Beyond the Message | Beyond the Message — More Life | The Promise of More

In this episode of Beyond the Message, the team reflects on the launch of the 2026 vision series, More Life, centered on Jesus’ promise in John 10:10 to give life abundantly. They discuss the tension between trusting Jesus and our instinct to control, unpacking how obedience, surrender, and relationship with God lead to true flourishing—not the “less” we often fear. Through honest conversation about money, parenting, habits, and faith, the group challenges listeners to “fire themselves” as the shepherd of their own lives and trust God more deeply. The episode invites listeners to step into 2026 with intentionality, redefining what abundant life really means.

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What is Beyond the Message ?

Beyond The Message is a weekly podcast that dives deeper into the weekend’s teaching. Released after each Sunday service, it offers thoughtful conversation, added insight, and practical reflection to help our community process and apply what they heard. Whether you're revisiting the message or catching up, this podcast is designed to help you go deeper throughout the week.

Welcome to Beyond the Message, the podcast where we take the weekly teaching from Christ Community Chapel and bring it into your week. Each week we sit down with friends and we talk about what we just learned. We laugh a little bit, reflect and figure out how to live out what we are learning. If you didn't get to hear the message yet, no big deal. Go down to the description and find a link where you can listen to it and hear it and then come back over and join us for this conversation. My name is Stacey and today I'm joined by Jamie Hewitt, by Sara Koons, and by Jimmy Kozy. It's been a minute. We took a little break, but we are back. Glad to be back, Stacey. Thanks, Jamie. Thanks, Jamie. I'm glad to be back. 2026, let's go. 2026. So today, before we get started, before we jump in, thought, hey, it has been a minute. Why don't we just take a look at when you think about leaving behind 2025, heading into 2026, what is it you feel like you're leaving behind? Or how did that year wrap up for you? And what is a word or something that you are looking towards in 2026? I'm leaving behind gluten. You're leaving behind gluten? Is this a new thing? Is this willful? Are you choosing to do this? I am choosing to do it. I think it, my husband Matt has been eating gluten-free and he's like, I feel so much better. And so I kind of started that all the time doing that. Do you think people just say that to, like, self justify their militant habits? Maybe. I think there, I think. I know I'm guilty of that. I think there really are some health benefits, so. But leaving behind gluten. Yeah, leaving behind gluten. But in all seriousness, my word is kind of health, but in all areas of my life. So physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, all of those things. I turned 50 last year, so there are. You do not look a day over a 37 Sara Koons. But there are things where you're like, okay, I actually probably need to just start paying attention. If I don't stop doing this, I'm going to die. Exactly. Yeah. I love it. That's great. Anybody else? I think I 2025 back half of it, it was just kind of existing week to week. I think there wasn't a whole lot of intentionality, like looking forward. So I think for me, coming out of that and looking into 2026 is being more intentional with the Year. Yeah. Love it. I'm gonna jump in. Go ahead. I think I. As I was reflecting on 2025, I didn't wanna acknowledge it for a long time, but it was a pretty hard year. So there was just a lot of some obstacles, some grief with different things. So as I wrapped up the year, I was going, okay, who knows, who knows what the future holds in that? But just kind of acknowledging that and then thinking, though, about a lot of stuff, I think with family and friends and being really hopeful for the year to come and expectant of what God is going to do and even, I think what we learned about and what we're going to even talk about in a couple minutes kind of lends itself to that. So mine was a little bit down, so I thought, Jimmy, you better end up. No, you didn't. No, you don't. I actually left behind, any looking at social media, so. Good for you. You're not on much anyway. I don't post, but I do look. Do look. I do look. Okay. You know, and, lurk is the right. Lurk is the right word. I don't think look is strong enough. It's not. It's lurking. Yeah. so I just felt like, was, it was too, I was too interested in what was going on on Twitter or X or whatever you want. I don't care what Elon Musk says. It's still Twitter. That's right. and so, yeah, but, like, the reality is, like, I wanted to make sure that most importantly, if something happened in the NBA where, like, a trade was made, that's the way I would find out about it. That's probably the hardest part about it is, like, somebody will come up to me and ask me, hey, did you see what the Cavaliers did? I'm like, I don't know. I don't know, because I haven't been as keyed in for the last, whatever days it is since the beginning of 2026. But on the other hand, does it feel good? I was gonna say, do you miss it? Not. Not really, no. I mean, the screen time. It's funny, you know, the iPhones giving you your