Not Alone - Week 6

Wrapping up the Not Alone series, Dina, Pastor Zach, and Peter explore how real community helps fight loneliness and reflect the care of the Good Shepherd in John 10. They share practical ways churches and friendships can become places where people are known, supported, and reminded that they don’t have to carry life alone.

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Transcript

Meet The Hosts And Daylight Naps

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the King of Kings podcast, where we dive a little bit deeper into our message series and see what we're taking Beyond Sunday. My name is Dina Newsome, and my guests are currently fake diving in the studio. Um I you know, I have two really, really fun guests today that have not been here together for a little bit. I feel like it's been a it's been a bit.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Yeah, was that on purpose?

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Um Wow.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

The pause says it all. You know, if I was fake diving, I would have to fake swim because I can't really swim. Yeah, you don't like swimming.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

That's my brother-in-law, Peter Bay, who is the campus director at Northwest Omaha, our second oldest campus.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Yes, that's right. Uh, right after the OG of Millard formerly I Street. And uh to my right, you can't see my right and my left, but I want you to know that to my right is the pastor Z Z Zach Zender.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Zaz, as we learned.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Yeah. Who calls you Zaz? Well, nobody.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

No one, but his initials are Zachary Andrew.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Yeah. Nice. That's funny because today we're talking about not Andrew or Zach or Rayah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Okay. I don't know if you guys know. We had this big time change thing happen this weekend. Did you notice daylight savings time?

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yeah, I noticed in my last hour and a half meeting with Zach. I was like, this is so hard to stay awake. So I'm chalking it up to that. Because Zach was brilliant.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

You know, in 1999, they created National Napping Day to make people aware of the health benefits of sleep and short naps that are productive for your health, also to counter the effects of daylight savings time. So I think today is, or no, yesterday, the day after daylight savings time is National Napping Day. Wow. It changes each year. So my question for you is are you a napper? Is it always the Monday? I believe so.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Am I a napper? No. Uh I enjoy when I can get one, but I don't I don't nap well. I'm not a deep napper. Uh yeah, but no, I'm not. I I wish I maybe could take a few more naps.

Sleep Stories And Animal Sleep Facts

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Yeah, I uh as of yesterday, I I have an 11, 10, and 7-year-old at home. And uh because the nine-year-old just turned 10. And the last time I took a nap, my seven-year-old was literally shaking my head, trying to get my attention as my wife was sitting like really close to us. And so I do, I do not take many naps. And when I do, I'm rudely awakened. How about you, dude?

SPEAKER_01 2:53

I enjoy a good nap, but at my house, I have a a my children have always enjoyed good naps, but we like to play a game cut we call nap roulette, where you take a nap and you don't set an alarm. Could it be 10 minutes? Could it be five hours? You don't know.

unknown 3:12

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

And then the rest of the family gambles on it.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Yeah, yeah. Or it just makes fun of you until you get up, or when you get up and then you did nothing that you wanted to do that day.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

So what's the longest nap you've taken?

SPEAKER_01 3:25

The longest nap I've probably three or four hours, I would say. That's quality nap. Like that's a yeah, it's a quality nap.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

I I have a very long nap that I remember that I once took. Seven and a half hours.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Ooh.

unknown 3:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Was it when you were jet lagged?

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Or no, it was I don't want to make it about me. It was after the longest speech. Oh, when you I fell asleep at one after staying up 53 straight hours to talk. Fell asleep at one on the couch, woke up at 8:30, went back to bed at 9:30, and slept for another seven hours. I feel like amazingly, I was kind of I was kind of like good the next day. It's amazing how quick the body bounces back. But seven and a half hours, up an hour, sleep for seven. It was great.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Yeah, this reminds me of uh a great book called Sleep Thieves. Sleep what? Sleep thieves. And then Sleep Thieves, it talks about sleep. Why do you have a smile on your face?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

This is a is this a made-up book? No, it's a fantastic book.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

