HE IS RISEN | Coastal Church

Apr 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Bread Broken, Blood Poured

Jesus took bread during Passover’s tension. He thanked God, broke the loaf, and called it His body. Disciples chewed the gritty truth: their Rabbi would soon be broken. Then He passed a cup—thick with covenant—and said, “Drink.” Judas sipped betrayal. Peter tasted denial. All swallowed grace. [34:52]

This meal redefined sacrifice. Jesus’ body became the bridge between God’s holiness and human failure. His blood sealed forgiveness, not just for disciples but for anyone who’d surrender. The elements weren’t magic—they were memorials of love stronger than death.

When you take communion this week, pause. Let the bread remind you He chose fracture to make you whole. Let the cup declare your debts erased. What distraction have you allowed to dull your awe for this gift?

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
(Matthew 26:26–28, NLT)

Prayer: Thank Jesus aloud for His body broken and blood shed specifically for you.
Challenge: Write down one sin Christ’s blood covered, then tear the paper and discard it.

Day 2: Glued to Grace

Adam woke to Eve’s breath—bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Jesus quoted Genesis to remind Pharisees: marriage isn’t contract, but covenant glue. Two flawed humans bonded by God’s design, their unity mirroring divine creativity. Yet even disciples struggled—Judas betrayed, Peter denied, Thomas doubted. Still, Jesus served them all. [57:22]

Marital oneness isn’t about perfection but pursuit. Like paper glued together, spouses leave residue on each other. God’s design withstands drift when couples fix their eyes on the Lifeguard who walks on waves.

Are you fighting currents alone or gripping His hand? Identify one area where pride isolates you from your spouse or community.

But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
(Mark 10:6–9, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal where you’ve prioritized self-protection over oneness.
Challenge: Text your spouse or a friend one specific trait you’re grateful for in them.

Day 3: Currents and Countercurrents

Beachgoers wade carefree until they glance shoreward—their umbrella a speck. Undercurrents of jealousy, neglect, or scrolling numbness pull marriages seaward. Satan needs no tsunami; he erodes with daily drips. James and John craved status. Judas clutched coins. All drifted from their Rabbi’s side. [51:56]

Distance starts small. A critical word unrecalled. A prayer unsaid. Yet Christ’s covenant stays fixed—His table always set for prodigals.

What undercurrent tugs you from relational health? Name it. Then plant your feet in the Shoreline-Maker’s sand.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.
(Galatians 5:19–21, NLT)

Prayer: Confess one specific “current” to God, asking for strength to swim against it.
Challenge: Delete one app or mute one account that feeds comparison or lust today.

Day 4: Fruit in the Fight

Peter swung swords in Gethsemane. Jesus rebuked him, then healed His enemy. Later, the Holy Spirit grew patience in Peter’s stormy heart. Galatians 5 lists two menus: one rots relationships, the other nourishes. Love chooses kindness mid-argument. Peace silences blame. Self-control hits “send” on grace. [16:58]

The Spirit’s fruit isn’t forced—it’s cultivated through surrender. You can’t conjure joy, but you can kneel in the orchard.

Which fruit feels scarce in your relationships? Water it with prayer now.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
(Galatians 5:22–23, 25 NLT)

Prayer: Request one specific fruit (e.g., patience with your teen) from the Spirit today.
Challenge: Initiate a gentle conversation instead of reacting to a recurring conflict.

Day 5: Triple-Braided Tide

Two strands snap under strain; three hold. The newlyweds in Mark 10 needed more than chemistry—they needed Christ. Ecclesiastes says a triple-braided cord includes God. Lifeguards don’t watch from towers—they dive into your riptides. Jesus waded into Peter’s doubt, Thomas’ skepticism, Judas’ betrayal. [01:19:14]

Isolation drowns. Community buoys. Your marriage or singleness isn’t a solo swim—it’s a rescue mission with comrades.

Who anchors you to Truth when waves hit? Invite them deeper into your struggles this week.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
(Ecclesiastes 4:12, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for someone who’s helped you fight for faith or relationship health.
Challenge: Call or message that person within the next hour to affirm their impact.

