Transformational Leadership: 4 ideas to help you be a better leader | Mark 11:12-14
20 September 2020 · Matt Edmundson
20 September 2020 · Matt Edmundson
We are all leaders, irrespective of our job title - which is handy, as this week we are talking about Transformational Leadership and how Jesus brings out 4 unusual lessons that will really help us take our place and lead. For instance, we see what Jesus and the Friends TV set have in common, as well as why, in this instance, talking to the plants didn't actually help them grow faster (it had the opposite effect!). As I said, unusual lessons...so come and join in the Livestream and join in the conversation.
01You are a leader
OK, we are going to talk about leadership. You can tell that from the title. And we are going to Jazz it up and talk about transformational leadership. Posh, eh?! You may be thinking, well hang on Matt, “I’m not a Leader”. But if you are thinking that. Then I would say, with all due respect, you are wrong!
I think that we are all leaders. You don’t have to be a CEO, run your own company, pastor a church or head up an elite force or crack commandos to be a leader. I appreciate the irony of me saying that as I am actually a CEO, run my own company, pastor this online church and head up an elite force - yup, I have an amazing team working with me! But you will have a different place to lead. You don’t have to be a certain age, gender or race to be a leader. You are a leader, right where you are in life. And the world needs you to step up and lead. No pressure - but we are all depending on you to do just that!
02Transformational Leadership
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how any change has to start with leadership, and this is the idea of transformational leadership - leadership that brings about change, good change.
What do you think about when you hear this phrase, Transformational Leadership? More importantly - who do you think about?
Jesus the transformational Leader
For me, I immediately think of Jesus. Now that should come as no surprise given that this is an online church, right? But even if you are not a Christian, you have to admit that Jesus started and lead a movement that transformed the world like nobody else in History.
So today, we are going to get into one of Jesus’ more unorthodox leadership lessons that’s for sure.
Now to give you context if this is your first time with us, we are working our way through Mark’s Gospel - which is a book from the Bible that chronicles the life of Jesus. The story is now in a phase called Passion week. It is the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion - where the whole chapter of this part of Jesus’ life culminates.
So let’s read the next part of the story,
“Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response, Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.””
-- Mark 11:12-14
Now at first glance, you may think this is a short part of the story, not really sure what is happening. It might even feel a bit odd as Jesus is talking to trees, right? But as we get into this we will see 4 ideas to help you and me be a better leader from Jesus that will help us as we lead at work, as we lead in the family, as we lead at church and as we lead in life.
03How to Lead idea #1: Find your Central Perks
In the TV show friends, still one of the most popular TV shows 25 years later, we would often find our protagonists in the coffee shop called Central Perks. Here they would be with friends, debrief, be encouraged, challenged, and just do life.
And that’s what Central Perks is - it’s a place we recharge with people. You could, in fact, argue that there were two of these places in friends - the first being the coffee shop but the second being Monica’s apartment. The same thing would happen in the apartment. They would just be with friends. They could debrief and catch up. They could be supported and just be themselves.
I don’t see that in coffee shops these days. I see people with headphones and their faces stuck in a laptop.
So what has this got to do with our passage? Well, let’s read it:
“Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany...”
-- Mark 11:12-14
Bethany is a really interesting place when you dig into it: who lived there and what Jesus did there. Bethany was a village in Judea - about two miles east of Jerusalem at the time. It was the hometown of a family that are good friends with Jesus. They were called Mary, Martha and Lazarus. In fact, it was in Bethany that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
But it is also the place where Jesus stayed overnight during this Passion Week - the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He didn’t stay in Jerusalem itself, he made the journey to Bethany.
It was familiar. It was with friends. And that was needed as this week would be a very hard week for Jesus. And this is important.
Where is our Central Perks?
Where is our Bethany?
Where do we go and hang out with people that care for us?
Honestly - this is one of the reasons that I find Church so refreshing and recharging. I get to be with people that care for me. Church is one of my Central Perks.
My home is a Central Perks. And I like my home to be a busy place. I like the fact that people come round and just hang out and drink my coffee.
You know, I used to travel a fair bit before the Lockdown. And whenever I travel, I always prefer to stay with friends than stay in a hotel. Even at the end of a busy day, there is something quite refreshing about coming back to a place where I know people and where I can kick back with them.
So where is your Central Perks? Where is your Bethany?
I think to be an effective leader, we need a Central Perks, a Bethany, a place with friends that can support us.
But why is that?
Well, let’s take this idea of transformational leadership. To bring about transformation and change, it helps if we as the leader have something to give. ** It’s hard to lead on empty.** It’s almost impossible to bring transformation on empty. So we need to be recharged and refreshed, we need to have something to give and one of the keys to doing that is to have your Central Perks.
If you are living by yourself, this idea is especially important because it is easy to go weeks without really engaging with people as COVID has shown us. Find your Central Perks, wherever you go. Even if, like for Jesus, it was just for a short time.
04How to lead idea #2: It is OK that you are human
This is an interesting idea, isn’t it? One of the understated parts of today’s passage but is absolutely critical to understanding Jesus and who he is, is this:
“Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, HE WAS HUNGRY.”
-- Mark 11:12
When you read it - you just pass this idea buy. But Jesus was hungry. Think about that. A central tenant to the Christian faith is this idea that Jesus was 100% God, but He is also 100% man. It’s a fascinating tension that we hold - the humanity of Christ. And we see that here. We see He is human. He is hungry.
This leads me to ask a number of questions:
Why does it matter that Jesus was human and divine?
What has this got to do with transformational leadership?
So let’s deal with the first question as it will help us answer the second.
05Why does it matter that Jesus was human and divine?
Let me start this answer by giving the usual clause stating that there is no way I can do this question justice in just a couple of minutes, so I am going to focus in on one idea of the humanity of Jesus that will help us.
Jesus was the Son of God. I am convinced of that. But he was not immune to things like splinters - I am sure that He got plenty when He worked as a carpenter. His muscles got sore, He knew what it was to be tired. I am sure that He had to contend with Sunburn too. This leads us into this idea that His life would be lived as a man with all the struggles and temptations that we all have.
And there is grace in that.
Because as we lead, we are going to fail. We are going to do stupid things. It’s part of what it means to be human. Leaders are not some kind of breed of super people. We will mess it up, make crazy decisions, we will be selfish, say the wrong thing, offend people, loose friendships and forget important events. I’ve done all of them.
I’m only human.
