Arbor Church: Recent Episodes
Arbor Church
The Arbor Church Podcast features weekly messages and more from the teaching team at Arbor Church in Woodinville, Washington.
Kicking off Make It Make Sense, Pastor Ryan walks us into the wiser, older path of Proverbs. Fewer hot takes and more holy formation for real modern life.
Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NET)Alison continues our series on community with a message from Ecclesiastes 4 that answers both the questions (a) where road trip Slurpees were stored before cupholders, and (b) why we do community in the first place.
We are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness in America; a record number of people say they are craving community. Today, a message about what that kind of community actually is, as we open a 3 part series on the what, why, and how of community.
And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25Why would we spend our time in a church community when it’s so much more comfortable and efficient to watch a well-produced sermon and some worship videos from home?
Ryan opens a new miniseries about our church community as fall begins in the Pacific Northwest. From John 13, he asks the question you might have held privately if you’ve waded outside the comfort and efficiency of your home to get involved in the messy work of serving other people… why are we doing this?
As the Israelites wandered in the desert after being led out of Egypt, Moses was struck with a nagging question … have I heard God wrong? Aaron Dimos (Arbor Students) shares about a time in his own life when this question loomed large, and what we can do when start to wonder if God really said what we think He did.
Little children, guard yourselves from idols.– 1 John 5:21 (NET)John concludes his letter with these words, and Ryan concludes our summer series with this message.An admonition to keep oneself from idols probably isn’t how you sign your letters – why did John choose to end this way?
And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.– 1 John 5:14 (NET)Ryan continues our summer series in 1 John with a message from Chapter 5 of the book and its teaching on prayer. What if prayer isn’t about long silences or convincing God to care about what we care about … but about presence?
Have you ever felt as though your relationship with God is harder than it’s supposed to be? Today, as we open the final chapter of 1 John, Ryan draws a parallel between our life with God and a river.
This week, Ryan returns to the pulpit as we continue our journey through 1 John. We’re taking it slow and in fact today Ryan focuses in on just one word:Abide.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.– 1 John 4:18 (NET)This week, Alison teaches from 1 John 4, featuring a conch, and a sea slug, and the long, spiraling journey to perfect love.
As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.– 1 John 2:24 (NET)This week, Scott Hetherington teaches from 1 John 2, and its strange warnings about “last hours” and “antichrists” followed by an admonition to “remain in the Son”. What’s John getting at here… and what does it have to do with Seattle snowstorm preppers?
For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another.– 1 John 3:11 (NET)This week, Garrett Shelp explores 1 John 3:11–24, where John highlights a love that’s deeper than being nice—a love that began our journey, meets us in the dark, and finds us wherever we are.
This week, John turns a corner and names something profound—not just what we’ve left behind or who we are, but what’s being formed within us: a new identity, a new source, a new life.
As we move through this letter we get three windows into what John wants us to see about the world, ourselves, and the hope that can reshape us.
Ryan continues our summer series on life with God, shared together. This week, 1 John takes us a little deeper, moving from John’s personal experience of Jesus to address the questions that naturally arise when we hear words like experience, encounter, shared life, and fellowship.
We’re kicking off a brand new summer series: The Light We Live In. Over the coming months, we’ll journey slowly and reflectively through the letter of 1 John, allowing its ancient pastoral wisdom to not only inform us, but to form us. In this opening message, Pastor Ryan invites us to return to the heart of our faith — life with God, shared together — as we begin this transformative walk through John’s letter.
As we close out the Work That Matters series, this episode takes a different approach. Pastor Ryan hosts a panel of everyday people sharing honest, personal stories about how faith shapes their experience of work. It’s not expert advice—it’s real-life wisdom from real-life journeys.
What if our everyday tasks are part of something eternal? In this message, Ryan explores how the overlooked and ordinary work we do might be exactly what God values most.
This Mother’s Day, Ryan reflects on the often-overlooked work of caring for others—quiet, selfless acts that the world may miss but God celebrates.
Join Ryan as he continues our Work That Matters series, exploring when work gets frustrating and looking at Genesis 3.
New series! Ryan opens Work that Matters with a message from Genesis 1-2 on the origin of work and what it means for us as God’s image-bearers.
Celebrate Easter at Arbor! This week, the story of the expectation-defying Jesus that we started almost two years ago reaches its conclusion with Jesus’ triumphant resurrection from the dead, and the hope, invitation, and challenge it brings to us today.
In the space between the crucifixion on Good Friday and the resurrection on Easter Sunday, Alison reflects on how—even in this in-between moment—there were those who honored Jesus with a memorial as they prepared His body for the tomb.
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews."– Mark 15:25-26This week, guest speaker Garrett Shelp brings us towards the end of our time in Mark with a deep reading of Mark’s account of Jesus’ final hours.
Pilate asked Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ – Mark 15:2As we near the end of our study in the book of Mark, the text reveals a showdown between two opposing kingdoms. As Jesus stands trial before Pilate, we see the kind of kingdom He represents.
Ryan takes us into the final stretch of Mark’s Gospel, where we witness how the disciples respond to the stress and chaos of Jesus’ final days in Mark 12:32-72.
In Mark 14:12-31, Jesus shares the Last Supper with His disciples, confronting them with the question: ‘What will happen to your faith when the pressure is on?’
From Mark 14:1-11, Ryan enters the final stretch of the Gospel of Mark, where a story of calculation, scheming, and betrayal unfolds around a beautiful act of extravagant love.
Ryan concludes our Change is Good series with a message for those of us who might be skeptical about the possibility of change because we’ve been stuck for so long.What do we do when we want to change … but don’t feel like we’re changing?
Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? – Hebrews 12:7The word discipline brings up difficult feelings for some – it makes us think of pain, or abuse, or shame. Can discipline be good? Alison continues our series “Change is Good” with a message about the what, when, and how of God’s discipline.
So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5Scott continues our series Change is Good with a message about the compelling love of Christ and what it means to be a new creation in Him.
Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12This week, a message on what lasting change requires: not just resolve, but renewal.
As Arbor moves to two services for the first time in years, Ryan opens our new series Change is Good with a message on trials. They aren’t fun, but … nobody ever developed unshakable faith through a life of comfort.
Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.– Psalm 1:2Ryan concludes our series on Scripture by answering the question, ‘What is Scripture?’ In this sermon, we explore how we can find delight in Scripture and how God uses it to transform us.
How do we build ryhtms with the Bible in a transformitive and sustainable way? Ryan discusses how scripture serves as a guide that continually points us to Jesus, and he offers practical steps for engaging with the Word more deeply in our daily lives.
Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.– 2 Timothy 3:16In the first installment of a three-part series, Ryan dives into the sometimes strange, sometimes hard but always impactful thing that is scripture.
Just as Abraham embarked on a journey of faith, Arbor Church is also on a path of following God. Join Ryan and the team as they reflect on the past year, explore where we are now, and share the vision for the year ahead.
In this special Christmas Eve message, Ryan Plantz shares about the shepherds who were chosen to be the first to hear the good news of Jesus’ birth.
When we hear the Christmas story, we often imagine the innkeeper as the gruff proprietor of a commercial hotel, but … that’s not really what – or who – he was. Today, Ryan shares the story of this man’s radical hospitality.
This week in our Advent series, Ryan teaches from the story of the Magi in Matthew 2.Will we guard our small kingdoms or seek the true King?
This week, Alison continues our Advent series by looking at the character of Joseph, a man about whom little is written and who is often painted in the shadows of our nativity scenes. Why did God choose this man, a poor carpenter who would not have fared well on Tinder, to be the earthly father of Jesus?
We welcome the season of Advent with a series on some frequently overlooked characters in the story of Jesus’ birth, starting with a message from Pastor Ryan about waiting: active waiting, passive waiting, and – like Simeon – waiting with God.
Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? – James 4Today, Ryan closes our series on friendship with a message from James about one of the tougher aspects of friendship: conflict. What if we could learn to handle conflict in a way that actually strengthens our friendships?
Cultivating healthy friendships isn’t rocket science – but it does take time. This week, Ryan shares practical tips for cultivating the friendships in your life by practicing wisdom, putting in the work, and preventing weeds.
Why would we spend time after the election season and before the holidays on … friendship? Ryan opens our new mini-series this week.
“But as for that day or hour no one knows it – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son – except the Father. Watch out! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time will come.”– Mark 13:32-33Today, Scott Hetherington teaches from Mark 13, and helps us find the main thing (which is also the plain thing) and the plain thing (which is also the main thing) in this difficult passage about the end times.
What is the greatest commandment? Garrett joins us to look at Mark 12:28-34 and this question that one of the teachers asks of Jesus.
In Mark 12:18-27, the Sadducees question Jesus about the resurrection, attempting to trap Him with a hypothetical scenario. Jesus responds by teaching that life after the resurrection is different, and affirms both the power of God and the reality of the resurrection.
In Mark 11:27-33, Jesus is questioned by religious leaders about His authority while teaching in the temple. Bryan Cobley is back as a guest preacher and challenges us to reflect on what might be preventing us from seeing Jesus for who He truly is.
We continue our series in Mark on The Life and Way of Jesus in Mark 11:11-26 with the fig tree and the temple.
Arbor is … a community that gathers together – following Jesus, growing in generosity, and going in love. Ryan closes our Arbor Is… series with a message about the distinguishing mark of the believer – love.
Arbor is … a community that gathers together – following Jesus, growing in generosity, and going in love. Ryana continues our Arbor Is… series with a message exhorting us to grow together in generosity with our time, our talents, and our treasure.
Arbor is … a community that gathers together – following Jesus, growing in generosity, and going in love. This week, we focus on what it means to follow Jesus as a community, by taking the simple steps of being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did.
Arbor is … a community that gathers together – following Jesus, growing in generosity, and going in love. As the fall begins and many of us return to more regular rhythms of life, Ryan opens our new series Arbor Is…. Each week we’ll unpack another part of our identity together, and this week we look inward, towards our role as a community that gathers together.
