Believers talk about the church from a defensive standpoint, right? It's like, no, we're on the We're taking this thing by And nothing can stop it, right? That's why for us, our saying is Hey, welcome to the source cast. My name is Elijah Greiner, the And if you're new with us, want Welcome to the podcast. We're excited that you're here. And what we're gonna do is we're We love Jesus. We're going to talk about how we Christ, and how we can grow in spiritually and practically. We know you're going to find journey towards Christ. And hey, I want to make a At every first Wednesday, we are new content for you on this So tune in, do all the things You gotta subscribe, you gotta follow whatever it is across all platforms. That's where we're going to be, you so that you can grow in your Today we got something special So let's jump into this episode. All right. Hey, my name is Elijah Greiner. I'm here with Pastor Marco of Um, first and foremost, just want to let you know that every first Wednesday of the month, we're going to release a source cast podcast. Um, I don't know if we have. We should put those names Source cast podcast. You're running the show, so we're just going to call it The Source cast. Um, every first Wednesday we're going to release a source cast for you. So be expectant for those, um, it'll be different interviews, um, with different people, hopefully in our community, but nonetheless, be excited every first Wednesday. Put that in your calendar. We're going to drop it for you. But today we have a special, source cast three times special. I know, I know, it's going to be It's going to be really good. Um, but the podcast theme, one liner that we came up with is every great restaurant has a simple menu. Um, you tell us all this all the Especially when you preach. Yeah. Be wary of the restaurants that have multiple different menus and cuisines. Yeah. Don't you wonder about that? Like who is in the back? Who's in the back? Like, how in the world are you Yeah, he sure is Mexican, Right, right. American. French. Come on now. Yeah, yeah. There's no way the food's gonna And he is Mexican. And he is Mexican. I for sure know that every great My people are in the back Yeah. Yeah. And it was gonna be good. I know it was going to be a Yeah. If it is Mexican, I'm good. But, like, don't tell me you can Right, right. Really? Well, you know what I mean. Favorite restaurant? Oh, uh. I Thai okay. Uh, shout out to Civili in That's my favorite spot. My wife and I go there very Let's go. Uh, in a way, I wish I was from When it comes to food, I love Let's go. I'm a typical white girl and I Chipotle is my jam. That's weird because you're I know, I know. What happened to you? I have no idea. Maybe I got it too much growing I hope your mom doesn't listen I told her you told her? I've told her as she disowned No, no. Not yet. No. Okay. But every time she comes, she'll Some good man. That is fascinating. It's very to hear Chipotle from Maybe not a true Mexican. I tell everyone I'm a coconut. Brown on the outside, white on Maybe it's because you married a That's true. And now that's true. You've changed. But she's Italian, and she loves Oh, she's Italian. And you guys love Chipotle. And we love Chipotle. All right. You know this podcast is off to Um so we have big three things Uh, we just came into the building as we are expanding the church, which has been really cool to see the formation of our space and just we'll stop at that one. How are you feeling about the Oh, it's it's incredible. Um, it's going faster than we At the same time, we've been We've been praying about this Um, it's amazing that every. I feel like every prayer and fasting time we hit some type of milestone, right? Two years ago, we were praying us to expand in to save a lot. And the story goes that they us for a year. And then last year during prayer and fasting is when we heard from them. Uh, and then we had prayed. We said, why don't we just get And that's something that's in Uh, so it's been a fascinating we're, what, eleven weeks, I And we're almost there already, Right. Uh, yeah. It's it's fascinating to me that They stall and then they pick You know, it's a it's like a church, but it's exciting. Yeah. You know. Yeah, it really is. And one thing I love seeing, and you always tell us this, like the church isn't worried about the next generation is already dead. And like, seeing all the seeing the the gym. And that we just expanded the They haven't even been in there I know, um, the faith for the Yeah. And you've already said that you So we have a school right behind And you're like, yo, let's But more than that, let's just Yeah. That'll be ours. Yeah. It has to be about the next Because if it isn't, then you you didn't accomplish much, right? If if anything ends with you, Yeah, right. And when I read the Bible, I ministry, kids ministry, young I see God of generations, right? Right. He's always talking in terms of at least three to four generations down. And if Jesus doesn't come back in the meantime, our job is to set up the next generation, right? As I said last night during that they can take it and say, cute, but we can take it from Come on. So this whole expansion really Um, you know, I was I was to be, and I'm looking around. I'm like, look, this is not for Look, I'm forty seven years old. You know what I mean? Yeah. The odds of me using the gym Yeah, but it's about the next And what's cool is that, um, the You know what I mean? And they're excited about what And so it's cool to be able to where God's going to take them. That's beautiful. I was just reading not too long end of his life, when God spared long as my life is good, that's I don't care about the next And you see what happens right They get dispersed. Yeah, it's really sad. It is sad because it's interesting you bring that up because he, um, he cried out to God for God to extend his time on earth. Yeah, he did nothing with it. Yeah. Just for him. It was almost like, look, you might as well have died right at that point. You know, you already died. The fact that you extended, that you didn't do anything right with it. Sheesh. That that preaches. Yeah, right. I've been saying this, right? That certain generations are Mhm. And it preaches right. People get upset when you say But it's like, look, if you only live with you in mind, um, you live the very short sighted life, right? You got to think about the next this thing is from generation to Absolutely. So, absolutely, I think it's also very fascinating of the big three that our first service in the building wasn't our Sunday morning. It was our Monday night prayer Yeah. Um, and so right now we're in we're about to finish up, but by have already completed it. Um, how how do you feel? How's your fasting going? And what are you sensing in the I love this time of the year. Um, because of what he does for me personally, but also what he does for the community in general. Mhm. Um, I