Waterbrooke Church

This Sunday morning, we will conclude our Christmas-season study of Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth. In Luke 2:22–38, we meet two faithful elderly saints, Simeon and Anna. Simeon is described in verse 25: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” Anna, an eighty-four-year...

“And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God saying, ‘Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.’” (Luke 2:13-14). In Luke’s Gospel, praise erupts in heaven and on earth—angels rejoicing above, shepherds celebrating below. Christ the Savior was born! Hope slipped quietly into the world as God Himself came to rescue...

Join us this week as Dr. Brian Thomas guides us through Luke 2:1–20 in his sermon, “Good News of Great Joy for Those in Darkness.” In Luke’s Gospel, the Good News of Christmas is set in the real world, which is often quite dark. The angels’ announcement of Christ’s birth comes to humble shepherds and brings them joy and peace to the glory of God. 

Last Sunday, we saw that one of Luke’s clear themes surrounding the birth of Jesus the Christ is “great joy.” Another one of Luke’s repeated descriptions of people’s reactions to the coming Jesus is wonder and amazement.  Isaiah prophesied that the Christ’s name would be called “Wonderful”.  When all the people hear that Zechariah and Elizabeth were going to be calling the name of their son John,...

Over the next couple of Sundays, as we lead up to Christmas, we are going to focus on the praise that happens surrounding the announcement and the arrival of the Messiah. This week, we will look at Mary’s praise. Next week, we will look at Zechariah’s. Then, on the 22nd, Dr. Brian Thomas will focus on the praise of the angels and shepherds in Luke 2.   One of the most beautiful experiences that we...

One of the most powerful statements that someone can ever say to us is “I am with you.” It is infinitely more powerful when that person is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In this passage that we are studying today (Acts 18:1-17), the Lord Jesus appears to Saul at Corinth in a dream and tells him: “‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you...’”.  This is exactly w...

This Sunday, we studied the apostle Paul’s encounter with the major philosophers of his day in Athens. He encounters a myriad of Greek religious and philosophical ideas. How does he effectively engage them with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our study will be taken from Acts 17:16-33 and it is entitled “Now is the Appointed Time.” I don’t know if you have ever thought about the question, “If...

This Sunday, we studied Acts 17:1-15. In this section, Luke makes a clear distinction between the Jews in Thessalonica who heard Paul reasoning from the Scriptures and the Jews from Berea. He writes, “Now these Jews (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were true.”  Our message this...

This sermon was taken from our passage of Scripture that we are studying this week in Acts 16:16-40. In Acts 16:30, a Philippian jailer cries out to Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?”  It’s a desperate cry that comes from someone who suddenly has an acute awareness that he cannot save himself. He thinks that his life is over. Yet, it is about to just begin.  As we study this passage of...

Proverbs 16:9 says this: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”  One of the great encouragements for us as believers is to know that God is providentially orchestrating all the events of our lives for His glory and for our good. Ultimately, that’s good to know, although it is not always easy to embrace. Faithfulness to God and his mission requires that we as Christia...

In Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew writes, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” The command of Jesus to ma...

This Sunday, studied one of the most important moments in the entire book of Acts. It is the very first church council that was ever held to establish clarity around the gospel. Regularly in the New Testament, controversies arose about whether or not Gentile Christians had to become adherents to the Old Testament regulations of circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and the commands of the Law of Moses. U...

This Sunday, studied Acts 13:13-52. The apostle Paul is invited to give a message of encouragement at the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia. What makes this sermon especially noteworthy is that Paul is speaking immediately after something very disappointing happens to his missionary team. Sometimes God calls on us to encourage others when we aren’t feeling so encouraged ourselves. In His kindness, G...

This Sunday, our sermon was entitled Victory Over Darkness. It is a common experience for missionaries moving into unreached people groups to discover rather quickly that one of the great challenges to the advance of the gospel is spiritual warfare. My wife, MariAnne, works for a mission agency that provides resources for the under-resourced churches around the world. One of the churches that her...

This Sunday, we returned to our study of the book of Acts, Luke’s second volume in the New Testament. As we return to the book of Acts, I want to remind you of a key truth this morning. Luke is recording for us the activity of the Triune God in advancing His mission through his church. This is not merely the story of a remarkable human religious movement. Luke does not want us to read the book of...

As most of you know, we have been studying the doctrine of the Love of God over the summer months. Last Sunday, we studied Jesus’ exhortation to “abide” His love. This week we are going to study Jude’s exhortation in Jude 17-25, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” You might think it sounds strange, but the reality is that it is a real battle to keep ourselves living in, learning about, and growi...

This Sunday, we studied the call of Jesus in John 15:1-17 to abide in him. The Lord says these words in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.” One of the great challenges that we continually face as Christians is not drifting carelessly from a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. MariAnne and I were just in Florida with three of our grandchildren....

Diego De La Vega shared the message from Ephesians 2:10. You can preview the text of the message below: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the des...

This Sunday, we studied the final scene in the gospel of John where Jesus talks very personally with Simon Peter. Simon’s journey in discipleship has been a roller coaster, to say the least, because His expectations around what following and loving Jesus needs major adjustments. I would suggest that this is true for any disciple of Jesus. We love Jesus, but we don’t know how to love Jesus. Our fai...

This Sunday morning, we continued our study of the doctrine of God’s love. Our text will be one of the most well-known passages on love in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13. The message is entitled, The More Excellent Way. 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to a congregation that desperately needed to mature in love. Though they were genuine Christians, the community was riddled with divisive...

This Sunday, we will be celebrating the Grand Opening of our new ministry hub. Our sermon text will be Ephesians 3:14-21. The message is entitled: God’s Love for Waterbrooke Church.  One of the questions that someone might ask us is, “Why build this ministry hub?” The answer is rooted in one of the great truths of the New Testament. God’s purpose in the sending of His Son into the world was for Hi...

Our sermon title for this Sunday was “Let Brotherly Love Continue”. We will be studying Hebrews 13:1-8. We will see that brotherly love is something that requires vigilant tending. One of the great challenges facing Christians is not just sustaining but expanding one’s love for your brothers and your love as a brother or sister in Christ in a world that is increasingly critical, intolerant, and sh...

Our sermon passage for this week was Romans 8:18-25 with the message called: “God’s Love Through His Creation”. As we have been studying the biblical doctrine of God’s love, one of the texts that always pops up as a favorite is Romans 8. Paul talks about how Christians are able to live in a world that is hostile and heart-breaking and yet not lose hope. What sustains Christians is God’s unfailing...

Happy Independence Day weekend, church family! The fourth of July weekend is all about celebrating freedom. As citizens, we celebrate our freedom from tyranny and oppression. One of the most famous lines that I am sure many of you know is this one: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” This has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but it was originally stated by John Philpott Curran in 1790...

Over the past several weeks, we have been studying the Biblical teaching on love in our summer series entitled “Summer of Love.” What our hope in doing this series has been is to reorient our hearts and our minds around a truly biblical view of love that without a doubt is in direct contradiction to the messages about love that we see in the world around us. This Sunday, our sermon is called Let Y...