January 10, 2026 • 35 mins
This month on the Blue Chair Podcast, Pastor Jared, Charles Magyar and our Special Guest discuss why the birth announcement went to shepherds, how identity shifts after meeting Jesus, and why God’s will often feels unlike home. We share stories of growth in messy seasons, practical ways to make room for God, and how grace shows up in daily lines and long nights.
• shepherds as first witnesses and symbols of the sacrificial lamb
• returning to ordinary life with a transformed identity
• discomfort as formation rather than failure
• trusting God’s reroute and long work in us
• suffering as a place of clarity and calling
• making room by saying no to lesser things
• small daily disciplines that change the heart
• grace practiced in everyday moments and choices
We love you guys. Have a great month. We’ll see you at church.
THANKS FOR JOINING US!
Visit afreshwind.org for even more content and resources to help you take steps towards Jesus and discover more in Christ.
DOWNLOAD THE FRESH WIND APP
With the A Fresh Wind Church app, you can now take the WIND wherever you go! Access sermons, articles, videos, resources and more to help you discover more in Christ.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
We know it can be a little weird or even awkward visiting a church for the first time. That's why we created Plan Your Visit. We want to make your first visit as easy as possible, and actually take time to get to know you and your family. Plan Your Visit now to schedule your visit by letting us know you're coming. We will treat you like family from the moment you arrive.
MAKE A DONATION
Give today and help us continue bringing new content each and every week! We're so grateful for your generosity. Click the link below or simply text any amount to the number (844) 620-5380.
DIG DEEPER
Looking for even more content to help you learn and apply this week's message? Subscribe to the Pastor's Blog! New posts are available each Friday at 7am.
Support the Show
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
Welcome and thanks for joining us on the Blue Chair
Podcast, brought to you by FreshWind Church.
Each month, we discuss thelatest sermons from the
perspective of the Blue Chairs.
SPEAKER_02 (00:27):
Hello, and welcome to the Blue Chair Podcast.
I am Pastor Jared, and with meas always, we have Charles
Magyar.
How's it going?
Oh, just fantastic.
We also have a special guesthere because uh when I was
prepping for this podcast, I wasracking my brain.
Who could we have on that wehaven't had on already?
(00:47):
But also somebody that I trusttook notes and someone uh who's
just fantastic with notes.
She's in our life group, andevery week she comes having
preemptively watched the lessonwith notes, ready to talk about
it.
We have Destiny Crowley with usthis month.
SPEAKER_03 (01:03):
Hi guys, happy New Year's.
Happy to be here.
SPEAKER_02 (01:06):
Thank you for thanks for being on.
Um, but this we this month weare going to discuss the I'll Be
Home for Christmas series thatwe just finished up in December.
So if you were excited thatChristmas was over, too bad.
You got about 45 more minutes.
We're gonna get through thistogether, all right?
But I wanted to go ahead andkick it off.
(01:28):
We were talking earlier andbefore we started, and we were
talking about how the shepherdsand there was some symbolism
there, and I kind of liked whatyou were saying, and so I wanted
to give you an opportunity justto kick us off.
Like talk about something thatcame to your mind during the
sermon series.
SPEAKER_03 (01:44):
During that week, I liked when the pastor mentioned
that the shepherds were not veryrecognized by society because
they were pretty low on thetotem pole, but the Lord the
Lord's angel invited them firstto witness Jesus' birth, and
they obeyed and listened.
(02:06):
Um, and I like that they werekind of like the first
foreshadowers of Jesus' um deathin a way.
Um, it was the same shepherdsthat were responsible for the
sacrificial lambs, and withJesus being our sacrificial
lamb, I just I liked how it wasso detailedly described to us.
There was a lot of foreshadowingthere, and I liked all the
(02:27):
symbolism.
SPEAKER_02 (02:28):
Oh, for sure.
And honestly, that's a wild takeon it because I've never thought
of that at all.
SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
Never.
SPEAKER_02 (02:34):
Most people kind of follow like the main line.
He went to the shepherds, theywere the they were lower, they
weren't like God was going tothe the average person, but the
symbolism that it's hey, they'reprepping the lamb already.
I'm not convinced I've heardthat before.
And so that's like massiveinsight that you may have picked
(02:55):
up on there.
I like it.
Um, and we you're talking aboutweek two, or was that week one?
SPEAKER_01 (03:00):
Then I think it's week three.
SPEAKER_02 (03:02):
Oh, I'm just completely wrong.
SPEAKER_03 (03:04):
So this is the week of our first second service, so
the week of the 21st.
SPEAKER_02 (03:08):
So yeah, that'd be week three, and that was Ryan, I
believe.
And uh, I like that.
That was a good one.
I liked the whole the like,don't get me wrong, that the
idea that we went to someshepherds who, as Ryan
explained, like, they weren'tthe trustworthy ones.
They weren't like if I wantedsomeone to have good big news,
(03:30):
right?
Super important, I want to getthe word out.
I would go to someone likereally cool, someone everyone
knew, like to the king, and belike, yo, this is happening.
You should go to let it let allyour people know, right?
Yeah send out a text toeverybody, King Herod.
It's gonna be sweet, but theit's not what happened.
Like he told that he told justthe normal people, and then they
went home to their wives, andthey were like, You won't
(03:53):
believe what happened today.
Yeah, and I love it.
I don't know.
Charles, you were talking aboutsome other stuff too.
Throw it out there.
What do you got?
SPEAKER_01 (04:00):
Yeah, because I for me, I picked up on like Luke
220, where it when it says thatthe shepherds returned
glorifying and praising God forall they uh had heard and seen.
So when I read this and I thinkabout like my own daily life, so
they went they went to seeChrist, but on their way back,
they were glorifying andpraising God for all they had
(04:20):
heard.
So for me, I see like they'regoing back to their their same
life in a sense, but they'regoing back with a reshaped
identity.
They're they're going backglorifying God and every for
everything they had seen.
So for me in my life, um, I putin here like obviously when I
came to God and I came toChrist, I I didn't necessarily
(04:43):
have a change in my earthlystatus, but I definitely had um
how did I how did I word it?
Um I had a transformation of myidentity.
So it's where I'm at in life,going to God and having a
relationship with him isn'tgonna change your poverty level.
It's not gonna change whereyou're working, it's not gonna
(05:04):
change this or that, butultimately that's all within his
control, which isn't anotherpoint that we'll talk about
later.
It's one of the other topics,but ultimately I needed to see
that it may not change my dailylife, but it totally reshapes my
identity.
And me, like I would have neveryears ago been out proclaiming
anything or sharing scripture oranything, but since I've come to
(05:27):
that, that's all I want to do isrejoice in God.
So I I like that verse and howthey treated the information.
SPEAKER_02 (05:34):
And I love that you bring that up that you're
rejoice in the Lord where you'reat, and I think that's so
important for um everybody toknow.
Like Pastor Tim, Pastor Ryan,myself, we have this title and
we work at a church, and so youthink it's just like those are
(05:56):
the people that are supposed todo it.
At least I did when I was likein high school, and before I
started working at the church,I'm like, yep, those pastors
that are employed there, they'regreat at it and stuff.
Um but it's not like the churchis the people of the build, like
the people in the building,right?
And scripture talks about overand over again that like we are
(06:17):
his saints, that it's not likeSaint Paul from the Bible that
should be saying saying stufflike Saint Joe Schmoe that works
at I don't know, the Toyotadealership or something where
they're just selling cars, andthose are the people that are
God is sending out to share thegospel with everybody.
SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
Well, yeah, and I think we've talked about this.
We talked about it in lifegroup, and then I even brought
it up um when I talked on PastorAppreciations Day that like the
the body of the church needs tounderstand like you and Tim and
Ryan, like you're there to equipus with the tools that we need
in order to be able to go outand proclaim and and follow our
calling and everything else.
(06:58):
So I I just think it's importantas us as believers need to not
look at pastors like it's theirjob to handle everything, but
realize they're there to equipthe flock to be able to go out
and and do what needs to be donefor the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02 (07:12):
Love it.
Um, I can't say much too muchthat, or else people are gonna
yell at me for telling everyoneelse to do my job.
Uh, I'm kidding.
Um my turn to share somethingcool that I thought I read or uh
I heard read.
