Church Nerds United

In today's episode, titled "You’re Not Alone In The Struggle," Sam dives deep into Jesus' promise to be with us always, even in the midst of life's storms. Drawing from the powerful passages in Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 4, Sam brings to life the Great Commission and Jesus' calming of the storm, illustrating how Jesus' presence is a constant in our lives, no matter the struggles we face.

🛶 Highlights Include:

    A Deep Dive into the Great Commission: Understanding Jesus' everlasting presence with us.
    Stormy Seas and Steadfast Faith: Exploring the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
    Personal Stories and Reflections: Sam shares a touching and miraculous personal story that underscores Jesus’ unwavering presence in our lives.

📖 Scriptural References:

    Matthew 28:19-20 - The Great Commission
    Mark 4:35-41 - Jesus Calms the Storm
    Parallel Passages: Luke 8 and Matthew 8

🚤 Personal Anecdotes:

    Sam shares a heartfelt story about his daughter Hannah, showcasing a personal moment of joy and connection on the lake.
    An inspiring testimony of a miraculous event during his father's battle with cancer, highlighting God's presence in the midst of trials.

🔥 Why You Should Listen:

    Feel Encouraged and Uplifted: No matter what storm you're facing, remember that you’re not alone.
    Gain Spiritual Insights: Deepen your understanding of Jesus’ promises and His constant presence in your life.
    Relate Through Personal Stories: Connect with Sam’s personal experiences and see the power of faith in action.

💬 Join the Conversation:

    Have a similar experience or story? Share it in the comments below!
    Subscribe for more inspiring sermons and stay updated with the "He Promises" series.

Creators & Guests

Guest
Sam Roberts

What is Church Nerds United?

Welcome to Church Nerds United, the ultimate podcast where the sacred and the geeky collide! Dive deep into the Holy Scriptures with us as we explore sermons sprinkled with your favorite gaming quests, cosplay characters, and anime adventures. Whether you're a Paladin of Prayer, a Cosplay Crusader, or an Otaku of the Old Testament, this is your sanctuary.

Join our fellowship as we level up our faith through the lens of epic battles, legendary heroes, and fantastical worlds. From the wisdom of the Proverbs to the valor of the Apostles, we'll draw parallels between biblical narratives and the beloved realms of gaming, cosplay, and anime.

Tune in for:

Sermon Side Quests: Discover the deeper meaning behind Scripture with analogies from your favorite games and anime.
Cosplay Character Spotlight: Unveil the biblical virtues embodied by iconic characters and how they inspire our spiritual journey.
Anime Apologetics: Engage in lively discussions that bridge the gap between faith and fandom, unraveling the spiritual themes in popular series.

So, grab your controller, don your cosplay armor, and get ready to embark on an epic quest of faith and fandom. Church Nerds United is here to guide you on a heroic journey, one episode at a time. May the faith be with you!

Greater Guild Announcer:

Welcome, fellow adventurers, to Church Nerds United, where faith meets fandom in a legendary alliance. We are now in our summer series. This series presents guest speakers giving a deeper insight into God's word. Whether you're tuning in from a distant galaxy, a magical realm, or just your cozy living room, you're in the right place to geek out over the gospel. Before we embark on today's epic quest, I have a special request.

Greater Guild Announcer:

If you love what we're doing here at Church Nerds United, please consider supporting the Greater Guild. By donating at greaterguild.org, you'll ensure the continuation of this podcast and help us fund incredible projects like church gaming events, teen centers, and nerd centric missions, both in the US and around the world. So grab your controller, don your cosplay armor, and prepare for an adventure of faith and fandom. Together, we can make our community stronger, one epic quest at a time. Let's dive into today's episode and level up our spiritual journey.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Today, we are actually going to be talking about Jesus is promised to be with you. And I'll say this, I have been with Pastor Craig, as he mentioned, for 26 years, and I'll tell you what, there's nobody realer, there's nobody more spiritually in tune, more loving his family, and more love with Jesus than our senior pastor and I love him and honor him in this time. And it's an honor to get to be here and share God's word with you today. As I mentioned, we're talking about Jesus being with you. Our, text actually comes from something known as the great commission.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

This is actually given in the very end of the book of Matthew, in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 to 20. And if you've never seen it, it goes like this. It says, therefore, go and make disciples of all of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age. Didn't it just sound good?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