But I want to tell you guys a couple facts about animals and the ways they sleep. So the seal. You know, like a seal has land predators and and water predators. What's the age of this book? Like intended for? Oh no, no. This is this is a thick read. Okay. You can look it up at home. I don't know if it's on audible. Uh it might have been one of the last books I read. Um it was in college. And uh, but seals, half of their brain sleeps at once and it swims in a circle so that the land prey can't eat it. Wow. And then the other half falls asleep and it sleeps in another circle. Migrating birds, some of them sleep mid-air while they're migrating. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Like while they're flying?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

While they are flying. Creation is wild.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Sleep thieves, an eye-opening exploration into the science and mysteries of sleep. Book by Stanley Corin.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Is that why? Is this why you're pro-animal? Because of things like this, just the hallucination of animals. I love animals. Yeah, amen. You do. He does not love animals. No, I'm not sure. This is a lie.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Well, yes, he is pro-animal anti-pet. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Thank you for acknowledging that, Zach Sunder. Yeah, we got to get that out of the way.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

All right. So transitioning into, we are in our final week of the Not Alone series. And Pastor Greg Griffith took us through our final message in this series, really kind of covering John 10 and uh how God is our shepherd and we are the sheep and some a lot of things surrounding that. What are you guys taking beyond Sunday?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Yeah. So so first off, I I felt like Greg was teasing me for a little bit. He told that Teddy Bridgewater story, and I was like, Well, what happened? Well, what's what's gonna and then later in the message he circled back to it, which I was very grateful uh because I wanted to hear the end of that Teddy Bridgewater. He also teased with like he's heard the voice of God twice, but he didn't tell us what it was.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Right. I was curious about that.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Yeah, so we need a special podcast just on that, I think.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

I'll make a note of it.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

So Beyond Sunday, I felt teased. Um but I also I think the whole like the the takeaways were really good, and for someone who believe it or not, I am a I'm a very extroverted introvert, so I recharge on my own, although I do enjoy and I like being around people, especially if I have a job. Um, and so these reminders of like to get together with godly people and um to gather and and not isolate myself, and when I am isolating myself, because I will do that and I'll and I'll be like, it's because I'm an introvert, and sometimes it is. I have to recharge, but sometimes it's because I'm grumpy, and um, and that's not the best thing for me. Um, because as an introvert, actually talking about these things with my wife or with a counselor is very healthy, and uh um so that was uh another good reminder to me of when I'm grumpy, share it with my wife or share it with someone I can trust. Don't just keep it to myself.

Beyond Sunday: Community Over Isolation

SPEAKER_02 7:36

Yeah, for me, I what I'm taking beyond Sunday is just how important relationship is with God and with others. And I think uh I have to look at my own sort of faults or shortcomings when it comes to those relationships, especially obviously with God. Um, that if if I'm not in relationship or I'm not feeling known or protected by by God, that that's not on him. That's that's me that has drifted away. And he talked about drift the week before. Uh and in then in my relationships with other people, the importance of me uh being open and being vulnerable so that I can truly be known. And so to me, uh what I'm taking beyond Sunday is is my role, uh I suppose, in being known, gathered, and protected were some of the words he used. That that it's not a completely passive thing, uh, that I that I need to be active in that as well. Uh and and just the beautiful parts of community when when you are, the the beauty of it comes together in a yeah, an awesome way.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

I really liked the um sheep imagery. It's been an image that I've been thinking of through this whole message when we talk about people being together, because um, I I think that's a very easy image, especially for someone that comes from kids' ministry. We talk about Jesus being the shepherd and us being the sheep a lot. Um, but I think that in our culture today, being a sheep has become like a put-down, like people who follow blindly and don't think for themselves. Um, but I like the biblical image that sheep are just trusting, um putting their trust in those that are taking care of them. And while that may not always be true in our earthly leaders that we want to build up and pray for and hope that they are following God's wishes, um it is always true for our Heavenly Father. And I like that that image of just how much we can trust in him. All right, so Peter mentioned briefly, Greg started out with the story of Teddy Bridgewater, who was a coach who kind of went over and above for the players of his team. What spoke to you about this story?

