What a time to be alive, right? I mean, I, I, people say like, oh I wish I lived in this decade or this decade, not me. I wish I lived right now. OK. Think about it for a second. You have instant access to any information you want. You have the ability to communicate with anyone across the whole world at any moment. I love that. We have medical advancements and treatment treatments that are one used to not even be available and then two things that would take weeks and months to recover from now are like outpatient surgery, like very complex things, right? And so I love that. I love that we have same day delivery. Right? I love that we have services that when you're feeling really lazy, you don't even have to cook food, they'll just bring it to your doorstep, right? I don't wanna go backwards, OK? I like, I love it, OK? And so I, I love that we have streaming platforms to catch up on sports and movies and shows. I love that we live in an area where there seems to be a coffee shop on every corner, and yet somehow we still all show up tired. Just saying, and I see your faces, I know, OK, but I'm with you, OK? Uh, and so filled with caffeine in the Holy Spirit here, I want us to jump in today, but I, I struggle with this, and I don't, maybe some of you have the same battle as I do is that I read the Bible and I get really excited. Like, wow, God's movie, right? And then I look into our culture and I get very discouraged. And I'm wondering how do I take what I'm reading and apply it and how I'm living and how do we read and reach the culture that we're in? Well, as a church staff uh and our church network, we quarterly, uh, meet together through this network called Vision Arizona, and they do quarterly lunches and trainings for our staff. And the most recent one, just about a week or two ago, we took our staff and there's a gentleman named Ed Stetzer who is like a leading researcher in evangelical Christianity, leads the Barner group. Our research there is a dean of Talbot Seminary. He used to be the lead teaching pastor at Moody, uh, Bible Church in downtown Chicago. He's the guy that ends up on Fox News or on CNN, ABC, NBC to give the evangelical perspective, if you will. Well, he came and shared with our staff as well as other church leaders in the valley, uh, the latest research of religious activity within America. And so he shared that with our staff and so I wanna share just a couple of those slides with you. And so what was interesting is one of the main trends in our culture is called the rise of the nuns. No, not the Catholic ladies that are teaching in our schools, but uh the rise of those not religiously affiliated. The fastest growing religion in our country is no religion at all. If you look at the last 30 to 40 years, you can see the percentage of people who who do not connect to any religious faith is continuing to grow. Here's another graphic to show this. That look at this map between 2008 and 2022. What you see here is that states that are light red have about 30% um who claim no religious affiliation, and states in the dark red have above 35% or above claim no religious association. So this looks like uh one of those coverage maps for Verizon or T-Mobile, doesn't it? That in 2022, every single state has over 35% of people claiming no religious affiliation except for the lone holdout of North Dakota. the center of Christianity apparently. Um. So you look, and that seems pretty discouraging, right? So has the the number of Christians actually decreased in our country? I, I don't know. But what I think is happening is that we're getting less and less pretend Christians. So you go back 50 years and and everyone claimed faith in something, and then you just go live how you want, right? Because it was, it was accepted, it was expected, there was guilt, there was shame behind it. Well, now it's no longer trendy, it's no longer accepted, it's no longer promoted and so less people feel pressured to pretend to be connected with a religion that they don't understand. And while the world seems to be getting darker and darker, there was this little known event in 2020 called the global pandemic and the spread of COVID, that kind of shocked everybody into a different state of mind. And I think what happens here is that people realized that what they were putting their hopes and dreams in ultimately was not satisfying the needs of their soul. Right? When you take God out of the picture, and you try to fill the spot of God with anything this world has to offer, and you, what's gonna end up happening is you're gonna be left feeling empty. Cause this world does not reach the transcendent. This world does not satisfy the hunger of your soul. And what we're starting to see now in this country is this awakening, this revival, this movement happening. And so while more and more people are, are disengaging with Christianity, more and more people are actually searching for meaning in life. Here's a couple of stats to prove that. That when surveyed, 72% of US adults are spiritually open, meaning they won't claim Christianity, but they are searching and open to having a conversation about spiritual things. What's even more interesting is that the, the fastest growth is actually happening in the youngest population. When talking about a renewed sense of spiritual hunger, since the pandemic, what we see here is that boomers, uh 34%, uh, Gen X 43%, but in millennials, 54%, and in Gen Z, 59%. And there are stories all over the country. Of many revivals happening on college campuses, and I absolutely love it. In fact, this morning, just talking with my friend John here who's a rep with uh Fellowship of Christian Athletes, if you, if, if you haven't done this, go ahead and do yourself a favor and at some point today Google Jesus one. this came from Ohio State. He