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Well, if I haven't had the chance to meet you, my name is Jordan McCaslin. I'm one of the executive pastors here. Thanks for that. Let's go. And it just means I get to oversee a bunch of the stuff that you participate in as a church. And, man, I'm really grateful. Quick story about me. I just celebrated my 13th workaversary here at Red Rocks Church. And the reason that's significant is because if you'd have asked me maybe 15 years ago, I would have said there's no way I'm ever going to be a pastor. And then the first time I visited Red Rocks Church, I didn't even like it. All right? And so if you don't think that God has a sense of humor, you just haven't told him that you're not going to do something enough times. Right. But as I look back, I just see a place that I fell in love with a long time ago. And I don't know how you found yourself here tonight, but can I just tell you that you're in a good place? I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. And there is not a church I would rather be a part of. There is not a staff I would rather work with. And then there are not leaders that I would rather follow than Shawn and Jill Johnson. And so you're in a good place regardless of why you find yourself here. You can struggle here and you can heal here, and you can grow here. And so just know that we're really glad you're here. You've already been prayed for, and it's not an accident that you find yourself at Red Rocks Church tonight. So thank you for joining us. We just ended our Young Bucks series last weekend. Did anyone love that series? It was good. Campus pastors brought it home. Go ahead and make some noise for your campus pastors everywhere. Come on. You've got an amazing crew of campus pastors. Now, I bring that up because I'm not really sure how I feel about this, but they knew I was preaching this week, and yet they did not extend the Young Buck series one more week. I feel maybe a little bit hurt. And so I did something. Okay. And maybe it's in spite. I'll let you guys be the judge of that. But I decided rather than a standalone message, I'm gonna do for the first time in Red Rock's history, a one weekend and one weekend only miniseries. So I got with the creative team, we put together a graphic. I want you guys to check it out. Yeah, creative You've done it again. Middle aged bucks. If that doesn't scream church, I wanna be a part of, I don't know, I don't know what does. Is there a point in time when you're just so deep in daddom that you don't even realize you're making a bad joke? I'm realizing that right now in this moment. Young bucks, middle aged bucks. Well, because it's my not standalone message, but one week miniseries, I got to choose what I was going to preach on today. And so whenever I have that opportunity, what I do is I go to my vast, vast pool of weaknesses. And I believe firmly that if you preach from your weaknesses, you will never run out of material. And so look, if you get nothing else out of this today, just know one of your pastors is up here being authentically him, really just preaching to himself, hoping that somebody out there will get something out of this. Sound good? All right, well, if you've got your Bibles, we're going to be in the book of Matthew today. If you don't have your Bibles, it's okay. You can follow along on the screen. We're going to be in Matthew 11:28 30. And it says this. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. Some versions say, burdened and I will give you rest. He says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, if you've been a part of church or around church, more than likely you're familiar with that verse. If this church thing is new to you, I just want to let you know that this verse right here, this is one of our storied, fabled favorite coffee cup verses. Christians love this verse, don't we? And I was thinking about it this week. I was thinking, why, why do we love this verse so much? And I think there's a couple reasons. Is it that we see lots of people walking around weary and heavy laden that need rest? Yeah, I think that's part of it. Is it that there's not a person on the planet that couldn't use a little bit of rest for their souls? Yeah, that's for sure. Part of it is an easy yoke and a light burden. Sound refreshing? Yeah, I think all of that stuff. But as I was studying and thinking and praying this week, I think it's actually deeper than that. I think we love it because that verse is actually presenting us A formula for peace. So have you ever had a conversation with somebody or heard something that kind of just put words to something you've known to be true in your spirit and you just never have words for. Or you were listening to a podcast and someone said something and something just clicked and all of a sudden it made sense. Right. I think that's what this verse is for our souls. It's actually an invitation to live in a new way. And what Jesus is showing us is how to move and act and be in the world. And the beautiful part about this is it is not try harder or strive more or run faster. It's just. Just come be with me, walk with me, learn from me. Let me help you. I think that calls to something deep inside of us and actually dares us to hope a little bit. Could that be true, what Jesus is