Glad you're with us today. And so, I want to kind of dive right in today because it's August. It's kind of the beginning of some new rhythms. Just looking around, there's lots of new faces in this room. I'm sure there is at our other campuses as well. And we just want to say to you, man, welcome. We're so glad that you joined us. We're beginning a brand new series. All right. So, August and January for us, just like for you, are really big months. You guys kind of get back in the rhythm of going to school and you get back in the rhythm of coming back to church. And so we say to you, man, we're so glad you're with us, but we want to give you the most important thing in our two biggest months, right? And so, just kind of real clear, we want to give you Jesus this month. This whole series is built around the idea of like who is Jesus? And many of you, you're like me and you, maybe you grew up in church. And so, I mean, I remember kind of a foundation of who is Jesus from stories back in RAS or at student ministry growing up. You know what people told me. Some of you maybe you didn't grow up in church or even you grew up in a different culture and you've heard some things right about who is Jesus. But what I want to do over the next few weeks is kind of really hopefully give you a lot of clarity and I want to bring you back to the Bible so that we can kind of get a firsthand encounter so that you can have so much confidence and even clarity on who is Jesus. Okay? All right. So, let me kind of let you know how it's going to roll out so you're not surprised. All right. The very first week we're going to talk about Jesus is the forgiver of sins. That's today. Next week, our teaching team's going to teach Jesus is the answer. Week three, Jesus is the provider. I'm already working on that message. Can't wait to give that to you. Week four, Jesus is grace and truth. Then week five, Jesus is alive. So, that's kind of where we're going. That's the direction we're headed. But as I was writing this message, one of the things I battled with was all of the other things that have been going on in my life this week. And I just [clears throat] there I just feel like you feel that weight as well. Like some of you this week, you took your kindergartener to the very first day of school. That's a big deal. Some of you this week, you were more like me and you dropped off your child or you saw your kid go to school, their seniors, like their last first day of school. Some of you, you're getting you're kind of counting down the days. I just talked to an upcoming freshman. They said they had 10 days left before they go to college. And so, here's what I want to do today. Because if you're like me, you're kind of all over the place in that because the rhythms of your life have increased. And so, before we get into the word today, I want to just pray for you. Can I just tell you this? As your pastor, I feel the same weight you feel. And maybe it's been a heavy week for you. And so, sometimes the best thing we can do is kind of join you in that. And so I'm going to pray for you before we get going today. Okay, let's pray together. 

God, I thank you so much for the different rhythms that all of us are in. And God, we're coming out of a rhythm of summer. God, we've had long days. We've had maybe some extended time with our kids that God, we cherish. But there's many of us that are also facing seasons that are difficult. Maybe we're caring for somebody and maybe we're helping different kids or we're managing a classroom. Maybe it's been the first day, maybe it's been the last day. God, I just pray that you would encourage us that today as we open up your word that we would know you were close. And so, Father, speak to our hearts today. God, it's in your name we pray. Amen. Amen. 

Y'all, hey, look, we're going to be in Mark today and we're in the New Testament and we're in the Gospels. Now, here's the cool thing about the Gospels. If you're new to the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it's basically like the biography of Jesus. I mean, it's just his life story and his ministry. And so, we're going to be in Mark today if you want to get there. Mark chapter 2. And I want to I want to give you a visual because this whole story you're about to encounter. It goes down in a house. And as you can imagine, our houses today, their houses then, they look a little bit different. So, I want to give you a picture of what a home would have looked like in the first century. One of the things you're going to see is the walls are different. I mean, the walls in these homes were made of stone. Another thing you're going to see that's different is the roof, right? The roof. I mean, they had they had trees going across these stones. They had these big logs, but really there was just straw and clay that protected them from the rain. There were steps that went kind of on the outside of the house that would allow you when the sun went down and you were looking for a cool place, you could go up on the roof and hang out. It's a place that they would meet together. I love this about the picture because the door is open in this culture so different than our culture. Like the door would be open saying, "Hey, we would love some company, some community. Come on in." And the story we're going to about to read that happens in Mark 2. This place was full. Like this place, this house is about to be covered up with people. Now, if you're in house church with us, then on Wednesday nights, typically we're in a home and the place is full. I mean, there's kids, there's different stages of life, there's different seasons. That's exactly what this moment was like in Mark 2. So, that kind of gives you a little bit of a frame of reference. Okay, so here we go. Let's dive in. 

