CityLife Online Experience | The Sign of the Wedding at Cana | Mike Grechko

Summary

CityLife Church's online service kicked off with Dan and Becca introducing their adorable seven-month-old, Ollie. They encouraged viewers to participate by sharing where they were watching from, aiming to map the global reach by year's end. The service highlights included worship, sermons, and baby dedications. Mike Greskco delivered an insightful sermon on the 'Seven Signs of John's Gospel,' focusing on the first sign, the wedding at Cana, where water was turned into wine, symbolizing Jesus' revelation as the Messiah.

Highlights

• The online service started with a fun introduction of Dan, Becca, and their baby Ollie. 👨‍👩‍👦
• Viewers were encouraged to share their locations, showcasing the church's global community. 🌍
• The baby dedications were a heartwarming highlight, showcasing the importance of community support. 🍼
• A powerful worship session reminded everyone of the joy and strength in faith. 🎶
• Mike Greskco's sermon on the wedding at Cana captivated the audience, emphasizing Jesus' divinity. 🎤

Key Takeaways

• The service emphasized community, encouraging members to interact and share globally. 🌎
• Jesus' first miracle at Cana symbolizes the revelation of his divine nature. 🍷
• Baby dedications signify the church's commitment to supporting families and children in faith. ✝️
• Worship and sermons serve as a reminder of God's enduring presence and strength. 🙏

Overview

CityLife Church's online service brought a vibrant sense of connection and community right from the start as Dan, Becca, and their cute baby Ollie bid everyone welcome. This interactive format invited viewers worldwide to share their locations, building a dynamic map of the church’s expansive reach. Whether from India, Hong Kong, or nearby suburbs, the diversity of the congregation was celebrated. A QR code feature made participation easy and engaging for the global online community.

A key segment of the service was the intimate and moving baby dedications, where families vowed to raise their children in faith, while the congregation pledged their support. Dynamic worship followed, presenting songs of faith that lifted spirits and unified voices, reinforcing a shared sense of joy and purpose in faith. Meanwhile, pastoral prayers extended hope and comfort to those affected by Cyclone Alfred, embodying the church’s compassion and global solidarity.

Pastor Mike Greskco delved into the Gospel of John's first sign, the miracle at Cana. Through his sermon, he painted a vivid picture of how Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, a symbolic act revealing His glory and Messianic identity. This message underscored the profound belief in Jesus as not just a savior, but as God incarnate, transforming the faith journey from mere tradition to a live, personal relationship with the divine.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 10:00: Introduction and Welcome The chapter titled 'Introduction and Welcome' appears to be an introductory segment characterized by music, indicated by the recurring mention of 'Music' and 'Heat'. It seems to set a tone or mood but lacks significant verbal content or dialogue within the provided transcript.
• 10:00 - 35:00: Worship This chapter, titled 'Worship,' seems to contain a brief and possibly metaphorical exchange, marked by the phrase 'I see you,' which might suggest recognition, understanding, or acknowledgment. The insertion of [Music] indicates a musical interlude or background that could add emotional or thematic depth to the scene. The sparse details present leave much to interpretation, inviting readers to ponder the significance of visibility and perception within the context of worship.
• 35:00 - 98:20: Sermon - The Sign of the Wedding at Cana In this chapter titled 'Sermon - The Sign of the Wedding at Cana,' the transcript starts and ends with musical notes, indicating a surroundings or atmosphere of reverence and worship, reflective of a church or spiritual setting. The chapter seems to involve a sermon or a discussion based on the biblical event of the Wedding at Cana where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine, symbolizing the power and divinity inherent in Jesus' actions. The presence of music signifies a ceremonial or congregational component typical in religious gatherings.
• 98:20 - 104:00: Closing and Farewell The chapter titled 'Closing and Farewell' appears to consist of a repetitive and rhythmic segment possibly emphasizing the concept of conclusion, as indicated by the frequent use of '[Music]' and terms like 'Oh' and 'Heat.' This might imply a sense of closure and emotional resonance, although it lacks detailed narrative content.

CityLife Online Experience | The Sign of the Wedding at Cana | Mike Grechko Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] I just Heat. Heat. N. [Music]
• 00:30 - 01:00 I see you. [Music]
• 01:00 - 01:30 Oh [Music] my god. [Music]
• 01:30 - 02:00 Oh [Music] yeah. Oh [Music] yeah. Heat. Heat. N. [Music]
• 02:00 - 02:30 I just Heat. Heat. N. [Music]
• 02:30 - 03:00 Hello. Hey. Good morning. Welcome to church. Uh if we haven't met, I'm Dan. I'm Becca. And we are so happy to have you at City Life online today. This is Ollie. Ollie often joins us when we host
• 03:00 - 03:30 together. Hello. Our seven-month-old. How are you doing, Ollie? Starruck. Starruck at this stage. Have not gotten a word on camera yet. That's all right. We'll get there. Maybe his first word will be on camera. Oh my goodness. That would be amazing. Maybe it will be online. That would be really good. Uh it's really great to have you. We would love to hear where are you watching from. Um put it in the chat. There's a QR code. Oh, there's a QR code today. It's going to pop up. Scan it. We're going to keep track of where you're watching from. We're going to keep a we're going to keep track and
• 03:30 - 04:00 update where you are throughout the year where you're watching from in service online. We're going to get a great map of where we are and the impact we're having across the world. That's really cool. I think if uh it should be on the screen right now and one Yes, I'm getting the thumbs up. It's on the screen right now. So, give it a go. Give it a scan. Uh I assume it tells you it says where are you watching from because it' be really cool because uh for example, I saw Irish is joining from India. Good morning. putting uh India in the in the track thing will look really cool at the end of the year and it' be
• 04:00 - 04:30 really nice to see all the different countries that people are tuning in to online uh city life online. I think that's the beauty of online church is that we're not just confined to a building. We can touch people all around the world, not just greater Melbourne, Greater Victoria, greater world. So please in the chat tell us where you're watching from this morning. Oh yes, and there you go the link we've got in the chat. Thanks Shelly. And our and morning as well. Morning, morning Cassandra. It's great to see you guys. It's really great to see you. The chat is going off already and it's it's 5 to 9. We love to see early risers for the 9:00 a.m.
