Why You Need the Cross

Summary

Podcast Summary: Church of the Highlands – Sunday Messages – Audio

Episode: "Why You Need the Cross"

Date: March 29, 2026
Host: Church of the Highlands
Primary Speaker: Pastor Dino
Main Scriptures: Romans 8:26–30

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Overview

This Palm Sunday message, “Why You Need the Cross,” centers on the profound meaning and relevance of the cross, bridging the groaning and suffering of life with the hope, transformation, and purpose found in Christ’s sacrifice. Pastor Dino walks through Romans 8:26–30, highlighting the assurance that God works all things for good for those who love Him, using stories, relatable humor, and practical encouragement. The episode culminates in an invitation to faith, reflected through communion and generosity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Palm Sunday and the Approach to Easter

• Significance of Palm Sunday: Marks Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem leading to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
• Reflection: Preparing hearts for the depth of the Easter story – pain, sacrifice, and ultimate victory (01:47–02:10).

Personal Testimony: First Easter After Salvation

• Pastor Dino shares the impact of his first Easter as a believer at 19:
  • Pulled an all-nighter with friends sharing faith; impromptu sunrise service, spontaneous (funny/self-deprecating) baptism in the ocean, and greeter enthusiasm at church (03:03–04:29).
  • Quote: “Ain't nothing like an all nighter. When you 19, when you 50, you die.” (03:29)

Romans 8:26–30: The "Holy Hinge"

• Scripture Reading and Application:
  • The Holy Spirit intercedes “with groanings… that cannot be uttered” when we can’t put pain into words (05:18–06:26).
  • Romans 8:28 stands as a “hinge”: Everything between our suffering and future glory turns on God’s purpose (07:59–09:47).
• Key Insight: Even in confusion, pain, or uncertainty, God is sovereignly weaving all experiences for our good.
• Quote: “I can hang my yesterday, I can hang my today, I can hang my tomorrow… on Romans 8:28.” (10:28–11:00)

What We Don’t, Can’t, and Should Know

• Humorous Life Observations: Unable to explain cell phone workings, why some things take so long (like Canes reaching Birmingham), or how to handle spousal discontent (11:48–12:06).
• Spiritual Reality:
  • Some things are unknowable (e.g., second coming’s timing).
  • Romans 8:28 is not just knowledge, but a “settled revelation” for those in Christ (12:56–14:49).
  • Quote: “He’s not saying this is new info. He’s saying this is a settled revelation.” (13:46)

"We Know": The Greek Word Otomon

• Deep Word Study:
  • Otomon: Present and continuing experience; we KNOW because we’ve seen God’s faithfulness, not because we wish or speculate (15:14–16:00).
• Analogies:
  • What nearly broke us, God used to build us (16:05–17:12).
  • “It didn’t feel good, it didn’t look good, but it sure did work some good.” (17:12)

Waffle House at 2am: God’s Working in the Ordinary

• Story of Encouragement:
  • After a hard travel night, meaningful conversation with an all-star cook at Waffle House about how God turned his life around—“It’s all good, because it’s all God.” (20:00–21:15)
  • Quote: “Waffle House at 2 in the morning is the center of the universe.” (20:46)

The Cross: From Pain to Purpose, Defeat to Victory, Death to Life

• The Path of Jesus:
  • Jesus’ suffering, abandonment, and crucifixion seemed like utter defeat—yet it was God’s plan for the resurrection and victory (22:17–25:29).
• The Cross as Romans 8:28’s Perfect Picture:
  • “The worst thing became the best thing.” (26:16)
  • “All the groaning of humanity on Jesus. But he stepped into glory.” (26:16–26:22)
  • Personal anecdote connected: Delann (Dino’s wife) singing “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down” (26:22–27:13).

Three Transformative Truths of the Cross

1. Pain Turns into Purpose

   • Jesus bore our pain; we’re encouraged to invite those in pain to church as their turning point (27:44–28:10).

2. Defeat Turns into Victory

   • When the devil thought he’d won, God was working behind the scenes (28:43–29:39).