Mark 2, we're going to start in verse one. A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come. Now, there were so many that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Now some men came and they were bringing to him a paralytic. They were carried by four of them. Now since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof in the roof above Jesus. And after digging through it, they lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. Now when Jesus saw their faith, now if you're into this, I like to highlight different things in my Bible. I highlighted at verse five. So, you may want to just kind of circle that one. And listen, if you're in the habit of bringing your Bible, let me just these next few weeks, you may want to start bringing it with you. It's okay. We're going to have the words on the screen. And if you need a Bible, stop out here by the welcome desk. We'll give you one. But sometimes it's good to make some notes. Verse 5, when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now, some teachers of the law were sitting there. They were thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that?" Sometimes you say that about us, like these southern accents. Why do they talk like that? Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Now, immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts. And so he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven." or to the paralytic, "Take your mat, get up and walk." But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, take your mat and go home." He got up. He took his mat and he walked out in full view of them. And this amazed everyone and they praised God saying, "We have never seen anything like this." 

Now, one of the things that I've kind of gotten in the habit of doing, I don't know if you do this, but when my kids go somewhere or when my wife goes to Target, shots fired, we go a lot. I'll say something like, "Who'd you see?" You're like, "Who'd you run into today?" And that's the way I want to take this passage on because I want to tell you the different groups of people that you're going to see over the next few weeks when you come to church. 

Here's the very first group you're going to see. You see it right there in the story. You're going to see those that are in need. This man was on the mat. He couldn't get anywhere without the four friends. When you walk in week after week, you're going to encounter people who are in need. Can I tell you one person who's in need? I'm in need. I mean, Katie and I are in this season where our kids are getting older. I've got a senior in high school this year. I've got a sophomore in high school this year. We're trying to change with them. We need wisdom. We're in a season where we need some discernment. Katie had great discernment the other day. She told me, "I'm starting to now pray," God, give my kids strength and wisdom in the places that I cannot go any longer. It's a great prayer. But that's just where we are. And what I need you to know is it's okay if you're here today and you go, "Hey, you know what? I'm in need." In fact, as I just kind of glanced through it, maybe this is just Lincoln Road, but here's what I'm seeing. I would imagine there's some single parents that are exhausted and overwhelmed. I know that there's people here that have lost someone and your heart still breaks. I know that we've got people watching today from Blair Batson or from Forest General and you're wondering, "Will I be okay?" Maybe you're here today and you're depressed and you're asking, "Will joy ever return?" Maybe you're here today and you're anxious and you're wondering, "Will I ever be normal again?" Maybe you're here and you're addicted and you want to be set free. Maybe you're here and you have a Bible, but you really just don't know what to do with it and you're wondering, "Will anyone disciple me?" You see what I'm saying? We're a needy bunch of people. Some of you like, "We're going to a different church next week." No, they're going to be needy, too. Okay? We're all needy is what I'm telling you. That's the first group you're going to see. You're going to see people who are needy. 