really believe it sets the Right. And even years to come. Um, personally, um, this year I feel like God's really like And I think, again, he's ahead Right? I was telling one of our leaders the other day, I said, When God is molding you and shaping you, he's not just thinking about the moment. He's thinking about what's Right, right. And so I feel personally, uh, a very, uh, deep sense of humility through this process of expansion and trying to to own the place and set up the next generation. Um, I think God is saying, you you know, and I will honor you Yeah. Um. and corporately, uh, it's and have that sense of unity for in and through us. Uh, I can sense it, like last to us, you know, agreeing to buy this community to say, look, And, um, what we've experienced because I think we do take We we we put God first. You know, it's not just a say. It's a reality that this without prayer, without us him and trust in him and us, but also he's propelling us whatever future looks like. You know, and I love how you prayer and fasting, we were came true this season. And then. No. How'd you say it? The last prayer and fasting. We got a word. And then this one, we saw the And now we're believing now for Yeah. Um, I was reading Fasting by He was talking about that. That he was like, when you fast, you're you're going to see the reward. When you seek the Lord, he's that you've been praying for. And that faith is just like It's an ember. And now it's on fire. Yeah. And go. And we're seeing that reality. Yeah. There's something powerful about Right. Uh, it's almost like saying, God. Yeah. You know what I mean? That's what I love about I feel so depleted physically, It's almost saying, like, look, Right. It has to be you, right? You have to come and fill the Right? You have to come and feel the But also at the same time, it's nothing, you are exposed, right? You know what I mean? And when you're exposed, you Try to hide or just say, look, And so come and do something with with this lack that we have. And again, it's the beauty of look, we are nothing. We are humbling ourselves. You are everything. Come fill us and come lead us Absolutely personally, but also Yeah. Yeah. You know? Absolutely. Um, I've never been. So it's funny how we always say, really hungry just to cry out to And so this year, I was extremely tangible when my my king stomach, as Franklin would say, kings gut every time he would grumble and be like, God, I am so hungry, I want a cheeseburger. But Lord, I really do want you And every time it's amazing what Like that shift in perspective like, wow, he is the bread of life. He is the living water. And I do get filled up and it's Yes, my body's still hungry, but is what happened. My my gut would shut up. Yeah. And it's amazing. It's like a spiritual moment. Like God's like, okay, I'll take Yeah. Like, just keep coming after me. Um, I like how, uh, Richard discipline. It says your stomach is a Yeah. You know. And so that's how I look at it. I said, you need to shut up. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Like. Pipe down. We're good. Yeah. All right. Like you're not gonna run the But I think that's the beauty, Like, your stomach is screaming, And your spirit is like, no, you You know what I mean? So here's that tension right between your flesh and your spirit. And I think, again, who do you feed the most, right? Your spirit or your flesh? So I see it as a spoiled brat. That's how I talk to my stomach. It's like, ah, here comes the You know what I mean? Just pipe down. Relax. We good, we good. You can handle it. And so the third thing of the going to the Super Bowl. Oh, hello. Now, now now we're talking. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Now we're talking. You know, um, it may sound crazy to people, but I see everything as spiritual. You know, the Patriots winning. To me, it's spiritual. It's like there's something call New England, right? You know that winning spirit is Like the last couple of years To see our our team that I have that spoiled kid because we had we had the dynasty and we were They used to be a time where the We could be down twenty one, you I'd be like, we're good. You know what I mean? We're going to win this because Yeah. And and then to go to that drought, uh, I don't know how the rest of America feels, but, like, everybody's mad at us because it was only a two year drought. So everyone's going for the You got the Cowboys who've been on a thirty five year drought, right? It was only two years for us. We're back in the Super Bowl. You can't tell me it's not You know with the Patriots. Yeah. Here's the difference. Kraft knows his role. Jerry Jones can't stay out. Oh now you're preaching. Yeah yeah. You know what I mean. It's true. You got to stay in your lane. Yeah. You know, I was, uh. I was messing with one of our Stevie, who's getting ready to So I'm going to give him a shout Oh, yeah. And, uh, him and Shawn did a Right. Shawn lately wants to sing. Right. And I love Shawn. Shout out to Shawn, I love You know, but I love Shawn the rapper better than Shawn the singer. Yeah, not a bad singer. Especially with all the tune, Yeah. Anyone can sing. But I was telling him, I said, The singer wants to be the The rapper wants to be the Right. The owner wants to be the Right. The worship leader wants to The preacher wants to lead The actor wants to be a rapper. The rapper wants to be an actor. So here we go. Like no one wants to be in their Right, right. You know. So the moral story is stay in Go, Patriots. Absolutely. So this is the first year. Actually stay through the season and watch football from start to finish. And I'm a Cowboys fan only So it's been a very sad season. I kind of want to jump ship, but at the same time I'm like, I can't. We're taking applications. Yeah, yeah. Fan applications. Right. You've lived in New England now? It's true for a few years. How many years you've been here I've been going on ten, ten Yeah. That's it. Look, it's about time. Yeah. Mariah's trying to get me. I'm like, Mariah, I gotta be Yeah, I gotta be true. Listen, you gotta raise your Yeah. So right now is the time for you kids can have a victory mindset. You know, they can't be, uh, You know, cowboy fans are Right. And they tell you every year it better on the New England side Oh, man. Um, I found this. I found this quote from a book Charles H. Spurgeon. And in there he was he wrote or And this was in one of his The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. And, man, we are in, in a revival, especially at our church. Um, and it's amazing to see how many people do show up to our prayer meetings. How many people really not just You're talking about last night Again, it wasn't as full as it we had a big snowstorm, right? Um, but the faith in the room on God's heart for the nation, Because you say we have this mandate for the South Coast region, not just for New Bedford or Brockton, but the South Coast region. And