Jake And Friends
Jake And Friends
Episode 57 - Jeremy Horton: World Traveler
Jeremy Horton joins the show to share his experience about a short term mission trip to Eastern Asia.
Jeremy is the Family Pastor at Shades Mountain Baptist Church and is the less interesting brother of Jake Horton.
All right everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Jake and Friends. Uh, got Jeremy Horton here today. Um, Jeremy is currently the family pastor at Shays Mountain Baptist Church. Uh, he is been on staff, uh, since March of 2014, and he previously served as the Associate Minister to children before transitioning to college, pastor in 2019, and the student pastor in 2020. And that is straight from the church website. So thank you Jeremy for joining me tonight. Um, Parker's not here. Parker had a sick kid, which means, um, he didn't really wanna sign up for the long haul. So this is the first episode you have to go without listening to me and Parker. But Jeremy, thank you for, uh, joining me tonight. How are you?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Dude, I'm good man. I'm glad to, glad to join the conversation and it looks like you got a little bit of an indication of your commitment, uh, with your partner over here, because he is just flaking on the sick kid, you know, so.
Track 1:Well, the, the honest truth is tonight there is the college football playoff national championship game. So whenever you listen to this, just when, whenever this episode comes out, just know that it was recorded, uh, during like the second half basically of that game. And so, um, I didn't realize that, um, which may say a lot about my commitment to college football outside of Auburn football is that I just didn't care that much. Um, and I know none of the Alabama fans are watching, so they have nothing else going on. But,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:right.
Track 1:um, so Jeremy, tell me a little bit about yourself, where you are not from Birmingham originally, right?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah, man. I grew up in southern California, so just about an hour east of LA in a little town called Highland, which was,
Track 1:Yep.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:uh, close to an area kind of near the foothills of the mountains right there in, in the Inland Empire, in the Valley. Um, and yeah, grew up my whole life there before moving to the south to come to college. So, um, I was raised there. My parents became believers, uh, in Christ when I was about 11 years old, 12 years old in that range. Um, and we got really involved in church there, and that was really a lot of what our life revolved around. Um, and then when I was looking for, for a place to go to college, um, we had some family connections to the south and I literally visited Sanford and then they did literally anything they could to get me to come because they had no California students at the time.
Track 1:How that wasn't that long ago, right? That was what, 2008 ish?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Uh, it was like 2011.
Track 1:2011. So, oh, so you, so you graduated. When did you graduate high school?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:I graduated high school in 11 then
Track 1:I'm older than you.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:yeah.
Track 1:I didn't know that.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. And then, uh, I graduated college in three years, so I was only there till 14.
Track 1:I think you just have a lot of wisdom that I don't have. And I mean that genuinely, like you carry yourself as a much wiser older man that I assumed you were like in your mid to late thirties.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Well, most people, most people at the church call me an old man at heart, so I think you're not the only one.
Track 1:And if, uh, if the name Horton sounds familiar, Jeremy's brother, Jake Horton and his wife Hailey were also on the podcast. I don't remember what episode that was. It was more recent. Probably episode 40 something. But you should go check it out. Um, because they said quote, they weren't that interesting. I called your brother and I was like, Hey, I. Just, yeah, I just liked them and I was like, I was like, I think it would be cool to have you on the podcast. And they're like, dude, we're not interesting at all. We have no, we'd have nothing to talk about. And I was like, I don't think so. And then he pulls this stunt that we're gonna talk about tonight and I'm like, now you can't sit here and tell me you're not an interesting human being at all.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:That's right. Mm-Hmm. That could, that couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know anybody like my brother who can just pick something up and fix it. Like he will watch a video, he will look at something that's broken and he will fix it in an instant. I, I mean, it's like. It's like a crazy gift that he has and he's, he's got a pretty interesting, he's probably more interesting than I am than the old man.
Track 1:well, it is funny that you mentioned that.'cause my brother-in-Law, uh, Alex Winkie was saying how he wanted to, like, I. Changed the color of his decals on his, uh, Toyota four Runner. And he went from like the il, the silver ones to like all black. And then I was like, well, it's cool. I was, I was like, you know, I was like, how'd you do that? He was like, well, Jake Horton was telling me all about how to do it. He is like, you should reach out to Jake. And so I texted Jake and then apparently Jake text Winkie like a couple days later and was like, dude, you gotta stop telling people that I do this kind of stuff.'cause I think Alex told like me and like four other people about it. And so I think Jake got flooded with requests to like, uh, help out with their, with their decals. So anyway, um, so how'd you end up, so did they were, was Sanford like, Hey, like we will literally give, we will literally make this free for you to come, or like, as free as we can possibly make it because Sanford's not a cheap university.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:No, it's not cheap. Uh, you know, they, they pretty well committed to do literally whatever they could, uh, to get me to come. And I remember, uh, you know, they came out to visit me in California after I indicated interest and the like, Dean of Admissions flew out and they took me on a harbor cruise and Huntington Harbor, California. So they're like cruising me around the harbor in this yacht, like giving me dinner, just telling me why Sanford would be a great place for me to go and that they would do everything they could, you know, to give me scholarship and all that kind of stuff. Um, they flew us out for a visit, like paid for the whole thing, um, which was pretty funny'cause I have really average high school grades. I mean, it's not like I had anything. Amazing. I think literally it was just, they had a very little entry into the state of California and I indicated interest, so they were pretty, pretty set on getting me to come. So yeah, they've been over backwards pretty good. I saw plenty of debt but uh, they, uh, they schmoozed and boozed enough to get me, to get me to come across country. So I grew up, uh, it is wild. I grew up like going on a lot of mission trips and things like that, so I, I kind of wanted to go to school far away. Um, and because my grades were average, there weren't a bunch of schools that were like knocking on my door. So when, when they kind of made a big deal about it, it, you know, it got my attention.