knows I'm a big fan, um, and so I love sports, but actually just at Ohio State, like last week they held a prayer night, like a student led prayer night, and 2000 kids got saved. And so, yeah, we can clap for that, and that's not. But this is happening all over the country. A few years ago, you can see about uh the there was a revival at Asbury Seminary. Uh, there's stuff happening, there was a revival happening at Texas A&M. There's stuff on the West Coast, East Coast, uh, you know, North Dakota still going strong, right? There's our spiritual capital here apparently. Um, and so you're seeing these younger generations searching and seeking God. And so what do we do with that? Well, Ed Setzer, the guy presenting, ended his presentation with this quote that I want to share with you here is that the moment we're in does not pause the mission we're on. And that wow, the world does seem dark. The reality is, is that we've been placed here on purpose and for purpose. And so let's not forget the mission of the church to go and make disciples who make disciples for his name. Amen. Amen. This morning's message is entitled Spiritual but Searching. Spiritual but searching, let's talk because we live in a culture that seems darker and darker and darker. Where Christianity is is getting mocked and made fun of. But at the same time. There is more openness to Christianity than any time in my lifetime. Think about it. If you turn on the television and or go to the movies, there are actually more spiritually engaged media and movies and shows out than ever before. Now there is realistically, uh, part of that is because Hollywood realized you can actually make money. In Christian storytelling, but I think this also represents an openness and a hunger to it, and that people really are searching. And so what do we do with this moment? Well, Jesus speaks to this when he's talking to his disciples in Matthew chapter 16, and he says this to Peter and some of the others, he says, he said to them, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So was Jesus saying that he would use Peter to start the church? Maybe, I mean, technically, Peter was the one who preached the first sermon. But Peter's name translated means little pebble, and so I don't think he was saying, I'm gonna build my church on Peter itself. I think what he was saying here is, I'm gonna build my church on the claim you just shared. I'm gonna build my church on the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that he is both Lord and He is Savior. Amen. Now notice what he says there at the end of that verse, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now, if you are a gamer, if you're a video gamer, that's not gonna be a commentary on video games, but uh what I can tell you here is that no matter what game you play, OK, no matter what game you play, your Fortnite, Apex Legends, anything there, I'm the old school like James Bond, Halo, Call of Duty era, OK. Uh, whatever game you play, what I guarantee is that no one is selecting a gate as their weapon. Right? Oh, you can choose the blaster or you can choose the gate. No one's choosing a gate as a weapon, cause what is a gate? A gate is just something that's used for defense, right? But Jesus says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. What that tells me is that the church is playing offense. I wanna be the kind of church. That gets singed with the flames of hell because we're pulling people out and sending them to heaven. Amen. That in this culture, that the fastest growing religion is no religion at all. What we need to understand is that the moment we're in does not pause the mission we're on, and that God has promised to build his church if we are courageous in how we live and how we share. And so we're gonna take a look today at one of the most famous chapters in Acts, it's Acts 17. And Paul goes into Athens, a culture, a place where you can go see and visit today. And in a world very much like ours, seen as the epicenter of the world of intellectual um advancement of entertainment of, of religion, of government, of philosophy of community in the center of the world, he goes right in the middle and presents the gospel to a world who needs it. And I think what he gives us is a template that you and I can use to reach our culture today. So you're taking notes, I encourage you to write this down, that when it comes to engaging culture, We need to Be curious, we need to be clear, and we need to be courageous. When it comes to engaging cultures, especially with the gospel itself. This teaching that Jesus is the Christ. We need to be curious, we need to be clear, and we need to be courageous. And what we're gonna see is those three movements from Paul's speech can still be applied and principles that you and I can use to engage our culture right now in this very moment with the good news of Jesus Christ. Now, in the beginning of Acts chapter 17, Paul and some of his comrades go to Thessal Thessalonica. That's fun to say, try to say that 5 times fast. And then they're preaching the gospel here, and we see these words in chapter 17, verse 2 and 3. And Paul went in, as was his custom, meaning he routinely did this. And on 3 Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures. So Paul would go into the Jewish population because he is a Pharisee, and he would go in and he would, and you're gonna see a couple different words for dialogue here. First one is reasoned, which actually is the Greek word base word where we get our own English word dialogue, by the way. So he's having conversations with people from the scriptures. He knows the Old Testament, so he's gonna go to the Old Testament. It's what they know. He's gonna build a bridge like, hey, let me show you where Jesus is in this. And so then he continues on verse 