Pastor Gail – Welcome
1. We praise you, Lord. Remain standing for the Word. If you’d like to take a Bible near you, we like to read the Bible together, a paper Bible. It’s better than your phone. Much better than your phone.
2. Ephesians 2:13-16. It’s towards the back of the Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, it’s in the New Testament. Actually, I’m saying that because people on the phone have forgotten where the books of the Bible are. Ephesians 2:13-16. “But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed, [hallelujah], the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. By abolishing in his flesh, the law with its commandments and regulations, his purpose was to create himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. And in this one body, we reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death their hostility.”
3. Can we start this morning with a little bit different prayer, that we would just praise the Lord? Whatever is happening in the world, we hear of war, we hear of nuclear activity, all kinds of things happening. But he is our peace. He is our peace. Amen.
4. And in this room today, we have people of many different cultures. And it might even be different political thoughts. But today, let’s praise the Lord to have the politics of heaven. Amen. The politics of heaven. Amen. In him, we are one.
5. Can we just lift our voices and praise him and thank him right now? Amen. Thank you, Lord, that whatever happened to the world, God, in you we are one, God. You break hostilities down. You break peace that the world does not know. You are the way of peace. You are, Lord, the road of life and victory, God. You are the Lord God Almighty that binds our hearts together in love. We thank you, Lord. We welcome you with praise. We welcome you with praise. We praise you, Lord, today. We praise you, Lord. Who is like you, Oh Lord? There is no one. Lord, this is our desire.
6. I’ve been involved in several discussions lately. That there just aren’t a lot of men serving God. And, you know, women were emotional. It’s a little easier for us anyway. Today, I wanted the men to sing the first lines of this song. For it to be kind of a punch in the enemy’s face. That we’re going to see a lot of men, a lot of men, men, men of God, men of God. Hallelujah. I’m a woman and I want women to serve, but we need men along with us. Amen. Amen. Amen. So, men, sing that to the Lord right now.
7. Amen. You may be seated. It’s good to see everyone this morning. The Lord really impacted me with the thought about men this morning. My early morning devotion this morning was when they took Jesus off the cross. And I’d never thought of this before, but Jesus of Arimathea, a man. He took the body of Jesus and in my devotion. And our theme this month is adoration.
8. Joseph had so much adoration for Jesus. And I never thought of this. But the women brought the spices. And I always thought about the women preparing the body. But this commentator said that he believes that when Joseph took the body, he had such love for him. He saw his disfigured face. He helped lay the cloth on his back that was torn apart. And I thought about such amazing love. And I believe God wants to bring men and women into relationship with the Lord. That the very thought of him will put awe in our spirit. That, oh Lord, I stand in awe of how great is your love. Amen.
9. So would you greet someone with you and say, I’m so glad we can work together today. Amen. Amen.
10. Praise God. Praise God. You look good. You look really good. Be sure and watch online on the Facebook page and also the group. We’ll be having announcements coming there. So, some exciting things coming. We’re very, very blessed today. Well, we’re always blessed every day. But we have had a group with us from Brazil and Portugal all week. We already have some of you from Brazil that are part of this family. Yeah, we have Brazilians here. We have Brazilians.
11. Leonardo! Oh, Bravo! We’re so glad to see you. The whole family come here. We’re so happy to have our team from Brazil. They’ve been serving the Lord so beautifully. They took a guitar to Glyfada yesterday to sing for the Lord. And I got a phone call. Finally, we found each other. They didn’t matter. There was hailing and snowing and raining. They had a wonderful day. And I believe we’re going to believe that Glyfada is raining with the presence of the Lord.
12. So, they were here with our praise and worship night. Young people led on Friday. If you weren’t here, you missed it, it was great. I got saved all over again. So, I’m going to invite all of the team to stand up. This is the team. Be sure and say hello to them. And thank you. And we’re getting ready. They’re going to come and they’re going to share a song for us in Portuguese. Praise God. Amen. Praise God. So, let’s worship the Lord with them. Amen.

Brazilian worship team
13. Kalimera, good morning. So, they asked us, oh, can you guys play this song that’s very joyful? Oh, yeah, sure. We can. We can play. Yes, I’m sorry. They asked, can you guys play that song that is so joyful? And we said, yes, come on. We can do this. You know, they say Brazil is very happy people.