SPEAKER_02 9:51

What spoke to me, I remember when Teddy Bridgewater was drafted because the Cleveland Browns, I think, had one of the top picks that year. And well, they always do because they stink. So they get a really good pick. And I remember the controversy, I believe, that year was are we going to take Johnny Manzell or Teddy Bridgewater? And sadly, we took Johnny Manzell. Who is the counterpart, I would say, of Teddy Bridgewater from at least the way Greg described Teddy. Because Teddy seemed like a really uh caring uh role model and leader that bent some rules, but bent the rules in favor of love and care. And I think probably that the the analogy that Teddy Bridgewater uh gave, I think there's so many similarities between a great coach and a shepherd. And there's not a lot of our listeners out there these days that are shepherds that are leading like literal sheep, but there are a lot of people that either ha are a coach, have been a coach, or have been coached. And I think a lot of the tendencies for a coach that is doing it right is shared with by the shepherd. And so that's why I thought the analogy worked really well because it probably hit more people than you know just a shepherd would.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

You're a coach, Peter.

Teddy Bridgewater’s Care As Shepherding

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Yeah, yeah, I get to coach a few years. Coach Bay, Coach Bay, Coach Bay, uh girls golf at Concordia High School, as well as fifth grade girls best ball or uh fifth grade boys, fourth grade girls for my kids' teams. I am happy to have a season off of coaching. Um, but yeah, the the Teddy Bridgewater. So Teddy Bridgewater, former NFL player, he he retires from the NFL and he's coaching his high school alma maters team, and he notices there's a lot of players on the team who have needs beyond football. They don't have food on the weekend, they don't have the proper footwear, that kind of stuff. And and he starts to help them and making sure they have food and making sure they have rides so they can get to practice, um, and not going above and beyond and giving them buying them a vehicle or giving them things to solicit them to go to a a certain college, but simply making sure that they have food on their table so that they can um come to school healthy and happy the next week. And uh it was an awesome story that I think really points out. Philippians 2, 3 and 4 say it says, do nothing out of selfish ambition. Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. And Teddy, being a retired person at the age of 30-ish, has the time, has the resources, and had the influence to do something amazing for these kids. Now, ultimately, he got fired and punished for it. Um, but that's since been revoked. And uh, in fact, they've created new rules, is what Greg talked about, that helps coaches uh uh support kids in their daily needs up to a certain limit. And so I think it was a fantastic biblical example of Teddy not thinking of himself first because he could retire, get a yacht, and um make uh ridiculous funny videos with orange juice and just silly things, and uh, or he could actually help people around him. So he's he's chosen to do that, and that's a wonderful thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

I wish this type of story made the news more. We get to see a lot about the negative.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

It's funny, it originally did. It was like Bridgewater, uh, Bridgewater fired for benefits, and I was like, oh no. And then I clicked on the article and I was like, what is going on? This seems pretty reasonable. I says, Yes, it's very reasonable. So I actually didn't know until the message that that had been overturned. Oh, that's why you were on the edge.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

I know I was like read an article years ago, and you're like, I never had resolution. Give it to me, Greg.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

And then he did. Then he did at the end. Go teddy go.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

And the Lord brings resolution to all of your parts of your stories that are not complete. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Hallelujah. Orange juice. Do you are you do you have to say orange juice a certain amount of times today? No, I did you make a bet?

SPEAKER_00 14:02

You know, I did I uh MC the Concordia Gala, and a buddy of mine challenged me to meow during it, and I never did. So that was for you, buddy. So you're saying orange juice for him.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

And meow podcast later in the week that he won't listen to. Would you like to meow? That's probably true.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

I I haven't heard you meow.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

I know I I would not like to meow, but in saying it, you're you don't want to do that right, meow?

unknown 14:26

No.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Zach, you're just killing it on the puns lately on the podcast. I had several people comment on your what was your uh queso one last time. Yeah, just in queso. Yep. I had several people come up to me. Yeah. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Hey, if you run into Zach ever at a place where they sell queso, he will buy you a queso. Just so you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Oh, you're getting back, getting me back for for the milkshakes, the teacher's milkshakes, yeah. That's right. That was like almost a year ago, folks. All right. So Greg shared three ways to describe the community that we desire a community that is known, one that is gathered, and one that is protected. How do these characteristics speak to you?