what a powerful move we are How do you feel we got to this Um, again, I go back to the experiencing is an anomaly, and is a Spirit of God and there's a seeking that spirit to continue Again, I always gauge our church based on our prayer services, right. Because, you know, Sunday is And we being a church for the in church, we're always attracting new people. We want to come see what this is Come and see. Right. That's that's really our motto. But at the end of the day, we're reality of God's presence and And so for me, it's like, okay, come to prayer now, you're is all about. You know what I mean? That we're after the presence of purposes of God, that we're not You know what I mean? That there's a cute service, but without the presence of God, who are we and what do we have, actually? So I always gauge it by that. And it's been a really powerful thing to see the last couple of weeks. Are people really coming and pressing into his will and his purpose? Because again, um, prayer is the lifeline of a believer and the lifeline of a community of people who are dead serious about God. When you read history, right? Church history, there's no move There's no revival without Right. And sometimes praying for months and years for something to happen. We're about to start the book of Um, and in the book of acts, leading these people. And it begins by Jesus telling them, which fascinates me, right? That Jesus had already spent still says to them, you need to comes like you're not ready yet. You would think three years Yeah, right. Right. And he says, no, you're still the Holy Spirit yet. You know, and so for us, it's whole thing started, who are we can do it better? It's like, no, we still need to We still need to wait. We still need to continue to fill us again with his presence. So it's awesome. That's powerful. Um, and with that, every year at honestly, it's more all of and our fasting. You give us a direction for our what you're feeling. And in this revival, you've said that you want to steward it really well. And so you've come up with this If you could, would you be able of like how we got to this. Hey guys. My name is Alexis. I'm sorry to interrupt the podcast, but I just wanted to drop some information to you guys. Everything discussed here today on our church app. Feel free to go on to the App type in new lifestyle post in Um. In this app you will find cruise, about joining the contribute about the classes. Also, the link with this podcast will also be on the app as well, so you can freely access this information again if you need to. Um, yeah. So let's get back to the Yeah. So first of all, um, I really felt strongly that the two words that kept coming to mind for twenty twenty six is be intentional. When I first got saved and I was formation, uh, especially the understood very early on that if have to be intentional, right? These things are just going to I think when you have an experience with God, God will just overwhelm you with his presence. But I think at some point God see you come after me, right? Let me see you pursue me. Yeah. As Scripture says, seek me and me with all your heart. So being intentional is that That I'm not going to wait to I have to be intentional because I already know that he calls me Really is the heart of discipleship of twenty twenty six. Now, with that is okay. Here are the areas that I think it's important to be intentional in. Right? And this year I felt like a because I got my five C's. You know what I mean? Alliteration. So it's it starts with, you know, connecting with God one on one, right? It all starts with that about, like, I'm going to spend Right. As a believer. Right. And then number two is is church That we are going to gather us they gather together on also to deepen their walk in. This year for us is the book of and going through the book of And then it's cruise, right? Which is our small groups that it's impossible to grow just Sunday to Sunday, or just on your own, because the Bible says that we are meant to do this together. So our cruise this year are going to be studying some, some, some curated books on Christian living books. Um, so the men's, uh, cruise have, I think, three or four books that they're going to be studying together. The woman's have their books, have their books. Young adults have their books as And I think it's, again, another life together, but also let's of God together. And then we're offering what we classes on Wednesday nights. Same thing, curating a few key subjects, topics that might deepen people's understanding of their journey. So this this semester, we're offering a Biblical Foundation class. Um, we're offering a financial I think finance is such a big things well is like, how can I can be a blessing? You know what I mean? Um, we're also going to have a class on Old Testament, you know, trying to get a better understanding what the Old Testament is when it comes to the classes. And then next semester we'll have different classes to offer as well. And then the last C is Right. We always say that you know that you go to. You belong. And it's your house, it's your And so you should contribute to it with your tithes and offerings, but also by joining the mission, by serving on a team and also by serving our city. You know, we're big on we're here to be a blessing to the city around us, to the region around us. So those are the five C's that I intentional about each one of disciple of Jesus. Right. And I love it because it's one easy to digest and to remember because those alliterations there's something to when you hit. That's why the Baptist they're so good. You're gonna remember this. Yeah. They're good. Yeah. And I think I think it's going And I think it's going to add to Um, because we do get a wide And you've always reminded us like we're not the number does mean something, but the depth like we want the depth of people. Because if we want to launch churches, we need people who are deep. Absolutely. Absolutely. And discipleship is many things. Right. Um, you know, when Jesus says, Mhm. He really was looking for people Right. As John Mark did a great job But it's about, you know, be like Jesus and then do what And there's a disconnect there know, we're going to church, but You know what I mean? And and what are we doing? Right, right. As the person that we're So it's important to have these I call them tools in the Right. That God gives us and says, hey, understanding of what it means And then what are you supposed that you keep attaining? But it's not just about you're exercising with, the You know what I mean? Absolutely. And so I would love to go through each one, each of the five and just kind of dive a little deeper on them just so we can give a little people just a little more. So with connect, I was doing some research for this podcast and I was reminded, I'm not sure if you shared it or Wardley had shared it. Um, but the Center of Bible Engagement, SB did an