Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - God's Plan For You (Part 2)

February 22, 2026 | 27:29

Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - God's Plan For You (Part 2) | February 22, 2026

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Allen jackson: you know, around the world people are searching
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For truth and together we're doing our very best to help them
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Find it.
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When you become a ministry partner with allen jackson
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Ministries, you're joining a growing community of believers
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Who are committed to strengthening the church and
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Sharing god's word through every available channel: television,
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Radio, podcast, books, bible studies, digital
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Resources, conferences.
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Your monthly partnership helps us equip believers, to reach new
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Audiences, and to take the hope of jesus to people who may never
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Have heard the gospel otherwise.
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Together we can stand firm in our faith and make god's truth
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Known right here at home and around the earth wherever god
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Opens the door.
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Let's keep gathering his people and building his church until
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The day our king returns.
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You can find more about becoming a ministry partner
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At allenjackson.com/partner.
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Allen: and i love to play ball, basketball.
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I started playing when i was young and i played through
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School and, back then, we still prayed before we'd go out on the
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Floor to play a game.
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And the last game i played in high school was the first time
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They asked me to pray.
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Now some of those guys i had played with for 6 years or more.
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And i prayed that day and one of the guys looked over at me when
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I said amen and he said, "i didn't know you knew how
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To pray."
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That's not a compliment.
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So if you praying at a table with your family gives you pause
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Because of what they'll say, get on with it.
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You don't have to sound like a preacher.
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Don't use words you can't spell.
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Don't pray long.
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In fact, if that is intimidating, go back and see
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"let's pray."
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You can do it in a sentence.
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But that kitchen table event, that we matter enough that we're
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Going to pause and gather together.
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We're not going to eat on the fly, we're not going to eat en
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Route to something else.
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It's not about just a distraction.
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There's so much that is gained.
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There's so much that's learned.
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You learn that it's about more than just you, that you're
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Actually a part of something.
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That you're not just isolated, that food is more than
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Just fuel.
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And the time when you consume it is more than just a time of
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Establishing what's next for you.
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That once a week at the table establishes a life pattern in
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Seeking god.
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And no one is left out of this invitation.
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Somebody sent me a photograph last week of a table.
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It's a kitchen table.
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It's a friend of mine.
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And they said, this is the table where i used to--where i used
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To sit with my family.
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And now i eat alone.
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I mean, different season of life.
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I get that.
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And i think when we think about a family at a table, we
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Typically think about the family with the small children and the
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Challenge that is to get everybody at the table and not
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Lose the love of jesus, for the whole meal.
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Or maybe you've got teenagers and you think it would take an
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Act of god to get everybody in the same zip code.
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It'll take a different establishment of priorities
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For certain.
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But if you're not in that season with your family, maybe
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You're single.
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Maybe you have an empty nest.
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Maybe you're a widow or you're a widower.
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I think there's another way of understanding that.
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It isn't just about your family at the table.
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The biblical word for that is hospitality.
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That your table becomes a gathering place.
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And i think the invitation is still important.
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That on a regular basis you gather with people.
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Same things hold true.
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It's a wellness check.
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It's an update on victories and challenges.
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I've spent some time with this, and i can tell you that the
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Reality i've come to is that over hundreds of years, across
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Cultures and languages and nationalities and all the
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Upheavals that come to our lives, the kitchen table has
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Been constant.
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You can walk through the lobby and you can see that our
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Transportation's changed dramatically from the '60s until
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Today, or our communication.
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I mean, we used to have--the first telephone i ever paid for
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Was a black rotary dial phone, $6 a month.
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I was connected.
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Do you know how frustrating it is to try to hurry and dial a
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Rotary phone?
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Oh, that'll make the preacher cuss.
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And i wasn't a preacher.
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And if you're hurrying, you know what you'll do, right?
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You'll mess up a digit.
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Gotta start all over again.
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I mean, our styles of communications, there's
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Televisions out there across-- how we consume information.
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So much has changed, but that kitchen table as an organizing
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Premise, as a gathering point, hasn't.
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What the tables look like, the food we eat has changed, how we
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Prepare the food we eat has changed.
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But that gathering point--until you get to the 21st century, at
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Least in the culture where we live.
