Pastor Gail – Welcome
1. This morning we welcome you to service. We’re going to have a little fun with the first song. It’s a little Balkan style. Let’s worship the Lord and enjoy Him.
2. Just welcome Him in your way, however you like. Father we thank you for this morning that we are here in your house to worship you Lord. There is no one like you. Lord we just pour our praises on you this morning. We pour our love on you Lord. Who is like the Lord? There is no one God. And we’re so thankful Father that we know you. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. I am so rich. How rich I am because of you. Lord, I give you praise. I thank you today for every answer meant. Every answer coming in your name. In the name of Jesus. Amen, amen.
3. Think about the time you were saved. At that moment. If you remember the moment. You are suddenly aware. You were in the Father’s thoughts. Amen, amen.
4. For God so loved the world. That He gave His only begotten Son. That who would believe in Him. Would not perish. But have everlasting life.
5. I want us to take this moment right now to pray for the sick. For those of you that know Laura Williams. I received a message at seven o’clock this morning. They rushed her to the hospital. And she just says extremely severe pneumonia. She knows I told her we would be praying for her during service today. She’s been sick for a long time. We just as you pray for today. Can we pray that God would completely heal her body? We pray for Mary for her cancer to completely leave her eyes. For Brian’s lungs. We pray for Armand to rise up and walk. We pray for Anton. For he has long covid. And it’s affecting his heart. If you have any other need for healing for someone you love. Just raise your hand. We’ll look at the hands today in the room. Let’s just pray for these right now. Let’s pray right now.
6. Father in thy name we pray together Lord. Those of us we’ve raised hands God. We can’t say everybody’s name. We don’t have time. But Lord we just know that you know the name Lord. I believe God. I pray right now for Laura. Visit her in the hospital right now. We pray that you’ll just send in angels. That they will just minister to her. That they’ll be around that bed God. That they will heal her God. Clear her lungs. We pray for Anton. His lungs to be cleared. For Brian this lung situation, for asthma. In Greece for asthma to be healed in the name of the Lord. We pray for Mary, God. For the cancer to go. We pray for Fernando, Father. We know for Armand to rise and walk. To rise up and walk Lord. To rise and walk. To lay bare on those crutches. To get out of that wheelchair. Father, Jesus, we know when you were here. You did miracles. Oh Lord miracles. We don’t seek you for the miracles. We seek you for who you are. Because where you are is every miracle, we will ever need. And we praise in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen.
7. You may be seated. We’re getting ready to have a prayer devotional. If I’m right. I think we have an example. I think, of the Kingdom of God in the church today. We have an Armenian in the room with Turks. I love it. Well Greeks too you know. I love that. I’m not sure. You know the Armenians and the Turks in the world. They fight. But in the Kingdom of God. We love each other don’t we. Yes.
8. Oh, they’re throwing kisses. And you too. You too. Oh. Three Armenians today and two Turks. Oh wow. God. I love how the Lord does that. Isn’t it amazing? I think everybody should just kind of stand up and blow kisses. Because we love each other. Amen. Praise God. We’re glad you’re here today. I’m an expressive person. I love to throw kisses and hugs. If you need somebody to do it for you just come get me.

Pastor Brian – Prayer Devotional
9. Well, we extended last year. Pastor Gail declared a year of prayer. And the leadership of the church felt like we should extend that throughout this year. Because we recognize everything begins and ends with prayer.
10. So, each Sunday we’re talking about some aspect of prayer. And last month we looked at the prayer that Jesus modeled for us, ‘Our Father who art in heaven.’ This month we’re talking about prayers of adoration. Adoration. Yeah, just deep adoration. How many of you adore God? I hope so.
11. But what is adoration really? Sometimes I think we think of it as kind of emotional hype. But that’s not what it is. Adoration of God is seeing who He truly is. It’s recognizing His reality. Psalm 145 is a good example of a prayer of adoration. I would encourage you read the whole chapter at home.
12. But Psalm 145:1-3 “I will exalt you my God the King I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can fathom.”
13. If we read through the whole chapter, we see in verse 3 that God is great. In verse 8 He is gracious. In verse 9 He is compassionate. In verse 13 He is faithful. Verse 18 He is near to everybody who calls on Him.
14. These are good qualities to recognize and appreciate. And here’s why. Adoration changes stress into awe. When we stop to adore God, it changes anxiety into trust. It changes discouragement into strength.