Track 1:So did you want to go to Sanford because you wanted to like be involved in their seminary program or were you just like, you know, something like,'cause I've, I've always wondered that. It's like, and I don't, it's not a disrespect to Sanford, but I'm like, what kind of marketing are they doing to like get people from like all over the place to, to show up in Birmingham, Alabama? That's my question.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:So for me it was literally like, Hey, whatever you want to do,
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:over. At the time when I moved, I thought I wanted to be like a worship person, so I grew up like leading worship, uh, in the youth group that I was in. And, um, but had no like formal music training of any kind. And so I, when I came to Sanford, I wanted to pursue worship and they didn't have any kinda worship degrees or anything, so they, they basically were like, what can you do? And I did some voice, like some singing auditions and they gave me like a voice scholarship. And I, uh, was singing, before I knew it, I was singing in Italian in front of like groups of people who had been classically trained in these like crazy songs. And it was, I was way outside my comfort zone.
Track 1:I mean, did you lead with like, Hey man, like I'm gonna sing this song, just know that like, I'm not from here and I don't do this kind of thing. Or were they like, nah, you need to own, like, pretend like this is your entire life.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:So when I came in, they wanted, they wanted me to like sing one song I would choose, and then I had to learn like a classical song. And I had done some choir stuff in high school, but not, not anything like really committed. So I learned a song just from my audition. And then when I got in there, they were like, okay, the here's your first set of songs. And what they would do, I was like, in this voice class, they'd be like, all right, you take this song home on Monday, you learn it on awe. Like you just sing it on awe. You get ready to come in on Wednesday and sing it on all, and then on Friday you're gonna get in front of your whole voice class and you're gonna sing it in Italian and we're gonna like, they would sit there with papers and like, take score of your like pronunciations and stuff. It was, it was brutal. I remember like October of my freshman year, I got like TMJ in my jaw.'cause my jaw locked up so bad because I was so stressed out all the time. It was good.
Track 1:so, oh, that is wild. Uh, the song you obviously chose was Michael w Smith's Heart of Worship, right? Is that the song? That's the song everybody chooses
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:That was not the one, I think it was like a Phil Wickham song or something. I
Track 1:Oh. And it's okay. Here's my thing with Phil Welcome. It's not that I am judging his salvation, which I shouldn't and don't have the authority to, but it's his hair. His hair looks normal until he's got the thing that comes down here too much. And then he's like, and then he wears it like that. And it bothers me and I'm not a
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:I think he wears it down just so that he can like move it, you know, like do the worship, like flip or whatever. Yeah.
Track 1:He's an RA guy. Never met him. Anyway, so how did you, so how did you transition out of that? Into like showing up at Shades Mountain Baptist Church or, or where did you visit Shades as a college student? Is that kind of how you got plugged in? There was like, walk me through that.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. So I mean, that October period in my life when I, when my jaw locked up and I was stressed, I was like, um, I can't do this anymore. So I started having a crisis of like, well, God, I thought you wanted me to do this. What are you doing?
Track 1:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:And really couldn't figure it out. At the time I was leading, I was like contract worship, leading all over the city. So I was leading at Hunter Street on Wednesday nights for middle school.
Track 1:They gave you a sticker.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:they gave me, yep,
Track 1:I'm just, that's, that's an inside joke. Uh, so Hunter Street, they just have these car decals that say we are Hunter Street. And I have nothing against Hunter Street. It's just a joke I decided to make right there. So, sorry.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:At the time, they would've given me just half of that sticker, you know, we are Hunter or something, but not the whole thing. Um, and then I did like, it was like Mountain Brook Baptist on Sunday nights and I was going to shades on Sunday morning. I mean, I was like your classic overcommitted college student trying to make money and, you know, and, um, man, I remember I came in on one Sunday and a time, uh, the current executive pastor at Shades, his name is Chad Sab. Boom. Uh, he was a college minister when I started going to Shades. And he just pulled me aside one day and was basically like, Hey, love that you love the church, but you should be all in, in one place. Not, you know, a little bit in all over the place. Um, and it was because he was willing to, to say that to me that I was like, well then this should be the place that I get. Plugged all in, you know. Um, so all of that kind of happened in the same semester. I was questioning what I was gonna do. He kind of got my attention. And so towards the end of my freshman year, I really kind of got plugged in at Shades. And that's where my relationship with Chad really began, began. And he really helped me to start processing what does it mean for me if I'm not gonna do voice. So I, I literally just defaulted to what I knew I could do well, which was like, I did, I got good grades in history in high school and enjoyed it. So I switched to a history major. Um, at the time the dean of the history department went to Shades. He matched my voice scholarship so that I could just stay consistent with my aid. And, uh, and I started studying history and basically like, all right, I don't know what's next, but this is what I'm gonna do. Um, that's, that's kind of how things changed towards the end of that semester. And it was really like a hands open. I don't know what you're doing, Lord, but I'm just gonna kind of follow your lead.
Track 1:Yeah. That's really cool. So was it like a, a general history or was it like specific to like, this isn't, like, this is still undergrad, this isn't, uh, what is it? Not Beeson, is it Beeson? Yes. Yeah, but Besson's the uh, uh, seminary school at Sanford, you, you Sanford people are gonna have to forgive me. There's too many of'em. It's Cumberland Law and then Beeson Divinity School, and then just Sanford. And
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Oh yeah. All
Track 1:hard to keep up with you people. Um, well that's cool. So, so how did you, so I guess you got on staff, like sort of right after you graduated or did you go to seminary also?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. So basically like to fast forward, um. Chad was pretty influential in my life in calling out a calling to ministry. I was in a discipleship group with him in college and he just kind of named it and it was really important for me. So that's when I thought, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna finish my history degree with the aim of going to seminary. Um, I met my wife Anna in that time we started dating and um, and then, uh, tried to accelerate my study so I could graduate with her. She was a year ahead of me. Um, so I was taking classes left and right planning on gonna seminary. And in my last semester at Sanford Shades called me about the, the open children's ministry position that they had. Um, which at the time I was like, kids' ministry wasn't the thing, but I knew I wanted to serve at Shades. And so they called me and they just said, this is a great spot for you to get your feet, you know, in the water
Track 1:Nice
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:So I jumped on, I guess that would've been Spring of 2014. Yeah,
Track 1:man. So you'd have been like 22,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:21 Yeah.