06What has this got to do with transformational leadership?
The good news is that I don’t have to try and be someone or something that I am not. I don’t have to get a qualification or some special status in life. No, I just need to serve people because that’s what transformational leadership is.
The good news is when I do mess up, there is grace there. There is forgiveness there. There is the strength of God there to lead me and guide so hopefully tomorrow is more righteous than yesterday.
God made provision for my humanity by becoming human Himself. It’s the most extraordinary truth of Christianity. The Bible, talking about Jesus says
“(Jesus is not) out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give.”
-- Hebrews 4:15-16 (Message)
We were never meant to do this without Him. We were never meant to do this alone. We fundamentally cannot do this without His mercy and help. But that is the gospel. That is good news today. He extends His mercy and help. He knows about our humanity. He knows we will mess it up, say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing and act the wrong way. **But, incredibly, in spite of my humanity, I can walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. **
Let’s do that. Let’s take mercy and accept the help that He gives. This is the second idea that leads to transformational leadership.
07How to lead idea # 3: Research
You know what, I talk all the time about research to those looking to start a business. It's the first step of everything that we teach and bring to people. But it is the one thing that people don’t spend the time really doing. And you know what, it is one of the key reasons businesses fail.
But this idea of research doesn’t just apply to starting your own business. It applies all over the place, including this message.
Let me show you what I mean.
If you type into Google the phrase “Why did Jesus...” - what would think the most common questions are? The first is, “Why did Jesus die?” OK. I think I could have predicted that. What I wouldn’t have predicted though is the second most popular question, “Why did Jesus Curse the Fig Tree?” It’s a more popular question than, “Why did Jesus speak in parables?”
In other words, this seemingly small but slightly odd few verses in the Bible has resulted in a lot of questions for people online. And I would never have known that without spending the time to do the research.
**So why is research important? Because it leads to understanding. And understanding is essential for transformational leadership. **
It’s as simple as that.
So, before we move on - let’s have a look at this question:
08Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
Was Jesus just flipping out here? Why didn't Jesus know there would be fruit on the tree? Is it fair to curse a true when it isn’t bearing fruit when it is out of season? There are so many questions that come up when you think about what happens in this verse.
Like all things in the Bible, the key to understanding this passage comes from researching the context in which it happens. Because through research we can get understanding... see what I did there?!
The first place to look is the disciples. What did they think about this idea of Jesus cursing the fig tree? Well, they understood one key thing that 99% of us in the modern west don’t know - and that is the importance of the fig tree as it relates to the nation of Israel. They understood how the fig tree was often used in the Old Testament to symbolically represent Israel.
Another thing we have to bear in mind is what happened the day before, and in some respects what will happen later - what Jack is going to look at next week. If you didn't see last week’s Livestream where John Harding talked about the preceding event called the Triumphal Entry then you can catch up online - but in a nutshell, Jesus has entered Jerusalem amid great fanfare and celebrations. But next week Jesus will effectively denounce Israel’s worship of God... in other words, Israel gave the appearance of being fruitful but it really wasn’t being.
Just like this fig tree.
And the fig tree represents Israel. And the disciples knew it. It was
We’ve all met those kinds of people. We even have a word we use to describe them, hypocrites. How can someone call themselves a Christian and yet fleece people of all their money? How can someone claim to love God yet speak nothing but anger and bitterness all day? The two things don’t match up.
And that is the lesson of the Fig Tree.
And I would have known this without spending the time to research what is happening. So How to lead idea #3: Research. But this lesson of the fig tree also leads us nicely into the next idea of transformational leadership:
09How to lead idea #4: Motivational Speech.
What do you think about when you hear the phrase ‘motivational speech’? In my mind, I see a guy pacing up and down the stage bellowing out all kinds of cliched sayings as he sweats through his expensive suit. ** I see the audience getting hyped up. But what I don’t see is real, lasting, transformational change.**
So when I talk about Motivation Speech - I am not talking about hyping up your team. I am not talking about the “ dream-big-and-your-life-will-magically-become-that-and-more ” lie that is so often sold to us in motivational speeches. We’ve all heard them, right? Maybe they even made us feel good, excited and pumped up.
So if we take the hype out of it - what we are left with is something really quite simple. Motivational speech inspires transformational change.
So what is a motivational speech?
What really motivates people is truth. Motivational speech is making sure that your speech - what you say - is true, and making sure that your character is in line with what you say. Make sure that what you say, and your character are consistent with each other.
This, for me, is so important if we want to be transformational leaders.
Think about it for just a second. Think about people that don’t meet these criteria. People who are full of hot air, people that say one thing and then do another, people who we call hypocrites. It’s not hard to think of people like that.
The church is full of them. We all know it to be true. But so is every other religion and so is atheism. That's not an excuse for the church but the world is full of people like this. The political world is rife with broken promises couple with inconsistent actions despite what they said in their ‘motivational speech’ to get my vote.
Saying is one thing.
**Delivering is another. **
If our words and our character are inconsistent, as was the case with the Israelites at the time of Jesus, and as is the case with a lot of Christians, then that inconsistency will cause what you do to eventually wither and die from the roots - just like our fig tree. Sure, for a season, it can have the appearance of being good, but eventually, it will eat itself up.
And that’s the lesson of Jesus cursing the fig tree.
What is your character like?
Want to know what your character is actually like? My top tip is to ask people that have known you for a long time. And ask people that have walked through the fire with you a little bit. Because it is when we are in those hard and difficult places that our character really shines through.
“The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.”
-- Matthew 13:20-21 (Message)
Your character is your long term investment. It is your retirement, it is your pension, it is your savings account.
So transformational leadership requires you to be a motivational speaker: to make sure your speech and your character are consistent with each other. And this idea of motivation speech is important - but for now, we are going to put a pin in it, and we are going to pick it up again in 2 weeks time as we will, in effect, have part two of this story - Fig Tree, the Sequel , if you like!
10Summary
We started off with the idea that You are a leader, and more specifically - you are a transformational leader: as John talked about last week, someone called by God to extend God’s kingdom - to bring about positive change in this world. The world needs you to lead right where you are at, so crack on with it!
We then looked at this passage with the Fig Tree and saw 4 ideas that help us become a better leader:
Find your Central Perks. Remember, it is hard to lead on empty so we need a place with friends that can support us.
