The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Hebrews 8God will forgive wickedness and remember sins no more because of the blood of Jesus
1 Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2 a servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
4 For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”
6 But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8 For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.
10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11 They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”
13 In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
read aloud describing God passing by, speaking life, covering nakedness, and adorning with garments and jewelry as a picture of redemption
1 Again Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;
3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth is of the land of the Canaanite. An Amorite was your father, and your mother was a Hittite.
4 As for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut. You weren’t washed in water to cleanse you. You weren’t salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, because you were abhorred in the day that you were born.
6 “‘“When I passed by you, and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you, ‘Though you are in your blood, live!’ Yes, I said to you, ‘Though you are in your blood, live!’
7 I caused you to multiply as that which grows in the field, and you increased and grew great, and you attained to excellent ornament. Your breasts were formed, and your hair grew; yet you were naked and bare.
8 “‘“Now when I passed by you, and looked at you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you,” says the Lord Yahweh, “and you became mine.
9 “‘“Then washed I you with water. Yes, I thoroughly washed away your blood from you, and I anointed you with oil.
10 I clothed you also with embroidered work, and put sealskin shoes on you. I dressed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.
11 I decked you with ornaments. put bracelets on your hands, and a chain on your neck.
12 I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
13 Thus you were decked with gold and silver. Your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered work. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and you prospered to royal estate.
14 Your renown went out among the nations for your beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put on you,” says the Lord Yahweh.
15 “‘“But you trusted in your beauty, and played the prostitute because of your renown, and poured out your prostitution on everyone who passed by. It was his.
16 You took some of your garments, and made for yourselves high places decked with various colors, and played the prostitute on them. This shall not happen, neither shall it be.
17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them.
18 You took your embroidered garments, covered them, and set my oil and my incense before them.
19 My bread also which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey, with which I fed you, you even set it before them for a pleasant aroma; and so it was,” says the Lord Yahweh.
20 “‘“Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and you have sacrificed these to them to be devoured. Was your prostitution a small matter,
21 that you have slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire to them?
22 In all your abominations and your prostitution you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were wallowing in your blood.
23 “‘“It has happened after all your wickedness. Woe, woe to you!” says the Lord Yahweh,
24 “that you have built for yourselves a vaulted place, and have made yourselves a lofty place in every street.
25 You have built your lofty place at the head of every way, and have made your beauty an abomination, and have opened your feet to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your prostitution.
26 You have also committed sexual immorality with the Egyptians, your neighbors, great of flesh; and have multiplied your prostitution, to provoke me to anger.
27 See therefore, I have stretched out my hand over you, and have diminished your portion, and delivered you to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd way.
28 You have played the prostitute also with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; yes, you have played the prostitute with them, and yet you weren’t satisfied.
29 You have moreover multiplied your prostitution to the land of merchants, to Chaldea; and yet you weren’t satisfied with this.
30 “‘“How weak is your heart,” says the Lord Yahweh, “since you do all these things, the work of an impudent prostitute;
31 in that you build your vaulted place at the head of every way, and make your lofty place in every street, and have not been as a prostitute, in that you scorn pay.
32 “‘“A wife who commits adultery! Who takes strangers instead of her husband!
33 People give gifts to all prostitutes; but you give your gifts to all your lovers, and bribe them, that they may come to you on every side for your prostitution.
34 You are different from other women in your prostitution, in that no one follows you to play the prostitute; and whereas you give hire, and no hire is given to you, therefore you are different.”’
35 “Therefore, prostitute, hear Yahweh’s word:
36 ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness uncovered through your prostitution with your lovers; and because of all the idols of your abominations, and for the blood of your children, that you gave to them;
37 therefore see, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you have taken pleasure, and all those who you have loved, with all those who you have hated. I will even gather them against you on every side, and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.
38 I will judge you, as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
39 I will also give you into their hand, and they will throw down your vaulted place, and break down your lofty places. They will strip you of your clothes, and take your beautiful jewels. They will leave you naked and bare.
the government will rest on his shoulders, describing the coming kingdom of Jesus with justice and righteousness forever
6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
Jesus will smash the nations like a clay pot with his iron scepter
1 Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath:
6 “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
7 I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message was the continuation of a series on resurrection, picking up at the third aspect Brian had introduced the week before: the new assignment believers will share when Jesus returns to establish his kingdom on earth. The conversation moved from the familiar concept of new life, through the idea of a new body, into territory that was newer for most people in the room, ruling and reigning with Jesus over a literal, governmental kingdom. It was a wide-ranging dialogue as much as a sermon, with the congregation pushing back, asking questions, and making connections throughout.
What was said
Brian opened by asking the room to name everyday examples of resurrection, things that die and come back to life, before applying any Bible to it. People offered the regrowth of land after a wildfire in Tasmania, urban renewal, and the way yeast blooms in warm milk. The point was that God planted the concept of resurrection in the world around us, and that concept finds its full meaning when applied to Jesus and to the Christian life.
From there Brian moved to the parable of the talents in Luke 19, focusing on the reward the king gives the faithful servant: authority over ten cities. He noted that of all the things the master could have given, the reward was governmental, leadership at the level of cities. He read this as a direct window into what the new assignment looks like when Jesus returns, not retirement or a spiritual prize, but real ruling and reigning alongside him.
Isaiah 9 came next, the passage read at Christmas about the child born to us and the government resting on his shoulders. Brian pointed out that most people read it seasonally and miss its weight. He described a right-now fulfillment, Jesus is already king of kings, and a not-yet fulfillment, the day he literally governs the nations of the earth, mediating, disciplining, deciding, the lion of Judah rather than the colt he rode into Jerusalem.
That passage opened into a long and honest conversation about where the church stands in relation to government and political engagement. Brian's answer was that this is a tension to manage, not a problem to solve in either direction. He used the image of D-Day: the beachhead has been established, the enemy's grip is broken, but the war is not over. We live between those two moments, and wisdom means knowing when to put a foot down and when to wait, taking the cue from how Jesus himself lived under Roman occupation.
Someone pressed further and asked whether the church has a responsibility to speak into things like war or the life of a baby. Brian said Christianity was never meant to be a personal belief system confined to Sunday, but an all-encompassing worldview that shapes every part of life, including votes, what you watch, how you spend your time, and what causes you champion. He added a caution though: the things God puts on one person's heart may not be what he puts on another's, and the trouble comes when passion for one cause gets used to measure someone else's faith.
