Good morning. Would you take out your Bible, please, and turn to 1 Timothy, chapter 4. 1 Timothy, chapter 4, in verse 12. We'll read that verse, and that will provide the concept for our lesson this morning. 1 Timothy, chapter 4, in verse 12. It is so good to see everyone who is here this morning. Grateful for the presence of those who are joining us on the live stream as well.

There are a number from our group here locally who are traveling, but we also have a good number of visitors today. We're grateful for your presence and filling in some of those places where our people usually are. We hope we've afforded you the opportunity to worship God in spirit and in truth.

That's our goal. But also I hope that the things that are said here this morning will be helpful to you as you strive to be more like Christ. 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 12 is a verse that is familiar to many. As Paul says to his son in the faith, Timothy, let no one despise your youth. But be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

You've probably heard, and if you've been here, hearing my preaching, I know that you've heard sermons directed at those who are in their youth from this verse. However, you might define youth, and it could apply to several ages under the age of 40, at least the Greek word could. And certainly that's Paul's primary intent in writing this verse.

Writing to Timothy, telling him to let no one else who is older despise his youth. That he is supposed to be an example to the believers in all these different ways. But although that is Paul's primary intent, may I suggest that there is another side of the coin. And while it is a secondary application that is only implied by this verse, I do think it's there, and I do think it is, in some ways, just as important.

It is not just about the youth being an example. It is not just about them having an attitude that they're not going to be despised or looked down upon by others. It is also about those who are older believers taking an example from the youth and not despising them for their youthfulness. So in other words, we both have responsibility.

Those who are young need to live in such a way that they can be an example to those who are older and to not let those who are older despise their youth. But those who are older should also make sure that we are taking that example. That we are looking to those who are younger and seeing the way that they are living in all of these various ways of, of word and conduct and love and spirit and faith and purity and taking that example.

Not despising them because they are young, but seeing the example that they're giving. So this morning, let us all take an example from the youth in word, In conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Will you do that with me this morning? And I'll say for those who are members here, we have a wonderful opportunity to do that because we have a wonderful group of young people who are examples in so many ways.

In fact, Wayne and I were just talking between Bible class in this lesson, how much we have learned in the Bible class that we're teaching together. And on Monday nights as they're meeting and discussing these things and how they're going to talk to their friends about the things that are pertaining to the gospel.

We have some great examples that we can look to among our young people. But I've also had that opportunity to do that this week. It's good to be home from our family trip and then camp in two of the last three weeks. And we had a great week this past week working as counselors at Camp Kennessy.

And for those who are visiting, that's a, a summer camp primarily focused on Bible, but we do a lot of other things in Dixon, Tennessee. It's associated with Florida College. And Stephanie and I have been going there for 15 years. This is our 12th year of camp. We lost a year when each of the girls were born.

That sounds kind of negative, doesn't it? We were happy about our girls being born, but we did lose the year of camp. And then also we, we didn't meet during 2020 and the COVID pandemic. So 12 years we've been going to camp. And I think I've always been, been pretty open to all of you about how important this week is to us and the good that we believe we do in the kingdom during this week.

And y'all have always been supportive of the work that we do. And so what I want to do this morning is share some things we saw and learned this week as we strive to take an example from the youth. These are things that I saw and learned from their example, but I think if we open our eyes, all of us can take similar examples from young people who are striving to serve Christ.

So first of all, I want us to think about three examples that I saw. And the first example that I saw over the course of this week. It's kids craving spiritual opportunities. Every day at camp there are multiple sessions of worship and song, multiple sessions of Bible study, activities and discussions, multiple sessions of devotionals that are led primarily by the kids themselves, like you see blurred out on the screen behind me.

I've blurred it out so that, you know, I don't want any parents suing me or anything, but This is actually my nephew who's a junior in high school who's leading one of those devotionals. And it's pretty cool to get to learn something from your own nephew. So, multiple devotionals, usually led by the kids themselves.

There's also a more traditional, you know, sit down kind of service, where you sing some songs and have some prayers and have what amounts to a sermon. On Sunday night, Wednesday night, and Friday night, we have Those sorts of sessions as well. And obviously, throughout the week, there are spiritual conversations and spiritual relationships being had and made in between.

