Love Unstoppable - Week 4

Dina, Peter, and Pastor Seth wrap up the Love Unstoppable series by focusing on how real faith spreads through everyday life. They highlight the My 4 rhythm and show how simple, honest stories and small acts of faithfulness can point others to Jesus in powerful ways.

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Transcript

Welcome And Guest Banter

SPEAKER_04 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. I have some fabulous guests today.

SPEAKER_03 0:15

We've been elevated.

SPEAKER_04 0:16

My name is Dina Newsom. And go ahead and introduce yourselves, guys.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

I'm Dwayne the Rock Johnson. Just kidding.

SPEAKER_04 0:24

I said fabulous.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Just kidding. Have you ever said that your guests are anything lower than like great?

SPEAKER_04 0:30

Um mediocre. I used mediocre once.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Was I here that time? No, you weren't. I was. You were, yeah, I was.

SPEAKER_04 0:37

It was, it was, I think it was Seth and maybe Tyler. And I think they were giving me a hard time about what adjective I was going to use. I think that's what it was.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

It was either mediocre or just like meh.

SPEAKER_04 0:49

Peter Seth is jealous of you because I uh when you and Zach were on last, I called you my favorite guests. And then when he was on next, I said that they were my second favorite guest.

Church Kid Nostalgia And Cartoons

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Yeah, I'm not salty about it at all, but just a little bit. Speaking of salty, do you remember Salty, the singing song book?

SPEAKER_04 1:06

I love Salty. I remember Salty. It was all VPS.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

All right, let's do a quick quiz for those listening. Um, and so give it a second before you answer these questions. What was what were some of the names of Salty's children? Give it a second. For those playing at home, Dina, any of their names?

SPEAKER_04 1:24

I don't remember any of their names.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Melody, harmony, and rhythm.

SPEAKER_04 1:29

Yes.

unknown 1:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:30

Wow. Yes. What else do I not remember that's somewhere deep within the recesses of my brain?

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Well, I think this is also comes from a time uh of a of a very famous. Oh, let's go. We'll go two. We've got two more Christian um shows. You had the um this guy, what is a food name? And he uh a delicious round food that you sometimes eat on Sunday mornings at King of Kings Northwest. Remember burrito? Yeah, just get some gravy. Shout out to Judy King. Yeah, Judy King. Breakfast burritos? No, we have them. Uh don't if you come out to yes, donut who was that guy, like the donut?

SPEAKER_04 2:17

That was a Christian show.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yes, there's a Christian show. Um just right.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

I got no idea.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Somebody contact me and let me know. Peter at KimKings.org. It's like a it was like some donut hole professor guy or something like that. And then the one that I actually know, it featured a kid who drew a cartoon who came to life and helped us learn biblical lessons. There's probably Borman from the Church of Latter-day Saints or something like that. Like all the great stuff was back then. Wow. We thought it was super Christian. McGee and me.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Alright, I don't know much about it, but I've heard of this McGee and me. Oh, McGee and me was it.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

It was it.

unknown 3:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:05

All I can think of when you refer to the donut man is time to make the donuts, those old commercials. That's before your time. You're too young.

SPEAKER_03 3:13

But that's here's what I thought was happening. I thought Peter was trying to get this pod sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts or Winchells or something to be like today. We're open.

SPEAKER_04 3:21

We're open to that. If you're listening and you work for any any donut shop. Coffee shop.

Superheroes That Inspire Real Life

SPEAKER_03 3:28

I I do think we should reject voodoo donut a lot. It's delicious, but I don't feel think theologically we can align ourselves with voodoo donut. The rest of them I think we should be fine with. All right. But what is the national day of the week that uh Okay, so today, today.

SPEAKER_04 3:44

It is not donut day. It is National Superhero Day. Yes. And you know how much I love my superheroes.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

And you already know who my favorite superhero is.

SPEAKER_04 3:55

No, I I I really want to ask the question and then answer it before you to force you to choose someone else, but I'm gonna let you go. Okay, so here's my it's National Superhero Day.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Ready? My granddaughter. Two, two, one, Batman. See, we just became best friends.

SPEAKER_04 4:12

Um okay, so my question is what superhero inspires you? We're talking about inspiring in our message today. So what superhero it may not be your favorite superhero, but what superhero inspires you and why?