• 04:30 - 05:00 service online, which is really, really great to see. But otherwise, it's been a busy week. It has been a busy week. Why don't you let us know if you've had a highlight of the week for us? We did our first holiday as a family. Yes. And we survived. Yes. We went to Japan. We were in Japan for 10 nights, which was amazing. Ollie's first time on the plane. He did pretty well. He did pretty well. Can't complain. He wants to eat the He wants to eat the mic like a lollipop. But what was your highlight of Japan? Highlight of Japan was spending time together as a family
• 05:00 - 05:30 is really nice. I think especially as being a young family, new parents, you kind of just get into survival mode for dayto-day. Whereas actually spending intentional time together, the three of us in a new place, it's seeing new things. It's really special. What about you? Uh we went to a place called N in Japan and there's like just hundreds of deers. Deer everywhere. deer everywhere and they're just kind of roaming around the park. It was really nice. Ollie was fascinated by all the deer walking around and uh luckily he didn't he
• 05:30 - 06:00 didn't freak out or anything. So, he was pretty good. It was really good. If you get the crackers then deer there are a lot of tourists feeding the deer with crackers and it's uh they get a bit crazy. Bit of an experience. They get a bit crazy. So, the deer get pretty uh all up in your face. So, we didn't do that cuz we thought that would definitely freak Ollie out. That would freak me out. Yeah, for sure. For sure. But that was really nice. It was nice to see everyone. Um, absolutely. And then other things going on, we've had International Women's Day yesterday, which is just an amazing time to reflect
• 06:00 - 06:30 on all the wonderful, incredible women in our lives and what they're doing, which is just a great time to reflect. Otherwise, we want to send our prayers and we're thanking everyone impacted by the cyclone at the moment, Cyclone Alfred, which is devastating the coast of Australia. So, you're praying for God's protection and comfort over Australia and people involved. Please let us know if you're watching from that area and we are praying for you and supporting you in this time as well. Very good. Very good. Um, but today we have a great service. We have uh we're
• 06:30 - 07:00 kicking off I think we're kicking off the John John series, the John's Gospel, the seven signs. The seven signs, which would be really good. Um, so I think Mike Gretchka is preaching today. He is. Um, so that'll be good. He he he did swing by here just before, but we weren't online just yet cuz he wanted to say hi. He's excited. He's excited. He wanted to say hi to the online team. Uh so it is good. Hello. Oh, very online person. Yay. That's great to see. That's what we
• 07:00 - 07:30 love. That's what we love. Um we've got enthusiasm everywhere this morning. Energy levels are high. Yes. So, anyone else in the chat? Uh Irish is around. Oh, we already said hi to Irish. Jacob, good morning. Cassandra, good morning. Uh, Lillian, good morning. Uh, Japan is fabulous. Been there twice. Yes, it is really, really good. Oh, yes. I'd love to go back again already. Maybe for cherry blossom season. Yeah, apparently that would be nice. That would be nice. Snow when Ollie's a bit older. Yeah. Um,
• 07:30 - 08:00 lots of options. Also, in terms of updates for church, we are talking about serving this week. Yes. So there'll be an emphasis on serving and you'll see in the announcements a few different opportunities to serve um specifically online since as you're watching online you're part of our online community. Uh there'll be different options to how you can serve and get involved with what we're doing at City Life online. Yes, absolutely. Don't think that because you're not physically here you can't serve. You can join the online community. Lots of opportunities to
• 08:00 - 08:30 serve. We're biased but the team is great. Shell's amazing. Come and join us. Get involved. And we're not just saying that because she's just right next to us. Yes. Literally, literally in our We think she's amazing. Absolutely. And also today we're having baby dedications here at Knox, which is very exciting. Baby dedications always a highlight. It's always great to see. We dedicated Ollie maybe two months ago and he cracked it as Brita was praying for him and it was like, "Oh no, Ollie, you're usually so chill." And then it it
• 08:30 - 09:00 knocks Yeah. He was just It was the pressure. It was the pressure of hundreds of people staring at him. I guess I think it was the heat. It's quite hot up there. Yeah, the lights are on you. You know, it's all happening. Poor guy. But there'll be some dedications today and hopefully well there I'm sure there will be tears, but we'll see. Um but we are we are looking at how to um do baby dedications online. So something we're exploring on uh whether it's done via Zoom. Uh if you're interested in that, please put it in the chat or email us uh and express your
• 09:00 - 09:30 interest because we would love to see what we could do what we could do there. Yeah, that's amazing. Also coming up with today's service, we've got communion. So please gather your bits together. We'll be doing that later on today. And then I think there's a kids content as well. So if you go to city life uh the website/online, there's a bunch of kids content that if your children are watching online with you, uh they can get involved. Uh but yeah, why don't we pray for the service and then we'll go from there. Absolutely. So, we're just going to get ready for worship. Why don't you stand, prepare your hearts as
• 09:30 - 10:00 we enter into this time to enter into God's presence. Lord, we just thank you for this morning. We thank you for our wonderful online community. Would you be with us today, Lord, with this service? Would you just bring us into your presence, usher us into your courts, um and we just pray a great time of worship in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Well, thanks again for joining us and we'll see you after worship. Yes, we'll see you soon. Bye. [Music] Come on, church. Who's ready to worship him today? Why don't you clap your hands
• 10:00 - 10:30 with us? [Music] This is the day you made. So I'll rejoice and be glad.
• 10:30 - 11:00 Rejoice and be glad. [Music] This is where I believe that you are more than enough. More than enough for me. And you are faithful to your promise. You are strong when I am weak. And I'm standing in your presence. I
• 11:00 - 11:30 have everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. It's more than a feeling. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul, oh my soul, bless his name. All that is within me say the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is
• 11:30 - 12:00 my [Music] strength. Jesus comes. Cuz you are worthy of all. Worthy of all my praise. You are faithful to your promise. You are strong when I am weak. And when I'm standing in your presence, I have
• 12:00 - 12:30 everything I need. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. It's more than feeling. The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul, bless his name. Oh, let me say the joy of the Lord, the joy
• 12:30 - 13:00 of the Lord is my strength. Rise up. like a river overflowing. Holy Spirit, let it pour
• 13:00 - 13:30 out with your living overflowing. Holy Spirit, let it rise. Let it rise up like a river flow away. [Music] Holy Spirit. Oh, let it pour
• 13:30 - 14:00 out with all living overflowing. Holy Spirit. Oh. Heat. Heat.
• 14:00 - 14:30 [Applause] [Music] The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh my soul. Oh my soul. Bless
• 14:30 - 15:00 his name all that is within me. Oh my soul, bless his name. All that is within me. Oh my soul, bless his name. All that is within me. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength. [Applause]
• 15:00 - 15:30 Jesus. Oh, it is all [Music]
• 15:30 - 16:00 Oh, you are faithful. You are faithful in every [Music] season. No, you'll never fail us, God. So I rest on you, Lord. I rest on you,
• 16:00 - 16:30 Jesus. You're our firm foundation, Lord. Oh, in every season, oh, in every circumstance, oh, I'll trust in you, Lord. Only you. Only you, [Music]
• 16:30 - 17:00 Jesus. Christ is my firm [Music] foundation, the rock on which I stand. When everything around me is shaking, I've never been more glad. I put my faith in Jesus. He's never let me down. He's
• 17:00 - 17:30 faithful through generations. So why would he fail now? [Music] Oh no, he'll never fail. [Applause]
• 17:30 - 18:00 Oh, I've still got joy in chaos. I've got peace that makes no sense. So I won't be going under. I'm not held by my own strength. I built my life on Jesus. He's never let me down. He's
• 18:00 - 18:30 faithful in every season. So why would he fail now? He won't. Oh, you
• 18:30 - 19:00 he won't. No, he won't. He won't. He won't fail. He won't fail. Christ is my firm foundation. The rock on which I stand
• 19:00 - 19:30 with everything around me shaking. Oh, I've never been. I put my faith in Jesus. He's never let me down. Faithful for generations. [Music] Oh,
• 19:30 - 20:00 [Applause] you are there. [Music] [Music] Oh, he won't
• 20:00 - 20:30 f He won't [Music] f No, you'll never [Music] fail. in every [Music] storm. Oh, you're with us where we [Music]
• 20:30 - 21:00 are. You're with us. [Applause] [Music] Rain came when my house was spilled on you. I'm safe with you. I'm going to
• 21:00 - 21:30 make it through. We came when my spilled on you and I save with you. I'm going to make it [Music] through my builds on you. I'm safe. I'm
• 21:30 - 22:00 safe. You are going to make it [Music] through. Built on you. [Music] you. I'm going to make it
• 22:00 - 22:30 [Music] through. I'm going to make it through. I'm strong on you. Oh, I'm going to make it through. My heart is built on you. This is my foundation. [Music]
• 22:30 - 23:00 Never Jesus. He's never let me down. [Music] So why would he fail now? He
• 23:00 - 23:30 won't. He [Music] won't. He won't fail. He won't [Music] fail. He won't [Music] He [Music] won't He won't
• 23:30 - 24:00 fail. He won't fail. No, he won't. [Music] Jesus. Oh, we love you,
• 24:00 - 24:30 Lord. Jesus. [Music] Oh, rain came
• 24:30 - 25:00 when I was spilled on you. I'm safe with you. I'm going to make it through. When came through my house was built on you. Come on, sing this over your circumstance. I'm safe with you. I'm
• 25:00 - 25:30 going to make it through. Just declare that. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
• 25:30 - 26:00 [Applause] I'm going to make it through. I'm going to make it [Music] through. Heat. Heat.
• 26:00 - 26:30 [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Let me
• 26:30 - 27:00 [Music] down. So I will be fail. He won't. He [Music] won't. He won't fail. He won't fail.
• 27:00 - 27:30 He won't. [Music]
• 27:30 - 28:00 All things have passed away. Your love has stayed the same. Your constant grace remains the [Music] cornerstone. And things that we thought were dead are breathing in life again.
• 28:00 - 28:30 You cause your sun to shine on darkest night. For all that you've done, we will pour out our love. This will be our anthem song. Jesus, we love
• 28:30 - 29:00 you. Oh, how we love you. who you are. You are the one. Our hearts adore Jesus. And Jesus, we love you. Oh, how we love you. You are the
• 29:00 - 29:30 one. Our hearts [Applause] [Music] adore. Oh. Oh Jesus, we love
• 29:30 - 30:00 you. The hopeless have found their home. The orphans [Music] now home. All that was lost has found this place. You lift You lift our wey head. You make us
• 30:00 - 30:30 [Music] strong. You took these made us [Music] beautiful for all that you've done. We will pour out love this way our song. Jesus we love you. Heat. Heat.
