Finding your Purpose // Daniel Morgan

Good morning. It's an honor to be able to speak this morning again. Thank you, Pastor Josh, for this opportunity.

Um, if you got your Bibles, we're going to be in Psalms 139. And, um, now some of you know me, some of the students know me, and I'm kind of a realist, I guess you would say. And, uh, I do, I think I said it last time I was able to speak at the Thanksgiving. I do apologize if I say the words dog or bro or man or something like that. That's the way that I talk and I do apologize ahead of time for any, um, sort of non-disrespectable.

I mean that in no disrespectful way. But, um, as I've been, uh, thinking about it again, I've, uh, I'm just kind of a realist and I try to, I just try to think on, well, I don't try. I just think on my level. Um, and, uh, here lately, God has been really helping me and working in my life and I've, um, made sure to try to help the Grove students and even my students in class. Um, God has kind of got me on this whole kick of, and I kind of explained it a little bit during the, um, the last child that we had at school was this whole, this whole thought of being, being who you truly are. Um, and God's been really driving that home in my life. Uh, we, in our Bible class and health class, we took a, um, last three weeks when we've been doing a, uh, a self therapy almost. I've had some of my students be like, this is therapy class. Now this I do not want to come in here and we've been asking ourselves, um, just individually one-on-one, um, difficult questions or questions that we don't normally want to deal with or talk about in our life. I would, again, this is just me and I'm probably gonna speak very open and I do apologize if you don't like that either. But, um, I know myself and I know me, I know the shoes that I walk in and the things that I struggle with and you know, my attitude and my temper and all these different things at times.

Um, and those are things that I don't want to deal with. Um, I'm ashamed to say this, but I'd rather help other people than really truly help myself. And I told the, um, the last chapel, this, um, uh, kind of thing that kind of stoked me is the most honorable thing you can do in life. Um, yes, it is love the Lord and serve the Lord and serve other people. But I feel like too, also, it is the most honorable thing to do is to better yourself.

And I believe that's one thing I would say it like this and, and, you know, you know, it's, it's nothing wrong or anything like that. The Bible does say to put, you know, a people before yourself and I agree with all those different things, but the Bible also does say to be a light to this world. Um, that is our true, um, you know, uh, yes, we were created for relationship with God, but we were created also to be a light. That's what the Bible says, to be a light set upon a, what a hill to be seen, to be not see by all, man, look at Daniel.

He looked good up. No, to see God in and through an hour life. And I believe this and you can read it through, you know, scripture, you can read through biblical characters. God dealt with those men and women before he was able to use them fully. It wasn't just, I would say like this, it wasn't just Paul. Yeah.

Paul was in the, you know, the road of Damascus and all these different things and, and boom, out of nowhere, Paul became just this, the greatest missionary of all time. I agree with that. But also there are things in the Bible that are not put in the Bible that God, I know God does because God is the one true living God. Can I get a witness right there? Amen.

Right there. But also he is not just the creator of the universe. He is not just the one who literally has spoken everything we see into existence.

All right. He is not just this almighty that sits on high, that has, you know, this, this heavenly throne. And we picture God with, you know, eyes of fire, like the Bible says all these different things, but God is also your personal savior. Yes, he sits on high, but I'm so glad God comes to right where I'm at and he deals with me. Listen to me again.

I'm, I'm, I'm very real. He deals with my attitude. He deals with my own belief. He deals with my own belief. You see, he deals with my lack of faith, but my lack of faith is not saying, God, you can't do it. My lack of faith is me wanting to control it. You see, faith or, you know, the, the opposite of faith is not down. You know, many of us in here know to trust God. We know to believe in God. We know that God can because we read it in his word, right? We know that God, God can part the red seas metaphorically in our life when we can't see a way out, right? We know all those different things, but I'm thankful that it's not just, I read it. I can experience it in my life too. It's not just something that I'm like, God, man, you, I'm glad you did it for them, but where God wants to help and work in our life.