Here's the second group. I love this group of people. They get me excited. These are the carriers. These are the four friends. I mean, when I think about this story, I have no trouble in my mind just imagining what these four guys were like. I mean, can't you see them just coming around this man that's on the mat and they're kind of brainstorming? I mean, the house that you saw, it's full of people. They're going, "We got to get this guy to Jesus." What are we going to do? I don't know. What do you think we ought to do? I don't know, but I'll tell you this. I've been up on that man's roof before. I think we could get through it. You want to try it? Let's go. And they pick this brother's mat up and they begin to make their way. They had to be young because they were so determined. It's like they would not take no for an answer. They get up to the top of the roof. Now they're above everybody. They finally have this bird's eye view. They begin to dig through the roof. I can see them. It's like they got their hat on backwards. Hold my beer because I'm about to get after it. And they're going to get the man through there. They're determined. They're creative. They're people of faith. I'm going to tell you, we got a church full of people like this. I love this about our church. I love this about you. You're so eager to bring people with you to this place where you found help and where you found healing. You love to give generously to this place because you know there's 50 seniors on the other end of this campus that we're pouring into week after week and equipping them to go on college campuses and share their faith. You're carriers. You saw carriers this morning. I don't even know if you knew it cuz it's like old hat. You saw people that held the door open for you when you came in and then you cruised over here and you went to get your coffee and they were like, "Hey, bro. It's paid for. Pay it forward." And then today is move up Sunday. And so you took your you and your family. I saw all you guys right over here. And you went to a brand new classroom and there was a volunteer introducing themselves to you. Hey, I'm Craig. This is my wife Katie. We're going to be with your third grader today. If you have any questions, just text us. We're going to be praying for them. We're going to teach them this memory verse. We'll text it to you this week. You see the carriers all through our church. You're sitting around people that give every month so that the mission and the vision of this church can continue in all of these different five communities. You're carrying something. You're carrying people. You're carrying weight. You're investing in people. You are the church. And the way that you do church is so special because you do it with your arms extended. Not Some of you changing your body language right now. [laughter] Yeah, I'm going to tell you, we still got some that kind of mean mug us every week. You know, [sighs] another song. I want to challenge you a little bit. If, and I'm sorry if you're sitting like this right now, but if this is your posture, if your face is more like you, I want you to I want you to be a carrier. I want you to get to know some of the people that are around you and some of the stories. I want you to be in some of these classrooms so that you can invest. I want you to see what we see from up here. You see, let me tell you what we see and it's right here in the scripture because Jesus saw it when he saw those guys and you know the sun like it comes through the ceiling all of a sudden. I mean you're imagining this now don't get any ideas carriers [laughter] but here comes the sunlight and they look up. I mean Jesus himself like looks up through the roof and he sees my guys. They've got their hat on backwards. They're lowering this man. You know they're so excited. They're they're expecting. I love this part about the story. I mean, I don't know how you came today. Maybe you came because you just come and that's what you do and then you walk out of here and it's like I'm ready for next week already. Or maybe you come like, "Hey, I'm I'm expecting God to heal my marriage this week." No. No. Like, I really believe he can do it. Like, I've got a little girl. She's I mean, between three and six weeks old at Blair Batson and her name's Lucy. We've been praying for her. We're expecting God to do something radical in her life. And you're sitting there today and maybe you're just sitting there out of routine. Or maybe you're like the four friends and you're like, "If I can get this guy to Jesus, if I can get my son to come with me this week, if I could get my neighbor to come, I know it's going to be it's going to be a big deal because that's what God does." In fact, here's the verse. Here's how I know it. It's Mark 2:5. When Jesus saw their faith, did you know you can see faith? You thought, "Man, you can't see faith." No, I saw faith this week. Did a funeral this week. Billy Brooks, 49 years old, Stone County campus. As soon as I got down on Highway 49, I saw cars backed all the way up frontage road. I walked into our little building down there and not only were people wrapped around the auditorium, they were wrapped out of the atrium down the kids hall all the way to the end, back out of the kids' hall. For hours, people sat there and we saw their faith. I watched this little family, 33 years she's known her husband, 28 years she's been married. I watched her boys be received, arms extended, by countless families from the Stone County campus. The worst view in the world is when you do a funeral and the family's right there. You know what they did the whole time? They worshiped, hands extended. I saw their faith. I felt like I was right back in this story. These were carriers. Now, here's the question that I've got to ask you because it wouldn't be fair to talk about this without making it a little bit more personal. So, here's the question. Can anyone see your faith? Like I can see your body language, but can anyone I can see what team you pull? I got Alabama fan on the front row around here today. But what about this? Can we see your faith like the way that Jesus saw the faith of those four friends? Arms extended or arms crossed. 

Here's the third category of people you're going to see week after week when you come and it's the busy bees. Now, this is going to sting a little bit. I've been working on that all week. Y'all catch it. Dad jokes. Sorry. Soon as I rolled this category out, Kelsey was helping with the message and she said, "Hey, I think this is me." This is the category of people that man, you're so busy. I mean, you have got stuff to do all week long. Like when you put your You do this because I know you do. I do it, too. When you get the dry erase board out and you put the family's practices on there, there is zero margin in your week. There is no room left. You are flying here. You are driving there. You have appointments here. You got to get your nails done there. You got practice here. You got homework there. You got maybe church in there somewhere. And you're you're a busy bee. Let me tell you about the busy bees in this house. The ones that were here, they knew exactly where to go because they were probably regular attenders. I think they knew the people that they sat with. I think they probably could speak Christianes to each other. Here's the problem. They had their backs turned to everybody else. I mean, here they are. They're in their church. This is the biggest house church they've had. And they've got their arms around their people and they're listening to Jesus. But the whole time there's a brother that's in need. I mean, he's literally on the mat. They all passed him by, but they were so busy they had to get to their seat. They didn't even see him. They're not bad people. They're not bad people, but they're so busy and they've gotten so comfortable that they've got their backs turned to everybody around them. That's the busy bees. 

