BridgePointe Christian Church

<p>In chapter two of his book, John recounts Jesus' first public miracle at the wedding in Cana and the clearing of the temple courts in Jerusalem to reveal the glory and authority of Jesus.</p>

<p>John the Baptist was a forerunner, announcing the coming Messiah and making sure people didn't miss Him when He came. The accounts of the response of the first disciples show us the appropriate response to Jesus, the Messiah.</p>

<p>At the beginning of this first chapter, John presents Jesus as the incarnation of the eternal, creator God. As God himself, Jesus reveals to us who God is and what He is doing in this world.</p>

<p>This series starts off with an overview of the book of John and the man who wrote it. The book was written to strengthen the faith of Christians who were struggling to believe from the unique perspective of a man who was close to Jesus.</p>

<p>The church is an interdependent community held together by what we believe about Jesus. When we gather together on Sundays we prioritize our commitment to one another.</p>

<p>We gather to sing on Sundays in order to redirect our worship to God alone. Singing gives us a higher view of God and a more humble view of ourselves, and this is a reset we need each week. This message is given in three parts with a set of worship songs as a response to each part.</p>

<p>Jesus instituted the practice of communion when He ate Passover with His disciples. Since then, Christians remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus through the practice of communion. For us today, communion proclaims our belief in Christ's death and resurrection, helps to make it personal for us, and helps us renew our commitment to Jesus.</p>

<p>Christians have gathered on Sundays to worship God and proclaim the good news of Jesus for over two thousand years. While our view and value of the Sunday gathering may have evolved over the years, God’s purpose for its place in our lives hasn’t changed. This week we look at the importance of hearing God's Wisdom weekly. We gather each week to hear from God's Word in order to give it priority and authority in our lives.</p>

<p>Wrapping up the series, this message looks at the emotion of fear. When we're scared, God reminds us that He is there if we just turn to Him and put our trust in Him.</p>

<p>Our happiness can be like decorations on a Christmas tree -- without something substantial (the tree) to hold them up, on their own they are just a pile of baubles. In this message, we look at what gives substance to our happiness - we can be happy because of all that God has already done for us and because of all that God will yet do for us.</p>

<p>Often at Christmastime, seemingly out of nowhere we are overwhelmed by an emotion, of grief, sadness, stress, loneliness, anger or regret. In Psalm 42, we see an overwhelmed David run to God, pour his emotions out, and choose to put his hope in God despite his circumstances.</p>

<p>Christmas is a time when we are really aware of what others have, and often find ourselves lacking for things and longing for more. In Psalm 23, David writes that he lacks for nothing because God is a good shepherd. Christmas can be a time marked by jealousy, or it can be a time we become more aware of what we have in Jesus.</p>

<p>We need help with our sin. We have a sin debt from our past that we cannot repay. The only way it will be forgiven is if we bring it to God. We need help with future sin that temptation will lead us into. So, we ask for the power of God to lead us away from temptation and give us the victory over the evil one. We need God to deal with sin-past and future.</p>

<p>While God wants us to pray for and pursue His will rather than ours, He still wants us to ask Him for what we need each day. Jesus' words are rooted in the OT story of God's provision of manna when He gave just enough for each day. Asking God for what we need each day increases our awareness, appreciation, and trust of God. In this message, I'll challenge people to start each day by praying through their day, asking God for what they need for each part of it.</p>

<p>We often use prayer to ask God to further our plans and agenda. Jesus teaches that prayer is a way to align ourselves with God's will. God's will is not hidden, elusive, or mysterious. He wants His Kingdom to come, so that earth looks more and more like heaven. By asking for God's Kingdom to come, we are saying that we are willing to be used by Him to bring His Kingdom by revealing His glory and bringing people to embrace Jesus as King.</p>

<p>This message will begin with a basic understanding of prayer. It is not about who sees us or how holy it makes us look. It is a personal conversation with God that should never be stale or repetitive. So, the most important part of understanding prayer is not the how but the who. We are invited to talk to the Holy God who is our loving Father. This will change everything about how we pray.</p>

<p>Shifts in our view of money can make all the difference in what we do with our money and what our money does to us. This series looks at the scriptural view of money and challenges us to shift our own view.<br><br>Series bibliography and resources:<br><br>How to Be Rich by Andy Stanley<br><br>Fields of Gold by Andy Stanley<br><br>The Generosity Ladder by Nelson Searcy <br><a href="http://(www.generosityladder.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">(www.generosityladder.com</a>)<br><br>The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn<br><br>Don’t Say $#&%X in Church by Bo Chancey<br><br>Financial Peace University (w/ Dave Ramsey)<br><a href="http://(www.fpu.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">(www.fpu.com</a>)</p>

<p>Shifts in our view of money can make all the difference in what we do with our money and what our money does to us. This series looks at the scriptural view of money and challenges us to shift our own view.<br><br>Series bibliography and resources:<br><br>How to Be Rich by Andy Stanley<br><br>Fields of Gold by Andy Stanley<br><br>The Generosity Ladder by Nelson Searcy <br><a href="http://(www.generosityladder.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">(www.generosityladder.com</a>)<br><br>The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn<br><br>Don’t Say $#&%X in Church by Bo Chancey<br><br>Financial Peace University (w/ Dave Ramsey)<br><a href="http://(www.fpu.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">(www.fpu.com</a>)</p>

<p>Following Jesus is not easy and it takes perseverance to keep one's commitment. This message looks to the book of Hebrews for wisdom on how to stay faithful to Jesus until the end.</p>