And I believe again, one of the most honorable things to do is to allow God to help us with who we are, to not just better us, to be a better version of ourselves, but to better us, to be a brighter light for him. Let me say that again. I don't know if that got you. I got you.

It's not just to be a better version of Daniel where I, you know, I've got a better attitude and you know, and I, and I, and I can, I got more patience. I'm not gonna lie. I ran out of patience this morning.

All right. I ran out of, I had a, a basketball game. I had a coach at eight 10. It didn't start till eight 45 and I was late getting here. I, my patience on 52 was not, I'm, I'm, I'm not extreme godly.

I'm not Mr. Holy. I was swerving. And if you might've met, met me on 52, I was, I was boom. I was NASCAR. We was getting it. We was getting here. And I, I was, I was mad, frustrated, I was sweating and all this. So I got, I'm glad that God can help me, you know, be better with my patience and with, you know, my, my road rage sometimes, you know, and all these different things.

But it's not just to better me personally. I want, I want everybody that I come in contact with to look at my life and go, man, not that he's perfect, man, not that he's got everything together, but man, there's something different in his life. And that difference is God. And I get, I believe for people, this world, you hear it all the time. The world's falling apart. And that's, you know, it's dark.

That's great. I'll be honest with you. A light shines brighter when it is in darkness. We have a chance now. And I say it like this. I have lived my life for so long, just getting through life, making it day in and day out, making it. And we'll say it like this. You know, Baptist churches, we're really good at saying, you know, making it from one trial to the next.

And I heard it all the time. You know, if you're not going through a trial, you're, you're getting ready to go in one or you're getting ready to come out of one. And all these, and it's just trials. And I, you know, I agree with that. There are trials of life, but more than that, there's trials of life.

I believe that, that this life, the breath that you get to take in and out just then are opportunities for us just to see the amazing grace of God and for him to show the world that he's fulfilled his amazing grace through us. But I've been on this kick of bettering ourselves and, uh, or, you know, I say like this, not just bettering ourselves, not just being who you are, but being who God created you to be. I had a bunch of shoes up here a while back. I'm a big sneaker head. And I was telling all the students, all these different shoes and stuff like that.

And I had some fakes up here and I had some ones that you wouldn't play basketball in anymore and all these different things. And I was saying, be who God has created you to be, but see, this is the thing. And this is not just a gradual, I don't have a graduate spiel this morning. I'm sorry.

I didn't Google a speech or anything like that. I just, I just talking where I'm at right now in my life. And it's this right here, right? In order for God to use me, I gotta be confident in who God has created me to be.

I've tried to fit a mold before I tried to fit this. Um, you know, this, oh, this is what, you know, a Christian should be. And I do agree.

You know, there's things that the Bible says, God says about what a Christian should be like, trust me, I'm not straying away from any of those things. Well, what I'm saying is we were created uniquely. I'm glad I wasn't created over in some factory somewhere, you know, that has says like made in, well, I'm from the Philippines, you know, made in the Philippines or something like that.

You know, it's not, we can laugh. It's okay. It's okay.

I'm Filipino. I didn't just figure that out. All right. Um, so I'm glad that it's not just, I'm just another number.

All right. To the world. Look at me to y'all, maybe to people around me. I may just be another person, but to God, I am not just another hall.

Who is that again? It's, it's almost as if I was the only one he created times when he sees me. And we got to understand this young person, graduate old person. It doesn't matter who you are today. I'm talking to everybody. I say, I said, God's talking to everybody could be talking to me.

Is this right here? It doesn't matter where we're at in life. We have to learn to be confident, not in ourselves, but be confident in the God that created us. You see, I am zero bit confidence in myself.

