It's RALLY Time.

19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” – Nehemiah 4:19-20

Do you ever feel isolated? Disconnected? Alone?

Nehemiah 4 says God's people were “separated…far from one another.”

Have you ever thought about our footprint as a church? Based on what we know about where many of us work and live, during the week, when we’re away from 504 E. 12th Street, we spread out over more than 2,500 square miles. And this is a conservative estimate.

Now think about the number of people with whom you interact on a daily basis. Clients, patients, students, teachers, coworkers, neighbors, your family, friends, the cashier at the store, the barista at the coffee shop...based on the average interactions each American has daily, we, as a church, are interacting with more than 4,500 human beings PER DAY.  Again, this is a conservative estimate.

The work is GREAT and WIDELY spread, friends. And as we go about our daily lives, we enter into places and spaces and engage with people who need true and lasting hope – hope found only in the Jesus we know. But we encounter obstacles, hardships, etc. We willingly enter into our own suffering and the suffering of others as we bring the kingdom of God to earth – as we “build the wall.” We’re in a battle!

But we’re not called to this work – to this battle – alone. 

Nehemiah says, “In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” The workers were dispersed to their assigned portions of the wall, but the moment they heard the trumpet, they left their places on the wall and unified to defeat the attacking enemy.

Notice that THEY weren’t doing the defeating. Nehemiah made it clear that GOD Himself would fight for them. Because ultimately this isn't OUR work. It's His!

In biblical times, the trumpet often signified an alarm of war, a call to assemble, or a command to march.

Friends, the trumpet is sounding. The work is great and widely spread, and we are in desperate need of regular rallying!

We don’t gather on Sundays to summon our own will to make it through the week.

We don’t gather on Sundays to build ourselves up based on what we have to offer.

We gather together on Sundays – and throughout the week – to declare to and for each other that God will fight for us. We gather together to surrender our will to His will. We gather together to invite His will to become our will, and for our will to become His will. We gather together to declare how great and awesome He is, and to pour out our thankfulness as we meditate on our adoption as His sons and daughters. We gather together to be effective in our scattering, as we go about the great and widely spread work – through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, to the glory of our God who fights for us!

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:25

We need each other, and even more importantly, we need our God. Let’s rally this Sunday. Join us. 10 AM. 

From Rubble to Life

“What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”  {Nehemiah 4:2}

Sanballat, a ridiculer and a bully, attacked God’s people by questioning their strength, their ability to fulfill promises, their faith, their perseverance, and their power to rebuild from ashes. 

Even they questioned themselves at times! The people of Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

They had begun to take the accusing questions of Sanballat as truth.

Have you questioned your strength to do what God asks of you? Have you questioned whether you had enough perseverance to endure difficult times? Have you looked at our world…or perhaps your home or your life and thought, “There’s too much rubble. This is unredeemable?”

You’re not alone. Much like Sanballat in Nehemiah’s time, the devil speaks lies over us and questions our motives. Our flesh fights against our desire to walk in faith. The world in which we live is often hostile as well.

However, the devil, our flesh, and the world make a critical mistake, as did Sanballat. In their ridicule, they do not take into account the great and awesome God who has called His people to this work.

You see, our God is made strong in our weakness.

Our God keeps promises perfectly, even when we fail to do so.

Our God helps us overcome our unbelief.

Our God preserves us when we grow weary.

Our God redeems, restores, and rebuilds burned rubble.

 Just as Nehemiah trusted in God alone to build the wall, we trust in Him alone to redeem, restore, and rebuild us, our families, and our world through Jesus Christ, the living Stone.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house...For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”  {1 Peter 2:4-6}

Father, Thank you for taking our rubble and ashes and molding us into living stones through Jesus. Thank you for His life, death, and resurrection. May we look to the living Stone when we tire, when we falter, when we lose hope, when we think our lives are in too much disarray to be redeemed. Thank you for removing our shame through Jesus. May we live as people who trust in Jesus, unashamed of You. In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

See you Sunday!

He Knows Your Name!

Names. Lots of names.

Upon first glance, Nehemiah 3 might be a chapter I’d skim. Like many of the genealogies in Scripture, we see name after name after name.

But this fact alone is glorious. It’s glorious!