Kids crave these opportunities. And we should take an example from these. Do we have that same craving? That same hunger within us for things of a spiritual nature. That's different. That's different from the world. And frankly, it's different from a lot of kids in the world. The campground where we are, of course, is not just for our camp.

We have 360 kids, which about maxes out this facility. But that's just one week of the year. And I think they have camps that come in Or retreats, and various different things. Somewhere around 48 weeks a year, and so there are 47 other groups that come onto this campground. But there is a long standing relationship between our camp and this particular campground.

For 36 years, this camp, our camp, has been at this facility. And so we've developed relationships with people there, and And they look forward to us coming every year, which is a great sign. But they also sometimes talk about other camps and things that go well and things that don't go well and, you know, why they prefer our camp for a number of reasons.

And there are many groups that are religious in nature. Many in the denominational world that have camps at this particular campground. And one of the things that these folks who are not members of Churches of Christ One of the things that they talked about were interesting to me this past week.

And I think it illustrates the reality that many churches in the denominational world are reaping what they've sown. By putting an emphasis on physical things, thinking that's what's going to attract young people. That somehow, you know, a snow cone is going to get kids to Bible class, or whatever the case might be, and then we can sneak in some spirituality in the back door.

That we have to bribe kids to do spiritual things with physical things. And if that's our mentality, that these kids aren't interested in spiritual things, and we've got to use physical things to try and attract them, you know what'll happen is they, they won't be interested in spiritual things because they don't have those opportunities.

Because we are despising their youth in such a way, saying they've got to have these physical things. to have any interest in spiritual things. We, we used to do most of our singing in this little rectangle building that they called the chapel. We have 360 kids about 40 something staff as well, so, a little over 400 with the counselors.

I'm not sure the building code really allows that many people to be in that little building. But the acoustics in that building are great. It's, it's small, it's tight it's wooden on top and it's a low roof and you can get in there and you can blow the roof off in that thing, but that facility has flooded twice.

It's right there on the creek. It's a, it's a neat location. It's flooded twice in the last 10 years. And so the first time it flooded, they fixed it up. It flooded again, I think in 2018, 19, somewhere in there. Yeah. Okay. And they've really not done much at all to that building since the last flood.

They took out the walls on the side, so now it's open air. And so we still, at least once during the course of camp, go over there, but it's, it's pretty rustic now, you know. It's, it's open to the elements. The counselors actually sit in the flower beds just outside where the walls used to be. The acoustics are still good, but we would love to be able to use that building again.

And so we've talked to the people at the camp about, hey, what's the plan? And what they've told us is, there's not really a plan to remodel the facility. Because we're basically the only group that

The reason for that is, while it's phenomenal for singing, it's not set up for performing. There's no stage. There's no place to have large musical equipment. There's no built in plug ins for mics and so forth. What we had to do this year, we stuffed into the lobby of another building and everybody was standing up.

And that was pretty good too, but that just really spoke to me. We had another conversation with some of the people who were there because some of our folks went early to check out some of the rooms and remodel to those rooms. And two of the rooms that we used for Bible study over the course of the week, the camp before us used for video game rooms.

And we talked about that a little bit and said, well, where did they have their Bible study? And we realized, They have devotionals and worship periods, but they don't have Bible study at that particular camp. And so they didn't need those rooms for that, and so they turned them into video game rooms.

Now, I'm sure that these other camps can be very beneficial in many ways, but, but I also think that these camps that are supposed to have a religious emphasis are selling kids short. Despising their youth. Why did our kids come to camp? We ask that. At the end of camp, we, we take aside the oldest kids, 12th graders, and talk about, what's good at camp?

Why did you come to camp? Why are you here? Nobody said because of the snow cones at the snack stand. Nobody said it's because we get to play basketball. What they all said is, the environment that we have here, to worship God and be around others who are worshiping God, that's why we're here. Do we have that same kind of craving?

Take an example from the youth. And maybe it's related, but, but secondly, kids want to worship God in song. We saw that example this week, kids wanting to worship God in song. There was one evening where we're sitting there, and usually we as counselors are sitting kind of in the back of the facility where we do most of our singing now, and, And sometimes we're having to discuss other things while this singing is going on.

