What God Really Wants From You This Year | A Church That Pleases God: Part 1

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Episode: What God Really Wants From You This Year | A Church That Pleases God: Part 1
Date: January 4, 2026

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Overview: Main Theme & Purpose

This episode, led by Pastor Craig Groeschel with support from Pastor Sam, launches a new year and a new message series called "A Church That Pleases God." Pastor Craig reflects on his 30-year ministry journey, sharing how his deepest desire for Life.Church—and for everyone listening—is to become a church that ultimately pleases God, not just one that achieves worldly success metrics like size, innovation, or influence. The episode focuses on the first of five qualities of a church that pleases God: reverence, or having a proper "fear of the Lord" and living in sincere obedience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Reflecting on What Matters Most

• Pastor Craig shares that his priorities for the church have deepened and matured over the years.
  • “Above all else, what kind of a church do you want to pastor? … I want to pastor a church that pleases God above all else.” (01:25)

God’s Love vs. God’s Pleasure

• Many believers accept that God loves them, but are less certain God is pleased with them.
• Analogy: A loving parent is not always pleased by their child’s actions.
  • “We love our children all the time, but we’re not always pleased with the decisions that they make. And the same would be true for God…” (02:59)
• The difference is illustrated by God’s declaration over Jesus at his baptism: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (03:31)

What Pleases God?

• A church that pleases God is made up of people whose lives are pleasing to God.
  • “A church that pleases God is made up of people who are pleasing God. Guess what that does for you? That puts you on the line with me.” (04:19)

Five Qualities for a Church That Pleases God (outlined for future weeks):

1. Reverent
2. Faith-filled
3. Bold
4. Unified
5. Loving
   • Today’s focus: A reverent church pleases God.

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Deep Dive: What is Reverence?

(06:04 - 09:25)

• Reverence means a holy and reverential fear of the Lord, living with sincere obedience.
  • “A reverent church fears the Lord and lives with a sincere obedience to Him.” (06:07)
• Not a terror-driven fear, but an awe—an overwhelming sense of God’s holiness, goodness, righteousness, and power.
  • “Reverence for God isn’t a fear that drives us away from God, but it’s an awe that draws us to Him.” (08:21)
  • “He alone is worthy of our first and our best, our gifts to use for Him. He should be the first thing on my mind when I wake up…” (08:43)

Key Challenge for Listeners

• Don’t just think about what you believe—look at how your life speaks about your view of God.
  • “What does your life say you believe about God?” (09:25)

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High View vs. Low View of God

(10:36 - 13:32)

Low View:

• Treating God and His word casually
• Ignoring conviction, justifying sin
• Selective or minimal obedience

High View:

• Taking scripture seriously—letting it conform you to Christ’s image
• Repenting quickly and sincerely
• Obeying God no matter the cost
  • “Because I have a reverent view of God and His Word, I want to obey him. No matter what.” (13:25)

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The Danger of Familiarity: Cultural Christianity

(13:40 - 20:00)

• Many believe in God without revering Him—faith becomes overly familiar.
  • “It’s not that you’ve rejected God. You’ve just reduced him.” (14:10)
• Citing the story of Simon the Pharisee vs. the "sinful woman" (Luke 7:44-47), Pastor Craig contrasts treating Jesus casually vs. responding with awe and costly worship.
  • “Same Jesus, two entirely different responses. The Pharisees treated him as common…The woman knelt down and treated him as holy. She was in awe.” (19:11)

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Personal Story: Losing and Rediscovering Awe

(22:19 - 25:59)

• Pastor Craig shares times when ministry became routine and he lost his “awe" for God.
  • “Somewhere along the way, in the routine of it all, somehow the holy moments started to feel familiar. And I didn’t lose my faith. I lost my awe. And it’s a dangerous place to be.” (23:38)
• Through hardship, he was reminded of God’s immensity.
  • “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.” (25:44)

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The Practical Call: Raising Our View of God

(27:01 - 31:38)

• Identify where you have grown casual in your faith (language, media, worship, judgmental attitudes, taking God's word for granted, etc.).
  • “Where has God become casual to you instead of holy?” (27:06)
• Call to repentance and change.
  • “God’s word is living and it’s powerful. I’m going to show you what Paul said in Philippians 2…work hard to show the results of your salvation…obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” (29:00)
• God works within us, giving us both desire and power to please Him.
  • “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” (30:10)

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Final Invitation

(33:56 - 36:36)

