Sunday, October 6, 2024 Philippians 1:1–11 Last week, Gary gave us a joyful drink from a fire hose as he delivered an overview of Philippians! We now endeavor to slow down and take it one sip at a time! As we look at these first eleven verses, we get a glimpse into Paul’s personal prayer life and […]
Sunday, September 29, 2024 Philippians Overview This Sunday we begin a new study series in one of my favorite letters of the New Testament: Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. As you may know, joy is a central theme that runs like a thread throughout the entire letter. We often think of joy, which has the […]
Sunday, September 22, 2024 Life Together: United Mission, Matthew 16:21–26 Life is better when we do life together. And the life we have been talking about is Life in Christ! Abundant life, flourishing life, everlasting life. When we put our faith in Jesus, we join a family. We are now part of a new community […]
Sunday, September 15, 2024 Life Together, II Timothy As summer fades in the rear-view mirror and fall emerges on the near horizon, we are on a short break between book studies. A couple of weeks ago we finished our summer study of Psalms and in two weeks we will start our fall study in Philippians. […]
Sunday, September 8, 2024 Life Together, Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 Last summer I led a 4th and 5th grade boys Bible Study here at the church. We called it Adventure Buds. Don’t judge the name…we had a plan. We wanted to tap into the adventurous spirit of these boys, but also tap into the practical truths that […]
Sunday, September 1, 2024 Psalm 23 This is the final week in our summer series exploring the Psalms. We’ve only covered 10 of the 150 beautiful chapters of worship, praise, lament, wisdom, love, and so much more. This week we will be exploring what it means to be a disciple of God. We will look […]
Sunday, August 25, 2024 Psalm 51 My favorite proverb right now is Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We don’t get the beauty of Psalm 51 without Proverbs 27:17. Nathan the prophet was called by God to confront King David on his walk with God. David had sinned, and was […]
Sunday, August 18, 2024 Psalm 73 How’s your SA? As pilots, we define SA (Situational Awareness) as the degree to which our perception of reality matches reality itself. Psalm 73 describes a journey from poor SA to good SA; from disorientation to reorientation. Please join us as we consider our own spiritual situational awareness. When […]
Sunday, August 4, 2024 Psalm 27 Fear, you might remember, was one of the first effects of the fall. The first couple, Adam and Eve, hid themselves because they were… afraid. That’s not a feeling they had experienced before but it’s been with us ever since. Here is a short list of common things we […]
Sunday, July 14, 2024 Psalm 146 Psalms 146-150 are known by some as the “Hallelujah Psalms” because the first and last word in the original language is “Hallelujah.” Translated to modern day, the Psalms start and end with “Praise the Lord.” The reason for praise differs by Psalm, and in chapter 146 the reason the […]
Sunday, June 30, 2024 Psalms – Psalm 7 I love the Psalms. There are times when I feel things, but I can’t quite put those feelings into words or into prayers. In those moments, the Psalms can give me the vocabulary to say things I otherwise can’t express. It’s comforting to know that people of […]
Sunday, June 23, 2024 Psalm 72 I used to go through the Old Testament with the youth group every few years. The series was essentially an overview of each genre and book. We called the series ‘The Bible Jesus Read.’ It’s so powerful to know what influenced a nation to know and understand how God […]
Sunday, June 9, 2024 John 20:30–31 Learning to Trust in God My oldest son is learning to drive right now—a challenging journey for me in learning to trust! It has nothing to do with him. He’s an intelligent, safe, and responsible young man. Rather, it’s about me learning to see him as a young adult […]
Sunday, June 2, 2024 Glory – John 13:34–35, 15:12–13, Galatians 6:1–2 Believers Fellowship is focusing on discipleship this year. At every level in every ministry, we want to encourage one another to grow in their walk with God. This comes from the pulpit as well! Before leaving the Gospel of John, we want to look […]
Sunday, May 26, 2024 John 15 Abiding in Christ I love meeting new people at church. I love to hear their stories—where they came from, how they found God, what is happening in their lives now. When you first meet someone, there is a lot to say and a lot to talk about. But, as […]
Sunday, May 20, 2024 Glory – Acts 2 We continue to look at that how the early Christians lived in a post-Jesus-resurrection society. This week we turn the page from Acts 1 to Act 2 (and beyond!) In Acts chapter two, we see an amazing fulfillment of God’s promise. Pentecost is the Jewish Festival of […]
Sunday, May 12, 2024 Mother’s Day and Baby Dedications 2024 This Sunday will be a break from our Glory series as we set aside Mother’s Day for some baby dedications. Dedicating a child to the Lord is so much more than hoping the baby “grows up right.” It’s a commitment from the family, from the marriage, and […]
Sunday, May 5, 2024 Glory – Acts 1:1–11 We may be done with the book of John, but we continue our Glory series this week as we turn the page from John 21 to Acts 1! What exactly happened after the gospel accounts? What are we to do with this life-changing event of the risen […]
Sunday, April 21, 2024 John 21:1–19 Last week, we talked about John’s purpose for writing the Fourth Gospel. “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples,” John wrote in 20:30–31 (ESV), “which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the […]
Sunday, March 24, 2023 John 19:17–30 This Sunday marks the beginning of Passion Week, when we give special attention to the cross. It culminates on Easter, on which we celebrate Christ’s resurrection in glory! We’re all excited for Easter, but let’s not rush there. Crucifixion comes before resurrection. Throughout the first 18 chapters of John, […]
Sunday, February 25, 2023 John 18:1–11 Early February is a great month for sports fans. For football fans, it’s a time to bask in the glory of the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs successfully repeated their run and now get to celebrate to fanfare and applause. Motivated by these Super Bowl celebrations, basketball and […]
