← Red Rocks Church Weekend Messages
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Thank you. Come on, Red Rock Church. If you see joy rising and you hear hope calling, then how about you make a holy sound in this place right here and right now? Let God know. Amen. Hey. Welcome to week one of rowdy church. This is a Red Rocks Culture series, all about who we are, who we've always been, who we will always be. And it's based out of one of our favorite verses in the entirety of scripture. Acts, chapter 4, verse 20. I want to read it to you. As for us. As for us. So I don't know about them and I don't know about the world, and I don't know about that church. But as for us, we cannot help but speaking about what we have seen and what we have heard. And I have seen joy rising and I have heard hope calling. And I can't help but get a little bit rowdy about the fact that the amazing grace of our God has changed my entire life. My entire life. So let me tell you what a rowdy church is. And this is not new vision, but it is fresh language to describe who we've always been and will continue to be on the screen behind me. We are a rowdy church of imperfect people who can't keep quiet about Jesus. We're not a Christian country club. We're a party for prodigals rolling out the red carpet for those who are far from God. We're not a courtroom for the convicted. We're a hospital for the broken. And we take God seriously, but not ourselves. We're called to build the church, and we're going to enjoy the ride as we go because we believe Jesus is the answer. And the church is the greatest evangelistic tool on the planet. So we are turning up the volume to make heaven more crowded. And today I want to preach a message called the five senses of a Rowdy Church. And I want to use our five senses to sort of describe the spirit and the culture of the early church in the book of Acts. And so, God, we love you so much. Would you fill our hearts with faith? Would you fill this house called Red Rocks with. With joy and hope and make us bold about what we believe in Jesus. Name somebody say amen. Come on, Somebody say amen at every single campus. We love you so much. We exist to make heaven more crowded. We are imperfect people pursuing a perfect God. Welcome to church. Welcome home. You guys may take a seat. It's good to be with you today. Has anybody seen these Dumb and dumber videos circulating on social media? Like, what is this a Rowdy church or something. By the way, my name is Doug Weckenman. I am the pastor in the blonde wig playing Harry. Nice to meet you. Thank you for indulging me and Sean as we live out a dream that we have had for a very long time. But more importantly, here is a picture of my one year old little girl in that same blonde wig. How is that the greatest thing that you've ever seen? Why do I show you that? Well, in the circle of public speaking, this is what we call an attention grabber. So now that I have your attention, welcome to week one of rowdy church. And you know what? Austin, Texas, since this is being broadcasted from here all over the world, can we say hello to all of our Red Rocks family in Denver? Everybody joining us in Brussels, Belgium watch parties and living rooms and headphones all over the world. And how about this, the women and the men at all of our correctional facility campuses. We love you. We love you. We love you so much. Welcome to church. And I have not yet visited every correctional facility campus, but I can give a special shout out to the ladies of Lane Murray. And ladies, I gotta say, every single time I come visit you, I am reminded of how to really do church. You know what I mean? Like, if you've been there, you know what I mean? But if you haven't, let me just try to describe it to you. These ladies watch church on a screen and in a little cathedral in Gatesville, Texas, every single Saturday afternoon. But you would think they were front row at a tent revival, okay? They need no reminder to get a little bit rowdy. I think they set the record every week for amens and hallelujahs, you know, like, they shout down Ryan's points, they laugh at Ethan's jokes. Like, you know what I mean? Like, they're Billy Graham and Jerry Seinfeld, you know? And when it comes to the worship set list, like, the set list don't matter. Like, forget personal preference, that's out the window. They worship with passion to every song. Like it's their favorite song. It's called hunger. It's called desperation. It's called perspective. It's called gratitude. It's called the joy of the Lord is my strength. Because, you know, rowdy church is not a volume thing, it's a spirit thing. It's when you know that God has changed your life. And you might not be where you want to be yet, but because of the grace of Jesus, you're not where you're supposed to be or where you used to be. And people can, like, smell God's grace on you, and they can feel the heat of that passion, of that. Of that faith and that flame that lives in your soul. We are a church that is not afraid to live loud lives of faith. And years ago, when me, Ryan, and Ethan traveled the world for a year