• For anyone who realizes they are living with a casual approach or who doesn't truly know God—or doesn’t live under Christ’s lordship—a public call to surrender fully to Jesus.
  • “This is a fully surrendered life to the lordship of Christ. If he died and rose again for me, that demands everything in me. Jesus, I surrender my life to You.” (35:08)
• Corporate prayer of salvation/recommitment, led by campus pastors.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Pleasing God:
  • “I want to pastor a church that pleases God above all else.” — Pastor Craig (01:25)
• On Familiarity:
  • “It’s not that you’ve rejected God. You’ve just reduced him.” — Pastor Craig (14:10)
• On Response to Jesus:
  • “Same Jesus, two entirely different responses. The Pharisees treated him as common... The woman knelt down and treated him as holy...” — Pastor Craig (19:11)
• On Awe:
  • “I didn’t lose my faith. I lost my awe. And it’s a dangerous place to be.” — Pastor Craig (23:38)
• God’s Work in Us:
  • “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” — Pastor Craig (30:10)
• Repentance and Surrender:
  • “This is a fully surrendered life to the lordship of Christ.” — Pastor Craig (35:08)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:22 – Opening reflections, what kind of church to pastor
• 01:54 – The difference between God’s love and God’s pleasure
• 03:14 – Jesus’ baptism: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
• 04:43 – Five qualities of a church that pleases God introduced
• 06:07 – Definition of a reverent church
• 08:21 – Reverence draws us to God, not away
• 13:07 – Obeying with reverence, no matter the cost
• 14:10 – Dangers of cultural Christianity
• 15:29-19:38 – Luke 7 story: Pharisee Simon and the sinful woman
• 23:38 – Personal confession: losing awe in routine
• 25:44 – Restoring holy awe in hardship
• 27:01 – Reflecting on areas of familiarity or casualness in faith
• 29:00 – Philippians 2: Work out your faith with reverence and fear
• 30:10 – God works in us, gives desire and power to please Him
• 33:56 – Call to spiritual inventory, repentance
• 35:08 – Salvation and full surrender invitation

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Conclusion

The message urges listeners to move away from casual, familiar faith and approach God with deep reverence and awe—not just in belief, but in daily living. Pastor Craig’s challenge for the new year is to elevate our view of God, let Him shape our desires and actions, and, together as individuals and as a church, become people who please God above all else.

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Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

Welcome to Life Church. We're here to help you become who God created you to be. And we'd love to hear from you. Take a quick survey at Life Church PodcastConnect to let us know how we can support you on your faith journey. And now let's go to the message.

[Pastor Sam]

So this week as we start the.

[Pastor Craig]

New year and preparing our hearts to celebrate the goodness of God. Over 30 years I've been doing a lot of reflecting over God's goodness in the past three decades. If you had asked me 30 years ago, what kind of church do you want to pastor, I would have told.

[Pastor Sam]

You a million things.

[Pastor Craig]

Cause I was so excited. I would have said I want to.

[Pastor Sam]

Pastor a mission focused church. I want a biblically anchored church. I want an evangelistic church that reaches people far from. I want a fast growing church with people coming to Christ week after week. I want an innovative church. I want an influential church changing the city and maybe the state, maybe even the world. And if you ask me now, my answer would be similar, but it would.

[Pastor Craig]

Be a little bit different. I still want all those things for God's church. But as I've matured a little bit over the last 30 years and I've.

[Pastor Sam]

Grown to know God more intimately.

[Pastor Craig]

If you ask me now, above all else, what kind of a church do you want to pastor? I would tell you point blank, cleanly, clearly in one sentence. I want to pastor a church that pleases God above all else.

[Pastor Sam]

I want God to be honored, the name of Jesus to be praised.

[Pastor Craig]

And I want to pastor a church that pleases God.

[Pastor Sam]

And I want to tell you a little bit of the story and take.

[Pastor Craig]

You with me and why I would say that there's multiple layers to it.

[Pastor Sam]

And one of the things is I've.

[Pastor Craig]

Noticed over the years that many of you, maybe most of you, would be pretty sure that God loves you. We hope that you start there, you're.

[Pastor Sam]

Pretty sure that God loves you. But many of you, you're not sure that God is always pleased with you. Because there's a difference, right, than just being loved by someone and living in.

[Pastor Craig]

A way that pleases them. Raise your hand if you're a parent. Raise your hand if you're a parent. Online, you can type in the comment section, I'm a parent. If you're a parent, you know exactly.

[Pastor Sam]

What I'm talking about, don't you? If you've got kids, you know the difference between loving them and being pleased with them. I've got six children, technically 12 now, because they're all married and I love them all every single day. And I am pleased with them all every now and then. Right? I mean, we love our children all the time, but we're not always pleased.

[Pastor Craig]

With the decisions that they make.

[Pastor Sam]

And the same would be true for God, that God would love us, every.

[Pastor Craig]

Single one of us, all the time.

[Pastor Sam]

But there are times when we live in a way that pleases him and.

[Pastor Craig]

Times that we live in a way that doesn't please him.

[Pastor Sam]

And it makes me think of the.