SPEAKER_01 (07:26):
It's a cool story, Destiny.
You got something else?
Wow.
Just kidding.
SPEAKER_03 (07:32):
Actually, now that you mention it.
All right, you're up.
Go for it.
SPEAKER_02 (07:36):
I loved when it was talked about that sometimes the
will of God doesn't look likehome.
Yeah.
How we if we come to Christ, wehave this expectation of um
first and foremost, everythingbeing easy.
Being a Christian is likeinherently more difficult.
Um being able to just dowhatever you want and not I
(07:59):
don't say not feel remorse, butthe rules are stricter
inherently, and so to have tocontrol yourself and have um set
your desire second and put God'swill first is inherently more
difficult.
And in like it makes you feelless comfortable.
And when you think of home, youthink of comfortable, right?
(08:21):
Like I get to sit back on therecliner, watch Lord of the
Rings or something sweet, likehang out and do nothing.
It's comfy.
But coming home to God kind ofmeans going to work.
Now, don't get me wrong, there'sthis massive sense of comfort
and reassurance and peace andall of that that comes with it,
but it's it's it's an oxymoron,or uh, it's uh that might be the
(08:42):
right word.
It's not what you think itshould be.
And I love that.
It's staying close to you.
That is my son as we record ourpodcast.
He wants us to stay close.
James, you want to come say hi?
unknown (08:56):
I don't really want to stay with you.
SPEAKER_02 (08:59):
Alright, you can go in the mother's room, but say hi
to the whole church.
unknown (09:02):
Hey.
SPEAKER_02 (09:03):
Alright, go in the mother's room and hang out,
buddy.
Alright, but back to it.
What did you have?
You I think you might have had,did you actually have something
before I started talking?
Because I've lost where I wasgoing.
You're up here.
SPEAKER_03 (09:21):
I definitely like where you're going.
I mean, in order to keep thehome that you love that's so
comfortable, I mean, how hard doyou have to work to keep that?
You have to go to work, you haveto do your job to provide, you
know, everything you need tokeep that home.
You have to work hard for it.
Just like for your position inheaven, I think you do.
I mean, obviously what he didis, but it's still hard work.
(09:45):
You still have to do hardthings.
I mean, just fighting your ownfleshly things is hard.
And I think that that is goodenough to get to where you're
going ultimately, which isheaven, home.
But there's gonna be hard thingsthat we're gonna have to work
for in order to get that and becomfortable ultimately when it's
(10:06):
all said and done.
And I didn't have anything toadd before, but when we were
when I was taking notes, we tooksome out of um Philippians, and
it says that he who began thegood work within you will
continue his good work until itis finished on the day when
Christ Jesus returns.
So to like conclude that, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:27):
It's God doing the work in us.
And man, I remember teenageyears, you'd start growing and
you'd have like growing pains,like your knees would hurt or
whatever because you're gettingtaller and it's your joints are
getting used to it.
And that's what a lot of thiswalk is.
Like, God is doing a good workin us, it gets good stuff,
lifting weights is good stuff,running miles, they're good,
(10:48):
they're good for you.
It doesn't feel good though, itit sucks.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
And we talked about it, I think, on not the last
podcast, but I think the onebefore that, you know, before we
missed a month.
Um, the the verse, I alwaysforget what book it's in, but
when Paul says that um I can doall things through Christ who
strengthens me.
So when I read that and wetalked about it, um my mind goes
somewhere totally different thanthose are like football games,
(11:15):
right?
No, yeah, like it goes somewheretotally different.
Because for me, in that wholelike not just that one verse,
but in the whole thing, he'ssaying that even in my despair,
my faith is there, even when I'mprospering, my faith is there.
So no matter what season we'rein, we can survive that because
of Christ.
Oh, yeah.
So that pairs along witheverything you're saying,
(11:37):
because I had a thing in heretoo about I mean, it's a
different verse style, but inProverbs it says, the heart of a
man plans his way, but the Lordestablishes his steps.
So I made a note for myself thatin my times of despair and
chaos, that I have to understandto trust less in my own
understanding of what's going onin those moments, but put more
trust in what God is doing inthose moments to shape me into
(11:59):
the person that He needs me tobe.
So both for the kingdom and formy calling.
So it, you know, the seasonsthat I've walked through,
obviously I didn't realize itthen, but ultimately in those
seasons, I don't understandwhat's going on, but I need to
be able to sit back and trustthat God is has a purpose for
everything that's going on in mylife.
(12:20):
And it's leading us somewhereultimately, whether it's his
calling or it could be, youknow, what we're going through
is helping shape somebody elsefor their calling.
You know, they could beobserving and it's impacting
them, or however they I can't,I'm never gonna understand his
brilliant mind, but I canunderstand what he shows me.
But it's it's something that Iknow for myself I need to work
(12:43):
on is trusting that his plan isultimate and you know he's not
gonna lead me somewhere justbecause and to like even add to
that and throw a cherry on top,scripture teaches us that what
the enemy means for evil, Goduses for good.
SPEAKER_02 (12:59):
Yeah, and so even if something bad happens, like it's
it's not you're not off theplan.
Like God's got dominion over itall, God's got God's will is
gonna be done if we we allowthat to happen, if we submit to
him and we we lean into him.
And so if something terriblehappens and life gets difficult,
(13:21):
you can go ahead and justcontinue leaning in God because
he's continuing to lean into youand make things better.
SPEAKER_01 (13:28):
Well, do you have any other notes?
SPEAKER_03 (13:31):
Yes.
Um, so when you were sayingthat, it made me think about um
when God came to John to givehim revelations.
Not a lot of people have readrevelations, but that's what
we're studying in ladies' Biblestudy.
And um, he was in prison, he wasin Patmos, and he was like
chiseling rock all day long.
And like imagine staring at rockand then it's just beaming back
(13:55):
at you.
And then that's when he's givenall of those revelations about
you know Jesus returning to us.
Yeah, he probably didn't decidethat, you know, he probably
wasn't expecting that he wouldget such big, impactful
prophecies or revelations inprison.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
So again, even with those topics, um, when you guys
were talking earlier, it remindsme of like we're gonna suffer
for his namesake.
So whether that means um Johnand getting this divine
revelation in the midst ofsuffering or Paul finding joy
and and still leading acongregation in the middle of
(14:36):
suffering, like we don't choosethese moments, but ultimately
God's gonna use these moments toproclaim the name of Christ.
SPEAKER_03 (14:43):
And I have a note, and sorry, Ryan and Tim,
sometimes it's exactly what yousay, but even on the familiar
road, God is there, but also inthe chaos, he's also um he's not
that far from us, he's neverthat far.
SPEAKER_01 (14:56):
And I think my early walk, that's where I struggled
the most, is you know, they talkabout it during sermons, and
we've talked about it on thepodcast, is it's so easy to be a
churchgoer when everything'sgoing good, but when things
start going bad, that's when youstart to see people not showing
up to church.
And and I was one of thosepeople where it's like if I
(15:17):
wasn't seeing God acting in mylife, I'm like, where is he?
And I had to realize, and I hadto, I mean, it was ultimately
through the spirit and andhaving conversation with God,
but I had to realize that evenin those moments where I don't
feel like he's he's alwaysthere, but it's we're never
gonna truly understand why thatseason is taking place, or I
(15:39):
mean eventually you will,because you're gonna see the
outcome.
Man, I mean it's it's eventuallygonna make itself known.
Um, like for me, for instance,you know, I've had talks with
with Jared and stuff about mywalk and the loss that I've
endured and everything else, andultimately, I think a lot of
that is what led into my callingfor ministry, and not just
(16:00):
ministry, but you know, I'm myI'm going into chaplaincy, and I
think a lot of it, a lot of whatI went through in life is gonna
help me in that field becauseit's all around loss.
So having the insight and thestruggles that I've dealt with
in my walk with God, I thinkultimately I can use a lot of
that in that calling.
SPEAKER_03 (16:20):
Um, and it I don't know, it was it weighed on my
mind for a long time, and I keptthere answering that calling
than looking, like talking tosomebody who's never heard about
Jesus and telling them like thegood news.
