Bridges Community Church

Christianity offers the hope of an enormously bright future—one where we walk in harmony with God and each other. Even when we find ourselves in seasons of exile, uncertainty, or waiting, God's promises remain steady. He is not finished with us, and He will bring restoration, renewal, and joy beyond what we can currently see.

Jeremiah sometimes has the reputation of being a prophet of doom and gloom, however, he also pins some of the most hopeful words in all of Scripture. After God's judgment on the nation of Israel, they are promised an immensely bright future, and it begins with the One whom God will send. He will be a king and a priest unlike any that Israel had ever seen, and He will accomplish what no one else ever could: never-ending forgiveness, righteousness, peace, and victory.

While the topic of God's judgment can make many of us uncomfortable, it is a repeated theme throughout Scripture and in the book of Jeremiah. This week, we study one such passage and see that God's judgment is not only a necessary response to evil and injustice, but it is also a key way that we see the depth of His love for us.

The Bible—and the book of Jeremiah in particular—is filled with commands and warnings. Yet as Christians, we believe our reconciliation with God rests not on what we do, but on what Jesus has done for us. So what role do these rules play? Are they optional, or are we meant to keep them? And if obedience matters, how does that fit with Jesus fulfilling the law on our behalf? This week, we'll examine the purpose of the law, its limitations, and how Christ completes what we never could.

We've all been there, at the precipice of some decision. We knew what we should do, but we also knew what we wanted to do—and those weren't the same. We knew it was wrong, but we wanted it anyway. It looked so good, so enticing. So we went for it. And then we found out. While it might have been great initially, it eventually emptied us of joy, and in some cases, it hurt even worse. Such is the nature of sin. It's not only harmful to us, it's harmful to others, and it's harmful to the world at large. This week, we will look at some of the effects of sin, why it's so enticing, and how to escape.

We probably all notice that something is wrong with the world, but what is it? Has the world always been like this, or was there a point in time when the problems started? More importantly, how will it get fixed? (Or will it?) This week, we will see the cause of all our problems, what God thinks about it, and ultimately, what He will do to restore what is broken.

Is everyone designed with a special purpose or only some people? Does God knit each one of us together with a certain plan in mind? This week, we will study God's intentionality with Jeremiah and how it isn't just his story—it's all of ours.

Message from Derek Brown on January 4, 2026

Message from Dave Kellejian on December 28, 2025

Message from Dan Stockum on December 24, 2025

Long before God spoke about Messiah through the prophets, He spoke about the Messiah with one family–Abraham's family. This week, we will study the “seed” of Abraham who was promised through generations and came to bless all nations.

In our series, we've seen many prophecies foretell that the Messiah to come will be a king, and, in some ways, this passage from Isaiah is no different. However, rather than describe what the king will do when He arrives or hint at the king's divine identity, in this passage Isaiah tells us what the coming king will be like. Specifically, we will see His heart, His perfection, and His power.

Many of us are familiar with the Christmas carol about the small town of Jesus' birth, but we may be less familiar with the Old Testament passage foretelling it. This week, as we study Micah's prophecy about Bethlehem and the One who would be born in it, we will see the perfect unfolding of God's plan—both then and for us today.

Isaiah offers immense comfort for his hearers—all wrongs will eventually be set right because of the One to come. But how could this be? As Isaiah speaks these words, Israel is destined for exile and their city will be destroyed because of their own unfaithfulness. Why would God promise such sinful people such a bright future? This week, we will study Isaiah's prophecy and how it can give hope to all of us, especially if we feel like we don't deserve it.

Ever since the earliest days of Christianity, the church has sent missionaries. They weren't content waiting for people to come and see, they wanted to go and tell. Our church is no different. This week, we will affirm God's call on Steve and Shannon's life to work alongside Restoration Ministries in Brazil, and see how our efforts align with those of the earliest churches.

When the people of Israel and Judah found themselves in deep darkness, Isaiah's prophecy pointed to a time that would bring peace and righteousness, and a future hope. As we look at this familiar Christmas prophecy this week, we'll see that Isaiah's message of hope stretches far beyond Christ's arrival at Christmas. And in a world longing for peace and justice, God's answer is not always what we would expect.

This is the time of year when we begin to experience the first few joys of the Christmas season. It won't be long until our stores and radios will be filled with the decorations and sounds that remind us of Christ's birth. In these weeks leading up to Christmas, we will study passages written long before Jesus came to earth that detailed exactly who to expect, why He must come, and what He would do when He arrived.

Often, it helps to begin a project with the end in mind—a vision for what it will be like when everything is completed. Along the way, there will be challenges and setbacks that would make it easy to turn around and give up. But by keeping the end of the story in view, we're motivated to keep going. This week, we'll study the end of the story of Nehemiah's building project, and how it can help us with ours—at Bridges and for whatever we are building in our lives.

Following where we believe God has led into our NEXT85 years will require something of us. Throughout Scripture, when God's people began a project, they each brought what they could in order to help the effort. We will be no different. The dream for our future campus won't happen without all of us participating. This week, we'll look at what will be required of us, and the blessing for following.

