BridgePoint Church Podcast

<p>Our world would tell us we should look to riches and status to be satisfied. We follow the lives of celebrities wishing we had their lifestyle, we play the lottery saying "if only". However, how often do we really ever see anyone without something to complain about? So what’s the hope if we can’t be satisfied even with fame and fortune? In today’s message, Tyler teaches that we are desperately loved by God and in Him we can find that satisfaction we yearn for.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• What is waiting on the other side of your pride?<br>• How would your life be changed if you believed Jesus was enough?<br>• How can you live like you have nothing to prove and nothing to lose?</p>

<p>A marketing agency’s job is to convince us that enough is on the other side of whatever they are selling. But in reality, enough isn’t a thing, an amount, or a like on social media. Enough can only be found in Jesus.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• What do you sacrifice you time and money for?<br>• These three indicators can give us perspective about where our heart is.<br>• Do we see people as a means to our end?<br>• Are we able to celebrate the good things that happen to others?<br>• Do we see people through the lens of comparison?</p>

<p>When we think of idols we imagine someone bowing down to a golden calf and worshiping it. In today’s society we may not bow down to something but how may times have we done it figuratively? Regardless of what our idols are, they all act as pacifiers - a temporary replacement for the satisfaction that only God can provide.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Do you have a longing in your heart that you have tried to pacify with other things?<br>• What have you run to in the past to satisfy you?<br>• What will it take for you to look to Jesus to fill that yearning?</p>

<p>We live in a culture that promises so much, -satisfaction guaranteed- yet many are still empty. Why? Because what we are searching for can’t be found in x, y, or z. The satisfaction we are longing for can only be found in Jesus.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• What has left you feeling the most disappointed?<br>• What do you sacrifice your time and money for?<br>• What do you worry about?<br>• Where do you go when you’re hurt or you need comfort?<br>• What makes you mad?<br>• What do you dream of/most passionate about?<br>• Who’s encouragement means the most to you?</p>

<p>Easter isn’t about rules, a religion, a bunny, pastel colors, or even peeps. Easter is about a love that led to a death that produces life. Easter begins at the cross and ends with the folded grave clothes.<br><br>Questions for Reflection: <br>• What comes to mind when you think about Easter?<br>• Does the death and resurrection of Jesus leave you shook?<br>• Are you still wearing your grave clothes?</p>

<p>In today’s message, Tyler asks the question, “Who do you think God is?”. Do you think He was just a great teacher? Or is He God? How you answer that question is critical. One answer leads to dismissal and one leads to life.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Who is God to you?<br>• If you are a christian, how often do you look at your relationship with God in terms of what He can do for you?<br>• If you have walked away from your faith, is it possible you walked away too soon? Could He have more for you?<br>•If you are unsure of who God is, what step can you take to being you closer to an answer?</p>

<p>Ever seen a miracle? Maybe it was a pet that found its way home after being lost for weeks. Or perhaps it was an accident that you missed because you forgot your coffee and had to go back to get it. Whatever it was, we’ve all heard about them.<br><br>At some point in our lives, we all seek a miracle of some kind. It could be in our finances, our marriage, our jobs, or any of the countless stressful situations life throws at us.<br><br>In this message Chad explains how we should position ourselves as we wait on God to move in our circumstances. We must remember though, that while it is great if God steps in and helps us in this life, the greatest miracle we can ever receive is eternal life through Jesus.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• What’s your request? Have you taken it to God?<br>• Are you still waiting? Are you trusting God in the delay?<br>• Are you letting God meet you in your pain?<br>• Have you experienced God’s greatest gift, Jesus? If not, what's holding you back?</p>

<p>If we stop to look at Jesus’ life- he often offended people with his statements. But why would a loving God offend people? What if He offended them (or shook them) because he loved them too much to let an earthly kingdom be the end of the story? What if He had a deeper purpose?<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Is there any part of my life that I need to examine?<br>• How can I spend this time leading up to Easter feeling shook for Jesus?</p>

<p>We position ourselves for many things. We position ourselves in our career by being in the right place at the right time for a conversation with our supervisor. We position ourselves in athletics to make the shot, the goal, or the score. We position ourselves in our personal lives to get the event tickets, the parking spot, or the tv remote. But when it comes to God, are we positioned to receive His light? In today’s message, Travis talks about how we experience God’s love when we are positioned towards His light.<br><br>Questions for Reflection: <br>• How’s your life positioned? Is it positioned in such a way to see the light?<br>• Are you in relationship with Jesus? If not what what is stopping you from stepping into the light?</p>