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Oh gosh, there's just so many.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Just let me go. Just let me go. I have been preparing my whole life for this. Professor Xavier from the X-Men. Hear me out. He could do anything, he could control you with his mind, but he chooses not to because he wants people to have peace. People that normally don't get to experience it, he advocates for them. He is uh the epitome of the correct use of power because he could destroy worlds and yet he uses his power to be kind. Yep. I thought it was because he's bold. Well, I mean, I am also bald, so there's that too.

SPEAKER_04 5:06

I I would like to note that I am the not the one who made the bald joke today. I just I would like a point of credit for that.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

I respect that. I did not know that he can like he has super power with his mind. Oh, yeah. He could just like crush you. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

From the inside out.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

From the inside.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

I don't want to get too graphic, but I mean, we're a biblical podcast. We've sing a song about that in church sometimes from the inside out. Yeah, that's not inspired by Professor Charles Harry with the worms.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

Yeah. Oh, that's a that's a good story, but that's a gross one. Super gross. My eighth graders used to love that one when we do confirmation.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah, I'm inspired by the the teenage mutant ninja turtles. Ooh, all right. Let's hear something. Yes. One, because uh they've been around for gosh, 40 years. I don't know how many years teenage and they've never grown older. So what's that about? A lot of peptides in those.

SPEAKER_04 5:53

Turtles get to be really old, don't they?

SPEAKER_00 5:55

So they age super slow.

SPEAKER_04 5:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

So like they'll be teenagers for another 30 years or so.

SPEAKER_04 6:00

Well, I don't know because they're warped by chemicals or nuclear or whatever it was that changed them. I can't remember off the top of my head right now.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

That's a really good point.

SPEAKER_04 6:08

So it's called Who's Who Knows? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

Yeah, scientific.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Second movie. Yes. Do you want a deep cut that that is a 90s adjacent deep cut with the Ninja Turtles?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

I sure do.

SPEAKER_03 6:20

All right. So the guy who does the voice for Shredder and Teenage Mute Ninja Turtles is also Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bellar. Same dude. What? Yep. Phil Avery. Look it up.

SPEAKER_04 6:32

You can Wikipedia that one about how my life got.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Really? But on Ninja Turtles, he just talks like this. Yep. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_04 6:44

Wow. Could it be anyone, but it's Uncle Phil.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Yep. Ninja Turtles 2, Secret of the Ooze. Can you name the uh the dog on the turtle that were transformed into Angry Mutants? Well, there was Rock Steady and Bebop. That's from the cartoon. Yeah, that was cartoon. Yeah, I don't remember. Tokar and Razar.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Wow. Wow. I feel like we're losing our audience though. Yeah, for sure. Like we're really going deep code.

SPEAKER_04 7:10

No, there's gotta be like a superhero buff in there. There's a niche we've got within our own hunched. If you're a listener and you're enjoying today's content thus far, email me, Dina, D-I-N-A at kingofkings.org.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Actually, here's the deal. I do know of one one congregant here who is more into comic books than I am and actually invited me to a comic book expo to raise funds for veterans. And so I do know there's at least somebody here that I'm sure would appreciate this.

SPEAKER_04 7:39

So our listenership of 11, maybe 12, if we talk more about superheroes, maybe maybe they'll turn in.

SPEAKER_03 7:45

Maybe. All right. Dina, did you do yours?

SPEAKER_04 7:49

I didn't do mine, but Batman is mine. And it's for the same reason that I like him so much. Um, because he doesn't have superpowers, he just has super like heart, I guess you would say. I I like that he is just brave enough to take on the things and even the bad reputation in his storyline because he gets seen as a vigilante and you know that he is he a good guy, is he a bad guy? Um, but I like that he's just very ordinary, but can do extraordinary things. We're gonna talk about that today, too.

SPEAKER_03 8:21

So segue into ordinary Joes.

Love Unstoppable And Ordinary Joes

SPEAKER_04 8:25

Yeah, ordinary Joe. All right. This was our week four of Love Unstoppable, and Pastor Greg Griffith was taking us through it. And what are you guys taking beyond Sunday from this message?