[Pastor Craig]

Moment that Jesus had that must have been indescribably intimate with his heavenly Father. Right after Jesus was baptized. In Matthew 3:17, a voice from heaven. This is the Father speaking to his son.

[Pastor Sam]

The Father says, this is my son. Publicly God declares the sonship of Jesus. And then he said, this is my son whom I love. But he didn't stop there. God, the Father went on to say with him, I am well pleased. Not only do I love him and I do, but I'm pleased with the.

[Pastor Craig]

Way that he's living. So what kind of church do I want to pastor? Everything in me, I want to pastor a church that pleases God. That raises the question, if we're going.

[Pastor Sam]

To be a church that pleases God.

[Pastor Craig]

What kind of church pleases God? And the answer is. This is obvious, but here's the answer.

[Pastor Sam]

A church that pleases God is made.

[Pastor Craig]

Up of people who are pleasing God. Guess what that does for you that.

[Pastor Sam]

Puts you on the line with me.

[Pastor Craig]

To be a church that pleases God.

[Pastor Sam]

It's made up of people, made up of you. If we're going to be a church that pleases God, we have to live a life personally, individually and corporately that pleases God.

[Pastor Craig]

So what I've done is I've done.

[Pastor Sam]

A detailed study of God's Word and found what is in my opinion perhaps the top five qualities in God's word.

[Pastor Craig]

Of a church that pleases God. And we, and we're gonna talk about one quality each week over the next.

[Pastor Sam]

Five weeks I'm gonna give you those qualities. What kind of church pleases God? Today we're gonna talk about a reverent church pleases God. Next week we're gonna talk about. We're gonna see in God's Word that a faith filled church pleases God. Because without faith it's impossible to please God. Some of you have been doing your youversion Bible study. Good job. We'll shout it from the small group rooftops. You're in God's word.

[Pastor Craig]

What else?

[Pastor Sam]

A bold church pleases God. We're gonna see in week number four that a unified church is pleasing to God because Jesus prayed, father, make them one as we are one. And finally we're gonna see above any other quality, perhaps a loving church pleases God. What does it mean to love God? Is it tolerance? Is it love? Is it something different?

[Pastor Craig]

We're gonna see what a loving church looks like.

[Pastor Sam]

To today, I wanna come a little bit harder, with a little more passion and a little more direct as we start a new year. Can I push you? If I can say you can. Can I can. You said it. Here we go. We're gonna talk about a reverent church. What is a reverent church?

[Pastor Craig]

If you're taking notes, a reverent church.

[Pastor Sam]

Fears the Lord and lives with a sincere obedience to Him. A reverent church has a holy and a reverential fear of the Lord and lives with a sincere desire to obey and to please him in all that we do. And we see it in his word. In Psalm 147, the Bible says, the Lord delights in. The Lord is pleased with the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. I want to show you what God's word says. But first I want to show you what it doesn't say. It doesn't say that the Lord delights in those who approach him casually.

[Pastor Craig]

He's the big guy upstairs.

[Pastor Sam]

He's the big guy. He's not pleased with those who approach him casually. He doesn't delight in those who serve him comfortably or obey him conveniently. Instead, the Lord delights in and those who love him with a reverent fear. Now, culturally, today, like, I don't wanna be afraid of God. What does it mean to fear the Lord? It doesn't mean to be afraid of God. Like you're gonna do something wrong. He's gonna get you and smush you like a bug. That's not what the fear of the Lord means. In fact, the word fear in this text comes from the Hebrew word Yahweh. And this word means very directly. It means fearing or awe. Awe. Awe filled, reverently aware of God's holiness and authority. It's this. This deep sense of the holiness, the goodness, the righteousness, the glory, the power of God. And we are not Him. He is holy and set apart. So holy is he that we can't even stand in the purity of his presence and live.

[Pastor Craig]

That's how holy he is.

[Pastor Sam]

It's a reverent fear of a holy and A righteous and a good and a loving and a just God.

[Pastor Craig]

It's the fear of the Lord.

[Pastor Sam]

It's reverence. Now what does this mean? Reverence for God isn't a fear that drives us away from God, but it's an awe that draws us to Him. It's the sense that he alone is.

[Pastor Craig]

Worthy of our praise.

[Pastor Sam]

He alone is worthy of our lives. He alone is worthy of our first and our best, our gifts to use for Him. He should be the first thing on my mind when I wake up in the day. He should be the first one that I wanna please when I go through my life. He alone is worthy of everything in my heart to give to him for his glory. So what I wanna do is I'm gonna push you a little bit and ask you what may be the most important question as we move into a new year. And I'm not gonna ask you what you may think, like what do you believe about God? I'm gonna ask you a deeper and more important question. And what I wanna do is I wanna ask you what does your life.

[Pastor Craig]

Say you believe about God?

