GOOD NEWS | A Fresh Perspective | Pastor Brodie Kalamen

Hey guys, welcome to our KCC Church at Home Watch.

We're so excited to do church with you online.

And on that note, let me tell you a little bit about how it's gonna go.

We'll be enjoying some awesome worship and encouraging work from our message series.

Even though we're online, we still want you to be loud engaging.

So drop a comment when you hear something good.

Share, like, and invite your friends and family to watch too.

There are still ways for you to give.

You can visit our website at KCC.net.

And with the touch of a button, you'll be able to give on our homepage.

Along with that, you can text KCC now to 77977.

Or you can download the app to the app store and give you that as well.

For KCC kids, the fun isn't over.

Last week I challenged you guys to build the compiest one you've ever made, and you guys did awesome.

This week I challenge you to be creative.

I want you guys to use the creativity God has put in you to make something beautiful.

Log into Facebook and log into Instagram, post a photo or a video of you guys working on your art, and use the hashtag KCC brings art to life.

Don't forget to take Photo Christian Center so we can showcase your masterpiece.

Let's bring art to life this week.

Parents, we've made it easy for you guys to bring church home.

We have interactive video lessons and printable activity pages that can easily be downloaded from our website.

Alright, KCC, that's everything you need to know.

We'll be starting our stream shortly.

Enjoy the service.

See the kingdom burst into color at the speed of light.

Freedom speaking of the atmosphere.

See the hope of him shining like the rising sun now forever.

Let it up to light.

Love reaching out for us.

The everlasting one Jesus are God be on the skies of us, love reaching out for us, the everlasting one Jesus are love to the sun.

Our salvation, he's in his blood, Jesus, light of heaven, forever his kingdom come.

So we will sing, we will dance until the earth echoes the heavens.

Sing his praise till we see the other side.

Cause we belong to the light.

But when the night is at its darkest, just hold on, for the dawn will soon arise.

And can you feel the winds are changing?

There's a new day on the rise, and the atmosphere is breaking as the new world comes to light.

We will sing, we will dance till the earth that comes to heaven.

And the fear is breaking, as the new world comes to life.

We will sing, we will dance, the comes ahead, is great, the bad I got a feeling.

I got a feeling the darkness will last very long.

I got a feeling the darkness will last very long.

I got a feeling the darkness will last very long sleeping while awakening.

And the end of me is shaking as the graveyards spring to light.

So we will sing, we will dance till the earth goes to heaven.

Sing his praise till we see the earth.

Let us sleep in the world.

Let us sleep in the world awaken.

There's a new day on the rise.

As the great yards spring to light, let us sleep in the world awake.

There's a new day on the rise.

And the end of me is shaking.

As the great god springs a lot, we will say, we will die.

You silence the boast of sin and grave.

The heavens are wrong.

The praise of your glory.

For you are raised to life again.

You have no right.

Now it's forever by doing.

Your distant kid.

Welcome to KCC service church at home.

We're so grateful that you're joining us from the comfort of your home.

And uh I'd like to just take a moment and encourage you to share this feed with someone, either on Facebook or throw someone a text or start a watch party just to be able to tell people that church is live.

Sharing is important.

It's just like the loaves and the fishes.

You share it and it'll multiply, it'll reach more people and engage at the same time, and you'll just share this experience with each other.

Last week we actually went online as well, and we are happy to say there are thousands of people that came and experienced the indoor uh inside the four walls of the church and got a little glimpse as to what happens in the church.

So you're a part of that.

We also want to say that uh through technology, all of our Connect groups have been meeting.

We've gone to Zoom, they're all on Zoom right now, and some of the guys in my group are just having a lot of fun with it.

Uh they're in spaceships and in jungles and flying fighter pilots on green screens behind the behind their uh Zoom screen.

And it's just a lot of fun, and so there's virtual coffees and connections, even though we may be uh physically isolating, we can still be socially connected, and that's really important.

I also want to say thank you for continuing to be faithful in your giving, uh, either through online or the app.

And those of you who are just finding ways to actually support and being generous, it it really is our privilege to be able to serve you.

Uh we realize that there's some who are joining with us today.

This is your first time at church, and perhaps you just logged on to Facebook, and now you're connecting with us and you're on with us live right now.

And we want to just be able to say that we believe everyone is on their own spiritual journey.

