bpchurch Sermons

Sometimes I'm asked "How did you end up on the mission field?" or "How did you become a pastor?" Well, it may have started with a game of Stratego.

Sharing moves across a board game, a friend also began to strategically poke into my faith and life, and help me make some better moves.

For me, discipleship began with a game of Stratego. Where might discipleship begin with you? Or, what's your next move? Let's talk about it this Sunday from

2 Timothy 2:1-7.

What is the longest you've ever been alone? Most people don't like being alone for very long, even if they are introverted, and there's a reason for that. In Genesis, before Eve came along God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone." But we're not just talking about marriage this week, we're talking about our need to grow in following Jesus together. If you want to get a head start, then get connected to a small group!

The wording of the question itself exposes the tension in the Christian life between our individual faith and responsibilities which are lived out together, interdependent on others in a church body. I have my own faith in Jesus, why do I need to express that in church with others?

Well, a series called Essential Church probably assumes that we should gather for worship together. So, let's talk this Sunday about why we gather. To start the discussion off, we’ll begin with “why I come to church” from Romans 1:11-15 where a pastor describes why he is planning to come to church.

Earlier this week a friend told me, “I only have one vote, but I’ll have 100 conversations about who did you vote for and why?” We need to not only be ready for those conversations, but to use them as possible onramps to even more important conversations about God’s goodness, grace and mercy. I am not going to try to tell you how to vote, but I do want us to talk about things to consider in how we vote and how we might discuss our thinking to others.

This did remind me of Paul’s warning to the Thessalonians about receiving a “letter seeming to be from us” (2 Thes 2:2) which was actually a deceptive lie and not biblical truth. We live in a world where the one Jesus called “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) has made lies abound. But God has given to us his truth which the world around us and we ourselves desperately need. This biblical truth is one of the Essential Ingredients for growing in knowing and following Jesus, which is what we’ll be talking about this Sunday in

Romans 12:1-2; 2 Tim 3:16-17 and Phil 2:3-4.

It's just like riding a bicycle. Do you remember learning to ride a bicycle? Or teaching someone? You probably didn't buy a textbook about bicycling, or look up the latest research on bikes, you learn to ride a bike by getting out there and doing it, and it helps to have someone running alongside you. This week we will be talking about one of the most essential elements of church: discipleship. We will talk about what discipleship is and the big idea of how to do it. Join us this Sunday to learn how to take next steps as a follower of Jesus.

There is a lot being said lately about church being essential, that churches should be allowed to be open to serve their congregations and community. But what is the essential thing that a church should do? What is it that is essential for the church together to do that is different from what each of us as believers in Jesus can do within our community and connections?

We will be talking about this from Ephesians 4:7-16, as we start a new series this week, which Pastor Ryan and I will be sharing, called Essential Church.

See you there, or online.

This week we come to “the end” of the book of Daniel. By “end,” I don’t mean the final chapter or verses of the book. This Sunday we will be talking about the ultimate purpose of the book. The conclusion of the prophecy of Daniel reminds us of what prophecy is supposed to do, what effect should it have, why should we bother to try and understand God’s future, even when it can be hard to sort out the details.

No matter what else is going on in life, “the end” of the book of Daniel should encourage you this Sunday, just as it has done for God’s people throughout history.

Daniel 11 is an unbelievable chapter, many people and even scholars and theologians just can’t believe. Daniel is given a detailed chronology of historical events, 250 years in advance, which turns out to be amazingly accurate. How could he know these things? It’s easy really—God knows these things. Now, as fun as all that is, I’m not going to be able to go through all of these historical details and fulfillments on Sunday morning. So, I’ve prepared a handout that summarizes them for you that you can download on the website.

These detailed prophecies concerning a series of rulers point us toward a final prophecy about a final ruler yet to come, who will be worse than any before him. God has told us before, to prepare us for what is coming. And God has told us before, so we could know what to be doing while we wait.

In Daniel chapter 10, our hero Daniel is feeling discouraged, downcast, worn down and tired out—our hero doesn’t look so “super.” But wait, who is this superhuman being with his beryllium body, brilliant countenance, blazing eyes and bling for a belt? (Serious—read it for yourself!) In the midst of troubles surrounding and more to come, Daniel is not left on his own, and neither are we. Not only is there one who fights the battle on our behalf, but he strengthens us to continue to stand. We may not be superheroes, but we can have superhuman help and superhuman strength.