The Bridge Church Sermons

We are prone to forget—sometimes small things, often major things... major things like when God has been faithful.  Has it ever felt impossible to believe the goodness and faithfulness of God, especially when you stood in the face of difficulty or hopelessness? You might be there right now.  Things might not be going well... Yet God is still in control, He is still faithful and good, and He is nea...

“God, I don’t like your timing, and I don’t like your method.” Ever been there? Ever had the courage to tell God that? That’s what Habakkuk told God. But even though he was frustrated, instead of running away, he ran near to God, and waited. And the lesson Habakkuk learns in chapter 2 is just as relevant for us today: God is working in your waiting. It may not always make sense. And it may not be...

"How long, O Lord?” Even if we haven’t said those words exactly, we’ve likely all had a moment in our faith where we question God. Does he even care? When things are falling apart, is He going to do anything? Where is He, and what is He doing? Habakkuk wrestled with these very same questions—so much so that we have reason to believe from his account that God not only hears and is okay with it...

Ancient people would expect God to make a holy place. But instead, God makes a holy day — a day of Sabbath.  This day was far more than a day for rest, as good as that is. It's a day designed to grow our intimacy with Jesus, deepen our surrender, and reorient our lives toward God.  It's a day for WORSHIP. Have you thought of your Sabbath that way?  It changes everything as you think abou...

The Sabbath is an opportunity to refuel—physically, but we can't forget emotionally and spiritually, too. After our weeks filled with hard work of our hands, heads, and hearts, we need our souls to be recentered too, and that happens through delight.  We need to think of the Sabbath as a weekly pitstop where we fill our emotional fuel tank with JOY. And there isn't a person in the world...

Ever feel like you’re going 24/7 with no real rest? Like you’re a “human doing”, not a “human being? It's the cycle most of us get caught up in without realizing we are, or not knowing a way out.  God gave us a clear picture of who we are called to be and what we are called to do. Over time, distractions make this image blurry, but Scripture calls us back with the invitation to Sabbath.  The...

Here's a sobering question: If God sabbathed, who do we think we are to think we don't need to, too?  Stopping for one day of the week—completely stopping—is uncomfortable because we live in a culture wired to do everything opposite. In fact, of the 10 Commandments, we don't brag about breaking any except for when we brag about how busy we are, or how long it's been since our l...

Do we own our stuff, or does our stuff own us? When we look at all the things you own, are we any happier?  More than a quarter of Jesus' teachings were about wealth, materials, and possessions, and that's likely because we tend to try meeting the voids in our spirits by filling it with things that will make us happier. As time has gone on, it's only gotten worse collectively.  If w...

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Have you ever wished for things to look different in your life, but gone back to doing the same old things you’ve always done? We’ve all been there… many times over. The things we do in life always do something to us. If we look at our habits, we can often guess what our future will look like, and the question stands: Are we doing things that will lead to the life we want? There is a concept calle...

What is your view of God? It's one of the most defining relationships we'll ever have, so truly, how do you see Him? For many of us, we've viewed God for years through the distorted lenses of pain, loss, anger, rejection—we can each fill in the blank.  But it's often through the moments we're broken-hearted that we break through to see the real love of God. The story of th...

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Why does it seem like the wonder of Christmas fades as we become adults? The season seems marked by the stress of hitting the December 25th deadline—to wrap the gifts, to prep the big meal, to host the family... all while it seems like so much of life isn't filled with the joy this season is meant to hold.  We stuff the stockings of our soul with things that can't amount to the peace we&...

How do you feel about your human limitations? Are you frustrated by the things you aren’t able to fix, control, or understand? The good news is that God is not surprised that we are not God. We are not designed to control or fix all of the things we wish we could, but we do need hope within those circumstances.  The BEST news is that those circumstances are not foreign to God. When God could have...

There are a lot of things out there trying to convince us that they’re “the light”—that they’re the key to happiness, fulfillment, and meaning. We’re surrounded by these demi-lights, and they’re not always bad things… until we actually believe they’re the true light. In Scripture, again and again, Jesus is referred to as Light. Not just a light, but THE light. Do we recognize him? Or is he just an...

You can't erase the fingerprints of God's goodness, even when darkness seems to get closer and closer. God's Word promises that the darkness will not overcome the light, and that's not merely affirmation for the Light that it is strong enough... it's reassurance for us that even when the darkness seems strong, it does not win.  But we wait. We wait for the day when the Lig...

What do the eyes, ears, heart, and hands all have in common? Don’t overthink it. What they all do is different, but they all do something—important things only they can do. There is intricacy in the way God has designed the human body for function and flourishing—parts working together in their essential functions to make the most complex system in the world work, day-in and day-out.  Would we eve...

We won’t change the world by only going to church. We will change the world by being the church.  What if by the power of God’s grace we weren’t meant to consume but meant to participate in as a body? What if we didn’t reduce church to something we just attend but something we belong to and participate in? We are the church. We are not a corporation of religious professionals, dispensing spiritual...

What are the things that keep you from sharing the gospel? Is it fear? Is it the thought that you can't make a difference? Or maybe it's that you simply don't know how.  God's plan from the very beginning was to use ordinary people to tell of God's extraordinary story—and that is freeing to remember. God has given us His presence, His plan, and His power so that the world...

Church isn’t a building. Worship isn’t just music. Ministry isn’t just for pastors. And prayer isn’t for the experts. Prayer is an invitation for all of us to bring our whole, true self to God. And the ultimate goal of prayer is not to be a better pray-er, but to grow in intimacy with God. May we remember that prayer is far less about moving God’s hand and far more about changing our heart because...

Nope, don’t check out just yet—“the wealthy” likely includes you in this case.  The Bible talks pretty heavily about money. Did you know there is more in the New Testament about money than heaven and hell combined, and that five times more verses deal with money and possessions than prayer?  This topic is worth paying attention to, even when on the surface, it doesn’t feel very spiritual. The trut...

Pride is the doorway to all the places in life we don’t want to end up. And yet, so often, it's pride that we think is the sin we don't struggle with, or we brush it off because we don't realize just how big a pitfall it is.  But the goal is not humility. Humility is the by-product of the real antidote to pride, and that's intimacy with Jesus. Apart from the Holy Spirit, we sta...

A lot of things can look like the real deal until they're put to the test—diamonds that don't pass the scratch test, money that changes color under a counterfeit pen...  Even our wisdom can be counterfeit if it comes from the wrong source. And the scary part is that a lot of times, we're totally fine with the counterfeit as long as it looks real on the outside.  James 3 continues th...

If you've ever wondered what kind of weight your words hold, think about the last time you talked yourself into something. Or when you talked yourself out of something.  If your words can have such a directive impact on you, imagine the impact it can have on others—maybe helpful, maybe harmful, but always powerful.  James 3 reminds of us of three things to never forget about our words:  1. Th...

"Talk is cheap. Let's go play." - Johnny Unitas That’s a modern quote to summarize the back half of James 2 that has troubled Christians for centuries. And it’s because it poses this question: Can you have faith without works?  If we are saved by faith alone, where do works fall in the equation? What does true saving faith look like? The gospel produces both faith and works. One wit...