screen time and it'. And that makes me feel good. It's like, I mean, I'm talking. I don't feel like I'm on social media much, but that's like. I feel like it would be similar how long you're on it until you're like, oh, it's been an hour. I mean, I was looking. I looked last night and yesterday in total, I think, it was like an hour and five minutes that I, and 17 minutes of that was maps when I was driving somewhere. So I was like, the data was say, like, my screen time's way down. So anyway, do you look at your screen time every day? No, I just checked. I was just thinking about this because I had gotten a podcast preparation guide in my teams, and so I was thinking about what I was going to say for this question. That was a minute of your screen time right there. I love it. Okay, well, let's jump in. This series we started off, the new vision series for 2026, one thing I just love about this place is that we start preparing for this. You know, Pastor Zach goes away. Pastor Michael, where do they go away and start planning for what 2026 will look like, what we're going to learn in, like, July or something like that. And I just remember them coming back from that and saying, hey, this is a year we are going to focus on more life and the life Christ has for us. And so that's what we kicked off this week. And it was really powerful. it was centered around John 10:10, where Jesus says, and, you know, Zach focused on this being like his Mission statement of saying, I have come to give you life and life abundantly. So we started off with that and realizing and sinking our teeth into the fact that that is what Jesus has said. But then looking at how there is, in Zach's words, a marketing problem. I think when people think about Christianity or about following God, there is a perception of that means we're going to have less. We're going to be reduced in what we can do, limited. It's. We're going to wither away in the things that would just give us joy. And then the reality that that's not true. But there is a method for moving forward with Jesus that is connected to faith and obedience. So there's so much there. It was really, really great teaching. want to start off by just asking you guys what was something that you took away or a highlight for that you want us to reflect on? Don't all jump in at once. This is something I actually thought about a lot over the last year. But just, the idea of there is such a connection between trust and relationship and obedience when it comes to how we interact with Jesus, because I think that's at the core of that dynamic you were talking about just a second ago, where people. There's a perception that I will lose by choosing to follow Jesus because it's Going to. Because Jesus is going to have things to say about my money or about how I parent or about my sexuality or about whatever the case may be. and I think that the trick to that, the secret to that is not like rote white knuckle obedience, but it's trust that comes from relationship. Believing that even if I don't see how it's going to work out this way, that what Jesus says about me, because he created me, will ultimately lead to my flourishing, even if it doesn't feel like it right away when I start obeying him. Yeah, I really liked the dichotomy of the two words he used when he was talking about how Satan deceives us. Oh, yeah, but paradise versus prison. And I was like, wow, those are really two opposite ends of the spectrum. And I like when you think about Adam and Eve in paradise, where everything was perfect and how Satan was able to convince them that. That this isn't actually what God, wants for you. He's actually keeping you a prisoner. All these things. And I'm thinking, wow, how the fact that they believed him or chose to believe him in what was a perfect world, how much more do we, like, in a very fallen, broken world, are we so easily tempted to believe that ourselves? Kind of what you were saying, this idea of, like, this is not God. God doesn't have my best in mind when he. What he wants from me. And that's just not true. Yeah. I think it's our default as human beings because of sin, to believe that we know better, we know best, and that God is holding out. That's right. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There was a. We launched a Q and A session after our new second Thursday service. And there was a. Which was so cool. That was really neat. There was a line that Zach said, he had heard from somebody else, but you can't remember what you haven't read. That's. Oh, man. Yeah. And so I was just. I've been thinking about that and how a lot of times I think we just don't really stop to even consider God's plan because we think that he's holding out on us. And so are we actually paying attention to the things that God is saying, like what he cares about certain areas of our life. Yeah. Let's watch this clip. It ties in with what you said a good bit too, because that really hit me as well. Yeah. But I want you to look at what Peter says in Luke, chapter five. This is what happens verse four. And when he had finished speaking, he Said to Simon, put out into the deep and let your nets out for a catch. And Simon answered, master, we toiled all night and took nothing. Listen, but at your word, I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. I know you've tried all kinds of things. So