3. Death Turns into Life

   • Seasons of feeling dead can be turned by Christ into new life; again encouragement to reach out and invite others (29:39–30:41).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Because when it’s all said and done and the dust settles and the smoke clears, here’s what I know: God is working for my good.” (11:15)
• “All these things that happen in your life that I thought were going to destroy me… Yeah, they shook me. They even left some scars… But we know.” (14:49)
• "It’s all good, because it’s all God." (21:13)
• “The cross is the perfect picture of Romans 8:28. The worst thing became the best thing.” (25:35, 26:16)
• "We all are searching how to figure out all these things in life… but we know we love Jesus, we lean into His purpose… all these things work." (30:48–31:01)

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Important Timestamps

• Welcome, contextual introduction (00:00–02:29)
• Personal first Easter experience (02:49–04:29)
• Scripture focus, Romans 8:26–30 (05:18–10:06)
• Life themes: what we don't/should know (11:35–14:49)
• 'Otomon' Greek word explanation (15:14–16:00)
• Waffle House story & God at work (18:25–21:56)
• Jesus’ suffering and the cross as fulfillment of Romans 8:28 (22:17–26:16)
• Threefold meaning of the cross: pain, defeat, death transformed (27:44–30:41)
• Call to faith, prayer of salvation (31:01–32:45)
• Instructions: next steps & generosity (32:45–34:36)
• Final prayer & preparation for communion (34:36–35:15)

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Tone and Style

• Approachable, warm, and often humorous—lots of relatable anecdotes and laughter.
• Scriptural exegesis blended with personal storytelling and practical application.
• Persistent invitation to reflect, connect, and act—especially toward inviting others for Easter weekend.

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For Non-listeners: Key Takeaways

• Romans 8:28 is central: No matter what pain, confusion, or defeat we face, God is working all things for good.
• The cross is the ultimate demonstration that what seems hopeless or tragic can become the foundation of new life, purpose, and victory.
• Believers are urged not only to embrace this hope for themselves, but to reach out and include others who are hurting or searching.
• The episode moves from teaching to invitation—to personal faith, generosity, and preparation for Easter celebration.

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Memorable Closing

• “Today we choose to see life through Romans 8:28. That’s our filter. That’s my filter right now.” (35:00)
• “Thank you for being the most generous church on planet. Literally around the world, we see things happening every day.” (33:39–33:54)

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In sum:
“Why You Need the Cross” is a heartfelt, practical, and lively message affirming that through Christ’s suffering and resurrection, every pain, defeat, and loss in our lives can become the seedbed of purpose, victory, and renewed life—because God is always working for our good.

Transcript

[A]

Sam. Oh, it's so good to see you again today.

[B]

Church of the Highlands.

[A]

I just love our church. I was coming out of subway the other day, lady walked by me and

[B]

all she said was, I love our church.

[A]

It just kept on rolling. Come on, let's clap our hands that we're in church today. We love God, we love our church, and we love you. Want to take a moment to welcome all of those that have joined us at one of our campuses. Thank you so much for being with us.

[B]

We are one church in many locations.

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And shout out to the Gadsden campus.

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Pastor Mark and Jill are there, just meeting you, loving you. They so enjoy that you don't want to forget.

[A]

Next weekend, Pastor Mark will be preaching

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all across the weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I know he's got a dynamic message.

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We'll talk a little bit about that.

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You do not want to miss that. I believe God is going to use all those moments.

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Incredible. And then let me just say how much we love you that are watching online.

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I know that's so important to be

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able to communicate with you today. And then those watching on demand, which I think is so super important because God just refreshes these moments for you. And then let me say to those

[B]

that are watching from our correctional facility,

[A]

we thank God for you. You are our family and we love you and we pray for you. Come on, Grantsville. Let's clap our hands for all those who have joined us today. Today is super special.

[B]

It is Palm Sunday, as we've heard

[A]

and talked a little bit about already.

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It is the triumphant entry into Jerusalem

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and I love how it leads to Good Friday. Pastor Chris always says it was good for us, but it was not good

[B]

for the Son of God, cause of everything that he took on him and

[A]

the price that he paid on Good Friday and of course, Saturday.

[B]

And then we get into Resurrection Sunday.

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I'm looking forward to all those moments. We are praying to prepare our own heart. We are preparing whether it's the logistics side of it, which service, which location on the Highlands app so we can know all those things. And then we're just participating, looking around, noticing head on swivel. Is there anyone that we should reach

[B]

out to include or invite into our resurrection weekend experience? And I know that is gonna be a great time. So don't forget about that. I've enjoyed this Romans 8 as we've let into.

