Jesus Is Alive

Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our Tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com.

Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com.

Wow. So good. Man, great to see everybody here this morning. We've got we got a lot to celebrate this morning. What am I?

Brian. Brian. I'm here. I'm alive because Jesus is alive. We have a lot to celebrate today.

We're going to celebrate three different things. Two of them immediately and one of them in just a little bit. The first immediate thing to celebrate is everybody's contribution and everybody inviting friends and the wonderful Easter service that we had at the Virginian last week. We had over a 170 people. Yeah.

We had seven decisions and or public confessions for Jesus. Yeah. Which is wonderful and a 100 pieces of fried chicken got Yeah. Yes. So, thank you if you brought a meal, if you brought a friend, being a part, if you were there the day before setting up that stage, the day after, taking that stage down and back where it belongs.

That was wonderful. So, thank you guys for making this Easter a wonderful Easter service just like every other church. It's such a big outreach and in this town, it's no, it's no different. So, that was thing number one to celebrate. Thing number two, to celebrate is a new glowing radiance that has begun to rest upon a beaming beautiful glorious young woman that is recently experienced an amazing turn in her life for the better until death does she part.

If there's anybody in here that has recently gotten engaged and is an amazing, beautiful fiance woman, raise your hand. Congratulations. Congratulations. And then there's Boden who is did the proposing. Get used to it.

That's the way it goes for us husbands. And then when you have children, they forget your name and just you just gotta put your head down. You gotta work hard. You gotta lay down your life. You've gotta sacrifice, and and at the end of the road, you're gonna build an incredible family that will not just be a family but will be a legacy for generations to come until the lord returns.

Right? Amen. Amen. Amen. Okay, guys.

If you have a Bible with you this morning, would you turn to the book of Acts? We're going to be in Acts chapter one. And we're going to read several verses together and just like we always do here when we're gathered at the TMC, instead of just a monologue, I really want this to be a dialogue. I want us to do this together where we can participate in the conversation. I wanna hear from you.

So, if you have questions, comments, or connections, all you have to do is raise your hand and we'll get the mic to you. Do we have here's the mic and I'm going to voluntell Bethany. It's muted right now. But the reason why we have the mic is so that all of our livestream families, people that are watching, that are traveling, and running about hither and thither across far and yon will be able to participate in our conversation when they get to hear your wonderful, amazing comments and so, why don't we jump into this together? Acts chapter one.

We're gonna read verses one through 11 together and we'll just take turns. Maybe somebody, if you're on a roll, you wanna read the whole thing, great. If not, read a few verses and pass it on. There it goes, Aaron. Good work.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. Until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the holy spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs. Appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, which he said, you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.

So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And when he had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?

This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Woah. Okay. There are a few observations that I'd like to point out to you this morning as we get into what we're going to talk about. If you're taking notes, at the top of your notes this morning, the title of our conversation is three simple but powerful profound words, Jesus is alive. That is the title of the conversation that we're going to have this morning.

Jesus is alive. It fits really well after we've just come from Good Friday. So many of you participated in our Good Friday service and historically, I myself have never been a part of a church that has done a Good Friday service or gone to a Good Friday service and when I was a kid, maybe I was compelled to go to a Good Friday service and it was just like another church event. However, in the last few years, one of our team members, Lanisha, who's downstairs with Tribe Kids this morning, she was like as she came on to the team, she's like, PB, we gotta do a Good Friday service. And I did not, I was admittedly reluctant to do a Good Friday service because I have an aversion.

I am religious ceremony adverse. Like I don't wanna do just like religious things or just traditional things. And so I had a, to be honest, I had a negative connotation of a Good Friday service. I thought it was like a religious thing. LP's like we gotta do it.

So we did it. This was our third Good Friday service and this year it was so well attended. I know it was right in the middle of spring break and some of y'all were out of town but we keep it short and sweet. It was an hour and I really feel like at least for me in my heart, Good Friday really sets my heart up to receive the most from resurrection Sunday. That in a good Carmen song.

If you're part of our our team and we're here early on Sunday. Next Easter, make sure you volunteer and serve so that you don't miss that. And so here we are a week later and I thought we would just continue the rhythm and the pattern and the flow of where we've been in regards to Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday, and now the story continues in Acts chapter one, and we just read verses one through 11. There are a couple of observations that I would like to make, but before I do, I would love to hear from you. What are some things that you notice in this passage?