Remember, it is OK to be human. We don’t need to be superhuman or something that we are not. We are going to mess it up. So remember the scripture in Hebrews that tells us that Jesus has been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
Research. Research leads to understanding. And understanding is essential for transformational leadership.
Master Motivational Speech. Motivational speech is making sure that your speech - what you say - is true, and making sure that your character is in line with what you say. Make sure that what you say, and your character are consistent with each other.
Hey, listen, I would absolutely love to know what your biggest takeaway from this story is. Write it in the comments below the video. It would be great to hear from you, and you know what else? You are more likely to remember that takeaway if you write it down! So put it in the comments, write it in your journal - but definitely do write it down!
God bless you, I pray for you that God would help you become a better leader, that you would help bring about positive change in this world, build His kingdom and live your best life.
Topics in this talk
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Transformational Leadership_ 4 ideas to help you be a better leader _ Church Livestream [00:00:00] Well, hello and welcome Frontline City. It is great to see you this Sunday afternoon. My name is Matt Edmundson and I [00:01:00] get to lead this amazing online church. That's that's right. You've heard me write, this is an online church, so welcome to it. Why not? Why not? Now? It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter what part of the world you're in, uh, it doesn't even matter how we meet. Like doing it digitally. It just matters that we get together. So it's really great that you are here with us and I know many of you watching this are new to Frontline City. So just to give you a bit of context, we are part of Frontline Church. Uh, we're based here in Liverpool in the uk and we basically just want to help inspire you about Jesus and how amazing he is. So please feel at home with us now. If you are watching this live, you can join in using the comments below the live stream. That's right. Let me press, where's my button? Here? That one. There we go. Uh, you can join in the live stream [00:02:00] just with the comments. Say hi. Let us know what you think, ask your questions, get involved in the debate. Uh, all I ask is that you do it respectfully. Um, and also on the, oh, it's not on the screen, is it? Let me, um. Lemme go back to that one. There we go. There, it's on the screen. Now. Also on the screen you can see the WhatsApp number. So why not send in a photo of where you are coming from or where you're watching the, the live stream. Now, if you are watching this, uh, on the replay, uh, of the live stream or on YouTube, which I know many people do, uh, you can also comment in the. Comments, if that makes sense on the Facebook or the YouTube video. We do monitor them. So again, it'd be great to hear from you. Uh, like I say, we've got the WhatsApp. You can message us on the number shown on the screen. And we especially love it when you do actually send us your photos. So, uh, be warned, I may show them on the stream like Matt has sent, Matt, Crew from Liverpool has sent, uh, in this. Picture [00:03:00] here. There we go. Master up Matt, if I put him there. We look like twins, don't we? Um, so this is Matt on a walk just before Citi sent in this photo. So why not send us a photo of where you are right now and how you are watching the stream so you know me. Any excuse for a selfie. So why not? Uh, as well as comment, give us a like, if you are happy to do so, why not share the livestream ad on Facebook? Let everybody know that you are watching. Uh, that would be. Great. 'cause it's always great to reach new folks around the world. So, coming up in today's service, uh, we have got some great stuff coming up. So lemme tell you what's going on. After I finish my little welcome spiel, we are gonna jump straight in today's talk, which is yours, truly, uh, chatting away. You will notice that the talk is in quite a similar environment to this. There may be one or two items behind me currently, which won't be there during the talk, the sermon part. That's okay. Spot the difference. You know, recorded different times. [00:04:00] Uh, but we are gonna look at this whole idea of transformational leadership. Okay? Four ideas to help you be a better leader. We are carrying on our journey in Mark's Gospel, mark chapter 11. So we are gonna be talking about that after the talk. I'll be back for a brief moment and I'll introduce the worship worship. Section, uh, which I'll talk more about later. And then we're gonna have all our notices. We're gonna have the catchup video, which is great, um, with the aim of finishing around five o'clock. So I know for those of you who would like to watch, uh, the Liverpool Chelsea match, uh, we will definitely get to see at least the second half. Um, just to be, you know, for the event of full disclosure, I might have, you know, uh, a little live stream going on here to keep me up to date with the scores as we're going along. One of the benefits of prerecording the talk. And so for those of you who would like to meet up after the talk, uh, we're gonna have a little zoom session. So Sharon is gonna handle that. She's gonna lead that. Um, and I'll put a link in the comments. [00:05:00] In fact, let me do that now. Uh, to zoom later. Uh, so that should appear in the Facebook comments. You can click that link, uh, about five minutes after the live stream has ended. We will be in that zoom room if you would like to join us. It will be great to see you there. Okay, now. I see you've been busy in the comments. Let's see what we've going on. Uh, Matt put here. Good Hef. Good afternoon. Former mop head, Matt Edmundson. Matt, uh, as always, complimentary. Yes, that's right. I used to, uh, have, uh, until Wednesday this week. I used to have quite long hair, uh, as a matter of fact, uh, and finally managed to get cooked. Ben is now back at work, so if you are a Ben Hth weight customer. Um, then he is now back at work. You can book with him, which is great. If you're not a Ben Hathaway customer and you're in Liverpool. Definitely, definitely try him out. So, uh, he's, he's um, he's great. Uh, what else have we [00:06:00] got going on? Um, it says good afternoon to all those edmondson's in the kitchen. Yes, there's a fair few of them. Uh, tech, no music. Awesome as always. Thank you very much, sir. Uh, what have we got here? Sharon says, good afternoon. And also Josh says, good afternoon, live from St. Andrews. Yes, from Scotland. Um. And what else have we got going on? Hope Liverpool lose. No, we don't. Matt, we are gonna pray that Liverpool win and beat Chelsea obviously because being in Liverpool we are Liverpool fans, so, uh, yes please, Lord. Okay, so we will keep you up to date. So how's your week been? How are you getting on? Let us know in the comments. Be good to hear from you. Like I said, you can WhatsApp your comments, you can put them in the Facebook live stream. Uh, let us know what's going on, where are you watching this from, and send us your photos. And I am going to. I've got some photos coming for you later. Oh yes. Some very interesting ones. Anyway, I'll show those in a bit. [00:07:00] Let me introduce to you the talk for today. Now we are gonna be talking about leadership, transformational leadership, um, and we're carrying on our journey in Mark's gospel and, uh, it's gonna be fun. Now, if this is your first time with us. Then, uh, you may or may not be aware that we have been working our way through Mark's gospel. Okay. I'm gonna explore, explain more about this in the talk, so I don't want to repeat myself, but we have been working our way through Mark's gospel, just having a look at the life of Jesus and seeing what he got up to. And we come to a really interesting part in the story. I say that every. They're