Beyond Sunday
Beyond Sunday is a podcast where we dive into what our Church is up to, what's happening in society, go deeper into topics from Sunday mornings, and hear leadership talks and coffee break theology from Pastor Greg Griffith. This is a podcast of King of Kings Church in Omaha & Fremont, Nebraska. Learn more at kingofkings.org.
Beyond Sunday
Game On — FIFA
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Dina, Tyler, and Julie wrap up the Game On series by reflecting on Esther’s story and the power of living out our faith together. They explore how God uses community, teachable hearts, and everyday faithfulness to strengthen us, reminding us that we were never meant to follow Jesus alone.
Stay up to date by following us on your favorite social networks.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Have questions or comments? Email us at contact@kingofkings.org.
Thanks for listening!
Welcome And Happy Cat Month
SPEAKER_03Welcome 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 I am excited to have some spectacular guests today. Go ahead and say, yes, can Tyler's doing confetti fingers or sparkle fingers or what is spirit fingers? Spirit fingers.
SPEAKER_01Can the listeners on the other side of this podcast not see the fact that I'm doing spirit fingers?
SPEAKER_03Go ahead and say hello.
SPEAKER_00Uh Julie Easley.
SPEAKER_03Hi.
SPEAKER_01Hello. The aforementioned Tyler from Fremont Campus.
SPEAKER_03That sounded very hello. Hello. Smooth.
SPEAKER_02Smooth changing.
SPEAKER_03You have another career in this. Pam, Pam, who works here, is one of our podcast listeners. And she came into my office the other day and she said, I was listening to you on the podcast and I realized you sound really good through a speaker. Oh, nice. That's a compliment. And I said, Do I not sound good in?
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, is there a backhanded compliment here?
SPEAKER_03She said, No, I didn't mean that. I just was noticing.
SPEAKER_01It's good.
SPEAKER_03So hi, Pam. Easy to listen to. All right. So I don't know if you guys know this. The day we are recording recording, it's September 1st, right? The date's correct. That's the September. I I don't have just a day for you today. I have a whole month. September is happy cat month.
SPEAKER_02Say that again. Say that again.
SPEAKER_03September is happy cat month.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03Not just cat month, it's happy cat month, which was started by some organization that I didn't write down, so I don't remember right now. But it's to focus on the health and well-being of your feline friends. That they are not just cats, they are happy cats. So last year.
SPEAKER_01When I just say, if you have to add the adjective in order to define how you want people to receive your branded month, they know that if they just say cat month, that could go in any direction. So we have to specify this is happy cat month.
SPEAKER_03I think maybe cat month was taken and this organization just wanted to get something distinct. But last week we had a dog question.
SPEAKER_00And notice there aren't any happy dog months because dogs are happy. My point exactly.
SPEAKER_03Well, okay, so when I was reading about happy cat month, part of the reasoning for it to be created was to dispel the myth that cats are aloof and don't need you.
SPEAKER_00Oh my. That's not my lived experience. Cats are like whatever.
SPEAKER_03My question is the same question I had last week, which you were here, Julie. So it's a two-part question. Are you a cat lover or a cat hater or cat disliker? Maybe hate is a strong word. Um, and who is your favorite cartoon cat?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, um, I'm allergic to cats. Same. Which is kind of a convenience for me. Blessing. It is. It's like, oh shoot, I guess I can't come hang out at your cat house. Um we had we had really good neighbors across the street in Connecticut, amazing family. But they had they had a cat, and it just, if I was over at their house for longer than 30 minutes, just felt the water works coming, and not because it was an emotional environment, it's because they had a cat.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And uh so I I maybe, maybe just maybe, Dina, I just haven't given myself a chance with a cat. And my allergies have always gotten in the way. But I've I've not had many happy experiences with cats because they just trigger all the allergies.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay, your favorite.
SPEAKER_03Who's your favorite cartoon? Cat.
SPEAKER_01I'm am I allowed to say Garfield?
SPEAKER_03Yes. Why would you not be allowed to say?
SPEAKER_01I just like, is that too obvious to start out with Garfield?
SPEAKER_00That's what I'm doing too. Okay, great, great. I mean a cat who likes what, lasagna? Is it lasagna? He's a very happy cat.
SPEAKER_03He doesn't like Mondays and he likes lasagna. Yes. Yep.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Okay. I also am allergic to cats. Also, litter boxes in the house just I can't handle it. And if the cat pees outside of the litter box, it's over. I mean, your house will never be the same. So I just can't get behind cats.
SPEAKER_01Are you a cat person, Dana?
SPEAKER_03I am a cat person.
SPEAKER_01Okay, sell us. So we have us on all these points.