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And that central organizing principle is dissipating quicker
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Than our respect for authority.
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I want to invite you back to it.
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I think it matters.
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I think with a little bit of thought and reflection, you'll
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Find that that kitchen table and memories and meals are a part of
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Your journey.
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I was reminded of this recently in my own life.
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You know, my mom went to heaven a year and a half ago.
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And that was a loss for our family because my mom in the
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Kitchen was a force.
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And there's some--we're still scrambling for her recipes and
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Who knows how to make this?
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Because i found out those of you that are like good cooks, you
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Don't put it all on paper.
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That's me.
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You know, does anybody know how to make this?
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And it's kind of amongst us all, we're a weak facsimile.
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Well, i know how to do this kind of, and i can do a little bit
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Of this.
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Well, one of the things that we--my mom did was she would
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Make cinnamon rolls with a caramel topping, fat-free,
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Calorie-free, muscle building.
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And some, i don't really know, it didn't begin this way in my
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Memory, but it eventually emerged that cinnamon rolls were
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What we did if there was snow.
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Maybe we were out of school and she didn't fix them
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For breakfast.
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She fixed them late in the afternoon, you know, the dough
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Had to rise twice and she'd do them late in the afternoon and i
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Didn't, i wasn't clever enough to know the time, but it was our
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Evening meal.
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She didn't have to feed the three rats again, so.
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Well, somehow i--that recipe got to me.
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Maybe i left for college and i'd get homesick and i wanted to
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Make cinnamon rolls.
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And so when would i make them?
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When it snowed, because that's the only time the dough
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Will rise.
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Well, last weekend, we didn't get the 17 inches, but i came
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Home one afternoon and i had gone to the store and bought the
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Things i needed and when i got home, kathy had been to the
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Store to buy the things i needed.
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So we had cinnamon roll ingredients for days.
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So we called--we gathered the gang that was available on
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Saturday afternoon for cinnamon rolls.
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My niece hadn't--didn't know the recipe, so she was
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In training.
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She was taking a picture of the recipe, but it wasn't all on
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Paper, so she was making notes.
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But the--maybe my favorite part of the day when it was about
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Time to eat and we had a fire in the fireplace.
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It was cold and a ballgame on the television and everybody had
00:08:43.573 --> 00:08:46.409
Been sitting around the fire watching the ballgame and they
00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:48.444
Said, "well, where are we going to sit to eat?"
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Somebody said, "well, we're gonna sit around the
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Fireplace, cold."
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And nobody said anything else, but when everybody began to fill
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Their plate and get all the stuff arranged just as it
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Had been.
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They went and sat at the kitchen table.
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We didn't have enough chairs, but they pulled chairs up and
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Nobody said a word, but for those of us that grew up eating
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Cinnamon rolls, you sat at the table.
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And it was like swallows returning to capistrano.
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And it just reminded me of the value and the stability that
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Comes from knowing you're not alone, that there's something
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That binds you together that's more powerful than dna.
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I want to invite you to consider making the effort to on
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A weekly basis.
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If you still have family available, i mean, in your home.
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I'm not trying to get you to gather them from
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A six-county area.
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That's a different discussion.
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We'll talk about holiday day tables another time.
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But just under your roof.
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Once a week at the table together and if your family
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System is different these days, the practice of hospitality.
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If you're single, you're not left out.
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Open your heart and open your home.
00:10:20.202 --> 00:10:24.874
Allen: we have partnered with our friends tim and david barton
00:10:29.078 --> 00:10:31.547
To make available to you a two-volume set on
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American history.
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It's "the american story," and it focuses on the part of
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American history that's been lost in much of our public
00:10:38.354 --> 00:10:40.856
Education these days.
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It's god's engagement with this nation and how he brought the
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American story forward.
00:10:45.327 --> 00:10:46.829
Our nation is more than politics or republicans and democrats.
00:10:46.829 --> 00:10:50.299
It's god working in the lives of people to shape a nation that
00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:53.836
Had brought forth his purposes in the world.
00:10:53.836 --> 00:10:56.138
I believe it's an important part of our faith journey this year,
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And i believe the books will be a blessing to you.