Sermon Summary

The service opens with a celebration of the Eucharist as an act of thanksgiving for Christ's body and blood. The bread and cup become visible reminders that Jesus lived, died, and gave himself so sinners can have peace with God. The narrative moves from that remembrance into a sustained teaching about marriage as a reflection of God’s original plan for human oneness. Scripture from Mark and Genesis frames marriage as a joining that mirrors the image of God, a glue that bonds two people into one flesh and removes shame through mutual openness.

The talk names the quiet forces that pull spouses apart. Undercurrents of habit, temptation, distraction, and outright sin gradually create distance. Those forces operate subtly, one small choice at a time, until couples find themselves far from the unity they began with. The enemy’s intent to steal, kill, and destroy shows why marriage matters beyond private happiness: a healthy marriage displays God’s design and equips a couple for shared mission.

Specific behaviors and patterns that fracture oneness get named plainly, including sexual sin, division, selfish ambition, jealousy, and other fruitless pursuits listed in Galatians. The warning is sober but pastoral: brokenness and failure are real and wounding, but God remains the lifeguard who rescues and heals. The teaching resists cultural distractions that would let argument or politics obscure the call to restore people to health.

Restoration requires deliberate fight and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Couples must actively work toward unity through emotional presence, consistent parenting, shared finances, and sexual faithfulness. The fruit of the Spirit becomes the toolkit for repair: love, patience, gentleness, self control, and peace. The final invitation summons those who have drifted to reach out for help, to pray, and to take concrete steps back to oneness while accepting God’s transforming grace.

Key Takeaways

1. Oneness reflects God’s original design Marriage images God by joining two into one. That joining involves physical, emotional, spiritual, and practical unity that God intended from creation. When spouses pursue oneness they display God’s image and open space for shared purpose beyond personal satisfaction. This view reframes marriage as vocation rather than mere contract. [56:11]
2. Undercurrents slowly steal marital unity Small, repeated choices create invisible drift over time. Habits, distractions, and unchecked desires act like currents that carry partners away from their starting point. Recognizing the slow slippage allows couples to intervene early instead of reacting to a crisis. Intentional checks and shared rhythms counteract the pull. [55:13]
3. Sinful patterns demand vigilant resistance Hostility, division, lust, and selfish ambition erode trust and dissolve shared life. Naming these patterns exposes the ropes the enemy uses to separate a couple and to silence their shared calling. Resistance means confession, accountability, and practical barriers against temptation rather than wishful thinking. The stakes call for sober, sustained action. [66:45]
4. Spirit produces fruit for healing The Holy Spirit supplies love, patience, gentleness, and self control that mend what sin has broken. Surrender to the Spirit shifts the work from mere willpower to empowered transformation. As these virtues grow, relational wounds heal and the couple regains capacity for unity and mission together. The Spirit becomes the third strand in the braided cord. [76:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:11] - Celebrating the Eucharist
[34:20] - Bread as the body
[35:14] - Cup as the covenant
[41:53] - Transition to marriage
[55:13] - Oneness is God’s design
[64:39] - Undercurrents create distance
[66:45] - List of sinful undercurrents
[76:26] - Fruit of the Spirit and fight back
[79:40] - Invitation and altar response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Mark 10:6-9 (NLT)
“But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

Galatians 5:19-23 (NLT)
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these… But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Observation Questions

According to Mark 10:6-9, what is the purpose of marriage in God’s design? How does Genesis 2:24-25 (referenced in the sermon) expand on this idea of “no shame” in oneness?
In Galatians 5:19-23, what specific behaviors are listed as “undercurrents” that create distance in relationships? How does the sermon connect these to marital drift? [55:13]
The sermon describes “oneness” as involving practical unity in areas like parenting, finances, and spirituality. What examples of practical unity are emphasized? [13:04]
How does Ecclesiastes 4:12 (referenced in the sermon) illustrate the role of the Holy Spirit in restoring marital oneness?