 The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. - John 10:3

Friends, the Savior of the world knows your name. He knows my name.

God doesn’t need us. But out of His goodness and love and grace, He has invited us by name into the story He has been writing since before the beginning of time.

Just as Nehemiah invited all of the people listed in chapter 3 to join him in rebuilding the wall, God invites us – His people – to join Him in the redemption and restoration of all of creation. You and me! Can you believe it? He wrote us into the story.

But to know our part – to know which part of the wall we are to build – a few things are required of us.

First, we have to know and love the Author of the greatest story in eternity. We have to spend time with Him, seek His intention for our role in His story, and understand the purpose of the story.

Second, we have to know and love our fellow cast mates. Our brothers and sisters in Christ, who have also been written into this story, are indispensable. When we know only what God is doing in our individual lives, we miss out on the fullness of the story. When we bear witness to how God is moving and calling us – when we share with the family of God – we get to weep, rejoice, and grow together. The unity and teamwork of Nehemiah 3 is incredible. Jesus desires this for His body today as well.

Finally, we have to have willing and available hearts. In Nehemiah 3, those mentioned are each doing their part. What’s more – few if any of them are professional carpenters! These are people of all professions and walks of life stepping up to join in the mission. Sound familiar?

This is us. Today. In 2017. At The Bridge in Alton, Illinois. The question is, how are you building the kingdom? Do you know the Author? The One who loves you and calls you by name? Do you know the family of God? And how is your heart today? Is it willing and available? Oh He desires to have full access to it for your good and His glory.

Imagine what could happen if each of us committed to building our part of the kingdom. Just imagine!

Father, may your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for writing us into your story. May we live our parts well. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

See you Sunday!

Weekly Announcements

Praying through Tears

Have you ever received bad news?  What was the news?  How did it make you feel?  What did you want to do about it?  Was there anything you could do about it?

Nehemiah hears bad news.  It's news that Jerusalem, the city of God, is in disrepair - broken down walls, gates on fire, people in great trouble and shame.

And when Nehemiah hears this, he sits down and he weeps and mourns for days.  Doesn't sound like much of a response, does it?  He's heartbroken, but his tears transform to prayers and his prayers prompt him to action.

What breaks your heart?  A wayward child?  A troubled marriage?  A sick parent?  A debilitating disease?  An addiction you can't break?  A mistake you can't get past?  A natural disaster?  A shooter opening fire during a concert?  

As we begin a journey through the book of Nehemiah we will meet a man who says it's okay to have a broken heart, but it is not okay for our broken hearts to paralyze us. God has called us to prayer and prayer prompts us to act.  

Nehemiah reminds us that in the best of times and in the worst of times God is on His throne.  And when our hearts break God's ear is still attentive and his eyes are still open.  He is the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments. (1:5)

May we be a people whose hearts break for the things that break God's heart.  May we be a people whose tears transform to prayers.  May we be a people whose prayers prompt us to action.  May we hear the call to REBUILD, RENEW and RESTORE and may God grant us grace to answer the call.

See you Sunday,
Steven

Freedom Sunday

Dear Bridge Family,

This Sunday, along with thousands of other churches across the world, we will devote our 10 AM worship gathering at The Bridge to God's call for us to seek justice in partnership with our friends from International Justice Mission. We will hear the latest from IJM, sing songs of worship together that celebrate God's power at work in the world, Steven will preach on Scripture that highlights the kingdom of God here and hereafter, we will pray together for IJM and those still enslaved, both spiritually and physically, and hear from one of our own about her story of injustice, oppression, and freedom. There will be tables with information about IJM in the lobby and ways you can respond if you feel led. 

Why are we doing this?

More than 45 MILLION people are TRAPPED IN SLAVERY RIGHT NOW. This is more than at any other time in human history. Just as saints who have come before us have sought freedom and justice in the name of Jesus, we stand today as the body of Christ at work in the world. We take seriously the call for God's people in Isaiah 1:17 to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow. 

In the midst of our sin and brokenness, we have been rescued by a Savior who loved us enough to die for us. As we have been rescued, so we offer rescue - spiritually and physically - to those still in chains. We are facing a task unfinished, friends. 

Join us. 

This Sunday. 10 AM. The Bridge. 