You see me do this all the time. This is partly well, this is my style of communicating the word of God is I love to hear from you, and I love to invite you to closely examine the text and look for details that stand out to you. What's something that is unique or interesting or noteworthy? And we all take a moment to look and see. So, looking at verses one through 11, what are some details or some observations that you have?

Again, you don't need to make any deep spiritual connections that that's not like in this moment what we're going for. But what do you see? What stands out to you? If you raise your hand then Bethany will get you the mic. Love to hear from you.

Lyssa. Yes.

Thanks, Pete. Just how little we know about during the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time. It doesn't say he was with them. He then was with the disciples continually. It says, he appeared to them from time to time.

Like, my brain just goes, what was he doing? Like, what else was he doing? Like, where was he going? And who else was seeing him that we don't know about? And and then he proved himself in many ways.

Like, how? How did he prove himself?

How he do that?

I wanna know so much more.

Yes. I think that so many times we are uncomfortable with questions that are unanswered and we miss the invitation from the Lord to sit in wonder. And that's what your question was. I wonder what was he doing when he was not with the disciples. I wonder, did he have, like, regimented times?

Like, alright. I'll see you tomorrow at 8AM. Or did he just show up randomly? So I love I love wonder. What else do you see or questions that you have?

Gretchen and Dan over here.

Well, I just noticed sorry. He gives them a promise. Right? He says, you shall be baptized with the holy spirit not many days from now. And then they do what so many of us do when we get a promise, which is, oh, is this what it means?

Or is it is it gonna be this? Are you gonna restore the kingdom? Or is it gonna look like this? How is it gonna be? And like, we go to the details and he's like, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father has put in his own authority.

Yeah. I love that question that the disciples ask. I think that their question is related to all of the teaching that he poured into them about the kingdom. Not the presidency, not the democracy, but the theocracy, the kingdom. And they were so fired up for this coming kingdom.

Janet, I saw that you raised your hand.

I was just trying to put myself in the disciples' place when the two men dressed in white just showed Yes. And and said, why are you standing here looking into the sky? And I think I'd be thinking, well, who are you and why are you standing here? Yeah. It's just it just says it so matter of factly.

Yes. So strange. And this is this is interesting. The disciples, I'm calling them the disciples, this group of people that Jesus is speaking to, they are named two different times, two different ways. Can you see that?

And that's a question that I was thinking of. What is what is what are they first named as and then the angel names them or addresses this group of people by a different name. What do you see? Of the apostles. Okay, yes.

So, apostles is in verse three during the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles. What does apostle mean? That's a real churchy word. Apostle. Tell us.

I know. Tell us. You just say it. Okay.

Oh, well, I have a longer

because I just read this in a book. But apostle is a word that means, and I can't remember the exact meaning of the word, but it is the the yeah. Sent one. And then but in that time, people would go ahead of any commanders to areas where they were taking over to bring the culture of the new ruler to that place to ready it for when the ruler comes. So they're in charge of going before to bring the culture of that ruler to the area.

Mhmm.

Yeah. A a forerunner in most simple basic Greek terms, a sent one. A person who is sent. And in our modern church, I'm not if it sounds like I'm poo pooing on tradition today, I'm trying not to because there's a lot of beauty in tradition, especially church tradition. But when I hear the word apostle, does anybody else like flinch a little bit like like, I don't know, some sort of title or status?

Okay. So it's just me that needs to work through. Okay. Alright. Alright.

I've had people introduce themselves to me as apostle so and so. You know what? It is a little more prevalent in certain church cultures but as a status, as a level of like achievement, peep well meaning people, I'm gonna give them lots of Grace. Grace. Well meaning people have taken that word and made it something that I would suggest to you Jesus never intended it to be.

And if you look at the first apostles, it was far from any kind of elevated status. They were the ones that were beaten, whipped, went hungry, slept out in the cold, chased, abandoned, abused, mistreated, and so when you hear this word apostle, just for you to file away, it simply means sent one. But then what was the other group of what was the other name given to that group? Men of Galilee. Men of Galilee.

Here's the question. Why did the author of Luke excuse me, Acts, which we believe is Luke. Why did the author of Acts first call them the apostles, and then why did the men standing there, angels, address them men of Galilee? Why did the angel not address them as apostles? What are you doing standing here?

Why did he say men of Galilee? Sit with it for a moment, and that and if you have thoughts on it, let me know. Why were they addressed these two different ways? Okay, here we go. Here comes the mic.