Track 1:and I thought you were probably like 30 by then. Well that's cool man. Uh, yeah, I guess as long as you've been, so Al and I have been at Shade since 2000, like the summer of 2015 or six. No, summer of 2016. And so I guess as long as you've been here, I guess, like, I was like, I guess this guy's just been here for a while, you know? But little did I know you had just kind of started. Um, well that's really cool man. So I know you mentioned like earlier, you know, kinda want, wanna get into what we wanted to talk about tonight. Um, you know. Star Arrival podcast. Um, which you have no idea the hurt you've inflicted on me. I, I, I imagine that like after me as it's a joke kind of that I've interviewed a lot of shades people and I just like go down the staff and just see who, who can I interview now? Uh, but is also side story. Josh Sisk. So I called Jo, I, this is how I knew. I was like, not Josh Sisk, I'm sorry. Josh Sisk does not have enough clout to be named on this podcast. Uh, but he
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Oh, that's coming back.
Track 1:uh, Josh Clark, Josh Clark. So Josh Clark, uh, uh, Sam Wilson reached out to me and was like, Hey, Josh Clark is the guy you should, uh, reach out to. And I was like, dude would love to. And so I texted him and I was like, Hey man, I'd love to talk to you about what you got going on. Um, and he was like, well, Actually I'm starting. Or like he didn't, he kind of ghosted me and didn't say anything. And then that Sunday we go to church and then he gets named the missions pastor at Shades. And I was like, I was like, yep, that's why he ghosted me'cause he just started a new position. Um, but anyway, so, uh, I was completely side barred and lost track. But the Rival podcast, I do wanna plug the pod. I do wanna plug the Shades podcast. Will you plug the Shades podcast for, for me?'cause I forgot the name of it and I'm gonna butcher it, so.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:You're good, man. Uh, so yeah, it, it's called the Family Ministry podcast. Um, and we, we are basically, we wanna have conversations around real issues that parents are facing as they're getting ready to raise the future church, and as they're raising the future church now. And so the podcast is literally built around parent submissions. Uh, they can go to our church website and submit questions they're facing. And then we, we wanna try to bring real life parents in, parents who have kind of seen the other side of raising their kids and just ask them to process how they navigated similar situations in their lives. So it's very conversational, um, and all the content stems from what parents want us to want us to talk about. And, um, so that's kind of the plug. Yeah.
Track 1:that's really cool. No, you should really go check it out. Um, but what we really wanted to talk about tonight that, uh, was, uh, you know, you mentioned earlier about like you'd always been involved with missions and the church. Our, our church Shade, Mount Shades, mountain Baptist Church took a mission trip to Nepal. Uh, I guess it was in the summer, or was it early fall? I can't, I can't
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:September. Yeah.
Track 1:Yeah, so it kind of blended together, but, um. Just, I just want you to sort of walk through that whole story.'cause you've, you've shared that story with our church and that's kinda why I reached out to you is I was like, I was like, that's the story worth like telling a hundred times over. And so I'm just thankful that you would be willing to share that story. Um, but can you just walk me through, I guess, sort of like how you found yourself e even, like how did that even become a thing, you know? Uh, just sort of walk me through that.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. So, um, yeah, I have, I have been a lot of mission trips in my life. Um, before I graduated high school, I'd been to South Africa five times. I've been to Mexico, you know, 5, 6, 7 times. My dad was kind of the, um, lay missions minister at our church growing up. So I had a lot of mission experiences. Um, but one thing that the Lord had convicted me of, even just in ministry, uh, in recent years is I, I really haven't been to any hard, hard places. Um, and had heard a lot of stories about the way that God's moving across the world in some of those hard places. Um, and so, you know, you just mentioned Josh Clark. When Josh Clark came on our, on our staff team, one of his visions for missions through our church is to see the great commission fulfilled in our lifetime. That's a vision that, that he has, that he's inspired by. And so part of that is going to the places where the gospel is, uh, very little, uh, believed in, or maybe not at all. Um, and Nepal is one of those, is one of those places. So I remember I was sitting in his office one day and he had just become the mission's pastor. So, you know, just building trust, just starting from scratch and everything really hadn't come back since. Covid kind of killed a lot of our international mission opportunities at Shades, and it's been a slow build back. And so he had all these great opportunities, all these great partners he wanted to work with. And I'm sitting in his office and he's just kind of, uh, uh, struggling to figure out who, who am I gonna ask to lead these trips? I don't know who's gonna lead these trips. And he had just kind of announced the trips and the trip to Nepal said. Um, that it would be, you know, physically demanding that it would be a difficult trip. Backpacking, trekking, those kind of things. And I was, I was just sitting his, I telling him how cool I thought that would be.'cause I, I love outdoorsy kind of stuff. I love, you know, riding my bike. Fitness is a big thing I enjoy. And so I just, I said like, who's leading that trip? And he's like, I have no idea. I have no idea who will sign up to lead this
Track 1:Nobody yet.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. And I was like, man, I'd love to lead a trip like that. And he's like, really? And I was like, yeah, I'd be sure. That'd be awesome. I just like, I'd have to check with Anna. And, uh, he was like, well, well ask her. And I was like, all right, well call her right now. So I literally called her on the phone in the office and she was like, yeah, absolutely. You have to go. It was a total God thing, man. Um,
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:really kind of surprising. And so from that moment on, it was like, okay, you're leading this trip. I really had no idea what I had signed up for. Um.
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:So the, the first bit of shock came when we began to get ready for the trip itself. And I knew the fitness part of it was gonna be hard. So we kind of planned some meetings, not just to, you know, talk about what the culture was like and the different things we were stepping into, but I mean, we had hikes. We would like meet and talk through mission things and then we would go hike from the church, you know, four miles, five miles, whatever. Um, and the kind of the reality of it set in when we began to practice sharing our story, sharing our testimony, um, and realizing that we were going to a people who could not make any assumptions about what they knew about the Lord, what they knew about Jesus, that we were probably gonna encounter people who'd never heard the gospel, uh, and the story of Jesus before, which is something I'd never encountered in mission before. So we had to start learning to tell our stories in a way that, um. Didn't make those assumptions, and that was pretty difficult. Uh, we were, we were basically assigning each other like, Hey, you're gonna be the skeptic. I'm gonna tell my story. You're gonna ask questions and try to pick it apart. We're gonna try to see, you know, what that, what that's like. Um, so that was, it was an interesting preparation and you could kind of feel among our team, uh, the kind of spiritual heaviness with that.
