Perspective - The Resurrected Vision (Easter)

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Behold the Lamb upon the cross ♪ ♪ Who takes away the sins of all ♪ ♪ Forgiveness flows from hands and feet ♪ ♪ As violence meets the Prince of Peace ♪ ♪ Behold the King ♪ ♪ Lion of the world, Lamb that was slain ♪ ♪ Lion of rose, mighty to save ♪ ♪ The fullness of God, only cut in a grave ♪ ♪ Darkness, your hour is over ♪ ♪ Behold the Lamb, His dying plea ♪ ♪ Behold the grace of Calvary ♪ ♪ The rugged cross, soon to be ♪ ♪ The emblem of the risen King ♪ ♪ Behold the King ♪ ♪ Lion of the world, Lamb that was slain ♪ ♪ Lion of rose, mighty to save ♪ ♪ The fullness of God, only cut in a grave ♪ ♪ Darkness, your hour is over ♪ ♪ Light of the world, Lamb that was slain ♪ ♪ Lion of rose, mighty to save ♪ ♪ The fullness of God, only cut in a grave ♪ ♪ Darkness, your hour is over ♪ The sky wore black like it was mourning the King Hope hung silent on a cross made of splintered things The crowd went quiet, the earth gave a groan And love was laid in a borrowed tomb of stone Nails through mercy, thorns through grace

Heaven's heartbeats flowed in that place That day fell like a hammer of blame Shadows whispered, nothing will ever change That was the night, that was the pain But dawn doesn't argue, it simply arrives And death never saw what was starting to rise The ground began shaking and creation knew That the grave couldn't hold what the grave never grew That stone wasn't moved so Jesus could escape It was only removed to reveal an empty space Where death thought it won, life had begun Where hell thought it conquered, love said I'm not done He stepped out, breathing what we could not Victory was purchased, redemption was bought That cross was the cause, the tomb was the proof That nothing, not even death can silence the truth So when your world feels shattered and sealed And when your prayers feel unanswered, unheard and unrevealed Just remember the stone, remember the breath And remember the mourning, that humiliated death Light of the world, land that was slain Lion roars, it's mighty to say The fullness of God, won't be kept in a grave But the darkness, your hour is over Light of the world, land that was slain Lion roars, it's mighty to say The fullness of God, won't be kept in a grave But the darkness, your hour is over ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ There's nobody in the grave now ♪

♪ There's nobody in the grave now, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ There's nobody in the grave now, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Amen. Happy Easter, everyone. How's everybody today? Are you good? Amen, he is risen, yeah. We are so excited we get to spend some time with you this Easter. Thanks for being here or online, wherever you're worshiping from. I tell you what, it's gonna be an incredible day because he is risen, amen? Come on. All right, why don't you have a seat and you can watch your screens. Hi, Pentano, I'm Anna, and I'm so blessed you're joining us today. At Pentano, we believe life is better when we're connected. When people come together in community, it creates real impact across Tucson, Benson, and beyond. If you're here in person, we'd love to meet you. Stop by Next Steps after the service and our team will help you discover your next step. Joining us online, you're a valued part of the Pentano family too. Visit Next Steps online and fill out a Connect Card so we can stay in touch. From behind the scene moments

to encouragement throughout the week, there's always something happening in the life of our church. Join the We Are Pentano community on social media to stay connected with everything going on. Next week, we launch our new series, Battleship. We'll unpack how the church isn't called to comfort, but it's called to combat, moving from passive passengers to active participants in the mission of Jesus. At Pentano, our mission is loving people to Jesus and launching passionate difference makers. Your generosity makes that possible. Because of your giving, people encounter the love of Jesus in tangible ways. Lives are transformed and individuals are equipped and sent out to make a difference in their communities and around the world. If you feel called to give, you can drop your gift in a giving box, give online through our website, or text GIVE to 46356. Another way you can live out our mission is by participating in Serve Our City in April. This is a week where we take church outside the building and into our communities, serving others the way Jesus did, with compassion, humility, and love. Thank you for being a church that lives on mission and reflects the heart of Jesus in our city.

For more information and details on how you can get involved, visit Next Steps. He is risen! Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the hope and redemption he brings to each of us. If you have little ones with you, don't miss out. Our kids' ministry has fun and exciting activities planned, so they can celebrate the hope and love of Jesus, too. After service, be sure to swing by our amazing photo booths and grab a complimentary snack and refreshment, perfect for capturing memories with friends and family. Thanks again for joining us for Easter at Pantano. We can't wait to worship and celebrate new life with you. Now let's lean into the message and welcome Pastor Trevor DeVage. Thank you. Well, happy Easter Pantano. It is really, really good to be with you. Thank you for joining us for Easter. If you're brand new with us, I'm so thankful that you chose to worship with us this Easter. Now, if you were around here for a while, you know we have a bunch of people all over the globe with us online. We'd like to welcome a few. We got Chanita from Boston. We've got Melissa in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Warffles in St. Louis, and the Vargas family in New Jersey.