eight year survey of more than one hundred thousand people. And there's two other organizations that did this as well. And this is what they found, and they called it The Power of Four. That engaging in the Bible four two hundred and eighteen to four increase in sharing faith with contribution, discipling others, The second thing is fourteen to thinking destructively about unkindly about others, feeling like no one can't please God. Loneliness, bitterness, difficulty forgiving self and others. Feeling the need to hide discouragement while fear or anxiety. That's a reduction. And then twenty percent to sixty overeating or mishandling food. I can say Amen to that. Extramarital sex. Pornography. Family neglect. Lying. Lashing out in anger. Drinking to excess. Gossiping, overspending or And the reason why I brought with God, you have to know what Um. And you, you use a great app, the pause app in Lectio three sixty. I had to come around to the All right, breathe in. I know it's an acquired taste. Very acquired taste. Um, what would you say to this study or in connecting with Christ? Well, when I hear all that I don't have, right? It goes back to what we said that's in you. Yeah, yeah. Which is your flesh, your sinful So if you're not feeding your So the outcome is, is is all The sinful self has a field day And yes, it leads to loneliness. And it leads to selfishness. It leads to consuming all the know, extramarital affairs and It's not surprising, honestly, you are, right? Here's the reality of us humans. Like we're either being Right. That's what the Bible says. You're either you being world or you being transformed. And what does it come down to? It comes down to your what you Right? You know what I mean, right? And so if you're not, again, your Bible, then guess what? Your flesh is going to have its you're consuming all the wrong So it's impossible again to do intentionality about being in Right? Starting with, again, your one on one time with God is so critical. Um, I don't know how else to that way, right? I always feel like something is connecting with God first. Right. You know, my wife will tell you. Like I don't even want to talk to her before I go have my time, because I feel like I'm just not there. You know, we did a family We're talking about thoughts, We decided to look up like, uh, from a scientific standpoint. And they say that every day. Uh, your thoughts are eighty That's crazy. Right? By nature. So we were like, look, that to That's crazy because the Bible, without knowing any of this, says to you, renew your mind daily because your thoughts are jacked up. Right, right. Because you're sinful, right? So your nature is negative by That's crazy. You know what I mean? Not naughty, but also naughty by Yeah. You know what I mean? Um, so think about that, right? If you're you're already on a negative, right. So how much do you need to pull Right. Which is renewing your mind with With with prayer. Right. With meditation. With fasting. You know, taking advantage of available to you. So that doesn't surprise me at and I'm like, look. For the past twenty seven years my life this way, and it still constantly shift yourself the purpose of God and the Holy natural to you, right? Because that's who you are by You know what I mean? But you have to be born again is to be now born in a supernatural way, right where you're not no longer feeding the flesh, but you're feeding your spirit, right? And you can't take a day off remind you of who you used to be Facts. You know, facts. And that's why Paul says, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Yeah. You know, daily, you know, I So. Yeah. So when it comes to those apps time, right in your journey, um, You can get stale. And the beauty of the day and great technology, right. You could use technology for And for me, I found that these helpful to me in my journey. The pause app again, I do understand it is an acquired taste. You know, it's more of a soft Um, but I, I don't know, I'm at a place now that I just tune out the guy. I'm just about to pray, you know But also lectio. I love lectio because it's ancient approach to scriptures Right. It's been going on for centuries What they did is they just took made it, you know, relevant by Right? And it's easy to follow. Again, a couple of tools just to your connection with God. Absolutely. And one of what it talks about One of the ones that had the with connecting with God was the And that one is was one of the really not turning off your And every time you go off, like, no bringing you back to the cross like, no, but I'm always racing like, oh shoot, I forgot to go get I forgot to pick this up. Forgot to pay that bill. I'm like, no, come back. And it's like staying there It's always that, come back that, that, that is, I would say probably the toughest because again, we're overstimulated facts, right? We're overstimulated. I don't think we understand how because we weren't supposed to You know, you're not supposed to hand, you know, pumping your twenty four over seven. Right? So it is harder these days to Right. But at the same time, I think I can't afford not to, because it's easy to just fall prey to everything that society is throwing at you, that you have, again, to be intentional about it. You know, in a way you have to. And like Paul says, I discipline And which means also my mind. I have to sit right and force myself with with God, especially thoughts are negative. How much do I need to sit and perspective on God? And I just had a quick, uh, you you know, uh, Richard Foster He says, just having a word, That keeps bringing you back, It could be the cross. It could be Jesus. You know what I mean? It could be focus, right? You know what I mean? Just something that just brings And then having a key scripture internalize and let it become That's why I love Psalm one so When he says, you know, he night, and he's like a tree And he year fruits in every Right. So it's like, man, I want to be I want to be that tree. So that to me is the picture tree being rooted. I see it taking deep roots. I see it like being surrounded you can use your mind and be it doesn't become boring, right? Because it's like, man, God is giving you a powerful mind, right? The thing is, you just got to right things, right? You know, and we have that the Bible already knew that to regroup our brain back to how Blows my mind, like the Bible is And it was ahead of the game, You know what I mean? Absolutely. That again, no science, no labs. You know what I mean? You just know, like, we know the Thanks, man. Come on now. God is so good. Yeah. Science is catching up to the Which is crazy. Which is crazy. The second one. Church. So one of my favorite verses, because it's like Jesus went to what they in Caesarea Philippi, which they said it was his longest journey, the only journey that he went outside of his circle to say these words in Matthew chapter sixteen, verse seventeen. The