SPEAKER_03With um, as far as if the cat pee is outside the litter box, there's a product called My Pet Pede. I do not own stock in this company, but I would recommend it. Oh my gosh, it works. Really? Yep. I don't now if if it's like a persistent problem, if they keep peeing, then I can't help you there. But if it's like a one-time deal, I I will my pet peed. Um there is there's also a competing product that I think is made with the same chemicals. So I don't know what that is. I've only bought the one. Sorry, whatever competing company, I can't support you.
SPEAKER_01You would probably get like a 20% off discount in happy cat month with this my pet peeve probably.
SPEAKER_03I grew up a dog person. Like we only had dogs, and I always thought cats were mean. Um, I was jealous of my friend who seemingly had everything. She got to be in brownies and I didn't get to be in brownies. She had a Simon game, like the electronic beep boop boop, and I didn't have one. She had a cat and I didn't have one. She just had the best life, in my, you know, like third grade opinion. However, um uh when I got older, I got cats. And I really cats are very intelligent, and they they have so much more personality than I imagined. I knew how much personality dogs have. Um, so I have three cats right now. Wow. I have one large dog and three cats.
SPEAKER_00Girl.
SPEAKER_03All of these animals came from pleading from my children who now no longer live with me except one.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03And all of the animals came before him.
SPEAKER_01So they didn't they didn't take the animals with them?
SPEAKER_03No. No. But I love my cats. I'm I'm reaching the point where I'm ready. When when these animals die, I probably will not be getting, I'm not gonna like, oh, what's my next dog or what's my next cat? I'm ready to be animal less.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, like there is a level of that, but um, I do love them. My I my cats all have very distinct personalities. One of them is totally in love with my son. She yells at him when it's time to go to bed. She will sit at the top of the stairs and meow at him loudly until he goes downstairs because she's his cat. She sleeps with him. She lays on his computer desk when he's working. He carries her around like a baby. Like she puts her head on his shoulder and he carries her like a baby. When that cat dies, I don't know what's gonna happen to my son. He's gonna need another session of therapy, but you know. But not another cat. Nope. No, because we have two more that are younger. So there you go. I'm starting to think about moving, and I'm I'm trying to decide, yeah, do I want the pets to move with me? And that's a hard discussion.
SPEAKER_00The other okay, last thing. Cat food smells so gross.
SPEAKER_03I'm a dry food only. I'm completely in the dark here. What do you is it is it just a big thing? Wet cat food. Yeah, canned cat food. Okay. Wet canned dog food doesn't smell any better, in my opinion. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I'm a big dry, dry food person.
SPEAKER_01Dina, did you share your cartoon cat?
SPEAKER_03No, my cartoon cat is Sylvester. Oh, yeah. I love Sylvester. I love the sloppy way he talks and spits, and I love his relationship with Wee Bird. Yeah, that's cute. Yep. Tom and Jerry, like Tom, is a close second, but Sylvester is just a little bit funnier to me. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's great.
SPEAKER_03All right.
Game On Finale And FIFA Setup
SPEAKER_03So we are in week five of Game On. We're wrapping up our game on series. We got to do all kinds of fun things all month, and we gave away some video game systems at our campuses this week. It was lots of fun. And we ended with week five, where we were talking about FIFA 2026, of which I honestly still panic, even at just in this moment of whether it's FIFA or FIFA. I always want to say FIFA.
SPEAKER_02FIFA to you know it's FIFA.
SPEAKER_03Um, but um I am not a big soccer fan. Are you guys soccer fans? Are you like, did you were you really into the World Cup, excited by that this year?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I grew up in a soccer family. Um, that was like the sport that our family played. Um, and being the youngest of three and the least athletic of three, I was the tag along to all of the tournaments. It it was probably like 12 or 13 years old. I realized, oh, wait, other people go on like real vacations. We go to Rockford, Illinois, and south Dakota. Because that's where the soccer tournaments are.
SPEAKER_00So you're one of those little grubby bleacher brothers.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but like I was a self-like, I was a carefree kid. Like, for the rest that's awesome living for a kid. Absolutely. Um, but yeah, like so like every time the World Cup comes around, like I get back into it. I don't have I'm not like one of those like super fans that has like my English Premier League team that I follow, all this sort of thing. But like, yeah, it was great. I mean, it's so cool to host the World Cup this year in America and then the couple sites in Canada and Mexico. Um, and then yeah, we didn't make it past the round of 32, which was yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. One of my children played soccer. I still don't understand all the rules. She played soccer for probably three or four years. I don't understand, like, there's where you can't go past a certain line and then kick it to a person, I can't remember what it's called, that's ahead of you, like a back. I don't remember. I don't understand all the rules. That's the extent of my soccer experience.
