Home Hurt | Brock O'Dell

Hey, Pando family. We are so excited that you're joining us on the Southeast channel today. My name's Josh. I'm with the Connections team here at the Blankenbaker campus, and part of my role is connecting with people, and we want to connect with you. So using the address in the description, I would love for you all to write us. We'd love to hear your prayer requests, maybe a little bit about your story, any questions that you have. We want to connect and get to know each and every one of you. Tune it in. With that being said, we would also love for each of you to get connected and be a part of the Southeast Pando family. So please subscribe down below. Join the 32,000 others that are a part of this family. We would love, again, for you to subscribe so that we can be a part of this family together. With that being said, we are continuing in our study of Genesis as a church. We have been walking through chapter by chapter the book of Genesis, and we're continuing with a new sermon series today called Dysfunction Junction. Today Brock O'Dell is going to be teaching on what Isaac's family looks like, the dysfunction that's present in it, and the way that God calls us to repent and also calls us to forgive, the way that he can redeem families. So we're going to be jumping into Genesis 25 through 27. We can't wait for you to hear what it is that Brock is going to share with us. So let's jump into worship together. Thanks, guys. Put a look above the heavens All the works Your hand has made Who am I that You would love me And live alone except my praise Creation tells a story

From the ashes back to grace Every presence of Your giving So I'll return it back with praise Let all the earth declare His name How great, how great is Yahweh, Yahweh No other name deserves our praise No other name but Yahweh, Yahweh Every stronghold, every mountain Builds like wax before the King If the rock shall your dominion How could I not stand and sing Let all the earth declare His name How great, how great is Yahweh, Yahweh No other name deserves our praise No other name but Yahweh, Yahweh No other name but Yahweh, Yahweh Faithful, holy, strong and mighty All creation shout There's no one like our God Righteous, worthy, none more deserving All creation shout Come on, let's sing There's no one like our God Faithful, holy, strong and mighty All creation shout There's no one like our God Righteous, worthy, none more deserving All creation shout There's no one like our God Faithful, holy, strong and mighty

All creation shout There's no one like our God Righteous, worthy, none more deserving All creation shout There's no one like our God There's no one like our God There's no one like our God There's no one like our God Come on, y'all sing Let all the earth declare His name How great, how great, how great is Yahweh, Yahweh No other name deserves our praise No other name but Yahweh, Yahweh Let all the earth declare His name How great, how great, how great is Yahweh, Yahweh No other name deserves our praise No other name but Yahweh, Yahweh No other name but Yahweh, Yahweh No other name but Yahweh ♪ Yahweh, Yahweh ♪ ♪ The mountain I drink from, oh, is my song ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of my heart be the shadow where I hide ♪ ♪ The ransom for my life, oh, is my song ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh, you are good, you're good ♪ ♪ Oh, you are good, you're good, oh, you are good, you're good ♪ ♪ Oh, let the kingdom of my heart be the wind that drives my steps ♪ ♪ The anchor in the waves, oh, is my song ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of my heart be the fire that's tied my veins ♪ ♪ The anchor of my days, oh, is my song ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of my heart be the wind that drives my steps ♪

♪ Let the kingdom of my heart be the wind that drives my steps ♪ ♪ The anchor in the waves, oh, is my song ♪ ♪ Let the kingdom of my heart be the fire that's tied my veins ♪ ♪ The anchor of my days, oh, is my song ♪ ♪ You are good, you're good, oh, you are good, you're good ♪ ♪ Oh, you are good, you're good, oh, you are good, you're good ♪ ♪ You are good, you are good, you are good, you're good, oh ♪ ♪ See, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Come on in faith today, you're never gonna let, you're not ♪ ♪ Come on, let faith rise all over the room, you see ♪ ♪ Yeah, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Every season, every circumstance, you're me ♪ ♪ Oh, hey, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me, I say cause I know ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ You are God, you're God, oh oh ♪ ♪ You are God, you're God, oh oh ♪ ♪ You are God, you're God, oh oh ♪ ♪ You are God, you're God, oh oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, I know, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ You'll never let me down ♪ ♪ You're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ I know I can see that you're true, you're never gonna let me down ♪ ♪ Oh, you're never gonna let, you're never gonna let me down ♪ I don't know, I'm gonna... ♪ With a chasm that lay between us ♪ ♪ How high the mountain I could not climb ♪ ♪ In desperation I turned to heaven ♪ ♪ Spoke Your name into the night ♪