3. So he reasons with them, he's explaining, and he's proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying this Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, so there's another word, it means announce to you is the Christ. So Paul routinely would go into cities, and he would go first into the synagogue with the Jewish population, but what we're gonna see in 17 is that he also goes into the marketplace, into the business center, into the epicenter of the community, and he does these things. He doesn't just go and shout at people. He doesn't just hold a sign on the street corner saying you're all going to hell. But he goes into the middle, into the mix, surrounded by all these different idols, surrounded by all these different people, and he reasons with them, he explains, he proves, and he announces. That's why it's called the good news, not good advice, right? He is, he is, he is not the, he's not the chef, he's the, he's the waiter, he's the server, right? If, if you, if you wanna complain with how the food's cooked. He's saying like, just take it up with the chef. Like I, I'm just bringing you the food, right? I'm just gonna bring you the meal. I'm gonna tell you, I'm, I'm not gonna be harsh. I'm just gonna tell it like it is and just reason with you and explain with you and prove to you and announce that Jesus is the Christ. So he does this in one town, gets kicked out, he goes then to Berea, and many people get saved, but the the People in Thessalonica then who troublemak and like we're throwing stones at him and stuff, find out that he goes to this town, goes to the next town, kicks him out again, and so he leaves. Some people stay behind and they're making disciples and they're developing leaders. And so Paul goes to wait for them in Athens, OK? So Paul now is in Athens, and if you're familiar with Athens. You understand here that it's a place you can go visit today. It is the it is the known intellectual center of the entire world. And the reason for that is that in the 5th century BC, you see these intellectual giants like Socrates, you see Plato, you see Aristotle, and so names that you learned about in school and probably sense of forgotten about, right? Like, oh yeah, I recognize that name. Right. And so, these are philosophers. These are what would be like your university elites and presidents. These are the people who are challenging culture as we know it, that we have a better way. It's about 500 years before, 400 years before the coming of Jesus, but they really set the stage. For this modern thought thought that we still have today. And then there was this, this beautiful architecture, and they had this city on a hilltop, this section of the city of Athens, they were known as the Acropolis. The Acropolis was this this fortified settlement with incredible architecture. And what was the showpiece of the Acropolis was the Parthenon. And the Parthenon was the temple of Athenia, which is the name of Athens. And Athenia was one of the Greek gods that stood for the goddess of war, or the goddess of wisdom, the goddess of protection. And Greeks and Greek gods and goddesses, there were beliefs and idols and statues by the thousands. Some would even say it's easier to find an idol than it was to find a person in the city, because they just believed everything. And what happens is when you reject God, you don't worship nothing, but instead, you actually end up worshiping everything. And that's what they're doing here and so they're bringing in everything. It is the gumbo, the stew of religious belief and that everybody's coming in to have this. Now just off of, off of the Acropolis is a smaller hill, the hill of Ares, the Areopagus, also known as Mars Hill. And so you can see a picture here. I shared last week in the message. Of my friend uh Chad who took a group over to visit and we were looking at Philippi last week. Well, this is just from a cell phone from like 2-3 weeks ago standing on the hill of Ares, the hill of Mars Hill, and Mars is just the Roman name for that Greek god Ares. And so you have Mars Hill and this is gonna come back into play because this is the exact spot, and we know this historically, where Paul. gives the speech that we're about to read. And we know that because of all the, uh, I mean, you, all the different background evidence and the fact that it still exists today, and that they even put his speech as a memorial right there in the spot. So you can actually see it, you can see where he was standing and gives the speech. They don't believe the speech, but they actually acknowledge it. And so imagine yourself standing on Mars Hill with the Acropolis and the temple of the and the Parthenon in your backdrop. Right? In the backdrop, when Paul addresses this. OK? So this is the backdrop where Paul walks in and we're gonna pick up the story here. So, starting in verse 16. Now, while Paul was waiting there for his friends in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons and in the marketplace. Notice he doesn't just go to the churches, I mean, there were synagogues in the day for the Jewish believers, but he also goes into the business place, into the marketplace, to where the everyday person was. And there every day with those who happen to be there. And some of the epicurean and stoic philosophers also conversed with him. Now, I want to pause here, give a little backdrop here. So there are a lot of different philosophies, and it highlights the two major ones. There's the epicureans and the Stoics. The epicureans were started by a guy named Epicurus, and so their philosophy, and see if you can make connection to a culture that you also know today. Their philosophy was nothing happens to you when you die. And so the purpose of your life is to avoid pain and pursue pleasure as much as possible. Sound