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Trinity Community Church
Trinity Community Church
The Passion Project - The Value Of Teamwork
Welcome to The Passion Project series with Pastor Tyler Lynde, where we uncover the profound impact of teamwork through the story of Nehemiah. This ancient Jewish leader discovered Jerusalem’s walls in ruins and recognized that rebuilding them meant more than physical protection—it meant restoring hope and identity. Tyler walks us through Nehemiah’s remarkable leadership, showing how he invited everyone to join in the effort by saying, “Come, let us build,” rather than simply demanding they follow.
In Nehemiah 2:17-18, we see a vision unfold as people from all backgrounds—priests, artisans, and everyday community members—came together to reconstruct the walls. The high priest was the first to rise up and work on the Sheep Gate, setting an example of servant leadership that sparked unity. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 12:14-20, Tyler emphasizes how every part of the body, or community, holds unique value. Even the Tekoites, who stepped in twice to repair separate sections (Nehemiah 3:5, 3:27), remind us that no contribution is too small or repeated efforts too many when pursuing a collective goal.
Tyler also addresses the challenges Nehemiah faced—past failures and complacency had left people reluctant to act. Yet faith and determination turned “we tried that before” into “let us rise up and build.” By exploring Psalm 133:1, Tyler reveals how God values unity and pours out blessings when people dwell together in harmony. A quick look at John 5:1-9 further illustrates the transformative power of divine intervention, reminding us that God meets us in the midst of our brokenness and ushers in healing.
As Tyler unpacks these Scriptures, he shows how a passionate commitment to teamwork and reliance on God’s guidance can lead to remarkable change in our lives today. Whether you’re seeking to rebuild a fractured relationship, strengthen a ministry, or pursue a new calling, Nehemiah’s story serves as a testament that faith-fueled collaboration makes the impossible possible. Join Tyler in reclaiming your passion for unity, and discover how God can use your unique gifts to accomplish something far greater than you ever imagined.
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Anyway, I'm Tyler, I'm the lead pastor here and I'm so grateful to be able to stand in front of you and share the Word of God with you. And we are in the book of Nehemiah, so let's turn there to Nehemiah chapter. We're going to start in chapter 2. Today's the third installment of our sermon series on the book of Nehemiah, called the Passion Project.
Tyler Lynde:The Jews had been in captivity for 160 years in one form or fashion, and through that time, several different groups of Jewish people were allowed to come back to the homeland, and to Jerusalem in particular. The temple had been rebuilt, but the walls surrounding Jerusalem and the gates there were 12 gates that were part of the walls were still in disarray and in bad disrepair. We've seen so far how Nehemiah, after understanding and receiving the word of the condition of the walls of Jerusalem, began to cry. He was torn up, he became passionate about the state of things within his homeland, and so what did he do? He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed favor toward him and he answered his prayers by causing the Persian king, artaxerxes, to give him favor and to send him out of Persia, carrying with him all the materials that he would need to rebuild the gates and the walls, and also supplies and money to be able to purchase anything else that might be needed to finish the job. And so Nehemiah comes out and he comes into Jerusalem, and last week, scott did a great job of teaching us how Nehemiah put his faith into action. He put his faith into action, and this reality is what this could. The reality, though, is this this one man could not do the job. This one man could not do the job that was needed to be done, and so today's message is entitled the Value of Teamwork. The Value of Teamwork.
Tyler Lynde:Let's look at Nehemiah, chapter 2, and we're going to start in verses 17 and 18, and then we're going to look at chapter 3 to help us flesh out the truths that are in these verses. So let's read the word of God together. Then I said to them you see the trouble that we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins, with its gates burned. Come, let us listen to the plural words. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me and they said let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
Tyler Lynde:Let's pray together this morning. Father God, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for the work that you've already done here today and, lord, we ask that this would be a continuation. We ask that you would take these words that you've placed in your Bible for us and that you would cause them to come alive, lord, that we would not only be hearers of the word, but we would hear this word, put our faith into action and do the things that you're asking of us. We thank you, holy Spirit, for saving those who are not saved and for causing those who may be in a state of disrepair in their own lives to have hope that today is the day for a new beginning, and we thank you for that in Jesus' name, amen.