Until all are free,
Erika

To learn more about IJM, please visit www.IJM.org.

What does God think of you?

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. - James 5:13-16a

What does God think of you?

Does He merely put up with you? Tolerate you? Does He hold His nose around you?

Or does He delight in you? Does He cherish you?

Our answer to this question impacts our response to nearly every situation in our lives. Suffering, success, sickness, sin…our lives are filled with beauty and pain, and God invites us, above all, to do one thing in response to everything that happens: commune with Him. BE with Him.

Would a God who merely puts up with you extend this kind of invitation?

Matt Chandler puts it like this: “It's a delight and a gift for the people of God to commune with their adopting, loving, merciful Father. We see here, "Are you suffering? Go to him. Are you cheerful? Sing praises about him. Are you sick? Gather with others, particularly the elders, and go to him. Regardless of what's going on, get in here."  

If we believe we need to earn God’s approval in some way – if we believe He just tolerates us – the last thing we want to do is run to Him. When our prayers become mechanical, when we struggle with habits and sins we desperately want to overcome, when we are at our lowest and our highest, God is not standing far off, stiff arming us until we get it together. 

Rather, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

If you hear nothing else today, hear this: when you are in Christ, God delights in you. He loves spending time with you. He cherishes you, even as He cherishes Jesus.

Because of Jesus, we have the immense privilege of approaching the Almighty God of the universe as our Abba Father. We – because of grace beyond my understanding – have the gift of being adopted sons and daughters of the Most High, friends.

And this makes the invitation offered by James a remarkably delightful one.  When we understand how God esteems us, we are able to esteem others in the same way.  When we understand the depth of Jesus’ words, “It is finished,” we are able to freely confess our sins, knowing and believing they’re forgiven. When we know God as Abba Father, we are able to pray to Him as loved children, not avoid Him as filthy, abandoned outcasts. And as we pray, we experience His love and grace more and more deeply. We are healed.

Almighty God, Abba Father, Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for adopting us into your family. We pray that we would accept your invitation to be with You. That we would pray in our suffering. Please draw us to prayer, Father. Show us how to celebrate, how to sing. We pray for increased faith in your power to heal. And we pray that we would be secure enough in the finished work of Christ Jesus that we would confess our sins to one another. Give us Your love for our brothers and sisters, Father. We ask these things in the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Weekly Announcements

We will have a wagon available to transport your donations from your vehicle to the church doors!

If you have any additional questions, Zack may be reached at zjohn893@gmail.com.

In addition, if you'd like to be kept aware of future disaster relief opportunities, including many in the months to come in Texas, please reply to this email. 

Please continue to pray for those impacted and for Zack as he travels south.

We invite everyone interested in getting more involved with The Bridge (or even just those curious to know more) to attend our Intro to The Bridge Lunch this Sunday. This is an opportunity for us to talk with you in more detail about our mission, and to hear from you on how you came to The Bridge. 

To RSVP, send us a message here!

Sunday, September 17th, we are hosting a trivia night at The Bridge to raise funds for Healing Haiti and for the team members still in need of financial assistance. 

Join us from 5-7 PM for 2 hours of fun trivia mixed with stories and videos from Haiti! Tables are $200 (10 people max.) or individual tickets are $25. There will be t-shirts and jewelry from Haiti for sale, as well as a few snacks available for purchase. Lemonade, tea, and water will be provided. Feel free to bring additional food for your table! 

Tickets may be purchased this Sunday at The Bridge or at the door on September 17th. We do ask that you let us know you're coming by clicking on the button below or signing up on Sunday!

Hold on or be held?

I love rollercoasters. The rush of the wind past my face, the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, the elated laughter (and terrified shrieking)…I can’t get enough!

But there is a vitally important moment in the life a rollercoaster rider: the moment you decide to reach over your head, pull down the overhead harness, and snap it into place. In this moment, you either place full trust in the person who engineered and designed the rollercoaster, or you trust in your grip strength to keep you in your seat through the twists and turns.

How long would it be before your white knuckled fists tired out? Before the rollercoaster became little more than a death trap? It would be terrifying, wouldn't it?! Fear would reign.

