School is coming fast. Parents, it's go time. Some of you are like, I wish it started last week. Get him out of here. I mean, uh, it's, it's go time and with the new school year brings new school stories and so I was curious so I looked up some fun stories from last year and a few that made me chuckle and so I want to share some with you. Uh, I, I read a story about a first grade teacher. It was her first year teaching and so she was very nervous, you know, to set in. Set up her room, have everything ready to engage the kids. She wore this polka dot dress that first day, she thought it was fun. And the little first graders came walking in and one little girl came up to her and said, Hi, teacher, you look so beautiful, just like a clown. To which she just broke down the wall and said, OK, I can't control what kids are gonna say, and had a great time. There's another story of a student field trip that went to the local, um, A community center and, and they were swimming together and one of the parents got really upset and messaged the teacher saying that some child stole my kid's towel and they got really angry as parents sometimes do not you guys, but some parents do and they said, what kind of juvenile delinquents do you have in class with my angel? And they said, well, I'm sure it was just an accident. Can you describe that your kid's towel? To which the parents said, sure, it's white and it says Holiday Inn on it. One last story is, uh, it was the early weeks of school and the teacher was collecting homework and he went up to one little boy and just said, Hey, I, I don't see your homework. Where, where is it, buddy? Where's your homework? He said, 00, don't, don't stress, it's just still in the pencil. Look, as we start this new school year, OK, my heart for you is that amidst the pressure, amidst all the to dos and the schedules, and the follow-ups and the meetings and everything that your faith doesn't remain in the pencil, right? And look, even if you're not in the parenting stage, my guess is the fall represents a new season of some kind for you. And it's very easy to feel pressured and overwhelmed, sometimes even alone. But what if this new season could be different? What if this season? You could find more focus, you can find more purpose and you can see traction and action and growth in your life and in your family's life. See this morning's message is entitled Rooted and Ready, and as I'm back, the first message I want to share with you is really a passage of scripture that's one of my favorite in all of the Bible. And the reason it's one of, it's so much one of my favorite, we actually put it on the lobby wall. If you actually walk out this door, you're gonna see it on the wall here because in this passage, you're gonna get 4 practical anchors for your faith and for your family that I use all the time for me. And if it's been helpful for me, I, I, I pray and hope that it could be helpful for you. But to start things off, you're taking notes, I want you to write this down, that healthy growth begins with a rooted faith. Healthy growth begins with a rooted faith. You gotta start somewhere. I heard, I heard it said once that the best time, like if you want to see fruit on a tree, the best time to plant a tree was actually probably 7 years ago. Anyone feel that way? Like, oh man, I wish I would have, right? Wish I would have invested in real estate back when interest rates were the way they were, right? Go through. And so it's easy to feel regret. Sometimes the best, the best time to plant a tree is actually probably 7 years ago, but the second best time to plant a tree is today. And right now And a new season could represent new beginnings and a fresh start for you. And so it's important for us to understand that healthy growth begins with a rooted faith. Now we're gonna be in Colossians chapter 2, but before we go there, a quick set up for our passage today is that Paul, the apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church in Colossa while he was in prison. He never even had been to Colossa, but he had heard of their faith, and they were this church that was facing persecution. And they were in a culture that where the pagan religion or pagan teaching back then was called Gnosticism, which really taught in knowledge, but knowledge itself, and they, and they didn't try to deny Jesus because this is around 50 or 60 AD. So you're only like 30 years away, removed from the resurrection of Jesus. So they didn't try to deny the existence of Jesus, they just simply tried to diminish and then dethrone his authority or his power. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Jesus is real, so. And then what's the latest thing, the latest trend, the latest philosophy, that it's knowledge that'll save you. And then, therefore, you can do what you want, because the body was separate from the soul. And so people are saying, no, it doesn't matter what you do. And Paul said, no, no, no, no, no, no. Church, you gotta hang on. And so in in Colossians chapter 1 verses 1 through 8, he says, look, look, church, I'm writing to you from prison, and I've heard of the faith you have in Jesus Christ and the love you have for the saints that spring forth from the heaven, the hope you have in heaven. And then in verses 9 to 12, he says, therefore, I want you to, I wanna pray for you that you would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. And he writes to the first to the church and then to the Christian, and then he describes the Christ. He gives one of the greatest descriptions of Jesus Christ in the entire Bible. In verse 13 and 4 through 20, it talks about how we have been transferred. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his beloved Son, how Jesus is. Savior, that he is the image of the invisible God, that all things in creation were created by him and through him and in him and for him and that he is the head of the church, that he is preeminent over all things and preeminent means not just first in the light of many, but first as in only. Right. Which is a big difference because we live in a culture where it, yeah, yeah, yeah, faith is important in my life. On Sundays for an hour and then I got these things. No, Christ doesn't want to be first. He wants to be only. Can you imagine being there on your wedding day? Standing up with your spouse is saying, honey, I love you. My best dates are gonna be with you. Wait, what? Well yeah, I'm gonna have lots of other dates, other things, but my best dates, my first dates are going to you. No, you don't wanna hear that on your wedding, you wanna be the first in the line of many, you wanna be the only person, right? The same thing here is that Christ is preeminent, meaning that he is the Lord over everything in your life, every area of your life. Then he goes on to describe him that in him is the fullness of God that dwells. And through this incredible picture of God, the next few verses in Colossians 1:21 to 24 then describes that all these things were given so that he laid down his life for you. That through his death on the cross, his payment physical and spiritual, again, the Gnostics separated body and mind, and said, no, no, no, he physically died. To reconcile all things back to him, this is the gospel. And then in verse 24 through the beginning of the verses there in chapter 2, he says, this is why I'm in prison. This is why I struggle. This is the mission and the calling that God has given to me that I can make this mystery known that it is Christ in you, the hope of heaven and glory dwelling that you may be presented mature before him, standing firm in your faith, and that may nobody persuade you with silly ridiculous arguments of this world. So then we come to chapter 2, verse 6. And he writes, therefore, See, all of that was a set up for that one word. Therefore, because it doesn't come out of any out of anywhere. Anytime you're reading scripture and you see the word therefore, you want to ask yourself, what is it there for? OK. And so he's in prison. He's writing to this church, who is battling, who is fighting, who is loving. He said, no, no, no, no, walk in a manner worthy of the calling of the Lord. Walk in this manner, praise the one who delivered you from the domain of darkness. Who has forgiven your sins. This is why I was in prison. This is why I struggle. This is why I am here to understand that God loves you, that God saves you, that God made you on purpose for a purpose because of all of this, therefore. As you received Christ Jesus the Lord. So walking him. Rooted and built up in him, established in faith just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving. Within these two verses. Could be the key. That unlocks a radical new season in your life. Because in these two verses, We see 4 anchors. For your family this fall. Do you ever Uh, hung anything in your house that was heavy, you understand you have to anchor it to something, right? If you don't, what happens when you, when you hang it, it just falls, right? And, uh, and I've gotten better. I'm not handy by any way, shape or form, but I've gotten a little bit better. But when I was first married, I just thought, oh, just nail on the wall, put it on the wall, you're good to go, right? And we had this mirror that was really heavy and I would hang it, it would fall, hang it fall and like if you, and so at one point it looks in the wall like if the mirror, I'm glad the mirror was big because it covered up, it looked like bullet holes like in our wall. It's just like all the failed attempts, and I finally really like, oh, I need to anchor it into the wall. And once I understood that and actually the nail and the screw or the screw that could actually hold the weight of what was resting on it, OK, I understood that, oh, that makes all the difference. What we're about to share with you can hold the weight of your life. And I know that because it is tied directly into the cross. And that cross was strong enough to hold up the weight of the sins of the world and the wrath of God Himself. These are 4 anchors for your family as well. Anchor number 1. We have to be grace- filled. Grace filled. A little bit different than graceful, cause when you hear the word graceful, you think of like flowing. And I know what that's what comes to mind when you see me move, but. No, it's OK. I was always just kind of gangly and awkward. And uh, but. Grace filled, meaning literally full of grace. It says, therefore, after that big lead up. Of who Jesus is and what the gospel is and what the church is. So therefore, just as you received him. So walking him. Why is that important? It's important because how many Christians. Do you know, claim the grace of God, but then try to live based on their works. It's almost like we're like, yeah, yeah, I like grace for salvation, but now I got I got I got it, I got it from here. And we try to earn our way back to God. With grace, by definition means there is nothing you can do to earn the love of God. On your best day, you've got no shot. Yeah. But at the same time, you understand. That on every day You can rest on the grace that defeated death itself. Therefore, you can live in a way. That reflects the grace that you have once received. You know, as, as you grow in relationships and marriage, you start to learn things from your loved ones and you and you find yourself enjoying things that you'd never once did before. So one of those things for me is I am a sucker for a good candle. Love it, love, love candles. That does not sound there's no way for me to sound manly when I talk about my love of candles, right? There's a few things in my life that I just come along, right? So like, I, one thing I'm excited for for fall is pumpkin spice lattes, right? I just full