The passage from Isaiah landed on the phrase, of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. Brian drew the connection between seeing Jesus govern the nations someday and recognising his leadership now, because the people who will steward authority in that coming kingdom are the ones being shaped by surrender to him today. The character being formed in us now is exactly what equips us for what is coming.
Brian closed by turning the whole conversation toward stewardship, the breath in your lungs, your vote, your time, your money. If the coming kingdom shapes how we live now, then nothing we have is really ours to spend however we like. The offering was framed inside that same logic: returning to God a portion of what was always his, practiced surrender ahead of a much larger surrender still to come.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
Pick up an angel tree tag when they arrive next Sunday and buy a gift for a kid in the Jackson community who needs one.
Read through one of the gospels this week with the specific lens of how Jesus responded to the Roman government occupying his world.
Think of one area of your life you have kept separate from Jesus's leadership and ask him what he has to say about it.
When you catch yourself blaming the church, a pastor, or the government for cultural problems, press into Jesus more intentionally instead of pointing outward.
Mark Christmas Eve at 6:30 on Town Square on your calendar and plan to be there for Tribe Christmas.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Brian talked about resurrection showing up all around us in nature, in cities, in a bowl of dough waiting to bloom. Where have you seen something that looked like death turn into new life outside of a church context, and what did it stir in you?
Brian described the moment he realized he knew Jesus had paid it all but had never actually received it, never opened the gift. Can you remember a time when you knew something was true in your head but had not yet let it land in your life?
La iglesia comenzó con un tiempo de adoración y oración en el que Brian Hunter reflexionó sobre la gracia de Dios: que él perdona nuestros pecados y los olvida para siempre, como dice Hebreos 8. Se leyó también un pasaje de Ezequiel 16 que describe cómo Dios encuentra a su pueblo en su estado más vulnerable y lo viste con honor y dignidad en lugar de dejarlo en su vergüenza. Varios miembros de la congregación compartieron pensamientos y palabras de aliento durante ese tiempo.
El mensaje principal de Brian continuó una serie sobre la resurrección. Usando ejemplos del mundo natural, como la regeneración de un bosque después de un incendio y la levadura que cobra vida en el pan, explicó que Dios sembró la idea de la resurrección en toda la creación. Luego desarrolló tres aspectos de lo que él llama "el nuevo encargo" que recibirán los creyentes: una vida nueva, un cuerpo nuevo y una asignación nueva. Esta semana se enfocó en la idea de que los seguidores de Jesús gobernarán con él cuando regrese a establecer su reino en la tierra. Usando la parábola de los talentos y el pasaje de Isaías 9, Brian mostró que ese gobierno futuro de Jesús no será autoritario sino humilde y justo, como cuando él lavó los pies de sus discípulos.
La congregación participó activamente en la conversación, tocando temas como el papel de la iglesia en asuntos políticos, la libertad de la adicción como imagen de resurrección, y cómo vivir hoy como embajadores del reino que viene. Brian usó la imagen de una cuerda estirada entre dos extremos para describir la tensión que los creyentes deben sostener: actuar con autoridad en el presente sin olvidar que el cumplimiento pleno llegará cuando Jesús vuelva.
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Pasajes bíblicos mencionados:
Hebreos 8 (el nuevo pacto, el perdón de los pecados)
Ezequiel 16:6-13 (Dios cubre y restaura a su pueblo)
Proverbios (el justo cae siete veces y se levanta)
Lucas 19:17 (parábola de los talentos, autoridad sobre diez ciudades)
Isaías 9:6-7 (el niño nacido, el gobierno sobre sus hombros)
Romanos 13:1 (no hay autoridad sino la que Dios establece)
Mateo 28:18 (toda autoridad me ha sido dada)
Salmos 2 (el Señor quebrará a las naciones con vara de hierro)
Read the full transcript9,924 words
Let's get started. Just thank him. Just take a minute and just thank him for Jesus. We We We you the the name of place and worship you freely. Thank Thank for you for this place that we get to live in and call home.
Thank you for your grace. We couldn't earn it or deserve it, and you paid it all. We wanna be a people who when we mess up are quick to run to you and ask for forgiveness. Let us not abuse your grace, your overwhelming grace and love, God. We just tell you we love you this morning.
Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your grace and your hope that comes from only you, that even death, hell, and the grave has lost its sting. Let us live a life worthy of what you did on the cross. Let us not compromise even though the whole world around us may look like. No matter what the world looks like, Lord, we wanna be set apart because you said that we were worth it because of what you did on the cross.
Oh, how great the chasm between us before you did that for us. How great the chasm. The wisdom my living hope. Praise you, Lord. Just tell him, lift your song to him.
Oh, I praise you, Lord. You are way. Yeah. Oh, you are way. Yeah.
You don't know what to say to him, just tell him, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. I love you. Thank you.
You. We We run to you. We run to you. No matter how far away we are, Lord, you are just one glance of our eyes away. Thank Yes, Lord.
Maybe there's sin in your life right now
that you need to ask him to forgive you of. Maybe you feel a million miles away from him and he's it just feels like he's distant. He's not distant today. Let me tell you that. He is not distant.
If you feel distant from him, it's because there is sin in your life that is separating you from him, and he made a way in this very moment for you to be forgiven and be close to him. You just say, you see everything. You know where I have walked that has not been pleasing in your sight. Would you forgive me? And then call it what it is.
Would you forgive me for would you forgive me, Lord? Your word says that there is a way that seems right to man, but it leads to death. There may be some paths that you're walking this morning that seem right to you because everyone around you is doing it, but I tell you and the Lord tells you it leads to death because it is not his way. And his way is the best because it brings the most life. It's what's best for you, not to keep you from something.
If anything, it's to keep you from harm, from heartache, from danger. Lord, forgive me this morning. Where I have walked that has not been pleasing to you, maybe it's my mindset or my thoughts. Maybe the Lord would put a word on your heart to share if he's speaking to you today. He moves that way in the body.
Yes,
sir.
Yeah. Hebrews eight talks about the new covenant that arrived with Jesus, and I just love what it says. It's it's for it's foretelling of this covenant that will come. And Hebrews eight says, for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. That that's how powerful the blood of Jesus is.