00:10:59.075 --> 00:11:01.444
Female announcer: the 250th anniversary of our nation is an
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Gain a greater understanding of where we've been so you can
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Protect and defend our nation's biblical foundations as we
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Move forward.
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Request "the american story" with your gift of $50 or more at
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Allenjackson.com or call...
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Allen: i brought you a couple of passages of scripture that i
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Think will put it in context.
00:11:41.751 --> 00:11:46.789
In the book of acts, in acts chapter 1, i think most notably,
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Jesus ascends, jesus goes back to heaven.
00:11:51.193 --> 00:11:55.331
So they got to figure it out now.
00:11:55.331 --> 00:11:56.665
They've lost the--they've lost the lord.
00:11:56.665 --> 00:12:00.002
They've lost the one that spoke to the wind and the waves,
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The one that overcame death.
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They've lost their best friend.
00:12:05.908 --> 00:12:07.343
They have an assignment: "go into all the world," and you
00:12:07.343 --> 00:12:10.679
Feel that.
00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:12.014
They're trying to get their balance.
00:12:12.014 --> 00:12:14.550
They're trying to get their equilibrium.
00:12:14.550 --> 00:12:16.285
And in acts chapter 1, it says: "they joined together constantly
00:12:16.285 --> 00:12:19.755
In prayer, along with the women and mary the mother of jesus,
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And his brothers."
00:12:24.226 --> 00:12:26.829
Acts chapter 2, we got another note.
00:12:26.829 --> 00:12:28.798
It says: "they devoted themselves to the apostles'
00:12:28.798 --> 00:12:30.866
Teaching and to the fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and
00:12:30.866 --> 00:12:35.638
To prayer."
00:12:35.638 --> 00:12:37.873
They're still praying, but now they're at the table.
00:12:37.873 --> 00:12:41.811
"and everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and
00:12:41.811 --> 00:12:44.013
Miraculous signs were done by the apostles."
00:12:44.013 --> 00:12:47.016
Why are they in awe?
00:12:47.016 --> 00:12:48.350
'cause they knew jesus could do it, but he's not here anymore,
00:12:48.350 --> 00:12:50.786
And it's still happening.
00:12:50.786 --> 00:12:54.323
But they're centered around a table.
00:12:54.323 --> 00:12:55.691
In acts, same chapter, verse 46: "every day they continued to
00:12:55.691 --> 00:12:58.694
Meet together in the temple courts."
00:12:58.694 --> 00:13:00.362
You thought church once a week was a lift.
00:13:00.362 --> 00:13:05.568
I'm not inviting you every day, don't worry, but it says: "every
00:13:05.568 --> 00:13:09.305
Day they met together, and they broke bread in their homes and
00:13:09.305 --> 00:13:14.643
They ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising god and
00:13:14.643 --> 00:13:18.914
Enjoying the favor of all the people.
00:13:18.914 --> 00:13:21.383
And god added to their number daily those who were
00:13:21.383 --> 00:13:24.954
Being saved."
00:13:24.954 --> 00:13:28.390
We're not living in that yet.
00:13:28.390 --> 00:13:30.459
Remember the bigger context: we're seeking the lord, we wanna
00:13:30.459 --> 00:13:32.995
Know god better.
00:13:32.995 --> 00:13:34.330
What does that look like?
00:13:34.330 --> 00:13:35.698
Is it some other, is it an extraordinary bible study?
00:13:35.698 --> 00:13:38.133
Is it--no, i think it can be as simple as beginning to order
00:13:38.133 --> 00:13:41.604
Your life around the priority that god gives us.
00:13:41.604 --> 00:13:46.108
Inviting him into those routine places, doing it with people
00:13:46.108 --> 00:13:49.044
That understand that's a priority in your life.
00:13:49.044 --> 00:13:53.249
I understand it's a readjustment.
00:13:53.249 --> 00:13:55.084
I get it.
00:13:55.084 --> 00:13:56.652
Hospitality is a part of this.
00:13:56.652 --> 00:13:58.420
1 peter 4:9: "offer hospitality to one another
00:13:58.420 --> 00:14:01.924
Without grumbling."
