The Bridge RSM

We talk about bridging the gap between who you are and who God created you to be. But how do you know who God created you to be. It starts by recognizing that we have been commissioned by God. Pastor Ryan begins Volume 2 of our series on the Epic Story of Scripture by examining the opening words of Joshua and what it means for us to be Commissioned by God in our lives today.

What is the point of church? Have you ever found yourself wondering this? Why the songs? why the preacher? Why the time to 'turn and greet your neighbor'? You're not alone. This week Pastor Ryan takes a pause after Holy Week to remind us what the point of our gathering together on Sundays is and cast a vision of what it means for us to not only go to church, but be the Church.

What does the love of God look and feel like? It looks like sacrifice and initiative. It looks like laying down His life in the person of Jesus Christ in order to bring us back to Him and live abundantly, eternally in His presence. The choice is ours, each and every day. Will we live through belief in Him and enter into His Kingdom? This Easter we implore you to choose Him and choose life!

There is nothing that King Jesus can't triumph over in your life! As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the people laid down their stuff, self-importance, and social status to welcome their coming King. Fearless generosity makes a path for the kingdom to advance. The willingness to freely let go of everything you're holding on to, and relinquish it to Jesus loving hands leads only to life. What are you still holding on to?

God's manifest presence changes environments and people. When Moses encounters God in the burning bush, God tells him that the ground he is on is holy ground. The presence of God going with the people of Israel and with Jesus' followers set us apart as a holy people, devoted to His purposes. The question for us becomes, how will we respond to this high reality. Will we choose to live our lives devoted to His designs or our own? The choice, to use Moses' words, is between blessing and curses. The way of Jesus, set apart for His purposes leads to life. The other way? Well that leads to life akin to death.

What does it mean to apply the blood of the Lamb to your life? Today, Pastor Ryan takes us through the Passover in Exodus 12, reminding us that we have a deliverer that will free us from our slavery to sin. We don't have to walk through life alone, or by our own strength. God calls us to bring whatever we face in life under the blood of the Lamb. Why go another day living in fear? Why go another day allowing your past to dictate your future? Bring it to God, and He alone will deliver you.

Have you ever heard news that was too good to be true? The good news that God came to the earth as a man and paid the cost for the separation between God and man on our behalf. He did it for you so that you would get to have a relationship with Him. Step back and think about that for a second. That should seem too good to be true, but it is! And what's more, we can rest assured in this fact that if we believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved.

Throughout our lives, we are tested regularly. And these tests are necessary; they produce testimony, and bring freedom. And not every test we face is orchestrated by God. But what we do know is that every test we face has been filtered through God's loving hands. God doesn't ask us questions because He doesn't know the answer. He asks us questions so that we can grow in our knowledge and our faith in Him. In Genesis 22, Abraham was tested when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. How has God revealed himself to you through your past tests and trials?

What has God called you to? It's a big question, but the root of the answer is simple. He has called each of us into two main things: a covenant family and a Kingdom responsibility. Put simply, we belong and we each have a part to play in bringing the life of Heaven to bear on the Earth. We look to Abraham in the Bible to see what it looks like for us to walk that out in response to a God who wants to lead us in loving relationship.

What areas in your life are you stuck avoiding God's way for your own? In Noah's time, the Bible says that the thought of mankind were only evil continually, but Noah walked with God. And for Noah, trusting God and walking with him led to life. The same is true for us. Judgment is coming on the fallen nature of our world, but trusting Jesus and walking with Him leads us through the flood and into everlasting life. He gives us His Spirit, empowering us with the ability to crush the head of the deceiver who would have us do what's right in our own eyes and truly live.

Do you know that you are uniquely created in God's image, as a part of God's royal family? Today, Pastor Ryan takes us deeper into Genesis 3, speaking about how relationships can't exist without free will. God has given us the authority to represent His image, but how can we do this if we don't trust Him? There's a part of you that longs to be fully known and fully loved. God is the source of this love that your soul is always craving, and it will always continue to long until it finds its home in Him. God will soon crush Satan under your feet. God already did it under Jesus' feet. Now it's your turn.