It was used in two different ways because in the beginning, it was saying that instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen and the the I'm assuming those two men were angels and they were addressing them personally face to face. Now, Galilee,

First of all, all I have heard is from women today. Men of tribe be heard. I'll just

Right. Say it now.

So what about the dinner?

Now to answer this preponderance, the deep theological question, I will hand it back to my wife.

So I feel like at this time and juncture, they were in a little bit of transition with Judas needing to be replaced. So I think that's why because that had not been fulfilled at that point. I don't think it

There's certainly, there's still a lot of bewilderment, confusion, like, you know, searching what's going on. Now, I don't I don't have an answer for that question in my notes. It was just something that I happened to see but let's talk about let's talk about this verse verse four. Do not leave Jerusalem until the father sends you the gift he promised. As I told you before, John baptized with water but in just a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Had they been saved at this point?

The disciples?

The disciples, now the apostles. Men of Galilee.

I have a clarifying question.

Oh great. So are you, I get to talk whenever I want. You have the mic. Raise your hand and then you can give the mic to yourself.

My clarifying question, so the men of Galilee slash apostles they're referring to here are the 12 disciples. Is that like a 11, sorry, 12 disciples minus Judas, we have 11 apostles, also the men of Galilee. Is that correct?

Oh, that is that is a really great. So when we see after giving his chosen apostles further instructions, we know that apostles only refers to the 12 and now 11. Mhmm. And and we we we see that. He refers to them as apostles prior to this moment.

Who's he?

Jesus. Okay. Yep. Okay. Good.

Good. Good. So, what if there are others besides the 11 apostles? So the angels now address, think Venn diagram, group of people, large circle, small circle, 11 apostles, the name of the large circle which includes the 11 is men of Galilee. Is that what you're thinking or getting at?

Yeah, that answers my question.

That's insightful. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. That's great.

Really quickly, turn hang a left to John chapter 20. I wanna answer this question. This is important about the holy spirit. This is some good old classic traditional and here I was just a moment ago. Charismatic theology.

Charismatic theology, here it comes. John chapter 20 verse 26, eight days later, the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. The doors were locked but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. Peace be with you, he said and then he said to Thomas, put your fingers, okay, that's Oh, sorry.

Back up a little bit. Back up. Verse 19, that Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them. Peace be with you.

Now, I'm on the right track, he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hand and in his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the lord. Again, he said, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, so I am sending you.

Then, he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. So, in charismatic theology, this is when it is believed that the disciples got saved because the Holy Spirit takes up residence in a person's heart. He's the seal, the deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance like it says, other where in the New Testament and so, so, charismatic theology says that there are three aspects to a person's not steps, stages, or levels.

Nope. But aspects to a person's salvation. One, the first one is receiving Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit, and at that point, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within a person's heart, receive him, then, there is water baptism which is a public confession of an announcement of the inward decision that you've made and then the third which is interesting, we see at the beginning of it in Acts chapter one. Stay in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit. As I told you before, the gift.

So, a person could look at this and say, well, when did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit? Did they receive it when Jesus breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit or did they receive the Holy Spirit when when Jesus says in Acts chapter one, it's coming and then we all know about Acts chapter two. So, which is it? So, charismatic theology would offer this suggestion to you that when a person gets saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within their heart. He's there in all of his fullness and he is is present and active.

He is that deposit. It is how god recognizes who belongs to him and who doesn't belong to him. It's not church attendance. It's not ichthos fish bumper sticker on your car. It's not underlining in your bible.

It's not how much you volunteer and serve. It's not how many Forrest Frank songs you have on your Spotify playlist. What is different is does the Holy Spirit live in your heart? That's the seal. That's the mark so that God knows who belongs to him.

But then charismatic theology says, but there's also a third aspect to a person's salvation which includes the receiving of power by the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit takes up residence within a person's heart but then the person who has received the Holy Spirit gives the Holy Spirit permission to operate in and through them, much like the woman with the alabaster jar. This is my favorite analogy. The perfume, the beautiful fragrance of the perfume was always in the jar, but could you smell it? No.

Why? It was a cork. There was a cork on there to seal and preserve it. It the the incredible fragrance was all there the whole time. But sniff as much as you want, sealed tighter than Tupperware.

No fragrance was getting out. It was only until the jar was broken open and there's a breaking of a person's pride and a surrender of their flesh, yielding of their flesh to the leadership of the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit like the fragrance in the jar is released and what does the Bible say in John about that moment after the fragrance was poured out? And the fragrance what? Filled the house. Now how can which is bigger, a house or a jar of perfume?