♪ Then through the darkness Your loving kindness ♪ ♪ Tore through the shadows of my soul ♪ ♪ The work is finished, the end is written ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Yes, He's our hope ♪ ♪ Who could imagine so great a mercy ♪ ♪ What heart could love of such boundless grace ♪ ♪ The God of ages stepped down from the glory ♪ ♪ To wear my sin and bear my shame ♪ ♪ The cross has spoken, I am forgiven ♪ ♪ The King of kings calls me His own ♪ ♪ Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ We sing this out. ♪ Hallelujah, He's the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has cast its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Yes, He's our living hope ♪ ♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise, we declare ♪ ♪ Your very body begins to move out of the silence of our mind ♪ ♪ Deeper and truer is our prayer for You ♪ ♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise, Your very body begins to move out of the silence of our mind ♪ ♪ To breathe out of the silence ♪ ♪ The roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me ♪ ♪ Jesus, Yours is the victory ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪

♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ Jesus, we declare that you are our hope and that we are confident that you hold us. Hold our eternity, that there is hope in you alone, Jesus, and that you have good plans for all of us, that you are faithful, that you are kind, and you are good. God, we give you all the glory this morning. We give you all the honor. We love you, Jesus. It's in his name, amen. You all can grab a seat. Amen. Today, we are gonna continue in our study of Genesis as we're starting a new series entitled, Dysfunction Junction. And over the next few weeks, we will see how God brings redemption to dysfunctional families. And that's good news because every family's a bit dysfunctional. Today, our Blankenbaker High School pastor, Brock O'Dell,

will be teaching a message called Home Hurt. So grab your Bible, open your notebooks, and welcome Brock as he comes to preach. So I was at the gym the other day, lifting an embarrassing amount of weight. And this man approaches me, interrupts me, so I take out my headphones and he leans in and he says, has anybody ever told you that you are an incredible leader? And in that moment, I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Like I'm feeling like pretty confident and gassed up. I'm like, thanks, man. That really means a lot to me. And in that moment, I wish that our conversation would have ended right there so that I could have kept feeling really confident because the next question out of his mouth was, so how are things down South in Tennessee? And I realize in that moment that this man thinks he's talking to somebody that I am not. It's something that happens to me quite often, actually. You see, this man thinks that he's talking to Bryson Cook. Bryson Cook is our campus pastor at the Franklin campus down in Tennessee here at Southeast. The reason that this man thinks he's talking to Bryson when he's talking to me, the reason that many of you think you're talking to Bryson when you're talking to me is because I've been told me and Bryson bear a resemblance to one another.

Check it out. So I have to tell this guy, I'm like, hey man, I'm not Bryson. Bryson is the one who lives down South in Tennessee. My name is Brock O'Dell. I work in student ministry here at Blankenbaker and he doesn't know what to say and I don't know what to say and it feels a little bit awkward. And so he's like, you're not who I thought you were. See you later. And he walks away. And as I go back to working out, my brain begins to do that thing. All of our brains do this, but the intrusive thoughts, they start really small, don't they? And then they get bigger and bigger and bigger. And I remember sitting there on that machine thinking, I wish I was as good of a leader as Bryson is. Why don't I have the leadership chops that Bryson has? Why is Bryson the best leader? Why does everybody think Bryson is the perfect leader and I'm not a good leader? You know what, I bet Bryson isn't just a perfect leader. I bet he's also the best dad in the world. I bet my kids wish that Bryson was their dad. You know what else? I bet Bryson is the best husband in the world. He probably takes his wife on 10 dates a week. You know what else?

I bet Bryson is a real man. He knows how to do man stuff, like fix toilets. I don't know how to do that. Bryson's probably really smart with their money. He knows what a Roth IRA is. I have no idea what that is. Bryson has such cool hair. I wish I had hair like Bryson. I wish I was more like Bryson. And then somebody comes and interrupts me and they're like, are you done with this machine? And I'm like, oh yeah, sorry, sorry, yeah. It's something that we all do. We compare ourselves, we compare our situations. We even compare our families with somebody else's. And then we end up hopelessly looking down on our own. Today, we're opening up a conversation talking about family, but we're gonna specifically start that conversation talking about how we compare our family situation to what we may see around us. It's something we all do. In fact, earlier this year, there was a popular meme going around on social media. It was being shared by fathers. The meme pictures a man, a father looking into a mirror, wishing that he could be a better dad. That uses this verbiage. Visualizing in the mirror, the dad I want to become. And if you're familiar with the popular kids show, Bluey,