SPEAKER_01Also, correction, because I as I was saying it's like, wait a second, that's not correct. We did win the round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, because that's how we all learned that week how to say the word Herzegovina. But we lost in in royal fashion in the round of 16 games. But yes.
SPEAKER_03So Pastor Greg Griffith used FIFA as the last wrap-up piece of our us walking through the story of Esther this year in game on. And this week was the rescue playing for others. So, what are you guys taking beyond Sunday from this message?
SPEAKER_00I
Formation And Staying Teachable
SPEAKER_00think just the importance of not doing the Christian life by yourself. Um that's hard to do. And God ministers to us through other people. And if you shut yourself off from that source of encouragement and sometimes correction, exhortation, um, having people pray for you, then I think there's just a significant part of the Christian life that you're missing out on. So it was a great reminder to me of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there are so many great points on the message. The one that probably hit me the most is you know, he he did FIFA as a as an acronym, um, which I actually don't know what the true FIFA stands for. But for Greg, it was for this connecting the game on, it was formation, instruction, favor, and assist. And that second one, instruction, um, in in just encouraging us, you never graduate from having a teachable posture and a teachable spirit. And um, and that I I think like in every season, I I need to make sure I just step back and be like, oh yeah, there regardless of who's across the table from me, there's there's something I can learn. Um and and it's not like a false modesty of like, I have nothing, and what it sort of thing. Like, no, no, like we all know stuff too, but we never want to be in that self-righteous kind of Pharisee spot where it's like, I have nothing to learn from you. Um and that that really stood out to me from Sunday.
SPEAKER_03So um when Greg was explaining his FIFA acronym, I thought at first when he was explaining it that he was gonna give us really. So I looked it up. It's Federation Internationale de Football Association. Oh, I was right. Um but when he said formation instructed favor assist, I was like, that's the dumbest name for an international organization. That makes no, like, there's not even club or federation or something in there. I'm like, this cannot be right. It took me a bit. Sorry, Greg. I was not on your train of thought. I just was like, that is not. And then when he started talking more, I was like, oh, I get it now. These are the points. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Who works in public relations for this organization?
SPEAKER_03How is this organization still so active?
SPEAKER_02That's hilarious.
SPEAKER_03Someone needs an intervention. Anyway, I really liked um where he talked about um that you can't just choose to play any position, that your coach is gonna pick assign you to a position that you're gifted at, that you play well at, and you're part of the team, like that whole mindset. But I liked that you play where you're assigned and you use the gifts that you have. And um, I think that's hard sometimes. We just want to do everything for ourselves.
SPEAKER_00Or other people's gifts look so much more interesting than our own.
SPEAKER_03Yep. I want to do that, what that person can do. Right. Yeah.
Esther And God In Suffering
SPEAKER_03All right. So, how does Esther's story challenge or reshape your understanding of God's role in the midst of suffering and hardship?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, it's a uh to kind of go into the story, right, of the story of Esther, is that um King Xerxes is in this position where he is he is ready to annihilate the Jewish people. And and and you think about that, like had had that have happened, we would not have a line to Jesus, right? Like this is this is a really significant thing. Um and and so with Mordecai and uh speaking to Esther in that famous verse, uh, and I thought Greg highlighted it really well, where Mordecai's faith is really strong, where he he says, you know, relief and deliverance will come for us, because he knows the promises that God has given to Israel. Um but if if that happened, but if it's from elsewhere, then you and your family's gonna perish. Who knows whether you've been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this? And and so it's it's all in the mystery of God's will. There's only so much we can wrap our heads around. But there's a few things we know. One, God is not the author of evil. Um I know you guys have been staying up late reading your Lutheran confessions, right?
SPEAKER_00Like you are.
SPEAKER_01Hashtag seminary series.
SPEAKER_03Only one of the three of us are in the SMP program.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but there's this whole there's this whole thing in talking about like how do we, and this is not just Lutherans, this is just a basic Christian thing, is that like God is not the author of evil or sin. What what is the cause? Well, it's it's us as sinful fallen humans under the temptation of the devil. Like that that is the that is the territory for evil and brokenness. And then there's all the effects of that within a broken creation, including the potential annihilation of entire people, right? Um, and so for got for God to then step in as the the rescuer, the one who has not turned his back on broken creation, everything in the story of Esther points forward to the person of Jesus, where even Jesus is the one who enters into our suffering, enters into our brokenness. And then coming one day, coming one day, when Jesus returns, he's gonna make all things new. And there's not gonna be a time where there's no death and no sin, no pain, no suffering. Um, and so it's it's this keeping all of this in tension together where we don't want to just say God caused that, God's caused that sort of thing. Recognizing God did allow it in his mysterious purposes, but he's also gonna redeem it because that's what he does in his grace.