[A]

I think Romans 8 has been a

[B]

great preparing for all of our hearts so that the Holy Spirit can speak to us where we're at right now, as we get ready for that Resurrection Sunday.

[A]

I remember my first Easter. I'd given my life to Jesus Christ

[B]

in the summer before Easter at 18 years old.

[A]

And then I turned 19 years old. And so that winter I worked.

[B]

And then we started our summer business.

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And so I was fired up at Easter. I was so excited to celebrate my first Easter as a believer, as someone who loved God and had found his grace. And. And so I worked that Saturday night about 11 o'. Clock. And then a couple buddies of mine, they showed up, we went out and we shared our faith with people.

[B]

And we're just talking to people about

[A]

Christ and sharing our story, inviting people out late at night, went to about 2 in the morning. We got fired up, pulled an all nighter.

[B]

Come on, somebody.

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Ain't nothing like an all nighter. When you 19, when you 50, you die.

[B]

It's just not gonna work for you.

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But I was 19 years old pulling that all night. We ended up at a little beach shack eating some hot dogs. And we showed up at a sunrise service, fired up.

[B]

And it was a little somber sunrise service.

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So we weren't expecting that we were not of the somber bunch. And so we got done. We were so fired up, we jumped in the ocean. Just had a impromptu let's baptize ourself and jumped in the ocean and went on up to church early. And we're praying for the service and praying for our pastor. Went there the worship practice, was excited about that. We just kind of deputized ourself to be greeters and excited on the front row saying amen. Cause you know what? I knew, I knew that I had some guests coming. And I knew that my participating could impact them in a positive light. Cause I didn't know what their experience had been. So it was a great day with church. And then we left there and went to Ryan's. Glory to God. Y' all don't know nothing about Ryan's.

[B]

And then we crashed for three days. I didn't wake up. It was fabulous Resurrection weekend.

[A]

So you don't wanna miss all the things that are gonna happen.

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I just love leading up to it and I love leaning into these moments. And I have so enjoyed this series. I love the passage of scripture that I get to talk about today. Romans 8, 26, 30. And I'll share for. I feel like God's laid some things on my heart. And then we'll have a time where people can invite Jesus into their hearts,

[A]

which is what it's all about.

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And then we're gonna receive communion together.

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And so I'll close us out.

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So don't stay with me. Just stay with me, and I'll finish up the service. But it'll end with that meaningful time being in communion with the Lord. And so if you have your Bibles, we'll look at Romans, chapter 8, verse 26 through 30. I'm gonna read it two different ways.

[A]

I'm gonna read it in order, and then I'm gonna read it out of order. But don't panic. No one panic. It's okay that I can read it in the structure.

[B]

Okay, so Romans 8, 26, 30. Let's read this. It says, likewise, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for. That happens as we ought. But the Spirit himself. I love that the person of the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings. There's that word groaning.

[A]

Talked a little bit about it last week in part four, which cannot be uttered. It's the idea of, have you ever been so low or so down you didn't even have words to describe what you were walking through? Amen. Have you ever been to a place where you didn't even know how to pray? You couldn't even hardly say the words because of the pain or the disappointment

[B]

that you were facing?

[A]

That's what he said.

[B]

There's these.

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These moments that we go through.

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We can't even put words to it Now.

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He who searches the hearts knows what

[B]

the mind of the Spirit is because

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he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

[B]

It always gets down to the will of God.

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Verse 28, Romans 8. 28. Just saying that Scripture brings comfort to my heart because. And we know that all things work together for the good. To those who love God. Come on. To those who are called according to

[B]

his purpose, for whom he foreknew, he also predestined. He conformed to the image of His Son.

[A]

It's always about choosing to live your

[B]

life in the image of Jesus, that

[A]

He might be the firstborn among the brethren. Moreover, he predestined. These he also called. I love that whom he called, he also justified. And. And whom he justified. These he also glorified. It's important, the Scripture that says so much to us about the idea of the groaning and the glory and what happens in between. Now, I'm gonna read them out of order, and I'm gonna read them out

[B]

of the new living translation. So just don't. Don't. It's okay. Stay still. Verse 26. And the holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings. There's that wordless pain that cannot be expressed in words.