gates of hell will not I find it, I find it amazing because it's a promise to his people. The church isn't the building. You say this to us all the time. It's not the building. It's the people, the ecclesia, And Jesus says the gates of hell will not prevail against his people. Well, what's cool about that? When you when you stop to consider where he was, where he said it from, he was making a statement because they used to be this cave that people believed. That's where basically, you know, it was an open portal to hell. And he's saying, look, I'm gonna stand where people think it's the open portal and say, even this thing cannot come against the church. How awesome is that? And he said he's talking about it from an offensive standpoint, right? Because a lot of times I think I see believers talk about the church from a defensive standpoint, right? It's like, no, we're on the We're taking this thing by Right. And nothing can't stop it, That's why for us, our saying is And I say that because, look, the church is Jesus is church, right? And our attempt is going to be You know what I mean? But Jesus has already overcome, And so when I say build the church, that is the fact that Jesus has already done it and we're going to die doing this, right? Either way. Right. And the power of coming together as God's people has been around for centuries. Again, we're going back to the book of acts on purpose to say, look, this thing was birthed by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, right? Sent by the father. And ordinary men and women Like, I don't think people give Like these ordinary men and women in a small area in Galilee begins to take the world by storm. Because of this reality of the the Holy Spirit. Right. So what I pray happens with us is to is to reconnect to that reality, to say, look, we're part of something unexplainable, right? Our church should continue to like we're pursuing something understanding, but it makes all it permeates society in such a empire within two centuries. It's crazy. That's fascinating. They were a little sect, a call a cult. You know, it's crazy. The Romans would call Christians have a thousand gods and they're Like, you guys are atheists. You don't even. Where's your relics? Where's, you know, and they're invisible God who created the And those are the same people you know, by the power of the able to live a life that makes supernatural beings in a way, Right? And that our church should be able to experience things that are unexplainable like miracles, signs and wonders, breakthroughs. Right? So that to me, is what I'm It's like, let's reconnect back to what created this thing in the first place, and see where he leads us in the twenty twenty six. You know, what fascinates me longest standing establishment. Yeah. No government, no empire, no business has lasted as long as a church. It makes no sense. Makes none. Again, unless there's a god. The church makes no sense. And it shouldn't last this long. Right? Right, right. There were many sects that would start and then and then disappear within a couple of years. And they were saying that about will not last. We'll see it in acts. Right? Even the religious were like, oh, if it's not of God, it'll die out. God, it will die out. And here we are still talking Crazy. What wisdom. I know what wisdom, man. It's it's a beautiful thing. And to Jesus, too. I wrote it here. It was a nonnegotiable. To Jesus at the gates of hell His true church. Yeah. Like. Yeah, we. Of course, we have bruises from the Templar and the Catholic Church. Of course, any when there's men involved, there's going to be moments where it's like, yo, whoa! What? But when you have people truly our bottom line, is like, we're We're always going to pray, We're always going to go back to We're always going to be connected as a people to his church. One of my Jesus is gangster. And then you think, when Paul We're an offensive people. We're not meant to just play Not at all. I always say like the the goal do anything wrong. I don't want to sin. It's like, look, that's not Okay? That's you trying to preserve in your head. Christian is a very offensive Like we go forward, right? And again he says, hey, I'm a mission, right? It wasn't filling you. So you can get goosebumps. You don't even feel good about He's like, no, I'm gonna fill you so you can go be my witnesses, right? Starting right here and then Judea, and then take it a step And then we get to acts eight. God's like, all right. Now we're going to take it one We're gonna we're gonna anoint Make him Paul, and then take this thing now to the ends of the earth. You know, like it's no small And again, I think it's unfortunate when people reduce Christianity to just this, like, uh, I'm just trying to be a good person. I don't want to do anything The question is, what are you Right? Right. And filled with the Holy Spirit Right. And live out the truth that he's created you to live out and not be so, uh, victim about it, you know? Right. Uh, so we have this. You we handed this out to the church, and under church, it says commit to fifty two weeks this year. What's what's the power of What will we see after if we Fifty two weeks? Because we're. We are. People were created to live in The father, the son and the Holy When we come together, we're all Right. And when we come together, that each one of us has the Right? It's just like I always say, with one charcoal, right? You you can try it. You know what I mean? But it's a bunch of charcoals together, and then you light the match, and now you can have a barbecue. And that's how I look at church, It's a bunch of individuals coming together, united in the spirit. Right in the gates of hell Right? There's strength in numbers. Absolutely. First of all right. It's a celebration every Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus. Right? And then it's a gathering of the coming together to get an and execute the things that God I always say this if you show up to church fifty two Sundays, you have more than enough to live the life God's giving you to live. Even if you don't do anything, if you don't listen to another podcast during the week, if you can take what God did on Sunday and digest it during the week with the beauty of your brothers and sisters, man, sky's the limit. You know what I mean? I think a lot of times we shoot ourselves in the foot, staying away from the corporate body, right? It's like, man, Paul even says it's like, what can part of a body do without the rest of the body, right? So it's important to gather together to get our assignment together. The strength in numbers. There's encouragement sometimes when you may have a tough week, but you just come to the gathering. Right? There's there's strength in that Right? Absolutely. Even with prayer, I tell people, look, some people may feel weird about praying. It's like, look, just be in the Just being in a room with other believers will