Bay Area Community Church

The Parable of the Sower is really the parable of the seed among the soils. Jesus through the parable invites the listeners to pay attention to how they receive and respond to His life and message. While there are many different types of responses, God’s invitation is to receive, hold fast, and bear fruit.

We all categorize people and things in one way or another. Categories help us to order and make sense of the world, yet they can also create barriers between us and people with whom we are called to be in relationship. Jesus once shared a meal with a group of people categorized as outsiders by religious insiders. His shared meal with these “outsiders” began to disrupt the religious leaders' categories, causing them to grumble. In response, Jesus told one of His most simple yet evocative parables - a story about a sheep, a shepherd and God’s joy-fueled pursuit of outsiders.

Do you ever struggle to forgive others? It’s all too easy to lash out when we have been hurt by someone. At other times, we secretly hold a grudge or tell others about the faults of the one who hurt us. If this has ever been true of you, you aren’t alone. Followers of Jesus have always needed help forgiving others when they have been wronged. The parable of Matthew 18:21-35 reveals teaching by Jesus about forgiveness that we all need to hear and apply.

For years I thought I understood Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan. It is a story about what kind of neighbor we ought to be, a story that places the emphasis on the listener to be a better neighbor, right? Well, as we take another look, we might discover that the purpose of Jesus' story was not so simple. In fact, parables had a way of revealing and deepening truth to some, while concealing truth from others, all in one simple package.

"With great gratitude to God for 13 years where I have had a front-row seat enabling God’s precious people at Bay Area to serve and bless the nations, I leave full-time employment with very fond memories. If someone were to ask me what to look for in a church, I would say make sure that the church has certain characteristics including sound teaching of God’s Word, care for God’s people and an orientation toward the world as is the heart of God." - Casely

What does it look like in today’s society to be faithful to God, especially if you are single? All of us long for loving relationships and companionship. As followers of Jesus, we know that God loves us and is to be our source of love and security. Yet it’s hard, especially for singles when feelings of loneliness, sexual desires and aging set in. It’s so easy and tempting to compromise values or settle for less than God’s best. Does God’s Word have any encouragement for singles who are striving to honor Christ? Yes! In this message we remind ourselves that God is sovereign, good and has the best plan for us!

What’s normal is for us to love people who love us. If you show love to me, I’ll love you. If you are faithful to me, I’ll be faithful to you. What’s not normal is to unconditionally love someone who is rejecting you, hurting you, being unfaithful to you. That’s not normal! Marriages and relationships in the natural reflect a “contractual” agreement. If you live up to your end of the bargain and my expectations, then I’ll love you. Yet God calls us to supernatural love, a love that is founded in our covenantal relationship with Him. I can’t find a more “not normal” example of love than that of Hosea’s relationship with his wife, Gomer.

Here’s something you don’t hear every day: “I love taking risks! I am secure in jeopardizing my future, and rolling the dice with unknown outcomes!” That’s not normal. Actually, that sounds a little messed up. But this is a life that followers of Jesus are regularly called to – a life of risk — a life that doesn’t allow fear or pride to result in not taking Him seriously. In this message we look at one of the most infamous stories from God’s people where fear shut down taking the risk, which resulted on missing out on God’s best.

Life comes with an unwritten guarantee that at some point you will be hurt, crossed, burned, fought or otherwise messed with. Sometimes this is of no fault of your own. When this happens personally, I feel mad and an inner desire to strike back for quick retribution, throwing a punch of justice into the face of the person who hurt me, or hurt someone I love. This is normal. Wanting to take revenge is normal. This week, we see that it doesn’t have to be. In this message, we explore the heart of Jacob’s son Joseph – a person who somehow, when he could have exacted his own justice, didn’t.