Alison wraps up our How to Get Unstuck series on how community can help us stay unstuck with the love and help of those around us.
Regrets: we’ve all had a few.This week, Scott Hetherington speaks to us about living without regret, living with regret, and three ways we can get unstuck from regret.Plus, a guest appearance from a yeti!
And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled. – Numbers 11In today’s passage from Numbers 11, the Israelites are very whiny, and God is not pleased with them. Why do we complain? Is there a right way to complain? Ryan answers these questions and more in today’s message.
Is doubting the same thing as disbelief? Is doubting always bad? Where do doubts come from? Ryan shares answers from John 20 and the story of the disciple Thomas – or, as you might know him, Doubting Thomas.
You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk – indeed all malice. – Ephesians 4:31Ryan’s back, with a message from Matthew 18 about getting unstuck from something we’ve all been stuck in – bitterness.
Guest speaker Luke Frank from Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission continues our summer series Unstuck with a message on breaking free from apathy.
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and yet he struggled with discontent; even with all his wisdom, wealth, and power, he found himself feeling empty. From both Solomon’s early writings and his reflections in Ecclesiastes near the end of his life, Alison shares what we can learn from his journey to find contentment.
Self-reliance is reliance on one’s powers and resources rather than those of others. In Bryan’s final message before he departs on his next adventure, he shows us how to get unstuck from unhealthy self-reliance.
But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.– Luke 15:20Addiction is a powerful force that can leave us feeling stuck and alone. Ryan shares how the story of the Prodigal Son can help us find our way back to God’s love and grace.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?"– Matthew 6:25When anxiety rises, where we fix our focus determines whether we will fall apart – or find peace. Ryan opens our summer series Unstuck.
On this Father’s Day, a message from Mark 10:46-52, on another healing of a blind man – and this man is one we can look up to as a shining example of how to follow Jesus.
They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking!"– Mark 10:37-38Today, Ryan speaks about the hard truth that the Disciples confronted in Mark 10: how we so often prefer the security of the throne over the sacrifice of the cross.
*“Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”From Mark 10:17-31, the story of a man who seemed like he had absolutely everything he needed to enter the Kingdom of God – humility, obedience, religious piety, and sure proof of God’s blessing in his abundant wealth. This week, Ryan helps us understand what this question meant for first-century Jews … and what questions we can ask about our relationship to money today.
Then some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"– Mark 10:2The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into taking sides on the topic of divorce. It was a contentious matter in Jesus’ time, and, in the two thousand years since, it hasn’t gotten any easier. Today, Scott tackles this tough subject with love and humility.
From Mark 9:38-50, the story of the disciples’ confrontation with others who were casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and Jesus’ warning for those who would lead others to sin.A brief portion of Brian’s message is missing from the beginning of the podcast due to technical difficulties. The Management apologizes for the error.
This week in the book of Mark (9:30-37), the disciples hear Jesus plainly foretell his own death, and they respond to this shocking news by … arguing about which of them is the greatest. They were, in a word, disoriented. What can we learn from periods of disorientation in our lives?
Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!"– Mark 9:24Today, from Mark 9:14-29, a valley follows the mountaintop experience of the Transfiguration. Can we bring our doubts to Jesus? … And what happens when following Jesus feels like it’s making things worse?
A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides,but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper…– 1 Kings 19:11-12This week, Ryan concludes our 3-part miniseries on Solitude with the rest of the story of Elijah’s flight from Ahab and his time in solitude with God.
Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, while he went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life.– 1 Kings 19:3-4Ryan continues our series on the spiritual discipline of solitude with a framework based on Elijah’s time in the wilderness after a threat on his life.
Then Jesus got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer.– Mark 1:35Following our series on fasting, this week we embark upon a new series on the spiritual discipline of solitude. Ryan defines solitude and silence and their role in the Christian life.
From Mark 9:2-13, Alison shares a fresh perspective on Moses and Elijah’s appearance at the Transfiguration, and how, in our deepest valleys, it can build our faith.
From 1 Corinthians 15 and the Easter story, a special message about a Resurrected King who can resurrect us… if we surrender to His lead.
Today, Jesus fails to meet … everyone’s expectations. He rides on a colt instead of a horse. Then he gets really emotional about Jerusalem. And finally, he gets really mad.Teaching elder Scott Hetherington shows us, through the story of Palm Sunday, how our expectations of Jesus cause Him to weep over our blindness to Him as our Savior.
Then Jesus called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and because of the gospel will save it."– Mark 8:34
We opened the Life and Way of Jesus series with a message about Jesus’s tendency to defy everyone’s expectations. Today, Jesus is back at it… healing a blind man with some spit (and only … halfway healing him at first?!), saying Get behind me, Satan! to the man who had just made the most famous confession of faith in history, and telling everyone not to tell anyone who he really is.
Today’s message, from Mark 8:1-21, is about how the disciples repeatedly failed to see reality as it really was, and why … sometimes … we do too.
In today’s message from Mark 7:31-37, obstacles are encountered, obstacles are surmounted, Ryan makes the mistake of flying on Spirit Airlines, and Jesus heals a deaf man.
Today, Bryan challenges those of us who can be controlling, tells the story of how Jesus confronted some gatekeepers, and answers a very difficult question: did Jesus really call someone a dog?
Now when Jesus had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him? […] What comes out of a person defiles him." – Mark 7:17-20From Mark 7, Alison speaks about Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees, the Law, legalism, our hearts, our insides, our outsides, and (of course) Taylor Swift.
From Mark 6:45-52: the story of Jesus walking on water. If you’ve been going to church for a while, you’ve probably heard this story a thousand times. But … why did Jesus walk on water? And how did the disciples keep missing the point? And why do we? Ryan explains.
As we close our 3 week mini-series on fasting, Ryan continues to explain the why of fasting. Why do the words “fasting” and “prayer” so often appear together in Scripture? What is fasting good for?
This week, we begin a new series on the topic of fasting. Ryan opens with a message on the theology of fasting, beginning in Genesis with souls and bodies and ending with the ministry of Jesus and His example.
These days, many of us are turning to apps to help us keep our New Years’ Resolutions … and achieving less success than ever. Today, Scott brings us a story from 1 Samuel about a stone called Ebenezer and a God whose help is there for us in the past, present, and future.
Ryan closes our series The Ever-Present God with a message about why the Christmas story matters, and how our God is present with us – always.
God is present in the valleys, the wilderness … and the storms. Ryan continues our series The Ever-Present God, based on Matthew 1:23.
From 1 Kings 19, Ryan shares the story of Elijah’s flight from Ahab and Jezebel and into the wilderness, where he asked God to take his life: he had just Had Enough. Have you ever felt this way?
“Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us."– Matthew 1:23 (NET)This Advent season, join us as we explore the meaning of Jesus’ name, God with us, and celebrate a God who is ever-present – even in our darkest valleys.
Alison continues our series The Life and Way of Jesus with a fresh take on the familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 – the only miracle, other than the Resurrection, to be recorded in all 4 gospels.
To some Jesus is a stumbling stone; to others, He is the Cornerstone. Today Bryan Cobley continues our series The Life and Way of Jesus with a message from Mark 6 and asks the simple question: are you trusting Jesus?
So many people wanted to get baptized this week that we pressed Pause on our series in Mark. Instead, Pastor Ryan answers the question of what baptism is, and why believers of Jesus practice it. Inside, a deep dive (pun intended) into the history of God’s restoration and rescue through water.
Today, the story of two incredible, and parallel, healings, and one question: if this Jesus is who He says He is, how then should I respond?
This week, a story that couldn’t be better timed for Halloween, featuring a graveyard, chains, blood, a legion of demons, and a man who proves that absolutely no one is beyond Jesus’ redeeming power.
The story of Jesus calming the storm is often thought of as a metaphor for the way He can calm storms in our lives. But, like a Magic Eye image, the details tell second story, too, bigger than the first. Ryan explains in today’s message on Mark 4.
Bryan Cobley continues our series The Life and Way of Jesus with a message from Mark 4 and a series of parables: a lamp under a basket, a seed growing, a single grain of mustard.
Scott brings us back to the book of Mark with a message resuming our series The Life and Way of Jesus. Today, from Mark 4, it’s the parable of the sower, and some tough questions about whether we’re letting Jesus tell us who He is … or just trying to recreate Him in our own image.
Ryan closes our series The Road to Renewal with a message from Nehemiah 6 about the distractions that are sure to come our way as we seek to follow God’s leading in our lives.
If you’re seeking the renewal God has called you to, well, you can expect that it isn’t going to be easy; you’ll face opposition from your enemies, your colleagues, and even yourself. Ryan continues our series The Road to Renewal with a message from Nehemiah explaining what to do when this opposition mounts.
Ryan continues our series The Road to Renewal with a message continuing our story in Nehemiah and outlining the 4 ways in which we can move away from consumerism to become people who contend for what God has for us.
Ryan opens a new two-part series The Road to Renewal with some sobering statistics on church attendance. What’s going wrong, and why do things just feel … off lately? To find the answers, we turn to the book of Nehemiah and God’s path to renewal.
Bryan continues our series on The Life and Way of Jesus with a message from Mark 3 about the one sin that Jesus said was unforgivable. What is it… and could we be guilty of it?
Today, the final two conflict stories between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day – and a prime example of what it looks like for a group of people to drift away from their original purpose. From Mark 2:23 - 3:6, Ryan continues our series The Life and Way of Jesus.
In Mark’s gospel (2:18-22), Jesus explains why his disciples don’t fast, and then … launches into a series of metaphors about old and new things. What’s He talking about? Pastor Ryan explains.
From Mark 2:13-17, it’s the story of the calling of Levi, how easy it us for us to see others through labels and groups, how Jesus saw people differently, and how we can too.
From Mark 2:1-12, it’s the story of the paralytic lowered through the roof to Jesus, and what it means to rest in Jesus’ healing authority.
Bryan Cobley continues our series on The Life and Way of Jesus with a message on Mark 1:35-45.
Alison completes the two-part Prodigal miniseries from Luke 15. (The Management apologizes for the audio quality at the beginning of her message.)