Plus, we've got Gospel Rescue Mission with us each and every week. We've got the prison with us at Santa Rita Unit, and our brand new Benson campus. This is their first Easter meeting in Benson. We want to welcome all of you in, if you would. Thank you. Well, before we get too deep into this, I brought something with me today, and I'm just curious, does anybody know what these are? Oh yeah. 3D glasses. Now, these look a little more modern than the ones I grew up with. Anybody grow up with the ones that were straight cardboard, and you had to fold them and figure out how to hook them over your ears? You'd walk in the movie theater, and there'd just be a guy with a box. And it was before we sanitized everything, so you would get a sweaty pair of some dude that watched the movie before you, and you could tell he was nervous because they would stick to your forehead, right? And you would walk in, and I don't know if you did what I did with 3D glasses, but I would walk in, and I would spend the first two minutes like this, trying to see if I could figure it out without the glasses on.

Now, here's what's interesting about that. You would watch, and it was blurry, so you would already have a headache. There was no color pop. There was no intensity of the movie. Like, all the things that you were meant to see moving around, you couldn't see well. Like, the images didn't quite line up. It was flat. It was confusing. Until you did this. By the way, you guys are in so 3D right now. It's almost like I could touch you. Some of you guys are like, wow, that's incredible. No, you're always in 3D in case you're running, all right? But the moment you put these glasses on, like, suddenly everything changed. The same movie you were watching suddenly had depth. It had colors. It popped. It was in like, it was like in 420p, right? Way before 4K. Like, it was almost like the action was coming off the screen. Did you ever find yourself, when something was coming at you, you would duck? And then you realized how stupid you were? Like, why am I ducking? Or if you were like my friends, when things would come at you,

we'd smack them in the face. We were the original 4D experience. Like, it changed everything. Now, here's what's interesting about putting these on. The movie did not change. The movie was still the same. You know what changed? Your perspective. The perspective is what changed. See, that's why I bring these out here for Easter because Easter does exactly that. Easter is where we get our faith perspective changed. Easter changes the way we see everything. It's literally putting on a new set of lenses that allows us to see the world, to see God, to see ourselves the way that God sees it. That's the resurrection. See, perspective changes everything. You ever find it interesting, you can look at the same situation from two different ways and it changes the way you see it. Like, the easiest way I can describe it is like a thunderstorm. You ever stood in the middle of a thunderstorm? In the rain, in the thunder, in the lightning? For those of you that live in Tucson, rain is this stuff that happens all over the country. Here we get it from July to September really quickly. But if you ever stand in the middle of it, like the storm feels big, it feels monumental,

like the storm feels scary in some instances, but have you ever gotten on an airplane in a storm? And you fly through the clouds and you get out of the storm and you come above the clouds and all of a sudden the sun is shining above the clouds. You can see the storm below you. The storm doesn't look as big when you're above the storm. And here's why, because when you change your perspective, the storms look different. When you change your perspective, things change. Nothing about the storm changed, your perspective did. See, that's true in your life and my life too. The moments when things happen that feel like the end of the story. You ever had one of those moments? Where it feels like it's the end of your story. Maybe it was a diagnosis you didn't expect. It felt like the end of the story. Maybe it was the loss of a relationship and it felt like the end of a story. Maybe a dream that you had collapsed. Maybe there was a loss that hit you massively hard. It felt like the future had been taken away from you. I've had moments like that. Can I just remind us all of something? You've survived every day of your life to this point. Some of you are like, that's the weirdest profound thing I've ever heard in my life. But it's true, you've survived everything that you have gone through to this point in your life,

you've survived it to today. So way to go, you made it to today. That means that things you thought were the end may have been the new beginning. And see, when you look back on those things, if I look back on my life, there's an old adage that hindsight is always what? Does anybody know? Oh, you know it too. Isn't it amazing how everything looks so much clearer looking backwards? But hindsight, if you look back, what felt like the end of the story for me actually was not the end at all. It was actually just a moment in the story before everything changed. That's exactly what the resurrection does for us. But like without the resurrection, life can look flat. You see pain without purpose, you see suffering without redemption, you see death, and there doesn't feel like there's any life. Jesus on the cross is like this dangling participle of life. Where we're not sure if anything's gonna change. But see, when you look through the lens of resurrection, it's like putting on these glasses. Suddenly, things that once looked like the end of the story, they become a new beginning. Suddenly, what looked like hopelessness starts to look like it's got some possibility. Suddenly, what looked like death begins to point towards new life. Because Easter doesn't just give us hope for someday. I think we like that idea that we we could come to church on Easter and someday God is

going to give us the fulfillment. Easter is for today. Resurrection is for right now. It's not for someday. It gives us what I call resurrected vision. And when Jesus opens your eyes, hope begins to walk with you. See, sometimes the problem is not the situation. Sometimes the problem is the perspective. See, some of you think it's your situation. It's actually your perspective of the situation. That's why Easter matters. Because Easter changes how we see everything. It changes how we see suffering. It changes how we how we see death. It changes how we see our own future. The resurrection gives us that resurrected vision. And when Jesus opens your eyes, hope walks with you. Now, I know for some people, you've walked into these spaces today and Easter is your jam. You're like, this is my favorite. You're like, I look like an Easter egg. It's amazing. Me too. You could hide me under a tree and go look for me later, right? Like, you love Easter. Like, this is your thing. Like, you get so excited about Easter. But then there's others of you. You walked in here and you've got a lot of questions. By the way, I'm really glad you're here. It's okay to come with questions. Some of you walked in here confident in your faith. You're like, man, this is what I live for. And others of you, you're a little confused. You're wondering if faith is even possible in your life. Now, some of you came today because someone invited you. And you actually showed up because you're tired of them inviting you. And you're like, oh my gosh, if you'll just shut up about this church thing, I'll go. You're like, fine, grandma, I'll show up, right? And you're here and you came and you're like, by the way, thank you for annoying your friends to Jesus. Apparently, that's a great thing to do, right? But you're here. And you're not here just because they wanted to annoy you to get you here. They're annoying you to get you here because they desperately love you. They want you to know open transformation the way that they've experienced it. So if somebody invited you, it's because they love you deeply. Now, some of you, you're not here because anybody invited you. You woke up today and your heart was searching for hope. And maybe you just kind of wandered in here. Maybe you're like, I didn't know this was a church. I thought I was going for breakfast