[A]

And the Father who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying. For the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. Gonna skip a verse and go to 29. For God knew his people in advance. He chose them to become like his son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. That is so important. Having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. And then verse 28. Cause I believe verse 28 is like a hinge and it's connecting 26 and 27 to 29 and 30. If you read it that way, and I've studied it some, because what's happening in 26 and 27, we're learning about how important it is that we have communion with God, that we pray first and that we trust the Holy Spirit to help us. But then what happens in 29 and 30? Watch me in 29 and 30. It's talking about the transformation. And when we are conformed into the image of Jesus that, that's so important that no matter what we go through, no matter what we face, no matter what we have to handle, no matter what is put on us, we wanna make sure and we wanna lean into the fact that no matter what happens, I'm gonna be like Jesus. And the only way I can do it is with the help of the Holy Spirit and with the help of the Holy Spirit, then I can be conformed even in the midst of this battle. Why? Because of 28. It swivels it back and forth in life. Because we know. We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who. Who love God and are called according to his purpose.

[B]

Can I have a good amen for God's word? Wow, I love that. John chapter 13 is my life chapter. When I was in the 20s. When I was in my 20s, John 13 became kind of the chapter of my life. Helps when I need to serve, when I need to be. Outreach, reaching out to other people.

[A]

But Romans 8:28, about 13 years ago, became my life verse. No matter what happens, no matter what I'm going through. I Learned in Romans 8:28, no matter what happens, I can hang my Life. I can hang my yesterday, I can hang my today, I can hang my tomorrow. I can hang my what happened? I can hang my now and I can hang my Next on Romans 8:28, 20. Because I know that God is working. No matter what I face, no matter what I feel, no matter what I'm navigating, I know one thing that God Almighty, in his sovereignty and in his providence, in his goodness and in his care, he is going to work all things for my good life verse. Because when it's all said and done and at the end of the day, when the dust settles and the smoke clears, here's what I know. That God is working for my good.

[B]

I know it. I know it. I thought about this a little bit. There are definitely certain things that we just don't know. Let's talk about life for a second. There's some things we just don't know.

[A]

I still cannot figure out how my cell phone works.

[B]

I can't figure it out.

[A]

I can't figure out why it took

[B]

so long for Keynes to come to Birmingham. Can't figure out that for the world of me. I do not. I still can't figure out what to

[A]

say to my wife when she says,

[B]

I'm not happy with you. Can you tell me why? There are some things we don't know. There are some things that we can't know. Y' all liked that, didn't you?

[A]

Every man in here is like, yeah, I love that, dude. Yeah, I got you, man. I got you.

[B]

I feel you. Yeah, we in it. There are some things in life we can't know. We do not know the hour or the day of our Lord's return. Impossible.

[A]

You may know the season, signs of

[B]

the times, but we do not know the day or the hour of the Lord's return. I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I just can't know it. But I know that God's got me. So there's some things we don't know. There's some things we can't know.

[A]

And then there's some things we should know.

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We should know these things. Dino should know that a brownie before bed is not good for me. That's not protein. That worrying, worrying, worrying, worrying will not fix your problems.

[A]

That the idea of inviting someone, even if you feel like they're far from

[B]

God, to Easter, could be a turning point in their life. We should know that by now. Is that an idea? Paul is not saying in Romans 8:28, you should know all these things work together. You should know them he's not even

[A]

saying, I just want you to get

[B]

to know them over time.

[A]

I just want you to.

[B]

Maybe you will, maybe you won't. It's okay. No, no, no. What he's saying right there, and I love it.

[A]

You already know for we know not new info. He's not saying this is new info. He's saying this is a settled revelation by now that if you love him and you're called according to his purpose, you're doing your best to lean into his purpose. You ought to know right now. You say, well, Dino, I mean, sometimes I feel like my knowing is not working. My knowing is checked out. No, no, no, no. How do we know all these things are going to work out? Because of the experience of a life of a Christ follower. You don't even have to be old like me to know it. You'd be 16 years old, 26 years old, 56 years old. You can see through your life experience that all these things that happen in your life that I thought were going to destroy me, all these things, all these binge thoughts that I had that I thought were gonna hurt me. And yeah, they shook me. They even left some scars. I even called them disasters.

[B]

But we know we learned a Greek word last week. We're going to learn another Greek word. The Greek word we learned last week was apocado do quio. Apocado du quijo. This week. The Greek word is a good word. It's otomon. Otomon. It's the Greek word where we see at the beginning of that text, that sacred text, Romans 8, 28.

[A]

We know Otoman.