Alison begins a two-part miniseries entitled Prodigal. From Luke 15, it’s the story of the prodigal son, and a God whose plan to find us is so much greater than our plan to get lost.
From Mark 1:21-34, Ryan continues our series in Mark (The Life and Way of Jesus) with a look at what life in the Kingdom of God actually looks like.
If you grew up in the church, the word “Christian” might mean something very simple to you – praying the Sinner’s Prayer, believing certain things, trying to be good most of the time, going to church now and again. But the word “Christian” is not used very often in Scripture, and never by Jesus; he didn’t have Christians. He had disciples. Today, from Mark 1-3, Ryan helps us understand what discipleship meant to Jesus.
Each of us probably has something slightly different come to mind when we hear the word gospel. What was the gospel according to Jesus? And what did He mean by the Kingdom of God? Ryan continues our series in Mark with an in-depth look at Jesus’ words as He began His ministry.
As we’ve just learned in our Emotionally Healthy Relationships series, unmet expectations are the root of all disappointment. And boy, were people ever disappointed with Jesus. This week, Ryan opens a new series in the book of Mark, which shows a Jesus who is a lot different from the warrior king that people expected in the first century – and also a lot different from how we think of Jesus today.
We all know we’re supposed to pray … so why don’t we? Today, Bryan shares a message based on Jesus’ prayer in Gesthemane that addresses each of the common roadblocks to prayer.
Ryan closes our series Emotionally Healthy Relationships with a message on how to deal with the inevitable conflict that arises in our relationships – not by seeking fake peace but by becoming true peace-makers and fighting cleanly.
A special Mother’s Day message from associate pastor Alison Acone about heartweight + heartwait, Hannah, and waiting on God.
We continue our series Emotionally Healthy Relationships this week, with a message about listening deeply to those around us. Listening is more than just being quiet, and Ryan helps us understand what it means to listen deeply by following Jesus’ example and listening incarnationally. (What does that mean? Listen and find out.)
This week in Emotionally Healthy Relationships, the art of becoming self-aware, or: how to take a really good look at yourself and understand the part of the iceberg beneath the waterline… starring David, Saul, a lyre, and a spear.
This week, Ryan continues our series Emotionally Healthy Relationships with a message on how to avoid unmet expectations – both in our personal relationships and in our relationship with God.
Our new series Emotionally Healthy Relationships explores the idea that spiritual maturity and emotional health are inseparable. This week, Ryan talks about the innately human tendency to read minds and assume we know what other people are thinking and why they act as they do, and offers practical steps for challenging the assumptions we make about each other that so often lead to conflict.
In a world full of Bad news and Fake news … Easter is Good News, the miraculous and rare kind that doesn’t come with strings or a catch. Through Mary Magdalene’s story, Ryan shows us how Hope rises on the day of Jesus’ resurrection.
This Good Friday, we remember the death of Jesus, and ask: why did it have to be on a cross?
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. Ryan closes our series on James with a message drawn from the last verses of Chapter 5, wherein James shows us how to have patience in suffering through prayer.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? - James 4. Today, Scott walks us through James’ harsh words for wealthy oppressors, and shows us what it means to honor God with our wealth and our plans.
Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? – James 4. In the book of John, Jesus asks John: What do you want? This question is remarkably insightful – because we are what we want. Not what we think or believe or do – what we want. Pastor Ryan explains.
Who is wise and understanding among you? James’ rhetorical question in Chapter 3 opens a set of verses that help us distinguish true wisdom from counterfeit.
And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence… okay, James, but how do you really feel? Today, from chapter 3 of James’ epistle, the story of how much trouble our tongues can get us into, and why.
Today, Ryan teaches on one of the most hotly debated passages in the New Testament, James 2:14: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? Surely James cannot be saying that we are not saved by faith alone … so what is James saying? And what does it have to do with a certain cormorant on the Galapagos Islands?
My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. From James 2, some challenging words about favoritism and prejudice, and the Royal Law that shows us how to rise above them.
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Thanks much, James, but that’s a lot easier said than done. This week, Pastor Ryan unpacks this passage with some practical advice on how to live out this command, and explores the growing chasm between hearing and doing in the Christian life.
My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials… So begins the book of James, and this week Ryan opens our new A Faith that Works series with a message on why James opens his epistle with what appears to a major bummer.
Have you ever tried to follow Jesus’ example of prayerfulness, only to find that you’re secretly bored … or don’t know what to do … or even aren’t sure if your prayers are actually doing anything? If so, today’s message is for you.
Jesus was never too busy for the people he encountered as he went about His ministry. Scott Hetherington shares three stories about Jesus bringing hope and healing in during unplanned and unexpected encounters, and encourages us, too, to live in the now as we follow Him.
Little by little, we have squeezed more into our days until we’re overwhelmed. What is the better way forward when we feel so rushed and hurried – and so disappointed in the pace and intensity that has encroached upon our schedules – that we don’t have time to do what really matters? Sometimes, the greatest enemy to the life you want may be the life you’re living.
Ryan opens our new series A Better Way Forward with some tough, uncomfortable questions … that you probably wouldn’t expect to hear from the pulpit right after the new year. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve probably felt at times that Christianity isn’t actually working. How can we move forward in the way of Jesus in those times?
Ryan closes our The Way in a Manger series with a special Christmas Eve message about Jesus, the Light of the World.
Ryan continues opens our Advent series The Way in a Manger with a message about gifts, giving, receiving, anger, fear, our way, our wills, and the great love God has for us.
Ryan opens our Advent series The Way in a Manger (it sounds kind of like “away in a manger” … get it?) with a message about faith, fear, angels, disgusting shepherds, betrothed lovers, unexpected pregnancies, and God’s peace.
Nevertheless, you did well to share with me in my trouble …And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4. Ryan closes our Resilient Joy series at the end of Philippians, which – as it turns out – is really just an extremely loquacious thank-you letter for the generosity of the church at Philippi, and shares 7 reasons that giving is good.
I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. – Philippians 4. Today, Bryan leads us through Paul’s famous passage on contentment, and reveals Paul’s answer to the question: how can today be enough?
I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord … Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! Let everyone see your gentleness. – Philippians 4. Today, we look at a conflict that’s often passed over when we read this book, and how Paul admonishes us to shape our response. Will conflict cause us to run away from resilient joy – or will we become more deeply rooted in it?
But our citizenship is in heaven—and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 3:20. Today, Ryan brings his passport to church, and a tale of two kingdoms: the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Heaven, and what it means for us to live in each one.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. – Philippians 3. This week, Alison leads us through the opening of Philippians 3, and Paul’s extraordinary comparison of his extensive accomplishments and credentials to … well … poop. PARENTAL ADVISORY This episode of our podcast contains scatological humor.
On October 30th 2022, we lost power during our 10:00am service, so to make up for it we recorded an audio only version after the fact. We hope this is beneficial and helpful with your study of Philippians and Resilient Joy.
Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had… – Philippians 2. Today, Ryan teaches through the first part of Philippians 2 and about the resilient joy that can be found in humility, or, as C.S. Lewis put it: not thinking less of yourself, but thinking about yourself less.
Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan and Scott’s messages from the last two Sundays.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. – Paul, Philippians 1:21. Today, Scott Hetherington unpacks this passage as we continue our journey through Philippians 1, and helps us understand how these conflicting desires were, paradoxically, part of Paul’s reason for joy in awful circumstances.
We continue our time in Philippians Chapter 1 trying to understand how Paul was able to experience joy despite being in prison and experiencing what is, objectively, a pretty rough life. Did he just try to pretend that all the evil that happened to him was good? Or was there something deeper going on?
If there’s a word that describes our collective spirits in 2021 and 2022, it might be languishing. This week, Ryan opens a new series on Philippians in which we’ll explore what it means to have joy beyond circumstance and “happiness”.
Ryan concludes our Better Together series with a message on the invitational life of Jesus – from the woman at the well to Zaccheus the tax collector – and his call to be not just his followers but also fishers of people.
Bryan continues our Better Together series with a message drawn from the community in which Jesus participated, and the community enjoyed by the early church in Acts. If Jesus needs it… we need it!
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. – John 13:14. Today, Ryan begins a three-part Better Together series with a message about serving, from John 13 and 1 Corinthians 12.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye”?
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." – Matthew 5:38–39. This is one of the most challenging teachings Jesus gives us in the Sermon on the Mount. Did the One who flipped tables in the temple really suggest that we should lie down and let others walk all over us?
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet." – Matthew 5:13. Pastor Ryan unpacks the rich meaning of this familiar passage: what salt and light tell us about who we are, how Jesus sees us, and our role in the world in which we temporarily reside.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9. Ryan opens our new Summer on the Mount series with a message on peacemaking in our divisive and polarized times – not peacekilling, or even peacekeeping, but literally doing the hard work of making peace, as believers and as a church body.
No one likes uncertainty, but adversity and uncertainty go hand in hand with following Jesus. In his first message as Arbor’s lead pastor, Pastor Ryan explains why this is so, using examples from the Scripture, his own life, and Arbor’s past.
We are excited to introduce Ryan Plantz, our lead pastor! Take a listen and get to know our new staff member at Arbor Church.
We send off Cliff with Alison giving the word from the book of Ezra and how change can be viewed differently from each person and their experiences. *Note: We apologize in advance for Alison’s audio missing from the beginning portion of the stream/video message. The audio podcast will have the complete message from the beginning.
We are excited to introduce Ryan Plantz, our lead pastor! Take a listen and get to know our new staff member at Arbor Church.
We continue our summer series with Pastor Cliffs last message with us at Arbor as he leaves us with a message from the story of Moses and how what we have in life is Gods to use.
We start our new series Summer At Arbor with Michael speaking about how we can love ourselves and love others around us.
We conclude our series Changes with Cliff diving into the New Testament and talking about two men who personally knew Jesus and discovered the Grace that he gave to them.