That's right. I just, I didn't even say that even right. Cause I don't have no confidence in myself, zero confidence in Daniel Morgan, but I have 2000% confidence in the God that created me. So every time God opens up a door, I don't step in it, strong, proud, being like, man, I got here. I step in it, knowing that God opened this door and he gave me the ability to be here. And so when we step out into this world, again, graduate, whoever's sitting under the sound of this voice, we need to step with confidence and assurance that God is going to do something in us and through us. You see, the Bible says like this in Psalms 139, it says this, Oh, Lord is thou has searched me and known me. Thankful for all these verses.

These are good. I want to get to one verse in particular says thou knowest my down sitting and my uprising. Thou understand is my thought far off. It says thou can pass it, my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. It says this for there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, Oh Lord, thou knowest it all together.

It says it like this. God is, or David is writing it like this. He says, before a word is even in it, in my mouth, before I even say it says, God, you know it.

It says, God, you know everything about me. You want to know why? It's because it's because God created you.

And see, this is the thing. For so long I have tried to hide away from who I am. I have tried to push under the rug the things in my life that I don't want to deal with.

And yet I read here that the Bible says, Oh Lord, thou has searched and known me. You see, sometimes I feel ashamed to approach God with my sin. Yes, I have sin in my life. Yes, I struggle on a daily basis. Yes, I'm a human being. I'll say it like this. Yes, you are too.

I am my biggest worst enemy, a critic, uh, whatever you want to hater, whatever you want to call it in my life. But I got to understand this, that I don't need to go, well God doesn't want me today. Ah, do you remember what you said yesterday? Daniel, he ain't going to use you today. You got to understand that God already knows you. He already knows what the, the, you know, the hateful attitude you're going to have towards the Starbucks worker. I don't know, eventually when they get your order wrong, he knows all those things. But he says, I don't want you just to skate through life and never deal with those things.

He says, I want to meet you where you're at. I want to work on you. I want to better you. I want you to become a better version of yourself so you can be a brighter version for me.

And I'll just say it like this. I'm 30 years old, just turned 30 in April. For so long, I've pushed those things aside and I've wanted to know why my life is dry.

I've wanted to know why my life isn't, doesn't feel like it's going somewhere. You see these graduates, we got all, all of us in here that's graduated. Whether you've graduated for a year or not, you know, this excitement that's right here, right? They're not going to remember a single word of this and it's okay. I don't know.

I didn't either. I had a baccalaureate, is that what they call it? Service. And I was like, falling asleep. I was like, I'm just ready to graduate because this time is exciting.

Correct? What about 10 years later? What about that, that nine to five job? What about that, that nine to five family?

What about those family issues? What about those, you know, all the different sort of big adult things that we go through? See, eventually I say like this life isn't as polished as in bright and shiny as it once was when we had cap and gowns on. And I barely made it through the cap and gown thing.

I'm lucky I even got one of those things, right? But it was exciting in there, right? What I found in life is when you live and you continue to live, you continue to go through day in and day out, we eventually not become numb to things, but we eventually just get into it like it's like just stepping on a conveyor belt and we just keep moving down the line next day, next day, next day. And what I found is this, we live our life like that. We are not, we are not living fully to who we were created to be. Me and you were created differently. And I thank God for that. If there's another Daniel, this world would be upside down.

All right. But I thank God that I'm created different than you because I have a purp- Look at me. I have a purpose in my life.

And look at me. You have a purpose in your life. Just like everything we see was created for a reason, we, the Bible says it like this, right?

Over there in creation in Genesis, right? That he spoke everything into existence. But the only thing that he formed, that word form means with his hands was you and me for a purpose, for a specific reason.

I'll say it like this. We want to find our purpose and reason when we're here. But what about when we, when we get out of that?

What about when the cabin gown comes off and, and, and we're living our life now? Do we just push away that purpose and go, I'm just going to provide for my family. And I, and I understand that. I'm very, that's very honorable.

You should please provide for your family. I need to get to work. That's understand. What about your purpose? What about being who God created you to be? Let me ask you this adult. Let me ask you this young person. Are you living in it right now?

