Bridge Church Clarksville: Recent Episodes
Bridge Church Clarksville
In today's episode, we look at Israel's first king, Saul, a gifted and talented man who lacked character and had a tendency to take matters into his own hands.
Today we look at the story of Samuel, a young boy whom God called to be a prophet. God spoke directly to Samuel, but in his inexperience he was unable to recognize that it was God who was speaking to him. Oftentimes God is also speaking out to us, but we are so distracted that we miss out on what He is trying to say to us.
In today's message, we look at the story of Samson, a judge in the Old Testament whose strength and exploits were legendary, but whose lack of self control eventually brought about his downfall.
In today's message, Chad Rowland takes us through the story of Gideon, an unlikely man whom God raised up as a judge to deliver the Israelite people from Midianite oppression.
Today we look at the story of Joshua, and the reminder that anytime we step into the calling God has on our life, it requires courage.
In today's episode, Josh Phillips takes us through the story of Moses, looking at how Moses delivered the law to God's people, and helped to teach them what it means to "love God well".
In today's episode, we look at the Old Testament story of Joseph, and how even after years of hardship and false accusations, he was able to gain Godly perspective and was able to forgive and move forward with life because of his walk with the Lord.
Continuing in our "The Story of God" series, we look at the story of Jacob, and how God used his struggles and trials to help him become the kind of man God wanted him to be.
In today's episode, we look at the story of Isaac, and how he, like us, have a choice to follow in the faith footsteps of our ancestors, or step out and make faith our own.
In today's episode, we continue in our Story of God series, looking at the life of "The Man of Faith", Abraham.
In episode 2 of our new series, "The Story of God", we look at the story of Noah and the flood and ask: is the account of Noah's ark a story of judgement, or is it a story of God's mercy?
In today's episode, we begin a new series, "The Story of God", taking a tour through the entirety of Scripture and looking at how the Bible ties in together as a whole. We begin at the beginning in the garden, and look at creation and the fall of mankind into sin.
In last week's sermon, Josh Phillips answered the question, "what are we saved from?", and in today's message we look at the follow up question, "what are we saved for?".
When Christians talk about being saved, what exactly do they mean? In today's episode, Josh Phillips takes us through several passages of Scripture to show us what it is that we are saved from.
In our last episode for this series, we look at prayer, and how oftentimes we don't realize that prayer is such a powerful way for us to go to battle on behalf of others.
Today we look at the story of Esther, a woman who was placed into unique circumstances for an important purpose. Could God even be in the small details of our lives, placing us where we are "for a time such as this" to give us an opportunity to join him in his Kingdom work?
In today's episode, we're reminded that as followers of Jesus, there are certain things in Scripture that are set in stone in which there's no room for debate. But in the gray areas where Scripture is not as specific and we sometimes have freedom to decide for ourselves, it's important that we handle our beliefs and freedoms in a manner that doesn't hinder others in their spiritual journey.
In today's episode, we look at an incident in the life of King David which ultimately led to one of the most impactful statements in all of Scripture: "I will not offer up a sacrifice to the Lord that costs me nothing."
In today's message, Student Pastor Jesse Russell takes us through examples in the life of Moses (Exodus 3 & 4) to help us discern in our own life what it is God may be calling us to.
In today's message, Josh Phillips reminds us that in a world that's constantly trying to tell us what our identity is, God has already given us an identity in Him.
1 Chronicles 16:27 tells us "Strength and joy are in God's place". These two things are linked because having joy often requires a fight. Joy is not for the weak!
Extending a heart of mercy over judgement may be one of the most difficult things to live out as a follower of Jesus. But remembering the mercy God has shown to us and then giving that same mercy to someone else may be the very thing that helps draw them to Jesus.
Happy Easter! In today's message, we are reminded that oftentimes we are so overwhelmed with our own tears and fears that it keeps us from seeing and knowing that Jesus is right there with us. The resurrection story reminds us that even when we don't understand why or what we're going through, Jesus is King, and He is in control of all things and can be trusted, even in the hardest and most difficult seasons of life.
Today we look at our core value of "Mercy Over Judgment", and how there is a tension between mercy and judgement that we must learn to live in.
Today we look at the principle of the path...how the steps we have taken in the past show us where we've been, and how the steps we are currently walking lead down a path for the future. What steps in your life do you need to change to end up on the path you want to be on?
Everyone loves a good party, but often the last place we think a party should be held is in the church. Today we look at how every step made toward growth in God is worth celebrating, and that's why one of the core values at the Bridge is "Celebrate Every Step".
In our final installment of the "Everything Is Possible" series, we investigate something that is often overlooked when we look at the impossible becoming possible...our character. Today we look at how God's grace is more than sufficient for us, but that often our lack of integrity and character can cause distance between us and God.