Do you know who you are? Do you know the intrinsic value that comes with being made in the image and likeness of God Himself? Pastor Ryan begins our year-long look at the Epic Story of Scripture in Genesis, where the Origins of humanity are revealed to answer the foundational question, "Who Am I?" Answering this question with a Biblical worldview that finds our identity in the love of God is central to becoming the sorts of people who point others to the ongoing work of redemption through the cross.

What happens to you when life gets hard? It's in crisis that we're faced with one big question: run TO God or FROM God? Pastor Ryan returns from two months away following open-heart surgery to share out of the Gospel of Matthew on how Jesus points us to the Father, teaching us about Trusting God When Life Gets Heavy.

Do you ever feel unclear or unconnected in life? Maybe it's fear over a big decision. Maybe it's just general loneliness and lack of purpose. That is not the desire of the Creator God for you! The problem is, there are a lot of competing voices vying for your attention and to have the right to declare their truths over you. Only one person has the market cornered on absolute Truth though. His name is Jesus and His Word, the Bible, is a gateway to get to know the real thing. Only then can we learn to suss out the counterfeits, leaving them behind in favor of the voice of God.

Everything that Jesus did throughout His life was meant to serve as our guide; as ingredients for how to live a Jesus-centered life. As we study the Bible, we store up these ingredients in the pantry of our hearts, so that at the proper time the Holy Spirit can help us to pull out the right ingredient at the right time to fight against the enemy. What's in your pantry?

How do you respond to the Word of God? Pastor Mike returns to challenge us on actively responding to the proclaimed Word of God with delight and thanksgiving as we entrust our lives to our Savior and King, Jesus of Nazareth.

Have you ever felt alone in the darkness of this world? Have you ever tried to pursue God's perfect design in your own way? You don't have to. The instructions for God's perfect design can be found in His word. You don't have to do it your way, because there's already a perfect design available to you. The Bible contains the mind of God, and it is ready for you whenever you're ready to listen. Today, Pastor Tim Russell walks us through Psalm 119, teaching us that there's a difference between serving God and knowing Him as a friend. God has already invested in your victory. Are you ready to know Him?

What are your New Year's Resolutions? Better yet, what are your "ins" and "outs" for 2025? Pastor Taylor kicks off a year where The Bridge Church wants to collectively invest in our delight in and meditation on The Bible with a look at Psalm 1 and how we contemplate Scripture in community.

Do you believe that God speaks? He does! The God who made the universe has spoken, is speaking, and will speak and better yet, the Word of God will never Fail! Pastor Sean closes out 2024 by taking a survey of the Israelite patriarchs in the book of Genesis and seeing how they responded to the promises of God in their lives. He leaves us with an invitation to be the sorts of people who seek the Words of God for others and share the blessing freely.

Have you ever met someone that seemed to be happy when it didn't make any sense? Or even though they were sad, there was a calm control about them? The Bible talks about a joy that goes beyond our circumstances. This joy is rooted in none other than the Godhead. It is a joy found in the person of Jesus, in His life, death, and resurrection, and built up in us through our time in the presence of His Holy Spirit. So if you want to be the sort of person that seems to be in good spirits no matter what, it starts with time spent with THE Spirit of God. Be encouraged, step into praise, prayer, and meditation on Scripture and grow in Joy and you enjoy God's Christmas Presence.

Hope can be a funny thing. Have you ever hoped for something that didn't come? Maybe it was an unrealistic hope. Maybe it was a promise made by a human that didn't follow through. Few things are more crushing. But hope in the Bible isn't in people or things. Biblical hope is in a person, but that person is also God, and His name is Jesus. That hope is trustworthy and infallible. One day He will make all things new and take away suffering in His Kingdom restored to earth. He began that work some 2000 years ago and that is why we celebrate the gift of His Hope that comes with His Christmas Presence.

The world wants us to believe that chaos is normal. That there is no hope, and that we need to seek out peace desperately from the brokenness of things. But our God promises a peace that is not temporary. God's perfect peace is a whole peace. One that cannot be shattered or broken. A peace that cannot be disturbed or interrupted. God provides for us a peace that will guard us against the chaos of the world. What do you need God's peace for today?

