Sermon Recap
Jesus Vibes
Brian Hunter · September 27, 2026
Scripture referenced
- 1 John 1:1
- John 1
- John 10:27
- Galatians 5:25
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
- Luke 24:32
- Genesis 1:1
Pastor Brian opened 1 John 1:1 and let one word pull the whole evening forward: the Greek word behind “touched,” which carries the meaning of rubbing a worry stone smooth and of plucking or bowing a string. From that single word, he built a case that we were made to be in physical, tangible, resonant contact with Jesus, not to admire him from behind a museum rope.
What was said
The starting point was the word “touch” in 1 John 1:1. John writes that the disciples saw Jesus with their own eyes and touched him with their own hands. Pastor Brian pointed out that the Greek word carries two pictures: the worn smoothness of a touchstone rubbed over and over in the hand, and the action of plucking or bowing a string on a musical instrument. That second picture is the thread the whole message follows.
To make the musical picture land, he worked through a short vocabulary lesson. Frequency is how fast something moves back to its starting point, which in music we just call a note. Resonance is a natural amplifier of that vibration. Sympathetic resonance is what happens when one tuning fork, once struck, causes a second unplucked fork tuned to the same note to begin vibrating on its own. Harmonic resonance goes one step further: an object responding strongly to a vibration that matches its own natural frequency.
Emily came up with her cello to make the lesson audible. Pastor Brian had her draw her bow across a wooden stool, then across the cello. The difference was immediate. He asked her to play a single note, then a chord, then two or three notes that clashed. The room could feel and hear what the definitions were describing, and the congregation started connecting those sounds to the scripture being quoted.
With the vocabulary in place, Pastor Brian moved back through several passages. John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice,” became a verse about harmonic resonance: the sheep vibrate at the same frequency as the shepherd and follow because they are tuned to him. Galatians 5:25, living and following by the Spirit, became a picture of a Christian who has been reborn and retuned. Second Corinthians 3:18, being changed into the Lord’s glorious image, became the process of our frequency gradually matching his, because he does not change and we do.
The Luke 24 road-to-Emmaus passage brought it together. The disciples had spent time with Jesus and had begun vibrating at his frequency. After the crucifixion that frequency dropped away and they were dejected. Then a stranger walked with them, and something began to stir before they even recognized who he was. When they finally urged him to stay and he broke bread with them, the only way they could describe what they had been feeling the whole time was, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?” Pastor Brian called that a description of harmonic resonance, felt before it was understood.
The closing invitation followed naturally from everything before it. If someone is feeling out of sorts, static, not quite in the groove, Pastor Brian’s diagnosis was plain: they may simply be out of frequency with Jesus. He asked anyone who felt like the strings of their life were muted to raise a hand, then invited the whole room to raise their hands like tuning forks. The bottom line, stated twice: when we tune our hearts to Jesus, our whole being begins to resonate with his life.
Touch points
- Spend time in your Bible this week and let the Holy Spirit draw your attention to a single word or verse, the way Brian did when this message started.
- If you feel out of sorts or have some static in your life, bring it to Jesus specifically and ask Him to tune your heart back into alignment with His frequency.
- Raise your hands like a tuning fork during your personal prayer time this week as a physical reminder that you are opening yourself to resonate with Jesus.
- Come to the worship night at Gateway on Wednesday at 6:30 PM in Raptor J and spend time in corporate worship with the Gateway family.
- If you are not already on the Tribe text blast, fill out a connect card with your phone number so you can stay in the loop on what is coming up.
Doing a Bible study?
- Brian talked about how John described being able to see, hear, and physically touch Jesus, and said that many Christians have made Jesus so untouchable that he becomes more like a museum exhibit than someone you can actually handle and examine. Where do you think that distance comes from, and have you felt it in your own faith?
- The Greek word for ‘touch’ in that verse carries the idea of rubbing a worry stone repeatedly and also of plucking or bowing a string. What do you make of the connection between something worn smooth by constant contact and the way we are meant to relate to Jesus?
- Brian walked through sympathetic resonance and harmonic resonance and then landed on the idea that when two tuning forks share the same frequency, one struck fork will cause the other to vibrate on its own. How does that picture change the way you think about spending time with other believers or with Jesus himself?
- CJ said he feels like he is somewhere between the stool and the cello, and nearly everyone in the room raised a hand to say they could relate. Where would you honestly place yourself on that spectrum right now, and what do you think is the biggest thing keeping you closer to the stool end?
- The disciples on the road described their experience with the risen Jesus as their hearts burning within them, and Brian said that was harmonic resonance. Can you point to a moment in your own life when you felt something like that, and what were the conditions around it?
Resumen en español
Brian tomó un solo versículo, 1 Juan 1:1, como punto de partida. Juan escribe que los discípulos vieron a Jesús con sus propios ojos y lo tocaron con sus propias manos. Al estudiar esa palabra “tocar” en el griego original, el Espíritu Santo le mostró algo que va más allá del simple contacto físico: la palabra también evoca la idea de puntear o frotar las cuerdas de un instrumento musical. Desde ahí, Brian construyó todo el mensaje alrededor de frecuencias, resonancia y vibración.
Con la ayuda de Emily, quien tocó el violonchelo en vivo, Brian explicó conceptos como la resonancia simpática (cuando un objeto hace vibrar a otro que tiene su misma frecuencia natural) y la resonancia armónica (cuando un objeto responde con fuerza a una vibración que coincide con su frecuencia natural). La idea central es que fuimos creados para resonar en armonía con Jesús. Cuando afinamos nuestros corazones a Él, todo nuestro ser comienza a vibrar con su vida. Cuando algo en nuestra vida nos desafina, ya sea una situación difícil, una ofensa, o simplemente el descuido espiritual, hay disonancia, y la invitación es volver a alinearnos con su frecuencia.
Brian cerró con el relato de los discípulos en el camino a Emaús, quienes no reconocieron a Jesús pero sintieron que algo ardía en sus corazones mientras Él les hablaba. Eso, dijo Brian, es exactamente la resonancia armónica con el Señor. Terminó invitando a quienes sienten que las cuerdas de su vida están “silenciadas” a levantar las manos como un diapasón y pedir al Espíritu Santo que afine sus corazones de nuevo.
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Pasajes bíblicos usados
- 1 Juan 1:1
- Juan 10:27
- Gálatas 5:25
- 2 Corintios 3:18
- Lucas 24:32
Topics
Feeling Disconnected From God Harmonic Resonance Faith Jesus Vibes Sound Bowls Warning Spiritual Frequency Tuning Your Heart