the dog in the mirror right there, that is Bandit. And Bandit is probably the greatest dad to have never lived. He's fun and he's patient and he has a cool Australian accent. Like my own kids have said, dad, Bandit is the best dad in the world. And so what we do though, in our humanness is we look at the bandits of the world. We look at the Brysons of the world. We look at maybe that one family on your social media that's always posting the perfectly curated family photos. Beach, we look at those and then we think, me and my family are never gonna measure up to that. We are too broken, I'm too broken. We are too messy, I'm too messy. Interestingly enough, I think where people actually might do this the most, whether consciously or subconsciously, is we compare our families with the Bible. Because you might assume that this holy book is filled with examples of the best families, of exceptional families, of great fathers and devout mothers and perfectly obedient children. But I remember when I started reading the Bible for myself, I was struck with this palpable tension. Like on one hand, the Bible does give us a picture of what God intends for your family. The Bible paints a beautiful picture of what's possible for your family if you do things God's way.

On the other hand, the Bible is also full of thousands of stories of people just like you and me, of fathers who fail, of mothers who manipulate, of sons who stray, of daughters who deceive. Like the Bible actually tells stories about the messiest of families. And so today we're gonna look at a story of an extremely messy family and see how God never gives up on them. But before we get to that, I'd like to start by talking about God's original design for family, before any dysfunction ever existed. So in the first few pages of your Bible, we see God create family. God created Adam and Eve in his image and God called this little family good. The first blank in your book is this. Family is not just a good idea, it's God's idea. Family was only supposed to have ups and no downs. Family was only supposed to be functional. There was never supposed to be any dysfunction. Family was meant to be a crew of people to raise you, to stand by your side, to mature you. The root of family was good because God created it that way. God created family to be honoring to him and honoring to you. But the root of family was poisoned when Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God and to sin.

And when Adam and Eve sinned, in that millisecond, sin entered creation and it began infecting and infiltrating everything that God had once called good, especially the family, especially the way in which humans relate to one another. So the next blank in your book is sin shatters family. And for some of you, this makes complete sense because this has been your experience with family. Like maybe even the word family feels a little bit triggering to you because family to you, it just equals divorce or yelling or hateful or abusive or manipulative or competition. Like for some of us in the room today, you can't mention the most painful moments of your life without mentioning your family. And family wasn't supposed to be that way. So we get it. We live in this reality where we see the effects. We see that sin shatters family, but a truth that I hope to uncover today together as we open up God's word is this, there is no family too messy for God to redeem. So I want you to open up your Bibles to Genesis 25. Today's Bible story is going to span 80 years of time. So it's a long story. We're gonna break down this very long story into different bite-sized chunks or really into different scenes. So we'll take a pause at the beginning of each scene

to make sure that we have our bearings. So without further ado, let's move into scene one. Scene number one, the birth of Jacob and Esau. So Isaac and Rebekah, they couldn't be more excited. Isaac and Rebekah are husband and wife and they've been praying for this day for a long time. They've been struggling with infertility, but now Rebekah is pregnant. And get this, she's not just pregnant, she's pregnant with twins. Genesis 25, 24. And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins. The first one, we're gonna pause right there. I know we're in the middle of a sentence, but the reason we're gonna pause is because when the Bible uses those words, the first one, it's extremely significant. This is because if you were the first one, meaning if you were the firstborn son in a biblical family, it came with some extra perks. If you were the firstborn son, you would receive both the birthright and the blessing. So let me explain what the birthright is. It's also a blank in your book. The birthright equals head of household status and a double inheritance. So the birthright, it's an extremely big deal back in the day, because it meant you would receive

a double portion from the will. And it also meant that you had the added responsibility of becoming the leader of the family. once the patriarch would pass on. So the birthright is literally tangible wealth and tangible power. But the blessing on the other hand, the blessing is a little bit less tangible. The blessing is something that was spiritual. It's something that was spoken. Here's the next blank for your book. The blessing equals prophetic words from a father. And culturally at this time, these prophetic words from a father, they carried extreme weight for the destiny and trajectory of their oldest son. So the oldest son would receive the birthright and the blessing. Now let's go back and learn about the firstborn son from this family, verse 25. The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair, like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. So Esau's name literally means hairy. That's what his name means, pretty awesome, hairy. It's tied to his appearance. And you'll find that in the Bible, names carry a lot of weights. We have Esau is hairy. Now let's learn about this younger twin, verse 26.

Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they named him Jacob. So Jacob's name literally means he grasps the heel. As in Jacob, he's a heel grabber. And we have a saying here in America that might help us better understand what's going on here. In our culture, we would call somebody a leg puller. As in he's always pulling my leg, he's always tricking me. And this is the heart behind Jacob's name. Jacob's name is translated deceiver. And his name is tied to his character. And this really matters for the backdrop of Jacob's full story. So here we are, we're at the end of scene one. The twins are born, the names are given. Esau is hairy, Jacob is a deceiver. Let's get ready for scene two. Scene two, Esau trades his birthrights. It's 20-ish years later. So it's 20-ish years later, and these two small boys have now grown into men. And the small cracks and the foundation of this family have become much more obvious over time, as they often do. Verse 28, Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebecca loved Jacob. So Isaac, the father, and Esau, the oldest son, they have this special relationship. They have this unique bond. They bond over hunting and cooking and camo,

and they probably talk about manly things like Bass Pro Shop and chewing tobacco, right? But Rebecca, the mom, and Jacob, the youngest twin, they have a special relationship. Rebecca and Jacob prefer to stay home and play mahjong while the other two go out climbing trees and covering themselves in deer urine. I think hunters do that, by the way. That is wild. Let's keep going. It's a family. This is a family, but there's some really unique dynamics. See how they're playing with fire right here. There's favoritism. Favoritism between the parents and the kids. They're an imperfect family. They probably have family fights and family drama. There's inconsistencies within each of the individual members that make up this family. None of them trust God perfectly. They're all jacked up. Verse 29 and 30. One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness, exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, I'm starved. Give me some of that stew. Verse 31. All right, Jacob replied, but trade me your rights as the firstborn son. So do you see what Jacob is doing here?

He's living up to his name. He's like, oh, you want some of this stew? Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure. I mean, I'd be willing to part with it for, I don't know, let's just say your entire birthright. Which as we discussed, the birthright is extremely valuable. It's tangible power. It's tangible wealth. Like obviously on paper, this is a preposterous trade. This trade is so crazy. It should be offensive to Esau. You're talking about money, property, legacy for one bowl of soup. Are you kidding me? Look at what Esau says. Verse 32. Look, I'm dying of starvation, said Esau. What good is my birthright to me now? One thing worth pointing out, you'll notice that what Esau is doing here is he's exaggerating his current circumstance. He's exaggerating his current struggle to give himself an excuse to consider making such a terrible trade. Esau's like, I'm starving. I'm about to die. Is he really about to die? I don't think so. And I don't know about you, but this is where I start to see us in this story.

Sorry. There's that voice of temptation that happens in my own head. I know you hear it too. There's that voice of temptation that's always exaggerating whatever your current struggle is. And then it offers a really terrible trade. It might sound something like this. Hey, I don't think marriage is supposed to be this hard. And you know what? You are starving and you're doing everything that you possibly can. It seems like your spouse is never gonna change. And so listen, I just don't know if you have another choice. You're starving. I think you need to send that DM. I think you need to have that affair. I think you need to read that spicy book because you don't have another choice. You're starving. Hey, what I'm saying is that every single day we are being offered unfair trades. It's the next blank in your book. Sin always asks you to trade what is ultimately valuable for what is extremely temporary. Every day you are being offered to trade away something that God has given you for some fleeting pleasure. It might be your purity for a five minute session on OnlyFans. It might be your integrity for some extra money on the side.

It might be your calling so that you can get a job to make more money, to buy a bigger house, to fill it with stuff that you don't need. Every day you are being offered unfair trades, eternal things for soup. But here's the thing, how you respond to that voice of temptation. It doesn't only affect you. It also affects your family. Verses 33 through 34. But Jacob said, first you must swear that your birthright is mine. So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. Are you seeing this? Esau trades his birthright for something that won't satisfy him for the entirety of one afternoon. What in the world are we supposed to learn from this story so far? Esau's an idiot. He makes a terrible trade. Jacob is a jerk. He's taking advantage of his own brother's weakness. And it can be so easy for us to look at this little family and judge them. But I would caution us from moving on too quickly.