SPEAKER_03And I think that was an important distinction that Greg made. He said, God doesn't give these things, he may allow these things. And I think there's a big difference there.
SPEAKER_00You know, I was thinking just about Esther and her life, and I think it's easy to read this story from maybe a romanticized point of view, like, oh, this girl gets plucked in out of obscurity, and now she's queen of this whole kingdom. Well, okay, first of all, she's an orphan, she's in this foreign land. Once she becomes queen, she doesn't see her cousin unless it's like by appointment. Who knows if she even liked King Xerxes, wanted to be married to him. She had zero choice. So many things were imposed on her, and yet in the midst of it, she said, God, there's so many things I can't control. What I can control is calling my people to prayer for me.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_00And my trust in the Lord in these circumstances. So I don't think Esther was a person who lived most of her life suffering free. Um but her faith stayed solid through that, and that was the constant and a bunch of inconstant things that were happening.
SPEAKER_03I think for me, this really was just a reminder of uh sometimes it's very easy to get focused on the why something is happening, and you're never going to have a solid answer to the why. The why is because there's sin in this world. I mean, that's the simple form of it. Um, but the what can I do from here? What is the next step that I can take? And that was something that was very clear that Esther was, okay, I'm gonna pray about this and I'm gonna ask my friends to pray about this, and then I'm gonna take this step, and then I'm gonna figure out what the next step is. Yeah, I think that that is a good reminder as we traverse any kind of suffering or hardship.
Interdependence And Asking For Help
SPEAKER_03How do you personally experience the tension between depending on God alone and relying on the team of people God places around you in your spiritual journey?
SPEAKER_01Uh poorly.
SPEAKER_03Next question.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah. So just I when I was growing, you know, you'd always do like group projects at school, right? Yeah. You were a teacher, Julie. Yeah. I'd be curious to hear the teacher side after this. But like from the student side, I it was I it was one of those things where I remember a conversation. I was either with my older sister or with my mom, I don't remember whom, but I was in like middle school and assigned a group project, and of course, all the things like no one's doing it right, no one's doing their work, the work that they did do, and then finally just like, should I do it all myself? And then again, I don't know if my mom or a sister, sorry for throwing you guys under the bus. They just said, Yeah, just do it all yourself.
unknownOh my god.
SPEAKER_03There are people that are wired that way, and there are people that are wired not.
SPEAKER_01Right. I remember I was doing uh even worse than a group project, a group paper in undergrad. I was a sophomore, I was doing a political science class, and we had to write like 15 pages or something, and we kind of broke it up who was writing what. And so I did the first half, and I, you know, I maybe set seven, eight, nine pages. And then the person who had the next part wrote a page and a half, and they're like, I just don't know what else to say. And I'm like, come on. Anyway, try. Right. But the I think there's so many ways we can we can fall fall off of the narrow path that the Lord has for us. And one of them is over-reliance on self. And kind of saying, the only person I can trust is myself. I I I can't count on anyone else. The I mean the other side, right, is like an overdependence on others, right? Codependence where you're you're almost replacing other you're like you're you're not even giving, letting God do his thing because you're so focused on and I think so it's not independence and it's not codependence. The healthy spot for the church to be is interdependence, where we are um everybody being relied on is also relying on others, if that may like it's just this healthy interdependent network. Um, but that's really it's really easy to talk about, and it's really hard to live out.
SPEAKER_00For sure. I think that so two things I was thinking about. The first one is just the blessing of working on a staff team is you get to see people's gifts and all their splendor and realize like there are many things that people are good at that I am not good at. And it just creates such a beautiful, more complete picture of what God's really like. So that's the joy, joyful part of it. And then there's the um the sanctifying part of working with a team when your will is thwarted or you feel frustrated, or people's uh personalities annoy you, yes, right? And so it's all of that God's trying to create a diamond, and what he's doing is he's pressing on you with sometimes challenges that you have with people. I I love this story of someone who talked to a monk who'd been in a monastery for like 60 years, and they said, What's been the biggest, um the most influential thing in your spiritual formation? Was it something you learned? He said, It was living with the same group of 50 guys for 50 years. Because it just had to it, you had to kind of get those rough edges worn off. I learned to be more tolerant. I understood Christ's heart of love better in the ways that I needed to tolerate people, and they were tolerating me. So it's a as always, community has tremendous blessings, and then things are that are hard about it, but that can be sanctifying if we allow them to be so.