Tyler Lynde:So there are two basic thoughts that, if you allow them to linger in your life, will stop any momentum in your life, and especially when it comes to your Christian community, this church and the church that God's called us to be a part of. I personally have experienced these two things in different ways, and I'm sure that you have as well. So the first one is we kind of like the way things are, Everything's good. We don't need the way things are, everything's good, we don't need to change a thing. Anybody ever lived within that reality Maybe you find yourself there right now that, my friends, if left unattended, can become a momentum killer. It can become a passion killer, because how many of you know that God, although he is the same yesterday, today and forever, is continually in motion. There is momentum. The kingdom of God is a momentous kingdom. It has movement, it breathes, it lives. There's activity in the kingdom of God. There is no point in your Christian life where there won't be some form of movement. Now, it doesn't mean that you have to.
Tyler Lynde:How many of you know Jesus? Very rarely do we hear of him running anywhere, but how many of you know he walked a lot of places and a lot of times? When he showed up in places, what did they say of him? If you'd only been here just a little bit sooner? How many of you know God's timing scale is not our timing scale. His way of measuring things is not the way that we measure things, but God is a God of movement, god is a God of momentum. How many of you know that Jesus also took time to be still to spend time with his father alone. All of that was a part of the momentum, the building of the kingdom of God. Those things were essential.
Tyler Lynde:So some people might say don't rock the boat, keep things the way that they are. Change is evil. Here's the thing you never want to do. If you believe that, don't look in the mirror every day, because a few weeks from now you look in that mirror and guess what you notice Change is happening. The other way you can tell change is happening is watching children grow. I saw Scott's granddaughter come in this morning and my goodness, he's so tall, scott, and she just shot up. You know, it's all the hormones in the chicken, man, I don't know. Sorry, that might actually stir some passion up within some of y'all, so I need to be careful there.
Tyler Lynde:Anyway, moving on, so that's one school of thought. Here's the other one, and maybe this one is even more invasive. We tried that before and it didn't work. We already tried that and it didn't work. How many of us have found ourselves in that sort of scenario? Imagine the children of Israel marching around Jericho after the third day. They said we tried that it didn't work. Or maybe the sixth time around the wall on that seventh day we tried that it didn't work. Or maybe the sixth time around the wall on that seventh day we tried that and it didn't work.
Tyler Lynde:Obedience is more important than what we perceive as something working. Does that make sense? God is always working and he's always moving. So let's make sure that we allow the passion of God to stir within us a desire for momentum, for movement, for change that is healthy, for change that he is bringing into our lives right, and let's shake off any kind of mindset that says I don't want to change or we've already tried that and it didn't work. Let's shake that off by the grace of God this morning. Amen. And that's what Nehemiah was faced with as he's talking, as he's observing and looking at how he's going to bring about change in this community. Nehemiah faces both of these passion stealers as he attempts to bring about a reformation among the people of God.
Tyler Lynde:Well, it's true that the temple had been restored 60 years prior to this, but the wall and the gates had been compromised and were laying in ruins for over 140 years. Wow, that's a long time, how many of you know you can get used to something after 140 years? How many of you know you can get used to something after 140 years? How many of you know you can almost forget that there were walls there after 140 years? How many of you know that weeds will take over any area that is not cultivated over 140 years? Right, so you can imagine, just picture with me what the scene must have looked like around Jerusalem. They had attempted to rebuild the walls even before and had failed miserably Again. All of these reasons, all of these excuses, all of these things that were screaming out to them just sit down, just hold on, just quit, just sit back.
Tyler Lynde:So we learn in our passage this morning that leadership is essential for teamwork. Talking about the value of teamwork, in order to have a team, you need to have at least a leader, right, or leaders. This is true in many different scenarios. How about in families? God has placed in families leadership. For those of you who are single parents, guess what? God has given you the authority and the leadership to help your family, to minister to your family, to lead and guide your family. To those of you who are married, god has given both responsibilities, but the man, specifically, is called to be the spiritual leader of his household. Men, we have an opportunity to be a godly leader in our homes.