Are you walking in it right now? And I'll say it like this. Sometimes it's not, I'll just say, I don't care. It's popular. Sometimes people will question you. What are you doing?

Why do it like that? Are you sure? I got so many, are you sure before my life? I could write a whole book about just, are you sure? Are you really? I got a bunch of reallys. I could write a whole book about just, are you sure?

Really? I got a bunch of reallys. I could write a second one too, but I got to say it like this. God created me for me. And when I begin to walk and talk and live and, and convene with God on a daily basis, I'm not talking about reading 10,000 verses a day, but I'm talking about waking up in the morning, look at me and just choosing God. I used to think waking up in the morning and reading a Proverbs a day will keep the devil away and all these different things thinking, you know, and that's great if you do that. All right.

But I'll just be honest with you. There's some days where I wake up and I'm not, thank you Lord Jesus. I'm waking up and my alarm has went off for 10 minutes and I'm like struggling to get ready and it's stressful. And on my way to work, I'm like mad that I didn't wake up at time and I get to class and I'm like sweating and I hate sweating and I'm like, man, I feel like I'm smelly. I brush my teeth. Did I shower?

I don't know. I haven't ate anything today. I'm getting a little flaky.

I'm going to pass out and all these different things. And your day is not good, but guess what you can still do. You still choose God.

Oh, when today was bad. And that's the reason why I lashed out. That's, that's who God created me. That isn't who God created you to be. Come on now. Let's be honest. You may mean you have a bad attitude, right?

Yeah. But God didn't create us to have a bad attitude. God created us to be a light. But those bad attitudes are just those, those, I say not even bad air.

Those weaknesses are just big areas that God can, can work at in our life. See, I'm a big basketball player, right? And in high school, I was five foot four thinking I was going to go to the NBA. I realized real quick I wasn't.

All right. But it was this. I had a bunch of weak areas. I was short.

I was 90 pounds in, in ninth grade. I thought I could dunk it. I almost broke my arm trying to do it one game.

And I had to learn real quick. I can't do all these things that all these like Michael Jordan, the goat, the goat. He's the, he is the goat. He's not LeBron James. It's okay. We've had that discussion before. All right.

Michael Jordan. I can't do all those things. I'm not, I'm not him.

All right. So I had to learn. I got some weak areas. I need to get better at. You do that in your job, right? You do that with your car, right? You do that with, with everything else in life, right? Your refrigerator starts leaking water. We go into panic mode and we're like Lowe's.

Hey, just get, I need one, right? We, we do that with everything, but why don't we do that with our life? Listen to me. Listen to me. Why don't we do that with our life? We tend to push away the weak areas and go, I don't want to deal with it right now. And God is saying, hey, it's not that you're, you're, you're a horrible and an awful person.

It's I want to help you. And yet we tend to push those things away and then we don't live for what we were created for. Let me get to where we're at.

Then I'll be done. The Bible says it like this in verse, um, go to verse 16. This is a great song. Um, all these different things, but this is one verse that I've read over for a long time. It says, thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect. It says, and in thy book, all my members were written, which the continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them. Let me help you understand this because that's, sometimes I read the Bible and I'm like, what? All right, let me just help you break it down into my terms right here.

It says like this, God, your eyes seen me before I was even formed. When I was formless, God, you seen me. And I say it like this, during this time of self-assessment, I've gotten some very, very real answers. Listen to me. All I teach is guys. And if you're a guy in here, you know, at one time as a teenage boy, you didn't care about nothing. Uh, we just disrespected everybody just because we felt like we could.

All right. Like, I mean, it was just, we didn't care, but I, I've got some young men. I've got a lot of these young men who have honored me and I've got a lot of I've got some young men. I've got a lot of these young men who have honest, or answered a lot of these questions, the exact opposite of what I thought I was going to get.

