Red Rocks Church Weekend Message: "Decide to Live Today" (Sermon Only)

Date: November 1, 2025
Speaker: Red Rocks Church Pastor (primarily speaker A, with occasional B interjections)
Podcast: Red Rocks Church Weekend Messages
Episode Focus: Encouragement to embrace the present, anchor hope in God’s sovereignty, and overcome anxiety about tomorrow by choosing gratitude and fully living today.

Overview of the Episode

This powerful sermon invites listeners to reconsider how they approach the challenges, uncertainties, and anxieties surrounding tomorrow. Drawing on Jesus' teaching from Matthew 6 and personal anecdotes, the pastor spotlights the choice to “Decide to Live Today”—underscoring the freedom, peace, and perspective found when we trust God with our tomorrows and fully inhabit the present. The message weaves together biblical wisdom, scientific insights, and real-life stories to inspire gratitude, faith, and purposeful living.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Thoughts: God Knows You’re Here on Purpose

• The pastor welcomes attendees from various campuses, assuring everyone—especially newcomers—that their presence is no accident.

  “God doesn't do coincidence. He did not accidentally make you. Jesus did not accidentally die for you.” (00:35)

2. Scripture Foundation: Jesus on Worry and the Present (Matthew 6)

• Jesus addresses crowds fearful for their future—what they’ll eat, wear, etc.

  “Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need... Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (01:51–02:09)

• The message’s heart: “Decide to Live Today.” (02:23)

3. Clichés & the Speed of Life

• Humorous observations about how quickly children grow and the universal experience of time passing swiftly.

  “The days are long, but the years are short... They grow up so fast.” (05:10–05:24)

• Moment of tender honesty about parenting, aging kids, and life moving too fast.

4. The Root of Our Worry: Fixation on ‘What Ifs’

• The world teaches us to worry about tomorrow—finances, relationships, health, purpose.

  “Worry makes the day so long and it makes the year so fast.” (08:43)

• List of common “what if” fears, from the mundane to the deeply personal:

  “What if I mess up my kids? What if my marriage doesn’t make it... What if I never meet the right person?” (09:28–09:44)

5. Scripture & Science Agree: Energy Follows Awareness

• Our focus (“awareness”) directs our passion, time, and emotions.

  “Whatever gets your attention also gets your energy, if you will.” (10:32)

• The “reticular activating system” in the brain means we find more of whatever we look for, bad or good.
• Challenge to flip the script: “Fear is just faith in the wrong what if.” (11:28, quoting Steven Furtick)
• Practice envisioning positive outcomes:

  “What if you do meet the right person? And what if it’s this week? What if we never get pregnant? What if you do?” (11:56–12:02)

6. Series Context: Kiss the Fire

• The series is about learning to get back up in hardship and live well when life hurts.

  “Every fire comes with a whole set of shiny new what ifs... They steal your peace, joy, and purpose. That’s why you need to decide...to live today.” (12:45–13:23)

7. Jesus Didn’t Forbid Planning—He Forbade Worrying Ahead

• “Don’t worry ahead.” Planning and stewardship are good; obsession is not.
• Obedience today leads to trust for tomorrow:

  “Your obedience today is what leads to trusting God's outcome tomorrow.” (14:30)

8. You’re Not Promised Tomorrow

• James 4:13–14: Life is “like the morning fog...here for a little while and then it’s gone.” (15:20–15:28)
• Anecdote about Pastor Sean’s health diagnosis and his dialogue with his own pastor regarding life’s uncertainties.

  “If I’m not careful, I can spend my whole day focusing on my problem and not actually living life to the full.” (17:00) “Or six months from now, you could get hit by a bus—and then your diagnosis didn’t matter at all.” (17:38)

• The reality that heaven is more real than our tangible world, framing mortality in hope.

9. God Has Already Taken Care of Tomorrow

• Assurance through biblical prophecy: of ~2,500 prophecies, ~2,000 have been fulfilled.

  “He’s taken care of the ending already.” (21:53)

• Allusions to John Lennon:

  “Everything will be okay in the end. So if it’s not okay, then guess what? It’s not the end.” (22:01)

10. Perspective: God’s Bigness & Our Troubles

• Illustration of the universe’s immense scale—the Milky Way, the Earth as a “little blue marble.”

  “Every fire that anybody has ever faced, from every little worry to every world war has taken place on that planet...” (30:31)

• Not to minimize personal pain, but to maximize awareness of God’s power:

  “I’m not trying to minimize what you’re going through. I’m maximizing the God who has overcome the entire world.” (30:48–30:54)

• Scriptural anchoring: God holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). He is already present in our tomorrow.