SPEAKER_03This is a struggle for me. I'm a big do-it-yourselfer. Just get out of my way and I'll get it done, and I'll get it done right. And I I I thought I had imparted the imparted this this attitude to most of my children. And then my son, when he was in high school, came to me and he said, Mom, I have this big group project. You mentioned the group project, made me think of this story. He said, I have this big group project to do in in this class of mine. And I said, Oh, do you have a good group? And he goes, I think so. I think so. There's one person I think I can really rely on. And I'm like, Oh, great, he's got a partner, you know. I said, Who's in your group? He said, Well, it's me and you. Well played Christian.
SPEAKER_02That's cute.
SPEAKER_03He said, All right, I'm in. What can I do? But it made me okay. So in this time, he was asking for help. Yeah. I mean, which I I I can say as a parent, I was grateful for. You know what I mean? That he felt intimidated by whatever it was. And I did not do the project entirely for him. Um, but you know, I did help. And I think that that's a uh I think asking for help sometimes is the burden people can't overcome. There are people who want to do it themselves because they think they know best and need other people. But then there's also that piece of, oh, I know that I can't do it myself, but I don't know how to ask for help. And I love the imagery of the Greg referred to it a little bit about the disciples. This is the team that Jesus put together, the disciples. And when I was a kid, I and I would hear the stories of the disciples, I thought they were all men in their 40s who were really smart. And gosh, they always just knew what to say. And then the as the I got older and understood more of the scripture and knew more of the backstory, I was like, these are a group of bumblein' idiots, like from all different walks of life, not really idiots, but you know what I mean? They were young and very inexperienced, but they had faith. And that was the biggest thing that set them apart, that they were willing to trust whatever Jesus was was leading them to. Um, and it just was like a whole new discovery for me in my faith of you know, this is the team, you don't you don't have to have it all together. You know, he's gonna give you what you need. Um, and he's gonna do that sometimes through the people that he surrounds you with. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, just the last couple days, just some individual conversations with some of our leaders in Fremont. And so um, if if this person I'm talking about is listening, uh they'll they'll know that we have this guy, but it's just top of mind.
SPEAKER_03So listener number 15, right?
SPEAKER_01That's exactly right. Um But the on on your on what you had said about um um being willing to ask for help, the conversation I had with this person on Sunday is very much that same mentality as you would. Like, I I I I I I'm a high achiever, I can get it done, I can count on myself, that sort of thing. And and there's just a number of challenges that kind of hit hit hit their family over the last couple of weeks. Um, and so an opportunity has come up for other people in the church to come help them, do do some lawn work, that sort of thing. And I specifically told this person, I know everything in you is saying, I don't actually need this, they don't need to do this for me. I said, can you allow them to bless you? Like, can you receive it? And and they're just oh I'm gonna pay. That's what I'm like. I'm like, whatever, like but like to be able to actually be on if if you're if you're accustomed to being that spot of like, well, if someone's gonna be helped, I'm gonna be the one helping. And like there, if this whole interdependence thing is gonna work, it actually means there's gonna be times where where we're gonna be on the receiving side too. And for some people, it's very easy to receive. For others, it's like, ah, that means I'm in a place of weakness and I don't like that at all. But I think that's sometimes the healthiest place we can be, because then it allows other people to be in the place of giving and blessing, which which we don't want to deprive them of that opportunity.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think that goes along a little bit with uh something that I hear a lot is that God doesn't give you more than you can handle. And I I don't believe that. I do think that God does allow more than we can humanly handle because he can handle it. And he doesn't do that intentionally, like here, here's this load, so that you come to me. But that's a benefit of it that we can turn to him because he can handle all of it. Um, yeah, that we do just need to ask for. And sometimes he handles it through the people he puts there to help us, you know. Yeah. Um, how, oops,
Favor And Community Support Stories
SPEAKER_03wrong question. Can you share a story or example where favor, mutual support and encouragement? Greg talked a lot about favor um within a community made a significant difference in your faith walk or in someone else's? I will say for me, um, when I was going through my divorce, that was a time where there was a lot of unknowns. My um I was in a long separation, and then we were together, and then we were separated again, and that whole process, I was struggling with where I fit, where my balance of even just my workload fit, where my parenting fit. And I had a small group of friends that were just there no matter what. And they were there for when I made good choices through that process, and when I made choices, I wasn't happy with through that process, and whether they were easy choices or hard choices, and they were just supportive. And sometimes it was here, let me, you know, take your child for the day. And sometimes it was here, you can come cry on my shoulder, you know. Um, but they were just there. And that's a time for me that it reminded me of the people that God puts in our lives. Um, because I really feel like some of those people were not people that I was meant to be close friends with. They were there for such a time as this. I mean, at that time in my life when I really needed the skills or the friendship that they had to offer.
