Don’t Miss the Moment | Palm Sunday

Hey, take out those notes you got on your way in today. It's Palm Sunday, and we're gonna dive into a message that'll help set you up to make the most of this week. There is no more important week in the history of our faith than this week when it comes to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So I want you to take out your Bibles, and we're gonna look at the story in John chapter 12. John chapter 12, as Jesus has been traveling, doing ministry for three years, we now hit the pinnacle of ministry of what Jesus came to do, which is to sacrifice his life for you and for me. But to do that, he appears in Jerusalem, and as he appears in Jerusalem, we hear what's called the triumphal entry. It's Palm Sunday. This is the Sunday we celebrate that event that sets us up for the whole week, and I wanna read it to you today. John chapter 12, we're in verse 12. It says, the next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival, that festival was Passover. During that festival, heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, and they took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna. Can I hear a big Hosanna?

Hosanna. Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it as it is written. What he was doing is fulfilling prophecy. He wouldn't come on a giant horse like a king would. He would come as a servant on this donkey that was prophesied about. He says, do not be afraid, daughter Zion. See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt. Then, look at verse 16. This is what stood out to me as I was preparing this message for this week. At first, his disciples, now these are the ones who had traveled with him. They'd saw the miracles. They'd heard the teaching. They'd saw the multiplication of food. The disciples did not understand all of this. Now, that blows me away. Jesus told them time and time again what would happen. They didn't get it. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. There's this moment where Jesus is coming into Jerusalem and as this prophecy has been fulfilled, before their eyes, the disciples missed it. I think we all do the exact same thing.

These big moments that God has for us, many times, we miss it. That's why I titled today's message, and you can write it down, don't miss the moment. Don't miss the moment. There are certain moments that God wants to do significant things in and through your life. Don't miss the moment. How many know you can be in the moment, but you can miss it? Like, you can be watching the kids' game and be frustrated because it's hot out and the game's going a little long, and you miss the moment. You can be watching the Netflix show with your spouse, and yet they're playing on their phone. They miss the moment. You ever had that moment where you're trying to like, hey, you have to watch this movie, and then you look over, they're like scrolling. You're like, you're missing it. You're not even really watching it. You're missing the moment. I had a moment get missed years ago. Katie and I, we were dating, and when we were dating, we had a group of friends of ours, and we all wanted to go up to New York City for the ball drop. Now, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Now, why it's once-in-a-lifetime is because

when you do it once, you'll never do it again in your lifetime. We go up there to New York City, this big group of us. We're all staying at this big apartment, and we're all excited, and this is right when Katie and I started dating, so I had this picture in my mind, romance, New York City, snow's falling, the ball is dropping, and I lay a big kiss on her at midnight. I was ready to go. I'm all excited. We get there about 12 hours before, and you get barricaded in to this place in Times Square with hundreds of thousands of people that you don't want to be that close to, and as you're barricaded in, you can't leave. It's horrendous, so you're sitting there. People are using the restroom everywhere. It's horrific. You see the video on the Jumbotron, and everybody's like, woo, this is the best night ever. They're all liars. Nobody's having fun. They just say that for the camera, so when Katie and I are there, we're a whole group of friends, we're just waiting hour after hour. Well, my girlfriend at the time, now my wife, she gets hungry, and so when my wife gets hungry, let me tell you, you just let her eat, because you don't want a hangry Katie, okay?

So she's like, I'm really, really hungry. We're like, well, you can't leave. She's like, no, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go get us some burgers, and then I'll get some for everybody. I'll bring them all back. We're like, I don't think they're gonna let you do that. She's like, no, no, I'll take care of it, so she goes and leaves. It's like three hours before midnight. Well, hours go by, and time, and time again, she doesn't show up. She doesn't answer her phone. She's still got that problem today. Still doesn't answer her phone, and so I'm calling, I'm calling. I can't get ahold of her. Well, finally, it's three, two, one. The ball drops. She's nowhere to be found. Some random girl tries to kiss me. I ain't having that, okay? Get behind me, Satan. This is whole moment where we missed it, and I'm angry. I'm angry. I don't know where she's at, so we all go back to the apartment that we're all staying in, and I go there, and in the hallway,

there's Katie sitting there on the floor. I'm like, where have you been? She's like, oh, they wouldn't let me back in. I was like, well, what have you been doing the last three or four hours? She's like, I just eating a burger an hour, just having fun during this time. She missed the moment. She missed the moment. There's certain moments in your life that are significant that you gotta be intentional about not missing them, and this is when it comes to Easter, but it's also when it comes to your life. Let me just say it this way. Don't miss the moment that God's got you in right now. Don't be so focused on the next season of what is coming up that you miss the current season of what God's got you in. Don't miss the moment that you have with those little kids at home right there. Don't miss this moment of what God's trying to do in you during this season of singleness. Don't miss this moment that you have with your spouse right now. Don't miss the moment, and don't be so focused on what's next that you miss what God wants to do in you right now. Don't miss the, don't miss the moment. Don't miss the moment.

