Podcast Episode Summary

CROSS TO COMMISSION | The New Covenant

2819 Church Podcast
Speaker: Arik Hayes
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, guest speaker Arik Hayes delivers a message titled The New Covenant as part of 2819 Church’s ongoing "Cross to Commission" series through the book of Matthew. Hayes dives deep into the concept and power of covenant, focusing on Matthew 26:26-30, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ institution of the New Covenant. Drawing from scripture and vivid personal experience, Hayes challenges listeners to trust in Christ’s unbreakable word and grace, explaining the significance of Jesus as the bread of life and the meaning of communion. The tone is heartfelt, transparent, and passionate, with a call to deeper faith and understanding of what it means to be in covenant with God.

Key Points & Insights

1. Personal Story: The Cost of Covenant Relationships

• (05:00 – 12:00)
  Hayes opens by sharing a personal business experience in which he worked for nearly a year for equity in a startup, only to have the agreement revoked.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Be careful who you actually get in relationship with, even on the business side... one is the integrity of the one that you’re making the covenant.” (11:45)

• He links failed human agreements back to the importance of knowing the integrity and faithfulness of those we covenant with, transitioning to God’s unbreakable covenant.

2. Understanding Covenant vs. Contract

• (12:00 – 14:30)
  • Westerners tend to conflate contracts (which can be broken) with the biblical idea of covenant (binding, making two parties one).
  • Notable Quote:

    “When they actually took covenant with someone, they were actually not even viewed as two separate people or entities. They were viewed as one. That’s one.” (13:50)

3. Scripture: Matthew 26:26-29 – The Lord’s Supper

• (14:30 – 16:00)
  • Hayes sets the stage for understanding Jesus’ institution of communion, highlighting the profound weight and context often lost in routine church practice.
  • Scripture Reference:
    Jesus gives bread and wine, saying, “This is my body… this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

4. Context from John 6: Jesus, The Bread of Life

• (16:00 – 34:00)
  • Jesus calls himself the bread of life, urging belief and intimacy with Him beyond empty rituals.
  • Only those drawn by the Father can come to Him; belief entails true, deep trust.
  • Notable Quotes:

    “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35, 18:00)
    “You think you just woke up and was smart enough to follow Him? No. We had darkened hearts, all of us were led astray.” (20:20)
    “He abandoned heaven to be with you, so you’ll never be abandoned again.” (21:10)

  • The assurance that Jesus will “never cast out” believers, securing their present and future.

5. Struggles with Belief & the Faithfulness of God

• (22:30 – 25:30)
  • Hayes candidly shares his own fears and doubts during financial and spiritual trials, identifying universal human struggles with trust.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Ultimately the fear was you can’t depend on Him. Those words are just words on the page… but even when you encounter some Judas-esqe movements, it never stops the will of God in your life.” (26:05)

6. Abiding in Christ—Our Part of the Covenant

• (36:00 – 38:40)
  • Hayes unpacks that our primary response is to abide in Christ and genuinely believe, rather than legalistic works.
  • Analogies:
    • Clinging to Christ like a traveler gripping a rickety bridge over a canyon (37:30)
    • The closeness of lovers as a model for intimacy with Jesus:

      “You ever tried to hug the person you’re in love with? You just feel like you can’t get close enough… That’s how we’re supposed to be with Christ in this world.” (38:10)

7. Meaning & Power of the New Covenant

• (40:00 – 46:00)
  • Communion is not mere ritual; it’s a spiritual participation in Christ’s sacrifice and oneness with Him. The blood means atonement, substitution, wiping the slate clean.
  • Notable Quotes:

    “He justified the ungodly… so holy and the blood was shed. That’s why we can’t trample over the blood.” (42:50)
    “Now we have access, not just to Him, but now we are one with Him.” (43:10)

    • Old gospel song referenced (“I Know It Was the Blood”) highlights the experiential knowledge of Christ’s sacrifice.

8. Assurance of Salvation & Hope of the Wedding Supper

• (48:00 – 52:00)
  • Hayes draws attention to Jesus’ promise that He will not drink the fruit of the vine “until that day… in my Father’s kingdom,” connecting it to the ultimate communal celebration with Christ.
  • Notable Quote:

    “There will at least be one time that I will partake. If you’re going to sip on something, let’s sip on something with the Savior when we all get together in heaven at the wedding feast of the Lamb.” (51:10)

  • Encouragement to let the hope of that future fuel faith and joy now.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Integrity of Covenant:

  “We deal with contract covenants with God, which is so difficult for us to even conceptualize in the West. Right? … At any given time, you can switch up on me. Not so with God.” (11:30)

• On Intimacy with Christ:

  “You just–oh my gosh–I mean, met my wife… you had your nose wide open… That’s how we supposed to be with Christ in this world: cleave and nestle in and try to get even closer, even though we’re already one.” (38:10)

• On Communion’s Purpose:

  “Communion… it is participation, that we are in Christ, and Christ in us… It’s a new and better covenant, not just access–oneness.” (43:10)

• On the Ultimate Hope:

  “Nothing on this temporal earth will be able to satisfy like being in full communion and presence on that day with our brothers and sisters, those that have gone on, and with the Savior.” (52:10)

Key Timestamps

• 0:00 – 05:00 — Welcome, honoring the pastor, introduction to biblical covenants
• 05:00 – 12:00 — Personal business/covenant story
• 12:00 – 14:30 — Explanation: covenant vs. contract
• 14:30 – 16:00 — Reading Matthew 26:26-29
• 16:00 – 34:00 — John 6 deep dive: Bread of Life discourse
• 22:30 – 25:30 — Personal faith and fear, application to trusting God
• 36:00 – 38:40 — What it means to abide and cleave to Christ
• 40:00 – 46:00 — The power of the blood, atonement, communion’s meaning
• 48:00 – 52:00 — The final cup: future hope of the wedding feast

Conclusion

Arik Hayes calls listeners to examine the object of their trust and the depth of their relationship with Christ. Through personal vulnerability and robust scriptural teaching, he urges the community to embrace the New Covenant: abiding, trusting, and cleaving to Jesus, who is dependable and faithful to every promise. The episode closes with a prayer for deeper dependence on God and the unshakable confidence that comes from His covenant.

“All that belonged to me I will never cast away… and I will raise them up on that day.” (51:50)

For further study:

• Matthew 26:26-30
• John 6:35-58
• The meaning of biblical covenants
• Revelation 19:6-9 (Wedding supper of the Lamb)