Like there's nothing better thanjust seeing their face, and then
you just it's like the HolySpirit takes over and you just
start flowing with all of thesewords, and you're just like, and
(16:42):
and the good thing is this, andwe get this, and this is gonna
happen, and all of these things,and yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:48):
Me and Erica just talked about that the other
night because I told her there'slike there's certain topics that
I really get into, and when westart talking about them, it's
like you just instantly getgoosebumps when you're talking
about it.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (17:00):
I don't know what we're talking about.
I'm back now.
SPEAKER_01 (17:03):
It was very insightful conversation while
you were gone.
SPEAKER_02 (17:05):
I guess I'll have to like actually listen to this
when I edit it now.
Yeah, you're gonna have tolisten to it just to make sure
you weren't going on somethingcrazy.
SPEAKER_01 (17:11):
Oh, it was totally crazy.
Um, I don't know if you haveanything else for that topic or
if you had another note that umyou wanted to talk about.
SPEAKER_03 (17:22):
I really like the GPS analogy that they kept
giving because we're talkingabout like the career.
So I have GPS example.
When you take a wrong turn, whatdoes the GPS say?
Rerouting, not turn back aroundand go the way you came, then
reroute, just turn left and keepgoing.
(17:43):
I mean, I really liked thatbecause I I'm a very, very much
overthinker and I struggle withanxiety.
So, like when you just keepgoing and just lay those
problems at the feet of Jesusand just keep moving, that
helped me a lot.
I think about that often now.
SPEAKER_02 (18:01):
I love that.
That it's whatever dumb thing wedo.
I mean, we're gonna do a fewdumb things, it's gonna happen.
Charles probably more than therest of us, but we're gonna do
some things that probably notthe best decision, and it's
going to mess some things up,right?
It's gonna change the plan alittle bit, but that doesn't
mean your destination ischanging.
You're still going towardsChrist, you're still um, you're
(18:24):
still being sanctified, is theword.
Like sanctification is workingout, making us more like Jesus,
working out all the crud.
The crud's not goneinstantaneously.
We get saved, we get justifiedthrough Christ, and then we get
sanctified over our entire life,and we will eventually be
sanctified when we are inheaven.
But until that happens, we'regonna take a few wrong turns.
(18:48):
We're gonna say the wrong thing,we're gonna mean something, and
it's gonna come off the wrongway, or we're just gonna wake up
one day, be in have the wrongmindset, and choose sin.
But that doesn't mean God can'tpull us from that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:59):
And I like how you worded it with the the crud
analogy, because there's I'vewatched a bunch of videos on
this.
Um, and even I think Ryan andone of the notes I had in here
too talks about it in the sensethat we don't have to clean
before he comes into us, we makeroom for him to clean.
So how that looks for you, likewhere in your life you need to
(19:23):
make room for him, ultimately wejust have to trust in the fact
that once we make room and weaccept Christ into our lives,
that's when when the Spirit'sdwelling in us, that's when the
cleaning takes place.
And I don't know, to me, that'sfor talking to someone new in
the faith, like that's reallyreassuring.
Cause I feel like a lot of timespeople can get overwhelmed
(19:44):
thinking that they have to makesuch a drastic change just to be
able to accept Christ, notrealizing that it's ultimately
God's gonna be the one makingthe change once you've made room
for him in your life.
Nope.
SPEAKER_03 (19:56):
That little seed and those spoonfuls of influence.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
Ooh.
Uh you gotta trademark that.
SPEAKER_02 (20:04):
I like that.
I also liked um you guys mayhave said this, but the when Tim
challenges us, like make roomfor him and just see what
happens after that.
Like if we it's not even so muchof the stuff that we do.
Like, yes, all the uh spiritualdevotions and all of those
(20:25):
things, all the spiritualdisciplines are important.
But if we just make room and doa few things, like come on, 12
minutes a day you could read theBible in a year.
12 minutes a day, I stare at awall.
Like, let's be real.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
How often are you just like I might be at an hour
a day?
I I know.
SPEAKER_02 (20:43):
Like we've got 12 minutes.
And if we just spend a littlebit of time, do do some small
things, so much can happen whenwe make room for God.
SPEAKER_03 (20:56):
Just reach out and discover he's not that far.
SPEAKER_01 (21:00):
These little tidbits, I'm telling you.
Well, and I'm glad that youbrought that part.
SPEAKER_02 (21:04):
Is this what happens when you take notes during the
sermon?
SPEAKER_01 (21:08):
Oh, and pictures, and pictures, those little
diagrams, a little mustard seed.
That's that's fantastic.
SPEAKER_02 (21:15):
Pastor Tim, Pastor Ryan, uh Destiny's got a picture
book for all of your sermons.
SPEAKER_01 (21:20):
Yeah.
I I like that you brought up toothe the no place for them thing,
because I feel like you can takethis into your daily life when I
was looking at it, and I don'tknow if I can't remember if it
was one of the sermon notes ornot, but it talks about
different aspects of your life,like your workplace, at home,
whatever, like where do you feelrejected or where do you feel
replaceable?
(21:40):
Um, and it it goes into detailabout like Jesus was born into
the noise, into the mess, in anovercrowding place, and God
entered the world through thatrejection, not comfort.
Um, so for me, like I I reflecton that a lot when I'm thinking
about like my workplace andrealizing I'm just a number
that's replaceable, or you know,at home where you've experienced
(22:03):
loss and you may not have youknow certain people around
anymore, or whatever.
Like, I look at the fact thatI'm not alone in that because
Christ did it.
So it's I have to look, I lookto him for guidance in those
moments, and I look in his wordfor for guidance in those
moments because ultimately,like, we're all gonna feel this
way, one way or another,throughout life, throughout
different scenarios, and there'sno better place to look than you
(22:26):
know the birth story.
He was born right into themiddle of rejection.
So I don't know.
That was just to me, that'ssomething that I try to implant
into my brain.
SPEAKER_02 (22:36):
I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (22:40):
What else?
What do you got, Jared?
You got any more notes?
Because I know you're not anote-taker.
SPEAKER_02 (22:45):
My notes are locked away in my brain.
SPEAKER_01 (22:48):
It's got a steel trap, huh?
SPEAKER_02 (22:50):
It's it's got a few holes though.
I forget more often than not.
I'm kidding.
Um I'm just stuck on the uhshepherds.
I can't believe I forgot thatword of all words.
We've already been talking aboutthem.
That just the I'm looking atnotes and it says the first that
(23:13):
first Christmas night, theshepherds didn't stay in the
spotlight.
They returned and glorified,praising God.
So we come to God, we see God,we see who he is, we don't stay
there.
Like we're not in the we're notalways in this moment of like we
first met God, and there it'slike this magical moment where
like our eyes are open to this.
(23:34):
We still have to go back to theworld.
We have we have to walk around,but we're forever changed, and
that's that's what grace does.
And like even as a parent, likeI saw a video where they were it
was talking about a dad teachingchildren discipline and um like
what sin is, right?
(23:54):
So you get in trouble and youhave to do like a punishment,
like maybe it's you have to runaround the house a couple times,
or maybe you have to go sit inthe corner, or maybe you don't
get something, or you getgrounded, and like you instill
this into your child thatactions have consequences, and
then at some point you do it forthem.
Like, all right, your punishmentis you have to go around the
(24:17):
house five times, run.
And like physical, if you didn'tknow this, physical exertion,
especially with young boys, isan excellent way to teach them
things.
Um and but you throw a twist onit eventually, and you make your
son that and you get him a drinkand you sit him down in front of
the yard, and then you runaround five times, and he's
like, What are you doing?
And you're you're showing theexample of grace that there was
(24:39):
there needs to be a consequence,someone's gotta pay for this,
but I'm choosing to pay for itfor you.
And that's what Christ did forus.
But when we get that and weunderstand that and we can and
and we can apply it to differentaspects of our life, it's so
good, and it makes us want to bemore gracious to other people.
(25:00):
Like, how often is are weallowing the person to get in
front of you in the pickup line?
How often are we laying on ourhorn because someone cut us off?
Or are we just making surethere's space when they're
trying to get out on theon-ramp?
Like everyone's trying to get towork, it's 8 45, everyone's
late.
Make some room, be gracious,love on some people.
SPEAKER_01 (25:19):
And I'm glad that you ordered it like that,
because even in the momentswhere I'm trying to be gracious,
someone still has to find thatfine line to try and cross.
