Washington Avenue Christian Church

Jake leads us through the overarching story of the Bible and how God, since the beginning of time, has contextualized himself, ultimately through Jesus. Throughout history, the methods of God and the Church have changed, but the message stays the same. God is the great I AM. He has never changed and never will, and we can be comforted by his presence in the days to come. Do you have prayer request...

Human habit finds us often in a doldrums of sorts, as we rock along for months, years, even decades—and convince ourselves that everything stays pretty much the same, or we hope that it will. Truth is-- nothing ever stays the same. Even within the span of what is familiar and comfortable and known to us, change has been ongoing. And that is because change is what God does. Today as we consider the...

While the past often haunts and taunts and stokes present regrets and fears, and while the past deeply impacts our present and future, there is no time like the present! The present moment is fleeting, becoming the past as each second ticks off the clock. But it is right here and right now that we make decisions, offer commitments, determine our priorities and decide to quit living in the past. To...

oday we spend some time looking back, which is really more about looking forward than we typically realize. As WACC nears a milestone—75 years as a church—it is important for us to note how we got here and even remember some of the “good ghosts” (wonderful witnesses now long (or recently) dead) who helped WACC get off to a great start. Any church that makes it to 75 years has allowed itself to be...

Only God can heal miraculously. He has performed all kinds of healings throughout the Bible and then some. Sometimes He did so on His own initiative. Sometimes He waited to do so on the request of people. In this week’s message we find that Naaman’s healing was dependent on his obedience, but his obedience was not dependent on his understanding. Just as God has shown He can heal bodies, His desire...

Parents and grandparents have long known from experience just how much a baby changes things when they enter their lives. Habits, dreams, activities, lifestyles, etc. all get transformed into something different. They challenge the status quo of our lives. Sometimes they even reveal the cracks in our lives. The baby Ruth and Boaz had not only changed their lives, but the descendant to come would b...

There are two primary tests of a person’s character: How cheaply can they be “bought” and how much are they “willing to pay?” The first is the issue of integrity and character, what it would take for a person to betray their values and beliefs. The second is an issue of unselfishness as it regards what lengths they would go to in order to do what’s right, even and especially when there is nothing...

Our story is picking up speed. After unexpectedly finding favor and food from a man named Boaz, Naomi and Ruth’s situation has changed dramatically for the better. Daring to reach for joy, Naomi is still hoping for more, and she weaves an intricate plan that will result in some speed dating for Ruth and Boaz. But there’s another wrinkle in the plot, and these two people of great character will hav...

As we shift into chapter 2 of Ruth, we meet Boaz, who, for all intents and purposes, is the hero of this story. In meeting Boaz, though, we will realize that it is not him, but God, who is the hero, as God is the one who has always been in the business of providing for his people. That certainly means something special for Ruth and her situation, but what about us? This week, Shane walks through t...

Every single day we make a thousand decisions. While most of them are inconsequential, some of them can literally chart the course of our entire futures. It’s a mystery how a sovereign God can still allow his subjects to make decisions that have eternal impact. It would not suit Him to make us merely puppets; He loves us too much for that. In our message today, a young gentile woman will make a de...

There are a lot of stories in the Bible that document our human tendency to run away from God. Some of the biggest names in the Bible have that very chapter in their stories. And so do we.    In today’s story, we step into the first verses of the Book of Ruth, and we will find a damaged family at the end of themselves. By the time the story ends today, we will have walked with them through an “abo...

Today we step into a new series that will take us into the fall. After months of murder, mayhem and chaos in the Book of Judges, we step just one book forward in the Old Testament, and we find a refreshing means to “wash off the dirt” of Judges. This sweet little book will explain the ancestry of King David (and ultimately a much greater King of the same dynasty) and it will show us the beautiful...

Many people are unaware of the fact that the idea of work and a “work ethic” are woven into the Bible from the earliest pages of scripture. Long before the fall, humans were given a job to do, tending the garden, tending paradise, so to speak. With the fall work became undoubtedly harder, but in no way a punishment in and of itself. From the biblical perspective, work is always a gift, always a bl...

