The Bridge Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jumaine Jones
The Bridge is a multi-ethnic, multi-generational church in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. We gather at the Takoma Park Middle School in d Silver Spring, MD. Our purpose is stated in the motto: Love God. Love Others. Make a Difference. We call ourselves a church for imperfect people. We believe God takes us “as-is.” Once we have a relationship with Him, He helps us to be the people He has called us to be. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, we invite you to grow and explore with us.
Peter closes out his book by reminding the aliens that there is an enemy that seeks to devour them. He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to kill, steal, and destroy. However, they are to be of sober spirit, alert, cast their cares on God, and resist Him.
The longer an alien remains on earth, the more prone he is to become self-centered, proud, and act independently of God. The key to thriving as a believer is humility. God resists the proud, but pours down grace on the humble.
Unfortunately, there are many in the body of Christ that teaches and believes that Christians shouldn’t have to suffer. Trials and tribulations can be discredited as coming from the enemy. In actuality, God may be allowing trials to strengthen our faith and perseverance. Aliens will be persecuted because of their beliefs. The more antagonistic a society is towards God, the more persecution the church faces. Unfortunately, sometimes religious tolerance does not include Christianity. We must remember that we are called to share in Christ’s sufferings.
Many of us have seen people weaponize power and the Scriptures. The response is then to dishonor those in authority. We even dishonor and disrespect each other. Those in authority seek to lord of others. Those under authority seek to rebel and ways to “get over.” Aliens are called to honor those in authority as unto the Lord. Aliens in authority are then called to honor those under their authority.
When we are rejected, we can begin to question our sense of self-worth. Society and the people around us can view as a liability. Even as we face rejection by men, God declares to aliens that He sees them as precious stones. God desires that we find our sense of worth and identity in Him.
Like those around us, it is easy to place our hope in material things and the affairs around us. Even the present political climate can make us feel discouraged. Peter challenges us to realize that there is more to life that is around us. Our identity must be not in the things we have or the policies we desire. It must be anchored in Jesus Christ. Aliens must remember that they called to a living hope.
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to www.thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!
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Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to www.thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!.
MB01JVOIUFC4R4N
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to www.thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!.
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Many couples and single people find themselves in romantic pitfalls. These are traps that we unexpectedly find ourselves in on our relationship journey. Join us at The Bridge for Pitfalls of Romance...And How to Avoid Them. Discover how you and your significant other can avoid and escape a relational pitfall.
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!
MB01JVOIUFC4R4N
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to www.thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!.
MB01JVOIUFC4R4N
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you!
If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to www.thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!.
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!.
Welcome to our Online Worship Experience! We encourage you to invite someone to watch with you! Share the link or throw a watch party! If you wish to give towards the mission of our ministry, please go to www.thebridgedc.org/give. God bless!.
Who’s on my friends list? Whose friend’s list am I on? Who is God leading me to befriend?
As a church, we’re leveraging this holiday season to share and reflect on the doctrine that undergird the true hope and joy associated with Christmas. As we understand and remain rooted in sound doctrine we can experience and share with others a hope that transcends the challenges and disappointments of a difficult year. Moreover, we remember where to point the glory when we’re experiencing the best of times. It’s our hope and prayer that all who experience and listen to this message series will be able to “Repeat the Sounding Joy” that Christ our Savior is come; that God is with us.
As a church, we’re leveraging this holiday season to share and reflect on the doctrine that undergird the true hope and joy associated with Christmas. As we understand and remain rooted in sound doctrine we can experience and share with others a hope that transcends the challenges and disappointments of a difficult year. Moreover, we remember where to point the glory when we’re experiencing the best of times. It’s our hope and prayer that all who experience and listen to this message series will be able to “Repeat the Sounding Joy” that Christ our Savior is come; that God is with us.