as missionaries, we lived for two months in Fiji, and we were sharing Jesus through clean drinking water. And one Saturday night, our new Fijian friends took us to see a movie, and we went to see the original Avengers. This dates us a little bit. It was 2012. Avengers had just come out. And, guys, I've been to a lot of movies. I have never experienced anything like this in my entire life. Okay, like, there's going to the movies and then there is going to the movies. They say everything's bigger in Texas and higher in Colorado. Come on. I mean, that elevation wise, well, it's rowdier in Fiji. It is. Like, it felt less like a theater and more like UT's football stadium on game day. You know what I mean? Like, sorry, San Jose. I mean, I just. But it is what it is. And it was so rowdy. Just right away, it was, man, this is how you're really supposed to do a movie. It's the three of us in this theater with 100 South Pacific Islanders. And I swear, it was like the national rugby team was in this theater because everybody. All these guys were bigger than us, More muscles than us, more tattoos than us, more facial hair than us. It was like 100 Dwayne the Rock Johnsons. And then the three of us. I've never felt less cool. And I've never had more fun with a group of people watching a movie. Because as soon as. As soon as the movie started, like, right, the very first fight scene, they are shouting at the screen. They are throwing milk duds at all the bad guys. You know what I mean? There's a scene at the very end of the movie where Hulk smashes Loki. Like, boom, boom, boom, boom. And I kid you not, 20 guys in the first two rows stand up and start chest bumping each other in the movie theater. I'm like, this is so rowdy. And we're, like, so, like, caught up in the mob mentality. Ethan's got his shirt off. He's running up and down the aisle saying, hulk smash. I'm like, ethan, pump the brakes, man. But, my gosh, it was so fun. Like, there's going to movies, and then there is. There's going to movies. I can still see the chest bumps. I can still hear the shouts. I can still smell the popcorn and the coconut butter. And it gets me thinking about the concept of a rowdy church. Because there is going to church and then there is becoming the church and seeing that line between those two kind of start to grow, to grow faint. And once again, I'm not talking a volume thing as much as I'm talking a spirit thing. And so I want to use all five of our senses to do my best to discern a rowdy church to you. Because here's what I know. I know that language creates culture. And when we walk and talk with the kingdom of heaven in mind, we create a kingdom culture on earth. And we are building the church, the most important thing that there is. And so it matters what we say about it. That's why we say, no. We're not a Christian country club. We're rolling out the red carpet for those far from God. We're a party for prodigals. We're not a courtroom for the convicted. We are a hospital for the broken. And this doesn't have to be every church, but it is our church. Like, we turn up the volume for worship. And we know, man, there's weeks, there's. Every week, there's tears to cry, and there's mourning with each other, but we always want to have this sort of spirit of celebration. And there's reasons for all of that. Like, we do sports leagues at Red Rocks, and we make. We make ridiculous humor videos. And there's a re. Like, it's all on purpose because guards come down for people who would normally be nervous in church who show up and they watch a video or they hear about sports leagues, and all of a sudden their ears are opened and they hear the gospel and their lives are changed. And it happens every single week. There's a reason for it. We are way more like a movie theater in Fiji than some fancy fundraising. You know what I mean? Like, we've been saved by Jesus. We're going to heaven forever. Like, Jesus is back from the dead, and we can't help it if the greatest news in the universe makes us just a little bit rowdy. So in the beginning of the Book of Acts, the OG rowdy church launches with quite a bang. And in Acts, chapter one, right before Jesus ascends into heaven, Jesus, he leaves his followers the Great Commission. He says, go into all nations and make disciples and take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Translation, help as many people as possible to know God and live on purpose. And in doing so, you will you will change the world. And then in Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit fills the upper room and fills all, all the people in the upper room, so all of God's people are filled with God's power so that they can go carry out their purpose of building the church. That's why this is not just a move of people. This is a supernatural move of God, a wildfire. The local church, the global church that cannot be stopped because of what happened in Acts chapter two that launched it out in every direction. And then Peter preaches his very first sermon with boldness. And it says 3,000 people at least get saved that day. It's crazy. And then in Acts chapter