Usually we're participating in that, but not always. And so, it was just kind of getting a little chatty back there for me. And so I decided I was going to move up. I saw some chairs. I'm going to move up and sit with the kids. And we have a phenomenal group of counselors, but that sermon is not about them.

And so I move up and then Stephanie moves up with me. And she told me afterwards that some of them were saying, it was at the end of the week, they were just the voice. You hear my voice, don't you? Their voices were worn out. They were just a little tired of singing. So, Steph and I, we're up there with, in the midst of all those kids, and they weren't tired of singing.

In fact, at this same kind of, you know, discussion we have at the end of the week I, I added up, added it up. We, we sang well over a hundred songs over the course of camp. In six days, we sang over a hundred songs. Kind of cool. And so we always ask them, you know, what do you want to do more of? And every year, without fail, they want to do more singing, not less.

They want to do more. They want to worship God in song. And I'm reminded of our congregational focus for the year. This year of ascent and going into the presence of God and seeking that presence. And the verse that we've chosen for that comes out of Psalm 122 and verse 1. I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

This attitude that I want to come and I want to worship God. I think there is an example there that we can take. You know, young people singing sounds good. What makes the singing of young people so good? Well, it's not the technical knowledge of how to sing. Many of them don't have that yet. Or if they do, it's in the early stages of that.

It is not the maturity or training of their voices. We have the young men lead a lot, and you know those ones that are teetering on puberty because they're not sure whether to sing falsetto or in their regular voice, right? So it's not maturity of voices that they have this training. It's not even the depth of their understanding of the scriptures that, you know, they understand the deep meaning of these songs.

Or of, or of the scriptures. To me, I think it is the innocent enthusiasm with which they worship God. May we all seek to worship with this same sort of simple joy and expectation. To not be self conscious of what others think of our sound, but focused on what Jesus thinks of our hearts. And in so doing, we will be preparing ourselves for heaven when we want to worship God in song.

Take an example. The third example I want to point out, and then we'll make some application from these things. The third example that I saw was kids showing empathy and compassion. You know, people are so nice at camp. They're also pretty emotional at camp, maybe a little too much so sometimes. There is, there's always any excuse.

You know, this picture right here, You could take this picture seven different times at camp. They are looking for an excuse to run out there and put a little kid on their shoulders to, to make them feel good about what they've done in some event or some activity. And it reminds me of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, if you want to turn there.

We talked a little bit about empathy this morning in our Bible class out of 1 Peter. But turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1

Corinthians chapter 12, starting there starting verse 23.

It's talking about the body of Christ, collectively as Christians. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor. And our unpresentable parts have greater modesty. Now it's talking about our physical bodies as an illustration, but notice what he goes on to say.

But our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given honor to that part which lacks it. That there should be no schism or division in the body, He arranged it this way, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.

Or if one member is honored, all the members are honored. All the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ and members individually. Paul says in the book of Romans that we rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. The idea is we give honor to those, sometimes those who are lacking it.

And you see that a lot at camp. This honor given to those who are doing their best, maybe even though they're not the best at sports or whatever the case might be. And certainly that isn't just putting kids on their shoulders. We have a camp talent show every year. And we joke about how in times past, you know, everybody got to perform.

And finally the counselors were like, you know, we gotta tighten this up just a little bit. I mean, it is called a talent show, right? And so now there are tryouts and so forth and so the, the, the level of performances have, have gotten a little bit better. But one funny thing is basically every performance now gets a standing ovation.

You know, like the kids stand up and they cheer and, and you know, as adults we're a little more cynical I guess. And so we always kind of judge, this sounds super bad and judgmental, maybe it is. We kind of judge the performances, is this one. Standing ovation worthy, you know, and so we're like that was a good one.

I'm gonna stand for that one That was standing but for the kids every single one is standing ovation worthy because they They know what it's like to have that nervousness to get up on the stage and they want to honor those who are willing to Do that maybe sometimes it brings out the worst in some people Hurt people at camp have a special place, right?