SPEAKER_00 15:14

So when you go to, if you ever go to a storm chasers game, uh, they they sometimes do this thing where they like the mask on some fans, they just start like twirling something over their heads and they're like, stir up the storm, stir up the storm for the storm chasers, trying to get the the crowd all rowdy. And it reminds me of uh one of my favorite verses out of Hebrews that says, Let us consider how we may spur one another towards love and good deeds, not giving up uh on meeting together and stirring up encouragement as well. Um, and and I think that's a big way. Uh my favorite Jeff Foxworthy quote, and only Jeff Foxworthy quote, is he says, How do you know if someone needs encouragement? Orange juice. They're breathing.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

They're breathing. Everyone needs encouragement. And uh so stirring up each other to for encouragement and good works uh is a is a is a big deal.

Known, Gathered, Protected: Why It Matters

SPEAKER_02 16:17

Yeah, to me, I think they kind of go together, right? So to be known, you have to gather. And and and and also like protect it implies that there's going to be danger coming on you or that you need to be safe, that something's coming against you. And I think that it's in those moments that are hard and challenging where difficulty and suffering might come, but you get forged in that moment and and you start to really know one another, uh, not in the superficial, um, but in the deeper waters that you can get into. We're diving deeper. And so to me, I think they all play together. And and again, there's a there's a little bit of an active role. Clearly, grace is something that we receive that's been given to us. But as we live out of that identity, uh to be known, I've got to put myself in a place where where there's a gathering. And that gathering may only be one other person, but it may be a thousand people. But to be known, I've got to, I've got to be in a place where there's gathering. And for us to like truly know one another, we've got to go through something of substance uh that that that binds us and forges us even stronger. So I think the three words really work well together.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

These three words really make me think of our connect groups that we have here at King of Kings. And um, that verse from Hebrews that you just read is actually one of the verses is on our website when we talk about our connect groups and it talks about we need to gather together and encourage each other. That those are the two things that our groups really do. The protection to me comes as you're part of that group. Uh at King of Kings, I feel like we're too big to know everyone. We just are. Even at our smaller campuses, we're too big to know everyone. And so it's very easy to feel unknown if you don't know everyone. But if you have a small group that you feel comfortable with, then you feel more known and then you feel more valued.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Yeah, Pastor Seth shared a story today, too, about how um uh he got an email from a gal who's like, Thank you so much for the name tags. She said, I've sat by this family for years, I've prayed with them, I've shared challenges with them, and they've done the same with me, and I still didn't remember their names, and now I do. Uh and so that's like a small practical thing, but put on the name tags. I was glad my wife texted Seth that.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Yeah. I was like, you know my name, honey. Like, we've been through some things.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

But I think like that's a that's a big deal of like learning someone's name, using their name, um, and then following up with them and and praying with people, asking people how they are and actually listening for an answer. Or just the other day I said, How are you doing, man? And he said, Never been better. Like as he was struggling to breathe and stand up straight. And I said, Um, you're lying. And he said, What? And I said, You obviously don't feel well. What's going on? And then he went on, and not long, but like two minutes of shared about some medical challenges he's having. So then I was able to pray for him. And so I think meeting people, learning about them, and giving enough care, enough time to care is maybe how I should say it.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

What age do you think that is when we learn just to say, fine, we're good. I always think of that. It's just like an like an automatic response. How you doing? Oh, I'm good.