Here's what I think we need to wrestle with today. There is an Esau in your family because there is an Esau in you. And there is a Jacob in your family because there is a Jacob in you. What I am saying is that sin, it shattered all family. When evil was invited into mankind's heart way back in Genesis three, all family is broken because it is full of Esau's and it is full of Jacob's. And what that means is that you and I are both guilty of being an Esau or Jacob to our family. And you are also just as likely a victim of an Esau or a Jacob in your family. Like maybe you've been hurt. Maybe you've been hurt by an Esau in your family. Somebody who made a terrible trade for their pleasure. Like they made a decision for their life and their decision has wreaked havoc on your life. Maybe you've been hurt by a Jacob, someone who tricked you, someone who stole from you, someone who took advantage of you. Maybe it's just been someone in your family who's never seemed to have your best interest in mind. And if that's you, I'm so sorry because family wasn't supposed to be that way. And I guess I just wanna remind you today that God loves you and God sees you and God wants to heal you. And listen, I know that doesn't mean,

that doesn't erase what they did to you. I get it. I just want you to hear that healing is real and healing is possible. And as hard as this may be to hear today, I hope you accept this. Because healing is real, the healing journey that God might want to take you on, it starts when you begin the forgiveness journey. A different way of saying that, your healing can begin when you start to forgive. But Brock, you don't know what they did to me. You do not get it. They don't deserve it. I know. I know they don't deserve it, but neither did you. None of us deserved God's forgiveness, but he offered it to us anyways. I'm not saying that forgiveness is gonna be easy. I'm not saying that forgiveness is gonna feel fair. All I'm saying is that it might be needed for you to heal. They say that carrying around bitterness or resentment in your heart for someone, it's kind of like drinking poison. We hold on to the offense and we expect it to hurt them. We expect the poison to hurt them, when in reality, the bitterness, the unforgiveness, it never hurts them, it only hurts you. And so if you've been hurt by a Jacob or an Esau in your family, my challenge for you today is to let go. So you can start the forgiveness process.

Let go is a simple acronym of steps to start moving towards forgiveness. The L stands for let yourself feel the hurt. Listen, it's good to acknowledge that you've been wronged. In fact, if someone in your family has wronged you or you feel hurt by them, step one might just be informing them that they hurt you. Because when we say things out loud, sometimes those things lose their power over us. So say out loud to them, say out loud to yourself that you were hurt. The E is extend grace. Grace is giving something to someone that they don't deserve. I get it, I know they don't deserve forgiveness, but neither did you. And this process of forgiveness for you, it might take a really long time, that's okay. The question is, are you taking steps towards forgiveness or are you sitting still drinking poison and hoping it hurts them? That's not good for you. The T, trust God with justice. Listen, God hasn't forgotten you and God hasn't forgotten what they did to you. You can trust him with it. And I've got to be careful here because I'm not saying, don't set any boundaries. No, boundaries are good. I'm not saying that everything has to go back

to how it was before, of course not. You were hurt and healing takes time. What I am saying is that if you want to experience healing, then you can't sit still, keep drinking poison and refuse to let go. God wants to heal you. And that starts with forgiveness. Now, some of y'all are thinking, what about them? We'll get to them. For now, let's move on to scene number three. Scene number three, Jacob steals the blessing. It's 50 years later. So it's 50 years later, the two brothers are now in their 70s. Isaac, the father, he's resting on his deathbed. He's at the end of his life and he knows it, he's blind. So he calls his oldest son, Esau, to his bedside and gives him some instruction. He says, Esau, I'm about to die. Go out on a hunt, prepare my favorite meal so that I may eat it. Then I will pronounce the blessing over you. Genesis 27, five. But Rebecca overheard what Isaac had said to his son, Esau. So here we see mama getting involved. Rebecca's about to insert herself into this situation. Rebecca wants to control the outcome. She doesn't want Esau to receive the blessing. She thinks Jacob should be the rightful recipient of the blessing.

So she calls Jacob to her and look what she says to Jacob, verses nine and 10. Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll use them to prepare your father's favorite dish. Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies. So Rebecca is the mastermind behind this little heist. Jacob puts fur on his skin so that he's hairy like Esau. Jacob puts on Esau's clothes so that he smells like Esau. Rebecca cooks up her husband's favorite dish and Jacob enters his blind father's room. Father, it's me, it's Esau. It's me, your oldest son. I did what you asked. I made your favorite food. Now sit up and eat it so that you can speak the blessing over me. Hurry, please. Come closer, my son. Your hands feel like Esau's and you smell like Esau and you're cooking, it tastes like Esau's, but your voice, your voice sounds like Jacob. Is that really you, Esau? Yes, it's me, father. And Isaac takes the bait. He falls for the heist. Isaac blesses Jacob with words that are meant for Esau. And so Jacob and Rebecca,

