Thrive Harbor

Because of who Jesus is, we don't need to get anxious about the future. Instead, God invites us to trust Him with the uncertain things in our lives. This message was given by Jake Chambers, pastor of Wilderness Church .

God loves to work through weakness, and that means no one is too far from His grace. This message was given by Dustin Polley, director of Thrive Kitsap .

The world, the flesh, and the devil seek to derail the Christian life. Jesus can overcome all three. This message was given by Tim Cedarland, Thrive's director emeritus.

Christian worship is rich tapestry of musical styles and traditions. But are there certain styles we should and shouldn't use? How do I worship if I don't like the music? And what should I do with my hands? These and other questions form the focus of this final talk on worship. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Job 38:7; Genesis 4:21; Revelation 5:9; 21:26; E...

If worship is delighting in God for who He is and what He's done for us, then who is God? What we believe about God makes or breaks how we worship. If God is fundamentally power, then worship will be doctrinaire and distant. If God is fundamentally mystery, worship will be ecstatic and emotion-driven. But according to the New Testament, the God of the Bible is love. Worship, therefore, is rela...

Christian statesman John Stott once said that he felt most alive "in public worship." What is worship, why do Christians do it, and how could it possibly make someone feel powerfully alive? According to Scripture, worship is the overflow of delight, and specifically delight in God. In worship, we tap into a fundamental tendency of the human heart to praise what we find beautiful, and sin...

Every Christian is living in a love story, of God pursuing us through our sin and rebellion to woo our hearts to Himself. But there’s one such love story that’s been canonized, and it’s the story of Israel. The story of the Jewish people is Scripture’s preeminent way to illustrate what God’s heart is really like. This message examines what Scripture says about the past, present, and future of the...

If you knew that you’d win a billion dollars tomorrow, it would change the way you live today. So how can Christians—who have the greatest hope for the future that there is—live lives shaped by the hope of Heaven? This final message offers seven truths that can anchor us daily as we pursue a heavenly perspective. This message was given by Peter Churness, pastor of One Hope Church in Gig Harbor, WA...

Jesus promised His followers a home, rewards, and a wedding in Heaven. This message looks at these three promises and unpacks how we ought to live if they’re really true. This message was given by Peter Churness, pastor of One Hope Church in Gig Harbor, WA. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include John 14:1-3; Matthew 5:11-12; 6:1-4; 10:42; 19:21, 27-29; 24:42; 25:5; Luke 1...

Many Christians fear Heaven will be boring and uninteresting. But the Bible's depiction of Heaven is anything but. Heaven is a place of ever-increasing glory, wonder, and delight as God's redeemed people enjoy His presence forever on a renewed physical earth. Focusing on what the Bible says about Heaven, this message unfolds seven truths about the future home awaiting the people of God. Th...

The theme of Thrive's 2023 Fall Retreat is the hope of Heaven. It would be impossible to overstate how breathtakingly wonderful Scripture's teaching about Heaven is. Far from our culture's picture of Heaven as a boring place of disembodied spirits, the Bible presents Heaven as a resurrected world in resurrected bodies with the resurrected Man, Jesus Christ, at the center of it all. Thi...

The last chapter of Galatians includes one of Paul's most famous exhortations: to keep on doing good and not give up. Wrapping up Thrive's series on Galatians, this message unpacks how Paul encourages believers to persevere in following Christ no matter the obstacles. This message was given by Drew Dawson, pastor of Resurrection Church in Gig Harbor, WA. We apologize that due to a technica...

There's an army of influencers out there, claiming to offer you the way to the good life. But for followers of Jesus, the good life means "keeping in step with the Spirit." The more we lay down our own agendas, paradoxically the more we're fulfilled as the Spirit transforms us into people of joy and love. This message was given by Rod Graciano, founder of Timothy Ministries . Scr...

9. Galatians 5:1-15 Young adulthood often revolves around the pursuit of freedom: freedom to travel, chase your dreams, and have great experiences. But Scripture defines freedom differently than our culture does. Biblically, freedom isn't the pursuit of fleeting pleasures; freedom is liberation from our sin and selfishness so that we can live a life of love. Or in the words of Jesus, "Eve...

Many young adults wrestle with shame. Even in a secular culture that has lost the concept of sin, we still feel guilty even if we're not sure why, often leading to anxiety and depression. According to Scripture, the reason for this is the condemnation of "the law," some set of standards that we know we don't measure up to. How can we be free from slavery to the law? Only through...

The result of legalism is always slavery. So when Paul saw the Galatians voluntarily putting themselves back under the slavery of the law, his reaction was anguish. Distressed to see a church he loved go astray, Paul tried to win the Galatians back to the truth, warning them against the threat of false teachers and the dangers of false zeal. This message was given by Jeremy DeSpain, pastor of Bibl...

What is the purpose of God’s law? Why does the Old Testament contain so many rules and regulations? The Galatians thought God’s law were a set of requirements to obey so that they could measure up spiritually. But Paul explains that the law was never meant to be our savior: it was to meant to convict us of our need for a savior. This message was given by Steve Willweber, pastor of King of Glory Lu...

How can we avoid getting off track in the Christian life? For the Galatians, they needed to be reminded of the gospel: that they’re saved by grace, not works of the law. And so in chapter 3 of Galatians, Paul uses the gospel to retell the story of the Bible, in order to show the Galatians that Jesus alone can save them. This message was given by Peter Churness, pastor of One Hope Church .

The gospel is that we're saved by Jesus alone, through faith in Him alone. Believing that message changes everything about us, including the way we relate to others. In Galatians 2, Paul reminds Peter of this with respect to his treatment of the Gentiles, calling him back to the radical message that Jesus plus nothing equals everything. This message was given by Ed Longabaugh, pastor emeritus...

How do you know if you're really a Christian? Paul would answer that it's not a matter of the strength of your faith, but the strength of the object of your faith. So in this second chapter of Galatians, Paul shows that the gospel he called people to put their faith in is trustworthy and reliable. This message was given by Tim Cedarland, Thrive director emeritus.

The gospel is the most precious message in the world: it changed Paul's life and it can change ours. And so in the first part of Galatians, Paul goes to great lengths to show that the gospel he preached was the genuine article, unadulterated by human beings. This message was preached by Jake Chambers, pastor of Wilderness Church .

Martin Luther said, "We need to hear the gospel everyday, because we forget it everyday." The Galatians were Christians who had lost their grip on the gospel. They had begun to look to their own moral performance for their sense of right standing with God, leading Paul to write them a fierce and scathing letter. In this opening message on the book of Galatians, Dale King, pastor of Calva...

Young adulthood is often when dreams first start to die. Things you'd hoped and planned for for years—getting married by a certain age, getting a certain career, having a certain opportunity—don't happen, and all of a sudden you find yourself in a wilderness of confusion. What do you when God feels absent and His plans feel bewildering? Speaking from his experience in over two decades of m...

In his final message, Haggai speaks to a man named Zerubbabel, the leader of the exiles. Surrounded by enemies and discouraged about Israel's future, Zerubbabel bore the weight of worry for his people. How did God speak into his fears then, and how might He speak into ours today? Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Haggai 2:20-23; Ezra 4:4-5; 5:23; Revelation 21:8;...

The people of Haggai's day thought that as soon as they resumed work on the temple, God would bless them. In Haggai's third message, the prophet shows them that God isn't after just the work of their hands. He wants a purified heart. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Haggai 2:10-19; Matthew 7:21-23; 15:8; Proverbs 4:23; 28:13; and John 1:18; 13:23.