MIND YOUR TOMORROW: SURRENDERING CONTROL TO GOD

Reference

4:13–16

The War Within

MIND YOUR TOMORROW: SURRENDERING CONTROL TO GOD

Read: James 4:13–16

Big Idea: Planning isn’t the problem. Planning without God is.

Intro: Let’s talk about tomorrow. We dream about it. We pencil it in on our calendars. We map out vacations, kids’ schedules, deadlines at work, financial goals, and retirement dreams. For many of us, the calendar app on our phone is more personal than a diary. It holds our hopes, our stress, and our agenda for the next 365 days. But what if one of the greatest sources of our conflict—the anxiety that plagues us, the striving that burns us out—is that we’ve swallowed a lie? The lie is this: we are in control of tomorrow. James 4 confronts that lie head-on. James doesn’t condemn wise planning. The Bible praises diligence and foresight. What James condemns is godless presumption—planning like you own tomorrow, while God gets treated like a silent partner who doesn’t have a vote in the boardroom of your life. James strips away our illusion of control and invites us into something better: a life of surrendered dependence on God. How much of your life is spent making plans without ever consulting God?

Two instructions from James:

Don’t Let the Calendar Fool You: You’re Not in Charge

James 4:13–14 “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

James imagines a business-minded planner.

This guy has the whole year mapped out. He’s penciled in his travel, timed his investments, projected his profits. He’s got color-coded spreadsheets and a detailed strategy. But in all his careful planning, he never once mentions God.

James says this isn’t just a scheduling problem—it’s a spiritual problem. It’s the illusion of control.

Let’s break it down phrase by phrase: (5 assumptions/presumptions)

“Today or tomorrow” — He’s assuming he gets to dictate timing. He presumes he’ll be alive to choose either.

“We will go” — He assumes his health and freedom of movement. He presumes no interruptions.

“Spend a year there” — He presumes longevity. Who told him he gets twelve more months?

“Buy and sell” — He assumes an economy stable enough to operate in.

“Make a profit” — He presumes success is guaranteed if he works hard enough.

James then pulls the rug out: “You do not know what will happen tomorrow.”

The original language here is blunt. James isn’t saying, “You’re uncertain.” He’s saying, “You’re utterly ignorant.” There’s no basis for your confidence. Tomorrow is a fog you can’t see through, and yet you talk as if you have perfect clarity.

illus: Picture a man on the beach meticulously building a grand sandcastle. He’s got towers and turrets, carved windows, and little stick flagpoles. He’s sculpting with precision, proud of his work. People walk by and admire his focus. But everyone else notices what he doesn’t—the tide is rising. Wave by wave, the water is inching closer. In a matter of minutes, everything he’s worked so hard for will be gone. Everyone on the beach can see it coming… but he’s blind to it. James says, “That’s you when you plan without God. You’re building a sandcastle on a tide schedule you don’t control.”

Prov 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:16–21 makes it vivid.

A rich man tears down his barns to build bigger ones. He says to himself, “Soul, you’ve got plenty laid up for many years. Relax. Eat, drink, be merry.” But God calls him a fool that very night: “This night your soul will be required of you.”

His strategy was airtight… until it wasn’t. Because he left God out of the equation. One author calls this kind of boasting “practical atheism.”

David Nystrom – “The proud man forgets God not because he’s rebellious but because he’s self-sufficient.”

And this isn’t just ancient wisdom or a parable from Jesus. History itself screams the same warning. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

A leader in the early church showed us what it looks like to release control of tomorrow with complete surrender.

illus: Let me introduce you to Ignatius. He wasn’t some fringe believer. He was the bishop of Antioch — one of the most influential churches in the early world, the place where believers were first called Christians. Tradition says he was discipled by the apostle John. One generation removed from Jesus. A pastor. A theologian. A leader whose letters still shape Christian doctrine today. This was a man with responsibility and influence. And Rome arrested him anyway. Under Emperor Trajan, Christians were pressured to honor Caesar as lord. Ignatius refused. He would not give to Caesar what belonged to Christ. So they sent him to Rome to die in the arena.

Believers tried to rescue him, but he begged them not to interfere. He wrote, “Do not rob me of the privilege of finishing my race.” He understood something we struggle to accept: tomorrow was never his to own. When he was led into the arena and the lions were released, he said, “Let fire and the cross, let wild beasts, breaking of bones and tearing of limbs come upon me — only let me gain Christ.” Rome thought they were ending a life of influence. Ignatius believed God was completing a life of faithfulness. He didn’t control tomorrow. He entrusted it.