Young men who were, who were saying, I mean, just like not heartbreaking things, but I hope many things because I sit back and don't want to deal with things that they're, yet they're sitting there saying, these are, this is some things in my life that I need help in and these areas and all these different things. I had a question and it was this, it was the first question of one of them. It says, who are you? And you want to know the hardest question, the most questions that I got about a question, what do you mean by that? Was that question right there.

It was like, Daniel, what does this even mean? I'm like, who are you? Well, I don't know.

All right. And I got, you know, student, son, basketball player, football player. I got all these character things, but I didn't get to the root of it. Talk about not who we are. Oh, I work at such and such, or I'm a mom or a daddy and all these different things, but I'm talking about who, who, who are you?

Listen to me, person in here, listen to me. Who are you? Who were you created to be? What were you created for?

Not what car you drive, not what country club you're part of, not what team you represent, not all those, who are you? You see, again, I believe the reason why some of us don't know that question is because we are not dealing with ourselves. And how could we know our true purpose if we're not taking the time for ourselves? You see, the Bible says it like this, and I'm gonna give you some, some, some, some, some help on it. It says it like this, it says Philippians 1 6, we know this, right? And being confident in this very thing, that he which hath, what, begun a good work in you will finish it until the day of Christ Jesus or Jesus Christ, right? That he which hath begun a good work in you. I love the Bible and its wording, it doesn't say us, it doesn't say them, it doesn't say whoever, it says, look, when you're reading it, it says you. So when you're reading it, it's Jesus and God saying you, not your family. It says that when, when he created you, he started something in you.

Let me ask you this, what is it? What did he start in your life? I'll just be honest with you, here past year and a half, I have found my purpose for right now, it may change in the future, I don't know, and that purpose is, is being a basketball coach. And I know that sounds silly to some of you, but God taught me a lot when I wasn't in church, didn't grow up in church, he taught me a lot through the game of basketball. He taught me about being 15 minutes early to a job interview because I had to be 15 minutes early for practice, dressed and ready to rock and roll. He taught me a lot of things, basketball taught me a lot of things, but God has allowed me to use the game of basketball to reach a bunch of young men right where I was at at their age.

Lost, look at me, confused, hurt, overwhelmed, needing something in my life, but I did not know what it is. And I tell my young men this right here, basketball is not a character builder, it's a revealer, it'll reveal who you really are. And that, and I can't, and I don't know your purpose, but I can tell you this, that's who God has created me to be, and he's used my abilities and my talents to be able to understand that game, to reach and to help if it's just one young man. Yes, one young man God can do a lot with, and I'm not boasting on me, but God has helped me in my life. He moved me from the Philippines to Tennessee to South Carolina, North Carolina, met my wife, I got a little dog, I'm a dog, I'm a, I'm a, what do they call it, a dad dog or whatever, I got a little puppy at home waiting for me, like all these different things, and it's because I allowed God into my life.

So let me ask you this again, again the Bible says it like this, in Philippians 1 it says, he which hath begun a good work in you, what's the work he begun? Now I don't have no points, I just got a bunch of random things I'm going to say, so I don't have nothing, but I would say it like that again, is what, what does that work? I read a fact yesterday actually, and it was this right here, came across a video on Instagram, all these different things, it was just right here, whales, here's a fact, a well-known fact, whales die from drowning. They die of a bunch of other things too, nets and all these different, but whales, all right, there's a consistent statistic of that, whales die from drowning.

Now what you mean? See this, whales are mammals, they're not made to live and breathe in the water, just like a fish is that has gills. You see, the whale's got to come up, up to the surface, and breathe, and get air in, and then can die back down, but eventually through old age and all sorts of circumstances, if the whale does not come up in time to get breath, the whale can drown in the environment that it is living in. And what I found is this right here in my life, I can't say for yours, for a long time the environment that I was living in was not the correct environment to keep me alive, but I was trying to live in it because I didn't know who I really was, I didn't know my real purpose, and I was killing myself and those around me. You see, a mammal again should be walking, a mammal is something that that requires oxygen into their lungs.

