- Happy Easter, everybody. I'm Rick Warren, pastor
of Saddleback Church, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," and teacher for the Daily Hope Broadcast. I wanna welcome all of
you who are watching this very special global Easter service during the COVID virus pandemic of 2020. You know, 40 years ago, this week, my wife, Kay, and I
founded Saddleback Church here in Southern California. And our very first public service was on Easter Sunday, 1980. So this Easter is our 40th
birthday as a church family. Now of course this Easter is like none we've
experienced in our lifetime. In fact act, this is the first time in 2,000 years of Christianity that churches all around the world will be unable to gather in large groups to celebrate Easter. But I'm here to tell you that while we aren't able to assemble the resurrection of Jesus
Christ will still be celebrated everywhere in hearts and
homes around the globe. 2.3 billion believers, that's one out of ever
three people on this planet, will be honoring Jesus
Christ this weekend. Now we may be apart, but we're not alone. And we may be separated,
but we're not isolated. And this may be bad weather for us, but we're still together
in the bad weather. You see, Easter is not a
location, it's a celebration. And now with technology, we're more connected than ever before. Now, when the COVID virus shut down our ability to be together on weekends, I immediately switched
gears and began a new series called the Faith That
Works When Life Doesn't. Faith that doesn't work
when life doesn't work isn't worth anything. But in this series, I can't
keep you from disease, but I can help you avoid dis-ease, the dis-ease of emotional
and spiritual stress from the effects of this pandemic. In the past weeks, I received
literally thousands of emails, and texts, and calls
from people distressed. By the way, our world has
been turned upside down. Let me just read a typical
note that I got yesterday. Dear Pastor Rick, I'm not usually the worrying type, but when the news first
broke about the COVID virus I dismissed it. But as you pointed out
in the previous message, we go through the stages of
denial, dismissal, defiance, delayed acceptance,
disruption, and distress. I haven't yet made it to the
last stage of determination. I seemed to be stuck in distress. First, my kid's school was canceled. Then both my husband and I
were laid off from our jobs. Then like everybody else, we
were told to stay in our home. Then my aged mother was
rushed to the hospital, but none of us are allowed to see her, nor are we allowed to see my dad living with Alzheimer's in a rest home that has been locked down. My kids are going crazy
at home being cooped up. And then just today, I
learned of an aunt that I love who's been hospitalized with the virus. If she dies, I won't be
able to attend her funeral. It scares my that my life
has fallen apart so quickly. Is there anything I can do? Please pray for me to
get to the stage seven that you talked about. That phrase, when life falls apart, is what I want us to
think about this Easter. Because all around the world
we're celebrating Easter. How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ help us get through all that
we're going through right now? Well, there are three things. First, Jesus resurrecting prove that he really was who he claim to be. It validated his identity. You know a lot of people in
history have claimed to be God. Lots of people claim to be
God, but only one proved it, by bringing himself back to life, walking around Jerusalem for 40 more days before he went back to heaven. And that means we can trust his promises. It's why 2.3 Christian believers are celebrating Easter this week. It's also why history
is split into BC and AD, because the resurrection of Jesus is the defining pivotal point in history. Everything else is dated in relationship to the resurrection, including your own birthday. Second thing, Jesus resurrection prove that there is life after death. You know, without, we'd just be guessing, and we'd just be wishful hoping. The fact that death is
not the end of the story, we know that because of the resurrection. With so many people around us
dying right now in a pandemic, that's especially good news. The third thing is that Jesus gave us a model for what to do
when life falls apart. He gives us a model of what
to do when life falls apart. There's a book in the Bible called 1 Peter chapter 2, verses
19 and 21 say this. You might have to suffer
even when it is unfair, but if you think of God
and you stand in the pain, God is pleased. Remember, Christ suffered for you and he gave us an example to follow. Here that, an example to follow. So you should do as he did. This Easter, I want us
to look at the example that Jesus gave us, and I'm calling this message expecting a resurrection
when life falls apart. Now, the second greatest
miracle of the Easter weekend, besides the resurrection of Jesus was actually the sudden change in attitude and the amazing transformation in the lives of the disciples, the followers who followed Jesus. Within about 72 hours, they
were radically transformed. The Bible says this in the
book of John chapter 20. That Sunday evening, this is the day Jesus
rose back from the dead, the disciples were
huddled together in a home with the doors locked for
fear of the authorities. Now that huddling in their home with the doors locked sounds a lot like the shutdown some of us
