Category Archives: Bridge Church
Faith in Action Sunday!
Every fifth Sunday Bridge Church, scatters instead of gathers, for what we call Faith in Action Sunday. This Sunday, May 29th will be our second FIA for 2011. Looking forward to worshipping through serving senior adults, elderly widows, single mothers, inmate families, families in ICU, public servants, multi-housing residents, families at local parks, and more this Sunday AM. As a Pastor, Faith in Action Sunday is a way to be intentional about disciple-making (Mark 3:14; James 1:21-23) and transforming the community (Matthew 5:13-16; John 1:14-16). Here’s a few other reasons why:
- Because following Jesus includes putting our faith in action (Luke 6:46-49)
- Because Christianity is about more than just attending worship services
- Because Jesus said “Go…” (Matthew 28:19-20)
- Because if we love God, we will love people “in actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18, 4:7-8)
- Because if we love God, we do what He says. (John 14:21, 23; 1 John 2:3-6)
- Because success is community transformation, not just a big organization.
- Because proclaiming and demonstrating God’s love go hand-in-hand. (Luke 9:2)
- Because there are needs in our community that are going unmet.
- Because God cares for the whole person. (James 2:15-18)
- Because God desires individuals to live in healthy communities and just societies. (Jeremiah 29:7)
- Because everyone can serve.
- Because people follow examples better than they follow instructions.
- Because God has a special heart for those who are poor and vulnerable. (Jeremiah 22:16)
- Because God’s people are to be an instrument of blessing to the world. (Genesis 12:2)
- Because disciples are shaped through serving, not just sitting.
- Because the church’s ministry should be incarnational. (John 1:14; 20:21)
- Because God empowers us to participate in ministry. (Ephesians 2:10)
- Because God created us for good works. (Ephesians 2:10)
- Because it’s joining God in what He’s doing in the world.
- Because it’s fun.
While even a Faith In Action Sunday can become a meaningless ritual or an isolated event, our desire is that giving away will become a part of the flow of peoples lives as it’s part of the flow of Bridge Church.
Here’s a sample list of projects for this Sunday’s FIA:
- Handicap Bars in bathrooms of a residence for an elderly stroke victim.
- Cool Sealing a roof for the residence of two elderly stroke victims.
- Trimming Trees and cleaning up around an area Mobile Home Park.
- Visiting, praying with, & delivering gift cards to families in ICU waiting rooms.
- Delivering kids movies that we’ve collected for area Pediatric Units.
- Clean small yard and trim bushes for disabled, single mom in our city.
- Projects for Families w/Small Children – Deliver Baked Goods to Fire Depts and Police Depts and pass out snacks at area parks.
- Projects for those who want to/need to stay off their feet – Stuff baby bottles for Crisis Pregnancy Center fund raiser, Write notes of encouragement to community leaders.
- FAMILY DAY Block Party @ our local jail. This will be a time to connect with families of inmates and recognize the men who have completed our 26-week Addiction Recovery Program called Project 180.
Let me know if you know of other potential projects or ideas for making a difference in our community.
For other Faith In Action Ideas and resources check out http://putyourfaithinaction.org/.
Winning With People
- Who we are determines how we see others.
- The first person we must examine is ourselves.
- Hurting people hurt people and are more easily hurt by people.
- Never use a hammer to swat a fly off someone’s head.
- We can lift people up or take people down in life.
- The entire population of the world – with one minor exception – is made up of other people.
- Instead of putting others in their place, we must put ourselves in their place.
- Each person we meet has the potential to teach us something.
- People are interested in the person who is interested in them.
- Believing the best in people usually brings the best out of people.
- Caring for people should precede confronting people.
- Trust is the foundation of any relationship.
- Never let the situation mean more than the relationship.
- When Bob has a problem with everyone, Bob is usually the problem
- Being at ease with ourselves helps others be at ease with us.
- When preparing for battle, dig a hole big enough for a friend.
- All relationships need cultivation.
- Find the 1% we agree on and give it 100% of our effort.
- The journey with others is slower than the journey alone.
- The true test of relationships is not only how loyal we are when friends fail, but how happy we are when they succeed.
- We go to a higher level when we treat others better than they treat us.
- When we help others, we help ourselves.
- All things being equal, people will work with people they like. All things not being equal, people will work with people they like.
- Working together increases the odds of winning together.
- In Great relationships, the joy of being together should be enough.
STRONG – Highlights from our Bridge Church Message Series on Ephesians
Through the Church at Ephesus, the Bible says all of Asia heard the word of the Lord. It was one of the most
effective churches, which makes this a very important letter and church to study in our day of declining churches and out paced church growth compared to population. Here are a few highlights from our recent study. Find the messages at http://bridgenorthshore.com.
