April 22, 2025 • 28 mins
The resurrection of Jesus isn't just a historical event—it's the cornerstone of our faith and the source of transformative power in our lives today. Pastor J opens his heart with raw vulnerability, sharing how he drifted from his faith despite growing up in church. When bitterness took root, he pursued his own path until a horrific car accident on a California freeway became his wake-up call. Hanging between life and death, his face split open and bleeding, J cried out to Jesus—suddenly aware he wasn't ready to meet God.
That near-death experience revealed a profound truth that echoes through this Easter message: God isn't finished with you yet. No matter your mistakes, your regrets, or how far you've wandered, resurrection power offers a fresh start and a new identity. "You are not your mistakes," Pastor J declares. "You are a child of God."
Through powerful scripture passages from John and Luke, we journey from humanity's separation from God to the empty tomb where angels proclaimed, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!" This resurrection transforms everything—making us new creations, not just improved versions of our old selves.
The message culminates in a moving invitation to experience this resurrection power personally. Whether accepting Christ for the first time or recommitting to follow Him wholeheartedly, dozens respond to the call to say "yes" to Jesus. Because when we understand what happened that first Easter morning, we can't help but run toward the open arms of the One who conquered death for us.
What area of your life needs resurrection power today? God is waiting to make all things new.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He is risen.
Happy Resurrection Sundaychurch.
I'm excited for you.
I've been praying for you upearly this morning, praying that
you would encounter the powerof God, that you would encounter
the Spirit of God, that hewould draw you near to Himself,
(00:20):
that he would speak to you inthe depths of your heart, inside
the knowing of your being, thathe would speak to you in the
depths of your heart, inside theknowing of your being, that he
would speak to you today andyou'd have an impartation of the
power of God in your life, thatyou would understand the value
he has over your life and thatyou would understand that you
are the child of the most highGod and he created you with a
purpose, on purpose, for apurpose, and then he has a
future for you that's brighterthan your past and that you in
(00:44):
Christ, don't have to beattached to your past or your
history.
You are not your mistakes.
You are a child of God.
You have a future that'sgreater than anything that you
have planned for yourself, andI've been praying that over you.
That you would have therealization of the power of God
in your life and that he wouldspeak to you and draw you near.
I've been praying for yourfamily, for your children, that
(01:10):
your children would know God,that they would have a
relationship with God that istheir own, that your
grandchildren would know thelove of God, that they'd
experience his hands around them, his arms around them.
Protection of God over them.
I've been praying against anykind of anxiety, any kind of
thoughts of self-harm.
In the name of Jesus Christ, wecome against it.
We ask for the peace of God topreside over all things, that
passes all understanding to beupon your life.
(01:32):
We've been praying for thepassion and the power of the
Spirit of God to be inside of usso we can have boldness to step
out and be obedient to what Godhas for us, that we would know
that we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us, and
that we would stand, that he isrisen and we would understand it
.
Friends, that is theresurrection, that is what we
(01:57):
celebrate today, that is thelove of God for us.
Would you say amen?
Amen?
I tell you.
I've been thinking about so muchabout God's narrative and how
he gives us a second and a thirdand a fourth chance, how he
calls us to himself and hespeaks to us in the depths of
who we are in our story, that heknows exactly where we are.
(02:18):
And he's the one that speaks tous, because he doesn't want us
to live in shame or shambles, inbrokenness.
He wants us to experience theholistic restoration and healing
power that he has for us.
He wants us to know that he hasa plan and a purpose for us.
And I was thinking about thatin my own story how God is not
(02:39):
done yet.
And I'll tell you I'm the firstto tell you, man, I'm far from
perfect and I grew up right herein this church, experiencing
the power of God, experiencingpowerful times at this altar and
listening to my father preachthe word of God and being
compelled by the spirit of Godand going and serving out in the
community and overseas, and inall that time God was doing an
(03:01):
amazing thing and I was soexcited in my faith.
But I allowed some hurt to getin my heart and I allowed that
hurt to become bitterness and ittook root inside of me and that
anger started to form and itstarted to drive a wedge in my
heart between me and God.
(03:21):
And I could tell you, because Iwas someone who I blamed church
people oh, that's the churchpeople, that's these people.
It's that, yes, people hurtpeople, but it's on us, on how
we're going to respond.
And while I saw my parentsforgive, I had instead turned to
bitterness and got angry and Idecided to go and do whatever I
(03:42):
wanted to do and I went fromhere and I went to university
and I was really trying to holdon to my faith.
I went to a school inCalifornia because we had had so
much desert out here but nobeach and I needed the water, I
needed the ocean.
And so we went to California.
And I'll tell you, friends,because when you grow up on
Baywatch, everybody runs in slowmotion with an awesome jacket.
(04:07):
You guys know what I'm talkingabout and you look super cool.
That's what I look like when Ilive there.
I'm just running slow motion,looking awesome.
No, but I'll tell you, I couldbarely pay attention.
I was so broke.
You know, in California it isNewport Beach.
Man, I'm like going to school,I was working three jobs to try
to make it go.
I was working at school, I wasworking.
I was the guy on the side ofthe road with the sign.
(04:29):
You guys know the sign guy thatdoes a sign like this.
But here's the deal.
It wasn't cool like now whereyou have the wireless headphones
.
No, I had the old school overthe head headphones with the
disc man.
You guys know what that is.
There's a DVD.
You put the CD in there and youhad to only shimmy one hip
because the other hip would makeit skip.
So you have to kind of shimmyto one hip and you have the sign
trying to point to whereveryou're going.
(04:49):
And they paid me under thetable.
So I was very blessed.
I was like yes, praise the Lord, here's the sign we're going
this way.
And then I worked the other joband the other a tip for the me,
please.
And in doing so we were headedto go and valet for like a fancy
(05:13):
party.
And we got on the freeway and itwas three of us in the truck
working together.
It was a little rickety, s10pickup and no air conditioning,
windows rolled down.
We're on the five freeway in LA, right before it gets into
gridlock.