And if you don't know the next steps, we have kind of listed them out for you along the way to help you take those next steps in your relationship with God.

And the first step is just knowing God.

And this is the basis of our experience that we believe that God wants to have a personal relationship with us.

It's not the God of our country or our family or other one, other people in their experiences.

We believe God wants to give you a personal experience with Him.

And when you find out that, hey, God has actually saved me, He's actually given me an opportunity for a fresh new start.

We believe that the next step is actually that He wants us to find freedom.

All of us have baggage that we're carrying along with us, and we use our connect groups, small groups, to be able to help us identify those blind spots in our lives that uh are pulling us and holding us down.

They're like anchors to our soul.

And these connect groups are allow us to be able to see the truth in God's word and help us shed the extra weight.

And so that we can live our life of purpose.

We believe there are two days that are really important: the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.

Because when you discover why you are here and why God placed you here now, the way you are, you can go into the world and actually go out making a difference.

And today we need difference makers.

Now you're joining us with our new series that we had intended to carry us into Easter called the Good News Series.

And despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided we're going to continue with this series because we need to hear good news.

Good news is important, particularly at this time, and this is the time where the church can actually shine.

We don't have to look very far to hear bad news.

There's a lot of panic over the pandemic, and there's not very much positivity.

There's a lot of doom and gloom, a lot of fear, but there isn't a lot of hope.

And we believe that's why the church is here to actually be that beacon in the darkness, to shine light and give light to the world, to be the salt of the earth and actually bring flavor and bring another perspective.

We know that there's a reality to this pandemic, and but the the negativity and the bad news is so overwhelming that we need the voice of the good news to show up.

And it needs to shine.

So we're here to show that, we're here to share that.

This this week, I actually heard of uh a group of people who were isolated at home and they were they were looking at what they could do to actually go ahead and make a difference.

And it was a small group of uh people who just really enjoyed sewing, and they found out that their hospital was in need of face masks.

So they pulled out their sewing machines, they went to storage, they pulled out their fabric, and they started making uh face masks, and up to a thousand face masks were made to be a blessing to their uh local health workers.

Listen, we don't have to just sit and isolate and do nothing.

We can actually continue to make a difference today, even in the in the comforts of our own home.

Now, I'm gonna go into a piece of scripture today that's very familiar with a lot of people, I'm sure.

It's Psalm chapter 23, and I'm just gonna ask you to read along with me, and as you're looking for that uh scripture either on your iPhone or your iPad or your Google device, whatever it may be, um, I just want to take a moment and just encourage you during this time.

Psalms 23 · chapter mention

I know you're at home, I know you're comfortable, but I'm just gonna challenge you to lean in, to lean in, to take a step in the direction of engagement in your home.

That means if you want to agree, you agree.

If you want to post uh post a quick comment, you post a comment if it's on Facebook or other social platform.

But I want you to engage, engage with the level of expectation because I believe this word at in this season can make a difference in your life, in your family's life, and the people around you, your contacts around you.

So let's not just show up, grab a pen, grab a paper, pull out a notepad, pull out a document, and start taking some notes because this is going to be a blessing for you, not just today, but into this week as we move forward.

So, Psalms chapter 23, very familiar, starts this way.

Psalms 23 · chapter mention

It says, The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul, he guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.

And even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows.

I know you're drinking coffee right now, your cup is overflowing.

Surely your goodness and your mercy and your loving kindness will follow me, chase me down all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Forever.

This is a position of the heart.

And the reason I want to start with this verse as we launch into this series called Good News is that the psalmist is sharing with us this very poetic snapshot, this very poetic picture of a shepherd with sheep, a shepherd who's actually walking into a direction, along a path that's intentional.

And it looks, what it looks like in our lives is that it's a good path.

The good shepherd is the Lord.

And this good path, if we notice in verse 3, there's this change over.

It says there's green pastures and still waters.

It's the mountaintop moments of our life, but also there's dark valleys and shadow places where there's the shadow of death, they're the valleys as well.

And I want to drive home the importance about seeing your life through the lens of this good news that no matter if you're on the mountaintops or if you're in the valleys, God is leading us.

God is a good shepherd, and he's going to lead us through.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait for the snow to melt off the mountaintops so I can go on the mountaintops, either dirt biking or quatting or just four by four.

