The Bridge Church Sermons

One of the greatest deceptions we can fall into is thinking that because we are used by God, we actually belong to Him. It’s possible to do work for God without having spent time with God, and the fruit we bear will show the reality of where our roots really are.  Jesus addresses this important warning in the Sermon on the Mount, but we can’t only think of it as a warning. It’s also an invitation—...

Love is so much more than a feeling—it's an action. Kindness is possible even when affection is not. The way of Christ often involves treating others in a way we feel like they don't deserve.  Would you say you have a natural strength to do this? There is no question that it's uneasy. Unnatural, even. Jesus knew that, and yet He taught us to live radically different lives anyways. ...

Worry is a pandemic of the human heart. As much as we wish it was easy to simply stop worrying, it often feels impossible. Is that where you are now?  We have to depend on God wholeheartedly, if we have any hope to overcome our own anxiety. We have to seek Him first, trust Him and His love that promises to provide.  Where is the root of our worry, and how do we actually go about killing it?  Suppo...

Pride is more of a virtue in our culture than humility. What is glorified in the world are self-accomplishments, and we thrive on showing the world our best sides and hiding the rest.  Unfortunately, this makes its way even into our faith, and even when we're following the way of Jesus, the motive is all wrong. We're all guilty of it because we long to be noticed for the good we do.  The...

"Love your enemies." Some of the most applauded words in history, and also some of the most evaded. Following the way of Jesus never promises to be easy, but this command sometimes seems especially hard, don't you think? What did Jesus really mean by it? And how do we become people who live it out rather than run from it? It's an especially important question to ask in the day...

Sin discussions are hard. Let’s just call it like it is. Matthew 5 can be one of the difficult sections of Scripture to read because it addresses the hard truths of sin, and Jesus has some instruction for us that doesn’t feel easy or convenient. But Jesus was never out to teach the easy way—He taught the Kingdom way. And the Kingdom way looks beyond the surface and beyond simply behavior modificat...

Culture is not unchangeable. Hearts are not immovable. But it doesn't happen on accident. The world can experience the transformative power of Jesus when Christians move from merely existing in the world to engaging in culture. It is the privilege and responsibility we have as children of God to bring the love of Christ into the dark places of our culture and our cities.  The world is not loo...

Each of us could come up with our own definition of a "blessed life." When you think of what your life would look like as "blessed," what do you think of first? Money? Status? Family? Charisma?  The way Jesus talks about being blessed is so counter to what we feel or even believe. Even though we might know with our heads what Jesus says about blessings, our hearts have to grapp...

The people who Jesus calls "blessed" in the Sermon on the Mount may surprise us. It's the poor in spirit. The mourning and the meek. Those who long for righteousness. Our culture defines blessedness in a lot of ways, but Jesus came to define His kingdom, which is upside down from everything we know of this world.  So, who is really blessed?  Support the show

The people who Jesus calls "blessed" in the Sermon on the Mount may surprise us. It's the poor in spirit. The mourning and the meek. Those who long for righteousness. Our culture defines blessedness in a lot of ways, but Jesus came to define His kingdom, which is upside down from everything we know of this world.  So, who is really blessed?  Support the show

In Matthew 28, Jesus gives a mission to all His followers—then and now—for how to live in the world, called The Great Commission. Do you know what that mission is? In 2017, a research group called Barna asked that question to churchgoers, and the results were startling: 82% of churchgoers responded that they either didn't know or were unsure in their knowledge of The Great Commission. If we a...

We're all disciples of someone or something. The question is not "if" we're being discipled, it's if we know what we're being discipled by. And this is important to know because who we're becoming is important. Becoming more like Jesus isn't something we stumble into—it requires daily intentional abiding with God and with gospel community. Trying to run the...

Before we are asked to do anything for God, He invites us to be with Him. Intimacy with Jesus is the goal. But so often, our presence with God takes a backseat to performance. There is work to be done, accomplishments to be won… We forget the truth of Psalm 46:10—that we know God best when we are still before Him. We will never stumble into godliness. To be transformed by Christ requires daily pre...

Did you start the new year with goals and resolutions? If you're honest, how many of you are four days in and have already missed a mark or given up? When our attempts at self-improvement fall short, we will come face to face with the reality that we still carry the same worries and fears, the same sadness, burdens, and hardships we did before attempted to improve. Why? Because what we need a...

Now what? Christmas is over. The tree comes down, the decorations tuck away... our focus begins to change.  But Christmas is only the beginning of the story—of a new hope for the world then, and for us now. What do we do when the festivities are over but the true spirit of the day is meant to continue?  Support the show

It is not WITHIN US to rescue ourselves. It is not AROUND US as if circumstances could save us.  It is not ABOVE US because we have no ability on our own to reach upward  for our rescue. It is TO US. "For to us a child is born,  to us a son is given,  and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.&quot...

It is not WITHIN US to rescue ourselves. It is not AROUND US as if circumstances could save us.  It is not ABOVE US because we have no ability on our own to reach upward  for our rescue. It is TO US. "For to us a child is born,  to us a son is given,  and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.&quot...

When we focus in on the witnesses of the first Christmas, the shepherds stand out for good reason. The shepherds cared for animals who were considered with more worth than even the shepherds themselves were, and they were the ones to receive the news of Jesus.  They were the outcasts, castaways, considered lower than their own sheep... and yet the glorious news of Jesus was theirs to show us somet...

Presence > Presents It's a simple equation. On the first Christmas, the greatest present came in the form of God's presence. Lying in a manger, God took on the form of a human, humbled and obedient, so that we might experience the greatest love the world would ever know. Isn't love the point of every good gift? The first Christmas would argue so. What would it look like to give m...

It is estimated that Americans will spend more than $4.5 billion on Christmas this year.  This time of year is naturally riddled with a wanting for more things, and it shadows the actual longing of our souls.  Here’s the truth: What is temporary can never satisfy an eternal longing. But you don’t have to keep drinking from wells that still leave you thirsty.  1. Jesus is a planned presence 2. Jesu...

At the end of the Old Testament, the promise of a Messiah is prophesied. What came next?  Approximately 400 years of silence.  Centuries passed, waiting for the coming of this promised Messiah. Life went on… as did the longing for this promised hope of a King.  And then, one day, an angel appears to Mary. The news she receives is unexpected, even daunting. Yet we read her response, described in on...

When the disciples could ask Jesus to teach them anything, they asked this: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).  Here’s why: Prayer is a declaration of war on this self-centered, self-sufficient, short-term kind of living. Prayer is the spinal column of your walk with God, deeply and inextricably connected to the way you walk.  When you think about the rhythms of your life, is prayer a priority?...

There is an empire that is ruling the world. And in case you’ve never been told, there are times when resistance is a good thing.  And here’s why: the world is full of things that get in the way of our view of God.  In order to receive from God, we need to be willing to resist our false ideas of God. God is not after creating convenience for us, and we need to resist the thought that God is not mo...

We live in a culture where busyness is glorified. The more you do, the more accomplished you are. We've turned rest into something we feel guilty about, or we allow it to convince us that we are lazy. We can so easily fail to be satisfied with what we have and have been given. However, here's the truth about who we are: We are finite beings who aren't created to carry the weight of...

The things we do in life always do something to us. From simple things such as how much sleep we get each night to how often we look at our phones, everything we do plays a part into the person we are and who we are becoming.  A question to ask ourselves then is, "What are the habits that I've been allowing to shape who I am?" There is a concept called The Rule of Life. We all have...