three, we read about the very first miracle of the early church. Peter and John were going to the temple to pray, and they rendezvous with this, with this begging man who had been paralyzed from the time he was born. And they end up healing him in Jesus name. And it gathers quite the crowd. And so Peter, who learned from Jesus that every miracle is really just a stage to preach the message, because a healing might change your next few decades, but salvation will change your eternity. And so Peter proclaims the gospel and it says a few thousand more people were added to their number that day. So now the crowd gets even bigger and the commotion, if I can say it this way, gets even rowdier. And the religious leaders take notice of it and they start worrying about it. And so they have Peter and John arrested and thrown into jail from evening all the way until the night next morning when they dragged them from prison to be in front of the high priest and the council because they tried to question them and intimidate them. And in Acts 4:13, it says the members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, who could not be intimidated, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the scriptures. Pause. Ordinary men with no special training. The reason I love that is because the Greek word behind ordinary is the word idios. And it means in the most endearing way, idiots. Hence the inspo for the dumb and dumber video. See, it's scripture. It's all connected. We take God very serious and we take our calling to build his church. We very serious. And in the process, we just don't think we should take ourselves very serious. And from its inception, this church has been nothing but broken and imperfect people who love God, who just want to know him more and live on purpose and help other people do the exact same thing. And as we've done, that God has used this group of willing, not perfect, but willing people to not just talk about changing the world, but to truly change the world. And for all we've seen, we ain't seen anything yet. The Acts church was. It was imperfect and ordinary people, but look what it says about them next. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. So here we go. A rowdy church looks like people who know God. I'm not important. I am just a man who knows God. I'm a man who knows Jesus. You know, it's pretty common for people to know God the same way that we know our favorite artists or athletes, where we know things about him and we can quote some facts and some stats, but we don't necessarily actually know Him. Well, a rowdy church looks like people who know God, who know God, not just about him, but know Him. A people, not a place. Not a place. You understand? This room that we're sitting in, this is not Red Rocks Church, Austin location. This is like the people in this room. We are the Austin location. We are the church. Littleton, Colorado. The building you're sitting in right now, 9136 West Poles Avenue, Littleton, 80123. That building is not. That's not the Littleton campus. You, the souls, the people inside of it, you are the church. And that's great news. And the reason that's true is because the presence of God doesn't just have to dwell in rooms anymore because the veil has been torn, because Jesus handled the sin problem on the cross. That means God can now exist within people. And I promise you, he did not go to the greatest lengths imaginable to be with you so that you could know some facts about Him. God's love is not an ocean for you to jump in and experience so that you could stand on the shore and observe. This is not just theoretical or theological. This is experiential. This is relational. And I want to slow down and say this just so clearly, in case you've never heard this. The God of the universe wants a passionate and intimate, adventurous and gritty, day by day and lifelong relationship with you. That is everything a rowdy church looks like a people who know God. The religious leaders recognized Peter and John as men who had been with Jesus because they saw the man that they healed, right? And they heard the message that Jesus preached and they couldn't really deny it. But look at what they saw. Say Next in Acts 4:16, what should we do with these men? They ask each other, because we can't deny they've performed a miraculous sign. And then. I love this part. And everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. Everybody in the city knows about it. May we be that kind of church where everybody in our cities, they know about it. Like, the secrets out, the whole city's finding out about life change that is found in Jesus. Like, there's some good gossip, if you will, going around about this man who was healed because this man who got healed can't keep quiet about it. And I love that, because if your life's been changed by the grace of God, you shouldn't keep quiet about it either. Like, we're made to share the good news that we have been given. We are the storytellers of the gospel. We are the goers and the sharers. We are what Jesus called the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Let