Now, this next crowd, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think we have many of this next crowd. There's five. There's five categories. We've made it to the fourth. And I want to be honest with you because people that have led before me have had to deal with this crowd a lot more than me. These are the critics. Okay? Now, these were the religious leaders. You'll read about them in the story. They came down from Jerusalem. They came in there to take notes on what Jesus was doing. They'd heard about him. Oh, they'd heard he's doing miracles. Let's go see it. He's forgiven sins. Nobody can do that but God. And so, they had come in the house. They had made their way in the house. They had a front row seat in the house to see what was going on. They were taking notes. They walked all the way back to Jerusalem to tell everybody what Jesus was doing. This group breaks my heart the most because they were right there. They were in the house for the miracle, but they're telling the wrong story. They missed it because they had a critical heart, a critical spirit. Now, here's the temptation because I've had a little bit more time to work on this. And when I first started talking about the critical people, I thought, well, okay, cool. Good. Finally, a category I don't fit in. I mean, I'm the pastor. Surely, I couldn't be critical of this thing. But the more I started thinking about it, the more I thought, there's moments that I can step into the critical category. There's probably moments that you step. Let me ask you this. Have you ever thought this? It's like you've come on a Sunday morning, but then you've looked down and you've gone, what is that person doing here? Or it's, hey, what about this? It's move up Sunday and you've got here on time and you got up there and there was no one there to get your kids and you thought to yourself, what in the world? There's no one at this classroom waiting to take my kid. You have been here before and you have waited in line at the coffee bar and you've thought, "What is this? What am I? Can you believe how long it took for me to get a cup of coffee? Now, this next part, I don't know if this applies to every campus. Okay, so some of you can just take a deep breath. I know at this campus there's people that you get stuck in the traffic and you've literally looked to someone and said, "Can you believe how long it takes to get out of this parking lot?" So, let me frame this for you just a little bit. There's been people, thousands of people that have gathered under this roof to worship. All different ages. There's been people that have been baptized like from death to life. People that have given up on church, people that brought their family for the very first time. People that got into scripture in the book of Mark and begin to have their eyes open to forgiveness and to who is Jesus. And the story you're going to tell is about the traffic. And instead of having arms reached out, you said, "And ah, sorry guys, you did this. We're going to leave early next week. If you leave early today, you a different level. I'm just telling you, you're a different level. You better not leave early today. You can't be that person." Okay? Listen, I get it. Sometimes you do. But for it to be a place that you think, "We got to beat the crowd. Come on. These guys take way too long to get out of the parking lot." then you may have developed a critical spirit. Here's what I want you to watch out for. There's a term here that's really important. It's called perpetually unchanged. These are the kind of people, I'm not telling you this is you, but I'm telling you got to watch out for this that your Bible, it's all marked up. And my Bible's kind of marked up, but your life, it's not marked up. So, like, you know, the scripture, hey, Mark 2, I know the whole story, but I've heard it since I was a little kid. Preach something new, man. But your life has no evidence, no sign of an arm that's extended. And I want you to watch out for that because that's a really difficult church. And let me tell you, more than that's just a difficult church. That's a difficult person to live with. You see that? That typically that critical spirit isn't just about this place, but it's about your kids and your family. And I taught this last week. I'm just telling you, it's not too late to change. You don't have to be critical. It's training. Okay, it's training. So, you may want to ask this. Now, don't ask this here because this is going to be a long conversation, but ask the people that you do life with, your husband or your wife or your kids, am I critical? And step back a little bit. But it's something you need to know because you don't have to be critical. You can change. You can begin to tell a better story. 

