Church At The Bridge Sermon Podcasts

The church is the vehicle by which the Kingdom of God touches this world and makes new life possible for people far from God. As His church, we must be missional with Christ's plan of salvation and make necessary changes in our own lives so that God's plan for the world might prevail through us. We must use the keys of the kingdom entrusted to us to open heaven's door and usher in lasting change. Before we can see people around us change, we the church must change!

The Kingdom of God is not made up of subjects but of priests/priestesses. As the priesthood, we all share an equal responsibility to minister to God to minister to each other in the church and to those outside the church in need of Christ. In this message, we lean into the life of a man who rejected his royalty and did not accept his place at the king's table. God expects a return on our life, our time, and the resources He has put in our trust. Once we mature we stop making excuses and start making changes that allow us to sit at His table and to believe that we are a royal priesthood.

God wants to impact your life in the same way that seed impacts the ground. In this message, we examine a parable to learn how the Kingdom of God turns our lives upside down by transforming us. Digging into our own dirt is dirty work that requires us breaking ground pass the surface to become good ground. When we stay planted in the Word of God, we continue to grow roots and become a supplier that brings life that builds the entire church.

It was no surprise that many people began to follow Jesus, but eventually the many became few. They realized that Jesus wasn't simply teaching them about God's Kingdom but that He was calling them to a complete change of life that was defined by way of God's Kingdom. Jesus came to turn our lives upside down, so we can live on the right side of up. What's this all about? It's about living an entirely new life, not our old one. It's about dying to self so that we can live to honor God and love others. It's about living for the Most High King instead of our own castles.

In this message we talk about how some of the junk in our life is affecting us more than we choose to see, especially in our relationship with God. Our lives are not just about our spirit, God has instructed to also take care of our body and our mind/soul. God is always speaking, always reaching, knocking at the door. We hear the things that God wants us to do, and sometimes as quickly as we hear it we start applying our own thoughts and opinions based on our experiences, what we see, and what we hear from others. It is time to cut the junk. It is time we remove the obstacles we have put in the way that’s blocking the door that God is knocking on.

According to Jesus, as we grow in our understanding of Him and lean into a real relationship with Him, the result is rest in the soul. This is no ordinary rest; it’s a rest that makes life light (agile and quick); in other words, life becomes simpler and we’re able to do more and go further because we’re doing it together with Jesus. Life can be light, but are you willing to learn from Jesus in place of only listening to Him (we’re not called to be listeners of Jesus, we’re called to be followers). As you go about your day, seek God for who He is, not what He can do for you. The best way to guard your heart from heaviness is to receive and use His wisdom.

We continue this week learning that life is a journey and shouldn't be a burden. As we walk with Jesus, we learn to unpack things that are not within His will for our lives, and we carry the treasures He has blessed us with. Have you ever stopped to consider what hurt truly is? Where it stems from? The purpose? Hurt is self inflicted pain. We use it against ourselves and there is a proper response to pain. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus gives clear direction on burdens and heavy weight. Rest comes from what we take from Jesus, not what we carry. This isn’t to say hurt doesn’t exist or we are immune to such feelings and experiences, however, we can decide to turn to hope. We can rejoice in the strength and healing He has gifted us. As you go about your week, take time to think about what you’re feeding; is it what God says or is it what you say?

This week we explored what success means as a child of God. We tend to judge success based on the outside; all the things our human minds and hands can do. But, have you considered that success is not of our own doing? Success is work of God’s hand; in every situation, place, and moment. He has declared you successful. When we push and fight to reach the highest place in life and what we define as such, how come enough is never enough? There is no such thing as success without God because to gain success on your own, creates weight. God declared you blessed. As you walk through your week, think on these things and embrace the successful life He has given you.

Why do some of us still pursue sinful things that don't work, keep people around that we're better off without, and try to build a new life in places where we can grow? When we try to experience life among dead things we aren’t able to reap the benefits God wants to give us. Some of us are robbing God and ourselves by wasting the miracle-working power of the forgiveness of Christ because we grow lax or give up on following Him. After coming to the knowledge of what is good, true, and right, why would you go backwards? The best way to live free and stay free is to start following Jesus and keep following Him for the remainder of your life.