Happy Fathers Day! Cliff continues our series changes by diving into how God is seen as our heavenly father
We continue our series Changes with Pastor Cliff reading from Mark and how Jesus restored the possessed man.
Alison takes the stage today as she continues our series Changes diving into the book of Ruth and showing how through life changing seasons, God will provide.
We continue our series Changes with Pastor Cliff telling us the two words that will change our perspective on life.
Cliff continues with part four of our series Changes talking about John and how he changed his expectations about who Jesus was.
Cliff continues part three of our series Changes talking about the blindspots in our walk with God looking into John 9 with Jesus healing the blindman
Cliff continues our Changes series with the story of Hannah, Samuel, and how giving sacrificially to God changes us.
Cliff starts our new series Changes with a message on the raising of Lazarus, God’s incredible ability to turn grief into belief, and how trusting God changes us.
Alison concludes our series with a Buzzfeed-worthy message on the top 5 secrets of forgiveness.
Cliff concludes our Forgiveness series on Easter Sunday with a message on the greatest act of forgiveness in history.
From Exodus 3-12, Cliff reveals the amazing parallels between the Passover Lamb and other Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’ death on the cross.
Scott opens our new 3-week Easter series on forgiveness with a deep dive into what forgiveness looked like in the Old Testament, before the arrival of Jesus changed everything.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Cliff concludes our All In series on Romans 8 with this wonderful truth: God’s love overcomes all obstacles.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Can God really work all things for our good? Cliff unpacks the beautiful truth of that simple phrase: God is for us.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose… Today, Cliff teaches from his life verse and reveals God’s plan to turn our pain and problems into praise.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly… Bryan teaches from the next section of Romans 8: hope, firstfruits, groaning, intercession… and above all, the wonderful truth that we are not alone.
We apologize for the technical issue with Alison’s microphone. We found out about it, after the recording had ended.
Today we celebrate Arbor’s fifth birthday, a milestone many church plants never reach! Cliff commemorates the occasion with a message based on the story of Gideon and God’s supernatural knack for making the impossible possible.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us… Today, Scott draws the short straw and continues our series in Romans 8 with a look at verses 18-21 and the essential role of suffering in the life of the Christian.
Today, we continue our series, All In. It’s a series about understanding our faith, drawn verse by verse from the 8th chapter of Romans. Cliff takes us through the deeper meaning of adoption into God’s family.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Today, a message from Alison on how our mindset impacts our faith … and our life.
Today, we start a new series, All In. It’s a series about understanding our faith, drawn verse by verse from the 8th chapter of Romans. Cliff starts us off with a deep exploration of the first 4 verses of this chapter; you might recognize them: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…
Alison wraps up our Christmas Stories series with a message about what happens in our lives as Christians in the space between the Star – the hope of God’s promises – and the Stable – the fulfillment of those promises. The journey can be so long; how do we live in that space?
Alison, Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Christmas traditions and stories.
No church service this Sunday after Christmas … instead, the Arbor staff gathers for a special year-end conversation, looking back at 2021 and ahead to what’s next.
Fear not. Angels say it again and again – but what’s it mean when we’re also often admonished to fear God? Scott brings us into the heart of these two powerful words.
We continue our Christmas Stories series with a message from Pastor Cliff about Mary, the mother of Jesus… an ordinary person whom God used for extraordinary things.
Alison, Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.
Our new series Christmas Stories explores the miracle of Jesus’ birth through new eyes and perspectives. This week, Brian opens the series with the stories of three of Jesus’ ancestors: little-known characters in the big genealogical records that preface the Gospels, and how their story became part of His.
Today, our 40+ Days of Prayer series ends – not with a message but with story after story of how God has moved, healed, and restored in the last 40 days as we have sought Him together.
Do you feel like your prayers just aren’t doing anything? The last message in our 40+ Days of Prayer series is for you: from Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thess 5:17, and Luke 18:6-8, Cliff shows us how to multiply our prayer power.
Breakthrough prayer requires intentionality and persistence … it doesn’t change God, but it does change us! Cliff speaks on fasting, tongues, gifts, and how these things can be used by God to help us experience breakthroughs in our spiritual lives. Note: This recording was cut off about 45 minutes in due to a brief power outage.
Sometimes prayer is about getting to know God more than about getting the answers we’re looking for. God wants to teach us through prayer, so we need to be paying attention! But what if God just seems … absent? Today, Cliff continues our series on prayer with answers for one of the toughest questions people ask about prayer: what is going on when God is silent?
Prayer is the weapon that wins spiritual battles! Today, Cliff takes us through the Armor of God in Ephesians 6, explaining each piece and outlining 4 winning battle strategies.
Knowing how to pray makes praying a lot easier! Today, Cliff breaks down how we should (and shouldn’t) pray, using a 4-part framework Jesus gave us in Matthew 6. (Hint: it’s one you can probably already recite.)
This week we embark together as a church on a 40+ day prayer adventure. Cliff opens the series with a message about why we pray, how God answers, and what prayer does in our lives. Very simply: we pray because prayer works, and it’s the key to knowing God.
1 Peter 4:10 – As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace… From this passage (and from a variety of As Seen On TV products), Bryan closes our Family Values series with a message on what it means to Serve Sacrifically. How are you using your gift?
Jesus talked a lot about money and generosity; by one count, 25% of his teaching was on this subject. Today, Alison looks at Scripture to discover what it looks like to give generously and why we give generously… and offers both an exemption and a money-back guarantee.
From Hebrews 5, Scott shows us how to grow spiritually by following the example of Jesus, the great High Priest. Spiritual growth isn’t about strength, knowledge, or having all the answers … it’s about weakness, prayer, a willingness to endure discomfort, and ultimately our relationship with God.
Drawing from the accounts of the earliest believers in Acts, the courage of Daniel, Paul’s admonitions, and other Scripture, Cliff demonstrates how consistent engagement turns our beliefs into our lifestyle.
Our new series Family Values is all about how we, as a church and as individuals, achieve our mission of helping people find and follow Jesus: we live invitationally, engage consistently, grow spiritually, give generously, and serve sacrificially. Today, Cliff teaches from Luke 12 on the subject of Living Invitationally and the value of truly being ready for Jesus. How does it change our schedule, priorities, relationships, and lives?
This Labor Day weekend, Bryan concludes our Summer with Jesus with a message from Acts 1, as Jesus spoke his final words on Earth. Like the disciples, we’ve spent time with Jesus… and now it’s time to show up like He did, in His likeness.
Cemeteries aren’t very … summery. But today we visit one with Alison: from John 11, the story of Lazarus, Martha, Mary, our plans, God’s plans, and an empathetic, life-giving man named Jesus.
From the first lie in the Bible (in the first chapter of Genesis!) to Jesus’ words of warning in John 8… today’s message from Cliff is about the lies the enemy tells us, and what we need to do to overcome them with the truth that comes from Jesus.
It’s a very special Sunday at Arbor: today we celebrate with families who are dedicating their children. Michael, our Children’s Director, gives a message from Matthew 19. Jesus said, “let the little children come to me … for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." What did He mean? Can we see and love people the way Jesus sees and loves people?
This week on Summer with Jesus, Scott Hetherington speaks on a pattern of living that Jesus taught his disciples and modeled throughout his ministry: retreat with Jesus, restore with God … and return with purpose.
From John 4, Bryan teaches on the story of Jesus’s conversation with the woman at the well. What happens when we’re confronted with a sin or change we need to make in our lives?
Special guest and longtime friend of Arbor Mike North delivers today’s message. Our mission at Arbor is to help the hurting… and to do that we must first address our own hurts, habits, and hangups. Mike challenges us to examine ourselves honestly and with humility, and to draw near to God for help and healing.
Today, Cliff starts a new series, Summer with Jesus, in which we’re looking at things that apply to us personally based on what Jesus did and what Jesus said. Today, from Matthew 8, the story of Jesus healing a man with leprosy.
Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss how they spend our time in the Bible.
In this special Father’s Day message, Bryan teaches us about about the influence fathers wield, whether they intend to our not, and – from the familiar story of an official with a sick son – shows us how to be intentional with that influence.
Today, Cliff teaches us from Matthew 28 that “all authority has been given to Jesus in Heaven and on Earth. Go ye therefore…” Will you trust Jesus? Will you go?
“You had one job!” … We’ve all heard it, especially when that one job isn’t done well. Today, Cliff teaches from the Parable of the Ten Minas: as followers of Christ, what is our One Job?
This Memorial Day weekend: a message from the book of Job, not about the earthly wars we often remember at this time but about another kind of warfare entirely. We win these spiritual battles when we use God’s strategies, and Cliff reveals the 3 strategies that He has given us to be victorious over the Enemy.
New series this week! Cliff opens Priorities with a fresh take from the life of Joshua. Say it with us: It’s not my way or your way … it’s only God’s way.
Scott wraps up our Good News series with a message on our access to God: why do we have access to God? what privileges does this access bring? … and how can we use this access in the way He intended?
Today, Alison with a word not just for mothers but for women everywhere, from Proverbs 31. This chapter doesn’t read like good news to those of us who see it as an unattainable standard for women. But … what if Proverbs 31 is about who we are, not who we aren’t?
Alison, Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.
This week in our Good News series, a message about God’s love – truly the greatest news ever told. From 1 John 4, Cliff teaches us about God’s love, and what it means for us to be on the side of love.
Today, Scott uses Paul’s letter to Philemon to outline the good news of God’s forgiveness … and who we are because of it.
From John 6, Cliff tells the well-known story of Jesus feeding a crowd with loaves and fishes, and invites us along the way to stop and reflect on what Jesus can do with whatever we are willing to offer to Him: He alone can take broken pieces and from them create masterpieces.
Cliff opens our Good News series with a message on Jesus’ mission to seek and save what was lost. Along the way: a sheep, a coin, a son, distractions, carelessness, and a simple truth: Jesus doesn’t care how you got lost. He just wants you to be found.
This Easter Sunday, Bryan takes us a walk with two men on the road to Emmaus… reflecting on all that’s happened, reflecting on this last year for all of us, and listening to what Jesus has to say about Himself through His own words.