me show you this in Matthew 5:13 from the Message. I love how this is phrased. Let me tell you why you are here. Okay, Jesus, just in case you were ever wondering your purpose, you're here to be the salt seasoning that brings out the God flavors of this earth. And if you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? A rowdy church tastes salty. And shout out to our sponsors for this message, element electrolytes. Who on the side of their can say, more salt, not less. All right. You know how, like, we've been wrong about sodium for decades and it turns out more is good? Like, when it comes to food and faith, I guess Jesus weighs in. More salt. I want it saltier, not less saltier. We are the salt of the earth. So I guess the million dollar question is, what does that mean? What does he mean when he says, we're salt? Is that a metaphor? Like, he's pepper, we're salt. We go good together. Like, is this a cute cliche? No, it's a calling. And here's the context. Back in Jesus day, salt was incredibly valuable. You couldn't just walk into a grocery store and choose between kosher, Celtic or Himalayan pink. You know, today it's common because it's mined. But back in their day, if they wanted salt, they had to gather salty seaweed from the Dead Sea, and they would use that seaweed to preserve meat because there was no refrigerators. Think about it. Because there was no electricity, because there was no Ben Franklin around to do the key with the kite thing in the storm. Yet, like that. So in context, salt gives flavor and salt preserves. God wants to use your life to make the world taste godly and he wants to use your life to preserve his values. Since the first century, Christianity has been the largest religion in Europe. But it looks different than it used to. Things have changed over time in Western Europe. Many cathedrals have now been repurposed into hotels or nightclubs or even skate parks. And you can go. And you can visit these. These beautiful churches, but you don't go there to worship. You go there to see some cool architecture and read some fancy placards about how God used to be the heartbeat of the nation. So what happened? Over time, the cities lost their godliness because over time, Christians lost their saltiness. And if we lose ours, that will be the case here as well. So listen, like being salt, it's not about us projecting our values on the world and expecting them to not act like the world. It's not about us forcing our beliefs down their throat like you're pouring salt on somebody else's dinner who never asked for it. More salt. They're like, what the heck, man? Hulk smash. Ethan, stop. It's not. It's. And this is such a good point, too. It's. Salt is about you, not the world. Salt is about you living on purpose. Salt is about you standing out. Salt is about you preserving godly values in your life. Salt is about you living generous. Salt is about you serving. It's about you forgiving. It's about you apologizing. It's about you encouraging. It's about you. Salt is about us living loud in a godly way that makes a watching world wonder. Salt is about us getting a reputation as a rowdy church for all the right reasons. This is what it means to be the salt of. Of the earth. That we are God flavors of this planet. And our lives should taste like people who have been with Jesus. If you go back one day before the miracle. So Acts 4 to Acts chapter 3, when Peter and John are on their way to the temple to pray, and then they first rendezvous with the paralyzed man who was begging, and they're about to heal him. But there's something really interesting that you read in verse two of Acts chapter three. Look at this. Each day, that part, each day he was put beside the temple gate, the one called the gate that was beautiful, so he could beg from the people going into the temple. So this man was 40 years old, paralyzed from the time he was born, and each day he was in the same place. Now, this means two things. Everybody knew who he was and where he was. And number two, more than likely, Jesus passed him and saw him on multiple occasions. And did not heal him. That's not to say that he was never going to. He just had a divine plan to do it later through two of his followers. There's nothing God can't do on his own. He would just rather do it through us. He would rather do it through you, through you getting involved. Like, he could build the church on his own. He'd rather do it through us getting involved and all the tables, all the things that are in all the lobbies of all of our locations today. Like, he'd rather serve in a special needs ministry through you. And he would rather visit those who are in prison through you. And he would rather build the next generation of kingdom builders through you. And he would rather serve on production in any of our locations in Denver. Because I know you guys need it. Chase Donald. I say that because I love you. You're welcome. He'd rather do that through you guys. Like he would rather save your friend in a church service through your invitation so that you get to come along and you get to watch him do miracles