Welcome to the Mariners Church Life Group leader podcast. This weekly conversation is designed to equip and resource youth to build a healthy life group community that studies God's word, practices spiritual rhythms, and changes the world together. All right, we're kicking off week four of our Overwhelmed series. I've got back by very, very popular demand.
This is a second time now on the podcast and certainly won't be his last ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Scott Kean. I feel like we need like one of those buttons on. I don't have sound effects on those buttons on you.
I mean, it just took us about 15 minutes. I should say it took me about 15 minutes to try to set up a microphone. Yes. Usually there's two microphones.
So if it sounds weird, that's on me. We've got to get close. Yeah, that's close enough. So thanks for jumping in.
It's got, I mean, this is your second time on the podcast, but how long now in the role that you've been on our disciples team? Yes, it's been a little bit over two months. It started back in mid-July and now we're right here in the September. Yeah, so give it to me, man.
This is off the cuff here, but your observation so far, he weeks into not only your role, but just being a part of my district, your family, worshiping here and being part of the community here, just things that you've learned, things that you've seen, things that you've appreciated. Early days, goggles on still. I think one of the things when my wife and I first came and visited, we were just a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of weekend service, but now being part of the team, part of the separate team here, having weekly staff meetings, and also my wife and I jumped into leading a RUDIC group. Right.
Yeah. And so it's really helped us to make a big church feel small for us and building community and relationships and really being part of the vision of what Mariner's doing in our community as well. And you're holding lots of different things on our team, but one of the things this weekend that we get to celebrate through your leadership really into what God is doing is baptism. So baptism's across all of our services.
So just tell people a little bit about what that could look like. Most of these folks go listen to this after the point, but your prep mode, prayer mode, this weekend. Yeah, we have many people who are getting baptized this weekend around 60 people so far. Yeah, just here at Mariner's Irvine.
And we're going to be celebrating. It's going to be a huge celebration. We'll gather people together after each service, talk to people about what baptism is, have a moment where the family members and friends around them can pray for them, and then we'll go into the waters. And afterwards, we'll take photos and just celebrate that incredible decoration of faith that they're making.
It's awesome. Beautiful. We'll still have you here at part of the team. So if you haven't been to Scott yet, come get him on the patio.
Give him a high five. He'll take you out to coffee. He'll do the thing. So it's great.
All right, why don't we get into this week's discussion. This is overwhelmed. What to do? I mean, the world is overwhelming.
What to do in the world is overwhelming. Why don't we start with our lean in question here. It says, and this will make sense. Let me look at the passage.
Share about experiences that you've had related to natural disasters. Yeah. And they come to mind for you. I'm not sure if you've ever seen a lot of stories live in Southern California.
I've got a couple too. Yeah, I have several of them. I think right before this, I was telling you that I've gone through fires, floods, earthquakes. But one distinct memory I have is I think I was in fifth grade.
It was one of those big earthquakes. I think it was when we're here at that time. And that was the first earthquake that I experienced coming to Southern California here. And I remember we had an aquarium in our home as well.
All the fish, the waters came out, the aquarium I was trying to, but then back into the waters. But my folks, my parents were like screaming. Saying, hey, Scott, get on the table. And we got on the table with my brother and I.
And I remember my dad was freaking out. And he was saying, and my parents were believers, but he was saying, Scott, this the end of the world. Hold on. I was so freaked out.
Yeah. Talk about what we're looking at in the passage. Yeah. That was a wild time, my fifth grade years.
Yeah. Yeah. What did that do? Oh, man, I can't.
That's not, I was just on 94. You were about mine. No, no, that was in Northridge. This was before.
This was, I think back in the 80s, if I can remember. Yeah. Wow. I've got family in Oklahoma.
And so I was just talking to my Aunt Beverly, Luke, Paul, Paul, which was a very small town right outside of Stillwater. She was talking about how a tornado just touched down during my Friday night light football games and qualifying. And I remember being in Oklahoma one summer for something with my parents. And this was after the first Twisteries movie came out.
