02/15/2026 - Truth & Love - 1 John 1:1-4

Jesus was a real man who lived a life, and died in a real place under real rulers. And I think we can also look at the fact that he really did get up and get out of the grave just by looking at the empty tomb. That the person, the man, the body of Jesus physically rose from the dead. In that, the tomb is empty, and the disciples go from being cowards hiding in a room to church planters who won't stop talking about Jesus, and all of them end up martyred or suffering for their faith in Jesus. How do you explain that change if Jesus didn't really rise, and present himself as God coming back to life? [00:16:58] (42 seconds)  #EmptyTombEvidence

This is not a sermon or a series about you doing better. I want you to wrestle with, am I really a Christian? John over and over is going to compel us to not behave differently, but believe rightly. We don't need another to do. We need to see what's been done for us. And so if you're looking at this question, you're wrestling with, I don't know if Jesus has changed anything about me. Maybe this morning, you need to bend a knee to the king of kings. [00:06:17] (38 seconds)  #BelieveNotBehavior

You know, I think something we really struggle with and have to war against as followers of Jesus is that Jesus comes in and he begins to change things, but we can often live like, Jesus, you can have my Sunday morning. You can have my time at small group. I'll even serve back in redemption kids. I'll put some money in the giving boxes every once in a while. But when it comes to the home I live in, the cars I drive, the career I have, the way that I'm raising my kids, the way that I treat my spouse, the way that I treat my neighbors, what I choose to look at, or read, or participate in, God that's mine. [00:03:41] (35 seconds)  #WholeLifeSurrender

Let me define joy by the like this. Because it's not just happiness or feeling good. It's a settled delight that comes from following Jesus together. Settled in that it's it's not dependent on your circumstances. And delight meaning it's deeper than just how you are experiencing your emotions right now, but you can choose to experience. And that this may be a hard season for you, but you can have settled delight in Jesus. And that he's teaching you something. He's he's spurring you on. He's preparing you for something. This is the desire of Jesus you guys. [00:34:54] (44 seconds)  #SettledJoyInJesus

You don't think Jesus feels that way about his bride? The things I hear people say about the church grieve me. And I would urge caution about how we talk about the church. And that's not to turn a blind eye to things we couldn't improve. That's not to say that there's not growth areas. For sure there is, but we can speak with honor and respect. He died for this thing. I think he loves it a lot. So we should speak carefully. And I think that only flows when we have a commitment to him, and he begins to change us and show us how much he loves her. And then we want to roll up our sleeves and say, let's make it better. [00:28:14] (40 seconds)  #HonorTheChurch

Just think about for a second. What John is saying here is guys, I know his voice. I know his face. I can picture his smile. I can see him in my mind. I know what it's like to catch his eyes across the room. I know what it's like to get a hug from Jesus or a fist bump from Jesus. He's fully man, and John here is saying, I have experienced him. [00:14:24] (27 seconds)  #SeenJesusPersonally

He came and lived the life you couldn't live. Your sin put him in the grave, but he walked out because he's bigger than your sin. He wants to save you from that. He's inviting you into fellowship. Don't turn your back on him today. [00:38:05] (19 seconds)  #JesusPaidItAll

If you are holding something back from Jesus, if you're not surrendering to him, if he's not changing you in every aspect, I would just encourage you. The bible word for it is repent. It just simply means turn and go a different direction. Like give that over to him. Let him begin that work. [00:39:00] (19 seconds)  #RepentAndTurn