saying? Like, could that be true for my life and church? You'll see why in a moment. But I'm not sure I've ever wanted something so badly, both for myself and for the amazing people that God has called me to pastor and to lead, which is you guys, by the way. I don't know if you connected that dot, but it's you. I want this for you. I want this for me. And not just because I believe deeply that this would fundamentally change your life and how you go about your life. But when I look at Red Rock's church as an army, I don't think there's a group of people that are deeply rooted, grounded, not prone to blow and toss with all the things that life could throw at us that are not an absolute nightmare for our adversary. Amen. Like. Like, the Bible tells us that the war that we are in is not against flesh and blood, but it's against the rulers and the principalities of this current darkness. Right? Your enemy is not your neighbor. It's not that person at work or at school. There's a bigger story going on. And I think a group of people, rooted and grounded, like, we talk a lot about going to change the world, know God, live on purpose, go change the world. A group of people rooted and grounded and steadfast can actually do that. And I believe that it's available. I believe it's actually possible. We just have to know where to look. So I'm gonna pray for us really quick. We'll get after it. Father, we love you so much. Thank you for gathering us in this space, God. Thank you for another day of life and breath. Not to strive or to work hard, but to know you God, I pray that you would go before my words. No one in this room needs an inspiring message that gets them fired up as far as they get to their car. They need transformation. I need transformation, Father. And so I ask that you would take my words and do what they are powerless to do on my own. You do the heavy lifting and help us to walk out of this place a little bit different than we walked in. We love you, and it is in your name. Everybody said, amen. There's an old story from ancient Rome that goes something like this. There's a. There's a Seleucid king named King Antiochus Epiphanes iv. And this king is a bit. He's a bit petous, a bit unpredictable, and at this point in time, a bit warmongering. He's going around conquering all these territories, and he finds himself on the doorstep of Alexandria in Egypt. And he's thinking about invading, and no one really knows what he's going to do. Now, Rome at that time, does not control that territory, but they do not want that region stabilized. And so they do not want a war. And so what they do is they send an envoy, a guy named Gaius Popilius. I butchered that. I even practiced it. I butchered it. Sent a Roman envoy, and that was his name. And he intercepts King Antiochus Epiphanes. And does he lecture him? Does he tell them that Rome is mighty, this is going to go bad for you. Does he tell them that a war with Egypt is actually a war with Rome? No, no, no. What he does is he bends down with a stick and he draws a circle, the dirt all around King Antiochus Epiphanies. And he says, sir, before you leave this circle, you must choose war or peace. And in that moment, it's not about the dirt, okay? That circle, that line in the sand, that represents clarity, that represents a boundary. That represents a moment of decision. You cannot stall any longer, sir. You have to make a choice. And it works. And for whatever reason, King Antiochus decides to withdraw his troops, and war is averted, and subsequently, thousands of lives are saved. What scholars agree on is that what this Roman envoy did was actually brilliant. And it's a tactic that we know in modern psychology and behavioral science known as choice architecture. And it's kind of a. It's a complicated holistic theory, but there's a really simple basic principle, and it is this. A clear, present invitation reduces ambiguity and demands engagement. A clear and present invitation reduces ambiguity and demands engagement. And so for those of you Taking notes. Need I remind you, note takers get into heaven first. You all know that. For those of you taking notes, my message title is Circles in the Sand. Circles in the Sand. I was doing some research today, as one does, preparing a message for a group of people, and I was kind of wondering, like, I'm preaching for my weaknesses, this whole peace thing, and hurry, Like, I feel that deeply, is this just a me thing, or is this something other people struggle with? And you won't be surprised to find out that it is something other people struggle with. In fact, in 2024, there was a survey done that said 43% of US adults, they said they felt more anxious than the previous year, which was up from 37% in 2023, 32% in 2022. So you've got this growing trend of anxiety. By May of 2025, 67% of Americans said that they were anxious about current events, including 62% about their families, 61% about their bills, 59% about their health, and 40% specifically about. About job security. Now, those just sound like numbers. And so I want to. I want to kind of drive this home and make it real. All right? And so go with me on this. We have, as a church, a summer attendance of about 10,000 people. That's kind of all of our campuses, all of our service time, all that stuff, right? And so imagine for one