Palm Sunday, Passover, And The Savior We Misread | Easter At Life | Week 2

They waved palm branches and shouted “Save us now,” but many wanted a quick fix more than a changed heart. We walk through Palm Sunday with the full Passover backdrop, tracing how Israel’s lamb, blood on the doorpost, and the packed streets of Jerusalem all point to Jesus as the Lamb of God. When you see that connection, Holy Week stops being a set of church events and starts sounding like one coherent rescue story.

From there, we sit in the tension of unmet expectations. The same crowd that celebrates can turn on Him, and we ask the uncomfortable question: how often do we follow Jesus as long as He matches our plan? We then move into John 13 where betrayal is already in motion, yet Jesus kneels, serves, and extends honor anyway. That kind of love exposes the difference between being near Jesus and actually surrendered to Him, especially when hidden sin and private compromise are quietly shaping our lives.

Finally, we answer “Why did Jesus have to die?” with a clear gospel picture of justice, substitution, and grace that doesn’t just forgive, but transforms. We talk confession, repentance, and why secrecy keeps wounds powerful, while honest community brings healing (James 5:16). If you’re craving real freedom, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review, then tell us: what’s one step toward honesty you can take this week?

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Transcript

Welcome, Peace, And Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, this is Jamie Bridges, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. All of our services are inspired and built straight from the Bible. Let's get into this week's message recorded at Life Community Church.