• 30:30 - 31:00 [Music] Jesus, we love you. Jesus, [Music] we [Music] are you. [Music]
• 31:00 - 31:30 I desire our
• 31:30 - 32:00 affection, our devotion poured out on the feet of Jesus. Our affection, our devotion poured out on the feet of Jesus. our affection, our devotion. Poured out on the feet of
• 32:00 - 32:30 Jesus, our affection, our devotion. Poured out on the feet of Jesus. Our devotion [Music] [Applause] [Music]
• 32:30 - 33:00 pes [Applause] we love Heat. Heat. [Applause] Jesus, we love you.
• 33:00 - 33:30 [Applause] I want to die. I want to adore
• 33:30 - 34:00 [Music] adore. We adore you, Jesus. [Music] God, we thank you that you are the one we adore, Lord. God, we come before you today,
• 34:00 - 34:30 Lord. No matter what our circumstances, no matter where we are in life, God, we come before you in praise and in worship for who you are. God, we are just so grateful for you, God. That no matter where we're at, Lord, we know that you are in control. So God, we pray that no matter where we're standing in our lives, God, when the midst of the valleys, you are the only one we cry out to, God, in the mountain tops, you are the only voice
• 34:30 - 35:00 we're praising. So God, we pray today that as we go through this week, God, that your name would be on our lips, God, that we would continue to praise you. We would continue to worship you, God. As your word says in Psalms 113, who is like our God? Who is like our God? who is so full of reverence, so full of sovereignty, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the one who is above all things, but yet
• 35:00 - 35:30 still cares about us so deeply, so intimately. He sees each and every single one of us right now. He sees our struggles. He sees our moments of weakness. And he doesn't just watch from afar, but he is there with us in every single step that we take. that he humbles himself down to be with us, to send his son down to die for us in so that we can be brought back into fullness with him. God, we are just so so grateful for
• 35:30 - 36:00 who you are. And God, we just praise you in your name. God, we thank you for who you are, Jesus. Your name we pray. We give you thanks and all the glory and all the honor no matter where we are because it's not about us but it's about who you are. So God we thank you in your name we pray and everyone said amen and amen. Wow. I'm invite you to take your seat to
• 36:00 - 36:30 this moment. You know it's such a great time of worship. And if you don't know me, it's my privilege and honor to welcome you all here to City Life today. My name is Chris. I'm part of the team here. And if you're joining us online, it's a special honor to have you here joining us as we celebrate and worship God in our Sunday 900 a.m. service. But right now, we want to give a special shout out and welcome to anyone who might be joining us for
• 36:30 - 37:00 the very first time. This is the first time you've been here at City Life joining us. Maybe you've been here a couple times. We haven't been able to properly acknowledge you. We want to give you a special shout out, a special welcome and give you one of these gift bags. So, if that's you, if you're in the room today, could you please pop your hand high in the air so we can give you a big warm welcome? Anyone in the room at all? Am I missing any hands? We'd love to give you one of these bags. We've got one. Amazing. Well, if
• 37:00 - 37:30 you're joining us online as well, you got amazing opportunities. type that you're new in the chat below. We love to say hi and get connected with the online team. But if you're in the room or you're joining with us, maybe you are new, maybe you want to find out more about Sid Life Church or get connected to a different ministry, a life group, a space here with us. We have a connections lounge open just at the back of the auditorium to your right as you exit. Or you can scan the QR code on the seat in front of you to find out more information about who we are as a church. But right now, we're going to
• 37:30 - 38:00 come to a time to say hello to one another, to greet the people next to us. Maybe they're new in your lives. So, we're going to dismiss our preschool one and twos to their program in just a moment. But why don't we turn to the person next to us and say hi. Hello. Hey, welcome back. Uh what a powerful time of worship that we just had together. It really was. I think for me the lyric around that I'm safe with you and I'm going to make it through. Oh, I felt really touched and emotional by that today just because of everything
• 38:00 - 38:30 going on in Australia and the climate. And so if you feel really unsafe in this time, just ground yourself in that knowledge that you're safe in God's arms. So good. So good. If we miss you in the first, welcome. It's really great to have you join us, City Life Online. I'm Dan. I'm Becca. And this is Ollie. He's our seven-month-old. Hello. Uh and it's really nice to have you. I we we we were saying it'd be great to hear where everyone's watching from. I think um there might be a QR code on this on the screen and where we would love to for you to scan it and also share where
• 38:30 - 39:00 you're watching from so that at the end of the year we can see all the amazing places that are people watching uh city life online. Absolutely. There's a few people in the chat. Um we've got lots of geographical exploration even this morning. We've had from Irish from India. We've had Mish from Clyde North. I just saw Starman from Hong Kong. We've I just saw somebody else which I someone from Ringwood. There's someone from Ringwood near or far near or far. We go from India all the way to Ringwood. That's the beauty of online chat. It's
• 39:00 - 39:30 great to see everyone this morning. We've got Carrie, we've got Rob, we've got Nancy, we've also got baby dedications coming up very soon, which is very exciting. Yeah. So, keep keep chatting away. We'd love to hear uh where you're watching from, but also if there's any parts of the message or of worship or if you feel like God's speaking to you about anything, we would love to hear that in the chat. Um, Shel's our chat moderator today, so she's chatting away, so feel free to say hello to her as well. Um, we are actually going to throw the baby dedications back in the Nox auditorium,
• 39:30 - 40:00 and then Becca and I are going to come back and then we're going to kick off uh continue on with our regular online hosting. Uh, but for now, we've got a few babies being dedicated, which is really nice. Our favorite time of the of the service. So, we'll throw back to there and then we'll see you guys soon. Great to have you with us this morning. Thanks everybody. It's great to be back from Sri Lanka. Uh Praba Paulos and myself
• 40:00 - 40:30 have been in Sri Lanka. Uh and we have seen God doing some great things. Some great churches there. Uh Christians uh we're seeing God do great things. And so as a church community, we will uh look at how we can support a little bit more in the future. Uh we had a great time there. Lots of things to celebrate. I didn't enjoy the traffic. So, I'm working on a project to solve the traffic problem in Sri Lanka. That's going to be one of the things I'm working on. Just kidding. Uh, actually
• 40:30 - 41:00 this morning, great to have everybody come early for prayer. We had a great number of people in the Holland room this morning. Last weekend over a hundred people came for our three services. Uh, this weekend probably more. And so, can I encourage you over the next few weeks, join us for prayer? And uh we're going to really build an atmosphere each weekend for all that God is going to be doing amongst us. Amen. Well, as you can see, we're going to have some baby dedications. And uh this is really nice, isn't it? What a great
• 41:00 - 41:30 bunch of kids, great families. And so, if your family or friends, we want to give you a really warm welcome. You're welcome to come right down the front and uh take some photos. I'll try and stay out of the way and I'm sure that will be um good for you. I want to read to you from Deuteronomy chapter 6. Just out of practice, getting back into the rhythm. Here's something for your parents out of Deuteronomy chapter 6. Bible says, "You shall love the Lord
• 41:30 - 42:00 your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength. And these words which I've commanded you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach uh them diligently to your children and you shall talk about them whenever you're in your house. Uh whenever you get up, whenever you lie down, and whenever you rise up, you should show them as a sign to those that are around you. And so that's a great encouragement. And then
• 42:00 - 42:30 Jesus tells us about his invitation to children in Mark chapter 10. And he says in verse 13 speaks about bringing the little children to him. And the disciples tried to stop them from coming to Jesus. But when Jesus saw this, he was actually displeased. And he said, "Let the little children come to me." It's an invitation for children. Do not forbid them, for such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly I
• 42:30 - 43:00 say to you, Jesus said, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it. and he took them in his arms. He laid hands on them and he blessed them. And that's what Jesus does for us, that invitation. And we're going to pray for each of these families today. But parents, there's a charge that comes for us in Deuteronomy that the Bible talks about of the example that we set uh how we the atmosphere that we create in our home. You're doing really well to be the
• 43:00 - 43:30 nine:00 service. We congratulate you for that, don't we? And as a church family, this is not just a spectator sport. In fact, as these families come today, there's an invitation to us as families, as part of the church family to support in some way. We are going to support these children through our kids ministry. Then into our youth ministry and young adults and life groups. I remember my own life group uh many years ago. We had 15 kids in our life group. Uh more kids than we actually had adults
• 43:30 - 44:00 that attended. And uh we had a trampoline in our backyard. And so 15 kids would even though they were instructed one at a time. 15 kids would end up on the trampoline just sitting and having some fun. But what they heard was adults singing, worshiping, praying, and uh studying God's word together. And that is an example for them. when you invite others over to your home, uh you are an example to bring that encouraging word to encourage them into the things
• 44:00 - 44:30 that God has for them. So that's part of our responsibility, I believe, as a church family. So we want to support you. We want to make sure that you feel that you're supported as part of our family. And so I want to ask each of our network pastors to pray for you. So church, come on. Would you join us? This is a milestone moment. So would you stretch out your hands and join us? I'll ask Jamie to lead us off in prayer. Thanks Paul
• 44:30 - 45:00 Tony. Just a moment ago you mentioned that you're a builder and I really felt that this is the word for you in Psalms 127 verse 1 to5. It speaks about you know um building a house and you know building a house on the foundation of God is what will you know carry you through having a family that will continue to serve the Lord in all the days that God has given to you all. And so this morning as I pray for your
• 45:00 - 45:30 children Ezra and Kaya together with Zara, my prayer for you is that you will continue to build the foundation of your family in God's word and his ways. So let's stretch out our hands towards them as we pray for their children right now. God, I thank you for Tony and Zara. Lord, for their children, Ezra and Ka. Lord God, I pray for this family, God.