Scott closes our series Letters to a Young Church with Paul’s final exhortations to the Galatians, on the topics of bearing each others’ burdens, sowing and reaping, and the art of gentle restoration.
*…Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. * – Galatians 5:13b. Today, Bryan looks at our freedom in Christ from another perspective. Along the way: shoulder demons, shoulder angels, logs, specks, spiritual fruit, and a man named John Baker. How will you use your freedom?
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. – Galatians 5:1. Scott shows us what the Scripture has to say about how to stand firm in that freedom and avoid the yoke of slavery.
New interim pastor Cliff Tadema continues our series Letters to a Young Church with a message on Galatians 4 and our freedom in Christ.
Thessalonians was a letter of encouragement, but Galatians is a little more confrontational. The early church, barely a few years after Jesus founded it, had already begun to suffer a division as legalism and tradition took the place of grace and freedom. Scott digs into the story of the Galatian church and shows us why this story sounds so familiar. (Plus, he says the word circumcision a lot.)
In the his closing thoughts in 1 Thessalonians, Paul admonishes the young church to build … with their leaders, with each other, and with God.
On this Super Bowl Sunday, Scott opens Thessalonians to the last part of Chapter 4 and the first part of Chapter 5, and speaks to the hope that Christians have of life with Christ in death.
The Apostle Paul did some stuff that was downright crazy from the world’s perspective. And as God works in us to sanctify us… well, that can look a little crazy, too. Today, David speaks from 1 Thessalonians 4 on the beautiful, crazy life of the Christian.
The culture is a little different than it was in Bible times, but some things about the life of a Christian haven’t changed. As we look at the 3rd chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Scott outlines the trials we can all expect … as well as strength, encouragement, and a life of love and steadfastness.
In the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Alison leads us through the establishment of Paul’s credibility and outlines both the pastor’s part and the church’s part of the worthy walk that God has called us into.
Bryan leads us through 1 Thessalonians 1 and Paul’s encouragement to the church to continue in their faith, love, and hope.
Alison and Bryan wrap up our Still series with a message for the Arbor family, about who we are, what our church means, our family values, what’s changed, what hasn’t, and where we want to go together. It’s been one crazy year … but we are still Arbor.
A special Christmas Eve message reminding us that we can be still … because God is still with us.
Alison, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from yesterday and the Christmas story.
The short story of Mary and Joseph, though just a prelude to the bigger story of Jesus, reminds us that in the midst of uncertainty and waiting, God is still moving – and when God moves, we need to get moving with him.
Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from yesterday and the intertestamental period.
This Christmas, in all the chaos in our world and in our lives, we’re exploring the idea of Still. Bryan opens with a look at a time in the history of God’s people that’s rarely part of the Christmas story: the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. Reduced to a comma in sentences, a single blank page in your Bible – where was God during these centuries of silence?
Alison, Bryan, and Alison sit down to discuss Alison’s message from yesterday and everything from grief to Gilmore Girls.
Its Alison and the boys! This week Alison, Bryan, Hayden, and Michael talk about Christmas traditions and what they grew up doing every December.
Today, Mike Howerton introduces us to a radical, over-the-top, expansive love … a beautiful, outrageous, outlandish kind of love that could only come from God.
How we think about eternity determines how we live today. If that’s true and I’m living with my eternal end in mind, what does life practically look like? How does living with heaven in mind affect my calendar, my contentment, and my conversations? Heaven is our home, and scripture tells us that it’s worth looking forward to!
Today we tackle all the big questions about the eternal heaven: What will it be like? Will I know and recognize loved ones? Will I receive a new body? Do I get wings? Will there be dogs in heaven? If I’m really there for eternity won’t I eventually get bored? The Bible has answers that may surprise you.
Just when you thought heaven couldn’t get better, it does. All things will be made new, including heaven and earth. The work of Christ’s restoration plan is much bigger than we could’ve ever imagined. He’s not only redeeming our souls, he’s renewing all of his original creation.
On The Followup Jake unpacks yesterday’s message, explains his desire to talk about Heaven for 5 weeks, and discusses Chik-Fil-A sauce. Every Monday morning we will be posting these podcasts (we like to think of them as discussions) that will dive deeper into the previous sermon. We hope that these episodes will offer you a deeper understanding, better application to your life, and that you can feel a better connection to the Pastors at Arbor Church.
Have you ever wondered what your loved one is doing in heaven right now? Can they see and hear you on earth? When we die, we are immediately with Jesus for all eternity, but at some point in eternity… heaven is going to move. And until that happens, our loved ones are in what theologians have termed the “intermediate heaven”.
How often do we think about heaven? Typically we don’t, unless we receive a difficult diagnosis or lose someone we love, the afterlife is usually an afterthought. The writer of Hebrews says that this world is not our home… heaven is our home. How would our lives be different today if we really believed we were going home tomorrow?
Mike Howerton concludes our two-part series on The Life You Were Made For with message on overcoming the one obstacle that often looms largest: our own fear.
A young Mike Howerton walks a into a classroom to see a big question (maybe the biggest question) written on the chalkboard: what is the good life? Jesus spoke of it: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10); what did He mean? Mike shares the 8 areas of life in which we need to live with purpose and intention in order to experience this good, full, and abundant life.
As pews sit empty for months in the wake of a global pandemic, some are beginning to wonder for the first time if we truly need to fill them again… but long before the first COVID-19 case, a generation had already begun voting church non-essential with their feet. This week, Jake answers the tough question: who needs church?
Scott Hetherington takes us through two different accounts of the story of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, where He overturned tables and fulfilled prophecy. What would the Temple be today?
Mark 7 tells the story of a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees … on hand washing, of all things, something we’re all thinking about more often. Guest speaker Jesse Butterworth contrasts the Pharisee’s outside-in view with Jesus’ inside-out perspective, and asks some tough questions about modern-day hypocrisy.
As we’re discovering this summer, worship is about a lot more than just singing – but singing is still a big deal to God! From Acts 16, Jake shares the story of Paul and Silas’s miraculous release from prison, encourages us to worship rather than worry, and reveals which Thanksgiving food singing would be if singing were a Thanksgiving food.
In Jesus’ famous conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well, he told her that “true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Today, from Scott Hetherington: what it means to worship in Spirit, what it means to worship in truth, three kinds of false worship, and an awkward conversation with an English teacher.
This week, from Luke 21, Mike Howerton brings us the story of the widow’s mite – the two very small coins she offered to God that Jesus declared to be worth more than all the riches that had been offered before them. Along the way: generosity, money, happiness, and what it really means to worship through giving.
Bryan continues our summer Worship series with an in-depth look at the story of the woman who poured out a very expensive bottle of perfume at Jesus’ feet, from John 12. What can it teach us about what it means to worship with lavish love?
This week we begin both Tent Church and a summer series on worship. Jake opens the series with an in-depth look at Psalm 95 and the meaning, motive, and modes of worship. (Did you know that it used to be called worthship?)
Somehow, in the midst of a global pandemic, the church has – instead of facing the challenge together – become more divided than ever. Jake echoes the pleas of Jesus and Paul for unity and shares the two things we need in order to come together again.
This Father’s Day, Mike Howerton brings us the story of Samson, one of the Old Testament’s tragic heroes – a man devoted to God but mastered by his desires, and a man who could have benefited from some coaching. Mike shares some thoughts on who and what we allow to master us, and the everyday mantras that keep a life in alignment with God.
This is the story of the most famous verse of the Bible, John 3:16. It’s the story of that verse in its proper context, a nighttime conversation with a certain Pharisee, who had some questions about the kind of Beginning Again Jesus had been talking about. Jake takes 5 truths from Jesus’ answers … and one simple question.
In light of George Floyd’s death and the nationwide protests it has ignited, Scott Hetherington pivots this Sunday to address the topic on everyone’s minds. He speaks from personal experience as a man with Black mentors and a servant on a diversity and equity committee, and leads us in a difficult conversation about the Bible, the Church, racism, and each one of us.
This week, we embark upon a new series, Begin Again, and Jake teaches from the story lovingly painted on hundreds of church nursery walls but somehow regularly passed over by grown-ups: Noah’s Ark. Everyone knows the story of how the world ended, but less well know is what came after – how Noah started again.
This week, Jake concludes an epic 12-week series in which we’ve sought to understand Jesus through the life of Peter. We remember who Peter was, who he became, and why, and learn from the wisdom he expressed later in his life in his epistles – 1 and 2 Peter.
Today, from Acts 10, Scott recounts the story of Peter’s bizarre dream at Simon’s house: a sheet full of animals is lowered from heaven, three times. What did it mean for Peter? … And does it mean anything for us?
Ten years after the Resurrection, Peter was finally the faith-filled follower of Jesus that he was meant to become. Today, the story of his miraculous liberation from jail, and a tough question it raises concerning God’s character.
Peter didn’t have money, but he did have a God-given gift of healing. After God healed a lame man through Peter, people would place the sick where Peter’s shadow would fall on them, believing that even this would heal their loved ones. Today, we explore the theology of God’s gift of healing in Peter’s day … and ours.
After Jesus’ resurrection, John chapter 21 tells the story of Peter’s restoration. How could the man who denied Jesus in His darkest hour possibly be restored to His side?
In Easters past we have looked at the reality of the resurrection. This year, we look at its result, through the eyes of Peter.
In this special Good Friday message, we remember and reflect on a blood-stained cross, and enter the next chapter of Peter’s story: the awful truth of the three times he denied Jesus.
This week, we discuss what Jesus meant when he referred to Peter as the Rock, and Peter’s answer to the most important question Jesus ever asked: who do you say that I am?
This week, we’re excited to welcome Mike Howerton to our regular speaking team! Mike continues our series on Peter with a message on three of most important lessons Peter learned in his short time with Jesus.
One of Peter’s defining moments was when he walked on water with Jesus. Today we read that story in Matthew 14 carefully, verse by verse, to learn what enabled Peter to look past his fear and take that step. During this time of global pandemic and turmoil, can we learn to trust Jesus in the same way?
