January 18, 2026 - Share Your Story: John 1:29–42

Devotional

Day 1: Finding the Fullness of Life Beyond Daily Stress

Many of us walk through our weeks simply trying to manage stress and get by. We often find ourselves wondering if there is something more to this life than just surviving the next few days. This feeling is not a lack of faith, but rather the beginning of recognizing that there is a world far bigger than ourselves. You are not alone in this search for meaning and purpose. God invites you to move beyond just doing your best and hoping it is enough. He offers a life of abundance that starts when we look toward Him. [25:29]

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 ESV)

Reflection: When you consider the pace and pressure of your daily life, what spiritual practice could you adopt to create more space to recognize God's presence?

Day 2: Shifting the Focus to the Lamb of God

It is a natural human desire to want to be seen, to matter, and to feel like we are enough. However, the life of a follower is marked by a different posture—one that points away from self and toward the Lamb of God. Like John the Baptist, we have the opportunity to step out of the limelight so that others can see the true Savior. Our energy often goes toward building our own reputation or proving our worth. True freedom is found when we realize that we are not the point, but Jesus is. By stepping back, we allow His light to shine more clearly through our lives. [37:58]

“This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’” (John 1:30 ESV)

Reflection: Think of a recent conversation where you were tempted to highlight your own accomplishments; how might you have gently redirected that attention toward what God is doing in your life?

Day 3: Living Saturated in the Power of the Holy Spirit

Imagine a sponge so full of water that it cannot contain another drop; this is the kind of saturation God desires for your life. The Holy Spirit, or Ruach, is the very breath and life of God that animates and empowers us. We often fill our lives with news reports, social media, or fear, leaving little room for God's presence. When we are saturated in Him, our responses to life's challenges change from frustration to a desire to serve. We no longer have to settle for less than the fullness for which we were created. Let His Spirit fill you from the inside out until you are overflowing with His grace. [48:46]

And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” (John 1:32-33 ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific "substance"—such as social media, news, or a particular worry—that has been saturating your thoughts lately, and how can you intentionally replace it with time in God's Word?

Day 4: Responding to Unexpected Situations with a Servant’s Heart

Life is full of unexpected interruptions and changes to our carefully laid plans. In those moments, our first instinct might be to feel slighted or to ask, "How dare you?" Yet, a life centered on Jesus offers a different path: the simple question, "How can I help?" This shift in perspective changes our work from a place that drains us into a mission field where God is active. Serving from the abundance of a relationship with Christ prevents the burnout that comes from trying to do it all on our own. When we choose to serve, we reflect the character of the Lamb who gave everything for us. [43:26]

“And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:34 ESV)

Reflection: Is there a specific situation at work or home that currently feels like a burden? How might God be inviting you to view that situation as an opportunity to ask, "How can I help?"

Day 5: Inviting Others to Experience the Life-Changing Presence of Jesus

Faith is lived out in the simple rhythms of everyday life—listening to stories, eating together, and serving one another. When people notice a change in your attitude or a new sense of peace, it is an invitation to share your story. You don't need to have all the answers or perform perfectly to be a witness for Christ. Simply being willing to say "come and see" can open the door for someone else to encounter the Messiah. God is already at work in the lives of those around you, and He invites you to join Him. Stay alert this week for the person who is hoping for a reason to believe. [01:02:23]

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” (John 1:35-39a ESV)

Reflection: Who is one person in your daily circle who seems to be searching for "something more," and how could you offer them a simple, low-pressure invitation to "come and see" what God is doing?

Sermon Summary

The congregation is welcomed with prayer, worship, and news of multiplication as the church celebrates new campuses and a renewed rhythm of worship. Attention turns to John 1:29–34, where John the Baptist refuses the limelight and points the community to Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” That single, provocative designation reframes messianic expectations: not a political liberator or religious celebrity, but the sacrificial, reconciling presence God sends to redeem and gather people. This moment calls listeners to honest self-examination — when others look at their lives, do they see Jesus or themselves?

The sermon traces the practical implications of that question. Being Christ-centered means deliberately stepping back when attention drifts toward self, and intentionally pointing others to Jesus through words, posture, and acts of service. It explores what it looks like to be “saturated” in the ruach — the Spirit — using the sponge metaphor: true baptism by the Spirit produces total saturation so that life overflows with God’s presence rather than exhaustion or performative religiosity. Saturation changes daily patterns: it reorders work, family, and leadership from self-preservation to sacrificial service rooted in abundance rather than scarcity.