As a church, we’re leveraging this holiday season to share and reflect on the doctrine that undergird the true hope and joy associated with Christmas. As we understand and remain rooted in sound doctrine we can experience and share with others a hope that transcends the challenges and disappointments of a difficult year. Moreover, we remember where to point the glory when we’re experiencing the best of times. It’s our hope and prayer that all who experience and listen to this message series will be able to “Repeat the Sounding Joy” that Christ our Savior is come; that God is with us.
As a church, we’re leveraging this holiday season to share and reflect on the doctrine that undergird the true hope and joy associated with Christmas. As we understand and remain rooted in sound doctrine we can experience and share with others a hope that transcends the challenges and disappointments of a difficult year. Moreover, we remember where to point the glory when we’re experiencing the best of times. It’s our hope and prayer that all who experience and listen to this message series will be able to “Repeat the Sounding Joy” that Christ our Savior is come; that God is with us.
As a church, we’re leveraging this holiday season to share and reflect on the doctrine that undergird the true hope and joy associated with Christmas. As we understand and remain rooted in sound doctrine we can experience and share with others a hope that transcends the challenges and disappointments of a difficult year. Moreover, we remember where to point the glory when we’re experiencing the best of times. It’s our hope and prayer that all who experience and listen to this message series will be able to “Repeat the Sounding Joy” that Christ our Savior is come; that God is with us.
We typically know when it’s time to go to the hospital to see a doctor. We know there is a problem and we need a doctor to help. Jesus was a good doctor. As we close out our Bingeflix series, we’re going to draw inspiration from ABC’s “The Good Doctor.” In this message, Pastor Shala presents three things that we can learn from the life of Dr. Shawn Murphy, and how Jesus, the real Good Doctor, exemplified each of these things.
Everyone who decides to move to the Caribbean on Caribbean Life does it because they want a better and slower quality of life. They are tired of the hustle and bustle of the US mainland. They are choosing to prioritize peace, family, and living a full life. For many, this pandemic has shown us that our priorities have been misplaced. It's time to make Caribbean Life moves right where we are.
Prioritize Purge Pursuit Peace
After living years as an upright citizen, Walter Scott gets involved in producing meth. As the series progresses, his character depreciates. The amazing thing is that Walter Scott’s character deterioration happens in the later part of his life. Many Christians are like Walter Scott. After many years of faithfully serving the Lord, they allow life’s circumstances to cause them to turn away from God or live a life that is displeasing to Him. I plan on looking at the life of Solomon. Solomon, who was the wisest person in the world and built God’s temple, allowed women to turn His heart away from God.
In a crisis, obstacles appear to be dead ends. However, obstacles can be opportunities in disguise. In Daniel 6, Daniel's opportunity to advance in Babylon was birthed during a crisis moment. God can use a crisis to take us from where we are to where He wants us to be.
We are all going through a new season. There are so many new changes that are happening around us. However, our devotion to God should remain constant. Even in a new season, we serve the same God.
Difficult seasons can cause us to lose hope. Our motivation decreases as hopelessness sets in. Jesus’ resurrection reminds us that hope has already won. God can restore and bring resurrection to our lives.
Many of us are struggling to deal with our new normal. For the Israelite, Babylon became their new normal. Even though God didn't deliver them as quickly as they hoped, He did promise them a future hope. Discover how you can better handle your new normal as you anticipate future hope.
When the plot to distract Nehemiah did not work, Sanballat and Tobiah tried to discourage him. They threatened to report to the king that Nehemiah and the Jews were rebuilding the wall with ill motives. When the enemy fails to distract us, he will discourage us. He often discourages us with lies and deception. There is actually a plethora of things that can discourage us from building our walls. It really doesn’t matter with method Satan uses; the goal is just to get us to stop. Nehemiah recognized the plot to discourage him and he asked God to strengthen his hands. When we are discouraged, we must ask God to strengthen our hands.