And being in our hotel. And there were several around in the area threatening to touch down very close to where we were. The way my mom tells is I opened the blinds and look out the window and I said, sideways rain. Because I was thinking the movie about sideways rain.
If there's sideways rain, the tornado was fixing to come down right where you were. So I remember that moment. And then 1989, I grew up in the barriers. In 1989, we'll always stick out there.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's a can't forget it kind of moment. I was only 10 years old at the time. I remember coming home from school to watch the World Series the Giants of the Ace.
We're playing the candlestick part, turning it on, turning the thing on nationally on them. And then shaking and everything seems bigger when you're small like that. But it felt massive. And it was massive.
But I remember running outside the front of the house and seeing what looked like a tidal wave of concrete. The cars were bouncing up and down, alarms are going off. And you smell the smell. Yeah, so it was terrifying.
We slept as a family down in the living room for that next week because of all the aftershocks. We had unfortunately had some people living in our church that died during the earthquake and the freeway collapsed. So yeah, that moment stuck out for sure. That's a never forget it.
And I could never not think about that moment every time I'm back at home and drive across the Bay Bridge. It's okay. So, you know, just a light conversation about the natural disaster. Why are we talking about these things?
Well, you're going to see that in the passage and you might recall that from Eric's message about talking about the great shaking of the earth. And what do we do when the earth feels like it's shaken to its core when everything around it seems in stake. What kind of hope can we have? So we're going to jump in through that.
It takes some time to show your stories about where you experience that. And it does parange straight into the passage. I'm going to read Eric uses a few different texts today, but the angry text is from Hebrews. I'm starting at chapter 12, 25, and 19.
It's the questions to ask before you read it are what does the passage tell us about God in this kingdom? What does it say about those who trust in Christ? What does it say about what they will receive? And what does the passage tell us that we should do?
And in what manner? All right. So if you questions help guide you, we'll interact with it after I read it. It says this, Hebrews 12, 25 through 29.
See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they do not, for if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven, his voice shook the earth at that time. But now he has promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. This expression yet once more indicates the removal of what can be shaken.
That is created things. So that what is not shaken might remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it we may serve God acceptably with reverence in and all for our God is a consuming fire.
All right. So what is happening in this passage, there is a call back here to Exodus 19 about Sinai. This passage, we believe the scriptures are right. It is backward moving, it is present, it is forward moving, so the truth of scripture is eternal.
It means one thing originally to a intended audience that has a timeless truth that goes all throughout eternity. It is relevant for us today and it has something to a specific context there. So there is a lot of things we can do back in Eric Spence in a great time. Really what we would say, ex-estiating the passage, we won't do a whole lot now, but in creation of the backlist and take your notes on that.
What do we, what stands out to us from this passage? What are we learning here? I think as a history major back in the days at UCLA, I really appreciate that it does, as this passage is, referencing back to Exodus 19 as God gave us, God gave us the commandments, the 10 commandments and yet they were called to worship one God, but they disobeyed and that bowing down to a golden calf and that led to a shaking and happened. They are quite literal.
A literal shaking. So people are going to ask that, is that literal, is that going to be a literal? What is that going to look like? Yeah.
And definitely we are feeling shaking that is happening in our world now. That's one too. Wars and sickness and famines, all, and in our personal lives as well too. And yet for us to know that we have a firm foundation in our King, our Savior King, in the Kingdom that we look forward to, the eternal hope of life forever for those who put their faith in Christ.
So those things will not be shaken because we have that foundation in Christ. The passage calls that out quite plainly. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. So what should that do for us?
That should cause us to be thankful. That should give us a sense of confidence, of peace, of comfort. And the passage, not just here, but all throughout scripture too, is not shying away from the realities of the shakable finite kingdom. Like Jesus promises that, like, you're going to encounter persecution and suffering, but be a good year because I have overcome the world.