Practical invitations follow: adopt a posture of help (“How can I help?”), practice spiritual habits that foster saturation (Scripture, prayer, communal rhythms), and be willing to be “wrung out” of old identities so the Spirit can refill and reorient. The assembly is encouraged to respond — to say yes to Jesus, to be baptized inwardly by the Spirit, and to embody a faith that points others to God. The talk concludes with a time of prayer asking God to reveal what currently saturates each life and to fill people with the life-giving presence of God so that daily living becomes a fragrant witness of Christ. The final charge is simple and urgent: come and see — be available, be saturated, and invite others into the same transforming encounter.

Key Takeaways

1. Longing for more is valid Recognizing a restless sense that “there has to be more” is not a failure of faith but the beginning of spiritual attention; it names a hunger that points beyond merely surviving toward flourishing in God’s presence. That hunger invites honest diagnosis of what currently saturates life and opens the door for God’s reorientation. [25:05]
2. Point others to the Lamb When attention turns toward acclaim or identity, the faithful posture is to point to Jesus rather than amplify oneself; like John, the practice of saying “look” redirects hearts toward the One who reconciles. This reorientation reshapes ambition, leadership, and daily conversations into pathways of witness rather than self-promotion. [30:32]
3. Be saturated in the Spirit True Christian life is not mere moral improvement but being soaked in the ruach until life overflows with God’s presence; a Spirit-saturated life resists burnout because ministry flows from abundance, not performance. Pursuing regular spiritual rhythms produces this baptismal saturation that transforms ordinary tasks into means of grace. [48:29]
4. Ask, “How can I help?” A posture of immediate, humble service reframes relational friction and institutional strain into opportunities for cooperative witness; asking how to help shifts focus from self‑defense to mutual flourishing. Practiced consistently, it cultivates leadership marked by servanthood and sustains communities through seasons of heavy work. [41:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:49] - Opening Prayer and Blessing
[01:30] - Announcements & Campus Multiplication
[24:08] - Children’s Church Invite & Intro
[25:05] - “There Has To Be More” Question
[29:37] - Series Overview: BLESS
[30:05] - Scripture Reading: John 1:29–34
[33:47] - John Points: “The Lamb of God”
[41:43] - Practicing “How Can I Help?”
[48:29] - Being Saturated by the Spirit
[55:59] - Prayer: Say Yes to Saturation
[62:02] - “Come and See” Invitation
[63:32] - Closing Blessing and Charge
[77:24] - Final Benediction and Send-off

