Beach Church

It’s easy for those of us who are Jesus followers to say we’re placing our trust in Jesus and seeking to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to produce something beautiful, but Paul gives us a picture in Galatians 5 of what it looks like when we’re living closely in relationship with the Spirit. By taking a look at ourselves and where we might be struggling in areas of kindness,...

How do we actually know that we’re yielded to the Holy Spirit? In Galatians 5, Paul gives us a progress report and a way that we can self-evaluate how closely we’re leaning into the Holy Spirit. This week, the focus was on love, joy, peace, and patience. Certain struggles we’re having in each of these areas could be a great indicator of how well we’re producing these Fruits of the Spirit. If there...

In order to learn what it means to live a thriving life, we need to not only look into what Jesus did but who Jesus was. Jesus himself said he is the true vine and his father, the vine dresser. But, what does the vine do? It gives us life. When we focus on the relationship with Jesus, not resources in our world, then the Fruits of the Spirit are produced in us and through us. How do we do this? A...

“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him” -Psalm 34:8. As we begin this new series The Thriving Life, we’re pointed to the truth that living a thriving life doesn’t come from living life our own way but through surrendering our life to the Holy Spirit. Just like the roots of a tree search out life-giving water, we should seek that life source in the Holy Spi...

In Luke 18, Jesus tells his disciples a parable about a widow and harsh judge. The widow is so persistent with the harsh judge, that he finally has a change of heart. This isn’t because he’s just or fair but because he’s tired of hearing from the widow. How does this parable give us any insight into living a life like Jesus? Jesus wants us to realize that if an unjust judge can be moved over time,...

Never underestimate the power of the invitation. The more we invest in others, the easier it becomes to invite them into a relationship with Jesus, but we need to be patient. As we do the work of getting to know people and growing in our relationships with them, God will begin to open doors for us to walk through. One example of this is the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter...

Invest. Investment means intentionally entering into caring relationships with those around us who don’t know Jesus. Paul tells us that that doesn’t mean we have to adopt their way of life or lose our bearings of our faith. It also doesn’t mean to approach people from a self-righteous, judgmental standpoint, but instead from a position of humility, keeping in mind that just like the song “Amazing...

Pray. It’s simple, but this sometimes underestimated spiritual discipline has powerful implications for not only our own lives but also the people around us. If you’re a Jesus follower, the truth is that someone prayed for you, whether you know it or not. As a Jesus follower, there are people in our lives that we should be praying for, not just those who are sick or down on their luck, but also th...

How does your faith positively impact your relationships? The truth of the matter is that our relationship with Jesus should impact all aspects of our lives—not only those interactions in the church building on Sunday mornings but also every interaction in the places we go throughout the week. Our homes, our work, and our schools should all see the transformative love of Jesus through us. Jesus te...

Where’s your citizenship? Colossians 3 is a great litmus test for where you are in your relationship with Jesus. In this section of scripture, Paul and Timothy are encouraging the people of Colossae to relentlessly pursue a relationship with Jesus because when you do, you realize that your citizenship isn’t an earthly one but instead on of a heavenly nature. Your citizenship changes when you put t...

As followers of Jesus, we have to be aware of things that could potentially derail our faith. Paul reminds the people of Colossae to be wary of deceptive philosophies, human traditions, and spiritual forces that are of this world. This message unpacks some of those things and explores what it would look like for us to find our true identity in Christ and live a life with that anchor of hope. It po...

As we continue reading Paul’s letter to the people of Colossae, we’re left with the impression that following Jesus isn’t always a walk in the park. Words like “suffering” and “afflictions” permeate this section of scripture as Paul writes to these Jesus followers. But, the letter also contains phrases like “encouraged in heart” and “united in love” in order for us to mature in Christ. The journey...

Colossians 1: 1-23 This message begins our series on one of the Pauline Epistles, Colossians. In this letter, Paul and Timothy write the people of Colossae with encouraging prayers for them to hold fast to their faith. But, what does that mean for us? The tone of the letter not only serves as an example of how we’re to bring one another along in our faith, but also as an example of how we should f...

Money is something that is difficult to talk about in churches. But what do the Scriptures say about giving? We can’t have two masters. Money is meant to be a tool, not an obsession, and how we interact with money shows what we believe about the sovereignty of God.

When we think of life change, it’s tempting to want a quick solution, a quick fix. But, the truth is, true life change and transformation don’t happen overnight; it happens over time. When it comes to a transformation, God’s not interested in transforming our “spiritual lives,” but our entire lives. That transformation comes through a relationship with Jesus. And, as we grow closer to Jesus in our...

Jesus didn’t lose his life, he laid it down willingly. He sacrificed. This ultimate example perfectly paints a picture for us as to what it would mean for us to lose everything for the kingdom. While this seems extreme, our lives would be so much different, so much better, if we were to wake up every day reminding ourselves that it’s not about us, but instead it’s about God’s will for us. This sma...

God cares about our sin. Not because He wants to infringe on free will or control all the things we do in our everyday lives. God cares about our sin because He knows that the deeper we dive into sin, the further we stray from a relationship with Him. This holy nature of God is something that Jesus followers should seek, not as a desire to be better than others but as a desire, a real longing to g...

We throw the word love around a lot, especially in the English language. We use it to describe how much we enjoyed a meal or a clothing item. We use it when talking about our friends or an experience. We all have different definitions of what it means to love something or someone, and often when we use love we’re focusing on us, on the self, on what I’m experiencing. When we talk about God’s love,...

God’s generosity can be seen in every aspect of our lives, from awe-inspiring sunrises to incredible tasting food. God didn’t have to create a world where we’d experience all this beauty, but He did. Jesus calls us to be generous as well. Not so that we can get something in return or become richer but as an act of worshipping our God who was first so generous to us. And by being generous, we grow...

Can we really trust God? When it seems like all hope is lost, we finally turn our hearts to God and ask for help. But what if we were to turn to God before things get dire? What if before we feel like there’s no other option, we turned our hearts to God and just trusted him with everything? With our finances, our addictions, our hardened hearts, and all the other things that we try to handle on ou...

People often ask questions like, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” or start sentences with “If God is good, why does he allow pain and suffering?” What if we were to tell you that the problem with these questions isn’t the nature of God. The problem with these questions is that we’re asking them through the narrative of the world and not through the narrative of Jesus. We’r...

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Easter story, and it’s ok to have those questions. Even Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, had some doubts with the resurrection and wanted to see physical evidence. While we weren’t there and have to approach the issue of the resurrection with faith, our hope isn’t found in an empty tomb or missing body. Our hope is found in a Savior who conquered death...

When we think about a king coming to power, we envision the death of the current ruler or an overthrowing of the current regime. But when it comes to Jesus, his rise to power was anything but an overthrowing. It was a surrender. And his kingdom, it’s one unlike any other. Sometimes all it takes to see things clearly is a simple shift in perspective.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed when trying to read the Bible? Maybe you don’t even know where to begin. As part of our special message series The Essentials, this week’s message “How to Read Your Bible” takes a look at why we read the Bible in the first place, the variances in different translations, and multiple ways we can read the Bible. But maybe most importantly, the message focuses on what h...

Jesus ends “The Sermon on the Mount” with the analogy of a wise man building a house on a rock and a foolish man building his house on sand. When the rains came, the house on the rock stands strong because of its solid foundation, but when the streams rose and the winds blew near the house on the sand, “it fell with a great crash.” Pastor Jerry explains in this culminating message of our Mastercla...