Do you feel overwhelmed by the pace of life? Are you stressed, frantic, rushed, or hurried and harried? That's the normal way of life in the USA. But an ancient Jewish rabbi offered a different way of life. What's more, He offered to be with us to help us live His way of life forever. That rabbi's name is Jesus of Nazareth and His yoke is easy and His burden is light! Pastor Matt Kladnik begins our Advent series looking at a group of gifts that we receive in the presence of Jesus. At Christmas, God came to be present with us in the person of Jesus. As we take time to be intentionally present to God in this season, we receive the presents of His Christmas Presence. We begin with a look at the Rest that Jesus provides.

Have you ever felt blindsided by tragedy or difficulty in life? Sometimes the storms of life come at us Without Warning. They reveal things about what we believe and who we trust. The Gospel of Matthew contains a story of Jesus calming a storm. In it, the disciples respond one way, but Jesus reminds them that He was the power to lead us through the choppy waters of life.

How do you feel about your relationship with God? In Isaiah 6 we see Isaiah come face to face with his own inadequacy, but when he names it something radical happens. He's met with grace! A burning coal purifies him and gives him the right to stand before the King. In response he declares his willingness to be a representative of that call to the nations. What will your response be to the mercy and justice of a loving God?

Pastor Ryan begins a series of one-off sermons leading up to his time away and the Christmas season with a look at the invitation of the Lord to come back to him time and time again.

Pastor Ryan concludes our journey through the book of Jonah with a call to Reflection. Both a call to reflect on our lives and the state of our hearts, but also a call to reflect God's Heart of Mercy to the world around us. The truth is, we've all been Jonah. We've all wished someone would get what they deserved instead of mercy. And yet, God still has mercy on US as well. And in turn we learn to love as He first loved us. We learn to shine with His light and reflect His goodness and compassion to a lost and dying world.

The book of Jonah continues with Jonah's repentance and obedience to God's instruction. But what exactly does it mean to repent? Repentance requires three parts: humble contrition, desperate dependence, and a change of course. True repentance requires us to not only acknowledge our faults, but also to turn away from them. True repentance is our part to play in salvation. God does the rest. So how long has it been since you truly repented; truly cried out before God and turned away from your sins? He's right there waiting for you, and His love for you never changes.

Have you ever felt lost in a mess of your own creation, unworthy of rescue? We all mess things up time and again, and it can be easy to feel like we deserve what we're getting. We recite platitudes like "I made this bed and now I must lie in it." But when we look at the second movement of Jonah, we get a different picture. Jonah had landed himself in the belly of a great fish. While the pagan sailors were praying to their gods in the storm, Jonah didn't even pray once. And yet, when he does finally turn to the Lord, reflecting on His Heart of Mercy, we see the Lord deliver Jonah even though he didn't deserve it. The fish spits Jonah onto dry land and he is Rescued.

The book of Jonah opens on a prophet of God being called to preach to a people that he hates. And Jonah, knowing that God has a Heart of Mercy, runs the other way! How often have you looked down on those less holy than you? How often have you thought yourself better than another? How often have you settled for a heart of wrath, unaligned with the heart of God? The call of God is to stop running, and instead settle in and pray for a lost and hurting world.

What is important to you? That's a good question, but there is a bigger one. What do you NEED? What is it that is vital to your life? What about to the lives of our children? What about to our communities, nations, and world? We MUST impart faith to those coming up behind us. The consequences of not doing this is dire, but God will always preserve a remnant. He will always draw people back to Him. We get to choose if the road there is marked by the fruit of the Spirit or the works of human malice and selfishness. As Moses says in Deuteronomy, life and death are set before you. Choose life.

How are you going to impart faith to the generations coming after you? We might believe that we should take a hands-off approach to raising young people to follow Jesus, but the Scriptures tell a different story. Pastor Ryan continues this series about how we send our Faith Forward to those to follow by being Intentional about the impartation of our faith. We look at Deuteronomy 6 and the command to Israel to make their faith in and relationship with God a part of their home and family lives and to tell the next generation about their story.