Holy Week Through Passover Lens

Palm Sunday And Misread Messiah

Love When Betrayal Is Coming

Why Jesus Had To Die

Confession, Repentance, And Real Change

Healing Through Honest Community

Closing Prayer And Freedom Challenge

SPEAKER_01 0:28

See you guys. Thanks for uh thanks for being here. Welcome. Uh if you're first-time guests, thanks for uh checking us out. Uh if you want to know more about us, a good first step would be to uh jump in, discover life. Uh there you find out who we are, how we got here, where we're going, and uh it's an incredible opportunity to know more about us. But thanks for uh thanks for being here. One of the first things we would like to do uh today is uh I just want to pray uh before we jump into the word, and I just want to pray for you know the individual in this room that maybe it's you, maybe you know someone and uh you're going through something, and whether that's a horrible report, maybe it's relational, maybe it's financial, uh, maybe it's job related, uh, but it has your attention. And uh before we before we hear the word, like I want us to not be distracted to the things that are happening around us. I truly believe that we serve a God that meets us where we are. He cares about you, he cares about uh what you're doing, what you're involved in, he loves you, and uh it's there's not an accident that you're here today. It's intentional. And uh so I just want us to pray. And uh I believe in all three of our services today, uh God wants to meet people and he wants to show them that despite what is happening to you, he's still God. In fact, Jesus said, Listen, in this world, there's gonna be chaos, it's gonna be trouble. Uh but take note, take heart. I've overcome the world. That's Jesus' words, not mine. It's not our bylaws, it's not our core beliefs, it's his word. I didn't say it, he said it. Right? Take heart today. I've overcome the world. That's good news, even at 9 a.m. You slept in a little bit. You weren't at 7:30, so no excuse. No excuse. Jesus, we love you. And God, we uh we lean into you today. God, you have our attention. And God, if there's something that is standing in the way of that, I pray that the peace of God, which surpasses all human knowledge, would come. God, give us peace today. And I know when we have peace, that doesn't mean our situation changes. It just means how we see it changes. Put it in the right perspective, God. God, I pray for the person who's battling cancer, for the one who's dealing with death suddenly, not not on their radar, tragedy, horrible report, maybe a conversation out of nowhere, and relationally things seem off. Whatever it is that is has a hold on our heart, I pray today, God, that you meet us. God, your word invites us to say, Come to me, all of you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. God, I believe there's something truly special when we surrender and humbly come to you that you do that only you can do. We can't do it, only you can. In Jesus' name. Amen. As we approach, you know, this week, obviously for us as a church, as a big sea church, this is this is it. This is this is the week that changes everything. So I highly encourage you as you're jumping in to maybe reading or reading a reading plan, and get something that's going to talk or walk you through uh this week and what this week represents and what it means. Uh because it does, it changes everything. And why we do what we do is because of this week and what we're reminded of. You know, Passover in Jewish culture was a celebration of how God had spared and saved a generation. And they constantly remembered, you know, the way God spoken in Exodus to Moses to deliver his people that were in bondage. And so, as Christians today, who have been grafted in, right, as men and women, that Jesus looked and says, Hey, listen, what I'm about to do isn't just for a group of people, it's for whoever will call on my name. That's the good news of us. But we look back at what God has done. And so as we come to Passover week, and as they're walking through this celebration of God bringing them out of bondage and these plagues of a pagan king, of a king that was not believing, of a king that was struggling with a king that was stubborn and not letting them go. We see the final plague, which was the to the killing of every firstborn, and God's promise, his covenant was take your best lamb, sacrifice that lamb, put its blood on the doorpost, and then I would know that I can pass over your home. Your home belongs to the Lord. Right? Later, Joshua would say, Ask from me and my house. We are with the Lord. Right? This is coming back to what God had spoken. So we come to Passover week, and we need to see this because as we're reading scriptures and you're going, like, why is Jerusalem packed when Jesus walks in on a donkey, rides in on a donkey? Why is it so packed? It's because they're celebrating Passover. And we celebrate Palm Sunday because of what happened in this moment of celebrating Passover. And we know that when Jesus comes in on a donkey, that already that morning, as a Jewish culture, they were selecting a lamb that was without blemish. A lamb that they, on that tenth day of the month, that they would select, and uh for four days they would bring that lamb into their homes. For four days they would bring that lamb, they would feed it, and their kids would play with it, and they'd probably even name it. And on that fourth day, they would slaughter that lamb. They would take the blood and put it over the doorpost. And then they would, as a meal together, as a family, they would share in a meal together. So when you read the final weeks and you know Jesus comes in, and we'll read about it. Everyone's singing Hosanna, hallelujah, all these things. He's coming in. He's selected that tenth day of the month is the day he comes in, riding on a donkey. And for the next four days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Jesus is being looked at. He's being tested, he's being, and what is found at the end, whether it was Herod or whatever, whoever he went in front of, what did they all say? We find no fault in this man. He was without blemish. So much in John chapter 1, when John is baptizing and he sees Jesus, his family. He sees Jesus, what does he say? Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. There he is. He could have used any description in that moment. Hey, there's the Savior of the world, there's the Messiah, there's the King. He says, Nope. There's the Lamb of God. All of this comes into this place where actually, when you're reading the Bible, it actually all makes sense. It brings Old Testament into New Testament. And so when Jesus comes on the scene, okay, he comes to a group of people, and as he's coming in on a donkey, which fulfilling Zachariah prophecy, I mean, again, all of it just there's a tension in the air. Yes, people are gathering, people are coming in. A picture of a parade, picture you're seeing people from town, people from that you haven't seen in a while, and there's this, there's this air about it, but it's tentious. And now all of a sudden Jesus starts coming in. We see this in verse 8 of Matthew 21. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Praise God in the highest heaven. The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. Who is this? They asked. And the crowds replied, It's Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. Here's the scene. Rome is in control. Israel is in oppression. And everyone is asking it, maybe the same question you're asking, when is God going to do something? This is the question that's happening in that moment. Because you know why they're greeting Jesus that way? Because to them, this was Jesus riding not on a warrior horse, not on a war where he's coming in and he's being this. What is happening is, hear me, it's political. It's political. You waved palm branches in celebration. What are they celebrating? They're celebrating that a savior is coming to save them from Rome. A political leader is coming, and his name is Jesus, and he's gonna save us. Not the way we thought. Again, this is a national victory. They're shouting Hosanna. They weren't just worship, they're demanding, save us now. Fix this now, overthrow Rome now, which begs the question or the statement, you can celebrate Jesus and still completely miss who He is. Again, this moment, this moment, it gives me three initial thoughts. They wanted a savior of their situation, but not their sin. Their praise was loud, but their understanding was shallow. And hear me, misplaced expectation always leads to misplaced devotion. They didn't want a savior from sin, they wanted a savior from their situation, from Rome. Jesus did come to save them, just not the way they wanted. Because five days later, the same people who screamed, Hosanna, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, were shouting, Crucify Him. It was the same crowd. It was the same people gathering five days later, spiritually, bipolar, hardened, Jekyll and Hyde stuff going on. And every single one of us in some level, we do the exact same thing. We praise him when he fits our plan, but we question him when he doesn't. We follow him when he answers prayers, when he blesses us, when he meets our expectations, but we struggle when he delays, when he redirects, and when he challenges us. And listen to me. If your praise is built on your expectations, it will collapse when God decides to do something different. Monday, he clears the temple. Tuesday, he's teaching the fig tree. Judas is working behind the scene. Wednesday, Mary comes in, washes his feet, anoints with expensive oil. Judas complains. Thursday, we come to this moment in John chapter 13. This is the moment. The parade is over, the testing has happened, and one of his own is betraying him. And he knows. And yet, what we find about Jesus is he knows he's about to be betrayed and chooses love anyway. If there's anything we can learn from Jesus, when the Bible says we need to live like Jesus, if there's anything that we need to learn about Jesus, it's how we treat people that we disagree with. If I came out and said, today we're going to talk about conflicts, half of you are leaving this room right now. And the other half of you love conflict, and you're you're probably the people that should have left. Because if you love conflict, you're sick. You're sick. I just love confrontation. I just love confronting. Yeah? You're mentally deranged. That's what's going on. That's a sickness, you guys. That's a sickness. I just love confronting people, telling them how bad they are. I mean, come on. I'm just kind of kidding. I mean Jesus shows us this in John chapter 13. Verse 1, he says, having loved his own, he loved them to the end. Man, what a statement about an individual. Having loved his own, he didn't just love them when it was convenient, when they made the right decisions. This isn't a casual love. This is knowing the worst about someone and still choosing to love them. In fact, you can see this before the betrayal ever happens publicly, Jesus kneels. So here's the significance of this last week. You have palm branches, and then you have a towel that Jesus grabs. And what this reveals is Jesus' love is not based on loyalty. It's not based on performance. It's not based on how people treat them. It's based on who he is. That's all it's based on. It's based on who Jesus is. It's not based on how he's treated. It's not based on performance. It's not, listen, it's not, it's not what you do for the Lord that gets him to love you. It's who he is. While we were yet sinners, Christ died. What Casey just said, Romans 5.8. While we were sinning, Christ had you in mind. Before you thought about him, he thought about you. Like that's who he is. We can't change that. We can argue it. We can say, no, no, no. I want to do better. I'm going to do, I'm going to do this better. I'm going to do this better. And hopes that that's not how that's not who he is. Okay, it's not. It's based on that. And this is the moment Jesus becomes troubled in his spirit in John chapter 13, verse 21. And he says, One of you will betray me. And the disciples are confused. Judas sits there silently. Jesus hands him bread, a sign of honor and friendship. And the Bible says in verse 27, as soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. And Jesus says something haunting. What you are about to