Every Sunday, we literally sit in the dreams, sacrifices, and plans of people who came before us. We have a place to gather because they built it. But that raises the question: what is our responsibility to those who come after us? If we hope that Bridges remains a fixture in our community, what must we build to ensure that it happens? This week, we will dream about the future of our campus and how we can impact generations to come.

85 years ago, a small group of ordinary men and women gathered with a simple vision: to plant a gospel-centered church here in Los Altos. They couldn't see the future, but they knew one thing: God had called them to know and study His Word, to love their neighbors, and to plant seeds of the gospel of Jesus that would outlive them. And we at Bridges Community Church today are living proof of their faithfulness. The question before us now in 2025 is this: what about the next 85 years? What kind of legacy will we leave behind for future generations?

Every person, family, team, or organization is heading somewhere. They might have chosen their direction on purpose, or they might simply flow along with the current around them. We plan to be the former rather than the latter. But where are we headed? As we turn the page from the last 85 years of our church into the next, we remain true to our original mission, and this week, we will take a deeper look into our ongoing vision to display that people matter, truth matters, and the Gospel is our only hope in everything that we do.

We've seen throughout this series that various kinds of prayer align with the types of conversations we have with those closest to us, and thankfulness is no exception. If we don't express thanks in our relationships, we can forget having much connection in them. This week, we'll study a Psalm of thanksgiving showing us why God deserves our deepest gratitude.

When we hold onto or try to cover up our sins and weakness before God or before others—hiding them, excusing them, or pretending they don't exist—it crushes us. It drains our strength and steals our joy. But Psalm 32 reveals that God has made a way for the guilty to be forgiven, for the burdened to be set free, and for that which is broken to be restored.

Many of us likely have a close friend with whom we feel absolutely free to share the deepest sorrows of our hearts. They listen to our burdens, and by doing so, they help us carry them. But what our relationship with God? Can we share with Him like that? Will He welcome our cries of despair or rebuke us for having them? This week, we will study one of the Psalms of lament where David pours his heart out to God and finds relief.

We've probably all asked God for direction in our lives or for Him to show us the way that He wants us to go. But how does the Bible depict these kinds of prayers? This week, we will study Psalm 25 where David asks God for such guidance and how he finds a God who is more than willing to give it.

The most foundational building block of any relationship is trust. With it, we can weather most anything, but without it, the relationship cannot survive. This week, we will see that our relationship with God is no different. To feel connected with Him or to experience His presence in our daily lives requires trust in Him. But how can we develop it? Whether we've never trusted God before or simply want to deepen our trust in Him, Psalm 62 gives a roadmap to get there.

No relationship will survive without a healthy amount of affirmation and appreciation for one another, and our relationship with God is no different. As we begin our series on when and how to pray, we start with what should mark our communication with anyone–adoration.

Some of us grew up in stable family environments, while others of us experienced homes with ongoing change and upheaval. In either case, God intends the church to be a place of wholeness, peace, and support on which we can depend throughout all of life's ups and downs. But what might this look like in practical application? And how can a church grow in this area? This week, we will study the familial connections in the early church and hear of a modern example.

This week we continue our summer series with a few of our college and young adults, who will be sharing about their faith journeys. We will also hear from others who are getting baptized at the beach, followed by a brief message from Pastor Steve.

The Bible reminds us that God remains on His throne, even amidst difficult times in the world or trying personal circumstances in our own lives. Despite this, however, the storms of life still have a tendency to challenge our certainty. What should we do in those moments? Join us this week as we continue our “This is My Story” message series and explore how doubt is not something to hide or fear, how it can actually be the doorway to a deeper, more grounded faith, and how Jesus meets us in our uncertainty with patience and mercy.

Psalm 139 is one of the most intimate and awe-inspiring reflections on the greatness of God in all of Scripture, as we are taken deep into the heart of a God who is infinite in power, perfect in knowledge, and yet profoundly personal in His love. In this week's message, we'll explore how God's omniscience, omnipresence, and creative power don't merely inspire fear and reverence—they invite trust, humility, and wonder. A God who knows you completely and still loves you unconditionally is not just great—He's the only one truly worthy of your whole life.

Each of us has a story, shaped by the steps we've taken to reach this very moment. But what comes next? What will the rest of our stories look like? When the whole story is written, what it will say? It's a thought that is both exciting and perhaps a little daunting. Join us this week to reflect on what success means as we all embark on the rest of our stories.

We have probably all had seasons of tremendous difficulty where we suffered a loss, faced a crisis, or everything in front of us felt uncertain. But have we reflected back on the role of friends within those challenging times? The benefit of their presence versus the pain of their absence? This week, we will study our need for supportive friends, where we can begin to look for them, and we can be such friends for others.

Occasionally, an opportunity will appear before us, and we feel almost compelled to take it. While we may not know what all awaits us, we know we must go, and as a result, the entire course of our lives can change. This week, we'll dive into those moments and see how God's calling is always for our benefit and the benefit of everyone around us.