Because I can't tell you howmany times like I am the person
in line that's letting otherpeople go, and then someone sees
that you're letting people go,and they just take advantage of
it and they cut in real quicktoo.
And it's like, ooh, I don't havethat much great back and forth,
(25:41):
one at a time.
It's like zigzag.
My line goes, your line goes.
My line goes, your line goes.
SPEAKER_02 (25:47):
It's like a zipper, is what Allison says.
I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:51):
Yeah, it's it's good, good stuff, good stuff.
Did you have anything?
Any more notes?
Another topic.
SPEAKER_03 (25:59):
Um, no, no, but I have a relatable story from last
night about go for it.
Um, I was waiting at Chipotle,so it's kind of I always
Chipotle is my life.
Yeah, I go there after worksometimes for dinner, and um I
have my 16-year-old brother athome and my sister, so they want
a Chipotle too.
Um, you know, gotta get thechicken because it's the best.
(26:20):
Um, they weren't done with thechicken.
I like the chicken.
Steak the steak too.
I go back and forth, but theylike the chicken.
And they wasn't done now.
I had to wait for it to cook.
It was like 10 minutes before itwould be done.
Someone came in behind me, theywere by themselves, and uh the
lady was like, All right,whoever was waiting for fresh
chicken, come up.
And I had three orders.
(26:41):
I'm by myself, so it looks likeit's just me, but I was like,
you can go in front of me.
And he was like, boom, boom,boom, boom, and was done.
Already out the door, and he waslike, Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (26:50):
That's the Lord's work right there.
I have been in some Chipotlelines when someone walks in with
a list and it's like, Lady, Igot five minutes.
Like, come on now.
SPEAKER_01 (26:59):
I feel guilty because I could be a single
order and mine takes forever.
Because I'm like, double this.
Oh, I want some of this, a scoopof that, a scoop of this.
SPEAKER_02 (27:06):
On behalf of Chipotle employees everywhere,
just stop serving me.
Yep, pretty much.
I didn't want to say it.
You said it.
Uh, that's a great, greatexample of our daily life where
we can be a little bit moregracious, being like just
conscious of the situation thatwe are in and the situation
other people in everyone had towait.
Everyone um wanted the samething.
(27:29):
Is is it gonna hurt to do that,or are you gonna make someone's
day?
And uh that's awesome.
I'm proud of you.
I gotta know which Chipolayou're at.
That took you took a while.
I'll go yell at them for you.
But uh, I joke.
I'm not I don't yell at peoplefor taking a while.
Just how they clean stuff.
SPEAKER_03 (27:44):
Cast the Tetamin one to go to the one in Parmatown,
so that says anything.
SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
Fair enough.
Uh alrighty, what do we let'ssee.
SPEAKER_01 (27:56):
So I only have one note left, other than what I
told you I had for like a finalcomment.
It was from week one, and Ithink it's when they were
talking about um Acts 17, 26through 27.
And it said, uh, and he madefrom one man every nation of
mankind, having determinedallotted periods in the
boundaries of their dwellingplace that they should seek God.
(28:17):
And I mean this ties in withwhat we were talking about
already, and then we weretalking about it when you left.
Is that for me anyway, likethere's moments in my life where
you know, the sermon serieswhere you feel far from home, or
whether that be emotionally,spiritually, relationally, um,
and it reminds me that likedisplacement doesn't mean
(28:40):
abandonment.
Um, and I had a note that likeGod arranges our times and
places so that we might seekHim.
Um, and that means where I'm atright now isn't accidental or
meaningless.
If God led me here, then God'swith me here.
So even you know, going off uhDestiny's point with God
finishing the work, even when Ifeel unfinished, God's still
(29:03):
working.
So like there's times where likeI might be exhausted and you
know I'm I'm not continuing inwhat I should be right now, but
even in those moments when I'mat my lowest, like God's still
working.
Um, and it's just trusting inthe fact that no matter where
he's leading us down our path,like it's not abandonment, it's
not always punishment, it's forhis purpose.
(29:25):
Um I don't know, I like thatone.
SPEAKER_02 (29:28):
I love it, and along that same line, I'm looking at
the notes that say Jesus enterswhen the cluttered space Jesus
enters the cluttered space as itis.
Yeah, and I don't know, I likethat.
Like there's we're not perfect.
And it doesn't mean we don'ttry.
That's not what I'm saying.
But don't get caught up on beingperfect first.
(29:50):
Come as you are, broken, andGod'll do God'll heal you.
God will take you places younever thought possible.
Um I know we're coming up toyour hard stop, Destiny, so I
want to be courtesy of yourtime.
Do we have any other um anyanything else we want to throw
out there here?
SPEAKER_01 (30:14):
I mean the honestly, what I had for my last point was
just um, which we've kind ofalready touched on it, is they
they talked about um findingJesus in Luke 2.
They said they searched, theypursued, they found exactly what
God promised.
And then Jeremiah 29, 13 says,You will seek me and find me uh
when you search for me with allyour heart.
(30:35):
So my reflection on that was forChristmas, what was I truly
searching for?
And ultimately, as I thoughtabout and thought about it, like
all I could think about was, youknow, we've talked about my
calling, um, we've talked aboutmy journey and everything, and
ultimately I find myselfsearching for what is my purpose
in all of that.
Um, and that's where, you know,like I was saying earlier, in my
(30:58):
mind, I I have to stopquestioning it all the time
because ultimately I think it'sgonna be revealed.
Um, so obviously I'm searchingfor my purpose, but I have to
trust in his plan in my life andbe comfortable in that um and
just accept what he's given me,and just as Ryan would say, say
yes before I even start.
(31:19):
Um ultimately that purpose isgonna come out, but I think for
Christmas, ultimately that'swhat I've been searching for is
like what is my grand purpose inmy calling and my life.
SPEAKER_02 (31:30):
We had a whole podcast about that one, man.
It doesn't matter what you do,just do it for God and He'll
figure help you figure it out.
SPEAKER_01 (31:35):
As a human, I can't help but to think what is my
ultimate purpose in this.
SPEAKER_02 (31:39):
That's fair.
That's fair.
My final point, um, and I'llI'll find another one if someone
else talks after me because it'show I am.
But where Ryan talks about howhis Tim's one of Tim's first
lessons to him was say no tosome things so you can say yes
to the others.
And then he goes on to talkabout how a crowded heart
(32:01):
doesn't have enough room forJesus.
And the thing that me andAllison have been doing so much
together as a couple to makesure that we have more time for
is Jesus, right?
And so we have everyone's got aschedule, everyone's got things
going on.
We've got kids' sports, we'vegot PlayStation that needs
played, we have all kinds ofthings that are just occupying
(32:22):
our time.
Some of them are important, someof them are not, but how many of
those are going to change oureternity?
SPEAKER_01 (32:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:29):
And are we cutting, are we saying no to something so
we could say yes to Jesus?
And he gives examples of thingsthat were crowded and what
happened.
Um Herod was too full, Herod wascrowded with power, and didn't
end too well for him.
He would he sought to killChrist.
Like, way to swing and miss,bro.
Um, the Pharisees were just sofull of pride and then it
(32:50):
crowded their hearts so theycouldn't come to Jesus.
And if we're not careful doingthe same thing, like if you have
too much pride in like, oh, Iwork 50 hours a week and I make
this much money for my family,and this is all great, like,
yeah, that's great.
It's I mean, don't get me wrong,care pro provide for your
family.
It's important.
Just remember who gave you thetalents to do it.
(33:11):
Who gave you the talents to doit?
And then all like there's uhthis I'm gonna go on tangents
here, but just remember who gaveyou the talents to do it and the
eternal um example that you'resetting for those kids.
What's the priority?
If you want to.
SPEAKER_03 (33:30):
Okay.
Um, I to wrap this up for me,because the bigger picture is to
get home at the end of this.
Um, if we start and we look atum where God started when he
gave us Jesus, you know, hecould have chosen anywhere.
And he chose the most chaoticand scrambled like mess.
(33:50):
And um he had a plan and he hada purpose.
And I just think that everyoneshould know that it's gonna take
a little bit of hard work.
It might not be perfect, buteventually we'll get to that
nice, comfy home at the end ofit.
SPEAKER_02 (34:06):
We'll make it home eventually.
All right, guys.
We appreciate you listening.
Destiny, thank you for being on.
