1 00:00:01,968 --> 00:00:04,971 John 2:1–12 2 00:00:05,572 --> 00:00:08,575 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana 3 00:00:08,575 --> 00:00:11,811 in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 4 00:00:12,178 --> 00:00:15,482 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 5 00:00:16,249 --> 00:00:21,321 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. 6 00:00:21,955 --> 00:00:25,759 And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? 7 00:00:26,192 --> 00:00:29,179 My hour has not yet come. 8 00:00:29,329 --> 00:00:33,033 His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. 9 00:00:33,950 --> 00:00:37,554 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites 10 00:00:37,554 --> 00:00:41,658 of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. 11 00:00:42,175 --> 00:00:45,478 Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water. 12 00:00:46,312 --> 00:00:48,331 And they filled them up to the brim. 13 00:00:48,331 --> 00:00:51,317 And he said to them, now draw some out, 14 00:00:51,418 --> 00:00:54,087 and take it to the master of the feast. 15 00:00:54,087 --> 00:00:55,789 So they took it. 16 00:00:55,789 --> 00:00:57,991 When the master of the feast tasted the water, 17 00:00:57,991 --> 00:01:01,127 now become wine, and did not know where it came from. 18 00:01:01,377 --> 00:01:05,448 Though the servants who had drawn the water knew the master of the feast, 19 00:01:05,448 --> 00:01:10,286 called to the bridegroom, and said to him, everyone serves the good wine first. 20 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:13,973 And when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. 21 00:01:14,641 --> 00:01:17,627 But you have kept the good wine until now. 22 00:01:17,961 --> 00:01:20,513 This the first of his signs 23 00:01:20,513 --> 00:01:23,483 Jesus did at Cana in Galilee. 24 00:01:23,483 --> 00:01:25,702 And manifested his glory. 25 00:01:25,702 --> 00:01:28,037 And his disciples believed in him. 26 00:01:28,037 --> 00:01:31,858 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother 27 00:01:32,242 --> 00:01:34,978 and his brothers and his disciples. 28 00:01:34,978 --> 00:01:37,347 And they stayed there for a few days. 29 00:01:41,251 --> 00:01:42,051 Well, good morning and 30 00:01:42,051 --> 00:01:45,171 welcome to the weekend here at Christ Community Chapel. 31 00:01:45,205 --> 00:01:46,256 My name is Zach. 32 00:01:46,256 --> 00:01:48,558 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm so glad 33 00:01:48,558 --> 00:01:51,561 that we get to be part of your weekend. 34 00:01:51,978 --> 00:01:54,297 2026, if you've been coming, you know this, 35 00:01:54,297 --> 00:01:57,150 if this is your first time, let me let me introduce you to this. 36 00:01:57,150 --> 00:02:01,788 2026 for us is a year of more life. 37 00:02:01,788 --> 00:02:03,206 That's our annual theme. 38 00:02:03,206 --> 00:02:07,310 We take that from Jesus in John 10:10 who said, "I've come 39 00:02:07,577 --> 00:02:10,730 so that they may have life and life more abundantly." 40 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:16,853 Jesus told us his mission was life, even more life for all of us. 41 00:02:16,886 --> 00:02:18,621 So we're taking his word at that. 42 00:02:18,621 --> 00:02:19,939 We're taking him up on that. 43 00:02:19,939 --> 00:02:23,776 We're asking him for more life in our individual stories, 44 00:02:23,776 --> 00:02:26,813 and our marriages, and our families, and our careers, 45 00:02:27,197 --> 00:02:31,818 and for us as a church, asking for more of what God has for us. 46 00:02:32,218 --> 00:02:34,854 January was about getting you ready for that. 47 00:02:34,854 --> 00:02:39,325 And now, as we head into our ten week spring series, 48 00:02:39,325 --> 00:02:45,114 we'll be looking at the Gospel of John and seven "I am" statements that Jesus makes 49 00:02:45,114 --> 00:02:48,868 because when Jesus tells us he came so that we might have more 50 00:02:48,868 --> 00:02:52,188 life, he's not telling us to try harder or to be better. 51 00:02:52,188 --> 00:02:55,191 He's saying that if we will go to him, 52 00:02:55,308 --> 00:02:58,461 if we will go through him, we'll have more life. 53 00:02:58,461 --> 00:02:59,779 So, we're going to look at the ways 54 00:02:59,779 --> 00:03:05,251 he invites us into relationship with him and how those ways lead to more life. 55 00:03:05,251 --> 00:03:06,152 But before we do 56 00:03:06,152 --> 00:03:09,839 that, we're going to take this week to kind of kick start that series 57 00:03:10,023 --> 00:03:13,943 and to make sure we don't miss one really important point, 58 00:03:13,943 --> 00:03:19,499 and that is that Jesus wants more life for us in all areas of our lives, 59 00:03:19,499 --> 00:03:23,486 in all moments of our lives, not just the big ones. 60 00:03:23,486 --> 00:03:27,390 So if you have your Bible, would you open it up to John chapter two? 61 00:03:27,390 --> 00:03:30,410 If you want to use a Bible here in the room or over in East Hall, 62 00:03:30,510 --> 00:03:32,612 you can grab one in the pew in front of you 63 00:03:32,612 --> 00:03:35,331 or in the back of East Hall on page 845. 