While writing to his brothers and sisters in Christ, James encourages them (and us) to be patient in suffering. In the midst of this conversation, he provides the how:

“You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” – James 5:8

Establish your hearts. Strengthen your hearts. Take heart. Fix firmly your hearts. Set fast your hearts.

Elsewhere in the New Testament, usually when this phrase is used, it speaks of God strengthening our hearts. Of Him providing the sustenance we so desperately need in the midst of suffering.

Much like the moment we strap in to the rollercoaster, placing full faith in the power of the harness to keep us still and safe in the midst of unbelievable drops and twists and turns, when we establish our hearts in the One who created us, we are held still and eternally safe in the midst of life’s drops and twists and turns. 

Our steadiness is not dependent on our ability to hold on. Because of Jesus, our response in suffering doesn't have to be to hunker down and get through tragedy and sorrow in isolation. 

Rather we are able to reach out to the God who knows the next turn, who holds us close to His heart, and whispers, “I’m here. I have you. You are mine. No one can pluck you from my hand, or take you out of my sight.” 

As we establish our hearts in Him, not in our own willpower to survive, we receive sustenance and hope and perseverance to go on. 

And as we experience His faithfulness and presence and His comfort through our brothers and sisters in Christ, we rejoice in the fact that He is coming again. We live in a broken world, yes, but one that will one be fully redeemed. One day pain and sin and death will be no more, and oh what a day that will be!

Until then, we reach up and buckle in, trusting in the designer and engineer of all of creation, taking comfort that He who holds us will never fail and looking toward the day when all is made new. It's not about holding on. It's about being held.

What an incredible God we serve.

See you Sunday!
Erika

Open our Hearts

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10

As human beings, we are constantly moving toward either death or life.  The enemy has it out for us. He steals, he kills, he destroys. And when left to our own devices, apart from Jesus, we often gravitate toward death too.

But God didn’t leave us on a path toward death. He sent Jesus so we could have life. Forever. For the Christian, there is no eternal death. There is no lasting destruction. We have life abundantly! And thus we have hope.

At times, death and life may not seem clear cut. In our world, they get distorted. Displaced. Throughout Scripture, we read cautionary tales about ways of living that may seem to bring life but actually result in death. In His grace, God has given us heads up after heads up as if to say, “You see this way of living? This will eventually bring pain and destruction and death! I don’t want these things for you! There’s another way! Take the path toward life!”

In James 5:1-6, we see one of these warnings. He cautions those who are obsessed with wealth - those who don’t pay fair wages, who oppress, who mistreat others for their own gain, who have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. He even says, “You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.” (5:5)

If hoarding things and living in self-indulgence leads to a day of slaughter, what’s the alternative? What’s the path toward life? What's the response of the Christian?

“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18)

When we are filled with love that brings life – which is God Himself – it gushes out of our being in practical, tangible ways. Rather than hoarding, we give generously. Rather than living self-indulgently, we learn the life-giving gift of living self-sacrificially.  We don’t close our hearts. We OPEN them. The Holy Spirit in us gravitates toward life. 

Granted, at times the love and life trickle out of us. We flirt with self-indulgence. We hoard. But by His grace, this isn't who we are. Even when we begin to walk back toward death, He draws us back to life.

Father, In Your presence is fullness of joy and fullness of life. You have loved us generously. In light of this reality, may we live and love generously. God, there are GREAT needs in our world right now. We know You are a God of justice and mercy. Where there is oppression, give us the courage and means to intervene in Your Name. Where there is poverty – both spiritual and material – please move us to action.  And where we are choosing spiritual poverty over the riches you have offered us, please help us in our unbelief. We want life abundantly. Please let Your love and life overflow from us in deed and in truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

See you Sunday!

Weekly Announcements

Why are you here? Why am I here?

Why am I here? Is there more to life than this? Am I good enough?

The questions of life are big. Perhaps you have questions. Or perhaps you know the answers to these questions, but you have friends who do not. Alpha is for you. And them. And for countless others.

Alpha is for those who are questioning, those who are indifferent, and those who may even be antagonistic to come and hear life-changing Biblical truths without judgment or condemnation.

Alpha is an eleven week series of sessions exploring the Christian faith. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. A typical night at Alpha will include dinner, a talk, and conversation around the table afterward. It's a safe space for real exploration.