all really interesting parts. We come up to this really interesting part in the story, uh, which has led me to create this talk called Transformational Leadership. So even if you don't think you're a leader, listen up, especially right at the start. So, uh, we are gonna get straight into this. Without further ado, here's me spot the difference. Okay, we are going to talk about [00:08:00] leadership. Now you can tell from the title we are gonna jazz it up and we're gonna talk about transformational leadership. Okay? It's a little bit posh. I get that. And you may be thinking right here at the start, well, hang on, Matt. I am not a leader, but if you are thinking that, then I would say with all due respect, of course you are wrong. I think you are a leader. I think that we are all leaders now. You don't have to be a CEO. You don't have to run your own company, pastor a church or head up an elite force of crack commandos to be a leader. No. Saying that I appreciate the irony because I'm actually a CEO. I run my own company. I pastor this online church. I head up an elite force that the amazing team that work with me. Uh, but you know what, for you, you are gonna have a different place to lead. It's not gonna look like mine. It's gonna look like your place. You don't have to [00:09:00] be a certain age. You don't have to be a certain gender or a certain race to be a leader. You are a leader. Right where you are in life and the world needs you to step up and lead. No pressure, but we are all depending on you to do just that, to lead. Now, I appreciate that's a bit of a head spinner already, so let's run the intro and let that sink. Okay, so recently I have been thinking a lot about how any change has to start with leadership, and this is the idea of transformational leadership. Leadership that brings about change. Good change, transformational change. Right. So what do you think about when you hear this phrase transformational leadership, and more importantly, [00:10:00] who do you think about? Now for me, I immediately think about Jesus. Now that should come as no surprise, given that this is an online church. Right. Uh, maybe you'd be a little bit surprised if I didn't, but even if you are not a Christian. You have to admit, right, that Jesus started and led a movement that utterly transformed the world like nobody else has ever done in history. So today we are gonna get into one of Jesus's more unorthodox leadership lessons, that's for sure. But before we jump into this. Let me tell you that I do personally feel a little bit challenged over this idea of leadership. It's been something that has been mulling, uh, in my life for a little while. So, over the coming live streams, we will draw out more and more principles of leadership and talk about what we can learn from them, what we see in the Bible, what we see in the gospels, right? And we will add them to a [00:11:00] playlist. Um, so that library of content is gonna build up, but more on that as we do it, we'll keep you updated. Okay? So that's just where I'm at. Now let's jump into this. So to give you a bit of context, if this is your first time with us, firstly. Welcome. It's great that you are here. Uh, we are working our way through Mark's gospel, which is a book in the Bible that chronicles the life of Jesus. Now, the story is in this phase, we've sort of come to this point in the story where we've reached this phase called. Passion week. It's the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion where the whole chapter of this part of Jesus' life kind of culminates, right? It's this big crescendo, uh, which we call the crucifixion of Christ. And, you know, not no spoilers, but you know, some interesting stuff happens afterwards. Uh, so let's read the next part of the story and we're in Mark, uh, chapter 11, and we're gonna read verses just. Three verses 12, 13, and [00:12:00] 14 today. So now the next day when they had come out from Bethany, he, Jesus was hungry and seeing a far a fig tree having leaves, he went to see if perhaps he could find something on it. Now, when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves for it was not the season for figs. So in response, Jesus said to it, let no one eat fruit from you ever again. And his disciples heard it. Now, at first glance, you may think, well, I mean, this is a short part of the story. What is happening, right? If you're like me, I'm kind of thinking, I'm not really sure what's going on here. It it, it might even feel a little bit odd as Jesus is talking. To a tree, right? Uh, but as we get into this, we're gonna see four ideas to help you and me be a better leader from Jesus, right? They're gonna help us lead at work. They're gonna help us lead in our families, help us lead in church, help us [00:13:00] lead wherever we are in life. Okay, so those four ideas, so let's jump straight into idea number one, how to lead idea number one. Uh, I'm not gonna do that again. Don't panic Number one, find your central perks. Now in the TV show Friends, which is still one of the most popular TV shows. 25 years later, we would often find our protagonists in the coffee shop called Central Perks. Now here they would be friends, they would debrief, be encouraged, challenge, laugh. Cry and just do life together. And that's what Central Perks is. It's a place where we recharge with people. You could, in fact, uh, if you were so inclined to argue that there were two of these places in the TV show friends, the first being the coffee shop, central Perks. But the second is, can you guess. Monica's apartment. The same thing would happen in her apartment. They [00:14:00] would just be friends. They would, um, it's a place where they would sort of debrief and they would catch up and they could be supported and just be themselves. Right. I don't see that much in coffee shops these days, if I'm honest. I see people with headphones, with their faces stuck in their laptop. So, uh, that aside, what has this got to do with our passage? Well, let's read the first part of it. It says that the next day when they had come out from Bethany. Now Bethany is a really interesting place when you dig into it. When you sort of understand who lived there and what Jesus did there, it's quite a fascinating little place in our history. Uh, it's a village. Bethany is a village about two miles east of Jerusalem. It's in a place called Judea. Um, and it was the hometown of a family that were good friends with Jesus. They were called Mary, Martha and Lazarus. And in fact, [00:15:00] it was in Bethany that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Earlier in the gospel story, but it is also the place where Jesus stayed overnight during this Passion week, which is the final week of Jesus's earthly ministry. We know at the end of this week, as I said earlier, it's sort of culminating to this point in the crucifixion. Uh. And so we know it's a tough week. We know it's a hard week, but Jesus didn't stay in Jerusalem itself. He actually, every day would make the journey back to Bethany. It was a familiar place. It was a place where friends were, and that's. That was what was needed for him, right? It's gonna be, like I said, a hard week and he needs people around him and this is important. So let me ask you a question. Where is your central perks? Where is your Bethany? Where do you go and hang out with people that care for you? Now, honestly for me, this is one of the reasons I find [00:16:00] church so super refreshing and recharging. I just get to be with people that care For me. Church is one of my central perks and that can, you know, church can be digital like this, but it's also physical as well. So, um. Just a little insight here. Do stay posted. We do have something to share in the coming weeks that I am super excited about, uh, with this physical aspect of church, but more on that later. Now, another central perks for me is also my home, and I like my home to be a busy place. I like the fact that people come around. Just hang out and drink my