Track 1:Sure.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:there were four of us, my brother that we mentioned earlier, Jake was one of'em and four other guys, or three other guys from our church. Um, so we began to get ready and, and do all that kind of stuff. Uh, and then it was, it wasn't until we got there that we realized just how remote, um, just how kind of isolated we were gonna be and where we were going, um, and how little the gospel had been there.
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:kind of the prep and the gear up for, for the trip itself.
Track 1:Yeah. Uh, yeah. I know you, you said you like hi or like outdoorsy stuff, like I follow you on Strava and you, I. Bike. I think you biked to church one day. And I don't even know if that was in preparation. I, I can't, I can't remember the timeline. If you were just like, Hey, I just might as well try to get in a little extra cardio if I can. It's like 20 miles to church for, for you. And I was like, that's wild. I was like, there's no way. He just wanted to do that But I, I, I've ran a few half marathons and I'm like, why does anybody want to do that? I don't know. But and I did it like a few, I was like, I got suckered into it a few times. Um, that's so cool. So, so I guess when you guys are preparing for sharing the gospel with people, you know, I, I know you mentioned how you. You know, didn't quite know what you had signed up for and couldn't make any assumptions. You know, like, this isn't like a, not to knock on any other mission trips, but like, it's not like you're going to a, well-developed very open border. You know, people are happy that you're there. Um, let's go paint a school. Let's go, you know, hang out with some children, snap a few Instagram photos and call it a day. You know, like go to a worship service and be like, I, you may not have to even be confronted about sharing the gospel. You know, you could just be like, yeah, this is what I believe. And just like point to the guy who's preaching. Um. Whenever y'all were like practicing or I guess training and preparing for all that, like, was it ever, was it ever difficult? Like, Hey, I got, I don't know what I'm gonna say to this person. Like, not only is there a language barrier, but it's like, what if I say the, like, what if I say the wrong thing? Or like, what if um, this guy or this girl hears what I say and they just absolutely hate it, or they are, you know, angry about it or they're scared or, you know, they're just not getting it. Um, what, well, you, you described the heaviness. Was the, was it more like that kind of stuff or was it just understanding the severity of like, you, god's given you this task to carry out? I realized that was probably more questions than just one question, but.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:No, that's good, man. Um, I think there were three things that I would attribute to the heaviness. The first was the one you just mentioned. So at like professional, you know, I, I've got a seminary degree. I've shared the gospel many, many times. I actually found in the midst of preparing for Nepal, that is easier for me to stand in front of 2000 people on Sunday morning and preach a 30 minute sermon than it was for me to share the gospel in a way that is understandable for someone who has no context for one God who made the world, who, uh, would send his son who's fully God and fully man in a way that they could grasp and actually like, understand what I was saying. I, I had to put more work in to figuring out a way to share my testimony there than I do to pre to preach for 30 minutes to a bunch of Christians. And so it's just, it's pretty, it was pretty incredible. To see, number one, just how little exposure I've had to people who have no previous, at least exposure to, to Christian belief. So that, that was weighty, that was pressure. Uh, man, the physical part of the trip came with its own pressures. Um, I didn't really have a clear answer as to how far and how hard we were gonna push ourselves. I didn't know where we were gonna be staying every night.
Track 1:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:in communication with our missions partners, they were basically like, we're gonna hike from this village to hopefully this village, and we're gonna find a place to stay. So it was one of those things where it's like, we don't know where we're gonna stay. We don't know what the arrangements are gonna be. We don't know what's gonna be available to us. Um, you know, everything from the gear that you would need, the water filtration systems, the sleeping pads, the sleeping bag, everything was on our backs. Um, all those kinds of things were just, that physical aspect of the planning was pretty, um, was pretty stressful. And then finally, like, you know, the country of Nepal is not a closed country. Um, but it is illegal for you to try to get someone to believe what you believe to try to like evangelize them. And that is literally the reason we were going to Nepal, uh, was to share our story with people who'd never heard it. And so there was like a risk factor in like if one person gets mad and they don't like what we're sharing, they can call the police and the police can arrest us. Um, and so there was that risk factor that had never been a risk factor, um, a risk factor for me. So there was that part of things. And then, know, you hear stories. This is four, I said three. I'm doing four.
Track 1:no, I asked more questions than one, so,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:You're good. Uh, you know, man, like in, in countries like that where the gospel has not been believed in, there's always a really high likelihood you're gonna encounter spiritual warfare in the form of, um, you know, everything from like possession to just which doctors to, uh, things that you're just not gonna have here, but you have in a more rural kind of syncretistic religious environment. Um, and so there was that weight too, where we were praying, we wanna be physically ready. We wanted to be kind of, you know, mentally, spiritually prepared to share our stories. But there was this spiritual battle component, um, that all of us were kind of ready. Like, we don't know what we're gonna see. We don't know what we're gonna experience, and we just need to be ready for whatever the enemy might throw at us.
Track 1:Yeah. Uh, will you sort of talk a little bit about the relationship you guys had with the, the Christians who were the, the, are, are they called Nepalese or is it Nepal, the Nepalese Christians you met there, so you guys meet with them and, um, just sort of, what, how was that dynamic in that relationship like?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah, so all I can describe it as is like baptism by fire. So the communication I have is with, uh, one of our I and B personnel who's on the ground in Capmandu, which is, you know, the capital city of Nepal. And he had, um, partners there who were Nepalese brothers, Nepalese Christians. So I, we get there, you know, we fly in, they pick us up at the airport, very broken English, you know, very kind of hard to understand, but really nice guys. We go to this pizza restaurant, I kid you not there, they thought like all the Americans, they're gonna want pizza. So we go to this pizza restaurant and Katmandu, we're sitting at the table. And I'm sitting across from the missionary partner and he says, alright, so these, you know, the table's full of Nepalese guys. And he's like, Hey, so okay, these, these are the guys who are gonna take you into the back country. We're gonna eat lunch. You're gonna take everything that you need in your backpack and put it in the car and you're gonna drive out. So we had, we had flown for two days. We flew in, got lunch, packed our bags, and started driving out of the city. And he, and that was the first time I had heard that he was not gonna go with us. So we have all these guys who speak broken English, who, are hard to understand, um, who I had just met for the first time and they were our guides and they were the only ones taking us. So immediately there was this like, oh my gosh.