SPEAKER_00When I was a young mom, I was part of a women's Bible study that was led by a woman who I thought was so old and is probably younger than I know. Um but man, what a blessing it was. There were women who were taking care of our children during that time, and we could just study God's word together. And she was just such a wise woman of the Lord, and I grew so much during that time. Um, just sitting with other moms, kind of in the same stage of life. Um, but having this experienced older wise woman pour into us. I'm so grateful for that. It's really stands out. I mean, and that was probably close to 30, eh, 25 years ago.
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah, this is top of mind. Um, just this past Saturday, I was with um 30, 35 of our Kinect group leaders from across campuses, just um training them, encouraging them for the upcoming Kinect group season. And we we talked about how Kinect groups are our primary point of care within the congregation, which is also living out this kind of being caring for one another and being cared for. Um and so I shared this story from uh a Fremont Connect group that is probably about nine months ago or so. Um a mom and uh a daughter, mom is in her 80s, daughter in her 50s, both single. Uh, they found the Fremont campus and they just got plugged in right away. Um, and then about two months after mom was in the hospital, suffered a stroke, um, and then lived about another 48 hours before the Lord, the Lord took her home. And what was so as gr as um grief-stricken as that situation is, what was amazing, it was a Monday morning, probably mid-morning, that I I found out that Ann was in the hospital. And even before I found out or Christy found out, her connector leader was there in the hospital with her. And um, and I shared that story with the leaders, not as like no one like um conceptualized that or planned that out. Like, okay, so if someone ever goes to the hospital, be sure to call this person. It's just like it's just the natural thing that happened. Um, and of course, I I I you know, I was able to visit her the next day, oh, that sort of deal. But I just loved that that level of care could happen with people that really knew her. I didn't really know the family terribly well at that point, but by that point they would have had six or seven connect group meetings, they would have studied scripture together, talked about life together, and prayed together. That's exactly the kind of people that you want at the hospital when when um you're in that point of um suffering and uncertainty. Um, and it kind of just shows, yep, yep, we we really need each other. And shameless plug, join a connect group this season. Yes, go for it.
unknownIt's good.
SPEAKER_03They're starting up kingofkings.org slash groups.
SPEAKER_01Slash groups.
SPEAKER_03Or go to the app. Yeah. All
Assists That Make Ministry Work
SPEAKER_03right. How might the concept of an assist in spiritual life transform the way we view success, recognizing the essential roles others play in our victories?
SPEAKER_01Did you have a thought on this, Dina?
SPEAKER_03I started last time. It's your turn. No. For the first thing that came to mind here um was vacation Bible school. So I'm a huge fan of vacation Bible school, and I've have been a VBS director at my last role for a lot, like 20-some years, a long time. And um, being somewhat the face of a program, you tend to get a lot of the accolades that people say thank you and people cheer you on. Um, but that program is such a any VBS program is so many hands are in it to make it a success. And I think that people don't realize it's the person who takes a box of stickers and baggies home to put labels on the baggies that contributes to how that child tells their parent about the craft they made that day that they brought home in their baggie and then invites them to come to church with them. You know, like there's just so many steps removed, I think, from some of the pieces that go into it. Um, it's just truly a a million little hands that go to um sharing the gospel story with any of the kids that come in a program like that.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Um we were we had our uh our Fremont volunteer uh celebration training this last Wednesday. And so uh Christy, she's our associate director, she and I were uh talking about, you know, what what do we want to be sure to emphasize, that sort of deal. And uh and then kind of an offhanded comment. Christy's like, did you know that it takes 60 to 65 volunteers to make a Sunday happen here? And I said, What? A one. How did I not know that ahead of time? Um but also like That's a lot. Holy cow.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I started adding it up, like, okay, yeah, we have worship team, production team, worship center hosts, coffee, interior greeters, exterior greeters, kids' ministry. And it's like, yep, that that checks out. Times two. Exactly. Um, and then and you know, and then I can only imagine the scale that Miller didn't be on with the larger camps, all this sort of stuff. Um, but any like the the language of success, right? And so what what would success mean? And I put that in in in quotes just because it's it's really like what what is the Lord doing through our ministry? Well, it would be that new people are being invited, and then they're they're showing up at an event, and then they're showing up on a Sunday, and they're bringing their family, and they're checking in at the New Here space, and they're getting a gift, and they're going to pizza with purpose, and oh, their kids aren't baptized, and they're joining Connect Group, and we're we're hearing, we're hearing how the Lord is working their lives, right? That would be like, yes, got got we're we are accomplishing our purpose, or God is accomplishing transforming lives. Like, how many steps along the way was it someone saying, Oh, yeah, I could, I could hand out an invite card to this event. I can stand at the door and smile and greet someone, I can make a pot of coffee so that our guests are ready and welcome so they can get a donut hole or get a cup of coffee, a worship center host that's wearing the Here to Help shirt, showing them exactly where they can go sit down and explaining what the service is going to look like and kids' ministry volunteers that are so ready to like all of that comes together and none of it is on one person. It's everybody. It's assist after assist after assist after assist after assist that then the Lord ultimately uses to bring about transformation. Yeah. And like what's beautiful about that is like none of us can take uh full credit. Like it it's it's the church at work and it's God at work through the church.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. It's just the beauty of of God's church. And I think almost every Sunday, I'm just and I'm and I know I said this uh earlier in this podcast just by the beauty of people and their uniqueness and the ways that God's gifted them, and the way that you can see God's unique heart and the ways that people serve, and the ways that the talents and gifts that he's given to them. It's really humbling and it's beautiful and helps me, assists me to understand what God is like to a greater degree. Because I can see things that are not within me, but that are abundantly clear in someone else. And it's just so beautiful.