• 45:30 - 46:00 Lord, you have, oh God, Father, such great plans for them, oh God. And I pray that as they choose to honor you by dedicating their children before you that you will give them the wisdom, God, to raise them, oh God, in fear of you, God. And that Lord, just like their name's sake, Ezra will grow to be a helper. And Kaya will be one that will draw people to you with the purity, oh God, of her heart and her fear of you, oh God. Lord, I pray that you will, oh
• 46:00 - 46:30 God, Father, teach them your ways, God. And that, Lord, as they grow, oh God, Father, they will not depart from me. I commit them to you in Jesus name. Amen. [Music] and for this family with Marius and Jazelle and their beautiful children Michaela and Joah. Marius and Jazelle, we as a church support you as a family and we pray over you as parents as you
• 46:30 - 47:00 commit to raising your children um as they grow up to know Jesus. Michaela, beautiful daughter. Your name meaning who is like God. Always remember you are made in the image of God and your identity will be found in him. I pray you will grow in boldness and in wisdom as you discover your inheritance in the kingdom of God. And beautiful little
• 47:00 - 47:30 Joah. Joah name meaning brother of God. A helper. Joah, as you grow in size and in faith, that you indeed grow to be a helper to others. As you support and understand and seek and serve the lost and understand how to walk in humbleness and righteousness in your God church, let's pray for this beautiful family.
• 47:30 - 48:00 Thank you, Lord, for Marius and Jazelle as they faithfully bring up these children in your ways, Lord, in your commands. May you give them strength and courage to manage the challenges and stake the ground in your victories, Lord, as you have already won the victory for us. Thank you for being there and giving us the perseverance, patience, and above all the love to
• 48:00 - 48:30 raise a family in Christ. Amen. And over here we have Matt, Emily, and little Zalia. A little bundle of joy. Look at you dancing and jumping around. Awesome. Well, church, why don't we pray over this family? Father God, we just thank you for Zalia. God, we thank you that she is such an amazing gift. God, we thank you for the joy that is already coming through her. But God, we just pray that as she goes through her life, God, that she would be connected to you as the
• 48:30 - 49:00 source. God, that your joy would be just overflowing from her, Lord. God, we just pray that she would grow up to be a mighty woman of faith, mighty woman of character, God, that she would be a testament to you. God, we pray that you would continue to grow her in your wisdom, in your discernment, God. Let her find her identity in your word and what you say about her. So God, we just thank you, Lord. We thank you for what she will bring into this world, the light that she will be. And God, we pray that this will not just be contained within her, but God, we pray that she
• 49:00 - 49:30 would be a beacon of light to those around her. That they would feel your presence, your warmth, and your love just exuding from her. God, we pray your blessing over Matt and Emily right now, God, as they continue to grow her, to disciple her. Lord, we pray that this would be a house just full of your grace, of your love, your peace, God, that we pray that you would just move so deeply in this family. Just weave them together so tightly, Lord. We just thank you for that, Lord God. And we surrender them up to you. We commit them to you. In your name we pray. Amen.
• 49:30 - 50:00 Amen. And over here we have little Windale who is dressed better than I was on my wedding day. Can I just say hi? Do you want to say any words? I didn't think so. All right, we're going to pray over Windell today. Church, why don't we pray together? Father God, we just thank you for Windowell. Lord, we thank you for just such the young man that he is and the amazing man that he will grow up to be. God, we pray right now that you continue to grow him in your wisdom, God, in your
• 50:00 - 50:30 discernment, God, in your word. We pray that he would have a heart that is pursuant of you in all of his days. God, we pray right now that you would just speak with him, God. That even at this age, you would give him dreams and visions, God, that he would be a pillar of faith in your community, Lord God. God, we even pray over his brother Wickliffe as well, God, that they would sharpen each other as they grow up. God, let this be not just a physical brothers, but God, let them be spiritual brothers as well. Let them continue to embolden each other in their faith. God, we pray, we pray so much over Idri and
• 50:30 - 51:00 Wendy as well, Lord, as they continue to disciple these young boys. God, we pray that you would just bind this family together. Lord, quarter of three is not so easily broken, but a quarter five is so much stronger. So God, we pray right now that you would just be so deeply in this family, Lord. Let your word guide their hearts, guide their steps. God, we know that your plans are better than anything we can plan. So Lord, we pray right now that you would take us on your journey instead of ours. We thank you for this and we commit them to you. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen.
• 51:00 - 51:30 Amazing. Awesome. Amazing. Awesome. Thank you guys. You guys can head on. I'll give these these and online to get a completely different perspective is a sound that says weep no more. Behold the king, the lion of the tribe of Judah. The root of David has triumphed. Hey church, I am coming to you from the
• 51:30 - 52:00 young adult camp. Behind me is our final session. Uh it's been a powerful weekend for us as a young adult community. We had over 300 young adults join us for the weekend. On Saturday afternoon, we went out to the beach and we baptized 14 people. What a significant moment for each of those that made that decision to get water baptized. We had a guest speaker with us for the weekend, Pastor Joseph Samuel, and he spoke a powerful message into our young adults about their identity in Christ. And then
• 52:00 - 52:30 Saturday night, Raquel brought a powerful message on the lamb of God. It really was a significant weekend of powerful electives, powerful messages, and young adults rubbing shoulders together, sharpening iron. Iron sharpens iron. That's exactly what we did at the young adult camp. Heaven. Oh king [Music] Jesus. Oh theior.
