Concerts, Chili, and Choosing Surrender

We trade a life of constant reaction for a steadier way of living rooted in Jesus, moving from comfort-first habits to a “new normal” shaped by peace, surrender, and daily obedience. Along the way we share church updates, laugh about chili and pancakes, and press into habits that actually hold on Monday.

• Winter Jam plans, Superstart updates, Super Bowl chili pie cook-off
• the dancing chicken metaphor for a reactive life
• what the world calls normal versus the way of Jesus
• the rich young ruler and trading security for surrender
• why Monday feels hard after Sunday and how to recharge
• Mary and Martha and choosing the better portion
• seek first the kingdom as a daily rhythm
• practical ways to rest, read Scripture with intent, and persevere

Come hang out with us on February 8, Sunday night—Super Bowl chili pie cook off

www.rushchurch.com

Transcript

Birthdays And Team Updates

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome back to another episode of Rush Hour. I'm Cody, and that's Brittany, and that's Ashley. If you can see us, I'm pointing at them right now, but you can't see us, so it doesn't matter. But we're excited to be back with another episode on Rush Hour, a Rush Church podcast. And we have some things to talk about that are going on at the church. We got some things to talk about in life, and then we're gonna talk a little bit about what's it, chickens?

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Yeah, dancing chickens.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Dancing chickens. Alright. So that's what you have to look forward to today on this episode. But to start us off, today is Carter Phillips' birthday. I just wanted to tell him happy birthday. Happy birthday. I knew that. Happy birthday to Carter.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

15 years old. He is Carter.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

When I got here, he was like eight.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Now I'm old. Yeah. All right.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Yeah. Oh, well, speaking of old, Cheyenne Peterson just joined the worship team and she was about practice last night. And I'm like, I used to babysit you. And now you're sitting on the worship team with me. Yeah. Like, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Yeah, people tend to grow up like that. I know why. It happens. What do you want me to say? So, yeah. Birthdays are happening. People are getting older. I've been here for almost seven years at this church now, which feels like impossible.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

But I don't keep track of mine because I just know that it was around Cody's time. So I'm like, whatever Cody says, that's what Darren I say.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Whenever John came, that's when we came.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

We moved here. Eden was six months old. And this pick. So now she's got a basketball practice. Right. So well, what are some things going on at our church coming up? What's the first thing on the list? Brittany.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

I don't know what the first thing is. Well, what did you recommend? Is that superstart?

SPEAKER_00 1:52

There you go. Whatever's on the Winter Jam's first. Winner Jam's first. Well, that comes first in order of what's happening first, I guess. But I just wanted to know announcements in general.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

You can choose to talk about Winter Jam or Superstart.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Alright, we'll go with

Winter Jam Plans And Concert Memories

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Winter Jam. You were wrong, sorry. Winter Jam's coming up on the 24th. Anybody can go to Winter Jam. It's in Columbus at the Schottenstein Center. And Winter Jam's been going on for a long time. Years and years and years. I've been through, I don't know, I lost count, but like 12 Winter Jams my life. I don't know. It's been a lot. But it's a good time if you like Christian music and you want something to do. It's from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, the 24th. I think that's what the day is. Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, Katie Nicole, a rapper named Hulvey and Disciple is a rock band. It's got a little bit of music for all people. So if you like those, sounds good. If you want to go with the youth group, the youth is meeting at 10.30 that morning to carpool together and go get some food somewhere, and then we'll head over to get in line for Winter Jam. It's $15 at the door. Like I said, if you wake up that morning and decide really feeling like some Matthew West would be good for me, then you can decide to go on over that night at $15 at the door. So you guys ever been to Winter Jam?

SPEAKER_02 3:09

I have many.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

No, I've never.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

You don't like concerts though, do you?

SPEAKER_01 3:13

I'm not a concert person.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Even worship?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

I mean, I think it would be like really fun. And I'm no doubt that I'd have a great time. Yeah. But what time is it over?

SPEAKER_00 3:23

10 p.m. 10 p.m. In Columbus.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

See, this is the thing. Columbus isn't bad. See, I'm considering it because it's close. But at 10 35, I'm gonna be like a pumpkin. I wish I was at home. Right. So I'm considering it because it's close. I like concerts. It's fun.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

You should go.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

We could go together. Is it wild? Is it a wild time or is it a calm time?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

It's Chris Tomlin and Matthew West. It's not gonna be wild.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Well, you never know.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

It's not gonna be wild.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

So it sounds wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

It is. If you don't know, I mean Chris Tomlin's worship is amazing. Yeah. Like that's I I go for the worship.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

So I don't think I've ever been to a worship. Like I'm trying to think. Okay, when I was really young, what was that outdoor concert with Sunfest?

