Bridges Community Church Los Altos

Genesis one, one through two. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. We're launching a new series today on the goodness of creation, which will take us all the way to Easter. Studying just the first two chapters of the first book of the...

As we conclude our series on exile, we’ll dive into what we perhaps need most when we’re living in a place that isn’t home: hope. There are days we can feel discouraged, days we might feel angry, and days we can feel exhausted by our world, but because of what God has done and the future He has promised, our days can also be filled with joyous hope.

We probably prefer to share our faith in Christ with those who are eager and asking to hear all about it, and in a setting that creates no risk to our comfort whatsoever. But that’s not always the way it works, is it? Often, we’re sharing Christ with people who are suspicious or even antagonistic toward Christianity. The good news is that such settings actually provide unique opportunities to shar...

The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah lived in a fragmented culture that did not have much consensus about what is right and wrong, what society should be like, and what we are all here for. And today, we as Christians also live in a similarly fragmented culture where there are many different competing visions of reality. This often leads to a heightened sense of estrangement, as we live and work as spiritu...

As spiritual exiles in this world (1 Peter 1:1), all believers have known—or will come to know—some of the painful challenges related to living in a culture that is frequently at odds with and even inhospitable towards followers of Jesus. And when those moments inevitably arrive on our doorstep, and when explanations or quick solutions don’t seem to appear on the horizon, few things can be more fr...

Our identity is not only who we are, it determines how we see ourselves in relation to others and in relation to our world. It is the core from which everything we do springs. When we act in alignment with our identity, we thrive. When we act contrary to our identity, we feel it acutely. The question, then, is: what is our identity as believers and followers of Christ? How does who we are shape ho...

Exiled. The word brings to mind people stranded on a desert island or political leaders who were banished from their former country. But the Bible actually describes believers in Christ as exiles in this world. What does this mean? And how might framing our current cultural moment as exile help us navigate our daily lives? As we begin our 6-week focus, we will dive into this topic and discover God...

As we step past the Christmas season and into a new year, we would do well to do an identity check. Who are you, anyway? Just one of the millions of people on planet earth? Or someone with special value in the eyes of our creator and maker? Knowing who God created you to be could make a world of difference in what you think and do in 2024.

At Christmas, we celebrate the unprecedented moment when God came into the world as a child. He came to be with us. He came to save. And He came to reign. He is where all the lights, and songs, and festivities of the season point, and if we listen, He is where our hearts are leading us.

Throughout the Old Testament, there are many prophecies about the Messiah and what He will do. Remarkably, even though various authors never met and they wrote centuries apart from one another, they all paint the same picture. The Messiah will be born. The Messiah will reign forever. And the Messiah is God Himself. This week, as we study Micah’s prophecy of the birth and reign of Jesus, we will be...

The season of Advent is a time to look back to Christ’s first coming as a baby born in Bethlehem, and to look forward to his second coming when he will return to renew and redeem every part of fallen creation. It is therefore a time to prepare our hearts, to reflect upon the promises of God, and to anticipate the fulfillment of those promises. It is a time for remembering and rejoicing. And so, as...

We often hope for someone who can restore goodness to the world, who can provide lasting peace, or who can simply bring security or comfort to our hearts. We look for such a “savior” in all sorts of leaders, philosophies, friends, and romances, but they never fully deliver for us—at least not for long. However, this week, we’ll find our longings are not vain. There is One who delivers. There is On...

What if something which you thought had no value actually turned out to be incredibly valuable, and other things you thought had value actually turned out to have no value at all? One of the Bible’s most frequent themes is that we often invest in things that don’t matter, won’t satisfy, and can’t sustain us. And this week’s sermon will highlight a rather obscure Old Testament prophet who will make...

Not all of us approach the holiday season with a spirit of joy and thanksgiving. Many of us face struggles that make it difficult to give thanks. Habakkuk was no different. In fact, his circumstances were likely more challenging than anything most of us will face. However, even in that season, Habakkuk was able to give thanks with sincerity. This week, we’ll study this ancient prophet and find tha...

Sometimes we just need to hear that someone is for us. That someone delights in us. Even when (perhaps especially when) we’ve chosen a path that is anything but praiseworthy, we look for someone—anyone—to look on us with approval. This week, we’ll study the book of Zephaniah, where God not only showers us with praise but delights to do so.

People often ask God to speak to them because they feel distance from Him or even doubt whether He is even there. But what if God is continually speaking to us? What if the issue is not God speaking but our listening and obeying? What if God is asking all of us to “Love our Enemies” and instead we would rather argue with God and do our own thing? Loving our neighbor was not God’s gentle suggestion...

There are times that conflict can be healthy and helpful to refine people into better versions of themselves. Then there are other times when conflict is destructive or even toxic. But how do we know what kind of conflict we are in? And is there a way to bring the temperature down when it becomes unhealthy? This week, we’ll study the book of Obadiah, learn God’s surprising approach to conflict, an...

As we continue our sermon series this week in the Minor Prophets, we come to the book of the prophet Amos. And the key theme of Amos is the universal justice and impartiality of God. In other words, God plays no favorites, and the principle of reaping whatever we sow applies to all. Moreover, He is not moved by irrelevant external appearances, no matter how powerful or clever or wealthy or well-ne...

Many of the prophets describe The Day of the Lord as one of both judgment and renewal. God will finally, in the end, hold all wrongs accountable and bring lasting peace and goodness to the world. But how do we know which one we will personally experience: judgment or renewal? Is The Day of the Lord a message of warning or of hope? This week, we’ll investigate this Day, its severity and goodness, a...

The prophets of the Old Testament often give us a window into God’s complex heart. On the one hand, they show the depth of God’s grief and anger when His people reject Him. On the other hand, they show God’s never ending love and the lengths to which He will go to be with us. This week, as we begin studying the minor prophets, we will see the ups and downs of God’s Love Story—the greatest love sto...

Life this side of The Fall is tough. What do we do when we have seasons of fear, hurt, anger, and sadness? This small psalm scratched out with haste by a king in crisis helps us to understand how to handle the difficulties of the believing life. And ultimately, where to find our joy. About our guest speaker: Josh Squires is the Minister of Counseling for First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC w...

Living the Christian life is not without opposition. In fact, we’re instructed to expect a battle because we face an enemy who is determined to destroy every ounce of goodness in the world. This week, as we finish Ephesians, we’ll study how to engage the battle with confidence that it is already won.

One of the many ways the Gospel changes us is in the area of our relationships. This week, we'll investigate what characterizes Christian relationships, why they are different than so many of the relationships found in the world, and how they liberate us into a new way of living.

Spend a few minutes with small children, and you’ll be reminded that kids typically become adept at an early age at watching and listening to and imitating the behavior of others. Ephesians 5 explains that the Christian life is similar: as we mature in faith and as God’s image bearers who have been changed by the message of the gospel, we too should increasingly seek to imitate our heavenly Father...

We expect to find apples on an apple tree. And we expect to find oranges on an orange tree. But what kind of fruit could we expect to see from Christians? If someone has experienced new inner life from Christ, what markers would be visible on the outside? This week, we’ll study how Christ’s work on our behalf changes us—not from the outside in, but from the inside out.