When somebody says, I'm with you. I got you. I got your back. But Jesus says, I'll be with you. It's just comforting.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Right? It feels nice. And Jesus had proven his power many times before to His disciples, and before this verse pops up. And and we're gonna talk today about time He doesn't just display His power, but his presence in being with the disciples. And today, we'll look at a story that comes out of the book of Mark chapter 4.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

If you wanna follow along in your YouVersion Bible app or in your bibles, you can turn there. And, for those of you who wanna study a little deeper and look at the story, it actually gets paralleled in Luke 8 and Matthew 8. So we can look at that, and this story is going to occur in a boat on the sea. And since we're gonna be talking about a boat on the sea, and I'm speaking, I'm just gonna show you a shameless video of my second daughter, Hannah, when I took her out. Now here's context though.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

See, she was gonna be getting married pretty soon, and she wanted to go with daddy on the lake. And so, of course, I'm taking her out to the lake, and she then asked if she could drive the boat. I don't normally let that happen, but I let her drive the boat, I took her to the back of the lake, and I said, let's go, honey. Here's how you do it. So take a look at her driving this boat right here.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Here she goes. We are skimming across that lake at about 55 miles an hour right there. Look how joyous she is. She's now what she said right there is, how do I slow down? That's what she said because we're going pretty fast right there.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And, man, I just love that girl, little Hannah. I don't have any really good reason to show you that video other than I'm up here speaking. We talking about a boat, and so why not show you a cute video of my daughter? Back to Jesus, Mark 4. Where are we in the context of this story?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Well, we're actually on a lake called the Sea of Galilee and I wanna show it to you just for bring you a little bit of context about this sea. This sea is actually 13 miles long, 8 miles wide. Okay? So it's a pretty big pretty big lake. It's also the lowest freshwater body on earth.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Okay? And some of you might be, what about the dead sea? Dead sea is salt. Right? This is fresh water and it's the lowest, but it's surrounded by mountains all around it.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Which what happens is sometimes the cool air will come down out of those mountains hitting those warm waters and create very explosive thunderstorms on the sea. And so it's very well known for its very erratic and explosive nature. Sometimes these waves can get up to high as 10, 12 feet and have been recorded at 20 feet. So these storms are pretty crazy. Now, I'll also look over here, we are the story when we start, we're over in Capernaum.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And we're gonna be going over to Gergesa is where we're gonna be headed, and in the context of all that, we get a little problem. But before we get to the problem, I think it's very important that you understand the context of what is going on because it will help deepen what exactly happens here with Jesus. So admit we're over in Capernaum. Jesus is teaching. K?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And all of a sudden, a lot of people start flooding around to try to hear him teach. K? They wanted so many people that they put him in a boat and they push him out a little ways from shore so that he can teach. And in this context, he teaches a parable known as the parable of the sower. And in this parable, what happens is he says a sower goes out and spreads seed.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Some of it falls along on a path and the birds of the air come and grab it and leave. Some of it falls on shallow soil and it sprouts up, but the root's not deep and the sun comes up, and then all of a sudden it dies. Some of it actually lands in decent soil, but then the thorns come up. It's these worries of the world and it just chokes the seed the seed out. But then others, he says, it falls on good soil, and it actually produces a harvest.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Sometimes 30, 60, 100 fold. It's great. And everybody is around like, that's so good. That's good pastor. You keep going.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

That's good teaching right there. And then the disciples pull off the sign and be like, hey, that was really good, but you said, we don't understand it. What did that even mean? I don't know what you're talking about. He says, well, okay.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Here's what it is. And he tells them that listen. The seed that fell on the path, then it gets taken away. It's like when your enemy, Satan, he comes and he steals the word. But then that soil that where it fell in shallow soil, that's like you received the word, but then it doesn't have root.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And so when persecution comes, ah, it fades away real quick. Now to that other seed, when it hit that good soil, but then it got choked out, that's the worries of this life choking out the word that God had put in your heart. Then the one that falls on good soil is when it's heard, it's put into practice and he yields 30, 60, 100 fold. So he tells this parable to them and they're all like, got it. That's really good.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And then immediately he shares with them 3 other parables, real quickly. And first one is about a parable about a lamp, and he says, look, you don't take a lamp and then hide it, Do you? No. We don't put it under a bed or under a bushel. We stick it on a lamp stand to give light to the whole house.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Then he talks about a parable of a growing seed and a parable of a mustard seed. So you could say it was like a college course, and he was the professor, and he had been teaching. But now it was time for the lab. The time to put all this teaching into practice. And so in Mark 4 in verse 35, we read this, where Jesus says, then that day, when evening came, he said to his disciples, let's go to the other side.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Now remember, we're at the Sea of Galilee, we are on a seashore, and we're in Capernaum, and we need to go across to Gergesen. Right? There's a few problems with this statement. First of all, I want you to understand it said that evening. So this is like I'm teaching you something, and then you when you leave church, you know pastor Craig taught you something really good, and you're like, Oh, that's good.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I need to be more like that. Then you go out, and you went to the restaurant, and it's like, bam. You got hit with it. You're like, I don't know. Okay.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Am I gonna do what he said? Am I gonna put this Bible word into pass into practice and do it? That's what's happening to him. He He says, let's go to the other side. Understand this, the sea itself I just told you was known for its explosive storms.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Okay? It says that it was evening. In this context, it's gonna mean late afternoon headed towards sunset. So they're like, I don't know. Is this the best idea?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