somewhere and McDonald's got a lot more different than it used to be, right? But you're here. I want to take you to a story in Scripture. It's in Luke chapter 24. If you've got Bibles, go to Luke 24. If you've got a phone with a Bible, click on it. If you don't know what any of those things mean, we love you enough here, we're gonna have it right here on the screen for you, okay? But it's this story of these two followers of Jesus. And they're walking on this road and it's called the road to Emmaus. It's actually a village they're gonna go to. And they're walking on the day that happens to be the day that Jesus is resurrected from the dead, but they don't know it yet. So they're walking from Jerusalem. They're discouraged. They're confused. They're heartbroken. Like, they literally believe the story of Jesus had ended in tragedy. They're distraught. They're grief-ridden. But listen to the Scripture. It says, that same day, two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along, they're talking about everything that had happened. The beating, the flogging, the crucifixion. As they talked and discussed these things, here comes one of the favorite parts of Jesus' story. I think Jesus is hilarious, by the way. I think he's a really funny guy. And it says, as Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them, but God kept them from recognizing him. Now, here's what I think. I think Jesus resurrected and he says to God, the Father, he's like, hey, can we have a little fun for a couple days? We just go mess with some folks. And I wonder if God the Father is like, yeah, let's do it. This could be fun. Like, let's enjoy the resurrection a little bit. So Jesus begins to walk with these guys and they don't recognize him. And I think this moment is profound, because I think it reveals something about perspective. The resurrected Jesus was right in front of them, but their grief blinded them from seeing him. See, some of you, the resurrected Jesus is walking with you and you can't see him because the pain, the grief, the hurt, the anger in your life is keeping you from seeing him right there. Now, listen to what Jesus does. This is what I love about Jesus. He plays into this. If you go to verse 17, I love this. Jesus asked him, what are you discussing so intently as you walk along?

Does that feel really formal? If he had a British accent right there, I feel like it would hold some weight. You know what I'm saying? Don't act like a British accent doesn't make everything better. If I preached with a British accent, you'd listen more. I feel like he's so formal. What are you gentlemen discussing as you walk along the way? Would you like some tea? Like that's where we're at. And I love this. They stopped short with sadness written across their faces. Their grief is there. And then one of them Cleopas replies. He's like, you must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn't heard about all the things that have happened in the last few days. And I love Jesus' response. He goes, what things? If you grew up in the 80s, what you talking about, Willis? Like, you know what I'm saying? If you get that, we should be friends. All right, that's good. And this is what they say to him. The things that happened to Jesus, the man of Nazareth. Again, this is so funny to me because I wonder if he's just in his mind like, keep going. And then they said he was a prophet

who did powerful miracles. He was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people, but our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death. They crucified him. And then this is what they said. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. So when Jesus asked them what they're discussing, they explain everything. They talk about the crucifixion. They talk about their shattered expectations. They say something that I think is really clarifying about perspective. We had hoped. We had hoped. We had hoped he was the Messiah. Those words carry a weight, a weight of disappointment. If you ever had a we had hoped moment, we had hoped the diagnosis would have been better. We had hoped that they would survive. We had hoped that our marriage wouldn't end. We had hoped that our kids would return. You ever had a we had hoped moment? These guys are having it. See, hope in their minds had died when Jesus died. Hope was gone. But here's the stunning reality of the story that they don't know yet.

Hope is literally walking beside them. Hope is literally walking in their we had hoped for. I wonder if Jesus was like, yeah, I'm right here. I'm the hope. They just couldn't see it yet. And that's what broken perspective does. It makes resurrection moments look like dead ends. That's what it does. So Jesus begins doing something extraordinary. If you go read through the rest of the text, like the Bible says that he walks them through scripture. Could you imagine this Bible study? Like Jesus is leading it for two of you. Like I feel like that's a pretty good small group, don't you? Like Jesus, let me walk you through some of this. And so Jesus just walks them through scripture. He starts with Moses and the prophets and he explains how the entire story of the Bible points to him. Then he shows them that the cross is not a failure, but it's the fulfillment of God's plan. Do you understand from the very beginning of scripture, this story is told over thousands of years. Like if you go all the way back to this book called Genesis, by the way, Genesis is a real fancy name for beginning. And God promises in Genesis that one day evil would be defeated. So he starts there. And then there's Isaiah.