have been involved in. Get the picture. They're isolated, they're intimidated, they're insecure. They're think, "You know,
the authorities killed Jesus, "maybe we're next. "Maybe the Romans are gonna come after us, "they're gonna kill us." Then it says, suddenly Jesus appeared standing there among them. And they were frightened so Jesus said, "Peace be with you." And then he showed them the
nail scars in his hands, and where he'd been pierced in his side. And at that point, everything changed. The disciples were overwhelmed with joy when they realized that
it really was the Lord. Now this is a radical
transformation in these guys. You see, when Jesus died
by public crucifixion, he left the disciples with a
boatload of negative emotions. They have always dreamed
of the kingdom coming, and now the savior is dead on the cross. They felt dejected, defeated, demoralized, and they felt disappointed, disturbed. They felt distressed, dismayed. They felt depressed,
they felt disillusioned, and they certainly were
dreading the future. But after they see that Jesus is truly alive on Easter
Sunday, they are transformed. And instead of depressed and dejected, they're delighted and defiant. They're not afraid of anybody anymore. They're ready to take on
the world, and they did. What was that change? They had seen the risen savior. You see, on Friday and on Saturday, they're anxious and afraid. But by Sunday evening, they
become assured and assertive. And in 72 hours, they go
from being embarrassed and exhausted to being
ecstatic and euphoric. It's party time. Jesus is alive. Let's celebrate. Now I don't want you to miss what understanding the
resurrection did for people whose lives have fallen apart then. Because when you understand
it, it'll change your life. The people whose lives had fallen apart when Christ was crucified, and then when they saw him
be raised from the dead, they went from being
cowardly to being courageous. They went from being fearful to fearless. They went from being gloomy to being glad, from being hopeless to hopeful and happy. They went from being
powerless to being powerful, from upset to being unstoppable. And Christianity spread
through the whole world. They were now ready to take on the world. Now, what is it that caused
such a transformation in attitude in about 72 hours? Seeing the risen Jesus Christ
come back from the dead. That quickly changed their lives, and then millions of lives, and then billions of lives. Now, follow me on this. Jesus' death, and his
burial, and his resurrection happened over three days. Friday was the day of fear and pain. The day of fear and
pain, I'll explain these. Saturday was the day
of confusion and grief when everything fell apart. And Sunday was the day of freedom and joy. Now here's the reality. You are gonna face these three days repeatedly in your lifetime. And you're gonna find yourself
asking three questions. Number one, what do I do? What do I do in the days of fear and pain? And then number two, how do I get through the
days of confusion and grief? And number three, how do I get to the
days of freedom and joy? And the answers are all in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. So let's consider each day since you're gonna go through
these days many, many times. I have, in my life, many times. And let's see what they did. Number one, Friday was
the day of fear and pain. When you're facing a day of fear, when you're all afraid, and many people are afraid
because of this COVID-19 virus, and many are in pain because
of this COVID-19 virus. When you are in the day of fear and pain, you need to do two things. You do the two things that Jesus did. Number one, write this down. I need to reach out to friends. Yeah, that's what Jesus did. I need to reach out to friends. Draw close to friends. Before Jesus was betrayed,
and arrested, and tortured, the very last thing he did was spend some time
intimately with his friends in the upper room, observing the Passover. And then knowing the pain
that he was about to face, he took his friends to his
favorite place to pray. He got his friends
together in the day of pain and in the day of fear. Matthew chapter 26 says this. Jesus took his disciples
with him to Gethsemane. That's a garden. It's his favorite place to pray. And he said, "Stay here
with me while I pray." Then he took Peter, James, and John, that's three of the
disciples a little further. And he, that's Jesus,
was filled with anguish, and deep distress, and he said to them, "My heart is so overwhelmed
and crushed with sorrow "that I feel like I'm dying. "Just sit here and watch with me." Then Jesus took a few more steps and he fell to the ground and he prayed. This is Jesus' prayer in
the garden of Gethsemane. Now I want you to know
there's two startling facts about what I just read. First, even Jesus Christ
needed the presence of friends in fear and pain. And it is a mistake for you
to try to handle pain alone. We're isolated in our homes, but we now even have technology that you don't have to be alone. We can be apart, but not alone. Second thing is that Jesus was open, and he was gut-level honest about the pain he was going through. In fact, here's what he said. He said, "My heart is so overwhelmed "and crushed with sorrow. "I feel like I'm dying." Now if Jesus Christ
needed to be that open, if he needed friends and he needed to admit