Nehemiah’s effort was met with opposition. Nehemiah 6 is where we see the opposition intensify. The closer Nehemiah got to rebuilding the wall, the greater the opposition. Our vision will not come without opposition. The first thing that Nehemiah’s opposers Sanballat and Tobiah tried to do was distract Him. Nehemiah’s response to them was that He was doing a great work and could not come down from the wall. Likewise, there are walls that we must build: family wall, financial wall, spiritual wall, ministry wall, etc. We must realize that we are doing a great work and cannot come down.
Nehemiah had a burden to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. After receiving permission from King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah relocated to Jerusalem with the intention to rebuild the wall. Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he did not share with the Jews what God had called him to do right away. Eventually, however, Nehemiah had to cast vision and motivate them to rebuild the wall. Likewise, God will give us a burden. He will give us a vision as to what needs to be done in this world. We won’t be able to do it alone. We will have to cast vision to rally people around a cause. We will examine how Nehemiah casted vision and motivated the Jews to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem
God wants us to have a welcoming house; meaning our house of worship. God always had a heart for people outside his body. The early church was also challenged to be welcoming to those outside the faith.
Once we have a welcoming heart, we must also have a welcoming home. God can use our hospitality and home to be a place of impact for others and us.
Being welcoming starts with having a welcoming heart. We sometimes fail to see how past hurts causes us to build distrust and keep us from welcoming new people in our lives. God too challenged Israel and the church to welcome outsiders.
Pastor Jumaine teaches us how he uses elements of the Israelite tabernacle as a guide for passionate and earnest prayer. #PrayFirst
Faith is a settled trust and confidence in God, based on his character and promises as revealed in scripture. Bold prayers require bold faith. Bold faith comes from knowing and trusting the promises of God
Nehemiah responded to the news of the state of Jerusalem by first praying. He sought God as to what He would have him to do. We will examine Nehemiah's prayer as a model of how to pray first when we experience a burden. - Neh. 1:1-11
The Prayer of Jabez is a favorite of our pastor Jumaine. It's often one of the things he prays first in the mornings. Jabez modeled that we can ask God for blessings, expansion, favor, and protection. - 1 Chron. 4:9-10
We kick of a brand new series on prayer. God’s calling on your life is too critical to not pray first.
Very often the things we ask God for come in the form of an interruption. God does it in His time, not ours. We get to choose the prayer request, but not how it's answered.
Today's message is on missions and Pastor Jumaine discusses a passage of scripture from which we get our strategy for missions and outreach at The Bridge. We are introduced to Mario and Janelle Jackson who will be leading The Bridge’s missions trip to Kenya in 2020.
The apostle Paul wrote many letters to the churches that he helped plant and nurture. To the Philippians church, especially, the letters were overflowing with joy and gratitude for their partnership in the gospel. Today Pastor Shala will teach about the four ways Paul showed his gratitude to this church in this thank you note.
This week in our Blockbuster series we look at a scene in the movie Avengers: Endgame as pastor Jumaine discusses what it means to leave a lasting legacy.
In our second message in our new Blockbuster series, Pastor Jumaine uses the movie “Avengers: Infinity War” to illustrate three key reasons why relationships fade.
This Sunday we started a fun and exciting new message series titled, “Blockbuster”. In this series, Pastor Jumaine, is going to be extracting great truths from great movies! We kick off with the movie "Us" as we look at the issue of secrets.
Moses told God to send whomever He will. (Exodus 4:13) In other words, Moses was telling God to send someone else. This is the ultimate voice that seeks to knock us out the game when none of the other voices have succeeded. The voice of resistance. In this sermon, Pastor Jumaine Jones shares 5 attributes of satan that may cause us not to move forward when we want to.
Another voice we will have to wrestle with is the voice of inexperience. This is the voice that tells us that we are not qualified. We don’t have the credentials and experience. We are too young. We are too old. This is the voice that causes us to procrastinate before moving forward. In this sermon, Pastor Jumaine Jones looks at the lives of Moses and Jeremiah and shares 5 things that will override inexperience.