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah, I love that it can it captures all of us because um not all it's not about us being great enough to be inspiring. It's it's us following the great God who created the entire universe, who sent the sun to live and die and rise for us, who sends his Holy Spirit to live in us, and just commands us to go as ordinary Joes, as faulty people with his spirit. And so that so everyone's included.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

Yeah, I'll I'll do the same thing, and that is uh the folks who get the most air time, the ones that are uh, you know, like super viral now on Instagram, they're like these almost super powered looking, you know, Christians. And yeah, they've got some sway, which is great that they have influence like they do. But I think the like real long-lasting, life-changing kind of evangelism, it happens across the fence in a backyard, uh, with a basketball in hand, uh, pushing strollers together. And it's just the everyday kind of connections. I don't think that gets celebrated enough, which is why I think it was really, really wise, you know, in our uh last sermon in this series to really emphasize like, no, this isn't just for super Christians that can like wear a big S on their chest. Uh, this is everybody. Uh, and that's really what the Great Commission is all about, too. So love it.

SPEAKER_04 9:58

One of the things that stuck with me from this week was Greg really talked about what was your life like before you knew Jesus? What was the turning point and what is what happened after? What's the impact after? And that really stuck with me because I think even in my praying for the people that are on my my four list, I need to think about that piece for them too. You know what I mean? Like all four of them right now are still in that before timeline where they may be aware of Jesus, but he hasn't had that turning point in their life yet. And so how can I be praying for them to get to that point, not just praying for their overall spiritual health? You know, like what's the next step?

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Love it.

Why Personal Testimony Lands Deeper

SPEAKER_04 10:40

Um, I just liked how he laid that out. All right. This sermon emphasizes the power of personal testimony over shared social media evangelism. What do you think person? Why, sorry, why do you think personal stories are more effective in inspiring others to follow Christ?

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Authenticity. What I see on social media, especially there was always that era of like you people show their goods, their good times, their vacations, their proud moments with their family or whatever. But now it's like people have a tendency to show that more, and I don't know what is even like an advertisement. You know, so it's on social media, it is rarely authentic versus walking with someone, having them look them in the eye, um, get to know them, share your story. It's vulnerable, it's hard to do, it takes time, it rarely has reward. You don't see how many likes and retweets or whatever. Um, in fact, you may never hear about it again. Uh, and it always feels like there's a risk. And so all those things make it harder, but also make it more rewarding. It is rewarding to do hard things, and it's worth it.

SPEAKER_03 12:02

I think the authenticity thing is something I'll piggyback on, and that's just be it's not just because that's a value here at King of Kings. I think you know, we can decry social media for being inauthentic, but I also wonder how many individuals were portraying themselves in an inauthentic way as they were trying to do one-on-one witnessing. Because really they're just gonna they want to get a win in their column. Uh and so if you're really representing your authentic self, the other person is going to know that. They're gonna know that like you are sharing the story for their betterment and they know you might lose something out of this. And so this is not like you are looking for an ego stroke. You are looking to make yourself look more uh spiritual than them. You are not doing this for any other reason than you actually care about them and love them. And I think there's something that's deeply humble and authentic, and people feel that and they they respond really well to that.

SPEAKER_04 13:00

I think there's a along with that, a piece of you being vulnerable that just makes people react differently because you're, you know, opening up your armor and showing them a little of your inside or a little of something that um you normally wouldn't share, like you said. And that's where they find a connection where you're not at this level above them or more perfect than, or you know, oh well, they struggle with these things too. I think that's the the power of story.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 13:30

In the sermon, ordinary individuals like Joe, ordinary Joe, made significant influences. How can we as common individuals embrace our ordinary selves to become powerful witnesses of faith?

SPEAKER_03 13:44

Well, I'm gonna go with a deep cut from the 90s back again. Yes, G.I. Joe.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Deep cut.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Great American hero. Yes. So uh over the weekend on Saturday morning, we had a little bit of a lower, you know, like impact Saturday morning. So I threw on some old school, old school cartoons, Saturday morning cartoons, and it's G.I. Joe. And here's what here's what here's the transition I'm gonna make. Every single G.I. Joe had some special superpowers, some not superpower, but like some special ability, you know, like leatherneck was all about, you know, just getting in the muck in the ground and serve. And you know, like they all had something that they did. They were all like gadgets almost. But really, GI stands for general infantrymen. So, like the very thing that made a GI a GI, that is, they all were there for the purpose of coming together and actually like serving together and sacrificing together, uh, is the very thing that the show kind of went off and was like, no, that's great, but but this is better. Uh there is something about serving in very ordinary ways that is so holy and regular. It seems common, but it is really uncommon right now. And so, like in a world of gadget people and hooks and everything else, just be general. Uh it's surprising at how authentic and how effective it is just to be normal as somebody. Share life, uh, go out for a cup of coffee because you normally go out for a cup of coffee and just be normal. Talk about weird things like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joe's and Mighty Ducks and everything else.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