This week we start a new 10 week (yes, 10 week!) series on Peter. He was just an ordinary man who lived what was in most ways an ordinary life, a big-hearted fisherman who Jesus loved. Our aim in this series is not just to learn about Peter himself but to learn more about Jesus as we see him through Peter’s eyes.
Today, the story of John Mark, better known in Scripture as simply “Mark.” Like most of us, Mark was just an ordinary man. But God loves ordinary men, and God used him (and He can use us) for extraordinary things.
Scott Swan joins us for Arbor’s first Gospel Sunday to speak on how Jesus miraculously saved him and how Jesus can also save every one of us.
It’s graduation day! In the final week of our class, we’re completing our discussion of Arbor’s purpose by talking about WHO accomplishes that purpose. Week 4 Booklet (PDF)
In the first two weeks, we covered what our purpose is and why we’re here. Now it’s time for the nuts and bolts: how, exactly, do we go about accomplishing our purpose? What’s our strategy? Special guest appearances from people behind the scenes at Arbor, including the leader of our Groups ministry and someone who’s witnessed firsthand what God’s been doing through our care team. Week 3 Booklet (PDF)
Last week we talked about why Arbor exists, and now we’re answering the next big question: what is our purpose? The answer is a simple phrase … but sometimes even a simple phrase can mean different things to different people, so today we’re going deep and talking practically about how we live out our purpose. Week 2 Booklet (PDF)
In our new series class, we’re learning about the fundamental principles on which Arbor is founded, starting this week on Arbor’s 3rd birthday with the Why: Why a new church? Why now? And most importantly, why are we here? If you’re watching or listening online (and especially if you enjoy filling in blanks), we encourage you to download and print the booklet so you can follow along: Week 1 Booklet (PDF)
Scott wraps up our Choose series by asking us to make the hard choice to chose what’s truly important when our lives are full of urgency.
It’s hard to give up control. It’s scary to give up control. And we often feel unsure of where we should give up control. Jake shares some stories from Scripture that illustrate the consequences of hanging on to the reins too tightly, and gives us three questions to ask to determine if we should let go.
Scott Hetherington continues the Choose series with a talk on how we should choose discipline in our life rather than eroding ourselves with regret.
Our new series is about the handful of critical choices we all make in life. In this first message, Jake asks us to consider whether we’re choosing to please people … or to follow the purpose God’s given us.
We celebrate our first Family Sunday with a message from our Student Director, Bryan, who has some words for the kids in the audience – and their parents – from Ephesians, and the story of a young Jesus’ disappearance in Jerusalem. (Can you imagine losing the Son of God?)
A special Christmas Eve message featuring … Mephibosheth. This story of this little-known man’s journey to the king’s table is also our story – and the story of Christmas.
Garrett closes our series with a look at how Jesus taught us to forgive – and not just in the Sunday school sins-of-the-world sense, but in a part of his teaching about prayer that’s often overlooked.
Jesus may be the most famous preacher ever to have lived. And if you don’t think of yourself as a preacher, that’s okay… because telling the story of Jesus is something anyone can do. Today, we learn from how He did it.
This, then, is how you should pray, said Jesus, and what follows is the most famous prayer in all of Scripture. Today, rather than turn it into a formula or checklist, we walk through each of its verses and phrases, looking for the heart and intent as we study how Jesus taught us to talk to our Father.
Imagine it, the Son of God washing the feet of His disciples: it was shocking, intimate, outlandish, and probably a little awkward. Jesus told us to go and do likewise, to wash each other’s feet. Today we’re looking at that strange, powerful encounter verse by verse to learn what it means to truly serve each other.
They will know we are Christians by our love: What does that love look like? Jesus’s love was … well, a little different. Guest speaker Scott Scruggs explains.
From now until Christmas, we’re going back to the basics and looking at the life of Jesus so we can simply learn to be like Him. Jake opens the series with a look at how Jesus walked – and not, of course, in the pedometer sense.
Resentment isn’t easy baggage to put down. It often weighs us down for years and years, sometimes to the point where we even start telling ourselves we’re comfortable with it. Scott teaches us how to confront it, using lessons from Paul’s letter to Philemon concerning Onesimus.
What does the Scripture have to say about debt? How should we prioritize our spending when there doesn’t seem to be enough to go around? Garrett asks these tough questions and offers hope as we look at one of the biggest killers of marriages, relationships, and freedom. Links to resources Garrett mentions in his message: Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace University, EveryDollar Budget App
Our new series is all about baggage. Our hope is to identify the different kinds of baggage we’re carrying – and how to drop it. Jake opens the series by talking about the heavy burden of secrets.
Jesus said that we would “receive power” from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)… but what kind of power, exactly, does the Spirit give us? What’s a spiritual gift, and how is it different from the Fruit (or, of you will, Produce) of the Spirit? Jake tackles these tough questions and more in the conclusion to our series on the Holy Ghost.
You’ve heard it called “the Fruit of the Spirit,” we’re calling it the Produce, and one translation even calls it the Harvest of the Spirit. No matter what you call it, Paul’s famous list helps understand what it means to live a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life. Bonus: lessons from a French Press.
Jesus promised us a Helper. Today we’re talking about the fulfillment of that promise, in detail: How has the role of the Holy Spirit changed since the days of the Old Testament? When does He begin to dwell in the heart of a believer? What does it mean for Him to dwell in us in the first place? And – what if He’s supposed to be present, but we just don’t feel it?
Yes, we’re going there: our new sermon series is all about the Holy Spirit. This week, Jake talks about who, exactly, the Holy Spirit is, finally addressing from the pulpit the question Christians have been asking for so many years: what is the one difference between the Holy Spirit and essential oils?
Maybe you feel like you’re on the outside looking in when it comes to the church – not a perfectly fitting Lego but some sort of melted or misshapen blob. Thankfully, though, you don’t have to be perfect to fit… and sometimes a shape that’s not perfect is exactly what is needed to create something beautiful. Scott explains.
It’s hard to imagine a more apt metaphor for our togetherness as a church than a family – in fact, it’s not a metaphor at all; we are a family! Jake shares the three blessings we receive as adopted children of God, and specific ways we can support our siblings in Christ.
Our new series Together starts this week! (Did you know that Arbor Church was almost “Together Church”?) Jake opens it up with a few lessons we can learn from the humble Lego.
Guest speaker Phil closes our series in Psalms with Psalm 30 and his own remarkable testimony.
Scott teaches us about Psalm 51, where David shows us how having a broken and contrite heart when asking forgiveness brings us closer to God.
“The Lord is my shepherd…" Thus begins David’s 23rd Psalm, one of the most oft-quoted and beloved Psalms in the Bible; a comfort to martyrs, cited by presidents, simple enough for a child, yet full of theological depth. Garrett helps us understand the rich imagery in this beautiful poem.
David’s Psalm 140 and Psalm 141 mirror each other, and both teach us about the awful power of tongue. Some words are helpful; some words are hurtful–but all words are consequential.
Today we go back with Scott to very first chapter of Psalms, which centers around the power of God’s word – the best self-help book ever written.
Garrett talks us through Psalms 42 & 43 and how we can praise God even when we are experiencing “Spiritual Depression”
Today we’re embarking on a new series in the book of Psalms, and Jake kicks it off by opening to Psalm 150 – a short Psalm that nevertheless lays a kind of framework for praise.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1). On a week when we’re celebrating the freedom of our nation (by blowing stuff up, of course), Scott asks what it means to free – and how we’re to live inside that freedom.
Given that our days are numbered, how do we savor the time we have left? Jake reveals a surprisingly simple answer based on his own limited time with his daughter Maggie, the wisdom of Moses in Psalm 90, and some insight from an interview with Aaron, a member of our family who has received some of the worst news you can from a doctor.
Do you have a Bible collecting dust on a shelf? You’re not alone – only one in five Christians are in God’s word daily. Bryan exhorts us to take our Bibles off our shelves and savor the incredible, living word of God.
We’re all so busy all the time – we even take pride in it. Do we really need to abstain from every little bit of work on a “Sabbath” day to experience the rest that Jesus spoke of? Garrett starts with the resting God did back in Genesis and works through the Bible to see what it truly means to rest in Him.
Our new series is about savoring some of the things God’s given us, starting with the biggest and best–salvation.
Are we missing the point of prayer? Guest speaker Neely McQueen speaks about not just how to talk to God but how to listen to Him.
It’s one of the most enduring questions Christians wrestle with: Why does God allow so much pain – in the world, and in our own lives? What’s the point?
Guest speaker Nate Hettinga continues our What’s the Point series, and today we’re asking what the point of church is. To get some answers, Nate turns to the place where it all started.
Is the point of our life to be happy? Maybe there’s something more than just that. How do we discover our specific purpose in life? A good place to start is by listening to this podcast.
Even though Jesus foretold his own resurrection, it caught everyone off guard: nobody expected no body. Jesus chose to reveal the best news in the history of the world to … a woman who couldn’t even legally testify in court? Today we visit the old story through new eyes: hers.
On Sunday we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but this Good Friday, we must first walk with Him through the final days before His death on a cross.
There are few people in Scripture who were put through a more difficult trial than Job, from whom was taken almost everything that can be taken. Job’s story, full of suffering that seems senseless, reminds us of Who is in control, and helps unravel the age-old mystery: how do we reconcile a loving God with a world full of pain?
Guest speaker Mike Howerton continues the series with a reminder that God is with us in our tests… and that He will bring us through them, just as He did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego in the fiery furnace.
If you’ve ever failed a test, you’ll relate to this message about The Rich Young Ruler and his encounter with Jesus. Tests reveal the contents of our heart, and in this case, there was more love for wealth than for Jesus. Listen and imagine what your response might’ve been.
Our new sermon series looks at people in the Bible who were tested, starting with Jesus himself – a man who endured a trial directly from the enemy himself. What can we learn from how Jesus handled his trials, and from the shapes and patterns they took in His life?
