End Of The Year Service

MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION: 

Then again, I love that we can be together this morning that no matter what is going on through this year. Though we can say that we’re part of God’s plan. And we celebrated that on Friday with Jesus being born and that he loves us so much. It was hopeless. I knew I was lost. Dances were my only song. I needed some. To come to rescue me the mercy. I believe. Hello? You found me. You hear me? You call me from the grave. You gave me your. Thank you, Jesus. You wash my. Oh, now I’m living.

Well, good morning. So, are you guys doing well? Oh, yeah. I want to thank everyone for being here. My name is Brayden, on the high school student pastor here. I’m also the facilities Foster here. And this is Micah.

Hey, guys. My name is Micah, middle school pastor here at East Side. And we are so excited, like I said, that you guys are here because this is our last Sunday of 2020. Who’s excited?

Lord?

Sunday 2020. Yeah. So, you know, we thought it would be appropriate. One of the things that I know about East Side is done often at the end of the year, usually in the last service. We always use time to reflect. So me and Micah thought that we would share with you guys our 2020 experience because I feel like everyone could write a book from this year. Everyone could probably tell a long story about all the things that have happened, all the things that they’ve endured, or people that they know that have endured something. So me and Micah thought it would be good to share our story from this year, and we kind of summed it up into three questions of, you know, what would we ask ourselves as we leave 2020? And, you know, one of the things that Micah and I want to do for you guys today we want to send you guys out with a challenge. You know, if you’re to take anything away from this message today, you know, we want you to write down these three questions. If you have an app on your phone that you can take notes with or your old school, you want to write them down. Whatever. We challenge you guys to take these questions this week and write them down, pray over them, and ask God because we believe, as a church, that God does not want us to live in animosity. He wants us to be in the known. Now, that doesn’t always mean that we get the answers that we want, but we do believe that if we have questions that we ask God, He will always give us a response. So we’re going to go ahead and jump into it. I’m gonna let Micah read off our first question.

Yeah, So our first question is, why has 2020 been so hard this year? And, you know, when writing this question and when you answer this question, we really want you to think about yourselves. You know, we can think of other people that have had a tough year. But again, this is a time of reflection on you. So we really want to ask, you know, what or have you ask yourself, why was it hard for you this year?

Yeah, and second question. And please, I’m still encouraging. Write this down. What has God talked to you about in 2020? And for me, I would say that this is the most important question out of the three. And the reason I say that is because of all of the hardships and all the pain that has been endured this year, all the chaos and inconsistency of everything; I fully believe that through our pain, God always provides purpose. You know, He doesn’t allow his children to go through something without providing purpose to it. So the question is, what is God taught you in 2020? And the last one.

 Yeah. And kind of piggybacking on what he was saying, you know, we know that God has taught us something during this year. And so that also brings the last question, What are you hopeful for in 2021? And I think there are plenty of things that we can think of that God has taught us that allow us to be hopeful for the next year. But hey, man, let’s go ahead and get into it. So what’s going ahead? Why was 2020 so hard for you?

: Yeah. So I just want to interact with you. You guys were quick. I just said it, and I got quite a few amens, I thought, and some laughter. But how many of you guys feel like you could write a book from this year? You just feel like you could just write down all the things that have happened a lot. So, you know, I feel like I’m in that same spot, you know? And I could tell you all the things that have happened in 2020. I could talk about student ministry because I’m the student pastor here at E High here at East Side. And I can talk about everything and all the prayers that the students have sent. And even teachers and faculty like everything that they have endured and been through. Like, I feel like there are so many stories that I could share about our students. Um, I feel like, you know, being on staff here at East Side, we have a text thread that we have between all of us staff members, and I feel like I could share some of your guys’ stories. You know, we were getting prayers nonstop. Hey, pray for this family and our church because of this, this, and this. Or pray for this person because they got COVID or pray for this person because they just lost a family member or friend due to COVID. And, you know, even though those aren’t my stories to share, I felt like, you know, all of us played a part in carrying those because we were praying over them, and we were just as broken for you guys as I know that you guys were. But I thought it would be appropriate to share how I proposed in 2020 and how romantic it was to propose and not know that there was going to be a pandemic to come along and interrupt everything that we were hoping for. So back in January, I proposed to my beautiful wife, Rachel. And, you know, we did all the things right after that. I mean, immediately. Wedding planning started happening? Not on my part. You know, I don’t play a big role in that because she wouldn’t let me. But, you know, the months started to go on, and here comes March, here comes COVID, and it came quick. Yeah, it was all of a sudden. But me, Rachel, I would say we did really good this year. Keeping our heads up. Hold on. Positivity because when march it and the pandemic came along, it didn’t really affect us. And I would say that was the reality of what we were carrying.