SPEAKER_02 19:44

They're at a grunting stage. Okay. Good. So there's just so it's beyond that.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

It's monosyllable.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

Maybe before that, and then they lose it and then they come back to it.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Okay. Adulting is a lot of that though. Yeah. You don't you don't really care. So I'll say fine. So we can move on.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Or it'll take too long to explain. I don't want to burden this person.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

Yeah, that's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

By taking their time to explain what's really going on with me.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

And I do the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Yeah, I know. And I think when somebody is vulnerable and shares that with me, I'm always very appreciative of it. Like, oh, thank you for letting me know so that I can pray for you, so that I can walk with this through you, just so I know to be thinking about you. You know, I yeah. All right. The sermon emphasizes the importance of being known by name and how can we create an environment in our church community where everyone feels deeply known and loved.

Practical Belonging: Groups And Names

SPEAKER_02 20:39

Yeah, I think I think you guys have hit on a couple of the things. The connect groups are a huge piece. Uh the name tags have been really helpful. So those would be two things that like practically that we're we're doing. But also, yeah, I think I think I want to put it on the listener. Um, not that they have to bear all of the responsibility, but also like get out of your comfort zone. Try, try something, meet someone new, join a group, come to an event, serve at night to shine. Right. Um, like all of these things are put in place. And and we're not the first church to do these things, right? So it's not like, oh, King of Kings has got these brand new ideas of like serving, and it's really fulfilling, and you actually enjoy doing it with someone else and you get to know about people and their stories. And so I think just plug in, like whether it's here or elsewhere, like just plug into a community of people, be vulnerable, uh, take a leap of faith. Uh because you're in a church filled with sinners, that posture will get you burnt at times. Right. But it is better to pursue and better to uh seek out love and relationship and get burnt along the way than the alternative, which is what this whole series has been fighting against loneliness.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah, and and I don't think it's just church. I think whenever you lock into something, you have a a bit a higher chance of getting hurt because you're doing something hard. Um, but with church, I think people come into it with the thought of like, I shouldn't get hurt. This is a church, and that should only be love because God is love, which is true. But God's people stink sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

We are very broken.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Yes, and that's all through the Bible and all through reality. Um, the the beautiful thing is we know it, and hopefully we're crying out for help, and and in that knowing that Christ has forgiven us and paid the price. And so then hopefully there's grace involved in that as well. And and as you get to know people um and they're able to walk with you and you with them, and you have grace with each other, life changes.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

So Greg talked about a couple times in his life when he had really clearly heard the voice of God.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Um, but did not tell us what God said. Um, how can we discern the voice of God in our lives? And maybe what practices can help us be more attentive to his guidance.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Yeah, one compared to scripture. Yeah. I mean, like that is the way that I've known to do it. If I hear something um or I read something, or someone tells me, I believe God's saying this compared to scripture. If scripture confirms it, great. Let's rock and roll. If scripture does not, I can, I don't have to be held to what you say.

Hearing God: Scripture, Counsel, Peace

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Yeah, people will say some pretty wonky things when they say God told me X, Y, Z. And so I I do, I I have a filter, and that's the number one part of that filter is does the Bible agree? Uh, the second would be does godly counsel agree? Right. And so are you seeking godly counsel and are they in agreement? Um, because the Bible is an awesome book, but it it if you're looking for what does the Bible say about how to use artificial intelligence and how to parent your kids through artificial intelligence, uh, it will have some really great guidelines and overall characteristic stuff, but it it that's that's challenging. And so that's where I'm not saying you should go outside the Bible, but start at the Bible, but also then seek godly counsel. And then the third question I have does the Bible agree? Does godly counsel agree? The third question I have is do I have peace about it? Because a lot of times God's not going to give us uh spirit of anxiety. Um, the devil will. And so, especially if I'm making a difficult decision, there's many times it's not a black and white answer. It's very gray. And and at the end of the day, it's like, does do I have peace about this or do I have angst about this? And go where you have peace. So those are some questions I use for my uh my three question filter of hearing God's voice as Peter is hawking up a lung back here. I'm not sure if you can hear that. Uh, I don't know if he's disagreeing with what I'm saying or if he drank some orange juice and went down the wrong, the wrong tube, but he'll come back on and speak for himself. But I I think one of the other things I want to kind of just, if anyone's listening, we've got about 13 listeners, I think we're up to. We're growing. Dozens. And but I also want to get away from like this pressure of audibly hearing God's voice. And like, hey, you can open up the Bible and hear God's word at any time. And and and again, not negating what Greg said about his moment, God can still speak audibly. Where we know God speaks is in a scripture. And so I kind of want to put that pressure off if anyone might have felt that of like, oh, I've never heard God's voice audibly. How do you know? It's like sometimes you don't, but you open up God's word and you can for sure know that that's God's word.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

