well, there's other people that go to this church. It's not just kids. So I want this church for everybody to be enjoyed, and I don't want it to turn into a child terrorist organization, okay? I want kids to have fun. But when all, I mean, because we've got a lot of kids here. So if all of them are running and playing tag, all of them are running around the church at the same time, I mean, they're gonna get hurt or somebody else is gonna get hurt. My wife came when she got her knee surgery done. The first time she came back, a kid was running and ran right into her knee the day that she came back. And it's just like, why do we have the rule? Well, it's a safety thing. Some people are older. If you hit anybody in the back of the legs, no matter how big you are, I mean, have you ever had someone just walk up and hit you in the back of the knee and buckle you? Well, if a kid does that at full speed, they're gonna knock you over, or at least knock your legs out from underneath you. So, I mean, parents, I just want your help in this. If you see your kids are running, just stop them and make them quit. Well, you know, obviously, again, I'm not trying to not have it be fun, but horseplay is like rough or boisterous play. I just don't want it to get out of control, that's all. Where people are throwing stuff, I watched a kid throw something and it hit a visitor in the back of the head that was just visiting our church. I'm just like, really? So, like, why would I not want people to throw stuff in church? Because I don't want people to get hit with the things that are being thrown. I mean, it's pretty, so if you see your kid throwing things in church, make them stop. You know, it's just stuff like that. Or wrestling, or fighting, and this should go without being said, if your kid hits somebody else, you should make them stop, and you should punish them for it, okay? But I want everybody that goes here to be able to enjoy the services. It's not just about kids, it's about everybody here, so if you can help out with that kind of stuff, that would be great. And, you know, there's some parents in this church that I've never had their kids do anything that I've had to correct them for. And there's some kids that are repeat offenders every single week, every single service. But some I've never seen had to be corrected. And look, again, every kid's different. But I'm not trying to say you're, you know, again, I love the kids here. I'm not trying to just beat up on the kids today, because ultimately, I'm really beating up on you as parents, okay? So I just want us to do a better job at that. And, you know, one of the big problems is things getting broken. You know, the crawler room back there is for babies that crawl. It's not for six-year-old boys to climb into the baskets. You know, we have those rockers, and those things are not cheap, where they're climbing into them and swinging into them, and they're breaking them. Like, that just shouldn't be happening, folks. So, like, I mean, but if they're having unfettered access to every room of the building, then it's just, it's gonna get out of control, and it already has. So now we're having to replace those swings in there because they don't work, and I want people to go in and enjoy those rooms. But if, you know, the terrorist organization has taken over, then, you know, there's a jihad going on with the toddler room, and I want it to end. So I want the kids to have fun, but terrorism and anarchy is not fun. So we have to have rules and laws in place for that. So, you know, and even the children getting into other people's stuff, like, that's becoming a problem. Don't just let your kids go through other people's stuff. Obviously, toddlers are gonna grab people's drinks and drink out of them. It happens, okay? But you can't always stop everything, but just kind of be aware. Again, the musical instruments are kind of a big deal. You know, they're expensive. Just, you know, those things need to be fixed. So the Bible says, where there are no ox in the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox. There's a bunch of ox in here. I'm not trying to call you beasts, but the Bible's comparing this as to working animals, right? Well, you're not animals either, but it's saying it's making a spiritual application. To make a spiritual application, you know, if we didn't have a bunch of workers here, the church would never get messed up, okay? So you have to accept the fact that when there's a working church going on, messes and things are gonna get broken. You know, the crib's gonna get messed up. I get it, but it doesn't mean that we just have to not maintenance the crib. The crib needs to be cleaned too. We can have both. I mean, we can't get, this isn't a palace where if one thing gets moved out of place, you know, we've messed up the museum or something. But we should have a little bit of discretion of how we do those types of things. I do gotta cover one more thing. I realize I've gone late here, but I wanna cover one more thing that has to be talked about here. So, touching and PDA. Touching and PDA in church services. Or just in church, you know, here at all. What is touching and PDA? Well, PDA is public display of affection, okay? If you're married, hug your wife, kiss your wife, whatever. Let your wife give you, you know, I like having my back rubbed at church, you know, if I'm ever sitting there and someone else is preaching. Puts me to sleep, but, you know, she regulates the back rub. If I start to fall asleep, she stops and then I get mad. But the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3.5, there's a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. Embracing is like a hug, right? So, don't hug other people's kids or pick them up without express permission. Now, some people aren't, it's not that big of a deal or whatever, but if you're a man, I would recommend that you never do this for any reason. Don't hug people, especially full frontal hugs. And, you know, if it's your wife or your kids, I'm not talking about that. Don't be dumb, all right? I'm talking, if it's your grandma, you can kiss your grandma, okay, or whatever. I'm not talking about that. If you want to kiss your mommy, kiss your mommy or whatever. I get that. I'm talking about men hugging other men, or other, don't hug other men. If it's a side hug, like, hey, good to see ya, you know, side hugs are okay or whatever, but even then, like, some people are touchy about stuff like that. But, if you're, you know, definitely, I know sometimes ladies are a lot more huggy than men are. I get it. But, as a man, you should never walk up and hug another person's wife, okay? And, you're like, well, that's, you know, this is a Christian church. Other churches, they do this thing where it says, hug the neighbor next to you or whatever. You're never going to see us do