bpchurch Sermons

In the midst of the stuff of life, we long for God's kingdom. Through heartaches we long for the day of no more death. In our failings we long to be free from the presence of sin. In love for our Lord, we long for Him to receive on earth the glory and adoration which He is due. But we are not yet in that day. While we wait in these last days, we are not to pass our time imagining the future. Jesus is very clear about what He has given us, as His body, to do.

Sometimes I find myself looking at what is going on around us and saying, "What is happening? How did we ever get here?!" Then in my head I hear myself say, "We are rushing back to the first century." When the church was born in the first century, there were hard times, political chaos, pressure to conform, and Christians were at various times either marginalized as odd and irrelevant, or they were violently attacked as a threat to society. How did they respond? How was this also the time when the Gospel turned the world upside down? Don't miss this Sunday, when we begin a new sermon series in the book of Acts. This week we will see how devotion to God in a sanctified life intersects with the mission which God has given to us. We will be His witnesses.

Have you ever had a really important day that you had to wake up early and get ready for? Maybe it was your wedding day, or maybe you were going on a trip somewhere. And even though it was early and still dark outside you had to live as though it was daytime, you had to turn the lights on in the house and get ready for the big day ahead of you. This is what Romans 13:11-14 is all about. There is a very important day coming and we have to wake up and get ready for it. Are you awake? Are you getting ready, or did you hit snooze? Either way, wake up early enough to join us this Sunday as we worship, know, and serve our Savior together.

Have you wondered at times what we do all these things for? Sunday morning singing, serving, and sermons. bpAcademy, D-Groups and journaling, Small Groups and relationships, reaching out to neighbors... These are things we do as God's Church, but what is it all for? This Sunday, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, God tells us what he is working on and gives us a clear image of what (or who) sanctification, or growing in holiness, looks like

Perhaps a friend has extended the invitation, "Let's workout." Yeah, you say to yourself, that would be good, but there's lots of reasons for you to not be in a hurry to nail down a day: "That's not really my idea of fun. I'm not sure I can keep up with others. I'll have more time to focus on that next year." But what if someone really fit and famous, like Katie Ledecky or Tyler Lockett, invited you to workout? Yeah, you're still busy and you still couldn't keep up, but you wouldn't let busyness or weakness get in the way, because of who's inviting you. You know where I'm going, God Himself is saying to you, "Let's workout." It's in Philippians 2:12-18, and we'll be talking about it this Sunday.

There is a guy's backpacking trip coming up (see below for more info). That got me thinking over previous trips and some of the extra weight guys carried, which made a steep trail even harder. In our walk with the Spirit as those devoted to God, Hebrews 12:1-14 applies an analogy from running (or hiking), which poses some questions for us. In pursuing sanctification, what are you carrying that slows you down? What sin are you allowing to trip you up? How might you be resisting your Father's training? Let's talk about it on Sunday.

As we continue to talk about our devotion to God, our sanctification, we recognize that this spiritual life is about growing closer to Christ. But we also know that the fruit of that relationship is living a righteous life. But how do we know what a righteous life is? This is where the law comes in, but most of us probably have a complicated relationship with the law, we often find ourselves thinking that the law and obedience are bad words, aren't we just supposed to focus on grace and love? Join us this week as we discover what Jesus taught about the law, and what the law does - and doesn't - do for us.

The promise of new life by the Spirit is so encouraging, except when it collides with the reality of my failures. If I continue to sin even though the Spirit dwells within, where and when is victory to be found? The answer is, potentially, in each choice I make, yet not in every choice I make. Christians are imperfectly and yet inescapably devoted to God. This is the messy reality. And therefore, the glorious reality is each and every choice is a new opportunity to live out worship and devotion to God, no matter how the last choice went. Let's talk about it Sunday.

In our Corban series we have seen that we have a new purpose in life: devoted to God as holy. We have a new kind of life: Christ's life in us. We have a new perspective on life: living sacrifices with renewed minds. We have a new lease on life: freed from sin to live new. This week we will focus on how we now live in a new way by following a new leader. We'll talk about how we practically follow the leading of the Spirit, from the nursery, the parade field or the dance floor, into everyday life.

Have you ever had someone ask you, “If God will always forgive me because of Jesus, then why does it matter if I sin? Why not do whatever I want since God will forgive anyway?” How would you answer them? More importantly, how do you answer that same question, when it comes up in some form, in your head? Is that a valid question? Is God’s grace that big? Let’s talk about it on Sunday.