bread church

Gates are entryways. They are entrances into realms. For the man born blind who was healed by Jesus, this was a transformative reality. He was rejected by the religious leaders so Jesus became the way in for him. The way into a new beginning, a new story, and a God-infused life. This goes for us as well. When life has a way of pushing us to the fringes, Jesus assures us that he is the way into the...

I am the bread of life. Jesus was making a very bold statement about a lot more than a specific food source, having just turned 5 loaves and 2 fishes into a meal for thousands, which had HUGE messianic symbolism and implications to that crowd, that we might easily miss. John wrote his gospel carefully and masterfully because he believed that meeting Jesus had the power to change absolutely everyth...

I am the light of the world. Light is wonderful. It brings life, it brings joy, it grows good things. It is also awesome. It has extraordinary power to reveal, to consume and to refine. Jesus says I am not just a light, but the light of the whole universe. Every other light- every person, philosophy or belief is a mere reflection. And he comes so that he can shine his light on us to bring joy, lif...

We’ve reached the end of 2 Samuel and in it’s epilogue we find David’s song. It captures the essence of his life. It is David’s memoir-ic poem and he say’s “God is my deliverer”; David gets into trouble and God delivers him. From lions, Sauls, and personal failures God demonstrates to us through David that he can deliver us. We all face things - spiritual and natural - that work against us and in...

Nathan’s challenge to David is one of the most famous interactions in the whole bible. He confronts David’s sin, David confesses, God forgives. It sits at the heart of David’s story. But the episode also raises a bunch of questions concerning the suffering that David and Israel will experience as a result of David’s sin. It’s important for us from time to time to wrestle with the problem of how a...

The story of David and Bathsheba reminds us again how important it is to read an ancient Hebrew story with context and background. This story is uncomfortable! It’s uncomfortable that David did what he did to Bathsheba and Uriah, it's uncomfortable that her feelings and perspective (and name!) are barely included in the account, and it’s uncomfortable that David is still revered as Jesus’ forefath...

From deep lament to joyful praise, the influence that David has had over the way we worship is probably the most of any other human in history. In this talk we explore the expansive faith of David through his worship, and we learn some lesser-known stories, like that of Michal, his wife. When our identity as children of God becomes the foundation, faith and freedom in worship follows By Tavia Grub...

David sparing Saul’s life was not just an act of mercy and forgiveness, but it was an act of great faith. When faced with the opportunity to take his destiny into his own hands, David chose to trust in the Lord to do what He said that He would do. This simple moment of trusting God gives us an insight into why he is one of the great heroes of the Christian faith, and encourages us put our hope in...

How can we be sure God is looking out for us? David faces a less than ideal scenario, his best friend’s dad is out to kill him. Saul is set on holding onto power by killing David. Jonathan, however, ensures David that their friendship is in the Lord. Meaning that their friendship with one another is like that of the Lord’s; he won’t leave David alone. And like David, if we’ve ever been alone facin...

Saul’s murderous envy of David is similar to other stories in OT- Cain and Abel and Joseph and his brothers are the best examples. Envy is serious and it can lead to violent outcomes. Unfortunately we’re all susceptible. We desire. Saul’s envy of David, leads him to obsess over David. He becomes embittered and joyless. The antidote is seen in Jonathan. Instead of envy and rivalry he chooses love....

David and Goliath is more than a story of the small guy overcoming the big guy. And it’s more than a moral story about the importance of faith. Rather it is about God being our champion though David. It is about him fighting for us, him holding our fears, him giving us a way through when we feel afraid. When we are able to admit our fears and our weakness, God can get to work. Ultimately David is...

More pages of the bible are dedicated to the life and legacy of King David than any other person apart from Jesus, and in today’s talk we meet him for the first time. He is anointed as the new chosen King of Israel but Samuel the prophet, when he wasn’t even invited to anointing party (he’d been out on the fields, protecting the family sheep.) In front of 7 of his more eligible brothers, God says...

