Passion Church Tucson

Faith lives from the invisible toward the visible. Abraham discovered trust in God’s promises anchored in an unseen realm. (Heb. 11:8-12, 13-16)  Abraham believed God existed, believed He loved us unconditionally, and sought Him earnestly (Hebrews 11:6). Result: he could believe and obey God’s promises when there was no evidence of realizing those promises.  Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as a firm co...

Know this: God is faithful, even when we are faithless! Abraham is the only person in the Bible who is called a friend of God (James 2:23). Although he was not perfect in his walk with God, scripture records him as God’s friend and his “friend forever” (2 Chr. 20:7). Faith is exemplified throughout his life. Even when Abraham was weak in faith, God saw him as a person of faith. From this “friend o...

Abraham is the only person in the Bible who is called a friend of God (James 2:23), perhaps the highest honor anyone can receive. Although he was not perfect in his walk with God, scripture records him as God’s friend and his “friend forever” (2 Chr. 20:7). Abraham is the father of faith and the faithful. Faith is exemplified throughout his life. Even when Abraham was weak in faith, God saw him as...

In Genesis, we read that God promised Abraham’s descendants that all the families of the earth would be blessed. However, twenty-four years have passed since the Lord first spoke to Abraham and Sarah about having a son, and their faith has weakened. God, however, appears to them in Genesis 18 and tells them that Sarah will conceive and have a son by the set time next year. “Is anything too hard fo...

Pastor Dr. Bob Sawvelle Genesis 22 presents a pivotal moment in Abraham’s walk with God, during which faith is not just professed but tested and demonstrated. Abraham, a man of faith and a friend of God, is called to a supreme test. Have you discovered faith is a journey of trust even when we don’t understand God’s leading and ways? In Proverbs three, we are given vital insights into faith and tru...

I continue this week’s study of Abraham and Sarah’s journey of faith. We pick up our story in Genesis 17 when God renews His covenant and promises to Abraham. It’s been about 23 years since the Lord first spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12, telling him to leave his country, family, and father’s house for a land God would show him. God also promised to make Abraham a great nation and bless all the fami...

Godly patience is a character quality that sustains us—a virtue. However, many of us grow impatient when waiting upon God for a promise to be fulfilled. In the delay we can become discouraged if the season is long. In the book of Proverbs, we read, Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Prov. 13:12 NKJV Only hope anchored firmly in God and His promises...

I will start a four-week series about Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) today. This series is about God’s faithfulness to us, even when we make mistakes or struggle with faith in His promises. I’ll also underscore the importance of trust, patience, and prophetic fulfillment in this series. This faith-filled couple would impact all our lives, yet they were less than perfect. In fact, they created s...

This is the last article in the series Overcoming a Grasshopper Complex. The series is about our new identity in Christ and how to overcome wrong beliefs and thinking, using the passage in Numbers 13 about 12 spies. It is adapted from my book, Fulfill Your Dreams. Twelve leaders were sent and found the land productive, just as God had promised. But ten of the twelve leaders were shaken with negati...

I started this series two weeks ago using Numbers 13, which describes the twelve leaders sent to spy on the Promised Land. The story reveals that wrong identity, fear, and unbelief affected ten leaders, which affected an entire generation, prohibiting them from receiving what God had already promised. Many today struggle with a false identity and a misunderstanding of who they are in Christ. I wan...

In this series, I am examining the importance of understanding our identity in Christ and ways to overcome wrong identity beliefs. Awareness of our new identity in Christ is foundational to living an abundant life and as an overcomer. His victory has become our victory! Paul stated in Colossians: For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3:3 NKJV As believers, our life is now...

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll examine passages in Numbers 13 about the children of Israel to understand more about how important identity is in our lives. In short, Moses was leading them to enter the land of Canaan, the land God promised them. The Lord directs Moses to send twelve spies into the land to observe it and come back and give a report on the land and the inhabitants. The spies sa...