I think that’s why our positivity and our encouraging hearts were like so good at the time because it wasn’t affecting any of the planning that we were doing. You know, we were still praying; we were still hopeful. We’re like, you know, God loves us enough, We’re praying enough, you know, and this is meant to be enough that hopefully, by the time our wedding rolls around, all this will be over with. And I know for a lot of us, all of us were behind that wishful thinking. You know, God’s eventually, you know, this is going to go away because I have these plans this year. I have this thing this year. So God’s going to sort it out, and all this is going to calm down, you know, kind of thinking the world revolves around me, But it didn’t. I found that out. But I would say all these months it passed. Positive mindset. And come October, I would say that we were still both very hopeful. But reality had set in for me that this wasn’t going anywhere, and I believed personally that it was going to get worse. Now, did I tell Rachel that? No, I told her that. I’m still praying. You know, God’s going to sort it out. Everything’s going to be fine. But realistically, in my mind, I believed, you know, things were to get worse. And we’re going to have to change some things. And come November is when it all hit the fan. I would say like it felt like I was on a boat, and I finally saw the shore. And right before I got to it, a storm came and pushed us back. So here we are in November, and we’re 12 days out. Our venue gets canceled that we’re supposed to get married at. And that’s not even mentioning that we had already lost the venue before that due to COVID. So this was our new one, and this was our spot. And then 12 days out, it gets canceled and then going on as the week continues, you know, our governor, he put on new restrictions and everything. We had changed our guest list from 350 to 120 or 110. And then the very same week of our wedding, we changed it from like 110 or 120 all the way down to 60 people. So it was just like nonstop, like anxiety and like communication to all these people. Like, Hey, I’m sorry you can’t come. I’m sorry you can’t come in. That very week, my wife, she lost three bridesmaids that were supposed to be in the wedding and be there with us. That couldn’t come because of other reasons. And even though most of the reasoning was actually good and, you know, a qualified reason, and we understand, I know it didn’t make the weight of hearing that any easier. And here I am as almost-husband, you know, trying to figure out, you know, what does it mean to be a husband? You know, how am I going to be a good husband? And I feel pretty hopeless in this week because I’m like, I can’t pray this away. I can’t stop a pandemic. I can’t make all these vendors, and everything followed through with us. And it was just a crazy year. All summed up really in one month for me. And this guy would get on my nerves a little bit because in in in a good way. So let me say that he would ask me like two weeks out, and might have been my best friend. I was always updating him on what was going on, and he would ask me, he’s like, So just smile. How are you? And I would be so frustrated. I was like, Ask me that again. I think because he had asked me every single day, just wanting to know, wanting to be there for me. And I was just so frustrated. But that was the way that I was caring. And I know that he knew it. But I know as I was enduring this last month of preparing for a wedding, I know Micah was enduring a lot, too. So how about you tell them about your 2020?

 Yeah. Yeah, 2020 was tough. I was like, coming to the end of 2020, January, February, man, I thought it was on a mountain. I was killing it. And then COVID hit. You know, and I can talk about it. Me and Ali doing our first year of marriage and quarantine, which is good, and her losing her job. I can talk about losing my grandfather this year and just ministry. I mean, Sunday nights, we were supposed to do Sunday nights. What, back like in April?

 Yeah, all the way back in April.