weekend, we decide we're not going to do all the campuses and the service times. We're going to bring everybody together in one big room and do one service, and everybody shows up. It's miraculous, right? And so we got 10,000 people in one room. And I go through this exercise with them, and I ask for some participation. And I say, if any of these apply to you, would you please stand up? And so I ask, is anyone in this room feeling more anxious than they did last year? And somewhere around 4,300 people would stand up, and I would say, thank you for your honesty. Go ahead and grab a seat. And then I would ask another group, are any of you feeling anxious about current events? And around 6,000 people would stand up, and then they would sit, and I would ask, is there anybody in this room that's feeling a bit unsettled or worried about some dynamic with their family? And around 6,200 people would stand up, and then I would ask, is anyone in this room feeling anxious or unsettled or worried about your bills? And around 6,100 people would stand up, and then they would sit, and I would ask A question about your health. Is there anything about your health that's making you feel anxious? And somewhere around 5,900 hundred people would stand up, and then I would ask about their job. Is there anything about your job that's making you feel insecure or worried? And around 4,000 people would stand up. Like, that's a lot of people. Church. And this is a small list, but it does have some of the more significant things people might be worried about. But that's a lot of people. And so then I continued to do some research, because hurry is another thing that I feel deeply like I'm going too fast. Maybe this is something someone else feels too. And what I found was a Pew Research center study that said that 52% of adults surveyed were usually trying to do more than one thing at the same time. So 52% of people trying to do two things at one time, at least 60% of those people reported that sometimes they feel too busy to enjoy their life. 60%, 12% said that they feel that way all the time. They're too busy to enjoy their life. Parents, if you've got kids under the age of 18, 75% of those people said, I often feel too busy to enjoy my Life. And almost 20% said they feel that way most of the time. Now, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know the studies around perceived time pressure and anxiety and what it actually affects. Mental focus goes down the tube, increases stress, weakens self control. And we know this like we know this about ourselves. In fact, they did one more study on a community. And 82% of the people surveyed said that they felt like their life was too fast. 70% believed that it was harming their health. 76% said they believed it was harming their social life. 55% said it was harming their spiritual life. And 92% of people said that they had increased levels of stress and depression. And so we look at that body of research and we look at this verse in Matthew and we go, oh, of course we love that verse. Because if we could see, like an actual picture of the illustration we just did where we're all in one room, people are standing up. You're going to look at a of people that are feeling weary and burdened, that desperately need rest for their soul. And for the critic in the room, yes, those surveys were not overtly Christian. But do any research on Christians and Christianity and you'll know that the currents of our culture do not stop at the church door. Now, here's some potential tension that you might be feeling. And I had to think through this and I think it's important because if you know our church, this is your church, you've been here for a little bit, you know, we have a word of the year for 2025, which is, let's go more. A plus is for all of you. Well done. More. So we turned 20 in January. Congratulations, you're 20 now, maybe close to graduating college. I don't, I don't really remember, but you're 20. And rather than believing that our best days were behind us and riding off into the sunset, we said, no, no, no, no, we're actually believing that God's not done with the sun, this place. We're going to believe Ephesians 3:20 that to him who is able to do abundantly more for our church and for the people of our church. But if we're not careful, you just hear that word more and you go, bro, I don't think anyone needs anything more right now. Right? If you're not careful, right? You hear that word, you make some quick assumptions and you miss what that verse is actually inviting you to believe about. Your see, the peace and the rest that Jesus is calling us to in Matthew is actually not in tension with what Paul is talking about in that book of Ephesians. Both of these are taking a different direction at the same truth, which is this. It's all about him that more that we're talking about, it's to him who is able to do abundantly more according to his power. That's worked within us. So this year, church, like your life in general, it's not about what you can do under your own power. It's never been about that. Do you know what that's like? That's like my two year old daughter with a wet wipe thinking she's been equipped to clean the entire house, right? Like in her mind, she's got it, she's got a cleaning agent and she's got a whole bunch of