This Sunday, we studied the call of Jesus in John 15:1-17 to abide in him. The Lord says these words in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.”

One of the great challenges that we continually face as Christians is not drifting carelessly from a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus Christ.

MariAnne and I were just in Florida with three of our grandchildren. One day, we were at the beach and we were all in the water when suddenly there were flashing lights and sirens. A rescue jeep went flying past on the sand. A rescue boat with flashing lights when flying past us in the water. They were headed to a location about a quarter mile down from us. Someone was in distress. One of the common things that happens down there, or relatively common, is that people get caught in riptides. They are playing in the water, having fun, and then suddenly they realize that they have been and are being pulled out into the deep.

Drifting into spiritual danger is a constant for every Christian. Growing in grace takes conscientious intentionality. Christ’s call to abide in Him is crucial for every believer.

As we head into all the busyness of the Fall season, I think this will be an incredibly helpful passage as we begin to wrap up our summer series on the biblical doctrine of God’s love.

Pray that God might meet all of us powerfully this week.

See you Sunday at 9 or 11 a.m.

Diego De La Vega shared the message from Ephesians 2:10. You can preview the text of the message below:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

This Sunday, we studied the final scene in the gospel of John where Jesus talks very personally with Simon Peter. Simon’s journey in discipleship has been a roller coaster, to say the least, because His expectations around what following and loving Jesus needs major adjustments. I would suggest that this is true for any disciple of Jesus. We love Jesus, but we don’t know how to love Jesus. Our faith is genuine, but it is immature.

This Sunday’s message from John 21:15-23 is called, Loving Jesus Jesus’ Way. Jesus' final words to Simon Peter are not simply corrective; they are enormously gracious and re-directive. Peter had just recently denied His relationship with Jesus three times before the crucifixion. Yet, here is Christ fully committed and completely compassionate – calling Simon to love Jesus, Jesus’ way. If your faith is genuine and your love for Christ is sincere, this passage will help adjust your expectations to the expectations of Jesus.

Join us Sundays at 9 & 11A, as we learn to love the One who laid down His life for us so that we might lay down our lives for Him. Hope you will come and invite a friend!

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This Sunday morning, we continued our study of the doctrine of God’s love. Our text will be one of the most well-known passages on love in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13.

The message is entitled, The More Excellent Way. 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to a congregation that desperately needed to mature in love. Though they were genuine Christians, the community was riddled with divisiveness, spiritual pride, moral compromise, and selfishness.

The two letters to the Corinthians show us how to shepherd people towards true gospel- rooted community. Last weekend, as we celebrated the grand opening of our new ministry hub, I made the point that one of the core aims of our church family is to learn how to really be the family of God.

We want to be a community where people can genuinely experience the grace and love of God within the fellowship of God’s people. 1 Corinthians 13 is very helpful in shaping how we understand fostering the love of Christ within our lives as Christ’s people together.

It provides us a framework for how we think about ministering together in love. I think you will find it helpful and I pray that God will use it to continue to build us up together as a church in love. Looking forward to worshipping with you.

This Sunday, we will be celebrating the Grand Opening of our new ministry hub. Our sermon text will be Ephesians 3:14-21. The message is entitled: God’s Love for Waterbrooke Church.

One of the questions that someone might ask us is, “Why build this ministry hub?” The answer is rooted in one of the great truths of the New Testament. God’s purpose in the sending of His Son into the world was for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

For the apostle Paul, one of the earth-shaking discoveries that he had to make as a former self-righteous religious zealot was that God was making a people for Himself out of all the broken families and divided nations of this shattered world. As I write this, I am in Northern Ireland, where people still live in separated communities between Protestants and Catholics, and still have walls up between Irish Republicans and British Loyalists.

The church exists to glorify God by going on the adventure of discovering in community how broad and long and high and deep is the love of God in Christ. Waterbrooke exists to explore gospel-empowered community in the power of Christ and to the praise of His glory. This building project creates new spaces for that community to be fostered and explored in prayer, conversation, discipleship, and compassion. God loves His church and we have the privilege of both discovering and sharing that love in Christ.

Come this Sunday as we celebrate God’s love and faithfulness and as we commit ourselves to grow as a gospel- centered community together.

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Our sermon title for this Sunday was “Let Brotherly Love Continue”. We will be studying Hebrews 13:1-8. We will see that brotherly love is something that requires vigilant tending. One of the great challenges facing Christians is not just sustaining but expanding one’s love for your brothers and your love as a brother or sister in Christ in a world that is increasingly critical, intolerant, and shrinking in its love for others.

The late Francis Schaeffer once wrote: “Through the centuries, men have displayed many different symbols to show that they are Christians. They have worn marks in the lapels of their coats, hung chains about their necks, even had special haircuts. . . . But there is a much better sign. . . . It is a universal mark that is to last through all ages of the church until Jesus comes back.” Schaeffer was speaking of brotherly love. He also wrote, “Evangelism is a calling, but not the first calling. Building congregations is a calling, but not the first calling. A Christian’s first call is to . . . return to the first commandment to love God, to love the brotherhood, and then to love one’s neighbor as himself.”

This Sunday, we are going to look at how to fan the flame of brotherly love in our lives and in our church. We are looking forward to worshipping outside this Sunday at 10 a.m. If it happens to rain, we will still do just one service inside. Looking forward to worshiping the One who is supremely worthy of our love, our faith, and our praise.

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Our sermon passage for this week was Romans 8:18-25 with the message called: “God’s Love Through His Creation”. As we have been studying the biblical doctrine of God’s love, one of the texts that always pops up as a favorite is Romans 8. Paul talks about how Christians are able to live in a world that is hostile and heart-breaking and yet not lose hope. What sustains Christians is God’s unfailing love. Paul concludes Romans 8 by declaring with absolute confidence that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sometimes, it is excruciatingly difficult to live in this broken and groaning world. In our passage this week, Paul will describe both creation and Christians as groaning for glory. It seems that every week we hear in the news of horrific stories of people suffering through natural disasters. Last week’s flashfloods in Texas hill county are a case in point. This Sunday, we will see that God’s love is greater than all our groaning. This world is destined for better and more glorious days and creation both fuels our longing for glory and shares in the guarantee of our eternal hope.

Come as we see how God’s love is revealed to us through creation and ultimately, new creation.

Happy Independence Day weekend, church family! The fourth of July weekend is all about celebrating freedom. As citizens, we celebrate our freedom from tyranny and oppression. One of the most famous lines that I am sure many of you know is this one: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” This has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but it was originally stated by John Philpott Curran in 1790.

Think about that: The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. As Christians, we have been granted incredible freedom in Christ. We have been granted freedom from guilt and from condemnation. We have been delivered from the power of sin, Satan, and death. Yet, here is the reminder that we all need. Freedom requires vigilance. The apostle Paul gives this exhortation in Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” The way that we fight for the enjoyment of the freedom that we have receive in Christ is by dedicating ourselves to serve one another in love.

So, our message this Sunday was taken from Romans 13:8-13. It is called “Owe Nothing But to Love.” Looking forward to worshiping with you and celebrating together the deep freedom of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Enjoy Jesus deeply, family. Slow down and savor His grace.

Come Sunday, invite a friend. God is so good!