 And it got pushed back into, like, the summer. And then we did it in the summer, and then it got pushed back again until September. And then September came around, and then back to October. So it’s just like ministry in general. It just like was not going the way I wanted to. And I became very frustrated. And one of the things that God was showing me, and I quickly realized, was how unhealthy I had become in quarantine, separated from my friends and my family. And just crazy enough, I was going through, and when we were told that we were going to be speaking on the last Sunday of 2020, I was trying to think I was like, Oh my God, like, how am I going to answer these questions? Like, What is it? And about a couple of weeks ago, I was quite a few weeks ago, Spotify came out. What was your like Top 2020 playlist and shows like your top artists? It shows your top songs and everything like that. And literally, like my top five songs describe my 2020 year. So my top of my list is my favorite. Andy Mineo. It’s the song. It is called Honest to God. The second is that the next three songs are kind of like that heartbreak song. So I don’t know if you’re ever sad. Good heartbreak songs are always good to listen to. So yeah, So songs two, three, and four are just kind of like heartbreak songs. Then my last song is We’re Stripped of Sugar. I got to give him a shout-out, man. He introduced me to Maverick City. And so the last song is called Refiner by Maverick City. And Man, it is just an awesome, incredible song.

 Go listen to it. If you haven’t.

Yeah, go find the album or something. It is so good. But yeah, so starting with my, you know, number one song, I was, I came into the year just fresh ready to kill it for 2020 COVID happens, and I feel like I’m just stuck, and I don’t know how to put words to what I’m feeling. I just can’t describe it right. People are asking me like, What’s wrong? I just don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. But I was driving home one night, and I came across a listen to the song, and it says, part of the song goes like this. It says, But who got time for being good when you want to be great but supercritical? Plus, my heart grows in super cynical people hanging around acting like they’re super into you. And so the song came on, and I’m just like, Oh my gosh, like, it just killed me. I was like, God, like, you’re telling me like, my heart is growing, super cynical, like, and I’m down and everything. Or if anything, I’ll 2020, it can be good. Like, I’m just so upset. It goes on to talk about, you know, I told God, I want to live for you, but it’s hard to live righteous when it costs residual cuts. It’s like, Oh my gosh, God, Like you were telling me, like, I’m not taking care of myself. You know, just kind of what Bunch was talking about. As we hear, and we hear a lot from our congregation, just like, pray for this person. This person died. This person lost somebody they loved. And this person is going through a tough time. This family needs food. This family needs presents for their kids. I mean, it’s just so much, and I feel like I was telling me like I realize, like, you know, those things kind of cut into your spiritual, your well. And if you’re not allowing God to heal those wounds, they allow those wounds, allow God, or they allow the devil to kind of creep into your relationships and into your mind and stuff like that. And so I realize all these things I was doing, I wasn’t taking care of myself spiritually, and I was like, Holy crap, guy. Like, you were just speaking to me right now through the song. And I think it doesn’t just go for people like in ministry, I think it goes for people, and health care and teachers and just people in 2020, like you guys have all experienced something like that or taking care or, you know, somebody that has lost somebody and that cuts into your spirituality, and it’s like God like I need you to heal this part of me because I’m so broken for this person that I love and I care for. And so again, the next two, three songs on my list, one’s called Alone, which is kind of sad. Another one is called I Want to Know. And so I had this feeling of being alone, and God, there’s no one else I could understand what I’m going through right now. And but I wanted to know, like, God, is this ever going to change? And then my fourth song is like, I wonder and I Lost Your Love. And this song is. Literally, it says it says I wake up in the morning, and I wonder why everything is the same as it was. And it’s like, Man, I kept waking up like God like I want to be great. But I wake up the next morning, I’m like, I just feel average. And how is this really struggling? And again, like I couldn’t put words to what I was feeling really until like the last, probably the beginning of November when this came out. And I was like, holy cow. Like, God, you are just telling me, like, how my year has been through music, and I feel like God has always spoken to me through that. But again, a trip to make sure he got me introduced to Maverick City about last year or beginning of this year, I think and. The song Refiner kind of talks about what God has taught me through 2020. And it goes like this in the very beginning. It says, At the altar is where you meet us. Take me there. Take me there. And God was just showing me, Michael, like if you want to get better, if you want to be healed and to be healthy, you got to meet me right here. I mean, you got to meet me on your knees. Yeah. Meet me where? In a closed room. And you’re just speaking to me. And at the end, this is what God has really put on my heart. He says. I want to be tried by a fire purifier. Take whatever you desire. Lord, here’s my life. And what God has taught me in that was like this whole year of 2020 for me has just been a time of me being in the fire, and God is purifying me and refining me to be a better man, not just for myself, but for my wife, for my friends and everything like that. And so it’s just been a really a year of God just purifying me and refining me to mold me into a better man. So much, I know that’s I know there’s a lot, but hey, I mean, I know God, and I know, like you have been in James Mann, and so, yeah, please share what God has taught you through this.