It's forgiven our wickedness and it doesn't just say that he'll like just barely let us into heaven because of Jesus. He says, I will remember their sins no more because of the blood of Jesus. And man, if that doesn't bring joy to you this morning, like that the blood of Jesus was so powerful that it came through space and time, especially as we enter this season of Advent. God, we just remember what you did for us by sending your son to be born of a virgin for us. Because you had a plan to get us back.
We were gone. We were so far gone. And you sent your one and only son to die for us so that we can hold fast to the truth of this promise that you will remember our sins no more. Yeah. Father, I thank you for your forgiveness.
I thank you for the blood of Jesus that you have blotted out our sin. So we plead the blood of Jesus this morning. Yes. We know we're sinful. Sinful.
Father, we know that there's no way we could ever be right with you except through the blood of Jesus. We plead the blood of Jesus over our lives this morning. Thank you, Jesus.
While you're reading that, I just was thinking, you know, I believed all this stuff in the Bible. I was raised going to church, but I never realized, maybe someone had told me somewhere along the road, but I didn't hear it, that there was something I needed to do. I knew that Jesus did it on the cross, but there was something I needed to do. I needed to actually open that gift. You know, like, I knew that the gift was there.
I just I thought, well, I guess, one day, I die, I'll just my my good works and my bad works will be put on a scale, and it will be judged. I didn't know that I could have hope this side and that I could be sealed. All I had to do was apply that gift, apply the blood of Jesus to my life and say, Lord, you're the king of my life. You're the king. I don't make my own choices anymore.
I ask you, Lord, what what do you have for me? It's that in that surrender of just relationship. And so maybe you're in this room, I don't know if this is for someone in this room, but you want that, but you just never knew that there was something you needed to do. You hear like he paid it all and he did, but we have to receive that. We have to apply it because he's a gentleman.
He doesn't force it on us. He didn't he could have made us robots that had no choice. Like, we just we just, you know, followed him and but he didn't do it that way. He gave us a choice because he wanted our whole heart. And if you're in this room today and you know that he doesn't own your whole heart today, you can give that to him.
You just say, Jesus, you're the one that paid it all. I surrender to you. I give you everything. Be the leader of my life. I'm done trying to do it on my own.
The ways of man that seem good can lead to death, but your ways lead to life everlasting. Lee, did you have some?
When we were singing about the fact that the Lord is our hope, He wants to remind us that our minds are being renewed. And in the process of renewal, he's releasing. We're receiving. Creative ideas full of wisdom and understanding all for the promotion of his kingdom to glorify him. And for those of us that have a hard time understanding, how do I step into the truth?
How do I acquire the truth of these words that God has just spoken to us? He simply says, by faith. By faith, I choose to step into the truth. I choose to acquire. I choose to get under the covering of what I have just spoken to you in Jesus' name.
Amen. I
feel like this is a theme that's this is a scripture that came to my mind as we were singing our first worship song. And I'm sorry. I'm just getting my voice back. I've been sick for, like, two weeks. But, Lord, open my vocal cords and open the hearts of your people to receive this word.
This this scripture was really pointing to me as a teenager when I first got saved. And it's in Ezekiel 16, And the the Lord says, then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood. When I was your foe, still your love fought for me. And as you lay there in your blood, I said to you, live. Live.
Because don't you know that life with Christ is truly living? I made you grow like a plant to the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. K, boys. Close your ears.
Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked. How many of you guys know that in our sins and when we're vulnerable, we are stark naked before him? Our sins are laid bare before him. And later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, or two rings, in my case.
Anyway, sorry. Earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were a fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil, and the finest flour, and you became very beautiful and rose to be a queen or king.
So, thank you. Thank you that you don't just take off our old filthy garments of sin, but give us a robe of righteousness instead. Stead. That you crown us with glory and honor, and you replace sorrow for joy. The trade off is so, so uneven.
And we thank you that for the joy set before you endured the cross, scorning and shame, and then sat down at the right hand of God to be our intercessor, our king, our advocate. We thank you that the trade off is so much better than what we have to offer. We love you and we thank you, Lord. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Renee, beautiful handling of that scripture. Beautiful.
You. Good. You're good. Oh, we just sing your praises today of your goodness, of your greatness, Lord. And it doesn't end here.
It doesn't end here even on this earth. We will rule and reign with you when you return. There is so much hope in you. Even if everything around us is just a pile of garbage, Lord. This world, Lord, it seems like what's on our right and on our left, Lord.
We fix our eyes on you. There's so much hope, so much hope in you, so much hope in you. We just praise you today, and we thank you for who you are. For any heart in this room that needs hope today, would you breathe your hope, breathe your life? We speak hope over ourselves today, over each other.
Thank you that we get to come together like this and sing to you. Let our hearts sing like this always, every moment of every day with every breath. We tell you we love you, Jesus. Prepare our hearts for what you want us to learn today. We pray today that you would reveal something new to us by your spirit.
Through Brian's word today, we love you. Speak to us in Jesus name and everybody said, Amen. Good worship today. Awesome. Go fill up your coffee, get out your bible.
It's Hot like cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven. Have a hot cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven handmade by Leah. Don't miss it.
Just a book. You know, they still use them as churches, but it they weren't you know, they're just like, oh, that's a part of our history. Yeah. Museums. Australia is not warm enough to have the touchstones and perspective.
And they're already wow. I can't wait to hear more. Oh, Britt, what do you need from me? Oh. You can go live.
Alright. We're back. Alright. There's one spot here. Whoo.
So good to see everybody this morning. I want to welcome our livestream family that's watching, whether you're watching Jackson or down in Bondurant or other exotic locales. So good to have y'all with us this morning. Adrian, great job for leading worship. This guy right here.
Whoo. So good. And I don't know. Amanda's dead. Charlie, I don't know what you brought this morning, but, whoo, that was good in here today.
Thank you, Charlie. Say hi to Sarah for us, your beautiful wife who is at home this morning. Guys, how are we doing? The nay nay, so good to see you. You get your pilot's license?
Is that good? Flying the friendly skies? I am. Woo. Good.
Did you fly here this morning?
I'm gonna be flying out of here.
Oh, like on your own?
Not quite yet.