64 00:03:35,331 --> 00:03:37,850 Or if you're more comfortable, it'll be on the screen behind me. 65 00:03:37,850 --> 00:03:41,721 But, as we get ready to look at John two, let me hold out to you an outline 66 00:03:41,721 --> 00:03:43,773 I'm going to use to guide our time together. 67 00:03:43,773 --> 00:03:48,828 Four simple points and they go like this I want to talk about little moments, 68 00:03:49,913 --> 00:03:51,231 layers, 69 00:03:51,231 --> 00:03:55,368 looking for more, and leaning in. Little moments, 70 00:03:55,368 --> 00:03:58,621 layers, looking for more, and leaning in. 71 00:03:58,771 --> 00:03:59,989 All right, let's start with the first one. 72 00:03:59,989 --> 00:04:01,608 Little moments. 73 00:04:01,608 --> 00:04:05,545 I don't know if you've ever had the experience of reading a book 74 00:04:06,029 --> 00:04:10,433 that is turned into a movie, but if you have, you know that 75 00:04:10,433 --> 00:04:14,938 the way a book tells a story and the way a movie tells a story is 76 00:04:14,938 --> 00:04:18,474 what are wildly different, they have to be, movies, 77 00:04:18,474 --> 00:04:21,711 in my mind, really shouldn't be much longer than two hours. 78 00:04:22,045 --> 00:04:24,831 If I need three bathroom breaks over the course of a movie, 79 00:04:24,831 --> 00:04:27,834 that's a miniseries, not a movie. 80 00:04:27,834 --> 00:04:30,653 But when you're telling a story in two hours, 81 00:04:30,653 --> 00:04:34,140 you have to go from one big moment to the next, right? 82 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:36,442 You don't really have time to slow down. 83 00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:38,061 You don't really have time for detail. 84 00:04:38,061 --> 00:04:42,649 But when you're reading a book, books are full of the details that movies 85 00:04:42,932 --> 00:04:43,533 leave out. 86 00:04:43,533 --> 00:04:46,819 That's why if you ever read a book that gets turned into a movie, 87 00:04:46,819 --> 00:04:49,822 you will probably find yourself saying the book was better. 88 00:04:50,390 --> 00:04:52,141 It's because the book took more time. 89 00:04:52,141 --> 00:04:53,960 You you felt closer to the characters. 90 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,412 You understood the plot. 91 00:04:56,412 --> 00:04:59,415 I think our lives work that way. 92 00:04:59,549 --> 00:05:02,719 What I mean is there's a way of telling you my story. 93 00:05:02,935 --> 00:05:05,004 That is the movie version. 94 00:05:05,004 --> 00:05:06,739 Like, if you said, hey, Pastor Zach, 95 00:05:06,739 --> 00:05:10,643 how did you come to be the senior pastor at Christ Community Chapel? 96 00:05:10,643 --> 00:05:14,430 And assuming that's an honest question and what you don't mean is why 97 00:05:14,430 --> 00:05:16,082 did they ever choose you, 98 00:05:17,266 --> 00:05:20,219 then I would tell you a story that would start 20 years ago. 99 00:05:20,219 --> 00:05:23,423 I would talk about feeling called in the ministry of getting married, 100 00:05:23,423 --> 00:05:27,443 going to seminary, being a youth and college pastor in Illinois, planting 101 00:05:27,627 --> 00:05:31,497 a church in Cleveland, meeting Pastor Joe, coming on staff here, 102 00:05:31,497 --> 00:05:37,020 growing and developing in both character and and ability and love for this place. 103 00:05:37,020 --> 00:05:40,523 I mean, that was 20 years in 20s, right? 104 00:05:40,523 --> 00:05:43,459 That's the movie version of my life. 105 00:05:43,459 --> 00:05:46,763 But of course, there's a book version to life 106 00:05:46,763 --> 00:05:49,766 really isn't one big moment after a next. 107 00:05:50,149 --> 00:05:53,753 Instead, life really tends to be more about the little moments 108 00:05:54,087 --> 00:05:57,840 the regular, the innocuous, the non epic. 109 00:05:58,224 --> 00:06:01,494 That's why it's so interesting to me that in the Gospel of John, 110 00:06:01,494 --> 00:06:02,362 which by the way, 111 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:06,049 if you're new to Christianity, new to the Bible, you're wanting, you're curious, 112 00:06:06,049 --> 00:06:08,551 you're wanting to start reading the Bible, I think, where should I start? 113 00:06:08,551 --> 00:06:10,553 I think the Gospel of John is the best place. 114 00:06:10,553 --> 00:06:12,572 It's an incredibly intimate look at Jesus. 115 00:06:12,572 --> 00:06:15,475 I think you're going to love it. You should definitely try it. 116 00:06:15,475 --> 00:06:18,861 But the Gospel of John starts in chapter one with one of the most 117 00:06:18,861 --> 00:06:21,864 theologically dense chapters in all of the Bible. 118 00:06:21,864 --> 00:06:26,452 It tells us that Jesus is God, God in the flesh, that he came 119 00:06:26,452 --> 00:06:30,139 so that we might know who God is and how to have a relationship with God. 120 00:06:30,139 --> 00:06:33,659 I mean, it is a beautiful, rich passage. 