God wants to do it in your life. You see, it's also not just true with the big moments in your life. It's also true when it comes to Easter, because many of us think it's just another holiday, another moment, another family photo in our pastels, another moment that you just think this is just another Easter, and if you're not careful, you'll miss the moment of what God wants to do in the significance of even this Easter, because you have to understand this is not a normal week for us as Christians, and if you go into this week as just a normal week, you'll miss out on the gravity of the weight of this week. You can write down your notes this way. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. There is no more important event in the history of mankind than the event that we celebrate and we focus on this week. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15, 14. If Christ has not been raised, like if this event didn't happen, if the resurrection didn't happen, then the preaching that you're hearing right now is useless, and so is your faith. All of this thing is useless if we don't understand that what we celebrate with the crucifixion, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus is foundational to it all. Without the resurrection, we're just following a good idea,

but with the resurrection, we are following a risen savior, a historical God-man who truly lived a sinless life, died for our sins, rose from the grave, and now has defeated death, hell, and the grave, and brings life to our bodies. Can we give him some praise? That's what we're celebrating this week. That's why Paul wrote in the book of 1 Corinthians, for what I've received, he goes, I passed on to you as first importance, like the most important thing, this is what I pass on to you. What's the most important thing that you'll pass on to the next generation? What's the most important thing that you'll pass on to your friends and family? Here's what he says it is. The most important thing that we have to focus on as Christians. What is it? That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day. That's the most important thing that we are to focus on as Christians. So as you go into Easter week, I don't want you just to have another week where you go through the motions. I want you to understand it as the most important thing that you're to focus on. So how do we not miss this moment?

Let me give you three things that I think will set you up to win over this next week. Number one is you need to go into Easter and you need to prepare your heart. Don't just have a moment where you've gone through the motions without evaluating the state of your heart to make sure you're prepared for what God wants to do. That you're prepared. How many know you can be in the right setting but with the wrong heart, you won't get the right outcome? Like I've seen people go into counseling and they're sitting there like, well you better fix them because I am, they're a little problem. And what do they do? And what do they do? They leave there and the marriage is worse off than before because they didn't have the right heart. The right heart matters. I remember a time I took my two daughters right here on the front row, I took them to Washington DC because I wanted to teach them about American history. So I thought, I know what to do. This is about a year ago. a year or so ago, I said, I'm gonna take them to all the museums, to all the monuments, and my kids are gonna fall in love with American history. We're gonna wear American flag t-shirts.

I'm gonna raise up patriots in Jesus' name. It's gonna be awesome. So the problem with raising up, I have four girls that I'm raising up in the house, one boy, four girls, and is that there's never a day where everybody's in the good mood. Do you know what I'm talking about? So you're always kind of navigating which one's in a bad mood today. So they're all awesome kids, but you're always just got one in a bad mood. Well, we woke up that day in D.C. and my oldest daughter, who I love so much, she was just not in the heart posture to learn about the Declaration of Independence. And I remember walking into the American History Museum and she's in a bad mood. And when she's in a bad mood, I'm in a bad mood because I'm gonna fix her bad mood by force. And my wife is like, it never works. Erin, you're pushing hard and it's making her in even a worse mood. So I'm trying to like, there's multiple times I've talked about it. I'm like, hey, you will love the Bill of Rights. This is a big moment. Lean into this moment. And she was just in a bad mood and I knew in this bad mood, she's never gonna get out of it

what she needs to get out of it. So we had to work ourselves out of the bad mood because I know if the heart is right, you can receive. Does that make sense? It's the same when it comes to Easter. It's the same when it comes to big moments in your life. The primary importance for you is the way to get the most out of it is to make sure your heart is right. That is why before you take communion, you know what the Bible tells us to do? It says everyone ought to examine themselves. What is that? Check your heart. Like, is there bitterness in there? Is there sin in there? Is there unforgiveness? Is there busyness in there? He says examine yourself, why? Before they eat the bread and drink the cup. Why do we do this? We examine ourselves because we want our heart right so that we can receive what we're supposed to receive out of it. Can I just say it this way? The depth of your preparation when it comes to your heart determines the breadth of your purpose. So you want a great thing that God wants to do in you and through you? Then let it go deep in the preparation of your heart.

