BridgePointe Christian Church

<p>In an attempt to know and understand the invisible God, historically people would create something that represented God's presence among them. In the second commandment, God states that when you worship him, do not use idols. Idolatry at its simplest form is making God into something He’s not and ascribing an identity that does not belong to him. Even though we may not bow down to and create physical idols today, we are still tempted by idolatry today when in our hearts we make our own image of God to worship.</p>

<p>In the context of His loving, life-saving relationship with Israel, God gave commands to save life not steal it. Week one of this summer series looks at Exodus 20:1-3, why God gave the commandments and a look at the first one.</p>

<p>God graciously gave us the practice of baptism as the physical experience of forgiveness and cleansing. Jesus was baptized. He commanded His disciples to baptize. The early church practiced baptism anytime someone believed in Jesus. And the New Testament writings point to baptism as an essential practice of the church. Jesus wants people to be baptized as an expression of their faith. If it’s important to Him, it should be important to us. This message will present the power and purpose of baptism and extend an invitation to those who have yet to be baptized to take this step toward Jesus today.</p>

<p>A sacred meal of remembrance has been a part of the practice of God’s people for thousands of years. The Passover was instituted immediately after God’s miraculous rescue of Israel from slavery in Egypt. It represented God’s divine salvation that came through the blood of a sacrificial lamb. When Israel would observe Passover, they would remember God’s salvation and thank Him for it. During this very meal, the night before Jesus died on the cross, Jesus connected His impending death with God’s new salvation through a sacrifice. Once again, God would rescue His people. And once again, it would come through the blood of a perfect lamb. Jesus told His disciples to remember this every time they gathered around a meal. The early church broke bread (and drank wine) to remember Jesus every time they gathered. This was the tangible experience of the grace and deliverance God provided. And two thousand years later, we still share the same practice.</p>

<p>Music is common to every culture. It is written on our hearts and it stirs in our souls. Music is a powerful expression of emotion. At the right time, it can move us to tears, embolden us to fight, and cause us to smile. Music is intrinsically emotional and we were created to appreciate it. God wants us to worship Him with our whole being. Worshipping God with our emotions might be the most difficult aspect of that. It seems easier to worship God with our minds by learning, studying, and asking questions. It is more tangible to worship God with our strength by serving Him or working for Him. But worshipping God with our hearts is something that is more uncomfortable for us today. We need a remedy and that is exactly why God put music in our hearts. When music is directed toward God, it enables us to worship God with our entire being, including the emotions that are most personal to us.</p>

<p>The first Christians in the book of Acts eagerly gathered because they needed the support, encouragement, and strength provided by fellow Christians. The gathering equipped and encouraged them to scatter throughout the week for the sake of evangelism. Gathering was never an end in itself, but the means to keep follow Jesus and helping others do the same. Throughout history, people have risked and fought to gather regularly with other Christians. But in our culture, our daily lives are so comfortable and our faith is common that we don’t feel the urgency and need to gather together regularly. We must regain a proper perspective on why we meet and how we can prioritize to make it happen more.</p>

<p>Generosity has power to move your heart toward God and free you from the idolatry of money worship. But how much should you give? The answer's not as simple as you might think. This message presents the power of percentage based giving and provides an understanding of generosity that will help you find a starting point for your giving to God.</p>

<p>We all have a “magic number,” an amount of money we think could solve our problems and make us happy. This is just another way to see how money so easily becomes an idol in our lives to compete for God’s rightful place in our hearts. We are prone to look to money to do for us what only God can do.</p>

<p>Our money and our heart always travel together. God cares most about our heart because He loves us and wants us to love Him, too. Because He knows that our heart will be wherever our money goes, God cares what we do with our money.</p>

<p>Despite the fact that Peter has encountered the risen Jesus, he returns to his old life of fishing. Could it be that his regret of rejecting Jesus keeps him from grasping the reality of the resurrection? In this message we see how Jesus restores Peter's relationship with him despite his rejection of Jesus.</p>

<p>Doubt is an opportunity to be more convinced of Jesus. In week two we look at how the disciples experienced doubt in Luke 24 and John 20.</p>

<p>"While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him." Luke 24:15-16 <br>Like the travelers on the road, we need to move from confusion to clarity in our view of Jesus.</p>