,

Come Alive: When we are washed by Jesus.

,
Come Alive: When we are washed by Jesus.

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 Nelly D’Alessandro

,

Come Alive: Authority, compassion, and hope.

,
Come Alive: Authority, compassion, and hope.

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

,

Come Alive: God becoming real.

,
Come Alive: God becoming real.

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

,

Come Alive: What needs to be awakened?

,
Come Alive: What needs to be awakened?

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

,

A Fresh Word: The lostness, the foundness, the love.

,
A Fresh Word: The lostness, the foundness, the love.

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

,

A Fresh Word: God as our safe place, our home.

,
A Fresh Word: God as our safe place, our home.

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

,

A Fresh Word: God is big enough.

,
A Fresh Word: God is big enough.

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

,

Seven Years: The value of the experience of the holy spirit.

,
Seven Years: The value of the experience of the holy spirit.

We were made for experience and the Bible is a book of countless peoples' experience of the one true God. And yet for many, their Christian faith has become more about belief and behavior than experience. Pentecost is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit being poured out on all believers. He meets us as a felt experience and a powerful experience. He renews and empowers. There is always more of him. And the more full of him we are, the more we will live the lives we were created for. So, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

By Ed Flint

,

Seven Years: The value of other.

,
Seven Years: The value of other.

The new church of Jewish believers in Acts saw tremendous things, but before it even spread from Jerusalem, there were problems. The reunification of disparate tribes was proving predictably tough. But in just a few verses we see how, being full of the spirit and wisdom, the pain of the past, and the problems of the present are transformed. Our brains are wired for division and hierarchy. But the gospel changes that forever.

,

Seven Years: The value of generosity.

,
Seven Years: The value of generosity.

Before bread was even a church, people connected with the idea of bread have been incredibly generous towards it. We want to continue that marker of generosity in everything we do.

This should be no surprise. To be a Christian is to be generous: it is who we are. The more we experience God’s grace - his unmerited generosity - the more generous we become. The key is having him as our bottomline, as opposed to money, or success, or anything else.

When we operate from grace, our giving becomes active and regular, rather than passive and irregular. And the benefits are invaluable- God's glory and His kingdom extended in our lives and all the lives of those connected to us.

By Ed Flint

,

Seven Years: The value of worship.

,
Seven Years: The value of worship.

Worship is innate to all of God’s creation including all of us as human beings. We reflect God’s glory by simply existing. But it’s also a choice. When we choose to enter into God’s presence in worship we in faith acknowledge who God is and what he is like. We can’t necessarily make God more visible to us but we can make ourselves more visible to him.

So, by being honest about where we’re at in worship; surrendering our anger, our fear, our worries, our joy and sadness to him, he meets us as he is- our all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing God, and as we are, his dearly loved creation made to be with him.

By Tavia Grubbs

,

Seven Years: The value of identity.

,
Seven Years: The value of identity.

In this talk, we explore the profound truth of our worthiness as beings created in God's image. Just as Eve succumbed to the lie of inadequacy, many of us believe we're not enough, striving to earn love and belonging. This struggle is compounded by societal influences like racism and misogyny, as well as clever marketing campaigns convincing us we aren't quite enough.

However, God's unconditional love assures us of our inherent worth. From this foundation, we're empowered to navigate life's challenges, free from the need to prove our worthiness. Join us as we discover the liberating truth: worthiness is our birthright.

By Anthony McLean

,

Seven Years: The value of rest.

,
Seven Years: The value of rest.

The importance of rest is instituted in the very first verses of the Bible. After six days of creation, God rests. We, as people made in his image, are called to rest like him. Sabbath is more than just a day off each week. Sabbath means to stop, rest - but also to delight in creation, worship God and receive from him. A regular weekly rhythm of rest is essential for us to live as the images of God we were created to be.

By Ed Flint

,

Seven Years: The value of team.

,
Seven Years: The value of team.

The goal of any church is to build the kingdom of God. And that can best be done when we work together as a team. What it means to be part of a team is demonstrated brilliantly by Barnabas in the book of Acts. Barnabas was a wonderful encourager. And we can be too. Encouragement dispels fear, promotes grace, releases potential and restores the fallen. Bread has had some excellent encouragers down the years. Let’s continue! The more we receive the encouragement of God, whose spirit is the Great Encourager, the more we will be empowered to encourage one another.

By Ed Flint

,

Easter is about hope.

,
Easter is about hope.

Easter is about hope: the sure, concrete, touchable hope that is found in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. It’s a hope based in his power (he swallows up death forever) and based in his kindness (he wipes every tear from all faces). Easter declares Jesus as Lord of all, which sets us free from having to bear the burden of being our own lord. His lordship sets us free to worship and surrender and be made alive by his power and in his kindness.

By Ed Flint

,

Galatians: freedom for inclusion.

,
Galatians: freedom for inclusion.

Humans have always divided themselves into “us and them”, for the sake of belonging and safety. The goal of the Kingdom, however, is not to strengthen your group at the expense of another. It’s the difficult work of expanding “us”.

In this passage, Paul radically defends against the type of faith that includes a small print. He says there are no disclaimers to the Gospel. It is a free gift received by faith alone. We are in a new era, a new Kingdom, and it’s good news for everyone, period.

In this talk, we discuss the things that cause division, and the challenge to be the type of community that is infused with grace. 

By Tavia Grubbs

,

Galatians: freedom for the spirit.

,
Galatians: freedom for the spirit.

It’s some of the densest, Pauliest, grittiest stuff we find in the New Testament, but chapter 3 of his letter to the church in Galatia is where Paul gets right to it: the entire story, the whole point, every bit of the law and the covenant show that it was always faith that He asked for.

From the beginning, He was a God who wanted to dwell among His people, and His plans for their rescue never changed.

By Hannah Flint

,

Galatians: freedom for faith.

,
Galatians: freedom for faith.

Our beliefs govern our behavior. Paul confronts Peter who has stopped believing in the fullness of the grace of Jesus. As a result, his behavior has become divisive and hypocritical. Paul reminds him and us of the truths of the gospel. When we believe the correct thing about God, ourselves, and the world, godly behavior will follow. We become people not bound by the law, but free to live lives of faith and of the Spirit.

By Ed Flint

,

Galatians: freedom from prejudice.

,
Galatians: freedom from prejudice.

With the noise and pressure mounting from others for the Galatians to take upon themselves more than just the grace of Jesus, Paul knows a secret: the grace of God is enough. It is enough to lead all of us on a journey into freedom - freedom from the prejudices of others, and ultimately freedom from the judgments we place upon ourselves.  Simply stated, the gift of God’s grace is freedom.

By Matt Yeoman