SPEAKER_01I think the other thing Greg mentioned this is Julie, one thing you are uh so good at is um handwritten thank you notes. At least you were at one point. I haven't gotten one in a while, so I'm kidding.
SPEAKER_03Um I have been saying more about you than Julie. Uh no. Just kidding.
SPEAKER_01Well, Tyler, if you've had a few more assists.
SPEAKER_03Tyler, I wrote you a handwritten thank you note just a couple months ago.
SPEAKER_01Okay, this started as a really good point, and I have totally derailed it.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, continue. Julie's great at this. She is great at this point.
SPEAKER_01Yes, absolutely. But like um the whether whether you ministry leadership or just someone like like we should be overflowing with thank yous for the the big and a little assists that we see. Um, and sometimes at the Fremont campus, I'm like, you don't need to thank me. It's like I don't need to, but seriously, thank you. You really want to. Yeah. Thank you for being here. Thank you for serving. Yes. Yep.
Living Free After The Resurrection
SPEAKER_03All right. How does knowing the score is already settled through the resurrection change how you play the game right now?
SPEAKER_01Wasn't that a cool ending to the sermon? Greg did such a great job with kind of bringing the whole series to to um a beautiful conclusion that it it was indeed on the cross and at the resurrection where Jesus told the devil game on. Um and I just I loved that, like, yeah, Jesus, go get him. Let's go. Yes. And it's like, yeah, we are we are more than conquerors through Christ.
SPEAKER_00Yep. I mean, I don't know if this totally translates, but I'm a very ner like when I'm watching games I care about, I'm a very nervous watcher, right? Till the end. Like I'll just get a knot in my stomach. I'll have to like leave the room and just not even watch what's going on. If I knew ahead of time what was gonna happen, like we were gonna win this, I could probably watch it with a lot more joy and a lot less anxiety. And we know how things end. So we do not have to secure life for ourselves, we don't have to make things happen entirely by our effort. I mean, certainly Jesus is inviting us, right, to partner with him in these things, but it's not all on us. And so there's a freedom and a relaxation that that can bring, a degree of joy that it can bring. And um, we don't have anything to prove anymore. That's good. Um my reputation isn't the most important thing anymore. Um, how I'm doing or how we're doing, it's we don't have to keep score. Jesus is one, and now we just get the joy of getting to play.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Now, now help me remember that the next time I'm anxious or fearful or it's a daily work. It is, it is. That's really hard. I I think for me, I wrote down the word freedom when I was looking at this question. It just gives you a freedom of knowing that you know it is handled. Like I'm struggling with this, whatever it is today, and I'm gonna struggle with something different tomorrow. But in the long game, it's handled. Yeah. Yeah.