00:14:01.924 --> 00:14:03.993
I'm gonna confess, i'll confess my sin.
00:14:03.993 --> 00:14:05.561
I won't confess my brother's, but i'm gonna suggest.
00:14:05.561 --> 00:14:10.833
We didn't always agree with my parents when they
00:14:10.833 --> 00:14:13.269
Practiced hospitality.
00:14:13.269 --> 00:14:16.438
They didn't ask for a vote.
00:14:16.438 --> 00:14:19.708
They had a bible study in their home, a small group for a
00:14:19.708 --> 00:14:22.645
Dozen years.
00:14:22.645 --> 00:14:24.013
We were the childcare.
00:14:24.013 --> 00:14:26.282
We did not like it.
00:14:26.282 --> 00:14:29.551
We didn't like the bible study.
00:14:29.551 --> 00:14:31.186
They had the bible study in the room where the television was.
00:14:31.186 --> 00:14:35.724
Yeah, see?
00:14:35.724 --> 00:14:38.193
It explains a lot, doesn't it?
00:14:38.193 --> 00:14:41.697
I'm sure there's counseling available, but--
00:14:41.697 --> 00:14:47.903
"practice hospitality without grumbling."
00:14:47.903 --> 00:14:52.942
We've almost lost this.
00:14:52.942 --> 00:14:55.978
"well, i can't have people in my home.
00:14:55.978 --> 00:14:57.379
My home's not perfect.
00:14:57.379 --> 00:14:59.281
My home is simple.
00:14:59.281 --> 00:15:00.616
My home is humble.
00:15:00.616 --> 00:15:01.984
My home is whatever or somebody--" no, it didn't say
00:15:01.984 --> 00:15:04.954
Practice hospitality if martha stewart has checked off at
00:15:04.954 --> 00:15:07.356
Your home.
00:15:07.356 --> 00:15:09.692
If you got one of those makeovers by whichever the hgtv
00:15:09.692 --> 00:15:12.795
Show of the month is.
00:15:12.795 --> 00:15:16.265
Those shows are awful.
00:15:16.265 --> 00:15:23.772
I mean, you talk about false expectations.
00:15:23.772 --> 00:15:27.810
They show you a house that rodents wouldn't live in.
00:15:27.810 --> 00:15:33.148
And in 30 minutes...
00:15:33.148 --> 00:15:40.856
Never mind, i'm way off track.
00:15:40.856 --> 00:15:43.359
"offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."
00:15:43.359 --> 00:15:45.794
Hebrews 13: "do not forget to entertain strangers, for by
00:15:45.794 --> 00:15:50.432
Doing so some people have entertained angels without
00:15:50.432 --> 00:15:52.801
Knowing it."
00:15:52.801 --> 00:15:55.037
You wanna include some people in your sphere that aren't people
00:15:55.037 --> 00:15:58.474
That you know their full story, because it creates
00:15:58.474 --> 00:16:01.443
God opportunities.
00:16:01.443 --> 00:16:02.811
That's the bible.
00:16:02.811 --> 00:16:04.146
That's not allen.
00:16:04.146 --> 00:16:06.382
Again, remember the context.
00:16:06.382 --> 00:16:08.784
God is taking us from somewhere to somewhere and i
00:16:08.784 --> 00:16:12.287
Wanna cooperate.
00:16:12.287 --> 00:16:14.823
I want to create a target-rich environment for whatever god
00:16:14.823 --> 00:16:18.761
Might do.
00:16:18.761 --> 00:16:21.030
I don't wanna limit his points of connection.
00:16:21.030 --> 00:16:23.198
I don't wanna be--i don't wanna have a limited set
00:16:23.198 --> 00:16:25.534
Of opportunities.
00:16:25.534 --> 00:16:26.869
I wanna create all the opportunities for the lord in my
00:16:26.869 --> 00:16:29.171
Life that i know how to create.
00:16:29.171 --> 00:16:32.541
I'm not talking about work-related whatever.
00:16:32.541 --> 00:16:34.777
I'm talking about it's an attitude in my heart.
00:16:34.777 --> 00:16:41.216
In 1 timothy 5, paul's giving timothy, a young man that he's
00:16:41.216 --> 00:16:44.653
Mentoring, some instructions on how to help widows.