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Alive.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Was it like an ichthus or something? You went to Ichthus? Yes! Oh my god. Wait, is that long? Is that wild?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Ichthus is in Kentucky. Yeah. Down around Lake. I did that.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

So that's the only time I've ever been to like a Christian concert.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Then you've been that's that's wild.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

It was wild. It was wild. Everyone was muddy.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

If it rains, too bad. Too bad. Roll in the mud. If it's a thousand degrees, you sunburnt people everywhere. Right, yeah. And there's tents, there's just it's just in a field. And there's a big stage.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Did they rent bathrooms?

SPEAKER_00 5:00

I don't remember. I have no idea. I know I I live close enough where I would just go and leave for the day and come back another day. It's like a four, three or four-day long festival. Yeah, it's a lot. Some people just stay the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Like, I'm like, no, I'm I'm good.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

I mean, I was younger. I was probably like this is a fun time.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

14 years old. We had that in Florida when I was a teenager, but we called it Sunfest. Okay. And it was camping in the middle of a baseball field.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

It was like one of the first times that I can remember. Like I don't know if you want to say like an alter call or like standing up, that kind of thing. Like it was one of the first times I can remember, like, yes. Oh, that's cool. I'm a Christian. You know, this is I'm going to take that step forward.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

So it was it was a really cool experience, but it was wild. So when you talk about Christian worship, I'm like, hey.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Like mosh pits down at the front, people on people's shoulders. Igthus got like they don't do it anymore. Yes. But back in early 2000s.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

You want to go to Winter Jam? I'm like, I don't know. I've got a bad idea.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

You're in arena.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

You got people comfortable seats.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Oh, okay. It's coffee. Coffee. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

I saw Skillet at Igthus for the first time. It was fantastic. So I've seen Skillet like eight times.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

I'll never forget at Sunfest, I was waiting for my friends around the corner. Like in the bathroom, I was outside the bathroom waiting for them, and around the corner walks Hawk Nelson, and I'm like, I couldn't speak. I'm like, and nobody would believe me.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Old Hawk Nelson.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

No one would believe me.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

Early 2000s, Hawk Nelson.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

Now Hawk. I don't like Hawk Nelson now. They're not the same.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Back in 1980.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

It was like that punk rock.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Back in the 1900s. They were great. They were great.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

They had an album called Letters to the President. I had I can still sing. I can still sing the lyrics to those songs. But Reliant K, Hawk Nelson, all those. Do you know what we're talking about? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

Superstar. Not Superstar. Super Super Towns. That was a little bit for me. I loved them.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

So there's a walk down memory lane because everybody wanted to know if winter jam was going to be mosh pits and people on people's shoulders and crowd surfing. No, there won't be any of that. Winter jam.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Well, you did say you're taking the youth, so I thought it is youth-based.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

The craziest we've ever gotten is spitting mashed potatoes on each other. Oh. Okay. That was beating that was someone else.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

That was the pre-Winter jam meal that we went to.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

A little wild there. On accident. On accident.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

So winter jam, if you want to go, you can look it up and all that good stuff, but we're going to that if anybody wants to go. Superstart, the deadlines pass for that, but you can still sign up as long as there's spots, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Yeah. As long as I can still register more people, I will let you come. However, and February 1st the price does go up.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Alright. February 1st, you got a week or two before the price goes up. Not a huge

Superstart Details And Deadlines

SPEAKER_00 7:50

price jump, but it does go up. Yeah. And then uh so if you have a fifth or sixth grade student that you know want to go experience something really cool, uh Superstarts, a good event. It's in Columbus. Two days, one night.

SPEAKER_03 8:01

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Worship high energy gives you those good experiences. And so uh what was the other thing we're gonna talk about?

SPEAKER_02 8:08

Chili.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Chili. You guys like chili.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Super bowl chili pie. That's what he calls it.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Now you remember? We spent five minutes thinking about what the heck John used to call this thing that we did.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I only wrote down the word chili.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Just chili.

SPEAKER_02 8:23

Super bowl. Super bowl chili pie.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Cook off.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Cook off.

unknown 8:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Super bowl. Super bowl chili pie cook off.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

He really wants to, I think he really wants to shift the focus from to just the chilies in the pots.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Yeah, we don't really care about the game. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Unless my Broncos are playing.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

I mean, the game the game is. They could be. The game is on.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

We'll put the Super Bowl on the wall.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

It'll be on for you.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Are we gonna try to use the screen?

SPEAKER_00 8:43

No, it's too loud.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

It is really loud.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Well, I was wondering though if we could put the motor outside the doors.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Too cold.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

No, I don't think anybody I don't think anybody really cares that much to watch the game. We'll have it on. The game will be on. The Super Bowl, the football. And then what we do is we all hang out that night and we eat a lot of chili. I mean a lot of pie.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

And it's good to do it.

SPEAKER_02 9:05

But you have to make the chili. You have to make the pie.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yeah. You don't have to.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

No, you don't. Because I've been every year. I've never made it. It's a contest, though.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

It's a contest. Yes. We have winners for the best chili. We have first place and second place, right? Mm-hmm. And then we have a pie contest. And then I I like to judge. I'm one of the pie judges, usually. And it's one of my favorite things.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

What's your favorite kind of pie?