[B]

It's a verb.

[A]

It's in present tense, but because of the Greek root, it moves it almost in between present tense and future tense. It's like stuck in between.

[B]

Follow me.

[A]

It's saying, we know why. I know because I've already seen it. I know because I've already experienced it. I know because I've already realized it. I know because I've already said surrender to it. I'm not guessing anymore about this. Matter of fact, I have settled it in my heart that I know now and I know in my next. Come on, somebody. That God is working for my good Ottoman.

[B]

We know because of experience.

[A]

You know that thing that you thought it was going to break me.

[B]

I look back now, it built me.

[A]

You know that thing that happened? Think about it. You know that thing. Remember that season? Remember that situation? And you thought it, it's going to end me.

[B]

It's going to end my marriage. It's going to end everything.

[A]

It did end me. I got some scars and it's painful. But I look back now, it actually equipped and empowered me for where I'm at today. So I know, I know he did it then. I know he'll do it now. You don't even have to be a Christian. You don't have to be old. You can be 15 years old and already know. Because I actually survived something that I thought was going to sink me. It didn't feel good, it didn't look good,

[B]

but it sure did work some good. So I know. I thank God for the scripture. I thank God for the trust of the scripture. I know, I know, I know. The other day I was trying to get home from preaching out. I was trying to get back here. Tired, wasn't feeling great, lot going on. Trying to get to Atlanta airport. I'm delayed, atl. I was going to be late. Delay, delay, delay. Get to ATL about 12, 1 o' clock in the morning, miss my flight. And I was. I had so many things in my mind. I gotta get home. Have you ever been so tired and just frustrated and down that you just want to get in your bed? Come on. Auburn. Where you at? Auburn. I know you work with me. Come on, Come on. Louisiana. The whole state of Louisiana. You just. I just want to go to bed.

[A]

Have you ever said that?

[B]

I just need to go to bed

[A]

And I'm in atl. I ain't sleeping at the airport. I go get a rental. I got the last rental. I got like a cutlass, like a 92 cutlass, like a Buick Skylark left out there. Only car left. Just I get in that Buick, man. It's old. And when I got into Buick, all my things that I'm working through got

[B]

in with me, ride with me. Pressure, pain, stress, worry. I'm riding late.

[A]

Oh, no. I needed counseling. So I had a counseling session. I went to Waffle House.

[B]

That's where my counselor is.

[A]

Come on. You know when you feel. When you see that, you feel good. Work with me. When you see that, emotionally I feel better. Why? There's healing and scattered, covered and smothered.

[B]

Some healing. And so I pull in. I always sit at the bar. Cause I love watching them cook. Geniuses. It's like, man, one of these days I'm gonna apply here, see if I can figure out how to be a fry cook and all star cook. I want to work at Wolf Wow's. And I just start talking to the guy.

[A]

And I'm thinking about a lot of things.

[B]

We connect. And he says, yeah, man, I've been here three years. Three years. He said, I've been through some things. Okay, you've been through some things. I've been through some things.

[A]

He said my life hadn't always been this successful.

[B]

Talk to me.

[A]

He said, I had a job three years. He said, I just got promoted. Team lead. All star chef. I'm leading this whole location.

[B]

I said, man of God. He said, glory, Holy Ghost. We about to. So what you talking about?

[A]

He said, man, let me tell you something. He looked at me, he said, I've been through some stuff. And he said, but it's all good. What you talking about, all good? I said, it's all good. He said, it's all good. Hey, we two in the morning at Waffle House. He said, it's all good.

[B]

And let me tell you something.

[A]

Waffle House at 2 in the morning

[B]

is the center of the universe.

[A]

Lady came in with some Sasquatch, furry slippers. Dude after her came in in a robe like he'd been at a spa. He said, it's all good because it's all God. I said, Romans 8. I started shouting. I said, glory to God. Give me another Hash Brown.

[B]

I said, not today, devil. I'm in my purpose. I'm supposed to be here.

[A]

I blessed everybody. I blessed everybody on the staff.

[B]

I said, I just.

[A]

Biggest tip I could give them. I just said, I'm blessing everybody. They looked at it. The lady said, oh, Lord, best week of my life. The dude came out from around the county.

[B]

He was like, come on, let's bring it in. I was like, man, let's hug it up.