enthusiasm and I love it and I think it's super cute. But we know what goes into cleaning a house and we know that Stevie and her wet wipe do not stand a chance. Right? See, I think if those stats about anxiety and worry and hurry tell us anything, it's that a whole bunch of us have forgotten that the abundant life is found not through our will, not through our might, not through our organization. It's actually found in Him. This year we're talking about more of Him. We're talking about more peace. We're talking about more presence. We're talking about more of the life that Jesus is talking about in Matthew. Not more meetings, not more hustle, not more things that you need to fix about yourself. And look, if we don't understand that on a deep level, we hear a verse about what God wants for our lives, which is abundantly more, and we mistakenly believe that it's going to mean we need to do more. And then we hear a verse about Jesus talking about how to achieve that abundant life. And we don't actually believe that it's possible for us. But can I just go on record and tell you guys, like in Jesus name there is more for you. Like God wants more for you. Not more. Not more just grinding, not more just managing schedules or more managing tasks or paying bills or trying to stay healthy or managing the chaos. It's more than you could ever ask, think or imagine. But it's not something that you can go out and just take for yourself. And I believe that is the lie that has gotten us to where we are today. Like, there is no amount of work, effort, organization that'll get you there. You cannot plan, organize, structure, or think ahead to the life abundant. You don't need better habits. You just need the real tangible presence of Jesus in your life. Look, habits are good and organization is good, but they are not an end in and of themselves. And the best news of all, church, is this invitation that Jesus gives us. It's for you and it's for me, and it doesn't actually require you to do anything. And so, just like that Roman envoy did with King Antiochus Epiphanes, Jesus gives us a clear and present invitation that demands a response. Again, in Matthew 11:28 30, he says, Come to me, church, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And so with the time left, I want to dig into this passage a little bit and I want to really try to understand the invitations that Jesus is offering us. And I think to do that, well, we need to remember a truth. So the Bible wasn't written to us, it was written to people 2,000 years ago. It was written for us. And I think that there is a rich richness in the context of understanding what those people would have heard and what that meant for them. And it gives us an opportunity to see this in a fresh perspective. And so in this passage, we see really clearly three invitations that Jesus gives us. The first one, very obvious, come to me, says, come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. So foundationally, this invitation, you need to understand it's for everybody and it's personal. He's not inviting you to an institution. He's not inviting you to a system. He's calling you to himself. And it's for everyone that feels weary. It's not just the perfect people. It's not the people that have their lives all together. It's for the hurt and for the broken and the weary. And so picture this scene, okay? We're going to go there for a minute. Jesus is talking to a crowd. And they're not sitting in an air conditioned auditorium with smartphones full of soccer and meetings, right? They're on a dusty street in a world where the Roman Empire is literally taxing these people to the bone. And feeding your family in this world means that you do it by the sweat of your brow. You fished or you shepherded or you labored in a field, literally from sunrise to sunset. You built stuff. You carried water on your shoulders or grain on your backs. And you did this day on after day after day. And on top of this physical burden they feel just to stay alive, they're also carrying a different burden. See, as Jews, they've realized that their religion has been twisted into a set of rules that they could never follow. 613 laws layered with smaller rules on top of them so that you don't break the big ones. In ancient Judaism, they called this the yoke of the law. And if you can't carry that yoke perfectly, then you are told and meant to feel that you do not belong here. Like, just feel that. The crushing feeling that you're never enough, that you don't do bad things, that you are a bad person. You break your back just to eke out survival in this world. And then deep, deep exhaustion of always trying and never making it. And then one day on a dusty street, a new rabbi stands up and he says, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. They never heard anything like that. They're like, what? So for these people, that's not just a nice verse that they put on a coffee cup church, that's water in the desert. Like what Jesus is saying there, that's the sound of chains coming off of people. Come to me and I will give you rest. He's saying, I see what you're Going through. I see you, and I'm not here to add anything to your burden. I'm actually here to help you carry yours. And I don't know what you walk in here with today, but can I just remind you that Jesus