We'll begin Wednesday, September 6th at The Bridge, and we'll meet from 6:00 until 8:00 PM. Dinner will be provided for all.

We'd love for you to join us. If you want to attend, please message us by clicking on the button below with your name(s), and we'll provide more information. 

If you're interested in serving, please click the button as well.

To learn more, please visit https://alphausa.org/about/. 

Hope to see you on September 6th!

The Long Game

Life often doesn’t go as planned. Or at least, life often doesn’t go as we planned.

At times we play the short game. We focus on the things of, for, and by this world. Sometimes we believe that if we fit certain molds, or if we achieve x, y, and z, or if we experience certain rites of passage, we will feel complete. We’ll be satisfied. And we chase after these things, don’t we? 

A degree, a spouse, children, a higher paying job, prestige, a bigger house…or even a fruitful ministry that will make me appear more holy…these idols creep into our hearts in the most insidious of ways. Most are actually good things when held with open hands. But a good thing can become a bad thing when it becomes a substitute for the best thing...especially when held with clenched fists.

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” – James 4:13-17

God plays the long game. And He sees and knows us and our stories and our reasons for existing better than we know ourselves. He has redeemed us not for our own glory, but for His glory…and He created us in Christ Jesus to do good works, which He prepared in advance for us to do! (Ephesians 2:10)

His plans are infinitely better than our plans. There is solace in this, too, when things don't happen as we planned...not as a result of sin, but just as a result of living in a fallen world. When loved ones pass on, or betrayal happens, or everything seems to fall apart, we have hope. "Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy." (Tim Keller) 

The long game, in which we spend eternity with God and death is no more, propels us toward joy and hope.

Father, Eternity is beyond our comprehension, but please give us faith and patience to play the long game, and to trust that Your will is good.  When good things become a substitute for the good works you have created us to do, and when good things become a substitute for the delight we find in You, please reveal these idols to us and rearrange our priorities, as temporarily painful as that might be. We trust You and desire to build Your kingdom, rather than our own. Please permeate our hearts with the phrase, "If the Lord wills." In Jesus’ name, Amen.

See you Sunday!

Who are you to judge?

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

James 4:11-12

Have you ever spoken evil of or judged a fellow believer? Usually the judging comes first, right? Then out spill words that never should've been spoken in the first place. 

The Greek word translated "speak evil" is katalaleo, and it packs quite a punch. It means speaking against someone, to talk them down, to speak ill of them, to disdain someone, or to run them down verbally. The intent is to belittle, to mock, to hurt, to rejoice in someone else's undoing. Ouch.

James 4:11-12 (along with the rest of Scripture) directly addresses what we saw in Charlottesville last weekend. God abhors hate and speaking evil of our brothers and sisters (regardless of race). Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." He created and redeemed us to speak life, not death!

At the epicenter of what comes out of my mouth, though, is my heart. (Proverbs 4:23) My words are just an overflow of what is within. If we go one step further, Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The question then, is where is my treasure? What do I value? How do I mark my own worth?

When Jesus is our treasure, our hearts aren't racked with sinful judgment, because we know the depth of our own need for grace and forgiveness. When Jesus is our treasure, we speak life. When Jesus is our treasure, we bring joy and encouragement to those around us, because our words are just an overflow of what is within. The Holy Spirit gives life! (Romans 8:2) 

Father, we need You. Our hearts are prone to rush to sinful judgment and speak ill of our brothers and sisters when we raise other idols above Jesus. We grieve that we make so many things our treasure - our standing in society, our pride, our work, our relationships, our sense of entitlement. Please forgive us. Please show us what we treasure above Jesus, and turn our hearts to You. May we speak life - because in You we have life - in our homes, workplaces, and our city.  May we gossip the Gospel, and nothing else. In Jesus' Name, Amen

Weekly Announcements

www.alphausa.org

Miry Mud & Muck

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” – James 4:8

Do you ever get stuck in sin? Psalm 40 describes a slimy pit, with mud and muck and mire…a pit that is inescapable on our own…a pit that we just slip and slide and fall around in until we wear ourselves out, filthy and exhausted from our efforts.