Ignatius had no illusion of controlling tomorrow. But his surrender gave him a peace and purpose that outlasted his body. He lived James’ command: not boasting about tomorrow but living fully in God’s will today.

illus: Think about a young mom in our church. She loves her family and works hard to provide structure. She has vacation dates circled, homeschool schedules mapped out, work projects planned, and even a college savings plan for her kids. She does what most of us do—she tries to secure tomorrow with careful preparation. But if Jesus were to return next Tuesday, how much of that planning would actually hold eternal weight?

Is James saying we shouldn’t make plans? No. He is condemning “the arrogant attitude of independence from God.”

The word James uses for “you do not know” is not about innocent ignorance. It’s a sharp rebuke. It implies willful neglect of God’s wisdom, as if to say, “You should know better.”

And this isn’t just a warning for CEOs and business leaders. It’s for moms managing a family calendar. Retirees carefully calculating their portfolios. Students stressing over GPAs. All of us are tempted to whiteboard a future we never once ask God to approve.

In the morning, when you step outside and see your breath in the cold air, it hangs there for a second — visible, real — and then it’s gone. That’s his point.

Your life feels solid and permanent to you, but compared to eternity, it’s a puff of mist that rises, catches the light for a moment, and disappears. And if your life is a vapor, then it’s far too brief to waste pretending you’re the one controlling the weather.

Make Plans with a Pencil: Let God Hold the Eraser

James 4:15–16 “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

James gives the antidote to arrogant planning. He says, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills.’”

This isn’t about tacking on a religious cliché to your emails. “Lord willing” isn’t Christian superstition. It’s not a lucky rabbit’s foot phrase to protect your plans. It’s a lifestyle.

It’s a declaration that acknowledges God is in charge of your breath, your body, and your calendar.

Phrase by Phrase:

“If the Lord wills” — Confession that His sovereignty determines your schedule.

“We shall live” — Even the next breath in your lungs is a gift of grace.

“And do this or that” — All the details of your day, small and big alike, belong to Him.

Apostle Paul modeled this. He was a strategic planner, but his plans were soaked in submission.

In Acts 18:21, Paul said to the Ephesians: “I will return again to you, God willing.” In 1 Cor 4:19, he told the Corinthians: “I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills.”

Paul dreamed, strategized, and executed. But always with an open hand.

illus: Imagine walking into your kitchen where your family keeps a giant whiteboard of the week’s plans. It lists meals, sports practices, meetings, appointments, and errands. Every box is filled. Now imagine the Holy Spirit walks up with a sleeve and wipes it completely clean. Would that unravel you? Would panic rise in your chest? Or would you be able to say, “Your will be done, Lord. Let’s redraw the board together”?

That’s what it means to make plans with a pencil—and hand God the eraser.

illus: Your life is like notes written in pencil. You sketch out your best ideas, your hopes, your strategies. But you hand the Lord the eraser. He may cross out a line, shift the margin, or even rewrite the whole page. And when He does, it’s not loss—it’s gain. Because His plans are always wiser, safer, and better than ours.

Prov 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

James doesn’t call arrogant boasting unwise. He calls it evil. Why? Because it doesn’t just ignore God—it competes with Him.

Does this mean you can’t dream, plan, or strategize? No. It means you do all of it with humility, holding the paper loosely.

It means you submit (a) your calendar before you fill it, (b) your finances before you spend them, (c) your career before you chase it.

Conclusion: So where have you been planning like an owner instead of a steward? Where have you drawn your sandcastle without paying attention to the tide?

James 4 is a loving rebuke and a freeing invitation. You don’t have to live under the crushing illusion of control. You don’t own tomorrow. God does.

Today is a chance to surrender your planner. Not to burn it, but to hand it over. To let God ink in the margins. To let Him rewrite where necessary. To trust Him enough to say with open hands: “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

For Prayer Ministry:

Bring God your illusion of control. Lay down the pride that whispers, “I’ve got this.”

Turn your plans into prayers. Before you ink the contract, schedule the trip, or set the deadline—bring it before the Lord.

Responsive Closing Prayer:

Pastor: Lord, we confess that we often live like tomorrow is ours to command.
Congregation: Forgive us, Lord, for boasting in our own plans.

Pastor: Today, we bring You our illusion of control.
Congregation: We lay it down and trust Your sovereign hand.