121 00:06:33,776 --> 00:06:37,847 And then in the very next chapter, as John turns his attention 122 00:06:37,847 --> 00:06:41,634 to the public ministry of Jesus, he goes to 123 00:06:41,634 --> 00:06:44,120 what is really not that exciting of a story. 124 00:06:45,738 --> 00:06:47,607 It's not a big moment. 125 00:06:47,607 --> 00:06:49,108 Nobody's life is changed. 126 00:06:49,108 --> 00:06:52,879 Nobody goes from blind to being able to see crippled for to being able to walk. 127 00:06:53,029 --> 00:06:56,482 No one's entire life trajectory is altered. 128 00:06:56,482 --> 00:06:58,151 It's just a wedding. 129 00:06:58,151 --> 00:06:58,918 Let me read it to you. 130 00:06:58,918 --> 00:07:01,554 I want you to just see how ordinary it is. 131 00:07:01,554 --> 00:07:01,921 John. 132 00:07:01,921 --> 00:07:04,907 Chapter two, verses one through three says this. 133 00:07:05,057 --> 00:07:07,577 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana 134 00:07:07,577 --> 00:07:10,580 in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 135 00:07:10,947 --> 00:07:13,833 And Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 136 00:07:13,833 --> 00:07:18,538 And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. 137 00:07:19,555 --> 00:07:21,491 I mean, yeah, that's not great, right? 138 00:07:21,491 --> 00:07:22,558 You you throw a big wedding. 139 00:07:22,558 --> 00:07:25,261 And in this culture, weddings were multiple day affairs. 140 00:07:25,261 --> 00:07:27,380 So if this is day one, that's not great. 141 00:07:27,380 --> 00:07:28,614 It's not great to be out of wine. 142 00:07:28,614 --> 00:07:31,617 But I mean, this is not a cancer diagnosis. 143 00:07:32,418 --> 00:07:35,271 This is not a marriage counseling session. 144 00:07:35,271 --> 00:07:37,440 No one's child is dying. 145 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,926 There's nothing epic about this story. 146 00:07:39,926 --> 00:07:43,646 Why would John go from one of the most theologically rich chapters 147 00:07:43,646 --> 00:07:46,732 in the entire Bible into the ordinary? 148 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,168 Well, really, for this simple reason, 149 00:07:49,168 --> 00:07:52,321 what John is telling us is that when we talk about more life, 150 00:07:53,089 --> 00:07:56,392 we don't just mean more life after death, 151 00:07:57,293 --> 00:07:59,846 although we do mean that we don't just 152 00:07:59,846 --> 00:08:03,716 mean more life in oncology ward, or in the marriage 153 00:08:03,716 --> 00:08:07,403 counseling session, or with with the epic moments of life. 154 00:08:07,403 --> 00:08:11,274 Although we do mean that when John is writing about more life, 155 00:08:11,274 --> 00:08:14,393 the more life Jesus brings, he means more life. 156 00:08:14,727 --> 00:08:16,529 In the little moments, 157 00:08:17,780 --> 00:08:18,931 in the ordinary 158 00:08:18,931 --> 00:08:22,768 days, in the nooks and crannies of our lives. 159 00:08:22,768 --> 00:08:25,821 You see, the reason this is so important is because no matter 160 00:08:25,821 --> 00:08:31,160 how little spirituality you have, no matter how little religious background 161 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:35,848 or little awareness of Christianity, in the big moments of life, you will pray. 162 00:08:37,433 --> 00:08:39,001 You'll try, right? You might. 163 00:08:39,001 --> 00:08:41,787 You might even pray something like, I don't even know if you're real. 164 00:08:41,787 --> 00:08:43,623 I don't even know if you're out there. 165 00:08:43,623 --> 00:08:45,091 But I just lost my job. 166 00:08:45,091 --> 00:08:46,609 I just found out I have cancer. 167 00:08:46,609 --> 00:08:49,946 So if you're out there at all, if this even works at all, 168 00:08:49,946 --> 00:08:52,949 could you please help? That will be natural. 169 00:08:53,366 --> 00:08:54,600 But the reverse is also true. 170 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,153 I don't care how much spirituality you have, 171 00:08:57,153 --> 00:09:01,157 how much of a religious background, how long you've called yourself a Christian. 172 00:09:01,157 --> 00:09:05,027 Most of us leave God out of the little moments of life. 173 00:09:07,079 --> 00:09:10,132 We assume he doesn't get involved. 174 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:13,286 He doesn't care. 175 00:09:13,286 --> 00:09:16,289 We shouldn't bother him. 176 00:09:16,706 --> 00:09:20,209 But this story says that Jesus started 177 00:09:20,209 --> 00:09:23,663 his public ministry in the little moments. 178 00:09:24,497 --> 00:09:27,833 And this matters because life is made up 179 00:09:27,833 --> 00:09:30,836 really of little moments, 180 00:09:31,887 --> 00:09:33,739 not big ones. 181 00:09:33,739 --> 00:09:37,226 It matters if we don't think God cares about them. 182 00:09:37,343 --> 00:09:38,811 Let me show you that. That's my second point. 