The hurt people, everybody wants to help the person who is, who is hurt. And maybe people exaggerate injury sometimes to get help by everybody else. We have some water games at the end. We have this giant slip and slide with this, this foam that, that actually firefighters use that's super slick. It's totally safe.

And they can slide down on this foam. And one of our fellow counselors, a guy named Chuck, who does it every year, he calls it the, Miraculous foam. Because kids who have been on crutches or limping all week long, suddenly, when the foam comes out, they're able to run and slide just like everybody else, you know.

The miraculous foam. But why do they do that? They do that because they know other people are going to care about them. And help them. And for some of those kids, maybe they don't get that in very many places. And yes, there is weeping with those who are upset about something. There is rejoicing with those who are excited about things.

And there is all of that emotion that everybody has when it comes time to leave. And as adults, we can look at all of that and think it's a little dramatic. Some of it's immature, no doubt. But that desire to feel what other people feel, to encourage and express love and help others, it creates a culture where everyone is a part and no one is left out.

No one is excluded. Everyone is valued by someone else. Well, that should sound like what the church is supposed to be because that's the way God designed it. And it's not a perfect place or a perfect week, of course, but it is, it is really good. A place where we can take an example from the youth. And specifically as I think about the things that I saw and did this week, I am, I'm reminded of three things.

Three things that I'm reminded of as we make application. Number one, we all need and we should all seek to learn from other spiritually minded people. Whatever our age, whatever our maturity, we need to learn and take an example from others. Whether they're younger than us, whether they're as mature as us, whether they have the Bible knowledge that we do, we need to seek to listen and learn from other spiritually minded people.

Thirteen times in the New Testament, Jesus says, If you have ears to hear Five times in the Gospels, eight times in the book of Revelation. He says you need to be listening. It's not always about what you have to say, it's about what others have to say to you. In James chapter 1 and verse 19, in the context of the Word of God, James says let every man, every Christian, every person, every anthropos, man or woman, let all of us be swift to hear.

But slow to speak. In Matthew chapter 13 in verse 16, he commends his disciples and says, blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. And of course we think about Philippians chapter three and verse 17 that I preached on a number of weeks ago. Brethren, join in following my example.

And note those who sow walk as you have us for a pattern, there is learning that needs to take place from other spiritually minded. You know, there's a lot of Bible study at camp. We already talked about that. And this year I did a lot of Bible teaching. I think maybe the most I've ever done. I wrote the Bible class curriculum, as I've done for several years, and I taught Two Bible classes.

I got to do a lesson for the whole camp twice this year. I co led two sessions with the juniors in high school called Conviction Questions where we ask them questions and they have to give us responses from the Bible to say, this is what I really believe the Bible teaches on this subject. For Stephanie and I, this was the last year that we were in charge of Bible Bowl, where we quiz kids about their Bible knowledge.

But I'm still in charge of the daily Bible questions every morning for every age group. And I gave one of the devotionals for our team, our society of about 60 kids. A lot of teaching. I love to teach. I love to teach more than I love to preach. That's, that's where I get a lot of my joy in regard to Bible.

And I think I know quite a bit, especially as it pertains to the Bible. Sometimes maybe I think I know more than I do, and I know that about myself. But even though I did all of this teaching at camp, camp is one of the few times throughout the year that I'm forced to do more listening to others and more learning from others teaching than I do so myself, both adults and kids, preachers and non preachers.

And I'm always amazed at how much I learn when I look through the text of the Word of God through the eyes of someone else and really listen to their teaching and their application that maybe sees things a little bit differently or more clearly maybe than I have in the past. And I'm reminded every year during this week that you learn more by listening than you do by talking all the time.

The irony of me saying that in a sermon is not lost on me, but there is truth to that. To do that, we have to see the value of what others, including God, have to say to us. We have to be willing to have those ears to hear. An example and the example others can set of how to live has to be valuable to us.

That we have to see the value of, of the, the example that is set by others. We have a great group of counselors, all with diverse skills and talents. The same could be said for the campers. And we have to reach a point in our maturity where we realize that we're not always the smartest person in the room.