Like you were spectacular.
SPEAKER_03 (34:14):
It's my first podcast.
If you're a man, I might not beas nervous.
SPEAKER_02 (34:18):
All right, you're just gonna take over for me and
uh it's gonna be great.
All right, but uh she has anotebook.
She does.
I don't have a notebook, she'sgot me there.
SPEAKER_01 (34:27):
All right, blue clues over here.
SPEAKER_02 (34:29):
Blues clues.
Tell me you have young kidswithout telling me you have
young kids.
SPEAKER_01 (34:34):
She just got a letter.
SPEAKER_02 (34:35):
Oh my goodness.
Alright, finally, I'm gonna tryto sign off one more time.
We love you guys.
Have a great month.
We'll see you at church.
Talk to you later.
SPEAKER_03 (34:44):
Bye.
Thank you.
Welcome and thanks for joining us on the Blue Chair
Podcast, brought to you by FreshWind Church.
Each month, we discuss thelatest sermons from the
perspective of the Blue Chairs.
SPEAKER_02 (00:27):
Hello, and welcome to the Blue Chair Podcast.
I am Pastor Jared, and with meas always, we have Charles
Magyar.
How's it going?
Oh, just fantastic.
We also have a special guesthere because uh when I was
prepping for this podcast, I wasracking my brain.
Who could we have on that wehaven't had on already?
(00:47):
But also somebody that I trusttook notes and someone uh who's
just fantastic with notes.
She's in our life group, andevery week she comes having
preemptively watched the lessonwith notes, ready to talk about
it.
We have Destiny Crowley with usthis month.
SPEAKER_03 (01:03):
Hi guys, happy New Year's.
Happy to be here.
SPEAKER_02 (01:06):
Thank you for thanks for being on.
Um, but this we this month weare going to discuss the I'll Be
Home for Christmas series thatwe just finished up in December.
So if you were excited thatChristmas was over, too bad.
You got about 45 more minutes.
We're gonna get through thistogether, all right?
But I wanted to go ahead andkick it off.
(01:28):
We were talking earlier andbefore we started, and we were
talking about how the shepherdsand there was some symbolism
there, and I kind of liked whatyou were saying, and so I wanted
to give you an opportunity justto kick us off.
Like talk about something thatcame to your mind during the
sermon series.
SPEAKER_03 (01:44):
During that week, I liked when the pastor mentioned
that the shepherds were not veryrecognized by society because
they were pretty low on thetotem pole, but the Lord the
Lord's angel invited them firstto witness Jesus' birth, and
they obeyed and listened.
(02:06):
Um, and I like that they werekind of like the first
foreshadowers of Jesus' um deathin a way.
Um, it was the same shepherdsthat were responsible for the
sacrificial lambs, and withJesus being our sacrificial
lamb, I just I liked how it wasso detailedly described to us.
There was a lot of foreshadowingthere, and I liked all the
(02:27):
symbolism.
SPEAKER_02 (02:28):
Oh, for sure.
And honestly, that's a wild takeon it because I've never thought
of that at all.
SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
Never.
SPEAKER_02 (02:34):
Most people kind of follow like the main line.
He went to the shepherds, theywere the they were lower, they
weren't like God was going tothe the average person, but the
symbolism that it's hey, they'reprepping the lamb already.
I'm not convinced I've heardthat before.
And so that's like massiveinsight that you may have picked
(02:55):
up on there.
I like it.
Um, and we you're talking aboutweek two, or was that week one?
SPEAKER_01 (03:00):
Then I think it's week three.
SPEAKER_02 (03:02):
Oh, I'm just completely wrong.
SPEAKER_03 (03:04):
So this is the week of our first second service, so
the week of the 21st.
SPEAKER_02 (03:08):
So yeah, that'd be week three, and that was Ryan, I
believe.
And uh, I like that.
That was a good one.
I liked the whole the like,don't get me wrong, that the
idea that we went to someshepherds who, as Ryan
explained, like, they weren'tthe trustworthy ones.
They weren't like if I wantedsomeone to have good big news,
(03:30):
right?
Super important, I want to getthe word out.
I would go to someone likereally cool, someone everyone
knew, like to the king, and belike, yo, this is happening.
You should go to let it let allyour people know, right?
Yeah send out a text toeverybody, King Herod.
It's gonna be sweet, but theit's not what happened.
Like he told that he told justthe normal people, and then they
went home to their wives, andthey were like, You won't
(03:53):
believe what happened today.
Yeah, and I love it.
I don't know.
Charles, you were talking aboutsome other stuff too.
Throw it out there.
What do you got?
SPEAKER_01 (04:00):
Yeah, because I for me, I picked up on like Luke
220, where it when it says thatthe shepherds returned
glorifying and praising God forall they uh had heard and seen.
So when I read this and I thinkabout like my own daily life, so
they went they went to seeChrist, but on their way back,
they were glorifying andpraising God for all they had
(04:20):
heard.
So for me, I see like they'regoing back to their their same
life in a sense, but they'regoing back with a reshaped
identity.
They're they're going backglorifying God and every for
everything they had seen.
So for me in my life, um, I putin here like obviously when I
came to God and I came toChrist, I I didn't necessarily
(04:43):
have a change in my earthlystatus, but I definitely had um
how did I how did I word it?
Um I had a transformation of myidentity.
So it's where I'm at in life,going to God and having a
relationship with him isn'tgonna change your poverty level.
It's not gonna change whereyou're working, it's not gonna
(05:04):
change this or that, butultimately that's all within his
control, which isn't anotherpoint that we'll talk about
later.
It's one of the other topics,but ultimately I needed to see
that it may not change my dailylife, but it totally reshapes my
identity.
And me, like I would have neveryears ago been out proclaiming
anything or sharing scripture oranything, but since I've come to
(05:27):
that, that's all I want to do isrejoice in God.
So I I like that verse and howthey treated the information.
SPEAKER_02 (05:34):
And I love that you bring that up that you're
rejoice in the Lord where you'reat, and I think that's so
important for um everybody toknow.
Like Pastor Tim, Pastor Ryan,myself, we have this title and
we work at a church, and so youthink it's just like those are
(05:56):
the people that are supposed todo it.
At least I did when I was likein high school, and before I
started working at the church,I'm like, yep, those pastors
that are employed there, they'regreat at it and stuff.
Um but it's not like the churchis the people of the build, like
the people in the building,right?
And scripture talks about overand over again that like we are
(06:17):
his saints, that it's not likeSaint Paul from the Bible that
should be saying saying stufflike Saint Joe Schmoe that works
at I don't know, the Toyotadealership or something where
they're just selling cars, andthose are the people that are
God is sending out to share thegospel with everybody.
SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
Well, yeah, and I think we've talked about this.
We talked about it in lifegroup, and then I even brought
it up um when I talked on PastorAppreciations Day that like the
the body of the church needs tounderstand like you and Tim and
Ryan, like you're there to equipus with the tools that we need
in order to be able to go outand proclaim and and follow our
calling and everything else.
(06:58):
So I I just think it's importantas us as believers need to not
look at pastors like it's theirjob to handle everything, but
realize they're there to equipthe flock to be able to go out
and and do what needs to be donefor the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02 (07:12):
Love it.
Um, I can't say much too muchthat, or else people are gonna
yell at me for telling everyoneelse to do my job.
Uh, I'm kidding.
Um my turn to share somethingcool that I thought I read or uh
I heard read.
SPEAKER_01 (07:26):
It's a cool story, Destiny.
You got something else?
Wow.
Just kidding.
SPEAKER_03 (07:32):
Actually, now that you mention it.
All right, you're up.
Go for it.
SPEAKER_02 (07:36):
I loved when it was talked about that sometimes the
will of God doesn't look likehome.
Yeah.
How we if we come to Christ, wehave this expectation of um
first and foremost, everythingbeing easy.
Being a Christian is likeinherently more difficult.
Um being able to just dowhatever you want and not I
(07:59):
don't say not feel remorse, butthe rules are stricter
inherently, and so to have tocontrol yourself and have um set
your desire second and put God'swill first is inherently more
difficult.
And in like it makes you feelless comfortable.
And when you think of home, youthink of comfortable, right?
(08:21):
Like I get to sit back on therecliner, watch Lord of the
Rings or something sweet, likehang out and do nothing.