I love getting up high and I love those mountaintop experiences.

But I've experienced those moments of time that are the valleys and the dark places.

And I see the highs and the lows, and I know it's just normal.

That just doesn't happen on the stock market.

You've got highs and lows, but this volatility in life that we're experiencing today creates a level of uncertainty.

And sometimes it happens over a space of a long time, and we can manage with it a little easier.

But what we're feeling like today is that this volatility is so sudden.

Highs and lows and highs and lows.

And sometimes when you're on the right path doing the right thing, you're still going to experience the highs and the lows.

One of the great examples of this is actually in the book of Mark, where Jesus had just spent time teaching the crowds of people that were with him about the kingdom of God and all things about the kingdom.

And he was sitting there with his friends and he's on the lake side, and he says, Okay, guys, let's get in the boat.

We're gonna go to the other side.

And so all his friends hop in the boat with him and they start sailing to the other side of the lake, being obedient, doing the right thing.

But in the moment, they encounter a storm.

And this storm wasn't just a normal storm, this was uh a violent storm.

A storm where the wind came up off the lake, and the Bible says it began to swamp over the top of the sides of the boat, and it began to flood the interior of the boat, and the people inside the boat were afraid.

And finally, after doing whatever they could to stabilize the boat, they went and they looked for Jesus and they found Jesus sleeping, the Bible says, with his head on a pillow.

And they go to him and they say, Jesus, don't you care that we're perishing?

Don't you even care that you're we're perishing?

Can't you feel the waves and the wind and the storm?

And Jesus calmly gets up and he speaks to the wind, he speaks to the storm, and he says, Shh, shh Quiet, peace, be still.

And then he says, Where is your faith?

To the disciples, you you have little faith.

Like, why were you so afraid?

Well, I can tell you why they were afraid.

They were afraid because it's scary to be in times of uncertainty, times of volatility where you believed you were doing the right thing, obeying Jesus, going to the other side, getting in the boat, doing the right thing, but you found out in the process that you're in the middle of a storm.

And the incredible about the storm is that uh they they the presence of the storm didn't mean that Jesus himself or God was absent.

In fact, God was with them in the storm, God could speak to the storm, God hadn't abandoned them to the storm, God saved them and brought them through the storm.

But as long as they kept their eyes on Jesus, it was okay.

And Jesus didn't flinch.

Whether it was a storm or still waters, Jesus didn't flinch.

It didn't make a difference for him because he knew that those things don't matter, whether it be mountaintops or valleys, that God is with us all the same.

And God is always up to something.

The good news is really this it's the God news.

It's the God news.

God is good even in the dark places, as much as He is good on the mountaintops.

We really have to understand that because it'll shift your perspective of what you're experiencing and encountering today.

Particularly in this season where we don't know what tomorrow holds.

It suggested that the actions of God are always intentional, they're always deliberate, that it's always decisive.

But it's our response and it's oftentimes our experience that if we don't see any activity, we think that nothing is happening.

But the fact is, when God is doing something, it's intentional, he's doing something.

But when God is doing nothing, it's just as intentional, he's doing something.

No matter what, God is doing something, it's a reality.

When he's doing something, he's doing something intentionally.

It's a really good reminder for me.

If any of you are like me, you need these reminders sometimes.

Because I'm good when I'm on the mountaintops.

It's just my personality.

I'm good when I'm on the mountaintops, I enjoy the mountaintops, but I don't I don't know how I how to operate well in the valleys.

And I don't think I'm the only one, but I realize that the valleys are a reality, and it's the reality of the age today, and particularly today.

And this is a reminder that I need, and I haven't always had lenses to see the way God works good in the valley.

In fact, the valleys I've walked through, it's been hard for me to just see clearly the table that is set before me in the presence of my enemies.

It's difficult for me to see that God has a rod and a staff there like a good shepherd to protect and preserve and support me and to lead me and to guide me through the valley.

In fact, sometimes I think about it and I think I'm all alone.

But there is still, no matter if I see it or I don't see it, there's still a table set before me in the presence of a dark valley.

And we need to realize this.

And I think it comes like I just don't see it, honestly, because in pressure point moments, I just don't see well, period.

I get panicky, I get anxious, I feel the pressure.

And I I'm sure you've experienced similar times in your life where you just actually just change.

Like, I am not normal Brody when I'm in a panic moment.