SPEAKER_00 9:27

I like all the pies.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

I don't like cherry pie.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Don't make any cherry pies. I will throw in the trash. I'm just kidding. I won't throw it in the trash.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

I'll just somebody's at home right now practicing their cherry pie. They're like, forget it.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

You're making a cherry pie right now. Just stop. Switch it up. Get me like a pecan pie.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Pecan pie.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

She said pecan, pecan, pecan.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Pecan, pecan.

unknown 9:52

Pecan.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

That's not it.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

You just do a bird call for pecan pie. That's my favorite pie, by the way. So yeah. When is this? February 8th?

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Yes. February 8th.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Sunday night, so we'll all be together. Come hang out with us. It's a fun time. It is a fun time. It is. It's really relaxing.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Yeah, I was gonna say, Ashley, how many second place trophies do you have?

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Well, it's only one trophy. It's a traveling trophy. Okay. So you you give it to the winner. The second place trophy has not left my side for five years now. Five years.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Runner up. Runner up again. Runner up.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

I would rather be third at this point.

Super Bowl Chili Pie Cook-Off

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Like we can make that happen. All right. But yeah, so we have some people that have trophies. They're gonna bring them back. Somebody will have to dethrone them. And I have heard rumors that the Lytles are very confident in their ability to maintain their trophy. So we'll have to see what happens. But usually there's like at least, I don't know, 13, 15 chilies that you can try and taste. Yeah. Pies.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

The other thing I used to always be either six or nine. And so John was like, he would admit, he's like, I didn't really know if the number was six or if the number was nine. I'm like, then get rid of those numbers. Like, don't even put it out.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Oh, when people would write it down.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yes, like is it nine? I'm like, maybe I did win one year. Maybe you did win. It's rigged.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

Yeah. No, it's not rigged.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

All right. So I look forward to the chili pie cook-off. Super bowl chili, bonanza, bootinani.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Super bowl chili pie.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

Contest.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

You guys want to make a song for Super Bowl chili pie.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

You know that. I love you.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

I was just kidding, but I'm glad we got that now. I'll clip that and put that out there for we talk about it. What else?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

That's it.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Oh, that's not true. Um, I have a service announcement, a public apology for my pancakes on Sunday. I told everyone it was biscuits and gravy, and it's not. That's this Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

This Sunday. Not last. You know, pancakes are good. They were yummy. They were really yummy. But when you're talking about it, when I was walking around the corner, and not only expecting it, but then saw your mom holding a box of biscuit mix in her hand. And I'm like, yes, it's biscuits and gravy today. And then I go eat, and it's pancakes.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

And I'm like, what in the world? Yeah, I felt really bad. Why did you feel bad? I felt so bad. Pre-breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

You just be like, you get what you get.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

If you don't know, don't fit. I don't know if you've not met me before, but that's not how I work.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Well, you're gonna have to learn. I know. You now work at the church with us, you get paid.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Brittany's our newest employee.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Yeah. Last week was your first week. Last week was my first week.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

If you come to the church on Thursday or Friday.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

But you see me, don't be alarmed.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Brittany's smiling face is the first one to greet you. There she is. So if I mess up, sorry. She's learning and enjoying it. And so that's good. Welcome, Brittany, to the Rush Church staff.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Thanks, Cody. I mean, technically you've been an honorary staff for a while now, but there's no such thing as honorary staff. Excuse you. Yes, there was.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Okay, volunteer of the year. I have the trophy for five years. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. That was a joke to anybody else that volunteers. That's not true.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

We don't give trophies to volunteers. So yeah, we're not going to either. All right. That's enough of the announcements and whatever the heck that was. Talking about stuff.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Yeah, let's talk about business.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Business.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Business.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Nope. We're talking about his sermon. Talking about we're gonna look at what John talked about Sunday morning again. So if you've been to our church, he's starting a little series called what the new normal. Looking at my notes.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

You guys enjoying what he has to say on Sunday mornings?

SPEAKER_02 14:02

I'm really, yeah. You you put it really good the other day, how it's not his style right now is not necessarily teaching style, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Yeah, like I which he corrected me on because that's not that wasn't the right terminology. That's not the right terminology. But sometimes when he gets up there it I view it as straight teaching. Like, okay, I am like when we were in Romans, like I'm teach I need an outline, I need my notebook, we're teaching now. But this last couple sermons, like the Christmas series and stuff, to me that's like preaching. Like, I don't know. Is that offensive to say? I don't think it is. I don't think so. No, I don't think so. Preaching, teaching, but anyways, I like what he's doing right now. I really like that. It's just a different style.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Yeah. Everything before that hated it.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

I'm just kidding. It's not true. No, it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Nope, but he's doing a good job. And so his little graphic on the bulletins this week was what?