Moses asked God, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say?” (Exodus 4:1) This is a question of rejection. There will be a voice telling us that people won’t accept us, believe in us, or support us. Pastor Jumaine Jones teaches that If we’re going to move forward, we have to make peace knowing that man is fickle and may indeed reject us.
Moses wanted to be certain of what to say when he got to Pharaoh. (Exodus 3:13) When we are uncertain, we tend to desire more signs and information before moving forward. In this message, pastor Jumaine Jones teaches us how to move forward when we’re not sure how things will turn out.
“Who am I to _______?” We all ask this question as we battle the voice of insecurity in our lives. In this message, Pastor Jumaine teaches us how to answer the call of God on our lives despite this sometimes loud voice.
"The Power of One." The enemy knows how to take our minds off of all of the blessings and focus on the one thing that isn’t going well in our lives. In this sermon, Pastor Jumaine kicks off the My Best Life series taking us to the Garden of Eden and provides seven practical ways we can eat from the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Storms can be intense, but in this sermon, Pastor Jumaine shows how God has a purpose for the storms you are enduring. Be encouraged!
Sometimes we feel that faith and God are not enough for the storms that we face. We put our faith in ourselves to survive, and we end up hurting people. In this sermon, lead Pastor Jumaine Jones walks us through three necessities for surviving the storms we are sure to experience. BONUS: catch a clip from our time of praise and worship before the message starts!
Sometimes we find ourselves caught in one of life's difficult storms. In this sermon, Pastor Jumaine examines the story of Paul caught in a storm and unpacks how we can handle the storms that come our way.
Pastor Marcus England, lead pastor at The Mix Church in Baltimore, MD, shares a word from God this week. Marcus is a Maryland native, born and raised in East Baltimore. He loves this City and its mix of people and culture.
This Sunday we heard from pastor Perrin Rogers. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Pastor Perrin is very passionate about his family, leadership, theology, academia, diversity, bringing justice to the marginalized, but most and foremost Jesus and His bride, the church. Pastor Perrin is the lead pastor at The Triumphant Church, in Hyattsville MD.
This Sunday we are delighted to have Joshua Symonette as our guest speaker. Joshua is former professional athlete with the NFL who is passionate about developing people. He is currently a campus and teaching pastor at National Community Church.
Agape does not rejoice in someone else’s misfortune, even if it’s for it’s own benefit. It desires to see righteousness prevail.
Agape does not become easily angered. It does not blow a fuse. When we become angry, we make decisions we regret later and hurt the ones we love.
Agape does not keep a record of wrongs, but forgives others. God wants us to forgive others in the same manner Christ has forgiven us.
Agape is considerate of the way it treats others. God doesn’t want us to treat others the way we feel they should be treated, but the way we would want to be treated.
Pride and arrogance can bring a wedge in our friendships. Agape requires humility, for which God gives abundant grace.
Agape does not envy others in relationships. Unfortunately, we tend to envy those closest to us. Moses experienced jealousy from his sister Miriam and his leadership partner, Aaron.
Love is reflected in being patient and kind towards others. Patient is passive while kindness is active. Often when we are impatient, we also tend to be unkind. Jesus models this by being patient with us and displaying lovingkindness. We also must be patient and kind towards others.
The Greek word for love in 1 Corinthians is Agape. God desires that we grow in agape. It is the main component of spiritual growth and experiencing authentic relationships. Our gifts, talents, success, and acquisitions are worthless if we don’t possess love.
Life is filled with disappointments, surprises, painful moments, rejection, slander, misunderstanding, marital difficulty, interpersonal conflicts, false accusations, etc These tests if you will come more like pop quizzes; when we least expect them. We kind of know we will get them, but we’re always caught off guard as if we don’t expect them. If we are going to achieve something greater, it will not come without pain. Greater Impact comes with Greater Trials.
Very often, we want God to give us more: more opportunities, more resources, more knowledge, more relationships. However, receiving more requires increasing our capacity to receive. The reality is we will only be manage what we have the capacity to handle. 2 Kings 4:1-7 has principles that we can apply to increase our capacity to receive in 2019.