He's this prophet. And he speaks of a suffering servant who would bear the sins of many. Does that sound like Jesus a little bit? Then you go to the Psalm and we see glimpses of a righteous man who would suffer, but not remain in the grave. See, the resurrection is not a surprise ending. It's not like when you get a DVD back in the day and you could watch the alternate ending. Okay, a DVD was a thing we used to put in machines back in the day, right after VHS tapes. And I don't have time to explain either one of those things today. But this isn't an alternate ending. Like this isn't a surprise. It was God's plan unfolding as thousands of years of history had talked about. See, later that evening, Jesus with these two guys, he goes to dinner with them. And they sit down after this incredible Bible study with Jesus. They still don't know who he is until this one moment happens. While they're eating, Jesus breaks bread. Now there's so much significance there. First of all, Jesus claims to be the bread of life. The bread of life was broken on the cross, put in a grave. Jesus then now the resurrected bread of life takes bread, breaks it.

And when they see the bread broken, that's when they recognize that it's Jesus. Their eyes are open and they recognize him. Now the human side of me wonders, what did they do in that moment? I wonder if one of them was like, I knew it all along. You ever have that friend that doesn't want to look stupid? And they look at you and they're like, I didn't want to let it out of the bag for you, but I knew. No, you didn't. You had no clue. I feel like they had this moment like, how do we not recognize Jesus? was with us in this moment, but Jesus breaks the bread. And in that instant, their perspective changes completely. That road they were walking of despair just turned into the road where they found hope. And the road that you walked in here with in despair today may be the very road where God's gonna find you with hope. See, Jesus in his resurrection doesn't just change their perspective, it changes their entire eternity. And the resurrection changes the perspective of everyone who encounters it. Let me just give you a couple others. There's a lady named Mary Magdalene. Now, some of you are like, Mary, the mother of Jesus? Nope, there's a couple of Marys. I call them M squared. This is M2 right here, all right?

Mary Magdalene, she stands outside the tomb in John 20. She's crying because Jesus in her mind is dead and gone forever. Like her hope is gone. Look at verse 14. She turned to leave and she saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. Again, is this part of his fun tour with God the Father? He's just hiding in places like, I'm here, but you don't recognize me. And I love what he does. He says, dear woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? Now, I love this. She thought he was the gardener. I wonder if she's like, cool, why are you talking to me, dude? Just go back to your rake or whatever you're doing over there. She's weeping, she's broken, but then listen to what happens. Mary, Jesus said. And she turned to him and she cried out, Rabboni. It means rabbi, teacher. One word. Jesus uttered one word, her name. And she recognized it was him. Her name. He didn't call her by sin. He didn't call her by guilt or shame.

He didn't say, hey, you. He said, Mary. It's like when I'm in a crowd, if I hear my wife or my girls yell across somewhere, I remember when my girls were little, we'd be like at this amusement park that we used to go to in Ohio. And if there was a crowd of people and I heard daddy scream really loud, you recognize the voice. I would recognize the voice of my daughters. I know if my dad yelled at me from across the room, it wasn't because it was good. I always recognized that voice too. If he used all three of my names, I ran. Like, that's when you leave. But she recognizes Jesus by him knowing her name. And in that one moment, death went to life standing in front of her. The resurrection changed her despair into joy. See, that's the central truth of Christianity. The disciples, they were hiding in fear after Jesus is crucified. Remember this, they're huddled in the upper room and then Jesus shows up, which there'd have been another funeral. I'd have died right there. I'd have been like, Jesus is gonna have to resurrect me now. But here's how they became a bold witness. There's this guy named Thomas.

You remember Thomas? You know how they label Thomas? Do you know? Oh, doubting, you know him too. And he gets a bad rap, I think. Doubting Thomas. Like, how would you like that to be your legacy for all of eternity? Doubting Trevor. Actually, I think it's more true than we like to admit. Let me ask you, have you ever doubted God? Like quick struggle, anybody ever doubted God? It's okay, you can raise your hand. Be honest, it's church. I've doubted God. I could be labeled doubting Trevor. You could be labeled doubting whatever. Doubting Thomas. I think there's beauty in the doubt because it was out of his doubt that he becomes convinced that Jesus is resurrected. Jesus goes, that's okay. Jesus doesn't chastise him. He goes, here, touch my side. Touch my nail-scarred hands and feet. He experienced the resurrection. It changed everything. Then he got the apostle Paul, remember him? He was persecuting Christians. Like he was literally, his task was to persecute

people like you and me that believe in Jesus. And then he encounters Jesus on this road and he's blinded and his perspective flips and he goes from opposing the church to giving his life to spread the message of the resurrection of Jesus. Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 15 about that experience. He says, Christ died for our sins. Just as the scripture said. He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day. Just as the scripture said. He was seen by Peter, then by the 12. And after that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time. The resurrection is not a metaphor. By the way, I didn't give my life for a metaphor. I didn't give my life for a myth. But like you can go look historically. If just Peter was like, yeah, I saw him, he's alive. You'd be like, really? If just two of them saw him alive, you'd be like, come on, guys. But 500? 500 people give a count? Like we couldn't get 500 people in this room to agree on everything. 500 of you wouldn't even agree I've got pink shoelaces on right now.