coffee usually, you know, I used to, um, when I, before COVID, uh, I used to travel a fair bit before the lockdown and wherever I travel, I always prefer to stay with friends than stay in a hotel. I mean, it's cheaper for one, but uh, even at the end of a busy day, there's something quite refreshing about [00:17:00] coming back to a place where I know the people where I can just kick back and be with them. So where is your central perks? Where is your Bethany? I think to be an effective leader, we need essential perks. A Bethany, a place with friends that can support us. But why is that? Well, let's take this idea of transformational leadership to bring about transformation and change. It helps if we as the leader, have something to give. It's hard to lead on empty, and it's almost impossible to bring about transformation on empty. So we need to be recharged and refreshed. We need to give, uh, and we need to have something to give, right? Where that's one of the keys, one of the key reasons, uh, that we have as central perks is it recharges us. Now, if you are living your, start that sentence again. If you are living by yourself, I think this idea is especially important because it is [00:18:00] easy to go weeks without really engaging with people as COVID has shown us. So find your central perks wherever you go. Even if like for Jesus, in this part of the story, it was just for a short time. It was just for a few nights a week. Find your central perks. Okay, so that is number one. Idea number two, how to lead. How to lead. Idea number two. Oh, I said I wouldn't do that. Sorry, my bad. Uh, is, it's, remember this, it is okay that you are human. Lemme say that again. It is okay. That you are human. Now, this is an interesting idea for me, uh, one of the understated parts of today's passage, but it is absolutely critical to understanding Jesus and who he he is. That's not easy to say who he is. That's better, uh, is this right? Let's read it. So now, the [00:19:00] next day when they had come out from Bethany, look at this. He was hungry. Now when you read it. You can just pass this idea by, but Jesus was hungry. I mean, think about that for a moment. You see a central tenant to the Christian faith is this idea that Jesus was 100% God, but he was also 100% man. And it's this fascinating tension that we hold the humanity of Christ and the divinity of Christ. And we see that here. We see he was human. We know that because he was hungry. Right? It's just, it's there. So. Uh, this leads me if your brain works like mine to ask a number of questions. Number one, why does it matter that Jesus was human and divine? Number two, what has this got to do with transformational leadership? [00:20:00] So let's deal with the first question as I think this will help us answer the second, if I'm honest with you. So why does it matter that Jesus was human and divine? So before we start, let me give, uh, the usual clause stating that there is no way I can do this question justice in just a couple of minutes. Uh, I'm not that good, right? So I'm gonna focus on one idea of the humanity of Jesus that I think is gonna help us. Right? So let's take this. This understanding that Jesus was the son of God or Jesus is the son of God. I am convinced of that, but I'm also convinced he was not immune to things like splinters. I'm sure like me, he gets plenty of them. I seem to spend most of my weekend pulling splinters out my hand, just saying. Right. Uh, he would've got plenty as a carpenter. His muscles would've got sore. He knew what it was to be tired. I'm sure that he had to contend with sunburn. And this leads [00:21:00] us all into the idea that his life would be lived as a man with all the struggles and all the temptations that we all have. And that's the critical point of his humanity because there is grace in that, right? So if. Uh, if we think about our own leadership right as we lead, we are going to fail. We are gonna do stupid things. It's part of what it means to be human. You can't really escape it, right? Leaders are not some kind of breed of super people. We will mess it up, make crazy decisions. We will be selfish. We will say the wrong thing. We're gonna offend people. We are gonna lose important friendships. We're gonna forget. Important events, right? I've done all of them, but I'm only human. So what is this? Question number two got to do with transformational leadership. Now the good news is that I don't have to try and be someone or [00:22:00] something that I'm not. I don't have to go and get a qualification or some special status in life. No, I just need to serve people because that's what transformational leadership is all about, right? And the good news is when I do mess up. There is grace there. There is forgiveness there. There is the strength of God to help me lead and guide me, so hopefully tomorrow is more righteous than yesterday. Right? God made provision for my humanity by becoming human. It's the most extraordinary truth of Christianity, the Bible, uh, when talking about Jesus says this in Hebrews chapter four, verses 1516 says, Jesus is not out of touch with our reality. He has been through weakness and testing, experienced it all, all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he's so ready to give. [00:23:00] Let's take the mercy and accept the help. That's awesome. I love that translation, the message translation of that verse. You see, we were never meant to do this without him. We were never meant to do this alone. We fundamentally cannot do this without his mercy and without his help. Right? But that's the gospel. That's the good news for you and me today. He extends his mercy and his help. He knows about our humanity. He knows we will mess it up. Say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and act the wrong way. But incredibly, in spite of my humanity, I can walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. It is phenomenal. So let's just do that, right? Let's take the mercy and accept the help that he gives. So this is the second idea that leads to transformational leadership. Okay, so number one. Where's your Bethany or your central perks? Number two, [00:24:00] we are human and it's okay because God has made provision for that and we can accept his help to help us lead. Awesome. Okay, so how to lead idea number three. Let's jump into this research. Now, you know what? I talk all the time about research to those looking to start a business. It's the first step of everything that we teach and bring to people, but it is the one thing that people don't spend the time really doing. And you know what? It's one of the key reasons that businesses fail, in my opinion. Okay? Now, this idea of research doesn't just apply to starting your own business. It applies literally all over the place, including a. Prepping for this message. So let me show you what I mean. I went to Google and typed in the phrase, why did Jesus, and then it will, Google comes up with some suggestions, right? Starting with the [00:25:00] most common search. So what would you think the most common questions are? Let's start with this question. So the first question is, why did Jesus die? Okay. I could have predicted that that is a fairly reasonable question. Why did he die? What I wouldn't have predicted though, when I was doing this, is the second most popular question, uh, that came up. Why did Jesus curse the fig tree? It's a more popular question than why did Jesus speak in parables, for example. In other words, this seemingly small but slightly odd few verses in the Bible that we've just read has resulted in a lot of searches for people online. They have a lot of questions about it, and I would never have known that without spending the time to do the research. So why is research important was simply this, it leads to understanding, and understanding is essential for transformational leadership. It really is [00:26:00] as simple as that. This stuff is not rocket science, which is why I like it so much. I get it. I understand