says the same thing to you. That he sees you, that he knows what you're going through. He's not just offering you a temporary fix to help you get through a rough patch. He's offering you a fundamental change to how you walk and live your life. Are you tired? Are you bound? Do you feel like your relationships are a mess? Do you feel like your finances are a mess? Are you steeped in sin and shame and so afraid that if people really knew who you are, they wouldn't want you? Jesus is talking to you, and he's saying, come to me. I can help you. I can fix, I can heal, I can mend, I can redeem. I can set you free. Just come to me and I will give you rest. The second invitation we see Jesus gives is walk with me. And he says it like this. He says, take my yoke upon you. Now, for the people in this time period, they would have been familiar with this word both physically and metaphorically. So physically, it's just a piece of farm equipment, right? Two oxen yoked together can get some work done. And they know that. Two oxen yoked together, it means shared strength, shared rhythm, shared movement and training. But metaphorically, this word would have meant nothing but a burden to them. I mentioned before, rabbis of that time often talked about taking on the yoke of the law. And what that mean was taking on the entire system, the commandments, the traditions, the interpretations of those commandments. And so for these people, listening, a yoke, in that sense, represented nothing but obligation. Hundreds of rules, constant striving, never measuring up. And so when Jesus says those words, take my yoke, it's easy and it's light. He's making a very deliberate statement. And for these people who knew this yoke in the context of crushing, heavy, exhausting, the Pharisees telling them, man, you just pull harder. You get in that yoke and you pull harder, and you try to impress God, what Jesus is saying to them is, I'll pull with you. It's new and it's freedom. It's life, it's empowerment. So you're not working for him to prove anything. You're working with him and letting him lead and guide and carry. That old yoke got strapped to their backs, and it just said, you work harder, you do better. You run faster. Jesus is saying, walk with me. Let me set the pace. Do life by my side, match my steps. See, life and success with Jesus, it's not measured by how fast or how hard you run. Life and success with Jesus is measured by who you're yoked to. So this is not an invitation to just slow down. This is an invitation to let Jesus set your pace. And so we've got come with me, come to me, walk with me. And then the third invitation that Jesus gives us is, learn from me. He says this, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. See, similar to walk with me. When Jesus is inviting them to learn with him, he's inviting them to be with him. That word, learn in the Greek and the Hebrew, it denotes a relational context. It's come sit with me, come walk with me, Come spend time with me. What Jesus is saying is, don't just learn what I taught. Watch how I live, watch how I move. Watch how I love being interrupted. Watch how I pray when life is crushing me. He's saying, walk so closely with me that you start to talk how I talk. Walk so closely with me that you start to love people how I love people and live how I live. Walk with me, let me shape and change you. Don't just come to me for relief. Stay with me for formation and see where the Pharisees would have taught you. Learn the law and you will find life. Jesus is saying, learn me and you'll find rest for your souls. And so what Jesus is communicating to these people through these three invitations is stop trying to carry your life on your own. Link up with me. Let me set the pace, Let me shoulder the weight and just watch how I live and watch how I move and watch how I love and let that shape you. There was a man that lived a little over 600 years ago named Thomas a Kempis, who was a monk that lived in a monastery in the Netherlands. Not a spotlight, not leading a massive movement. No big budgets, just a life in the shadows, doing a simple hidden job, copying books by hand. No fame, no platform, just hours and hours bent over a desk with a piece of parchment and ink. And yet, from his quiet, ordinary, seemingly unimpressive life, we get one of the most influential books in Christian history, the Imitation of Christ. It's been called by some people the most influential book in Christian literature next to the Bible, and here's why. It's not about doing more. It's not about striving. It's about letting your heart be shaped by Jesus. And what marked Thomas was not that he did more than everyone else. It's that he lived deeply present to Jesus in the ordinary, normal, daily moments. And in that book, he writes these words. He says, everybody desires peace, but few desire the things that make for peace. He's saying, look, everybody wants peace. Few people will actually do what needs to be done to find peace. And he understood what we so often miss, that peace is not found in doing more, achieving more, running harder. It's found in living close to Jesus, even in the hidden, ordinary moments. And I think, if we're honest, most of us are running hard because we have been led to believe that peace is somewhere out there. I've got to go catch