It'd be like that weird dress from the internet a couple years ago, remember that? It was white and gold, by the way, in case you're wondering. 500, over 500 saw him. It was witnessed, it was recorded, it changes history, and it's still changing lives a couple thousand years later. I have this friend, her name's Adriana. Just about two years ago, she started coming to Pantano. In her freshman year at U of A. And Adriana, over the last couple years, I've watched as God has shaped and molded and moved her life to look just like Jesus in some really remarkable ways. And I would love to tell you the story, but why don't I let Adriana tell you? So why don't you check out her story for the next few moments? My name is Adriana Bridges, and this is almost my second year coming to Pantano, and I was baptized October 12th, 2024. I started playing volleyball when I was 11, and since then, it's just been one of my biggest passions. I played volleyball in high school. I went to two different high schools, and both of my teams were very successful. Didn't end up winning states, but super successful teams. And I've also gotten a couple accolades of my county, all county, and a couple max preps accolades. And I came to Arizona,

traveling all the way from South Florida, about 20 minutes out from Miami. I wanted to be in an area that had almost kind of the same weather. I also loved the business school, so I'm currently a business management major as well. And also, of course, volleyball. Coach Rita, my volleyball coach, had just such great energy meeting her at camps, talking to her over the phone. I knew that this is the place I wanted to be at. Moving away was something that was really hard for me. I am one of the oldest of four siblings, ages two through 17. And just stepping away from just my teammates, my friends, it was a really big challenge for me. Especially my first year playing collegiate volleyball was very difficult. A couple months in, I found out that my mother was diagnosed with gastric cancer. Without the strength from God, I don't know if I would be able to get through that. Just being away from home while she's down and going through surgery. But I'm just so blessed to have such an amazing community around me here in Tucson. I have to give so much props to Pastor Trevor and the Pantano community. I feel welcomed and seen by community, especially a church so big.

It's so amazing how you don't just feel like just another person, but you truly feel like you are there. She's doing great. She recovered great. She actually was able to travel and see one of my college games for her first time, so that was awesome. She was proudly cheering from the stands, probably the loudest person in there for me. I'm just so grateful. It just shows that no matter how long it is, and if you feel alone, God is there every single step and he hears our prayers truly. Going to the service, I had no intention on getting baptized, but my teammates and I, we came to the baptism service in October. We were just sitting in there. It was towards the end where they were worshiping, just kind of calling people out, whoever would like to, and my teammate Carly turned to me and was like, I think I want to go up there, and then I just felt like a tug of my heart, like, I do too. So then we just like sprinted over there and it was just such a beautiful thing that it was so like spontaneous, and I think that's what's just a part of my story now. After I got baptized, the biggest perspective shift that I had

was just understanding that he is so loving and so caring and he really is a forgiving God, and I was just striving for perfection, but it's just so beautiful to know that he truly delights in me and wants to spend time with me. And I truly believe that my purpose is to love people to Jesus, especially the way I found him. I've, you know, I had this perspective of, oh, I'm going to do this and he's just going to be upset with me, to then changing and understanding the true value is that he is such a forgiving God and he loves us and picks us up every single time. So I never want to come off as someone who is trying to, I don't know, soul you out or point you out because even God doesn't do that. So the whole reason I'm here is to love people and love God. If you've been thinking about getting baptized and you're hesitant about it, I would say to go do it, take that leap just like my teammate and I did. It changed my life tremendously and it was really the start of the journey of having a true lifelong friend as Jesus and just experiencing his love and his joy and his mercy each day is just the best thing I could ask for and nothing in my life, not my sport, nothing has ever hold up to who he is

and I'm just so grateful to have this relationship with him. I love Adriana's story. I actually had the privilege to go watch them play, and first of all, I wish I could jump like that. I also wish I was like 6'5". I'm not that either. I actually joked when she got baptized, we had the tubs still on stage up here, and she got in, I was like, her legs are not going to make it. So I was like, well, all of you will be in heaven except your legs, and then we'll be the same height. That's how God works. I don't think that holds up biblically, but that's what I'd like to think. But here's what I know about Adriana. God is systematically using her to change the people around her. She really has accepted the resurrection of Jesus, has resurrected her, and literally she's impacting her teammates, and I remember watching them play and watching her pregame and watching her up throughout the course of the day, and she's literally taking every opportunity she can to help people see Jesus through her. That's what the resurrection does. See, because Jesus conquered death, then death doesn't get the final word in her life, or your life, or my life. If Jesus walked out of the grave, then hope is not buried. If Jesus is alive, then your story is not over. See, when Jesus opens your eyes, hope walks with you. And if Jesus rose from the dead, then everything looks different. What once looked like defeat becomes victory. What once looked like death becomes life. What once looked like hopelessness becomes your redemption. Because when Jesus walked out of the grave, hope walked into the world. So what does this mean for you?

Because I know you're sitting here going, okay, that's great, but what does this mean? For those of you that already follow Jesus, if you already follow Jesus, just let Easter be the reminder, the resurrection should change how we live. It should change every day of how we live, not just this one day out of the year. If this is like, you show up and you're like, all right, I'm filled back up, and then you're like, Monday happens, and you're like, I already screwed it up, all right, see you next Easter. That's not how it works. The resurrection should change how we live each and every day of our lives. It means the worst thing is never your last thing. Your worst thing is never your last thing. It means God's still working, even when we can't see it yet, and some of you need this perspective today. You've been walking through some heavy things. Maybe something painful has happened in your life, something confusing, but can I just remind you, Easter reminds you that God is still writing the story. It's not over. Easter's also an invitation for those that are still searching. Some of you today, you came in here with honest questions about faith, which again, way to go. I'm actually really glad you're here. Maybe you've wondered if God could forgive your past. You're like, you don't know my past, man. You don't know mine either, and can I tell you, if God can forgive mine, he can forgive yours. He's still in the business of redemption. Maybe you've wondered if your life could really change. Is it really possible? Well, the resurrection actually answers that question for you, and here's how to answer it, is Jesus didn't come for perfect people. He came for broken people.

