Because of You

Because of You

Scripture References

• Romans 9

Overview

Pastor Craig used Thanksgiving week to thank the church family and to show, story after story, that ordinary acts of worship, serving, giving, and praying are changing lives around the world. Repeating the refrain,

“Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence,”

he traced how God worked through one church’s generosity to launch campuses, rescue the homeless, place free Bibles on phones, reach prisons, resource pastors, and save students in crisis. The message closed with an invitation for everyone to step into the mission and a call to surrender to Jesus.

Main Points

Your presence matters more than you realize

• Every prayer, invitation, act of service, and gift has eternal weight.
• Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians models how believers today strengthen one another by standing firm in faith.
• Congregation declared together, “because of me,” to personalize the impact.

Curtis — a life rebuilt through the Austin campus

• Story: Born into trauma, juvenile detention, drug addiction, and homelessness, Curtis planned to die. A Mobile Loaves & Fishes food truck (Life.Church mission partner) fed him, Sandy prayed for him, and he surrendered to Christ.
• New job placed him 10 minutes from the brand-new Austin location (a debt-free remodel of a former Kohl’s).
• On opening day he celebrated one year sober, joined the host team, mentors students on Wednesday nights, and became the first person baptized in the campus—by his brother Kevin, a Life.Church youth pastor.
• Pastor Josh: “This building and every changed life exist because of your generosity.”

Sydney — identity restored through YouVersion

• Story: Abandoned as an infant in Nepal, adopted into Minnesota, and wrestling with worth, Sydney met Jesus in high school.
• Reading Romans 9 (“her who was not called Beloved I will call Beloved”) through the Bible app showed her God had already written “beloved” into her given Nepali name.
• Because the app is free, hundreds of millions encounter Scripture daily; downloads will reach one billion next year.
• Vision repeated: God’s word to everyone, everywhere, every day.

Ted — hope behind bars

• Story: After a childhood of rejection and 20 years in prison, Ted planned suicide.
• He opened a secure tablet, watched a Life.Church message titled “Does God still love me?” and believed Jesus did.
• A 16-month letter-writing team now mentors him; he wrote, “Thank you for saving my life…I hope to be part of the Life.Church family.”
• 2,750 inmates have given their lives to Christ this year through God Behind Bars content and letters.

Pastor Jeff — small church multiplied through free resources

• Story: Planting Restore Church in Yankton, SD, Jeff hit writer’s block and burnout.
• Life.Church Open Network provided sermon transcripts, kids curriculum, hospitality blueprints—free.
• Attendance grew from 80 to 470; Jeff: “Thank you for giving so stories like mine are possible.”
• Over 1.1 million pastors and leaders now download resources each year.

Kate — from suicidal despair to servant-leader

• Story: Anonymous letters left at the Lenexa campus revealed severe depression and plans to die.
• Prayer teams matched handwriting, reached out, and walked with “student”—Kate—for months.
• She met Christ, was baptized, mentors in Switch, and will celebrate three years of freedom from self-harm in March.
• Kate on stage: “Because of you I am alive—physically, spiritually, eternally.”

Our shared mission: irrational generosity

• 158 local and global mission partners receive both finances and volunteers.
• “We will lead the way with irrational generosity because we truly believe it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
• Giving Tuesday and ongoing tithes fund new campuses, relief work, foster care support, addiction recovery, and more.

Invitation to step in

• Pastor Craig asked anyone not yet serving, giving, or praying to raise a hand and commit.
• The church is “a place where everyone is welcome, everyone is needed, and everyone is changed.”

Gospel call

• Jesus, the sinless Son of God, died and rose so anyone can be saved.
• Many responded, typing “I’m surrendering my life to Jesus” online and praying aloud in the room.

Key Truths

• Ordinary obedience becomes extraordinary impact when offered to God.
• The gospel is reaching everywhere—from food trucks and phones to prison cells and pulpits—because believers work together.
• Scripture spoken in the right moment can rename a life “beloved.”
• Generosity is not what God wants from us but what He wants for us.
• Every number celebrated in church represents a person God loves by name.

Response

• Step onto a serve team; your hands create space for someone else’s miracle.
• Set up recurring giving and participate in Giving Tuesday to fuel local and global missions.
• Share the YouVersion Bible App and invite a friend to Advent services.
• Write encouragement to someone in crisis; your words may save a life.
• Pray daily for the 45,000+ new believers to grow deep roots in faith.

Closing

Pastor Craig ended by celebrating 45,473 people who have said yes to Jesus this year and reminded the church that every story—Curtis, Sydney, Ted, Jeff, Kate—exists “because of you.” He urged the congregation to keep living open-handed lives so many more might one day thank God for them.

“Because of you, people all over the world are thanking God today.”

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, forgive all of my sins.
I surrender to Jesus to be my Savior, to be my Lord.
Fill me with Your Spirit so I could know You and serve You.
My life is not my own—I give it all to You.
Thank You for new life; You have all of mine.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”