Assuming this to be true, can I ask a simple question, “Is Jesus enough in your life?” Sure, we need tangible things to survive. But at the root of our existence and eternal life is Jesus. He must be foremost and enough through all of life’s highs and lows. Jesus’ disciples walked with Him, heard Him teach, and witnessed Him perform amazing miracles. Yet, as His time on earth was ending, they were...

Physicist Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” True. Every day, all around us, God’s supernatural, miraculous workings are evident. As Paul states in Romans 1, even creation declares God’s glory and workmanship. Jesus is the exact representation of our heavenly Father. Jesus ex...

Mark Pederson

Have you ever witnessed God do something powerful in your life, only to later doubt God's ability to come through in a similar situation? It is important to remember what God has done in the Bible, Church history, and your own life. For example, financial provision. Throughout God’s Word, He promises to provide for His people. Maybe you had a breakthrough in one season of your life, only to fa...

God's nature and ways are beyond human understanding. At times, God is miraculous. He is often mysterious. To believe is to embrace both the miraculous and mysterious nature of God. Genuine faith trusts despite conflicting circumstances with God's Word and nature (Prov. 3:5-6). For example, the death and resurrection of Jesus are mysterious. To the faithful follower of Christ, His vicariou...

Jesus attends the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath and reads from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2. He is proclaiming His Messiahship and that His mission was to liberate humanity from oppression. The phrase “to set at liberty” literally means to be released from bondage. To set at liberty is from the Greek άφεσης (aphesis) and is the process of setting free or liberating.1 It also means to release...

Jesus is in His hometown of Nazareth, attends the synagogue on the Sabbath, and reads from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1-2. He is proclaiming His Messiahship and that His mission was to liberate humanity from oppression. Before coming to Nazareth, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted and tested for 40 days. Afterward, He returned from the desert in the power of the Spirit. Jesus...

That His purposes on the earth will be accomplished, and His name will be exalted and made great. Gideon was one of those people God elevated for His purposes. That God could deliver the people and show Himself powerfully through an imperfect human vessel. Like Gideon, God sees our lives from the beginning and the end, He is outside of time. He knows our calling and destiny. But for most people, G...

God not only encountered and called Gideon but also instructed him on how to tear down a stronghold that was affecting him and others. God also spoke to Gideon’s true identity to free him, empower him, and prepare him for God’s calling. This message and article are about God’s faithfulness and our cooperation with God’s process. You see, God qualifies the called. None of us are perfect, only Jesus...

Did you know that Jesus has given you His authority to proclaim the good news, heal the sick, deliver the demonized, and be His ambassador? From the earliest pages of the Bible, we see God’s love, salvation, and healing extended to humanity. In Exodus 15:26, God declared to Israel and humanity, “I am the Lord who heals you.” (NKJV) God’s willingness to heal isn’t a maybe toward us; it was the reas...

God communicates to us in many ways. But are we listening? There is the Bible or the written word of God. But God also communicates through the Holy Spirit’s thoughts, impressions, dreams, visions, and encounters. We often wait for a loud, audible voice, but God is most often speaking to our inner person in quiet ways. Plan Your Visit Here! https://tinyurl.com/planavisit Website: https://www.passi...

Pastor Carolyn Sawvelle While the mind speaks through concepts and reason, dreams and visions communicate through pictures and symbols. Dreams and visions may provide God’s communication to us in ways our minds cannot or will not receive. It may be that the mind simply cannot comprehend the things God wants to say to us. Plan Your Visit Here! https://tinyurl.com/planavisit Website: https://www.pas...

This past Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost Sunday. Jesus promised his disciples a “baptism in the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5, 8), that he would send them a “Helper” who would “teach [them] all things” (John 14:26), and that he would not leave the disciples “as orphans” (John 14:18). The 120 disciples who waited in the upper room became recipients of this baptism. The Church was birthed, and the promise...