Happiness has nothing to do with what's happening and has everything to do with God! You don't have to be stressed out or worked up. Evil is all around us but it does not have to overtake us! When you let God handle it, you'll remain happy.

Is the weight of unforgiveness worth carrying for the rest of your life? One of the heaviest pieces of luggage that some of us tend to lug around in life is unforgiveness. Have you considered how quickly we are offended? What about considering that we get to choose peace? A sobering piece of wisdom is realizing your offender is not the person that did you wrong, your offender is the plank you keep in your eye (which is determining how you perceive everything). When we do this, we are using what we interpret as harmful or painful, and inflicting the same onto others around us. When we wait on someone else, we hand over our freedom. You are free to forgive. You can live without hurts and walk in peace. You are free to heal.

Faith becomes complicated when we live in past moments experienced with God. Some people are busy trying to relive revivals experienced in the past. Those were good; special, but if you’re trying to relive yesterday’s experiences with God, you can’t experience the growth that faith affords us day by day. Faith is not as complicated as we understand it and make it out to be. It is living with complete dependence, confidence, and trust in Jesus. Childlike faith (true faith) is lived out for the entirety of a life-time, not exclusive moments. Today, let go of your manmade faith, and let God take the lead because it is light and full of blessing.

Do you panic? Do you make decisions based on feelings? What drives you daily? These are just a few questions to ask yourself as you dive into this week’s message about traveling light. God has made it clear, to all of His children - do not take on the mentality of burden. You are planted in His goodness and grace. You are equipped with wisdom to help you each day. What you allow to work on the inside can either make you or break you. He wants to grow your faith muscle and focus, onto things that are light. He wants you to have a different perspective on life.

Flip flops may currently be in season, but they are never in season for you! We make it hard at times because we flip-flop! We say yes to following Jesus, but then we flop by going back to unhealthy habits, destructive mindsets, selfish plans, and unscriptural beliefs. Flip-flopping is exhausting because the more we do it the harder life becomes. We learn through the life of the Samaritan Woman how to travel light on life's journey and live from a place of rest in the soul.

We can live life uncomplicated, free, and with deep and true joy. For many of us, this almost sounds like a fantasy or a far-fetched dream. When we live for ourselves, carry our past, give up, and get religious about relationship with God - Life gets heavy because we overcomplicate relationship with Christ. A key to living free of the burdens we create is found in the words of Jesus, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Simply put, we are refreshed and recreated with new strength as we make it a continual practice to frequent the place of relationship with Jesus.

We live in a world where integrity is a moving target with no clear definition or concrete standards and the results we're seeing confirm it. When we forsake our integrity, it is eventually found out. Mistakes don't happen when we make them, they happen when we break our integrity. The scriptures say that God will not allow you to endure more than you can handle. You have got this and when you don't, God gives you a way of escape!

There are three points of pressure that tend to converge upon our lives whenever a mistake is in the making. Whenever we give in to any one of these pressure points, it will lead us to a misperception of truth, neglecting actual facts, and forsaking the right course of action. Lust of the flesh, the eye, and pride, all lead to a place of consequences. It can take time to materialize; it can start with one decision. The only way to overcome ungodly desires is to kill them. In cutting the lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eye, and the pride of life, we cut out what's unhealthy to ensure our overall health!

Endurance is not about bearing the weight of external and internal pressures. It's about pressing through life's pressures so that you can come out better, stronger, and achieve greater results over the course of life. You may be enduring some difficulties presently, but God hears you. Your enemies may be reveling in your apparent fall, but you will rise again. Do not allow what people tell you and the things they do dictate your story. You serve the author and finisher of your faith, and He promises to lift you up!

Mistakes. We have all made them and more than likely, we will make one again. Some of the mistakes we explore this week are in Genesis 3 and 1 Samuel 15. These scriptures emphasize that when one doesn’t take responsibility, that is the mistake. When mistakes happen don’t look inward and believe it is a failure. God wants to help you turn around and use it as opportunities for growth.

God is always present and His voice is always speaking according to His wisdom and direction, but to restore our connection with Him, we must mute everything that pulls us away from Him and unmute His voice by tuning into what He is saying.