• 52:30 - 53:00 [Music] But the Lord is looking for a generation that really believes in the identity of him as a king, as a lion, as a conqueror. ever. Oh, King Jesus. Oh, will the Savior of the world. And so, thank you
• 53:00 - 53:30 for your prayers. Thank you for supporting us. And can I just encourage you, church, we come back as a young adult community on fire and expecting for God to move for the rest of the year for us as a church as we live out overflow. The Gospel of John gives us a unique and powerful perspective on the life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. Through the book of John, he
• 53:30 - 54:00 brings out seven signs. Signs which are enable us to believe and put our trust in Jesus. And we're going to have a series now coming over the next few weeks called the seven signs of John. These include signs like turning water into wine, feeding 5,000, or walking on water, or multiple healings. And the ultimate sign of all is Jesus rising from the dead, which we're going to consider and look at at Easter. Over this same period of time in your life
• 54:00 - 54:30 group, you could have some studies where you look at some of these signs and ask a few questions to help you engage with the story. Here's some great questions to ask. What stands out to you in this story? What does this story say about God? What does this story say about humans? What do I need to do? And who should I tell this story to? As we're going through the series, it's also our 21 days of prayer and fasting beginning on March 24th. This is also relevant to the whole book of John because it's in
• 54:30 - 55:00 John that we discover his longest prayer beginning in John chapter 17. There he prays for the disciples. He prays for those who yet to believe. He prays for unity, for joy, for peace, all these different aspects which we can also pray. I think it's powerful to pray the prayers of Jesus. We can join with him as he prayed those prayers. But even as he's praying those prayers now in heaven and partner with him in prayer to see miracles happen, signs and wonders happen, and overflowing life poured out
• 55:00 - 55:30 into our homes, our communities, and even our nation. So join with us as we go through this series, as we pray these prayers, and as we believe for overflowing life. My role is uh greeting people as they come uh through the door. Hi, good to see you. That's why I'm here. BM with
• 55:30 - 56:00 um very big training wheels at the moment. This is my um second time doing this. So just working out where everything is. There is a list. I'm on the welcome team. Yeah. Yeah. There's a great community here. I think if there's a lot of hands on board, it will make the word load lighter. I host a life group. I lead a life group because it's a blessing to do life together as a community. I recently joined the City Life community care team mom and Munchkins program. I thought why not give something back to City Life that's
• 56:00 - 56:30 just done so much for my faith journey. I'm the mentor for City Life coaching program. We're the creative events team. It's rewarding. We all have a lot of fun and we do a lot of steps. If you like doing beautiful things, come and join our team. Hello. Hey, welcome back. Welcome back. It's great to see you. How great were baby dedications. So cute. So cute. Great to see four four families
• 56:30 - 57:00 dedicating their babies um uh this morning. Yeah, absolutely. And if you want to dedicate your baby, we are looking at incorporating that online, which is very exciting. So, please email us if you'd like to do that in the future. We'd love to dedicate your baby online, not just in the Yeah, which would be really cool. And then, uh as you saw in the video, there's a lot of serving opportunities happening at City Life. And specifically for online, there's a few ways that you can get involved. Did you know that you could be a life tracks facilitator for online? Yeah, it's a really really great way to do it. Um you we're also looking for
• 57:00 - 57:30 life group uh co-leaders and leaders for online life groups. And I saw someone in the chat were asking um how do we join a life group and that's a great question. If you text us in the number that Shel's put in the chat or if you write in the comments uh the team will definitely be in touch on how you can get connected to an online life group. Absolutely. There are loads of ways to serve online in person. Where are all the areas that you've served? You've been part of city life for years. I I have been part of city life for years. I think it's probably 20 years plus. Oh my word. You surely you don't look old enough. The
• 57:30 - 58:00 crowd echoes. I know. Surely surely. Uh but I think I would have started at kids ministry probably. Yeah. When I Yeah. Like way back when uh with Auntie Lillian actually. She was the children's pastor at the time. He was very active in the church. So I was one of the kids leaders back then. Uh and then yeah, done young adults and also the worship team where I play piano even now a little bit every now and then. When I'm called, when I have the call to say, "We need a pianist. Dan, can you come play piano?" I'm like, I'm I'm ready. I'm ready for the call. Come on.
• 58:00 - 58:30 How about yourself? I've served in online obviously. And then young adults, I started and run a women's life group. Gosh, that would have been about six or seven years ago now. Yeah. a really special time getting women together to have a dedicated space to do life together, pray, just to have a community of other young women who were just wanting to do life together. So, it was amazing. So, plenty of opportunities to get uh involved. Uh have a look on the website with the different areas. I
• 58:30 - 59:00 think we've just posted a bunch of serving opportunities for online. Absolutely. Um should we move into tithes and offerings? Yes, tithes and offerings. So, often when we talk about tithes and offerings, it's an extension of worship. Have you Have you wondered why? Why? Tell me why. Tell me why, Becca. Why? Because it's a gift from the Bible. Proverbs 18:16 is that a gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. And so your offering is a time that ushers you further into the
• 59:00 - 59:30 presence of God to be giving to him to the kingdom as God has firstly given to us. So good. And so the proverb and the Bible reading especially emphasizes the power, the value of gifts, tithings, and also the talents that you bring and possess and what opportunities giving to the Lord, giving to the kingdom, giving to the church can usher into it. Brings you to another level. And so that's why we talk about it as an extension of our worship. Not just being singing, which is obviously really important, but also then bringing an extension of what you've been given to the kingdom. Ah, so
• 59:30 - 60:00 good. So good. Extension of our worship, which is fantastic. Um, so all the details on the giving is on the screen. Uh, we're now going to hand over to Mike Greskco who's got an amazing message to kick off our series on John. And we'll see you at the end of the service. How you guys doing? Doing well. Are you with me wondering what on earth Chris wore on his wedding day? You with me on
• 60:00 - 60:30 that? Well, it's good to see you. Welcome to those online. If you're watching online, why don't you just type in where you're from all over Australia, over the world. And if you've got a moment, work out how many kilometers there is from your place to city life on Turner South here in Melbourne, Australia, and stick that in the chat. Uh that'll be really interesting to know. Well, as uh you already know, we're starting the series on the seven signs of John today. The title of my message is what really happened at the
• 60:30 - 61:00 wedding in Kaa. But before we do that, remember last year because the series in John is written by the same John that wrote the book of Revelation. Last year we studied the book of Revelation. Remember that? Was it good? It's a fantastic book, isn't it? Well, when we would when we were starting that, I said, "How many would be interested in advanced life track on revelation?" Lots of hands went up. So, I've been thinking a lot about that. And
• 61:00 - 61:30 we're not going to do an advanced life track on Revelation, but we're going to go one better. We're going to do an advanced live tracks on how to read and study and interpret the Bible. So, you can learn how to study the book of Revelation yourself. You can learn how to study the prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, the Epistles, and all the different genres in the Bible. So, that's coming up in a couple of weeks. If you if you don't already know, if you haven't signed up, please come along and do that. It's over four terms and
• 61:30 - 62:00 there'll be homework in the middle. Oh, dang. Can't you just tell us all about it? No, you learn it by studying it. So, we're going to teach you how to study the scriptures and then you're going to do it in twos and threes in between terms and then we come back and workshop it and it's going to be really fantastic. And if not, we'll give you your money back. So let's talk about John for a moment before we talk about uh the first sign. The difference between John and the
• 62:00 - 62:30 synoptic. The synoptic gospels is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And John's the fourth gospel. The ministry of Jesus in John is more in Jerusalem. Whereas in the gosp in the other gospels, it's more in Galilee. In John, there's no in in the Gospels there's no sorry in John there's no messianic secret. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, several times throughout when Jesus cast out demons or others re realize that Jesus is the
• 62:30 - 63:00 Messiah, he says, "Shh, don't tell anyone." But in John is overtly open about that and that is a theme throughout the entire gospel. There are no parables in the Gospel of John. There is symbolic, rich symbolic language. There's no driving out of demons. There's no narratives um of testings in the desert, the transfiguration or the last supper that we see in the others. Rather, there's a
• 63:00 - 63:30 placing the emphasis on the kingdom of God and the Messiah. Matthew, Mark, and Luke talk a lot about the kingdom. That's the central theme that Jesus preached about. John focuses more on the Messiah of the kingdom than the kingdom itself. So, there's a little bit of difference there. So some some even suggest that John's actually from a different world because it's quite a different gospel, isn't it? How many have read the Gospel of John?