Yeah, like I said, I would say this is the most important question out of three because if you can’t walk away asking God the question, you know, what are you trying to teach me? You know, you’ll never be able to grow and learn, but you know that God actually has more for you. He cares for you, and he longs for you to have an abundant life. As Jesus said, I think it’s so good what Micah was saying, that, you know, if you want to meet me, I will take you exactly where you’re at. Like you have full access where you’re at right now. So I would say for me, like Mike has said, I’ve been reading James a lot this year. It’s a small book, but it’s so powerful. And I would say that I’ve been reading through James quite a bit this year, but I say this last month, I’ve been living in the book of James, and I feel like we all could relate to a lot of what he says. So I wanted to share this verse with you guys. It’s James chapters one, two, three, and four. It’s a super famous verse. This is what it says.

Consider it great joy. My brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance and let the endurance have its full effect so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (BOLD)

And the part that I believe is probably the hardest for me, and maybe some of us in the room is probably the most powerful part of what James says because this is James opening up his letter because of what people are enduring right now. They’re enduring hardships and trials and persecution. And the first thing he says is consider it a great joy when you face these things. And I don’t know about you guys. I do not. When something hard comes over me, or a problem arises, I do not go and rejoice and jump up and down and get glad about it. But this is what, James. This is exactly what he’s saying to do. He’s saying rejoice because what a blessing it is to be chosen to go through something because God is bettering you and doing something through you. And for my 20, 20 years, I felt like, God, you know, if there were two things like, there are so many lessons from this year that I could have taken away from it. But if there were two things that God is probably trying to teach me the most, it has been patience and understanding. And the best way I could explain that is patience because here I was in 2020, I had proposed, and there were all of these things going on and other people’s lives. And I was just being, I mean, I was just being cynical, kind of like what the song says. I was being cynical, like it’s eventually going to get me. So and I had to be one of the things that I felt like God was just whispering to me, Be patient and continuously pray. Prepare yourself if something does come. And I felt like I spent most of my time just being ready for, you know, everything to hit the fan versus preparing my heart for when it does.

Because I knew it was coming, it was bound to catch on with us and get us eventually. But here I was. And then, you know, here comes the month of November, and all these people are like canceling. And I had to keep patients because I had to realize that it wasn’t about just being Rachel; it was about me, Rachel, and God, and I had to keep a patient heart and know that God was still going to allow it to happen what he wanted to happen, what he intended to happen. And I would say understanding this year was probably the hardest thing to learn. You know, patience sometimes can be easy for me, and the understanding, which is the other half of that, the other side of that isn’t always, um, and as I said, I’ve been reading James like crazy. So before I tell you how God taught me understanding this year, I wanted to read this first to you guys as well. It comes out of James’ chapter two. James is just so good. I don’t know if you guys haven’t read James to treat James so well but James Chapter 212 through 13. This is what it says.

To speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom for judgment is without mercy to the one who is not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