SPEAKER_02 15:04

A dancing chicken. Dancing on the stage with a spotlight on it.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

I think he was quite proud of that. I think he liked his dancing chicken graphic. So new normal. What do you guys think of when you think of the phrase new normal?

SPEAKER_02 15:17

I used to hate the phrase because that's what happened when COVID came around. Everybody kept saying the new normal.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

I was gonna say it's usually associated with a crisis or a pandemic or something like, well, this is just the new normal because we've been through this whole thing and now it's just the way it's gotta be.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Yeah, but after hearing his sermon the last two weeks, I'm like, I I can get on board with this. I'm ready to live out a new normal.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Yeah, because normally around New Year's time, I'm like, it's fine. Like I'm not even gonna try because my life is going fine. Like I don't need to change anything or go through it. And then after Sunday, I was like, oh, I gotta change.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

So yeah, I think are you living in a way that the world calls normal? So the world, when I say when we talk about the world, like we live in the world, but like as a Christian term, the world is like someone who is outside of the church or someone who doesn't know who who doesn't hasn't given their life to Jesus, so we talk about it as the world, like and apart from Christ, apart from his kingdom, you think about outside of that, how do they view what normal is? And so a normal to somebody who doesn't follow Jesus would be like maybe stressed out, self-centered, self-focused, kind of the idea of, well, how do I need to improve myself, or what is how's it gonna benefit me, or what I need to do? And so you have this normal normalcy that's I don't know, a little bit different than how maybe a follower of Christ would see a normal. And I think that's what he's trying to get to in this this this whole sermon series of his, which I've been enjoying.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

So yeah, he mentioned how what the current normal of humankind is right now, and he listed off that the human condition is lost, blind, sinful, guilty, enslaved, and morally dying. That's that's bad. Like I don't want any part of that at all.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

I feel depressed now. Like, you know, I think that might be a new normal, like uh, I mean the normal for the world or without God.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

It sounds hopeless, is what I think of like dark and broken. There's no hope, this is just the way it is.

SPEAKER_03 17:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

And so, but there is something better, and that's what this whole sermon series is about. The new normal, this new spiritual normal of what Jesus offers us can be the

Pancakes, Apology, And Staff Update

SPEAKER_00 17:40

new normal. Um, so I like that a lot. What else was I gonna say?

SPEAKER_01 17:48

Well, in all the once you start with your study though, that's that is not new. The world being like that.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Well, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Yeah, I mean, like that's but you can kind of feel that way. Like if you haven't done your study with scripture and stuff like that, like you might sit there and think, oh, things are so bad right now. But when you start reading everything, you're like, wait, they've always been really bad. Yeah. Like it's that's why we needed Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

I've had conversations about that too. Like, people are like, Man, the world is just terrible right now, it's worse than it's ever been. I was like, I don't I think it's about the same. It's always been bad, it's always been broken, it's always been dark, and why do we think that it's worse now?

SPEAKER_03 18:33

Because we're living it. Because we're living it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

And this is also the a time in history that we have you can see everything that's going on in the world all one time. But the internet video in your hand, you're more connected to everything, and so you just see it more often. It's not that it hasn't been there, it's always been there. And so it seems like it's the world's falling apart and it's worse than it's ever been. I don't buy it. I think it's always been. I mean, read this old testament and then come back and say that the world's worse now. But and so this whole dancing chicken idea, I really liked it. Is it's you know, the idea of a chicken like on a hot, hot ground, like moving their feet around and stuff like that. Does it ever feel like your life is one giant reaction to the heat around you? Like you feel or feel like you're just reacting to the next thing that's happening.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

I mean, I've definitely felt like that before. I feel like now, which we've had conversations in here that I've feel stronger, more balanced now to not be in that situation.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Yeah, but I think the like people go through life and they're just trying to avoid the all the stuff. They're avoiding, you know, they have to deal with this thing, is deal with stress at work or a phone call or a family issue, or all these different things, and they're just dancing to stay off all the hot spots

Introducing The New Normal Series

SPEAKER_00 19:50

in life. And it can be overwhelming and stressful. I think that's the the old normal as a life of reacting to the things around you all the time. And so we get into the new. Normal, and we'll see that we don't have to live that kind of way anymore. Talked about peace last time, and I think that has to do kind of carry over to this one, too, of a new way to go through life. And also in the sermon, we talked about the rich young ruler a little bit. Do you guys remember that part of the sermon at all?