Most people avoid the pains of preparation. That's why they never walk into the actual benefits of the purpose that God has for them. Because they won't go through the pain that it takes behind the scenes to actually get yourself there. So let me just tell you, don't just jump into this week. Evaluate your heart. That's why a good prayer to pray is out of the book of Psalm 139, where David, search me, O God. Look at this beautiful prayer. Know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there's any offensive way in me and then do this. Lead me into the way of everlasting. This is a way for you to prepare yourself for the great things God wants to do, for you to pause, take a few minutes every day, and say, search me, O God. No, is there something in my heart that is offensive towards you? I want you to work it out because I don't wanna go into this next season without my heart prepared. This is why, by the way, we do our Good Friday service. And if you've never been to a Good Friday, it's a one-hour worship and communion service that we put there.

You know why we put it on the calendar? Just for you to prepare your heart for Easter. It's one of my favorite services we do all year long. It's very heavy in worship. It's focused on the cross. We take communion together. It's a beautiful time to remember what Jesus has done. Why? Because I think we rush into Easter Sunday way too quick. You gotta just slow down. Prepare your heart. To help you prepare your heart this week, I put together a five-day devotional that I want you to start tomorrow. So I want you to take your phone. I want you to scan this QR code. I actually filmed this a year ago in Israel. I filmed it at the empty tomb, the garden tomb there in Israel. And it's a five-day reading plan, and it's got a video that goes along with it called the Why the Resurrection Changes Everything. And every single day is a new perspective on the resurrection. Why did I put this together? Because I wanna help you prepare your heart. This is a great thing for you to send out to your friends, maybe your family group text. Put it all in there. Y'all go through it together.

Take five days, it's on the Bible app. It also will be on our YouTube channel starting tomorrow morning. And just to help you, I put these together because I really wanna help resource you that Sunday's not just an experience, but it's actually a resource to help you all week long. That every day you're focused. I'm gonna start my day focusing on the resurrection because it changes everything in my life. And I see a lot of phones still out, so I'm gonna give it just another few seconds. And if you're watching this in the future, you can go on our website, check it out right there on weareradiant.com. because we wanna help you have a clear perspective of what the resurrection is all about. Very good, very good. Watch what God will do through your life as you prepare your heart. Number two is you gotta pursue the lost. How do you make the most of Easter? Don't miss the moment. You prepare your heart and you pursue the lost, meaning there are people who are far from God and this is a perfect opportunity for us to bring them to a place where they can experience God in a real life-giving way. When you think about this moment on Palm Sunday, Jesus is entering into Jerusalem

and what gathers on the street? Crowds gather. I love that because here's the fact. Jesus deserves a crowd. Jesus deserves a crowd. Now, I'm not against other people having a crowd. I'm not against that. I get it, like Taylor Swift can fill up a stadium. That's awesome. The Bucs deserve to fill up the stadium. They're awesome, but let me just tell you, Jesus deserves a crowd. Only Jesus, God for our sins, only Jesus can change someone from the inside out. People get all weird about this, like, oh, y'all just want the church full. Jesus deserves a crowd. It's not for our ego's sake. It's not for number's sake. It's the fact that he deserves to be glorified because if anybody deserves a crowd, Jesus deserves a crowd because he's the God of the universe. He deserves a crowd. And the greatest time that we gather in an entire year to celebrate our resurrected Savior is on Easter Sunday, is on the Easter weekend. And here's the fact that I want you to write down, that 87% of non-Christians, these are your friends, these are your neighbors, these are your coworkers,

these are the people that work out with you, these are people in your book club, 87% of non-Christians will attend an Easter service if you invite them. That's right at almost nine out of 10 people that if you invite them, they will say yes. So we have to do our part. Easter is not a private, personal experience. It's a community celebration that we go into our streets and we invite the broken world to experience the resurrected Savior because Jesus deserves a crowd. And if there's a perfect opportunity to see people get saved, it's Easter weekend. And this is what Jesus came to do, Luke 19, for the Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost. The mission of Jesus was reaching lost people. And the mission of the church is not just to care for each other, which we should, and not just to reach the world, which we should, but to reach our broken and lost neighbors in our backyard who don't know Jesus yet and with one invite, their whole life could be changed. Let me just say this, don't disqualify yourself from thinking that God can't use your life. You could be the very person that gives one invite to somebody that changes their entire life. Let me just say it this way. I wrote it down in my notes this way, it's not in yours, but if the cross saved you, it should send you.