Pastor: Teach us to write our plans in pencil.
Congregation: And remind us that You hold the eraser.

Pastor: Help us turn every plan into a prayer.
Congregation: If You will, Lord, we will live and do this or that.

Together: Lord, our future is Yours. Amen.

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Transcript

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All right, James chapter four in your Bibles today, if that Bible's in your lap or on your device, however you can get God's word. James chapter four. I'm Trevor Davis. I'm GCC's pastor.
I'm always marveling at the people that come to the early service on Spring Forward daylight saving time. It's like you have a superpower and you can just ignore the tiredness and go, hey, I don't know about you, but I'm glad for the daylight to return. Amen. This is good stuff. Before we dive into the Word, we're doing verse by verse through James chapter four.
In this series, I want to talk heart to heart about why we have a small group ministry. And look, I know your life is busy. I don't know anyone who isn't busy. I see the schedules and the hustle that you're doing and I want you to know that circles are better than rows. We're sitting in rows today and it's for inspiration, but in circles you get transformed.
And it's where you can get to know the love of God in a way that will make you more like Jesus and give you friends that last forever. And so I want to invite you to be part of our small group ministry. We're on a break right now. Here's how it works. When you sign up for a small group, you're not signing up for life.
You're not imprisoning yourself forever. And there's easy ins and easy outs. We'll take a two week break and then we'll go for about five or six weeks with usually a first Wednesday gathering in there. Then we'll take another two week break. We just do them on terms.
And our last term was a lot bigger than the previous term. Our small group ministry is growing. People are being impacted. We have a spot for you. And so this matters because you deserve a place where you're loved and where you're challenged and where you're known.
So if you'll just go to gccob group gccob.com group to get connected to a small group. You can tap the sticker on the back of the chair in front of you and get more information about that. Become part of our small group ministry. You will not regret it. All right, commercial over.
How did I do on that commercial? Was that pretty good? That land okay, good. The war within is what I've called this series in James chapter four. And today I want to preach a message that I call mind you'd tomorrow surrendering Control to God.
And our text is James, chapter 4, verses 13 through 16. I want to read that now. Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?
It is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. The word of the Lord.
Let's pray together, Father. Stand before a hungry congregation who wants to know truth, wants to see Jesus more clearly, wants to know your word and understand it. And so God, I pray you would feed us as your sheep. You, Lord Jesus, are the chief shepherd. And so we come to your word with humble hearts.
Some of our bodies are tired. We ask for the Holy Spirit to overcome that in us and give us ears to hear. Today I pray for the 99, oh God, and I pray for the ones because you love us all. In Jesus name and a faith filled church said. Amen.
Are you fired up about God's word today? I am too. Here's the big idea of the message. Planning is not the problem. Planning without God is.
Planning is not the problem. Planning without God is. Let's talk about tomorrow. You know, the day that hardly ever comes. We dream about it.
We pencil it into our calendars. We map out our vacations and our kids schedules and the deadlines at work and financial goals and retirement dreams, all those good things. And for many of us, the calendar app on our phones is more personal to us than a diary because it holds our hopes and our stresses and our anxieties and our agenda for the next 365 days or so. But friends, I want to ask a question. What if one of the greatest sources of our conflict, the anxiety that plagues us, the striving that burns us out.
What if all that is that we swallowed a lie? And what is that lie, preacher? The lie is this, that we're in control of tomorrow. James 4 In the verses that we just read together, confronts that lie head on. Now, I want to be clear.
James does not condemn wise planning. We should do it. The Bible praises diligence and wisdom and foresight. What James condemns is godless presumption. What's godless presumption, Pastor?
Well, in our text, it's planning like you own tomorrow while God gets treated like a silent partner who doesn't have a Vote in the boardroom of your life. James strips away all of our illusion of control in these verses. And here's the good news. He invites us to something better. He invites us to a life of surrendered dependence on God.
So how much of your life is spent making plans without ever consulting the Lord? In our text today, James gives us two instructions. So I have outlined my sermon in two sections. Number one, James says, don't let the calendar fool you, you're not in charge. And he says it, verses 13 and 14.
Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It's even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
James imagines a business minded planner, an organized person. And this guy has his whole year mapped out. He's penciled in his travel, he's timed his investments. We know from the language, he's projected his profits. He's got color coded ancient spreadsheets, probably he's got a detailed strategy.