it. So before we move on, let's have a look at this question. Why did Jesus curse the fig tree, given that it is so popular on Google? Was Jesus just flipping out here? Why didn't Jesus know there would be fruit on the tree? And is it fair to curse a tree when it isn't bearing fruit when it's out of season? In other words, it wasn't meant to bear fruit. So there are so many questions that come up with or that I come up with when I think about what happens in this verse. So like all things in the Bible, the key to understanding this passage comes from research in the context in which it happens. Looking at what else the Bible has to say about this, because through research we can get understanding Now you see what I did there? That's clever, right? So the first place to look for me is the disciples. What did they think about this idea of Jesus cursing the [00:27:00] fig tree? Well, they understood one key thing that probably 99% of us in the modern west don't know, and that is the importance of the fig tree as it relates to the nation of Israel. At the time the scriptures were written. They understood how the fig tree was often used in the Old Testament to symbolically represent Israel. Okay? And another thing, uh, that we have to bear in mind is what happened the day before. And in some respects, what's gonna happen to. The, a little bit later, which is what Jack is hopefully gonna cover, uh, next week. Right now, if you didn't see last week's live stream where John Harding talked about the preceding event, which is called the triumphal entry, then you can catch up with that online. And I'll put a little link somewhere up here if you're watching on YouTube. Uh, Jesus has entered Jerusalem, right? So in a nutshell, this is what happens. Jesus enters Jerusalem with gr. Great fanfare and celebration going [00:28:00] on, but next week, Jesus will effectively denounce Israel's worship of God. Sorry, I should have given a spoiler alert there. Uh, in other words, Israel is given the appearance of worshiping God and being fruitful with all the fanfare as he enters. But next week we're gonna find out they really weren't just like this fig tree. Remember, the fig tree represents Israel. And the disciples knew it. It was Jesus in effect, calling out people who profess to know God but then don't live lives corresponding to that belief. Now we've all met these kinds of people. We even have a word we use to describe them. Hypocrites. How can someone call themself a Christian and yet fleece people of all their money? How can someone claim to love God yet speak nothing but anger and bitterness all day. You see the two things don't match up, do they? And that is the lesson [00:29:00] of the F, why Jesus cursed the fery. Now, I wouldn't have known this without spending the time to research. What was happening, right? And to understand, to get that understanding. So how to lead idea number three, research. But this lesson of the fig tree also leads us nicely into the next idea of transformational leadership. So how to lead idea number four. Motivational speech. Oh, yes. Now what do you think about when you hear this phrase, motivational speech? Um, now in my mind, I see a motivational speaker. I see a guy pacing up and down the stage, you know, bellowing out all kinds of cliched sayings as he. Through his expensive Armani suit. I see the audience getting hyped up, but what I don't see is real lasting transformational change. So when I talk about motivation and speech. [00:30:00] I'm not talking about hyping you up or hyping the team up. I'm not talking about, you know, the dream big and your life will magically become that and more lie that is so often sold in, you know, from motivational speakers. Um, we've all heard it, right? But maybe just, maybe they've made us feel good, excited and pumped up, but that's all it is. So if we take the hype out of it. It. What are we left with? Well, something really quite simple. I think motivational speech inspires transformational change. Motivational speech inspires transformational speech. Okay, so what really motivates people? Truth. Truth. Motivational speech is about making sure that your speech, what you say is true, and making sure your [00:31:00] character is in line with what you say. Okay? So make sure that what you say and your character are consistent with each other. So this for me is so, so important, right? If we want to be transformational leaders. Let's think about it just for a second, right? Think about people that don't meet this criteria. People who are full of hot air. People that say, uh, one thing and then do another people who we call hypocrites. It's not hard to think of people like that, right? You've all got a picture of them in your head, and I'm. I'm the first to admit the church is full of them. We all know it to be true, but then so is every other religion and so is atheism. So that's, that's not. That's not really an excuse for the church, but the world is full of people like this. The political world especially is rife with broken promises coupled with inconsistent actions despite what they say in [00:32:00] their motivational speech to get my vote right. Saying is one thing, delivering is another. Now if our words and our character are inconsistent, as was the case with the Israelites at the time of Jesus, and as is the case with a lot of Christians, then inconsistency or that inconsistency will cause what you do to eventually wither and die from the roots just like our fig tree. Okay, now, sure, for a season it can have the appearance of being good. Just like our fig tree, but eventually it will eat itself up, and that is the lesson of Jesus cursing the fig tree. Hope you follow me so far. So let me ask you a few questions. What is your character like? Now if you want to know what your character is like, my top tip is to ask people [00:33:00] that have known you for a long time and ask people that especially have walked through the fire with you a little bit, you know, through the difficult times because it's when we're in those hard and difficult places that our character really, really shines through. Now it says in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13 verses 20, and again, I'm reading from the message. It says this, the seed cast in the gravel. This is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. You know these people, uh, this is the guy that's gone to the motivational speaker. They instantly respond with enthusiasm, but there is no soil of character. And so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. I mean, how awesome is that? How truth bearing is that you see your character is your long-term investment. It's your retirement plan. It's your [00:34:00] pension, it's your savings account. You get what I mean? Right? So transformational leadership requires you to be a motivational speaker to make sure your speech and your character are consistent with each other. And this is the idea of motivational speech, right? And it's important, but for now, what I want to do. Let's put a little pin in this, uh, as we're gonna pick it up again in two weeks time, uh, as we will in effect have part two of this story, fig Tree, the sequel if you like. Oh, yes. Uh, so we're gonna end this one here. Jack's gonna be talking next week, little intermission, and then like I say, we've got part two, so let's close. With a quick recap. We started off with the idea that you are a leader, and more specifically, you are a transformational leader. As John talked about last week, someone called by God, to extend [00:35:00] God's kingdom, to bring about positive change in this world. Now the world needs you to lead right where you are at. So crack on with it is my plea. We then looked at this passage with a fig tree and saw four ideas that help us become better leaders. Do you remember what they are? Number one, find your central perks. Remember, it is hard to lead on empty, so we need a place with friends that can support us. Number two, remember that it is okay to be