SPEAKER_01 20:19

Refresh us.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

It's the idea of the trade. Jesus asked us to trade temporary security for eternal treasure. So, what did the rich one young ruler what did he what was his thing? Remember that story in the Bible? The rich younger wal ruler walked away because he didn't trust this idea of it was a good trade. He came up and he's like, What must I do to follow you? What must I do? And Jesus is like, You want to follow me? Go sell all your possessions and get rid of all your things and materials and give it away, and then come follow me. It'll be it'll be better. And the guy didn't trust that that was a good trade. He didn't think it was going to be worth it. And so he walks away and he doesn't think it. He's thinking I'm more secure with all my stuff and all my things and stuff like that. So he walked away because he didn't trust what Jesus had to offer. So what are some of our securities that we were afraid to trade away today? Could be comfort, reputation, could be a number of things that we kind of want to hang on to, I guess you'd say.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

But how many times have I been like, oh, if I do that, I'll be putting myself at risk or I'll be putting my family at risk, or I mean, I can make up any excuse that I want. Man, I've done that a lot.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

I think it's for us, it's mostly the idea of being comfortable. I don't be like, I don't want to feel awkward, I don't want to feel uncomfortable. And if I do this thing, then I might feel these things I don't want to feel.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

And then I've like convinced myself, oh, God doesn't really want me to be uncomfortable. I mean, he got me to this point, right? You know, so I could be comfortable because before when I prayed to eat out of that situation, well, now I'm comfortable in this situation. So I doubt he really wants me to do that. I mean, there's so many things that you can convince yourself of by not listening, plugging your ears and just thinking whatever you want, I guess. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

So the the new normal should I when I hear it well when I thought about that, like we have this negative thing of like the new normal after a pandemic or after things, but in a spiritual way, in a Christian way of following Jesus, the new it's a the normal new normal is the new way to go through life. And Jesus is like, I have a better way for you to go through life than what you're what you are trying to do at this point. And and so for me, it's like, well, it's what if we've always done it this way, and I'm really comfortable with these things that we do, and Jesus is like, no, but it'd be better. It might hurt a little bit at first, it might be uncomfortable, but I got something better for you if you just follow me. And so that guy, he's always used to having all of his riches and his wealth and all these things, and he's like, What am I gonna do without

What The World Calls Normal

SPEAKER_00 23:20

it? I can't really he's on the fence, and so he decides not to. But the new normal, Jesus asks us to do radical things. So do he asked us to forgive people who don't deserve forgiveness sometimes? He asks us to love our enemies, he asks us to not get revenge when maybe they deserve it, or you know, he he asks us to do these things that go against our first instincts, I guess you'd say. And so, in that in that sense, Jesus asks us to do radical things in this new way of living, and so it takes some time to get used to some of that stuff. Like, it's not gonna happen overnight. You're not gonna be like, Oh, I'm gonna follow Jesus now, and then everything's great, and it's not hard, but it is hard.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

So when we're talking about living for the world, which I was really good at.

SPEAKER_03 24:14

Yeah, we all are.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

When I I think that I've shared this before, but talking to a friend that was like, so now that you aren't doing whatever you want, like they were like, I'm confused. So you're gonna just ask God on every decision you make. You'll probably never do anything that you want to do. You'll just do whatever, you know, because if you think about all of your decisions, like a lot of your impulse decisions are gone. And they were like, So you're just gonna like ask on every part of your life? And I'm like, I guess. I mean, yeah, I guess that's a way to put it. Like, if I did that, that'd probably be a really great way to live.

SPEAKER_02 24:58

But and sometimes we forget to do that and we all we make our own decisions and they never end out well, end up well.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

No. Why why pray about it and do what God wants me to do when I am screwing it up just fine right now? Why would I stop and and ask? I always kick myself because I'm like, wow, if I would have just stopped and prayed about that or asked for direction on that, I probably wouldn't have screwed that up like that. But why would I do the smart thing?

SPEAKER_00 25:30

And he talked a little bit about he used the word carnality or carnal. Um and so it's a form of godliness, but denying really the full buy-in, I think you'd say the idea of carnal Christians who are comfortable with the old normal still. So we get this idea where we're like, yes, Jesus has something better and new for us, so we're gonna give him our lives and say, I'm gonna follow you, and you try to hang on to things in the old way of things instead of the new normal. Why is it so easy to say that we want to follow Jesus? Like on a Sunday or like on a time when we're hearing John's sermon, like everybody in there is like, Yes, that sounds pretty good. Why is it so hard to carry that over into the week, do you think? So we hear it, and then we go ahead and continue the rest of the week living like chicken people that are dancing around on hot pads, I guess, is what he you know says. The idea of knowing and putting it into action is much harder. And I think it's because the world we live in, we already talked about it. The world has a way of doing things that's normal, and kind of you go back to the world, you go back, yeah. You leave these little pockets of where Christians are, like especially on church Sunday morning, and you hear it, and then not fully buying in, I guess you'd say.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Well, there's go ahead. That's almost I I don't know. I feel like you're describing almost a person who like really doesn't have hope. Like it's it it does. I mean, I can't imagine I'm not saying I'm perfect, right? But I can't imagine going to church Sunday morning,

Dancing Chicken Metaphor

SPEAKER_02 27:10

listening to the sermon, being like, yes, that's great, and then Monday just going right back to what I was doing before church on Sunday. And I I mean I used that was me in my teenage years. Yeah, I I get that. I know it's but I feel like the more that I I made a choice, that's that's just it. You have to make a choice. I mean, John said last week, do what God tells you to do. Yeah, it just do it. Well, now you're presented with make a choice. Are you in or are you out? Yeah. Just like what is that? The rock, you know, with the little short guy. It's like, are you in or are you out? Make a choice.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Did you just reference the rock in Kevin Hart? Wow.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

Um, I'm glad you got that because I was like, What?