But there's a bigger problem. Okay? We're over in Galilee. This is Jewish territory. It's all good.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Gergesa? That's in the region of the Decapolis. It's pagan. It's Roman. It's bad.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

You can actually be unclean over there. This is not a good place to go. Mama said I'd never supposed to go over there. I am not supposed to go over there. This could be a big problem.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And, furthermore, they believed that the Roman gods would many times wage war out there to try to explain these storms. They thought that Baal and Yam were out there just fighting and it creates all these storms. They thought Leviathan lived in this lake. So they were scared of this. Now, I can't imagine that there was some side eyeing going on between the disciples.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Like, I don't know about this. I mean, that teaching was pretty good and the sower and all that stuff, but oh my gosh. This looks pretty bad. This looks not good at all. And what we see is actually in the very next verse, he's gonna teach something very amazing.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

But what you see is him saying, no, we're gonna go to the other side. What is he doing? He had just told them, listen. You don't hide a lamp, do you? You actually let its light shine.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I just told you that, but now we're gonna go over there where you don't wanna go. To the people you don't think we need to go to, and I'm gonna take you over there, and we're gonna go. So he's putting into practice the teaching immediately that he's given to them. In verse 36, he says, leaving the crowd behind, they took him along just as he was in the boat. How was Jesus?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Well, quite honestly, he'd been teaching all day long to thousands of people. He was tired. He'd been healing. He'd been praying. He'd been talking.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

He'd been healing. He'd been praying. He'd been talking. Then he'd been explaining to the disciples what he was saying. He was tired.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And you notice something, they obeyed him. They jumped in the boat. So far, so good. The disciples are doing okay. They didn't argue with him.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

They just get in the boat despite the fact mama said don't go over there, despite the fact I'm not supposed to go to this whole area, I'm gonna go ahead and get into boat with him. And then in verse 3637, it says, there were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Now listen, guys. Here's the first thing that stands out to me when I read that.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

They did what Jesus asked them to do. They got into the boat, and yet the storm showed up. You ever feel like I'm doing all the things? I'm not supposed to have storms. I served, I tithed, I gave.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I did all the stuff. Why is there a storm? Why am I in trouble? Maybe you're not in trouble. You see, God sometimes actually will help take you into the storm, not to discipline you, but to disciple you.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I don't know about you, but my life is most forged in the storms than in tranquility. The faith that I have deepens in the context of a storm, and here are the disciples in the middle of a storm and what happens? Verse 38. Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion. I told you he was tired.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

He's very tired. It's not that he didn't care. He was just wore out. He was exhausted. The disciples woke him and they said to him, teacher, don't you care if we drown?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Don't you care? You said get in the boat, got in the boat. You said do that, I did this. You did the little lamp thing, and I believed it. Now we're going over here where mama said don't go.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I did everything you said to do. Don't you care that we're about to drown? Maybe some of you today feel a little bit like that. Like, Jesus, don't you care? Don't you care my kid is sick?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Don't you care that my marriage is falling apart? My friends deserted me? I ain't got money. I feel alone. I want to give up.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

My loved one died. I lost my job. Don't you care? Don't you care? Of course, he cares.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

You see he was always with the disciples in the boat. He's never not in your boat. You are not alone in your struggle. They were just taught the parable, remember of the sower? You remember that part about the word being received, and then the thorns growing up?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