Before we get to David, we’re introduced to Saul. In a famous scene from chapter 15 we see the kind of person Saul is – he serves as a warning of what can happen when we allow pride to make a home in our hearts. Pride pushes God out and it puts us at the center. Saul, in his pride, rejects God and forfeits the call on his life. The story-teller then sets us up for the one who models the opposite o...

We begin our series in 1 and 2 Samuel with the story of Hannah. Her culture tells her that she is valued only if she bears children, but she is barren. This causes great distress. Her husband Elkanah tries to be kind, but unwittingly simply replaces one sort of cultural expectation and oppression with another (that her worth can be found in being a loved wife). Hannah chooses instead to pray and s...

Concluding our series on worship we consider how we treat money as an act of worship. Paul encourages us all, rich or poor, to not put our faith in money. The love of money can lead to all sorts of problems. Rather contentment is what we’re after. And it can be found by all, wealthy or not, when the whole of our lives (including our wallets) are orientated around, and given in worship to, the only...

Though sung worship is central to our expression of church (culturally, and certainly for us at Bread) the words translated as worship in the new testament aren’t actually to do with singing specifically at all. They build to a much more general picture full and submission and devotion, and wherever these new worshipful communities spread, generosity was their hallmark. It’s not an aspect of chris...

The fullest depiction of worship services in NT is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. There he encourages the church to both follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit. It’s always both/and not either/or. When we do both the church is edified, which is always the goal. A church full of the Spirit and full of love is the hope both for us and the world. In this t...

What does Paul mean when he encourages us to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? The role of music in worship isn’t just about creative expression or an excuse to pad out a church service. The way we sing in church today dates back to the days of King David who understood that music was a way to access the presence of God. By Ben Manusama

From the beginning God’s people have engaged in the regular worship of God. From a biblical perspective, not only is worship of God our highest calling, it is in fact integral to who we are. So understanding what worship is, how we do it, and practicing it enables us to become more fully ourselves. This short series covers the worship life of bread - from sung worship in services on a Sunday, to a...

The details of gospel accounts of Jesus‘ resurrection never fail to blow our minds when we stop and examine. Just like much of his life and ministry, when Jesus first announced he had risen from the dead, and changed everything for the whole world forever, there was no fanfare or fireshow or thunderous display, just calm, kind words to a woman who had loved him dearly. Jesus always chooses the Mar...

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, where He was welcomed by crowds of people who spread palm branches and cloaks on the road in front of Him as a sign of honor and respect. They were caught up with the joy that comes from 700 years of waiting for a mighty deliverer to free them from their oppressors. Only 5 days later this same crowd would turn against Je...

Christian community is made up of lots of different people at different stages of Christian maturity. Throughout his writings Paul corrects and disciples those who are immature with regards their character and will. But for those who are simply weak in faith - those who struggle to believe everything that Jesus has done and it’s implications for them - there is grace and patience. Even for those w...

Paul’s closing chapters of Romans are about how Christian relationships should be defined. Chapter 13 answers the question how Spirit-filled people should relate to Government. Paul’s argument is that since God has all authority, and he allows earthly rulers to exercise some (even if God does not condone how it is used), Christians should obey all state laws (even those with which we might not agr...

Chapter 12 marks a turning point Paul's letter. He moves his conflicting church readers to the how of the unity thing; how it works to be a body (different parts, all working together, belonging to one another) and what the love that fuels this will look like (the same kind of love for your friends, our church body members, and our enemies alike!) And he begins this instruction with one of the mos...

The situation in the church in Rome was a stalemate, involving Jewish and Gentile Christians pointing fingers at each other over theological differences. Paul responds pastorally to their underlying question: who’s right and who needs to change? By Romans 8, Paul establishes that Jesus is right. He then makes the case that both groups (us included) need to change. Change comes by the Spirit. We ar...