11. Practical Application: From ‘Someday’ to ‘Today’

• At some point, your “somedays” must become your “todays.” (31:55)
• God’s plans, calling, purpose—they’re not for next week but for today.
• Most effective way to decide to live today: “Get grateful.”

12. The Superpower of Gratitude

• Gratitude helps us see beyond negativity bias and is described as “the fountain of youth for your brain.” (33:44)
• Paul’s exhortation (Philippians 4:8) to fix your thoughts on whatever is true, right, pure, lovely, admirable.

  “Paul’s not telling you to ignore the fire or pretend that it’s not there. He just understands the human proclivity to give our faith to the wrong what ifs. So that’s why he’s trying to shift our attention...” (35:00)

• Practical gratitude exercise: Try listing things for which you’re thankful—“the floodgates of gratitude open.” (36:05)
• Real-life example: Frustration about traffic shifts to gratitude and humility after passing an accident scene, remembering blessings often ignored until they’re at risk of loss.

13. Focus Determines Peace or Fear

• John 16:33: Both “in this world you will have trouble” and “I have overcome the world” are true. It’s about which you choose to focus on.
• Invitation to direct energy, attention, and worship to God and his faithfulness.

14. Living Priorities: “They Aren’t Priorities Until You Prioritize Them”

• A gentle challenge: Our stated priorities only matter if they’re actually lived out.

  “You can say my family's my priority...but if all you think about is work when you're with them...Your priorities aren’t really your priorities until you prioritize them.” (41:21–41:49)

15. Sean’s Story: Fire Refines, Perspective Deepens

• Pastor Sean’s health journey:

  “Life is too short to say no to quality time with the people you love... God is too big and too good for you to worry about tomorrow in a way that causes you to say no to quality time.” (42:00–42:30)

• The challenge: Do you need a crisis to change your perspective, or can you choose today?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Worry:

  “Every fire is a package deal that comes with the whole set of shiny new what ifs...they steal your peace, joy, and purpose. That’s why you need to decide...to live today.” (12:45–13:23)

• On Heaven’s Reality:

  “Heaven is...not a fairy tale. That is truth. And it’s more real than the chair that you are sitting on right now.” (18:08)

• On God’s Sovereignty:

  “He is outside of space and time...time and space are literally in him. The beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega are anchored. He is so sovereign.” (24:53–25:09)

• On Perspective:

  “I’m not trying to minimize your fires. I’m trying to maximize your God.” (30:48)

• On Gratitude:

  “Nothing will empower you to truly live today like gratitude. It is an absolute superpower...” (33:50)

• On Priorities:

  “Your priorities aren’t really your priorities until you prioritize them.” (41:21)

• On Today:

  “This is the day the Lord has made, so we will rejoice and be glad in it. Not tomorrow. None of us are promised tomorrow. Let Jesus worry about tomorrow. He’s already there.” (44:05)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Welcome & Theme Introduction - 00:03–02:42
• Reading & Reflection on Matthew 6 - 01:14–02:42
• Clichés, Parenting, and How Fast Life Changes - 03:11–08:30
• The Trap of Focusing on What Ifs - 08:30–12:32
• Setting Your Mind: Scripture & Science - 09:52–12:32
• Kiss the Fire Series Context - 12:32–13:23
• Obedience and Trusting God with Tomorrow - 13:27–14:55
• You Are Not Promised Tomorrow - 14:57–18:55
• God’s Track Record & Prophecy - 20:39–22:05
• Perspective: The Universe, God’s Bigness, and Our Problems - 22:09–31:50
• Making Priorities Actionable - 41:21–41:49
• Sean’s Story, Living for Today - 41:49–43:30
• Gratitude as a Superpower - 32:41–38:32
• Closing Challenge and Invitation to Rejoice in Today - 44:05–47:22

Closing & Invitation

• Final exhortation:

  “So rejoice and be glad in it, regardless of the fire you're facing. You got life to live today. So receive joy and receive peace.” (44:05–44:14)

• Prayer for new faith decisions and for all listeners to find joy and purpose in God’s presence.

Tone & Style

The sermon is deeply pastoral, alternately warm, humorous, and earnest. The speaker’s transparency, use of personal anecdotes, and hopeful assurance invite the listener to both identify with life’s struggles and rise above them through practical faith and gratitude. The tone is encouraging and filled with conviction, gently challenging listeners to a deeper trust in God and an authentic, present-focused life.

Summary Takeaway

This message asserts that no matter the anxiety or uncertainty about tomorrow, the act of deciding to fully live today—and do so with gratitude—transforms fires into refining gifts and daily life into an act of worship. God, who exists beyond time, is trustworthy with our tomorrows; our greatest calling is to rejoice, trust, and be truly present today.