human. We don't need to be superhuman or something that we are not. Yes, we are gonna mess it up. So remember that scripture in the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus has been through weakness and testing. He's experienced it all, all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Let's take the mercy and accept the help. Number three was research. Research leads [00:36:00] to understanding and understanding is essential for transformational leadership. And number four, master motivational speech. Motivational speech is making sure that your speech, what you say is true, and making sure that your character is in line with what you say. Make sure that what you say and your character are consistent with each other. Hopefully the repetition will make that sink in. Hey, listen, I would absolutely love to know what your biggest takeaway from this message is. Write it in the comments below this video. It'll be great to hear from you. And you know what else? I think you are more likely to remember that takeaway if you write it down. So put it in the comments or write in your journal, but definitely do write it down now. God bless you. I pray for you that God would help you become a better leader, that you would help bring about positive change in this [00:37:00] world, help build his kingdom and live your best life. Okay, well that was me here, uh, talking about transformational leadership. Um, I really, really, really enjoyed that talk, so I hope you got a lot out of it. Um, I know I certainly did in prepping it, so, and I'm looking forward to part two. Did you like my little, my little graphic there? The fig tree, the sequel graphic? Oh, yes. Uh, so we have got part two coming in two weeks, which I mentioned in the video, uh, which I'm super excited about. So. What we are gonna do now. 'cause there's a lot there. I've put some stuff in the comments to summarize in the main points, so you can go through those. Um, what I'd love for you to do, like I say, is just write down in the comments or in your journal or wherever you write stuff down, what your biggest takeaways are. What is God saying to you if you're a Christian? Right? And if you're not a Christian here, what do you feel challenged about? Um, what did you learn about Jesus that maybe you didn't know? Always a good [00:38:00] question to ask. Now we are gonna go into a quick time of worship now again, John Anna Grace, we're gonna play the song they did, uh, for us called Graves to Gardens. And it's about this guy who kind of figures he has the world, but realizes actually he has nothing. And so sort of turns to God and sort of finds that only he can fill that sort of God shaped hole. Uh, to, to quote the famous quote. Now, I thought this would be a really app song given that we've talked about leadership, because you know what? When we are leaders. Uh, when we do lead and step up and lead, often that can bring success and success. Well, that can be its own challenge, can't it? And we can feel like we've actually achieved success, but we've not really achieved anything of any significance. And that's always, always the challenge, especially when you, when you lay it against how, um. How Christ sort of compels us to live, which I always find quite fascinating. So we're gonna go [00:39:00] through this time of worship. What is God saying to you? What are your biggest takeaways? What have you learned about Jesus? Write that down and then I'll be back, uh, in a few minutes to sort of wrap it all up. Uh, if this is your first time with us and you've not. You're not sort of used to the Christian worship, that's fine. Uh, or you can't sing along, that's fine. Don't feel like you have to just let the music minister to you. You can listen to it in silence, but just think about the talk. What did you get out of it? Uh, think about the words in the worship and, uh, I'll be back in just a little bit. I searched the world, Andre. [00:40:00] Then you came along and put me back together. Every desire is now satisfied. Hearing your love. Oh, there's nothing than you. There's nothing than you, Lord. There's nothing. Nothing is than you to show you. Lord, you see, and you still call me[00:41:00] the. Find me again. Nothing. There's nothing Lord, there nothing is than you. Than you Lord, than.[00:42:00] You turn on dancing. You give beauty for you turn. Shame in glory. You are the only. Future you the only one. The only one.[00:43:00] Than you. Oh, there's nothing than you. There's nothing than you. There's nothing. So nothing. Well, amen and amen to that. So, um, love that song. There's nothing Lord better than you, and that's very, very true. Uh, it's true, uh, as been my experience for a number of years, uh, as a Christian. So, uh, thanks again John Anna Grace for doing that. Love, love, love the tracks you give us. They are awesome. [00:44:00] Okay, so a few of you have written stuff in the comments, which is great. Uh, Matt has put here, I love that we are all leaders in some way, uh, or another, which is very, very true Matt. Um, we are all called to lead into in something we can all make a difference, right? Um, and uh, I really like that. And being aware of that I think is super critical. 'cause it's so easy, I think. Especially in the modern world, just to sit and complain. Um, it's easier to complain than it is to do something about it. And, uh, you know, I, I like the fact that so many people have gone, no, no, no. I'm gonna do something about this to lead, to make a difference, which is good. And not just sit and complain. Uh, let's, what did Sharon put here? It's hard to lead on empty. That reminds me of John 15 where Jesus says, I am the true vine and my father. Is the gardener. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. That's right. Neither can you bear fruit unless you [00:45:00] remain in me. What a great scripture that is. And I It is. It is hard to lead on empty. Uh, and that again, I think has been one of the things that people have discovered during COVID that actually they are quite empty as we come out of it. How do you feel? Do you feel empty? And you know what? A few weeks ago I just felt, I don't know if I felt empty, but I did feel exhausted. Uh, and maybe it's the same thing, I don't know, but I definitely needed to take a few weeks off. Um, and I've come to the end of those few weeks and I feel much better. I feel much more recharged, uh, which I'm very grateful for. Thank you, Lord, because it is very hard to lead. On empty and do that well. Uh, and as Sharon said, it's true. I'm the tree by my father of the God and no branch can bear fruit by itself. And this is one of the really cool things for me. I put here in the things that I love how I lead in his strength. And that's so true. Um, there is a grace, uh, that he gives as a strength that he [00:46:00] gives us and an ability that he gives us to do all of this stuff that he's told us to do. And I just absolutely love that. I love that Jesus made me for a purpose to excel in my field rights, Matt, but not to be disheartened when setbacks arise with my progress. Very, very true Matt. Very, very true. He's definitely made us for a purpose. He's definitely got a plan for us and to lead in that plan and to just keep going for it and not be disheartened when setbacks arise with my progress. So that's all great stuff. What about you? What did God say to you? So thanks for those of of you who have shared, uh, really great to see. Now let's bring on the Catchup video, shall we? Let's see what people have been up to. This week, hello and welcome to this week's Sunday catchup. For those of you who don't know me, allow me to [00:47:00] introduce myself. My name is Josh Edmundson, and I am a. Fresher slash second year. It's bit weird here at the University of St. Andrews, for those of you who have not watched the stream before, this is that part of the stream where we get to look at videos sent in from the community that they've taken during the week. So we just get a bit of a feel for what each