In part 2 of our "Everything Is Possible" series, Josh Phillips unpacks the idea that oftentimes our faith plays a role in our prayers being answered by God.
Jesus told us that "with God all things are possible". So why is it that it seems we don't see more impossible things happening to a greater degree in our time? In today's message, Pastor Chad takes us through Mark chapter 9 where we find that part of the answer may be in the way that we approach prayer.
In today's message, Pastor Chad reminds us that our friends and family can sometimes be hostile towards hearing about God, but in times of trouble people's hearts are often more receptive to hearing about the love and compassion of Jesus.
In today's message, Pastor Chad reminds us of the privilege and responsibility God's people have to share Jesus with the world. God could have used any method he wanted to reveal his Son, but he has specially chosen his Church to be the one to share of his salvation to those around us.
In today's message, Pastor Chad begins a new series focusing on our core values at The Bridge, and we start with the one that drives the mission of the church: leading people home.
In some way, we all want to be remembered after we're gone. But in today's message, we learn instead the importance of leaving a legacy, and how that goes much deeper than just our name being remembered.
God is actively pursuing a relationship with us, and entering into that relationship on our side involves intentionality. But oftentimes we just "flirt" with wanting to go deeper in that relationship with the Lord, and end up riding the fence. In today's message, Pastor Chad reminds us that we need to make a decision on who we're going to be and to nail it down.
In part 3 of our "Nail It Down" series, we build upon last week's message on the authority of God's Word, and how we can see God's good purpose for mankind in His Scriptures.
Pastor Chad opens this sermon with an update on our Save A Seat project, and then takes us into part 2 in our "Nail It Down" series, taking us through several passages in Scripture that show that the Bible truly is God's Word for His people.
The beginning of the new year is a time when many of us are ready to get rid of old habits and begin new rhythms to better our lives. For many, it's a natural time to want to begin a closer walk with God. Pastor Chad reminds us in today's episode that the first step in a closer relationship with God is recognizing who the final authority in our lives really is, and being willing to surrender to Christ.
The days and weeks that come after Christmas can be hard...after all the celebration that usually goes along with the holiday season, the re-entry into ordinary life can feel cold and brutal. In today's episode, Pastor Chad reminds us that the hope and joy we experienced in the Christmas season can carry on afterwards, but it's an intentional decision that we have to make.
In today's episode, Pastor Chad reminds us of how God's gift to us, Jesus, is a unique one-time gift that continues to change our lives forever.
The birth of Jesus could be labeled as somewhat of an "unwrapped gift", an unimpressive entrance into the world for such an important and beautiful gift. But what we find in Scripture is that God often has a different way that he likes to present his gifts that goes much deeper than man's shallow ways.
At Christmas time, we seldom long for "practical" gifts. We want something big and impractical! Oftentimes we look at the birth of Jesus in that way, for although the gift of his birth was absolutely necessary for our salvation, we can have a tendency to think of it as merely "practical" and miss out on the magnitude of this wonderful gift.
In this episode Josh Phillips takes us through ways that Scripture enables us to battle worry and enable us to live in God's peace.
God designed life to be really simple...love God and obey Him. There are many ways we humans have complicated things. One of the things that can make life much more complicated than it has to be is...people. Whether it's that we have the wrong people, too many people, or even no people in our lives, we can't look at the idea of a simple life without examining the "people" that surround us.
One of the things that can keep us from living a fulfilled, restful, and peaceful life is carrying too many burdens on our own shoulders. Today we look at how Jesus calls us to come to him with our worries and burdens, and to take up his "yoke".
We live in an age when we have more technology and free time than ever before, and yet we also carry more anxiety and stress than we ever have. We begin a new four part series today on "The Simple Life", and we start by looking at Solomon, the wise king who, when he evaluated his many accomplishments, discovered that ultimately what really matters is trusting God and following His ways.
This week we take a look at the ultimate "monster" in Scripture, our enemy and adversary Satan. His goal is to do all he can to distract us and to keep us away from God, and we find that the only real way to fight against him is with God's truth.
This week, we take a look in the Old Testament at the story of Samson, a man God gifted with super-human strength whose wild and compulsive actions ultimately led to his downfall.
In our second message in the "Monsters" series, we look at Judas, whom Scripture calls a "devil" who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
In today's message we look at the story of Nebuchadnezzar, who in a sense turned into a real-life "monster". He believed that all his victories in Babylon were of his own making, and his pride in his achievements ended up with the Lord humbling him by having him lose his sanity and wandering around like a wild animal for seven years! What is our typical response when we experience good things in life? Do we have gratitude for the Lord's provision, or do we develop an attitude of pride?
In our last installment of our series through the book of Joshua, Pastor Chad takes us through the story of how the Israelites designated certain cities as "cities of refuge". In our day, there are many who need a place to start over, and in our congregation we long to be the kind of church that is that place of refuge.