Sometimes God increases, not by adding, but removing. One of the greatest challenges in life is going through the pruning process. We may feel that we shouldn’t be pruned because we can point to fruit in our lives. Yet, John 15:1-8 teaches that God doesn’t prune us to go from fruitlessness to bearing fruit. As a matter of fact, branches that bore no fruit were tossed out. Rather, God prunes us to go from bearing fruit to bearing more fruit.
In John 14:12, Jesus declared to the disciples that they would do even great things than He did. The context of Jesus statement was His promise to send the Holy Spirit as our Helper. Jesus was speaking of us doing greater things in our own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the reasons New Years resolution and goals don’t last is because they are often attempts to be advance in our own strength. Greater: 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting is an opportunity for us to tap into God’s power through prayer and fasting.
Many of us may have experienced difficulties in 2018. It may have even felt like areas of our lives were attacked, such as health, finances, relationships, faith, hope, and overall motivation. The reality is we are all going through challenges together. This is why it's important that we set aside time to pray and fast together. God does great things when His people earnestly cry out to Him corporately.
What does it take to be all in! This time of the year tends to be a very joyful time but it also can be a very difficult one as well. Life can be hard and challenges can come at us and the temptation to give up or walk away from our dreams and purpose during hardship can keep us from being all in moving forward. But the key to overcome the hardship and challenges is not to give in but to be all in and our source of strength is found in Jesus and His word to help motivate us to not give up now. This week pastor Rob closes out the two-part Jesus now series as we look to Jesus as an example of what it takes to not give in but to be all in and overcome stronghold, challenges, and temptation that the enemy tries to throw at us in order to stop us from being who God has called us to be.
Have you ever lost something that meant a lot to you? Something that brought you joy and happiness and when you lost it that joy turned to disappointment and sorrow. As a result, rather than keep our faith and hope alive in finding that joy again we begin to doubt, get disappointed, and even lose faith in God in the moment. This week Pastor Rob will talk about our ability to find joy and happiness in our lives during seasons of doubt, disappointment, and hopelessness and help us understand that our only chance in finding that joy and happiness in life can only be found through one source and that source is Jesus. Walk with us as we learn to recognize and clearly see Jesus as our source of hope to help us find that joy and happiness we are looking for in the moment.
“Vision leaks.” - John Maxwell
We have to constantly revisit vision to keep us on track.
Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel finally conquered and seized the land God promised for them. Joshua even began dividing the land between the twelve tribes of Israel. However, there was one detail that needed to be addressed. Caleb needed to receive his portion of the land for him and his descendants. Even though the other Israelites were finished, Caleb was not and did not hesitate to speak up. One of the greatest fears we face is the idea of it being the end. Others decide to quite and we wonder if we should also quit. We write ourselves off. We listen to people who tell us it’s too late to accomplish something. We compare ourselves to others and come to the conclusion that we are too old and our season is up. Instead of giving in to the fear of it being “the end,” we must press through knowing that our assignment is not finished.
As much as we desire the best in our future, we are often more bound to the past than we realize. Though the future beacons us to come, we are often too bound to the past or comfortable in the present. In Exodus 14:11, shortly after leaving Egypt, the Israelites wanted to go back. Unfortunately, almost forty years later in Numbers 20:5, the Israelites still wanted to go back to Egypt. Whenever we have to choose between the past, present, and future, we must have the courage to choose the future.
Once Israel realized they missed the opportunity to seize the Promised Land, they quickly had a change of mind. They insisted on going up and seizing it. However, God had already sentenced them to forty years of wandering. Most importantly, God declared that He was not with them. They decided to go up any way and only to be devastated. One of the greatest challenges in life is living with regret. We make decisions that we later regret and live in this weird space of fear. We are afraid of missing out again. We are afraid of repeating the same mistake. We are afraid of losing, so we become possessive of what we have. There is another option to regret and that is to maximize our current season and trust God for what is ahead.