That if you have had a moment of an encounter with God where that cross saved you from your sins despite who you are, then we should be compelled to go into a lost and dying world and share that hope with a world that desperately needs him. I wrote it down this way, you can write it down in your notes the gospel message is too good to keep to yourself. We keep it to ourselves because we forget how good it is. This is the message that God loves people, that God has not given up on us, that he's not left us for ourselves, but God loves people so much to show up in their brokenness and he went to the cross and he was raised again, overcoming everything that people deal with. And so if your lost friend or family member seems too broken or too messed up, then Jesus is what they need. And if they seem like they got it all together, let me just let you in on a little secret, they're lying to you. They're secretly hurting and they need the message of Jesus. You go, well Aaron, let me just tell you, they've got it all together, they got perfect kids and they got perfect house and they got the great job, but do they have an eternity in heaven? Because that doesn't happen because they think that they've got it all together, that happens because they've submitted themselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ and that is only possible by putting faith in Jesus,

not our own works. People need the gospel message of Jesus Christ. And one invite can change everything. When I got saved at 16 years old, I was. I was so compelled to see my friends come to know Jesus. And I was just trying to tell everybody possible. And I remember it was a service just like this, where the pastor challenged us to think of a name or two that we could reach out to, to invite them to an Easter service. And I remember sitting in that auditorium, and he said, I want you to pray, and I went, God's gonna highlight a name or two. And I remember he highlighted two people at my workplace. I worked at McDonald's, and it was our manager, and it was this coworker named Billy. And I remember sitting there thinking, okay, God, if you could just use me with just these two. And I prayed, and I asked God, and I opened the door. And every time before I'd go into work, I'd pause and go, God, give me an opportunity to just share a message, to invite them. I didn't feel qualified to tell them the whole message. I didn't know what to say. But I just thought, if they would just come with me to church, I know God will meet them. God will save them. So I'd invite them to church. They'd say, no, no, no, no. And then finally, I'll never forget,

it was the Saturday before Easter Sunday. I'm closing down McDonald's with Billy, and we're there talking, and I'm begging him. I'm going, please, just come with me tomorrow. It's Easter Sunday. Come on, you gotta go to church. And remember, 87%, almost nine out of 10 people will say yes, and Billy was one of those that said yes. So he showed up, and I told him I'd go pick him up. So I drive up to his house, and I'm so excited. Like, I've been to church so many times before. It's different when you go to church on mission, knowing that somebody's life is about to be forever changed. So I go, I go to pull up, and I pick him up, and then we go into the church service. I don't know if you ever brought anybody to church. You see church different. You know what I mean? All the weird people in church, all of a sudden get very noticeable to you. You know what I mean? Like, not in our church, but in other churches. You know what I'm talking about? There's none at Radiant, but I grew up in a crazy, charismatic church. So it was the first time I noticed. We had these people with banners, swinging them on the stage, and blowing a shofar, and the whole thing. Some of y'all don't even know what that is.

Thank God, okay? And I remember sitting there with him, thinking like, and I'm having to explain all this to him. And the whole time, he's just turning to me the whole time. If you've ever brought anybody to church that doesn't know God, it's a wild experience. Because the whole time, they're like, why are they doing this? Hey, where's the collar to the pastor? Like, the priest, the father. You know, where's that? Oh, he doesn't wear those. We're not that group. You're like, you're having to explain everything. Like, how long are we gonna sing this song? And it's just like, and then the message starts. And I always used to get so nervous. Like, oh, what is he gonna preach about? You ever brought a friend, you're always like, oh, it's the one Sunday they're preaching about money, or they're preaching about, you know, it's at the movies, it's always weird. You know, it's like, and you know what? Here's what I realized. Just, none of that matters. None of that matters. You just get them in the room. Because what happens at the end of this service is it'll change their life forever. Because at the end of that service,