00:16:44.653 --> 00:16:47.756
How many of you know the verse that says: "pure religion and
00:16:47.756 --> 00:16:49.958
Undefiled is helping orphans and widows"?
00:16:49.958 --> 00:16:52.795
Most of us have heard that.
00:16:52.795 --> 00:16:54.163
It's legitimate.
00:16:54.163 --> 00:16:55.531
I'm not opposed to it, but you need to, you know, and you
00:16:55.531 --> 00:16:57.266
Can prove anything you want to with your bible if you take
00:16:57.266 --> 00:16:59.334
One verse out of context.
00:16:59.334 --> 00:17:01.904
You know the story about the man that said, "god,
00:17:01.904 --> 00:17:03.472
I need direction.
00:17:03.472 --> 00:17:04.807
I need your help, so i don't know what to do.
00:17:04.807 --> 00:17:06.275
Show me what to do.
00:17:06.275 --> 00:17:07.609
I'm just, i'll do whatever you tell me."
00:17:07.609 --> 00:17:08.944
And he opened his bible and he put his finger down and he read,
00:17:08.944 --> 00:17:10.813
And it said, "and judas went and hanged himself."
00:17:10.813 --> 00:17:15.651
He said, "oh god, i know that's not you.
00:17:15.651 --> 00:17:18.053
Give me another verse."
00:17:18.053 --> 00:17:19.388
He opened his bible and he put his finger down and it said,
00:17:19.388 --> 00:17:21.123
"go thou and do likewise."
00:17:21.123 --> 00:17:25.627
The text without a context is the pretext, so i believe we
00:17:25.627 --> 00:17:28.764
Have an assignment to help widows and orphans.
00:17:28.764 --> 00:17:30.632
Please don't misunderstand me.
00:17:30.632 --> 00:17:33.235
But we get a little bit more of the information in 1 timothy 5:
00:17:33.235 --> 00:17:37.039
Paul said to timothy, "no widow may be put on the list of widows
00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:39.775
Unless she's over sixty."
00:17:39.775 --> 00:17:45.280
But he's not done.
00:17:45.280 --> 00:17:46.615
"she's been faithful to her husband, and is well known for
00:17:46.615 --> 00:17:49.852
Her good deeds, such as bringing up children and showing
00:17:49.852 --> 00:17:54.323
Hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in
00:17:54.323 --> 00:17:58.894
Trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds."
00:17:58.894 --> 00:18:01.530
He said they don't even qualify unless they practice
00:18:01.530 --> 00:18:05.467
Hospitality, wow.
00:18:05.467 --> 00:18:15.077
When they're--when he's giving him the criteria for being
00:18:15.077 --> 00:18:17.346
A leader amongst the people of god.
00:18:17.346 --> 00:18:19.781
And it's not a singular passage.
00:18:19.781 --> 00:18:21.450
There's--it's given in multiple places.
00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:23.352
I gave you one because your notes were limited.
00:18:23.352 --> 00:18:26.555
Titus 1:8 says to be a leader in the--amongst the people of god,
00:18:26.555 --> 00:18:31.026
They "have to be hospitable, someone who loves good."
00:18:31.026 --> 00:18:34.763
See, i'm not really--again, the conversation is seeking god.
00:18:34.763 --> 00:18:37.900
I'm not trying to add to your workload.
00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:41.003
I'm asking you to think about how you're ordering your life.
00:18:41.003 --> 00:18:45.841
Do you make space?
00:18:45.841 --> 00:18:47.843
Is there--is it visible to someone who isn't
00:18:47.843 --> 00:18:50.779
A christ follower?
00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:52.414
Are your priorities ordered in such a way that the
00:18:52.414 --> 00:18:55.350
Distinctiveness from the people who don't know the lord is
00:18:55.350 --> 00:19:00.055
Derived from scripture?
00:19:00.055 --> 00:19:02.824
Practice hospitality.
00:19:02.824 --> 00:19:05.460
It doesn't have to be elaborate.
00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:08.130
The truth is we're gonna talk a lot more about it.
00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:09.998
So if you're not convinced after this, just hang on.