In today's message, we look at the amazing story of God answering Joshua's prayer to hold the sun and the moon still so that the Israelite armies could overtake the Amorites in battle. Why is it that God answered this bold prayer from Joshua? We look at this in today's episode.
On the heels of a great victory over the city of Jericho, the Israelites face a crushing defeat over the city of Ai, all caused by the disobedience of one man. Today we look at how our sins and disobedience to God's commands can have much broader consequences, not only for ourselves, but for others as well.
When it comes to the "what" of our lives, many times we are on the same page as God. But when it comes to the "how", often our ways of approaching life can be out of alignment with God's ways. Today we look at how God wanted his people to obediently follow His commands and trust Him so that the walls of Jericho would fall.
In Joshua chapter 3, God has the people prepare themselves for what He had in store...he called them to worship and to trust Him with what he was about to do for them. In today's episode, we dive into the thought, "don't expect God to take you where you have not prepared yourself to go."
Pastor's Chad and Josh discuss Part 3 of our teaching series through the Book of Joshua. This week we look at how movements of God often involve the least likely people.
As we continue through our series in the book of Joshua, we take a look at the story of Rahab, and how in a very unexpected turn of events God honored the faithfulness of this sinful woman, ultimately placing her in the ancestry of the Lord Jesus.
In the second installment of our "Dream On" series, we look at the implications for the three groups of families that decided they would prefer to not live inside the Promised Land. As believers, we have a responsibility and calling to lead others home. What does that look like when we decide to "stay put"?
Pastor's Chad and Josh discuss Part 2 of our teaching series through the Book of Joshua. This week we discuss the implications of the 3 groups of families that decided they would prefer to not live inside the Promised Land. We have a responsibility and calling to lead others home. What does that look like when we decide to "stay put"?
Pastor's Chad and Josh discuss Part 1 of our new teaching series through the Book of Joshua. This week we look at Joshua moving into his new role as leader over God's people and discover how we can stay courageous when God's dreams for us appear overwhelming.
We begin a new series through the book of Joshua, and this week we take a look at the story of Joshua as he became the new leader over the Israelites after the death of Moses. In what seemed like an impossible role to fill, we see that Joshua was able to find his strength and courage for the task only in the Lord.
The Scriptures tell us the story of how the Israelites were delivered from the land of Egypt. In today's message, we look at how ultimately, because of their lack of trust in God, the vast majority of them never entered into the Promised Land, and that a similar principle holds true for us today.
In our final episode in our "Summer Rules!" series, we look at God's first command, "You shall have no other gods before me", and we discover that more often than not the toughest god to let go of is the god of self.
In today's episode, we look at God's command to not covet what belongs to someone else, and to learn to be content not only with what's been given to us, but ultimately to be satisfied fully in Jesus.
Pastors Chad and Josh discuss the most recent message from our Summer Teaching Series, "Summer Rules!". This teaching series covers the 10 Commandments God gave to his people to guide and bless them.In this part, Pastor Chad teaches on the 6th & 7th Commandments: Do Not Commit Adultery & Do Not Murder. In our conversation, we discuss how one of the things that unite these two commandments is that they both bring other people into our rebellion. There's hope, though! We see great Old Testament heroes like Abraham, Moses, and David who failed to keep these commands but were still a big part of God's redemption story.#TheBridge #church #hopeishere #JesusSaves #gather #connect #serve #ForThe931
In today's episode, we look at God's heart and reasoning behind two of his commandments, "you shall not commit adultery", and "you shall not murder".
In this episode we take dig into the command, "you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor", looking at the sinfulness of tearing down others in order to make ourselves look better.
Pastors Chad and Josh discuss the most recent message from our Summer Teaching Series, "Summer Rules!". This teaching series covers the 10 Commandments God gave to his people to guide and bless them.In this part, Pastor Chad teaches on the 8th Commandment: Do Not Lie. In our conversation, we discuss how this rule was meant to set God's people apart and how daily remembering the Gospel helps us to fulfill this command.#TheBridge #church #hopeishere #JesusSaves #gather #connect #serve #ForThe931
This week we take a look at the command, "thou shall not take the Lord's name in vain", and at how as believers, when we follow Jesus, there are certain ways of life we let go of in order that our lives reflect the name and character of God.
In today's sermon, we look at the commandment, "thou shall not steal", and find out that stealing is not just taking what is someone else's, but ultimately is a declaration that we do not trust God to supply our needs.
Happy Father's Day! This week we look at the command to "honor your father and mother", and at the blessing that comes when we follow God's instructions for honoring our parents.
Pastors Chad and Josh discuss Part 2 of our Summer Teaching Series, "Summer Rules!". This teaching series covers the 10 Commandments God gave to his people to guide and bless them.In Part 2, Pastor Chad teaches on the 2nd Commandment: Have No Idols. We discuss the different idols we usually create and how they keep us from understanding and trusting God for who He really is.#TheBridge #church #hopeishere #JesusSaves #gather #connect #serve #ForThe931
Today we look at how oftentimes we can have a tendency to create idols, and how we attempt to make God into a god that meets our requirements rather than recognizing him as the God that he is.