He came for broken people. He came for sinners. Let me take a quick straw poll. Any sinners in the room, just raise your hand. You were really quick to do that, y'all. Wow. You're almost proud about it. You're like, yep, that's me. You are in the right place. I just want you to know, if you raised your hand, which should have been all of us, is that we are all sinners. We are all broken, and he came for us. We have a saying at Pantano, we love you enough to let you come as you are. We just love you way too much to leave you there. If you walked in here broken, beat up, busted, you're not sure if God could love you, you're in the right place, because we want to help you understand that. We don't claim to be perfect. We just claim to follow a God that is, that takes our brokenness and makes it beautiful. He came for the people who thought hope was gone, and today, he offers forgiveness. He offers grace, a brand new beginning. Imagine for a minute, what would happen if we truly lived resurrected vision? Like, I'll tell you what a church looks like that does that. That's a church that believes hope is alive, which we desperately believe here. That's a church that believes no life is beyond resurrection. If you are breathing right now, there's still an opportunity for resurrection. If you're breathing, just let me know. If you're not, please let somebody know, okay? If you're breathing right now, you have resurrection opportunity. It's a church that believes Jesus still changes lives. See, that kind of church changes cities.

It's the kind of church... that loves people to Jesus. It's the kind of church that launches people to make a difference in their community because the resurrection has changed us. Before we close this portion of what we're doing today, I wanna leave you with a picture. I read a story a few months ago about the aftermath of an earthquake in California. And in this earthquake, a school building had collapsed and it trapped a bunch of children under the rubble. And there was a father that saw it on TV and he rushed to the school where his son had been. And he got there and he goes right to the spot where his son's classroom would have been and he begins to dig. And all of the emergency workers and rescue workers, they're trying to pull him off, telling him it's too dangerous and there's probably no survivors anyhow, but if you know a dad on a mission, he couldn't be stopped. So he began to dig. Eight hours he dug. 12 hours he kept digging. 24 hours, tired, worn out, but wanted to keep digging to get to the bottom. 36 hours in, he broke through this pocket in the rubble. And there were a handful of children in that little pocket still alive, one of which was his son.

And as he looked in that hole, his son looked up and he saw his father. And this is what the son yelled to his friends. I told him not to worry. I told them my dad would come. And he rescued those little boys and those little girls. That's the story of Easter. Like humanity, we're buried under this rubble of sin and death. It looks like we're gonna lose oxygen. It looks like all hope is gone. But God didn't abandon us. God came for us. Through the cross, Jesus entered the rubble of our broken world. But it was through the resurrection he broke through death itself. Like every time I get to stand here and share the hope of Jesus, I feel like that little boy. But I just wanna look at you and just say, I told you my dad would come for you. I told you he'd show up to change your life. I told you he would resurrect. Whatever it is, he's resurrecting because he came for you. He broke through death itself. The stone rolled away. The grave was empty. Hope walked out of the tomb.

That changes everything. So let me ask you this Easter, what are you buried under? Maybe it's your anxiety. Maybe it's your depression. Maybe it's your fear, your anger, your pride, your diagnosis, your hurts. I don't know how you fill that blank in. Here's what I do know is Jesus walked out of a grave so you don't have to be crushed and buried under those things. And here's the truth that echoes through history. The cross was not the end. The grave was not the end. Death was not the end because three days later, the stone rolled away, a tomb stood empty, and Jesus walked out alive, resurrected. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And if Jesus walked out of that grave, then hope's not dead. Your past is not your final. Your future is not finished because when Jesus opened your eyes, hope walks with you.

So if you're ready today, ready for forgiveness, ready for new life, ready to step into a resurrected vision, this could be your resurrection. This could be your moment. Your tomb could be empty. Your hope could become alive. Your story could begin today. That's why we celebrate baptism. It's one of my favorite things, not just about our church, but about our faith, is that baptism is the closest thing on earth we get to participating in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That's why we get so excited about it. By the way, over the course of our services so far here at Pantano Easter week, we've had 77 people give their lives to Jesus in baptism. It's been amazing. It's been amazing. It's been amazing. It's been amazing. It's been amazing. It's been amazing. Here's what's crazy. Some of you are going to, and you don't even know it yet. And you don't even know it yet. And you don't even know it yet. Resurrection is going to grab a hold of you.

It's where we signify the old life goes under that water and new life is what comes out. Now, hear me. There's nothing magical about the water. I know, it's Tucson water. There is zero magic about that water, okay? In fact, you might want to keep your mouth shut. That's all I'm going to say. All right? But it signifies a death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus. I can think of no greater moment than Resurrection Sunday to participate in the resurrection of Jesus. I have this friend this last week, we were hanging out. And he said, hey, would you baptize me on Easter? And I was like, absolutely. I think sarcastically, I said, no, not a chance. And then I was like, no, I'm just kidding. Yeah, absolutely. And I said, why this Easter? Because he's been talking about it for a long time. And he said, you know, I've been waiting for the perfect moment. For all the perfect people to show up, the perfect circumstance, the perfect day, the perfect weather, the perfect wind, whatever. He said, and I realized something, there's never gonna be a perfect day. So the perfect day is the day that I'm in. He said, so could I do it this Easter?

