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1- Good morning and welcome to worship! (pause) As our call to
worship this morning, would you stand and join us in singing a
Christmas classic, ͞O Come All Ye Faithful͟.

Sing: ͞O Come All Ye Faithful͟ and -͞Our God͟ by Chris Tomlin

6- As we gather today, we want to be open to what God has to say.

2- Hear these familiar words from the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:11 ͞For I know the plans I have for you,͟ declares the Lord,
͞plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope
and a future.͟

5- But, what is this plan? When are life͛s plans our own and when are
they God͛s plans?

3-How do I know that I͛m making the right college decision? How do I
know that I͛m making the right dating decision? How do I know that
I͛m choosing the right classes for next semester?

4-One of the most comforting things about God͛s will is͙..it really has
little to do with us.

6-Sure, God has plans for us. He desires that we prosper, but the way
that we prosper is that we live lives that give glory to him.

1-He makes this quite clear, actually:

4-͞Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for

this is God͛s will for you in Christ Jesus.͟ (1 Thess. 4:16-18)
2-God͛s will is to rejoice, to pray, and to give thanks. It͛s not just about
going to Westmont rather than UCLA or to dating this person rather
than that person.

5-Sure, one college might be a better choice. Dating one person might
also be a better choice. God does have a plan for the decisions we
make. But Scripture speaks much more about God͛s will as giving to
glory to Him.

1-So, God͛s will is really about him, not us. Even when it͛s about our
decision, it͛s really about how those decisions please him.

2-Hear these words from the Psalmist as he reflects on God͛s will in his
life:

3-͞Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give
me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.͟

4-͞I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your
name forever.͟ (Ps. 86:11-12)

5-Would you join us in prayer as we commit our lives to his will.

Adoration-God͛s love and faithfulness in our lives

6-Confession-Our tendency is to take over and do our will instead

of his

3-Thanksgiving-Thanking God for his perfect will

1-Supplication-Prayer for his will to be done in our school, homes,

and relationships
4: Today we are going to be hearing a story about God͛s perfect will for
our lives. No matter what our position in lifeͶstudent, teacher, actor--
-God͛s will is always that we glorify him and ouselves.

Video-Balilee Madison from www.iamsecond.com

3-What a great testimony of faith. After hearing this, the words of

Psalm 25:1,3 ring true:

2-͞To you Oh Lord I lift up my soul, in you I trust oh my God͙No one

whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.͟

3-In the next video, a military commander reflects on the experiences

he had in war.

2-We invite you to listen to what Chris Plekenpol has to say about how
his experiences have shaped his faith.

3-Some of us may find it difficult to relate to the experiences of a

soldier. We encourage you to think about some of the people in your
life that may be ͞enemies͟. Remember, that God sent his Son to save
you. And without Christ, you are His enemy.

Video-Chris Plekenpol clip

6-Hear the words from 1 John 3:16- ͞This is how we know what love is:
Jesus laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for
our brothers and sisters.͟

3-Putting God first and ourselves second means we think of other

people and their needs before we think of our own.
2-Jesus says it means we should be willing to ͞lay down our lives͟ for
them.

1-But, he even goes a step further. Not only are we to lay down our
lives for our brothers and sisters, but we are to love our enemies.

5-Hear the words of Matthew 5:43-͞You have heard that it was said
͚Love your neighbor and hate your enemy͛

6-But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you,

4-Praying for enemies can seem like an impossible task. Most of us

would probably pray, but we͛d pray for something bad to happen to
them.

3-This really doesn͛t seem to be what Jesus had in mind.

5-For Chris Plekenpol, the enemy was a terrorist. That͛s pretty clear-
cut. An enemy is definitely a terrorist.

2-But, he said something very important. He said, I͛m that terrorist.

When it comes to how I͛ve affected my life towards God..I͛ve been an
enemy of him.

1-And that͛s not just him. That͛s us too.

5-Romans 3:10-12 says, ͞There is no one righteous, not even one; there
is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.͟

4-Loving our enemies might look a lot differently when we realize that,
to God, we are the enemy.
3-BUT͙This is the beauty of Christ͛s sacrifice for us.

6-He died and rose again to save us, his enemies.

1-During this Advent and Christmas season, we get a unique

opportunity to reflect on this. Our hope is that these stories have
reminded us of who we are in Christ.

2-Our hope is that, together, we are challenged and encouraged to do

God͛s will. That is, to glorify him all our life and all our decisions.

4-Also, we hope that you have been encouraged to love those in your
life that are most difficult to love. It is, after all, exactly what God does
for us each day.

5-Would you please stand to hear this blessing from. 2 Corinthians 5:17
says, ͞Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has
gone; the new has come.͟

6-Let͛s leave this place to love our enemies and glorify God in all we do.
Go in peace.