do, do quickly. And Judas walks out. The Bible brings clarification as to what the disciples thought. They thought Judas was leaving and paying for the meal. But he walks out. And then this is the crazy part. Hear this. Verse 30. So Judas left at once, going out into the night. That line isn't just about time, it's about spiritual darkness taking over. Judas went into the night up to this moment. Because it's saying in this moment that the enemy, the devil, entered him up to this moment. Judas had made decision after decision after decision. To be disobedient. Which tells me this. You can be close to Jesus and still miss him. Hear me. Judas walked with Jesus. Judas had the best pastor there was. He heard every sermon. He saw every miracle. He had the front row seat of a withered hand becoming whole. He had a front row seat of seeing Lazarus come out of the grave. He had a front row seat of everything that Jesus did. He saw it. He saw everything. He was trusted with responsibility, all of these things, and still he betrayed him. Listen, proximity to Jesus is not the same as surrender to Jesus. You can be close and still miss him. And before we start thinking, like, oh no, no, no, I could have never done it. In 2026, we got church attendance. We got, are we givers, are we not? Christian content, worship playlists, all the things. And the question still is, are we surrendered to him? Are we surrendered? Because hidden sin doesn't stay hidden. Look at this. John chapter 12. Judas didn't just wake up one day and betray Jesus. He'd been stealing the whole time. Look at that. Verse 6. Not that he cared for the poor, he was a thief. And since he was in charge of the disciples' money, he often stole for himself. For those of you that think that Judas just had an epiphany one morning and said, today would be a good day to take 30 pieces of silver. He'd been doing it. He'd been pretending. He'd been drifting internally. And what you hide will eventually shape what you do. Secret habits, private compromises, double lives, they don't stay private, they grow. And here's the best part Jesus still loves broken and betrayed people. This is the shocking part. Jesus knew, and he still loved them. He didn't expose Judas publicly, he didn't shame him. He gave him opportunities to turn back. Jesus' love reaches him even when he's walking away. That means your worst moment doesn't cancel his love. That means your failure isn't final. But you can reject love long enough that your heart hardens. You can. And Judas kept resisting. And eventually, the Bible says, Satan entered him. The more you ignore conviction, the quieter it gets. Opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. And hear me right now. We are spoiled in the American church because we've heard more about Jesus than anybody else in the world. And blasphemy is hearing it and rejecting it. Hearing it, rejecting it. Hearing it, rejecting it until you no longer hear it. And now it gets quieter. In fact, now it comes in a different voice. Now it's justified. He knows everything about you. And instead of pushing you away, he kneels down. He washes feet. And here's my question. This has always been my qu like I can remember wrestling, wrestling with this question as a young man. Why did Jesus have to die? That's the question. Why did Jesus have to die? Okay, that's the question that all of us has to answer. So picture for a moment, you're in a courtroom, you're standing there, you're guilty. There's no question about there's no defense, right? You're guilty. No excuse. The evidence is actually overwhelming. Everyone knows the verdict. And the judge looks and says, Your sentence is death. Then someone walks in, stands beside you, and says, I'll take it. That's the cross. That's the cross. There's no question. There's not a moment of justification. Like I can justify. Like I'm a good dude. I didn't make that many problems. There's no question. Guilty. Like everybody knows. It's not a like, what's the judge gonna do? We know. Guilty. The thought that we could even argue that point is kind of ridiculous when we think about it. Right? It's so ridiculous that we think like, I'm a good guy. Like, no, there's actually not good in any of us. And before we start being like, well, I haven't done as bad as that guy over there. That girl you just did? Right? It's like if you're pointing one finger and not looking at the three that are pointing back at you. Not maybe as a gun. Jesus didn't die to inspire us, you guys. He died because it was the only way to save us. If the cross is just an inspiration, we've missed the point. If it's just a necklace around our neck, if it's just on the back of your car, if it's just a tattoo, whatever it is, if it's just to inspire you, you miss the point. It's the only way. Why? Because sin has a cost. Romans tells us this. For the wages of sin is death. I can't sugarcoat that one. Sin isn't just a mistake, it's rebellion against a holy God. That's what sin is. It creates debt, it brings death, it separates. We don't have to teach people to sin. We're born with it. It's like a spiritual credit card. We swipe it, we enjoy it for a moment, but then the bill always comes, and the bill is always death. And you know why I use it? Because I don't have the currency to pay it. I don't have the money, so I temporarily use something that I can't afford because I can't fix it. It's also because God is just, which means God can't ignore sin. He can't do that. God is loving, he's also just. A good judge cannot say, yeah, you're guilty, and I'll let it slide. Like he can't do that. If he ignored it, he wouldn't be holy and he wouldn't be just. Habakkuk says, your eyes are too pure to look on evil. So here's the tension: God loves you, but God must judge sin. And that creates a problem because we couldn't save ourselves. We can't try to be better. We can't do good. We can't just go to church. We can't clean up our lives. None of that erases sin. None of it. Paul says, it is by grace that you have been saved. Not by your works, so that what? So that none of us can boast. None of us can say, Do you see how hard I work? That this is what saves me? He says, No, no, no. It is by grace that you've been saved. But again, grace isn't just forgiveness, it's empowerment to never be the same again. You cannot miss that point about what grace does. It empowers you to say, I never want to go back there. Right? It changes us. Why? Because we fall short. We needed rescue. We didn't need improvement. We didn't need a better version. To me, it's like trying to swim across the ocean. Some make it farther, but listen, nobody did it. Nobody did it. This is the heart of the gospel. Jesus became our substitute. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. Jesus didn't just die. He died in your place. He took your sin, your punishment, your cross. The wrath of God that should have fallen on me fell on him. Every lie, every hidden sin, every regret was placed on him. That's not metaphorically, that's legally, spiritually, fully on him. Why? Because the cross was the only way. People ask, can God just forgive without the cross? No. Forgiveness requires payment. The cross is where justice is satisfied and love is displayed. The cross wasn't just something Jesus did. It's something we have to respond to. We have to do something with the cross. Like it's not a neutrality thing that we can do. I can't be neutral about the cross. I can't just go, I'm glad Jesus did it. I have to do something with it. Right? And this is why John said, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Confession is powerful in following Jesus because you cannot truly follow him while you're hiding from him. Like that's why it's powerful. Jesus never called people to pretend, he called them to repent. It's the first thing. Right? Behold the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He never said, join a good church, get in a good small group, read this Bible plan. He said, This is the starting point. Repent. Repent. It's number one. It's what we must do. This is confession. This is where pride breaks. This is where healing begins. This is where intimacy with God grows. This is not just admitting you're wrong, it's agreeing with God about your sin. It is the doorway to freedom, not the punishment of failure. Sometimes we approach confession as failure. God says it's the doorway to freedom. In fact, on the door, put freedom, don't put failure. You're using the wrong F word. Some of you cringe just at that. See, a lot of us want forgiveness without confession, freedom without honesty, transformation without surrender. But following Jesus means we stop managing appearances and start walking in truth. Start walking in truth. Romans 10, 9 says, if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord, man, let me ask an honest question. Have you declared openly that Jesus is Lord this week? Because here's the thing. When you follow Jesus, like when Jesus was on the earth, Jesus would do things, and who loved Jesus? People who were being forgiven. You're gonna do some things at work that people are gonna be like, that is unbelievable that you did that. You didn't have to say sorry. You you didn't have to go, you didn't have to pay for my meal. You're just being obedient. They're seeing it as kindness, and they're blown away by it. Now, hear me. This is the moment where we get to openly declare that Jesus is Lord. This is the moment where you get to go, listen, God was so kind to me. I'm not saying in a weird, churchy kind of way. Don't be weird about this stuff. You're like, does this mean I gotta crack open my Bible and go work? Do I need to stand in the lunchroom on the table and openly declare that Jesus is? Stop being weird. No, that's not what I'm saying. But in the moment where you could get credit, do you give him credit? In the moment where someone sees you, are you letting them see him? Because all the way back in Genesis, we know our purpose, we know what God called us to do. You were made in his image. We are to mirror the image of God, the character of God. And God was kind to us while we were ungrateful little sinners. Right? So we're mirroring who God is. We're not, we're not doing on our own, we ain't buying anybody's lunch. We're born into this. On our own, our first word was no. Who taught you that? Right? Who taught you that? With a little attitude and spice, right? What is that? That's we were born that way. Our natural fleshly minds want to make it about us. Jesus wants us to make it about him. To mirror him. So if we confession, again, is not met with rejection from God. It's met with faithfulness. Hear me. This is where it gets difficult. Because confessing to a God, hear me, is way easier than confessing to a friend. It's the reason. So many of us have zero problems. God forgive me today. I was a complete tool. Man, I'm so sorry, God. We're coming home from work. Why did I say that? Your wife reminds you, why did you act that way? And you're like, I feel bad. I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry. Right? So what we've created is Christians, followers of Jesus, who have zero problem confessing to God. And we know He's faithful and just. But then James says, hey, also confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. That was the answer. Since none of you said the word that was right in front of you. So here's what we create. We create people that are really good at confessing their sin to God, but rarely confess it to one another. And so now, if healing brings confession to one another, then not confessing to one another, what does that bring? Wounds. We're wounded people who are saying things like, Well, I've at least confessed to the Lord. Yeah, but you've not confessed to anybody else, which means there's zero accountability, which likely means you're saying the same prayer on Monday that you did on Sunday. And then Tuesday. God, I'm sorry, it's me again. Could you help me with my mouth? And God's like, Yep, I'm trying. But I'd really like to heal you from this because you're clearly wounded. Could you invite Tommy into your life? He's a dude that's going to hold you accountable. He can be trusted. And so now instead of saying, Jesus, I need you to watch my mouth, I'm going to Tommy and going, Tommy, and now Tommy's calling me out. Why? Because I invited him into my space. And next thing you know, my wife is recognizing, man, no