Tyler Lynde:How about in workplaces? Is leadership essential in workplaces? We may not like the leadership we have in workplaces, but leadership is essential Also in governments. We know that that's the same case there, and we could go on and on. How much more is it true in Christianity that godly leadership is essential for teamwork? So Nehemiah is an excellent example to us of what it looks like to be a godly leader.
Tyler Lynde:So let's talk about a godly leader First of all. A godly leader identifies and communicates challenges. Godly leaders do not hide from trouble. Godly leaders do not run from problems. Godly leaders observe them, understand them and then communicate about them. What needs to happen, right? So let's go back to the verses again.
Tyler Lynde:Then I said to them Nehemiah, speaking to the crowd, you see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Nehemiah is pointing out for them there's a problem, there's a challenge, there's something that we are facing, and this was important not just because of the walls themselves being forms of protection, but it was also about the identity of a people, the identity of the people of Israel, the identity of the Jewish people. Jerusalem and the walls that were surrounding it were helping should have been helping to identify who these people were as the people of God. And yet their lives were disheveled and in disarray because they had quit attempting to repair things. I love that Nehemiah didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't say well, you know, I was just walking around today and I stubbed my toe on a rock and I thought you know, maybe somebody would like somewhere to. Somehow, if you don't mind, would you please move that rock? No, he said guys, there's a problem. There's a problem that we need to face.
Tyler Lynde:He had heard the report of the wall and now he'd observed it with his own eyes. His job, as he saw it now, was to rally the people to begin again, to begin again. Hear me prophetically this morning, some of you, god is calling you to begin again and I'm hearing that call myself, that clarion call from the Lord to step up, to re-engage, to begin again. He was communicating to everyone who would listen, to anyone who would listen to his voice. He was communicating to them, he was giving them a clear understanding of the issue and of the problem. But a godly leader doesn't just point out the problems. A godly leader calls others up to work with them. He says come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. Nehemiah issues again this great call to all who would hear his voice.
Tyler Lynde:And when I was reading this, I couldn't help but think of the scene from Braveheart where William Wallace gets on his horse and he's riding back and forth in front of the men who were getting ready to leave and go back to their homes and to lay down in their beds, and he's talking about the cost of freedom. And are you going to be content to lay down and beds? And he's talking about the cost of freedom. And are you going to be content to lay down? And many years from now, you may still be alive, but what will it have cost you if you lose your freedom, your freedom?
Tyler Lynde:Nehemiah, in a similar way, is rallying the troops. He's saying let's get, let's understand that we can do this together, let's do this thing together. He challenged their passion by asking them if they were content to let the nations around them mock them and mock their God. The nations around them were mocking them and mocking their God. A godly leader must receive a vision from God and then make it clear to those that will work together with them. Habakkuk 2 says this Write the vision, make it plain on tablets so he may run. Who reads it? We're not given every detail of Nehemiah's plan, but we know he had a plan Because we'll see as we get into chapter three how that plan was executed. And it's masterful. It's really amazing how God gave him such wisdom and insight on how to make sure that things were done in a way that would end up bringing glory and honor to God.
Tyler Lynde:And finally, a godly leader is under authority. What do you mean? I have authority if I'm a godly leader. We have authority because we've been given authority right. Nehemiah goes on to say and I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.
Tyler Lynde:Nehemiah had been given a burden from God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and God's favor was on him to do the task that he had the burden to do. Not only that, but the king of Persia, a foreign king who was holding Israelites captive, sent him with his blessings, with supplies, with funding, to complete the job. He wasn't a lone ranger. Friends, we cannot afford to be lone rangers. I think Kelly brought this up in the first message. We are not called to live this Christian life alone. We're called to run together.