183 00:09:38,811 --> 00:09:41,731 Not just little moments, but but layers. 184 00:09:41,731 --> 00:09:42,481 I want you to see. 185 00:09:42,481 --> 00:09:46,252 The little moments are really not they're really not little. 186 00:09:46,819 --> 00:09:50,239 There's a Christian therapist who I like to read named Dan Allander, 187 00:09:50,239 --> 00:09:55,161 and kind of his whole stick is that the movie version of your life? 188 00:09:55,161 --> 00:09:58,164 The story you tell people is not actually what shaped you. 189 00:09:58,464 --> 00:10:01,701 The stories that shape us are the ones we remember, 190 00:10:02,068 --> 00:10:04,971 and we don't even really know why we remember them. 191 00:10:04,971 --> 00:10:06,889 The stories we remember. But they're not. 192 00:10:06,889 --> 00:10:08,424 They're not significant, really. 193 00:10:08,424 --> 00:10:10,743 But for some reason, they stick with us. 194 00:10:10,743 --> 00:10:13,729 Like, let me tell you, one of mine, when I was in the second grade, 195 00:10:14,030 --> 00:10:16,849 I had the world's worst teacher, Mrs. 196 00:10:16,849 --> 00:10:17,300 Watson. 197 00:10:18,417 --> 00:10:20,403 I remember her being very old, 198 00:10:20,403 --> 00:10:23,389 although I was in the second grade, so she could have been 26. 199 00:10:24,357 --> 00:10:27,660 I hope not, because I don't want this story to get back to her. 200 00:10:27,660 --> 00:10:29,879 But if it does, Mrs. Watson, you know who you are. 201 00:10:29,879 --> 00:10:32,665 You know what you did. 202 00:10:32,665 --> 00:10:34,850 And so she wanted to get us reading. 203 00:10:34,850 --> 00:10:36,319 We're in the second grade. She wants to get reading. 204 00:10:36,319 --> 00:10:38,154 So she introduced a reading competition. 205 00:10:38,154 --> 00:10:40,189 Whoever could read the most books would get a prize. 206 00:10:40,189 --> 00:10:41,207 And I like to read. 207 00:10:41,207 --> 00:10:44,327 And I also am, you know, I like to achieve, and I like to win. 208 00:10:44,877 --> 00:10:48,381 So about halfway through the year, I had read 175 books, 209 00:10:48,931 --> 00:10:51,834 and the next kid had read six, 210 00:10:51,834 --> 00:10:56,639 which I realize now as an adult, kind of defeated the whole point of the contest. 211 00:10:56,639 --> 00:10:58,557 But I was in second grade, so I just kept reading. 212 00:10:58,557 --> 00:11:00,026 You know, you never know. They could catch me. 213 00:11:00,026 --> 00:11:01,010 So I just kept reading. 214 00:11:01,010 --> 00:11:05,031 By the end of the year, we never really talked about the program or the contest. 215 00:11:05,031 --> 00:11:06,565 I mean, on the wall in the school, 216 00:11:06,565 --> 00:11:08,868 there was like a little book meter thing and, 217 00:11:08,868 --> 00:11:11,003 you know, I had a couple extra poster boards just for me. 218 00:11:11,003 --> 00:11:15,391 And at the end of the year, I had read like 330 books, 219 00:11:15,391 --> 00:11:19,111 and the next kid wasn't close, but she never talked about it. 220 00:11:19,562 --> 00:11:23,215 So on the last day of school, I raised my little second grade hand and I say, Mrs. 221 00:11:23,215 --> 00:11:25,351 Watson, and she said something probably like, what? 222 00:11:27,620 --> 00:11:27,987 And I 223 00:11:27,987 --> 00:11:31,040 said, hey, you know, remember the reading contest? 224 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:31,907 I mean, I'm not sure. 225 00:11:31,907 --> 00:11:34,910 Looks like it looks like I won. 226 00:11:35,911 --> 00:11:40,349 You said something about a prize, and she goes, oh, yeah, fine. 227 00:11:40,349 --> 00:11:43,352 And she goes behind her desk, and she must have raised horses or 228 00:11:43,469 --> 00:11:45,888 or rode horses or something, because behind her desk 229 00:11:45,888 --> 00:11:48,257 she had a whole row of, like, horse trophies. 230 00:11:48,257 --> 00:11:51,260 So she grabbed one of the horse trophies and ripped the name plate off. 231 00:11:51,961 --> 00:11:54,497 So the all that was on the front was like dried glue. 232 00:11:54,497 --> 00:11:57,500 And she handed it to me and she said, here's your prize. 233 00:11:58,067 --> 00:11:59,385 And I was crushed. 234 00:11:59,385 --> 00:12:02,605 I can I can literally see the trophy right now in my hand, 235 00:12:03,205 --> 00:12:05,791 looking and realizing in that moment 236 00:12:05,791 --> 00:12:08,778 I had done something wrong, something you know, it wasn't. 237 00:12:08,878 --> 00:12:12,631 And and I sat with that for the rest of the day with my little second grade heart. 238 00:12:12,631 --> 00:12:15,618 And then I get in the car for the family member who's picking me up, 239 00:12:15,868 --> 00:12:17,787 and they can see I'm crushed, like, what happened. 240 00:12:17,787 --> 00:12:19,789 And I'm telling them the story, and I show them my trophy. 241 00:12:19,789 --> 00:12:21,774 And then I remember the family member just laughing. 