SPEAKER_00 27:54

At first she said rock, and I was thinking of Moses hitting her off with water coming out, and I was like, then she said short. That's not even in the same anyway. I messed that part. I just it was well, I think it'll be a good idea. Didn't he talk about Revelation, whatever it is, the the hot and cold, spitchy out of my mouth.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

That's what that's what it is.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

I mean, I'm glad that you can't relate to that. But I I mean, I can relate to going to church and listening and being like, this is a really good idea. And then as soon as I get back out in the world. And it's not it's not fun, it's not good, it's terrible. You're a dancing chicken. I mean, that's what you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

So what clicked? What changed? Oh, a lot.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

That might be a bigger conversation. That might be a bigger conversation.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

My question was like, why is it so hard for people to buy in all the way and not be lukewarm?

SPEAKER_01 28:51

But the thing is, is that Monday, just using the example, Monday when things started to go left and I started to go left with it, everyone around me is going, yeah, that's what I would do. Yeah, you probably should have done that more than what you did. Like when you're out of the bubble and you're out in the world, like there's times now living where things start to go left, and I'm like, nope, I'm staying right here, and people are like, Did you see that? Go tell that person or go get this or go do that. You know what you should do. This is what you should do. And you're like going back to plugging my ears, like, no, I gotta stay in my bubble because I I gotta do what I'm supposed to do. So it's just a it is really hard.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

So it's almost like you're surrounding yourself with people who speak life or you know, speak truth.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

I mean, I try to as much as I can, but ignore the truth for others. Yeah, but even the people around me that normally speak life to me, they go through things. Oh yeah. And I go through things, even though I'm speaking life to people. I might speak life to somebody that really needs it. And the next time they see me, I am like, I'm so sorry. I would love to speak life right now, but I'm struggling.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Yeah,

The Rich Young Ruler And The Trade

SPEAKER_00 30:20

I might and I think you know, we get to those points where like you just feel like your drain, your like battery's on empty.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

You gotta have those moments of recharge. You gotta remind yourself that rest is part of this. Take time. We've talked about this before. Yeah, prayer and fasting and solitary stuff. And yeah, we go back to that. You've got to recharge your batteries, you've got to, because Paul says, you know, don't grow tired of doing what is good. Keep keep doing it. And he does says that because he knows how difficult it is to be the truth and be the goodness in this world, because it's you're just the you're in it. Right. You're in the world, and things are happening on your left and right, and you know, we see this all over scripture, especially with Peter on the water. He sees Jesus on the water, he's walking towards him, he's like, walk with me on the water. And Peter's like, Yes, I'm gonna follow you. He gets out there. There's a storm and there's waves and there's lightning, and it's hitting him in the face, and he sinks because he takes his eyes off Jesus. I think the reason that it's so hard for people is because they don't, I don't know, recharge their batteries, I guess you'd say.

SPEAKER_03 31:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Don't take the time throughout the week and they think Sunday morning is enough, and Sunday morning is not enough. You've got to do it on your own. Right. You gotta you gotta read some scripture, you have to have a prayer life.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

I was gonna say, which goes back to him saying, read your Bible and do what it says.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

This whole thing's connected. Like we're building on this, so we're building from last week obedience, and we're taking that and doing it this week too. And it's kind of like, well, how why is it so hard to obey? Why is it so hard to get into this new normal that we see is better? Uh hopefully you see it's better, but the world drags you back down. And so I think that's why like people have a hard time. We need to do a better job as Christians and followers of Christ of taking care of ourselves so we can stay in the new normal, like when things are going left and you want to go the right, like you put it.

SPEAKER_03 32:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

And then you'll be able to show people that. But you can't show people how to do it if you're on empty all the time. And you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

And I always think that if you mess up, you can always go back. Like, don't think that just because you have one mess up, like we talk about forgiveness in the Bible, how often we should forgive. You know, you might have forgiven someone a hundred times, and the hundred and one time you snap. You know, you're like, that's it. I've had enough, you know. Which trust me, that's a humbling place to now have to apologize to the person that you're supposed to be forgiving. But you're like, okay, actually, I apologize. I was wrong. And then you're starting to, no matter what they've done, you're trying to be the Christ-like person. It's hard.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

It is really hard, but the last thing I kind of wanted to he talked a little bit about the story of Mary and Martha in his sermon, where Jesus comes to visit for dinner, and Martha's running around like a crazy person trying to do all the things, prepare the food, make biscuits, you know, get the throw the pancakes away. She wasn't running around like a crazy person.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

She was probably being very helpful and very kind.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