So everybody's flying, we'reall going, you know, 70 miles an
hour.
And in doing so it was, it waswe took the wrong direction.
(05:33):
We went north and we shouldhave went south, towards San
Diego, and so the guy who wasdriving the car, in his wisdom,
cut across four lanes of trafficto try to get off at the next
exit and we hit side on sidewith a mom in a big SUV who was
coming with her kids from soccer.
And we hit like this and heovercorrected and the car began
(05:55):
to flip.
And I could tell you, eventhough I had had all that
history in my life, even thoughmy parents are pastors, even
though I had done all thosethings, I knew that in that
moment it didn't matter, I wasnot right with God and if I was
gonna go see him, in that momentI wasn't ready.
Because I know it wasn't abouthow much good I had done or how
much money I had given or howmuch time I had served.
(06:17):
It was about my relationshipwith God in that moment.
And I wasn't ready and I calledto him Jesus help me.
And I cried out to him as weflipped the car and I bounced in
and out of the window.
And we flipped again and Ibounced in and out of the window
and it split my face wide openand started bleeding everywhere.
(06:38):
We flipped again and I came inand out of the window and we
landed miraculously on ourwheels the other direction, back
where we started, in thecarpool lane, and, by the
miracle of God, all of ussurvived.
And I can tell you this as Iheld my face together and the
(07:03):
paramedics attended to us on theside of the freeway, as my
white folded shirt, which I wassaving to wear as a valet, I
held to my face and it turnedred.
As I sat there, I was shocked,but I was also thinking, jesus,
you saved me and I don't knowwhy.
I had two friends that samesummer that died in automobile
(07:25):
accidents just like me, and Ihad survived and I had this
survivor's guilt.
And why, lord, did you allowthem to go?
They're actually living a goodlife.
For this one man, he needed moreof your grace and he needed to
be spoken to and I didn't knowwhat to do.
But I really felt as I pressedinto God.
He said I'm not done with youand so you need to listen to
(07:47):
what I have for you to do.
And, friends, it's the samemessage that he has for you
today is that he's not done withyou yet, that he still has a
purpose and a plan for you.
He's still calling you tosomething beyond yourself.
That's something that your pastcan't hold you back from,
because you're free of it.
In the name of Jesus Christ andin him, we are a new creation
(08:09):
and we are doing all thosethings, not in our own power,
but in his, because he redeemsus and because he is risen.
And so I can tell you today, asmy own testimony to you, that
he's not done with you yet.
Till he sees you face to face,my own testimony to you, that
he's not done with you yet.
Till he sees you face to face,he's not finished with you.
He's finished with all of sinand hell and the grave, and he
(08:31):
is paid for all those things.
That is finished, it isfinished and he is alive.
We haven't met.
My name is Jay Celeste, and Ihave such an amazing opportunity
of leading here at Cornerstone,and we see ourselves very much
as people on a journey withJesus.
None of us is perfect, far fromit.
(08:51):
All of us are in need of aSavior, and so that's why we use
this imagery of Jesus walkingwith his disciples, because
that's how we see ourselves,that we're following Jesus where
he's leading us to go.
And since that's true, thenthat means that we have to keep
on saying yes to Jesus.
That's our ambition to be morelike Jesus, and so, collectively
(09:13):
, we love God, we make disciples, we reach the world, and that's
what we're about and that's whyI want to challenge you to be
intentional in your walk withGod, beyond just our gatherings
here on the weekend, that wewould be people that get
involved in things like lifegroups.
A new semester is coming up injust a few weeks.
Be intentional, get in a group,grow in your relationship with
God that you would connect andgrow and serve the Lord, amen.
(09:38):
Well, he is risen church andwe're celebrating that today.
And I'll tell you this thereason that we're celebrating
his risen he has risen overdeath and hell and the grave is
because we know that we wereseparated from the love of God
From the very beginning of thenarrative of the story of God
with mankind we have in ourBible.
We can find in Genesis thestory of creation and how he
(10:01):
created us in his own image andhe spoke into us and breathed
into his life, and in doing so,we walked in communication, in
relationship with the living God.
But in our own mistake, webroke that covenant and we
sinned against him.
It means that we erred againsthim and in doing so that sin
(10:23):
becomes something that itblocked us from that
relationship with God.
It was a separation from us anda holy God, and we realize this
because none of us, none of usis holy, only he is holy.
And so there was no way backother than through sacrifice to
make us clean.
Something had to die to washaway that sin.
(10:44):
And so we lived in this placeof having sacrifices to try to
bridge the gap of relationship.
Jesus, in his own words, we pickup here in John, chapter three
If you have your Bible, yourtablet, your phone, encourage
you to move there today,highlight this and go back to it
this week.
Let it speak to you.
Jesus answered him and says,truly, truly, I say to you,
(11:07):
unless one is born again, hecannot see the kingdom of God.
Now Jesus is speaking to ascholar in his day, someone who
knows the Old Testament for rote.
He teaches others about the lawof God, and he is listening to
Jesus talking about listen.
It's not just following theword of God, the rules, it's
about being alive in your spiritwith God.
(11:30):
And so he's talking to himabout something that he needs to
take that step he needs to beactive in his relationship with
God.
It means to live in the kingdomof God, and that means in unity
with him, forever, for eternity, for everlasting life.
And when we say yes to God andwe become alive in him by
accepting his work on the crossfor us, his forgiveness for us,
(11:52):
it makes us come alive.
It's called being born again inour spirit, and what it does is
activates us to participate inwhat he is already at work doing
in the kingdom, and so that'swhat we're called to do.
It even challenges us a littlebit later.
We know this famous piece ofscripture.
It's John 3, 16 and 17.
It says it like this for God soloved the world that he gave
(12:17):
his only son that whoeverbelieves in him should not
perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his soninto the world to condemn the
world, but in order that theworld might be saved through him
.
See, friends, jesus' motivatingfactor, the reason that he
(12:37):
abandoned all of glory and allof heaven, the reason that he
stepped down into the very formof the creation that he made In
the beginning.