House. We're not talking Smurfs. For regular humans, for regular humans, a house is way bigger than a jar of perfume. How does a jar of perfume, the fragrance of that perfume fill an entire house? I mean, it's, wow.

In the same way, in the same way, you are a little clay vessel, sometimes named clay. And when the Holy Spirit when you invite Jesus into your heart the whole the the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your heart and he is there in all of his fullness but there is an additional aspect the release of the Holy Spirit to operate in and through that fills your whole heart, your whole life and then spills out into the entire house of your life around you. Jesus says, wait until you receive power. That word power in English, the Greek word is dunamis. Dunamis.

And it's where we get our English word Dynamite. Dynamite. Dunamis, power. So you've heard me say this and then we're gonna move on. When I get saved and my brain just went blank, Oh my goodness.

When I get saved. Oh, oh, well, when I when I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it doesn't make me better than you. It makes me better than me. Yeah. But that's not what I was going to say.

Oh, no. No. No. No. The wheels are going to fall off.

We've got visitors here. I'm rapidly losing credibility. Let's move on it'll come it'll it'll come to me. Why don't we focus on verse three? I'll put it up here on the screen.

When I get saved I get a brand new life. When I get baptized in water I die to my old life and when I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit I get the power to walk out the new life that I've been given. Amen. That was worth the wait. Can you be a Christian without receiving or experiencing the release of the power of the Holy Spirit in a person's life?

Yes. Is your name written down in the land's lamb's book of life? Yes. 100%. Verse three, during the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive.

And he talked to them about the kingdom of God. This is what makes us the most distinct and weirdest group of people on the face of the planet. I don't like that word religion but we are a part of a collective of people who not only believe by faith that the leader of our organization lived, was crucified, died, but that he rose from the dead, not to then later die of old age like Lazarus. Lazarus died again. He ain't around but that he is still alive and his name is Jesus.

That makes us, you need to come to terms with that. You are the weirdest weirdo of all from an outsider's perspective. And some of us have put our faith in Jesus never having actually and this is okay encountered him being alive to us personally and that's okay. My prayer for you is that you would actually encounter the living presently alive actually alive Jesus in your heart and in your life because when that happens ain't nobody ever ever possibly could convince you otherwise. Freeze your bank account.

Jesus is alive. Seize all of your assets or in some cases take all of your climbing gear. Don't matter. Jesus is alive. Fire you from your job.

Jesus is alive. Take your family from you. Jesus is alive. Put a gun to your head Renounce your faith. How can I?

Jesus is alive. How do you know that he's alive? Because I have met with him from time to time. He's alive. I I can't mean, it would be the same as as saying, I'm going to It'll be you'll be boiled in oil unless you renounce your belief in gravity.

As something as basic and foundational as gravity is in the same way the reality of Jesus actually being alive today is so very real. Jesus spent forty days with his apostles, his soon to be sent ones. I love how Jesus speaks that over the men of Galilee. Had they been, had they scented it yet? Had they gone out yet?

No. Jesus is so good about always speaking to our potential. Simon who is going to deny Jesus, who got it wrong so many times. Jesus called him, you're a rock. Jesus speaks to their potential as he calls him his sent ones long before Peter ever stood up and addressed the people in Jerusalem at the temple.

Jesus is alive. And if you find yourself sitting here in a chair this morning thinking it has been a there has been a big gap from the last time that he met with me to this time. It may feel like fill in the blank time. Years maybe for some folks. I wanna let you know it's okay.

And then there's a second group of people that I wanna address really quickly. What if listening to me talk, you have believed in Jesus. You've put your faith in Jesus for your salvation. You have pursued a relationship with him to the best that you can but perhaps you've never encountered his actual presence so that you would say, who is actually alive? I want to tell you, it's okay.

It's okay. You must start there because if you start with, well, I can't be a Christian. I can't be saved unless I've had some type of like, wowie, zowie moment. That's not what the Bible says. All you need to do is look at Romans ten nine.

Do you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth? But there's something amazing that happens when a human being actually encounters the real living Jesus. I'll tell you my moment and then we're going to I remember I said there were three things that we're going to celebrate. We're going to celebrate our third thing here in just a moment. So, when I was was raised by a single mom in outside of Waco, Texas out in the countryside and my mom would get me dressed every Sunday and we would go to the First Baptist Church of Waco, Texas and I would sit in the pews.