She was she was doing what a good host would do. She was being hospitable and taking care of her guests, and you know, and her sister, Mary, she's like, Where's Mary? I can just picture this story like in my head. She's like in the kitchen, she's got stuff all over the paper and something's on fire on the everywhere. She's like, What's happening? Mary, where the heck is Mary? And she like walks over to the living room and looks out, and she's just Mary's just sitting there on the floor, like cross-legged, and just looking at Jesus, listening to him talk, and she gets ticked. She's like, What are you doing? And Jesus says, She's where she's supposed to be. And, you know, it's like, and Jesus isn't saying Martha's doing anything wrong. Yeah, it's not like it's bad that she is doing all these things, they're good things. It's really nice and it's very hospitable and stuff like that. I love the story because she's like, slow down, see what's most important right now, and in this moment. And Mary's understood what's important right now in this moment. Not that this is other other stuff isn't important or it's not good. Like we fill our lives with all these things, and it's good stuff. I go to basketball practice, take my kids to baseball, I go to field trips, I go do all these different things, I go watch a game or a sports thing. But before long, your life's filled with things, and you can be overwhelmed and you forget what's most important in the moment. I think Jesus is trying to remind us that you know you gotta make that time to stop. Don't do anything. Just give me 15 minutes of you in Jesus time. I think that will help in those moments of, you know, the hundredth time you have to forgive somebody or you know, all these little things that life throws at us. And it and it's a it's a constant thing. It's not a one-time thing. You don't just go to church on Sunday morning and expect your whole week to be good now. It's it's I'm gonna go and I'm gonna get something from church. I'm going to worship God. I'm gonna remind myself of who he is and what this life is supposed to be, this new normal. And then you gotta remind yourself every day, Monday through Saturday, the rest of the week. This is on your own, you know. That's what being a Christian is, I think. Would

Comfort, Risk, And Real Obedience

SPEAKER_00 35:45

you agree?

SPEAKER_02 35:46

Yeah, yeah, I definitely agree.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

Yeah. As a as a Martha, I agree. But it's about balance. I mean, what you're saying is true, you know, like Sunday mornings, I can get a little busy, but now I make sure that, you know, if someone was helping me in the kitchen and then they needed to go talk to somebody, I'm not like, where is that person? Right. Obviously, we just learned that. Or making time to make sure I get into the sanctuary or into class. But just as like parents, too, like what Cody's saying when we're taking care of our kids and oh, I don't know that I have time to read this morning or get into my Bible or go to Bible study. Those are those need to be important.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

And they need to be intentional too. Like I found myself even yesterday, like I wanted to do this Bible reading plan for the for the year. And it's like, you know, read your Bible every day and that's what you read. And I found myself, you know, I I got to read my Bible. It's like a I turned it into a checklist thing even yesterday. I was like, I need to do this, I haven't done it today. And I found myself reading it, but then it was just because I felt like I had to read it to check it off my list of things to do. And so you gotta be intentional about it. And it's hard to do that too, where you just like you know, you're supposed to I suppose to take a break, and then while you're taking your break, you're you're you're still not actually taking a break, or you're not actually reading your Bible because you want it to change you, you're just reading it because somebody told you to, or you it's the right thing to do. Um and I think that's a a huge thing to work on too, especially even even with me. Like yesterday, I found myself, I was like, I just read that and I did it not because I wanted to get something out of it, but because I I had to do my Bible plan. Yeah. I don't want it to I don't want it to be like that, and and I don't think God wants it to be like that either. Prayer or reading or spending time with him, don't make it a have to, make it a a get to. I really like that idea of you get to have this moment where you talk to God. You get to have this moment where you're anyway.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

And I don't think it's just it's not it's also not always just the spiritual side of it either. Sometimes we fill ourselves up with doing so much outside of our homes. Yeah. Or like, you know, outside of what my world consists of. And that that's been the biggest struggle I've had to really work on this last few months. So I'm heading the right direction with it. I've had to give up some things, but it's for the sake of growing my family and right, growing relationships that I have with the people in my household. So it's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

Yeah. But it's a it's a growing pain. I mean, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

Oh, yeah, all this is a process. The Christian life is a process. We're moving towards something, and it doesn't just happen, you know, because you decided you want it to happen. Be like, I decided I'm gonna follow Jesus and I want this to happen.

SPEAKER_01 38:46

That sounds easy.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

You know, now he's like, well, that's good. Now be ready to you know uh do your part and make some put some effort into it, and which if if you you know, if you claim to love Christ and you claim to want to follow him, then that's you're gonna work on it. You're gonna make sure. And the last thing I'll say is Matthew 6.33, where Jesus just gets done talking about worrying and being anxious and all that stuff, and he says, Seek first the kingdom of heaven. Seek first the kingdom of heaven. I think if you seek, seek him, seek what he wants, sink, seek the way that he wants us to live, and then everything else will fall into its place. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 39:28

Maybe yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:30

I mean, but you have to be prepared that it's not gonna look like what you think it's gonna look like.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

That's the biggest thing is you're like, as long as my focus is on God, everything's gonna fall into place. Then you're like, God, are you watching? Like, are you seeing what's happening?