they take matters into their own hands and they execute the perfect heist. And then we, as the reader, we're left to question why? Why steal Esau's blessing? And do you know what I think they would have said? Because he would have wasted it. Because Esau would have squandered the blessing just like he squandered his birthright. He's not mature enough. He's not ready for it. Esau doesn't deserve it. It's the next blank in your book. Jacob and Rebekah do something evil under the guise of doing something good. They think the end justifies the means. And so they try to stamp God's approval on this little heist of theirs. Here's what I think we need to wrestle with today. There is a Rebekah or a Jacob in your family because there is a Rebekah or a Jacob in you. There is sin in you that wants to control, that wants to manipulate, that wants to live a life where the ends justify the means. This is something we all have done. We are all guilty in one way or another. Some of us have been the Esau in our family. Some of us have made terrible trades and they've decimated our family. Some of us have been the Jacob. We've taken advantage of those around us

and we haven't had their best interest in mind. Some of us have been Rebekah. We've been lying or manipulating or trying to control. Some of us have been the Isaac and things have been really rough for our family and we've passively sat by and we haven't stepped in to lead. I don't know how you failed, but in your failure, I need you to hear some truth today. Truth number one, you are not what you've done. You are not your failure. God sees you and God still loves you. God has forgiveness for you that you don't deserve. The same God that sees you and loves you though, listen very carefully, He wants you to repent. He wants you to turn from your sin. You need to apologize to your family. You need to live a life that shows that you want God to lead your life. And so if you have hurt your family, there is healing on the table for you as well. And that healing can be found in these three steps. Step one, you need to submit to Jesus and others. Submission, it means to make yourself lower than. Any apology, all apologies, they begin with a humble posture. If you can't lower yourself, then you're probably not sorry. So the first thing you need to do is submit to Jesus because He's better behind the steering wheel of your life than you are.

And then you need to submit to your family or to whoever it is that you hurt. You need to make yourself lower as you prepare to apologize for the hurt that you caused. Step two, you need to say sorry with your words. You need to own it out loud and your family needs to hear you own it out loud so they can heal and you can heal. Oh, but it happened so long ago and they know I'm sorry. No, they don't. They need to hear you say it. Step three, show you're sorry with your actions. It's very connected to point one. This is talking about living a life of submission. It's making yourself lower than as you go. It's loving your neighbor as yourself. You see, you need to be patient and you need to be consistent. And it might take a long time for you to rebuild the trust that you broke. But healing is possible and forgiveness is real. So it's pretty clear for us, sin, it shatters this little family. But what's so beautiful is that God never gives up on them. God hasn't given up on you. We have hope today because sin doesn't get the last word, Jesus does. The next blank in your book is that Jesus conquers sin. You see, when you look at the family tree of Jesus in Matthew chapter one,

you're gonna see a long list of names. It'll be really small. You're not gonna be able to read it, but that list, it starts with Abraham and it's carried on through Isaac and through Jacob. But what I want you to see is that it is a dark, dark family tree filled with bad people who all need a savior, filled with evil people who all need a redeemer. It's a family tree of broken people that God refuses to give up on. It's a list of Isaacs and Rebekahs and Esau's and Jacob's, but it all crescendos to one name, Jesus. Jesus, the son of God, Jesus, God in flesh. He came down. Jesus lived a perfect life and Jesus died on a cross for your sin and for your family's sin. Jesus died on a tree to rescue your family tree. But get this, Jesus didn't just die. His lifeless body laid in a silent tomb for three days and then he resurrected back to life. And this proves two things to us as followers of Jesus. Number one, that if Jesus has power over us. for death, then Jesus certainly has power over whatever it is that you and your family are going through right now. Number two, Jesus is a God of resurrection. He turns dead things into alive things. And so if you feel like your family tree is dead,

then Jesus and only Jesus can revive your family. So a reality that we live in, it's true, sin shatters family and that would be sad, but we also live in another reality that Jesus conquers sin and because we live in that reality, we also live in this reality, the next blank in your book, the church restores family. You see, Jesus didn't just come to save you from sin and darkness, he came to redeem family itself. Jesus came to re-institute the family that was meant to exist way back in Genesis one and he did so by launching the church. Colossians tells us that Jesus is the head of the church and we are the body. Jesus creates a new family and it's a multi-ethnic, multi-generational, powerful body of believers called the church. Between the years 1900 and 1914, there was an artist, an architect by the name of Antoni Gaudi and he created the Park Guell mosaics in Barcelona, Spain. These mosaics were created by using shattered fragments of tile and glass to form these beautiful creations. It's broken pieces grafted together to create something beautiful and on their own, the individual pieces, they look like scraps but in the hands of the artist, the broken pieces become a masterpiece. Here's what I'm saying, God is like a master artist and he's in the restoration business.