Tyler Lynde:He used the authority God gave him to steward his greatest resource of all. What was the greatest resource he had? All of the stones that were there in disarray? Was it the wood that he brought from Persia? Was it the metal that the blacksmiths had made for locks? Was it, you know? Was it the supply of finances and gold to be able to purchase anything that needed to be purchased? What was the greatest resource out of the call of God that was on his life? The greatest resource was the people. Leaders, please understand your greatest resources is not your company or your money or your ability to command others. Your greatest resource are the people who serve with you, the people who work with you, the people who walk with you.
Tyler Lynde:Let's not take for granted our children, right? Let's not take for granted employees. Let's not take for granted those that are in our community groups. Let's not take for granted those who are part of this church. Let's not take for granted the children that are back here in the children's ministry. Do you know? They're not just future participants of this church. They're with us, they're a part of us and we have the privilege of stewarding them by the grace of God.
Tyler Lynde:So not only do we need godly leadership, but in order to have a team, what else do you have to have? You can have a lot of leaders and have no what Chief or followers. Right, we need some workers, we need some followers. A team is essential for teamwork. I know that this is not rocket science today, but the word of God sometimes is very plain, and I'm glad that it is because I need it to be plain. What I need is the Holy Spirit to stir me up so that I become passionate about the things that God is passionate about. And they said let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
Tyler Lynde:I'm going to show you a picture now. This is Jerusalem. This is a rendering, obviously. No, it's a picture. It's a rendering of Jerusalem, and this is with the completed walls, and you can see it there. And you see all of the different gates.
Tyler Lynde:I love the fact that the gates a lot of them were pretty simple, like fish gate. What do you think that was for, yeah, it's, the fishermen would bring their fish in and there was a fish market there, right? The dung gate. What was the dung gate for? Nobody wants to say. That's where all the trash went. Okay, outside of the city, outside of the city, the fountain gate, the water gate, on and on and on the horse gate, pretty simple, and we're going to talk about the sheep gate in just a minute. But look at this If you look at the fish gate, that's where the sheep gate, up at the top, that's where the work began, and they worked counterclockwise around the walls all the way around back to the sheep gate. It's about a two mile circumference from one end to the other. So just picture that, think about no power tools, just picture that, think about no power tools, no lifts, no large moving vehicles. And if you've ever been to Israel and you've seen what remains of the wall of Jerusalem, you understand that this was some large stone work. This was a big deal, right? Everybody getting an image of that, everybody getting an image of that.
Tyler Lynde:So chapter 3 begins to describe how, under Nehemiah's leadership, different parts of the city wall were rebuilt by groups. There were 42 sections of the wall that this chapter speaks about 42 sections and 12 gates. There's 10 gates that are mentioned in this chapter, but there were 12 gates. There's 10 gates that are mentioned in this chapter, but there were 12 gates in Jerusalem. So, the spiritual leaders, first of all. We talked about leadership. Let's look at even the work itself. Spiritual leaders set an example. Look at Nehemiah 3, verse 1.
Tyler Lynde:Then Eliashib, the high priest, rose up with his brothers, the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the tower of the hundred, as far as the tower of Hananel. We lead, first of all, by example. It's one of the things I love about the leaders in this church. We all have this mindset and we don't do it perfectly. We need your prayers, but we have this mindset that we are servant leaders. God has made us servants and we have the privilege of leading. It's fitting that the high priest should set the example.
Tyler Lynde:He was placed in charge of rebuilding the sheep gate. And what was the purpose of the sheep gate? This is where the sheep would have been brought in. In order to what? In order to be sacrificed on the temple altar, to atone for the sins of the people Think about it like this. There's no way that this high priest could have understood at the time the importance of this gate being restored. How many of you know that there would be another lamb who would walk through this gate? Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And we know that he did because, if you look at John, chapter 5, verse 1, it says this after this, there was a feast of the world. And we know that he did because, if you look at John 5, verse 1, it says this After this, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Tyler Lynde:Now there is in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, a pool, an Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids blind, lame and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years. Just think about that. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him do you want to be healed, boy? That seems like a strange question. What was he looking for? Jesus was looking for faith in this man. The sick man answered and said Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up. I've been here 38 years. I've tried and I've tried and I've tried. And while I'm going another steps down before me, jesus said to him Get up, take up your bed and walk. And at once the man was healed and he took up his bed and walked. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, the Messiah, is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The perfect sacrifice. Put your faith and hope and trust in him today. Amen, amen.