Track 1:like this trust factor of like, like did they know the whole time they weren't going with you and they just didn't tell you that? Or was it like, Hey, last second change,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:I mean, it,
Track 1:it doesn't matter.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:the whole time. Yeah. But it didn't really matter. Like it was like, we're, this is, we're here now. And so we get in the cars, man, and we start driving and they're Nepal. I mean, they're Nepalese guys. So like, we're driving, there's, we've got two vans, half our teams in one van, half is in the other. And actually only Jake, my brother was in the other van, and that van we're like riding on the interstate and it just turns off the interstate. So my brother's gone. They like went to go pick somebody up to give him a ride on our way out of town or something. But we, they're just speaking in Nepalese. We can't
Track 1:You didn't know that
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:So he's gone. I'm texting him, I'm like, tell me where you are. We're like driving outta town. And I'm like, I don't know what's going on. So we, you know, crazy mountain roads. It's super mountainous. You know, we're in the foothills of the Himalayas. Driving out of town, kind of drive all the way up. Real high. Cat Mandu itself is at like 5,000 feet elevation. So we're driving up higher to kind of get out town. And, um, you know, about three hours into the drive, we, we pull over on the side of the road and we're with these guys, they're talking in Nepalese and we're looking up at the side of this cliff face and there's just this dirt road that disappears up, this cavernous, like, I mean, I'm talking thousands of feet, like multiple cliffs kind of right there. They're pointing up at this dirt road and I, Donald Wood, he's one of the guys who goes to our church. I lean over to him and I'm like, they're pointing up there like, we're gonna go that way. And I'm thinking like, we're gonna get our backpacks out and hike because there's no way we can take vehicles up this road. It is like dangerous, like. I mean, one car with, on the side of a cliff winding up the side of a mountain, all gravel, all dirt, you know, rivers running across the road. And they shouted us to get back in the car and we turn off the road and we start driving up this, this road. Um,
Track 1:my gosh.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:and I remember, man, like five minutes in we are crossing like a, a river that is flowing fast, that is probably feet deep in these like Humvee cars, I'm thinking like, what are we doing? Like what?
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:And that's when I knew was the first hint of like, oh, these guys are taking the gospel to places that are hard to go to. And like we are in, we're in it now. There's no turning back. And I found out that day that that was the least dangerous drive. And the least dangerous thing we would do from that, from every day there forward. That was like the safest we were gonna be over the next several days.
Track 1:Yeah. No. We'll, I definitely wanna talk about the ne the other two stories I think I'm hoping you would feel comfortable sharing, but will you kinda talk a little bit about, you know, once you get to know these guys, I, I think you brought up, um, or I guess when you shared the story originally with our church, you were talking about how you, either you or someone on your team asked them like, Hey, how do you. How do you train each other? You know, how, how do you spend time, uh, or practice sharing the gospel with each other or discipling each other, I think was the word you actually used. So will you talk a little bit about that?'cause uh, you know, I'm, I'm inserting myself here, but from what I recall, I think a lot of these guys are, you know, they're some of the only Christians in the country. And so like, they're, they're just out here driving up, up crazy dirt roads just to share Jesus with people. Um, yeah. So will you just, will you, do you mind telling that story?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. Yeah, man. Um, I think, you know, it didn't take us long to realize how committed to Jesus and, um, utterly propelled by the mission these guys were. And one of the things we talked about when we talked about this as a church was, you know, that, um, that in the American church we like to separate sharing the gospel and whatever you wanna call that, being discipled or, you know, growing close to Jesus
Track 1:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:aspect of things and in their minds and in who they are. Those two things can't be separated. So their version of kind of being discipled walking with Jesus is, uh, intricately connected to going into these places where the gospel has not been and risking their lives together to make sure people know the good news of Jesus at whatever risk it requires of them. And they are, they're like brothers who have been to war. I mean, they are shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield. They are, they have seen anything you can see from having, you know, like leaches all over their bodies trying to get the gospel to places has never been being chased out of villages being threatened by the police. And they do it together every day and things happen and they just keep going back. And so there was this like depth of understanding in them of um, how much the gospel. Was worth to them that like risk, risk just wasn't a factor that could keep them from taking the gospel where it needed to go. It, it was profound, man. I mean, they were, they had a, they had a maturity that you would think, you know, people who go to seminary or have a lot of knowledge about the Bible would have. But these guys had it simply because, uh, they had risked their lives together for the sake of Jesus.
Track 1:Yeah. That's very powerful. I think you said the, I, I think, I think the phrase you said was your, your, your, your guide said something like, like Jeremy, like I, I'm like, I, we don't, we don't do any of that kind of stuff. He is like, we just walk the mountains together and share Jesus. He is like, and, and I, that stuck with me as being like, you know, differentiating. Because in America we do, we like to do that. We like to segregate. Here's our Bible study time, here's our prayer time, here's our quiet time, which could be different. Here's our discipleship group. You know, like, and these are all like, separate, uh, segregated things, but to them it's just like, this is, this is my life. My life is Jesus. Um,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:right.
