MATTHEW 22:37 - Jesus replied “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Another way to say that…ALL IN!
ROMANS 8:32 - “He who did not withhold even His own Son, but gave Him up for all of us, will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” God so loved you that HE went all in..giving you the best that He had…His Son.
This Sunday will be the last of this series of lessons on “ALL IN”. It has been my desire to point out the many places where our Father and our Lord encourage us to go all in. The Bible is filled with story of the heroes of the faith that went all in with God. It is also filled with stories of what happens when we do not go all in. AS I said this past Sunday: It always cost to go all in…it just cost more not to”. This Sunday we will be hearing the ultimate story of going all in. I hope you will be here for the conclusion…or should I say the beginning?
By the way, could I review a little history of JIBC with you about going all in? You went all in with your willingness to sponsor and help the Chinese church. They began with 3 and when they outgrew JIBC they had almost 100 adults, their own youth program and their own children’s program. When they left they had more money in the bank than 80% of all Southern Baptist Churches in South Carolina. You went all in and the reward was great…the largest and strongest Chinese Church in Charleston. The same story could be told of going all in with our Hispanic church, Luz Y Verdad. JIBC has sponsored Luz Y Verdad through thick and thin. Now, God has blessed Pastor Claudio and Claudia and their team with almost
70 adults every week, plus their own youth, children and preschool program. All in, all Jesus, all the time. Again, we could repeat the story about Celebrate Recovery. All the way back to the days when Pastor Ted started CR to the place we are today. James Island Baptist has one of the strongest, well run Celebrate Recovery groups in Charleston. We offer ministry to adults (CR) to youth (The Landing) and to children (Celebration Station) and preschool childcare. The Charleston CCrab House, Kickin Chicken , Al Simmons and Barry Waldrop graciously provide quality meals for CR. We have on occasion had more attending CR than the average Southern Baptist Church in South Carolina has in regular attendance! All in, all Jesus, all the time.
Let me be straight forward…it cost every time we go all in. It cost to help the Chinese Church, the Hispanic church and Celebrate Recovery. It always cost to go all in. It’s just that it cost more not to.
Thank you for being a church willing to go all in. I love you and am blessed by God with the privilege to be your pastor. My commitment is to continue to be all in…all Jesus…all the time.
Pastor Tom