what he was feeling, you need to share your pain. It is a mistake to not share the emotions you're going through. Emotions are meant to be felt. Feelings are just simply feelings. They're meant to be felt. You don't repress them,
you don't suppress them. You express them and you confess them. And you need to find a few friends that you can say, "I'm scared right now. "I'm anxious right now. "I'm hurting right now. "I'm struggling right now." Galatians chapter 6 of the
Bible says this, verse 2. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you
fulfill the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? Love your neighbor as yourself. In times like this, in a crisis, it brings out the good in some people, it brings out the bad in others. I once asked the great Elie Wiesel who was a prisoner at
Buchenwald concentration camp. I became a friend of him
in later years of life. I asked him, "Elie,
how did you get through "the horror of the Holocaust?" He said, "Rick, God and friends." God and friends. That's why here at Saddleback Church, we actually have over 9,000
small groups in our church. And during this COVID crisis, you need to be in some kind of small group if you're not in one,
we'll help you get in one. So the first thing I need to do on Friday, the day of fear and the day of pain, is I need to reach out to friends, but second thing I need
to do is reach out to God. I need to reach out to God. How do you do that? You pray. Imagine how it would feel
if you were Jesus Christ knowing the pain you were about to face. What do you pray in times like that on the day of pain and fear? In Mark chapter 14 it says this. Jesus fell down on the ground, and he prayed that if possible he would not have to suffer
the pain ahead of him. He prayed, "Abba," that means daddy, abba, father, daddy, papa, father. "I know you can do all things, "and I don't wanna have to
drink this cup of suffering. "Nevertheless," Jesus
said, "I want your will, "not mine, to be done." Now, follow me on this. Jesus knows he's facing the ultimate in physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain, and spiritual pain. First, he knows that physically
he's gonna be beaten, wounded, tortured, kept from sleep, whipped with 39 lashes, put a
thorn of crowns on his head, and nailed to a cross. He's gonna have the
ultimate in physical pain. Second, mentally and emotionally, he's gonna suffer humiliation, rejection, shame, disgrace, and betrayal. Spiritually, he's going to carry the guilt of every ugly crime and every sin every committed in history. He's gonna pay for it all. He's gonna take the guilt of every murder, of every molestation, of every torture. Think about that. How would that feel, to take the guilt, not simply my guilt, but the guilt of every sin
every person in history and experience the hell of
separation from God the Father? Why on the cross he cries out, "My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?" Now, in facing this pain on
this first day, the Friday, the day of pain and fear, I want you to notice what Jesus prayed. And whenever you are in pain and whenever you are in fear, you need to pray the Gethsemane prayer. Okay, what did he do? He did three things. First, he affirmed God's power. He said, "Father, I know
you can do anything." And when you're going through tough times, first thing you do is, "God
I know you can do anything. "I know you can solve this problem. "I know you can turn it around." Second, you express your desire. You say, "I don't this pain." Well, Jesus did it. It's okay for you to do it. He said, "Father, if it's possible, "I don't wanna go through this. "I don't want this pain." That's okay. But then third, you offer your trust. You say, "Nevertheless, I
want your will, not mine, "whatever is best." That's the Gethsemane prayer. That's the prayer you pray
on the day of fear and pain. Hebrews 2:18 in the Bible says this. Since Jesus went through
suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and when we're tempted, and he's able to help us. He knows the pattern, he
knows the power that we need. Now after Jesus finishes praying, the soldiers arrive and they arrested him. And after hours of a
mock trial and torture, they crucified him. What did the disciples do? They ran away. They were all cowards. They fled the scene. Every one of them lost their faith on the day that Jesus was crucified. Matthew 26 says this, verse 56. Then all the disciples
deserted him and fled. Did you know that? All the disciples fled Jesus
on the day he was crucified. Only one disciple, John, was actually at the foot of the cross with Jesus' mother, Mary. After Jesus died, he was
taken down from the cross and he was buried, and that leads us to
the next day, Saturday. Saturday represents the
day of confusion and grief. You're gonna have many days like this too. You'll have days of pain and fear, but you're also gonna have days in life filled with confusion and grief. And with this COVID virus causing, all kinds of economic loss, loss of life, loss of privileges, loss of freedom. There's a lot of grief and
it's gonna be increasing. A tidal wave, a tsunami of grief
will come through the world as a result of this pandemic. Now imagine the full range of emotions that the disciples are feeling when all of a sudden on Saturday their savior, their messiah, the one that they
believe is the son of God is laying in a grave. They've got profound grief. They've got great loss. They are certainly disillusioned. This is to what we expected. I'm sure they were all full of doubt. I'm sure they were filled with regrets. If only we had stopped Judas. Or maybe they were filled