Okay. Alright. Alright. Alright. I'm excited to hear more about that.
So good to see everybody. Everybody have a good Thanksgiving. So good. Alright. Good.
I had a great Thanksgiving. Selah was back from school. So Selah, Kai, and our family, we're all together. Selah and I
Selah's back from school. She's been
We have but soon, Selah and I World Cupped our brains out together. Lot of great soccer games. Don't tell me any scores of today's games. We gotta keep close tabs on that. If you remember, the last time that we were together, it already feels like it's been many moons ago.
But last time that we were together, we were slowly but thoughtfully and thoroughly working our way through one week's message on a conversation that we've been having about the resurrection. And for those of you who are just joining us, you're part of the livestream, I've got Corey here with me that's just off camera. But he's he's providing strong moral support right right here. So if you remember, last time we were together, we were talking about this idea and concept of the resurrection. And for those of you who've been walking with Jesus for a long time, it is a concept, a precept, a principle, a foundation stone that is so bedrock to our faith that it can even be maybe a little bit difficult to describe.
For example, Colin, I'm glad that you're here today. How's the internship going over Wind River? It's indefinite. Indefinite, interminable, and ever so sweet. I can't wait to hear more stories about it.
So imagine Colin's hanging out with a friend and they're like, Hey, I want to know more about this Jesus guy. All right, let's get together. Let's meet at Pikas. I don't know why I keep picking Pikas. My one of my favorite spots, and let's talk about it.
And the first thing they ask you is, okay, what's this what's the deal with resurrection? Like, tell me all about it. Where would you even start? What would you say? Where would you go?
The idea of resurrection in the world around us that we live in is a concept that people have familiarity with, but it might be difficult for them to connect the dots. So, we always want to start where people are at. The idea of resurrection, something that dies and then comes back to life. Apart from any God stuff in the Bible, if you were to explain to somebody the concept of resurrection, What example might come to your mind that you might tell somebody about? Something that dies and then comes back to life.
They're like, what is this idea of resurrection? You start with what would you start with? I'd love to to hear your thoughts and ideas. Gretchen's got the mic. The mic is not for us in this room, so you won't hear your voice be amplified.
It's for our livestream family and our discipleship campuses that are that are tuning in with us today. So that's what the mic is for. What would you what would come to your mind? Janet, here it comes.
Good job, Greg, Janet. I think
of resurrection of the land after a fire.
Come on. Okay. Tell us a little more.
Well, we were just in Tasmania, and they had huge fires about three years ago.
That's right.
And I was afraid there wouldn't be anything there. And the regrowth, the and a lot of trees don't grow until there's a fire. And then the seeds are released with the fire, and then there's regrowth of a whole new generation of trees. Man. And the flowers and shrubs, everything came back.
So to me, it was like a resurrection of a scorched land.
I love it. I love it. So people might not you're having a conversation at Pikas, people might not know who this Jesus guy is or the bible or any of that, but they can picture if they haven't experienced it personally, when a fire sweeps through, the destruction and death that it causes, but then new life springs up after the fire. Oh, that's a You good
see that around Jenny Lake.
Jenny Lake, Yellowstone. Yep. Yep. Oh, that's really good. What would be another example that springs into your mind of this idea of death and then new life?
What comes to your mind?
I I guess, like, after, like, maybe, like, when you tear down, an old building, or, like, maybe, like, turn into, like, like, an empty parking lot into, a new development that's prosperous and has new life?
Oh. Alright. Urban development and urban renewal. Taking something that is has served its purpose and passed on and then breathing new life into it for new families and new community to happen in there. Oh, that's a good one.
That's a good one. Leah's got one.
Oh, so I've been baking.
Go figure. And so, like the yeast. Right? So when you take the yeast, it's not gonna bloom until you put something with it. And so when you said that, it's sort of like it's dead.
But when you put it in warm milk at the right temperature, know, aka Christ, then it just like explodes. And it has this beautiful life. And it's just very rapid.
Something that's seemingly inert and might not have any life to it. Oh, man. That is a really good example. So the idea and concept of resurrection is all around us. God planted the concept of resurrection in the world all around us.
And if we were to continue to use our imaginations, I know that we could come up with three dozen more examples of this idea of resurrection. So it's all around us, something that we're familiar with, but then it becomes beautiful and fulfilled when the idea and concept of resurrection gets applied to Jesus and to our Christian walk. And we talked about there were three aspects to resurrection that we talked about. The first one was this idea of a new life. When we invite Jesus into our heart, we become, according to Corinthians, a new creation, that the old has died and passed away.
Now, your earth suit still looks like it did before you got saved, but what came alive, what seemed to be inert, but blossomed and bloomed with life on the inside, is God's kind of Zoey life giving us a brand new life. We talked about a new life, we talked about a new body to be able that's ideally suited for the new assignment that we will be given when Jesus returns. And last time that we got together in here, we were talking about this idea of a new assignment. And if you're new to Tribe, if you haven't been before or it's been a while, because of the venue that we're in, it's just so conducive for us to have a conversation about these things. And so I really want you to talk to me.
Throw your hand up, ask a question, make a connection, have a comment. I want this to be a dialogue instead of just a monologue up here. Can we do
that? Yes.
I love your input, and I love what you have to say, and I love your questions. Alright? And here we go.
On the resurrection, it's like living a life of addiction, and you're you with that comes spiritual death, and you're you're quite likely dying, obviously. And then finding a connection with God inside you, and now you're res you know, you become resurrected and live a brand new life with a brand new healed spirit.
Freedom from addiction, freedom from bondage. And just as a person is on their journey to freedom and they've experienced and tasted that new life, because of human nature there's a tendency to fall back into those old ways. And one glance back at that old life does not mean that you have forfeited the beautiful new future. The Bible says in Proverbs, the righteous man falls down seven times, but he what?
Back up.
You just get back up. The Bible says that his mercies are new every day. Yesterday was in the past. Who was it that had that verse that that he has forgotten? Hebrews.
Like, hit delete button. Emptied out the trash bin on your computer. You ain't never getting those files back again. That's what god thinks of our sin because it's been appropriately dealt with by the cross. Victory.
Victory. Victory. Victory. New life. Resurrection.
Uh-oh. And we're back into worship. Yeah. That's good. I didn't even need to I didn't even need to to prompt you.
