The Well (BGVA) Lessons and Messages

In this series, we will look at some of the submissions from all of you and respond to 2 or 3 each week in either a mini-sermon or a dedicated lesson.  This week we'll take a moment to dig into a single prompt about the meaning of the Sabbath. Are we to "observe the Sabbath"? What does that even mean, especially when we consider that Christ himself did work on the holy day. Perhaps what makes 'Sab...

In this series, we will look at some of the submissions from all of you and respond to 2 or 3 each week in either a mini-sermon or a dedicated lesson. This week we look at the virtues of idiotic footwear and the goods and bads of cultural icons.

In this series, we will look at some of the submissions from all of you and respond to 2 or 3 each week in either a mini-sermon or a dedicated lesson. This week we'll look at the virtues of not being a jerk with your shopping cart and a lesson about how we treat religious practice in Leviticus 10 (with an honorable mention to two stones).

In this series, we will look at some of the submissions from all of you and respond to 2 or 3 each week in either a mini-sermon or a dedicated lesson. This week we start off with a kid's joke about a chicken and a serious question from Numbers 7.

We all known John 3:16, but at what point in time do we take it to heart and show God the thanks He deserves for how He loves us?

Some church start-ups have gone to an "us against the world" vibe where they make it a point to reject all things "typical" in an attempt to be more authentic. But... what IS authentic? Is all religious practice bad or is there a time and a place for structure and order? A deeper look at the church of the 1st Century reveals a few interesting facts that may not be glamorous, but they reveal a lot...

Given that it's Mother's Day, we're practically obligated to do some kind of special message. However, the typical pandering from the pulpit seems insulting, so instead lets take a look at some of the remarkably amazing women of the Bible. Many of these individuals were mothers themselves. Regardless of what we know of their personal life, what we find is a bevy of spiritual giants who can teach a...

We live in a dramatic world. No matter how old or mature we get, it feels like everyone is just an angsty teenager trying to lash out at the latest life injustice. The consistent image we see in the Bible is not bombastic clashes for retribution and victory, but God found in the stillness. Perhaps that is why so many struggle and strive for contentment at the hands of their own efforts, only desti...

We all like a little "good job" every now and then. Sure, we should be motivated by our love of God and dedication to calling, but that little bit of encouragement helps our human hearts to carry on. Sometimes people go too far in their pursuit of congratulations, turning their life into a pursuit of adoration from others. They celebrate their victories to elevate their own reputation and the succ...

God doesn't simply call us to "exist"; he calls us to a righteous work. It's true that work for work's sake isn't fulfilling and misses the point. Some are accustomed to focusing on how much you can "do" in life and not what God is calling you to do. However, don't be deceived into thinking work plays no role. It was there in the garden. It was given as a blessing to the first generations, and it...

Music artist Forrest Frank gets a bad wrap for having superficial songs, but there is something strangely profound in an upbeat, "happy" song that still cries out "I need you now more than ever". Do we all cry out to God so much in our times of victory or are we quick to forget? What about the opposite situation; do we forget about God when things get tough because "I don't have time for God; I ju...

He is Risen! Are you living like it?

When we last visited the theme of Global Restoration, we looked at what God was doing to restore His kingdom and how, unlike the world, God’s restoration does not require violence because God has no rival. On Palm Sunday we are reminded of God’s power and authority through peace, echoed through Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Despite the cries of adulation, we see the Pharise...

Grace is something intended to be personal and intimate. It is individualized in many ways. We gather as churches and some are in the habit of limiting their spiritual experience, work, and growth to those assemblies alone. Because of this, the cynical fall into one of two camps. The first camp insists that their faith exists 'without a church' because they see that there is a personal element (as...

God restores us in a physical sense as well, and that isn't just some charismatic mumbo-jumbo! Our God heals. We see it time and time again. It is just as central to the story of our redemption as anything else. The reason physical restoration is so critical is because it is the most dramatic and tangible corollary to what God has done to our souls that we can sense in this mortal world. In Part 1...

Often we talk about restoration in a spiritual, and miraculously in a physical, sense but it also exists in the social sense. God does not desire for us to be alone. Being social with one another is built into the church. It is built into our DNA. God has given us helpers and communities to aid in the work we are called to do. Because we recognize the importance of this social connection, we shoul...

The story of restoration is central to the story of God. God restores His people after the great flood. God restores His promise through Abraham. God restores His nation through Moses. God restores His promise through Joshua. God restores His dominion through David. Our God is a God of restoration. The story of the adulteress may be true, it may be anachronistic, or it might be a combination of di...

God's plan since the fall of creation has been to restore us to him. Sometimes it seems like the world wants to fix itself. The problem is what Solomon talked about in Ecclesiastes: there is nothing new under the sun! Despite that, the potter can always make something new. The clay can not say "I wish to fix myself" or "I am determined to mend my broken edges", but through God even the more corrup...

God is building an empire, but not in the way we see it. As lovers of history will attest, there is this interesting academic effect where we begin to notice that no hegemonic power has a wholly innocent resume. Expansion, stabilization, and prosperity in a finite world, come at the cost of others. It is the natural order of things. This is where God's restoration of the world is different. As our...

Grace is something intended to be personal and intimate. It is individualized in many ways. We gather as churches and some are in the habit of limiting their spiritual experience, work, and growth to those assemblies alone. Because of this, the cynical fall into one of two camps. The first camp insists that their faith exists 'without a church' because they see that there is a personal element (as...

God restores us in a physical sense as well, and that isn't just some charismatic mumbo-jumbo! Our God heals. We see it time and time again. It is just as central to the story of our redemption as anything else. The reason physical restoration is so critical is because it is the most dramatic and tangible corollary to what God has done to our souls that we can sense in this mortal world. One of th...

Often we talk about restoration in a spiritual, and miraculously in a physical, sense but it also exists in the social sense. God does not desire for us to be alone. Being social with one another is built into the church. It is built into our DNA . God has given us helpers and communities to aid in the work we are called to do. Because we recognize the importance of this social connection, we shou...

The story of restoration is central to the story of God. God restores His people after the great flood. God restores His promise through Abraham. God restores His nation through Moses. God restores His promise through Joshua. God restores His dominion through David. Our God is a God of restoration. In this message, we focus on God's desire to create in us a clean heart and how that drives us even...

God is the potter and we are the clay... the potter never changes, but the clay changes as the potter's whim! God molds His creation through us which makes perfect sense. After all, our role in this creation is to be God's image so it makes sense God's image would be His primary tool for action. In Isaiah, we see flashes of anticipation for what is to come. What an appropriate way to transition ou...

Resolutions are typically tied to self-improvement. You can improve without thinking of your spiritual life, but improvements tied to the flesh are temporary AT BEST. What does it mean to improve spiritually and what are things we can do in the new year that would have a lasting impacting?