In a panicky moment where I'm scrambling, I I change a little bit.

Uh the other day I was uh I was looking for something, and and the fact is, when you sometimes when you're in a panic moment, you're looking for something, you just can't see it, but it's right in front of you.

You just don't see it.

And I was leaving the house, I had an appointment, I had to get to, and I was watching the clock, and I knew that I only had a certain amount of time to be able to get to that appointment.

I didn't want to be late.

So I was looking for my sunglasses and my keys.

And I knew I had put my sunglasses and keys down at the same time when I come in the other day from the vehicle.

So I knew where they were, and I came upstairs and I was looking for it, and I was scrambling around the house and my shoes were off.

Like I was walking through the house trying not to get everything dirty, right?

And I'm looking for my sunglasses and my keys, and I'm of course, you know what happens, you end up yelling at your kids, what do you do with my keys?

Where did you put my sunglasses?

And then when you're really desperate, it's like, Natalie, my wife, what did you do with it?

Where did you move it?

You know, I'm sure you're the one who's behind all this.

And what happened?

In fact, Natalie comes up and being a such a gracious woman, she's like, How can I help you?

What do you need?

And she's like, I'm gonna help you find your keys.

And she just looks at me and she says, Well, have you checked your head?

And here I put my glasses on my head, and I don't even remember picking them up.

I was just in a point of panic.

I and she goes, and what about your keys?

If you picked up your glasses, you must have picked up your keys.

And here I she says, Check your pockets.

I check my pockets, and sure enough, my keys are in my pockets.

I literally, in a point of panic, I couldn't see what was right in front of me.

Because of that panic moment, that pressure point moment.

And if we're not careful, we end up looking for things that were never lost.

We end up looking for things that we already had in our possession, and the fact is that in the valleys, what we already have in our possession is peace, security, comfort, a table, a feast uh for us, a good shepherd who's gonna lead us in and through the valley.

Those things are already in our vicinity, already at a touch, but sometimes we just don't see it because of the panic and the pressure and the stress.

So we need to work with the Holy Spirit, and we have to say, Lord, help me to be able to see like you see.

Open my eyes to be able to see the way you would want me to see, so that I can move through the valley of the shadow of death and know that you are with me, that your rod is comforting me, your staff is comforting me, and I'm not alone.

It's true that we often miss what's right in front of us, and what we don't see, just because we don't see it, doesn't mean it's not there.

It just means that we have to train our eyes to see a little better.

We have to work on it a little bit.

And that's where it's so great to have people around you and a connect group around you that helps you be able to see your blind spots, see the areas that you might be missing.

Matthew 6, 22 says this says the eye is the lamp of the body.

And if your eyes are good, then your whole body is good, and it'll be full of light.

But if your eyes are bad, then your whole body will be full of darkness.

Now, Jesus isn't talking about like a physical eye here, he's talking about this spiritual eye.

Your outlook, if your outlook to life is good, then your whole body will be full of good, light.

But if your outlook is just you go into it by default is bad and evil, your whole perspective on it is going to be evil and bad and dark, and you're gonna be walking around like the lights are off, blind, alone, unguided.

So we want to switch our perspective, change our eyes, change the lens that we're looking through to actually identify our moment that we're living in, center ourselves to remember that we have a good shepherd, and that what's awesome about this point of scripture is that the writer continues to see the good throughout.

Invite them into your anxiety, invite them into your stress and into your pressure.

And by doing that, you begin to look at things differently.

Like I think about you parents at home.

I want you to start looking at your kids differently.

I know they've been with you all week.

And they've been indoors and they're squirming around and causing trouble.

Just start looking at them, look at them from the perspective that God would have you look at them.

And just begin to see the blessing in the moment that we're living in today.

Don't see this as a curse that we're in.

Right now, look at this as an opportunity.

See it for the good news that it is.

When you see your life through this good news lens, uh, you'll see good in the midst of hardship.

In the midst of difficulty.

Believe it or not, you can find something good in this time.

You can find something to be excited about and encouraged about.

And a good life is like a good book.

It has many different chapters to that book.

And I realize that some of you may be in a chapter.

And but a chapter is just a chapter.

It's not your full narrative, it's not the full story.

So what we have to realize is that, hey, we might be in this chapter right now, but I'm just I'm just warning you, I'm cautioning you, I'm encouraging you, I'm exhorting you right now.

