Cornerstone Church - Pastor Tony Collins

January Impact Night

·38 min·3 clips

Jesus becomes deeply troubled in Gethsemane, asking God to take away his cup of suffering.

The episode is a sermon from Pastor Tony Collins at Cornerstone Church in Moulton, Alabama, recorded during a January Impact Night event. Collins begins with a humorous, relatable anecdote about receiving late-night 'you up' text messages, including one from a neighbor named Slade Behrman needing help breaking into his house. He uses this to frame a spiritual question: when God asks 'you up,' are we prepared to respond? The core biblical text is Mark 14:32-42, where Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion. Collins describes Jesus as 'deeply troubled and distressed,' praying that the 'cup of suffering' might pass. He clarifies that Jesus's primary distress wasn't the physical beating or crucifixion but the impending spiritual separation from God the Father. Jesus asks his disciples—Peter, James, and John—to keep watch and pray, but they fall asleep three times. Collins notes Jesus pointedly calls Peter 'Simon' (meaning 'shaken' or 'wishy-washy') instead of 'Peter' (meaning 'rock'), highlighting their spiritual failure. He connects this to Peter later cutting off a soldier's ear in a fleshly reaction. The sermon then shifts to application for the audience, primarily youth. Collins argues that 2026 will be a great year not through resolutions but by seeking God first through prayer. He urges listeners to develop a 'spirit of prayer,' praying specifically for classmates, teachers, and family members by name to change atmospheres in schools and homes. He references the movie 'War Room' as an example. Scriptural support comes from James 5:13-18, which instructs praying in hardship, singing in happiness, and calling elders to pray over the sick. Collins emphasizes that the 'earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power,' citing Elijah praying for no rain. He then discusses Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zacchaeus, a short tax collector who climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Collins interprets the tree as symbolic of the cross, stating 'the only place you can see the answer is from the tree.' He encourages 'prayer closet power and tree house living'—seeing life from the perspective of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The sermon concludes with a call to action from 1 John 5:13-16, affirming that God hears prayers and believers can be confident in receiving what they ask. Collins ends by praying that listeners would both hear God and be heard by Him.

As heard by us

A youth-focused sermon ties prayer, purpose, and confidence in a God who hears.

Prayer sits at the center of this brisk church message, which moves from a late-night bedroom setup into a call for young believers to pray with confidence.

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Why you'd press play

You want purpose to stop feeling abstract? Press play when prayer needs to become a daily conversation.

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