They had cushions and I would endure a message every Sunday. Sometimes, I would go to Sunday school. Sometimes, would sit with my mom and I would remember, I'd always look in my pocket and I would sneak out one of my Lego men or my other pocket. I would have a GI Joe guy. Sometimes, storm shadow, sometimes quick kick, then I'd have, I'd look in my pocket and there was quick kick in my party.

I was like, alright, I can make it through church. As long as I have a GI Joe guy and and church was just something that you did on Sunday and you could never play in the clothes that you went to church and you had to come home and put on your. Play clothes. Play clothes. Put on your play clothes.

Take off your church clothes. Yep. Your Sunday clothes and it was it was never real to me but god is faithful in the word that was planted in there. It bore fruit in my life when I was a sophomore in high school. As a sophomore in high school, living just like every other high school boy without Jesus lived.

I got invited to like a a Christian Christian week long camp. You know, sleepover camp and I went there and the the the sessions I was like, yeah, I know all this stuff and but but every night, the small group leader like of our little cabin room, he would get all of us guys and we'd sit in a circle and he would read the Bible to us. We would discuss it and every night that we did this for like five or seven nights, each night, I felt more and more like I was on the outside and if you know anything about me, I have one of the biggest cases of FOMO that I know I can't stand somebody doing something fun without me or at least send me a picture of what you're doing. Please. And so, I I was talking to Coulson on the phone yesterday and what did I ask for?

Pictures. Send me lots of pictures. Send me lots of pictures. And I got a great receipt from Bowdoin and River. They sent us a picture.

So, so, I felt like I was on the outside and finally, one night, I was sitting in the circle. Finally, one night, the the I I raised my hand, the small group leader, can't remember his name, was like, what's going on, Brian? And I was like, alright, you guys are in on something and I don't know what it is and he's like, what are you talking about? He's like, oh you guys are in on something and I'm left on the outside and I don't like it and I need to know what it is. Like, are you guys talking about me?

What is it? And he was like, no. Brian, like, no, no, no. You're you're right here. Like, did you want to say anything?

I was like, I don't have anything to say but you guys all know something that I don't. I'm sick and tired of it. What is it? I want in. Are we in a club?

Is this like like a group? Is there like or do you have secret? Like, I just felt like I was on the outside. Finally, the small group leader was like, Brian, have you invited Jesus into your heart and made him the leader of your life? And I was like, scanning back through all of the Sundays that me and Quick Kick were in church.

All the Bible like Sunday Bible school lessons I've been through and I was like, I don't I don't know and he's like, I think that's why you feel on the outside and then he asked the guys like, hey, no pressure but like, have you guys invited Jesus into your heart? Every single one of them had and he's like, well, that's what you're missing out on, Brian. You have not met that Jesus is alive and I was like, Well, I want that. Now, some people get saved because they realize and have a deep, heavy consciousness of the weight of their sin and they need absolution. They need propitiation.

They need atonement. They need forgiveness. Some people feel lost. Some people hear his voice but don't know who it is that's calling them and as soon as somebody says, oh that's Jesus. They're like, that's it and they run to him.

For me, it was Fomo. That's how he got to me. This is my testimony. FOMO. He's like, oh, I know that guy.

Only child has to be the center of attention. We'll use FOMO to get to him. So, I said, that's it. Sign me up. He led me in the sinner's prayer and I was like, so now what?

And he's like, you're in. And I was like, I went to bed that night in our little bunk bed and and I was like, I was just kind of filled with wonder like, what, what, what was that? What happened? The next morning, we got up and we get together before we go down to breakfast and we read the like the little passage for that day. I opened up my Bible and it was like out of a movie.

Just light like like in my face blinded my eyes. It was so bright. I could feel like like you know, like when you're you're closed, you're like, I think my shirt's clean enough and then you stand next to somebody with like an actual clean shirt and you're like, oh yeah, my shirt's really dirty. My heart, I could see the dirtiness in my heart. I could see the the the void, the lack, the longing, and I don't even remember what we were reading in god's word but I encountered the alive, resurrected, risen Jesus of Nazareth that he's actually alive when I started to read the Bible that next morning and after camp, I came home.

Mom was like, so how was it? And of course, as a teenager, I said, fine. There's no issues that Joy needs to work through in the moment as she gave that response. Talk to your mom some more. Tell her something.