through your life. Being the salt of the earth means owning the fact that God want to use your life. That you are God's plan for the people you work with. You are God's plan for your friends. So here's a. Here's a salty test, if you will. Do they know you're a Christian? Do the people in your life know that Jesus has changed your life? Because our faith is not meant to be something that we just practice in private. Not if Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The local church, the greatest evangelistic tool on the entire planet. Are you kidding me? Guys? We are God's plan for the city of Austin. We are God's plan for the cities of Denver and Brussels. We are God's plan for reaching people who are far from God. We are the salt of the earth. A rowdy church tastes salty. Amen. And next. Is this a rowdy church? Smells sweet and smoky. A row. Yeah, that's what's up. I know you guys have been curious. What's the smell one gonna be? I'll tell you what the smell one is gonna be. Sweet and smoky. So a mature church or a healthy church is a blend of maturity and immaturity. Let me tell you what I mean before you quote me just on that sound bite. Okay? A healthy church is full of imperfect people who are maturing in Christ day by day, being made new. Salvation happens in a moment. Sanctification happens over a lifetime. As we put away childish things. Somebody needs that. But we don't stop living with a childlike spirit. Somebody else needs that. Because that mature childlike faith is what is contagious and believes that God really can do immeasurably more and that that's a rowdy church that smells sweet. Now, let me show you what I mean. In Second Corinthians 2:14 and 15, he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. Grace has a smell. Truth has a smell. You ever notice how the name Jesus always gets a reaction? People either love it or they hate it. But it's never neutral. Nobody can ignore it. The same thing should be true about a rowdy church. People either they love it or they hate it, but they know we're here. It elicits some kind of response that people should know we're here because of a Christ like fragrance. Now, I came down with the quick case of COVID about a week ago. I'm fine now. I feel great. Took a test. Don't worry. I know I don't sound great or look great, but that's not the sickness. That's just my face. I'm sorry. There's not much I can do about that. But I have one symptom left. I can't smell anything. I can't smell anything. I was carrying Mila around for an hour yesterday. And then Sam got home, and she walks up to me and she goes, are you kidding me? And I said, are you kidding me? Like, I didn't know what she was talking about, but I was ready, you know? And she said, that is the smelliest diaper in the history of smelly diapers. She's very dramatic, you know? I'm sorry. Theatrical. And I literally like, poor Mila. Oh, my gosh. And she's sick right now. God heal her in Jesus name. I held her up, and I. You know how you check? I went. I took, like, a whiff, and I got nothing. So I guess I'm changing diapers for the time being. Cause I got nothing. And I even went. So I went into my office, and I got my favorite candle. That makes me sound like I'm really into candles. I don't know. I'm not. I just have a candle, and I like it. And the smell is sweet and smoky. Like, that's the candle. That's where I got this idea. And I got nothing. I got nothing from it. And when people are around the church, like, they should get Something. Grace has an aroma, and truth has an aroma. And a Christ like fragrance rises up to God. Like, you ever go to, like, your favorite store in the mall that has a smell, and then later that day, you're with your friends and they're like, oh, somebody was at Abercrombie today. Maybe go easier on the cologne sample next time because my eyes are bleeding. But like, oh, you smell like you've been in Abercrombie. You smell like that. That's what it should be like for Christians. There should be a fragrance about us. Like, man, you smell like you've been in the presence of God. You know what I mean? Like, you smell like you just came out of your prayer closet. You smell like you've been in the house of the Lord. You smell like you've been at Red Rocks Church. The church of Jesus Christ should have a Christlike fragrance, a sweet aroma that rises up to heaven, man. And so the church should smell sweet. And a rowdy church should also smell smoky. Now, the reason a mature church is also an immature church is because maturity, the height of maturity I believe in the church is reaching the lost. Look at Jude 1 23. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Our church ought to smell like smoke if we're snatching people from the fires of hell, from. From the grasp of. Of the devil. Like, we ought to smell like smoke if we've been to hell and back, reaching lost people anytime. Like, there's word on the street that, man, people who go to Red Rocks are living messy lives outside of these four walls. Hey, I get it. Listen, first things first. Every church will always have those who are just kind of playing the Christian game, all right? And not really an interest in knowing God more and living on purpose, but. And like, kind of just like refusing to grow up in a spiritual sense. Like, that will always be the case at every church. But also that smell of smoke is because we are reaching people who are standing on the edge of the fires of hell. And we should smell smokey. Like, how precious must the human soul be if both God and the devil want it that bad? The most mature thing a church can do is reach the lost. Therefore, the most mature church should be full of a lot of immature believers who are just brand new to this whole faith thing, because we all know guys better than anybody. You don't clean yourself up and then come to Jesus. You just simply come to Jesus and he begins to take care of the rest. That's why a rowdy church should smell smoky. That's why. Invite your rowdy friends. They will fit right in here. They'll be right at home in this church. Why? Because we're not a courtroom for the convicted. We are a hospital for the broken. Nor is this a country club for Christians. This is a part. It's a party for those who are. For those who are far from God. We are rolling out the red carpet for prodigals to come and experience what this God really, really believes about you. And we will always be the church that reaches those who are. Who are lost. Prodigals who maybe have tried religion but never actually have met Jesus yet. That's why we're building a front porch in the middle of cities full of so many people who are lost, just like every single one of us used to be. Amen. And that's why a rowdy church feels like a party. Hey, that's an easy one, right? So let me ask you a question. Like, what's the feeling you get when you hear the word party in church? Careful. Pastor Austin's got enough of a party scene with all these smoky smelling Christians running around. And you know what I think? I think the world and also the church needs a new playbook for parties. You like that football tie in? Just subtle, but just wanted to point it out. I think we need some fresh vision for the word party. Like, what does it mean to truly party with the purpose? Because parties were heaven's idea in the first place. I officiate a lot of weddings. I did a wedding recently and here's what happens. It seems at every single wedding I'm officiating because I try to make it, like, fun and I try to make people laugh because everybody shows up so serious to wedding ceremonies, you know, and after the wedding, at the reception, it's cocktail hour and I'll be in the cocktail line to get a Sprite or a red wine for the antioxidants. And I'll always, I promise you, every time I have people I've never met come up to me and say, I've never had that much fun at a wedding ceremony before. Like, I've never laughed that much. I've never smiled that much. And I'm like, seriously, like that? But it's. Yeah, because it's a wedding, not a funeral. Like, what happened? Like, when did we get so serious about something that is such a celebration? Like, guys, heaven throws parties every single time a lost person comes home. That's where we get our party culture at Red Rocks Church. Just in case you're wondering we stole it from Scripture. Look at Luke 15. At the very end of the story of the prodigal son, the Father who is representing the heart of God, the Father says this we must celebrate with the feast. For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. So the party began. And if Jesus really is the one and only way to the one and only God, then when somebody realizes that and finds it, that's a really big deal. And the greatest reason there is to celebrate. I think the world's version of partying is fun in the moment, but leaves you empty. God's version of partying feels like praise in the moment that fills you up with a peace and joy that can't be taken away from you the next day. And you know me, Ryan and Ethan, we started following Jesus in college. Jesus saved me the year that CU was the number one party school in the entire nation. And people said, nobody knows Jesus in Boulder. Oh, people know Jesus in Boulder just like people know Jesus in Denver, in Brussels, in Austin and UT's campus. And God is up to something right now. But we were but man, number one party school in the nation. And we had a lot to do with that. Okay, like, good at throwing parties. And then all of a sudden, God grabs ahold of us. And I kid you not, on our drive to our very first night of small group, we made a pact in the car. We're not gonna let these Christian dudes keep us from partying. We're always. We're gonna throw parties for the rest of our lives. And you want to know something? Red Rocks 16 years later. We've never stopped throwing parties. They just look a little different. They look like church services and worship experiences on Saturday evening and Sunday. They look like baptism weekend celebrations. They look like worship nights. They look like parties with a purpose. The kind of parties that fill you up and keep you full. A rowdy church feels like a party. Amen. Feels like a party in this room right now. I