Track 1:will you, uh, sort of talk about like when you get to your first, uh, the, the first village you get to and you guys share the gospel for the first time, um, what was that like? And I guess what sort of stood out to you as being, um. Just different
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. Yeah. So, um, we got to the first village late at night. Uh, the end of that car ride I talked about earlier. It ended in a. An hour and a half of walking upstairs, it was pretty incredible. Um, we walked several miles and, uh, all uphill and finally got to our location, went to sleep, um, a night full of monkeys trying to get into our room while we were sleeping, banging on doors and windows, uh, and, you know, woke up to a beautiful view of the Himalayas. And so we had breakfast together, we worshiped together, which was really beautiful. Um, we just were in a room in a circle and read some scripture and, um, I. Got ready for the day. And then what they did was they paired us up. So there was a, there was a Nepalese brother for every American brother and what the Nepalese told us. And, and there's a lot of caste system, you know, um, dynamics in Nepal. So what they told us was, because you're an American, you're considered high caste. And so anyone you say you wanna share your story with, they're gonna say, sure. Like, we would love to hear your story because we just have that, um, that ability coming from where we come from. So the goal was to just go door to door and walk to this village. And any person we saw, uh, our translator would walk up and say, Hey, this is my friend Jeremy, he's from America. He's got a story to tell you. And that was my cue for here. Like, here we go. I'm gonna share my story of knowing Jesus. And so I would share, and the translator would translate. We would sit on front porches and just, I. Just share the gospel. Um, and in that first day, we had several people give their lives to Jesus, um, who had never heard the gospel. Um, and, and that's when we realized, man, like these people are ready to hear, ready to hear what we've come to tell them. Um, it was pretty incredible, man. Like the door to door experience, you know, you think about doing that in America and you're like, that sounds like, I mean, people just shut the door in your face,
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:know? Um, but culturally it was like, yeah, come sit on my porch, you know, like, let me get some mats out. We'll sit together. Um, and you just share. Um, so it was pretty incredible.
Track 1:That's really cool. Um, how many people total, I guess by the end of the trip, I wanna say it was like 50, 55 people ended up surrendering their life to Jesus through that. That's really
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:yeah, yeah. We shared the gospel with almost, it was like 250 or 300 people, um, over the course of five days, which is pretty wild.
Track 1:Which is, uh, and not that it's about like statistics or anything, right? But like, that's a great, that's a great batting average, you know what I'm saying? Like, like, it, it, it's not like, uh, you know, I, I've heard, I, I think we've had some partners. Some previous shades partners who are in Indonesia, and they have been there for, I wanna say like eight or 10 years. And they're like, they're like, we have yet to see one person come to know Jesus because they're so ingrained in, uh, I think it's, are they Buddhist over there? No, they're, they're Islam. Uh, it's a huge, uh, Islamic, um, culture over there. And so they're just like, you know, I don't know. I guess I just thought it was just really cool that like you saw that much success, um, and and it's not even that far away of a, of a country as far as, you know, the crow flies. But, um, well, you, uh, will you tell, will you share the story about whenever you guys had to abruptly change your plans, uh, from town to town?
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah. So, um, about the fourth day we were there, uh, we, we hiked to a nearby village, um, that we had planned to share the gospel, uh, with them. But along the way, one of the things the brothers do, uh, the Nepalese guys is basically like if we're walking from one village to another and we come across anybody, we're, we're sharing. So they'll just stop on the road. I mean, it's like walking in the New Testament. You just stop on the road. I've got pictures on my phone of us literally sitting on rocks on a road
Track 1:an Ethiopian guy there,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:I mean, literally, it's just wild. And so, uh, we, we would walk on the road and share. And so we did that along the way. Well, it turned out one of the guys who, uh, didn't, didn't necessarily like what we were sharing, uh, went ahead of us and gave the village, we were headed to a heads up that there were Christians coming, that those Christians were, um, proselytizing that they, they were sharing the gospel with people. Um, and so they kind of had this, this warning, uh, the night before. So we went to bed that night in that village, woke up the next morning with the hope of walking that village and sharing the gospel. And when I woke up in the morning, there were some guys, I kind of went out to read my bible while the sun was coming up. And there were some guys walking around taking pictures of us on their phones and kind of taking notes in a notebook. Which was just kind of odd, you know, kind of, you got like your second, your second sense a little bit just going off. Um, and it wasn't shortly after that that our team leader from the Nepalese team, uh, called me into a room, kind of a private room in the back of this, you know, little house that we were staying. And, and the Nepalese brothers were in there and they were, man, they're so goofy. They're typical guys. Like, it doesn't matter if they're from Nepal, like we were cutting it up the whole time. They're goofy, they're silly, they're funny. We're making jokes. Um, but when I walked into this room, it, the di the dynamic was very different. Um, very serious, uh, kind of heavy. And they, they were kind of at a whispering tone talking to each other.
Track 1:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:When I first came into the room, they were just talking to Nepalese and then very quietly, very hushed, kinda like circled together. And I knew like, man, somethings. Something not good is going on. Finally, after about 10 minutes of them kind of arguing with each other, just trying to figure out, I think, what to do, uh, our team leader leader leaned over to me and said, you know, brother Jeremy, there are people tracking us. They've given the police a heads up that we're here, um, we're gonna need to change our plans. We need to leave now. Um, so he was like, you need to tell your team. So the team is still like in their rooms, waking up. And so I leave the room, I go to their rooms, I pull them out and I'm like, we're leaving now. I can't answer your questions. Get your stuff. We're gonna start walking and within five minutes we're all out with our backpacks and we just start walking. We just start leaving. So as we're walking on the, on the trail towards the next village we had planned to go to, um, we received news of a pastor in a nearby village. Who had been arrested for sharing the gospel, his face was painted black and he was tied up and he was thrown into a closet with his wife until the police were gonna come. Um, and these guys were trying to tie what we were doing to that pastor, so we knew like, okay, we're, we're in danger. And so, uh, we, we tried to get news to the village. We were headed to, uh, to see what kind of receptivity there would be there. And it became evident that they were also not going to receive us. And so what, what was originally gonna be about what, four to five mile hike with sharing the gospel along the way turned into 16 hours of hiking, uh, over several mountains, to the village that we were gonna go to two days, two days later. Um, and so, uh, or it was about 12 hours of hike, hiking. It was about 16 miles.