It's comfy.
But coming home to God kind ofmeans going to work.
Now, don't get me wrong, there'sthis massive sense of comfort
and reassurance and peace andall of that that comes with it,
but it's it's it's an oxymoron,or uh, it's uh that might be the
(08:42):
right word.
It's not what you think itshould be.
And I love that.
It's staying close to you.
That is my son as we record ourpodcast.
He wants us to stay close.
James, you want to come say hi?
unknown (08:56):
I don't really want to stay with you.
SPEAKER_02 (08:59):
Alright, you can go in the mother's room, but say hi
to the whole church.
unknown (09:02):
Hey.
SPEAKER_02 (09:03):
Alright, go in the mother's room and hang out,
buddy.
Alright, but back to it.
What did you have?
You I think you might have had,did you actually have something
before I started talking?
Because I've lost where I wasgoing.
You're up here.
SPEAKER_03 (09:21):
I definitely like where you're going.
I mean, in order to keep thehome that you love that's so
comfortable, I mean, how hard doyou have to work to keep that?
You have to go to work, you haveto do your job to provide, you
know, everything you need tokeep that home.
You have to work hard for it.
Just like for your position inheaven, I think you do.
I mean, obviously what he didis, but it's still hard work.
(09:45):
You still have to do hardthings.
I mean, just fighting your ownfleshly things is hard.
And I think that that is goodenough to get to where you're
going ultimately, which isheaven, home.
But there's gonna be hard thingsthat we're gonna have to work
for in order to get that and becomfortable ultimately when it's
(10:06):
all said and done.
And I didn't have anything toadd before, but when we were
when I was taking notes, we tooksome out of um Philippians, and
it says that he who began thegood work within you will
continue his good work until itis finished on the day when
Christ Jesus returns.
So to like conclude that, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:27):
It's God doing the work in us.
And man, I remember teenageyears, you'd start growing and
you'd have like growing pains,like your knees would hurt or
whatever because you're gettingtaller and it's your joints are
getting used to it.
And that's what a lot of thiswalk is.
Like, God is doing a good workin us, it gets good stuff,
lifting weights is good stuff,running miles, they're good,
(10:48):
they're good for you.
It doesn't feel good though, itit sucks.
SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
And we talked about it, I think, on not the last
podcast, but I think the onebefore that, you know, before we
missed a month.
Um, the the verse, I alwaysforget what book it's in, but
when Paul says that um I can doall things through Christ who
strengthens me.
So when I read that and wetalked about it, um my mind goes
somewhere totally different thanthose are like football games,
(11:15):
right?
No, yeah, like it goes somewheretotally different.
Because for me, in that wholelike not just that one verse,
but in the whole thing, he'ssaying that even in my despair,
my faith is there, even when I'mprospering, my faith is there.
So no matter what season we'rein, we can survive that because
of Christ.
Oh, yeah.
So that pairs along witheverything you're saying,
(11:37):
because I had a thing in heretoo about I mean, it's a
different verse style, but inProverbs it says, the heart of a
man plans his way, but the Lordestablishes his steps.
So I made a note for myself thatin my times of despair and
chaos, that I have to understandto trust less in my own
understanding of what's going onin those moments, but put more
trust in what God is doing inthose moments to shape me into
(11:59):
the person that He needs me tobe.
So both for the kingdom and formy calling.
So it, you know, the seasonsthat I've walked through,
obviously I didn't realize itthen, but ultimately in those
seasons, I don't understandwhat's going on, but I need to
be able to sit back and trustthat God is has a purpose for
everything that's going on in mylife.
(12:20):
And it's leading us somewhereultimately, whether it's his
calling or it could be, youknow, what we're going through
is helping shape somebody elsefor their calling.
You know, they could beobserving and it's impacting
them, or however they I can't,I'm never gonna understand his
brilliant mind, but I canunderstand what he shows me.
But it's it's something that Iknow for myself I need to work
(12:43):
on is trusting that his plan isultimate and you know he's not
gonna lead me somewhere justbecause and to like even add to
that and throw a cherry on top,scripture teaches us that what
the enemy means for evil, Goduses for good.
SPEAKER_02 (12:59):
Yeah, and so even if something bad happens, like it's
it's not you're not off theplan.
Like God's got dominion over itall, God's got God's will is
gonna be done if we we allowthat to happen, if we submit to
him and we we lean into him.
And so if something terriblehappens and life gets difficult,
(13:21):
you can go ahead and justcontinue leaning in God because
he's continuing to lean into youand make things better.
SPEAKER_01 (13:28):
Well, do you have any other notes?
SPEAKER_03 (13:31):
Yes.
Um, so when you were sayingthat, it made me think about um
when God came to John to givehim revelations.
Not a lot of people have readrevelations, but that's what
we're studying in ladies' Biblestudy.
And um, he was in prison, he wasin Patmos, and he was like
chiseling rock all day long.
And like imagine staring at rockand then it's just beaming back
(13:55):
at you.
And then that's when he's givenall of those revelations about
you know Jesus returning to us.
Yeah, he probably didn't decidethat, you know, he probably
wasn't expecting that he wouldget such big, impactful
prophecies or revelations inprison.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
So again, even with those topics, um, when you guys
were talking earlier, it remindsme of like we're gonna suffer
for his namesake.
So whether that means um Johnand getting this divine
revelation in the midst ofsuffering or Paul finding joy
and and still leading acongregation in the middle of
(14:36):
suffering, like we don't choosethese moments, but ultimately
God's gonna use these moments toproclaim the name of Christ.
SPEAKER_03 (14:43):
And I have a note, and sorry, Ryan and Tim,
sometimes it's exactly what yousay, but even on the familiar
road, God is there, but also inthe chaos, he's also um he's not
that far from us, he's neverthat far.
SPEAKER_01 (14:56):
And I think my early walk, that's where I struggled
the most, is you know, they talkabout it during sermons, and
we've talked about it on thepodcast, is it's so easy to be a
churchgoer when everything'sgoing good, but when things
start going bad, that's when youstart to see people not showing
up to church.
And and I was one of thosepeople where it's like if I
(15:17):
wasn't seeing God acting in mylife, I'm like, where is he?
And I had to realize, and I hadto, I mean, it was ultimately
through the spirit and andhaving conversation with God,
but I had to realize that evenin those moments where I don't
feel like he's he's alwaysthere, but it's we're never
gonna truly understand why thatseason is taking place, or I
(15:39):
mean eventually you will,because you're gonna see the
outcome.
Man, I mean it's it's eventuallygonna make itself known.
Um, like for me, for instance,you know, I've had talks with
with Jared and stuff about mywalk and the loss that I've
endured and everything else, andultimately, I think a lot of
that is what led into my callingfor ministry, and not just
(16:00):
ministry, but you know, I'm myI'm going into chaplaincy, and I
think a lot of it, a lot of whatI went through in life is gonna
help me in that field becauseit's all around loss.
So having the insight and thestruggles that I've dealt with
in my walk with God, I thinkultimately I can use a lot of
that in that calling.
SPEAKER_03 (16:20):
Um, and it I don't know, it was it weighed on my
mind for a long time, and I keptthere answering that calling
than looking, like talking tosomebody who's never heard about
Jesus and telling them like thegood news.
Like there's nothing better thanjust seeing their face, and then
you just it's like the HolySpirit takes over and you just
start flowing with all of thesewords, and you're just like, and
(16:42):
and the good thing is this, andwe get this, and this is gonna
happen, and all of these things,and yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:48):
Me and Erica just talked about that the other
night because I told her there'slike there's certain topics that
I really get into, and when westart talking about them, it's
like you just instantly getgoosebumps when you're talking
about it.
I love it.
SPEAKER_02 (17:00):
I don't know what we're talking about.
I'm back now.
SPEAKER_01 (17:03):
It was very insightful conversation while
you were gone.
SPEAKER_02 (17:05):
I guess I'll have to like actually listen to this
when I edit it now.
Yeah, you're gonna have tolisten to it just to make sure
you weren't going on somethingcrazy.
SPEAKER_01 (17:11):
Oh, it was totally crazy.
Um, I don't know if you haveanything else for that topic or
if you had another note that umyou wanted to talk about.
SPEAKER_03 (17:22):
I really like the GPS analogy that they kept
giving because we're talkingabout like the career.