We are humans, but we would be classified as a mammal, all right, but a whale is living in water, and the one thing that it's living in is the one thing that can kill it. I'll say it like this, we again know our need of everything, we know when we're hungry, listen to me, I'm always saying we know we're hungry, we know when we're thirsty, we know when we're tired, we know when we're angry, we know we know the needs of our life, but yet I found a lot of times we tend to push the need of God in our life. I don't need it right now. He don't care nothing about me. God don't see me where I'm at.

Look at me, I got a lot of young men that wrote stuff down like that. Man, if God's so good, then how is he allowing, this is, in our Christian, how is he allowing me to go with my family to go through all these things? God doesn't see me because of everything that's going on, there's no way he can see me. Honest answers, these are all anonymous too, like I mean honest answers, and when we choose to push that need of God in our life away, we are slowly and surely killing ourselves, and I believe that's the reason why we become adults and and we just go throughout our daily life and you know and all these different things and none of that's wrong and all these, but we are not being the light that we should be because we are not taking time to go up to the surface, and not this surface but that surface, being in the Bible and getting breath and getting life and getting power and getting unction and getting guidance and getting direction and getting answers from God himself, because I'll be honest with you, if I get answers, I'll answer myself a lot of the times, and I'm 100% wrong every time, all right, that's just me, but me and you can agree those times where we go to God, whether we felt like we needed to or we, it was a situation that almost forced us into it, we tend to always find this one word that we're looking for and it's called peace. So, how do we be confident? How do we be confident in who God has created us? How do we do all these different things?