with self-recrimination. We all ran away. Peter says, "I denied Jesus three times." They're filled with fear. Are they gonna kill us too? They're filled with confusion. What are we supposed to do now? This is the day of confusion. This is the day of confusion, Saturday. Now Jesus had warned them
that this is gonna happen. Matthew chapter 26, verse 31. I love it in the message, paraphrase, it says this. Then Jesus told them,
"Before the night's over, "you're all gonna fall to pieces "because of what happens to me." Jesus is warning them at the Passover. Your neat little world
is about to fall apart. Many of us are identifying that right now. Your need little world
is gonna fall apart. In Mark chapter 14 it says this, verse 27. "All of you will desert
me," Jesus told them, "for the scripture said
I'll strike the shepherd, "and the sheep will be scattered." And that's exactly what happened. They all went AWOL on Saturday, the day of confusion. Now at that point, the
Bible says, Matthew 26, the disciples abandoned
Jesus and ran away. Question, have ever deserted
God out of confusion? Have you ever deserted God out of doubt? Have you ever deserted God out of pain? Most likely. Most likely all of us had. Have you ever deserted God out of grief? They're grieving because their Master, their Lord, their Savior is in a grave. How do you get through the
days of confusion and grief after a major loss? Well, the answer is this, write this down. I need to remember the promises of God. Friday, I need to reach out to
others and reach out to God. Saturday, I need to remember
the promises of God. Now right before Jesus was executed, he gave them a promise. John chapter 16, Jesus said this. "Here's what's gonna happen. "Soon, I'll be gone and
you'll be without me. "But after a while, you'll see me again." He's predicting his resurrection. "And you're gonna weep,
and you're gonna mourn, "and you're gonna grieve, "but your grief will
eventually turn to joy." He said, "It's gonna be like a woman "going through labor pains." when a child is finally born,
her anguish turns to joy, because the new life wipes
out the memory of the pain. He said, "In the same way, "you're gonna go through sorrow right now "on the Saturdays of
life, the days of grief, "the days of loss." But he said, "I'll be
back and you will rejoice, "and no one will be able
to rob you of that joy." You know, right now everybody
is going through a tough time. There are tough times
literally all around the world because of this COVID-19 virus, and that's why you need to
do hat Jesus said to do. Immerse yourself in the
promises in this book. Did you know that in the Bible there are over 7,000
promises of God to you. They're like blank checks. Now, you know, if you
have an insurance policy and you know what's covered in the policy, you don't worry about that because I know it's covered in the policy. The reason why you worry, you don't know what's
covered in the policy. You don't know what God
has promised to you. And when you don't know the
promises of God, you worry. And the Bible says in 2
Corinthians chapter 1, for all the promises of
God, all 7,000 of them, find their yes in Jesus Christ. So in dark and in confusing times, what you need to do is to hang on what you know to be true. What do we know to be true? God sees everything you go through. God cares about everything you to through. God loves you unconditionally. You can't make God stop loving you. You could try, but you'll fail, because God's love isn't
based on what you do. It's based on who he is. God is love. The Bible says God is
close to you all the time. You might feel alone,
but you're not alone. God's presence is not a feeling. It's a fact. And God says he grieves
with you when you grieves. The Bible says God wants the best for you. The Bible says that God
can bring good out of bad. What's going on right now
in the world is very bad. A lot of people are being hurt by it. Physically, economically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. The Bible says that God specializes in bringing good out of bad. Anybody can bring good out of good, but God specializes in
bringing good out of bad. You can't do that. I can't always do that, but God can. God specializes in turning
crucifixions into resurrections. Now, what happens when we don't remember the promises that God has
made to us in his word? Real simple, we worry. We worry. So, I don't have time to go
through 7,000 promises with you, but let me just give you two this Easter, two great promises of God to you. The first one is in the
book of Isaiah, chapter 43. In verses 2 and 3, God says this. "When you go through deep
water and great trouble, "I will be with you. "And when you go through
rivers of difficulty, "you will not drown. "And when you walk through
the fire of repression, "you will not burn up. "The flames will not consume you "for I am the Lord, your God, and Savior." You know what you need this
Easter, you need a savior. If you didn't need one, God wouldn't have wasted time sending one. At Christmas, he was
born this day, a savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. It's a total waste for
Jesus to come to earth if you didn't need a
savior, but you need one, because there are a lot of
things you can't do for yourself. There are a lot of things
that are out of your control. You need to turn to him
