Amen. Amen. How are we doing, church? Doing all right? If you got your Bibles and I hope you do,

grab them. We're going to be in Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16. If you've been around for a while,

you should be able to find Acts. If you're new to us, it's over in the New Testament.

Acts chapter 16, just by confession, I need to tell you that I grew up

in the racist South. And I grew up very, I would say, racist and prejudice. And the reason I mentioned

both words is because race requires power. and as an eight-year-old,

I don't know how much power I had. But I was taught mostly by church folk, that there were certain

groups of people that went certain areas, and those people weren't supposed to mix, and that this kind of

church was for that person. And I was actually taught that my kind i wasn't really a church

person and and that that's that's sort of what i grew up in and just honestly as a child just didn't even

know better i mean how do you know the people that you look up to and authorities in your life

act that way and talk that way and teach that way and now now, by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

I am the lead pastor of a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with

Jesus Christ. And if you want to know, how did you get there? Was there some kind of experience

or something you learn or do you just, you know,

is there a progressive culture that you just finally caught up with?

No, no, no, no, no.

It was a right understanding of God and who he is and the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was studying that this book that led me to the place to understand that this

Jesus down on the cross thing, this thing that we call church, that it is a movement for all

people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus. So I need you to put on your big boy

theological pants right now. And if you, normally in a Pastor Jobi sermon, here's how it goes.

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