00:19:09.998 --> 00:19:12.601
Let's see.
00:19:12.601 --> 00:19:14.503
I'll give you one more passage in john chapter 12: "six days
00:19:14.503 --> 00:19:19.341
Before passover."
00:19:19.341 --> 00:19:22.010
What was the last meal jesus had with his disciples before
00:19:22.010 --> 00:19:24.413
His passion?
00:19:24.413 --> 00:19:26.148
It's passover.
00:19:26.148 --> 00:19:28.450
So we're a week in front of that.
00:19:28.450 --> 00:19:31.486
"six days before passover, jesus arrived at bethany."
00:19:31.486 --> 00:19:34.890
Bethany's a little village on the mount of olives on the side
00:19:34.890 --> 00:19:38.827
Opposite the city of jerusalem.
00:19:38.827 --> 00:19:42.331
And it's an arab village today and it's called el-aizariya,
00:19:42.331 --> 00:19:46.134
After lazarus because it was in bethany where lazarus lived with
00:19:46.134 --> 00:19:49.972
His sisters mary and martha.
00:19:49.972 --> 00:19:52.641
"six days before the passover, jesus arrived at bethany, where
00:19:52.641 --> 00:19:55.344
Lazarus lived, whom jesus had raised from the dead."
00:19:55.344 --> 00:19:58.146
How'd you like that in your bio?
00:19:58.146 --> 00:20:02.384
"oh yeah, i was the guy that was dead for 4 days.
00:20:02.384 --> 00:20:06.088
My nickname's stinky."
00:20:06.088 --> 00:20:10.025
In verse 2: "here a dinner was given in jesus's honor.
00:20:10.025 --> 00:20:15.864
Martha served, while lazarus was among those reclining at the
00:20:15.864 --> 00:20:18.867
Table with him.
00:20:18.867 --> 00:20:21.203
And mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; and
00:20:21.203 --> 00:20:24.306
She poured it on jesus's feet.
00:20:24.306 --> 00:20:26.808
She wiped his feet with her hair.
00:20:26.808 --> 00:20:29.411
And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
00:20:29.411 --> 00:20:33.415
But one of his disciples, judas, who was later to betray
00:20:33.415 --> 00:20:35.884
Him, objected."
00:20:35.884 --> 00:20:39.655
It's a pretty full-formed picture here.
00:20:39.655 --> 00:20:42.991
The line that is, to me, the introduction is that there was
00:20:42.991 --> 00:20:46.928
A dinner given in jesus's honor.
00:20:46.928 --> 00:20:49.631
It changes how i think about hospitality.
00:20:49.631 --> 00:20:53.235
Kathy and i open our home, we're gonna do it to honor jesus.
00:20:53.235 --> 00:20:57.372
Not because we're lonely.
00:20:57.372 --> 00:21:00.776
Not because we need to spend more words.
00:21:00.776 --> 00:21:03.945
When we open our home, we want to honor jesus.
00:21:03.945 --> 00:21:06.715
He's changed our lives.
00:21:06.715 --> 00:21:08.050
I knew my parents bc.
00:21:08.050 --> 00:21:10.652
And i'm here to tell you, when they opened their homes after
00:21:10.652 --> 00:21:12.621
They met jesus, it was to honor him.
00:21:12.621 --> 00:21:19.528
Hospitality is an option that is ignored, doesn't make sense.
00:21:19.528 --> 00:21:26.435
We open our homes to honor jesus.
00:21:26.435 --> 00:21:28.837
It's expressed in service.
00:21:28.837 --> 00:21:32.040
Martha is serving.
00:21:32.040 --> 00:21:33.709
We're going to look at mary and martha and lazarus in some more
00:21:33.709 --> 00:21:35.744
Detail in another session, but mary with a remarkable
00:21:35.744 --> 00:21:40.716
Expression of humility, pours some expensive perfume on
00:21:40.716 --> 00:21:45.921
Jesus's feet and wipes them with her hair.
00:21:45.921 --> 00:21:47.956
There's no way to craft that that isn't humbling.
00:21:47.956 --> 00:21:53.528
And then there's a voice chirping, judas: "there was a
00:21:53.528 --> 00:21:59.735
Better use of the funds."