They were in the thick of it. These waves were the these waves this this storm, it was the thorns, and, all of a sudden the worries of this life had gotten the disciples. Don't you care? What's going on? Storms are gonna come in life.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

You may be surprised when they come, how they come, and where they come from, but ladies and gentlemen let me tell you the storms are gonna come and you cannot prevent them. The good news is though, that Jesus is always in your boat, and he is always going to be with you in the struggle. So continuing on in this verse, verse 39. It says, he got up and he rebuked the wind, and he said to the waves, quiet, be still. And then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

In the matter of just a few moments, could you imagine this? You're in a boat, he's asleep on a cushion, you go down, don't you care? He gets up, And it just gets quiet. In a matter of moments, the disciples saw Jesus' humanity being fully man, and that he was exhausted and couldn't even stay awake in the context of the storm, that tired. But then they saw his divinity, and the fact that he was sovereign over even the creation and the waves and the wind, and when he would speak a word, they couldn't help but obey.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

They saw these two things. And then in verse 40, he said to him he said to his disciples, why are you so afraid? You still have no faith? Now I'm gonna pause for a second, and every time I read that in past, I always thought, that seem kinda unfair. That seems a bit harsh.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And the reason is because I completely identify with these disciples. In fact, I'm gonna I'm just gonna tell you, I would have been the one first going down to the storm, the stern. The first wave that came over the boat, I'd have been like, I know, y'all all good. I'm not. I'm going down to the stern right now.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I'm yanking his damn cushion out from under his head. I'm like, don't you care about this? You see that water coming in We're supposed to be I I told everybody not to go anyway. Mama told me not to go to Gergesa. All the crazy Roman nonsense going on over there, You're gonna make us unclean.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Now, bailing Yammer after it, and Leviathan's probably about to eat us up. Don't you care? I'd have been the first one down there. Like, I don't understand. And so for me, I'm like, yeah, but what do you mean disbelief?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I mean, the waves are literally coming over the boat. I get tripped out in my boat with 4 foot waves. I can't imagine 10, 12 foot waves hitting my boat. I would have been freaked out out in the middle of this lake. And so it seemed harsh, but then I realized something.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Jesus never said to them when they were in Capernaum, hey guys, let's go out in the middle and die together. That'd be great. He never said let's just go out there and get in a real big storm and let me scare the fire out of you real quick and it'll be great. He said to them, let's go to the other side. He said, let's go to the other side.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

No wonder he said, hey. Hey. Hey. You don't believe? We're going over there.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I said we were going, and I can't help but think about times, maybe you relate, where God said something to you a long time ago. He spoke something into your life, and then the worries of the world came up, and you started choking it out. That thing you believed for, back when you said your covenant vows, you thought it was gonna be great, and it wasn't so great. You thought you was gonna have this really long road in front of you and then the doctor came in and said something, and the worries begin to choke? You thought everybody was gonna be great and you all your kids were gonna follow Jesus, everybody gonna be good, and then it didn't happen.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

There's something God had spoke. We're going to the other side. Why do you doubt? Trust me. I'm with you, and we're gonna get to the other side.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

What is that thing that God spoke to you? We see in verse 41, that they were terrified, and they ask each other, who is this? That even the wind and the waves obey him. Who is this guy? Who is this?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I mean, he's been teaching pretty good. He's done a miracle too to kinda, maybe. I don't know. That looked pretty good, but then I like to look at this, and it's like a moment where for the disciples, it's like a sudden, they asked themselves, who is this guy? All of a sudden, they asked themselves, who is this guy that the wind and the waves have to obey him?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

That's insane. They're like, I don't know who is this. This is crazy. He's different. It was like the storm after the storm.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Like when Jesus comes in and starts to rearrange your life, feels like a storm after your storm. You know, the storm kinda got you there where you were like, don't you care? And then he comes in, like, you rearranged and everything wasn't great, and then you're like, who is this? When he speaks and the disciples are like, oh my gosh. This guy.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

He's with us. Now I'm gonna tell you about a time where Jesus was with me. In fact, he was with my whole family, in fact. And, recently, my, one of my daughters, my youngest daughter asked me a question. She says, why does God not do miracles anymore?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And I said, well, he does. And she goes, yeah? Tell me why. And I was like, okay. And so I told her this story.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And I realized I've actually never spoke this story before, never from a stage for sure. But then I realized when I was talking about this story to some staff members who I've been with 20 years, plus 20 plus years. Pastor Craig's never heard this story. Some of my kids hadn't heard this story. And I was like, why?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And I'm like, because I understand that there's some of you that are gonna listen to what I'm about to say, and you will think I'm crazy because it's insane what God did. But I wanna tell you today, he's with you. And I pray that this story encourages you when you hit and you're in the middle of or you're going into a storm. I was 14 years old and I was home alone with my dad. And we were awaiting a phone call from an oncologist.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