Pastors Chad and Josh discuss Part 1 of our Summer Teaching Series, "Summer Rules!". This teaching series covers the 10 Commandments God gave to his people to guide and bless them.
In Part 1, Pastor Chad teaches about The Rest Rule; God's commandment that His people "honor the Sabbath and keep it holy." We discuss they importance of spiritual rest in our lives and what that looks like from day to day.#TheBridge #church #hopeishere #JesusSaves #gather #connect #serve #ForThe931
This week we look at God's command for his people to have a Sabbath rest, and what that looks like for us in today's busy culture.
This Sunday we look at the last prayer of Jesus found in the book of John, and at Christ's desire that we would be "one" just as Jesus and His Father are "one".
This week we look at the Book of Esther and how God changes the world when we care enough to encourage others to follow His leading in their lives.
This week our Serve Pastor, Andy Murry, looks at how the act of serving others is a gift God uses to not only bless those we serve, but ourselves, as well.
On this special episode of CONVERSATIONS, Pastors Andy and Josh discuss this past Sunday's sermon, "Serve On." Andy shares with us that there is a need within all of us to use the gifts, abilities, and resources God has given us to meet the needs others. Many times we don't know that serving others is a gift unto itself until we actually start doing it! #TheBridge #church #hopeishere #JesusSaves #gather #connect #serve #ForThe931
This week, we look at Christ's last words to us in the book of Acts before his ascension into heaven, to "go and be his witnesses" to the world around us.
On this special episode of CONVERSATIONS, we get to know The Bridge's Student Pastor, Jesse Russell. Jesse shares with us a little about his upbringing, what lead him into Student Ministry, and how God is currently working in our church's Student Ministry. And, as a bonus, Josh and Jesse participate in a little Dad Joke Faceoff.
TheBridge #church #hopeishere #JesusSaves #serve #gather #connect #dadjokes #studentministry
This week we look at Peter's decision to go back to his life as a fisherman until his encounter with the risen Jesus.
Pastors Josh and Chad discuss Part 3 from our current Teaching Series, Now You See Me. This series looks at the multiple times Jesus appeared to people after his Resurrection. Scripture says that more than 500 people saw him alive and well during the time between his resurrection and return to heaven.
In Part 3, Gone Fishing, Pastor Chad Rowland teaches on Jesus's appearance to Peter and some of the other disciples after they had returned to "what they knew," fishing. During this interaction, Jesus takes Peter for a walk and reminds him that his FALL isn't greater than his CALL. We discuss how being still before Jesus leads us to healing when we feel like we've blown it.
As we continue looking at Christ's post-resurrection appearances, we read through Thomas's interaction with Jesus, and we find that even in the doubts and questions we may have today, God's Word and his fingerprints on all that surrounds us is sufficient to help us to confidently sustain our faith in Him.
Pastors Josh and Chad discuss Part 1 from our current Teaching Series, "Now You See Me". This series looks at the multiple times Jesus appeared to people after his Resurrection. Scripture says that more than 500 people saw him alive and well during the time between his resurrection and return to heaven.
In Part 1, "What's Old is New", Pastor Chad Rowland teaches on Jesus's appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and how this encounter encourages us to return to and remember all that Scripture has already revealed to us about God, his promises, and His Son.
We begin a new series this week looking at the appearances that Jesus made and interactions he had after his resurrection. In this episode, we look at Christ's conversation with the two men on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus explained to them that the resurrection should not have been a surprise...the scriptures and prophets of old had told of it for centuries. In our own lives today, we have a tendency to want new and special revelations from God, when what we really need is to search the word he's already given us, for when we do, we find all the examples and instructions we need to live abundant and God-pleasing lives.
In our final message in the Showdown series, we look at how on Easter, the champion, Jesus Christ, gave the final crushing blow to the challenger, Satan, when the stone was rolled from the grave and Jesus walked out of the tomb.
This week, Pastor Chad looks at the choice that Jesus made to face death and go to the cross, and unpacking the idea that in order for something to truly live, first there has to be a death.
Pastors Josh, Jesse, and Chad discuss Part 4 from our current Teaching Series, The Showdown. This series examines how Jesus, the Ultimate Champion, enters the ring against his accuser, the antagonist, Our Enemy - Satan to fight for God's glory, our good, and the growth of The Kingdom.
Part 4 asks the question, "Why did Jesus choose to die?" As this question is answered, we discover some amazing truth about God's character, Jesus's love, and our hope for good.
