If you have a Bible, you can turn to Matthew chapter 26. That's where we're going to start. We'll do a little bit of jumping around today, but Matthew chapter 26 is where we're going to jump in and while you're turning there, if you have, you know, your Bible, or if you're using your phone, or if you came, it's your first time and you've never been here before, you don't have a Bible, you don't have any of that kind of stuff. Do not worry because we'll throw all the things that we'll read up on the screen. You can follow along, no problem. But before we get started, let me just pray. God,

thank you so much for the chance that we have to open your word together. And there's something significant about the words that are written in this book. They're alive, and they bring life. They convict us, they challenge us, they inspire us in a way that nothing else can. No book ever written has the power of the weight and the authority that your word does.

And so God, I pray that as we jump into this, I pray that we would be challenged and that we would be encouraged, that we would grow, and we would find new truths that help us to follow hard after you.

We pray that you would do all these things for your glory. And Jesus' name, everybody said, amen. Well, many years ago, I used to work as a wrangler at a ranch in Southern New Mexico.

And it was really fun. It was a guest ranch. And so we had people come from all over the place to visit and youth groups and men's groups and women's groups and just kind of everything and anything in between. And I remember we had this one family gathering. And there was this lady who was short in her 70s, rotund, but very, very excited to go on a horseback ride.

She said, I remember when we were sitting at lunch, she said, I haven't ridden a horse since I was 16 years old. But she brought a cowboy hat and she had her cowboy boots. And she was excited to go on a trail ride. And I was like, okay, my girl, let's do this. This is going to be amazing. And so the way a trail ride would work, we'd get, you know, 12 horses lined up, one for the wrangler that's going to lead the trail ride. We've got 10 horses for all the people in the middle and then one person who brings up the back, which was usually me because I was kind of like a fake wrangler, not a real one.

So don't get it, don't get any impressions that I actually knew what I was doing. And so I remember we thought to ourselves, okay, you know, you try to pick the horse that's going to go with the person based on ability and experience. And so we found this lady a horse that is the most docile horse in the whole world.

It does not move fast. It doesn't do anything interesting. This horse was perfect. A little guy, right? And so, you know, we get it on her horse and everybody gets loaded up and we start going down the trail.

And, you know, you chitchat and you're just kind of winding on single track. And as we got a little bit further in, a gust of wind had come by and it blew her cowboy hat off. And I was like, well, don't worry, don't worry, I'll get it. And so we had stopped and I jumped off my horse.

And I went and I grabbed her cowboy hat. And then as I was walking over to her, my horse spooked her horse, which is so rare, it doesn't happen with this horse. But my horse spooked her horse.

And what did happen? You know how like when you're in traffic and you have that rubber banding effect, you know, where everything compresses and then all of a sudden, like this guy is texting on his phone even though he's not supposed to. And he looks up and there's like a huge gap between him.

And who's, well, that's what happened in our truck ride. They had kept going. And now there's a huge gap. And so what happened? That horse took off.

It just started going. And I was like, oh, good. I jumped on my horse and I chased after her. And there was a point in the trailer where it took a hard 90 degree angle.

So the horse went like this. And 72 year old lady went like that. She went ahead first into a bush that had a cactus in the middle of it.

And I remember getting, I called out to the other Wrangler. He can't, he stopped the truck ride. He came over and we got her pulled out of the bush. She was a wreck. It was just a mess.

And the Wrangler just sharp on his mind. He was just like, here's what I want you to do. I'm going to take your horse. I'm going to lead everybody back to the camp. I need you to get her back to the road. And I was like, okay.

And he's like, can you do that? I was like, absolutely. So he takes my horse. He leaves. And this lady can't be higher than five feet off the ground.

300 pounds cannot walk. And I need to get her half a mile through this southeastern desert mountain terrain to the road so that our Wrangler could pick her up in the truck and take her to the hospital.

And I was like, okay. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to carry you. And she said, son.

I was like, but it's okay. Because in high school, I used to be a wrestler. So even though I'm a small guy, I'm a lot stronger than I look.

And so then I, you know, bent down and I had her get on my back and I lifted her up. You know, you'd feel that burn in those quads.

And then you just start going and you start going. And it's like every step you're tripping over branches, but you're trying to stay up.

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