15. So, I want us to hear today a prayer of St. Patrick. From all the way back in the 600s. He wrote, ‘I arise today through the strength of Christ. Christ before me. Christ behind me. Christ in me. And Christ over me.’ Pray that for yourself today. And I pray for us:
16. Lord open our hearts open our eyes. To see the reality of your greatness today. Let our hearts Lord let my heart adore you. In a deep truth. You are worthy of all praise. Yes, you are worthy of all praise. Amen.

Pastor Gail – Announcements
17. Well, we’re so glad you’re here today. I believe Thursday is ‘Tsiknopemty.’ I can’t believe it, it’s already here. For those of you that don’t know what ‘Tsiknopemty’ is, it’s right before Greek Easter, well before Lent. Fill up on me. It’s ‘eat’ lots of meat. So maybe you’d like to invite someone and have that evening together. You know part of being a family of God is sharing time with one another. Amen.
18. We want to just share very quickly a few announcements of things coming up and then we’ll give to the Lord our offering and tithe today. Our care groups are home groups are operational and Henneke will you wave your hand. Miss Evy is in the back. Cecilia has one at Lavrio. Who am I missing? Samanthi has with the Sri Lankans. Samanthi, will you wave your hands. Everybody sees you. Leto has the Greeks. All right.
19. On Wednesday night here at the church at the moment. We are just having a very relaxed time. We’re praying. If you have something you’d like to discuss. We’re just freely discussing that now on Wednesday night. Just come have a cup of coffee at seven o’clock. Let’s just talk some of the biblical questions together. All right.
20. Please do not forget to bring food for Joseph’s cupboard. We have people stopping by regularly that are that need food. I think even Billy and Evelyn were telling me I when I first came to Greece you never saw homeless Greeks. They just didn’t exist here. But the numbers are growing. The numbers of homeless Greeks.
21. And the 22nd of this month we’re going to be having a church lunch together. So put it on your calendar. You don’t plan to go anywhere. Stay and have lunch. On next Sunday we will be having a youth team from Brazil with us. And if you are available, please speak to me or Leto and we’d love to have you help us.
22. Stavros, Will you pray for our tithe?
23. Hallelujah. I mean Leto. And the tithe and offering you know of course is for the Lord.
24. One last little announcement. For years the church every summer we would take a trip together. We went to the island of Spetses Hall Church. We went to ancient Corinth several times. We went to Delphi. So, we have always yeah, we’ve always collected extra coins if you don’t have to help people who can’t afford to go. So, from now on until the summer by faith we’re going to take a trip. If you have extra coins don’t know what to do with them, please before you leave each Sunday. Leto will be at the back and you can place it. Or one of the gentlemen. In our Nicholas or Emmanuel, they will take your coins we’d love for a church trip to take your coins. Or all of your big bills. We’ll take 50s and 100. Do they make 100? They do. I’ve never seen one. They make 100 note here? They do? I’ve never seen one I don’t think. Oh 200. Let me see one. Praise God. We’re glad you’re here. Praise God. Isn’t God good? Yes. Men’s breakfast, next Saturday
25. Now we want to dismiss our children for children’s church. Praise God. Elpida, Najeesh, they missed you last week. We’re glad. Lord bless our children today. Ole, we’re glad you’re here. God bless you. We’re blessing. Heidi, we’re glad you’re here sweetheart. We always love to see our children. Amen. We’re missing Philip today. God bless.
26. He’s a good, good Father, isn’t he? We’re getting ready for the Word. It’s wonderful to know Father God. My father’s actually been dead a long time. And I think sometimes we think people when you get older that you don’t miss your parents. But you do. All your life. You always wish you had a father that you could just run up and your daddy would give you those big daddy hugs, right? And that’s one of the beautiful things about our Father God. Father God. Abba. Abba. Would you hug me today? And he does. Let’s stand and worship.

Leto – Main Message
27. Praise God. It’s always good for us to be here, and to share the love of God, and it’s really good to see you all, and that we may rejoice in the presence of the Lord, and in each other. I thank Pastor Gayle for giving me the opportunity to preach today. I love sharing the word of God, and it’s really nice for me to be here.