But in all his careful planning, he never once mentions God. Did you notice that James is not saying that this is just a scheduling problem. He's saying that it's a spiritual problem. And listen, it's the illusion of control. And many of us, if not most of us, fall for it all the time.
Let's break it down phrase by phrase of what this man says. First, and as I do it, there are five assumptions or presumptions in the text here. I'm going to draw them out for us. Are you ready? First he says, today or tomorrow.
Everybody say today or tomorrow. He assumes that he gets to dictate the timing.
And he presumes that he'll be able to choose either today or tomorrow. Next he says we will go when he says we will go. He assumes his health and he assumes his mobility, his freedom of movement. And he presumes zero interruptions. We're gonna go, man, we're gonna make it there.
It's gonna be fine. Then he says, spend a year there. Holy cow. He presumes longevity. Who told him he gets 12 more months?
And then he says, we'll buy and sell. He assumes an economy stable enough that he can operate in it.
And then he says, make a profit.
He presumes that his success is guaranteed. If he works hard enough, there will be a profit. And then James pulls the rug out. He says, you don't know what will happen tomorrow. And the original language here is quite blunt.
James isn't saying, hey, look, I know you're just not uncertain about tomorrow. That's not the words that he uses. He's saying, you are utterly ignorant about the future. You can't know it. There's no basis for your confidence.
Tomorrow is a fog you can't see through. And yet you talk as if you have perfect clarity.
Let me illustrate this. Picture a man on the beach. I've been thinking about the beach lately. Amen. Get me out of this snow and stuff.
Picture a man on the beach. He's meticulously building a grand sandcastle. He's watched all the YouTube videos he ordered, all the right tools that you can't get at the surf style shop. You have to get on Amazon and take them with you down to Destin. Right.
He's got towers and turrets and carved windows and little stick flag poles and his in his sandcastle. And he's sculpting with precision. And he's got his phone out and he's watching the video and he's proud of his work. And people are walking by in their swimwear and they're admiring his focus and his ability, but everyone else notices what he doesn't. The tide is rising.
Wave by wave, the water is inching closer. And in a matter of minutes, everything he's worked so hard for will be gone.
Everyone on the beach can see it coming, but he's blind to it.
James says, that's you. When you plan without God. You're building a sandcastle on a tide schedule that you don't control.
Do you know Proverbs 27, verse 1? Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Jesus told a parable in Luke chapter 12, verses 16 through 21, and it illustrates this vividly. A rich man tears down his barns to build bigger ones because his crops are so good that year. And he says to himself, and he calls himself Soul, and he says, soul, you've got plenty laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink and be merry. But God calls him a fool that very night.
And he says, this night your soul will be required of you.
You know, the man wanting to build the bigger barns had a good strategy. It was airtight. He keeps making so much, he's got to make some more room. That's what everybody would do. It was airtight until it wasn't.
Because he made no plans for his own mortality, he thought he was in control. He left God out of the equation. One author Calls this kind of boasting practical atheism. You say in your heart you believe in God, but you live as if he's not really there. That author was David Nystrom, and he wrote this.
The proud man forgets God, not because he's rebellious, but because he's self sufficient.
And this isn't just ancient wisdom, and it's not just a parable of Jesus. History itself screams the same warning. The warning is tomorrow's not guaranteed. A leader in the early church showed us what it looks like to release control of tomorrow with complete surrender. I introduce to you a man named Ignatius.
Everybody say Ignatius. All right. Ignatius was not some fringe believer. He was the bishop of a town called Antioch. Antioch was one of the most influential churches in the first century.
It was the place in your Bible where believers were first called Christians. Acts 11:26. Tradition tells us that Ignatius was discipled by the Apostle John, which means he was only one generation removed from the Lord Jesus. Ignatius was a pastor, he was a theologian, he was a leader whose letters still shape Christian thinking today. We're still reading them.
This was a man with responsibility and influence. Quite frankly, he was important to the kingdom. And yet Rome arrested him anyway.
Under the Emperor Trajan, Christians were pressured to honor what's been called the imperial cult and to make the claim, caesar is Lord. Well, what do you think Ignatius did? Ignatius refused. He would only say, jesus is Lord. He would not give to Caesar what belonged to Christ.
So the Emperor sent Ignatius to Rome to die in the arena. And you won't be surprised to hear that his followers, the followers of the Lord in his congregation, tried to rescue him. But he begged them not to interfere. In fact, he wrote, do not rob me of the privilege of finishing my race.