Track 1:Yeah.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:and it. Man, I've, I've never experienced anything like that in my life. Like they, they followed us for a while. Um, we had to rest a few times at some different churches along the way that, that our guides knew of. Um, but we hiked that entire day, um, to get away from away from what was going on that, that's the same day. Uh, we, we had to basically climb over a mountain, um, that was about 6,000 feet high. And the trail, you know, kind of wove up through the jungle, um, became very small. When we got to the top, the top was covered in clouds and they, you know, it's monsoon, monsoon season there in, in Nepal. And, um, so we get to the top of this mountain. We've been hiking for probably eight or 10 hours. The fog is covering the mountain. We're, we're literally pulling leeches off of our legs and like. Socks and shoes. And, um, we come to the, come, kind of come around to go down the mountain and our guide comes around and he says, man, the trail's, the trail's gone. Like, there's no trail. So we're, we're at the top of this mountain. We can't go back because people are falling. I mean, they are keeping track of us. There's nowhere for us to go.
Track 1:Like the trail was there and it's washed out now, or was like, it never was a trail.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Totally washed out. Yeah. Um, and you're talking like, I'm, you know, when I say cliff, you're 6,000 feet up and you're, you're literally like, if I take a, if I take a misstep, I will fall 4,000 feet down the side of this and I will die. Like
Track 1:Yeah, people need to google images of Nepal so you can get a visual of like the, how is this not like over the mountain mountainous. This is like the Himalayas.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yes. Uh. And so he came to us and he said that the guides we were with were gonna chisel a, a pathway for us to climb down this part of the trail where the, the path was gone. Um, and he, he basically came up and he said, you will do exactly what I tell you to do, or you're gonna die. Um, so I had like this moment team leader where I was like, oh my gosh. Like one of the guys on our team takes one slip and they're in the bottom of this ravine and we're never gonna be able to get their body back, let alone. Like, you know, what do we tell, what do we tell their spouse? Um, and it took us about 45 minutes for each of us to scale the side of this cliff. I've got a video of Jake, literally like vertical on the side of a cliff. You know, doing one foot at a time while these guys like grab his ankles and his arms to like move him down. You know, Jake's not a small guy. This cliff is like falling while he's going down it. Um, it was wild, man. It was, it was pretty unreal to literally risk your life, uh, to take the good news, you know, where it hadn't been. So that was a wild day. It, we had about four hours of hiking after the Cliff to get to the place where we were staying that night. So,
Track 1:Yeah. Um, I remember you when you shared that story with, uh, our, our church. I remember you saying something that, um, really like hit home with me. I, I think you said that was the first time, um. That sharing the gospel cost me something. You know, like, it cost, it, it cost like your comfort, you know, it, it could have cost your life like it was uncomfortable. It was, you did not know what you were gonna do from day to day. And I just reremember, you know, I just think of how, um, I don't, I don't know if I wanna say spoiled, um, that Americans are, but like very fortunate, um, and blessed that, that America does, like, doesn't have those limitations for, for spreading the gospel. Like we're talking on the internet right now about Jesus freely and no one's mad. Like no one is busting down our door about it. No one's trying to throw us in a closet with our spouses for talking about Jesus. But somewhere in the world, someone is, um. So that like, I don't know that it bothered me for a couple days after hearing that.'cause I was like, I was like, what am, I was like, I clearly, I'm not, I'm being honest. I was like, I'm not doing enough to, to spread the gospel. Like if, if, if a guy, if two, if, if two daggum guys from California move out, move out here who don't know anything about the outdoors, you know, that was, that's my joke on California, I guess. But, uh, without, without realizing that California has like, some of the greatest outdoors in the entire country. But, uh, you know, I was like, if, if these two guys, and, and Donald Wood, who used to is, I guess we were, he was our co Sunday school director for a while and him and his wife are awesome people. And I was like, these guys like took off work and just like went. All the way across the world to share the gospel. But I'm not willing to share the gospel with like someone like who I work with every day. You know, someone who traveled halfway across the world just to come work in this country. And I know has different beliefs than I do, and like, I'm not willing to share the gospel with this person. Like, God brought that person over here so that Jake could freely share the gospel and I'm not doing it. And so like that really, that like shook me
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Hmm.
Track 1:for a while and just, you know, I don't know. I, I guess what would you say to people, um, like myself or anyone who's listening to this, who's like either never been on a mission trip or never been to somewhere that's been difficult or, you know, or just is struggling, um, grasping the concept of like the severity of needing to share the gospel.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Hmm. Yeah, I mean, I, I think the first thing I'd say is there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And so if you haven't shared the gospel yet, the one thing God's not doing is wagging his finger at you right now, like an angry dad wishing you would've done something and ashamed that you haven't, that that's contrary to the gospel. Um, and so that can't be the case. So if you're feeling guilt or shame because you haven't stepped into that yet, uh, you need to look, you need to look at who your father is from the scripture. Um, he, he gave his son for you and his son has fulfilled every requirement, um, that would, that would please the father. And what you do and don't do, uh, is not gonna please him anymore because he, he sees you through his son. That being said, um, when you surrender your life to Jesus a savior, you're also surrendering your life to him as Lord. And what that means is, and this is what I learned from my brothers in Nepal, what that means is, who I am now is foundationally, uh, rooted in who has purchased me and what I do. The reason I do it, the places I go and the people I see, I see them through. The lens of having been saved. Uh, being a follower of Jesus is not a part of my identity. It is who I am. And if it is who I am, then the greatest treasure and the greatest joy I have is the good news that has changed my life now, but also my hope for all eternity. And it, I, I feel like if you're truly in love with him and what he is done for you, and you truly grasp the, the grace he's shown, it really is impossible to just kinda live your life knowing that truth and not worrying or considering what that truth means for everybody else who's around you, what it could mean for them if they place their faith in Christ. And so I think, you know, there's a couple things you should do. The first is just pray. That sounds ridiculous. It's like, sounds like a real churchy answer. Uh, but like, man, I. God delights in giving us the desires of our hearts. And when we put our faith in Jesus, he begins a process of transforming our hearts to his desires for our lives and for our hearts. And so when we ask God to let us see lost people like he sees them, to let us love people, uh, the way he loves them, to let us lean in with people the way that he leans in and caress and listens to us. Um, and the opportunities are gonna explode if we just ask, because nothing's gonna please God more than you giving the testimony the way he saved you. So I think like, start with praying. Like, give me eyes, let me see. Uh, and then asking for boldness. Boldness is huge. Like you've gotta be willing to step in when it's there, right? Like we've all been in that spot where we've heard someone say something, seen someone do something, and we know, like I. This is, this is the chance and you can feel your heartbeat. You know, like you get nervous, you feel your heart pick up speed, and you're like, are we gonna offend them? Are we gonna, you know, all the questions. But the fact of the matter is, you have a story and, and the story you've experienced is true. And no one can look at you and say like, nah, that's not, that's not real. Um, and so I think like, we've gotta have boldness. And then I do think like, we've gotta be ready. Like, if you don't know your story well enough to say like, Hey, this is what Jesus did for me. This is what I was like before I knew him. This is what it was like when I met him. And now this is what my life's like after. If we don't know how to tell that, then we're not gonna have the confidence to kind of step into that moment and share. And I'm gonna tell you right now, if you don't practice, you don't know. And that's coming from the pastor who thought he knew how to share his testimony. Well, until I, until I had to get ready to go to, to Nepal. So those, I think those are the things I'd say to somebody who's, who's struggling with that.