And if you are always the best and smartest person in the room that you're in, you probably need to switch rooms. Surround yourself with those who challenge you spiritually to be more than you are. And certainly we need to have the humility to see the value that others can bring to us whatever their age.

I learned a lot this week from the example and the teaching of the youth. And we should all seek to be those kinds of learners. The second application, number two. I was reminded of this week that we make connections with spiritually minded people when we are committed to being spiritually minded people.

Turn to the book of Romans. Romans chapter 8, if you would, for just a moment. Romans chapter 8.

Romans chapter 8, there in verse 6.

Romans chapter 8 and verse 6. Paul in Romans chapter 8, really starting back in chapter 7, talks about this war between the spiritual side of man and the carnal side of man. The spirit and the flesh. Our spirit is directed by the Holy Spirit and our flesh, which can be directed by Satan. And how we have to make choices as to whether we're going to follow after the spirit or follow after the flesh.

And it kind of makes A summary statement of what he said in the preceding verses in verse 6 of chapter 8. For to be carnally minded, fleshly minded, to mind and think about and follow the things of the flesh is death. But to be spiritually minded, for our spirit and mind to follow after the things of the Holy Spirit is life and death.

So here's the choice. The fleshly mind, which is death, the spiritual mind, which is life and peace. And all of us, every single one of us in here, have that choice of which we're going to follow. And when we make that choice, we're not just making a personal choice for ourselves, it also makes a certain choice about the kind of people that we're going to associate with, and the kinds of people who want to associate with us, right?

Drop down to verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. Notice verse 16. The spirit himself, that is the Holy Spirit, bears witness with our spirit, our own mind and spirit, that we are children of God.

The Holy Spirit bears witness that we are following after the things of that spirit with our own. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we also may be glorified together. All of those who are spiritually minded as children of God will be glorified together with Christ.

with whom we have fellowship. And so this idea of being spiritually minded, being life and carnally minded, being death doesn't just apply to us personally. It applies to the people who become our family. It applies to the people that ultimately we associate with and that want to associate with us. And if we want to make connections with spiritually minded people, we have to be striving to be spiritually minded people.

On our society, Zeta Phi, our 60 kids that we're in charge of, We always give our seniors a chance at the end of the week to talk to the rest of the society and group. Let them talk about their camp experience, pass on any wisdom that they have for the younger kids, those sorts of things. And several this year, we had six seniors, at least three of them said something like this.

Camp has reminded me through these years that I need to put God first, that He's really what's most important, and having this week is always a great reminder of that to me. Something like that. but there was one young man this year, David is his name, who said something that I'd never heard before, and it really stuck out to me.

This is a kid who is big in stature, tall, big, but he's a, a really a gentle giant. He's very quiet in terms of leadership. In fact This is not something the kids have to do, usually every senior does it. But I was kind of wondering whether he would get up and say anything at all, because that's not his gift, that's not what he normally does.

But he got up and he said, this is pretty close to what he said, I came to camp a few years ago and I didn't really fit in or find my place. And I wondered, looking around at everybody else, why I couldn't find these connections that everybody else seemed to make. And so I didn't want to come back to camp and I didn't.

And then my mom made me come back last year, and I realized why I wasn't making these connections.

What do you think he's going to say next?

This is what he said.

It was because I wasn't putting God first in my life. So I wasn't going to make deep connections with the people here who were putting God first in their life. I was blown away by that. He looked at himself first. And he went on to talk about the deep connections that he had made in these last two years as a junior and senior.

Because he came to camp being a different person in regard to his attitude toward God. You know, honestly, I expected, when he started this not making connections bit, I expected him to put it off on someone else. You know, people were unkind to me, or didn't reach out to me, or didn't include me in their groups.

Instead, he showed incredible self awareness and maturity. And the proof was found in the deep connections and relationships that he has made over the last two years, despite being this super quiet kid. After he was transformed by the renewing of his mind to put Christ first, he could establish this relationship with others who put Christ first.

So let me very gently say this. If you're having a, if you're finding that you're having a hard time making connections with Christians.

I just want you to consider that instead of blaming a lack of friendliness, or cliques, or whatever, just consider what's most important to the people with whom you'd like to make those connections. If they're faithful Christians, the answer is Christ is most important. And it is through Him, and our devotion to Him, that we are connected.