transparency, love it. There is not a cool way to order a pumpkin spice latte at all, right? Nothing makes me feel more like a. Scottsdale soccer mom, then to like order a pumpkin spice latte. Like sometimes I will just, I'm tempted to just also order a coffee black. Even though I'm only ordering for myself, just to make it seem like I'm ordering it for someone else, anyway, and so I love a good candle, OK? Like right now, favorite, like Alpine forest, a little hint of forest and it's great, little flicker, right, it's awesome. But you know what's great about a candle for our discussion today? Is that a candle gives light as soon as it's lit. Meaning as soon as you have received the grace of Jesus into your life, you can live in that grace. Yes, there's gonna be a maturing process which we're gonna get to. But as soon as the Holy Spirit comes into your life, you are able to share the light with the world. Jesus is the light of the world. John 8:12, but then we're also called the light of the world. Describe there in Matthew 5:14 to 16. Therefore, we're not called to hide the light. We don't have to wait till we're like better, like candles aren't like, well, I'm not like as cool as that candle, so like I need to wait till I, I like become more of a candle. No, like as soon as the wick is lit, it gives off light. It gives off this aroma of whatever is in the candle. Here's the thing. What aroma are you giving off in your life? Right? Is it ocean breeze? Is it, is it alpine forest or is it middle school boy locker room? Like, I don't know, but what, what kind of light or what kind of aroma are you living or or sharing with the world around you? Because as Christians, we are supposed to live in the grace that God has given us. Blessed people, blessed people. Right, Grace received should lead to grace shared. And this is incredible life transforming grace. It says in Ephesians 2:8 to 10. It says, for by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of work, so that no 1 may boast, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared before him, that we should walk in them. I heard one pastor say one time and I love this, is that walking is the speed of relationships. Walking is the speed of relationships, and I love that because Jesus tells us to walk with him, to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to walk in the way that you have received Christ as your Lord, to walk in love, to walk in truth, to have a stroll. With the God who made you. It allows you to approach this new season with a sense of Because when it comes to the Christian life, it's less about trying and more about trusting. Trust by definition is the level of confidence you have in somebody's character and competence, right? And you need both because confidence talks about your ability and character talks about your affection, right? There are probably people in your life who have one or the other, right? If you need them to fix something, they have a competence in something you want them to go, you know, I have trust in that, but you don't trust them with a secret. Right? And then you have people who you trust with your life, who trust with your heart. But they ain't gonna fix anything. And they don't have the the ability to do something. Right, can you imagine if you called 911 in an emergency? Like, you want that person to have confidence and character, don't you? You want them to care. Right? You don't want to call like 911. What's your emergency? Well, this is happening. Oh my goodness. So, What do you want me to do about it? This is 911. What are you talking about? Like, at the same time, you don't want someone to care that you're hurting and then not have the ability to do anything, right? Like you, 911, what's your emergency? This is happening. Oh no, we're, we're, we're gonna lose our life. What's gonna happen? And then the person on the other line goes, oh no, that sounds awful. You should call somebody. I called you, right? Like. OK, let's take this back to faith. Can you trust Jesus? What is the level of confidence you have in his confidence and in his character? When his competence, he spoke the world into existence. He lived a perfect life, died on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine, and rose again, defeating death itself. And then offers promises through his words to be with us and for us all the days of our lives. I think it's a pretty good resume. OK, what about character? He says, I love you. I care for you. See that care is one of the things that separates Christianity from other religions because there's not some absent heavenly Father who created the world and then stepped back. He says, no, I am present, I'm in it with you. So faith is less and less about trying. To look good and more about trusting the God who is good. Says just as you received him, so walk in him. Romans 5:1-2 says, Therefore, as we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The first anchor to have in this new season in your life and for your kids and beyond is to be grace-filled. Is your home marked with an atmosphere of grace? That you are loved by God, that you in turn love people with the love that God has given you. Changes things. Second anchor for this fall is that we are called to be grounded. Says therefore, as you received him, so walking him, rooted and built up. That first phrase rooted to be grounded. It is, is actually in a perfect tense, meaning that you were rooted once and for all, rooted in what? Rooted in the truth of the gospel of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. So it's not based on how you feel on a given day, but based on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. It says in Psalm chapter 1 verses 2 and 3, it says, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water. That yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. If you got plants in your home, you