do something to you. You know what I mean? So there's strength in that. But also there's a collective And we should be hearing the Right. So we can be on the same page. Imagine like the Patriots not gathering together to practice together. You know what I mean? It would make no sense. You know what I mean? No team can have chemistry, And be able to accomplish things if they're not coming together to be with each other, but also to get the same assignment together. It's way more powerful than me listening to a podcast, and you listen to a podcast and the next person is like, yeah, but we're all in different wavelengths, right? But when we come together, it's same message, same songs, you Same prayers. And then it's like, all right, now we're on the same page, and then God can do something with us. Yeah, absolutely. I don't know if it's in Psalms and Proverbs, but it says one can take a thousand but two, ten thousand. Absolutely. And the multiplication of just that the lack of faith you have so much more faith. Right. Like, yo, when you drop the news faith is through the roof. Now it's through the roof But now it's like it's through Heck yeah. We can conquer that school. Yeah. You know, it's amazing. Amen. And that connects to cruise. Um, Andy Stanley says real connection happens in circles, not rows. Homes, not buildings. Um, crews are a vital, vital. Not just in expression, but they line of this church, because we become a face in the crowd. But when you truly become the it's when you're connected to a Yeah, again, I go back to to That's that's the model, right? That's the blueprint they showed us from the beginning that they were gathering, uh, not just in the synagogues. And they got kicked out of Yeah. Um, and then they started to Right. Just creating that hospitality, can break bread together. We can walk together. It's such a tough thing, to be honest with you, in our day and age, because we're so isolated people, you know, and we find weird about going in people's homes. And it's it's sad because that's not the way that God created us to be. And that's something that we Right. Um, and as you know, this, like, I'm around you. It's because I have there's an organic thing happening with other people, and we come together and it just flows, right? Um, and that's hard to do nowadays, to be honest with you, because, again, we're very isolated people and we're very skeptical people. So you really have to be kinds of communities. And I have to say, some of the best crews that we have have that right. Like there's some crews that I'm They just like into each other. They don't just gather on the days, but they're talking to each other. They're connecting. They have group meals, they have their own ways of staying connected. And that's what you pray and It happens to all the crews that Look, when I try to force you into something, I desire to see you grow together, but also have that, like you have that support system that whatever's going on, you know, there's people there for you, praying for you, helping you. Like, I love hearing stories when someone's sick and that crew rallies, you know what I mean? And comes to their aid and takes Right. Uh, now there's crews that school, you know what I mean? Because they're helping each Someone is in a financial bind. The crew comes and helps and because that's the book of acts. That's literally what they did. And man, why not like, do life Because we get more out of each Really. Right? Right, right. So and it requires a humility to There was a young man who came to me at the beginning of last year. He was like, man, I'm just not Nobody's reaching out to me. I said, hey, dude, this is a two Like, if you want relationship, you have to seek out relationship. Yeah. And throughout the year it was But at the beginning of this No, no. Late last year, um, towards December, he, we met together. He was like, dude, I'm hanging I have this group of friends, we week, like, and then we do I was like, dude, isn't that Once you actually get into it and you actually do your side of the work, you'll find the people it is. Man. It's sad to hear that society is Like it's a big deal right now. And it's fascinating because we we created these social media things that's supposed to be connecting people. And people feel more lonely than Crazy because it's not real Absolutely. The more you know we go people long for, like, flesh and And I think that's where the is so critical to society, stay true to itself. Right. Because people I believe are disconnected that they're going And I think the church should be Right. You know. Absolutely. I did I did a look up where neuroscience, meaning very smart they came to this conclusion. So here's my dumbed down, very dangerous to to be alone. It's dangerous to not be Well, that's funny because, um, I think that's the first page in the Bible. God says it's not good for human Right. Again, here's God ahead of us Look, I've been trying to tell Told y'all y'all needed a lab to Yours is, like. Seriously? It's so true. You need that connection because We want to be loved, and we want Yeah. Like. And when you're connected with Those are all three things you You know what's interesting? Like, if you don't find it in for it anywhere. Right. It's like we talked about the I remember, um, when I used to a season ticket holder. Every year he would ask me if I And my thing is always like, as season, because I can't go when Yeah, okay, I got that African I'm freezing right now in doing Um, but what's fascinating to me One time we it was a night game, Saturday night game, eight o'clock game. We got there at one in the I'm like, what the heck are we This tailgating. tailgating like and they do Yeah, I blew my mind. I'm like, these people all know Like they bring everything, Yeah. It's crazy. Bring out TVs, put them back in Yeah. Board games. You know, there's food. There's like. And they all kind of I'm like, This is their community. Yeah, yeah. In a way that's church, right. If you think about it. Right. It happens on a Sunday. You know on Saturday sometimes you know, and these people come together and they rally around a team. Right. And then they lose their minds Right? Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, man, isn't that Everybody wants something to You know, together. You know and to believe for. Right. And these fans really believe they're making a difference right to this team because they're showing up to support their team. Super not superficial. What is the word. Um, they get very like it's magic if they show up in a certain way because you feel like you're impacting something, right. And together we're doing this right as collectively we're Patriots fans. And again, you can't help but to That's. That's how God wired us, right? To have community. Right. And unfortunately, when you don't have the right kinds of community, you will look for whatever to fill that void, you know? So it's so critical, man. Critical. And one of my favorite moments Father says to Jesus, this is my pleased in, and he's fulfilling fulfills in us. But we also find in in our crews known, loved and needed. Yeah. Um, so even that. Right. Think about it, that our creator leads the way in that by doing that. Right. You know, by speaking into the You know what I mean? Father, son and Holy Spirit just Hey, look, this is what it looks like to have a healthy community. Yeah. You know, loving each other, Like, I'm not going to do It's not doing anything without And the the the other thing understand is that the entire the eastern mindset, which is Right. Us in the West, we we overemphasize individuality, right? Again, there's pros and cons to But when you overemphasize the individual, you're forsaking the community. Right. And if you go look at their Right. When it comes to scriptures, majority of their decisions were made with the community because there's strength in numbers, right? Like you have the elders, like if you need to make a big decision, you go into your elders, right? You go into people that can help of a decision. You're not doing it on your own. So Jesus comes and displays Hey, look, the father is who I And then I gotta you gotta trust and help you right in this. And unfortunately, in a over individualistic society, you miss the power that you know the community is here for you, right? You know, and it's a safe space some difficult things in life trying to make those decisions. It's not healthy, right? Right. You deal with young adults a like they make a lot of feelings and their emotions. But it's like, who did you check Right, right. You know what I mean? Uh ChatGPT. You know what I mean? But it's like, look, it's around you that can help you life, like career decisions. Relationship decisions, right? Or even like, is it time for you Right. And it's like, man, how awesome people who love you, care about You know what I mean? It's like the community is here to help you, not hinder you, right? But the over individual focus community is here for you, community might hurt you or But it's like, no, a healthy blessing to you, right? But you have to be open to So good, so good, so good. I saw a meme, but it's also a And it was about this big pan and little dragon, and they're on a journey and it goes like this. Which is more important as destination, the company said. The little dragon, huh? That's so good because at the journey is a destination. And who who are you doing it You reminded me of Lord of the The beautiful thing about Lord spiritual journey, right? It's about spiritual warfare. It's about life, right? But it's like, who are you going And these little guys get go on this beautiful journey. That's what I think about. It's like, man, think about it, When when something happens in want to share it? Absolutely right. There's nothing worse than you Like, yo, who am I going to supposed to, like, share this with? Right. When the Pacers win, my first gotta go on a thread. You know, we got Uncle Rico's thread and celebrate because it's like, man, like, this is amazing. Yeah. Something or like something happens in in your personal life. It's like you have your wife, You have your friends. It's like, man, imagine not moments with or then the Who do you lean on, right when Isolated. And the worst is when we have these superficial things called Facebook and Instagram and thinking like, that's that's community. Come on. That's not real community. Not at all. So to me, the journey is the And who are you doing it with, So good, so good. Uh, classes. So this is new territory for us. Um, you already briefly classes, and I just want to. I want to say the second sixteen through seventeen says, and useful for teaching, training in all righteousness. Um, in these classes we're hitting money Old Testament in the foundations that our spiritual walk is kind of built on. What do you foresee that people will get out of each of these classes? First of all, I would say it's It we're bringing it back. Got it. You know, um, it's been a few Well, another word for disciple Mhm. Right. Uh, a disciple is a student. A student is always learning. Right. Never arriving. Right. So that's the goal really. It's like, man, how can we create this classes to give people another layer of discipleship when it comes to these different areas in life, right. To to be a Christian right is to Right? And think about it. Right. Majority of people that we're meeting, just yesterday, a man said to me, hey, this is my first time in any church setting. Wow. And this man is in his thirties, Okay. Think about that. Right. That's a that's the norm now, That people are coming from the world, from a society where they had no spiritual background whatsoever. So if they don't have a biblical have these faulty understandings now trying to come into church, mindset because you have a So the biblical foundation classes is to really root you and ground you in understanding that the Bible is God's Word, right? As you just read. And as believers. This is our our firm foundation So you need to have a biblical Then it's like, okay, you have a foundation, but you still have areas of your life that needs work, right? So finance is a big part of Jesus says, where your heart is, And a lot of times this we're how to steward what God has Right? And there's again, a faulty understanding of finances from a secular standpoint that it's all about me, myself and I. Right, right. But the reality is God, whatever he trusts you with is to be a blessing with. Absolutely. And so this the goal is to help people get a better, a healthier understanding of their finances so they can be honestly, I would. It may sound a crazy word, but from a faulty understanding, and you can have freedom and be able like of blessings and not lack And then again, the Old Testament to me is another layer of understanding. Again, your your background as a believer is the Word of God, right? And the people that have done it Right. And so all of that is to really ground people, to become better stewards of what God has trusted them with, from their minds to their finances, into their relationships. Yeah, right. And you don't start a job or through training, without first And I think it's going to be Um, I did see time. Um, man, he was blowing my mind. He's Dave Ramsey with more of Dave Ramsey is very cutthroat. Yeah, very cutthroat. But this seed time, he was like, with Jesus in it and, like, the faith aspect. Yeah. Like, if you trust Jesus with a little bit, trust me, he'll blow your mind. And I like it that they're approaching it, too, as a couple. I think that's also healthy. You know what I mean? Uh, so you can get both of those Absolutely. Um, because I agree. I mean, listen, Dave Ramsey Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Getting where I'm at. Just hitting you in the throat You're stupid. You're stupid. You're an idiot. That's