Bible Study Guide

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And, God, I thank you that you are holy, and you are loving, and you have called us by name. We are not here by mistake, but we are here responding to your holy spirit that's already been at work. We ask that you be exalted in everything that's said and done today. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Just to remind you while we're getting ready to, [02:04] to read our scripture and to get started in more worship, it's a big day, not only in the life of our church, but in our you can come on up. It's all good. She's like, I'm ready. I love it. Well done. I love it. Hold on a second. I'll we'll do it in just a second. Just you're good. You're perfect. They'd much rather see you than me. So you're good. Alright. So we have lots going on in the life of our church today as well as in the life of our district. So we give god praise. [02:37] We have this evening at five p oh, look at you. Praise god. They're on it. I'm not. But you can see here we have our night of worship tonight. We're launching a monthly night of worship. I'm very excited for this. Job and his team have been, following the Holy Spirit's lead and so excited for what they're gonna lead us in tonight. You'll notice it's a little bit shorter than expected, [03:04] and that is because so we'll do it from five to six, and then we're caravanning over to Military Trail where there will be a launch of the Green Acres South Campus Church of the Nazarene. People have asked, is that part of our church? Part of our larger church? Yes. Part of our local congregation? No. Although I've invited both pastors and their churches to join us. But we give glory to God because we have helped multiply."), Document(metadata={'source': "03:35"}, page_content="That's been part of our calling and part of what we have asked God to help us do to be a part of multiplying [03:37] his work, not just adding, but multiplying his work in our kingdom. So we have two new congregations that are learning how to share so there'll be a two in one learning how to share a campus together for the glory of god, multiple congregations, multiple languages, one Jesus that they'll be worshiping. So we'll be there to support them. I wanna say thank you [04:00] for our church family that has supported both literally and figuratively. Not only have we been in prayer, not only we have we helped resource and help support, but we also provided the communion elements. Because remember, we are led by the one whose table we all stand equally at, and that is Jesus Christ. So we give glory to God, and I wanna say thank you as we as a church family have provided that for them to unify together around. As well as you'll notice, if you've been over along that road and paid any attention, there's a new sign [04:39] that's there, and, and our church family and our campus family has specifically been involved in helping get that. Get up. Meaning Rich has been my hero. And I said, can you pick it up and figure out how to install it? So glory to God, and thank you so much. And would you stand with us as we hear the weird word. Word. Hear the word of the Lord. I got a little tongue twisted there. Glory to God. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Yes, Lord. [07:12]"), Document(metadata={'source': "13:46"}, page_content="and we bless you. We thank can be seated. Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God. [24:08] You know, before we turn to our scripture today, I'm so glad that it's on. It's on. There I'm getting cues that they can't hear me, but it's on. Love to invite any of our children that would like to go to head to children's church. I'm so grateful they put up the slides because I get so excited. I forget the worst. So if you'd like to head to children's church, follow miss Sandy who is leading a crew there. [24:36] Before we get turned to our scripture today, I have a question. Have you ever found yourself thinking? There has to be more than this. Have you ever found yourself thinking, there has to be more than this? [25:05] And I don't just mean in the dessert line when the portions are being given out, there has to be more than this. I mean,"), Document(metadata={'source': "25:18"}, page_content="in life. There's gotta be more than this. More than just getting through the week, more than managing stress, [25:29] more than doing our best and hoping just maybe it'll be enough. And that question about there has to be more, it is not a lack of faith. Hear that. It's not a lack of faith. [25:51] Very often, this is the hard part. Are you ready? It's the beginning of it. Recognizing that there is more to this world than me. [26:09] Whether we have walked into this space today full of belief, whether we've walked in full of doubt, or somewhere in between there, you"), Document(metadata={'source': "26:28"}, page_content="are not alone. [26:30] The people we meet in today's scripture were asking the same question. They were watching. They were listening. They were trying to figure out who was worth following. Now right before we jump further in, I wanna remind us and give us just a little bit of context, especially if today might be your first time joining us, [26:57] whether it be online or here in person. We've been in a series called well, can you guess the name? Bless. Right. Right. We've been in a series called bless, and it's a series that's a simple way of naming how everyday people [27:20] live out their faith in everyday life. Bless is an acronym. It's not as cool as the was it five or six t's? Five. The five t's. It's caught on. Glory to god. So it's not as cool as the five t's that Dennis introduced last week that I love, and I think I like the idea of adopting that in 2026. I hope that's okay, doctor Dennis. We're gonna borrow it and keep using it. Glory to God. [27:47]"), Document(metadata={'source': "27:54"}, page_content="But blessing is this this posture of beginning with prayer, playing close attention to where god is already at work. It's about listening, really