She needs more. I then went on a backpacking camp and I was a high schooler from Colorado and I brought my bible and I couldn't read more than a few verses at a time without revelation. Just the alive Jesus speaking to me from his word that has resulted in the person that you see here in front of you today. Jesus is alive. And for me, he used FOMO to get me saved and he revealed himself to me that he's actually alive initially through his word.

When I read his word even though I had read it over and over it was the most incredible thing. I'm curious, not the FOMO part but the the word of god coming alive leaping off the pages for you. How anybody else has that happened to? Either initially or consider. Now, hold your hand up initially or consistently or even from time to time.

Isn't that amazing? Yes. And if you haven't had that, pursue it, chase it, ask for it. Mark has some coffee stir sticks in his Bible that he would love to share with you. You just put it in there, flip your Bible open.

I mean, he must have 100 coffee stir sticks in his body. Show me one right now. Where are those coffee stir sticks? Here they come. They're falling out.

He's got notes. Hey, there they are. He's got a he reads something in god's word. God speaks to him and he's like, that's so good. He grabs a coffee stir stick, puts it right in his Bible.

There's almost more coffee stir sticks than there are. Show it show us those hold them up. Show hold them up. Hold them up high, Mark. All encounters with the risen living alive Jesus as a result of getting into his word.

They can also be used for shims on the. On the table? On the coffee table. And Trim Connection and on the job site, multipurpose. Oh my goodness.

Who is leading us in? Aliyah. Aliyah, come on up here. Let's create an atmosphere that is more conducive. To connecting with the real, alive, risen Jesus.

He is alive. And it is okay if you feel like I need some convincing. Congratulations. That makes you no different than these that Jesus called apostles. He proved to them.

So we celebrated Easter service. We celebrated a beautiful engagement. Now, let's celebrate the lord's supper and communion. When was the last time that we did this for most of us? Good Friday.

Look, I wrote this down in my notes. On Good Friday, we connected with him in solemn remembrance through communion. Today, we celebrate communion with expectant hope and resurrection joy. Expectant hope that he will meet us in communion, expectant hope that he will meet us tomorrow, expectant hope that he will meet us at the base of the crag, at our job site, in the classroom, and an ultimate expectant hope that he will return in the same manner that he departed riding on the clouds. Coming for his bride and to rescue able to And that's where the resurrection that.

Joy comes from. We're The Bible records that on the night that Jesus was crucified, during the Passover meal, he took bread, blessed it, and then he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, take and eat. This is my body which is given for you. So that the idea being that there is oneness and connection when this piece of matzah cracker gets chewed the process of mastication. And then swallowed.

It becomes a part of my body after it's metabolized and and it's indistinguishable. This cracker, it's just a cracker for a few more moments. Becomes indistinguishable from my body. This is what Jesus means by this closeness. Take and eat.

For this is my body which is given for you. Then the Bible records that Jesus took another cup. Gave it to his disciples, and he said, take and drink. And some translations say, how much to drink? Drink all of it.

Some translations say, we read that at a Seder dinner recently. Drink all of it. We're not going to drink all of this. It's not the point. But the idea being, Jesus said, when he was having Passover with his disciples, he said, take and drink for this cup represents my life's blood which is poured out for you and it ratifies or confirms a new covenant which I am making with you today in my life's blood.

Behold, the cup of salvation, the cup of redemption, and the cup of eternal life. Jesus said, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until I drink it anew with you in my kingdom. And that was a foreshadow, a hint of, oh, someday there's going to be a wedding. The Bible describes it as the wedding supper of the lamb. The the proposal has been made for those of you who have invited Jesus into your heart, you have said yes to the marriage proposal and currently, you live in your heart with a seal, a token, a foretaste, a little memento of what's to come in fullness.

In a similar way, when a young man proposes to a young woman, what does he give her as in today's western wedding culture? What does he give her as a token, as a promise, as a little deposit of what's to come? Maybe if you have a fresh one, just show it. There it is. So, Jesus, I ask that you would perform a miracle right here and you would transform these simple, common elements into a sacrament.

And what that means is it's simply a means of grace where we can connect with you by faith. God, I ask that you would meet us in the mystery of this meal. In Jesus name, amen. Our communion, this is the the meal that Jesus has. This is his meal and he has some exclusivity to this meal.