So today, with this idea of a new assignment, would you go to that slide, Christian, please, of the three aspects of this new assignment? And this perhaps will jog your memory. Of our new assignment, there are three things that three aspects of our new assignment. When Jesus returns to planet Earth to set up his kingdom that, according to the Bible, will last perhaps literally, but certainly figuratively for a long long long long long time. A millennial reign, a thousand year reign of Jesus on planet Earth, we will be helping to renew the Earth.
How many of you remember that's where that's as far as we got last time renewing the earth. Today our conversation for a short little while is going to revolve around this idea of ruling with Jesus. We will rule. We will have leadership, influence, and even potentially at the governmental level of Jesus's kingdom that he will establish when he returns to planet earth. Now maybe, church that you've come from, y'all talk about this all the time and you're like, Yeah, got it, review.
I would venture to guess that for most of you, the conversation that we have been having and as we continue the conversation today, it's going to be some new territory or some new terrain for you. But here's the really cool thing: it's been in your Bible all along. It's been there this whole time. So let's look at a few of those places. I don't have an address that we'll put up here on the screen for each of these verses, but you're such good note takers.
You can take notes, and you can write these down, and let's examine what Jesus has to say about this idea of ruling with him. The first place that I would like you to turn is Luke chapter 19. Luke 19. Now this is a parable that Jesus tells, a parable of the talents. And instead of reading all of the parable of the talents, we're going to get right to the punchline of this parable.
Luke chapter 19 and would somebody please just read one verse out loud for me? Verse 17.
And he said to him, well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing. You are to be in authority over 10 cities.
Of all the things in this parable that the king could have rewarded the servant with, you will receive ten extra vacation days. You will receive tenfold in your 04/2001 k. You will receive 10 extra Dogecoins. Of all of the things that was for Joe. Of all of the things that the master could have rewarded the servant with, we see here in this parable that there is a a a twofold reward.
Number one, leadership and influence and it's at the level of governmental level of cities. Now we talked about this several months ago as we were just kind of skipping along on some other topic, and I'll never forget. I'll always will read this parable and I will always think of Nancy Irwin who was like, Oh Lord, I had two kids and that was plenty. 10 cities? Oh, no thank you.
That was a paraphrase. Oh, it was? Don't share this podcast with her. That would no? No explanation, David.
Just some of them know. Okay. So this idea of of governmental influence as a part of our new assignment, I bet if we were to read the temperature of the room, we would have a full spectrum of people's responses to what Jesus just said there. Everything from, yes, I love leadership and I love leading and I love in a not in a braggadocious way, but I love being in charge to, ugh, that sounds like a lot of work. Like, I can just, like, barely keep my bed made and now I'm gonna be in charge of 10 cities and, ugh, that just seems like a lot of work.
What's making your bed is overrated?
You're just gonna get right back into it. I don't tie my shoes after I take them off when I get home. Let's look at another passage as we continue to this is just sinking in for some of you. Let's look at another passage as we continue to develop this idea of Jesus ruling and reigning and us cooperating and participating with his rule and reign on planet earth. Let's turn to Isaiah.
So hang a left. We're gonna look at Isaiah chapter nine, and this is a passage that will be familiar to all of you who've ever gone to church just on Christmas. Hey. You've already beat your your normal stats if you're here this Sunday, and you normally only come at Christmas and Easter, Justin.
We'll make sure Carla marks that down on your chart. Isaiah chapter nine. Let's start reading in would somebody begin reading in verse six? And let's go let's go until we run out of steam here because there's there's a lot there. Isaiah six.
Excuse me. Isaiah nine starting in verse six.
For to us, a child is born. For
to us, child is born. To us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
Pause. So we've all read that verse at Christmas. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. We've we've read that so many times, We've even read these next words and the government rests on his shoulders. So we've talked about two different types of fulfillment of these verses that are so familiar to us that the meaning might be missed by us.
There is a right now fulfillment that he is currently the king of kings and lord of lords. He has beaten death, hell, and the grave. There is no power. There is no authority. There is no name higher than him.
Romans thirteen:one says, there is no authority but that which God has established. And yet there is also a future, a not yet, that someday, literally, Jesus, the one who you cried out to in your moment of desperation, save me please, will come back to planet earth and the governments of the world will rest on his shoulders. He will mediate, he will arbitrate, he will decide, he will bless, he will discipline. Imagine King Jesus disciplining an entire nation.
He's gonna be busy.
He's gonna be busy. No rain for you in your country according to Scripture. That's what he says. Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? We're gonna keep reading, but let's hear a couple of comments.
One comment over there and then back up to Colin, and then we'll keep reading.
So I have I I know this is I'm stepping out but. Here we go. Bear with me.
Okay. I have a problem.
Where where are we where are we today when when we see scripture like this that the government shall be upon his shoulders? I feel like the church is asleep. What where where are we today? And why aren't we seeking, exploring God's word, and following it.
Tell me more about your question because I don't wanna presume to know where you're going with your question, but I think it's a really good one.
Well, I'm one of these who kinda like debate. I like to bring up governmental issues which I think are very relevant to the church. Okay. And yet, I see the church going, I don't wanna step on anybody's toes. I don't wanna I I don't wanna, you know, offend anybody.
And I'm like, I don't wanna step on them. I wanna stomp on them. I am just, like, fed up with people ignoring what god is clearly telling us through scripture and we are just for all practical purposes ignoring it. And I don't I don't have an answer other than I'm maybe bolder than I wanna be sometimes. I need to learn how to tactfully attack this.
Sure.
But that that that concerns me. And I would hope that everyone else is is concerned because again, we talk about the, rule of Jesus. Matthew twenty eight eighteen, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, Jesus. He is in charge. We don't act like it.
It's good. Okay. So I think the and if you recall through your memory banks, the wisest person that you know, that you can think of, maybe a grandparent or a teacher or maybe some, you know, figure, the wisest person you can think of, I believe that what makes them so wise is that they have been able to accurately decide when it comes to challenges between something that is a problem to solve or attention to manage. And many people take what you're feeling and they attack it from a problem to solve stance. Meaning either we need to be ruling and reigning right now.
The Bible says that the government will is and will and is resting on his shoulders. All that their authority in heaven on earth has been given to us. We need to the kingdom of God is forcefully advancing and violent men lay hold of it by force. We need to be implemented. Jesus lives in us.