A common fear that strikes humans is the fear of failure. This fear can either cripple us or it can propel us into action. If you desire to chase God’s calling on your life, this fear is something you have to overcome in order for your to reflect the fullness of God’s glory.
Have you ever been called on to do something unexpected in your life? If so, how did you respond? As believers there will come a time in your life when God will put a purpose on your heart and call you to do something that may seem unexpected and impossible. How will you respond? Will you have faith and confidence to walk into that calling of purpose or will you make excuses as to why you can’t. This week Pastor Rob will talk about eliminating the habit of making excuses that prevent us from answering the call of purpose that God has put on our life.
Life can be challenging and complicated, and sometimes full of ludicrous expectations. To meet expectations others may have of us, our nature can be to change or hide our true selves to appease the masses. Like Optimus Prime, we become real-life transformers; but this masks our most powerful identity—as disciples of Jesus Christ. In this talk, Shala will help you:
- Ditch the need to fit into an ungodly world, to stop transforming!
- Shake off the naysayers who try to silence your faith in Christ.
- Discover your authentic identity in Jesus.
Have you ever heard people say, “All I can do is pray,” as if it is the last resort when all else fails. In this message, Shala shares the story of a woman who understood the power of prayer. When you lead with prayer, you:
- Take initiative in moving the heart of God on your behalf.
- Quickly shift from a place of distress to a place of peace.
- Tap into the power of the living God to strengthen your spiritual muscles.
This week pastor Rob will be speaking on getting stronger in our faith as believers and focus on the importance of finding our source of strength in God to take us to that next level in our spiritual maturity and growth. As believers we often get to the point where we've been walking with God and trusting in Him but along the way we can still find ourselves dealing with different pressures of the world that can look to weaken our faith. It's in those moments at times we try to respond on our own which can cause us to become spiritually weak but we must realize that we can't get through life relying on our own strength but instead remember that we have a greater source of strength that can work in us and through us to overcome and achieve the impossible and that source of strength is God the Father.
The key to being fit is making sure we workout every area of the body but sometimes while working out we can get caught up in one area so long that we end up neglecting other areas that also require our attention. The same thing can happen on our road to being spiritually fit and as believers we cannot get so comfortable doing ministry one way that we neglect other areas that require attention like serving and outreach. This week Pastor Rob will speak on developing a heart to serve and helping those in need and why its important that as a church we become fit to serve and not neglect or ignore that area of ministry moving forward.
A live recording of our June 10, 2018, conversation with Marcia Montenergo, founder of Christian Answers for the New Age. In the recording she shares her testimony, defines the New Age and Occult and how it shows up in our culture, and takes candid questions from attendees.
Here are some specific links from her website: "About CANA" Page covering her testimony and bio Article, "The New Age, What Is It?" Article, "World Views in Contrast" (Contrast of Eastern views with Biblical views) Article, "Eastern Roots of the New Age"
See the CANA website for more details, and let us know if you have more questions!
God uses our stories to make a difference. There is someone who can be encouraged, strengthened, and even delivered by what God has done and is doing in our lives.
We begin to feel as if we should be rewarded for our what we have given in a relationship. When we aren’t rewarded, we feel betrayed. This places a strain on a relationship.
One of the things we value about relationships is peace. This means we don’t want there to be strife and grief. There is a time when someone in a relationship will do something that is offensive or hurtful. Instead of confronting and having the difficult conversation, we choose to ignore it in the name of “peace.” However, there’s a difference between peace and silence. What we don’t realize is that the peace has already been disrupted. We also choose not to confront out of fear. When we choose to remain silent and not confront issues, there is breathing ground for bitterness, division, and frustration which then makes a relationship tense. We detox from this toxin by learning how to have loving candour.
Every relationship is built on trust, even our relationship with God. A relationship begins to fall apart when the trust begins to diminish.