and you need to trust him. Let me give you another promise. Isaiah 61 verse 3. God promises this. "To all who mourn." Are you grieving a loss of a job? Are you grieving the
loss of a relationship? Are you grieving the loss of your health? God says, "To all who mourn, "I will restore beauty for ashes, "joy instead of mourning, and
praise instead of despair." Jesus had promised many, many times. He told the disciples that he was gonna resurrect
himself back to life. They just forgot it. If you hold on to the promises of God, you're inevitably gonna
make it to the third day, and that's Sunday. Friday, the day of fear and pain. Saturday, the day of confusion and grief. Sunday is the day of freedom and joy. And when Jesus resurrected
and then when he shows up and he spends 40 days
walking around Jerusalem, how would you like to be one of the people who crucify Jesus then you're walking down the
street one day and you see him and go, "He's back." That's why the church grew
to over 100,000 people almost instantly in Jerusalem. There was so many eyewitnesses
over the next 40 days. the Bible says at one time
he spoke to 500 people after his resurrection. The Bible says that when Jesus, when the disciples saw that
Jesus had overcome death, it created an explosion of contagious joy. They're freed from their fears. They're freed from their anxieties. They're freed from their faults. They've all been forgiven,
paid for on the cross. They're freed from their failures. Jesus had said, when you know the truth, the truth will set you free, and a lot of people
forget the rest of that, where Jesus said, "I am the truth. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He also said, "And if
the son sets you free," talking about himself,
"you are truly free." So, how do you get to the
days of freedom and joy? Here's the third key. I need to rely on the power of Jesus. The same resurrection power that resurrected Jesus from
the dead is available to you. Okay, I need to rely
on the power of Jesus. You see, you can't do
this on your own power. You've tried. There are things in your life you don't like about yourself, and you like to change them. And if you could change them, you would, but you can't, so you won't. And will power is not enough. It works in the short-term, but eventually you'll get tired and you go back to your old ways. Only God's power can get you there. It takes more than self-help, it takes more than self-effort, it takes more than positive thinking. It's not I think I can, I think I can. I'm in favor of positive thinking. It's better than negative thinking, but only works on stuff you can control. What about the stuff you can't control? You can't resurrect yourself. You need a savior. God has to do it for you, and that's called salvation. God sent Jesus Christ to be your savior. Now, to get through the worst, the worst days of your life, you need to do these three things, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, reach out for the presence of Jesus, remember the promises of Jesus, and rely on the power of Jesus. That's what Easter is all about. In John chapter 11, Jesus said this, very famous statement. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection. "I am the resurrection and the life. "Whoever believes in me,
even though they die, "they will live again, "because I give to them eternal life "for believing in me and
they will never perish." Now we couldn't believe that if Christ hadn't raised himself, but he did. And that's why billions of people have put their faith in Christ, because death is not the end of the story. If God can resurrect the dead body, he can resurrect the dead marriage. If God can resurrect the dead body, he can resurrect a dead career. If God can resurrect the dead body, he can resurrect a dead dream. Now I want you to notice that the answer to your
problem is not a principle, it's a person. He said, "I am the resurrection." You need to get to know Jesus. A lot of people know about him. I know who he is. I even believe he's the son of God. Fine. But my prayer for you this Easter is a prayer that's in the Bible. It's in Ephesians chapter 1. Here's the prayer I'm
praying for you this Easter. I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great this power is to help those who believe him. It is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. Did you get that? The same power that raised
Jesus from the dead, 2,000 years ago, split
the world into AD and BC, he says that power is available to you when you build a friendship with God and a relationship to Christ. That's why Paul says in
Philippians chapter 3, "I wanna know Christ and the
power of his resurrection "and the fellowship of
sharing in his suffering, "becoming like him." There's a life-changing prayer that I'll hope you'll pray this Easter. It's from the Bible. It's Romans chapter 10,
verse 9, and it says this. If you confess with your
mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved. Now what does that mean? In the first place, what
does it mean, Jesus is Lord? We don't live in the
feudal system anymore. We don't have kings and queens, and counts and vassals, and lords and ladies, and knights and squire. We don't live in a feudal system. So what does it mean to make
Jesus the Lord of our life. It means to make him the
manager, the boss, the CEO. When you make Jesus Christ
the Lord of your life, you put on a sign that