Greater is he that lives in me than he that lives in the world. And we need to be establishing right now as our inheritance this this kingdom of the gospel. If it's a problem to solve, we need to implement it right now. If it's a problem to solve, the other side of that coin is, hey, the governments rest on his shoulders. That that that's for Jesus.
Jesus, like, when Jesus comes back, I've read about the millennial reign. I read that according to Psalms two, he'll smash the nations like a like a clay pot with his iron scepter. He gonna take care of all of that. I'll just keep I'll just, keep my head down and let Jesus worry about anything, political. Problem to solve.
I think both of those can lead you have the potential to lead you into a ditch. I believe a better approach for that thing that you're talking about is attention to manage. Attention to manage. We are living in this time of tension. The Allied troops have established a beachhead at Normandy.
The ramps have dropped, blood was spilled, but the the the iron grip of Hitler and Nazis was broken the moment those first brave soldiers touched down on Sword or Juno. And it took some while for the actual fulfillment of that to happen when Allied troops, Russian soldiers, stormed the eagle's nest and Hitler did he hang himself or shoot himself before he was actually captured? He did himself in.
And
so right now, we're living between the beachhead and the death of Hitler. We're living in this period where Jesus has come, but he is coming again. That's why the human heart cries for Maranatha. He has come and he will come again. It is a tension to manage between we need to be very politically active and walk in the authority that we've been given, exercised through our flesh, through our writing of laws, and coming again.
When he comes, he's going to really set it up right. Does that answer help at all, Clay? It's attention to manage. Walking in wisdom means knowing when to to put your foot down or to plant a flag and when to be like, I'm a let this roll.
Are you saying tension? T e n s I o n or attention? A t t e n t I o
n? Tension.
T e n
s I
o n. Okay.
Like this.
Tension to manage. Got it. No. No.
I just because he likes that. He's he wants to act it out.
Attention. So if Corey lets go, I get pulled over into this ditch. Okay. Okay? If Janet lets go, I get pulled over into this ditch.
Oh, that's so good.
Attention to manage.
Hey. So let me just say say I think talking about tension that we need to keep our eyes focused on, Lee, I need to press into Jesus as opposed it's church's fault, it's the pastor's fault, it's the government's fault. That may all be true. But the way to to navigate through this tension, the way that Jesus wants me to is I have to press in to Jesus more than I have ever pressed in before even though I'm aware of what's on each side of the tension line.
Yeah. That's a good point. And we can also take our cue from Jesus. Read through just pick one of the gospels, Matthew or Luke, would recommend. Read through the gospels with the glasses of Jesus living under Roman occupation.
How did Jesus respond to Roman centurions, Roman soldiers, an oppressive authoritarian, dictative government? How did he respond? And I think that will help you navigate the tension knowing that, like, someday he won't be coming the the next time he comes back, it won't be riding on a gentle coat colt, a little donkey. It gonna be a horse of war. The lion of the tribe of Judah.
Yes, Joe.
So I'm I'm curious. Is it the church's responsibility to like interact with like like the war in Ukraine or the life of a baby or that kind of stuff?
Oh, I love it. So a lot of people think of Christianity as a personal belief system of truth. Well, like I I have my truth and and I read my Bible and and I go to church, but Christianity was never ever ever ever intended to just be a religion or a personal belief system of truth, but an overall all encompassing worldview that shapes each and every single aspect of your life. The Bible says that He knows how many hairs are on our head, He knows our thoughts before we even think them. And when Jesus died on the cross, he gave all of himself for us.
So the only reasonable thing for us to do is what? Ourselves Give all to him, including our votes, including causes that we champion, including things that we put into our body, things that we the way that we dress, the way that we talk, who we interact with. That's what I you hear me say this all the time. Jesus being the boss of not just your Sunday, but the boss of your whole life. He has something to say in a way to lead you and guide you about each and every single thing.
And here's what's really cool. He knows your personality is different than Annie's personality, and he will highlight things that that fit your personality that you might care about, that's biblical, that she might not care about, that's biblical. We get into trouble when we take things that we are passionate about, that maybe the Lord has put on our heart to champion, and we try to impose those on others. What? You're not fired up about fill in the blank?
Are you even a Christian? Woah. Careful. Careful. That's why there are 88 keys on a keyboard.
You just be passionate about how Jesus leads you. You be passionate about what Jesus calls you to be passionate about, and then Connor will be passionate about Colin will be passionate about what God has called him to be passionate about, and then we just make this beautiful beautiful symphony of of music as the Holy Spirit plays the keyboard of our lives. That was really good. Let's keep reading in Isaiah. Whoo.
I'm an old man,
and I'm still a work in progress, but I give you back your sermon. Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
And back to Matt.
Back to Matt. Here we we got through a tiny little portion. Alright. Here, we're still in Isaiah.
Wait. Oh,
Colin, did you have a
Colin, were
you gonna say something also? Or you wanna belay it? You got it? You want something? You got something?
Might as well. Alright. Here we go. I just
I noticed what this verse isn't saying when it says the government will rest on his shoulders. It's not saying, you know, it's gonna be beneath his feet. Yeah. He's gonna have all authority, all power, but he's a righteous ruler, a good ruler. He rests on his shoulders to be restored and renewed to how he intends it, how it should be.
Well, his enemies will be made his footstool. Right. But the government you know the purpose of of oh, let's not get into the purpose of government. But but I love what you're seeing in that. He is gentle.
He is humble. The first will be last. He he established a precedent of serving. He took off his his nice fancy clothes. He put on a dish towel apron around his waist, and he washed the feet of his disciples, even Judas who was about to betray him, and said, see what I'm doing?
This is the example. This is how I want you to lead. Oh my goodness. That guy. That guy.
What's it gonna be like to have a world leader who is humble, who is just in his decisions
And strong.
And strong and won't take no crap and won't and won't fall for any shenanigans. He'll see right through it, and he'll call it out. Send the mic back that way. But this is why we need encounter with him now, so that for those of us who are alive, when Jesus returns and he establishes government, we're gonna be like, oh, what he's doing with Cameroon? He did that in my own heart, Like a long time ago.
So what I see him doing there, that makes a lot of sense. That's my Jesus. He did that in my heart. Man, that was that oh, that hurt. But, man, it was for my good.