understand that the watering schedule is very key right now in the summer. Right. Anyone ever made the mistake of turning off the irrigation to fix something and forget to turn it back on? And like a day or two later, the plants are all drooping. Like what happened? Well, you turn the water off. Some of you are going throughout your life and throughout your weeks and you're wondering why the leaves in your life are drooping, but you haven't picked up this book in years. You're wondering why your leaves aren't green and you equivalentally walk to somebody else with a squirt gun, the dollar squirt gun, not even a super soaker, it just goes. Like, why isn't that enough? It's cause we're in Arizona, it's 118. You need a deep well of water that will never run dry based in the objective fact that Jesus Christ rose again. It says in Jeremiah 17:7-8, it says, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, right? That confidence and confidence and character whose trust is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green and it is not anxious in the year of drought. Oh, that'll preach right there. Some of you are in a season of drought. But I wanna encourage you, you don't have to be anxious. Because even in the season of drought, you can still produce fruit. Tim Keller in a number of different works, uh, the one I pulled it from was when he wrote about counterfeit counterfeit gods, makes reference to Saint Augustine and then even Martin Luther, who talked about how there are 4 idols of the heart. This won't be on the screen, but I just wanna share this with 4 idols of the heart. The idols of the human heart are money, power, pleasure, and fame. Right With money, we think we can define success. With power, we think we can assume control. With pleasure, we think we can force comfort into our lives. And with fame we think we have the approval that we need to justify our lives. Because if you think to yourself, well, I don't need money or power or pleasure or fame, I guarantee you're striving for success, control, comfort, and approval. And all the sins will find themselves trying to meet the need of one of those four things, isn't it? We can't root yourself in money because what happens? Well, inflation either dilutes the value of the money or you could lose your job, or you can buy the stuff and it's fleeting and someone else has more and like, and so it won't satisfy you. You can't root yourself in money. What about power? You can't root yourself in power because you're not gonna always have power. So what do you do when somebody else has it? Or what if you try to use your power to coerce someone else? That doesn't, doesn't feel good either. OK, what about pleasure? Can you root yourself in pleasure? Oh, I just wanna be happy. The problem is there is no amount of sex or drug or alcohol or things or activity that can satisfy the craving of your soul. You can do everything you want in this life, and then the next day comes and now you're like, now what? You can't root your life in that because it doesn't stay. You can't root your life and fame and approval of others because what happens when somebody else doesn't approve of you anymore. You can't root your life in those things because they are temporary. But to be grounded once and for all in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is to plant your tree in the stream of living water that even in the driest of droughts, you have the deepest of wells, the living streams that you can produce fruit and have evergreen leaves all year round, all throughout your life, because, not because your life is good in that moment, because, but rather in all phases of life, God is good. So even when your life doesn't feel good, you can go back to the truth that God is good. And you can sing of his goodness and His grace. Anchor number 1 is to be grace-filled. Anchor number 2 is to be grounded. Anchor number 3 is to be growing. It says rooted and built up, rooted as is perfect tense, meaning that it's a once and for all, built up is actually present tense in the Greek, which means it's ongoing. Built up, established in the faith that you were taught. The church was started by a guy named Epaphorus, and say, look, just as you heard from him, now you can grow. You can grow, you can keep growing. There was a group of tourists who visited uh like a postcard picturesque type town. And was just walking around like trying to learn about the town and sees a local, uh, sitting on a bench along a fence, and he goes up to him and he's like, hey. Have there any Great men been born in this village. To which he replied, No, no great men, uh, only babies. Right, all of us start from somewhere. But it can grow into the man or the woman that God has called you to be. At some point, the boy sits down and the man stands up. At some point the girl sits down and the woman of God stands up. The things that are cute when you're an infant are not cute as an adult, right? If you see a little one and you kind of airplane in the food, that's great. We have some young professionals here like if you go on a date and like and you meet the blind date and the person on the other side is like airplaning their food in. That would be a little weird, right? Why? Because we are called to grow. And it's beautiful to grow and it's messy and we make mistakes and we fall down, but when we fall, let's fall forward and we learn. When babies learn to walk, they don't just fall the first time like, well, we tried, next kid. No, the parent picks them up and they're clapping and they're cheering, right? May we be the place that cheers for people when they grow and we come alongside and we stir one or other up to good works as it says in Hebrews. says in Ephesians 4:15-16, it says, rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together in every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. It's OK to not be OK, but God loves you too much to let you stay that way, that you've been called to walk in the same manner in which you've been saved, to grow in grace, to be rooted in Him, and to be growing, which is the church where there is sanctification. They become more like him every single day. And here's the promise. Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, he says, for I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. He's not done. He's working. And I shared earlier that it's not about trying, it's about trusting. One more thought for you on the personal side of it, it's not about trying, it's about training. When you try something and fail, you feel not great. But failure is part of training, isn't it? So next time you mess up, remind yourself, oh no, no, I'm not trying, I'm training cause you can get stronger, you can grow. We're called to be grace-filled, we're called to be grounded. We're called to be growing and the 4th anchor for this new season is that we're called to be grateful. Called to be grateful. You know, there are stereotypes in our culture. Right, if you have somebody who just is uppity and complains about the smallest things, what do you call that person? Give him a name. Complainer and they call him what they give him a name. They call him a Karen, right? Felt bad for someone named Karen at that point cause like, oh, Karen over here, right? And if you don't know any Karens in your life. You might, you might be the one. But here's what I wish. Can I just be honest with you here? I wish there was actually positive stereotypes, right? Like if you're complaining, you get called Karen. What if, like, what if you are so grateful? It says a bounding, like overflowing, like to the point where it's noticed and talked about. Like what if you're out in public and someone's like, can you believe that? We got a grateful Gary over here. He's just grateful for everything we give him, uh. Right? What if you were known for your gratitude? Are anyone's children too grateful? Is that a struggle for you? No? OK. Yeah, cause none of us are. That's why it has to be commanded. Right? This word abounding is used as a description of an overflowing river. And I think the reason Paul, who's in prison when writing this, writes a letter about gratitude while in prison and his life being taken away is that it is, is almost impossible to be prideful and grateful at the same time. And one of the keys, not the only key, but one of the keys to dialing down the anxiety in your life is to dial up and turn up the volume of gratitude in your life. Because the more you can express, not feel your gratitude. To God and to others, it changes how you think, doesn't it? Paul later in his letter in Colossians 3:17, he says, and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him. If you've encountered a genuinely humble grateful person, you notice it, don't you? What if we were the grateful people? Right? There's the band the Grateful Dead. What if we were the grateful alive? That was bad. I'm sorry. You know what I'm saying though? That you walked into every room. Not looking to get something but to give. It changes things. Hebrews 12:28 says, therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and with awe. Church healthy growth begins with a rooted faith. And whatever challenges you're gonna be walking into this new season for you, for your family, for your friendships and your work. I don't know where you are, but what I do know is that these 4 practices could change your life. To be grace filled, to be grounded, to be growing, and to be grateful. Think about it in the context of your kids. What would it look like to have a kid that understands grace that is grounded in who God made them to be, that is growing and in knowledge and is grateful everywhere he or she goes be pretty awesome, wouldn't it? Imagine a marriage. That is based in grace, that is grounded in the word of God, that is growing closer to God and to each other, and that is a race to see who can be more grateful than the other person. You know what that sounds like? An awesome marriage. Why? Because these 4 practices can influence every single area of your life. And so to close, I want to challenge you with this. Number 1, make it personal. Make it personal, commit to these 4 practices this month. Try it. No better yet, train with it. And trust God with it. What are one of the four areas that you need to? Implement Memorize these verses. Ask God to move. And see, just see, give it a month. See how your life will be changed if you approach every single day. Grace filled, grounded, growing, and grateful for all that God has done and who he is. The second challenge then is to make a difference. Make a difference. Don't just hold it to yourself, but what can you do to make a difference in the lives of others? And specifically I wanna challenge you to partner with us in this room to Grow initiative. God used 12 people to change the world. What could God do with faithful committed people in this room and beyond? If we would sow generously so that we can grow faithfully. Will you pray with me, dear heavenly Father. We know that life was not meant for mere survival, that our lives have significance. That God, we were not saved to sit on the sidelines, but that we are rooted so that we can rise up and bear fruit and reach the world with the good news of your Son Jesus. Whatever pressure comes our way, whatever happens in this new season with the overwhelming busyness of schedules, God, I pray that we can be people who are filled with grace, that we can be people grounded in the gospel, that we can be people growing in our love for one another, and that we can be people grateful for who you are and what you've done. God help us to remember that healthy growth begins with a rooted faith and let our lives be rooted in you. It's in your senses and we pray. Amen.