listening [28:09] to people and to their stories. It's about eating because, you know, who doesn't wanna do that? Glory to god. Right? [28:19] It's about sharing a table, sharing a relationship, building a real foundation together in a real relationship. It's about serving, [28:32] loving in practical and tangible ways. This is a church family that has taught me"), Document(metadata={'source': "28:40"}, page_content="more about that than I could ever preach about. And it's about story. Being willing when the time is right to share what Jesus has done in our lives. [28:49] So it's not a series about pressure. It's not about performance. It's about attention, about joining where Jesus is already working and joining in what he is doing. [29:08] And that's exactly what today's scripture talks about. We're gonna break it up a little bit throughout the sermon today. We're teasing it up a little bit. So I won't ask you to stand unless you'd like to do the yo yo standing on and off throughout the, throughout the sermon, but I invite you to honor God. Turn with me, if you will, to John the first chapter. Don't worry. This is the the final of the series. You're like, thank thank you, Lord. It's the end of it. Oh my goodness, pastor. [29:37] You spent a whole month of the first part of the year in one chapter. You should be the one that Jesus is teaching about it. Couldn't get out of it. John the first chapter, and we're gonna begin in verse 29, and we're gonna read through verse 34."), Document(metadata={'source': "30:00"}, page_content="And then keep your finger there if you want because we're gonna come back to more later. Hear the word of the Lord from John the first chapter [30:05] verse 29. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look. The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one I was talking about when I said, a man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me. [30:32] I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I had been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel. Then John testified, I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven [30:53] and resting upon him. I didn't know that he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, the one on whom you see the spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit. [31:13]"), Document(metadata={'source': "31:16"}, page_content="I saw this happen to Jesus. So I testify that he is the chosen one of God. [31:25] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Jesus has has just been baptized. You might remember we went back to it. I think that was last week, maybe the week before. I've been I've been rereading John one so much. I don't know where we were. [31:41] But Jesus was just baptized. You remember the holy spirit, the dove came and settled? That's the only bird that was neither hunted nor eaten among the people in that day. It was seen as a sacred symbol of the presence of god. The spirit has descended, and suddenly, the whole community is asking questions. Well, who's John? What in the world is going on here? Is John the Messiah, [32:16] the one who will lead a rebellion and finally overthrow Rome? Is he the Christ,"), Document(metadata={'source': "32:25"}, page_content="the anointed god king? Is he Elijah? Not the one here, the one in the scripture. [32:30] Is he Elijah, the great reconciler who will fix families and settle all disputes? Won't that be great when there comes a day that all family conversations [32:46] will be settled? Thanks be to God. Is he a prophet? Isaiah or Jeremiah returned again. And John could have leaned into any one of those expectations. They were respected, [33:06] elevated perspectives. He could have embraced the attention. He could have clarified"), Document(metadata={'source': "33:15"}, page_content="his importance. Well, let me tell you who I am. [33:17] I don't know if he would have put his hands on his hips. I mean, he had, like, a burlap thing going on, but that's what I envision in my head, at least in his spirit. Right? Instead, did you hear what he does? John points and says, look. The lamb of God. [33:47] Everybody's looking at him, and he could have loved the limelight and said, yes. Let me tell you how awesome I am. And what did he do? Look. Have you seen Jesus? Not the revolutionary, [34:07] not the political savior, not the religious celebrity, the lamb. And when that crowd heard that word, I imagine that much like today, there are different images. Did you know that the same word can create different images for different people? [34:23]"), Document(metadata={'source': "34:30"}, page_content="Let me ask this. Chocolate. What came to your mind? Everything. I heard something in the back. Tablerone. Tablerone. Tablerone. Best candy bars. They're triangles. I believe that they're sent from God because they're like the trinity [34:45] triangles along the way. I don't know about that, but they're really good. Swiss chocolate. Magic. Here's a new side note. I'm not being paid for this for this advertisement. There's a Euro World in Wellington now that has food from all over Europe, and they have all different flavors of these Toblerones. [35:05] Not that I checked it out while my daughter was in Hobby Lobby this week. But I digress, in case you wanna know. The Passover lamb is one option that might have come to their mind. Do you remember that story where the people of God back in Exodus, there was this time that that death was coming through the area. And if they had put the blood of the Passover lamb above their door, then their house would be protected. [35:36] It was a sign of the protection of God in the midst"), Document(metadata={'source': "35:49"}, page_content="of everything. The Passover lamb whose blood marked the doorpost and caused death to pass over God's people. They might have been thinking, the lamb? [36:02] This is our deliverer. Or maybe some, like John, remember his dad was Zachariah, the guy who wasn't speaking, who was a priest in the temple? So they might have been somebody that grew up with