The phone rang so I left the room. Made myself scarce for a few minutes. When I came back, dad was looking out our storm door into the backyard. And I walked over and dad had tears in his eyes, And I knew what was on the other side of the phone. He had cancer.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Seeing tears in my dad's eyes was very interesting. Context, my dad was 6 6, 200 and none of your business, worked in a steel mill factory. He actually had a lunch pail that was 10, and he carried a Stanley thermos. Not like the OG Stanley thermos, not this stuff that's running around today. I mean, the OG.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

He was big barrel chested and steel toed boot wearing, my dad. And when I walked up, he just simply said, let's go fix some mower. See, the mower had been broke for a little while, and I'd been out my chores for a while. And so he was like, oh, go get it fixed. I'm like, oh, okay.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

We'll go out. So we went out into this hot summer, Texas day, and, I went out, and we got up underneath the old Chinese elm tree in my backyard. And I'm start my job was to hand him tools. So I'm handing him tools. He's laying under the mower fixing.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

All of a sudden, I hear something up above me in a branch, and so I turned around and looked, and there was a dove sitting on this branch. And I've been dove hunting since I was a little kid, with my dad and my older brother. Every year, we went dove hunting. So I was quite familiar with dove. I know they're a migratory game bird.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

They're skittish. They don't stay around. This bird was sitting like 8 feet from us on a branch. But it was the appearance of the dove that really messed me up. It was white, like bright white.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Okay? Almost like unnaturally white. The few times when I had been hunting and seen a bird appeared mostly white, or I got one, it always had red eyes, but not this bird. It had blue. Like, sea blue.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And I said, dad, look at this. And he gets up from under the mower and he looks up and he's like, son, be quiet. Shh. You're scared away. And he stood up and he looked at it.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

After a minute, we kind of were like, wow, this bird's here. We go back in the house. And then, the oncologist had told my dad, your chemo treatment is 6 weeks, 2 times a week, for 6 weeks long. And so my dad would get up and he would go to work, and most every day he would get up, he'd go to work, he would leave the house at 4:30 to 5 AM. He'd go to work, then we'd go get chemo, then he would go back to work, and he would come home.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

On the days that he had chemo, this is what would happen. Around 4:30 or 5 when he left, he would walk out the small gate in my backyard, and that bird would fly down out of that Chinese elm tree and land on a large gate that was right there on my rock driveway. He would go and get in his truck. He would leave. He would come home, and when after he left, that bird would fly back up in that tree.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

When he would come home that day at 6 PM, that bird would fly back down and land on that gate again. He would walk by it. He would come into the house. That bird would fly back up into the tree, and this happened 2 times a week for 6 weeks. Every time without fail.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

At the end of 6 weeks, we were waiting on a phone call from the oncologist, but honestly, I think we all kinda knew what was it gonna be on the other end of that call. Sure enough, when that phone hung up, it was time to ring bells and eat steak at my house, because the cancer had been vanquished and was gone. And that was cool. My dad walked out the back door onto our patio, and he walked over by the little gate. So I walk out the back door and I'm standing there, and sure enough that bird come down out of that tree and landed on that same fence, and he stood there for a second and he turns around and he walks back towards me.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

As my dad was walking back towards me, the bird took off, but it didn't fly back to the Chinese Elm tree this time. It flew up and it flew around my house. One time, two times, three times. Now, I understand you think I'm crazy when I tell you this. Perhaps my eyes just lost it because it was white and there was a low cloud ceiling that day, but I'm a I swear to you, it looked like that darn bird flew straight up into the darn clouds.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

As it circled, it just got higher and higher until I couldn't see it no more. Never saw it again. We realized Jesus was with us the whole time, And You may get a dove in your storm. You may, and you may not, but you always get Jesus. He's always with you.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

If you're a Christ follower, do you know who's in that boat? Who's in the boat with you? Remember this little girl? Look at that face. The reason she wanted to slow down guys is because we're headed toward a rock dam.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

It's fair. 55 miles an hour straight toward a rock dam, you would ask if it's time to slow down too. But does she look weary? No. She don't look weary.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

It's cause daddy's in the boat. I know exactly when to pull that throttle down. I know exactly what the topography of that looks like. I've fished it many times. I know when the bank transitions and the stuff that's under the water that she can't even see.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I know everything about it, and she trusts her daddy. She knows who's in the boat with her. Jesus tells us that he's gonna be with us, but he tells us something else. It's maybe even more important. Did you see it?