242 00:12:24,410 --> 00:12:27,296 They thought it was hilarious. 243 00:12:27,296 --> 00:12:30,299 I didn't. 244 00:12:30,449 --> 00:12:33,452 That was 35 years ago. 245 00:12:33,536 --> 00:12:36,539 I remember it like it was yesterday 246 00:12:36,572 --> 00:12:39,558 because, you know, see, that was a moment where I was learning 247 00:12:39,809 --> 00:12:42,812 some adults don't care about you. 248 00:12:43,712 --> 00:12:46,699 And achievement isn't going to change that. 249 00:12:47,066 --> 00:12:48,901 And in my family, 250 00:12:48,901 --> 00:12:51,954 it didn't matter if you were crushed, if it was funny 251 00:12:53,572 --> 00:12:55,674 35 years ago. 252 00:12:55,674 --> 00:12:56,575 And here's the thing. 253 00:12:56,575 --> 00:12:59,779 If I were telling you the movie version of my life, that would never make it in. 254 00:13:02,748 --> 00:13:05,718 But it lives with me. 255 00:13:05,718 --> 00:13:08,003 You see, little moments aren't little, are they? 256 00:13:08,003 --> 00:13:10,856 To carry layers? 257 00:13:10,856 --> 00:13:12,808 John two is like that. 258 00:13:12,808 --> 00:13:14,727 Big deal. Wedding's going to run out of wine. 259 00:13:14,727 --> 00:13:15,961 Well, except for the wedding. 260 00:13:15,961 --> 00:13:19,732 Is for a little girl who grew up to be a woman who's dreamed her entire 261 00:13:19,732 --> 00:13:20,549 life about this wedding. 262 00:13:21,917 --> 00:13:24,320 No one's going to remember her dress 263 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,422 or the flowers or how she look. 264 00:13:26,422 --> 00:13:28,858 They're just going to remember that they ran out of wine. 265 00:13:28,858 --> 00:13:30,092 You know, in this, in this culture, 266 00:13:30,092 --> 00:13:33,629 the bridegroom, the soon to be husband and his family paid for the wedding. 267 00:13:33,829 --> 00:13:36,899 So if you're the bridegroom's dad, all everyone's going to remember is 268 00:13:36,899 --> 00:13:40,019 you didn't work hard enough or save enough or earn enough 269 00:13:40,436 --> 00:13:43,439 to keep the party going. 270 00:13:43,856 --> 00:13:46,859 You're going to carry the story with you for the rest of your life. 271 00:13:47,877 --> 00:13:52,198 You see, the problem is, is little moments aren't actually little. 272 00:13:52,398 --> 00:13:56,418 And if God doesn't care about them, then what will come to believe is 273 00:13:56,418 --> 00:14:00,956 and you know this before I even say it, he doesn't actually care about me. 274 00:14:02,608 --> 00:14:03,959 How many of us are carrying a 275 00:14:03,959 --> 00:14:06,962 kind of quiet resentment towards God? 276 00:14:08,447 --> 00:14:11,450 A kind of low level hum of anger. 277 00:14:11,784 --> 00:14:14,787 Not from a big moment where he failed us, 278 00:14:14,820 --> 00:14:17,189 but from the aggregation of little moments 279 00:14:17,189 --> 00:14:20,192 where we didn't think he could be bothered. 280 00:14:20,576 --> 00:14:25,281 But in a life of little moments, in a life of little moments that carry layers. 281 00:14:25,281 --> 00:14:28,801 If God isn't paying attention, if he can't be bothered, 282 00:14:28,851 --> 00:14:31,854 if he isn't involved. 283 00:14:33,138 --> 00:14:36,959 Then how could I ever love him at best, if I had relationship with him? 284 00:14:36,959 --> 00:14:40,796 At best, it would be like having a relationship with a distant family member. 285 00:14:40,796 --> 00:14:43,832 I see at Christmas where we pretend to know each other. 286 00:14:43,832 --> 00:14:46,919 We pretend to love each other, but we both know we're going 287 00:14:46,919 --> 00:14:49,922 to go back to our own lives for another year. 288 00:14:50,072 --> 00:14:51,507 Is that your relationship with God? 289 00:14:53,642 --> 00:14:56,178 If it is the. 290 00:14:56,178 --> 00:14:59,515 Don't you see why John starts at a wedding that's out of wine? 291 00:15:01,350 --> 00:15:02,851 It's so crucial to us church. 292 00:15:02,851 --> 00:15:05,988 If 2026 is going to be a year of more life that we don't hear, more 293 00:15:05,988 --> 00:15:09,775 life is for the hospital or more life is for the therapy room or more. 294 00:15:09,775 --> 00:15:12,378 Life is for the big moments of life. 295 00:15:12,378 --> 00:15:15,898 Because what this story is telling us is in the little moments, 296 00:15:15,898 --> 00:15:19,668 the regular moments, the innocuous moments God wants more. 297 00:15:19,735 --> 00:15:21,387 Let me show you how to get it. 298 00:15:21,387 --> 00:15:25,307 Not just little moments, not just layers, but here looking for more love, Mary. 299 00:15:25,307 --> 00:15:26,542 In this story. 300 00:15:26,542 --> 00:15:28,794 I don't know if you picked up on it. Let me read it to you. 301 00:15:28,794 --> 00:15:32,481 John, chapter two, verses three and four. 302 00:15:32,481 --> 00:15:36,168 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. 303 00:15:37,019 --> 00:15:39,888 Then Jesus said to her, woman, I just want to stop for a second 304 00:15:39,888 --> 00:15:42,891 and say, that's a terrible English translation. 