the pastor did this thing that I do every Sunday. Hey, everybody just close your eyes, bow your head. And all across the room, everybody did it, and I did this, and I peaked the whole time. Because I built up for this one moment, and I didn't want to miss it. And the Spirit of God was in the room, just like it is every Sunday here at Radiant, where it just, we get this opportunity, and God's Spirit is dealing with their heart. Don't worry about what was the message, what did they do, was the pastor funny enough? No, none of that. Watch how God'll change their life. You just get them in the room. And so, the pastor, I have no clue what he preached. I don't think my friend has a clue what he preached. But at the end of that service, my friend shot his hand up. And tears went down my face. And I experienced a high that this world can never offer you. And it's the high of being a small part of the big thing that God wants to do to change someone's eternity. And I know that I'm not special. I just gave the invite, and that man's life was changed forever. The trajectory of his entire life was changed in that one moment where he had an encounter with God, and I was just so thankful.

Lord, thank you for letting me be a small part of this thing. One invite can change everything, church. There's one invite card going in. It can change their family, their children, the generations that follow. Don't, you go, well, they're too far gone. Don't give up on them. If God puts them on your heart, you reach out to them and watch how God will move in their life. And next Sunday or next Saturday, whenever you wanna show up to an Easter service and you bring your friend and they're sitting there, and I say, close your eyes and bow your head, you do this. You peek, just us, okay? All right, all right. A lot of guests next Sunday, you peek, though. And when that hand goes up, will you watch the fulfillment that comes with just being a soft heart of the big thing God wants to do in their life? Now, I know the pressure you're feeling here, because you're going, I don't know what to say. I don't know how to make it happen. So let me help you out with this, okay? Let me bribe you with pizza, okay? Now, I'm joking. This is a pizza box. A pizza box has one job. It's to deliver the pizza.

All right? A pizza box is not what you're excited about. Nobody orders the pizza, and when you go to the door, you go, oh, the box is so beautiful. Let me Instagram the box. Let me celebrate the box. The pizza box doesn't get the glory. Why? Because it's not about the box. It's about the product that's on the inside. Does that make sense? You're following me? We've made way too big of a deal about the pizza box. Let me tell you, you don't care about the box. Reality is, you know what? You throw away the box afterwards. You don't remember the box, but thank God for some good pizza. I don't know about you. I could go for some pizza. I like some pizza. I don't care too much for the box, because the box is just a vessel to house the pizza. All right, it might not be connecting, so let me just help it connect it, okay? Simplify it for everybody. You're not the pizza. You're not the product. You're not what everybody's gonna talk about. That's okay.

Jesus is what it's all about. You are but the vessel. You are but the box. You are but the avenue to go into a lost and dying world and give them what they're hungry for, whether they know it or not, which is the life-saving message of Jesus Christ. Aren't you thankful that it's not about us? It's all about him and his glory. And if they forget about you, so what? You're just the pizza box. But aren't we grateful for pizza? Come on, somebody. And let me tell you, it's that which changes their lives, not pizza, but Jesus, to the glory of God. Are you with me today, church? Here's your question I want you to write down. As you're thinking about this, as you're thinking about this season and this moment, I don't want you to miss this, because the question you have to ask yourself is who are you inviting to Easter at Radiant? Who is the family member, the friend, the coworker? I had this moment this last week. I was praying, praying for people that I work out with, praying for people in my family, going, okay, who can I invite and who can I arrange to make sure they're in the service? I would say I was praying for my coworkers, but I work at a church,

so I'm hoping they're all saved. But you never know. It's funny right there. Don't take that off the screen yet. Don't take it off the screen yet, because I really want this to resonate with somebody. Somebody in here, God's speaking to you about a name, a neighbor, a coworker, somebody that God's putting on your heart. This is your moment right now. Write it down just like I wrote down those coworkers' names. And watch how God will work on their heart and in their heart. And just pray every single day, God, give me an open door, give me an opportunity. I don't have to be the pizza. Just let me be the pizza box to deliver the invite, deliver the opportunity. Are y'all with me today, church? And watch how God will change their life. Number three, and we'll close with this one. How do we make the most of this opportunity? You gotta prepare your heart. You gotta pursue the lost. And number three, you gotta praise the Savior. I love this flow. Get your heart right. Invite people along on the journey. And then don't miss out on the opportunity to do what we were created to do, which is to worship him.