And one of our earlier services on our Easter weekend, we got the privilege of baptizing. And he said, I wish I hadn't waited for perfect so long. Because perfect's always been here. Some of you, that's you. I'd say if you're waiting for the perfect moment, I couldn't think of a more perfect moment than the one you're in. We've had a bunch of you scheduled to do this today. In just a moment, we're gonna have what we call a Pantano party. We're gonna hoot and holler and yell and scream and yell and clap and life change in people's lives. But if you're ready to follow Jesus today, if you're ready to begin this new life, we'd love to celebrate that with you right now. There's a sign over here that lights up that says baptism and we've got people waiting for you. And you're like, yeah, I didn't bring any clothes, my bad. That's fine, we've got some for you. Got shorts and shirts. I know ladies, you're like, but I just got my hair did for Easter. We'll get it undid and get baptized, all right? You can redid it later. You can go from curly to straight hair in a heartbeat, I promise you, we'll help you. What if today's the day of resurrection in your life? The day that could change everything?

Because when Jesus walks into your life, hope walks with you. So I'd like to pray with you and at any time during the rest of our time together, you can come right over there. There's people waiting to love you, care for you, walk with you, help you on your journey. But before we get there, we're gonna commune in a moment and we're gonna party together, we're gonna sing together, we're gonna have an amazing experience of celebration, but I wanna pray for you. And I'm gonna pray that God would move in a mighty way in your life. Let's pray. Father, today, God, we pray resurrection in the lives of those that are under the rubble of this world. God, I pray that you would change our perspective, that you would give us resurrected vision. That God, we no longer see blurry and flat lines of life, but we would see vibrantly because of you. God, thank you that you gave us the example of resurrection. Thank you that you're a living God, a God that resurrects us. God, thanks for loving us. That in our darkest moments, those are not our final moments. Our worst decisions are not our last decisions. That God, you resurrect those things in our life. God, bring new life today. Change families, change marriages, change individuals.

God, we love you. We give you our lives, and thank you for being a resurrected savior. And it's in the power of that resurrection of Jesus, we pray all these things, all God's people said. Amen. Love you, church. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. ♪ The future, it's worth living ♪

♪ I wasn't made to be tended to crave, I was called by name ♪ ♪ Born and raised by July flood, I was made for more ♪ ♪ I was made for more ♪ ♪ So why would I make a bed in my shame when a thousand ghosts ♪ ♪ Is running my way, I know I am yours ♪ ♪ And I was made for more ♪ ♪ Cause I know who I am, cause I know who you are ♪ ♪ The cross of salvation was only the start ♪ And now I am chosen, I'm free and forgiven I have a future, and it's worth living in I wasn't made to be tending a grave I was called by name, born and raised Back to life again, and I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace is running my way I know I am lost, and I was made for more Hallelujah, you called out my name So I'll sing out your praise Hallelujah, you buried my past But I'm not going back Hallelujah, you called out my name So I'll sing out your praise Hallelujah, you buried my past But I'm not going back Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave I was called by name, born and raised Back to life again, and I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace is running my way I know I am lost, and I was made for more

So I wasn't made to be tending a grave I was called by name, born and raised Back to life again, and I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace is running my way I know I am lost, and I was made for more Hallelujah, you called out my name So I'll sing out your praise Hallelujah, you buried my past But I'm not going back Hallelujah, you called out my name So I'll sing out your praise Hallelujah, you buried my past But I'm not going back Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave I was called by name, born and raised Back to life again, and I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace is running my way I know I am lost, and I was made for more And here's what I know For the people that were there, they probably thought that that was over When they saw him hanging on the cross and breathe his last breath They knew for sure that the story's done And I think some of us get stuck sometimes times in life. Maybe some of us are even stuck right now with something that happened yesterday or maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago and we just get stuck tending a grave that we were supposed to get past. Jesus died for us so that we could have life, not so that we could hold on to the past and I think we all do it but I just want to encourage you, you don't have to be stuck in your past anymore.

Maybe it's your first time here and you felt, man I want to walk, I want to go down there and respond and get baptized and you said, oh man I missed my chance next time. No, today's the day. You've not missed your chance. We want to celebrate with you and a bunch of other people but for the rest of us I just encourage you, we're gonna spend some time at the Lord's table. We're gonna take some bread and some juice which reminds us that Christ's body was broken but not forever and his blood was poured out on the ground but it wasn't just to mark a grave, it was for the forgiveness of sins, of humanity and so if you've been holding on to a grave, if you've been tending a grave, God's calling you to something more, something better. So I'm gonna invite you to have a seat where you are and prepare the elements of communion and if you're at home, wherever you're at, if you have some bread and juice you can grab that as well. We do this every week at Pantano because we believe there's power, there's actual power. Jesus instructs us to do this often so we do it every week because we never want to forget what it took for us to have life, for us to have forgiveness in this relationship with God. So I'm gonna invite you just to spend a moment just thanking him but maybe if you've got something and you're just holding on to, this is the moment you can get past it. Father, thank you. Thank you for Easter. Thank you that because Jesus is risen, we have hope. Because he's out of the grave, we don't have to live there any longer. So Lord, would you remind us today of the freedom that we have, that we can live in and move beyond everything that holds us back. This is all because of you, Jesus. We thank you. It's in your name we pray, amen. When you're ready you can receive the elements. Alright family, let's stand up together. Let's get ready to celebrate new life this Easter together and we're gonna praise God for it. Put your hands together, get ready to sing in praise. Praise the Lord, I've been born again. Goodbye yesterday, I'm living in the light of a new day. I won't waste another minute in my old ways. Praise the Lord, I've been born again.