It's amazing that in G.I. Joe, the the number of laser um lasers that were shot at them that never ever hit them.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

Do you know why?

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Why is that?

SPEAKER_03 15:24

Because the Illustrator's code at the time made it like the FCC had an illustrator's code that said that they couldn't show actual deaths of characters because of violence on TV at that time. And so they could do like the pew-pew, and then all of a sudden, like there's nobody on the screen anymore. And you have to imply that the other person passed away. They couldn't actually show them dying.

Turning Gifts Toward Love

SPEAKER_00 15:46

The mental image I have of G.A. Joe is just like a G.I. Joe running with lasers just hitting both sides of his feet, but never striking him. Um, so when I was a young boy, uh my I I've had a superpower my whole life, and my superpower is entertainment. Um, and I have always loved to make people laugh. And um, when I was young, I did not have that skill honed, and so I would oftentimes do it at the expense of other people, but if the majority were laughing, it was worth it. It wasn't until college that uh friend Chad, what up, Chad, uh LCMS Lutheran school teacher, uh said, Hey, you're a jerk. And I was like, Whoa, what's up with that? Tell me more. And he was like, Well, you um say mean things to people to make other people laugh. And I'm like, Yeah, but they know I'm joking. And he was like, Do they? And they didn't. And so um, I've mentioned this before, but that's what put me on an apology tour, and several people didn't accept my apology, and so it was a really good learning time for me to realize the gifts that God has given me. That at that time I thought, oh, well, maybe I'm just like, maybe these aren't gifts. No, they they are gifts. I have to learn to use them for good. And uh, I truly believe that in the way that God has made each and every person, that you have your gifts, you have your abilities that not a whole lot of other people have. And you've they've been packaged together just as God wanted them to be packaged in you. And when you share your life with others, it is a gift. And so, for all those people out there who don't want to impose on the people around them, um, when you are imposing with the fruit of the spirit, it is always a gift. And so uh learning, learning how God has made you, maybe take your spiritual gifts test, um, maybe find other personality tests to realize, oh, like I am highly adaptable. I just thought like that that always annoyed my parents because I could just shift gears all the time. Like, no, that's actually a gift, and then live in that way, um, and trust that the Holy Spirit's going to just really show that to the people around you and give you opportunity to connect.

Mentors Who Quietly Multiply Disciples

SPEAKER_04 18:13

I think that a lot of people aren't uh powerful witnesses of faith because they think they can't be wit witnesses of faith, they don't know how. And I think just a reminder that if we believe in God and if we trust in God, He does the work. Um, Gigi says often, and I can't remember now exactly how he phrases, but somehow God works the extraordinary through the ordinary or starting with the ordinary or something. And so I think this is an example of that, where if we really say that we're believers and we are putting our faith and our trust in God, we have to trust that he's gonna give us the right words, the right superpowers or gifts, just like you said, he packaged each of us individually in a special way to witness to others and that it's not really on us, it's on him. And we just need to trust a little bit more when we step out in that faith.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

Can you guys think of like some of your greatest Christian mentors from your life? Can you think of one and what made them that way? Can I give a like a vague one first to give us some time to try to think of some answers? I love well, or I can just give you mine while you're thinking, but I I want to hear this vague one now. Now I'm intrigued.

SPEAKER_03 19:23

Yeah, I mean vague as in like it's an actual person, but not someone I specifically know.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:27

All right, so the dude who f uh founded navigators, yeah, like big and college campuses and such, and like student ministry, um, has impacted millions and millions of people's lives basically by like discipling two or three people at a time. It's two or three people throughout his whole life. He just never stops discipling two or three people, and then they disciple more people and they disciple more people, and now millions of people. And so, like, and he was very ordinary. So I like it like you know, tying it back to the original conversation. Um, there's another guy named Bob Hoskins, which is also the name of the um Sneed from uh Hook.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

Yeah. Uh Smee.

