Bridgeway Church

Doubt is a common part of everyone's faith journey. Habakkuk expressed raw emotions towards God about injustice and suffering while also maintaining a deep trust in Him. We're encouraged to be honest with God about our doubts – it's better to wrestle with God than to walk away from Him altogether. We're invited to engage in a journey of "faithfully doubting," where we can bring our questions and frustrations to God.

We should be responding actively to the death and resurrection of Jesus by becoming "culture medics" rather than "culture warriors." Our challenges as believers is to live with broken hearts for those around them and to engage with people where they are, fostering love and compassion rather than fear and anger. We should view others as individuals to love, serving as vessels of God's healing in a troubled world.

Following the resurrection of Jesus, our mission is to actively engage with the world rather than retreat into safety. God's intention is to break down barriers and invite all people, regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances, into His family. Our challenge is to embrace hospitality towards others, fostering a diverse community that mirrors God's inclusive love and celebrating the beauty found in a varied, interconnected society.

In the aftermath of Jesus' death and resurrection, early followers faced opposition as they shared the message of hope and healing. Like those early Christians, we shouldn't respond to adversity with fear or bitterness, but with boldness and a commitment to serve others. Ultimately, we should embrace opposition as a part of our journey, trust in God's sovereignty, and react with grace, reflecting Christ's love in our responses to challenges.

Early Christians understood their role as temples of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring heaven to earth, emphasizing the need for active participation in this mission. Our challenge is to recognize our purpose and live out our faith actively, embodying the hope and transformative power of the resurrection in our daily lives.

The resurrection of Jesus transforms dead ends into new beginnings! We look at stories of Mary Magdalene, Thomas, and Peter, each grappling with their own despair, doubts, and failures, yet finding hope through the resurrection. Christ's resurrection isn't just about eternal life, but also about restoration and an invitation to partner with God in bringing healing to the world.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

Jeff Newton discusses pride this week, emphasizing that it is often the root of other sins like greed and envy. He explains the distinction between healthy pride, which acknowledges our worth and achievements, and unhealthy pride, which leads to arrogance and disconnect from others. He highlights the importance of humility and the need for repentance, urging us to turn back to God and embrace a sense of community over individualism.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

If you grew up in purity culture, you may still have shame surrounding sex. Or maybe you view sex as an unhealthy way to use others. There's a space we need to find between unhealthy, lustful sexuality and sex being a bad, disgraceful thing. As Christians, we need to discover the healthy sexuality that God intended for us.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

Gluttony is often only thought about when it comes to food, but it can apply to anything we overindulge in – shopping, tv, scrolling on social media, etc. We need to practice voicing our emotions to God instead of numbing them through gluttony and work on saying "no" to ourselves.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

Comparison is dangerous. It can cause jealousy and anger in us towards other people. We need to focus on seeing ourselves the way God sees us instead of trying to compare ourselves to those around us.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! ⁠⁠https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

Sloth... not just an animal, but also a way we sometimes live our lives. We can be "lazy" or just not putting in effort at our jobs or at home. Part of being faithful to God is truly putting in our best effort in all areas of our life.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! ⁠https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

What is enough? Do we ever truly feel like we have enough? Greed has such a hold on us that we're always reaching for the next thing. Our whole attitude can change when we start thanking God for what we have instead of looking for more.

During this lent season, we're going to have conversations to help us learn and grow together. Jump in today! https://www.bridgewaykokomo.com/drawnear

It's simply human nature to be angry at someone who has wronged you. We need to fight against that urge and reflect on our feelings. Maybe even take time to pray for those you're angry towards. Who knows, you could see a change in yourself through all of that.

Over the next few months, we're talking about the 7 deadly sins. But before we start, we have to ask what is sin? What isn't sin? How does God view sin? Learn and grow together as we start this series, "Fully Alive"

We often try to change others when we don't like how they behave or react to things. We like to point out what's wrong with them without noticing our own flaws. Instead of judging, we should look at others with empathy and love.

Whether we're comparing ourselves to people who have more than us or those that have less than us, it's a slippery slope. God calls us to choose gratitude instead of wanting and comparing.

The blame game is a dangerous one to play. It can hurt those around you and make you someone who people won't trust. Assuming responsibility instead can build trust in your relationships.

The honor game is more than just trying to be nice to those around you. It's working to show your appreciation, complimenting others, and sharing with them. Jesus showed us this kind of love. It's our turn to do the same.

Taking a sabbath helps us reset and relax. Niko talks in this week's message about how you can take a sabbath or take some of the practices of sabbath and work them into your life. It's not always easy, but we'll be better for it in the end.