28. During this time, we’re talking about the worldview, and something that I really liked, was the first service when Pastor Gail preached, and she laid the foundations for this teaching. She said, with whichever glasses we wear, that’s how we see the world. If we wear pink glasses, we’ll see pink. If we wear glasses with blue lenses, we’ll see blue. But the most important thing is for us to see through the eyes of the Word.
29. I can’t read without glasses. Brother Billy, I was very pleased with the message we had last time. Thank you. That was about the relationship we have with the Lord. Our glasses, our path, is the Word of God. Until we reach the point, though, of making this the way we see things, our glasses, or the path that we follow, Jesus Christ had to actually die on the cross. To shed his blood for us. To become the sinless Adam, so that he could become our Savior. And so that Jesus Christ could become our bridge. So that we could step across and be in the arms of the Father. I like the word reconciliation. Becoming friends with, making peace with. Because he makes us his friends again. He gets us to the point where we’re hugging again. That we may be reconciled. Let’s pray so we can continue with the thing today.
30. Amen. Amen. Please turn to the Book of Galatians 4:4-7. “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So, you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
31. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. You know that this adoption, and this is our theme for today, literally means, I recognize someone as my child. As Greek speakers, it’s from the word, son. And the word, which means, I place. I place it. I put it. And God adopted us, literally. The word adoption here in the Bible, it’s not metaphorical, it’s literal. It is literal. God acknowledged us as his children.
32. Here on earth, surely, we live with our own theory. And lately I’ve been hearing, well, that’s my worldview, and this is how I see things. But I thank God, because in all things, he has his way to show us what is correct. We don’t need many different opinions.
33. There is a statement here. God made us his children. God put us into his genealogy. He made us his people. All the songs that we sang today could have been my message today. From the beginning, God said, I’m going to love these people. From the beginning, he said, I’m going to make them my children, because I want them.
34. Before we were even born, he knew us in the belly of our mothers in the womb. He knew you and you and you and you and me. He knew each of us individually. And he chose, before we were even born, before we were formed in our mothers’ wombs, to love us so much, to make us his own children, to call us into his family.
35. He loved us so much, that he didn’t want anyone to be lost. He sent his son willingly, and willingly the Son said, yes, Father, I’ll go, so that we, could be adopted into his family. The love of God was like a huge initiative towards us. He first decided he wasn’t. He took the initiative. It was his idea.
36. In Ephesians 1:4-6 it says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
37. He chose us before the foundations of the world. Before he said, “Let there be light”, he chose us. This love that God has for us was expressed through Jesus Christ. And he made us that we won’t have anything bad in us so that when we stand before him in the final judgment that nothing will be found against us. He destined us to be his children through Jesus Christ and according to his will. So that we may praise him richly.
38. Hallelujah. Praise God. For the grace that he has given us we have another reason to praise God. We have another reason to worship him. We have another reason to say praise him for his grace. He loved us before we were even born, before we were in our mothers’ wombs.
39. You know that when you adopt somebody here on the earth in the world, we live in today there are some standards that you have to have in your life. You have to have your own home. You have to have an account in the bank. You have to have a good job. There are many have tos. So that a family is able to adopt a child.
40. But once you have adopted it the child becomes a member of this family. I know a family who has adopted a child. This child fits into the family as if it’s always been there. He’s got the father’s surname. He’s got the home, his room where he sleeps. How much more our Heavenly Father who adopted us through Jesus Christ has so much to give us.
41. I’ve got Stavros identity here. It says Stavros Antoniadis, son of Alexander, His address. But there in heaven we have a new identity. It’ll write, Leto, or Stavros, Christian, put your name there. I wrote, I live in gold streets. My identity card will write gold streets, number rubies code diamonds, area paradise heaven, heaven is the country.
42. That’s where I want to go. That’s my home. Our Father has given us a new identity. The identity that we have here is for here for this world. But our true identity is that the Lord has adopted us into a new family. Which is a kingly family. Our Father is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. And we are the children of that Lord. That God. That’s why God doesn’t want us to live in fear.
43. He adopted us to take us out of fear and to live in the freedom of His truth. He is a strong God and He’s, our Father. When Christ told His Apostles how to pray, He didn’t say almighty God, Strong Lord. He told them to say our Father. Truly, when we say, ‘our Father,’ how much trust in those words do we show to our Father. He wants to make us feel that that adoption is a security thing in our lives. He wants to reassure us, to assure us, that He is our Father. He is our Father, we are not alone anymore. We don’t belong nowhere. We belong to our Heavenly Father. He adopted us with His blood. He gave His blood so that we could be adopted into His family.