Tyler Lynde:Secondly, another important part about the team is a diverse team contributed. First of all, there were Israelites from outside of Jerusalem that came to help. The Jews in Jerusalem, were assisted in their building operations by their fellow countrymen who lived in the surrounding area. Chapter 3 talks about the men of Jericho they knew something about walls right. The men of Tekoa, the men from Gibeon and Mizpah, the residents of Zenoa, those of the district of Beth-Zer and the district of Keilah. All of these different groups came to Jerusalem or were in Jerusalem and agreed to participate in the rebuilding process. Let's use the Tekoites for an example. In verse five it says and next next to them, the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord, what the people of Tekoa willingly served, but their nobles would not bow their knees, would not stoop themselves down to participate in serving in this venture.
Tyler Lynde:I know that some of you have leaders in your life who are not on board with you following Christ, who are not on board with you being obedient to the commandments of God, who are not on board with you pursuing Jesus. This is the one space where we have to make a decision to follow someone greater. If we had to choose between an earthly leader attempting to pull us away from God and Jesus, king of kings and Lord of lords, how many of you know Jesus is the only answer. So I just want to encourage you that I know it may be difficult and we're praying for you and if we can help you and be supportive of you, please let us know. I know how difficult. I don't know because I haven't fully experienced it but I want to know, I want to understand how difficult it must be for you. But when it comes to this type of thing, follow Jesus, follow Jesus.
Tyler Lynde:I know my mom did this for well over a year, as my dad ridiculed her and mocked her and said she was weak, and only the weak, need Jesus. Until one day my dad bowed his knee, took off his hat and gave his heart and soul to Jesus Christ. Your labor is not in vain. The Tekoaites were so into this. They were so I'm trying to think of the right word connected Verse 27,. It says after him, the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower, as far as the wall of Ophel. They got done with their part and they're like give us more. We want to do more. Is there anything else that we can do? I'm sure the leaders were excited with that right.
Tyler Lynde:So much diversity, so many different types of people that were there that were a part of this. They're also with people with varying gifts and occupations. Very few actual builders seem to contribute to the project. That's crazy to me. It seems like to me you'd put out a call for all of the stone workers, for all of those who know how to make wood straight and square and know how to fortify things, all of those who have experience you come and be a part of this. No, it was all who are willing come. There were goldsmiths and perfumers, several that were called rulers, and also some women. Come on. In the Old Testament. Some women contributed to this project.
Tyler Lynde:How many of you know, god loves women. God loves women and the Church of Jesus Christ in the largest part in America has been sustained throughout the generations by women who fall on their knees before him and cry out to him for their families, for their husbands and for the world. Now, men, men, I'm saying men, men, hear the call. It's time to step up. It's time to step up, it's time to get back, it's time to lead spiritually. It's one thing to command your wife to do something or to command your children to do something in anger and in wrath. It's another thing to lovingly lead them, like Christ leads his church. You know, this is an example.
Tyler Lynde:This Old Testament reality is an example of what the body of Christ is like. It really is. We are all needed in order to see God's purposes fulfilled. Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 14. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, if the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, god arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. Be who God made you to be. How many of you know, we can work on the same types of activities, the same sort of projects, the same sort of. We can follow the same, be a part of the same mission, and yet each one of us brings to the table our particular slant.
Tyler Lynde:I wonder if the gold workers you know dressed up their side of the wall a little bit differently and put some gold leaf here and there, or maybe made some little ornamental things? I don't know. Maybe the perfumers you know soaked the stones with some kind of beautiful smelling aroma. I don't know what they did, but all of them worked together for the purpose of rebuilding the wall. Not only that, but team members were placed strategically. Strategically, god is a God of order and he's a God of strategy, and he knows what he's doing. First of all, when it was possible, he placed them close to their own homes. Why was that important? Why was it important for Nehemiah to place those who were working close to their own homes? Yeah yeah, pride in their work, ownership, all of those things right. When Nehemiah organized the work, he adopted the policy, like I said, wherever possible, of assigning a particular person to repair the part of the wall which was opposite his house, for this would encourage that person to work hard so as to ensure that his own home and family would be well protected. It was in their own interest even to help rebuild this portion of the wall.