How are you going to impart faith to the generations coming after you? We might believe that we should take a hands-off approach to raising young people to follow Jesus, but the Scriptures tell a different story. Pastor Ryan starts off a series about how we send our Faith Forward to those to follow by being Intentional about the impartation of our faith. We look at Deuteronomy 6 and the command to Israel to make their faith in and relationship with God a part of their home and family lives and to tell the next generation about their story.

Have you ever been at dinner with someone who didn't know Jesus, but you just didn't know how to talk about it? It can be overwhelming and intimidating to share our faith. It feels like the pressure is on to have all the answers and say all the right things. But the good news is that we just don't have too! Pastor Ryan concludes our series on engaging those who don't know Jesus with a look at healthy Conversation at the Table. What are we responsible for? And what can we trust to God?

How do we offer hospitality? What does it even mean to show hospitality in the Way of Jesus? Pastor Ryan takes us through the story of Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7 and what Jesus has to say about showing Care at the Table and the attitude necessary to make it happen.

Are you a friend of sinners? Jesus demonstrated a radical willingness to sit with those viewed unworthy in His day. He also violated the social norms of status to give dignity and honor to those who had none. He even went so far as to call you and me into relationship with Himself. So if you've accepted His invitation to Come to the Table, the next question is "Who are YOU inviting?"

Do you long for the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven? There is a tune, a melody, a theme, a song played by the world around us and it is an alluring song. But there is a song in Heaven that is even more beautiful. There is a song in Heaven that leads to joy, love, and life. The problem is you can't dance to both. You can't sit and tune into both. We follow Jesus by Dancing to Different Music. We tune in and dance to the more beautiful song. We dance to the song of Heaven.

Jesus always lead with relationship beyond barriers of all types. This is particularly evident in the story of the Woman at the Well in John 4. Jesus reaches to a woman and people whose worship differed from that of His Jewish people to reveal the true worship of God; a worship in spirit and in truth. Pastor Taylor finishes our series on Reaching Beyond Barriers by looking at how Jesus reach beyond the religious barrier that existed between them and how we can follow Him in doing likewise.

We exist in a world of social hierarchy. Status and celebrity matter to us. Social status matters to us. "Cool factor" matters to us. But none of it matters to Jesus and none of it matters in the Kingdom of Heaven. Julia takes us through the incredible story of a blind beggar being treated as an person of honor in Jesus sight and someone worthy of attention, even though he was an outcast looked down on by the people around him. What does that look like for us? How do we go out and live in the Way of Jesus, Reaching Beyond Social Barriers to see the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven?

In our current society, and throughout history, we tend to foster animosity towards generations that are not our own. It's so common and so easy to see the generations that are older than our as outdated and inferior. That we know more than they do. But God calls us to act differently. Pastor Taylor talks to us about how Paul in his letter to the church of Ephesus speaks about generations. About how the younger generations are to look up to the older and learn. About how the older generations are to see the younger as the future of both the church and of the world. God calls us to show mutual submission to each other across generations, out of a reverence for Christ. What's holding you back from taking your relationships with the generations around you to the next level?

There are a lot of things that we allow to divide us. Most of them are separations of our own creation though. Pastor Cami begins our new series on Reaching Beyond Barriers that we allow to create wedges in the body of Christ and reduce our ability to love the world well. She takes us through the story of Peter and Cornelius and how we can practically move past the Cultural Barriers we create and live more fully as the complete Body of Christ.

There's no question that leadership has great impact on our society. So we ought to pray for every leader who is in authority over us. Because the decisions they make affect our everyday lives. Whether they are godly, ungodly, righteous, unrighteous, fair, unfair, strong, or week; we pray. We never look to them as our hope or savior, but we pray for them. Today, Pastor Ryan reminds us through scripture how God revealed himself to leaders, and to pray for them. Listening also plays an important role in prayer. Listening to what God has for us, how to live, where to go, what to do... God calls us to be slow to speak and quick to listen. How quick are you?