Yes, I've been born again. Again and again and again and again. You rescued me out of the mess I was in. Betrayed my sorrow for something to see. Now I'm dancing on a grave that I once lived in. Goodbye yesterday, I'm living in the light of a new day. I won't waste another minute in my old ways. ♪ Waste another minute in my old ways ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, I've been born again ♪ Praise the Lord, I've been born again. ♪ Goodbye yesterday, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪ ♪ I've got resurrection in my veins ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, I've been born again ♪ ♪ Again and again and again ♪ ♪ You rescued me out of the mess I was in ♪ ♪ You traded my sorrow for something to sing ♪ ♪ Now I'm dancing on the grave and I won't speak again ♪ ♪ Again and again and again and again ♪ ♪ You rescued me out of the mess I was in ♪ ♪ You traded my sorrow for something to sing ♪ ♪ Now I'm dancing on the grave and I won't speak again ♪ ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ The world behind the cross before me and I won't turn back ♪ ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ The world behind the cross before me and I won't turn back ♪ ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ The world behind the cross before me and I won't turn back ♪ ♪ I have decided to follow Jesus ♪ ♪ The world behind the cross before me and I won't turn back ♪ ♪ No I won't turn back, no I won't turn back ♪

♪ The world behind the cross before me and I won't turn back ♪ ♪ No I won't turn back, no I won't turn back ♪ ♪ The world behind the cross before me and I won't turn back ♪ ♪ Again and again and again and again ♪ ♪ You rescued me out of the mess I was in ♪ ♪ You traded my sorrow for something to sing ♪ ♪ Now I'm dancing on the grave that I once stood in ♪ ♪ Again and again and again and again ♪ ♪ You rescued me out of the mess I was in ♪ ♪ You traded my sorrow for something to sing ♪ ♪ Now I'm dancing on the grave that I once stood in ♪ Yeah! Yeah! Jesus! Yeah! Oh! Keep those hands going! Let's keep praising God! Yeah! Oh, we praise You, Lord! Come on, scream it! Praise the Lord! I've been born again! Hey! Oh, praise the Lord! Come on, get those hands together, church! When I start remembering How good You've been Fear turns to worship And tears turn to praise

Chains of depression Broken by grace When I start remembering How good You've been Come on, y'all, sing! Oh, You've been So, so, so, so, so, so Good to me Oh, You've been So, so, so, so, so, so Good to me Yeah! Yeah! Enemies weapons Fall to the ground Armies of heaven Always surround When I start remembering How good You've been You called me by name, loved me like I was But You didn't leave me that way And now I live, yeah, that's what You did Oh, You've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me Yes, You are Oh, You've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me From morning to night, the lows and the highs I look back on my life and all that I see Oh, You've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me God is good, do you believe it? Come on! When I say God is good, you say

All the time When I say all the time, you say God is good When I say God is good, you say All the time When I say all the time, you say God is good When I say God is good, you say All the time When I say all the time, you say God is good When I say God is good, you say All the time When I say all the time, you say God is so, so, so, so, so, so good to me God is so, so, so, so, so, so good to me Good morning tonight The lows and the highs I've put back on my life It's all that I see Good morning tonight The lows and the highs I've put back on my life It's all that I see Oh, you've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me So good Oh, you've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me Yes, you've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me Oh Jesus You've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me

Oh, you've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me Come on God is good. Amen. Amen. Well, as we listen to this last song, I just want to encourage you in this. I don't know what you walked in here with today, but the same God that I serve is the same God that you serve, and He's alive and well, and He is risen. So let's worship with that same joy this evening. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Hey! Come on. You are faithful to your promise You are strong when I am weak When I'm standing in your presence I have everything I need The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength It's more than a feeling The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Sing oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name So let it rise up like a river Overflowing Holy Spirit So let it pour out with no limit Overflowing Holy Spirit So let it rise up like a river Overflowing Holy Spirit So let it pour out with no limit Overflowing Holy Spirit

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say Oh my soul, bless his name All that is within me say The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength Oh hallelujah, I got the joy, I got the joy The joy of the Lord is my strength Oh hallelujah, oh give him all the praise Amen, amen. I tell you what church, we are officially going to dismiss. We still have some baptisms to do, so if you want to hang, you can. Otherwise, thank you for spending some time with us this Easter. We love you guys. There's all kinds of fun stuff out there. There's photo booths, there's free snacks. If you're new to our church, stop by Connect, our Next Steps room. We would love to connect with you. Have a great week everybody. Happy Easter! www.nextsteps.org