Pastors Josh and Chad discuss Part 3 from our current Teaching Series, The Showdown. This series examines how Jesus, the Ultimate Champion, enters the ring against his accuser, the antagonist, Our Enemy - Satan to fight for God's glory, our good, and the growth of The Kingdom.Part 3 is the "Tale of the Tape" of the Ultimate Champion, Jesus. A look into The Champ's name, hometown, strengths, and "Perceived Weaknesses" helps us to understand why the Enemy has no chance and why we can live in assurance and hope.
In this episode in our "Showdown" series, we take a look at Jesus, "The Champion". In striking contrast to "the challenger", Jesus is full of power and yet full of humility, full of justice and yet full of mercy, and we find that even in his power and glory, he was not given over to pride.
In today's message, Pastor Chad takes us through the "Tale of the Tape" on the ultimate villain, Satan. A look into our Enemy's name, hometown, strengths, and weaknesses helps us to understand why this fight took place and how we can be victorious in our daily battle against his schemes.
Pastors Josh, Jesse, and Chad discuss Part 2 from our current Teaching Series, The Showdown. This series examines how Jesus, the Ultimate Champion, enters the ring against his accuser, the antagonist, Our Enemy - Satan to fight for God's glory, our good, and the growth of The Kingdom.Part 2 is the "Tale of the Tape" on the ultimate villain, Satan. A look into our Enemy's name, hometown, strengths, and weaknesses helps us to understand why this fight took place and how we can be victorious in our daily battle against his schemes.
In our new sermon series called "The Showdown", we examine the events of the last week in the life of Jesus, and the key players and circumstances leading up to Easter. In today's message, "The Challenge", we see Jesus entering "the ring" as He rides a colt into Jerusalem.
Pastors Josh, Jesse, and Mike discuss Part 1 from our new Teaching Series, The Showdown. This series examines how Jesus, the Ultimate Champion, enters the ring against his accuser, the antagonist, Our Enemy - Satan to fight for God's glory, our good, and the growth of The Kingdom.Part 1 takes a look at what we called the Triumphant Entry and The Challenge Jesus faces as he approaches the coming Showdown. Will Jesus take the easy way out or will he come in with gloves on ready to throw the first punch?
Pastors Josh and Jesse join with Pastor Chad to discuss this past Sunday's Message. In Matthew 6, Jesus instructs his followers to not worry or have anxiety about life. This is clearly one of Jesus's more difficult demands! Listen along as we dig in a little more to the idea that worry comes when when what we value is out of tune with what God values.
In so many areas of our lives today, we are often prone to want to just find quick fixes to symptoms. But Jesus taught that God is interested in not only fixing symptoms, but going after the root cause of our troubles. In today's message, we look at Matthew 6, where Jesus tells us not to be anxious, but instead calls us to trust Him and value the things of His Kingdom as a way of battling worry and anxiety.
This week Pastor Chad takes us through Christ's teaching in Matthew 7, looking at how Jesus calls us to show our love and devotion to Him and His Kingdom not only by what we say, but by how we live.
This week, we continue through our series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, looking at how Jesus taught his followers to pray.
At times there can be a hard tension as Jesus followers...we know we are to obey Jesus and live according to his commands and laws, and yet carrying out that kind of life in the midst of culture can feel daunting. How do we keep a focus on the Kingdom of God and still live in the fallen world around us? This is today's topic in our series, "The Message", looking at the teachings of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount.
In our last sermon from the "Miracles" series, we look at the intriguing story of the man who was lowered down through a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching so that he could receive healing. In His infinite wisdom, Jesus knew the man's greatest need wasn't to be physically healed, but was something much deeper.
Why is it that we see some people receive miracles, and then there are others who don't? Is there a formula? Is there something we're missing? In today's episode, Pastor Chad helps us to see more clearly what a miracle really is, and why it is that sometimes God chooses to perform (or not perform) miracles.
Jesus was known as a miracle worker, but there were times when He was unable to perform miracles because the people lacked faith. Today we look at examples from Scripture of those who did show great faith in Christ and the miracles that were performed, and ask the question "do miracles still happen?".
In today's sermon we look at the first miracle Jesus performed, turning water into wine at a wedding in the town of Cana. Oftentimes today, just as when Jesus was physically walking among us, we can have a tendency to want God to perform a miracle in our lives...but are we more concerned with receiving a miracle than we are with having a relationship with the giver of miracles?
The end of the year is always a great time to assess and look back before moving forward into the new year, and as we end 2023 and launch into 2024, we look at ways to help prepare ourselves for what God has in store for us in this upcoming year. In order to be ready for what God wants to do in our lives, it's important that we take the necessary steps so that our lives are open for those moments when they arrive.
As any parent knows, a baby really does change everything. And on that first Christmas night, the cry of the baby Jesus signaled the beginning of something completely new and different for the entire world. The Heavenly Father sent His only son who would grow up to provide a way for sinful humankind to be restored and redeemed, and it all began with God taking on human flesh in the form of a helpless baby, born in a stable in the town of Bethlehem.