In today’s final message of the Broken Saviors series, we walk through what might well be the most disturbing and ugly chapters in the entire Bible. There’s probably a good reason why almost nobody preaches about these chapters, and almost no one can spend much time reading them! But read them we must! And pay attention, we must—because they are true-to-life, unvarnished pictures of exactly what h...

Everybody—absolutely everybody—has a god. From the most devout follower of the Lord, to the most determined atheist—everybody has a god. Trouble is, only One is real, true, powerful. The rest are mere counterfeits—broken, damaged, inadequate and ultimately incredibly disappointing. In our story today a man named Micah tries to create some gods made in his own image. It is a classic picture of anci...

Time and time again Samson has shown his propensity for his physical strength and moral weakness. This part of Samson’s life will show that his strength will become his weakness. His pride will lead to his downfall, but his humility will lead to the downfall of the Philistines. When we let God work with and use our weaknesses He can make something beautiful of our brokenness. Do you have prayer re...

When I was a kid the stories of Samson that I remembered always dealt with his strength. As I read the accounts of Samson as an adult, I see the parts that didn’t get brought up when I was a When I was a kid the stories of Samson that I remembered always dealt with his strength. As I read the accounts of Samson as an adult I see the parts that didn’t get brought up when I was a kid. These make me...

If you are paying attention during the middle of summer you will spot a few areas that celebrate Christmas in July. In this week’s message Samson’s beginnings point forward to another angelic visit - to another soon to be deliverer. Both of these deliverers were born with an already identified mission. They came into this world with work to accomplish. One was temporary for a certain place and tim...

Join us this week as Jake takes us through the challenging story of Jephthah, his victory over Ammon, and the sacrifice of his daughter. Do you have prayer requests?  Get in touch directly with the team at WACC using this link: https://wacconline.org/prayer-request We look forward to hearing from you! Want to take the next step in getting involved at Washington Avenue Christian Church? Fill out th...

Do you have prayer requests?  Get in touch directly with the team at WACC using this link: https://wacconline.org/prayer-request We look forward to hearing from you! Want to take the next step in getting involved at Washington Avenue Christian Church? Fill out this connect card and someone will reach out to you! https:// www.wacconline.org/connectcard Stay in touch by signing up for our weekly new...

 As Gideon prepares for his showdown with the Midianites, God intervenes to show Gideon his limits, redirect his fears, and show him an unconventional battle plan. In this second week of Gideon’s story, we will walk together through these topics and see how Gideon’s preparations for battle can be applied to our lives here and now.  Do you have prayer requests?  Get in touch directly with the team...

While there are lots of characters in the Bible we can identify ourselves with, if we are honest with ourselves, none come closer to the truth of who we are and how we act than Gideon. Living in the tension of who we are and who we are called to be takes wisdom and a considerable amount of faith. Perhaps Gideon’s example will teach us what not to do as we try and grow into what God has called us t...

Do you ever feel like there is nothing one person can do to make a positive difference in the battle against evil in this world? Does it seem that every day brings chaos more than control, and storms increasingly threaten peace? Into just such a time came a woman named Deborah, who is remembered as a Judge of Israel. At just the right time, God raised her up to decisively change “the way things we...

And so it begins . . . The Israelites found themselves in a sin cycle that continued to repeat for centuries. Each time the Lord raised up a deliverer after they cried out to Him. Judges 3 begins the cycle that would perpetuate itself. Their story is our story. Same old story - just different characters. The difference is that Jesus is the only one who can truly deliver us from sin and its eternal...

In our second message introducing the Book of Judges, we will see just how fast the faith of a nation can go from a vibrant dependency to a forgotten fable. In only one generation, Israel manages to turn away from the God who led them across the wilderness and gave them a promised land, to become a nation “prostituting themselves” and sleeping with just about any god who came along. This sad story...