[Pastor Sam]

What is your life, your actions? If you just look at your last week, what does the way you live say that you prioritize? When you think about what you think about, what do your thoughts say is.

[Pastor Craig]

Most important to you? When you look at how you spend.

[Pastor Sam]

Your time, your, your money, who you hang out with, what makes you excited? When you get really good news, what's the best news you could get? Is it something that's God honoring or more self focused? Not what do you believe about God, but what does the way that you live say that you believe about God? Why does it matter? It matters because how you view God determines how you live. How you think about him determines how seriously you reflect what he says. And so again, I'm gonna push you a little bit and I just want you to think about this. Do you take him seriously or do you treat God casually?

[Pastor Craig]

I had a seminary teacher years ago.

[Pastor Sam]

That he called it a high view of God or a low view of God. Do you have a high view of.

[Pastor Craig]

God and His Word, an elevated view that you place authority on it, or do you have a reverent view of.

[Pastor Sam]

God or do you have a low.

[Pastor Craig]

View, a casual view?

[Pastor Sam]

Jesus is my homeboy. Yeah, I read a Bible every now and then.

[Pastor Craig]

I mean the parts of it that I like.

[Pastor Sam]

Did you have a high view of God or a low view of God? And what I wanna do is I wanna show you very directly a contrasting view of a high and a low view of God. We'll start with a low view of God. When you have a low view of God, you take His Word casually. If you read it, you may not take it seriously.

[Pastor Craig]

You may debate it, you may obey.

[Pastor Sam]

The parts you like and not the.

[Pastor Craig]

Other parts, or you don't even value it at all.

[Pastor Sam]

You treat God's Word casually. Second thing is, you ignore conviction and rationalize sin. If there's something in your life that.

[Pastor Craig]

You know is contrary to God's word.

[Pastor Sam]

You may say, well, this is just.

[Pastor Craig]

The way I am and this is.

[Pastor Sam]

Just my one thing.

[Pastor Craig]

It's not that big a deal, and this is my truth anyway, and it's none of your business what I do. And you rationalize sin and continue to live in it.

[Pastor Sam]

And then finally you know what God says, but you just do whatever you want.

[Pastor Craig]

It's a low view of God.

[Pastor Sam]

Contrast that with a high and irreverent view. Irreverential fear and awe of the goodness of God. When you have a high view of.

[Pastor Craig]

God, you take His Word seriously.

[Pastor Sam]

It's not just a part of your life.

[Pastor Craig]

It's the truth that guides your life. You're in it all the time.

[Pastor Sam]

Not because you feel like you have to do it to please him, but because you want to know him through His Word. It's living. It feeds you, it empowers you, it convicts you, it teaches you, it guides you. It conforms you to the image of Christ. It renews your mind so you're not bought into the lies of this world. You take His Word seriously. You also repent of your sins quickly. When you do something wrong, you say.

[Pastor Craig]

Oh, God, I'm sorry. God forgive me.

[Pastor Sam]

And then you turn away and you.

[Pastor Craig]

Walk away from it.

[Pastor Sam]

You don't live in it. You don't rationalize it. You don't make light of it. You repent and you turn quickly. And then finally, you obey God with reverence. No matter the cost. No matter what they say about you.

[Pastor Craig]

At school, no matter if they laugh.

[Pastor Sam]

At you, no matter if they talk behind you back at work. No matter if they say you're a religious freak or you're a nothing. No matter if your girlfriend breaks up with you because you won't do the things you want you to do. No matter the cost. You say, because I have a reverent.

[Pastor Craig]

View of God and His Word, I want to obey him. No matter what.

[Pastor Sam]

The reason I'm starting the year here.

[Pastor Craig]

And the reason I'm bringing the heat, maybe just a little bit More than normal is because this is one of my biggest concerns as I look at.

[Pastor Sam]

Culture, and not just culture, but as.

[Pastor Craig]

I look at the church, the church, our church.

[Pastor Sam]

It's not that people don't believe in.

[Pastor Craig]

God, a lot of people do, but it's that people believe in him without revering Him.

[Pastor Sam]

And it creates what we could call a cultural Christian. This is someone who, like, I'm a Christian, I'm born in the usa and you know, I'm a nice guy and haven't killed anybody and stuff like that. And it's not that you've rejected God.

[Pastor Craig]

You'Ve just reduced him.

[Pastor Sam]

You've got a faith that's become way too familiar. And whenever your faith becomes familiar, you.

[Pastor Craig]

Start to treat Jesus like he's no big deal. No big deal. Yeah, I was baptized, I was saved. Yeah, yeah, I do the church thing every now and then. I watch church online. Yeah, I'll pick up the Bible every now and then.

[Pastor Sam]

Yeah, I'll do a good deed every.