• 63:30 - 64:00 It's a beautiful gospel, isn't it? So rich, so full of the Holy Spirit, so full of the person of Jesus rather than just his ministry and and what he did. So, the seven signs of John, you know, the the turning water into wine, which we'll talk about in just a moment, Jesus healing the royal official son, the healing of the paralytic, the feeding of the 5000, the walking on water, uh Jesus healing the blind man, and the seventh sign, Jesus raising Lazarus from the
• 64:00 - 64:30 dead. That's a pretty good sign, isn't it? And they all point signs point to something. They all point to Jesus and who he is. And we're going to look at uh the first sign, the turning of water into wine at the wedding at Kaa. So we need to understand this in the context of John beginning his gospel. And John parallels the beginning of his gospel with the beginning of revel uh the beginning of Genesis. Beginning of Genesis in the
• 64:30 - 65:00 beginning, this is where the first baseball match was in the big inning. Just had to throw that in, but that's my only joke. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. John in verse one of chapter one says, "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." And he's revealing to us that the Messiah that all these signs point to is
• 65:00 - 65:30 actually God himself. The Jews expected a human Messiah. And John is revealing to his readership, the disciples and the church to whom he wrote that Jesus the Messiah actually is God himself incarnate because God became Jesus. We know Jesus is God. God is Jesus, the Messiah. And so as we move into um this wedding
• 65:30 - 66:00 at Kaa, this happened on the seventh day in in creation. There's seven days of creation in Genesis chapter 1. And in the first chapter and a bit of or the first chapter and first verse of chapter 2, there's the seven days of the new creation. There's what Jesus begins to do, who he is. And then John says the next day, the
• 66:00 - 66:30 next day, the next day four times. And then the fifth time he says, "And after three days or on the third day," which is four next days or and then three, there's seven days. And on the seventh day, we find ourselves here at the wedding at Kaa on the seventh day. And so let's read together from the NIV version, John 2:es 1-1. If you have your Bibles, open them up. I've got mine here. I've got the ES I brought the ESV, but I've actually
• 66:30 - 67:00 writing the reading the NIV. The NIV is on the screen if you haven't brought your Bible. So on the third day, a wedding took place in Kaa in Galilee. This is one of the Galilee bits. Most of it was in Jerusalem. Jesus' mother was there. And Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Chris, I wonder what they wore to their wedding. And interestingly, when the
• 67:00 - 67:30 wine was gone, Jesus mother said to him, "They have no more wine." You got mothers like that when something runs out. Uh, well, what what are we going to do? So, she says, "They've got no more wine." And and Jesus says,"Woman, why do you involve me?" That might seem a bit disrespectful, but that's not a dis disrespectful phrase. woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, "My hour has not yet come." We're going to talk about that phrase in a moment. His mother said
• 67:30 - 68:00 to the servants after Jesus indicated he's really not interested in helping because it's not his time. Jesus says to his servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Don't you love that? Only moms can do that. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding 20 to 30 gallons. I think a gallon is about four or five lers. So they're pretty large. Now a lot of people when they
• 68:00 - 68:30 preach this passage, they want to interpret they they want to uh use a metaphor or allegorize the meaning of these ceremonial jars. And here's the meaning of the ceremonial jars in this passage. They held the water. Some say, well, Jesus was trying to talk about the ceremonial washing of the Jews wasn't enough and Jesus is bringing in a new way. There's nothing
• 68:30 - 69:00 in the passage that indicates that that's even an issue. They just held the water. So, we can put that one aside. There's no special meaning except they held the water that turned into wine. And Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim completely. And then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." And they did so. And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from,
• 69:00 - 69:30 though the servants who had drawn the water knew. And then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best till now." And what we learn from this is that Jesus makes better wine than the Galileans. Listen to verse 11. What Jesus did here in Canaa of Galilee
• 69:30 - 70:00 was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory. That's what really happened in Kaa. The water turning into wine was just a sign by which Jesus is revealing his glory. And we'll talk about what that means in a moment. And his disciples believed in him. We know at least Andrew had been a disciple of John, not a believer in
• 70:00 - 70:30 Jesus because Jesus just came along after John. So in the culture in first century Palestine, in the Jewish culture, if you're invited to a wedding and they run out of refreshments, it is a huge embarrassment on the bridegroom's family who would provide everything. So much so in that day, in that culture, there could be a lawsuit against the host family. You think we're latigious.
• 70:30 - 71:00 You think America's latigious. You go to a party, they run out of wine, you're going to take them to the law courts. That's pretty tough, isn't it? Jesus, knowing this, he rescues them and he provides what? Six jars of water, 30 gallons, 180, almost 200 gallons of wine. That's an awful lot of wine after they've already drunk the good stuff. Now they got the better stuff. So Jesus helps out in a very practical way
• 71:00 - 71:30 and saves face. It provides grace. And here they have a fantastic wedding. But it wasn't just about the wedding. It wasn't just about the wine. What he did was to reveal his glory. So what about this little phrase Jesus used? My hour has not yet come. Now when you look at the word hour throughout the gospel of John, John uses it in technical sense to refer to the hour that he came for. And the the the
• 71:30 - 72:00 pinnacle or the focal point of Jesus ministry was the death on the cross. Everything points to death on the cross. Everything was fulfilled at the cross. All the sacrifices in the Old Testament, they point to the cross. Jesus death on the cross was the thing that paid the price for everybody's sin. And that's the hour that he was referring to because on the cross Jesus re would was to reveal the most messianic or messiah type act he could
• 72:00 - 72:30 ever provide. Now there were many Jews in the days of Jesus thought that the Messiah was just going to overthrow the ruling government of the day. gather a big army. And that's why when people thought he was the Messiah, believed he was the Messiah, told him not to tell anyone because he didn't want them to gather momentum and and and have an uprising and, you know, try and try and overthrow the Roman government of the day. Jesus understood that his
• 72:30 - 73:00 messiahship was going to be culminated on the cross as a suffering messiah of Isaiah 53, not a political military leader that was going to overthrow the ruling government by force. And so that was the hour that was to come that was to reveal the fullness of his messiahship. But the Messiah does other things and this pointed to that. And so when he did this, he was beginning to reveal who he actually is.
• 73:00 - 73:30 And this was for the benefit of the disciples, not everyone else. Because he says the disciples believed in him. And it's important for disciples to believe in Jesus, isn't it? Yeah. So, is there significance in the wine? Where actually there is because there is a connection between the Messiah coming and wine. In at least three prophecies in the Old Testament in Isaiah 25:6, on
• 73:30 - 74:00 this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a rich feast of rich food for all peoples. And we know that when Jesus comes, it's going to be all peoples, not just the Jews. He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. His second coming is going to be about all of the people from all nations and tongues and places throughout the world. And there will be a banquet of aged wine, the best wine, aged wine, the best
• 74:00 - 74:30 of meats and the finest of wines. And Jeremiah 31:12 and Isaiah 9:13 and 14 also refer to a messianic appearance. and there's feasting and there's celebration and there's wine. Now, this isn't a message for you to go and drink wine. I'm just saying this is what the scriptures teach about the Messiah. So, turning water into wine served as the first sign which Jesus used to reveal his
• 74:30 - 75:00 glory, showing specifically and unequivocally that he was the Messiah. And he wanted the disciples to know that and to believe in him as the Messiah. Not just a good teacher, not just a revolutionary, not just a wise sage, but the Messiah. It is important for the disciples of Jesus to believe who he actually is, not what people think he
• 75:00 - 75:30 is. So when Jesus revealed his glory, what does that actually mean? Well, glory in the Bible is used two different ways throughout the Old and the New Testaments. The first one uh is like the glory of the Lord came down on the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord was was on the tab on the ark of the covenant between the wings of the cherubam and there Moses would go in there and they would talk that's the glory of the Lord. the glory of the Lord on the mount that this is the the
• 75:30 - 76:00 brightness of God, the majesty of God, the splendor, the magnificence of God, the brilliance of his majesty. That's one way the Bible talks about the glory of God. It's a a glorious illuminated radiant brightness, his majesty, the splendor of who he is, his beauty, his glory. That's one way. But Jesus is using it another way and this is the way that Jesus was using it. It talks about
• 76:00 - 76:30 reputation. The the verb uh to glorify it comes from this this word talks about weightiness, heaviness. And so it means substance. So someone with a reputation, a glory of a reputation mean solid weighty reputation, a good reputation. This is the glory of God. honor, importance, power, dignity that comes from a high position, respect, and
• 76:30 - 77:00 reverence. Jesus all of a sudden didn't shine on the transfiguration mount. He showed his glory. He was radiant, wasn't he? That was this other aspect of his glory. He's showing his disciples this glory, the very nature of who he is as Messiah. In the first chapter in John chapter 1:14 we read the word became flesh. In one says in the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was
• 77:00 - 77:30 with God. In ch in verse 14 the word became flesh. In other words God became a man and made his dwelling among us. Speaking of Jesus who was God become a man. And we have seen his glory. the glory of the one and only son. Now G uh John writing back into this era from decades later who came from the father full of grace and truth and in his high
• 77:30 - 78:00 priestly prayer the John 17 that Andrew in that um uh little commercial break on the uh what's that called with the the video news a bit of a blank there I think Andrew good things Andrew is away he's on on leave thinking calling him a commercial break but I'm focused on the glory. When he referred to John's uh uh recounting Jesus prayer, that long prayer he prayed. Verse 5 says, "And now, Father,
• 78:00 - 78:30 glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." This talks of Jesus preeminence. He had glory and he says, "Now that I'm I've finished my work, I'm about to finish the work. glorify me to the glory I had beforehand. And that then will be probably the the combination of the two types of glory that the Bible speaks about. Jesus had glory before his
• 78:30 - 79:00 incarnation and through his miraculous signs and in this one turning the water into wine. He revealed his glory which means he revealed his nature. He revealed his power. He revealed who he actually was. Jesus wanted his disciples at that time to know that he was the Messiah. John wants his disciples to understand that he was first God who became
• 79:00 - 79:30 Messiah. And that's the very nature of his glory. And so the reason John wrote the gospel, we read at the end of chapter 21 or chapter 22 actually I think it's chapter 20 verses 31 30 and 31 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples. We talk about seven signs but John says there were many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But
• 79:30 - 80:00 these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. It's not just about believing. There are ramifications for believing. There are consequences for believing. There are blessings for believing. When we believe that he's the Messiah, we have life in his name. What life? New life. abundant
• 80:00 - 80:30 life, overflowing life, everlasting life. To know him, Jesus said, is everlasting life. To know the father and the son, that is everlasting life in itself. It transcends a timeline of eternity. Knowing him is the life that Jesus came to bring. And so, what really happened in Kaa? Well, we've described it. We talked about it. The first disciples of Jesus had been disciples of
• 80:30 - 81:00 John. At least some of them we know that John was preparing the way for the Messiah. John was preaching about the kingdom, ushering people and preparing them for the kingdom of God to be reestablished on earth. And it was a different type of kingdom. It was a spiritual kingdom. It was the rule and reign of God on the earth. John was preparing the way for people to believe and trust in Jesus. And along comes Jesus. And when when John was preparing people for the one who was to come after him, he said, "I immerse you in water.