Courage And Quiet Moves Still Matter
SPEAKER_03Reflecting on the game on series, where do you see your own story in Esther's journey?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the the was it last week or the week before we really emphasize the theme of courage. Um and I I think that I don't know if it's like where my season of life right now or just it would just hit, but when Esther takes her steps of faith, there there is very little certainty, no guarantees of what will happen, right? When she goes before the king and all that sort of stuff. And and to live out, you know, as a church, we have a church-wide value of being courageous. Um, but in those moments where it's like, okay, I don't totally know what's gonna happen here. I know what God's promises are, I have a good idea, there's discernment and agreement, but like to be able to be in that spot of I'm gonna step forward in faith and encourage. Um, I wanna I want to be able to mirror that confidence that Esther has um, regardless of what could happen, knowing that if you don't take any steps, nothing's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00Yep. It's funny because I was um doing kids' ministry at two campuses this past Sunday, and I was hoping you tell this story. I told the whole story of Esther to the kids using I so we're now we're kicking it old school with the flannel board. These kids were on the edge of their carpet squares because it's such a good story. They're like, oh, or whoa, oh no, he didn't. What? You know, they were like so captivated. And you get to the end of Esther and it's like, oh, like everything's got this beautiful bow on it. It's so clear, like, wow, God's hand has been in this whole thing. That is equally true of your own life, even when it doesn't feel that way. Nothing is happening to you that doesn't pass through God's loving hands, right? So he's not the creator of evil, but he is right, like Greg said, he's allowing things to happen. He's not surprised by anything that's happening to you. And those good, those good plans are going to be moving forward no matter what. That's just a given. And so many things in our life can feel outside of our control. I'm sure Esther felt in many seasons like things were out of her control. But God is, he was constantly working. It's so evident in that story, in her life and just in all of those circumstances. But what's true for Esther is also true for you. And so just feeling confident in God's loving care for you throughout all the circumstances of your life, whether they're feeling great or not, whether you're feeling like, oh, this is pretty much under control, or feeling like, whoa, this is or somewhere in between. Um, what's true of Esther is true of you because it's true of God.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Spirit. You're about to ask any final takeaways? And I'm just gonna say what Julie just said.
SPEAKER_03What Julie just said.
SPEAKER_01That's my final takeaway.
SPEAKER_03Um, I will say when I think about Esther, when I when I was younger, I felt like I had to be very bold and brash. And if I saw an injustice, I've got to stand up and speak up and you know, be that. And like, but what I enjoy about Esther's story, especially that maybe rings truer to me now, is knowing when you gotta kick down the door and do something, which she didn't do. And when you can speak quietly and just take small steps in a situation, small right steps in a situation. And I think that's something that I admire more at this age than my 25-year-old self, who maybe was more brash or more abrasive about speaking the truth into situations, or maybe it wasn't speaking the truth in love. Um, but that um quiet moves are still moves. You know what I mean? And I I like that you talked about the confidence, you know, that she had in what the outcome was gonna be. Um, and you know, we just talked about we know that the score is settled, you know, we know the game is won. Um, so I don't have to to be um arrogant and brash to fight battles. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Well said, yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right, final takeaways from this message and from the whole series, like whether it's this specific message or the whole game on series.
Series Takeaways And Stay In The Word
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I wasn't joking. What Julie just said was incredible.
SPEAKER_03Um because it was just rip rewind a little bit, play it again, and then do it one more time.
SPEAKER_01Um, but yeah, like the idea of right, we said it every week that God's name is not in this book, but his fingerprints are all over it. Like his his fingerprints are on our lives. Um and and he is um he's working, his plans are good, whether we see it or not. Our call is to be faithful and courageous in following him wherever it might lead.
SPEAKER_00I think just generally, I'm reminded of the power of God's word to encourage and exhort us in our daily lives. Um, it's very easy to crowd out time in God's word, but it is living and active and will transform your life if you create space for it to do so. And I was just reminded again, wow, this is just such a powerful word for us. It has so many practical implications. It is well worth any amount of time that you give to it. God's just gonna multiply that in your life. So get into God's word, pray, ask the Holy Spirit, what is it that you want to show me today? And just allow that goodness to pour into your life.
SPEAKER_03I think that's a great point, asking for what do you want to show me today? That was kind of I really liked when we talked about Uno, it was looking for your moment, like waiting for your moment. And I think we all wait for, and I said this then, but we all wait for a big moment, but sometimes it's the little things that God's putting you right in front of you. And so even though we know the battle's already won, we still have a part to play in God's story. And so are we watching for the moments that He's creating for us? If we miss it, he's still his story still gonna win out. Just like with you mentioned earlier, you know, with with Esther, where um, you know that it was if you're not gonna do this, God's God's the prophecy is still gonna come true. Like this is still gonna happen. Um, but are we are we staying alert and watching for what God's putting in front of us so that we can um play our part? Watch for our moment. All
Next Series Preview And Closing
SPEAKER_03right. Thank you guys so much for being here today. We are starting a new sermon series next week.
SPEAKER_00Dun dun dun. Sinners Anonymous.
SPEAKER_03It is. Pastor Zach is gonna take us into Sinners Anonymous. I'm excited for this one. That'll be great. Yeah, check it out. And until then, let's keep living our faith beyond Sunday.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