44. An adopted child has the same rights as a child who’s actually been born into a family. Jesus Christ tells us that he not only adopted us, he didn’t just put us into a family, but he made us heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
45. In other words, the same things that Christ will enjoy, we will also enjoy. The same inheritance that Christ will receive, we will also receive. Everything won’t go just to Leto, but it will go to Evy, to Brother Nathan, to pastor Gail, to Henneke, to Mohammad, to Iroma, to all of us, who are called the children of God.
46. He’s going to make us his heirs and joint heirs. And truly, I want to tell you that today, when I thought about these things, I really wanted to jump with joy. I will share the glory of Jesus. We’ll share his love. I always think about the fact that Christ is everywhere, right? But in that day, we’ll share that as well. Maybe I’ll go all around the world where I can’t actually go now.
47. I don’t know how many things we’ll be able to share with Christ on that day that we can’t do now. But I know that every good thing comes from the Father of Light. So, that’s why I know that on that day, I will share with him everything that is good and everything that is beautiful. Because I’m the heir and the co-heir of Jesus Christ. I’m the sister of Jesus Christ.
48. When I first believed, in the church where I was attending, we called each other brother or sister. Truly, this is beautiful, because it reminded us that we’re in the same family, that we have been adopted by the same Father, that he put us into the same family, to the same family.
49. We are family of Jesus Christ. He is our brother. He’s our best friend. He’s our older brother. He’s, our example. He’s, our prototype. And that’s why we’re in this family so that we can go ahead with him, that we may become better and try and be like him. So that on that day, that day, when we see him face to face, we’ll be able to really embrace him, truly, and to say to him, we are our family. We are brother and sister.
50. On Stavros’ identity card, there’s also a photograph of him. My photograph on my identity card in heaven is written on the hands of Jesus Christ. He will be there and he will show my identity. He’ll say, look, here’s her photograph. She got it. Because I found her, because I touched her, because I called her, and she responded to my call. What a beautiful thing for us to respond to God’s love. How wonderful for us to ask him to allow us to be his children.
51. I remember the first day that I believed, I went to in the front of the alter, and I said, ‘Lord, I don’t know what these people are talking about. But if it is, as they say, and I don’t know exactly what I’m saying, but I want to become a child of God.’
52. He called me. He told me about his sacrifice. He told me about his love. He told me that he wanted to put me into his home, and I said, yes, Lord. God gives us opportunities every day so that we are able to say, yes, Lord. I want to come into your garden, your home. I want to live with you. I want you to be my father, and not only my father. I want you to be my daddy. My dad. But I may call you. Abba. Father. Abba. Father. Abba. Father. You are my father. Hallelujah.
53. Hallelujah. He is so good, but so good. Our father here on earth has limited abilities. He wants to give us the best he can. Sometimes he can’t. But our Heavenly Father, nothing stops him. He has so much power. He has so many abilities. He has so much love. But he says, if you believe even just the little, whatever you ask, in the name of my son, and you need it, you will have it. He wants us to believe in our father. He adopted us, to believe in him, so that we can trust him, so that we will be able to open up our hearts to him.
54. Whatever you ask. It says in the Word that if we ask our earthly father for bread and he gives us bread, he will give us bread. He won’t give us a stone. How much more our Heavenly Father who loves us so much. And I’ll say it as Pastor Gail sang it this morning. He loved his God and Son for whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
55. The love of God, marvelous love. And I’d like us to read from 1 John 3:1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
56. I believe that adoption, the adoption that’s where the Lord has adopted us, is the peak of our salvation. God brings sinners to this point. He brings us into his family, sinners. He brings sinners into his family. And he offers them safety, love, and a new identity.
57. People sometimes look for certain people and then they examine who they’re going to adopt. But God loved all sinners in all the world, whichever language they speak, whatever color they are, from wherever they are from, rich or poor, if they do not have a home or if they have many homes, if they have a university education or they’re just farmers.
58. He loved everybody. He loved even those who were the enemy of God. And for those, he sent his Son, and he saved them with his blood. He covered us in the blood of salvation. He brought us into his home and he blessed us with safety, love, and a new identity. Here it says that people do not understand us because they haven’t known God as their Father. Hallelujah, hallelujah.