He and he alone can pick up the broken, shattered pieces of your family and graft you into a new family. His overarching masterpiece called the church. The church is not a family because we share the same bloodline. The church is a family because we've been covered by the same blood. It's the blood of Jesus that unites us and restores us. Here's what I'm saying, y'all, we don't attend church. That's not something we do. We are the church, which is to say, we are God's family. We are a family. We are the family of God and you have a place in this family and this family has a job. The church is meant to be God's picture of family to the world. Listen, if we were a part of God's family, meaning if we've been baptized, if we follow Jesus, then we gotta do things God's way, which is to say this family, this church, we have to show the world what God is like. And how do we do that? I think we start small. We practice what we've done today, what we've talked about today. If you've been hurt, forgive, because that's what Jesus would do. If you've done the hurting, then repent and apologize because that's what Jesus commands us to do. Before we close, let me just call out the elephant

in the room really quick. The church is meant to be a family, but sometimes we don't look like that, do we? Like sometimes we hurt each other. Sometimes we don't wanna forgive one another. The church doesn't always get it right. And I can't point the finger at us without also pointing the finger at me. I don't always get it right. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I'm trying to grow. I'm trying to learn what it looks like to do things God's way instead of doing things Brock's way. So listen, if you've been hurt by the church, if you've been hurt by this church, I'm so sorry. I'm really sorry. And this is not an excuse, but I do want you to hear it. We're not a perfect family, but we're trying to do things God's way. And you being a part of this family, you can help us do that. Church, we need to be seeking to be a picture of God to the world. I'm so thankful to God this morning that for your family at home, that for this family here, I'm thankful that this statement is true. No family is too messy for God to redeem. Let's pray. Amen. Lord, I thank you that that is true, that there is no family too messy for you to redeem.

There is no sinner too far away for you to rescue. You are a God of ultimate power. You are the God of forgiveness and grace and endless second chances. So we say, thank you. And God, I just come before you with a simple prayer that I know you hear. Some of us in the room today, we've got some hard conversations ahead of us. And so would you give us the courage and the humility to forgive? Would you give us the courage and the humility to apologize and repent? We want to look more like your perfect son, Jesus. Thank you for being gracious with us. Help us be gracious with others. It's in Jesus' name, everybody said. Amen. As we continue to worship, we're gonna go into a time of communion. One of the things that we talked about today is that we are not a family because we share the same bloodline. We are a family because we've been covered by the same blood. And that's what we're gonna celebrate during this time of communion. I'd invite you, if you brought your communion, here in a few moments, we'll have some quiet space where you can eat the cracker, Jesus' body.

And remember, Jesus' body was broken for us, broken for you. You can drink the juice and be reminded that Jesus' blood was spilt for us, was spilt for you. So if you're a baptized follower of Jesus during this next quiet time, we'll have you take communion. If you'd like to talk to somebody about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, maybe you have questions about baptism, maybe you have questions about joining this family, we would love to talk to you. Right over here on the first floor is the next step room to my right and your left. At any point during this next worship set, there are people back there who are ready, willing, excited to talk to you, to answer your questions, or even to pray for you. And then lastly, when worship starts here in a few minutes, we're gonna have our prayer team up here in the front. Maybe you're in the room today and you just know you need some prayer. Your family needs some prayer. Maybe you need some courage, some boldness, some humility to forgive. Maybe you need some courage, boldness, humility to let them know that they've hurt you. Maybe you need some boldness, some courage, some humility to say sorry. Maybe you've got some rough stuff going on in your family right now.