[Pastor Craig]

Now and then, But it's not the consuming desire of my heart to please him. There's one of the most powerful stories of familiarity with Jesus in. In Luke chapter seven, there was a Pharisee, an important educated religious leader named.

[Pastor Sam]

Simon, who said, jesus, come over my.

[Pastor Craig]

House, we'll throw you a fancy party.

[Pastor Sam]

We're going to have a great big.

[Pastor Craig]

Party, a formal dinner. And so Jesus was there and there were some other Pharisees looking very Pharisaical, looking very holy, like some of you do when you walk into church, like, oh, I'm in the presence of God here today. I'm glad to be in the church of the house of God. They look at looking holy and such, and Jesus was there with them, but they treated him casually.

[Pastor Sam]

When you walked into a first century.

[Pastor Craig]

Home, there were these customs. Kind of like today, if you came over to my house and I'm being polite to you, I'm honoring you, what would I do? I might say, hey, can I take your coat?

[Pastor Sam]

Hey, come on in.

[Pastor Craig]

Come to the kitchen. Can I get you a drink? If we're really close, I said, like.

[Pastor Sam]

Help yourself to anything. You know, my house is your house. We even had this red plate that I think maybe Stephen made years ago. It was called the special plate.

[Pastor Craig]

And if you're really special and you.

[Pastor Sam]

Came to our house, you got the special plate. The problem is we lost it. Now you just get the regular plate, but in our heart, you still get the special plate. These customs, well, this was the way it was in Jesus's time. If you came into the house and you were honoring somebody, you'd wash their feet because this was a symbol of service and submission. Welcome to my home. I know your feet are dirty and.

[Pastor Craig]

I wanna bless you. And washed your feet. And you would greet someone with a kiss on the face and say, you're.

[Pastor Sam]

Welcome, you're loved here. And you might even anoint their head with oil, saying, you're an honored guest in our home. But the Pharisees didn't do any of that. Jesus, the son of the living God was in their presence in the house.

[Pastor Craig]

And they treated him casually. To him it was.

[Pastor Sam]

It was no big deal. It was just no big deal.

[Pastor Craig]

It's just the teacher guy in our house.

[Pastor Sam]

And then this woman comes running into the house. She's not just any woman. She's someone that the Pharisees gossiped about. She was a woman that had.

[Pastor Craig]

A.

[Pastor Sam]

Lot of male friends.

[Pastor Craig]

Perhaps.

[Pastor Sam]

She had an immoral reputation.

[Pastor Craig]

And she had heard about the Messiah.

[Pastor Sam]

That forgives and the way he loves and the grace that he shows. And she came running into Jesus and fell down at his feet. And she did what they didn't do. She wept and cried and literally like washed his feet with her tears. And she didn't have a towel, so she took her hair and she's scrubbed it with her hair. And then she didn't have any oil to worship with, but she had perfume, which might have been a tool in.

[Pastor Craig]

Her trade, very expensive perfume.

[Pastor Sam]

And she bursts the thing open and pours it on him as an act of worship to say, I love you, save me, heal me, forgive me. She's in awe. Aw.

[Pastor Craig]

And the Pharisees look on with their.

[Pastor Sam]

Self righteousness and judge her and judge Jesus.

[Pastor Craig]

And they thought to themselves, if Jesus.

[Pastor Sam]

Knew what kind of woman she was, he would call her out and not even let her sinfulness get close to.

[Pastor Craig]

His so called holiness. And In Luke chapter 7, verse 44, here's what Jesus said.

[Pastor Sam]

Jesus said, I came into your house. You didn't give me any water for my feet. But she wet my feet with her.

[Pastor Craig]

Tears and wiped them with her hair.

[Pastor Sam]

You didn't give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You didn't put oil on my head, but she's poured perfume on my feet as an act of worship. Think about it. Jesus in the room, same Jesus, two entirely different responses.

[Pastor Craig]

The Pharisees treated him as common, ordinary, no big deal. And the woman knelt down and treated him as holy. She was in Awe that she got to be in his presence.

[Pastor Sam]

She took probably her most valuable possession.

[Pastor Craig]

And gave it to him as a.

[Pastor Sam]

Sacrificial act of worship. To say, I need your grace and your love.

[Pastor Craig]

You are honored in my presence. They treated him as common. She treated him as holy. The Pharisees were comfortable with his presence. She was overwhelmed by it. For some of you, this is your story. If you look back to last year, not what you believe, but what your life says you believe. You didn't walk away from God, You just grew comfortable with Him. I've seen it in some of you. If you've been here long enough, you've seen it.

[Pastor Sam]

Me, at times.