the perspective of this is the way that [36:19] procedures go and the way that this process so for them, they might have looked and thought, this is a temple lamb offered every morning and every evening for the sins of the in the temple as long as it stood even in the midst of war that they would pause to take a moment to offer a lamb in the temple trying to forgive people of their sins? [36:49] Is this the sacrifice that ends the need for all other sacrifices? They may have been thinking, is this the lamb proclaimed by the prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah"), Document(metadata={'source': "37:07"}, page_content="and so many others? One who would suffer and love and redeem. [37:10] All because John said, look, There is the lamb. Words create worlds. John makes it unmistakably clear. [37:30] He is not the point. Jesus is. Just gonna sit with that one more moment. John made it perfectly clear. He is not the point. Jesus [37:58] is. And I don't know about you, but this is what the story presses pretty gently or maybe less gently a little bit. Because most of us, I would imagine, are not trying to replace Jesus. We are just trying to matter, [38:21]"), Document(metadata={'source': "38:24"}, page_content="to be seen or to see, to be enough as the cool kids say these days. So here is the question [38:35] that could not escape. And I confess it might be a question just for me, but it hasn't been able to escape my spirit this week. When people look at my life, who do they actually see? When people look at your life, [39:05] who do they actually see? I wonder what would happen if our prayer this week was something as simple as noticing where our energy goes when the conversation [39:28] points to us. And maybe praying,"), Document(metadata={'source': "39:34"}, page_content="God, is there a place you are asking me to step back and to say, look. There's the lamb. [39:41] It might look as simple as when we're in school and somebody says, man, I've noticed a change in you. Your attitude well, I don't know if kids would say it this way. Grown ups will. [40:03] There's been a real change in your attitude. I mean, you're encouraging. It's awesome to be around you without you even saying anything. There's just positive energy around you. What's going on? And one option would be to say, [40:25] well, I'm finally getting my stuff together. Okay. That's definitely not what the cool kids would do. I confess I've never been one, but I own it. I own it. But what if the answer was something like, I'm learning who Jesus is, and he's changed everything."), Document(metadata={'source': "40:51"}, page_content="Or it might be at work as we walk in and the boss says, oh, by the way, [40:54] I know you were planning to do x, y, and z. I know you've worked hard on it. Oh, but we're gonna wait to do that tomorrow. I have another pressing need. And our response could be could be you've gotta be kidding. I like it. I like it. [41:19] Or our response could be How can I help? What if our first response to unexpected situations was not how dare you, but was [41:43] how can I help? I'm gonna take another pause for a moment, and I'm just gonna ask our church board members to raise your hand. I'm not volunteering you for something else. Don't worry. They're all like, pastor, we're trying, but I'm not sure about that. You can put your arms down. Put your arm you see five of them in here and the sixth is leading the children over there. What does it look like to be a leader in Christ? [42:12]"), Document(metadata={'source': "42:16"}, page_content="If you wanna know a model of what it looks like, ask these leaders. Termites are in the church. Close it up. We're done. That isn't what I heard. Do you know what the first thing I heard was? [42:36] Let's pray. And how can we serve? How can we help? What are we gonna do? Church budget needs to be put together. It's been in the process as we are reconciling years of finances. We have a finance team [42:58] that, I've decided to bring a cot so that they all have a couch and a cot because I think they've about moved in to our administrative wing. As they are working hard, I want to say thank you to that finance team. Asking how we can help is not always comfortable, but knowing where we are makes the difference of how we can respond to how we can help in the future. [43:26] How can we help changes the entire perspective"), Document(metadata={'source': "43:38"}, page_content="from look what I can do to knowing that the only way that I can serve is from the abundance of my relationship with the lamb of God. Otherwise, it will burn out. I testify to that. I suspect other pastors and leaders in here might as well. [43:53] If you try any other way, you burn out. Being drawn to the lamb as the focus is more than just saying it's not about me. It's saying it's all about him. What we eat, what we drink, how we work, how we live, how we interact with people, how we try to be the focus, how we try not to be the focus. How we [44:22] live day to day is not just, oh, it's not about me. It is it is all about him. Whether we eat, whether we drink, we do it all for the glory of God. And only in that place can we begin to experience [44:45] the fullness of life for which we were created. Without that, we are settling. We are settling for less than who God called us to be and less than what he wants to do. Remember that scripture?"), Document(metadata={'source': "45:07"}, page_content="He can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, [45:09] but only if we let him. God's not gonna force his way on us. Thanks be to God. He gives us the free will to join in what he's doing. [45:27] Don't worry. I only have 15 more points. I love glory to God. I can I just confess? I love our church. I love you, and I love our church. If you're online, join us in person because you're the best people ever. Glory to God. It is such a privilege to serve alongside you as pastor because we are a people [45:58] who are all about Jesus. And we notice John says as he testifies, I saw the spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on him. [46:15]"), Document(metadata={'source': "46:22"}, page_content="That word for spirit, I I wish I could communicate it. It's the Hebrew word is ruach. Like, feel like, you know what I mean? That's not like, oh, ruach. No. It's rua. [46:35] Kinda like Klingon if you knew from the Star Trek days. You know? It's got that kind of right? The spirit of god, The wind, the breath, the life [46:53] settled on him. Remember, Pentecost hadn't happened yet. So they're still learning what does this look like? What does the spirit of God look like at work among us? And to God's people, [47:13] the the spirit of God meant the power"), Document(metadata={'source': "47:20"}, page_content="like a mighty rushing wind. It meant the life, the breath that animates us, that which gives us the [47:29] it meant the presence of God himself. Present, active, holy. So when John says, Jesus will baptize, [47:45] I baptize with water. By the way, be praying with me. Praying for at least 25 new Christians this year. We had 20 last year. Pray with me. We haven't had a baptism yet this month. Pray with me. [48:05] My heart heavy. When the rule baptizes someone, it means total saturation."), Document(metadata={'source': "48:20"}, page_content="I mean, imagine a sponge. Have you ever seen a sponge that drinks up all the water there is, and no more will even go in? It's, like, [48:29] so full, it can't even contain itself. That is what happens when we are baptized by the, by the holy spirit, living by the power of something greater than us, saturated [48:46] in the very power, life, and presence of God. What are we saturated in today? What are we saturated in? If it's anything [49:04] other than the rule of God, then you don't have to leave settling for less today. As we continue the scripture, I just wanna pause there again. Just can't move past it. [49:34]"), Document(metadata={'source': "49:42"}, page_content="What are we saturated with today? What are we saturated with? We'll get to that scripture in a minute. It's okay. We're not there yet. She's so good. Thank you for a pastor that can't I mean, I give copies of the sermon manuscript, but you know me well enough to know we don't tend to follow it. [50:01] What are we saturated with today? Are we saturated with substances? Trying to get through to the next moment? Are we saturated with social media, [50:27] watching what the next thing is? Are we saturated with news reports? Are we saturated with fear? God, surely, you couldn't use me. [50:47] I mean, I'm just I'm only a"), Document(metadata={'source': "50:56"}, page_content="just a teenager. I'm just a mom. I'm just a dad. I'm just a grandparent. You couldn't possibly use me. If we are saturated [51:09] with anything other than the ruach, the holy spirit, the presence of god, you're absolutely right. God can't use us. Not popular preaching. But if we say yes to God, [51:28] if we say yes to Jesus, do you know what he can do? He can turn marriages from focused on focused on fighting each other to healing issues. He can turn situations [51:51] into a place where parents and and children, whether young or not so young, no longer have to fight but can experience this thing called forgiveness."), Document(metadata={'source': "52:04"}, page_content="Where siblings no longer have to be at odds, but healing can come. Where work is no longer a place that drains me, but a mission field that God sends me to every day. [52:12] Where parenting is no longer this place of absolute terror. Lord, when I birthed a child, you did not give me the handbook. Right? They're like push again, and I'm like, nope. Still not a handbook. What's happening? I mean, there's a pretty good one that helps us know [52:42] what to do. My question today is what is saturating us? And we're just, I invite you to read the rest of the passage. There's a lot more there. I'm excited. We're gonna do more on that, maybe just in my private time. Maybe we'll do it Wednesday night. I don't know. There's so much more there, but I can't move past this. So we're not gonna. [53:15] Because noticing where God is working is only half of it. Learning to obey is the key part. So when God says you need to stop, that means we're gonna stop. [53:33]"), Document(metadata={'source': "53:36"}, page_content="And you need to spend some time with me. Then we're gonna stop and spend some time with him. What if our testimony, those first two questions, what do people see when they look at us? Who do they see? [53:51] Do they see a walking sign for a news channel? Do they see a walking sign for problems in life? Do they see someone who says it's all about me? I was at a conference yesterday. Had the privilege of attending a conference. I lasted through about half of it, and then my cup my sponge was full. [54:16] I gotta gotta take a breath. Gotta take a break. And one of the speakers had a profound testimony to share about how God had delivered his father from alcoholism, [54:35] how a guy that he didn't even know about till years later had had introduced him through essentially an AA opportunity. By the way, we have that on our campus on Thursday nights"), Document(metadata={'source': "54:49"}, page_content="if you wanna be a part. And God had transformed their life. Powerful testimony. But do you know what my challenge was? [54:57] The first fifteen minutes before his testimony was telling me about his multimillion dollar home and about his paycheck of multiple million dollars as he told of us at the conference how important he was. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not I'm not bashing him. [55:16] I mean, god uses all different folks, but I want you to know it took me a lot of work to get from seeing him to seeing Jesus. What if we're invited to not make it so hard but to see Jesus? And the only way that can happen is if we are saturated in him, in his presence, [55:43] in his scripture, spending time with him. How do you get to know your loved ones? You spend time with them."), Document(metadata={'source': "55:57"}, page_content="So we're gonna go to prayer, if that's alright. [55:59] And if if you just need to spend some time with God, I invite you to join me. These are meeting places with God. Sit in the front row, whatever God leads you to do. But God, we come to you right now. And God, I thank you that you are the God who called us and knows us. You have called us by name, [56:28] created us in our mother's womb. And God, you are you are the God of abundance and fullness. Your very spirit [56:45] brings life. It brings power and light. It reorients us where we are saturated in you, so full [56:57]"), Document(metadata={'source': "57:00"}, page_content="that the the drops of life that come out of us just have the fragrance of Jesus. And so, God, we're just gonna sit a moment, and I ask for you to speak in a way that we know that it's you. And for some of us, silence is uncomfortable. So I ask that you give us the courage [57:25] to just sit in your presence a moment. God, I thank you, and and I ask that right now you help us see what we're saturated in. It may even be past stories and past narratives. It may be fear to step forward and take the next yes to with you. It may be [58:04] stories that we inherited, that we sometimes feel like become our identity. God, right now, I ask first that you give us the courage to say yes to you, that we don't want to settle for anything less than the fullness of who we were created to be. And that means that we were created in the image of God. We were created to look like you and all of your beauty, [58:42] your splendor. And God, I ask right now"), Document(metadata={'source': "58:53"}, page_content="that you give us the courage if you are inviting us to say yes to you, to a life with you. God, right now, we just say yes. In our spirits, in our hearts, we say yes to you. [59:07] God, we say yes to you being our savior. We recognize we can't do this life on our own and that we were never intended to. So would you wash us clean from the inside out? And God, whatever has saturated us now, God, we ask that you wash that, wring us out if necessary so that our sponges of life can be refilled with something greater. And, God, now we ask that your holy spirit, your, [59:44] the very presence and life of god, we ask that your holy spirit now saturate every part of who we are. We ask that your holy spirit fill us from the tip of our toes, overflowing up through our bodies that we are filled with the very presence of god himself. [01:00:06] But that God we recognize that it's not just something that's that's just for this moment, but that every morning as we wake up we may say, Jesus, I say yes to you."), Document(metadata={'source': "01:00:29"}, page_content="Would you saturate me with you? That we that we [01:00:34] find a way to connect in your word, a way that helps us ground into the situations that we need in everyday life. God, I ask that as the evenings come, that we look back on the day and we say thank you, that we notice the movements of your holy spirit in us, through us, and around us, and that we pause to say [01:01:01] glory to God. And that this rhythm might help us remain saturated in the holy spirit, the the power, the life of God, and that we not settle for anything else. [01:01:18] In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen and amen. My prayer today is that only do we experience that, but as you'll see when you read later is that when John pointed out who Jesus was, he did it with the people around him, [01:01:41]"), Document(metadata={'source': "01:01:47"}, page_content="and the first disciples came to be with Jesus. They were so excited by the difference he'd made in the person that they knew. They said, hey. Where are you staying? Can I come and and learn some more about you? [01:02:02] And Jesus said, come and see. I am praying that in each of our lives this week, I I gotta warn you, I really am. I'm praying that in every one of our lives this week, god places somebody [01:02:23] that is just hoping for somebody to respond. Come and see. And I'm praying that we aren't so busy that we miss it. God is doing amazing things. Glory to God. And I think that, no pressure. [01:02:46] I I always do this. We have an opportunity to respond"), Document(metadata={'source': "01:02:54"}, page_content="not only in, in our lives, but in the five t's. [01:02:59] What are they again, doctor Dennis? They are five t's whose I I beg your forgiveness. I'm gonna write them down, doctor Dennis. I'm not even gonna ask him. I need to remember them. I think it's time, talents, [01:03:14] temple. Treasure. I'll bring a Snickers for whoever can remember and bring it next week. Snickers. I'll bring a Snickers or no. I will bring you a Toblerone. I will bring a Toblerone for whoever next week can remember the fifth tee to remind us so we can practice it together each week. And I am unsure who is helping lead our offering time, so I'm gonna ask them to come up, and I'm gonna get out of the way. Glory to god. [01:03:32] done. Thank you. I may have asked them, please make it entertaining. And I love how he responded. It is announcements and not commentary. And I'm like, yes. I love it. So always gonna be interesting. God is so good. Just a reminder that, we had previously scheduled a board meeting today. We will not be doing that today. We our team is still I know revival just broke out in this section with miss B who's like, glory to god."), Document(metadata={'source': "01:17:00"}, page_content="But be praying today for our finance team as they're wrapping up some really, really dedicated work. I mean, it's been a lot, and I'm so grateful and so proud. [01:17:04] And I'll see you tonight, 05:00, and then we'll go together at 07:00. Thank you, Elaine. I'm like, my mind went blank. I was so enjoyed what Elijah and Chloe were doing. I lost it. So God is good. May the Lord bless you and keep you. [01:17:24] May he make his face shine upon you and give you peace. Amen and amen. Go in his grace today. Baltic twisted up here. Hailed.")], 'output_text': ''}