It's very simple and let me help you understand this and I'll be done. Again, I have no points, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to speak from, well, the growth students know is I never had points, so it's all good anyway, all right, it's this right here, all you got to do is just choose him and that's very shallow, well, how do I choose him, all these different things, it's your daily decision to wake up and say, God, what is it today you want? Because that decision every day will start turning into a little deeper decision, okay, God, I see what you're doing, I see, okay, I see how you're working in my life, okay, let's go a little further, I'm actually gonna talk to you a little bit more during the day, oh man, you answered that prayer, God, and I say like this, it ain't always like this, but you're gonna start hungering and thirsting, thirsting more after God, but all it takes is that decision, because as a 30 year old young man still, I guess to some degree, is this right here, I'm tired of wasting my life away with a product from God being my life that I'm using how it is not intended to be used, I sit in chairs just like you on Sundays and Wednesdays, I go to work just like you, I have a family just like most of us in here, and yet sometimes I'm not being used the way I was created to be used, and if there's one, there's one thing I want out of my life is this right here, for somebody to see the Lord in my life, that's all I care about, and that's not a boastful, cocky, arrogant way where I'm perfect, it's just, become a big quote out here lately, but it said this, be the adult you needed as a kid, that struck a chord with me, because I remember how I was as a kid, I say like I remember how I was when I was lost, I remember the questions I had when I wasn't in church, look at me, some of us, it would take, it would be good for us to remind ourselves really where we used to be before we met God, I remember the sitting in here, I had no clue where I was going after high school, all my friends was like, I'm going here, boom, boom, boom, and when they announced my name and I walked across the stage, it was just, hey, what's up, Daniel Morgan, I'm like, hey, give me the diploma, I had no clue where I was going, I remember everything, so if God can use me to help maybe one other young man or or whoever I come in contact with, to allow them to see something that I was never able to see through somebody else in my life, it's worth it all, so I'll say it like this and I'm done, Pastor George, you go ahead and come on up here, is this right here, what's your purpose, I have no graduation speech, I have no spill for the graduates, I have no spill for you, I just been, what God has been doing in my life is this, what is your purpose, if I was to bring you up on stage and give you this microphone and say, tell us who you really are, would we even be able to know that, not give us characteristics about ourselves, but to say this is who I am, this is who God has created me to be, I'm living in it today, when we get there, there's, I can just, from my shoes, man, God has been so good to me, I can't tell you, I can't tell you, not all the the things that I've gained over life, but just the peace, look at me, the peace, the longing, the searching that I was searching for, I got hope now, I got hope, I see the sun, I see the light, I see everything, because I'm living in my purpose, so let me ask you this again as Pastor Josh is coming, what's your purpose, and are you living in it, it may be, the reason why your life may be dry, is because you're using a product for the wrong reason, that's what it may be, I challenge you this morning, God challenges you, are you living in your purpose, young people, graduates are proud of you, all right, go seek after it, getting a degree is great, trust me, it's great, I don't have one yet, all right, so getting a degree is great, I don't, I don't got one, what is this right here, living in your purpose far surpasses anything else, I don't care, man, you got to make a bunch of money, help, remember me, help me out, all right, car, all those different things, great, mansion, come on with it, buy me too, is this right here, living in your purpose, knowing what it is, knowing what it is, let's pray, Lord, thank you for these young people today as we're honoring our graduates, and thank you, Lord, for the families that are here, and, and the, the distant families, and just the friends that are here this morning, Lord, I pray, God, that, that you would make them feel honored and special this morning, it's a big step, Lord, whether it's high school or college graduates, Lord, it's a huge monumental step in their lives, and, Lord, again, I pray that you would make them feel special today, Lord, thank you again for just allowing us to be here in your house, but, God, more than anything, God, as you've been challenging me with this thing, God, I want to live my purpose, I don't want to, I don't want to go through this life and use it and abuse it for my own glory, my own self, God, I want to, I want to do everything I can for you, Lord, the abilities that you've given me is not the abilities that I've, that I have been able to work through and do on my own, God, you have given the abilities that we have freely, and, Lord, I pray, for everybody in this, in this, in, and in this building right here, that we would use those abilities that you've given us for your honor, use them for the reason why you created us, God, may you help us, God, may we be a light, or to this world be a light to our families and our friends, we love you, thank you again in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Can we all stand please, heads bowed, hearts lifted in prayer as the musicians are playing, what's your purpose? It doesn't just mean God is going to call every single one of us, I mean, I think we should wrestle with him calling us full-time into ministry, but, but he might not. What's your purpose? What he's, what has he called you to do right now, and are you living on mission for him right there? Are you living out that purpose and reaching people and discipling people? You know, this is an invitation time, it's a time for us to reflect, a time for us to do business and allow the Holy Spirit to speak into our lives. Maybe some of you need to pray, graduates, as they're embarking to find some of their purpose of what God's gifted them to do, maybe you need to pray right now, or parents pray right now, that your young people can can find what God is calling them to, and say yes to that, and do it for his honor and for his glory.

Amen. If you could do me just a favor, I got a few things I want to mention. If you could have a seat, and I would greatly appreciate, I just want to mention a couple of things that are coming up. Senior adults, you guys are having a cookout coming up on June the 1st.

That's going to happen at 10 30 a.m. at the gathering place. There is a sign-up sheet out in the welcome center, and so you say, how old do I have to be to be in the senior adults? If you're 50 and older, you are invited, okay?

Just own it at this stage of your life, and join us, be a part of it. If you have nothing going on, but we need you to sign up, you can sign up for what to bring out in the back, and we would greatly, greatly appreciate that. And then also VBS is coming up this summer, and we are about to graduate in our school this week, and we are going to be full-fledged VBS over the next month, and so I ask that you keep those dates. It's on June 25th through the 29th, and each night we will see about 200 kids come to VBS each night, and so we are going to need everybody all ages in our church to participate, to serve in different capacities, and so you'll be hearing a lot about that, but for now, save the date, and you can sign up to volunteer, and to register your child online, and you'll be hearing a lot about that.

I want you to be back next Sunday. Next Sunday is an exciting day here at our church as we get to celebrate with those who are taking a step and getting baptized. I think we have about 15 or 16 getting baptized.