It says that he created.
In John 1, it says in thebeginning was the word he and
was with God and was God, andnothing was created without
Jesus.
And he himself steps out of allhis power and authority and
(13:00):
comes down into creation.
Because he loves you that much,he came to be the sacrifice so
that you could be inrelationship with him, to walk
where there's nothing separatingyou from the love of God, so
that you can be walking in thatrelationship.
He did it because he loves youso much.
He would have done it if it wasjust for you, but I'm so
(13:25):
thankful that he did it for allof us and that all of us, by
faith, can say Jesus, I believeyou are who you say you are, and
, lord, that I ask you into myheart and life.
I wanna live this eternal lifewith you.
I don't wanna be separated fromyour plan and purpose.
I wanna live this eternal lifewith you forever.
(13:46):
A little bit later, in chapter14 of John, he says it like this
.
He says I am the way, the truthand the life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me, the way.
That's what he calls himself.
He calls himself the way.
And you think about this, and Ihave many friends who believe
(14:08):
lots of different things, andthough we love each other, we
live life together.
We've had adventures together.
We can disagree on this,because I can tell them.
Listen, as for me, the way Iread this Bible.
The words of Jesus himself saysI am the only way.
It's only through Jesus Christyou can't earn your way into it.
You can't do enough good things.
(14:30):
I'm thankful for those that dogood work.
I'm thankful for those who havegood families.
I'm thankful for those thatlook out for their neighbor.
All of that's a reflection ofthe goodness of God inside of us
.
But guess what?
None of that will earn you therighteousness of God.
Because how can it?
How can you offer to Godsomething that's righteous
whenever we aren't righteous?
(14:50):
How can you offer a holy God, aholy sacrifice, whenever we are
not holy?
See, that's why Jesus came isso he could become that holy
sacrifice.
He could become the way for usall.
That's why the early believersbefore Antioch, before they were
(15:10):
called Christians or littleChrists or Christ followers,
that's why they were calledfollowers of the way, because
that's what they were doing isthey were aligning themselves,
saying Jesus, I believe you arewho you say you are, and so,
lord, I put my faith and trustin you.
So that's why, whenever we seethe symbols of Jesus on the
(15:32):
cross, it's so profound, it's soimportant, because for us, we
see where he took our mistakeand our sin upon the cross, and
he paid for it with his verylife.
He died for you, he died for me, and I love that.
(15:52):
Even in his last moments there,hung on the cross between two
thieves that he even consideredthose on his right and left, and
even in that last moment, therepentant thief, he said you
will be with me today inparadise.
Friends, that's what it meansto have.
The redemption of a loving Godis to be connected with him
(16:14):
forever.
Friends, whenever we declarethat he is risen, it's a
declarative statement, it's thathe is not dead, he is alive,
and that's what we celebratetoday.
On this Resurrection Sunday, wethink about those who were in
Jerusalem that day and just aswe see it here, the city of
Jerusalem.
We pray for the peace ofJerusalem.
(16:34):
That it would rest on thosetoday.
And the same way, we thinkabout those who were coming.
They were shocked.
They'd seen Jesus do themiraculous.
They'd seen him calm the seasand they'd seen him heal the
sick and restore sight to theblind.
They'd see him heal and domiracles and cast out demons and
feed the 5,000.
(16:55):
They'd seen so many things andthen they saw him go to his
death and they were confused orperplexed.
They didn't know what to think.
And so we pick up in thisnarrative in Luke 24, verse one,
and it says but on the firstday of the week, at early dawn,
they went to the tomb taking thespices that they had prepared,
(17:16):
and they found the stone rolledaway from the tomb.
When they went in, they did notfind the body of the Lord Jesus
.
It says.
While they were perplexed aboutthis, behold two men stood by
them in dazzling apparel, and asthey were frightened and bowed
their faces to the ground, themen said to them why do you seek
the living among the dead?
(17:37):
He is not here, but has risen.
Friends, he is risen.
We see what happens.
They go and they tell theothers, they tell the disciples.
And it picks right here withPeter.
It says in verse 12,.
But Peter rose and ran to thetomb, stooping and looking in,
(18:02):
he saw the linen clothes bythemselves and he went home
marveling at what had happened.
Friends like Peter today, that'sour challenge, that we would
run to him that he is the verything we've been looking for.
He is the source of all that weneed, and so we run to him.
We run to him when we're indistress.
(18:23):
We run to him as the source andthe provision for wisdom, for
all the open doors that we need.
We run to him In our darkestdays.
We run to him In our best days.
We run to him and we worshiphim because he is risen.
Friends, this is our challengethat we would live this life of
intentionality towards God, thatwe wouldn't hold back, but
(18:46):
instead that we would run to him.
Let me pray over us today.
Lord, we run to you, but we ask, lord, that you would impart to
us your spirit.
Lord, as we draw near to you,lord, and we follow after you.
Lord, that we walk in stepwhere you're leading us to go,
lord, like the prodigal cominghome to his father.
(19:07):
Lord, we run to you and, lord,you're there for us in meeting
us, lord, and you wipe off thedirt and the shame and the sin
and you forgive us when we askand by faith, lord, we step into
your family.
You call us children of themost high God, lord, and you
wrap us in the finest clothesand put a ring on our finger,
because we are those who arewalking with you.
(19:29):
We belong to you, lord.
We worship you today with allthat we have, because you are
risen.
We pray this in Jesus' name,amen.
Friends, what he's called us isa new creation.
He has made us something new.
It talks about in 2 Corinthians5,.
Therefore, if anyone is inChrist, he is a new creation.
(19:52):
The old has passed away, behold, the new has come, and so that
means that you are a newcreation whenever you have
embraced Jesus.
It doesn't mean that you're abetter version of an old, dusty,
crusty version of you.
It means he has made yousomething brand new altogether,
and so you're a new creation inJesus.
(20:14):
It continues here and it saysthat, therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, godmaking his appeal through us,
and we implore you, on behalf ofChrist be reconciled, be
brought back into relationship,be reconciled to God.