And some versions even say mercy triumphs over judgment every time. And the reason that I believe this is so powerful is that here I was, we are in our last couple of weeks of preparing for our marriage, preparing to get married, and do all the things that go along with it. And there are all these people backing out. And, you know, patients had to come in because I had to take it and just realize, you know, this is the reality. But the other side of that is I wanted to judge those people who were back. You know, I wanted to judge the vendors who were supposed to cater our wedding. I wanted to just be mad and be like, you know, no one really cares that we’re getting married. No one really cares that, you know, this is going to be one of the most important steps that we’ll ever take in our life. And they’re showing it by not coming through for us. And I had to realize that, you know, it goes back to I wasn’t the center of what was happening. It was me, Rachel, and God. And God was trying to do something so much more through Rachael and me, with making us have to extend mercy to the people who can’t come, extend mercy to the people who had canceled on us through our venue and catering because, you know,, I wanted to call them and, you know, act like I guess everyone calls it a Karen. Now, I wanted to call and complain and tell them how wrong they were. And, you know, you told us this, and you’re not doing this. So, you know, I want all my money back. I want all of this back. Whatever. You know, I wanted to be that guy. And, you know, God had to really instill in my heart that I needed understanding. And, you know, a lot of times, you know, we would say that, you know, the reason God wants to teach us this is that we lack in it. And I would say that I don’t think that I was lacking in patience and understanding. I just think God knows that I’m always going to need more of it. So this was the year he decided to supply me with more. And the reason why, I think, is some of the greatest advice that I’ve gotten consistently for marriage is you’re going to need a lot of patience, a lot of understanding, and a lot of forgiveness. So if there was a year for God to teach me all those things, it was this year that I got married, right? So the last question is, you know, what am I hopeful for? You know, God has allowed me to go through all this. He’s allowed me to learn from it. So in all that, we’re always hopeful. We say here all the time at East Side is that God is going to show up and show off. And that’s an expectation we have because that’s the kind of God we serve. We don’t hope that he’s going to show up and show off. We know that he is. So what am I hopeful for that God is going to do this year in 2021? One, I believe I’m going to have a strong marriage. I believe that you know God has prepared me well to start off my marriage. Right. And to foundationally be what Rachel and I need to be for our first year in marriage, which makes me so happy because I want a good marriage.

And I would say the other thing I’m all for I’m hoping for our church. I believe God is going to move people this year like no other. I fully believe that. And in saying that, I’m a student pastor, so I have to be a little biased and talk about my students real quick. I will I believe that the students this year because, like I said, I’ve heard a lot of conversations, I’ve heard a lot of comments, I’ve gotten a lot of prayer requests for, I believe all the students that have been depressed, all that have been isolated, all that has been lonely and anxious, all that are from broken homes and have to stay there now because schools aren’t in person to the families that are just broken in general and to the students that just feel like there’s no hope. I believe those students are going to be the students that God is going to move this year through this church. We’re going to have more raise their hand for salvation. We’re going to have more get baptized. We’re going to have more come-to-life groups and know what it means to follow Jesus and to have hope. So that’s what I’m hopeful for 2020. I believe that God is going to make that move. And I know Micah is excited for 2021 too. So I’m hopeful.

For I am, like I said, just piggybacking on him like students, like even when 2020 was happening, and life groups were happening and are normal, like big events and stuff like that, like I was still moving students into life group. We’re still bringing new students. Whenever we did have Sunday nights, like there were so many new students coming in. So, like, I’m extremely hopeful for our students and just our church in general because not only have students been doing that, but also adults like adults have been taking their next step to like generosity and serving and life group. And it’s just been incredible. And so I think if we can do that or if God can do that in 2020, like I don’t know what else, like what to expect because, like, he’s going to do so much more in 2021 whenever we don’t have to deal with this anymore and all these things. But, you know, speaking of, like, what I’m hopeful for is I’m really hopeful for, I think me, Brandon, we’re talking about it when we’re doing this message. We’re really hopeful for like our marriages as well. We couldn’t do it without the two women that are by our side.

 Put up with us. Yeah, that’s what I meant.

 Us. I mean, yeah, we’re. We’re a handful sometimes, so. Ah, but yeah. And then, you know, kind of ending. You know what? I’m really hopeful for myself. And I kind of want to challenge you guys. You know, I talked about, you know, my first song was Honest to God by Andy Mineo. And in it at the end, he talks about this, and it’s not going be on the screen. And so I really want you guys to pay attention and listen. And parents, if you guys want your students to get into, you know, like preaching and stuff like that, listen to any minute because he is always preaching like some honest truth. And I love it, and it’s why I love him so much. So And at the end, he says. We go in public with their highlights. Private with our son Don got pictures at the party, but not the one throwing up at the end. Oh, Lord. Honest moments. How often do we have them? Am I allowed to have one? Because we go live with the highlights. We go silent with the pain. We don’t tell nobody because we don’t want no shame. But if you only knew. If you only knew. Everyone you’re scared to let down. Don’t you know they’re scared? Like you. I mean, how powerful is that? So all these things and again, it’s all about these honest moments with God. And so that’s what I’m really hopeful for, is not just for myself, not just for my friends, but for the church and the church members and the congregation, as I’m hopeful for you guys to have honest moments with God and 2021.