Our broken, human, sin-filled hearts gravitate toward death apart from Jesus. But we weren’t made for death; we were made for life! As followers of Christ, we have been redeemed, washed, sanctified, and pulled out of the miry muck and mud. And yet, in our humanity, our hearts wander. They do. It is a part of our struggle this side of heaven. But we aren’t left in our wandering. We aren’t left in our muddy, self-made pit to hopelessly exhaust ourselves.  Like the father of the prodigal son, our Father stands ready to forgive, embrace, and love us back to life. 

Our Father knew we would still wander and get muddy at times, so He graciously gave us an escape plan in James 4:

1. Submit to God.
2. Resist the devil, and he flees.
3. Draw near to God, and He draws near to you.
4. Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts.
5. Weep over your sin, and humble yourself.
6. Then He exalts you. He lifts up your head. He embraces you.

It’s simple, but it isn’t easy.  Jesus trudged through the mud, remained clean, died on a cross, and rose again, so we wouldn't have to remain stuck in the mud. Jesus does the heavy lifting, the rescuing, and the exalting, but we do have to submit, draw near, and be humble.  And we are often highly self-sufficient, idolatrous, and prideful, so our feet get stuck in the mud!

C.S. Lewis wrote, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” 

We weren't made for the mud, friends. Let's not make mud pies while paradise awaits. We were made for more.

See you Sunday!

See, here is water!

...And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. – Acts 8:36-39 (ESV)

This is an incredible story.

Here’s the gist: Philip, a disciple of Jesus, was preaching in Samaria. People were believing in Jesus left and right and there was joy abounding in the city. Then an angel came to Philip and told him to head south on a desert road. Philip didn’t ask why; he just obeyed. He trusted that God’s plans were better than his plans, even though he couldn’t see what the future held.

On this road, Philip came across an Ethiopian eunuch (a trusted servant of the royal household), and the Spirit of the Lord told him to head over to his chariot. Once again, Philip obeyed and as he approached, he began to overhear the eunuch reading from the Book of Isaiah. Nothing like a divine opportunity, right?

Philip went on to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this eunuch, and he believed.

Like many other accounts of new believers in Scripture, the next response from the eunuch was, “What prevents me from being baptized?”

This Sunday at The Bridge, we have the privilege and joy of celebrating some of our brothers and sisters in Christ who have decided, like the eunuch and like Jesus Himself, to be baptized.

Our prayer is that those who are baptized will “go on their way rejoicing,” and that we, as the body of Christ, will rejoice with them!

As we reflect on this story, do you identify with Philip or with the eunuch?

Like Philip, is there a direction you’re supposed to walk in, or a chariot you’re supposed to approach? Are you willing to obey, even if you don’t know the specific outcome? Tradition says that God used the eunuch to take the Gospel to Ethiopia, an unreached nation at the time. God used Philip’s obedience to head south into the desert to reach an entire nation. How is He asking you to obey today?

Or are you the eunuch? Have you believed in Jesus as your Savior and Redeemer and turned from sin? If so, like the eunuch, you might ask, “What prevents me from being baptized?”

Father, thank you for being a God who sends us on our way rejoicing. May we follow in the steps of Philip and this Ethiopian eunuch and have hearts that are obedient to you. May we truly believe that your plans are better than our best laid plans. May we be people who speak and live the Gospel in a way that leads others to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you have questions about baptism, please reply to this email. We’d love to listen to your story and explain why and how we baptize at The Bridge.

See you Sunday!

Are you a peacemaker?

Are you known as a peacemaker?

In James 3:18, just after he urges us to rely on wisdom from above (3:13-17) and just before he digs into the causes of quarreling (4:1-3), he promises that "a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." Why do you suppose he focuses on peace right in the middleof this passage?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) In Romans, Paul writes, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Peace is listed right after love and joy as fruit of the Spirit. All of Scripture calls us, as followers of Jesus Christ, to pursue peace.

This seems easier said than done, right? True peacemaking is not for the faint of heart. Nonetheless, “peacemaker” ought to be synonymous with “Christian.”

So how? How do we pursue peace with our spouses, our children, our siblings, our parents, our friends, our coworkers…and even our enemies?