[Pastor Craig]

Some of you, I mean, you used to worship with awe, couldn't wait to be in the presence of God. And now sometimes you show up and worship is over because it's just more convenient. Don'tify the crowds. Some of you used to be in God's word like it was living and active, powerful and sharper than a double edged sword and always fulfilling its complete purpose. Like it was God speaking to you, directing you, guiding you, convicting you, empowering you, comforting you, convicting you, conforming you to the image of Christ. And now you may get to it occasionally. I talked to some of you online. If all you can do is online, more power to you. But there's something about being in the room, there's something about being together. Cause when this service is over, I'm gonna lay hands on people and I'm.

[Pastor Sam]

Gonna pray for people and I'm gonna cry with them.

[Pastor Craig]

I can't do that with you. Cause you're not in the room. And you used to be in a room, but you got comfortable being on the couch. Because now being in the presence of God with God's people just became no big deal. And I don't want this to come across as like I'm looking down because I have been there 30 years pastoring here, five years before, that's three and a half decades. And I'm telling you, when I was saved by Jesus, I was so saved. Nobody knew what to do with me. Oh, they should have locked me up for five years just to let me grow up. Because I was so dangerous. I mean, anywhere, everywhere I preached about.

[Pastor Sam]

Jesus, I had bad theology. Didn't matter. I preached it so hard. It worked. Bad theology and everything.

[Pastor Craig]

It was just, I said it like I believed it.

[Pastor Sam]

And I got Jesus in there somewhere and Jesus did the work. Even though my theology was bad. It was like I was so passionate, so passionate. Started out in ministry, started a life church. And then I just gotta tell you the grind of this.

[Pastor Craig]

Your life's tough, my life's tough.

[Pastor Sam]

They're tough in different ways.

[Pastor Craig]

This is tough, man. I mean, 30 years of spiritual attacks and opposition and the weight and the dealing with the. This is tough. And several years in the grind got to me. Can I just be real direct with you? I just kinda wanna do that. I'm kinda tired of being all correct every Christmas. Jesus was born of a virgin.

[Pastor Sam]

Every year, like, hey, Pastor, that sounds.

[Pastor Craig]

Like your last Christmas sermon.

[Pastor Sam]

Yes, it is. Same story every Easter. The tomb's empty. One time I just wanted to preach on, like, Daniel and the lion den. One time. One time. One time I wanted to open up and say, the lions ate him and it was bloody and he died. It would be gross. It would be sad, but it would be surprising. And the grind just kind of got to me. And somewhere along the way, in the routine of it all, somehow the holy.

[Pastor Craig]

Moments started to feel familiar. And I didn't lose my faith. I lost my awe. And it's a dangerous place to be.

[Pastor Sam]

Because when our awe of God fades.

[Pastor Craig]

Our view of God shrinks. And my greatest desire wasn't to pastor a church that pleased God. My greatest desire became to pastor a church that maybe made me feel better about me instead of me trying to honor him. And so I did pray, but it was usually publicly, not privately. I did read the Word, but it was to preach to you instead of to feed me. And I lost my awe for a while. And then by the grace of God, I hit one of those hell seasons. How many of you know what I'm talking about? Okay, Hope you're not in one now, but you go 30 years on this planet, and you're gonna be in a few. I was in one of those seasons. It was one of those seasons when Amy started preaching my sermons to me. That's how bad it was. I hate when she does that.

[Pastor Sam]

Pastor Craig, you know what I heard.

[Pastor Craig]

In a sermon one time? And then she quotes me to me? That's how bad it was. I got the Holy Ghost and the Amy ghost all in the same house.

[Pastor Sam]

I love you, but that's annoying.

[Pastor Craig]

And.

[Pastor Sam]

How many know when you're down.

[Pastor Craig]

So low, there's only one way to look? And I started to look up and just cry out those desperate prayers. Kind of like when I got saved. Like, God, if you're there, can you forgive my sins? If you're there, can you save someone as bad as me? And I Started praying prayers that had that desperation, like, I need you, God. I need you, God. And the more I pursued him, the more he reminded me of who he is and how big he is and how powerful he is. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

[Pastor Sam]

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

[Pastor Craig]

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was before the foundations of.

[Pastor Sam]

The earth and is so big that he spoke the galaxies into place. And he's big enough to know every hair on your head and know every tear that you cried. That's our holy God. Big enough to hold the whole world in his hands and loving enough to care about the details of your life. That's our God. Powerful enough to speak and raise the dead and personal enough to love you right where you are at this very moment. That's our God. And so hear this.

[Pastor Craig]

Hear me.

[Pastor Sam]

God loves you.

[Pastor Craig]

He loves you. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you, he loves you.

[Pastor Sam]

You can't do anything more to earn his love. He loves you, but he's not pleased.

[Pastor Craig]

With everything that you do. He's not pleased with everything that I do. So there's a difference between loving and being pleased with.

[Pastor Sam]

And that's why I want you to.