like a culture you know? That nothing happens when you die, therefore, pursue everything you can, and whatever you believe, to enjoy as much pleasure as you can because that's the purpose of life. Yeah, very much sounds like our country, doesn't it? So the, the purpose there was to enjoy all things. And then there were the stoic philosophers started by a gentleman named Zeno. I don't know why they called him stoic, but his name is Zeno. Anyway, uh, and so instead of trying to enjoy all things, they actually were trying to endure all things. This was this idea that pantheism where where God is in nature, right? Again, we shared earlier that when you stop worshiping God, You don't just stop worshiping all together, you actually worship everything around you. And so they worship everything as nature and because there's a separation of nature and the soul, that you have to guard your soul. And so you have to be logical and you have to be uh reasoned. And so this that's why you think of when someone hears the word stoic, right? You're reserved. So these are the leading philosophies of the day, and they come and they argue and debate. Uh, also think about this. We think that America or our modern day culture is the first day in age to go on television and just spend the entire day just arguing your point of view. There really isn't anything new under the sun. This culture was doing that every day. They just didn't have the medium of television to do it. And so they would gather and just debate and argue all day, right? And now here comes Paul. And so these philosophers, they converse with him and some said, what does the babbler wish to say? That's a nice little title, right? Paul the babbler, they don't think too highly of him. Another said, he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities, plural, right? Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you talk God, you have Jesus, you have the resurrection. Again, remember, they don't believe in the spiritual after afterlife. So like, what do you mean resurrection of the dead? These are different gods, right? They have gods by the thousands. They're like, oh, what's this new thing? Let's try it, right? Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection, verse 19. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus. There's Mars Hill, saying, may we know what is this new teaching that you're presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears, and we wish to know therefore what these things mean. Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new and would spend their entire days on 24/7 news channels. OK, now I just added that part in, right? But you can, you get the idea, right? You have the intellectual elite. You have thousands of different beliefs and gods. And here comes Paul standing before the great architecture, and I don't know about you guys, but I feel like, man, I can't even get my roof to last a couple of years, and here they have these buildings lasted for 2500 years. We need some Greek builders back into our culture. Anyway, um, and so they have this incredible picture. And so what is Paul gonna do? Well remember that when engaging culture with the gospel, we have to do 3 things. We have to be curious, we have to be clear. And we have to be courageous. We gotta be curious. We gotta be clear, we gotta be courageous. You're gonna see Paul do this. So let's, let's see how he breaks this down. Verse 22, he starts by being curious. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, he says, men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. So for I passed along and observed the objects of your worship. I found also an altar with this inscription to the unknown God. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The Greeks had so many gods that they had a junk drawer god. Do you have a junk drawer at your house? Like, you don't quite know where this belongs, you just throw everything. Maybe it's not a drawer, maybe it's a closet. Maybe it's one of your spouse's side of the room, you know what I'm saying? OK. The Greeks are like, uh, just in case, unknown, we'll just throw that in there. So Paul doesn't come in and scream at culture. He doesn't come in and go, bad, bad, bad, bad. I'm right, you're wrong, he says. I see that you're searching. And instead of trying to break things down, what he's doing is actually building a bridge. Cause he knows he's like, I'm guessing you're searching. I'm guessing you're, you're trying to figure things out. Let me, let me help you with that. Isn't that so much of a different approach than what many of us take today? What if instead of just judging our culture, we actually tried to influence our culture? What if instead of attacking people, we actually just try to serve and love and and and do that through conversation with people. Yes, take a stand for truth, but understand it is not an us versus them. If you you go into the conversation with that mentality, you're gonna alienate the very people God has called you to reach. Just as you would have a hermeneutic of scripture, do you have a hermeneutic or exegesis of culture? Do you try to understand the culture you're trying To reach For those who are missionaries that travel into these foreign lands. They have to spend time learning the language, learning the customs. You can't just come in and be like, here it is, because even if you preach a very clear, clean gospel, if it is not in a language that they can understand, they're not gonna respond to it. In the same way, we have been dropped into this moment, into this time that we have to try to understand the culture in which we've been called to reach. So policies He doesn't see these idols and just think they're awful. He sees these idols and be like, oh, they're searching. I know what they're