SPEAKER_03 20:09

Smee, yeah. Uh, but not that guy. Uh, this is another one. And he did the exact same process. Um, and he has impacted millions of children throughout the world uh because he just wants to change two or three kids' lives, two or three kids' lives. And he talks to other people and he's like, hey, it's this kid, this kid, and this kid. I want to change their life. And people are like, Well, what's going on? He tells them the story, boom, those kids' lives are changed. And so, like, they're very ordinary, and there's nothing like uh ginormous about the approaches that they take, but those small interpersonal connections that are very normal. Like you could see because people know those programs and they know these figures, you can look them up, they have a giant impact, but sometimes we don't give them credit for it.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Right for me. Um, also the name of a TV personality, Peter Falk. Ooh, yes, but Columbo? Yeah, but it was or a grandpa. It was uh different Peter Falk from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He's a uh a proctologist doctor, and uh and he attended a uh the Nodanam that I went to for a youth group. And whenever he'd see me, he'd just say, Peter, living in the word, Peter, every time he would say that. And when I went to his house, because my best buddy was dating his daughter, now they're married and they have like 24 kids or something. And uh, but he had a stack of old Bibles in his living room, and at any point he could just say Bible time, and everyone just knew the rule was you had to come to the living room. So if there were five kids at the house or 25 kids at the house, everyone came to the living room, grabbed one of those old Bibles, he'd say, like Psalm 26, and you we just open it up, we'd read it, he'd ask a couple questions, and then we'd scatter. Uh, but it was just this beautiful picture of like anyone could do that, but he chose. To do it and he did it. And every time he saw me, Peter, living in the word, Peter. So if your name's Peter, and I've said that to you, and I've never explained why. That's why.

SPEAKER_04 22:10

Now you know. How many? How many of our 12 listeners do you think are named Peter?

SPEAKER_03 22:15

Three. That's a good person. Well, let's shift gears, though. Let's shift gears and say, Dina, what was the person you were thinking of?

SPEAKER_04 22:23

Um, honestly, my mother was the biggest inspiration and continues to be my memories of her. Um, still. My mom was so rooted in her faith. Everything I brought to her when I was having a fight with my best friend, when I broke up with a boyfriend, when I was mad about a school grade, everything started with, why don't we pray about that? Or, well, what do you think the Bible says about that? Um, or I think at church we had a sermon that talked about this. Do you remember that? It was always going back to her faith. And I just like sometimes it was annoying when I was growing up. And I'm like, Sheesh, mom, I just want you to have some sympathy for me. But everything was rooted back to her faith, but not like in an in-your-face way. She was so quiet. And I didn't realize at the time how she was like that with my friends and my older brother's friends. And when she passed, there were so many people that came to her funeral that talked about memories they had of her talking about her faith with them when they were teenagers. Like just tens upon tens, not hundreds, but tens upon tens of people that day that shared stories uh that your mom inspired my faith when I was uh younger.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

What a cool impact.

SPEAKER_04 23:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Yeah, that's sweet.

Addition That Becomes Multiplication

SPEAKER_04 23:44

All right. How has the concept of addition as multiplication been evident in your personal or church's experience of spreading the gospel?

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Yeah, I mean, when Gigi first started talking about that in the message, I was like, oh boy, math on a Sunday morning. Why is why did he have to bring this into that?

SPEAKER_04 24:03

I said I'm going to eat some donuts.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

Are you kidding me? Yes. I had three donuts.

SPEAKER_03 24:07

You really do have a goodly amount of donuts at the Northwest campus on a Sunday morning. Not you personally, but like your location.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