Pastor Sam Roberts:

You probably didn't. The reason is look. This is the verse that we started with. Take a look at this. It's the great commission.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Right? So it's on calendars, coffee mugs, and everything. There's just one important part missing, guys, and it's the verse just before it. Verse 18, then Jesus came to them and he said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, now that you know that, therefore, go make disciples of all the nations.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. When you place your faith in Jesus, things change. He's still the one who all authority. He's still the one who had a spoken word can heal a marriage.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

He's still the one who had a spoken word can break an addiction. He's still the one that had a spoken word can heal the cancer. When you place your faith in Jesus, may you realize that the one who calmed the seas can still calm the seas in your soul, and he is with you even to the end of the age. Let's pray. Jesus, we thank you that you are with us in all storms and in all trials and in all the time, Jesus, you are with us.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Today, as we're praying, as you've been listening, maybe maybe you're going through a storm and a bit of a trial, and what you want is just that, man, that constant reminder. You want me to pray for you just to be reminded that Jesus is in your boat and he is there for you. If you're going through a storm, I'd love to be able pray for you. Just lift up your hand right now and say, yeah. That's me.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I'm going through some stuff, and I wanted just a reminder. Yeah. Lots of hands going up. Lord Jesus, I just pray that, we would be reminded on the daily that you are with us. Though the waves may crash and the storm and the winds may blow, that you are with us all the while.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

That you're always in our boat, and I pray that we would be encouraged in that, that we would be strengthened in that truth. Still praying today with our heads bowed and eyes closed. There's others others of you who, man, I do you realize who Jesus is? It says all authority in heaven on earth has been given to him. And it's important that we understand who's in the boat.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

But if Jesus isn't in your boat, the storms of this life can really, really be a problem. You see, what can happen is things begin to happen. Things break apart. Storms come, and we begin to fill our boats with things that don't actually work. Broken relationships, addictions, substances, all sorts of things.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And when we do that, we miss the mark. And the Bible says that's called sin. That sin separates us from God. But Jesus knew that this was gonna be a problem. And so God sent his only son, Jesus, in our place to die, in our place on the cross so that he could be with us.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

So that he could make us new, to be forgiven of our sin, to be transformed, and to be able to have a peace that surpasses all understanding. Maybe today, that's you. And you're here today, hearing us and says, you know what I need? I need Jesus in my boat. I've been putting everything else in there, but I haven't put him in control.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And I, today, wanna say, Jesus, come in. Forgive me of my sin. Jesus, give me purpose. Bring me new life. Bring me your peace and forgiveness.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

And if that's you today, and you say, that's what I need. I need Jesus in my boat across all of our locations. Just lift up your hands high right now and say, yes, Jesus. Come in. Take over.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Be my lord. Be my savior. Right here in the center section. Yes. Welcome into God's family.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Others of you today, right over here, welcome into God's family. Those of you at church online, just type in the chat and say, I'm giving my life to Jesus. Let's all do this. Nobody prays alone in this prayer. Let's all pray with those making this decision today.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

Pray along with me. Pray. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus for sending Jesus to die in my place. Forgive me of my sins And make me new. And make me new.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

I give you my life. I give you my life. Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. Give me your peace.

Pastor Sam Roberts:

It's in Jesus name I pray. Everybody says amen. Amen. Amen.

Greater Guild Announcer:

That's it for today's quest, fellow adventurers. Thank you for joining us on Church Nerds United where faith and fandom unite in an epic saga. We hope you enjoyed the journey and found inspiration in the intersections of scripture, gaming, cosplay and anime. Before we log off, remember that your support is crucial to keeping our adventures going. Please consider donating to the greater guild@greaterguild.org.

Greater Guild Announcer:

Your contributions help us continue this podcast and fund amazing initiatives like church gaming events, creating teen centers, and launching nerd centric missions both in the US and around the world. Together, we can build a community where faith and fandom flourish. Until next time, keep the faith, stay geeky and may the spirit of adventure guide you always.