14. Yeah. And we, Christian Brazilians, are more happy people because we know Jesus. Jesus made us happy. So, let’s sing a song, a Brazilian song. Okay. I need you.

Pastor Gail
15. Thank you. Now we all know Victor can play in Portuguese. All right. Praise God. We’re glad you’re here today. You may be seated. We hope you will stay for lunch today. The Brazilians have even made us a Brazilian dessert. Brigadeiro. Brigadeiro. Remember that is I can’t wait. Brigadeiro. So, we’re so glad you’re here. You’re welcome. Even if you didn’t bring anything, we want you to stay and be with us today.
16. So, we’re excited we get to give the Lord a praise and blessing. We’re going to give the Lord our tithe and offering today. I think the Lord smiles at us when we give with joy. Amen.
17. Oh, I wanted to ask you, what was that word? What were you guys saying when you all shouted? What were you saying in Portuguese? What was the phrase you were saying when you shouted in Portuguese? Oh, ‘It’s a New Season.’ Okay. Praise God. Amen. It’s a New Season. Amen. Amen. And the Lord wants us to all believe that. That we’re entering a new season. Amen. Amen. A season of joy in the Lord. Amen. Amen. Praise God.
18. I’m going to ask if Stavros will pray for us in Greek for the tithe and offering. What a joy it is to be able to give to the Lord. He does so much for us. We also want to invite our children to go to children’s church. Praise God and worship the Lord. We’re so thankful for Najeesh and Elpida that have so wonderfully been leading our children’s ministry.
19. So, Anastasia. So, those of the children that would like to go. Ole, are you here? Ole. Yes, Ole. All of you, there are football players. You think I’m saying football terms. But this is our little Ole. We have an Ole in here, and Heidi. Yeah, we’re glad for Ole. Praise God. Very thankful for our children. Amen.
20. Victor, it’s a great day to serve the Lord. Somebody has been talking to me about they’ve never seen weather so strange as it is right now. But you know, whatever happens out there shouldn’t affect us in here.
21. When I was a little girl, I learned a song. And it just said, since Jesus saved me, it is summertime in my soul. In the winter, it’s summertime in my soul. And it’s true, isn’t it? When we know Jesus. Amen. It’s light. It’s light and warmth and love. Amen. When we know Christ.
22. And I’m going to invite you just to remain seated and feel free to stand. Let’s worship the Lord. Worship the fact that Jesus Christ loves you so much. He came to make a way, that whatever happens, you know the way to eternal peace. Amen. Amen.

Pastor Billy Hellmark – Main Message
1. It’s good to be here. We are the church, and that’s going to be the topic for today, the church. Talking about having a biblical world view. And today we’re looking at the church. Pastor Gail mentioned here earlier that we are from many, many places. We are very different, think different, look different, maybe smell different. But God has made us one in him. That’s a miracle.
2. And I know we have people here that are from different people groups that are normally in conflict with each other. But this is a place of peace. Because of the Lord. But today we’re going to focus on another mystery with the church. That is also about being one. Let’s read two passages from the Scriptures. If we could have them on the PowerPoint, gentlemen at the back.
3. First, we read from 1 Corinthians 12:27. “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
4. And then we will also read from 1 Peter 2:9-10. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
5. Well, the church has about 2,000 years of history. And there are many good things to say about the church throughout the history. But I think as Christians we are also painfully aware that there are many things that are not so good. We have been fighting each other. We have sometimes even in the past persecuted those that didn’t want to believe.
6. Which is really outrageous if we look at the Gospel, if we look at the life of Jesus. I think in today’s society many people think that the church is hopeless, it’s obsolete. And sometimes even believers think, I have a relationship with Jesus. So, I don’t need the church. It’s me and Jesus. I hope that’s not what you are saying. The truth is we are part of the church whether we like it or not.
7. You know you don’t choose your family. And you don’t choose your church. Well, sometimes we like to choose churches out of taste. We go to different churches and think, oh, I like that one. And I don’t like that one. But I don’t believe that’s the way we should view the church. It’s not about picking and choosing. God has placed each one of us in his body. And we need to respond to that call. And we need to be faithful.