a dumb move. Shout out to Dave Ramsey. And what I find fascinating, Testament, the disciples didn't They had the Old Testament, and They started the church based Think about this. The Old Testament is the Bible So that tells you everything. When Jesus says scriptures, he's Yeah, yeah. There was no New Testament, And last year we, we we went through, you know, the Bible in the year to, to show that right, that the Old Testament is basically the new revealed right. And that the new is is hidden in And you got it again. You got to you got to dissect Right. And Jesus, literally, when he down the Old Testament to his whole thing was pointing to me So to get a better perspective understand the Old Testament. Absolutely. You know, and it makes Jesus How many prophecies he I don't know the number, but he fulfilled more prophecies from the Old Testament and that they can't even. Um, what's the word? It just blows people's mind. Especially people who have done Yeah. Over. Over three hundred plus birth, death and resurrection. Um. It's fascinating. Crazy, you know? Um, and the last one You always tell us. Don't be a consumer. Be a contributor. Um, so for this one, what would Well, in a practical way, that's Like, if you believe in about it, you will invest in it. Right? Right. That's just the way it goes. Show me your bank account. I'll show you what you care Yeah. Right. Um. And for the people that say the church just wants your money, to me, it's like, really keep it, because then you don't understand, right? That again, going back to the pulled their resources together Right. Right. And that's what this is. Contribution to me is like, look, we we are for example, right now we're in the middle of this expansion. Well look around, it costs Right? To have this these buildings and And what is it for? Right. For the next generation. Right. So to me it's like, look, if you put your mouth where your where where your mouth is. Right. Because to me, Jesus says, your desires will reflect in how you trusting you with, right? So that's what it comes down to. But it's not just financial contribution, but it's also serving. Right. Because again, we are a big And as the more people can put their hands to the plow, the better we are and no one can feel overwhelmed. It's unfortunate that there's a In every corporation, organization, church team, twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work, right? It shouldn't be that way, right? If we're all in on this, then it We should reverse that and say doing most of the work. And so that's what contribution It's like, look, I'm here to And Jesus's teachings is is time, talent and treasure. If you go dissect these you're spending your time, your Right? And for us, contribution is treasure belongs to God. And I want to edify the body of offerings, with serving on the city that's around us so they Yeah. What really amazes me, says and they lacked not. Yeah. Like when everyone comes together, it it's amazing how everything that you need is fulfilled when we all contribute together. Well, one of the, one of the church is financial assistance. That's not a day that we don't get calls from people in the city, not even come to the church. They hear about the fact that Right, right. And we pay people's mortgages, electrical bills, uh, even the people, call this church. We're telling him, don't stop. We can't. We can't do it for everybody. But how cool is that? Is that that's part of why powerful is like, man, you are you're helping people. You don't even meet, you know, to the greater good. You know, I think it's one of get to do as a church is just Jesus said, right, right, I was You fed me, you know, I was You gave me something. He's like, when did we do that? He says, when you do to the We do this. No exaggeration. Every day as a church. Yeah. That's beautiful. Yeah. And I find it amazing when people say, why do I gotta serve the church? I tell them, when you go to work, you work and you get a paycheck, so you're working for something. When you come to church, it's hands and feet of Jesus. Because you come here, you serve And you can utilize this training and use it in your home. Use it at your job. Use it in every other sphere. You you are. Again, Scripture says you are more blessed to give than to receive. There is a beautiful thing that You're receiving. You know what I mean? It's the most again. But you won't know that unless Unless you do it. And by the way, I've heard so they've learned here, through teach, it's helped them so much Right? There's a guy who just got things in his job. He's like, look, I literally trainings here and took it to my I had another person who works come to the leadership trainings so much more than I go to these Yeah, so the church is not just it's equipping you for life. If you're paying attention. Right. You know, all the tools are here to not just for work, but for home. You know what I mean? Like to be a better mom or to be wife, a friend. And to me, it's like, look, all The thing is, are you paying Right, right. And I had a young man come up to He was, like, struggling with I said, dude, I don't think the another book to gain knowledge. You got to test your faith. Yeah. And testing your faith by And that's when, you know, like, in is the real thing. Because God will come through. But you got to start serving I think that there's a the faith that we believe in is intellectual thing, right? It's supposed to be an Right. Right. And a lot of times I see a People think believe means like, my head and now it makes sense. It's like, no believe is what Right, right. And a lot of times what you're doing catches up to what you believe. I don't know if that people will sometimes you got to be walking connections to what you actually Because the reality, at the end of the day, it's not about, oh, I believe in God because the Bible says even demons believe in God. They shudder. Right, right. But it's like no. Are you living Are you acting like you believe Are you serving like you believe You know, Mother Teresa is They asked her, like, how did She's like, no. all I did was see Jesus in one and just serve that one. Right. And from there it became the But it's just like my heart and I see Jesus in that one and We always say, go for the one, Because it's like the heart of need and meet that need? Whether it's serving on a kid's but just your, your, your house? You know what I mean? With your with your loved ones. There's something powerful about, like giving yourself away that just comes back to you and blesses you. Come on man. Well pastor thank you. This is awesome. I'm excited for this year. I think it's going to be a great, great one for our church, a great one for the the depth of our church. Um, thank you for everything you We really do love you. Hey, this is a pleasure. It's a joy of mine. And just for fun, because I like to make fun of social media people, don't forget to like and subscribe.