BRAVE Church

This week we discussed what happens when life gets stressed and the ways we can respond. We can either act God's way or we can respond the way of the world, our flesh and Satan would dictate. As many of the early professing Jews were facing persecution and martyrdom, they were encouraged to stay the course. Furthermore, they were encouraged to respond in a way that would give the greatest glory to...

A Prayer for Prodigals Father, I need your help in praying for my prodigal son/daughter. My heart is broken for them and the choices they have made to walk away from you. God, my heart has become a battlefield for the enemy and I struggle with fear, doubts, guilt, feelings of failure, disappointments and even anger towards them. I feel at times like giving up on praying because I am weary. But now...

Speaker: Cal Rychener

This week we discussed the godly choices we can make to ensure that we will endure to the finish line. Pursuing peace with others and growing in holiness work together to strengthen us. First, we demonstrate the love of Christ for others as we continue to grow in our holiness as we continue to become imitators of Christ. Once we have a love for others there comes a desire to see others fully recei...

So often when we hear the word discipline we immediately think of punishment instead of understanding all the nuances of the word. When we talk about the discipline of God we are talking about His comprehensive standards that He works tirelessly for us to accomplish. He teaches, coaches, trains, admonishes, encourages, and scourges those who are his children. While God accepts us just as we are, H...

This week we addressed the need to be faithful finishers for the Lord Jesus Christ. Right after the author spends an entire chapter discussing those who died in faith he tells us the reason he was addressing them. The reason is so that we know we have a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us and if they can finish faithfully, then so can we. In the church today we need more men and women...

This week we discussed the need to celebrate God when we recognize faithfulness in His servants. Often, when people are faithful, we celebrate them rather than the God who is working through them to make them faithful. At the end of chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews the author discusses some of God's faithful acts through His servants. Not only do we see that God is worthy of being celebrated but...

This week we focused our attention on the life of Moses and four immediate steps of faith that believers can choose to take so that they can live the life of faith that God requires. Pastor Jeff has often said that the most difficult step you will ever take is the next one. But how can we know the next step? This week we discussed that regardless of circumstances, age, geographic location or what...

This week we highlighted Hebrews 11:7-22 and discussed the challenges to faith. Many times, when we are encouraged to grow in our faith our motivation wanes due to challenges that appear. Because the Christian life is not automatic it is imperative to be aware of the challenges that will occur once we begin to take steps of faith. Knowing the challenges on our path help us to navigate properly wit...

Hebrews 11 helps us to comprehend the significance of faith in the life of a believer. Understanding and applying faith in our life pleases God and unleashes His favor upon us. The challenge with faith is the ability to believe it before we see it. In our world of uncertainty, we are often taught to see things before we believe them. God wants us to trust Him FIRST and then we will see the result...

This week we discussed the fourth warning passage in the book of Hebrews. The author is telling us to beware of certain things that will impact our spiritual growth. God places warning passages in the Scriptures for our own good. For the believer it reminds us to stay the course and for the unbeliever it is an exhortation to trust Christ. Furthermore, for the one who is ready to turn their back on...

This message challenges believers to believe their blessings. In the church, we often encourage people to count their blessings, perhaps even enjoy their blessings, but it's rare when Christians truly believe their blessings and live differently as a result. Through Christ's death, burial and resurrection we have been offered a new life. While it's imperative to talk about the necessity of the cro...

Today, many people in the church want to talk about all the benefits of Christ but refuse to talk about the necessity of His shed blood. Throughout Hebrews 9, we hear about need and blessings that result from Jesus Christ shedding His blood on Calvary. If Jesus Christ had not shed His blood on the cross, we would not be able to have our sins cleansed, would not have access to God, and would not ha...

This message examines Hebrews chapter 8 and the superior ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest. Our society balks at the fact that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and even young, immature Christians can often doubt the validity of Christ's exclusivity. However, Hebrews chapter 8 highlights the superior ministry of the priesthood of Jesus Christ and demonstrates why He and...

This message examines not only how Christ's priesthood was superior but how it has prevailed. Because Jesus Christ is from the order of Melchizadek, he is the only One who qualifies as the eternal high priest. God in His Word promised that Jesus Christ would be the great prevailing High Priest and that He would be preferable. As we study the work of Christ's priesthood we learn about His better co...

This message discusses Christ's superior priesthood. Converted Jews in the first century had become concerned because they no longer had a priest. Since becoming Christians, they were no longer welcomed back into their Jewish faith and therefore didn't know where to get the spiritual help they needed. The author of Hebrews answers this question using the Hebrew Scriptures to demonstrate that there...

Often times we get so caught up in moving forward and getting to the next thing, that we don't stop to thank God for all the ways He blesses us. As we celebrate the first Sunday in our Englewood North building, we take time to pause and praise Him for His mighty work and provision in this season and over the life of BRAVE Church. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub

Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost. This Easter, we look at the two sons in the story of the Prodigal Son and how the heart of the father is of love no matter what - just like the heart of our Heavenly Father. Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub

After warning about the dangers of those who refused to make Jesus Christ their personal Lord and Savior, the author of Hebrews transitions to encouraging the saved. He calls many of His listeners Beloved and tells them they possess many things that accompany salvation. This text in Hebrews encourages the believer by showing them not only what accompanies salvation, but also how to strengthen thei...

This message discusses another warning passage that demonstrates some who have experienced Jesus Christ have never made Him the Lord of their lives. It is a warning to anyone who falsely thinks that by simply having a positive encounter or experience that they are truly saved. Salvation is a gift from God that is appropriated through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. This so...

God uses unlikely fighters to face unbeatable giants so he can accomplish an unimaginable victory! Speaker: Greg Stier

The author of Hebrews continues to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is the greatest. In this message, we learn that Jesus Christ is the greatest high priest, which begs three questions for us to ask and examine. First, what is a high priest? Next, why is Jesus Christ the great high priest? Finally, what is the benefit of Jesus Christ being our great high priest? Asking and answering these questions w...

Millennials sometimes use the word FOMO to describe the Fear of Missing Out. This message discusses the healthy fear of missing out on the truth of the Gospel. One of the greatest questions we can ask and answer is, "Am I really saved?" This is a question that even churchgoers must ask. You see, we only have the time while we are still alive to make a decision for Jesus Christ to be the Lord of ou...

In this message, we see that the single greatest way to grow in your relationship with Christ is to Obey Today. To experience God's favor and blessing requires that you listen to His voice and honor him through taking the next step of faith He requires. Sometimes we get into a rut in our faith because we are hearing the Word of God without putting it into practice. The greatest way to grow in wisd...

In this message, we discuss the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the humility He endured on our behalf. Jesus Christ, as the second person of the Trinity, has always existed and yet just over 2000 years ago He put on flesh and became a man. In humility, Jesus Christ came to earth, fulfilled the law, died on the cross and rose from the dead so that we who have sinned and are deserving death may be c...