305 00:15:43,108 --> 00:15:45,060 I don't want some guy going, it's biblical. 306 00:15:48,230 --> 00:15:49,231 Yeah, 307 00:15:49,231 --> 00:15:52,217 yeah, some of you are laughing because you know who you are. 308 00:15:52,885 --> 00:15:55,471 A better translation of that would be ma'am. 309 00:15:55,471 --> 00:15:55,854 Okay? 310 00:15:55,854 --> 00:15:58,440 We just don't have a good English equivalent north of Kentucky. 311 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,260 That's why they translated that woman. Okay? 312 00:16:01,260 --> 00:16:04,113 And Jesus said to her, ma'am, what does this have to do with me? 313 00:16:04,113 --> 00:16:06,682 My hour has not yet come. 314 00:16:06,682 --> 00:16:09,985 And his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. 315 00:16:10,369 --> 00:16:14,089 So they're out of wine at the wedding, and Mary knows instantly what to do. 316 00:16:14,089 --> 00:16:16,942 She goes to Jesus and she says, they don't have any wine. 317 00:16:16,942 --> 00:16:17,676 They don't have any wine? 318 00:16:17,676 --> 00:16:18,927 No. So interesting to me. 319 00:16:18,927 --> 00:16:21,497 Why did she know to go to Jesus? 320 00:16:21,497 --> 00:16:24,917 I can't help but think over the 30 years of Jesus life at this point 321 00:16:24,917 --> 00:16:26,485 he had done stuff like this. 322 00:16:26,485 --> 00:16:30,322 Like Mary had said, hey Jesus, I didn't get enough rice at the grocery store. 323 00:16:31,023 --> 00:16:34,109 I could do an online pick up or, 324 00:16:34,109 --> 00:16:37,112 you know, you could help a mother out. 325 00:16:37,496 --> 00:16:39,448 But she doesn't even flinch. She doesn't blink. 326 00:16:39,448 --> 00:16:41,717 She goes right to Jesus. They say, hey there. 327 00:16:41,717 --> 00:16:43,802 She says they're out of wine. She knows. 328 00:16:43,802 --> 00:16:45,087 Listen to me, listen to me. 329 00:16:45,087 --> 00:16:47,790 She knows he will care. 330 00:16:49,908 --> 00:16:52,378 You see, the the first thing that Mary is teaching us 331 00:16:52,378 --> 00:16:56,181 is the way to have more life in the little moments of your life is expectation. 332 00:16:58,283 --> 00:16:59,968 She assumes he will care. 333 00:16:59,968 --> 00:17:01,670 She assumes it will matter. 334 00:17:01,670 --> 00:17:04,223 She knows the bride matters to Jesus. 335 00:17:04,223 --> 00:17:07,159 She knows the bridegroom matters to Jesus. 336 00:17:07,159 --> 00:17:10,345 She knows little moments matter to Jesus. 337 00:17:10,345 --> 00:17:12,231 Even when she goes to and says they're out of wine. 338 00:17:12,231 --> 00:17:14,183 And he goes like, look, it's not really time yet. 339 00:17:14,183 --> 00:17:15,234 I don't know what you want from me. 340 00:17:15,234 --> 00:17:18,237 She just ignores him, turns to the servants, said, just do what it says. 341 00:17:19,972 --> 00:17:23,792 How many of us is the biggest obstacle to more life 342 00:17:23,792 --> 00:17:26,779 in the little moments of our life that we have no expectation? 343 00:17:28,197 --> 00:17:31,650 But you see, Mary is telling us that this party could have ended 344 00:17:31,767 --> 00:17:34,319 and everyone would have gone home and they would have said, it's sad, but 345 00:17:34,319 --> 00:17:35,037 what are you going to do? 346 00:17:35,037 --> 00:17:38,207 Sometimes you run out of wine, and they would have missed the fact 347 00:17:38,207 --> 00:17:42,294 that there was someone in their midst who could have blown their mind. 348 00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:44,847 Look what he does, by the way. 349 00:17:44,847 --> 00:17:47,699 You know, in this moment, Mary goes, Jesus says, they're out of wine. 350 00:17:47,699 --> 00:17:49,318 He could have said, it's not really my deal. 351 00:17:49,318 --> 00:17:51,720 You know, I came to save sinners. 352 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,289 Little more important, 353 00:17:54,289 --> 00:17:54,773 right? 354 00:17:54,773 --> 00:17:56,425 He could have said, all right, fine. 355 00:17:56,425 --> 00:17:59,394 Boom. Here's a box from Drug Mart. 356 00:17:59,394 --> 00:18:00,863 Some wine is better than no wine. 357 00:18:00,863 --> 00:18:03,148 I guess. 358 00:18:03,148 --> 00:18:04,083 But that isn't what he does. 359 00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:06,952 Look here, John, chapter two, verse, verse six. 360 00:18:06,952 --> 00:18:07,953 Pick it up now. 361 00:18:07,953 --> 00:18:11,540 There were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, 362 00:18:11,790 --> 00:18:14,093 each holding 20 or 30 gallons. 363 00:18:14,093 --> 00:18:17,096 And Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water. 