So I have GPS example.
When you take a wrong turn, whatdoes the GPS say?
Rerouting, not turn back aroundand go the way you came, then
reroute, just turn left and keepgoing.
(17:43):
I mean, I really liked thatbecause I I'm a very, very much
overthinker and I struggle withanxiety.
So, like when you just keepgoing and just lay those
problems at the feet of Jesusand just keep moving, that
helped me a lot.
I think about that often now.
SPEAKER_02 (18:01):
I love that.
That it's whatever dumb thing wedo.
I mean, we're gonna do a fewdumb things, it's gonna happen.
Charles probably more than therest of us, but we're gonna do
some things that probably notthe best decision, and it's
going to mess some things up,right?
It's gonna change the plan alittle bit, but that doesn't
mean your destination ischanging.
You're still going towardsChrist, you're still um, you're
(18:24):
still being sanctified, is theword.
Like sanctification is workingout, making us more like Jesus,
working out all the crud.
The crud's not goneinstantaneously.
We get saved, we get justifiedthrough Christ, and then we get
sanctified over our entire life,and we will eventually be
sanctified when we are inheaven.
But until that happens, we'regonna take a few wrong turns.
(18:48):
We're gonna say the wrong thing,we're gonna mean something, and
it's gonna come off the wrongway, or we're just gonna wake up
one day, be in have the wrongmindset, and choose sin.
But that doesn't mean God can'tpull us from that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:59):
And I like how you worded it with the the crud
analogy, because there's I'vewatched a bunch of videos on
this.
Um, and even I think Ryan andone of the notes I had in here
too talks about it in the sensethat we don't have to clean
before he comes into us, we makeroom for him to clean.
So how that looks for you, likewhere in your life you need to
(19:23):
make room for him, ultimately wejust have to trust in the fact
that once we make room and weaccept Christ into our lives,
that's when when the Spirit'sdwelling in us, that's when the
cleaning takes place.
And I don't know, to me, that'sfor talking to someone new in
the faith, like that's reallyreassuring.
Cause I feel like a lot of timespeople can get overwhelmed
(19:44):
thinking that they have to makesuch a drastic change just to be
able to accept Christ, notrealizing that it's ultimately
God's gonna be the one makingthe change once you've made room
for him in your life.
Nope.
SPEAKER_03 (19:56):
That little seed and those spoonfuls of influence.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
Ooh.
Uh you gotta trademark that.
SPEAKER_02 (20:04):
I like that.
I also liked um you guys mayhave said this, but the when Tim
challenges us, like make roomfor him and just see what
happens after that.
Like if we it's not even so muchof the stuff that we do.
Like, yes, all the uh spiritualdevotions and all of those
(20:25):
things, all the spiritualdisciplines are important.
But if we just make room and doa few things, like come on, 12
minutes a day you could read theBible in a year.
12 minutes a day, I stare at awall.
Like, let's be real.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
How often are you just like I might be at an hour
a day?
I I know.
SPEAKER_02 (20:43):
Like we've got 12 minutes.
And if we just spend a littlebit of time, do do some small
things, so much can happen whenwe make room for God.
SPEAKER_03 (20:56):
Just reach out and discover he's not that far.
SPEAKER_01 (21:00):
These little tidbits, I'm telling you.
Well, and I'm glad that youbrought that part.
SPEAKER_02 (21:04):
Is this what happens when you take notes during the
sermon?
SPEAKER_01 (21:08):
Oh, and pictures, and pictures, those little
diagrams, a little mustard seed.
That's that's fantastic.
SPEAKER_02 (21:15):
Pastor Tim, Pastor Ryan, uh Destiny's got a picture
book for all of your sermons.
SPEAKER_01 (21:20):
Yeah.
I I like that you brought up toothe the no place for them thing,
because I feel like you can takethis into your daily life when I
was looking at it, and I don'tknow if I can't remember if it
was one of the sermon notes ornot, but it talks about
different aspects of your life,like your workplace, at home,
whatever, like where do you feelrejected or where do you feel
replaceable?
(21:40):
Um, and it it goes into detailabout like Jesus was born into
the noise, into the mess, in anovercrowding place, and God
entered the world through thatrejection, not comfort.
Um, so for me, like I I reflecton that a lot when I'm thinking
about like my workplace andrealizing I'm just a number
that's replaceable, or you know,at home where you've experienced
(22:03):
loss and you may not have youknow certain people around
anymore, or whatever.
Like, I look at the fact thatI'm not alone in that because
Christ did it.
So it's I have to look, I lookto him for guidance in those
moments, and I look in his wordfor for guidance in those
moments because ultimately,like, we're all gonna feel this
way, one way or another,throughout life, throughout
different scenarios, and there'sno better place to look than you
(22:26):
know the birth story.
He was born right into themiddle of rejection.
So I don't know.
That was just to me, that'ssomething that I try to implant
into my brain.
SPEAKER_02 (22:36):
I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (22:40):
What else?
What do you got, Jared?
You got any more notes?
Because I know you're not anote-taker.
SPEAKER_02 (22:45):
My notes are locked away in my brain.
SPEAKER_01 (22:48):
It's got a steel trap, huh?
SPEAKER_02 (22:50):
It's it's got a few holes though.
I forget more often than not.
I'm kidding.
Um I'm just stuck on the uhshepherds.
I can't believe I forgot thatword of all words.
We've already been talking aboutthem.
That just the I'm looking atnotes and it says the first that
(23:13):
first Christmas night, theshepherds didn't stay in the
spotlight.
They returned and glorified,praising God.
So we come to God, we see God,we see who he is, we don't stay
there.
Like we're not in the we're notalways in this moment of like we
first met God, and there it'slike this magical moment where
like our eyes are open to this.
(23:34):
We still have to go back to theworld.
We have we have to walk around,but we're forever changed, and
that's that's what grace does.
And like even as a parent, likeI saw a video where they were it
was talking about a dad teachingchildren discipline and um like
what sin is, right?
(23:54):
So you get in trouble and youhave to do like a punishment,
like maybe it's you have to runaround the house a couple times,
or maybe you have to go sit inthe corner, or maybe you don't
get something, or you getgrounded, and like you instill
this into your child thatactions have consequences, and
then at some point you do it forthem.
Like, all right, your punishmentis you have to go around the
(24:17):
house five times, run.
And like physical, if you didn'tknow this, physical exertion,
especially with young boys, isan excellent way to teach them
things.
Um and but you throw a twist onit eventually, and you make your
son that and you get him a drinkand you sit him down in front of
the yard, and then you runaround five times, and he's
like, What are you doing?
And you're you're showing theexample of grace that there was
(24:39):
there needs to be a consequence,someone's gotta pay for this,
but I'm choosing to pay for itfor you.
And that's what Christ did forus.
But when we get that and weunderstand that and we can and
and we can apply it to differentaspects of our life, it's so
good, and it makes us want to bemore gracious to other people.
(25:00):
Like, how often is are weallowing the person to get in
front of you in the pickup line?
How often are we laying on ourhorn because someone cut us off?
Or are we just making surethere's space when they're
trying to get out on theon-ramp?
Like everyone's trying to get towork, it's 8 45, everyone's
late.
Make some room, be gracious,love on some people.
SPEAKER_01 (25:19):
And I'm glad that you ordered it like that,
because even in the momentswhere I'm trying to be gracious,
someone still has to find thatfine line to try and cross.
Because I can't tell you howmany times like I am the person
in line that's letting otherpeople go, and then someone sees
that you're letting people go,and they just take advantage of
it and they cut in real quicktoo.
And it's like, ooh, I don't havethat much great back and forth,
(25:41):
one at a time.
It's like zigzag.
My line goes, your line goes.
My line goes, your line goes.
SPEAKER_02 (25:47):
It's like a zipper, is what Allison says.
I love it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:51):
Yeah, it's it's good, good stuff, good stuff.
Did you have anything?
Any more notes?
Another topic.
SPEAKER_03 (25:59):
Um, no, no, but I have a relatable story from last
night about go for it.
Um, I was waiting at Chipotle,so it's kind of I always
Chipotle is my life.
Yeah, I go there after worksometimes for dinner, and um I
have my 16-year-old brother athome and my sister, so they want
a Chipotle too.