Friends, that's my missiontoday is that I would be one
that tells you to be reconciledto God.
Friends, that's my missiontoday is that I would be one
(20:34):
that tells you to be reconciledto God.
Don't stand at a far off, butinstead run to him in
relationship that you would drawnear to him and he will draw
near to you.
It says this last thing here inthe scripture for our sake, he
made him to be sin, who knew nosin, so that in him we might
(20:57):
become the righteousness of God.
Friends, the Holy One, the Kingof Kings, the one who created us
, he poured out his rich graceupon us so that we could be
brought back into relationshipwith Him.
It says, by faith, that as weaccept what he's done for us, we
(21:18):
are forgiven of all of ourtrespasses, of all of our
transgression, of all of our sin, of all of our mistakes, of all
of our brokenness.
We are forgiven.
And so today we take thisopportunity to worship Him,
because our worship is a weaponagainst the darkness.
It's a weapon againstbrokenness, it's a weapon
(21:38):
against the curse that we put onour life.
We say no more.
I come against the curse ofdarkness in Jesus' name.
I have a future in Jesusbecause he is risen.
Friends, that's what the goodnews is.
The good news is that Jesus hascome and that he loves you very
much and wants to have arelationship with you.
(22:01):
The gospel, the Lord beglorified, because the good news
is for you and the good news isfor me.
Today, friends, as we revel inhis victory over death and hell
and sin, as we celebrate andworship him in his resurrection,
(22:22):
there still are those who haveyet to say yes to Jesus.
Today is your opportunity tosay yes to him.
It's your opportunity to invitehim into your heart and life,
to start a new relationship withthe living God.
Each one of us has to answerthat question have you embraced
(22:43):
Jesus?
See, for us, the symbol of thecross is one of transformation,
it's one of freedom, it's one ofsacrifice, where Jesus took all
of my sin, all of my mistakes,and he paid for it upon the
cross.
He did the same for you thatyou could be in a relationship
with him.
(23:03):
He came and took all of our sinand all of our brokenness and
he paid for it once and for all.
The apostle Paul.
He writes to the church at Rome.
He says it like this because ifyou confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believein your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will besaved, for with the heart one
(23:24):
believes and is justified.
With the mouth, one confessesand is saved, for with the heart
one believes and is justifiedwith the mouth one confesses and
is saved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to inviteJesus Christ into your heart
and life.
I'm gonna ask everyone here inthe room if you would just stand
to your feet right where you'reat, here on the floor up in the
balcony, bow your head, prepareyour heart for what God wants
(23:46):
to do, as Christians are prayingfor those to make a decision
after Jesus.
Friends, online, wherever youare under the sound of my voice,
at work, at home, across theworld, god wants to do something
in your life.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made a decision to follow
Jesus.
(24:07):
Today is your opportunity tomake that decision, to say Jesus
, forgive me of my sin, inviteyou into my heart and life.
Or maybe you're here and youhave made that decision in the
past, but you haven't beenliving it.
You need to make a recommitmentto the Lord.
Today is your opportunity.
So, as heads are bowed here inthe room, if that's you, you
(24:31):
just want to say yes to Jesus.
Maybe just raise your handright where you're at.
We already see hands that aregoing up, hands that are here.
Say pastor, include me in thatprayer today.
You raise your hand right whereyou're at.
See hands that are here, handsthat are there, people making
decisions to follow Jesus,people reinforcing the decision.
See hands in the balcony.
Thank you, jesus.
Thank you Jesus.
Friends, it's not too late.
If that's you.
(24:53):
Thank you, lord.
I'm going to ask everyone ifthey would pray this prayer out
loud after me.
Lord, thank you for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
(25:18):
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name.
I pray Amen, amen.
Friends, we rejoice with youmaking a decision to follow
Jesus today.
So many people raising theirhand and say yes to Jesus today.
(25:39):
Praise the Lord.
Friends, we want to connectwith you.
If you're here in the room,connect with us before you go.
We have team in the back or atthe cafe.
We want to connect with you.
If you're here in the room,connect with us before you go.
We have team in the back or atthe cafe.
Want to connect with you.
If you're online, message us.
We don't want you to live thislife alone.
We want you to live in lifeafter Jesus, in community.
Friends, as we come to this lastsong today, before we do the
(26:00):
blessing, we do so with anopportunity to respond to the
love of God, to draw near to him.
And maybe you're here and youneed just a little bit more of
the outpouring of God, more ofhis presence, more of his wisdom
, more of his provision, more ofhis spirit.
If that's you, today, as wesing this song, open this altar
to you, that you would comeforward so others can agree with
you and see God move in yourcircumstances.
(26:24):
Lord, we thank you so much.
Lord, we pray over this Lord,saying thank you, lord, for
those that made a decision tofollow you today and, lord, at
the same time, we who arealready Christ followers, lord,
we need more of you, lord.
We celebrate your resurrectiontoday, lord, and we come, lord,
seeking your face, lord, andseeking your power and seeking
your presence, to live thisthing out, so that we can share
(26:46):
the gospel, the hope that is forall mankind, with others.
Lord, as we come to this altar,we do so with intentionality,
lord, that you would pouryourself out upon us.
We pray in the mighty name ofJesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Well, easter is not over yet.
We are going to have an Easteregg hunt for our kids.
So if you have children, weencourage you at this point.
When we leave, if you go grabyour kids, there will be a bag.
If they did not bring one, getone of those.
And then if you go to the southside of the building, so if you
grab your children and comealong the east area, there's
going to be a line.
There are a lot of eggs, and soit's going to be fun.
(27:23):
It's going to be controlledchaos, I guarantee you that but
it's going to be a lot of funand so you'll get to be involved
and watch them and you're notgoing to miss anything.
But come and join us and thenyou also can partake in all the
candy.
It will be fun.
Parent tax.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
You guys know what I'm talking about.
Hey, lots of great stuff comingup.
If you haven't been baptized,get baptized.