[Pastor Craig]

Have a high view of God, to see him as he is. And so the question we're gonna ask in our life groups, and again, if.

[Pastor Sam]

You'Re not in a life group, I.

[Pastor Craig]

Don'T know how many times I can tell you. We need the people of God to.

[Pastor Sam]

Do the will of God on earth.

[Pastor Craig]

Together, in community, around God's word, empowering each other. In our life groups, we're gonna ask this question and we're gonna be honest about answering this question. And the question is this. Where has God become casual to you in instead of holy? Where does it become casual to you instead of holy? For some of you, this will be a really easy thing to answer. It's your language and you take God's name in vain or say things that are not God. Honoring coarse language.

[Pastor Sam]

Be convicted by that.

[Pastor Craig]

Repent of it quickly. Don't live in it, just repent. Some of you, it's in what you watch on your phones, on tv. Like, you're like, literally entertained by sinfulness, sex, murder, rape, cussing, violence. Like, hey, let's watch another episode tonight of sin.

[Pastor Sam]

Some of you, don't clap.

[Pastor Craig]

Cause I'm coming for you too.

[Pastor Sam]

All of us, it's all of Us, it's me. You got something called the Temple of the Holy Spirit and you put nothing but trash in there like it's the Temple of the Holy Spirit and you're.

[Pastor Craig]

Feeding it garbage nonstop, not honoring God with your body.

[Pastor Sam]

It's your time.

[Pastor Craig]

Like literally, like, let's look at your life and you're gonna spend years and.

[Pastor Sam]

Years and years and years doom scrolling.

[Pastor Craig]

Instead of out doing the will of.

[Pastor Sam]

God, just wasting the. You're a vapor. You're a vapor. You're here for a while and you're gone. You're hooked on algorithms that are feeding you stuff that are destroying your mind. Some of it is taking God's word for granted. For some of you, it's rationalizing sin. For some, it's a casual approach to worship. For some of you, you've got the spiritual gift of being judgmental and that's all you do. You go around hating everything. Like that's God honoring, criticizing every ministry instead of like finding what's good in it and trying to be unified together in the body of Christ to do something.

[Pastor Craig]

But you're so smart.

[Pastor Sam]

You're mad at everybody.

[Pastor Craig]

Glad somebody's laughing. I'm kind of playing. What used to be sacred has become casual for something. So what do we do? How do we move forward? What do we let God do in us to get us through it? God's word is living and it's powerful. I'm going to show you what Paul said in Philippians 2. It's life changing. He said, work hard to show the results of your salvation. Let me start. Stop there. If you're genuinely saved by Jesus, work hard to show the results of your salvation. This does not mean that you work to be saved. You are not saved by works ever. You're saved by grace through faith. But faith works. Let me say it again. You're not saved by works. You're saved by grace through faith. But faith works. So what do you do? You work hard to show the results of your salvation. Then what do you do? Obeying God with deep reverence and fear. With deep reverence.

[Pastor Sam]

He's a holy God.

[Pastor Craig]

Doesn't matter what you feel, doesn't matter.

[Pastor Sam]

What desire you have, doesn't matter how you think you're born. Doesn't matter what feels good to you. You obey the word of God with.

[Pastor Craig]

Deep reverence and with fear.

[Pastor Sam]

Now watch this. For God is working in you. In other words, you're not on your own.

[Pastor Craig]

It's not you.

[Pastor Sam]

Just like trying to be good and trying to be holy. No Because God is working in you. It's the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, working in you. The power of the Holy Spirit. If you are in Christ, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is inside of you. And so you work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you. Watch what he's doing, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. He gives you the desire, the want to, and the power, the how to. He gives it to you. Oh, and thank you for that golf clap. Because there's so much more power in that from God's word. Think about it. He's at work in you. He gives you the desire to do his will. He gives you the power to do his will. He gives you the desire and the power to do do what pleases him. That's how powerful he is. That's our God. That's our God. In other words, you can't please everybody. You can't. You can't please everybody. You please them, they don't like you. You please them, they don't like. You cannot please everybody. But you can please God. He gives you the desire and the power to live by His Spirit in.

[Pastor Craig]

A way that pleases Him. So Happy New Year.

[Pastor Sam]

30 years ago, we started with nothing.

[Pastor Craig]

And the future of this church will.

[Pastor Sam]

Not be determined by our size, by our budget, by our focus, by our vision. It'll be determined by how seriously we, you, me, us, the church, takes the word of God. I'll tell you what. Because if God answers my prayer one.

[Pastor Craig]

Day, I'll stand in front of him. He'll say, well done.

[Pastor Sam]

Some of those things were kind of screwy you did there, but well done, my good and faithful servant.

[Pastor Craig]

You pastored a church that was pleasing to me.

[Pastor Sam]

In order for this church to be.