Sermon Clips

``Instead, did you hear what he does? John points and says, look. The lamb of God. Everybody's looking at him, and he could have loved the limelight and said, yes. Let me tell you how awesome I am. And what did he do? Look. Have you seen Jesus? Not the revolutionary, not the political savior, not the religious celebrity, the lamb. [00:33:31] (45 seconds) #LookToTheLamb

The Passover lamb is one option that might have come to their mind. Do you remember that story where the people of God back in Exodus, there was this time that that death was coming through the area. And if they had put the blood of the Passover lamb above their door, then their house would be protected. It was a sign of the protection of God in the midst of everything. The Passover lamb whose blood marked the doorpost and caused death to pass over God's people. They might have been thinking, the lamb? This is our deliverer. [00:35:21] (46 seconds) #LambOfDeliverance

Or it might be at work as we walk in and the boss says, oh, by the way, I know you were planning to do x, y, and z. I know you've worked hard on it. Oh, but we're gonna wait to do that tomorrow. I have another pressing need. And our response could be could be you've gotta be kidding. I like it. I like it. Or our response could be How can I help? What if our first response to unexpected situations was not how dare you, but was how can I help? [00:40:51] (57 seconds) #HowCanIHelp

Being drawn to the lamb as the focus is more than just saying it's not about me. It's saying it's all about him. What we eat, what we drink, how we work, how we live, how we interact with people, how we try to be the focus, how we try not to be the focus. How we live day to day is not just, oh, it's not about me. It is it is all about him. [00:44:03] (32 seconds) #AllAboutHim

When the rule baptizes someone, it means total saturation. I mean, imagine a sponge. Have you ever seen a sponge that drinks up all the water there is, and no more will even go in? It's, like, so full, it can't even contain itself. That is what happens when we are baptized by the, by the holy spirit, living by the power of something greater than us, saturated in the very power, life, and presence of God. What are we saturated in today? [00:48:11] (52 seconds) #SpiritSaturated

What are we saturated with today? Are we saturated with substances? Trying to get through to the next moment? Are we saturated with social media, watching what the next thing is? Are we saturated with news reports? Are we saturated with fear? God, surely, you couldn't use me. I mean, I'm just I'm only a just a teenager. I'm just a mom. I'm just a dad. I'm just a grandparent. You couldn't possibly use me. [00:50:09] (60 seconds) #GodCanUseYou

If we are saturated with anything other than the ruach, the holy spirit, the presence of god, you're absolutely right. God can't use us. Not popular preaching. But if we say yes to God, if we say yes to Jesus, do you know what he can do? He can turn marriages from focused on focused on fighting each other to healing issues. He can turn situations into a place where parents and and children, whether young or not so young, no longer have to fight but can experience this thing called forgiveness. [00:51:09] (55 seconds) #SaturatedByTheSpirit

My prayer today is that only do we experience that, but as you'll see when you read later is that when John pointed out who Jesus was, he did it with the people around him, and the first disciples came to be with Jesus. They were so excited by the difference he'd made in the person that they knew. They said, hey. Where are you staying? Can I come and and learn some more about you? And Jesus said, come and see. [01:01:31] (42 seconds) #ComeAndSeeJesus

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