Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the weekday podcast of Sugar Hill Church, where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating, or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: Well, hey friends, welcome back to another weekday podcast. We're glad you're here. As I record this, we're leading up to Christmas Eve and we cannot wait for you to join us. And we'd love for you to invite a neighbor, a friend, a coworker, probably somebody that you've never invited before. That would be amazing. Go to christmasinsugarhill.com you'll find all the details and the simple link to invite people to be part of Christmas Eve at 2, 4 or 6 on campus here at Sugar Hill Church. Well, today I want to think about the day that we lost Jesus in Luke 2:46, talking about Mary and Joseph. It says after three days they found him talking about Jesus in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Now let me ask you this. Have you ever lost something really, really valuable? Now, I'm not just talking about keys or maybe your phone. I mean, something super important. Maybe it was a child at the mall. Even if it was just a few heart stopping minutes, well, Mary and Joseph, they did the unthinkable. They lost Jesus. Not just any child, the Son of God himself. You can imagine that conversation, right? Honey, have you seen Jesus? What? I thought he was with you. And it took a day's journey from Jerusalem before they realized it. Talk about a parenting fail. Well, before we get too hard on them, I want us to pause for a moment because if we're honest, we lose Jesus all the time. Now, maybe not the physical Jesus, but we lose touch with the living Christ. We set him on a shelf somewhere between, I don't know, our 1968 encyclopedia and our childhood Bible from VBS. We know exactly where we left him until. Well, until we don't. Sometimes it happens so gradually we don't even notice. It's like those Christmas presents we bought early and we tucked them away somewhere safe. We had such good intentions. But life gets busy, voices get louder, and before we know it, we've traveled a day's journey, maybe a month, maybe a year, without realizing that Jesus isn't with us. There's this idea that the Greeks had. It was a beautiful word for the sacred space between two people who trust each other. It's called zimzon. It was like this protective bubble where nothing else could intrude. And that's what Jesus offers us, this intimate space just for us and him. But we let other things creep in. Anxiety and work pressure and financial stress. And soon enough, that sacred space is crowded with everything. Well, with everything but Jesus. But here's the good news. Jesus hasn't moved like that husband, the old pickup truck who told his wife I haven't moved when she wondered why they weren't sitting close anymore. Jesus is right where we left him, waiting with open arms. So today, try to retrace your steps back. When was the last time you fully felt truly close to Jesus? He's still there. He's in that same spot and he's waiting for you to return. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus today. We would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 15 and 11. And we're always streaming live at live Sugarhill Church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the Share button. Have an awesome day.