So there's this acknowledgement of, yeah, if things feel unsettled now, God's not surprised by that, we should be surprised by that. So these things are ultimately not going to last. So hope which we're hoping the kingdom will not be shaken. So I love that there's always that realism through scripture, but the ultimate realism of the unshakable kingdom is the one that we put our hope in, so there's a lot that we can interact with in this passage.
So then we move into a look out. It says, what do you think, or why do you think people are drawn to build kingdoms on things that won't last? Where have you seen it? And then what makes it difficult to be grateful for the kingdom of God when it feels like the world is crumbling around us?
Yeah. Well, I think the reality is we want comfort, significance, security, the things that we see physically. And we think these things will last forever. You know, just last night as we were sharing in our rutac group, we're talking about the spiritual realm, even the spiritual warfare that happens, but we don't necessarily see it physically.
And so we gravitate toward things that we can control, that we think, you know, whether it's our jobs or our homes or our vehicle, or have a materialistic things. And we think these things will last forever, or even our position or careers. But ultimately, as Christ follows, we know that those things don't last. Those things are temporary.
And I remember I might butcher this quote by Jim Elliot. I think he says, he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he can't lose. And I think about that. I think about that in my own life too.
Like where is my heart? As Jesus says, like where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. And so I think that's the part though, when I see, even my friends who I grew up with, who are passionate for Christ in their colleges, but the world and their desires for material, physical things, sometimes outweighs the things of the eternal. Yeah, you know, there's not much more.
I mean, that's the things that are visible, the things that seem attainable, the things that seem measurable. And the things that our culture encourages us to really visible, aggressive terms that go after to build to a mass, like success, a successful name, an empire, accolades all those kinds of things. All those kinds of things is what we're fed into to believe is what matters most. And you're right, when you think about the value sets of the kingdom, many of those, they're not going to show up on a, you know, a year and a sheet.
It's how you measure patience, how you measure self-control, how do you measure the fruits of the spirit? Well, you can measure them in the experience that you're having in the full life that Jesus promises us. But it's not, you know, immediately, visibly measured and often even celebrated. And so I think there is that, the reality of the world that we live in is driven towards the measurements of culturally accepted success.
And the value sets of the kingdom are often seen as weakness, weakness, self-sacrifice. But actually, that is the economy of God's kingdom. That is the economy of God's kingdom. But you're right, we're drawn towards that, we're drawn towards it visible.
And the promises promises that those things don't last. Yeah, I think the second question that you're asking, like, what makes it difficult to be grateful when it feels like the world's caving in? Yes, crumbling. I think it's in a sense a different kind of question because the reality is like when we feel the immediate pain and difficulty in challenges, it is overwhelming.
I have a friend going through stage four brain cancer right now. And as I look at what he's going through, I have a hard time sometimes, even as a pastor, as a Christ follower, to really trust that God is in this process, that he's present, that his strength is with us for today, and to have hope for that next life as well too. And so I don't know how you feel about that. If there's anything that you can add to that.
No, I think that's it. I think that's it. It's having a right-size view of eternity. It's having a right-size view of suffering.
It's having a right-size view of the atoning work of Jesus and what that actually accomplishes for us. It was, since yes, it had accomplished for us so that we can experience a full life here in the now. Yes, but a full life as it's defined by the value set to the kingdom. One that matters, one that gives us hope and one that lasts through early eternity.
In fixing our eyes on that is ultimately what's going to make the things that seem so shakeable and crumbling around us, so that they don't matter, but they pale in comparison to the future where that way. So I think that's it. So, fantastic. Well, let me move to the lick-in section.
We're actually kind of talking around this already, but if it stands out, let's interact with it. Where it says, in the message we were encouraged to focus on what will last, meaning God's kingdom, more than what will pass. Temporal joys and pain. So both, the joys and the suffering.
So where you encourage your challenge to live this out in your own life. So we're interacting with this already a bit. Yeah, I mean, so in so many different ways, you know, and it's really easy to compare yourself to the successes of others, to look at your peers and to think, you know, it's kind of that ecclesiastes mindset of the evil of the world, those that are in the world seem to be pushing so far ahead from where I'm at, according to my own measure. Okay, I need to be reminded.