Singing is something that God has created for mankind to do, something that accompanies a whole range of emotions and seasons of life. But there is something special when it comes to singing songs to and about God. It is one of the ways we express the joy we find in Him, and we can look back in Scripture to see people across the ages worshiping God in this way. The Christmas season is a wonderful time to lift up praise in song to God as we celebrate and reflect upon the miraculous birth of Jesus.
Bells are an instrument that we use for many different things in our lives. For some, we have a bell sound to alert us of incoming texts or calls, for others bells let us know it's time for something to begin or end. But for many, when we get tired of hearing the bells, we start to silence them. God, in His own way, gives us many "bells" to alert us and help keep us on track...but when we start to ignore them, we find that our hearts begin to harden towards God, and we can find ourselves walking down different paths than the good ones the Lord has laid out for us.
This week begins a new series for the Christmas season entitled, "The Sounds of Christmas", and this Sunday we look at the long gap between the last time that God spoke to His people through the prophets, and the birth of Jesus when He once again spoke to mankind.
In our final message of this series, Pastor Chad helps us to understand why God is so good to us, and how recognizing how good He has been helps to cultivate a life of gratitude towards Him.
Oftentimes when circumstances are good and gifts from God are plentiful, it can be easy to have a grateful heart. But what does gratitude look like when seasons of life are hard and the gifts from God seem to have dried up? Pastor Chad helps answer this question and more in today's episode.
We begin a new series this week called "Gratitude", and in this episode we look at Luke 17, which tells the story of Jesus healing several lepers, but how only one of them came back to praise and thank Jesus for healing him. What we find is that a heart of gratitude is often the key to something much bigger that God has in store.
We wrap up our "Change" series with testimonies from our church family on ways that God has used significant changes in life to transform them.
Pastor Chad closes out the "Change" series this week with a reminder that we are responsible for what we do with our freedom, but that if or when we lose that freedom, God calls us as His Church to help each other lovingly gain our freedom back.
We continue in our study through the book of Galatians looking at Paul's encouragement of how believers should live out their freedom in Christ.
In part 3 of our "Change" series, Chad reminds us that rules were never meant to "clean us up" so that we can be right with God, but instead were meant to point us to what we truly need.
This week we continue our series through Paul's letter to the church in Galatia, entitled "Change". In today's sermon, Chad takes us through chapter two, looking at how as Jesus followers, we all have to make the change from holding on to tradition to holding on to truth.
This week we begin a new series through Paul's letter to the church in Galatia, entitled "Change". In today's sermon, Chad takes us through chapter one, looking at how quickly the Galatian church had begun to believe the teachings of false teachers. Out of love for God and a heart to lovingly serve others, Paul boldly addressed this issue, and reminds us of the importance of having hearts set on pleasing God, not people.
"Who do YOU say that I am?" This was Christ's question to His followers, and a question He still asks today. The world has many ideas about who Jesus is...a good teacher, a rebel, a trouble maker, a liar...but who do YOU say Jesus is? We look at this thought provoking question in today's message.
We begin a new series today entitled "Questions", a look at three different critical questions that Jesus asked. Our first stop is in John chapter 5, where Jesus asks a crippled man if he wants to be well, and although the answer may seem obvious, we find that there is much more under the surface to that seemingly simple question.
In the final message from our "True North" series, Josh Phillips reminds us of the importance of making time to be in God's Word, to allow it to speak to us, and to act upon what it says.
As we continue looking at what it means to be in a growing relationship with the Lord Jesus, we dive into what it looks like practically to share our faith with others to offer them the hope we've found in Jesus.
The first thing a follower of Jesus learns to do is to pray. Yet, as we journey in our faith, prayer becomes the thing we do when we can't do anything else. But prayer is not a last resort! Prayer is the only way for us to know God's heart and move God's hand.
We begin a new series this week, looking at what helps keep a church moving towards it's "true north": the steps that move us to a true and real relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We finish up our Road Trip series this week looking at the ultimate road trip: Jesus Christ's future return to Earth, to establish His Kingdom and to reclaim His people!
This week we're traveling on in our Road Trip series looking at how the Holy Spirit guided Paul to take the Gospel to a lady named Lydia, and how God used that interaction to begin a widespread movement of the Gospel across Europe.
We continue in our "Road Trip" series this week, looking at Jesus' trip from Heaven to Earth in order that mankind could be made right again with God.
This week, Chad takes us through the story of Nehemiah, and the road trip he took to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls.
This Sunday we jump into the journey of Daniel, and how his consistent walk with God helped him to remain calm in the middle of extreme circumstances.
This week Josh Phillips takes us through the story of King David taking the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, looking at the importance of honoring God's holiness and how that can lead us into a joyful walk with God.