He understood something that we struggle to accept. Tomorrow was never his to own or possess.
When Ignatius was led into the arena and the lions were released on him, he cried out, let fire and the cross. Let wild beasts, breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, come upon me. Only let me gain Christ.
Rome thought they were ending a life of influence. Ignatius believed that God was completing a life of faithfulness. Do you see the difference? He didn't control tomorrow, but Ignatius entrusted it to God. I was thinking about that.
Ignatius surrender gave him a peace and a purpose that outlasted his physical body.
Think about a young man in our church. Think about a young mom in our church. Let me change the gender. Think about a young mom. She loves her family.
She works hard to provide structure in the home. She has vacation dates circled and Homeschool schedules mapped out. And she has work projects planned. And she even has a college savings fund that she and her husband have set up for the children. All these things are good.
She does what most of us do. She tries to secure tomorrow by careful preparation.
But what if Jesus returns next Tuesday? Then the question is how much of that planning would hold eternal weight. I'm not saying that it can't. I'm saying we should check.
Pastor, is James saying that we shouldn't make any plans? What do you think the answer to that is? No. He's condemning what one writer calls the arrogant attitude of independence from God. The arrogant attitude of independence from God.
James says, you don't know what tomorrow brings. The word he uses for you don't know is not about innocent ignorance. Oops, I wasn't aware of that. Instead, it's a sharp rebuke. It implies willful neglect of God's wisdom.
There's a wiser way. I know about it. I heard the rumors, but I'm just not interested. It's as if to say, James says, you know, you should know better than this.
And by the way, this isn't just a warning for CEOs or business leaders. James warning is for moms managing a family calendar. James warning is for retirees carefully calculating their portfolios. It's a warning for students who are stressing out over their GPAs. All of us are tempted to whiteboard a future that we never once asked God to approve.
When you step outside on a cold winter morning and you see your breath in the cold air and it hangs there for a second and it's visible, it's real. You can almost touch it. And then it's gone. That's James Point.
Your life feels solid and permanent to you, but compared to eternity, it's a puff of mist that rises and catches the light for just a moment. And then it just disappears. Friends, if your life is a vapor, then it's far too brief to waste pretending you're the one controlling the weather. Is James wrong? Yes or no?
He's not wrong.
Friends, don't let the calendar fool you. You're not in charge.
Do you receive that? All right, Number two. James says, make plans with a pencil and let God hold the erase.
Verses 15 and 16. Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Friends, in our verses right here that we just read, James gives the antidote to arrogant planning.
He says instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills. Everybody say, if the Lord wills. You ought to say this out loud once or twice a day. This isn't about tacking on a religious cliche at the end of an email or a text. Lord willing is not Christian superstition.
It's not a lucky rabbit's foot phrase that will protect your plans. If the Lord wills is a lifestyle. It's a declaration where you admit that God is in charge of your breath, that he's in charge of your body, that he's in charge of your calendar.
Hey, let's go phrase by phrase with this. If the Lord wills. You know what that is? It's a confession that God's sovereignty determines your real schedule.
We shall live.
Even the next breath in your lungs is a gift of grace. If the Lord wills, we'll live. If he doesn't, we won't. If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. You know what that means?
All the details of your day, small and big alike, belong to God. Friends, all James is telling you is the Christian worldview. By the way, the Apostle Paul modeled this. Can we agree that the Apostle Paul was a strategic planner? His missionary journeys show such.
But his plans were soaked in submission to God. Here's how I know. In Acts 18:21, Paul said to the Ephesians, I will return to you again, God willing.
In First Corinthians 4:19, Paul told the Corinthians, I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills. Do you see it? Paul dreamed and he strategized and he executed. But he did it all with an open hand to God.
Imagine walking into your kitchen where your family keeps a giant whiteboard of the week's plans. A good friend of mine that I work basketball games with, his wife is an executive with a company you've heard of. So she flies around on private jets doing executive things. He showed me a picture of his whiteboard. This week for the month of March, she'll be home exactly five days out of 31.
And all you saw was long lines of going. Here he's got to pick up the grandkids. Here, he's got to go. Because of her schedule, we all have this whiteboard madness. It lists meals and sports practices and meetings and appointments and errands we need to run.
And just about every box is filled, right? You got the picture? Now, I want you to imagine this. Imagine the Holy Spirit walking into your house. He grabs a cloth, he goes up to your whiteboard, and he wipes it completely Clean.