Don't build a house, don't build a home, don't build a life in the chapter that you're in.

Don't plant a garden, just choose to live there.

Decide right now, say, you know what?

I'm gonna get through this.

In fact, Psalms 223 says that God walks through, helps you walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Like you're gonna go through and you're gonna get through this.

So I want to give you hope today that you are gonna get through.

This chapter will not define your life.

In fact, God can be good in the highs and in the lows.

So look for God's goodness in this moment.

Look for God opportunity in this moment.

Look for your family, your God opportunity in your family with connections and with friends.

Look for the God opportunities today.

Keep on moving, keep on moving, keep on moving through, because you're gonna come through.

Romans 8 28 says, We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

Uh Luke 11 13 says this if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to kids, imagine who God, who is good, knows how to give give good gifts to his kids.

Like God is giving us gifts in this moment.

God is a gift giver, and he's giving us gifts.

So just open up our eyes to be able to see the gifts that he has for us.

And Lord, give us new lenses today to be able to see so we can move forward in faith and in hope and in love.

Amen.

So for those of you who are at home, at this moment in time, it really comes down to you and the Lord.

And you keep calling out to God and saying, God, I need your help today.

I need your help to move me to a place where I see with your eyes.

And give me the spirit that was in the psalmist of Psalm 23, the Psalm of David, where he understood what it was to be in trials and tribulations.

And how do I operate?

How do I move forward?

How do I move my family forward at this time so that we can prosper in these moments?

And for others of you, you may be joining today just because it's online and you may have never heard a message like this, but you're looking for a and grasping for a piece of hope.

And you're looking, you want to hear this good news that you can get through too.

And I want to challenge you today, and I want to encourage you today that God is here for you now.

And the Bible says that today is the day of salvation, so this isn't an issue for tomorrow or a time when you get better.

In quotes, God's looking at you and He says, I love you, I care for you, I desire to for you to know me, and for me to know you, and for me to have like any uh a point of engagement in your life that would help you to grow and help you get through this on top.

And God's call-out and his invitation is for you.

So if that's you today, I'm just gonna bow my head and I'm gonna pray a prayer.

I'm gonna invite you to pray that prayer along with me.

It's a simple prayer of accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

It's a simple prayer, but it'll cost you everything.

You've got to open up your heart to him.

Accept that he's your Lord and Savior.

Believe that he forgives your sins when you say, Lord, I've been wrong, I've sinned, I need forgiveness.

Would you give me a fresh start?

And then confess him as your Lord.

Say, Lord, you're my Lord now.

So would you just pray with me?

If that's in your heart today, just pray this prayer.

Father, I thank you for Jesus.

I thank you for sending him to this world for me.

You loved me so much that you sent your only son for me, that I would have eternal life if I believed in you.

So, Father, today I confess that I believe in you.

I ask for this new hope.

Would you be a good shepherd to me?

Would you be that the one who gives me the good news and helps me move forward in my faith and in my life so that I can walk with head held high and shoulders back whether it's on the mountaintops or the valleys.

Forgive me of my sin.

Ask today that you would become my Lord in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for joining with us.

Leave comments below.

Connect below.

We're gonna have people that are open to pray with you on the chat form there.

So make sure to just notify us if you're going through something, we want to go through it with you.

God bless you.

Step out of the grave.

Break into the wild And don't be afraid.

Run into the wild, dead, great step, wake up.

Just like the way has been dead.

Great, where's it?

Where the spirit of the blood Where is Britain?

Where it's pretty Where's the spirit of the Lud?

Where is Britain?

Where it's pretty.

It's the best choice that you could ever make, and we want to connect and celebrate with you.

Greater days are ahead.

We give because Jesus gave everything so that we may have life and have it more abundantly.

Partner with us to see growth in your own life, community, church family, and missions worldwide.

As we said before, you can give by visiting our website at kcc.net.

With the touch of a button, you'll be able to give on our homepage.

Along with that, you can text KCC Now to 77977, or you can download our app through the app store and give through that as well.

Thanks for being a part of our church this morning.

Wherever you may be, we're glad that you chose to join us online.

Until we return to our on-campus Sunday services, we love to connect with you through email, connection card on the website, or through our social platforms.

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We hope you have a great day and we look forward to seeing you next week.