It's coming up this next month.
We're excited for that.
Also, this next week, invite afriend to come back.
We're starting a new seriescalled Everyday Carry, about
what it means to carry yourcross after Jesus.
Before we go, I want to praythis blessing over us the Lord
(28:00):
bless you and keep you.
The Lord will make his face toshine upon you and be gracious
to you.
We'll lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord.
I pray a blessing upon yourchurch, your people.
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
(28:24):
those around us.
We pray all this in thepowerful name that is Jesus
Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and happyresurrection day.
He is risen.
Happy Resurrection Sundaychurch.
I'm excited for you.
I've been praying for you upearly this morning, praying that
you would encounter the powerof God, that you would encounter
the Spirit of God, that hewould draw you near to Himself,
(00:20):
that he would speak to you inthe depths of your heart, inside
the knowing of your being, thathe would speak to you in the
depths of your heart, inside theknowing of your being, that he
would speak to you today andyou'd have an impartation of the
power of God in your life, thatyou would understand the value
he has over your life and thatyou would understand that you
are the child of the most highGod and he created you with a
purpose, on purpose, for apurpose, and then he has a
future for you that's brighterthan your past and that you in
(00:44):
Christ, don't have to beattached to your past or your
history.
You are not your mistakes.
You are a child of God.
You have a future that'sgreater than anything that you
have planned for yourself, andI've been praying that over you.
That you would have therealization of the power of God
in your life and that he wouldspeak to you and draw you near.
I've been praying for yourfamily, for your children, that
(01:10):
your children would know God,that they would have a
relationship with God that istheir own, that your
grandchildren would know thelove of God, that they'd
experience his hands around them, his arms around them.
Protection of God over them.
I've been praying against anykind of anxiety, any kind of
thoughts of self-harm.
In the name of Jesus Christ, wecome against it.
We ask for the peace of God topreside over all things, that
passes all understanding to beupon your life.
(01:32):
We've been praying for thepassion and the power of the
Spirit of God to be inside of usso we can have boldness to step
out and be obedient to what Godhas for us, that we would know
that we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us, and
that we would stand, that he isrisen and we would understand it
.
Friends, that is theresurrection, that is what we
(01:57):
celebrate today, that is thelove of God for us.
Would you say amen?
Amen?
I tell you.
I've been thinking about so muchabout God's narrative and how
he gives us a second and a thirdand a fourth chance, how he
calls us to himself and hespeaks to us in the depths of
who we are in our story, that heknows exactly where we are.
(02:18):
And he's the one that speaks tous, because he doesn't want us
to live in shame or shambles, inbrokenness.
He wants us to experience theholistic restoration and healing
power that he has for us.
He wants us to know that he hasa plan and a purpose for us.
And I was thinking about thatin my own story how God is not
(02:39):
done yet.
And I'll tell you I'm the firstto tell you, man, I'm far from
perfect and I grew up right herein this church, experiencing
the power of God, experiencingpowerful times at this altar and
listening to my father preachthe word of God and being
compelled by the spirit of Godand going and serving out in the
community and overseas, and inall that time God was doing an
(03:01):
amazing thing and I was soexcited in my faith.
But I allowed some hurt to getin my heart and I allowed that
hurt to become bitterness and ittook root inside of me and that
anger started to form and itstarted to drive a wedge in my
heart between me and God.
(03:21):
And I could tell you, because Iwas someone who I blamed church
people oh, that's the churchpeople, that's these people.
It's that, yes, people hurtpeople, but it's on us, on how
we're going to respond.
And while I saw my parentsforgive, I had instead turned to
bitterness and got angry and Idecided to go and do whatever I
(03:42):
wanted to do and I went fromhere and I went to university
and I was really trying to holdon to my faith.
I went to a school inCalifornia because we had had so
much desert out here but nobeach and I needed the water, I
needed the ocean.
And so we went to California.
And I'll tell you, friends,because when you grow up on
Baywatch, everybody runs in slowmotion with an awesome jacket.
(04:07):
You guys know what I'm talkingabout and you look super cool.
That's what I look like when Ilive there.
I'm just running slow motion,looking awesome.
No, but I'll tell you, I couldbarely pay attention.
I was so broke.
You know, in California it isNewport Beach.
Man, I'm like going to school,I was working three jobs to try
to make it go.
I was working at school, I wasworking.
I was the guy on the side ofthe road with the sign.
(04:29):
You guys know the sign guy thatdoes a sign like this.
But here's the deal.
It wasn't cool like now whereyou have the wireless headphones
.
No, I had the old school overthe head headphones with the
disc man.
You guys know what that is.
There's a DVD.
You put the CD in there and youhad to only shimmy one hip
because the other hip would makeit skip.
So you have to kind of shimmyto one hip and you have the sign
trying to point to whereveryou're going.
(04:49):
And they paid me under thetable.
So I was very blessed.
I was like yes, praise the Lord, here's the sign we're going
this way.
And then I worked the other joband the other a tip for the me,
please.
And in doing so we were headedto go and valet for like a fancy
(05:13):
party.
And we got on the freeway and itwas three of us in the truck
working together.
It was a little rickety, s10pickup and no air conditioning,
windows rolled down.
We're on the five freeway in LA, right before it gets into
gridlock.
So everybody's flying, we'reall going, you know, 70 miles an
hour.
And in doing so it was, it waswe took the wrong direction.
(05:33):
We went north and we shouldhave went south, towards San
Diego, and so the guy who wasdriving the car, in his wisdom,
cut across four lanes of trafficto try to get off at the next
exit and we hit side on sidewith a mom in a big SUV who was
coming with her kids from soccer.
And we hit like this and heovercorrected and the car began
(05:55):
to flip.
And I could tell you, eventhough I had had all that
history in my life, even thoughmy parents are pastors, even
though I had done all thosethings, I knew that in that
moment it didn't matter, I wasnot right with God and if I was
gonna go see him, in that momentI wasn't ready.
Because I know it wasn't abouthow much good I had done or how
much money I had given or howmuch time I had served.