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter.) – John 1:42. But Simon’s name change wasn’t so simple; like ours, his story is messy, full of ups and downs and slips back to his old identity, ready to defend Jesus to the death one day and denying him the next. Scott outlines the four basic phases he went through (and we go through) as Jesus defines who we are.
In Saul’s story, we see a name change become a LIFE change. This story speaks so much hope to those of us who feel we’re too far gone for God to love us or have a purpose for. If He could do it for Saul, He can do it for us.
Just like Jacob, we struggle to surrender our future and identity to God. In this message, Pastor Garrett shares how to rest, not wrestle, in who God says we are.
In our new series, we’re studying some people in Scripture who were so wholly transformed by God that that He commemorated the occasion by giving them new names. Abram (or, as he’s now more commonly known, Abraham) was the first of these, a man of faith whose new identity as a father of nations must have seemed, at first, a cruel joke…
Most of us don’t think of ourselves as greedy people, but we all struggle with it to some degree – and perhaps more than we realize. What exactly is greed? Why is it wrong? And how in the world can we undo it?
We’ve all heard the saying “Pride comes before the fall.” Perhaps that’s why the scriptures have so much to say about pride… because God doesn’t want us to experience the pain associated with falling. This week Garrett walks us through a story Jesus told that highlights how spiritual pride can get in the way of us experiencing the fullness of life that God intends for us.
If you were in the church scene in the 90’s, you can’t have missed the WWJD bracelets everyone was wearing – What Would Jesus Do?. In our new series, we’re turning that question on its head: What would Jesus undo? And this week, it’s that spiritual meh, the “enough Jesus to get me by” doldrums we’ve all walked through at one time or another. Jake shares one simple thing you can do to undo spiritual indifference in your life.
What does it take to help someone find and follow Jesus? Do you have what it takes? You might not feel like it, but as a follower of Jesus – you do. Scott analyzes find and follow, and unearths the old flannel-graph story of Zacchaeus.
If you’ve been to Arbor, you’ve seen our enormous Making Disciples … Together sign. It’s not just a slogan: it’s one of the things that makes Arbor what it is. In this new series, we’re going to explore what we mean by this simple phrase, and what it practically looks like to make disciples today.
You’ve probably got some expectations about what’s going to happen when you walk into church – or play this podcast. Today, though, is a little different. We’re going to break some of those expectations and talk about the expectations we have for ourselves, for our church, and for God Himself.
The Good Book tells us that we should pitch our tents in the land of hope (Acts 2:25-28), but how are we supposed to do that when it feels like God’s left us to suffer alone? Dave Swenson offers three tent pegs.
In this special Christmas Eve message, Jake closes out our series on hope with a message about … Simeon. “Who’s that?” He only gets a passing mention in the Christmas story, but if there’s one character in the drama who knew something about hope, it may well be this man, who spent most of his life waiting for God’s promised Messiah.
We’re continuing our series on Hope with Joseph’s story. The Bible doesn’t say much about Jesus’ earthly father, but what we do know paints a picture of a man who had hope when things weren’t looking so good in Bethleham.
Ever felt disqualified because of something in your past? Because of where you’re from? Think your family’s just too messed up to be worth anything? Well, today we’re looking at that long genealogy in Matthew that you’ve probably skipped over once or twice to take a look at Jesus’ family tree. And if you think your family is a train wreck, wait until you hear about His!
Sometimes the most overwhelming part of the holidays is just the people around us. What is it about those close to us at holidays that can make us feel as though we can’t take another minute? Bob Lee digs into Philippians 2 to help us understand why we so often feel that way – and what we can do about it.
You might not admit to being overwhelmed by money or fear, but many of us are somehow proud of being overwhelmed by the pace at which we live. We take pride in being busy and filling our time with activities and responsibilities. We’re certainly doing a lot – but is that really the life Jesus is inviting us into?
Money is one of the biggest things we fight about, one of the most frequently discussed topics in the New Testament, and yet still somehow a taboo subject. You’ve probably felt overwhelmed by finances at least once in your life – and odds are you find them overwhelming now. So, today: straight talk about money, from a spiritual perspective (via Pastor Jake) and from a practical perspective (via our own Mr.
If you ask someone how they’re really feeling as we enter the holiday season, “overwhelmed” is likely to be an honest answer. Why does it feel sometimes like we’re drowning when we’re just trying to make it through the day? In this series we’re looking at what overwhelms us – and today Jake talks about fear.
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me." – Isaiah 6:8. It’s easy enough to say these words, but when it comes down to it, most of us have a lot of excuses and qualifications around this prayer. Guest speaker Pat Swanson breaks these down and shows us what it means to pray this prayer and mean it.
“Break me." – another prayer that should come with a warning label. When Jesus showed us how to pray this prayer, it was at what we now call the Last Supper. What can we learn from His prayer in this hour?
Our new series is about some of the prayers in Scripture that … well, let’s say they shouldn’t be prayed lightly. We’re starting with David’s dangerous prayer in Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart…
We’re wrapping up our series on the Bible with the tough questions you sent in over the last few weeks. What do we mean when we say the Bible is inerrant–isn’t it full of inconsistencies? How do we know the right books made it into the Bible? How can we reconcile the wrathful, genocidal tribal God of the Old Testament with the loving Father of the New Testament? Wally Kowalski joins us for a chat about these questions (and more!
If the Bible’s a text message from God, it’s certainly an awfully long and daunting one – and anyone who’s tried to read it cover to cover knows that isn’t the best way to do it! This week, Bob gives us some simple tools for reading and learning from Scripture. You might say it’s as easy as using soap.
The veracity and authenticity of the Bible may have been unquestioned in earlier years, but lately there are lots more skeptics challenging the idea that we can trust it completely. Unfortunately, many of us only have faith-based answers to their fact-based questions, so today we’re going to the facts! Jake blazes through those facts today, laying down the overwhelming case for the Book.
This week we start a new series called Text. It’s about the Bible, and today and Jake exhorts us to actually open it up and read it, addressing one by one the 7 most common excuses people give for letting the dust gather on their Bibles. (#6 will shock you!)
Garrett wraps up our series on splitting logs with a look at what we’re doing – together – for the grieving, addicted, and lost.
What if the teams serving in our church … didn’t? Well, on this special Sunday .. they don’t. We set up our own chairs, there’s no band up front, we’re looking everywhere for coffee that was never brewed, and Garrett interviews the leads of each team about what they do.
“He who splits logs is endangered by them. If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.” – Ecclesiastes 10:9b-10 (ESV). This week we start a new sermon series based on this verse. For starters we’re talking about splitting the log of serving, and Jake shares some wisdom from Scripture (and his father) on focus and burnout.
Bob Lee tells us the story of Saul/Paul’s conversion as an example of how God treats outsiders that are hostile towards Christianity.
Neely McQueen from Overlake drops by to talk in our latest message from the Outsiders series about the woman at the well and how Jesus showed great love and compassion to her.
Garrett talks about how Jesus fully embodies grace and truth when confronted with the dillemma of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery: uphold the grace He speaks of in His teachings and save her, or uphold the law of Moses and stone her.
Continuing with the Outsiders series, Jake speaks on a group of people not usually thought of when the term “outsiders” is used: Children. He shows us what Jesus had to say about children and how we can act like Jesus by focusing on and blessing children both near and far.
Lepers were quit literally outsiders in Jesus’ day, feared and banished from society. That Jesus guy, though… well, he didn’t treat this leper the way everyone else did.
In our new sermon series, we’re focusing outward rather than inward, not at ourselves but at those Jesus has called us to serve and reach. Zacchaeus was unquestionably an outsider–a short, unethical man despised even among his own people. Bob walks us through the short story of Zacchaeus’s encounter with Jesus and explains the 6 thing Jesus did to invite him in.
In Jesus’s last hours, he asked his disciples to stay awake and pray with him… but it wasn’t easy! How can we, too, stay woke?
Jesus asked a whole lot of questions, and we’ve studied some of the more important ones together over the last few weeks. In the penultimate sermon in this series, Jesus asks the most important question: who do you say I am?
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Jesus asks Simon Peter this simple question with an obvious answer. Like the questions of Jesus we’ve been looking at in this series, though, there’s more beneath the surface…
Maybe you’ve heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, the humble man who stopped to help a fellow traveler others passed by. Do you remember, though, that his parable was in response to a question, and that Jesus finished it with a rhetorical question of his own? Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?
Jake talks on how none of us are past the point of restoration as long as we have love for Jesus.
Bob talks on what Jesus says we will (or won’t) gain by pursuing things of this world vs. pursuing Him.
You can learn a lot about someone by the questions they ask. Jesus might have already known the answer to every question he asked, but they can still teach us quite a lot about him. This new series explores some of those questions, starting with the deceptively obvious one Jesus asks to his disciples in a storm: why are you so afraid?
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift… – Matthew 5:23-24. In today’s special message Jonathan Wolfgang challenges us to actually go out and do what Jesus said.
“I am the vine… you are the branches.” Scott dives into this verse from John 15 to help us understand what Jesus really means when he exhorts us to “remain in me.”
You may have read the verse that describes us as God’s “masterpiece”. Today, Jake looks at some different kinds of masterpieces (and other passages in Scripture) to show us what that really means.
The Bible often refers to us as “sheep”… which doesn’t feel much like a compliment. Garrett helps us look past our culture’s obsession with leadership to see why this metaphor is used so often.
Our new series explores what God’s made us to be, and in this first message Jake unpacks the frequent Biblical metaphor of clay in the potter’s hands to help us understand how God shapes us – cracks and all.
In the last sermon in this series, we ask the biggest questions left on the table: how does God speak to us today? And, just as importantly – how can we know, for sure, whether we are hearing His voice?
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, wasn’t so great at listening to wise counsel. Scott looks at Rehoboam’s life and his own and talks about how to seek and hear wise counsel to help find God’s personal will for our lives.
This week, we start a new series about God’s will, starting with one of the toughest questions people ask: how can I know God’s will for my life? … And if God wants me to follow His will, why does He make it so difficult to find it?