<p>Every day we make little decisions that could possibly derail us. We pick up weight upon weight until we are carrying so much that we might just crush ourselves or others. But what if love meant we didn’t have to carry that weight? What if it meant we could lay it down and not pick it up again?<br><br>Questions for Reflection: <br>• Have you trusted in Jesus? If not what is holding you back?<br>• If you have taken that step to trust Jesus, do you live one way on Sunday and another way during the week?<br>• Are you carrying something, you need to let go of?</p>

<p>Oftentimes we forget how much God loves us. We keep running- looking for security and confidence. But what if we remembered because of how much God loves us, we can have absolute confidence in our relationship with Him?<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Do you know and rely on God’s love for you?<br>• Do you love with words or with actions?<br>• When people see you do they see Cain or Christ?</p>

<p>We love chocolate chip cookies, puppies, and our spouse but each one is a different kind of love. So what exactly is love? So often we measure it by performance, boiling it down to a transaction. Am I funny enough? Did I get the right flowers? Am I doing enough? But love is so much more than that. This Valentines day Tyler talks about what real love looks like.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Do you look at love as a transaction? How can you start to see what love really is?<br>• More people might see what love is if they saw love more often. How can you show love to others?</p>

<p>Love is… What does that mean exactly? To each of us it means something different. In this first message of the series, Tyler starts at the end of 1 John to begin to answer that question.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Do God's commandments feel burdensome to you?<br>• Are you confident that you are living from victory, not for it?<br>• What could be idols in your life?</p>

<p>What does a better than normal life look like? We won’t find it in being secluded, getting rich, being famous, or having power. In fact, having a better than normal life is not easily found in what the world expects. We all are uniquely made so the long answer to that question is as unique as each one of us. However there is something that all of us can practice. We can experience a better than normal life when we maximize our investment in others.<br><br>To maximize your impact, ask yourself:<br>• Who can I invest in?<br>• What can I do for that person?<br>• When can I do it?<br>• Where can I do it?<br>• How can I do it?</p>

<p>All relationships are hard but the one with your spouse can be especially difficult when going through daily life. In John 13:34, Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us. In this fourth message of the series Better than Normal, Pastor Chad and his wife Nikki sit down for a raw and humorous interview with Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Haley Erickson to talk about how to have that better than normal relationship not only with your spouse but with anyone we are in a relationship with.<br><br>How can we have a better than normal marriage?<br>• Learn to love your spouse through God’s teaching. <br>• Live life together rather than separate. <br>• Turn towards your partner, seeking connectedness and showing interest. <br>• Seek to listen and understand/empathize with partner.<br>• Seek forgiveness through the avenue of making repairs and compromise. <br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Do you love your spouse like you love God through praise, prayer, and asking for help?<br>• Do you live life together not separate, showing interest in each other?<br>• Do you turn towards your partner seeking connection? How hard are you trying to pursue them?<br>• Do you seek to understand and empathize when your spouse is talking?<br>• Do you seek forgiveness through repair attempts when conflicts arise?</p>

<p>Ever since the first family in Genesis 4, there has been brokenness in families. There are far more dysfunctional families in the Bible than those who get it right. We all are broken because we exist in a broken world. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a better than normal family. How do we get there? It starts with us.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• Are you gathering for worship? Finding a family to gather together and worship is important.<br>• Are you investing in the next generation helping them make God part of their life?<br>• Are you connecting relationally? This is not a journey of isolation.<br>• Are you serving the community? We live next door to lots of people who need to know they belong.</p>

<p>We are all working hard- searching for something. Often though while searching we settle for a story that is at best normal and sometimes less than normal. But God wants more for us even in our finances. When we handle our finances appropriately, it can lead us to a better than normal life!<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• How can I have a better than normal life with my finances?<br>• Do you believe in Jesus? If not what will it take for you to take that step? If so are you giving? How can you trust God to start?<br>• Are you living his teachings? Are you in a group of other believers to hold you accountable? Are you a slave to money? Can you aim for a tithe?<br>• Are you becoming his people? How can you move from a tithe to generosity?</p>

<p>Jesus said, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10B Msg). Did you know we were made for more than just the average? Stepping into 2021, in spite of whatever comes, it can be better than normal.<br><br>Questions for Reflection:<br>• How can you get closer to God?<br>• Do you believe in Jesus? If not what will it take for you to take that step?<br>• Are you living his teachings? Are you in a group of other believers? Do you read God’s word daily? If not, what do you need to do?<br>• Are you becoming his people? How are you serving others?</p>