Explain the location, Seth. We are donut rich. Yes, it is it is a blessing. So um, but yes, addition by multiplication. Um, I think of a buddy of mine and uh that I may have told the story before, but a buddy of mine that I met with for breakfast for years. And um, and it felt like we made no headway. Uh, and it wasn't till even after he he moved away that um I found out he was part of a church and um and and sharing his testimony with people and leading Bible studies, and um, so that's an example of like um well one ordinary I I was aloof, so aloof in the whole process I didn't even know I was supposed to be helping. I just thought we were eating breakfast. Um back to the burritos and the donuts. Yes, exactly. And uh but then this guy comes to faith and is sharing that faith with others in his story. Um, he's an ordinary fella too, but there's parts of his story that are really like, oh my goodness, he survived the Bosnian crisis. And so like people hear that and it hooks them in. And you don't have to survive something dramatic to hook people in. And that's the whole point of this message, is um, just by being you. I love what you said, Seth, of like the stroller walk, the talk at the fence, the getting to know your neighbor, um, just walking over there and talking to them for a few minutes and making that a habit. All those things matter, especially when our lives look different.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Yeah, I'm kind of like convicted in that because we share a fence with our neighbor, and I'm not gonna say that my neighbors are half of my my four, but they might be. And we're into archery. So there may or may not have been times where arrows may have potentially gone through half of a board or something like that. So I just I need to be working on a better witness with my neighbors. Do they have dogs? They do not, no.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

Think children?

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Yes. Oh no, but they're not outside when we, you know. Well, as far as I know, they're not a part of our listenership right now. So hopefully maybe they'll go back into the catalog after the my four thing works out, whenever that might be.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

And they're gonna be like remove the that scoundrel. Right. We knew it was him, it wasn't cheaper. It's gonna be subtraction then instead of addition and multiplication.

Acts 4 Courage In Ordinary People

SPEAKER_04 26:56

When Greg was talking about this, I was thinking of my experience with Hong Kong. So I've talked about this here before the last church that I was at. We had a connection with Hong Kong Lutheran Synod, where we would send teams over there to do vacation Bible school, but they would also send teams here to do vacation Bible school with our church. And we would host some of those students. They were always teenagers. And so um they got to know my kids really well. And what I saw over the course of many years was how their relationship with us, not us like teaching them the gospel, we were doing mission work together, like they were helping us. We weren't teaching to them, we were still teaching kids, just doing it together on both sides of the world, how that changed their perception of faith. Or when we would go to Hong Kong two years later, they would show up at one of the churches we were at. Oh, this is my friend that I invited to church, and now we go to church together. And I've been telling them about your family and I wanted them to meet you. But it was just through the relationships that we had and not through us, oh, let's sit down and read our Bible together. Just like you're saying, you know, just those walks and those talks that you do together. Um, how that just increases it gets more people to talk about it to more people. All right. Greg kind of dove into Acts 4, 13, and this passage highlights that the disciples were recognized as having been with Jesus despite being ordinary. How can this perspective encourage those feeling inadequate in their faith journey?

SPEAKER_03 28:36

What I love about this text is like most people would jump right away to the to the last part of Acts chapter two, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching of the breaking of bread into prayer. And those who had sold their possessions, they sold their properties so that others could have more. And you know, like it's this beautiful picture that's painted about what the Christian community could look like. But you back it up, and it's this conversation where people are trying to tell followers of Jesus to stop talking about Jesus. It was right after a miracle, and the miracle guy is like the one who is affected that they all knew they could have done something to help this dude at some point. Like they could have been pouring into this guy's life and they chose not to. But miracle man is standing right there, followers of Jesus are standing right there, and the opposers are the ones that are like, Can you guys, can you guys not talk about Jesus? And our brothers in the faith are like, Yeah, no. And like say that's a really good Midwestern response, pretty much. Like, whatever is the answer at the end, that is the actual answer. So you could be like, No, yeah, that actually means like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Yeah, no, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:37

Yeah. But if you say, yeah, no, that like that is the definitive no, and that's what they're given. And what's cool is the next moment is like they go and they tell everybody else and they have this great celebration because of it. And then after that, you have this conversation about you know what that's like. So when it comes to um us talking about Jesus, to me, that story says you should encounter other people telling you not to tell folks about Jesus. Like you might even encounter other Christians who are like, hey, hey, slow your roll, man. Uh, I know we're supposed to tell people about Jesus, but like you don't want to offend somebody. Like, I'm sorry, but by not talking to them about Jesus, that's offensive because that means I don't really care about them.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

Yeah. Uh those two magicians, like the giant guy and the little guy from Vegas, who's I was thinking about them too. Penn and teller. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

Well, what was I gonna say? You were gonna say that Penn Gillette was talked about faith in an interview, and his response was, I expect you to witness to me, because if you really believe what you believe and you really say that you care, then you're gonna tell me about your faith, even if I don't agree with it. Is that similar to what you're saying? That's exactly it. Or did you really think about something else? And you're like, hey, that's not bad. We'll run with that.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Yeah, I was actually gonna talk about one of their funny things they did, but then once you started talking, I was like, Seth will deliver.