One of the first things Jesus did after his resurrection was to … take a walk with two men who didn’t recognize him. This might not be part of the Easter story that you learned in Sunday school, but those men are a lot like us. What can we learn about Jesus on the road to Emmaus?
Before Jesus’ resurrection, he had to suffer the agony of the cross. In this Good Friday service, we remember His sacrifice.
Helping the lost is both harder than you think … and easier. Guest speaker Jonathan Wolfgang explains the paradox.
It’s tough to talk about addiction, but it’s a reality in our communities and in many of our own lives. Two Arbor members share their stories and Garrett leads a conversation about the effects of addiction–and how to break free.
Have you ever wanted to help someone who’s going through a difficult time… but just don’t know what to say or do? Jake launches our new series on helping the hurting with a very practical message on how to walk with those who are grieving.
Guest speaker Mike Howerton from Overlake Christian Church closes our Sermon on the Mount series with a message about one of the most radical teachings in the whole Sermon: that of a counter-cultural, cheek-turning, mile-walking, outlandish forgiveness.
Fasting is just for super-spiritual people and crazy prophets … or maybe something they did in the Bible that we don’t do any more … right? And if fasting is for us – do we have to? In today’s message Jake looks at Jesus’ teaching on fasting in the Sermon on the Mount and answers all these questions, laying out the what, how, and why of fasting.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called himself the fulfillment of the law. What’s that all about, and what law is he referring to? Garrett helps us understand what he was talking about and what it means for us.
Judge not, lest you be judged! It’s one of the few Bible verses that almost everyone seems to know, and many take it to mean “just don’t judge anyone at all, ever”. This isn’t actually what the Bible says, however, and Jake walks us through Jesus and Paul’s teachings on the why, who, and how of judging.
We know worrying isn’t usually helpful… but we often find ourselves caught up in it anyway. Jesus had some words to say about worry in the Sermon on the Mount, and Scott helps us understand His wisdom for dealing with worry.
Our new series is about Jesus’ most famous sermon. We start at the beginning by looking at the famous Beatitudes, which are all those statements that start with blessed are the… What is Jesus talking about when he says blessed here, and what’s the common thread that ties them all together?
What does it take for a movement to start? What would it take for us to start a movement? We look at one of the most successful movements in history (the one started by Jesus himself) to see what a fearless follower looks like.
Dave Swenson looks at the Scriptures that talk about the cost of following Jesus, and the four things that make it such a struggle for us to fully release that which we hold tightly.
On Arbor Church’s first Christmas Eve Service, Jake tells us about the shepherds whom the angels first told of Jesus’ birth and how Immanuel, God with us, ensures that we will never be lonely, even if we are as alone as a shepherd with only his or her sheep for company.
Jonathan Wolfgang visits from Northsore Community Church to speak on Mary and how responding to the stress of life’s unexpected, and potentially unwanted, gifts with worship and trust magnifies God.
Jake tells us about Zechariah and Elizabeth, a faithful and blameless couple without fault yet are unable to bear children in a world of an extended silence from God. However, a dramatic change leads to the beginnings of Immanuel: God with us.
Money. We love it, we hate it, we fight about it, and Jesus talked about it … a lot. Drawing inspiration from the way we balance things in the physical world and from Scripture, Jake talks about the three things we need in order to achieve balance and margin in our financial lives.
Our message today is from guest speaker Tom Regan from Imprint Church, and it’s about making room in our busy lives to balance our activity with rest.
This week, we start a new series on finding balance. Jake digs into a Psalm written by Moses (yes, Moses wrote a Psalm!) to uncover a principle that will change your perspective on your time and how you choose to spend it.
Garrett wraps up our series on miracles with a unusual healing that Jesus performed on behalf of a man who wasn’t a Jew … miles away from the man who needed to be healed. Can our faith do that? And, a tougher question: can we influence God?
Jesus meets a man who’s been unable to walk for 38 years and asks him a very curious question: do you want to get well? Is the miracle we say we want really what we’re looking for?
The raising of Lazarus is one of Jesus’ most famous and most impressive miracles, but on close examination it’s also one of his most puzzling. Jesus doesn’t race to the scene when he hears that his beloved friend is dying. Why?
Today we’re honored to be joined by Professor Wally Kowalski, professor of theology at Northwest University, to help us answer some of our toughest questions about miracles.
In this series, we’re going to talk about miracles–why? when? and do they happen today? Jake opens by looking at one of Jesus’ lesser known miracles, in which he restores the sight of a blind man in a very unorthodox manner.
If you’re a Christian, you probably know that you’re free… and yet you’ve also probably felt stuck, helpless, and in bondage. How do we get unstuck? And why don’t we feel free?
Even the most successful people in recorded history often feel unfulfilled. Why don’t we ever feel as though we have what it takes?
We all feel the need to belong from a young age. Where does that need come from, and what do we try to do to fill it? Can we ever feel as though we truly belong?
This week, Jake opens our new series about “felt needs” – needs we all have but that that we don’t often talk about – with a message about our need to be known, and how God can meet that need even though He often feels distant.
Jake and Garrett team up for the last message in this series: a sobering rundown of what isn’t working in today’s churches, and a proposal for how we hope to make a real difference by doing things really differently. Plus, your questions about groups answered!
The amount of pain and need in the world can be completely overwhelming. We can’t help everyone – but as Christians we can’t turn a blind eye and help no one, either. Jake shares a simple principle that we can use to make a difference.
We’re a church that says that we believe in missional living … in fact, we believe it’s the key to making disciples. Jake kicks off the series by unpacking some of the Biblical metaphors that call us to let our faith be known.
Bob wraps up our series on Ruth with the story of Ruth’s redemption through Boaz, and the ways in which it parallels our own redemption through Jesus.
Ruth’s story is about both providence and redemption, and today Jake brings these themes together to talk about the way God provides for us in ways that often aren’t at all obvious at the time.
In the first of a three-part series on Ruth, Bob teaches through the first chapter of Ruth, and talks about the bitterness and sweetness of following God.
Do we have to forgive those who’ve wronged us? If so, why? And, more importantly … how can we ever do it, especially when the wrong is repeated and the offender unrepentant? How do you know if you’ve forgiven someone? Jake tackles these questions and more in his final message on the One Anothers.
Guest speaker Rory Eldridge tells us what’s up with all of the passages in Scripture that tell us to encourage each other, and illustrates just how powerful our words can be.
The scripture often exhorts us to “be unified” – but what does that even mean? Garrett takes a look at what unity is (and isn’t) and why it’s so important in a time when the church and nation are more divided than ever.
Guest speaker Todd Arrambide talks truth: the right context for telling it, and the truth we tell to each other, to our culture, and the world.
Jake kicks off our new series on the “one anothers”–phrases used throughout Scripture that teach us how to live life, be a community, and accomplish great things together. We start with humility, one of the most frequently mentioned “one anothers” (if not the most popular!).
Thomas is a disciple so famous for his unbelief that he’s often referred to as Doubting Thomas, but his faith wasn’t always weak. Jake paints a more complete picture of Thomas from the handful of other accounts of him in the Gospels, revealing a man who was also courageous, and from whom we can learn a lot about true discipleship.
Bob Lee talks about Matthew the Tax Collector and Simon the Zealot and how we are united under Jesus, no matter the differences we have with each other.
Jake Goetze talks about the lesser-known disciple Andrew and his very important role in bringing others to Jesus.
Peter is one of the most famous disciples, known both for his boldness and his collapses. In the second message in the Disciples series, we take a deeper look at who he was and what we can learn from him about being a disciple of Jesus.
Bob Lee opens our series on the disciples of Jesus with some background on what it meant to be a disciple in Jesus’s day, and then focuses on one disciple in particular: John, the “disciple whom He loved.”
In the final message in the Heaven series, we learn how to live in the light of our new Home: how the reality of Heaven can and should affect our day-to-day lives here on Earth.
What will the new Heaven be like, exactly? Are we going to be young or old? Will it be like an eternal church service, or are we going to float around with harps? Will we remember our life, or become bored with eternity? Drawing from Scripture and the best resources we have, Jake answers some of the most frequently asked questions about where we’ll spend eternity.
Heaven will be wonderful… but it has an opposite. Bob tackles the hard question of why a place exists apart from God, and how anyone could deserve to be sent there.
What will Heaven be like? Jake opens the series by collecting hints from Scripture about what we can expect after we die, focusing in this first message specifically on Heaven as it exists today, before God makes all things new at the end of history.
You’re at a coffee shop with Jake, and he’s got 20 minutes to convince you to follow Jesus. What’s his pitch? (Hint: the resurrection of Jesus, and the overwhelming evidence for its reality, is a centerpiece.)
In this special Good Friday service, we are invited to remember a unique and holy pain: the redeeming pain of Jesus as he suffered his final hours.
Stories of deep pain and redemption told firsthand by Arbor Church members: chronic physical pain, loss of loved ones, broken families and marriages, and God’s faithfulness.
How do we–and should we–respond to pain? Jake discusses the three typical responses to pain, and Davy joins him to talk about how they are responding to the pain in their lives. We learn some practical ways to respond to pain from the apostle Paul, who was no stranger to it.
Jake launches our series on pain by talking about the reality of pain, drawing from his own experience walking through some of the deepest pain any parent can feel. God can feel very absent in these times, and Jake uses the unlikely example of John the Baptist to illustrate this difficult response.
Special guest Pat Swanson uses the story of Dorcas to teach us how to excel at the art of neighboring by knowing and loving those who live near us.
Jake teaches about the mistakes made during the early days of the early church and the lessons embedded within them.
Bob shares from Acts 2 and compares the early church to the modern church. How could our community become more like theirs?
Today Jake discusses the message shared in Acts 3. What exactly was said, how was it shared, and what does that mean for our world today?
In our first sermon series as a new church, Jake teaches from the book of Acts about the early days of the church and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jake tells the story of how he and his family walked through every parent’s worst nightmare: their 3-year-old daughter Maggie was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.