Yeah, yeah. I mean, God speaks to us routinely through his word, through the sacraments. Um, and we believe that God can speak to us in other ways as well. Um, but yeah, comparing it to the word, I love those steps, Zach. Very helpful.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

And by the way, we talk like just to let people under the curtain, uh, we we after before we go into a message, we talk about what we want to share. After the message, we talk about how it went. What advice do you have for the preacher? Both things that are, you know, should be careful of or things that, like, yeah, you did this and it was awesome, and keep doing that, or maybe think about how you can do that in the in the future. And so we had this very conversation earlier today about how do we talk in a winsome way about hearing the voice of God so that there's not pressure um or there's not misunderstanding. And I think it's conversations we'll continue to have.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Yeah, I can say that I have never felt like I have heard God speaking directly to me, like a field of dreams type of things. If you build it, he will come. Nothing like that. But I do experience his nudging and his um intention. Um, but I really liked what Greg said. He said, you can't follow a voice you never slow down to hear. And I think that is really, we have to give God the opportunity to speak with us. We have to listen. And sometimes we are too busy being busy to slow down and really listen. And then Mago complain, well, God's not talking to me. Well, he may be, but you're not listening. And so that found that was true for me.

SPEAKER_02 26:55

And we have to remember our role. He's the shepherd. We're the sheep. Now we might be a version of a shepherd here in this world, but he's at the end of the day, like my job, my identity in Christ is a bad sheep. Yeah. More than a shepherd. Okay. Right? And I need my shepherd.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

I need you to find a way to work in the meow now, Anapan.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Nope. Are you okay? You were coughing up. Moving on. Yeah. You feel better now?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

In the room that we record, there are curtains. And so I they're supposed to absorb sound. So I cough directly into the curtain. So hopefully no one heard it. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

They'll edit that out, right? All right. So, in what ways does our community reflect the idea of being gathered and protected?

SPEAKER_02 27:50

Yeah, obviously, when we, you know, we gather and and that is the word for church in Greek. It's ecclesia. It's right, it's the assembly, it's the gathering. And so I believe that's obviously what we do on Sundays when we come together and we we worship. And I obviously we're protected. You know, I even look at our version of church and to think that 2,000 years after Jesus gave his life, uh, his word is preserved, his word is protected, we have confidence in it. And so there's just this beauty of the truth of how powerful God is, that He's not only preserved a word and his message, but we have the beautiful news that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Now, that doesn't mean uh some local churches don't come and go, but the church, we are protected on all sides. And we've got the winning formula. We know that no matter how bad this world gets, like our protector uh still has our back. And so, in many ways, we're continuing to gather to remind people of that truth, that God is still with us, that his word is still true, that he's still coming back, that no matter how hard things get, uh, we're not alone in this world, and and God will be returning for us.

Gathering, Protection, And Hope In Christ

SPEAKER_00 29:02

And and what power do we have by which to mean? It's the power of Christ, the risen Lord and Savior Christ who gives us life, who defeated death. Easter. I just looked at this up. This actually, I can't take credit. Two smart friends were talking about this, and I overheard them. They're saying, Well, how does Easter land where it lands? And what you just said was interesting to me because Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon. And I didn't know what ecclesiastical meant, but what'd you say it was? Ecclesia is the gathering, the gathering. So it's like we are able to gather because of what Christ has done. Because he rose, we have each other and we have power in him and in his people. Uh, and that's a really beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Amen. All right, Greg wrapped up with a call to carry each other's burdens. Can you share a personal story when someone helped you carry a burden or you carried one for someone else?