• 81:00 - 81:30 I'm baptizing you in water. The one coming after me, he will what? Baptize you in the Holy Spirit. He will immerse you in the Holy Spirit." This new experience of the Messiah is one that has the spirit involved, the kingdom involved. And so the Old Testament designation for Messiah is the God-appointed king who was the anointed one because Messiah is the Hebrew word,
• 81:30 - 82:00 the Old Testament word of Christ in the New Testament. Christos and Messiah, they mean the same thing. It means when you rub oil on something, you anoint it. You pour oil or rub oil onto something. Aaron was anointed with oil. King David was anointed with oil and they also had the Holy Spirit on them. the anointed one. Messiah simply means the anointed one which the people of God believed was to be the son of God, the son of David in his
• 82:00 - 82:30 kingly lineage, who was to take on the future of the world and usher in God's kingdom at a time in the future. This is the Messiah. And when we talk about Messiah, we're not just talking about Jesus dying for people's sins. Three things existed when Jesus came as the Messiah. And and this is thoroughgoing biblical theology. With the Messiah came the coming of the kingdom. And Jesus began his ministry
• 82:30 - 83:00 preaching repent for the kingdom is at hand. Kingdom is near. Meaning the kingdom was in him. He brought the kingdom, represented the kingdom and established the kingdom at his coming. So the Messiah comes with the kingdom. The second thing is the Messiah brings in or ushers in the end times. Remember when we talked about the book of Revelation, we talked about esquetology. Escaton being last, the end times. The end times theologically is the time
• 83:00 - 83:30 between Jesus' first coming and the time of Jesus second coming. And this period in between, however long that is, is the escaton. It's the end times and it is the time of the new creation. So Genesis talks about the first creation, the old creation. Through Paul and Jesus, we understand we are now new creations in Christ. And John talks about the new creation, seven days leading into the
• 83:30 - 84:00 new creation. And this end time period is the period of the new creation where you and I get to partner with Jesus and go out and spread the word so that people could come in and be born again, receive the spirit, put their faith in Jesus as Messiah, come into relationship with him as children and perpetuate, proclaim the coming of the kingdom again so that other will be saved as well. So it's the kingdom of God where the rule and reign of God is
• 84:00 - 84:30 established in people's hearts and lives. Not in a political military way, but when we come into the kingdom, we submit to his lordship. He's our king. He is our God. We die to ourselves. We live for him when we are in the end times. And the third thing that that was thoroughgoing biblical theology. When the Messiah was to come, he was to usher in the age of the spirit. In the Old Testament, only a few people had the Holy Spirit. First couple we read of was Moses had the spirit. Spirit was on Moses, Joshua,
• 84:30 - 85:00 David, some others, some some leaders that God had called. A couple of craftsmen were uh were filled with the Holy Spirit so they could make various things for the tabernacle, the first house of God. No one else had the Holy Spirit. So the leaders had to commune with God, talk with God. Because they had the spirit, they could do that. God would tell them the will of God and they would tell the people. Moses was a mediator. But Joel prophesied a time
• 85:00 - 85:30 when all of God's people would have the Holy Spirit. And Peter said on the day of Pentecost, "This is that. This is that." And remember Jesus when he's with his disciples before he ascended. He said, "When I go, I'm going to send you the comforter. I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit. He will guide you in all truth. He will remind you of my teaching. He will do a a lot of things in your life." And we know he gives us spiritual gifts. He gives us new life. He empowers us for mission. Transforms us into the likeness of Christ. The Messiah ushered in the age
• 85:30 - 86:00 of the spirit. It's extraordinary, isn't it? Jesus just didn't come to give us a ticket to heaven. He did a million times, a squillion times more than that. That's what really happened in Kaa when Jesus revealed who he was to his disciples. And they are now having been disciples of John, waiting for the kingdom of God, preparing for the kingdom. They are now with the Messiah
• 86:00 - 86:30 who is God who is ushering in the kingdom who is filling their lives with the Holy Spirit. Or in fact, John tells us the Holy Spirit had not yet come until Jesus was glorified. So the the spirit could not have been given until Jesus was back in heaven as Jesus revealed there. But they're understanding now the full picture of who he was and the mission that they are now partnering with at the beginning of the end times that he called them to. So what does what does believing
• 86:30 - 87:00 mean? What does it mean for us to believe in the Messiah? What do we believe in? What do you believe? What do I believe? Believing in who Jesus is as he claimed is extraordinarily important. Jesus said in John 8, I told you that you would die in your sins. If you do not believe that I am he. In other words, if you don't believe
• 87:00 - 87:30 that I am who I claim to be, you're going to die in your sins. It's not just enough to believe that Jesus is a good person or even a great teacher. A lot of people who who are atheists or they follow other religions, they believe Jesus to be a really good teacher, a wise person, they don't believe he's the Messiah who was God. He came to bring the kingdom of God, change the world and usher in the new creation. Jesus uh brother James teaches
• 87:30 - 88:00 us that the demons believe and they tremble. So believing itself, believing in Jesus is not enough. And Chrisians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, they all acknowledge Jesus and some say he's a prophet and some say even the some form of a savior dying for us. But they don't acknowledge his deity. They don't acknowledge he's the the savior who was the son of God, the Messiah who was God himself come in human form to redeem
• 88:00 - 88:30 humanity from their sins. That's what we need to believe. And that's what the turning the water into wine was a sign of when he revealed who he actually was that they might believe that about him. He came to bring new life, eternal life, abundant life. Jesus said, "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I've come that you might have life and
• 88:30 - 89:00 live it abundantly." Some translations, uh, I think the old NIV talks about live it to the full. I'm not quite sure why they translate it that way because the word means superfluous. It's like your bucket's full and it's overflowing. That's the overflowing life that we've been focusing on this year. Overflowing life, abundant life. That's the life that Jesus brought. It's a new life. It's an everlasting life. It's a life of a different dimension. And remember Jesus said in in in uh John
• 89:00 - 89:30 17 that we are not of this world even as he is not of this world. Once we're the new creation, he no longer considers us part of this world even though we were born in this world. We're new creations. We transcend this world. Why? Because of our faith in Jesus the Messiah. That's extraordinary, isn't it? You and I not of this world. That's how he considers us. That's how he considers
• 89:30 - 90:00 us. That's what he believes. What do you believe? What do you believe in Jesus? You see, if we believe that Jesus is who he is and who he was when he was and he continues to be that, what are the implications for our faith today and the life that that can actually produce for us? We can believe for salvation. Can you believe for that miracle that you need? Can you believe for that healing
• 90:00 - 90:30 that you need? Can you believe for those relationships have been shattered in the past to be restored? Can you believe that that person in your family you've been praying for for 45 and a half years like I have for my brother and all of a sudden a door is opening of openness to receive that. 45 and a half years I've been praying
• 90:30 - 91:00 for my brother, believing that God could save him, too, not knowing how I could reach him. But I've just shared and shared and shared. Now, his son's going through crisis, and I'm ministering to his son, whom I love dearly. And he's praying to God through Jesus. Now, I'm talking to him more about who Jesus is, that he believes fully in him. Maybe you're without a job, you need a job. You need a miracle. You need an intervention. You see, we have a Messiah
• 91:00 - 91:30 that we believe in, a Savior. We believe in a Lord, our God who believe in who actually created the heavens and the earth. The whole universe is sustained by the word of his power. He's the God of creation. He's the God of new creation. He can be the God of recreation in your life and in my life. Can you believe for another miracle for you? If it's not water in a wine, could
• 91:30 - 92:00 be healing of cancer, miraculous provision of finances, healing of relationships. What is your need right now? If you're sitting here or if you're watching online somewhere, if you've never put your trust in Jesus as Messiah, who is God, that you can trust with all of your heart and your life and die to yourself and live for him fully, you can do that today. I want to invite you to put your trust in Jesus for the first time. If you've never done that
• 92:00 - 92:30 before, if you've never put your faith in Jesus as Messiah, who is God, to forgive you of your sins to send you his Holy Spirit, to make you a child, to give you life in him. If you've never done that and you would like to do that today for the first time, wonder if you could raise your hands. Just raise your hand. I want to pray with you. Don't want to embarrass you in any way, but help us you into the kingdom of God because that's what Jesus came for. And if you're watching online, just type into the chat and our staff there, our
• 92:30 - 93:00 pastors there will connect with you and help you take the next step. And if you're here and for the first time you want to put your faith in Jesus, we invite you to pray this prayer and we invite you into our connections lounge with our pastors in our team who will help you take the next step in your new life. Is there anybody want to put trust in Jesus for the first time? Just raise your hand. We'll have to pray with you.
