Who is leading you? Jesus sees the crowd in Galilee as sheep without a shepherd. But rather than be the revolutionary zealot leader the people want him to be, he reveals a different kind of leadership. He is the servant God who gives his life up for the sake of others. And in word and deed, he alone is the bread of life who brings satisfaction to the human condition. We’re called to let him, the revolutionary shepherd, lead all aspects of our life. Not least our finances. As we launch...

In a rare moment when Jesus does not appear in the gospel, Mark tells the story of Herod’s beheading of John the Baptist. Herod’s story is a cautionary one about the misery that comes when someone devotes their life to the pursuit of earthly power. Where Herod’s power destroys, Jesus’ power, exemplified in the life of John, by contrast, creates, redeems and sets free. It’s his power that we are made for and we find it by dying to our broken versions of power and rising with him in his...

This might be as good a moment as ever to be reminded of the type of power Jesus came to display. God of all creation, gave everything up, to live among the poor and downtrodden, and face the offense that this wrought. Jesus' lowly statues was an offense to everyone - to the elites, the priest, and in our passage, his hometown. And his answer in Mark 6? To send out the disciples in his power; to get close to people, to free them from evil, heal their sick and preach the good news....

Power over disease. Power over demons. Power over death. What would a power like that feel like? Is it scary? Is it intimidating? Is it comforting? Is it kind? In this talk, we zoom into two miracles given to seemingly opposite people, and find out that they have more in common than meets the eye. Along the way we’ll see how the power of Jesus and the kindness of Jesus are intertwined, and how Jesus meets us in the midst of our circumstance, if we open our hearts to him. By Tavia Grubbs

Jesus declares himself Lord of the Sabbath. This is less about him arguing over Sabbath law, and more about him establishing his Lordship over everything, including that which we most hold dear. This is confrontational and necessarily requires his hearers, as well as us, to consider where our hearts have wandered to other gods. When we’re confronted like this we have a choice: we can react defensively, with avoidance, or rejection. Or we can choose to humble ourselves and receive his...

Jesus first encounters opposition to his ministry when he begins to proclaim the forgiveness of sin. Things get confrontational when Jesus refuses to be limited to the surface issues of our lives. Declaring himself as the one who forgives sin means not only equating himself with God, but tells us we have a fundamental problem which only He can solve. Often our requests to Jesus reveal that we only really want him to scratch the surface issues of our lives. But Jesus is primarily...

Jesus’ first public pronouncement concerns the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is God’s just rule over the universe where all pain and evil cease and joy and peace abound. The Kingdom has come because Jesus, the King, has come. So entrance into the Kingdom is available to all who follow him. Its markers are evil banished, the sick healed, and the authority of Jesus revealed. By Ed Flint

Jesus doesn’t enter the world in a vacuum, he’s the long awaited Messiah. But he’s more than a human deliverer. He’s the divine Son of God. This intro to the series is an invitation to expand our view of who Jesus is, and a challenge where we’ve restricted who we’re willing to let him to be. By Ed Flint

The command to rest was written into God’s rhythm for life on earth, and was an instruction given to his people from the very beginning. Jesus demonstrated his human need for rest (including quiet time alone, and down-time with His disciples) with prolific frequency. So, what can we learn from that? That he’d got it all done in time for chilling? Or that he knew how badly he needed quiet time with His father in order to sustain him in his mission. If we look at the OG rest Psalm (23),...

Part of maturing as a Christian is learning to identify and live within the limits God places on our lives. There are limits to our capacity, our resources, our gifting and our calling. When we push beyond the boundaries of where God would have us we end up causing ourselves and others pain, and harming our relationship with him. We do this inevitably when we reject God’s lordship of our lives and choose to become arbiters of our own destiny. Jesus calls us back to himself. He loves us...

To close out our series “Come Alive,” four folks in Bread’s community share about how they have come alive in Christ. Through their testimonies, we hear about how Jesus brings life even when we’re at our lowest.

