Thrive Harbor

Jake Chambers, pastor and church planter of Local Church, gives four talks at Thrive’s Fall Retreat on the theme of “learning to be with Jesus together.” In this third talk, Jake looks at Acts 2:42-47 to address how being with Jesus is something that we do corporately. Our culture promotes a philosophy of "mine" and "more." But the early church lived a simple, shared life that put Jesus at the center of its life together. What would it look like if the church today lived this way? 

Scripture passages cited in this message include Acts 2:42-47; 2:28.

Jake Chambers, pastor and church planter of Local Church, gives four talks at Thrive’s Fall Retreat on the theme of “learning to be with Jesus together.” In this second talk, Jake zeroes in on what it looks like to be with Jesus. Our culture encourages us to be in a hurry. But Jesus was relaxed. Jesus was present to God and to those around Him, and He calls us to be likewise through abiding in Him. As we do this, we are transformed by God's presence and become a transforming presence to others. 

Scripture passages cited in this message include John 15:5; Exodus 33:12-16; and Acts 4:13.

Jake Chambers, pastor and church planter of Local Church, gives four talks at Thrive’s Fall Retreat on the theme of “learning to be with Jesus together.” Who is the God who invites us to be with Him? In this first talk, Jake unpacks four amazing statements about who God is, and what that means for who we are. God is great, so we don’t have to be in control. God is glorious, so we don’t have to be afraid of others. God is good, so we don’t have to look elsewhere for satisfaction. And God is gracious, so we don’t have to prove ourselves. 

Scripture passages cited in this message include Genesis 1:1; Romans 8:26-30; Proverbs 29:25; Psalm 8:1; 16:11; Jeremiah 2:13; and John 4:13-14; 1:16; 19:30.

Tim Cedarland, Thrive’s director emeritus, wraps up Thrive’s series on Romans by reviewing the book in its entirety and preaching on chapter 16. In this final chapter Paul shows how personal and pastoral he is, remembering to greet a host of people from a church he had never even visited—besides offering a number of other closing remarks.

Chris Rogers, assistant pastor of Discovery Baptist Church, unfolds Paul's explanation of his mission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles in Romans 15:14-33. From our modern-day vantage point, it is easy to overlook how controversial it was for the early church to welcome Gentiles into the people of God. In this passage Paul boldly and winsomely reaffirms that  God has accepted the Gentiles through the gospel. In fact, Paul's very mission is to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles, so that those who once were outsiders might become insiders.

David Shohradov, one of Thrive’s own, presents Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:1-15:13 about not causing another believer to stumble. Believers have different weaknesses, areas where they may be more vulnerable to temptation. Our response ought to be to lay down our rights in order to be a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block to those around us.

Alan Jones, pastor of Firebrand Church, takes up what Romans 13 says about how Christians should engage in politics and relate to human authorities. Because God Himself has modeled what submission to authority looks like, Christians, too, should respect the offices of human authority that God has established, even though it can require great care and nuance to do this in a God-honoring way when human authority has gone corrupt.

Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 13; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 12:19; Matthew 22:17-22; Micah 6:8; Psalm 82:1; Revelation 12:10; and Ephesians 6:12.

Tyson Lash, pastor of Harbor Life Church, takes up Romans 12, the part of Paul's letter that asks, "In light of what God has done, how should we live?" Paul's answer is that a transformed life arises from a deep, heart-level grasp of God's grace and goodness. Only then can we rightly walk through life doing what Jesus did, loving as He loved, and glorifying God with all of our lives.

Mac Davis, one of Thrive's own, wraps up Paul's explanation of the gospel in Romans 1-11 by unfolding his great doxology in Romans 11:33-36. This great hymn of praise exalts God's worthiness of worship and shows that worship is our only reasonable response to all that God has done in Christ.

Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, addresses what Romans 11 says about Israel—a nation and people group never too far from political and theological controversy.

The story of Israel as told in the Old Testament revolves around God's promise, expressed and developed through multiple covenants, to one day bring salvation through a Messiah descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Romans 11, Paul reveals that even though God has temporarily cast Israel aside due to their rejection of Jesus as Messiah, their being cast aside is neither total nor permanent. One day God will again take up His dealings with the Jewish people. He will regather them to their ancestral homeland, visit salvation upon a Jewish remnant, and, as a result, bring renewal to the entire world. These events belong to Israel's future, not because human beings are righteous, but because God is faithful; and for that reason, the future of Israel is one of the greatest exhibits in Scripture of God's lavish, unmerited grace.

Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Genesis 3:14-15; 5:29; 12:2-3, 7; Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-21; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Isaiah 2:2-4; Matthew 1:1; Romans 11:1-32; Isaiah 11:11-12; Ezekiel 36:8-12; Zechariah 10:6-10; 14:4; 12:10; 13:1; and Genesis 45:1-7.