8. So, is there hope for the church? Is there hope for the church for the global church? Even for our small churches around Greece and wherever you come from. Well, if it’s up to us, if it’s up to us, I don’t think there’s much hope. We mess it up constantly.
9. Many people have even been hurt in the church and by the church. When someone gives up their faith, I think it’s often because of the experience of the church. And as churches, we need to repent and we need to recognize this. We need to work for healing and restoration.
10. So, the church on one side is very human. It’s made out of people like you. But a mystery, is that it’s not just made up of us. We read first that you are the body of Christ. And as I was meditating and thinking about that, I realized that many times I just think, oh, well, that’s kind of a body of people. But it’s much more than that. If we really believe what Jesus said, we are his body. We are part of him. He is the head. But we are actually his body.
11. You know, we can maybe see the foreshadowing of this. Jesus was God. But he came and he became a perfect union of God and man. He was not half God and half man. He was fully God, fully man. Showing what God is like. Also showing what true humanity is and can be.
12. The church is the meeting place of God and man. And I think sometimes we reduce what the church really is. We think of it as a gathering of believers. People that at least sometimes agree about what we believe. But it is so much more.
13. God lives in us. We are the body of Christ. We are so closely united that we can be called his body. When we are praying, we are not reaching out to someone that is far, far away. We are praying with Jesus who is closer than a brother. We are one with Jesus. God is in the church.
14. But it’s, again, we have our part. And if you haven’t noticed, everything is not perfect all the time in the church. But it doesn’t take away the fact that we are his body.
15. When we do different things, it is like Jesus is doing it. That puts a lot of responsibility on us. We sometimes say that we are his hands and his feet. And if we really believe that what we say, what we do, is not just that we do things, we do his will.
16. It’s even deeper. It’s more about who we are. We are his body. The church is the body of Christ and Christ is the head. Someone expressed it like this. That the church is an extension of Jesus’ incarnation in the world. It’s a living entity, a living thing. It’s not just a gathering. It’s not just the people. It’s the divine and human that meets in the church. It’s his presence on earth.
17. I hope you’re okay with that. It gives us a lot of responsibility how we live. But God is gracious. He gives us gifts. He gives us power. And he helps us to walk in humility. One of the ultimate goals for us as humans, is to be united with God through Jesus Christ. Like God and man are brought together into perfect unity.
18. This is what we’re destined for. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. But Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20) I don’t know if you feel that’s you. But that’s our destiny to live like that. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And probably if you’ve been around in church for a few years. You’ve heard these things many times.
19. If it’s new to you, congratulations. You have some exciting things to discover. But to many of us, they become just phrases. They become just theory. But God wants it to be reality for us. In the passage in 1 Peter, one of the things there is said. He wrote, that we are a chosen people. A royal priesthood.
20. And you know, you maybe look around and say we don’t have priests in this church. And here it sounds like we’re all priests. And that’s true, we are all priests. It doesn’t mean that we all have to stand up here and do whatever we do and dress in a certain way.
21. But the priests are a bridge between God and the people. Or if you want to call it a mediator between God and man. Reconciling, restoring the relationship with God. And we are called to be a royal priesthood wherever we are, wherever we live. It’s about serving our fellow man. With the bread of life that Jesus has given to us and that He is.
22. So, what is this mystery that I mentioned in the video? It is kind of a mystery that we all can get along in this room. But it’s a greater mystery that we are united to Christ. That we are even his body. Can you think of something that is closer to you than your own body? I’m close to Stavros, where we’re touching each other even. But my body is closer to me, it’s part of me. It is me, and we are that close to the Lord. We are his body.
23. That is a mystery. Let’s just think about this, let’s take a moment and be quiet and just even close your eyes. Think of the fact that you are his body. We are talking about the worldview. And if your eyes are open, you see a globe. And in the worldview, where should we place the church? Think about it as the place where God meets us.
24. God is everywhere present. But he is so united, so close to us. That he calls us his body, his people, his special possession. That’s who you are. That’s who we are. Because of this, I believe there is hope for the church. For this church, for the church as a global body.
25. But we need to understand, who we are; who we are connected to. When we are aware that God, you don’t have to close your eyes. When we are aware, that God is here among us. We begin to see things that he is doing. Sometimes we become so blind to God’s doing and God’s actions.