We got quite a few people who are joining the church as well over these next two weeks who have attended our Starting Point membership class, so we are super excited about that, and so next week be here, celebrate with us, and we are looking forward to celebrating with all of them. Just a couple more things, prayer updates that Pastor Bailey wanted. He's out of town if you did not know that this weekend. Some things you need to be aware of and praying for. Do be in prayer for the Moon family. Robin Moon, his dad, did pass away. He has been traveling over these last several months a lot to Virginia to sit and be with his dad, and so he passed away two days ago, so we need to be praying for Robin and his family during this time. I know that's where they are up there for this weekend, and so be in prayer for Robin Moon. Also, Brenda Hagee's brother-in-law passed away. There'll be a funeral service today at 4 pm, so be in prayer for Brenda and her family during this time as well.

And then also John Berry will be having knee replacement surgery I believe tomorrow, and so if you would be in prayer for him and and his family as he'll be having that surgery and then also during their recovery time. And then I did want to mention, we don't always say this, but I know Wednesday nights are a big program here at our church, and we have kids ministry of all ages. We have youth ministry meeting on Wednesday night, and then our adults meet in here for a Bible study. And I just want to mention to you this Wednesday, I'd love to invite you to be a part of this. One thing I want to celebrate are the accomplishments of our young people, our children who learn verses and do their devotions and serve, do community outreach and all these different things that they try to do in our kids program on Wednesday nights throughout the year. And this week is our awards night on Wednesday night right here in this room where many of them will be rewarded for some of the things that they have have done this year, and they'll be singing for us and everything. That's going to happen at seven o'clock right here in the auditorium Wednesday.

Come support those kids. If we should get excited about anything, it should be kids singing worship songs, it should be kids learning and memorizing scripture, it should be kids serving their community and different things. These are the things we as a church should be excited about, and so I want you to be here. You say I don't come on Wednesdays. Well, come this Wednesday, okay, and be a part of it, and let's celebrate everything of them together.

Last thing, I promise, and I think I've said that twice already, and this is the last thing. Today is a special day. It's a day that we can remember our former pastor, Pastor Ken Harris. Today was his birthday, and so he is spending this birthday in the presence of his Lord and Savior that he served so faithfully for so many years. If you did not know this, if you're new to our church, our pastor passed away in January of 2021, and that's one of the reasons God brought me back here from Florida. Today we are celebrating his birthday, and what we decided to do after he passed a couple of years ago is we decided in our Christian school to give out a scholarship in his name.

So one thing that we do as a church each year at his birthday is anything that comes into the tithes and offerings that is not designated. We'll be going to the Ken Harris Scholarship Fund, and we'll be awarding that in our Christian school on Friday night at graduation. And so what you can do today, if you'd like to give to the Ken Harris Scholarship Fund, you can do so on your way out today at all of our exits. We are going to have some baskets there, and if you would like to give or if you already gave in the offering earlier, because I know I sent a text and email about that yesterday just to remind you, but if you did not give in the offering earlier and would like to give on behalf of the Ken Harris Scholarship Fund, you can on your way out today at all of the exits. Well Daniel, thank you for the message today.

Really appreciate his heart, and over the last year I think we've had so many conversations about your purpose and about what God is doing in his life, and I'm so grateful that he was able to share that and challenge us with that. But at this time, it's a special time, we're going to dismiss the graduates, and if you want to say hey to our graduates, they're going to be outside right on our front patio, and so if you want to come by, congratulate them, and just tell them that you'll be praying for them, they would greatly appreciate this. And so let's do this. Let's all stand at this time, and then our graduates will be dismissed.

All right. Let me pray for you, and then we will be dismissed. Father, we love you. God, we just thank you so much for what you've done in this place today. God, I pray that all of us would leave here living out our purpose to honor and glorify you and to reach people in the setting that you've called us to. Father, we love you. Bless our graduates.

Put a hedge of protection around them. Lead God and direct them in the days to come, for it's in your name we pray. Amen. God bless you. You are dismissed. Amen.