Interpretation Questions

Why might the enemy specifically target marriages as a way to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10)? How does a healthy marriage disrupt his plans? [01:09:54]
The sermon warns that small, repeated choices create “invisible drift” over time. Why are these subtle patterns more dangerous than obvious crises? [55:13]
How does the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23 directly counteract the “undercurrents” listed in verses 19-21? What makes dependence on the Spirit necessary rather than relying on willpower?
The sermon states, “Unity isn’t just in the bedsheets—it’s in the spreadsheets.” Why is financial and emotional unity as critical as physical unity for reflecting God’s design? [13:25]

Application Questions

Identify one “undercurrent” in your relationships (e.g., distraction, selfishness, jealousy) that has created subtle drift. What is one practical step you can take this week to address it? [55:13]
In what area of your marriage or close relationships (parenting, finances, spirituality) do you feel the greatest disconnection? How can you intentionally pursue “one flesh” unity there? [13:04]
Which fruit of the Spirit (love, patience, gentleness, etc.) do you need most to heal a relational wound? How will you actively rely on the Holy Spirit to cultivate it? [01:16:26]
The sermon urges couples to “fight for oneness” through accountability and confession. Who could you invite to pray with you or offer wise counsel in your current struggles? [01:19:40]
If you’ve experienced broken trust, what would it look like to accept God’s role as the “lifeguard” who rescues and restores, rather than trying to fix things alone? [01:02:10]

Sermon Clips

36s

#StrongerTogether

“Don't just let yourself go under and give up before crying out to him and saying help. Crying out to a counselor and saying, please. Ecclesiastes chapter four verse 12 says, a person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back to back and conquer. See where this is going? And then it goes even further, three are even better. For the triple braided cord is not easily broken.”

27s

#MarriageReflectsGod

“Here's the deal, like, why does the devil even care about your marriage? Can't he just leave you alone in that area? No. Because back in Genesis when the bible says we are made in the image of God, male and female. Right? He created us male and female. That's that's the oneness that points to the image of God.”

28s

#FightForMarriage

“I know some of you are fighting for oneness now. You're even your heads are sometimes going beneath the surface and you just kinda pop up for air on on Sundays and show up at church holding hands. Right? And you're struggling. You don't get back automatically. You get back to oneness by fighting. And sometimes fights need to happen in your marriage, but you need to learn to fight for your marriage.”

35s

#MarriageHasPurpose

“Satan doesn't want the image of God to be perfectly expressed in your marriage. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy for two reasons. Number one, because it points to to God. Number two, because you have a powerful purpose. As a married couple, your purpose is the same as a single like to be ambassadors, but now you have two.”

26s

#FollowTheSpirit

“Since we are in the spirit, let us follow the spirits leading. If the spirit is leading you, saying, hey, now's the time. You've drifted far enough from the lifeguard. Now's the time. You need healing. Come to me. You need treatment. Come to me. He's already on his way out to you. He's reached out his hand and he's waiting for you to say, yes.”

38s

#HolySpiritInMarriage

“This third cord is the holy spirit in your marriage. Don't exclude the lifeguard. I wanna I want you to stand with me. We're gonna read Galatians chapter five twenty five. We're gonna have our prayer team come forward. If you've kind of drifted off from oneness or if you're still healing from some of those wounds, we are not the lifeguard, but we will walk with you to the lifeguard.”

31s

#ResistTheDrift

“Because if you don't focus on fighting for oneness, you are drifting. If you're hanging out, you're drifting. It takes work to move towards oneness and stay there. So what is it that's pulling us? Are we just messed up and can't have a good marriage? Kinda. But there's another power at work. His name is Satan.”

31s

#ParentAsOne

“But that feeling may be an indication I need to do something. I need I need to make sure I'm checking in. I need to get back to the umbrella Because emotional distance creates distance in so many other areas. Then there's parenting distance. We have to be on the same page. We have to parent one flesh. We have a rule in our family that if you start pitting us against each other, the answer is no.”

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What is God's original design for marital oneness?

Which undercurrents most commonly erode marital unity?

How does the Holy Spirit restore marital intimacy?

HE IS RISEN | Coastal Church

Devotional

Day 1: Bread Broken, Blood Poured

Day 2: Glued to Grace

Day 3: Currents and Countercurrents

Day 4: Fruit in the Fight

Day 5: Triple-Braided Tide

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

HE IS RISEN | Coastal Church

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