All of us, at some point in our lives, will face circumstances that feel impossible—where we can't see a way forward, we might lose everything, and God may seem distant. What do we do in those moments? And is there any way those moments can help us grow rather than destroy us? This week, we'll study an account from the life of Jehoshaphat, who faced the total collapse of everything that he held dear. Yet, in the midst of his doubt and despair, his turned to God in worship.

Moses didn't feel qualified to lead an entire nation or even speak in front of a group. In fact, he argued with God that he wasn't the right guy for the job. But yet, all these thousands of years later, we're still studying him. What made Moses who he was? This week, we'll see it wasn't his strength or confidence, but rather his humility that qualified him to lead.

The book of Ruth began with famine, displacement, loss, bitterness, and bleak prospects for the future. But in Ruth 4, God does what only God can do: He graciously steps into ordinary faithfulness, risky obedience, and broken places, and He writes a better ending than anyone could have ever expected. Join us this week as we conclude our sermon series in Ruth and rediscover how God's redeeming grace can transform even our darkest chapters into stories of hope and new beginnings.

The third chapter of Ruth has puzzled biblical scholars for millennia. To be sure, we see people make decisions that may or may not have been motivated by entirely proper intentions. But we also see God's faithfulness to everyone in the account. Their decisions (right or wrong) don't stop His redemption. This week, as we study this puzzling chapter, we will find that God is faithful to all of us, in every moment, always.

As Christians, we believe that God orders the events of our lives and orchestrates all of history toward a glorious conclusion. But does that mean we don't have a role to play? This week, we'll study how Ruth and Boaz each made their connection with one another possible and how they model healthy relationship—even God's with us.

Sometimes in Scripture, we see God work in supernaturally miraculous ways: manna falls from heaven, the sick are instantly healed, or the dead are raised. Other times, God isn't as overt in orchestrating history. But does that mean He isn't working? In the book of Ruth, we see God guide His people in a way that we can all relate—through relationships. As we begin our four-week study of the book of Ruth, we will study the power of relationships to lift us out of tragedy, and ultimately, to heal the world.

None of life is meant to be lived alone, which means wherever God calls us, we need a team for support and encouragement. In this final week of our Finding Your Way series, we will study what Scripture requires of a church when it sends a missionary, and by extension, what we all need wherever God may send us.

Obeying God is always a lot easier to talk about than to do. Especially when it doesn't make sense. Especially when it costs something. Especially when it feels like God is asking us to step away from what's safe and comfortable and predictable. Let's admit it: Sometimes God's will feels unreasonable. And yet, that's usually right where obedience begins.

At some point every one of us confronts a series of related questions of enormous consequence: How do I find and fulfill the central purpose of my life? What am I specifically supposed to be doing with my time? How should I go about making potentially life-altering decisions? When I ask God for wisdom or direction, how do I know that it's actually God speaking and not just wishful thinking on my part? And what if I make the wrong decision?

Easter instinctively feels hopeful to us. We have a sense that something is new. Something began. Something in which we can join ourselves. But what exactly is that? What started when Jesus rose from the dead? This week, we'll study His resurrection, the new world it will eventually create, and why it provides so much hope.

In our final week of our Upper Room series, we see Jesus pray. Prayer is how He chooses to spend the very last moments before He is arrested. And He prays, primarily, for us. This week, we will study Jesus' prayer, how it communicates His deep abiding love for us, and why His desires for us are essential for our thriving.

There's one thing we can all be sure of, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey: There will be countless moments in your life that will simply make no sense, thereby threatening your peace and stealing your joy. Fortunately, we are not left with only two options in these moments—either understand everything and rest in peace or understand little of what is going on around you and have no hope. The Bible actually tells us that there is a third way. A way to have sturdy, lasting joy that doesn't rise and fall with the circumstances of your life. A way to be able to face sorrow and the uncertainty and confusion in your world with hope and confidence.

Following Jesus isn't meant to be easy. In fact, Jesus tells His disciples to expect the worst, the very worst, for their faith in Him. Yet, we are not left without hope or without help. Jesus promises we won't be alone on our journey because we will have a strong guide leading our way. This week, we'll study Jesus' warning to disciples, the comfort He offers them, and how we can apply it to our lives today.

We all look to something to reassure ourselves in times of difficulty. Whether it be relationships, prior achievements, or current status, we all count on something to pull us through seasons of uncertainty. But Jesus claims not all of these are as dependable as we might think. In fact, He says there is only one true source of life, only one reliable anchor for our hearts. This week, we will study what Jesus taught about the nourishment our souls need and where to find it.

As Jesus nears His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, it seems His mind is mostly on us, His followers. While He knows He will face a day worse than any of us can imagine, He wants us to be comforted, and He uses His final moments to reassure us of God's goodness to us. This week we'll study the comforts Jesus shares with His disciples and how they apply to our lives today.

Jesus knows Peter will soon lose faith and deny Him, but instead of chastising Peter, Jesus encourages him. This week we'll study Peter's denial, Jesus' surprising reaction, and what it means for our faith today.