Saddleback Church Weekend Messages

What makes a marriage strong enough to last a lifetime? In the third message of the Stronger series, Pastor Andy Wood and Pastor Stacie Wood return to a verse Scripture repeats at creation, in the teaching of Jesus, and in the letters of Paul: a man leaves his father and mother, is united to his wife, and the two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). From there, they outline three marks of a stronger marriage: committing to God's design, keeping a covenant rather than a contract, and caring for one another God's way. Drawing from Paul's words to husbands and wives, they describe a marriage where both submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, husbands love sacrificially as Christ loved the church, and wives offer honor and respect (Ephesians 5:21–33). Marriage was designed to put the gospel on display. What is your marriage showing the world?

What does it mean to be a strong woman when culture keeps sending mixed messages? In the second message of the Stronger series, Pastor Stacie Wood goes back to creation, where God made male and female in his image, declared his work very good, and said the man needed a helper suited to him (Genesis 1:27, 31; 2:18). Pastor Stacie unpacks the Hebrew word for helper, ezer, not as a lesser role but as a strong and necessary ally. From there, she describes three strengths God has built into women: nurturing with compassion, influencing with gentleness, and supporting with wisdom. Scripture says a wise woman builds her house (Proverbs 14:1), and Pastor Stacie calls women to build on the unshakable foundation of God's Word rather than on the shifting opinions of influencers and ideologies. What foundation are you building your life on?

What does it mean to be a strong man? In this first message of the Stronger series, Pastor Andy Wood goes back to the beginning, where God gave Adam two assignments before sin ever entered the world: to work the garden and to guard it (Genesis 2:15). When temptation came, Adam stood by in silence and then shifted the blame, and Pastor Andy traces much of today's confusion about manhood back to that moment. Drawing from Paul's charge to Timothy, he describes four identities God calls men to reclaim: a leader who initiates and serves like a disciplined athlete, a lover who is secure as a beloved son, a protector who stands in the gap like a soldier, and a provider who works with the diligence of a farmer (2 Timothy 2:1–7). For every man, real strength starts with knowing whose son you are. Where is God calling you to step up?

What if the hardest moment is the ripest one? In this message, guest speaker Andy Byrd points to a generation hungry for God, to movements stirring in Sweden and Norway, and to what he believes is the edge of an awakening the world has not yet seen. In Matthew 9:35–38, Jesus looks out at crowds that are harassed and helpless and calls the harvest plentiful. What was lacking was not the harvest but the workers. Byrd argues the same perspective shift is needed now: a difficult moment is not evidence God has stopped moving, and often it is the sign a harvest is ready. The workers Jesus sends are ordinary people, fishermen and tax collectors and teenagers, not specialists. Most of us wait for someone better qualified to answer God's longing to awaken his church. You are that someone. Pray for new eyes, then move.

What makes your story worth telling? In this final message from the Live Sent series, Pastor Andy Wood turns to the man born blind in John 9, whose condition was no verdict on anyone's sin but an occasion for God's work to be displayed. When religious experts pressed him to denounce the one who healed him, he had no theology to offer them, only what had happened to him: he was blind, and now he sees. A personal story cannot be argued away. Pastor Andy draws four principles from the account: make it personal, make it specific about what Jesus has done and when he did it, make Jesus the hero rather than yourself, and make the Good News digestible, offering a small taste so others can see for themselves that God is good (Psalm 34:8). You don't need a dramatic past or perfect answers, only what God has actually done in your life. Who needs to hear it?

What happens when we try to do life alone? In this message from the Live Sent series, Pastor Kurt Johnston returns to the garden, where God looked at a man in perfect fellowship with him and still declared that it was not good for him to be alone (Genesis 2:18). We bear the image of a God who has eternally existed in relationship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so we are wired for one another. Johnston unpacks three reasons small groups are a big deal: in a small group we are seen, because the body of Christ is made of members who suffer and rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:26); we are strengthened, because a cord of three strands is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12) and a friend sharpens us the way iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17); and we are sent, because Jesus prayed that we would go into the world just as the Father sent him (John 17:18). We gather so that we can go.

When you decide to live sent by God, you step into spiritual battle. This fight isn't won with earthly weapons—it's won on your knees. In this message from the Live Sent series, Pastor Andy reveals how to engage in spiritual warfare through prayer. Learn to pray first by making God your priority (Colossians 4:2), pray practically by bringing your real needs before Him (Colossians 4:3), and pray powerfully by aligning your prayers with God's will and promises (1 John 5:14–15). Discover how to keep asking, seeking, and knocking (Luke 11:9–10), praying the promises of God that find their "yes" in Christ. When we devote ourselves to persistent prayer, we partner with God's heart for the lost and participate in spiritual transformation. God called you to make a difference. The battle is won when you surrender to His throne. Who is "your one"—the person you'll pray for today?

How do we become Good News people in a world filled with bad news? In this message from the Live Sent series, we look at Peter and John’s encounter with a man who had been unable to walk his entire life (Acts 3:1–10) and discover what it looks like to notice the opportunities God puts right in front of us. Living sent doesn’t require going across the world—your mission field is where you live, work, and play. It means seeing everyday opportunities, speaking life-giving words, and stretching out a helping hand to people in need. We don’t have to make sharing our faith weird or treat people like projects; we can build genuine friendships, pray for open doors (Colossians 4:3), and trust God to use every interaction like a seed planted in someone’s life. Jesus has rescued us from darkness and brought us into his kingdom (Colossians 1:13–14), and his love now compels us to live for something bigger than ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:14–15). In a world filled with bad news, God is calling us to become people who bring Good News.

What does it mean to live like you were sent by God? In this message, we kick off the Live Sent series by discovering that God made us for more—not simply a bigger house, a better title, or the next milestone, but a life rooted in Jesus and given to his mission. Jesus announces that the kingdom of God has come near (Mark 1:14–15), and then sends his followers into the world just as the Father sent him (John 20:21). As followers of Jesus, we are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:17–21), sent with his authority, empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), and entrusted with the Good News that Jesus is alive and is making all things new. Your life matters, and God has a purpose for why you are here. The question is whether you’ll live for your own comfort and agenda or surrender your life to his mission. It starts with a simple but powerful prayer: Use me, God.

What does it look like to actually watch for Jesus, not just believe He's coming back? In this message, guest speaker John Bevere shares how he avoided this subject for decades until an unexpected assignment from God sent him deep into Scripture, and what he found reshaped how he lives. Simeon recognized the Messiah as an infant because he lived in eager expectation (Luke 2:25), and the New Testament calls every believer to that same posture, eagerly waiting for Christ's appearing (1 Corinthians 1:7; Hebrews 9:28). Where our minds are set (Colossians 3:1-2) shapes who we become, and that expectation carries power to purify us (1 John 3:2-3), the way a bride readies herself for her wedding day (Revelation 19:7-8). The ten virgins in Matthew 25 all carried light, but only half were ready when the moment came. You don't have to be caught off guard. Get ready. He's coming, and He's coming soon.