really after. OK. So it's curious. Also, he's very clear in what the gospel is, verse 24. And the God who made the world and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and of earth does not live in temples made by man. Now I want you to think about something. Remember the context in which he says that verse. You might have heard that verse before. God does not to live in live in temples made by hand. But imagine standing in front of the Parthenon. Some of the greatest architecture of the world history has ever seen, that is seen as like, this is their pride and joy. This is who they are. The Athenians, the Greeks, they have pride. Why? OK, the Romans might be ruling, but we No. And he stands right in the middle of it all, with no power, no money, no authority, and it says, You think God needs this? Have you seen a sunrise? What about the hill that all that sits on? What about the ocean that we crossed to get here? Have you seen a storm? Have you seen A Starry Night? You think that's nice? Imagine standing there. On that hill. Looking around, seeing those buildings, and he comes out and he says these words. He says, the God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made by man. Nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything, since he himself gives all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods in the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. And yet he is actually not far from each one of us. He says, for in him we have lived and moved in our being, as even some of your own poets have said, for we indeed are his offspring. So pause here for a second. He actually brings in a cultural reference. He quotes a guy named Epimenites and Aydius of Sully. And that doesn't matter to us, but it does matter to them. Right? He's quoting the song of the Billboard charts. He's quoting the movie line. He's quoting the politician. He's quoting the quotes like, hey, your own poets that you read and celebrate and build statues for point to the God I'm talking about. Verse 29. And then being God's offering, we ought to not think that we are that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man says, but no, that the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. Because he has fixed, he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he appointed, and of this he has given him assurance of all by raising him from the dead. Seeing Greek philosophy, they would often start with man and try to work their way up to God. Paul walks in and he actually starts with God and brings it down to man. And so here's how his presentation. This is why it's so clear, is that he starts off with God as Creator. You think the Parthenon is great? Let me tell you about a God who created the world. But not only is God Creator, he's also provider. He said he doesn't need anything from us, but rather he gives us the very breath which we turn around and use to doubt him. Did you ever think about that? You use the very breath in your lungs to doubt the God who made you, and yet with every single breath, you actually simply utter the name of God. Yeah. Yahweh, one of if not the only word you can utter without even speaking, is that you breathe in and breathe out, that in every single breath you take, you are uttering the name of God. Who in this room or beyond tells our heart to beat or their lungs to breathe? You can't do that. God provides everything in your life. God is creator, God is provider. But then he goes on to say that God is ruler. He is greater than the Greeks. He is greater than the Romans. He is greater than any leader you think here. You think that your future depends on a ruler of a nation? You think your future depends on a political party or person? God moves who he wants, when he wants, how he wants, because it's, he can. God is creator, God is provider, and God is ruler, but most importantly, God is savior. The time of ignorance is done. That every man, woman and child will stand before God to give an account to which they are responsible of who is Jesus. And so he gets down to it and says, you cannot save yourself. But thankfully, we have a God, the one that you don't know, but I'm telling and proclaiming to you, Jesus. That while man cannot work up to God, God came down to men. Lived a perfect life, died on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine, and then conquered death itself. So that you can receive eternal life as a free gift. So how do people respond? Well, you know that Paul was courageous based on what is said in those final verses. He's curious. Hey, let me tell you what you've been searching for. He's clear. God is creator, he's provider, he's ruler, but most importantly, he's savior. And then he's courageous saying you need this Jesus in your life. Same Jesus that I just got beaten and locked up for earlier. In my story, I came here to tell you. So now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. Others said, well, we will hear you again about this. And so Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom were also Dynamus or dynamis, the aperite, and the woman named Domaice. And others are with them. So other places, there were like thousands of people were saved. Maybe some were saved. We know at least 2 responded. They might not be super valuable to us, but definitely to them. See, the fact that the one gentleman was given a title meant that it was probably a head government official of some kind. So now you have a Greek official and then a woman being one of the early people to start this church. But what happened to Paul, happened to Jesus, and will also happen to you and me anytime we share Jesus with people. People will respond with rejection. With reflection Or reception And those thoughts are not original to me here. I mean, other pastors have said those