What I see him doing with the nations, people, not everybody gonna like it, but it's good. We'll be able to recognize his leadership and authority in the nations because it's been exerted. We've submitted and surrendered to it in our own hearts and life.
Okay. I'll try not to derail this much. But I feel like this is very pertinent to what we've been saying, what I've been wanting to say is that the whole both and, now and future, you know, you talked about it like Jesus, you know, now and future, Jesus, you know, both and, but also the church as a reflection of Christ. I mean, we've been given the same power, the resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead and we are called the the word for church in New Testament is ekklesia which is a governmental authority. It's a it's used to describe a community of people who have authority on the earth to change things.
We've been given the keys to the kingdom. We've been given the power to loose and bind. We are his arm here on the planet. And the I think the issue that Clay was touching on is the fact that we've kind of taken our eyes off the prize and lost our our purpose. Like, we've turned to, oh my gosh, I have to build a retirement plan.
Mhmm. I have to, you know, find a home to live in. Like, we've taken our eyes off of the goal, which is to win as many souls to Christ as possible. So it starts by what Lee says, by working on our own walk and growing close to the Lord and hearing what he says for ourselves and then for our sphere of influence, but then getting together with our people and our team and finding out what he has to say to the churches and what we are our plan of action right now in this time, in this day and age, where we are placed right now and and enacting that.
I love what you're saying because our leadership team is constantly like, hey good word be but how does that how can that apply to our tribe theme Monday morning? And I love that they are always reminding me of like, I might come across something, like, really good and juicy in the Bible. I get just so rich and meaty, but then we miss or it's difficult to make the connection to Monday morning application, but you just you just said it beautifully. We need to keep the end in mind that directs our steps today. We're gonna be people we're gonna be people of of influence and authority.
We have opportunity right now today to be making decisions to have our character conformed into the image of Christ because of what's coming. Yeah. What is all of this unto? And you just said it beautifully. Let's start to land the plane by just trying to With The mercy started reading in one hour.
Yes. With with that verse. But but this is family. And the the discussion is just so rich and and beautiful. And I can see so many of you, like, like, leaning forward and engaged and your wheels are turning and that's what I love way more than like getting through all the stuff and the things.
So let's read just to verse the end of verse seven.
Alright. I'll go from the top
one. We go. I like it. Take a fresh run at it.
For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given, shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Where's the wait?
Jesus, give us a glimpse through this verse, verses that we've talked about today, more verses that we'll cover. Give us a glimpse of your coming kingdom and our role in that. Jesus. Because when we have a glimpse of what's coming, it impacts us today and has the power to transform us today. We are already emissaries, ambassadors of your kingdom that's coming.
God, ask for a transformation in our own hearts and lives. God, ask for a transformation, the establishment of your governmental leadership in our own lives? In the lives of this church, and would that influence and authority and sweet fragrance of your humility, your justice, and your wisdom, would that spread beyond the walls of this church and the big c church in this valley to impact seats of government here in this town, in the town of Jackson, Teton County, Wilson, Kelly, Star Valley, the village, and beyond. Quick question. How many of you right now, by a volitional act of your will, are able to keep the molecular bonds of your atoms together?
Quite specific.
I mean, how basic and simple is that? Right? The breath in your lungs, the intellect, the personality personality that that you you have, have. The The fact that you woke up this morning even if your earth suit was a little hard to rouse from slumber. It's all a gift from God.
And it's intended as he places it into your hands. For a Christian, it's all about stewardship. I know that it's not mine. My life does not belong to myself. I've been crucified with Christ.
The life I live now, I live by faith in the son of God. It's all his. The breath in your lungs. The vote that you have. Where you spend your time.
The things that you watch on the Internet. How you spend your time. It all belongs to him. How would he have you use your time? How would he have you use the breath in your lungs?
Amanda's gonna come up here and and as we receive tithes and offerings, you think that money in your bank account is yours? It's all a gift from him. Yeah. But I earned it. Who gave you the skill to work that job?
Who gave you that job? Who gave you favor with that boss? All comes from him. When we worship, we return thanksgiving and praise and glory back to him. As Amanda comes to lead us in tithes and offerings, it's an opportunity to worship God again by giving back to him, returning to him a portion of our finances.
What a great example of here I am preaching your it's a great example of resurrection. The money comes out of my wallet. It's gonna die because I'm giving it away to my local church. Oh, no. God's like, oh, you've placed that in my hands so that I can bring about new life and something wonderful out of that without taking away from Amanda.
Will you come lead us in worshiping the Lord one other way?
Good job, Reign. You said everything I was gonna say. Now we just pray. Yeah. As we stay in this attitude of worship, man, I just love the Lord's character.
I love his character. I love his nature. I love that that never changes. And as we've worshiped him today with our voices through song and with the honoring of his word and we even worship him through our conversation when we talk about him. He just loves that so much.
If I heard my kids talking about me in the other room in a positive way, my heart would just leap for joy. It would be the most salubrious thing I could possibly imagine. And so I just that's your word for the week, salubrious. Bringing joy to your heart. Man, he loves it when we talk about him.
So don't let it just be a Sunday thing. And as we bring our tithe and as we give our offering today or if it's another day, whatever your rhythm is, just like we've been talking about, just think of it with that lens. It doesn't feel like you're giving anything away when you see it from the lens that the Lord wants us to see it through. It's a it's an investment into the kingdom that yields far more return than we can ever ever do on our own or with any volition of our will. And so I thank you, Father, so much.
Let's pray together as a tribe family. Lord, we just bring our tithe and we give our offering to you. Whether it's today on whatever rhythm we are, God, thank you for the opportunity that we have to practice surrender and to practice submission and to practice trust. We have to do that in so many areas of life, and you give us, an opportunity to do that when we bring our tithe. And so I just thank you for that, Lord.
I pray for every single person here and every single giver that gets to tribe their local church, that you'll just bless them and continue to show them your character and who you are through little things, through big things. Thank you, father, that you are unchanging in a world that is ever ever changing and feels like it's spiraling downwards sometimes, Lord. The high highs, the low lows, God, thank you that you are a consistent anchor for our souls, the Bible says, throughout all of it. We love you and trust you as we bring this to you today. In Jesus' name, we all say, amen.