Now, here's the last group. And I've been waiting on this group. I built this whole sermon around the fifth group. So, this is the one that says the message that Jesus is the forgiver of sins. It's the person that is reclaimed. That's the last group. Okay. The friends lower Jesus down. They're so desperate for him to get there. And all of a sudden, Jesus says what may be the strangest thing to say. Despite the man being on a mat, despite the four friends, I see your faith. He looks at this guy and he says, "Son, you your sins are forgiven." Do you see where he starts with him? Of all the different places he could start, he starts with his heart because he knows his heart is the most important thing. And he wants to speak to that from the very first. I don't know what you've heard about Jesus. I don't know what this has been like from you being dragged up to literally the roof of this place. I don't know what it's like to be lowered down by a mat, by a rope, by these four guys. As you obviously trust him or you're desperate. The thing you need to hear first, son, your sins, they're forgiven. Here's what I'm going to do this week. In fact, we're going to do it every week these five weeks. I want you to look for this in each message. I want you to identify maybe a lie that you have begun to believe. But as we point to you scripture and truth about who Jesus is, it's going to combat the lie that maybe you've told yourself. Here's the lie this week. Week one, I'm too far gone. Jesus can't forgive me for this one. I've messed up too many times and Jesus is mad at me. I want you to see with so much clarity. Mark 2:5, I believe. Mark 2:5. Would you see this scripture with me? Son, your sins are forgiven. I want you to say it with me. I'm going to count you down. We're going to go 3 2 1 zero. And then we're going to say this together because this is needs to be the new anthem. This needs to be the thought that's in your mind. Andy, when he preached in June, he talked about meditating on scripture. This needs to be what you meditate on so that when that lie comes up, you can defeat it. You ready? We're going to say it together. 3 2 1. Son, your sins are forgiven. Praise God. Like I kind of bought into a little bit of a lie that maybe you have too. If I walk into that place, it may come down. If I do it again, Jesus won't have grace for me. I can't believe I did that again. How could I go back to Jesus? Instead, I need you to hear, "Son, son, it's not a close call. It's not 50/50. It's not maybe I'm going to get into heaven." No, no, bro. What I'm telling you is your sins, they're forgiven. They're gone. Your identity has changed. You're free in Christ. You're a new creation. There's another banner over your name, and it's forgiven. And it's free, and it's courage, and it's confidence, and it's eternity, and it's my son. That's the name. That's the thing. All five groups needed. The person in need, the carrier, the busy bee, the critic, they all need the same thing. They need to hear Jesus say, "Son, your sins are forgiven." What do I need up here on the stage? I need to hear, "Son, your sins are forgiven." What do you need to hear out there in your chair? Daughter. Daughter, your sins, they are forgiven. Listen, I have dreamed about what it would be like this week when everybody comes back to church that you were to walk in here maybe heavy, maybe burdened, maybe defeated, but you would walk out of here the same way this man walked out of there. He walked out of there changed. He walked out of there having heard that there is freedom, that he has been forgiven. And that's what I want for you more than anything in week one of Jesus is the forgiver of sins. 

So, I'm going to ask you to bow your head with me and I'm going to give you a second to kind of think through this because I've said a lot and I've walked [clears throat] you through a story and I hope you've seen the picture of what a house looked like then and but the thing I need you to ask yourself is which one of those groups represents you? I told you for me I'm in need. But I also can tell you with so much clarity that I have been reclaimed. And so today, I want to give you a chance to do that. I just I don't know what lie maybe you'd bought into. I don't know what you'd been told or even taught, but scripture is so clear today where he gives us a new verse to meditate on. Your sins are forgiven. So listen, ma'am, would you just ask Jesus to come into your heart to forgive you for your sins, to begin to help you, to train with you, to let go of some of those lies, some of the fears or thoughts that maybe, for lack of a better word, can haunt you. And instead, would you begin to hold on and claim and rest and find security in Mark 2:5? Son, your sins, they're forgiven. 

Father, we want to walk in that truth. We want to rest in that truth. We want to live in that freedom. And so God, as we begin to worship and as we walk through a moment where we respond, God, we invite you into our hearts. We invite you into this space. God, I pray that we would see people walk down and be prayed for by our prayer team. I pray that we'd see people mark on a card about baptism and about salvation. But God, that all begins with just an invitation to say, "Would you come into my heart? Would you forgive me for my sins?" And your word is true that God, that is what you do. That is why you came. So God, help us walk out of here different than we walked in. Help us walk out of here knowing that God, you have saved us. You have forgiven us. And you have given us a new identity. We are a new creation in Christ. So, Father, we love you. We worship you. And God, we rejoice and we rest and we find peace and we find comfort that you alone have forgiven our sins. It's in your name we pray.