As we continue through our Road Trip series, Josh Phillips takes us through the story of the how God performed a miracle and brought His people across the Jordan river and into the promised land.
In part three of our summer series, "Road Trip," Chad takes us through the story of Moses.
In part two of our summer series, "Road Trip," Chad takes us through the story of Joseph. In this story, we are told how to walk through difficult times and not have them follow us the rest of our lives.
We begin a new series for the summer, "Road Trip", and today Pastor Chad takes us through the story of Abram, and his journey of faith following God's call for him to leave Haran to go to Canaan. In this story, we're reminded that our goal is not to live in safety, but instead to live by faith.
We continue on in our sermon series "Nicknames" this week looking at the story of Jesus changing Simon's name to Peter, and his temptation to go back to his old identity.
This week, Chad takes us through the story of Jacob, and how God eventually changed his name from "Jacob" (which means "deceiver") to "Israel" (one who struggled with God and man and prevailed).
In today's message, Pastor Chad takes us through several passages in Proverbs, looking at how living wisely helps us to live in the freedom God has for us.
What does it look like in every day life to be a follower of Jesus? Pastor Josh Phillips gives us some insight on what this practically looks like in today's message, "What It Means To Follow Jesus".
Pastor Chad reminds us that because of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, we can have assurance of a future with Him when this life is through.
Jesus has risen from the dead, and because of that everything is possible! So why then does it seem that some of the biggest hurdles in our life still feel impossible? Chad reminds us today that when we are underwhelmed with Jesus that often our situations can seem overwhelming and impossible to overcome.
Ever since that first Easter morning, there has been debate on what happened to Jesus. In this episode, Pastor Chad teaches that there are three ways to view the resurrection: either it was a crime, a conspiracy...or Jesus truly was the Christ.
Because of Jesus' victory over sin, death, and the grave on Easter morning, we can now live a life of freedom!
In the last message of our "Turning Point" series, we hear about the woman who overcame her fear to pour out an offering of perfume on Jesus, and how this act left an enduring legacy of faith.
Oftentimes in our western church culture, it can be hard for many to understand what being a Christian is really about. But Jesus made it clear that it's more than just blindly observing traditions and following a list of rules...Jesus simply said to "follow me". In today's message, Pastor Chad looks at this simple yet complex invitation from Jesus, and how making a decision to follow the Lord will be a major turning point in our lives, just as it was for the early disciples.
This week, Pastor Chad Rowland takes us through the story of the woman caught in adultery, and the life changing moment when she encountered Jesus.
"Would you like to get well?" This is the question Jesus asked a man who had been crippled for 38 years, and still asks us today. In this episode, Pastor Chad takes us through this story and helps us see that oftentimes we say we want to be well, but may be unwilling to do what it really takes to truly be well.
In a world full of "virtual" friendships and social media masks, it can be hard to find true community. But God has designed His Church as a place to experience not only friendships, but deep, lasting community...a true fellowship! This week, Josh Phillips reminds us of the Church's role in living this out in our daily lives.
We wrap up our sermon series on the four Gospels in this episode, looking at the book of John. John shares many unique insights into the life of Christ, and in this sermon Pastor Chad Rowland help us to hone in on Jesus as being "light" and "life", which is a major theme in John's Gospel.
This week Pastor Chad Rowland looks at the parable of the Prodigal Son in helping us to gain insight into the story of Jesus as found in the Gospel of Luke.
This week, Pastor Chad helps us to look at the life of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, reminding us of the importance of humility and being suffering servants, just as Jesus was.
This week begins a new series looking at each of the Gospels. In this episode, we look at the book of Matthew to see the context and insights given to us about Jesus in his account.
Often we expect to see God working in big and miraculous ways, but we don't realize that God is actively working even in what we would consider as common circumstances of our everyday lives. In the final message in our "Expectations" series, Chad gives us 5 areas to look at to help us discern how God may be wanting to use us uniquely for His Kingdom.
There are times when the Lord is wanting to move us forward and to do great things in our lives for His Kingdom, but are we living in a way that prepares us to be ready for what He has in store? Today, we continue looking at what it means to live with an expectation of seeing God move in our lives.
This week, Pastor Chad takes us through Proverbs 4:23, reminding us of the importance of guarding our hearts.
Pastor Chad reminds us today in the second installment of our "Expectations" series of the importance of surrounding ourselves with the right people. As growing followers of Jesus, it's important for us to have people whom we can look up to and have walk beside us in the faith, and to have someone we can be bringing up in maturity as well.
We're kicking off the new year (2023) with a new series, "Expectations". This week, Chad reminds us that it is important for us to approach the new year with an expectation of what God will do, and he gives us some tangible steps of how we can spiritually set off on the right path.