364 00:18:17,279 --> 00:18:19,131 And they filled them up to the brim. 365 00:18:19,131 --> 00:18:23,218 And he said to them, now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast. 366 00:18:23,218 --> 00:18:24,303 So they took it. 367 00:18:24,303 --> 00:18:27,139 And when the master of the feast tasted the water, now become wine, 368 00:18:27,139 --> 00:18:28,891 and they did not know where it come from. 369 00:18:28,891 --> 00:18:31,143 Although the servants who had drawn the water knew 370 00:18:31,143 --> 00:18:32,728 the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 371 00:18:32,728 --> 00:18:35,180 And he said to him, everyone, serve the good wine first. 372 00:18:35,180 --> 00:18:37,699 And when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. 373 00:18:37,699 --> 00:18:39,384 But you have kept the good wine until now. 374 00:18:39,384 --> 00:18:42,404 Jesus doesn't just give them wine, he gives them 120 375 00:18:42,404 --> 00:18:46,041 to 180 gallons of the best wine they've ever had. 376 00:18:48,227 --> 00:18:53,549 180 gallons of the best wine they've ever had. 377 00:18:53,549 --> 00:18:56,552 They drink it and they go, whoa, whoa, is this from Napa? 378 00:18:57,753 --> 00:19:01,106 The bridegroom is like, I'm not paying for this, right? 379 00:19:01,106 --> 00:19:02,841 It blows their mind with how good it is. 380 00:19:02,841 --> 00:19:04,493 Listen. Listen to me. 381 00:19:04,493 --> 00:19:09,047 Mary knows this will matter to Jesus, but it doesn't matter to him a little bit. 382 00:19:09,264 --> 00:19:10,249 It matters to him. 383 00:19:10,249 --> 00:19:13,585 180 gallons of the best wine worth. 384 00:19:13,819 --> 00:19:15,237 Friends, listen to me. 385 00:19:15,237 --> 00:19:18,440 We box God out of the little moments of our lives 386 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:19,892 because we don't think we matter. 387 00:19:19,892 --> 00:19:21,977 We don't think it will be important enough. 388 00:19:21,977 --> 00:19:23,962 We don't think we're significant enough. 389 00:19:23,962 --> 00:19:27,115 Meanwhile, God is saying, if you would just come to me 390 00:19:27,115 --> 00:19:31,937 in expectation, you would have a 180 gallons of love. 391 00:19:35,507 --> 00:19:38,510 We cannot have more life in 2026 392 00:19:39,261 --> 00:19:42,481 if we assume God doesn't care about the little moments. 393 00:19:42,481 --> 00:19:45,918 And I'm not just talking about wine and money and stuff. 394 00:19:45,918 --> 00:19:48,687 Listen, little second grade, Zach, and this is not a joke. 395 00:19:48,687 --> 00:19:50,606 It's not a praise. You don't laugh and feel bad about it. 396 00:19:50,606 --> 00:19:54,326 Little second grade Zach in the car didn't need ice cream. 397 00:19:54,326 --> 00:19:56,728 He didn't need a better trophy. He needed a hug. 398 00:20:02,517 --> 00:20:04,586 Whatever it is God knows that you need 399 00:20:04,586 --> 00:20:07,589 in the little moments of life, he says, come to me. 400 00:20:09,358 --> 00:20:11,243 Come to me 401 00:20:11,243 --> 00:20:13,078 in expectation. 402 00:20:13,078 --> 00:20:14,997 Here's the second thing. No fourth point. 403 00:20:14,997 --> 00:20:15,831 Not just little moments. 404 00:20:15,831 --> 00:20:17,633 Not just layers. Not just looking for more. Listen. 405 00:20:17,633 --> 00:20:20,969 Number four, lean in. We got to lean in. 406 00:20:20,969 --> 00:20:23,071 Mary says to the servants, do verse four. 407 00:20:23,071 --> 00:20:25,707 Do whatever he tells you. 408 00:20:25,707 --> 00:20:29,244 You see, there are two ways of missing more in this story of missing Jesus. 409 00:20:29,244 --> 00:20:32,247 One is assuming he doesn't care 410 00:20:32,698 --> 00:20:34,683 the obstacle of expectation. 411 00:20:34,683 --> 00:20:39,471 But the other way of missing Jesus is to is to not invite him to take charge. 412 00:20:41,189 --> 00:20:43,492 Because you see, if they had come to Jesus and they had said, we're out of wine. 413 00:20:43,492 --> 00:20:44,726 And he had said, okay, here's what I want you to do. 414 00:20:44,726 --> 00:20:47,329 I want you to take six jars, fill them up with water. 415 00:20:47,329 --> 00:20:50,065 I don't want you to taste the water, smell the water, look at the water. 416 00:20:50,065 --> 00:20:53,552 Just scoop some out, take it to the master of the feast and have him drink it. 417 00:20:53,552 --> 00:20:57,839 Which I assume means if they had filled up three jars or one jar, or five 418 00:20:57,839 --> 00:21:00,842 jars, if they had tasted it themselves, they would have missed out. 419 00:21:00,993 --> 00:21:02,511 Here's what this story is telling us. 420 00:21:02,511 --> 00:21:08,216 God wants to infuse your regular life and your big moment and eternity 421 00:21:08,250 --> 00:21:10,252 with more life. But to get it, 422 00:21:11,670 --> 00:21:12,170 you're going to have to 423 00:21:12,170 --> 00:21:15,173 invite him to take charge. 424 00:21:17,876 --> 00:21:19,578 If 2026 is going to be 425 00:21:19,578 --> 00:21:23,332 a year of more life, it's also going to be a year of expectation. 426 00:21:23,482 --> 00:21:26,818 It's also going to be a year of surrender. 