says under new management. He's not just resident in your life, he's president in your life. He calls the shot. You say, "You know, I haven't
been doing a very good job "of managing my life. "Jesus Christ, I was made
to live in contact with God. "Be the manager of my life." That's what it means to make Jesus Lord. I wanna get you out of
Friday and out of Saturday and into Sunday. I wanna get you out of
the days of pain and fear out of the days of confusion and grief, and get you into the
days of freedom and joy. How do we do that? Every week at our church,
we do several things. And the first thing we do is
at the end of every service, we recommit ourselves, our lives to God we recommit our lives to Jesus Christ. I'm gonna pray a prayer right now, and I wanna invite you to bow your head and follow me in this prayer. Now you don't actually have
to say these same words. The words aren't as important as an attitude of humility that basically says to God, "God, I need you. "I'm not God. "You're God, and I'm not." And God is God and I'm not, and I need you in my life. Jesus Christ, I thank you
for dying for my sins. And if you're ready to do that, you can follow me in this prayer. You don't have to say it aloud. You can say it in your mind. God knows the very thought
you're thinking right now. But if you're by yourself in your home, I'd encourage you to say it aloud. Okay, just say it. Pray this prayer aloud. It'll be the most important
prayer you've ever prayed. All right. You didn't even
have to close your eyes. Just say it. Say this. Dead God, just say that. Dear God, you know every fear I have. You now every pain I felt. God, you know what confuses me and you know what grieves me. God, you know, I spent a lot of my life in the Fridays and Saturdays of life, and I wanna get to Sunday. I wanna move from confusion,
and fear, and pain, and grief to freedom and joy. I don't understand at all, but thank you for sending
Jesus Christ to die for me. I pray for all the things I've done wrong. I wanna know your presence. I wanna have a relationship
to you, not a religion. I want a relationship to you. I want a friendship
with you starting today, and I wanna learn to
live by your promises, and I wanna learn to rely on your power to get me through my most difficult days. Amen. All right. If you prayed that prayer, this is the most important decisions you've ever made in your life, because it determines your eternity. You get your past forgiven, you get a purpose for living, you get a home in heaven, but you don't understand
all that right now. And so we wanna help you grow. You need to tell somebody. Why don't you tell me? All right. I'm a pastor, you could tell me. So there's two ways you can tell me that you just prayed that prayer. You got a phone, pick
up your phone right now and dial 99000, nine, nine, zero, zero, zero, and type in newstart. Just one word, newstart. 99000 newstart. And just by typing that in, I will know that you prayed that prayer. If you're outside of
America and can't text me, you could email me,
newstart@saddleback.com. That's one word, newstart@saddleback.com. I'll get you some material. I'll pray for you. I promise to pray for you, and I'll get you some material to help you get started
on your spiritual journey. That's the first thing we do, is make our commitments to God. The second thing we do every week is we express our gratitude
to God through our giving. Now if you are not a believer in Christ, we don't expect you to give. We want you to get something. But if you want to give, go give to your church. Go give to your church. If you don't have a church, you can go to saddleback.com online, saddleback.com/give. You can give a gift there. Our church is feeding literally tens of thousands of
people in this COVID virus. We are helping people. When 48 food banks closed,
we started 12 more, and we're doing things
literally all around the world, because Saddleback is a
church on four continents, and you can help. The help that you give will
be used to help people. The third thing we do is we meet online in small groups for support every week. Saddleback is a very big church. We have over 9,000 small
groups in our church. Every week, we start about a hundred more. Once they said stop meeting at homes, we just went online, and we're using Skype, or
Zoom, or Microsoft Team or a bunch of different things. But if you're not in a group, you need that fellowship. You need to get connected. Let me help you get
connected to a small group. Just text me, smallgroup, one word, text me, smallgroup to 99000. If you live outside of the United States, you can email me smallgroup@saddlebck.com. Just email me smallgroup,
one word, at saddleback.com. Finally, if you want prayer, you need prayer for anything in your life, our church is a praying church, we would be privileged to pray for you. And you can text me prayer to 99000. Just type in 99000 and write in prayer, or you can email prayer@saddleback.com. I want you to know I'm gonna
be praying for you all week. I wanna invite you to be back
with us this next weekend. I'm in a 16-week series, taking us through the Book of James which deals with all of the things people have to deal within a crisis. It was written to people in a
crisis thousands of years ago, and it covers all of the side effects of a crisis in your life. And so, joint us week to
week at saddleback.com. I love you, I thank God for you, and I'm praying for you. Happy Easter, everybody.