had Peter. But Jesus says, if you'll do it at my word, if you'll learn what it is I have said, if you'll listen to me, if you'll obey me, then the nets you have let down before and come back with nothing will be full to the point of breaking. Yeah, that struck me a lot for the same reason as what he said in that Q and A. And first of all, the picture of Peter having fished all night and not gotten anything, the exhaustion, and then Jesus saying, hey, put down your net, and he's at your word, I'm gonna do this. And, I think I was talking to somebody recently that was telling me that they really struggle to be in God's word because of even how when they were raised, they were, like, forced to re. It was like a disciplinary thing and just realizing we all have different baggage or things we bring into that. But finding a way, whether it's listening, reading, spending time, building relationship, is only gonna inform us and lead us to more life, no matter what that looks like. And, yeah, I love the at your word, I will do this and trusting in that. So, yeah, that's really good. Well, what do you guys think? You know, the whole mission statement of I have come to give you life, life more abundantly, how does that mission statement? How does that resonate with you? do you feel like it's hard to believe? Like, even as you're kind of standing at the beginning of 2026, if you just say, jesus has come to give you more life, how does that hit you? I think, a couple of things come to mind for me. I think the first is for all of us. We need to make sure that we are redefining and reimagining our concept of more life. Because I think, speaking for myself, you know, when I first hear that and I hear Jesus saying, I've come so you have life and life abundant or more. There's an. There's an easy. It's easy for me to think, well, what that means is that if I obey you, things will go well for me. I will get more of what I want. Yeah, I'll get more of what. But that's not what he's saying. He's saying more life, but it's more life as he defines it. And part of trusting Jesus is saying that that definition is the proper definition of what it means to have more, what it means to live abundantly. Because I would want to caution somebody who hears that and says, oh, that means that if I obey Jesus, I'm going to receive financial, relational, romantic blessing. And it's like, maybe in some ways you might. But. But really what. The blessing you'll receive is being in alignment with the God of the universe who created you. Which is better. It is better. And I. But I mean, don't. In the process of doing that, they will. We will find more joy. Like, I mean, even though it's going. It might not be the financial blessing, it might not be the relationship you're longing for, but in surrendering. Yeah, I think you just have to define it differently. Because I think in that, in that, clip, he was saying, well, we can't understand. Oh, we were even saying what more life means unless we know what God is talking about in that. And that is studying His Word. But I think when we think about more life in this temporal world, it's like you said, health, success, all these things. But I think definitions that we've. Yeah, we just have to, like Jimmy said, redefine. It's joy, it's perseverance, it's contentment. Those things that we get through our relationship with Jesus. I would say, actually some of the. When I think back through some of the people who I have been most amazed by their relationship with Jesus and their love for Jesus are people who, by traditional definitions, did not. I can think of people who are, you know, friends of our family who we've watched die. And, in the midst of that, they have seemed more joyful and more fulfilled and closer to Jesus than anybody I've ever met. And they have more, unquestionably more. But it doesn't seem that way. Yeah, it's because the heart of the gospel is present with God. It's him being with us more than it is any of the blessings that come around that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the, the picture of Satan that, again, Zach talked about is going. That he came to steal, kill and destroy. And Jesus was even just talking about that in the passage that before Jesus says, I've come to give more life. You know, I think the. The point that was made in the sermon even was just that the goal of Satan is to separate us from the shepherd. and that, you know, we think Our life is going to wither and all that kind of stuff when we're, you know, live the way God wants us to live. But really being disconnected from the shepherd is where that's going to happen. So I think. Have you, you know, where have you believed that trusting God would make something with her? where have you experienced like, have you experienced where you felt like Satan is trying to separate you from the shepherd? yeah. I mean, I know my own personal experience as I reflected on this was realizing that I don't always know that. I like, say, oh, I don't believe Jesus has more for me. I just trust myself way too much. And so I will keep the ball in my own court and try and control and hold on to things. And the, you know, byproduct of that is that I'm separated from the goodness that God has for me. So I don't know if there's more like, what do you think of all that? I think the control piece is interesting