- The Gospel pushes us to the heart of the matter. It confronts our idolatry. It pushes us to see who is really king of our hearts.
- Do you go to church? No, we are the church. Quit going to church and start being the church where you are. Quit inviting people to church and invite them into your lives.
- You teach what you know, you reproduce who you are.
- Salvation is a transaction. We give Christ our sins, he give us forgiveness and freedom through redemption. Our sins are placed on him, his righteousness is placed on us.
- God chose me knowing the worst about me, he adopted me into his family, and he accepts me as he would his own son.
- You’re worth something to God. You’re very valuable to God. You’re worth dying for. You’re worth giving everything for.
- Sin is really not an issue of what you DO, but of what you fail TO DO. It is that you fail to Glorify God.
- You don’t access God’s strength with casual Christianity, you access it when by faith you do something you can’t do in your own power.
- Church is more than just attending worship services, it’s about serving together. A family on mission together. Church is not the destination, it’s a connection point. An airport, not a theme park. Church is a post office, not a government agency. Sending letters. Creating, not stifling movement.
- What needs are going unmet because you are not using your SHAPE to serve God? What lives are being untouched because you are not ministering in practical ways?
- Marriage Defined: A SACRED RELATIONSHIP between ONE MAN & ONE WOMAN, to be practiced within the confines of a COVENANT or LIFE LONG COMMITMENT. Genesis 2:24; Hebrews 13:4
- Defining Love – AGAPE – sacrificial, initiative taking love. The kind of Love that Christ had for the church.
- Two attitudes that every God-like Christian should use in regard to relationships: “It’s not about me” and “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
- In Christ, we do not fight FOR VICTORY; we fight FROM VICTORY.
- For the Christian, spiritual warfare is never an attempt to gain the victory. It’s standing firm in the victory we already possess.
Recognizing Unsafe and Safe Relationships
Finishing up our Strong Relationships Emphasis today at Bridge Church. Sharing a list from one of my favorite books. They are known for their Boundaries books, but a lesser known book has helped me in recognizing relationships that could have a negative impact on my life. Safe People: How to Find Relationships That Are Good For You and Avoid Those That Aren’t by Henry Cloud and John Townsend, will help you discern character and recognize manipulative harmful people before it’s too late. Here is there list of what to look for in people that are unsafe:
1. Unsafe people think they have it all together instead of admitting their weaknesses.
2. Unsafe people are religious instead of spiritual.
3. Unsafe people are defensive instead of open to feedback.
4. Unsafe people are self-righteous instead of humble.
5. Unsafe people only apologize instead of changing their behavior.
6. Unsafe people avoid working on their problems.
7. Unsafe people demand trust instead of earning it.
8. Unsafe people believe they are perfect instead of admitting their faults.
9. Unsafe people blame others instead of taking responsibility.
10. Unsafe people lie instead of telling the truth.
11. Unsafe people are stagnant instead of growing.
12. Unsafe people avoid closeness instead of connecting.
13. Unsafe people are only concerned with “I” instead of “we.”
14. Unsafe people resist freedom instead of encouraging it.
15. Unsafe people flatter us instead of confronting us.
16. Unsafe people condemn us instead of forgiving us.
17. Unsafe people stay in parent-child roles instead of relating as equals.
18. Unsafe people are unstable over time instead of being consistent.
19. Unsafe people are a negative influence on us.
20. Unsafe people gossip instead of keeping secrets.
A Safe Relationship…
Helps me draw closer to God.
Helps me draw closer to other people.
Helps me to become the person God created me to be.
Check out the author’s website – www.cloudtownsend.com – for more relationship resources.
Love and Respect: What She Needs, What He Needs
“Help me understand the opposite sex.” Today at Bridge church we got to Ephesians 5:22-33 in our Ephesians series, looking at what God’s commands to wives say about their husbands and vice versa. Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has a great book on this subject called Love and Respect. Here are the acrostics I shared today from the book. They say a lot about what she needs and what he needs. Hear these and past messages at http://bridgenorthshore.com.
How to Spell Love to Your Wife:
C – Closeness – She wants you to be close.
O – Openness – She wants you to open up to her
U – Understanding – Don’t try to “Fix” Her; just listen
P – Peacemaking – She wants you to say, “I’m sorry”
L – Loyalty – She needs to know you’re committed
E – Esteem – She wants you to Honor and Cherish Her
How to Spell Respect to Your Husband:
C – Conquest – Appreciate His Desire to Work and Achieve
H – Hierarchy – Appreciate His Desire to Protect and Provide
A – Authority – Appreciate His Desire to Serve and to Lead
I – Insight – Appreciate His Desire to Analyze and Counsel
R – Relationship – Appreciate His Desire for Shoulder to Shoulder Friendship
S. – Sexuality – Appreciate His Desire for Sexual Intimacy
Also, check out the author’s website, www.loveandrespect.com.
