Transcript of a published sermon by Penny Carpenter, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
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Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
Thanksgiving and an anniversary greeting
- She thanks God for his mercy and for good health tonight, saying she does not want to ever take knowing his precious word for granted.
- She tells of recovering from dental surgery and its complications: for the first time in about a month she felt like her old self, and she thanks the Lord for touching her body and giving her a new lease on life.
- She wishes the church family a happy 40th anniversary, insisting the anniversary is theirs and not the pastoral family's — without the church, they would not be here tonight.
One language and one speech
- She reads the Genesis account entire: the whole earth was of one language and of one speech; the builders planned a city and a tower to make themselves a name; the Lord came down, confounded their language so they could not understand one another, and scattered them abroad.
- She says she will use the negative in the positive: the Lord himself observed that the people were one, with one language, and that nothing they had imagined to do would be restrained from them.
Scriptures: Genesis 11:1-8
Forty years of one mind and a mind to work
- In the last 40 years — 37 of them with her as the pastor's wife — this church has always been in one mind and one accord, and unafraid of a little bit of brick and a little bit of slime.
- A willing pastoral family would do no good without a people who have a mind to work and can be led.
- Order is what makes it work: what comes from God flows down to the man of God, his vision flows into the congregation, and when everyone stays in their lane, nothing will be impossible with God's help.
- Their language must stay the language of taking the full gospel to the whole world and winning the lost at any cost; it is when they get off track that God does not show up.
The challenge: no time to slack
- She challenges the church to do in the upcoming year what it has done for the last 40: get to work as never before to reach the lost, and refuse to grow lazy or leave the work to somebody else.
- Every role in the choir should be filled and it is not time to retire; she intends to be up in the choir herself, giving God praise for healing her body and saving her children.
- They should be here at the 50th anniversary with the choir packed and the risers of the church filled; there is no excuse, because God has put everything at their fingertips.
- There has never been a need they did not have or a bill they did not have the money to pay, because they have been about their Father's business.
- She closes by telling the church she loves them: it is the highest honor of her life to be their pastor's wife.
Scripture index: Genesis 11:1-8.
Transcript
god i thank you for your mercy god i thank you for good health tonight lord oh lord i praise you lord i don't want to ever take knowing your precious word for granted you may be seated tonight first of all i just want to give a praise to the lord a week ago thursday i'm not sure if it's a week or if it's last thursday and i've been last thursday i woke up and for the first time in about a month i felt like my old self so i just feel like i have a new lease on life and i just want to thank the lord for touching my body god i praise you and i thank you lord lord you alone are worthy of the glory and honor and praise i had some dental surgery and then i had some dry socket that kind of made everything a little bit more crazy so it's a reaction to medication so i'm just thankful for uh god's hand upon me and to feel well tonight um the first thing i want to say to the church family is happy 40th anniversary to you give yourself a hand happy 40th anniversary to you not to the carpenters hammonds erickson's carpenter not to us to you because you're the church and without the church we would not be here tonight what came to my mind when thinking about our 40th anniversary this scripture came to my mind and i know this is a negative that i'm going to use it in the positive because i've always said you can say a negative thing in a positive way right it's called diplomacy so that i want to read this to you genesis 11 1 and the whole earth was of one language and of one speech and it came to pass as they journeyed from the east they found a plane in the land of shinar and they dwelt there and they said one to another go to let us make brick and burn them thoroughly and they had bricked for stone and slime they had for mortar and they said go too let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach and to heaven let us make us a name lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth and the lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded and the lord said behold the people is one and they have all one language and this they begin to do and now nothing shall be restrained from them which they have imagined to do go to let us go down and their confound their language that they may not understand one another's speech so the lord so the lord scattered them abroad from fence upon the face of all the earth and they left off to build the city now the only difference i want to liken this to is they were planning on making them a name they were going to build them a city and then a name the lord said hey they've made up in their mind they're in one mine and they're in one accord and if they've decided to do this it will happen fac you all have been the last 40 years i've been the pastor's wife 37 years of that and i know you all have always been in one mind and one accord and we are not afraid of a little bit of brick and a little bit of slime this is the work of god and you all have stepped up to the task and for that i'm thankful what good would it do to have a pastoral family that's willing to work if we didn't have a group of people here that had a mind to work that could be led do you know when we understand rank nothing will be impossible with god's help it comes from god down to the man of god his vision from god flows down to us into the congregation and if we all will just stay in our lane like we had the last 40 years and we've all had a mind to work it just works i don't know how we got here i'm afraid to go back and find out but we're here because you all have had a mind to work and we have been of one language and as long as we will stay of the language to take the full gospel to the whole world and to win the lost at any cost god will always be with us it's when we get off track that god does not show up so i just want to say the upcoming year i think we ought to do what we've done the last 40 is do everything that we can to win lost souls and be a people that as we grow that we don't grow lazy that we say oh somebody else will do it somebody else will sing in the choir you know what i expect in this upcoming year that every role of this choir be filled there's choir members it's not time to retire i'm to be up there they might have to wheel me right here i'm not going to become lazy as a pastor's wife i want to be up in this choir giving god the praise for healing my body for touching me for saving my children this is no time to slack no time to slap we should be here at the 50th anniversary with this church this choir pack building the risers of this church we have no excuse god has put everything at our fingertips have we ever needed something and we didn't have it has there ever been a bill we didn't have the money to pay absolutely not you know why because we've been about our father's business and i want to challenge us fac happy anniversary but let's get to work as never before if you've got slack wake up shake yourself let's get ready for the 50th let's reach outside of ourselves and read to the lost in jesus name i love you it is the highest honor of my life to be your pastor's wife god bless you
Scripture references as spoken: Genesis 11:1-8.