And he turns and he looks at you.
Some of you OCD people, be honest. Would that unravel? You?
Would panic rise in your chest? Or would you be able to say, your will be done, Lord, let's redraw the board together.
You see, your life is like notes written in pencil. You sketch out all your best ideas. You draw your hopes. You write down your strategies. But then, friend, if Jesus is living his life through you, you hand God the eraser.
And he may cross out a line, he may cancel a trip. He may shift the margins over. He might even rewrite the whole page. And when he does, it's not loss, it's gain.
Because his plans are always wiser. Yes or no? His plans are always safer. Yes or no? His plans are always better than ours.
Proverbs 16. 9. A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
By the way, James doesn't call arrogant boasting unwise. In our verse, he calls it evil. Why is that? Listen to me. Because it doesn't just ignore God.
It competes with him.
Well, Pastor, does this mean that I can't dream, plan, and strategize? What's the answer? No. It means you do it all with humility, holding that paper loosely. It means you submit your calendar before you fill.
Means you submit your finances before you spend them. It means you submit your career before you choose it and chase it.
Whew. That's enough of that. Let's get off that idea. Right. Well, in conclusion today, let me ask you this question.
Where have you been planning as if you were an owner instead of a manager or steward?
Where have you drawn your sandcastle without paying attention to the tide?
Let me tell you what James 4, verses 13 through 16 is. It's two things. Number one, it's a loving rebuke. Did you feel lovingly rebuked today? I'm gonna feel self conscious if you don't say yes.
Okay. It's a loving rebuke. It's also a freeing invitation. You don't have to live under the crushing illusion of control. You don't own tomorrow.
God does.
Now, I organized my sermon into two sections. And so for prayer ministry today, there's two things you can bring to the Lord. Number one, bring your illusion of control.
When you do, you get people to pray for you today. Lay down the pride that whispers. I've got this. I'll handle this. Number two, turn your plans into prayers before you ink the contract, before you schedule the trip, before you set the deadline.
Bring it before The Lord. That's how you apply the verses that we've just studied together.
It's easier to do these kind of things and make them real. If you got a spiritual family that you meet with each week on your ministry card, there's a place that says, I want to find my people by finding a small group. So you've heard that today you need to mark that, make sure we have a name and number. We can contact you and help you that way. Here's what I want to do.
I'm going to call the prayer team forward, and then we'll have everybody stand, and then we're going to do a responsive reading today. I'll read the pastor part, you read the congregation part. We'll read the last line together, and we'll just kind of confess this before the Lord. This is a good practice. Churches have been doing it for 2000 years.
Can we do that together? Yes. All right, prayer team, if you'll come get in place.
I'm going to open the prayer lines after I pray and dismiss this in a moment.
And then we're just going to have these confessions on the screen, and we want to read them with some feeling. We want to let God and our neighbor know we mean it.
I'm practicing the pregnant pauses and dramatic effect of letting the prayer team get in place. How am I doing? Am I doing good with that? All right. It's important that we pray for one another.
Let's stand together. I read the pastor part, you read the congregation part.
Lord, we confess that we often live like tomorrow is ours to command.
Today we bring you our illusion of control.
Teach us to write our plans in pencil.
Help us turn every plan into a prayer.
And all together, Lord, our future is yours. Amen. The prayer lines are open. We are dismissed.
I missed. I missed last week, the week before that. That's when Aaron. The God story that he told this morning. Yeah.

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A Place for the Whole Family

Families searching for a church with strong children’s programs love our engaging Kids Ministry and safe, caring environments. Students can connect through our Youth Ministry, and adults of every stage can find community through groups, prayer, and discipleship opportunities. As a multi-generational church, we love seeing every age grow in faith together.

Meaningful Worship

Experience contemporary worship with modern Christian music, heartfelt prayer, and Gospel-centered messages designed to help you encounter God personally. If you’re looking for vibrant worship near Memphis, you’ll find a place that feels both authentic and inspiring.

Grow in Your Faith

We offer Bible studies, small groups, and discipleship opportunities that help you understand and apply God’s Word to everyday life. If you’re looking for a place to grow spiritually, you’ll find support and encouragement here.

Connected to Our Community

We are passionate about serving our neighbors through outreach and local partnerships, making a positive impact in Olive Branch and beyond.

Conveniently located in Olive Branch, we serve families from surrounding communities, including Southaven, Germantown, Collierville, Lewisburg, and Byhalia.