Yeah. I would say, you know, as we come to the close, you know, we talk a lot about generosity here. You know, we say it time and time again. Um, but the reason I want to reflect on that word is because everything that we’ve shared this year, the momentum of the church, you know, when the church doors closed, the church stayed open. And, you know, we were able to stay online. We were able to stay in life groups. It was different. But it was still there. You know, the church was still the church. And, you know, we couldn’t have done that without your guys’ generosity. So I want to give you guys a hand. Yeah. Can you just put it together? Because all of you guys, it’s generosity.

It kept the church open this year. And, you know, me and Mike have heard like crazy this year. All these churches that are going to have to close down, not only here in Kentucky but all over the place. They’re having to shut down because when they closed their doors, they couldn’t keep it alive. And you guys have played a role in keeping this church alive. We’ve been able to give to our community. We’ve been able to make it online as best as we possibly can. You guys have made Sunday nights happen for our students. It’s our first-ever student service. That’s just for them. And we’re going hard back at it come January for them. But, you know, some of you guys might be sitting here asking the question, you know, maybe you’ve been battling all year to start your giving journey. You’ve been like you’ve been battling all year because you’re like, I don’t know if I’m going to continue to have a job. I don’t know where I’m going to be financially. This year has been inconsistent. And can I just encourage you that nothing is ever going to go the way that we plan it, that God has different plans for us, and we just have to lean in and trust that he knows what he’s doing. You know, COVID has revealed how out of control we are. So I would encourage you, you know, if your heart has been waging war with the idea, when can I start giving that today, you can start giving an inside. Just try to make it as easy as possible. You can go to our website EastSideky/ChurchForgive. You can set up there once a week, once every other week, once a month, however, you want to do it. And I know the biggest battle is like, how much do I start giving? That’s usually the biggest battle. That’s usually the thing that’s going to stop anyone from giving is like, Where do I start? Because I don’t know. And we’ve always recommended $20 because that’s what most people are going to spend on coffee in a week. And I would encourage you, you know, if you have to make a pot of coffee at home every now and again, I will encourage you to do that because the reality is God is after your heart. You want your heart so bad in this area of your life. So, you know, there’s no amount; it’s too big or too small. God just wants you to start. So if it can’t be $20, it doesn’t have to be just start. And the reason that we say to give is because when you give to each side, you’re giving through a side. Like I said, you guys have touched our community, touched our congregation and made our ministries possible, and made this church possible because of your generosity this year. So we want to thank you guys for joining us on the last Sunday of 2020. We are praying for you guys like crazy for the new year, that one that you guys are going to be able to celebrate and kiss 2020 goodbye like we’re going to be. And we’re praying that God is going to show up and show off in your guys’ lives as The New York Times. And we challenge you guys again. When you guys leave here today, please go and take those questions. Maybe you’ve already answered them, but I know a lot can happen in a week, so go back and answer them again, pray over them, and meditate over them; that way that when you go into 2021, you can go into it confident, knowing that God has something set up and ready for you. So I’m going to pray for you guys. I’m going to pray that you guys have an awesome week and an awesome New Year, and then you guys are free to leave. So Jesus, we just come to you. God, we are so thankful that you have been here this morning, God, that your presence is known in this place.

 Yeah.

 God, Thank you for all the people here. I thank you for all the people that are in line that can be with us in person today. I thank you for them. God, I pray for everyone here and everyone online that God, you would just allow them to go over these questions in their minds, that God that they would pray over them, and that God that you would be in response because you are a God who responds in God. I pray for them as they enter into 2021, whatever may come, whether it gets harder or easier, that God, that we would keep you the center of our lives and that God, that you would show up and show off and in everyone’s lives here today. God, we thank you again. I pray for a safe New Year for everyone to pray for a safe week. And God, we just thank you again for allowing us to gather. And I pray that we can continue that we pray all this in your name. Amen. You guys have a great week. Thank you for coming.

 Well, together.