SPEAKER_04 30:58

I want to hear the funny thing. No.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

No, that that that was exactly it. But when I, over the last, I don't know how many years ago, but it was in my adulthood, um, I read a book and captured a different picture of heaven and hell um that really helped compel me. And it's this that like all my life, I the picture of hell was like demons with pitchforks and fire, and and for me, that was always like more comical. Um, and not funny comic, but like like it's those that sounds like drawings. And uh heaven was like, you're you're all standing and singing in white robes. It's like a quilted northern commercial, yeah. Yeah, and neither of those images felt real to me. And so, like grasping heaven and hell for much of my life was just like, well, I trust that God, what God says is true, but I don't know. And I don't think that I I'm not trying to say that I know what heaven and hell are like, but I do know this that God is in one of them and he is not in the other. And everyone can connect with a time when they have felt hopeless. And if you dwell on that for just a moment, it's terrible. Well, that's hope is a gift of God, and in hell, God is not there. You will not have hope, you will not have joy, you will not have any of the fruit of the spirit. In heaven, God is there. So hope for all eternity, joy, kindness for all eternity, and beyond that, I don't care what we're doing, because I'll have hope. But that also compels me to even the person who's a jerk to me, even my enemy, I do not want them to face hopelessness for eternity. I want them to live and walk in joy with God, and so I can say the hard thing, even if it might be a little offensive, especially when we're doing it out of love.

Reflecting Christ Like The Moon

SPEAKER_04 33:07

So I really like this verse. Acts 4.13, it says, When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus. What I love is if you look in scripture, Jesus is always with the outcasts, the people that everyone else overlooks, the people that everyone else wants to avoid and despise. That's who he seeks out. So however outcast or alone or isolated I'm feeling, Jesus is seeking me out. And what does that do to allow me to encourage others in the same way? Um I am inadequate, but just like we talked about before, Jesus makes me extraordinary or gives me just what I need to witness to others. And I think that that is true again for everyone, if they just realize he's always there to give you that nudge. Scripture like Matthew 5, 14 to 16, presents believers as the light of the world. What does being a light look like in the context of the contemporary world?

SPEAKER_03 34:22

I think it feels more like being the moon than the sun. If that makes sense. Reflection. That's exactly right. So the moon itself doesn't really create too much of its own light. It it reflects or refracts the light coming from the sun. But if you think about it, how do we figure out the differences between months and years? It's not from the sun. Like that's how we figure out days. So the reflection that comes from the moon is incredibly important for day-to-day stuff. And so maybe if we just looked at ourselves less like we were trying to hold up ourselves to the standard of the sun and just let the sun be the sun, just let Jesus be Jesus, doing his own work. But we still have an important role to play. We still get to reflect the light that he has. And the cool thing about that is there's a lot less stress and pressure then, because you're like, there's not a performance anxiety of like, oh, if I say this wrong doctrinally, I could send this person to hell. That is not your job. You do not have that power to send somebody to hell. You do have the opportunity to invite them to meet the one that can show them heaven. And so I wonder, like, even like specifically for myself, if I think of myself more like the moon, where it's my job not to be the light, but to reflect the light, maybe that's a healthier tension to hold. And maybe it's less intimidating and it's okay to be in every ordinary circumstance. I don't have to like drum it up to be some giant revival experience or something like that. Those are great if they were to happen. But more often than not, like when are we gonna give get the opportunity to participate in those kind of experiences? They're gonna be few and far between. How many conversations are we gonna have in the course of our life? So for me, I'll go with I don't need to be the sun, but it's okay. I could be lunar.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

I can be lunar. That's a t-shirt right there. Yeah, and um the reflection aspect is great. Um and just also abiding. Like I wanna be, I just want to be in the light of Christ. Um, and so that kind of goes back to the to a like a Sabbath mindset. But uh am I where am I giving the proper time to absorb and just be in the light and receive the promises of God uh that equip me to go out and reflect what he is already shining. As people who have been shown grace, we get to show grace. As people who have been shown mercy and love and kindness, we get to show those things.