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Yeah, I uh yeah, a couple weeks ago, uh uh just had a really hurtful thing, and I I just called upon my accountability partner and said, Hey, I know this isn't normally the day we talk, but I just could use a friend. And so he dropped everything he was doing, and he's got a lot of important things on his agenda and talked with me, prayed with me for a half hour, and I really needed him, and I was really grateful for that. And so uh having someone like that is really important in life. Who who do you go to when you know stuff hits the fan? And so that was really helpful for me. And then uh another story, not it's not me, but someone in my world, because I think as pastors, we get invited into carrying probably more burdens, if you will, than the average person. And part of our role in ministry, our understanding of it is to equip the saints to do the ministry from Ephesians 4. That we we believe it's important that all of us are carrying burdens for somebody else. And uh, there was just a story of someone that I am deeply in love with that is really close with me, that was there for a friend at a time when a friend really needed him. And what was cool for me is not only like affirming how how awesome that person was for being there and the difference they made, but even in the hard hardship and the thing that he was helping, and the tears and the sorrow that came from why he needed to help, there was this level of like that felt good to be there for a friend. It felt good to help someone in their time of need. And and so the church is better, uh, and you're better when you do that. It's super rewarding and fulfilling, even when it's hard. So those are a couple for my life.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Yeah, and and I would say at times, especially when it's hard, so don't don't go creating hard things, but like do the hard thing. Challenge yourself, and and sometimes doing the hard thing is breaking the isolation to let other people in. And then those other people will let you down and you'll be disappointed. But those other people will also be there for you at times and you'll be able to be there for them. Um, and I there is time after time in my life when I've needed help and people have stepped up and given it. And I truly believe that I am not a burden for those around me, and if I invite them in to help, the people are honored to help. Um I I try not to inconvenience folks, but people who love you want to be there for you.

Carrying Burdens And Real Stories

SPEAKER_01 32:59

It's an honor for them. I can remember this was uh almost 19 years ago now, um, after my son was born. I really had a struggle with postpartum fatigue when he was little. And it was just everything in me to get up and take care of my other children at the time that were eight and nine or nine and 10. And um, there was a neighbor down the street, and they would go down to her house to play with her kids. And she would feed my kids lunch or give them snacks or offer to take them to the park. And at the time, that was like life-saving to me, just that I didn't have to stress about caring for my own children, which is something I love to do. Like, but it it was such a struggle at that time. And I tried to thank her, Susan Hill, if you're listening. Thank you so much for caring for my children. For like it was probably two months. They were down there multiple days a week and she would feed them meals. And it was just life-changing for me at that time. Such and it's to her, I think it seems so simple.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Well, and I think it is. It's when it's when we're hurting and at the end, a small act genuinely can make a huge difference.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

Yeah. All right, as we wrap up today, what are you taking away from this message series?

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Two things. Number one, I wish that the Browns would have drafted Teddy Bridgewater instead of Johnny Manzel.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Or Johnny Football.

SPEAKER_02 34:26

Number two, I am not alone.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

That's right. Yeah. Um, one that uh that God knows my name. And the series started with Elijah, one person who thought he was alone, and God shows up in a whisper because he knows if he shows up in the earthquake that that's too much for Elijah at that time. And um, if you're feeling like you're in an earthquake, like God's there, cry out to him and he is there. Find him in his word, pray out to him, and then God says to Elijah, You're not alone. There's actually thousands who follow me. And so pursue relationship with other godly people and uh see what God does with it.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

I really liked Greg's final wrap-up during this message of CPR. Carry, pray, reach. And it was the reach that really spoke to me about we have to be like you said, we have to take ownership of it and we have to do the reaching on both sides when we're feeling alone or when we're trying to help someone who feels alone, that we have to reach out to them. Um, because that's what God does to us, and we want to be like him. All right, thanks so much for being here today, guys. We are starting a new message series next week, and it's you, right? It's Zach. Yeah. All right, influencers, right? Yeah. All right, be sure you come and listen on Sunday, and then we'll be talking about it next week. Until then, let's keep living our faith beyond Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Yeah.