Our lives are full of advertisements telling us what to buy and convincing us that having more will make us happy. Jesus talked a lot about how possessions and wealth aren't everything the world makes them out to be. Let's work together on shifting our mindset from one of greed to one of sharing and living more simply.

Slowing down. It's something many of us might say we want to do, but our actions show otherwise. In Jesus's love, we can find rest, but many of us walk swiftly in the other direction. It's time we slow down.

We may think that we aren't important enough or perfect enough to have a purpose, but God has a purpose for everyone. People looked down on the shepherds, but they were the first to get to spread the word of Jesus's arrival. God's plans transcend the world's expectations, and He has a great plan for you.

God comes to us where we are. We don't have to fix up our life or hide in shame – God comes to us with forgiveness and love. That's something we can have joy in as we navigate this crazy holiday season.

God cries too. God came to the world, fully human, as a baby boy. He felt pain, he felt hunger, he felt anger. Jesus was fully human and He truly gets us.

The Holy Spirit leads us to give to those around us as an act of love. Being generous is not "the norm". We have to intentionally give into that push from the Holy Spirit. Following the Holy Spirit's nudges can make us look more and more like people of Jesus – and that's a beautiful thing.

Everyday Supernatural | Week 3 | Freedom

The Holy Spirit is a guide. It reminds us of our place and purpose. Being led by the Spirit reminds us that we have a powerful role to represent God to the world. We just need to be open to following those nudges.

The Holy Spirit can be confusing and tends to be the part of the trinity that is pushed aside. We're working in this series to gain a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and see how it works in our everyday lives.

As much as we hope that God's voice is loud and clear, it isn't always like that. Sometimes his voice is quiet and gets buried under all the other noise in our lives. Cutting out that extra noise can make hearing God so much more clear.

Reading the Bible is so important, but it's even more important to engage with the scriptures and live our life like Jesus – loving and serving others. This is one of the incredible ways we hear God's voice and don't even realize it.

Hearing God is something most people think is not possible or we think we're not trying hard enough to hear him. But in reality, we hear God in many different ways that aren't a loud, booming voice from heaven – we're just listening in the wrong place.

For I know the plans I have for you – it's such an uplifting verse, but the context behind it isn't as uplifting as you'd hope. Joel takes a look at the context and how we can still get a powerful, yet different, message from this verse.

Examine Yourself before communion – this verse often causes fear and makes us feel like we have to repent and be "holy" in order to take communion. The actual meaning of this verse is so much more meaningful! Join us for another week of dissecting these misunderstood verses.

Do not judge – we often take this verse as a way to tell others not to judge us. But Christians are often seen as some of the most judgemental people. We should be working on not being judgemental and instead loving everyone despite differences and disagreements.

Where two or more are gathered – it's a popular verse used for small gatherings of Christians, but that verse has more to it than what we're used to hearing. Jesus is talking about His powerful presence when we engage in restoring and building relationships. We can learn so much when looking at the context of these popular verses!

There are hundreds and hundreds of verses taken out of context in the Bible and given a new meaning than was originally intended. In this series, we're looking at the most common verses that are misunderstood. We're excited to learn a lot and look at the bible through a new lense in this series.

Loving others is so much more important than any rules or traditions. Pastor Matt Dilley brings us this powerful message about sin and changing how we engage with others and God.

Doubting is natural, but many Christians feel like it's wrong to doubt your faith and God. You're not less of a Christian because of your doubts. Many religious leaders have confessed to having doubts. It's how we handle those doubts that really matters.

We're called to live open-handed. If you move towards generosity to those in need, it will change your heart and view on the world. Generosity is more than just giving money because you feel obligated to. It's rooted in love and a desire to help those around us.

Being counter cultural looks like serving others. Jesus didn't see himself as better or more important than others. He served those around him and we're called to do the same.

Being counter cultural means loving our enemies. Loving those that look different and think different. Being counter cultural should make others question why we are the way we are. Being counter cultural is part of being a Christian.

In our land between moments, sometimes there is God's discipline. God doesn't cause evil to happen upon us, but he will use our natural consequences so that we can grow. God's discipline is always in love for us.

When we find ourselves in the land between, it's easy to meltdown. We may find ourselves angry and questioning God. In the midst of meltdown, we're called to be real and honest with God and trust that He will come through.

There's a lot of transitions happening in the life of Bridgeway. Maybe your life is going through some difficult transitions too. God calls us to trust in him during these difficult times. It's not an easy choice, but it's a choice you won't regret.