[Pastor Craig]

Pleasing to God, my life has to be pleasing to him. Your life has to be pleasing to him. Look what he's done over the last 30 years. Think what he can do in the next if we become a church with a high view of our Holy God.

[Pastor Sam]

Come on, somebody give him praise today. Give him praise today. He's a good God. Father, we ask that you would do a work in us that only you can do as you're praying, not looking around.

[Pastor Craig]

Today, those of you who have some.

[Pastor Sam]

Area of your life, a casual view.

[Pastor Craig]

Of God, and you want to raise that view, no more casualness, reverence and awe. If you've got a casual view of God in Some place you're like, the.

[Pastor Sam]

Way you live shows it.

[Pastor Craig]

Lift your hand in repentance right now. Lift it up, lift it up. There's more of you right now, but put your hand back down.

[Pastor Sam]

If you are a Christian and there is some area of your life you.

[Pastor Craig]

Know is not what God wants it to be, you've got a casual view of God in some place area of your life and you want God to fix it, give you the desire and the power. Lift your hands right now online. Say, I've got. God's speaking to me. God's showing me an area. Lift your hand up as an act.

[Pastor Sam]

Of worship to him.

[Pastor Craig]

Heavenly Father, you are king. You are Lord. We stand in awe of you. You're holy, you're righteous. God help us to work hard because you saved us. God give us the desire to please you, the power to please you and God. We know we won't be perfect, but we thank you that we start from.

[Pastor Sam]

A place of love, just like you said to Jesus. This is my son, whom I love.

[Pastor Craig]

God, thank you for loving us always. Give us the power by your spirit to live in a way that pleases you. Speak to us all, convict us toward your will. We pray as you keep praying today at all of our churches.

[Pastor Sam]

Let me talk to those of you.

[Pastor Craig]

That you may believe in God, but you don't know Him. If you look at the way you live, he is not the Lord of your life. Your life does not demonstrate his kingship. God loves you so much. This is what his word says, that he sent his one and only son, Jesus.

[Pastor Sam]

Jesus didn't come to condemn the world.

[Pastor Craig]

But to save the world.

[Pastor Sam]

He didn't come for the righteous.

[Pastor Craig]

He came for broken sinners.

[Pastor Sam]

Just like me and just like you.

[Pastor Craig]

Jesus was perfect in every single way. Because he was without sin. He could die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And God raised him from the dead so that anyone, and this includes you, who calls on his name would be saved. Campus pastors, I'm making an audible. I want you to be ready. We're going. Eyes open, everybody. Eyes open right now. Eyes open. Campus pastors, be ready. You may have grown up in church. You may have been baptized as a kid. You look at your life right now and the way you're living doesn't reflect the lordship of Christ. What we're gonna do today is we're gonna step away from our sins and we're gonna say yes to the grace of God. You are not saved by your works, but only by grace through faith. You put your faith in Jesus and you declare this year, by the grace.

[Pastor Sam]

Of God, his power will enable me.

[Pastor Craig]

To live for him.

[Pastor Sam]

I'm not casual about my this isn't a half hearted, this isn't just a kind of sort of maybe Christian add on. This is a fully surrendered life to the lordship of Christ. If he died and rose again for me, that demands everything in me. Jesus, I surrender my life to you. I give my life to you publicly in front of anybody and everybody. I don't care. All in Jesus, save me. Be the Lord of my life. That's your prayer today.

[Pastor Craig]

Lift your hands high right now.

[Pastor Sam]

All over the place.

[Pastor Craig]

Lift them up.

[Pastor Sam]

Oh come on somebody lift. Oh my gosh. All over the place. Oh praise God for you. Hands up all over the place. Praise God. Praise God Church. Stand up to your feet if you will online. Just type in the comments section. I'm surrendering my life to Christ. Pastor Sam, come up here. Help me pray. Would you lead this amazing campus in a salvation prayer? And then you better make them give God some praise.

[Campus Pastor]

Come on, let's do it.

[Pastor Sam]

So let's do it. Go Pastor.

[Pastor Craig]

Lead him.

[Campus Pastor]

Repeat this prayer with me. Say heavenly Father, I give you my life. I surrender it all. Today I declare Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. I give you everything. Forgive me of my sins. Wipe them away and make me new. Fill me with your spirit so I can follow you and serve you and please you every day of my life. Thank you for new life. You now have mine. In Jesus name I pray. Somebody get a little loud.

[Pastor Sam]

Somebody get a little excited. Come on.

[Campus Pastor]

Worship Jesus today.

[Pastor Sam]

Let's go.

[Host/Announcer]

We're celebrating with those of you who just made the decision to follow Jesus. Check out the show notes for helpful resources and next steps. Remember to head over to Life Church PodcastConnect to share a little about yourself and how we can support you.