Let's not miss out on what we were actually created to do. Look what it says in Luke 19. When the whole crowd of disciples, they gathered, what did they do? They began joyfully to praise God in a loud voice. Because this is why we were created. This is what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to give him praise for the miracles they had seen. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Let's not be the people that are so busy with even the religious things to do in life that we miss out on why we were created, which is to give God praise. Hebrews chapter 13 says, through Jesus, therefore, let us continually, not once, not at youth camp, not I did it at a revival service, or if I feel like it, I'm living a life of continual offering of praise to the Lord, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. This is what happens when somebody gets a right view of who God is. is and what he did for us on the cross our response is that of worship and I wonder when's the last time you took a few minutes to just pause and just think about how good God's been to your life I had a moment even this last week where I just paused I just started writing down what I'm grateful for and how God's blessed my family how God's blessed our church and what he's done and even in our South Tampa location and what he's done in our missions projects around the world and what he's done in our own health and then thinking about your stories and I couldn't help but just thinking about how good God is and

sometimes you just need a reminder so let me just do it to you right now God's been good to you church he's been good to you he's been faithful to you when you haven't been faithful God's still been faithful when you haven't been good God's still been good when you've all struggled God's been with you along the way can we just take about 10 seconds and even right where you're at can you just give him a little bit of praise for the fact that he's been good church come on we can do better than that he's a good God we celebrate him and you go well Aaron oh there's a lot of pain going on in my life and everything that's going on in the Middle East and there's so much going on let me just give you one truth as we close out this message we don't praise God because life is good we praise God because he is good I don't wait for my circumstances to be right for me to praise God I praise God not because of my circumstances but because of his character and if he does nothing else for you church he's worthy of your praise you know why because he went to the cross he died for you he was raised to new life and because he was raised up let me tell you he's worthy of all of our praise don't miss the moment don't let this week go by that you're so busy that you miss what you're created to do which is to give God praise give him praise let me just close out this story by showing you the end of the passage because it's so crazy when you look at what happened with these disciples these disciples were masters at missing the moment you got to think that they're on Palm Sunday and the Bible says they didn't understand what was going on they missed the moment you got a little bit more time later in the week where they're at the upper room and Passover meal they missed the moment Jesus asked them to pray with them in the garden they fell asleep they missed the moment the cross happens what do they do they scattered they missed the moment and then Sunday morning comes the tomb is empty and were they at the tomb celebrating no they missed the moment think about that for that moment the very people Jesus had invested in missed the moment doesn't it remind you of you and me so many times that we try our best and we fail and we continually miss the moment so what does Jesus do when they miss the moment as he rose from the grave he could have gone

anywhere but you know what he did he went back to those disciples who missed the moment after the resurrection the Bible is very clear how Jesus went looking for them he walked into the room that they were hiding behind locked doors who did he go to find he went to find Peter who had denied him three times he went to find Thomas who doubted he ever resurrected over and over again Jesus shows you his character that when we miss the moment he still shows up you know why because he's a God of not just second chances but third chances and fourth chances and fifth chances there's anybody thankful that when we miss the moment God still comes chasing after us and I don't know how you've blown it or how you've missed it but I think God's inviting us in yet again to be part of the moment that he wants to do in us and through us for his glory and for his honor. I want you to close your eyes all over the room all those who are watching I just want you to have a moment of reflection let the Holy Spirit do a deep work in you to be people that say God let me live in the moment you have for me right now even as we prepare for Easter Lord would you search our hearts maybe there's sin addiction unforgiveness help bring it to the surface purify us God to a deep work in us and through us prepare us even now for what you want to do next Lord I pray for your church I pray for for names of men and women, friends and family members, neighbors, co-workers who are far from you, God, but your spirit is working to draw them and you're looking for a vessel. Lord, we say we're available. Let's not get so busy this week. Help us, God, that we're not so busy that we miss out on what matters most, which is lost people being saved. We just say, God, we're available, right there in your seat.

Just tell them, say, God, I'm gonna be obedient. Maybe it's sending out a text, handing out an invite, offering to pick somebody up. Lord, help us to be available for your glory. Lastly, God, we just pray during this moment that we would not get so busy with life and so discouraged with life. That we stop giving you the praise you deserve. Lord, there's a lot going on in the Middle East. There's a lot going on in our own lives. There's a lot going on in financial systems in our country and around the world. There's a lot of pain, but God, even when life is not good, you are still good. And we will not stop giving you the worship you deserve because that's why we were created, in Jesus' name.