This meal, if it were me, you know, my FOMO, I'd want anyone and everyone to participate in this meal but it's not my meal. It's not tribe's meal. It's not the church's meal. This meal is Jesus's meal and so he gets to pick the guest list and he says that everyone is welcome except for two different kinds of people. The first person that is not welcome at Jesus's meal is for anyone that is not come into union with him, not invited him into their heart, not made him the leader of their life.

This meal is not for you. The second, Paul says, the person that is excluded from this meal is anyone that has any unconfessed sin in their heart with Jesus. That person, Paul says, if you were to take communion with unconfessed sin in your heart, Paul says, that you are eating and drinking judgment upon yourself. That's a no no. The amazing, incredible thing is there's brilliant solution to both of those.

If you've not been saved, invite Jesus into your heart. Make him the leader of your life. And then Mark will give you some coffee stir sticks. The second is, if there's any unconfessed sin before you come to the table of communion, just ask God to forgive you. According to first John one nine, if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just.

He will forgive us of all of our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness. And then you are welcome at this table. Yeah? So, with the last few moments that we have, it is and it is one of my favoritest things. I love to come see new babies in hospitals and I love to serve communion and I love to do weddings.

But this is one of my favorite things to be able to serve you communion. And I'm going to ask Lisa if she will help me serve communion this morning. And I'm going to give you the cup. We hardly ever get to serve communion together. Yeah.

I don't know if we ever have. Here's how we're gonna do it. Let's start from the back and from the back. And when you're ready, you just come forward. I will hand you the bread.

You receive the bread, and then you take the bread and dip it in the cup. Okay? And so, you may come forward. His body given for you. His body given for you.

His body given for you. His body given for you. Jesus, thank you that you are alive would you reveal yourself to us in fresh, wonderful, surprising, new ways. We lay down any expectation of how to encounter you. We will be hopeful to meet with you in quiet mornings, beautiful sunsets, in the back country, at our work, and especially in the midst of any difficulty that we're going through.

Pain or confusion, disappointment, heartache, heartbreak, loneliness, trials, suffering. When did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego encounter the fourth man in the fire. That's why we can say as Christians, in all things, we count it a pure joy that we would just meet with you. God, I pray for my family here this morning. I ask that you would release a special grace of encountering you.

In surprising and even unexpected ways so that they would live their lives absolutely, positively, unmistakably, irrevocably convinced that Jesus, you are alive. In Jesus name, amen. We worship the lord by singing this morning and you guys were such great singer outers. We worship the lord by deeply considering and dwelling in wonder with his word, conforming our lives to his word. Let's worship the lord one other way with our tithes and offerings this morning.

I'll share with you just a couple of quick ways to give and then we'll pray. There is a little wooden box in the corner there that you can put money in. There's also a black box on the outside of the building so that anytime you can give, people are generous through the website, tribejh.com but most folks are generous with their tithes and offerings through their smartphone and if you send a text to (833) 369-7847, type the word give in a dollar amount, You will be able to be generous with your tithes and offerings that way. Just before I pray over the offering, several weeks ago, I shared exciting news with you about what at the time was a strong potential for a new space. That space has been joinked out from underneath us.

The landlord went with a different tenant and so the space that we were very hopeful about has just pissadeared in front of us and so the hunt and the quest continues for tribe's next home but I just wanted to give you that update. Continue to be hopeful and prayerful with us about Tribes Next Home. We just now know that it won't be over here behind Smith's. Amen. That's alright.

It's going to be even better. Let me pray over the offering and you know what? Let's stand. I'll combine. It's going to be tough.

See if I can do it. I'll combine praying over the offering and a blessing over you as we get out of here this morning. Lord Jesus, thank you so very much for being good to us. Thank you that you're alive. We're not just following some religion.

Being a dead guy, you were a great guy, but you lived and died and now, you know, like, that's just it, but you're alive. You're alive. You're alive. You're alive. You're alive.

We reveal how alive you are in our hearts. As a way of telling you that we love you and that we trust you. We surrender a portion of our finances to you, Lord. God, I ask that you would receive these tithes and offerings to make your name famous. In our hearts, in tribe, in Jackson, the surrounding area, and like we read earlier this morning, to the uttermost bounds of the earth.

Thank you, Jesus and I command a blessing over each and every person here this morning. Lord, give us a great week. We look forward to meeting with you from time to time. We pray these things in Jesus name, the strong son of god and everybody said, amen. I love you so very much.

Make sure to grab an extra donut on your way out because you deserve it. You do. You got this.