because I. Lack of control in those situations is what causes us to spiral often and want to take. And I think for me, I see this in myself a lot in parenting with older children because I don't have the control like I used to when they were living in my house and being able to. And when you see things that you're going, what are they doing? What are they doing? My, yeah, my natural instinct is to, whether that's text them or call them or not, get on my knees and pray and ask that the Lord changes their life. But somehow I can do that for them. And I think what God has been teaching me is that I need to trust that he loves them more than I do. And he's not done writing any of our stories, including them. And what he wants for them is way more than what I want for them. What I think would be best. So to trust that and to remember that he's in control. He's in control and I'm not. Yeah, yeah. You know. Yeah. I don't think. Like you were saying, I don't think many of us explicitly theologically say, yeah, I believe that God has less for me, but we live in such a way. Yeah, that's. That it betrays kind of the underlying sense that that's there. And so whether that's family, you know, for me I just like the tendency that when a, neighbor is putting an addition on their house, all of a sudden I start looking around my house and I'm like, you know what we. An extra 600 square feet. And then I'd be happier or, you know, whatever it is, like how just quickly we are, at least I am to put my, my hope in a functional way into those things. So that's what comes to mind. Yeah. Actually, I feel similar. I think an area where, where Satan, where I get snuck up on is in the area of money, where just, when, like, Emily and I work hard to make sure that our financial priorities are in line with Jesus. But there are often times where in the back of my head, it's like, you know, in the garden, when, the serpent talked to Adam and Eve, he was like, did God really say that would be best for you? And I feel like I hear the same question. Like, I watch a transaction, hit where we're, you know, where we're giving, for example, and I'm like, could we. Is that really the best use of that money? Could I. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think that that is, you know, that's, for me, that's. It's so tangible in terms of like, just because money for me represents security, it represents control, it represents the ability to set my destiny. Yeah. And I think that's probably why Satan would choose that as an on ramp, because it's like Jesus says, where your treasure is, your heart will be also. So if he wants to pull my heart away from Jesus, the first thing he's going to do is say, does he really want the best? I had a moment over these last couple of weeks where I am someone who I do not consider finances to be a struggle for me. Not that, like, as far as that. It's at the center of my heart. Like, I don't, you know, But I had a moment over these last couple weeks because we've kind of hit a wall with a couple things that have been pretty difficult financially and where all of a sudden I was like, oh, my goodness, this is at the center of me feeling like it's all mine and I need to control it in a way that I didn't think was there. And it surprised me, but just at the same time was like, okay, God, this. It's all yours to begin with. And. But, yeah, I mean, I. I would just. The only thing I would add is, man, this is, you know, I. I am a fixer. And so in, you know, these last couple months, even in a couple sessions, I'm just reminded of that I had with a counselor that I was meeting with. She's like, stacy, so what if you can't fix that? What if you can't And I was like, okay. I think she's just trying to get at the point that, like, Stacy, you're not in control of any of this stuff, and you're trying. You don't know what you're talking about. Well, I fix that problem, about my inability to fix it. You know what I fixed? I got a new counselor. What did he ask? And that kind of leads me into the next question. I think we. We. You know, I loved what Zach said about saying, you need to fire yourself as the shepherd of your own life. And what does that look like? I think for me, it's been some moments in this where God just keeps showing me, like, let go, let go. I've got this. You don't. And just trust me. and I. You know, sometimes I feel like that. It feels like it should be more practical and tangible than that. But. Yeah. I still don't know how to do that, actually, if I'm very honest. Yeah. Because I would like to do that. Yeah. But I don't know. I don't know. And maybe that's why we have three more message messages in this message series, because I would like. I'd like more information. Do you have, It's such a process. Do you have a guide? Do you have a. Don't you think it's the inconsistency? Like, at least for me, it's like, oh, okay, I can. Yeah. Fired myself as, like, tomorrow morning, I'm hired. That's right. Hired myself back. Because something. I found a better separate. You know, like, something happens and you're like, oh, wait, yeah, I gotta. Like, that's kind of continual. Like, we always say, like, it's an everyday surrender. Right. I mean, that just points to that. But, Yeah. Yeah. I think what we would call sanctification in, like, a theological lens is the continual firing of yourself