other had been up to. This week was my first proper week of lectures here at university, and it was all good fun. It's just nice to have something to do again, to be totally honest. Lots of time spent doing maths, doing physics. Favorite question of the week. I had to try and calculate the optimal angle for pulling a sled. Yep. As a physicist, you might expect that I get up to all sorts of crazy things like, you know, trying to solve and unravel the mysteries of the universe, but. No, no, we are trying to optimize sled pulling. Probably the most exciting thing I got up to this week actually, was I decided to experiment a little bit with some baking. As you do. Don't ask me [00:48:00] why you just did, and I thought, you know what? Making croissants looks like a really, really good idea. So I did. Here we go. Yeah. Oh, you know what? They actually turned out pretty well. I was very impressed. Pretty tasty actually. Could have done with rising a bit more in the center, but first attempt, definitely not half bad. Now, I guess the ultimate question then is like, do I stick with just working on croissants or do I go to Pancho? Because they're very, very similar. Just one has chocolate, one doesn't. What do you think? Let me know in the comments. What would you go for? If I put a, a freshly baked croon in front of you or a freshly baked pan of chocolate in front of you, which one would you go for anyway, that's enough for me. Let's get to the ketchup videos.[00:49:00] So a little catchup video. We are in the basement, uh, of my house, and as you can see, I have been doing, oh yes, my basement workshop. And this week I managed to get this done. That's right. I've built a work bench, ignore the mess underneath it. So I've got my workbench built. I put my little Midas sauce station and got my drill all set up. So I built this this morning. Uh, well, I've built it over the last few days, not just this morning. Uh, took some time off, we could finish it off. So now I've just gotta tidy the place up because it is a pig in mess. So if you watch last week's Catchup, you'll know that my amazing wife painted the room in which I'm now stood the, the little man cave that we have. Uh, [00:50:00] and so this week it's part of the Catchup look. We've also finished it off. Oh yes. Got ourselves a nice little study corner. It's amazing. So I'm just here editing today's Catchup video and I'm just, I just have to compliment the new cave. It looks amazing and I really love the chair. Well done, mom and dad. Well done. Great. Thanks so much for sending all those in. Really love watching your videos, seeing what you've been getting up to. If you do wanna send in your videos to be featured on Catchup, then please send them to the WhatsApp number that you'll have seen throughout the service. I love watching your videos and I love sharing them. I'm sure everyone else loves watching them as well, so please, please, please send me those videos. Doesn't have to be of you doing anything super exciting. Can be of you doing something super mundane like. Gosh, tell what the hardest part of these sessions every week is thinking up as something super mundane and [00:51:00] sending, oh, ironing. Even if it's something super mundane like ironing, you can send it in. Great. Thank you very much for watching. I hope you enjoy the rest of the stream and I will see you next week. There you go. Always love the Catchup video. Uh, thanks for doing that, Josh. Always fun to see what uh, you are up to. About to see what we are up to as well. And you can see I showed you, uh, 'cause I know one of the comments earlier was, how's the cave coming along? I, it's, it's almost done. It's still a little bit echoey. You can hear a little bit of an echo in the sound. So I've got some sound panels, some acoustic sound panels coming, which hopefully are gonna dead it off a little bit around the microphone. But other than that, maybe the odd shelf here and there to go up, uh, and a little bit of a light feature. I'm really stoked with it. Sharon's done a fantastic job. I got my bookshelf there, which I pulled in from the office, got my granddad chair as Matt called it, uh, which is just fantastic. So, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was, it [00:52:00] was, it's, it's good. So, uh, as Josh said, we love to see your little ketchup videos, uh, when you do actually send them. Um, and so, so it just doesn't become all about me and Sharon showing stuff every week. Do send stuff in to Josh to show, uh, what's going on. And what I'm gonna do is actually take your photographs, which you sent me. Uh, oh, hang on. Let's, let me do that. Let me show you. So these are some of the photographs that have come in. Uh, this is Jenny who's running a little bit late 'cause this is her view. Not bad. Not bad. Uh, we've got here Sharon, who's, um, drying up whilst watching the Sunday live stream. Awesome. And then, uh, this is my view. Uh, yep. This is my desk with all the tech on it, which is just fab. And then, uh, what else? We, I love this photograph here. Josh didn't technically send me this. Josh Butch. I just [00:53:00] saw it on Facebook and thought, you know what? Such a beautiful photo of their new baby girl. Uh, Josh, a big congratulations. To you and Alice for new baby Birch. So awesome. Alrighty, so I think that's all the photos done. We've done ketchup. The only thing left for me to tell you about is between Sunday. That's right. So I am gonna pull up. Safari. Here you go. Here's our beautiful website, uh, which is getting a massive overhaul. Soon, you'll be pleased to know, but more importantly, on YouTube. Over here we have our between Sunday session and I did an interview with John Harding about his talk last week, which you can go and check out. Uh, and if you wanna know the link to that, uh, just go to the website, scroll all the way to the bottom, and just click that YouTube link there or sign up to our email list. And we will email you the stuff out once a week. Uh, again, you can do that on our website. It'd be great to hear from you. So, uh, I think what we're gonna do now is probably end it [00:54:00] there. I think we've covered everything. So great to see you. Uh, thank you for joining us. For those of you who are interested, it is still Neil, Neil, Liverpool, Chelsea, uh, and so, uh, he, no one scored a goal, so I had no spoilers alert yet, so. It is still going on, which is great. Thanks for joining us. If you've watched on the catch up or replay. Thanks. Thanks for, you know, staying with it this far. Uh, but why not join us on the live stream every Sunday, 4:00 PM We are live from the UK broadcasting, uh, the live, the city live livestream, uh, over on Facebook. So come and join us, uh, in, that'd be great to see your comments and interact with you, see your photos and all that sort of stuff. Uh, be good to get to know you. So, uh, we are gonna end the service there. I am gonna put in the comments again, zoom link. There we go. So I've put in the comments the zoom link. We are gonna open up the zoom room at approximately 5:00 PM which is in five minutes. So do feel [00:55:00] free to come and join us if you wanna come and say, how's it or hello in there. Sean's gonna lead us in that particular section. Uh, but if not, we will see you. Next week, have a fantastic week. Keep your eyes out for the between Sunday content and uh, we've got Jack Marr next week. Oh yes, he is talking about, uh, you know, this sort of, if you're not familiar with it, there's this part of scripture where Jesus, again, I don't wanna spoil it, but Jesus goes into a temple, gets really hacked off and starts throwing tables and all kinds of stuff all over the place. It is fascinating and it is gonna be brilliant. And Jack uh, told me this is one of his favorite portions of scripture, so we know it's gonna be good. No pressure Jack. Uh, but looking forward to seeing Jack talk next week on that. So, uh, all that's left for me to say is have a fab week. Be blessed. Uh, stay outta trouble and stay safe.