(06:17):
It was about my relationshipwith God in that moment.
And I wasn't ready and I calledto him Jesus help me.
And I cried out to him as weflipped the car and I bounced in
and out of the window.
And we flipped again and Ibounced in and out of the window
and it split my face wide openand started bleeding everywhere.
(06:38):
We flipped again and I came inand out of the window and we
landed miraculously on ourwheels the other direction, back
where we started, in thecarpool lane, and, by the
miracle of God, all of ussurvived.
And I can tell you this as Iheld my face together and the
(07:03):
paramedics attended to us on theside of the freeway, as my
white folded shirt, which I wassaving to wear as a valet, I
held to my face and it turnedred.
As I sat there, I was shocked,but I was also thinking, jesus,
you saved me and I don't knowwhy.
I had two friends that samesummer that died in automobile
(07:25):
accidents just like me, and Ihad survived and I had this
survivor's guilt.
And why, lord, did you allowthem to go?
They're actually living a goodlife.
For this one man, he needed moreof your grace and he needed to
be spoken to and I didn't knowwhat to do.
But I really felt as I pressedinto God.
He said I'm not done with youand so you need to listen to
(07:47):
what I have for you to do.
And, friends, it's the samemessage that he has for you
today is that he's not done withyou yet, that he still has a
purpose and a plan for you.
He's still calling you tosomething beyond yourself.
That's something that your pastcan't hold you back from,
because you're free of it.
In the name of Jesus Christ andin him, we are a new creation
(08:09):
and we are doing all thosethings, not in our own power,
but in his, because he redeemsus and because he is risen.
And so I can tell you today, asmy own testimony to you, that
he's not done with you yet.
Till he sees you face to face,my own testimony to you, that
he's not done with you yet.
Till he sees you face to face,he's not finished with you.
He's finished with all of sinand hell and the grave, and he
(08:31):
is paid for all those things.
That is finished, it isfinished and he is alive.
We haven't met.
My name is Jay Celeste, and Ihave such an amazing opportunity
of leading here at Cornerstone,and we see ourselves very much
as people on a journey withJesus.
None of us is perfect, far fromit.
(08:51):
All of us are in need of aSavior, and so that's why we use
this imagery of Jesus walkingwith his disciples, because
that's how we see ourselves,that we're following Jesus where
he's leading us to go.
And since that's true, thenthat means that we have to keep
on saying yes to Jesus.
That's our ambition to be morelike Jesus, and so, collectively
(09:13):
, we love God, we make disciples, we reach the world, and that's
what we're about and that's whyI want to challenge you to be
intentional in your walk withGod, beyond just our gatherings
here on the weekend, that wewould be people that get
involved in things like lifegroups.
A new semester is coming up injust a few weeks.
Be intentional, get in a group,grow in your relationship with
God that you would connect andgrow and serve the Lord, amen.
(09:38):
Well, he is risen church andwe're celebrating that today.
And I'll tell you this thereason that we're celebrating
his risen he has risen overdeath and hell and the grave is
because we know that we wereseparated from the love of God
From the very beginning of thenarrative of the story of God
with mankind we have in ourBible.
We can find in Genesis thestory of creation and how he
(10:01):
created us in his own image andhe spoke into us and breathed
into his life, and in doing so,we walked in communication, in
relationship with the living God.
But in our own mistake, webroke that covenant and we
sinned against him.
It means that we erred againsthim and in doing so that sin
(10:23):
becomes something that itblocked us from that
relationship with God.
It was a separation from us anda holy God, and we realize this
because none of us, none of usis holy, only he is holy.
And so there was no way backother than through sacrifice to
make us clean.
Something had to die to washaway that sin.
(10:44):
And so we lived in this placeof having sacrifices to try to
bridge the gap of relationship.
Jesus, in his own words, we pickup here in John, chapter three
If you have your Bible, yourtablet, your phone, encourage
you to move there today,highlight this and go back to it
this week.
Let it speak to you.
Jesus answered him and says,truly, truly, I say to you,
(11:07):
unless one is born again, hecannot see the kingdom of God.
Now Jesus is speaking to ascholar in his day, someone who
knows the Old Testament for rote.
He teaches others about the lawof God, and he is listening to
Jesus talking about listen.
It's not just following theword of God, the rules, it's
about being alive in your spiritwith God.
(11:30):
And so he's talking to himabout something that he needs to
take that step he needs to beactive in his relationship with
God.
It means to live in the kingdomof God, and that means in unity
with him, forever, for eternity, for everlasting life.
And when we say yes to God andwe become alive in him by
accepting his work on the crossfor us, his forgiveness for us,
(11:52):
it makes us come alive.
It's called being born again inour spirit, and what it does is
activates us to participate inwhat he is already at work doing
in the kingdom, and so that'swhat we're called to do.
It even challenges us a littlebit later.
We know this famous piece ofscripture.
It's John 3, 16 and 17.
It says it like this for God soloved the world that he gave
(12:17):
his only son that whoeverbelieves in him should not
perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his soninto the world to condemn the
world, but in order that theworld might be saved through him
.
See, friends, jesus' motivatingfactor, the reason that he
(12:37):
abandoned all of glory and allof heaven, the reason that he
stepped down into the very formof the creation that he made In
the beginning.
It says that he created.
In John 1, it says in thebeginning was the word he and
was with God and was God, andnothing was created without
Jesus.
And he himself steps out of allhis power and authority and
(13:00):
comes down into creation.
Because he loves you that much,he came to be the sacrifice so
that you could be inrelationship with him, to walk
where there's nothing separatingyou from the love of God, so
that you can be walking in thatrelationship.
He did it because he loves youso much.
He would have done it if it wasjust for you, but I'm so
(13:25):
thankful that he did it for allof us and that all of us, by
faith, can say Jesus, I believeyou are who you say you are, and
, lord, that I ask you into myheart and life.
I wanna live this eternal lifewith you.
I don't wanna be separated fromyour plan and purpose.