Whatever it is that's going on, we would be honored to pray for you. So please don't leave this place. If you need prayer, come on forward once the music starts. We're gonna give a few quiet moments. You can take communion whenever you're ready, and then after, when the band begins to play, if you need prayer, come on forward. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ I just want to speak the name of Jesus. ♪ ♪ Over fear and all anxiety. ♪ ♪ To every soul occupied by depression. ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus. ♪

♪ Your name is power. Your name is healing. ♪ ♪ Your name is life. ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire. ♪ ♪ Your name is power. Your name is healing. ♪ ♪ Your name is life. ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire. ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Shout Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. ♪ ♪ Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. ♪ ♪ Jesus from my family. I speak the Holy Name. Jesus. ♪ ♪ Shout Jesus from the mountains. Jesus in the streets. ♪ ♪ Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. ♪ ♪ Jesus from my family. I speak the Holy Name. Jesus. ♪ ♪ Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. ♪ ♪ Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold. Shine through the shadows. Burn like a fire. ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Everything changed. It's getting harder to recognize. ♪ ♪ The person I was before I encountered Christ. ♪ ♪ I don't walk like I used to. I don't talk like I used to. ♪ ♪ I've been washed from the inside. I've been washed from the inside. ♪ ♪ Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. ♪ ♪ I know there was a fire, but it won't be there tonight ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

♪ I know there was a fire, but it won't be there tonight ♪ ♪ The storm will rise again ♪ ♪ I cannot explain, but nothing's more real than this ♪ ♪ In the presence of God, what would my heart experience? ♪ ♪ Am I ashamed at the wayside? Am I ashamed at the most high? ♪ ♪ I was washed from the inside, I was washed from the inside out ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know there was a fire, but it won't be there tonight ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know there was a fire, but it won't be there tonight ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ If only by your grace ♪ ♪ It's never been about performance, perfection, or striving ♪ ♪ Let me tell you, it's only by the blood, that's true ♪ ♪ It's never been about deserving or earning, it's a gift ♪ ♪ Come on, we believe, let me tell you, it's only by the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, does anybody wanna be holy and righteous? ♪ ♪ Purifying the fathers, let me tell you, it's only by the blood ♪ ♪ Does anybody wanna be worthy, forgiven, justified when you live it? ♪ ♪ Let me tell you, it's only by the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Could have only been your blood, hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Could have only been your blood ♪ ♪ Thank you, thank you, Father ♪ ♪ We thank you for the blood ♪ ♪ We thank you for your body ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ And aren't you thankful for his blood this morning? Amen!

Thank you for worshipping with us. Man, that word from Brock was powerful to me. And what I took away is that we are all equal at the foot of the cross. We're all broken sinners that need a savior. You, me, every one of us is a broken sinner that needs a savior. And oftentimes, I put my trust in people that let me down. And that's when I need to seek forgiveness. Because I know that they're a broken sinner. And sometimes people put their faith and trust in me, and I let them down. Because I'm a broken sinner, and I need to repent of those ways. But I hope that you understand that the main source of where we should put our faith, hope, and trust is in God. Because He is a redeemer. I spent some time with some inmates recently. And I was talking to one of our Pando family members who was telling me about his family. And the dysfunction that is present in it. And my encouragement to you is I know that that might be your story. That you may have some dysfunction in your family. And maybe some of these words were hard for you to hear. My hope is that the main thing that you take away is that God is a redeemer. He can redeem. He has redeemed. And He has redeemed in His offering to redeem you. We are broken sinners. We are broken sinners that need a Savior. My hope is that you would accept Jesus into your heart. That you would recognize what He's calling you into. And trust that He can redeem you, your situation, and even your family. So thank you so much for worshiping with us this morning. Morning, that was Home Hurt by Barack Odell. I also wanna invite you to continue to engage with us as we release our podcast this Thursday.

This is an opportunity for you to continue to dive deeper into God's word. And another opportunity we have for you is our Spiritual Pathways. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about how to interact with the Bible, how to grow in your faith with your personal faith with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and also give you tools to better understand that you are not the sum of your behavior. You are more than that. You are created in the image of God to be in a relationship with God. So we would love for you to join us and walk through this opportunity of our Spiritual Pathways. Lastly, I wanna pray for us. I wanna invite you to pray with me. And this is a prayer from our Southeast staff written specifically for you, for you listening, for our Pando family. So join me as I pray this over us. Jesus, thank you for being a great Redeemer. Even when life doesn't look the way I planned it, you are good. I trust your promises. I feel your provision. I love your word. Please protect me from temptation. Please restore what I've lost. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit.

I'm not in control. I'm waiting on you. In chaos, I need your peace. In loss, I need your comfort. In confusion, I need your truth. I trust you with everything. I love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen, thank you all so much. This has been Southeast, your Pando family. We love you, we wanna hear from you. We hope you have a great rest of your day. Thanks, guys.