59. Adoption is a mirror of the grace of God, which shows that you are perfect, loved, loved, and that God says you are mine, you are my son, you are my daughter, I love you. Adoption is the mirror of his grace upon us telling us that he loves us a lot.
60. I love you so much. I love you so, that I now, I don’t call you strangers anymore but I tell you that you are my children, you are mine, that I called you and I embrace you every day and every moment I love you because you are my children. I signed your adoption papers, with the blood of my Son. So, I’d like you to remember that you were loved. You are liked. And he says to you, you are mine, you are mine. Praise the Lord. Amen.

Pastor Gail
61. Adoption. If you have time today or tomorrow, if any of you, not to add to Leto’s sermon, but if any of you know who Christine Caine is, she’s an international preacher. She has a sermon. And the title of the sermon is ‘A number.’ It’s a number. I was a number.
62. She starts today and says, ‘I was a number.’ It was like 0687, some funny number. She was dropped off in a hospital in Australia. She was in her early 30s. This letter came to the home where she lived, where she was adopted. She didn’t know she was adopted. It said, and it was addressed to a number.
63. She saw her birth certificate for the very first time. Name of mother, unknown. Name of father, unknown. She had never known she was an orphan. Until she saw that paper when it came that day. It’s a powerful sermon. You might want to go online and listen to it. I was in a room with close to 5,000 people. Everyone was on the floor sobbing.
64. And she said, I realized that day. Every one of us, really, until we meet Jesus, you are 06723. You are 04531. You are 012345. Really? We have no real Heavenly Father that we know. We are parents until we meet Jesus. But when you read Jesus, in the line, where there was no name, suddenly on that birth certificate, as Leto has said, name of father. What is it? What is it? God.
65. Hallelujah. My family, the family name, is I have a father. And he knows my name. He knows your name. Isn’t that beautiful? You’re not a number. Hallelujah to God today. And he never believed you.
66. I don’t mean to keep added to Leto’s sermon, but when my son was in Iraq in the war. I remember sending him a song one day. I have a father. And he knows my name. Wherever you are, he will never leave you. Isn’t that amazing?
67. Where you’re seated right now. Maybe you had horrible parents. I did. My parents didn’t want me. Sometimes our earthly parents, we put that picture of God how our parents treated us here. We think that’s what God’s like, right? Sarah, Eva-Lena, I think Henneke, some of you, Billy, work with people whose parents, kind of threw them away.
68. My mother told me repeatedly, I wish you were dead. But when I met Jesus, when these women meet Jesus, when these men meet Jesus, Billy, those men that come in and they meet Jesus, they’re with you.
69. I have a father. I’ve met him. He loves me. He’ll never throw you away. That’s powerful. That’s powerful. You are not a number to God. I was thinking about that while Leto was preaching. Does God have numbers in heaven? Oh, I’m going to let you in and you’re going to be number five trillion, three hundred and forty-six million, five hundred and thirty-two million.
70. Absolutely not. I like you, don’t you? I’m not a number to God. I am a name. I am Claudia Gail Mishler Stathis, child of God. Amen. Say your name right now. God knows my name. Claudia Gail Mishler Stathis. He knows my name. He never calls me a number. He says my name.
71. And I know it’s time to go. But sometimes it’s good to say thank you, Lord. Sometimes it’s good to remember. Guess what? Everybody else in the world can throw you away. But I think one of the reasons I’m kind of crazy. But that’s okay. It’s because I met someone. He’ll never throw me away. He hugs me.
72. Yes, yes, yes, he holds me. And I like it sometimes picturing God as a man too. He’s big and strong and powerful and fights off the enemies. I like that. Yeah, women. And he also sometimes he’s just gentle like a mother.
73. He’s adopted us. And we each, oh, my Turkish brother, I’m so sorry. I always forget your name. But we have the same blood. We have the same blood. We do not have Turkish blood. Not really. You have heaven blood. Jesus’ blood. We got Jesus’ blood. Yes, amen. Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen.
74. Hallelujah. Yes, yes, hallelujah. No Cypriot blood in the room. No Armenian blood. We all have. Jesus’ blood. No Danish blood. He might fight me for that. He’s a good, good father.