Many of us have been holding on to "gifts" we've been given that are just not healthy for us in our walk with Christ. It's time to return the gift (or throw it away!) so that we can be truly free to worship and live for God.
This week Pastor Chad takes us through the second installment in the "A Free Christmas" series, looking at how restoring relationships helps us to have freedom in our lives.
In this episode, Pastor Chad ends our "Core Values" series, and also begins a new Christmas series: "A Free Christmas". This week, we look at the story of Joseph and Mary, and the mercy that Joseph showed Mary when he found out the news that a baby was on the way.
Pastor Chad takes us through our fourth core value, "Lead People Home", reminding us how important it is to the Lord for people to have a relationship with Him, and how as followers of Jesus we are called to share our faith with others.
Often in our spiritual walk, we look at how far away we are from the perfection of Jesus. This can be a good and healthy thing, as it reminds us of how much we need our Savior. But it's also ok to look back at our lives and see how far the Lord has brought us. In this sermon, Pastor Chad talks about our third core value, Celebrate Every Step, looking at how it is good to acknowledge and celebrate how far we've come in our walk with Christ.
This week, Pastor Chad reminds us of the Bridge's second core value, "Everything Is Possible". We know and serve a God who resurrected himself from the grave, and walked out of the tomb...truly everything is possible in Jesus!
We begin our new sermon series, "Core Values", looking at the first of The Bridge's own core values, "Fight For Joy". Life can at times be hard and overwhelming, and yet we are called many times in Scripture to be people of "joy" and to "rejoice". Pastor Chad reminds us where it is we find our true joy: in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you ever struggled with sin and felt like you were the only one who carries that kind of struggle? This week, guest speaker Josh Phillips reminds us that in the context of Christian community, God has made a way for us to not only be forgiven of our sin, but to be healed from it as well. But often, the fear that we may be rejected by others if they knew about our struggles keeps us from allowing ourselves to be truly known.
There are times when even the most devoted followers of Christ can slip and succumb to a fear of people rather than standing strong for the Lord. In today's sermon, Chad takes us through a passage in the life of the apostle Peter, looking at a time when even this faithful man of God began to allow his peers to influence him away from what he knew to be true.
In a culture that celebrates busyness, multi-tasking, and productivity, how do we take God's commandment to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy" seriously? In today's sermon, Chad takes us through several passages in Scripture to help us to understand God's heart behind wanting us to "rest".
This week, Pastor Chad looks at a not-as-well-known chapter from the story of Noah to remind us how the Gospel covers over all the shame and darkness from our stories.
At times in our walk with the Lord, it can feel as if we are in a rut. Often, this can be a result of complacency and familiarity. Pastor Chad encourages us this week to be bold enough to step out and ask the Lord to direct us in new ways to help re-kindle our fire for Him.
We begin a new sermon series this week, "It's Still Good News", reminding us that as followers of Jesus, we have so much reason to face the bad news of the world because we have the good news of the Gospel. This week's sermon starts us in the book of Job, the story of a man who went through great suffering, and yet was still faithful to honor and praise God.
God has given us all talents and abilities intended for blessing and serving others. This week, Chad reminds us that Jesus came to serve others to show them the love of God, and to bring them into a relationship with Him. And just as Jesus served others, He calls us to do the same.
This week, Pastor Chad and Susanna Powers, our Director of Groups and Missions, share The Bridge's strategy for helping people grow spiritually through community.
This week, we begin a new sermon series looking at the 3 part discipleship strategy we hold here at the Bridge to "lead all people from all places to be all in with Jesus". In this episode, Chad takes us through step 1 of our strategy, "We gather to celebrate Jesus."
Pastor Chad reminds us that it's important to consider not just what it is that we want, but what it is that we need. Today, he asks the hard question, "who is more like Christ because of me?" in the final installment in the "Between the Waves" sermon series.
This week, Chad helps us unpack the question, "if the enemy is smart, what kind of attack is he planning for me". God has given us weapons to help fight the battle, and we are reminded that we are to be intentional in how we fight against the devil's attacks.
This week, we begin a new series called "Between the Waves", and this Sunday Chad helps us sort through the question: what part of my life is not what I hoped it would be, and why not?
Continuing on in the Prison Letters series, Chad takes us through the book of Philippians, a letter from the apostle Paul written to the church in Philippi. In this sermon, we learn of disunity and infighting within the church, and how Paul's way of helping guide them was by confronting their arrogance and pride, teaching them that humility and thinking of others first is how God's people should interact with one another.
This week we continue in our short summer series through the apostle Paul's prison letters, looking at the book of Colossians. We learn how the church in Colossae's struggle with not being able to discern between truth and lies about their faith led to division, and that Paul wrote this letter to help the church establish a firm grip on what they believed, knowing that what we believe determines how we live.
In this week's sermon, Chad takes us through Paul's letter to Philemon, and his plea to give Onesimus, a former slave, a second chance.