427 00:21:28,053 --> 00:21:31,039 Are you ready for that? 428 00:21:31,974 --> 00:21:34,076 But of course, you're surrendering. 429 00:21:34,076 --> 00:21:38,013 Listen, you're surrendering to a God who loves you. 430 00:21:39,631 --> 00:21:42,751 Verse 11 says this kind of the crescendo of the passage, 431 00:21:43,885 --> 00:21:47,606 this the first of his signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, 432 00:21:47,723 --> 00:21:51,209 and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 433 00:21:51,209 --> 00:21:54,212 Because you see, this miracle. 434 00:21:55,247 --> 00:21:57,115 This miracle doesn't change anyone's life. 435 00:21:57,115 --> 00:21:59,518 Not really, 436 00:21:59,518 --> 00:22:02,521 but it points to one that will. 437 00:22:03,872 --> 00:22:05,691 Because the guy who turned water into wine 438 00:22:05,691 --> 00:22:09,961 is going to turn our sin into righteousness. 439 00:22:11,630 --> 00:22:14,633 He's going to carry my sin to the cross. 440 00:22:15,167 --> 00:22:18,570 He's going to come up under the anger and judgment of God. 441 00:22:18,570 --> 00:22:19,921 He's going to exhaust that. 442 00:22:19,921 --> 00:22:23,692 He's going to die under the weight of it, that he's going to raise from the dead. 443 00:22:23,692 --> 00:22:25,077 And ascend into heaven. 444 00:22:25,077 --> 00:22:28,547 And he's going to say to me, if you come to me in expectation 445 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,451 that you can be forgiven, and if you come to me in the surrender 446 00:22:32,451 --> 00:22:36,321 of allowing me to be Lord, then I will lead you through 447 00:22:36,321 --> 00:22:41,209 the little moments and the big moments into eternity forever. 448 00:22:41,209 --> 00:22:44,663 You see, Jesus is telling us God wants more life 449 00:22:44,696 --> 00:22:49,317 in eternity, more life in the big moments, more life in the little moments. 450 00:22:49,317 --> 00:22:53,839 And the way you get it is not by trying harder or wanting it more or being better. 451 00:22:54,439 --> 00:22:55,407 It's by going to him. 452 00:22:58,493 --> 00:23:00,295 We're going to see throughout the Gospel of John 453 00:23:00,295 --> 00:23:03,632 that Jesus will say he has more for us. 454 00:23:04,282 --> 00:23:07,285 He'll say, for instance, are you dissatisfied? 455 00:23:08,687 --> 00:23:11,189 I am the bread of life. 456 00:23:11,189 --> 00:23:12,958 I can fill you up. 457 00:23:12,958 --> 00:23:15,110 Are you confused and scared? 458 00:23:15,110 --> 00:23:17,429 I am the light of the world. 459 00:23:17,429 --> 00:23:19,081 I can give you clarity. 460 00:23:19,081 --> 00:23:22,067 Do you feel like you're on the outside looking in? 461 00:23:22,284 --> 00:23:25,287 I am the door. 462 00:23:25,470 --> 00:23:26,721 Do you feel like you're. 463 00:23:26,721 --> 00:23:28,073 You're lost in your. 464 00:23:28,073 --> 00:23:30,392 And you're rudderless and you need a leader. 465 00:23:30,392 --> 00:23:32,928 I am the good shepherd. 466 00:23:32,928 --> 00:23:33,895 Do you feel like you're. 467 00:23:33,895 --> 00:23:36,264 You're dry and there's no life in you? 468 00:23:36,264 --> 00:23:39,718 I am the vine and you are the branches. 469 00:23:39,718 --> 00:23:42,721 You see, Jesus is saying, come to me. 470 00:23:44,523 --> 00:23:47,509 In expectation and surrender. 471 00:23:48,260 --> 00:23:51,296 And I will fill your little moments. 472 00:23:51,863 --> 00:23:55,617 I don't know what story you're carrying from the second. 473 00:23:55,617 --> 00:23:55,884 Great. 474 00:23:58,587 --> 00:24:01,590 But I do know. 475 00:24:01,907 --> 00:24:02,691 That if you feel 476 00:24:02,691 --> 00:24:06,111 that that story is telling you that God doesn't care. 477 00:24:06,528 --> 00:24:08,513 It's a lie. 478 00:24:08,513 --> 00:24:11,516 And God was so determined for you to know that 479 00:24:12,751 --> 00:24:15,921 that he started the Gospel of John with a story 480 00:24:16,438 --> 00:24:19,441 about a wedding that was out of wine. 481 00:24:19,758 --> 00:24:22,461 We pray for us, father God, 482 00:24:22,461 --> 00:24:24,029 thank you so much for a story 483 00:24:24,029 --> 00:24:27,032 about regular life. 484 00:24:27,933 --> 00:24:31,253 It is almost easier for us to believe that you will be there for us 485 00:24:31,253 --> 00:24:33,288 in the big moments of life, it's almost easier 486 00:24:33,288 --> 00:24:35,423 for us to believe you'll be there in eternity 487 00:24:35,423 --> 00:24:39,778 than it is to believe that you care about a random Sunday in Northeast Ohio 488 00:24:39,961 --> 00:24:42,948 and one single person sitting in a pew. 489 00:24:44,633 --> 00:24:47,636 But you do. 490 00:24:48,987 --> 00:24:49,588 Holy spirit, 491 00:24:49,588 --> 00:24:52,557 lead us to expectation and surrender. 492 00:24:52,557 --> 00:24:58,346 We want more life this year and beyond, and every little area of our lives. 493 00:24:58,763 --> 00:25:01,616 For your glory and for our good. 494 00:25:01,616 --> 00:25:03,835 In Jesus name we pray. Amen.