26. But God is among his people. And he brings healing to us, restoration, forgiveness; he brings joy. A new day, a new hope. And this is what we as priests can bring to the world. We need to embrace this.
27. So, I want to finish with this. Look at yourself. And look at the church as Christ’s body. It’s not just us that you can see here. God is here. Probably there are angels here. I can’t see them. But I’m pretty sure there are angels. So, it’s not just what you see with your eyes.
28. Look with your heart. And God is here. And he goes with us when we leave this place. And he wants us to do our job as priests for this world. I like the picture when we take the bread and we break it and we share it. We can even think about our mission like that. We have the living bread. And we can share it. We can give it to people that need it. Whatever they need. It’s all in Jesus.
29. So, look at the world. We cannot see God there. But the church is the place where God connects to us humans. And he’s looking for us to let his life spread through us. Amen.

Pastor Gail
1. In the room today, I think Billy touched on a very important point. I won’t ask you to raise your hands. I would imagine many of us have had hurts in the church. Somebody hurt our feelings, something about the church, something in the Bible we didn’t understand, but something about the church hurt us.
2. There’s an invitation today, it’s a beautiful one, to be free, to be healed. You see, ultimately, we’re the ones, aren’t we Billy? All of us, we hang on and rehearse those hurts. We rehearse them, we think about them, they go over and over and over. And they blind us to see one another. But today, the Lord would say, I am here for you, and our response should be, I want to be here for you.
3. Heal me today, Lord. Heal me today, free me today, so that I will understand as I’ve never understood before. That I am in Christ, He is in me, and that is what the world needs. We can tell them, yes, I’ve been hurt, but it’s in the past. It’s in the past, amen. We are here for you, oh Lord.
4. My father got hurt by the church, people, people. When we say church, we mean us, you know? Hello, say, I’m the church. You said that, Billy, we’re the church, right? Close to 50 years, 50. My dad wouldn’t go to church. And one day he realized, one day me, I will not make it to heaven. If my heart doesn’t get clean, and he decided, I’m not going to let her hurt, to keep me out of heaven. Amen, amen. This is that day, amen.
5. If you don’t like me, come up and tell me. And we’ll pray together, that’s right. I’ll kiss you all over your face, and I hope to love you, and I’ll try not to do it again. But go to one another today if you want to. If somebody in the room is hindering you, yes, yes, I love you. If there’s something between you, get rid of it today. Be the beautiful body of Christ, amen. Amen, amen, amen. Let her praise by the number one song, amen.
6. I’m inviting you to stand up and say to the Lord, the Lord today. Lord, I’m here for you, Lord. Be in me, O Lord. Clean me, God. Free me, God. Fill me with your love like I’ve never known before.
7. Guess what? I love all of you. Can you say that out loud? Say, I love you. Say, I love you. Amen, amen, amen. Because I love Jesus. Because I love Jesus. Amen, amen.
8. Without giving you the opportunity. If you’ve never asked Jesus. Let me know you. Come into my life. The amazing thing is the easiest thing in the world you ever do. Because he does all the work. He died for you. He lives for you. And all you have to do is say, I need you. Forgive me. I need you. I need you. And he comes and takes care of it all. Amen.
9. I want to introduce you. I want to introduce you. To the one I love the best. His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus. Amen. And he loves you if you don’t know him. He wants to know you today. He wants to know you. And everybody in this room, we love him. All the rest of us that know him. Amen. Oh, hallelujah. Do you love Him? Do you love Him?
10. So today is your day. We want to welcome him with praise. For though, if you’re ready to go up, we’re going to have lunch. Please don’t leave today. Stay with us. Amen. Our Brazilians are here. They’ll speak Portuguese to you. But as we’re dismissing, could we do this one more time? Let our praise. Let our praise be your welcome Lord. And not just this morning, because we’re his body. So, every moment of every day. Amen.
11. Let your life be filled with praise. Amen. Amen. No matter what anybody else does. Praise you Jesus. Praise you Jesus. I praise you. I praise you. I praise you Jesus.
12. Just think for a moment how great it feels right now. The Lord wants us to have that joy. That joy all the time. Amen. Just call on Jesus. Just call on Jesus. He’s there. Amen. God bless. Let’s go have lunch together. Enjoy one another. Amen. God bless. You’re dismissed.