“A peacemaker is someone who experiences the peace of God because he is at peace with the God of peace through the Prince of Peace, who, indeed, is our peace, and who therefore seeks to live at peace with all others and proclaims the gospel of peace so that others might have joy and peace in believing.” – Desiring God

We become peacemakers because we have experienced the peace of God in our own hearts and lives. Just as we love because we are loved, we extend peace,  pursue peace, and make peace, because He is our peace.

Father, thank you for Jesus, who brought perfect peace and modeled perfect peace for us while He walked the earth. May we be more like Him. Please give us Your wisdom, and rid us of selfish ambition and jealousy that is not of You. As we grow in Your wisdom and in understanding Your peace, may we bring peace to our families, our friends, our workplaces, our city, and our world. May we be known as peacemakers, for You are the great Peacemaker. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Where and with whom is God inviting you to pursue peace this week? A friend? A sister? A brother? A parent? A child? A spouse? Let's not delay. Let’s be peacemakers.

See you Sunday!

Why did I say that?

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” – Romans 7:15

“With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.” – James 3:9

Have you ever struggled to say the right thing? Or have you ever regretted saying something you shouldn’t have said?

You are in good company…with the rest of the human race.

In Chapter 3, James devotes a lot of attention to the power (and potential destructiveness) of the tongue. He compares it to the rudder of a ship. It has the power to shift our direction! Just as a forest fire begins with the tiniest of sparks, the tongue, be it small, is like fire. Sometimes we need to pause to take an inventory of how we’re using this powerful thing we’ve been given.

Am I setting relationships or friendships on fire? Am I using my words to demean people who were created in the image of our God? Am I saying and doing the very things I don’t want to say and do? Are blessing and cursing coming out of the same mouth?

The bad news is this: no matter how hard we try to tame the tongue and say the right thing, if we are trying apart from the power of the Spirit, we will fail. Over and over again. We’ll set relationship after relationship on fire. We’ll steer our ships aground.

But the good – no, the great and wonderful and beautiful – news is this: as followers of Jesus, we are no longer enslaved by our sinful tendencies to destroy people with our words. We are humans, and we will say things we regret this side of heaven. Grace covers this, but our speech should be markedly different than that of the world!

“Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” – Galatians 5

Want to tame the tongue? Be filled with the Spirit. Know who you are. If you have placed your faith in Jesus, you are a son or daughter of the King, and He has redeemed your heart and everything that flows from it, including the words that flow from your mouth.

Father, may we be people whose hearts and the words that flow from them praise you. May we be marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as we walk by the power of your Spirit. Thank you, Father, that we are no longer enslaved to our brokenness and sin, but that we have been adopted into your family. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

See you Sunday!

Faith Without Works is Dead

"...Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." - James 2:17

This is a pretty common phrase in the church today, isn't it? Often it's used to clarify the importance of works in the life of a Christian…in other words, what are you DOING that proves you’re a follower of Christ? Where’s the evidence of faith? 

But this kind of thinking may miss the point of James 2. Let’s flip back to Ephesians for a moment.

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  - Ephesians 2:8-10

Yes, faith without works is dead. But works without faith is equally as dead. And both are useless. All of Scripture points to this.

Dallas Willard often said, “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.”

The moment I work to appear holy and righteous, to please others, or to add something of my own to the cross – to make myself worthy of the cross, I miss the point. I fail to understand the totality of Jesus' death and resurrection. I inadvertently cheapen grace!

I cannot add to the cross. It is finished; my debt has been paid. But I am HIS workmanship. You are are HIS workmanship. And according to Ephesians 2:10, we were created in Christ Jesus for good works which God has already prepared for us to walk in! 

Father, We may not be able to add anything of value to what Jesus has done, but goodness, we can and should respond to what He has done. To what You have done. May we have faith that works – not in an effort to earn anything – but out of a desire to serve You, our Creator God who has written stories for us far greater than we can write for ourselves. You graciously work out Your goodness on earth through us. May we be people who understand who we are, whose we are, and why we were created, and may our faith compel us to walk in good works which You have prepared. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Today, there is someone in your path who has been prepared for you to love in Jesus’ name. There is a work for which you were specifically created. Will you accept your mission for today? Go with confidence and grace, knowing that our God has gone before you in preparation.

See you Sunday!