Um, you know, gotta get thechicken because it's the best.
(26:20):
Um, they weren't done with thechicken.
I like the chicken.
Steak the steak too.
I go back and forth, but theylike the chicken.
And they wasn't done now.
I had to wait for it to cook.
It was like 10 minutes before itwould be done.
Someone came in behind me, theywere by themselves, and uh the
lady was like, All right,whoever was waiting for fresh
chicken, come up.
And I had three orders.
(26:41):
I'm by myself, so it looks likeit's just me, but I was like,
you can go in front of me.
And he was like, boom, boom,boom, boom, and was done.
Already out the door, and he waslike, Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (26:50):
That's the Lord's work right there.
I have been in some Chipotlelines when someone walks in with
a list and it's like, Lady, Igot five minutes.
Like, come on now.
SPEAKER_01 (26:59):
I feel guilty because I could be a single
order and mine takes forever.
Because I'm like, double this.
Oh, I want some of this, a scoopof that, a scoop of this.
SPEAKER_02 (27:06):
On behalf of Chipotle employees everywhere,
just stop serving me.
Yep, pretty much.
I didn't want to say it.
You said it.
Uh, that's a great, greatexample of our daily life where
we can be a little bit moregracious, being like just
conscious of the situation thatwe are in and the situation
other people in everyone had towait.
Everyone um wanted the samething.
(27:29):
Is is it gonna hurt to do that,or are you gonna make someone's
day?
And uh that's awesome.
I'm proud of you.
I gotta know which Chipolayou're at.
That took you took a while.
I'll go yell at them for you.
But uh, I joke.
I'm not I don't yell at peoplefor taking a while.
Just how they clean stuff.
SPEAKER_03 (27:44):
Cast the Tetamin one to go to the one in Parmatown,
so that says anything.
SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
Fair enough.
Uh alrighty, what do we let'ssee.
SPEAKER_01 (27:56):
So I only have one note left, other than what I
told you I had for like a finalcomment.
It was from week one, and Ithink it's when they were
talking about um Acts 17, 26through 27.
And it said, uh, and he madefrom one man every nation of
mankind, having determinedallotted periods in the
boundaries of their dwellingplace that they should seek God.
(28:17):
And I mean this ties in withwhat we were talking about
already, and then we weretalking about it when you left.
Is that for me anyway, likethere's moments in my life where
you know, the sermon serieswhere you feel far from home, or
whether that be emotionally,spiritually, relationally, um,
and it reminds me that likedisplacement doesn't mean
(28:40):
abandonment.
Um, and I had a note that likeGod arranges our times and
places so that we might seekHim.
Um, and that means where I'm atright now isn't accidental or
meaningless.
If God led me here, then God'swith me here.
So even you know, going off uhDestiny's point with God
finishing the work, even when Ifeel unfinished, God's still
(29:03):
working.
So like there's times where likeI might be exhausted and you
know I'm I'm not continuing inwhat I should be right now, but
even in those moments when I'mat my lowest, like God's still
working.
Um, and it's just trusting inthe fact that no matter where
he's leading us down our path,like it's not abandonment, it's
not always punishment, it's forhis purpose.
(29:25):
Um I don't know, I like thatone.
SPEAKER_02 (29:28):
I love it, and along that same line, I'm looking at
the notes that say Jesus enterswhen the cluttered space Jesus
enters the cluttered space as itis.
Yeah, and I don't know, I likethat.
Like there's we're not perfect.
And it doesn't mean we don'ttry.
That's not what I'm saying.
But don't get caught up on beingperfect first.
(29:50):
Come as you are, broken, andGod'll do God'll heal you.
God will take you places younever thought possible.
Um I know we're coming up toyour hard stop, Destiny, so I
want to be courtesy of yourtime.
Do we have any other um anyanything else we want to throw
out there here?
SPEAKER_01 (30:14):
I mean the honestly, what I had for my last point was
just um, which we've kind ofalready touched on it, is they
they talked about um findingJesus in Luke 2.
They said they searched, theypursued, they found exactly what
God promised.
And then Jeremiah 29, 13 says,You will seek me and find me uh
when you search for me with allyour heart.
(30:35):
So my reflection on that was forChristmas, what was I truly
searching for?
And ultimately, as I thoughtabout and thought about it, like
all I could think about was, youknow, we've talked about my
calling, um, we've talked aboutmy journey and everything, and
ultimately I find myselfsearching for what is my purpose
in all of that.
Um, and that's where, you know,like I was saying earlier, in my
(30:58):
mind, I I have to stopquestioning it all the time
because ultimately I think it'sgonna be revealed.
Um, so obviously I'm searchingfor my purpose, but I have to
trust in his plan in my life andbe comfortable in that um and
just accept what he's given me,and just as Ryan would say, say
yes before I even start.
(31:19):
Um ultimately that purpose isgonna come out, but I think for
Christmas, ultimately that'swhat I've been searching for is
like what is my grand purpose inmy calling and my life.
SPEAKER_02 (31:30):
We had a whole podcast about that one, man.
It doesn't matter what you do,just do it for God and He'll
figure help you figure it out.
SPEAKER_01 (31:35):
As a human, I can't help but to think what is my
ultimate purpose in this.
SPEAKER_02 (31:39):
That's fair.
That's fair.
My final point, um, and I'llI'll find another one if someone
else talks after me because it'show I am.
But where Ryan talks about howhis Tim's one of Tim's first
lessons to him was say no tosome things so you can say yes
to the others.
And then he goes on to talkabout how a crowded heart
(32:01):
doesn't have enough room forJesus.
And the thing that me andAllison have been doing so much
together as a couple to makesure that we have more time for
is Jesus, right?
And so we have everyone's got aschedule, everyone's got things
going on.
We've got kids' sports, we'vegot PlayStation that needs
played, we have all kinds ofthings that are just occupying
(32:22):
our time.
Some of them are important, someof them are not, but how many of
those are going to change oureternity?
SPEAKER_01 (32:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:29):
And are we cutting, are we saying no to something so
we could say yes to Jesus?
And he gives examples of thingsthat were crowded and what
happened.
Um Herod was too full, Herod wascrowded with power, and didn't
end too well for him.
He would he sought to killChrist.
Like, way to swing and miss,bro.
Um, the Pharisees were just sofull of pride and then it
(32:50):
crowded their hearts so theycouldn't come to Jesus.
And if we're not careful doingthe same thing, like if you have
too much pride in like, oh, Iwork 50 hours a week and I make
this much money for my family,and this is all great, like,
yeah, that's great.
It's I mean, don't get me wrong,care pro provide for your
family.
It's important.
Just remember who gave you thetalents to do it.
(33:11):
Who gave you the talents to doit?
And then all like there's uhthis I'm gonna go on tangents
here, but just remember who gaveyou the talents to do it and the
eternal um example that you'resetting for those kids.
What's the priority?
If you want to.
SPEAKER_03 (33:30):
Okay.
Um, I to wrap this up for me,because the bigger picture is to
get home at the end of this.
Um, if we start and we look atum where God started when he
gave us Jesus, you know, hecould have chosen anywhere.
And he chose the most chaoticand scrambled like mess.
(33:50):
And um he had a plan and he hada purpose.
And I just think that everyoneshould know that it's gonna take
a little bit of hard work.
It might not be perfect, buteventually we'll get to that
nice, comfy home at the end ofit.
SPEAKER_02 (34:06):
We'll make it home eventually.
All right, guys.
We appreciate you listening.
Destiny, thank you for being on.
Like you were spectacular.
SPEAKER_03 (34:14):
It's my first podcast.
If you're a man, I might not beas nervous.
SPEAKER_02 (34:18):
All right, you're just gonna take over for me and
uh it's gonna be great.
All right, but uh she has anotebook.
She does.
I don't have a notebook, she'sgot me there.
SPEAKER_01 (34:27):
All right, blue clues over here.
SPEAKER_02 (34:29):
Blues clues.
Tell me you have young kidswithout telling me you have
young kids.
SPEAKER_01 (34:34):
She just got a letter.
SPEAKER_02 (34:35):
Oh my goodness.
Alright, finally, I'm gonna tryto sign off one more time.
We love you guys.
Have a great month.
We'll see you at church.
Talk to you later.
SPEAKER_03 (34:44):
Bye.
Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com