SPEAKER_04 36:49

So every Sunday morning at 8:30, I meet with a group of our guest experience volunteers and we pray. And I take prayer requests of things that are going on in their lives or the lives of their friends, and then we just pray together. And part of my prayer every week is as we go through our week, can we continue to reflect the light of Jesus to those around us? And so I like this is the scripture that comes from. I love this, this, and I really liked the question that Greg posed that's just said, How is your light shining? And I think that's a question I can ask my Christian friends, you know, how is your light shining? An opportunity for them to share maybe some stories of what they're doing to reflect that in their life. Um I think it's hard. I think it gets harder because there's a lot of darkness and to continue to be um that light because you are afraid of offending people or you are afraid of saying the wrong thing or pushing people away, or that you aren't equipped to do it. And I think a lot of the things we've talked about today hopefully empowers more people to feel that confidence or feel that um they don't have to do it all. God is doing it for them.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Amen.

Locks Prayer And Series Takeaways

SPEAKER_04 37:55

Like you said, we're just reflecting him. All right, as we wrap up today, what are your final takeaways from this week and this whole series? This is the the end of our love unstoppable series where we've really dove into my four and we've talked about identifying, including, inviting, and inspiring.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

Yeah, one, I'm I'm grateful for the people who had me in their my four growing up, like the people who had me in their sites who were praying for me. Um and I grew up in a in a very awesome, faithful home uh that was focused on Christ. Um, but I definitely had people who built me up and and put energy into me. And so, one, thank you to those folks. And then two, um, I am so excited for the people who put the locks on the on the fence for the people who said, I am more compelled than ever to seek after my four. Um, as I've talked to people who have said, Yeah, I think the people my four are gonna be, and then they've named people. And I don't know why, because that's like what we're asking people to do, but I'm just so used to um people not doing the assignments in life. And so it pumps me up when I hear people active in it, right? It really does.

SPEAKER_03 39:16

Um, I'm also really thankful for the locks because we're gonna keep seeing those. This isn't gonna be like a, all right, well, they were in the corridor or they're in the welcome area, and now they're gonna be gone because the sermon series is done. These are gonna be things that are gonna be fixtures at our campuses so that folks know that like keeping uh prayer as a priority, keeping evangelism as an actual priority as a part of our discipleship of who we are, King of Kings, this is actually important and it's longstanding. And it's expected. If you're gonna be a part of this church, you are actually gonna do the things that Jesus has communicated for us to do. Um, other thing that I loved about it is when we had Reliance worship night uh in Fremont, we all had the opportunity during that worship time to go and put our hands on the locks during the service and pray for somebody else's four. So, like, not only were you praying for those four that you had on your heart, you're praying for whoever those four were, but you were also praying for the person who was praying for those. So we're talking about addition by multiplication or whatever the mathematical formula may have been.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Parentheses in there as well.

SPEAKER_03 40:21

Square root of yeah, there's some PEMDOS work going on with uh parentheses, uh exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. I see where you're going with it. That was good. But it was just a really neat way to kind of not only be praying for the thing you're praying for, but praying for someone else so that they would be blessed too in their endeavors. And I just love how that continues to just kind of ripple out and make this huge impact for the kingdom of God.

Next Series Preview And Closing

SPEAKER_04 40:46

I had a volunteer come up to me on Sunday and ask about this being the last week of my four. And she says, We're gonna keep doing this though. And I said, Yeah, the fences are gonna stay up. My four has been something we've talked about before. It's sticking around, you know. She said, Well, I'm in this for the long haul because all four of my people that I'm praying for don't even speak to me at this point. I have had that same conversation relationships or hurt feelings or disagreements about life. And she was just like, I'm gonna keep praying and God's gonna keep doing what he's doing. But like she said, I'm still on the identify, you know, like just past that, because it's not yet to the point where I'm including them or inviting them to anything because they don't speak to me. Wow. And so she's just like in it, committing for the long haul. And I love the attitude there and the gusto, yeah, of doing it. All right. This next week we start a new message series, and it's called Let's Go. Yeah. Um, we'll be talking about that next week on Beyond Sunday. And until then, let's keep living our faith.

SPEAKER_02 41:57

Beyond Sunday. Monday, I think.