like this man. Last but not least, a rowdy church sounds like people who can't stay quiet about Jesus. If something has changed your life, you should want everybody to know about it. Like you should want to tell everybody about it. That's why if you know me at all, you know I've convinced so many people to buy cold plunges. I should be sponsored by all the brands because I'm an evangelist for cold punches. Why? Because it's changed my life, and I believe it could change yours as well. Like we take, like, I show you slides, you know, we just kind of do a whole presentation. This took a turn. And how much, like more should that be the case with our faith if Jesus has changed your life? See, the religious leaders know there's something. There's some rowdy commotion happening in the city, and they're trying to figure out how to stop it. And this is the plan they come up with. I want to read you this in Acts 4:18, all the way through 20. So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, do you think God wants us to obey you or him? How good is that sentence? There is a time to disobey, but that's another sermon for another day because we got Acts 4:20, the next one, and I could preach this one for the next couple hours. As for us, we cannot help telling everybody about what we have seen and heard. I've seen too much. I know too much. I've seen too much about how the grace of God has been. Has changed my life. Eternity is too real for me. I can't just keep this quiet. Last week, I led a funeral in this room, a celebration of life for a man in our church, Dan Gillette, who recently passed away on August 19th. And as I was driving to that celebration of life, I pulled off I35 and I went into Lowe's because I just knew I had to buy a white rope and some red tape. And honestly, this sermon metaphor, I don't know anybody who has. Who live this out better than Dan. And imagine for a second that this rope just goes on forever and ever, like it's infinity, and it's a timeline of your existence. And this red part represents your time on earth in this life, and this white part represents eternity somewhere else. And, you know, C.S. lewis once said, the Christians who are the most effective in this red part are the Christians who think the most about the white part. And that was Dan. So I guess if this was his life. December 8, 1961, I believe Dan was born. And I was told he was an athlete who, you know, crushed school, was great at sports, great dad, great husband, grandfather, leader, gave so much, worked so hard. And I guess right around here, towards the end of his life, is when he got sick. And realizing that he was going to be making the transition from the red part to the white part sooner than later, something shifted in Dan's heart. And this is what his wife, Lee, told me. Like, all of a sudden, he. He was Different. And his. His eternal mindset shifted gears, if you will. He lived different, he gave more. He. He started talking about Jesus more. He started reading about heaven more and looking forward to eternity more. He. He lived with more urgency. And this was certainly true in my experience talking to Dan. We. We had a couple conversations over the phone in the final months of his life, and he was chatty. Okay, so they were lengthy conversations because we talked about his greatest passion, which was building the church. And he would do most of the talking. And it fired me up so much because he wasn't afraid of eternity and he was living with so much urgency. And he would challenge my faith and my vision. And he said, please tell me we got vision to start more locations and reach more people. And I said, yeah, we do. And he said, I'm telling you, you need to 10 or 100x whatever it is, because there is a grace on this church to reach people. Heaven and hell are real. This is not a game. And this is the greatest evangelistic tool the planet will ever know. And I have a PowerPoint presentation on my laptop that Dan made and sent me on how red rocks can reach a million people. And he. He kind of like, put it together. And the Christians who are the most effective in this life, who live with the loudest faith in this life, the churches that get the rowdiest for what they believe in this life are the Christians who think the most about this one, who live today with forever in mind. And like that, that song by Tim McGraw, live like you were dying, I love that song so much. And. But I was like, man, do you have to get a diagnosis to live that way to. To know that to live is Christ and to die is gain. To really start to share your faith with the boldness that you don't care what people think, you're gonna be loud for what you believe. And the. The grace that has changed your life. Do you. Do you need a wake up call before you can wake up to that? I hope not. I don't think so. I. So I want to do this because there's nothing that Dan would rather me do in this moment than invite you to know Jesus if you never met him before. And so at every single one of our locations, before we do anything else, I want to ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. I want to