Given the current cultural moment, it would be wise for disciples of Jesus not to sleep their life away and, instead, to wake up to the realities surrounding them. We are not the first to be charged with that task! Paul’s challenge to the church comes with specific advice on how to partner with the Holy Spirit in not only learning to tell time, but to redeem it! By Bill Dogterom

To celebrate what God is doing in our community, this week’s talk was comprised of 3 ten minute sermons given by members of bread in their first time preaching. On the shared theme of obedience Amber, Paul, and Rebekah teach on obedience as an expression of our love for God, the joy that comes from obeying him, and the blessing that obedience brings to others.

“Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” [Romans 7:24]. This is the dramatic way Paul ends the seventh chapter of his letter to the Romans. But just one chapter later he writes “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us!” [Romans 8:37]. What revelation did he have that got him so excited and full of faith after voicing such despair? And what does his discovery mean for us today? By Ben Manusama

As we continue to look to Jesus to “Come Alive,” we’re considering the layers of meaning in Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in John 13. In spite of our resistance, Jesus is constantly moving toward us to show us his strength, his care, and ability to set things right in our lives. His Spirit is washing us from shame, fear, anxiety, or even just the disappointment of life. Are we slowing down enough to let him care for us, and show tenderness to the more “unsightly” parts of us? By...

Finishing our study of Luke 7, guest speaker Jon Hans looks at the doubts and expectations of John the Baptist and the differing approach of the teacher and women to Jesus. Coming alive requires doubting honestly and approaching Jesus as everything. By Jon Hans

In Week 3 of our Coming Alive series, guest speaker Jon Hans returns as we take a look at the first half of Luke chapter 7 with Jesus’ encounter with a Roman Centurion and a grieving widow. Who or what is the controlling authority in your life? Will you let God’s heart break for you or allow Him to speak dead things back to life? Jon explores these questions and more in our pursuit to come alive. By Jon Hans

Continuing our “Come Alive” series, guest speaker Jon Hans shares his story of how God became real in his life through his experiences of growing up always the new kid, moving to West Papua, Indonesia as a missionary kid, and finding the God of immeasurable love in the midst of tragedy. By Jon Hans

In this introduction to our “Come Alive” series, we explore Lazarus’ coming-alive moment in John. Mary and Martha’s friendship with Jesus is a great model for us, as we ask ourselves what parts of our selves still need to be awoken by the sound of Jesus’ voice. We’ll also consider together the counter-cultural pursuit of Rest as another invitation to “coming alive” in Jesus more intentionally this summer. By Nelly D’Alessandro

The scriptures invite us over and over to remember the things God has done. In this special Testimony Sunday, five friends from within bread share God-stories about how Jesus has done great things in their lives. This practice of remembering helps build hope and faith in community.

Looking into the parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, we find God portrayed as an active Seeker of lost ones. God’s tenacious search and rescue is motivated by God’s tremendous love for us. These stories speak deep truths about who God is and how God feels about each of us. By Lisa Borden

Unraveling the opening line of Psalm 91, we find God’s welcome to settle and be at home in the shelter of who God is. There is a YES/AND in that we cannot exist outside of God, AND we’re invited to choose to make our home in God. As we trust God to be our safe place, we begin to thrive. By Lisa Borden

As worship expands our understanding of God, we will discover God is “big enough” for all that happens in our lives – and for us. In fact, worship – having put God in God’s rightful place – puts us in our place, as well – where we discover forgiveness enabling repentance. That leads us to an intimacy with God, enabling us to hear the invitation to mission – and to respond. By Bill Dogterom

In this last sermon of our values series, we looked at the NOW side of the kingdom, specifically in how - since Jesus' first instruction to his disciples - healing was always given to be a sign of it.  It’s very simple: praying for healing is part of what it is to follow Jesus, so let’s learn how to do it together. The talk ends with a huge number of personal stories from within our community so prepare to have your mind-blown and faith expanded.