Thrive Harbor

Everyone suffers, but not everyone suffers well. So what’s the secret? The Bible would say you have to find meaning in suffering, a purpose higher than just your happiness. Many world religions claim to offer such a purpose, but Christianity is utterly unique in offering not just a purpose worth suffering for… but a person who suffered for you. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this mess...

Mark Twain said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." Yet most of us struggle to find a purpose worth living for. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul sets out the one passion that fueled and energized him—the advance of the gospel. But why was Paul so gripped by the gospel, and what gave him the power to lay down his life for it? Scri...

The last five psalms are psalms of praise, and that's no accident. That's because in Christ we're promised that even the most painful experiences will eventually give way to praise. This message on the Bible's final psalm unpacks what praise is, the different forms praise can take, and the ultimate motive that Christians have for worshipping God.

Fear is like paralysis: it makes us stuck and unable to move forward. In this message, Drew Dawson, a church planter with  Resurrection Church , shares on Psalm 27, a reflection on how David’s faith helped him combat his fear.

There are plenty of religious figures out there. What makes Jesus unique? One of the best answers to this question is found in an obscure chapter from the Old Testament. Psalm 110 gives us the "ID card" of the Messiah, predicting Jesus' two natures (fully God and fully man), two comings (to bear judgment and to bring judgment), and two offices (king and priest). Latching on to these truths about J...

When we try to control everything, we get stressed out. Faith, by contrast, is life without scheming, and the result is rest. In this message on Psalm 131, Jake Chambers, pastor of Local Church , shows that the more control we release, the more peace we receive, as we remember that God is God and we are not.

God pursues us, but he also invites us to pursue him. In this message, Peter Churness, pastor of  One Hope Church , unfolds David's prayer in Psalm 63. Just as David thirsted for his first love in the desert, so God invites us to thirst for him when we feel spiritually dry. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Psalm 42; 2 Samuel 15ff.; Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:13; and...

Why do we experience guilt and shame? Why is it so creeping, pervasive, and deep? And where can we find release? In Psalm 32, King David—whose moral failures included murder, adultery, and sabotage—announces his discovery of a way to be rid of guilt and shame, and the joy and peace that he experienced as a result. This message was preached on Thursday, July 16, 2020 by Kurt Mach, pastor of Peninsu...

Everybody has experiences in life where things that you looked to for identity and security crumble before your eyes. Yet Psalm 46 makes the radical claim that there is a source of protection and inner strength that will never let you down—even if "the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea." Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 8:28.

David's strategy for seeking God's protection is a strange one: he breaks out into a worship session! Psalm 16 is the record of what David spoke to his heart when faced with fear and anxiety. Not only do his words teach us how to find strength in God, but they also provide an incredible glimpse of the gospel, showing us that the true source of strength isn't in the power of our worship but in the...

Anxiety and depression are skyrocketing, especially among younger Americans. But through God, depression doesn't have to have the last word. Psalm 42 is a psalm written by a depressed person. But instead of bowing to his depression, the psalmist reminds his soul in the darkness of the truths he learned in the light. Refusing either to ignore his pain or to treat it as ultimate reality, the psalmis...

Susan Bouterse joins Thrive to share some profound thoughts on prayer, the journey of knowing God, and the way God can use suffering to shape us. As Thrive journeys through the Psalms, be sure to check out the Thrive "Psalmcast," a special series of regular podcast  episodes  that help you pray the psalms. Just search for "Thrive Harbor" wherever you get your podcasts!

The God of the Bible is a God who loves justice. How should this shape the way Christians live? In this message, Michael Bouterse, Thrive's local director, offers some thoughts from Scripture on how Christians can listen, lament, and respond to racial injustices in our world. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Galatians 2:11-16; Romans 12:15; Jeremiah 22:3, 15; Nehemi...