in areas where you're like, oh, I'm still holding on here. I need to let go of that and trust God that his plan for that area is more. Yeah. Daily for the rest of your life. So. Yeah. And I think that goes. That reminds me of, like, what I was talking about earlier. It's a choice to believe that what God wants for me, even if I don't see it immediately, will ultimately lead to my flourishing, my family's flourishing, and the flourishing of those around me. You know, like, tie. Even tying it back to the stuff we talked about at the beginning. That's when I was wrestling through, like, on New Year's Eve, when I was Like, I don't want to look at Twitter anymore. I was like, but what am I gonna do if a big trade breaks in the end? This is. I know this is silly, but it's like, I'm gonna be really frustrated. And, I. What. The conversation I had with myself then was like, you have to choose to believe that not looking at your phone as much while your kids are around trumps being right up to speed on the latest and greatest thing that just happened. And it's like, that's just the calculus you have to do. And I think it's the same principle that applies when it comes to surrendering to Jesus, is I'm going to make a conscious choice to believe. When I'm in a moment where I'm like, I do not want to do what Jesus asked, which everybody has those moments. I know sometimes Christians are like, oh, it's so easy. It's like, no, yeah, you don't want to do it. And I understand that. I'm choosing to believe that what he wants for me will lead to my flourishing. Yeah. Yeah. Well. And I think it goes back to we stated this, but in this particular instant of finding yourself as savior, you really aren't gonna understand how to do that or what that means unless you're spending time with God every day and in his Word. So I do think, for me, a very practical thing is maybe commit to being like, hey, I wanna read through the Bible in a year. And there are so many resources out there to do that. And so, I just. I think that's something that, if you. If you haven't been able to do that, commit to, you need to do that. Because, like, I just. There's no other way to do this. Well, and I was just even gonna, you know, as a takeaway for heading into the week ahead, I was struck by. I was listening recently where, like, for years and years and hundreds and hundreds of years, listening to God's word was actually a. How it was passed on. So I think God made you. God knows if you're like, my attention span, if I try and read something is awful. So find something that works. If it isn't sitting and reading. Find. There's so many, apps, the Bible app you can listen to. That's actually. That's what I do. Like, I get up and I start making coffee. And while I'm making coffee, I've got AirPods in. Yeah. So don't feel like it can just be intimidating if it's like, man, this I've tried. I'VE tried to sit and read and have my coffee or whatever, and it's like, no, figure out what works for you. Do something different than you tried. But being connected to what he has said in His Word will give you those moments then where you're going, oh, shoot, I didn't realize. This is something else. I need to surrender or you'll. Yeah, just another piece. There are there, like, there's a devotional I use. It's Everyday Gospel by Paul David Tripp. It is a devotional where he writes about. About what you just read. So I think for me, sometimes I can read scripture and sort of, not actively reading it, going, wait, what is God trying to say through this? And when you have someone who's probably a little wiser, older, who can dissect that a little bit for you, like, that is really helpful. so I would say even things like that are great. That's right. That's right. Yeah. I'm doing that as well in 2026. Cheers every day. Wow. Look at that. Paul David Joy. it's good. Pastor Zach said towards the end of the sermon that the people who are gonna have the most full life at the end of 2026 are the people who are willing to say, I will fire myself today. That's right. Not wait. And so I was just convicted by. And thinking, in what area of my life would I say that I am actively seeking to fire myself in? And I think for long stretches of my life, I probably wouldn't have had an answer if somebody. If you had asked me, like, jamie, what's an area in your life right now that you're letting go of? And. And I'm just like, I don't know. I'm just kind of chugging along, just kind of doing my thing and reading my Bible, and life's going okay, but intentional. That's serious. As Christians, we. We need to have an area, I think, that we're letting go of, or we should not be surprised when our life doesn't feel any different at the end of a year and unchanged. So that's kind of my conviction from the sermon. Oh, that's good. Well, thanks so much, guys. I think there's a lot to chew on for this week. Can't wait for the weeks to come, as well as we learn and unpack more in this. But thanks so much for joining us for Beyond the Message. Before you head out of here, I want you to know that on our app, on our website, on YouTube, there's all sorts of ways that you can grow where you are throughout the week. So check those different opportunities out. And before you leave, make sure you subscribe, so that you won't miss next week's episode. Thanks so much. We'll see you next week.