words, but understand this, that if people rejected Jesus, if people rejected Paul, people are gonna reject you. No one's batting 1000. But some people are gonna go away. And reflect meaning like, oh. You're gonna give them something to think about. They might not get saved in that moment, but they're gonna question, what is the God that I've been worshiping. What have I been putting my hopes in? I And the reason we share is because some people will believe. If you regularly share your faith, you will never bat 1 1000. But also, you will never bat 0. Some belief I understand that enough of the sum launched the largest movement in world history. But I can tell you this, You will never lead someone to Christ, and you will bat 0. As long as you refuse to share your faith with others. What's that saying in sports, right, you'll you'll never make a shot, you don't take. Right. Maybe you've heard a well meaning phrase that I share the gospel and. You know, when needed, use words. That'd be like saying I go feed the poor. When needed, use food. The gospel includes us sharing the message. It is the good news. It is not the gospel does not mean the good feeling. The gospel does not mean the good life. Well, I'm a nice person, so clearly they know, no, they don't. So what if we were like Jesus? Who in John 3 shares with Nicodemus, the educated man, and then John 4 shares with the rejected Samaritan woman, then goes and shares with the demon possessed man or or Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Or the doctor or the fisherman. The rich, the poor. Men and women. He was courageous when he shared, and he said, you are gonna share with the world too, and you're gonna be persecuted just as I was persecuted, but guess what? People's lives are gonna change. Because we have the answer, church. That anytime you share the gospel, there are gonna be some people that reject you. I get it. I get that there's people in here that every argument I've put forth, you've put up a wall up against me. That's OK. I understand that. Some of you walk in and you're gonna hear a song like, oh, I need to think about that. But I also know there's some people in here that can receive you. Receive the gospel in the heart. Because when it comes to engaging culture, Especially with the gospel, may we be people. That understand that we can be curious, that we can be clear, and that we can be courageous. Pastor Gary Hamrick wrote this simple prayer. He said, Give me eyes to see the lost, a heart that loves the lost, a will to win the lost, a mouth to tell the lost about Jesus. I love that. Look, here's the challenge I wanna give you today. Just take the first one. I'm gonna make you do all three. Just take the first one and I want you to be curious this week. Are you willing to ask a spiritually open friend what they believe about God? And then listen to him. Like, I get that there's moments, right? And there's not always the right time. But are you looking for it? Like I, those that know me know that I love basketball. I coach, I cheer. I got kids in it, right? And so I got a friend group too, right, that goes in and, and, and growing up with our kids in club sports and doing all that, right? They kid, oh, the pastor, right, I get competitive and my human side, I might yell at a ref or two from time to time. And so when I do that, they're like, oh, and if the pastor sees that ref, you gotta make the call, you know, like there's kind of a joke. But what happens is as much as they kid about it, when I have one on one conversations with people, it's amazing like, hey, can you pray for me? Hey, can you Why? Because our souls are searching, our souls are needing. In church, we have the answer that the moment we're in does not pause the mission that we're on and that the gates of hell will not prevail against us, meaning. That in our dark world, we need to shine the light of Jesus Christ. To be curious with the people in your family, in your classroom, on your team, in your workplace, to be clear with what it means to put your faith in Jesus. Hey, can I share with you? Can I pray with you? Can I talk with you? And be courageous to say, hey, do you believe this? Because some people are gonna respond. And when we be a church. That gets a little bit of the flames of hell on our garments because we're ripping people out of hell and sending them into heaven. But before we do that, I want to know. Is there anybody in this room that that needs to receive that for themselves? And in a moment I'm gonna pray, and there's not. Like special magic in these words, but it's what you believe in your heart. Here's the gospel. We're sinners. We can't make it to heaven on our own. Jesus, who was God, came down to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine. And then when he rose again, He provides the way of forgiveness and eternal life, that now I don't have to achieve it, but I can receive him into my life, turn from my sins, put my faith in him. And the power of his spirit comes into my life. My sins are forgiven, my life has changed, and I can go eternity with him. If you wanna receive, I encourage you to pray with me right now. Will you do that? Dear heaven Father, we love you. I know that I'm a sinner, but I can't make it to heaven on my own. God, that there are idols in my life. I've tried to put my meaning in in in money or fame or health or. Popularity, whatever it is, God, I know that I'm still searching. So God, thank you for coming down, dine on the cross for my sins. And that when you rose again, you prove that you are God, that you are savior, that you are Lord. I want you to be Lord and Savior in my life. I believe in you, Jesus, and I commit my life to you. Thank you for saving me. Help me to share this good news with those around me. And your son's name we pray amen.