Back to last week, I did a pretty sick awesome to myself, that whatever is even because of an unperishable kingdom that will last forever. I could feel that comparison, you know, looking at the successes of others, and I don't think we don't measure up, so that could be a thing for me. Yeah, I mean, so this is very fresh for me. I've been kind of taking inventory of my life.
Your age. I am. My wife and I have been thinking about retirement. When do we want to return?
We don't know. You just got to get out. But at least 30 years in your manless business. Yeah, but even looking at our finances, like we need to be wise about our savings and investments and all of those things.
But I've been taking inventory of my life of my goals, ambitions, my relationships, and what really counts, you know, how am I spending the whole time, treasures and talents, and I realize like, I really need to make the most of my time here on the surface. And I don't know how much time. I hope a couple decades. But I still remember my college is reading this book by Chomp Hyper called, I think it's called Don't Waste Your Life.
And he was sharing a story of this retirement couple. The seashell. And is that what it amounts to, walking on the seashells with collecting seashells? Yeah, because I didn't know the story.
Yeah, so I don't remember all the details of it, but basically he's saying, if that's the kind of life that you are looking for in your retirement years. Just white sand beaches and collecting seashells, not attributing to the joys of any other than yourself. Yeah, then that is a wasted life. And so many of us can get caught up in that, and that's the hope and that's the goal that we have.
And I don't want that. I don't want that for my wife and family. And so it isn't an inventory of really looking and examining, how can I truly live my life? I'd rather call that out too, because there can be an overreaction to a right Biblical understanding that the kingdoms of this world are failing and will fail, but the kingdom would have had to last forever.
There could be an inappropriate reaction to that. We'll be able to nothing matters to that. But then, yeah, let's just eat right to be married. What does it matter?
We're just waiting for Jesus to return, which he will, Marinatha, come Lord Jesus. Come soon, you know, that's the prayer. But that doesn't mean that we sit by with acidity and just like, okay great, the pain and the sufferings of the world are of no consequence. And how I live my life is really a no consequence, because ultimately I've got my ticket punched before eternity to be with him.
Now that gives us hope, but that hope, that future hope also gives us present diligence to be okay great. How do I live the realities of eternity? Like here and now, how I bring the value set to the kingdom here and now into my life. I'm just going to hang my hat on that.
Everything's going to be fine. You take what I'm going to do. It's not what I want to live and respond to that. Just steward.
It's giving me well for the sake of others. So I'll let you recall that. That's an important reminder for us. Awesome man.
Well Scott, thanks so much for your time. You'll love the wisdom of the inside. I would just say a couple of more things first. On Monday night, we do have a leader huddle.
So if you're listening to this before Monday night, on September 30th, we have that leader huddle that's going to be happening for leaders across lots of different ministries. It's going to be focused on care and recovery. How do we navigate the resources well when we're dealing with issues in our group? Not issues.
We're dealing with people in our group. That's our responsibility with that. And then I would just say to you on this weekend, too, when we're talking about the return of Christ and that's something that is going to happen. We believe that in a physical and a visible way.
Jesus is coming back. That's where this story is going. This may not be your group, but sometimes even my group where we can start to nerd out about eschatology and how and the wind and what's it going to look like. And those are fun conversations to have.
We would really say keep those in an appropriate level. Level 2, Level 3, Level 2.5. The principal thing is Jesus is coming back. We believe this is a visible physical return of Jesus.
He's going to establish this kingdom here on the earth. And so keep it to that level. The conversation that Scott and I just have. We want that to be the conversation that you have within your groups.
This is, let me pull out my charts now. What are you pre-trade post-trade, what's the story here? Fun conversations to have, but you want to keep the conversation within your group around. What does this mean for us in terms of our license?
All right, guys. Well, thanks for your time. We will see you on the weekend.