• 93:00 - 93:30 Well, it looks like we're believers here, but I tell you what, in case there's somebody here and they they're not quite ready to put their hand, but they want to pray the prayer, can we stand together? Will you pray with me for them? And we here like to do this out loud together. So everyone's praying this prayer even though we might have prayed it before and help you put your express your faith through this prayer in Jesus the savior who is God that will
• 93:30 - 94:00 come into your life through his holy spirit. Can we pray together in Jesus name? Our heavenly father let's pray out loud together. We come in Jesus name. We come in Jesus name and we put our faith in you. Put our faith in you. We trust that Jesus is our savior. We trust that Jesus is our He is the Messiah. He is the Messiah. He is the king of kings. He is God Almighty. He is God Almighty. Forgive us for our sins.
• 94:00 - 94:30 Cleanse us through the death on the cross. Send forth your spirit into our lives. For your spirit so that we could receive new birth. that we could be immersed in the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, become your become your sons and daughters. In Jesus name we pray. In Jesus name. Amen. If you prayed that for the first time, please don't leave without telling someone. And we again we want to invite
• 94:30 - 95:00 you in our connections lounge. For the rest of us in a room this size with so many people, hundreds of people, you know, we have es and flows in our life. We go through challenging times. We go through good seasons. I've been through horrific times of illness and health and burnout and depression and despondency. And I'm in a good season now. And I thank God for that every day. But some of you may be in a challenging season. If you've got a tough decision to make, financial
• 95:00 - 95:30 decision to make, a business decision make, some of the things I mentioned early may have cancer, another illness, you need a miracle, you need a healing. Someone in your family doesn't know Jesus and you've been ministering to them with the gospel. You've been praying for them and you want to see them come to Christ. Whatever your need might be, if you have a need where you need the Messiah, God to intervene, just slip up your hand and we're going to pray together. Just slip up your hand. If you have a need right now, you need God's intervention. You need to put your
• 95:30 - 96:00 trust in him. Aresh for a miracle like the changing of water into wine, like a healing, like the walking on water, like the feeding of the 5,000 with a little boy's lunch. He can do all things, can't he? He can do all things. And we believe that. So, can we pray together? Allow me to pray for you. And let's pray for one another. If you're in a good season, pray for our brothers and sisters who need our prayers, who need Jesus right now. Father, in Jesus' name, we pray right
• 96:00 - 96:30 now for our brothers and sisters who have tough decisions, who have big needs, who need healing, provision, answers to prayer, decisions to make, relationships restored, businesses mended, prospering in some new way. Father, in the name of Jesus, whatever these needs are, you look upon us and you see each individual, you see their need, you have compassion, and you love them. Just when Jesus looked upon needy people and he said, "What can I do for you?" Well, here we are saying, "We need
• 96:30 - 97:00 you to do these things, Father, for our brothers and sisters. You are Messiah God. You're the creator of the heavens and the earth. You're the God of creation. You're the God of new creation. You are our God. and you can recreate everybody's life because when we put our trust in Jesus Messiah, you said we would have life in your name. And our brothers and sisters knew need new life, new life in their circumstances. They
• 97:00 - 97:30 need you to intervene. They need a dose of your Holy Spirit. They need a miracle. They need something to change dramatically. And for that, we put our trust in you. And we give you praise in advance. We give you glory. and we worship you in Jesus' name. [Applause] Amen.
• 97:30 - 98:00 Oh, seated on high, the undefeated one. Mountains bow down as we lift him up. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus Christ our God. Oh Jesus.
• 98:00 - 98:30 [Music] Oh [Music] Jesus. The earth will shake and tremble before his shakes will break as heaven and earth sing. Holy is the name.
• 98:30 - 99:00 Oh, is the name of Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. The earth will shake and tremble before him. Chase will break as heaven and earth sing. Holy is the name. All is the name of
• 99:00 - 99:30 Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Lift up our eyes. See the king has come. Light of the world reaching out for us. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus Christ our
• 99:30 - 100:00 God. Oh, seated on high defeated one. The mountains bow down as we lift him up. There is no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. There is no
• 100:00 - 100:30 other name. Jesus church. Why don't you join me as we thank Mike for sharing with us today launching our seven signs of God series. Hi, welcome back. Hey, welcome back. Such a great message from Mike Gresker today. What a way to kick off the series on the seven signs. Yeah, really, really great. I think um I hope you got a lot out of that and it's a great introduction of what the next few weeks
• 100:30 - 101:00 are going to look like. Um for me, it was amazing to hear how Jesus used this as the first sign to show that he is the Messiah. He's more than just a teacher, uh more than just a a wise person, uh but really the son of God, the Messiah that was prophesied and and really uh ushering in this in the age of the Holy Spirit that we're living in right now. So good for our overflowing life as we enter in for this year. Um I hope it helps reframe how you see Jesus. I think uh Mike's final comment around what how
• 101:00 - 101:30 do you view Jesus is uh such a great great challenge for us to reconsider over the next week or so. Absolutely. I can see our prime is shaking. We put Ollie for a nap. Uh but we can see that I think my voice is too loud and we might have woken him up. Um, but it was really great to see everyone uh today and really great to see the chat going off uh and where you're watching from. Especially shout out to Stman who is moving to Melbourne later this year. So we are praying for your move to Melbourne to help your wife and your son
• 101:30 - 102:00 Integrate. It's a very exciting time later in the year. We look forward to connecting with you further on your journey here. Just doing some just just on the side just keeping keeping Ollie alive. Poor guy. But it's great to have you with us today. S Life Online Church. It's been an amazing time. We've had baby dedications, a powerful word, time of worship. It's been great to have you with us today. Don't mind us. Everything's going on today. But otherwise, don't forget we've had announce we've got serving
• 102:00 - 102:30 happening as well. Oh, hello. Good morning. Someone's had a He's awake from his nap. We're all good. That's how I feel after my nap, too. I never don't like to be woken up. Um, you you're saying about the serving and the rest of the So, don't forget we've had serving opportunities coming up. Check them out online. Yeah, we've had communion today as well. We did have communion. Oh, we didn't in the end. No, we didn't. Okay, never mind. Next time. Next time we'll have communion. But why don't I pray for the week ahead. Yes. Father, we just thank you for this powerful time that we come together into your presence through
• 102:30 - 103:00 worship, Lord, through families dedicating their children to the Lord. For Pastor Mike to share an amazing series on the seven signs in John. Father, we just lift up our nation. Lord, would you just protect those who are being affected by Cyclone Alfred? Father, would your hand just stretch out, cover supernatural protection, Lord, over people's homes, over people's families, over people's possessions, and just keeping everyone safe, Lord, and just stretch out your hand and cover them, Lord, under your hand of
• 103:00 - 103:30 protection. And we just pray for the entire nation who is being affected by this terrible cycle. Lord, would you just push it away from Australia, Lord, and would you just um believe that there's going to be um a breakthrough of of the destruction not going to be caused by this cyclone, Lord, if we just offer up this in your name? We just pray for the week ahead. Would you be with every single one of our online community, Lord, wherever they are this week? Um just pray that you would breathe new life into the week ahead. Um we just pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. It's so good to
• 103:30 - 104:00 have you join us. If there are any prayer requests that you want us to be praying through throughout the week, definitely text the number that's been in the chat or put it in the chat and one of us will uh be in touch. Uh but otherwise, it's really nice to have you join us. Thanks for sharing where you've been watching from and engaging with uh us in the online community. We love having you here. We hope you have a great and blessed week. Uh and we will see you soon. Enjoy the long weekend. Enjoy your long weekend. See you next time. Bye. Byebye.
• 104:00 - 104:30 I [Music] feel I [Music] feel open.