Track 1:No, that's, that's great. Um, one thing you were talking about when I, well, I, I don't know, you kind of hinted at this, like, uh, one of my favorite examples or analogies, like when I think about the severity of the gospel is, uh, Francis Chan, who's a pastor in California, um, he's in California, or did he move? Yeah, he's in California. I don't
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Yeah.
Track 1:I can't remember where. He may be in Sacramento or one of one of those SoCal, you know, you know, one of them places. Great dude. Uh, uh, I don't know. But, uh, everything I know about him is a great dude. But he has this, uh, analogy, it's like a rope analogy, and I'm sure you're familiar with it, where he like has this rope and he, uh, it's probably like really like 50 feet. Uh, but he says, imagine this rope extends, uh, to eternity. Like it goes out the room and it's just forever. It never ends. And he is like, and then at the very end of this rope is like this little red piece of tape. And he is like. This red piece, this entire row represents your soul in its existence. Um, and he is like, and this red piece of tape is your life on earth. And he is like, and just people just care so much about like, you know, how could I make enough money here so I can retire here and so I can like live this last little piece of this red tape, like I can just live and retire in peace and just enjoy the rest of my life. And they don't think about eternity one bit. Um, and I just thought like, that's a really good visual example. Um, not that it, in a lot of cases it may not be. Great to whip out the, you know, the rope in Nepal, you know, because because like, they're gonna be, they're gonna be like, I don't know, like, uh, that's, that's a, that's a, like, I can see the end of that rope. It doesn't matter. Like, uh, but I just think about the severity of the gospel and like the importance of like being able to share the gospel with people, um, in that, in, in that aspect a lot of times. But, um,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:And man, I would say like the human experience of brokenness results in a lot of the same hurts, and people don't always know how to articulate those. Um, but what results from the fall is often characterized by guilt. By shame of things that I've done, um, by, by trying to prove something about myself or trying to prove my worth or, um, trying to achieve, to make somebody proud or to make somebody happy with me. Um, those are often, a lot of times the beliefs that lie underneath why people choose to lean into certain sins and why they, um, you know, strive after things, try after, strive after different idols and different things in their lives. The gospel speaks to all of that. It speaks to all of it. And so when we, when we know how to tell our story in a way that shows people the thing we ran after and the why and how the gospel meets that need. Their story may not match up in, you know, whatever the sin is or whatever the thing is. We ran after the exact same thing. But they can associate what it means to feel guilty or to feel ashamed or to feel like you just can't win or to feel like no one loves you. And the gospel speaks to all of those things. And so when we're able to tell our story in that way, we can really, um, we can really speak the gospel in a way that meets people in their brokenness. And I think that that's where, that's where the thinking ahead of time is really important. The preparing, the praying, all those, all those kinds of things.
Track 1:Yeah, that's really great. Um, I think that's a great place to leave off. Um. Jeremy. I really, I, I mean I'm, uh, honestly, like I really appreciate you being vulnerable and thoughtful and sharing this story. Um, yeah, I just, I think it's, yeah, I think it's a cool thing. It's like even the guy who wasn't very good at singing Italian at Sanford can like, take the gospel to the ends of the earth. You know what I mean? Like, you, like God can use a guy with, with, with TMJ but I just, you know, honestly, thank you. Um, just, just, you know, just, I just thought it was just super cool and, um, I don't know. I have nothing else to say, but just praise God for, for, for what he's done in your life and, and for you being willing to, to share the gospel. So
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:And man, like if I can,
Track 1:yeah,
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:if you're, if you're listening to this podcast and you're like, I don't know what the gospel is, um, man, I, I just wanna tell you, like, there, there's a God who made the world and he, he wants to, to know you and walk a relationship with you. Um, but his design was messed up by, by brokenness coming into the world through sin. And that sin separates us from God. Um, but, but God loves his creation. He loves you. And, um, because of that, he sent his son Jesus to live a perfect life. You can live and to die on a cross through sin, to raise from the dead so that you could, you could have hope. And all he asks is that you confess your sin and, and you believe that Jesus' death fully pays the penalty for your sin. And we see in his word that he promises to save you. And so if the gospel's something you never heard before, that when we say the word gospel, that's what we're talking about. And if you're listening to this and you've not believed in the gospel, uh, that good news is for you, it's for you too. Um, and so, man, I know Jake would want, would want for you to know that and to hear that. And, um, and I wanna invite you to it. If you, if you have not placed your faith in Jesus, there is nothing greater that you could possibly do, uh, in this world. And no more important, no more decision that could be more important, uh, than giving your life to Jesus because that rope does go on forever.
Track 1:Mm-Hmm.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:And, um, man, life after this with him because of what he is done, uh, is the promise of those who, who put their faith in Jesus. So I just wanna make sure that we're we hit that guy before we finish.
Track 1:No. Amen. That's great. Um, I appreciate it, Jeremy. Um, we'll see you guys next time.
squadcaster-e8c2_1_01-08-2024_200338:Thanks, man.