Love that beings pure can become tainted. The love you have for a friend, significant other, and spouse can become so tainted, that the affection you feel towards them have vanished. What was once a beautiful river is now polluted waters where no one would dare to swim. We will discuss how we can allow love to become tainted and what we can do to detox the relationships we currently hold dear.
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." - Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
What is your destiny? What are you here to do in life? What has God called you to be? These are questions we often ask ourselves and the reality is, we all have been giving different talents and skills and God has called us all to be on duty specifically to make a difference in this world. But the question is will you answer the call? This week Pastor Rob will discuss the importance of answering the call in our lives that require immediate attention when it's God who's the one making the call. Will you answer Him today!
Are we better together or apart? We live in a society that can be so stuck on individual accomplishments and accolades that the idea of coming together has gotten lost in the hearts of many people in this world even within the church. But what if we as the church truly came together in community as we should imagine how much stronger we'd be as a body and how much more we'd accomplish for God's glory. This week Pastor Rob will discuss the benefits and importance of us coming together in community in order for us to grow stronger together as a church for Gods glory in 2018 and beyond.
Jesus used an illustration of a new wine requiring new wineskin. The new wine can represent anything new that God wants to do in our lives. The wineskin can represent the thing that is needed to ensure the new thing is accomplished. We are often frustrated because pour new wine into old wineskins that we fail to let go of.
Our desires are never fully satisfied. We always want more, better, or different; something else. What we receive only satisfies us for the moment. (Ecclesiastes 1:7-8 ) Pastor Jumaine Jones shares three key benefits of contentment illustrated by the experiences of Paul in Philippians 4.
We are committed to engaging our culture for Jesus Christ. As missionaries to our culture and community, we must meet people where they are. The “language” and style in which we minister is determined by our context. This requires a relentless commitment to change, innovation, creativity, and spiritual transformation. The church is not to be marginalized, but influential.
Every person is valuable in the eyes of God. We desire our church to reflect the diversity of our city and the body of Christ. We value people of different ethnicity, cultures, and backgrounds sharing life together.
God has called us to honor all people. The term honor means weight or value. When we honor someone, we see that person as weighty and valuable. As a church, it’s important that we honor our leaders, those whom we lead, and the people around us. We are to especially honor those who work hard at preaching, teaching, and serving.
God desires for us to serve Him with a spirit of commitment and excellence. We realize that everything we do is in His name. God deserves for us to worship and serve Him in a manner that honors Him. He wants us to reflect His glory through our lives. The church is not to be apathetic, but relentless and passionate (Mal. 1:6-10, Col. 3:17; 23-24).
We strive to create and maintain a church culture where unbelievers are loved and unconditionally accepted, feel safe to explore faith, and find it is easy to know Christ. God takes unbelievers “as-is” and then transforms them into His likeness through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God desires us to be authentic, not pretentious. The church is not to be condemning, but loving.
"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." - Matthew 18:20 (NASB)
Key the progress isn’t always getting more information, but applying the information you already know.
This week Pastor Rob wraps up our summer series and focuses on how we as a body of Christ can continue to grow deep and live tall in our faith and influence beyond this summer by recognizing the importance of staying connected to the Vine our true source of life Jesus Christ who provides us with what we will need to survive, grow, and reach our potential in our current landscape for His glory.
This week Pastor Rob will continue in our series entitled Rooted as we look to identify and remove any potential weeds or distractions that can come into our lives and prevent us from growing deep in our faith and reaching our full potential.
Can a garden grow without planting any seeds? Can we as a people expect to grow in our faith without the Gospel? This week Pastor Rob will discuss the importance of growing deep in our faith and living tall while understanding the importance of planting the seeds of the Gospel in order to impact the lives of the people around us. True growth happens in our lives when we are rooted in Christ and share His word to others for life change.
If you can control your thoughts; you can change your behavior. Our guest pastor Larry Paige walks us through a couple of mental "exorcises" that can produce lasting change.