that, okay? Because I'm not going to make you hug some stranger's wife or some wife another stranger's husband. It's just bizarre. So, don't hug other people's spouses. It's weird. It's a red flag to me, and most men will not take kindly to it, and most men or women will not take kindly to a man picking up their children, okay? So, a bozo I had to kick out a while back was going around hugging people all the time and balked at my rebuke of it. Like, whatever, like, that's not a big deal, whatever. And I said, well, what would you think about me the next time you come to church and I walk up and give a full frontal hug to your wife as the pastor of the church? How would you feel about that? How would you feel about that? Any man in this church, if I did that to your wife, what would you do? You'd be pissed. I don't even do that to my daughters. I mean, it's just bizarre, folks. And they're like, pshh. But this person was doing that, and I was like, don't do it anymore. Don't do it anymore. Before it was the full kick out, but he just stopped talking after that point because he probably pictured the image in his mind of me walking up and hugging his wife in front of everybody. Think about how weird that is. It's a giant red flag to me. Don't go around hugging other people's wives, and especially frontal hugs. Touch your own wife. Hug your own wife. Don't be like trying to, we're all Christians here. Give me a hug. That's bizarre, folks. Don't do that. That's a behavioral issue. 1 Corinthians 7, 1, if you want to turn there, you can. It says, now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. Now, people are like, well, that touching, that might be just talking about touching, fornication, or whatever. It says, nevertheless, to avoid fornication. It says it's good for a man not to touch a woman. But, look, even if you believe that the touching it's talking about is that kind of touching, and it's not talking about hugs or holding hands or kissing, wouldn't you agree that touching in those ways leads to the other? I mean, don't be stupid. You know what I'm talking about. When you are in love with somebody and you can't touch them yet in that way, one little touch, even just looks, can be exciting, okay? So, if you are just dating somebody, you shouldn't be touching them at church. They're not your wife. You are dating. And here's the other thing. I think that everybody should strive to be a virgin when they get to the marriage altar. And, look, if you weren't or aren't or whatever, I'm not mad at you. I'm just saying this is what should be the striving, okay? When you go to that altar, you want your first kiss to be with that woman. You want the first time you held hands with somebody else besides your mom crossing the street with that woman. You want your first embrace to be with that woman. You want your first intimate moments to be with that woman. And vice versa, okay? So, touching leads to other things. And if you're just going around kissing every girl that you date or woman, kissing every man that you date and you just haven't found the right one, I mean, look, there's this thing called herpes. Have you ever heard of that? And you can get it and it lasts for the rest of your life. And, yes, so I'm just saying, don't touch people unless they're your spouse. And then you're not going to have that problem. And then when you get married, the one that you hold hands with, make that your first time doing all that stuff. And when you're at church, it's just not appropriate to be touching someone that's not your spouse. When you're dating someone is what I'm talking about. So what do I recommend in church? Have you any room for Jesus? Have you any room for Jesus? You know, we sing that song. Leave room for Jesus. Put a Bible lengthwise in between you and them or a hymn book lengthwise between you or them and then you have room for Jesus. Jesus can sit right next to you and be in the midst of you and then you're not going to be touching, okay? You're like, well, that just sounds crazy. Well, it's good for a man not to touch a woman, okay? So if you've already took a lot of the mystique out of everything, then you're going to be disappointed that, like say you can engage with someone and it doesn't work out. And your first kiss was with some Baptist ho. Kidding, of course. Kidding. But I'm just saying if it was somebody that you didn't end up marrying, okay, then you're going to regret that. You are. So just a little friendly advice. And the public display of affection, it's going to upset people too because the Bible says to abstain from all appearance of evil. So every appearance of evil, we should abstain from that because if people see you hugging up on each other in a church service and they know you're not married, they're going to go, well, what are they doing outside of church? You know what I mean? So anyway, that's it. That's all I got. I'm sorry I went over so long, but I needed to cover all that. And obviously we know that there are certain sins that would get you kicked out of church and all this other stuff, but I don't have time to get into that. I preached several sermons about that. That's all I got for this morning. You can all rest easy and breathe easy. That is done. The soul-wanting one will be a lot less stressful. So let's pray and get out and get some lunch, all right? Lord, we thank you so much for the Bible and how it just instructs us in everything that we should do. Lord, please help us to keep these things in mind and, Lord, to just enact things in our spiritual life and in our church life that would please you, Lord, and pray to help us to keep these things in our hearts and in our minds as we go about our Christian lives and help us to apply these things to our life. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, our last song is song number 94. And can it be that I should gain? Song number 94, and can it be that I should gain? Song number 94. Let's sing it together on the first. And can it be that I should gain? An interest in the Savior's blood died he for me Who caused his pain for me Who him to death pursued amazing love How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amazing love, how can it be That thou, my God, shouldst die for me? He left his Father's throne above So freed, so infinite, his grace Emptied himself of all but love And bled for Adam's helpless race Tis mercy all, immense and free For, oh, my God, it found out me Amazing love, how can it be That thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature's night Thine eye defused a quickening ray I woke the dungeon flamed with light My chains fell off, my heart was free I rose, went forth, and followed thee Amazing love, how can it be That thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amen. Good to see you, Brother Brandon. Can we just call this a word of prayer?