it, and I've got to bring it back and put it in here. If I could just get through this season, if I could just fix this thing, if I could just organize a little bit better, man, then I would finally feel peace. But Jesus is saying, look, peace isn't out there. It's actually right in here. He goes on record telling his disciples, hey, I know you're going to miss me, but it's actually better that I leave so that the Holy Spirit can come. The same Spirit that raised me from the dead will now live in you. It means you don't have to strive for peace. It means you. You need to stop striving long enough to be able to experience it. And look, I. I get it. This isn't a go live in a monastery in Netherlands message. I. I promise you that. Like, I'm a pastor, and that sounds horrible. Okay, so free yourself up a little bit. This isn't a. Just stop doing everything and sit around and look for Jesus in the woods. No, no, no. You use your strengths and your gifts and the talents that God has given you and work hard, but know that those are just a means to an end. Those are not an end in and of themselves. And so this is a call to examine your pace. And remember that peace is not a reward for efficiency. It's a byproduct of proximity. So if you're able, would you stand? I'm going to close, and we're going to. Going to paint a picture I want to leave you with. All right? And so if you play along with me, just kind of close your eyes for a moment. It might feel weird. Just do it. Anyway, so picture this. You're standing on some dirt, and there's a circle around you, and you've just clearly heard an invitation. Come, come to me. Walk with me. Learn from me. Before you step out of this moment, you must choose. You can keep running. You can keep believing that peace is somewhere out there to find and to achieve. Or you can choose to live close to him and see what happens. See, what Jesus is offering is not a somewhere someday. It's a right here and right now. And so what's your answer? If you're tired, you're anxious, you're worried, come. Come to him. He will give you rest. Let him set the pace. Let him carry the weight. Let his spirit give you the peace that his soul, that your soul is craving. Father, we love you so much. We're really grateful for this opportunity to gather. Thank you for Jesus and for your word and for the foundation that it can be if we let it. In a world that is so crazy with opinions and ideas and theories on where to go and what to do, do we. We see you walking, present with us, reminding us that we, we don't need to strive, we don't need to earn anything. You, you are not in love with some future version of ourselves. You want more for us, but that doesn't come from our hard work. That comes from proximity with you. So God, make that truth resonate in our hearts today that we walk out of here. Walk out of here different. So with everyone's head spout and eyes closed, I want to. I want to just do two invitations to respond. First, you've been listening to me talk and you are weary and heavy laden and you've realized that you've actually never made the decision to follow Jesus. And what you're feeling right now is not some pastor manipulating you with an emotional moment. What you're feeling is the Holy Spirit going, this is what our soul has been craving. He's tapping you on the shoulder and he's saying, today is the day. And so I'm going to ask you to do something bold. If you want to make a decision to follow Jesus, start walking in that life abundant and experience what he died to give you. Would you just slip your hand up right now? No one's looking. Thank you. Praise God. Thank you. And then the second group of people is this. You've been following Jesus for a long time, and somewhere along the way you just forgot because you're human and you've been working really hard and you've been running really fast and you've realized that, man, my peace dwindling. I feel really hurried all the time. I feel really tired. And if I'm honest, I feel a bit Anxious and man, I needed this reminder. Today is the day I'm gonna step out of this circle in the sand and I'm deciding I'm gonna choose to live with Jesus. If you're feeling that today, would you just raise your hand, man, I want to pray for you. My hands up. I see you. Thank you, God. Thank you for these people and for their honesty. Thank you for your holy Spirit doing a work that my words could never do for them. The people that just made a decision to follow you, best decision they've ever made in their life. Thank you. Walk with them, guide them, draw them into yourself. Put people in their path to walk with them and teach them and show them. And for the people in this room that are feeling a little bit tired, feeling a little bit weary, feeling a little bit burdened, may God, would you just remind them, like the striving, it's not going to do it and you're going to be tired and you're going to be anxious. There is a life abundant that you offer in proximity to you. Just tell us to come to you, to walk with you and to learn from you. So God, we ask that today in Jesus name for every single person in this room. We're grateful that we have this opportunity to gather. We're just going to ask that you complete your work here in this space. We love you and it's in your name we pray. Amen. Church, let's worship.