[A]

2:00am Waffle House. Let me tell you something, devil. I am getting in that Buick. I am blessed. You are working, God, you are working. Oh, come on. Clap your hands. You are working. Not today, devil. Not today. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And Jesus goes to the cross. The pain, the lead up, the arrest, the betrayal, the crown of thorns.

[A]

Where are my disciples? They've run away.

[B]

Alone.

[A]

The Pharisees are laughing. The Romans are ridiculing. The religious leaders are saying among themselves, we have won. That fanatic, that false person, that false teacher. He'll be silenced now.

[B]

Will send them to the cross,

[A]

the

[B]

symbol of pain, death and our suffering. Savior, the Lamb of God goes to the cross. It's Friday. And Jesus goes to the cross for crimes he did not commit

[A]

and sins

[B]

he did not commit. He bore our iniquities. He carried the weight of our sin. But for the joy. For the joy set before him. He Endured the cross. This is the greatest Picture of Romans 8:28. God.

[A]

The Pharisees thought they were winning. The devil thought he was winning. But God was working. God was working all of it.

[B]

I love what Colossians says. When Jesus went to the cross, said

[A]

he canceled the record of charges against us. Took it away. By nailing it to the cross in this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and the authorities. He shamed them publicly. Why? By his victory on the cross. Friday happened.

[B]

But Friday was not the end.

[A]

Friday was actually the beginning. What the devil thought was the end was actually the beginning. And Jesus died on that cross. And they put him in a tomb. But hey, hour, days, hours. Something began to happen. Something began to happen. And on the third day, our Savior was risen. Our Savior came out of the empty tomb with the keys of death, hell and the grave. As a victorious savior. As. As the King of glory. Oh, he went as a suffering savior. He was the Lamb of God. We don't get stuck on Friday. We move all the way to Sunday. And because he died, we could be alive. This is. This is Romans 8:28. God working.

[B]

It's right there. Betrayal, pain, suffering, sin. God worked. It is the holy hinge of eternity. Everything weighed in the balance. Jesus was obedient as a son, as a sacrifice, and he is now seated at the right hand of the Father. So the big idea that speaks into your life, that speaks into our world, is the cross is the perfect Picture of Romans 8:28. The worst thing became the best thing.

[A]

All the groaning of humanity on Jesus.

[B]

But he stepped into glory. Glory. Because that grave did not hold him down. When Delann and I were dating, she was at a church service one night. About 10,000 people in the church service. She got up to sing an old song. Thought about it yesterday. Ain't no grave gonna hold my body down Ain't a grave going to hold my body down Ain't all right going to hold my body down When I hear that trumpet sound, I'm going to get up out that ground because there ain't no grave going to hold my body down.

[A]

She sang that, and I was, like,

[B]

in love with her. And I'm in love with that song. I'm going to land this plane before we get into communion. Share that special time believing for people to invite Jesus into their hearts. Dino, summarize it for me. I wrote down three things the cross means to us. Here's what it means to us. This is where pain turns into purpose. A lot of pain turns.

[A]

Are you in Pain right now.

[B]

He bore your pain. Are you in pain? Pain here, true, but Jesus turns it into perfect. But not only are you in pain, do you know someone in pain? There's somebody that you're close to right now who needs a turning point in their life.

[A]

And can I encourage you? Maybe it's a family down the street.

[B]

Can I encourage you?

[A]

Why don't you invite them out on Saturday night?

[B]

Saturday night? Got a whole lot of things going on for kids and family on Saturday night at the, at the locations we're having it. So if you're in pain, we're going to believe God for you today. But maybe you know someone in pain. Include them, invite them. Maybe their pain will turn into purpose. In Jesus name. Just being here, being at a location will say just feeling love, feeling family. Here's the second thing that it means to us is that I love this. Defeat turns into victory.

[A]

This is where defeat, the devil thought

[B]

he won turns into victory. I can't wait for you to hear about victory next week when Pastor Mark unpacks that. It's going to be unbelievable. This is where defeat turns into victory. Do you. Do you feel defeated? Do you feel defeated?

[A]

Do you feel like you're losing? Do you feel like you're not winning? The devil thought he won. While he thought he won, God was working. Do you feel defeated right now?

[B]

Maybe you know someone that feels defeated. Maybe they're in the sorority with you. Maybe they're a fraternity brother. Maybe they play baseball with you.

[A]

Can I encourage you? Invite them on Friday night.