00:21:59.735 --> 00:22:03.672
I'm pretty sure when you determine in your heart to seek
00:22:03.672 --> 00:22:05.807
The lord or to serve the lord or to honor the lord, there'll be
00:22:05.807 --> 00:22:10.812
A voice chirping.
00:22:10.812 --> 00:22:14.416
Everybody won't cheer, folks.
00:22:14.416 --> 00:22:17.285
Everybody won't cheer.
00:22:17.285 --> 00:22:20.622
If you have teenagers, eye rolling is an olympic sport.
00:22:20.622 --> 00:22:22.991
Don't be deterred.
00:22:22.991 --> 00:22:29.898
The hardest place in the world to serve the lord is in your
00:22:29.898 --> 00:22:32.300
Home with the people you live with.
00:22:32.300 --> 00:22:34.736
Because they really know you.
00:22:34.736 --> 00:22:38.573
It makes this step towards hospitality more challenging.
00:22:38.573 --> 00:22:43.745
But the integrity of this, the authenticity of this, there's
00:22:43.745 --> 00:22:49.551
Always gonna be critics, some misguided disciple, in this case
00:22:49.551 --> 00:22:53.955
Some masquerading disciple.
00:22:53.955 --> 00:23:00.095
Once a week at the table with your family.
00:23:00.095 --> 00:23:05.700
If that's not available to you or if that doesn't really define
00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:09.738
A re-centering, if that's a routine, then include
00:23:09.738 --> 00:23:12.541
Hospitality in that.
00:23:12.541 --> 00:23:15.343
And begin to practice hospitality in your home,
00:23:15.343 --> 00:23:18.947
In your life.
00:23:18.947 --> 00:23:21.082
I believe god will honor it and he will meet you.
00:23:21.082 --> 00:23:23.251
I have lived through it.
00:23:23.251 --> 00:23:24.586
I have seen it.
00:23:24.586 --> 00:23:26.154
I have seen the transformation in my own heart.
00:23:26.154 --> 00:23:28.190
I've seen the transformation in the lives of others.
00:23:28.190 --> 00:23:32.561
I know there's a battle in our mind.
00:23:32.561 --> 00:23:34.196
Well, i don't--i'm not good at that.
00:23:34.196 --> 00:23:37.165
What will they say?
00:23:37.165 --> 00:23:42.571
If i'm pleasing the lord and it may be, you know, i'm--full
00:23:42.571 --> 00:23:49.945
Confession, that part of it, the appearance of it and the
00:23:49.945 --> 00:23:53.248
Presentation would not be my defining characteristic.
00:23:53.248 --> 00:23:57.919
I used to have a bible study in my home before i was married to
00:23:57.919 --> 00:24:00.522
Kathy and my home was under repair.
00:24:00.522 --> 00:24:02.257
I had a big hole in front of the front door.
00:24:02.257 --> 00:24:05.894
I mean you could see the dirt.
00:24:05.894 --> 00:24:08.997
I was so suave, i just opened the door and said, "you need to
00:24:08.997 --> 00:24:11.666
Step over the hole."
00:24:11.666 --> 00:24:16.805
That would not work at my house today.
00:24:16.805 --> 00:24:19.841
We have higher standards.
00:24:19.841 --> 00:24:23.345
Thank god.
00:24:23.345 --> 00:24:26.982
God is moving in the earth.
00:24:26.982 --> 00:24:29.684
There's a desperate need for the church to be the church.
00:24:29.684 --> 00:24:34.656
I want to know the lord.
00:24:34.656 --> 00:24:36.758
I'm very conscious, he may not have taken me from the pasture
00:24:36.758 --> 00:24:39.294
Behind the sheep, but god took me from a place and gave me an
00:24:39.294 --> 00:24:42.564
Invitation to walk with him.
00:24:42.564 --> 00:24:45.066
And i intend to cooperate.
00:24:45.066 --> 00:24:48.136
And if something as simple as how i take a meal, or with whom
00:24:48.136 --> 00:24:51.740
I would share it becomes a part of that occasion, watch me make
00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:56.945
A change.