As an incredibly diverse group of people, with different backgrounds, different interests, different personalities,

I have the very closest friends on this earth to me, who are nothing like me in so many of those ways. And yet our common bond and devotion to Jesus Christ is what brings us together, not lesser things, not physical things. And so I learned that we make these connections with spiritually minded people when we are committed to being spiritually minded people.

And then finally, I learned and was reminded that we are more likely to do what's right when we surround ourselves with other people who are doing what's right. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 33, evil company corrupts good habits. We quote that and we talk to our young people about be careful who you hang out with because they can make an impact on what you believe and what you practice.

But just like we did with the 1 Timothy passage, can't we say the opposite of this one as well? That good company helps to build good habits if we hang out with those kinds of people. And positive peer pressure is powerful. And that peer pressure is all over camp. Directors to the counselors, counselors to other counselors and campers, campers to other campers and back to the counselors.

And sure, there are knotheads at camp, no doubt, just like anywhere else. Kids who are just there because their parents made them come. Some who aren't really wanting to do what's right. Maybe some who don't do what's right the other 51 weeks a year. But the majority in that environment is trying to do what's right.

And that is the expectation. And not doing what's right is the exception, not the rule. And it's not that we don't have friends in the world, of course. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. We are called to be salt and light in this world. But we need to have more people influencing us and pressuring us to do what's right than we have people pressuring us to do what's evil, among those who are closest to us, those spiritually minded people with whom we want to have connection.

And that is one of the main reasons that God set up the local church, so that we could help and encourage and hold one another accountable. One more passage, Hebrews chapter 10. You'll turn over there for just a moment. Is it important to not forsake the assembly? Is it important to come to church services every opportunity we have?

Of course it is. And this passage talks about that. But why? Why is that important? Verse 24, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 24. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another. And so much the more, as you see the day approaching, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together is sandwiched by this idea that we're supposed to stir one another up to love and good works.

We're supposed to exhort one another to do the things that we're supposed to do. I need you to be here, and you need me to be here, not just because it's wrong to forsake the assembly, But because it is vitally important to stir one another up to love and good works. And when we're around these kinds of spiritual people, that can't help but happen.

So thank you for doing that today, for being here today to do that. And every day, as my brothers and sisters in Christ. Learned a lot, saw a lot this week, as I tried to take an example from the youth. But you know, maybe the best part of the entire week for me, maybe not for everybody else, this is specific to me maybe, I had the 10th and 11th grade boys in my cabin.

So there were two of us with all of these 10th and 11th grade boys. The earliest I went to bed over the course of the week was 1. 30 a. m. I won't tell you the latest I went to bed this week. And so on Thursday, knowing, you know, I'm gonna get some sleep Friday night because everybody goes home about 10 o'clock on Friday night.

So I'm gonna get some sleep Friday night, but then we gotta drive back on Saturday. I thought, you know, there's two of us in here. I've stayed up later with the boys every night than the other counselors, so tonight I'm gonna try and get in bed by midnight, something like that. That'll give me, you know, a good six and a half hours.

Kind of function on that a little bit. It ended up being the night that I went to bed the latest, but I'm so glad that I didn't make it to bed on time. One of these boys in 11th grade came and approached me and said they needed to talk. There was a young man, a junior in high school, who wanted to be baptized into Christ for the remission of his sins.

And so we talked about that. We talked about what the scripture said. But, you know, he didn't really need me to tell him all about it, because he knew all of it. And he knew what he needed to do. And so, early that morning, just before 2 a. m., this young man was baptized into Christ.

And he said to me, I've been putting it off, and I don't know why.

And then he said, I've thought about it every day for the last two years.

But I can't wait anymore.

Take an example from the youth. If you've been putting off being baptized into Christ, why? What's holding you back? Can we help you with that? Can we open up our Bibles together to talk about what needs to be done and why you haven't done it? We would love to study with you, but if you know what you need to do, you know what you need to do to make your life right, come and do it now.

Take an example from this young man, and we encourage you to do so as together we stand and while we sing.