SPEAKER_00 39:48

When it says when he says seek first the kingdom, seek first his kingdom, yeah, that is seek first before anything else. You are looking at it and be like, Does this fit the way? Jesus wants me to live. Does this fit into his kingdom, to his to his world? And that's what you're saying about people are like, well, you're gonna ask God about everything you do? Like you're gonna base your whole life on that's what being a if we're being honest, that's what following Jesus and being a Christian is supposed to be. Yes, it is the whole point of yes. I when I say yes to Jesus, I'm saying no to myself. Saying no to what I want and yes to what he wants.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

Hard to get used to. Because you go to do something, you're like, wait a minute. Jesus will stand right next to me right now, and he'd be like, Good job.

SPEAKER_00 40:34

And guess what? He is. Right. He is with us. And you know. Look over. I just think that that that's one of the most simple ways to put it is seek first the his kingdom and all things that we do. Seek him. If you do it, everything else will kind of fall into place if you're doing it, and not maybe how you want it to. It's not about what you want or how you want things to be placed. I'm gonna let God place them and where they go. And that's very difficult to do. Which, you know, that's what church and this podcast and and classes and and reading your Bible, it's all moving towards this wanting to give up me and more of Him.

SPEAKER_02 41:17

You know, like the sanctification process, right?

SPEAKER_00 41:19

Yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

Which I think John mentioned it on Sunday. I could have just thought it in my head, but once you've like if you

Why Monday Feels So Hard

SPEAKER_01 41:30

went to church or you listened to this or you did something, you're like, okay, I'm gonna do that. I'm going to read my Bible and do what it says, and I'm gonna seek the kingdom first. It's it's gonna be you really can't go back. Like once you start going that direction and you know the things that you know, you can't like once I know that something's a sin, I'm never going to not know. Like you can't just does that make sense? Like you can't go like just know you're going this direction. You're gonna know what God wants for your life. And once you've made the choice of choosing God over yourself, it does make choosing yourself hard. I mean, you can't flip-flop like that very well.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

If you if you want to follow Jesus and you want to do it right, it's gonna be hard. And you he really says, if you want to follow me, take up your cross every day and follow me, which is means what? Taking up your cross is a symbol of denying yourself, and it's an everyday thing. It's not uh, it will always be until we reach eternity with him, of battling against the world that we live in, battling against ourselves, our sinful nature that we have, you know. And the choice is a daily one. You gotta be like, all right, let's do it again. Don't get tired of doing what is good. Just uh because it will be, but it's better. And even when we think it isn't, like to us, what is good and what's better, sometimes we're like, well, it's not and feel better. Right. And trust him because he knows he made everything. So seek first, and the new normal doesn't mean that the darkness and the and the hard times disappear. Like I think John put it, the valley of the shadow of death quote at the end, maybe, if I remember right. I don't know. I listened to it a couple days ago, but the the new normal doesn't mean in my notes I have the new normal doesn't mean the valley of shadow the valley of the shadow of death disappears. It means you aren't afraid while walking through it. Struggles and trials still happen in the new normal, in the new way of living. But you don't have to be afraid of it. You don't have to give in to it, you don't have to be a part of it. It's out there and it's around you. You got a way now to get through. So I was like that quote when Psalm 23, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you comfort me. David's talking about it. He's still walking through the he's still walking through the valley. He's still down there. It's just not as it's not as scary anymore because he's got a shepherd with him, Jesus.

SPEAKER_03 44:24

But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:25

So cool. Uh anything else? I think I got through all the stuff I want to talk about.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

That was that was a lot. Yeah, it is. It's it's worth it. This life is worth it. You know, we we struggle every day, and it's it's sometimes it's an hourly choice to make the right decisions, but it's it's worth it. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 44:48

It's better. So all right. Well, we'll call it a day. Another episode in the books. What number was that? Number 12, I think. 12. 12. Okay. 12's a good number in the Bible. Um, we could we could do an episode about numbers in the Bible. That'd be cool. Numerology? 40, 12. Okay. Wasn't that a seven? Anyway. 88. 88.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

I don't know. 74.

SPEAKER_00 45:20

70.

SPEAKER_02 45:21

Okay, let's pray.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity we get to have conversations like this and just discuss and talk about you, talk about your ways. Help us to slow down in life, help us to focus on you when we need to. Help us to see you in all things and that you're working, and that your way's better, and that yeah, help us help us to not grow weary and not grow tired while we're trying to live this new normal the way that you ask us to. Be with uh everyone this week as we go out. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 46:01

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

Amen. All right, we'll talk to you guys next time. I don't know what our topic will be next week, but we might just continue this little as John goes through the new normal series. We might just follow him until he gets back to Romans, and then we'll go do something else because, well, we're going to. We're not gonna talk about. But yeah, thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on Rush Hour.