Thrive Harbor

It's the night before his death, and Jesus is giving his disciples one last lesson. He is especially concerned that they understand his relationship to the Father. It is not that Jesus is like the prophets of old, one who merely points to God. Jesus is God. He is not a tool for understanding ultimate reality. He is ultimate reality. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

This message was given by Michael Bouterse, director of Thrive Harbor. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include John 14:1-10; 15:15; and Hebrews 1:3.

In the last 24 hours of his life, Jesus does something unthinkable. Putting on the garb of a servant, he washes the feet of the very disciples who would abandon him to die that same night. In this message, Jonah Kilpatrick, one of Thrive's interns, explains how Jesus' foot-washing isn't just a gimmick or a one-time act. What Jesus did that night is a demonstration of who he really is: the one who, even in eternity, came not to be served but to serve.

Jesus has kept us in suspense. Over and over he's said, "My hour has not yet come"—until finally, in John 12, he declares, "The hour has come!" But as Jesus is on the verge of going to the cross, he reveals something startling: the hour of his death is also the hour of his glory. Turning all our ideas on their head, Jesus redefines glory as something less like a blazing star shooting through the sky and more like a humble seed falling into the ground.

This message was given by Michael Bouterse, director of Thrive Harbor. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include John 2:4; 7:30; 12:17-33, 38-40; 17:24; Exodus 33:18, 20; Ezekiel 1; Isaiah 6:1-5; 52:13; 53:3-5; and Romans 8:17.

The last sign John records before Jesus goes to the cross is the raising of Lazarus. In this message on John 11, David Shohradov, a member of Thrive Harbor, teaches on how this climactic miracle puts Jesus’ power, wisdom, and tender love on full display.

Who or what do you let shepherd your soul? In John 10, Jesus makes a radical claim: he is the shepherd our soul needs. He is the shepherd who will not let us down, because he laid his life down to save us. This message was given by Michael Bouterse, director of Thrive Harbor.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include John 10:1-18; Ezekiel 34; Psalm 23; and Matthew 10:39.

"I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see!" So goes John Newton's famous hymn, "Amazing Grace," an account of how God takes away our spiritual blindness. In this message on John 9, Michael Bouterse, director of Thrive Harbor, speaks on the story that inspired Newton's hymn, Jesus' healing of a man born blind. More than just a miracle, Jesus' actions point to the dangerous origins of spiritual blindness and what it takes to recover our sight.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include John 9; 20:30-31; Matthew 5:45; and Romans 1:18-20.

Many have been captivated by Jesus, but far fewer make the costly decision to follow him. That's because though Jesus offers us an incredible life of peace, purpose, and satisfaction, that offer is tied to the radical claim that Jesus himself is the source of that life. In this message on John 6, Jonah Kilpatrick, Thrive's summer apprentice, unpacks Jesus controversial statement that he is the bread of life, and that you can't have Jesus' gifts without the Giver.

Lots of questions surround the story of the woman caught in adultery. Is this passage at the beginning of John 8 original to the Bible? What was Jesus writing when he wrote on the ground with his finger? Did Jesus break the law in not condemning the woman? In this message, Thrive alum David Baumgaertel takes us on a deep dive into John 7:53-8:11 to provide answers to these questions.

Many people respect Jesus. Even non-Christian religions acknowledge that he was enlightened, or a prophet, or a great moral teacher. But Jesus won't let us get away with that. To take Jesus seriously, and to receive the gift of salvation he offers us, we have to wrestle with his radical claims. In this message, Judah Helland, a lay preacher from Olalla, WA, unfolds the claims Jesus makes about himself in John 8, challenging us to wrestle with whether we're really willing to believe and obey them.

During his public ministry, Jesus brought hope and healing to the broken. In this message on John 5:1-15, Tim Stobbe, pastor emeritus of Waypoint North in Gig Harbor, WA, teaches on Jesus' healing of a disabled man, showing how Jesus' concern is not just for the man's body but for his soul.