And speaking of our tithe, the church leadership here at Tribe decides where that money goes. I mean, yes, it has to keep the lights on and pay bills and stuff, but man, we love to not just talk about giving, but to actually do it. And you can give your time, your talent, your treasure, but we are tribes giving some of their treasure this holiday season. We're not doing some of you have asked about the shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse. That deadline has come and gone.
That's something we've done in the past. But this year, we've already given a thousand dollars to Wind River Reservation and the toy drive that they were having for some of those precious kiddos. Colin, I'm sure you know some of their very faces that we Their gifts are stacked up to the ceiling. Amazing. Praise the Lord.
It's such a blessing. We also are gonna do something this season with our local kids. And in Jackson, being such a high socio economic place, you might be quite surprised at some of our families that are here and they're making it and they're making it happen the best they can and so we have an opportunity to partner with First Bee here in Jackson and they do a huge angel tree every year. And we usually just say, Lissa will tell Tanya, the pastor's wife, her there, just give us all the remaining tags. And she's like, all of the remaining tags?
There's 300. There's yep. There's 300 left. And we'll take care of that. So we've been doing that every year, and we're gonna do it again this year.
So we don't have them today, but keep your eye out for them. Probably by next Sunday, we'll have them here. And, so as a tribe family, the leadership decides some things, but that angel tree is something that you and your own family can decide. How many, if at all, that you wanna bless the kids in our community. Just a couple more quick things.
We have pecky day coming up, and I remember, Leah, you going, what's a pecky? And why are she still saying it? Stay tuned because next Sunday, December 4, pecky day is just something that it it originated from the Hunter family, and you'll hear the story next week of what it is. But it's all about God's faithfulness, and so we celebrate that every year. Every day, we celebrate God's faithfulness, but it's a very specific time where we go back and we remember how faithful the Lord has been, and we'll have some things for you next week.
And
Do wanna mention Shop
Yeah. Two more things. Shop With With a a Cop, if you've heard of that. This year,
it's
I love that I love that we do this as a community. Our dedicated policemen and policewomen go around with kids and literally just shop for Christmas presents where they wouldn't normally get to do that. And man, it's so special as a kid to be able to get something for your parents, even if it can't be, you know, the other way around. So our our brave officers go and shop. I don't know if it's better to shop with children or arrest cat guys.
It's probably about the same stress level. So tribe is gonna give $500 towards that for them to be able to buy presents and stuff. So, we're so excited about that. And then, the last thing today is this. We're gonna celebrate Christmas together.
Christmas is on a Sunday this year. That we won't have a service like this Sunday Christmas morning because nobody would be here. You guys are opening presents with your family. But the night before, like we do every year, Christmas Eve, we're gonna have tribe Christmas on Town Square again this year at 06:30. So more details about that, but just mark your calendar if you'll be around 06:30 on Town Square.
We did it last year and it was awesome. So many people were so blessed. And so what's coming up. Here at Try Brian has one more thing for you, but I'll let him come up and do that.
If you also were wondering really quickly where some of the musical genes come from, joining us was Charlie, Amanda's dad, playing the guitar today with us. Love it. So glad to have you.
Thanks, Charlie. This is good book, 1,000 Years With Jesus. There's a whole book about it. This is not in our bookstore, but I'll I'll leave it up here. As soon as we're done, I need to scoot and take Zayla to the airport, but she'll be back in two weeks.
Give her give her squeezes and hugs really quick as she leaves. We gotta we gotta race out of here. But the last thing that I wanna do so you can take a picture of this book. It's here. The last thing I wanna do is invite Carla Waters to come sit up here.
We'll see if she's in the frame. Britney will tell me if she's in the frame. Yay. So this is Carla Waters. Y'all y'all know her and her illustrious, fabulous husband Justin.
Right there. Mhmm. Infamous. That's more than famous. And Justin and Carla found their way to Jackson Hole and and the Lord led them to tribe about a year ago this time.
And instantly, their people are like, oh, they are so our frequency. They are our tribe families frequency. And when they left at the end of last spring, we cried all summer and they said, well, we'll come back. And this time when we come back, we wanna sink some longer roots into Jackson than just being a ninety day wonder. And if you're a ninety day wonder right now, still love you.
We love you. And we will hug your necks when you go and invite you to come back. But the Waters family is back and they are getting plugged into our tribe family on a leadership level as Carla is stepping in to lead our tribe kids ministry. So let's welcome her. Let's welcome her onto staff as our tribe kids ministry leader.
And what what about the Abbads? The Abbads are traveling today. They'll be back this evening just before the snow comes. But what's really cool is, like like the Lacks and like the Vedders and like many families that I can see here in this room, y'all have been with us since day one. Amanda or excuse me, Joy and Isaac have been carrying a tremendous load of tribe kids faithfully for years.
And how great is it that now Joy, with great confidence, can hand the baton to Carla and to Justin. And what's great about the Abad's is we're going to be able to give the Abad family a full two month sabbatical where Joy is not doing a single copy or or crayola project or they're just gonna get to come to church as a family as we're trying to figure out and pray through, like, what's the next seat on the bus that you wanna take here at Tribe Joy? And so let's let's welcome Carla Love her, pray for her, and she is gonna take she and her team are gonna take great care of our tribe kids as we move forward. Did I cover it?
You got it. Anything that you wanna say?
You did great.
Okay. Stand up. Stand up. Let me pray for you. I'll pray a blessing over you.
And then the hunters need to scoot out. Y'all can keep drinking some coffee and
Thank you for the cinnamon rolls, Leo.
Thank you for those cinnamon rolls. We got more to eat. Jesus, I specifically want to pray for Justin and for Carla as they step into this new role here at Tribe. They have big shoes to fill with the Abbads, but you have called them and equipped them beautifully. Thank you for the Waters family putting their yes on the table to you being the leader of their life.
And as they step into this new position, we ask for great favor and lots of volunteers to help in children's ministry. Lord Jesus, I command a blessing over each and every member of our tribe fam that's here today and those that are watching the livestream. We just ask for your favor to rest on each and every person here. Whether they've been here for decades or like little Gracie back there, they're brand new this semester. Bless them, Lord.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, the strong son of God. And everybody said Amen. Amen. I love you guys so much. I want you to have a great week and remember, you got this.