I wanna live this eternal lifewith you forever.
(13:46):
A little bit later, in chapter14 of John, he says it like this
.
He says I am the way, the truthand the life.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me, the way.
That's what he calls himself.
He calls himself the way.
And you think about this, and Ihave many friends who believe
(14:08):
lots of different things, andthough we love each other, we
live life together.
We've had adventures together.
We can disagree on this,because I can tell them.
Listen, as for me, the way Iread this Bible.
The words of Jesus himself saysI am the only way.
It's only through Jesus Christyou can't earn your way into it.
You can't do enough good things.
(14:30):
I'm thankful for those that dogood work.
I'm thankful for those who havegood families.
I'm thankful for those thatlook out for their neighbor.
All of that's a reflection ofthe goodness of God inside of us
.
But guess what?
None of that will earn you therighteousness of God.
Because how can it?
How can you offer to Godsomething that's righteous
whenever we aren't righteous?
(14:50):
How can you offer a holy God, aholy sacrifice, whenever we are
not holy?
See, that's why Jesus came isso he could become that holy
sacrifice.
He could become the way for usall.
That's why the early believersbefore Antioch, before they were
(15:10):
called Christians or littleChrists or Christ followers,
that's why they were calledfollowers of the way, because
that's what they were doing isthey were aligning themselves,
saying Jesus, I believe you arewho you say you are, and so,
lord, I put my faith and trustin you.
So that's why, whenever we seethe symbols of Jesus on the
(15:32):
cross, it's so profound, it's soimportant, because for us, we
see where he took our mistakeand our sin upon the cross, and
he paid for it with his verylife.
He died for you, he died for me, and I love that.
(15:52):
Even in his last moments there,hung on the cross between two
thieves that he even consideredthose on his right and left, and
even in that last moment, therepentant thief, he said you
will be with me today inparadise.
Friends, that's what it meansto have.
The redemption of a loving Godis to be connected with him
(16:14):
forever.
Friends, whenever we declarethat he is risen, it's a
declarative statement, it's thathe is not dead, he is alive,
and that's what we celebratetoday.
On this Resurrection Sunday, wethink about those who were in
Jerusalem that day and just aswe see it here, the city of
Jerusalem.
We pray for the peace ofJerusalem.
(16:34):
That it would rest on thosetoday.
And the same way, we thinkabout those who were coming.
They were shocked.
They'd seen Jesus do themiraculous.
They'd seen him calm the seasand they'd seen him heal the
sick and restore sight to theblind.
They'd see him heal and domiracles and cast out demons and
feed the 5,000.
(16:55):
They'd seen so many things andthen they saw him go to his
death and they were confused orperplexed.
They didn't know what to think.
And so we pick up in thisnarrative in Luke 24, verse one,
and it says but on the firstday of the week, at early dawn,
they went to the tomb taking thespices that they had prepared,
(17:16):
and they found the stone rolledaway from the tomb.
When they went in, they did notfind the body of the Lord Jesus
.
It says.
While they were perplexed aboutthis, behold two men stood by
them in dazzling apparel, and asthey were frightened and bowed
their faces to the ground, themen said to them why do you seek
the living among the dead?
(17:37):
He is not here, but has risen.
Friends, he is risen.
We see what happens.
They go and they tell theothers, they tell the disciples.
And it picks right here withPeter.
It says in verse 12,.
But Peter rose and ran to thetomb, stooping and looking in,
(18:02):
he saw the linen clothes bythemselves and he went home
marveling at what had happened.
Friends like Peter today, that'sour challenge, that we would
run to him that he is the verything we've been looking for.
He is the source of all that weneed, and so we run to him.
We run to him when we're indistress.
(18:23):
We run to him as the source andthe provision for wisdom, for
all the open doors that we need.
We run to him In our darkestdays.
We run to him In our best days.
We run to him and we worshiphim because he is risen.
Friends, this is our challengethat we would live this life of
intentionality towards God, thatwe wouldn't hold back, but
(18:46):
instead that we would run to him.
Let me pray over us today.
Lord, we run to you, but we ask, lord, that you would impart to
us your spirit.
Lord, as we draw near to you,lord, and we follow after you.
Lord, that we walk in stepwhere you're leading us to go,
lord, like the prodigal cominghome to his father.
(19:07):
Lord, we run to you and, lord,you're there for us in meeting
us, lord, and you wipe off thedirt and the shame and the sin
and you forgive us when we askand by faith, lord, we step into
your family.
You call us children of themost high God, lord, and you
wrap us in the finest clothesand put a ring on our finger,
because we are those who arewalking with you.
(19:29):
We belong to you, lord.
We worship you today with allthat we have, because you are
risen.
We pray this in Jesus' name,amen.
Friends, what he's called us isa new creation.
He has made us something new.
It talks about in 2 Corinthians5,.
Therefore, if anyone is inChrist, he is a new creation.
(19:52):
The old has passed away, behold, the new has come, and so that
means that you are a newcreation whenever you have
embraced Jesus.
It doesn't mean that you're abetter version of an old, dusty,
crusty version of you.
It means he has made yousomething brand new altogether,
and so you're a new creation inJesus.
(20:14):
It continues here and it saysthat, therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, godmaking his appeal through us,
and we implore you, on behalf ofChrist be reconciled, be
brought back into relationship,be reconciled to God.
Friends, that's my missiontoday is that I would be one
that tells you to be reconciledto God.
Friends, that's my missiontoday is that I would be one
(20:34):
that tells you to be reconciledto God.
Don't stand at a far off, butinstead run to him in
relationship that you would drawnear to him and he will draw
near to you.
It says this last thing here inthe scripture for our sake, he
made him to be sin, who knew nosin, so that in him we might
(20:57):
become the righteousness of God.
Friends, the Holy One, the Kingof Kings, the one who created us
, he poured out his rich graceupon us so that we could be
brought back into relationshipwith Him.
It says, by faith, that as weaccept what he's done for us, we
(21:18):
are forgiven of all of ourtrespasses, of all of our
transgression, of all of our sin, of all of our mistakes, of all
of our brokenness.