Tyler Lynde:What's in front of your house right now of the wall? What's in front of your house right now? As you look out the windows of your house right now, what do you see that needs to be reordered? Where do you see areas that are broken and disheveled? What is it that God's put right in front of you? Are we being faithful with that? So many times, we talk about wanting to go to foreign nations and faraway places to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and is that important? Absolutely so. This church that's a big part of what we do, but how many of you know God's placed you in a neighborhood, people all around you. I was thinking about that this morning as we were driving out and people were walking their dogs and I was thinking we really haven't done a great job yet of reaching them for Jesus. What's right in front of my house and how can I be involved actively and passionately in the building of the kingdom of God?
Tyler Lynde:Not only were they close to their homes, but they were also placed next to each other. Twelve times in chapter three it says that they were next to the person or the people that were next to them. I said it again it was important for each team member to acknowledge the fact that they were serving next to others because, although they were working independently of the people next to them, they would complete this job as a team, each one doing their work next to each other. I'm sure that there was camaraderie. I'm sure if these were normal human beings, what else was there? There's probably some competition. Probably somebody cried out you call that a wall. I'm sure there were some that were saying that's a weird color all of these things. But they were all actively involved and they were working next to each other.
Tyler Lynde:Who has God placed you next to? I don't like that person. Hey, talk to God. He's the strategist, he's the one that's placed us next to those people. And God forbid, please tell me you're not saying that about your husband or your wife. God forbid, please tell me you're not saying that about your husband or your wife. If you are, call the church office and let's set up a time to get together and do some counseling. But God has placed us next to people for a reason, for a purpose, right? So let's link arms.
Tyler Lynde:And, by the way, nehemiah 3, as we read this, it reads it as a completed project. Guess what we're going to find out in the next few weeks. The project is far from over. There are all kinds of disturbances and things that are going to try to interrupt the flow of things, but Nehemiah is giving an overview and he's mentioning all of these people's names and all of these groups of people that were such an essential part of this passion project. Friends, let's not unlock arms and move away from each other unless God's the one that does it. If God's called you to be a part of this church, let's link arms, let's look at what's in front of us and let's work together to fulfill his purpose.
Tyler Lynde:And finally, god places a high value on teamwork. How do we know that? Let's look at Psalm 133. It says Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It is like the precious oil on the head running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon which falls on the mountains of Zion. Is God a God of unity? Is God a God of teamwork? Is God a God of teamwork? Is God a God that overlooks and doesn't care about division and strife and backbiting? God wants that to stop.
Tyler Lynde:If there are marriages that are in trouble, those who are married have a choice to make and I'm praying for you that you will make the right choice to follow after God, to pursue Him, and I'm praying for you that, whenever it is at all possible that there will be forgiveness and restoration and redemption. Also praying that for families. I know that there are some families that are ostracized from one another. When it's within your power to do so, would you consider humbling yourself and reaching out and loving, with boundaries that are healthy? I understand that, but would you consider being that person and being passionate about restoration, about relationship and within our church as well. We could all just come together on Sundays and we do, and I'm so grateful for that.
Tyler Lynde:But, man, wouldn't it be better if we could have meals together, if we could see each other at Walmart and not duck and hide, but we'd go find each other and we'd spend 30 minutes just catching up, just because we can't hardly stand being apart? Wouldn't it be amazing if we, as a group of people, as a church, decided that we were going to follow God when it comes to being passionate about the things that he's passionate about? How would the world change if the Christians in America would put God's priorities as their priorities? My friends, we are not waiting for the government to change this country. We are not waiting for the government to change this country. God's the only one that can change the heart of people, and how does he do that? A lot of times, he does it through Christians who are not perfect but who are attempting, by God's grace, to live out the values and the truths that are found in the word of God.