give you just a few moments with God. Nobody else in these rooms other than you and him. And he's been looking forward to this moment. And if you've never made Jesus your Lord, And Savior, the maker of the universe wants to know you. He wants an intimate relationship with you from here on out for the rest of forever. And you simply give him your sin and you say yes to the righteousness of Jesus that is yours via what Jesus did on the cross in the greatest exchange ever, where you make him your Lord and Savior and you repent, which simply means to turn and go. I've done it the world's way long enough. I've done it my way long enough. God, let's do this your way. I want to know you. I want a relationship with you. In case you're wondering, what's the catch, there's not one. That's what makes this the greatest news in the world, and it's true for you. And if you want to do that at every single location, on the count of three, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand. I believe you're already making that decision in your heart and there's already hands up in this room. But a hand raise just seems to solidify a spiritual decision in your soul that you are already making. So, 1. Today is the day for salvation. Do not wait until next week. Are you ready? If Jesus were to come back two days from now. 2. It's just you and him, just you and your heavenly Father. 3. Raise your hand with confidence about who he is, with boldness about what He. He says about you and what he's done for you at every single location. Put your hand in the air so I can say a prayer for you. Amen. There's hands all over this room. I'm believing there's hands all over every single other room as well. Amazing. Okay, you can put your hands down. And you know what? Red rocks at every location. We can celebrate. We can make some noise right now because heaven just got more crowded. And I promise you, heaven is celebrating at this moment for every lost person who comes home. Congratulations on the greatest decision that you will ever make. For you and for the rest of us. A rowdy church sounds like people who won't keep quiet about what we have seen and heard about the God that we know. A rowdy church is a. Is a church that sounds like praise and sounds like worship. You know, when that man was healed and he wasn't just healed physically, physically, he was healed spiritually and eternally in that moment. And it says he got a little crazy and he couldn't shut up about it and he just started praising the name of Jesus and that's what sparked all the rowdy commotion. In Jerusalem because everybody heard this man who was celebrating the fact that you. God just changed his life. I used to be this and now my life is this. And Jesus and his grace is the reason why. And they started celebrating and they all started praising and worshiping. And we can't keep quiet about what we've seen. We can't keep quiet about what we've heard. We're gonna praise and we're gonna worship until all of Jerusalem knows. Until all of off Austin hears it. Until all of Denver, all of Brussels, until distant horizons and the ends of the earth know that Jesus is king and Jesus is Lord. Amen. Red rocks at every location. Would you stand up because we're about to worship. The world might get loud about fear. We're gonna get louder about faith. The world might get loud about sin. We'll get even louder about salvation. Salvation. The world might get loud about hate. We'll get even louder about the love of God. Because we're a rowdy church. We're not a courtroom for the convicted. We're a hospital for the broken. We're not a country club for Christians. We are a party for prodigals. And we have something to celebrate this week. Amen. Amen. God, we love you so much. I thank you for the miracles that we just witnessed right in front of us. For those who just received you as. As. As their Lord and Savior, God, would you bless them and keep them and let your face shine upon them for every. For all of us, everybody, beneath the sound of this prayer. Would you give us one of those senses to hold on to? Maybe you want us just to know you more. Maybe. Maybe you want us to start living a life that is saltier, that stands out, that. That preserves the God flavors of this earth through the way that we live on purpose. Maybe you want us to. The aroma of the lives we live to smell more like grace or more like truth. Maybe you want us to. To rediscover the discipline of celebration and. And not forget that we have a childlike faith and that heaven throws parties and has that same culture every single time a lost person comes home. Maybe it's that you want us to be bold, to share and not keep quiet the things that we have seen and the things that we have heard. So would you bring one of those to the forefront of each of our minds? Would you challenge us and encourage us to want more of that? I pray that as we worship you and we praise your name, that the cities that our churches are planted in would know Jesus, that you are king, that you are God, that you are alive and that you love them. We love you. In Jesus name and everybody say amen.