longer is he snapping when I think he usually snaps or saying what he used to say. What is that? God forgave me, but now I have accountability. I have someone that I invited into my life, and now what's happening? Wounds that go generations deep are now being healed. Like we don't, you know why we don't understand it? Because we don't do it. I don't grasp it because here's more of my story. I told so and so what I was struggling with, and she told everybody the date down. Everybody knows about what I struggle with because we we called someone and said, I got a prayer request. Come on, you know. I got a prayer request. Did you know? Remember the prayer lines? Oh man. All women. I'm just throwing that out there. She's awake now. I like there's so many directions I can't look right now. Where are my sunglasses? Ah, the cross is back. Miranda, you're making me stay here longer. Psalm chapter thirty-two. This is David, and the weight of unconfessed confessed sin. This is what he said. He said, When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night, your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, I will confess my rebellion to the Lord, and you forgave all forgave me, and all my guilt is gone. Sin drains, confession releases. In Luke chapter 18, Jesus is talking about a tax collector. And understand culture at the time, when Jesus says anything about a tax collector, these spiritual eye rolls that happened in the crowd was enormous. People like, oh my gosh. It's like me saying, and a Democrat or a Republican, a politician. This is what Jesus is saying in Luke 18. He said, A politician cried out, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And Jesus said, That man went home more justified than anyone else. So when you look at Luke 18, 13, 14, why? Because humility opens the door to grace. This man understood what humility was. He didn't say, God have mercy on me, I made a mistake. He called out what he was. God have mercy on me. I'm a sinner. This is the power of confession. It breaks the power of hiding because whatever stays hidden stays powerful. Confession positions us for grace. Confession does not earn grace, it positions us to receive what Jesus already paid for. The cross proves that God is not shocked by your sin. It proves it because he made a way for it. When you confess, you're not informing God of something he did not know. You're surrendering to what he already knows, and you're opening your heart to what he wants to do. That's what confession is doing. When God looked at Adam and Eve in the very beginning, he didn't say, Adam, where are you? Because they were playing hide and seek. He knew exactly where he was. The Adam, where are you? was a pursuit of Adam. I'm not pushing you away, I'm inviting you in. Because when you hide, intimacy with him is the first thing that goes. And now all of a sudden, I don't feel like opening my Bible. I don't feel like I can pray. I don't feel like I can show up in church because this is what sin does. We show up and we think everybody knows. Like I'm the only one that's ever dealt with this, which is a lie of the enemy that you're in this thing by yourself. And so Adam and Eve, there they're makeshifting their clothes because they felt shame and guilt. And in that moment, God invites them back in. Guys, where are you? I need you to answer that. I know where you're at. But why is our relationship changed? Because sin, sin, God invites them in. Guys, listen, I can't tell you people won't push you away when you sin. I can't tell you that you'll always be received well, but you will always be received by Him. He's always wanting you to come back. Always the intent. It's positioning us. Proverbs says, Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper. But the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Hear me right now, because I always go the other way. When we're not confessing, guess what? We're not finding mercy. We're walking around in shame and guilt. Heavy. David said, physically, I'm exhausted physically. My body is wearing down. I'm stressing. I'm worried. Some of the things you're dealing with has nothing to do with flu season. Are you saying that's exactly what I'm saying? You're making yourself sick. Over what? Pride? Yeah. Pride. Man, because confession turns guilt into grace. Confession turns shame into healing, secrecy into freedom, distance into intimacy. This is the beauty. Confession keeps your heart clean and your walk real. The issue, the issue is never about his power, the issue is always about my surrender. If you're in this room, you're like, I feel distant from God, he hasn't moved. He's still there. He's still there. To the Son in Luke chapter 15. He said, I never moved. I'm still here. You're the one that ran away. Hiding. Listen, this is what this is what this week is all about, you guys. That Jesus paid the price that you and I cannot pay. So what? So we can experience freedom. True freedom. True freedom. That's the point. That's the point. Jesus, we need you today. God, I pray for the individual in this room who's struggling, who's hurting. God, maybe it's unconfessed, hidden, secrets. God, your invitation is always the same. Come. Maybe it's an individual in this room who's years of addiction, wrong thinking. God, I pray that you'd renew minds today. Transform us by the renewing of our minds. God, change the way we think so our lives will reflect what you say, not what we say. God, we submit in humility, dependency with you. Can we start today? Can we just take 15 seconds? Just begin to confess whatever it is that you need to confess. God, would you forgive us? Name it. What is it? What is it that you need to confess before holy God who's reaching out like this? And then hear me. Take whatever it is that you just confess. Find someone that you trust, that you respect, that you have a relationship with, that you know praise for you, that you know is for you and not against you. Find that person and say, hey, this is what I confess today. I need to walk in healing. I need to not be wounded. I need to walk in healing today. I challenge you to take James 5 16 to a next level so that we can walk in freedom and healing. In Jesus' name. Amen.