We are forgiven.
And so today we take thisopportunity to worship Him,
because our worship is a weaponagainst the darkness.
It's a weapon againstbrokenness, it's a weapon
(21:38):
against the curse that we put onour life.
We say no more.
I come against the curse ofdarkness in Jesus' name.
I have a future in Jesusbecause he is risen.
Friends, that's what the goodnews is.
The good news is that Jesus hascome and that he loves you very
much and wants to have arelationship with you.
(22:01):
The gospel, the Lord beglorified, because the good news
is for you and the good news isfor me.
Today, friends, as we revel inhis victory over death and hell
and sin, as we celebrate andworship him in his resurrection,
(22:22):
there still are those who haveyet to say yes to Jesus.
Today is your opportunity tosay yes to him.
It's your opportunity to invitehim into your heart and life,
to start a new relationship withthe living God.
Each one of us has to answerthat question have you embraced
(22:43):
Jesus?
See, for us, the symbol of thecross is one of transformation,
it's one of freedom, it's one ofsacrifice, where Jesus took all
of my sin, all of my mistakes,and he paid for it upon the
cross.
He did the same for you thatyou could be in a relationship
with him.
(23:03):
He came and took all of our sinand all of our brokenness and
he paid for it once and for all.
The apostle Paul.
He writes to the church at Rome.
He says it like this because ifyou confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believein your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will besaved, for with the heart one
(23:24):
believes and is justified.
With the mouth, one confessesand is saved, for with the heart
one believes and is justifiedwith the mouth one confesses and
is saved.
Friends, today is your day.
It's your opportunity to inviteJesus Christ into your heart
and life.
I'm gonna ask everyone here inthe room if you would just stand
to your feet right where you'reat, here on the floor up in the
balcony, bow your head, prepareyour heart for what God wants
(23:46):
to do, as Christians are prayingfor those to make a decision
after Jesus.
Friends, online, wherever youare under the sound of my voice,
at work, at home, across theworld, god wants to do something
in your life.
Maybe you're here and you'venever made a decision to follow
Jesus.
(24:07):
Today is your opportunity tomake that decision, to say Jesus
, forgive me of my sin, inviteyou into my heart and life.
Or maybe you're here and youhave made that decision in the
past, but you haven't beenliving it.
You need to make a recommitmentto the Lord.
Today is your opportunity.
So, as heads are bowed here inthe room, if that's you, you
(24:31):
just want to say yes to Jesus.
Maybe just raise your handright where you're at.
We already see hands that aregoing up, hands that are here.
Say pastor, include me in thatprayer today.
You raise your hand right whereyou're at.
See hands that are here, handsthat are there, people making
decisions to follow Jesus,people reinforcing the decision.
See hands in the balcony.
Thank you, jesus.
Thank you Jesus.
Friends, it's not too late.
If that's you.
(24:53):
Thank you, lord.
I'm going to ask everyone ifthey would pray this prayer out
loud after me.
Lord, thank you for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
(25:18):
Forgive me of my sins.
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name.
I pray Amen, amen.
Friends, we rejoice with youmaking a decision to follow
Jesus today.
So many people raising theirhand and say yes to Jesus today.
(25:39):
Praise the Lord.
Friends, we want to connectwith you.
If you're here in the room,connect with us before you go.
We have team in the back or atthe cafe.
We want to connect with you.
If you're here in the room,connect with us before you go.
We have team in the back or atthe cafe.
Want to connect with you.
If you're online, message us.
We don't want you to live thislife alone.
We want you to live in lifeafter Jesus, in community.
Friends, as we come to this lastsong today, before we do the
(26:00):
blessing, we do so with anopportunity to respond to the
love of God, to draw near to him.
And maybe you're here and youneed just a little bit more of
the outpouring of God, more ofhis presence, more of his wisdom
, more of his provision, more ofhis spirit.
If that's you, today, as wesing this song, open this altar
to you, that you would comeforward so others can agree with
you and see God move in yourcircumstances.
(26:24):
Lord, we thank you so much.
Lord, we pray over this Lord,saying thank you, lord, for
those that made a decision tofollow you today and, lord, at
the same time, we who arealready Christ followers, lord,
we need more of you, lord.
We celebrate your resurrectiontoday, lord, and we come, lord,
seeking your face, lord, andseeking your power and seeking
your presence, to live thisthing out, so that we can share
(26:46):
the gospel, the hope that is forall mankind, with others.
Lord, as we come to this altar,we do so with intentionality,
lord, that you would pouryourself out upon us.
We pray in the mighty name ofJesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Well, easter is not over yet.
We are going to have an Easteregg hunt for our kids.
So if you have children, weencourage you at this point.
When we leave, if you go grabyour kids, there will be a bag.
If they did not bring one, getone of those.
And then if you go to the southside of the building, so if you
grab your children and comealong the east area, there's
going to be a line.
There are a lot of eggs, and soit's going to be fun.
(27:23):
It's going to be controlledchaos, I guarantee you that but
it's going to be a lot of funand so you'll get to be involved
and watch them and you're notgoing to miss anything.
But come and join us and thenyou also can partake in all the
candy.
It will be fun.
Parent tax.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
You guys know what I'm talking about.
Hey, lots of great stuff comingup.
If you haven't been baptized,get baptized.
It's coming up this next month.
We're excited for that.
Also, this next week, invite afriend to come back.
We're starting a new seriescalled Everyday Carry, about
what it means to carry yourcross after Jesus.
Before we go, I want to praythis blessing over us the Lord
(28:00):
bless you and keep you.
The Lord will make his face toshine upon you and be gracious
to you.
We'll lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Lord.
I pray a blessing upon yourchurch, your people.
Lord, you empower us by yourspirit to live your love out to
(28:24):
those around us.
We pray all this in thepowerful name that is Jesus
Christ.
Amen, amen.
Know this.
We love you very much here atCornerstone.
God bless you and happyresurrection day.
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