[B]

It's good Friday. I believe God will touch their hearts

[A]

that could you be waiting on someone to just say it's just something about this ripe season.

[B]

Someone will say yes Friday night. How about this? It's not only a place where pain turns into purpose. Defeat turns into victory. Death turns in to life. Feel like I'm dying. Do you feel like you're dying? Do you feel like you've died a thousand deaths? Feel like nothing's alive. I've been through seasons like that, my friend. To where death turns into life.

[A]

Do you know somebody right now?

[B]

Say, man, nothing's working for them. Why don't you send him a text? Say I'll meet you next Sunday. Come with me next Sunday. Just one week away. It's gonna be awesome. I'll meet you. I'll hang out with you. I just want to spend time with you.

[A]

We just happen.

[B]

We just happen to do it inside this building called a church.

[A]

Really.

[B]

I just want to spend down with you. Just Let them know.

[A]

Because you know what I know about people, because I know this about myself.

[B]

We're all searching.

[A]

We're all searching how to figure out all these things in life, all these things that are coming at us.

[B]

But we know we love Jesus. We lean into his purpose. We know all these things work. Amen. I love the scripture. Maybe you're here today and you're searching. Here's the search ends here. And it begins here. It's the ending and beginning. It's for you. I want to pray for you. Why don't you bow your heads and then we'll have a moment of generosity and then we'll receive communion together. So just stay with me. Maybe you're searching and you feel far from God. You just want to invite Jesus into your heart. Father, I pray for every person, Lord, that you would just let them know how much you love them. You died for them. You went to that cross for their sins. Maybe you feel far from God. The cross brings it all together and then there's resurrection. If you're here today and you say, dino, I need to give my life to Jesus Christ, will you pray a prayer like this right out of your heart, right where you're at right now, Just pray this out of your heart. Say, jesus, I give you my life. Forgive me of my sins. I believe you died, you rose again. I confess you today. Today I do, as my Lord and Savior, in Jesus name, Amen. Can we clap our hands for all those who made a decision? Just hold tight.

[A]

Let me just say this.

[B]

If you made that decision, because we're not done yet, but I want to talk to you for those who made that decision. If you take your phone out, because we want to connect with you, we don't want to connect with you to house, we want to connect with you

[A]

to help you have a pathway, a next step. I would not be here today if when I made a decision for Jesus

[B]

Christ, I didn't have a pathway. So you take your phone and there's

[A]

this, this icon on the back of a seat.

[B]

You can tap that and there's going to be some fields that come where

[A]

you can, you can let us know about your decision because we want to celebrate that. And then we can give you some

[B]

next steps because we all need them. I needed them.

[A]

So you can do that at this

[B]

time, just take a moment and do that super important. And then we're going to receive our offering. And then we're going to pass two buckets. Today there's going to be one for your Generosity, and then one for communion to get your elements out. So let the one go by you, then grab the second one, take your

[A]

elements, hold them in your hand.

[B]

We're going to worship together, and then we're going to receive them together. Can I just say thank you for being the most generous church on planet. Literally around the world, we see things happening every day. You're all involved with that, planning new churches, helping pastors, and then even at

[A]

the level of one person, our Woodlawn campus and our dream center and some others came together, said, let's be a blessing to someone during this time. So they put together some care packets. They're opening up opportunities for our precious TSA workers where we can bless them, pray with them, give them a care packet. I think that's a great idea of generosity. Thank you, church y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

Wow, y' all some wild people doing stuff like that. That's all a reflection of your. The faith. Without the faithfulness of your tithe and offering and being generous, those ideas don't get to happen. And then someone doesn't get to receive an act of generosity that could turn into freedom and encouragement.

[B]

So just thank God for that. So thank you for being faithful. I know many of you give online things like that. You're just so generous. So I'm gonna pray for our generosity time, our offering, and then we're gonna say amen. Pass the two buckets, and we'll hold onto those elements together. Father, thank you for all those who made a decision for Christ. Thank you that today we choose to see Life through.

[A]

Romans 8.

[B]

28. That's our filter. That's my filter right now. I'm choosing that filter.

[A]

I'm choosing that lens.

[B]

Lord, thank you for the generous people of Highlands. Bless them.

[A]

Use it to be the hands and

[B]

feet of Jesus and to introduce people to the son of God. Bless your people in Jesus name. Amen.