John Dorsey, former youth pastor at  Fox Island Alliance Church , joins Thrive to talk about prayer. John shares his story about how God became real to him through prayer, the difference between prayer as duty versus delight, and his favorite ways to spend time with God. As Thrive journeys through the Psalms, be sure to check out the Thrive "Psalmcast," a special series of regular podcast&nbs...

How can our hearts become ready and receptive to meet with God in prayer? In Psalm 139, David shows that one way to do this is to meditate on whom it is we’re praying to. Reflecting on God’s attributes prepares our hearts for prayer, captivating us with God’s wonder and majesty, and also driving us to a healthy measure of self-examination.  Scripture passages cited in this message include Psa...

If we encounter God through prayer, that must also mean that He encounters us—in all our brokenness, unbelief, and messy emotions. Is it okay to bring our "difficult" emotions before God? Does he really give us permission to be raw and vulnerable before him? According to Psalm 39, the answer is yes. Through Jesus Christ, prayer is a kind of divine invitation to come before God just as we are, know...

How can prayer shift from being a routine space to a relational space, a space where God becomes real to your heart? In this opening message for Thrive’s series on praying the Psalms, Michael Bouterse, Thrive’s local director, teaches through Psalm 73. Psalm 73 revolves around an encounter that Asaph had with God that changed his life forever. This is what prayer is meant to be: not just a churchy...

The coronavirus has exposed the fragility and uncertainty of our world. Can we have hope for the future? In this message on 2 Peter 3, David Baumgaertel, one of Thrive’s alums, walks through what Scripture says about Christ’s glorious return, answering along the way key questions about the end times, such as: Why does it seem like Jesus is taking so long to come back? What is “the Day of the Lord”...

We live in a world of fake news—and of fake gospels! In this message on 2 Peter 2, Ed Longabaugh, pastor of Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church , expounds Peter’s dire warning about false teachers and how to spot them. Along the way, Ed also points out how secularism—the dominant worldview in our culture today—is eerily similar to the very false teachings Peter writes about.

How can you be certain that something is true? In this message on 2 Peter 1:12-21, Matt Edwards, pastor at Believers Fellowship , explains how Peter makes the case that one day Jesus will return. As one who beheld Jesus in His glorified state on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter invokes his own eyewitness testimony, as well as the testimony of the prophetic Scriptures that predict the Messiah’s...

Being a Christian is like going up the down escalator—without forward motion, you’ll go backwards! In this message on 2 Peter 1:1-11, Mac Davis, one of Thrive’s own, teaches on what it looks like to have a faith that grows and is active rather than passive. A growing faith is a God-centered faith: we advance in the Christian life when our focus is on knowing God better! And when faith grows, so to...

The Bible is full of assurances that God is a shelter to all who belong to him. But at the same time, following God is risky. God is a God of adventure, sometimes calling us to places of danger we’d rather not go. In this message on Luke 8:22-25, Michael Bouterse, Thrive’s local director, teaches on a story where the disciples learned this firsthand. Invited by Jesus to venture out onto the stormy...

The last few years have witnessed a host of Christian leaders who have lost their positions due to scandal and abuse of power. The result is a tremendous hunger in our world today for leaders of character and integrity. In this message on 1 Peter 5:1-11, Tim Stobbe, lead pastor of Waypoint Church , unfolds Peter’s exhortation to those in leadership, which calls authority figures to be mindful of h...

According to 1 Peter, Christianity is often the path not of least resistance but of most resistance. In this message on 1 Peter 4:12-19, Dustin Langley, lead pastor of Peninsula Life Church , teaches on the cost of discipleship, emphasizing that following Jesus is a choice we make on a daily basis, even if to do so opens us up to pain and suffering. Scripture passages cited in this message include...

If you knew that the world were ending tomorrow, would you change how you live today? In this message on 1 Peter 4:1-11, David Shohradov, one of Thrive’s own, gives four attitudes that Christians are called to have in light of the imminent return of Jesus. Along the way, David also sounds the Bible’s call to make a total, radical break with sin.