Tomball Bible Church

A spiritually mature disciple learns to know God so that he lives “low and slow” and leads in his God-given gifts. Christ has given gifts to the Church by His grace through the Spirit. These gifts are roles of service and abilities given to every believer that are Spirit-empowered which God uses to build up the Church and to make Christ known. | Ephesians 4:7-16

Our mission is to glorify Christ by making mature disciples to reach the nations. We are in good company as this was Paul's aim in ministry also (Col. 1:28-29)! Spiritual maturity is hard to define because we are deeply flawed, often hold different views of what maturity is, and do not always know how to recognize it in ourselves and others. The Apostle Paul helps us move toward a shared defi...

The reason we exist at Tomball Bible Church is to glorify Jesus Christ by making mature disciples to reach the nations. But what does it mean to glorify Jesus? How do we actually go about doing that? What does it look like for us to be a church that glorifies Jesus? | Various Scriptures

Supplication is asking God to give us something specific. We are encouraged to ask for whatever we want. God already knows what we will ask, and he delights when we do so. The Bible specifies at least eight conditions that we must meet in order for God to grant our requests. God is sovereign, but he sometimes changes his plan in response to our supplications, and sometimes he says “no”. Sometimes...

"Thank you" is such a simple expression. It serves as a response to a demonstration or word of kindness. There is quite a dynamic range for expressing gratitude: from a quick, polite "thank you" that might be expressed at a drive-thru window to an overwhelming speechlessness after a child was rescued from harm by a courageous neighbor. Because of God's loyal love, we have...

Out of deep love and kindness, God shines His light on us. His truth exposes the dark pursuits we each have. And when we sin, and conviction comes through the Spirit, the Word, or the body of believers, we have a gracious gift from God called confession. To confess is to agree with God about the truth that we have turned away from His holy standard. How will you respond when faced with the truth?...

What must it be like to be in the literal presence of God? When you pray, do you regularly have a sense or awareness of being in the midst of His indescribable power, holiness, and steadfast love? Bringing God adoration lifts our eyes out of the limitations of the physical world around us to gaze on our limitless God. Every atom, cell, star, galaxy, and galaxy cluster (even the universe) is upheld...

The temple of God was always intended to be a house of prayer. Now, through the Holy Spirit, the Church is a new temple where God dwells by His Spirit (Eph. 2:22). Prayer is an absolute essential for being the people of God. We are called to pray fervently and unceasingly. As we enter into a new year, we seek to grow as a house of prayer by seeking God's face with renewed intention and purpos...

2020 has been a year full of ups and downs and surprises. There might be plenty of things that have happened that you would like to forget. While trying to forget the hard times, we tend to also forget that God was faithful during the dark seasons. Today, we look at the book of Joshua and how the Lord calls us to remember what he has done for us and what he continues to do for us. | Joshua 4

John shares two defining characteristics of Jesus in John 1:14. He is full of grace and truth. Our Savior is the complete Source of both. To fully understand the words, grace and truth, we need the OT background which provides the important connection to God's covenant love and faithfulness. As Christians, we are called to be like Christ, but we can only walk in grace and truth through Him an...

The incarnation of Jesus is central to our faith as Christians. Jesus came to us with two natures. In His humanity, He became our perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for our sin. He atoned for us so that we would be redeemed and restored to God. In His deity, He revealed the glory of God in such a way that had never before been made known. In Christ, the glory of God is seen and through faith in Him,...

Immanuel - God with us. Our God, in His love for us, took on flesh and dwelt among us. From the beginning, God has longed for His people to dwell with Him. Because He is holy and we are not, we cannot be in His presence due to our sin. Yet, God chose to rescue us by sending Jesus our Savior so that we could be restored by faith and we could dwell in the presence of God. Only Christ could uniquely...

We believe God is one God in three persons, and that Jesus (the second person of the Trinity) took on an additional nature – a human nature - when he was born as a baby on Christmas Day. That Jesus became flesh, commonly called the incarnation, is a divine mystery. That Jesus is fully God and fully man is a foundational belief of the Christian faith, and is supported by five main biblical truths:...

The closing verses of John 17 provide Christ’s prayer for not only His disciples but for all of those who will believe in Him through their witness in the world. Jesus made three petitions of the Father on behalf of the Church. He prayed for our unity, our glory, and our deepening understanding of God. All of these petitions are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Himself. He knew what His disciples did...

Based on the faith of His eleven disciples and the beautiful truth that they were given to Him by the Father, Jesus prays on their behalf. Having prayed for Himself, Jesus prays and petitions His Father that His followers would be kept secure and set apart for their kingdom purpose. Kept and set apart. These are two promises which believers in Christ have been given. The Trst response to these pro...

Jesus finishes his final discourse with a prayer so unique, so specific to His personhood, that it is often called the High Priestly Prayer. In this first section of his prayer, Jesus prays for his own glory as the hour of his death and subsequent glory fast approaches. | John 17:1-5

Life is a difficult journey with many toils and snares. Lean into the story of another person, and you will discover a mixed bag of life experiences. Christ assured His disciples that they would face hardships, especially persecution (even death) because of Him. John 16:33 is one of the hallmark verses in the gospel of John. Jesus shares that in the midst of our hard roads, He is our peace and His...

There's a pretty long list of things that we can allow to rob us of joy. One of the most common joy robbers is confusion about God's plan. We face hardships in various forms all the time. It is challenging for us when we do not know what God is doing or why He allows our circumstances. The disciples were right in the middle of confusion over Christ's words that He would leave them a...

We live in world at war. It is a war that has raged since humanity’s first fall into active rebellion against God. This conflict is in two theaters: the physical theater and the spiritual theater. And all is not quiet on either front! The Church faces incredible opposition from Satan, our enemy, as well as the world “club,” our opposition from our fellow man. The disciples found themselves filled...

Jesus continued his private instructions to his apostles, just 2-3 days before his death. Jesus warned them about “The World Club” (or “the world” as it is called in Scripture), a global club of members united around one common interest: active rebellion against God. Jesus warned his apostles (and us) that the World Club will hate Christians because (1) Christians are not members of the World Club...

Loving one another really, really, really matters in the church. We need to look no further than Jesus’ words to His disciples (and to us) in John 15:12-17 for the reasons why this is true. The church is not a building, but a family of brother and sisters in Christ who are called to represent Jesus in the world. So what did Jesus say that makes loving one another really, really, really matter? 1....

The mark of a maturing disciples is abiding in Christ. To abide in this passage is not simply to rest passively with Jesus. To abide means daily devotion with Jesus through active prayer, love, and obedience. As Christ is preparing His disciples for His departure to the Father, He is giving these final instructions that they would believe in Him and persevere in the days, months, and years ahead....

The person and the work of the Holy Spirit is essential truth for the Christian life. In this weekend’s message, we explored the truth that the Holy Spirit is God, a Person, and has distinct work. We also found that the life we are called to live in the Spirit is a life of righteousness, peace, and joy. | Various scriptures

Jesus’ death is near and he knows everything is about to change, but his disciples are still not getting it. He’s demonstrated his love for them, and now he instructs them to show their love for him with their obedience. He also assures them that they will not be alone in their struggle to love and obey but will have a Helper—the promised Spirit. | John 14:15-24

The words and works of Jesus Christ reveal that He is one with the Father. To know Jesus is to know the Father. To see Jesus is to see the Father. Christ's purpose throughout His ministry was to bring glory to the Father and to reveal what the Father is like to humanity. The glory of God in the Old Testament was linked to the word weight (kavōd). This was a measure of volume, of weight. Jesus...