Put Your Faith in Action. Why?
Every fifth Sunday Bridge Church, scatters instead of gathers, for what we call Faith in Action Sunday. This Sunday, Jan 30th will be our first FIA for 2011. Looking forward to worshipping through serving senior adults, elderly widows, single mothers, inmate families, families in ICU, public servants, multi-housing residents, families at local parks, and more this Sunday AM. When telling people in todays generation about our Faith In Action Sunday’s, one question we seldom get is “WHY?” It just makes sense to most people that the church ought to be out serving. But just for fun, here’s a few reasons:
- Because following Jesus includes putting our faith in action (Luke 6:46-49)
- Because Christianity is about more than just attending worship services
- Because Jesus said “Go…” (Matthew 28:19-20)
- Because if we love God, we will love people “in actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18, 4:7-8)
- Because if we love God, we do what He says. (John 14:21, 23; 1 John 2:3-6)
- Because success is community transformation, not just a big organization.
- Because proclaiming and demonstrating God’s love go hand-in-hand. (Luke 9:2)
- Because there are needs in our community that are going unmet.
- Because God cares for the whole person. (James 2:15-18)
- Because God desires individuals to live in healthy communities and just societies. (Jeremiah 29:7)
- Because everyone can serve.
- Because people follow examples better than they follow instructions.
- Because God has a special heart for those who are poor and vulnerable. (Jeremiah 22:16)
- Because God’s people are to be an instrument of blessing to the world. (Genesis 12:2)
- Because disciples are shaped through serving, not just sitting.
- Because the church’s ministry should be incarnational. (John 1:14; 20:21)
- Because God empowers us to participate in ministry. (Ephesians 2:10)
- Because God created us for good works. (Ephesians 2:10)
- Because it’s joining God in what He’s doing in the world.
- Because it’s fun.
While even a Faith In Action Sunday can become a meaningless ritual or a isolated event, our desire is that giving away will become a part of the flow of peoples lives as it’s part of the flow of Bridge Church.
Q’s for Getting In Rhythm in 2011
Connecting to Life IN Christ, ON Mission, FOR Others is our mission statement and desired life rhythm at Bridge Church. In today’s message we talked about how to live it out. Here are a few application questions:
My life IN CHRIST, Receiving Grace- Ephesians 2:8-9
- Have I Received God’s Grace? John 1:12
- Am I Growing in Grace? 2 Peter 3:18
My life ON MISSION, Giving Grace – Ephesians 2:10
- What are the needs around me?
- What are the resources God has given me?
- What are the opportunities w/my faith family?
- Who are the people that need me?
- What doors are open to me at work, at home, with friends?
My life FOR OTHERS, Living Gracefully – Philippians 2:3-4
- How can I put others ahead of myself?
- Who around me needs the grace of my encouragement, time, money, labor, prayer, __________?
- What is keeping me from living gracefully for others? An attitude? A way of life?
In Christ, On Mission, For Others. Receiving Grace, Giving Grace, Living Gracefully.
Lord, let it be so in my life this year.
Hear the entire Sermon here. Or find us on Itunes.
Highlights from our Upside Down Inside Out Series
Yesterday we finished up a series of messages at Bridge Church on Upside Down Kingdom Principles. Looked at Humility: The Way Up is Down, Generosity: In Giving Away We Receive, Problems: Joy in Trials, Salvation: Working Out What God Works In, and some others. Find most of the series at http://www.bridgenorthshore.com. Our recording equipment turned upside down on us and we missed two weeks. But here is a few of my favorite quotes from the series:
- The basement is the penthouse, in God’s kingdom.
- The best cure for illness is death. It kills the cancer every time.
- “I am more broken and sinful than I ever dared to believe and at the same time because of Jesus, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared to hope.”
- God’s love for you is not based on anything that you can do or not do. It’s based completely upon the work of Christ.
- There is nothing that we can do to enact our own salvation. If there were, the cross would have not been necessary.
- Faith is like the brain. The best evidence of brain function is motor function.
- The way up is down in God’s kingdom.
- “the cross undermines our self-righteousness, and we can stand before it only with a bowed head and a broken spirit” – John Stott in The Cross of Christ.
- Pride is the only disease in the world that makes everyone sick except the person who has it.
- There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth or greatness in the kingdom of God.
- The only way out of a trial is through it, & the more trials we go through, the stronger we will be.
- What is my greatest need during this problem? Not a vacation. Not a pill. Not a counselor. Not rescue. Not revenge. IT’S WISDOM.
- When there is no other answer, perseverance is the answer.
- God’s more interested in your character, than your comfort. He wants you to be more like Christ.
Lane Corley 