00:24:56.945 --> 00:24:59.047
I want to give you the invitation.
00:24:59.047 --> 00:25:00.415
Let's eat.
00:25:00.415 --> 00:25:02.517
Look at the tables through the building.
00:25:02.517 --> 00:25:04.753
Everything around the tables are different.
00:25:04.753 --> 00:25:06.087
What the tables look like are different.
00:25:06.087 --> 00:25:07.455
The--how the tables are set are different, but the principle
00:25:07.455 --> 00:25:12.327
Remains the same.
00:25:12.327 --> 00:25:16.765
I brought you a prayer.
00:25:16.765 --> 00:25:18.400
Why don't you stand with me.
00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:22.804
I'm hungry now.
00:25:22.804 --> 00:25:24.139
Let's eat.
00:25:24.139 --> 00:25:25.974
It's a simple prayer.
00:25:25.974 --> 00:25:31.346
It's really a declaration of intent.
00:25:31.346 --> 00:25:35.483
And i think god listens.
00:25:35.483 --> 00:25:36.818
He pays attention.
00:25:36.818 --> 00:25:38.186
He knows our hearts.
00:25:38.186 --> 00:25:40.021
And so i think when we in humility come to him and tell
00:25:40.021 --> 00:25:42.624
Him the truth, it's so significant.
00:25:42.624 --> 00:25:45.794
Let's just say this prayer together.
00:25:45.794 --> 00:25:47.796
"heavenly father, lead me in paths of righteousness; i choose
00:25:47.796 --> 00:25:52.300
To walk uprightly before you.
00:25:52.300 --> 00:25:54.903
Awaken me from the slumber of deception.
00:25:54.903 --> 00:25:58.406
I don't want to waste my days or forfeit the opportunities you
00:25:58.406 --> 00:26:02.210
Have prepared for me.
00:26:02.210 --> 00:26:03.979
Deliver me from evil, keep me from temptation.
00:26:03.979 --> 00:26:07.716
May your goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my
00:26:07.716 --> 00:26:11.386
Life, in jesus's name, amen."
00:26:11.386 --> 00:26:15.790
God bless you.
00:26:15.790 --> 00:26:17.125
Stay warm.
00:26:17.125 --> 00:26:22.831
Allen: this is the 250th anniversary of our nation.
00:26:26.901 --> 00:26:29.604
It's a big deal.
00:26:29.604 --> 00:26:30.972
Now i know a lot of us don't care a whole lot about history.
00:26:30.972 --> 00:26:33.608
We didn't have great experiences in school.
00:26:33.608 --> 00:26:35.510
I understand that, but here's the reality.
00:26:35.510 --> 00:26:37.812
If they can steal our history, they'll rob us of our future.
00:26:37.812 --> 00:26:41.016
So history really does matter.
00:26:41.016 --> 00:26:43.018
Well, because of that, we have partnered with some good friends
00:26:43.018 --> 00:26:45.420
Of our ministries, wallbuilders, david and tim barton.
00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:48.823
They have the best of the best on this topic.
00:26:48.823 --> 00:26:50.892
It's a two-volume set on "the american story."
00:26:50.892 --> 00:26:53.628
And it helps us learn american history with a faith component,
00:26:53.628 --> 00:26:57.465
With a god perspective, how god has been engaged in the
00:26:57.465 --> 00:27:00.468
Unfolding narrative of our american story.
00:27:00.468 --> 00:27:03.738
That matters because we need god to be involved in the future of
00:27:03.738 --> 00:27:06.941
The american story.
00:27:06.941 --> 00:27:08.309
That affects our lives, our families, our communities, and
00:27:08.309 --> 00:27:11.079
Ultimately our nation.
00:27:11.079 --> 00:27:12.747
The books will be a blessing to you, but more than that, i
00:27:12.747 --> 00:27:15.183
Believe they'll open your life to the imagination that god is
00:27:15.183 --> 00:27:17.686
Moving in the earth and we can participate with him in the next
00:27:17.686 --> 00:27:20.989
Chapters of american history.
00:27:20.989 --> 00:27:27.362

Allen Jackson - God's Plan For You (Part 2)

February 22, 2026 | 27:29

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