Sunday, February 18, 2023 John 17:20–26 If you have been with us the past couple of weeks you know we are on the last lap of our study series in the Gospel of John. This final section, called Glory, will take us to Easter and beyond. At this point Jesus has wrapped up his final instructions to the disciples in what we […]
Sunday, February 11, 2023 John 17:6–19 We have the privilege of seeing how and what Jesus prayed for the night he was arrested. And guess what? He prayed for us! When Jesus prays for his disciples, and the ones that come after them, we see his desire for us. His desire for us is to […]
Sunday, January 28, 2023 Vision – Mission My sons love power tools (honestly, who doesn’t?). When I am working in the garage, one of them will inevitably poke their head out and ask, “What are you working on? Can I help?” If the answers are “working with a power tool” and “yes,” then their faces […]
Sunday, January 21, 2023 Vision – “Growing in authentic relationship with God and others” We are in the midst of a Vision Series at Believers Fellowship! We want to bring clarity and direction to our efforts to unite the Church to worship God in spirit and in truth, grow in authentic relationship with God and others, […]
Vision 2024 – Worship God in Spirit and Truth What is worship? How are we uniquely called to express it? What on Earth is a fizzy? All of these questions and more can be answered as Matt Edwards continues our Vision series by detailing how we, at Believers Fellowship, live out our mission through worship. […]
Vision 2024 – Mission What do we mean when we say vision or mission? This week, Johnny lays the groundwork through a brief history lesson to share the mission for every church; setting the stage for how Believers Fellowship will follow through with Vision. If you’d like to Volunteer or are looking for a way […]
Happy New Year! Jon Lucas shares with us how impressed Paul is with the Thessalonians and how we can use that encouragement to bring in the new year. However, we must not be caught sleeping on the job! What is the job? You’ll have to watch or listen to find out! Service times are at […]
Sunday, December 10, 2023 Jonah 3 One of the best known second chances in literature is given to a man named Ebenezer Scrooge, in a story called “The Christmas Carol.” (My favorite version is “The Muppet Christmas Carol.”) We find early on that Scrooge’s greed has earned him the same punishment as his former business […]
Sunday, November 12: Missions Sunday 2023 Preview The opening chapter of the Gospel of John introduces the Incarnation: “The true light,” it says, “which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9 ESV)The pressing mystery facing the characters in the Gospel is the identity of Jesus. Who do we say he is? […]
Sunday, October 8, 2023 John 14:15–31 In Exodus 33, God commands Moses to lead the people of Israel away from Mount Sinai and toward the Promised Land. Moses was overwhelmed by the task before him: leading over a million former slaves into combat would be no small feat! Moses was willing to follow God in […]
Sunday, September 24, 2023 John 13:31–38 This Sunday we finish out John chapter 13. Judas has left the dinner to betray his Lord. Immediately, Jesus shows us that He understands his assignment. The clock is now ticking. He is going to Glorify God by being lifted up in Glory. It’s something only He can do. […]
Sunday, September 17, 2023 John 13:18–30 Judas’ story is so scandalous that he has become a by-word, for betrayal even outside of the church. He’s the insider who sits at the foot of Jesus, who has access to God in the flesh, and chooses to give him over to be killed. He’s the perpetual villain, […]
Sunday, September 10, 2023 John 13:1–17 With summer in the rear-view mirror, we look ahead to the fall. We are picking back up in the Book of John for part two of three. Together, we studied the first 12 chapters of John, we called Signs. We saw how all of what Jesus did and said […]
Sunday, August 27, 2023 Philemon In several of his letters to the churches, Paul talks about the ministry of reconciliation. “In Christ,” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV, “God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” In other words, the world […]
Sunday, August 20, 2023 2 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians continues Paul’s teaching and discipleship of the young church in Thessalonica. His letter provides important encouragement and hope that speaks to believers throughout human history. Paul encourages the believers to stand firm in their faith despite persecution and to trust that Jesus will come again bringing justice […]
Sunday, August 13, 2023 1 Thessalonians What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received? The best encouragement that you’ve ever been given? Was it a coach, or a parent, or a friend? First, it’s just a good exercise to remember the ways that you’ve been recognized from time to time, and second, you may notice the […]
Sunday, July 30, 2023 Philippians Without a blueprint you can find yourself getting into trouble real fast when you’re building. Doubly so if you’ve got a couple people trying to direct the job site. Somebody might want a bigger garage, or a front porch instead of a back porch, and even if you’ve got some […]
Sunday, July 23, 2023 Ephesians The book of Ephesians is a pastoral letter from Paul to the church at Ephesus. It is not written for a specific occasion or issue, rather, is written out of his love for the people of Ephesus as he sits under house arrest. Paul’s writing is in hopes of reminding […]
Sunday, July 2, 2023 1 Corinthians 1:1–31 What do you think of when you hear the word weakness? Is it a positive word or a negative one? How does weakness relate to faith? This week, we are starting a summer series called Letters to the Churches. Every week this summer, we will cover one of […]
Sunday, May 21, 2023 Joel 2:1–17 There are plenty of times in life where we feel like we “missed our exit.” You’re traveling along, making fine time, and suddenly you realize (or are reminded) that you’re now making fine time in the wrong direction. Which, as it turns out, is not great time at all. […]
Sunday, May 7, 2023 Joel 1:1–20 This week we start a new sermon series in the book of Joel, which is a short, three-chapter book of prophecy from the Old Testament. The prophet Joel gave a warning to the people of God, that even as bad as things had been (plague of locust and a […]
Sunday, May 15: Living Stones 1 Peter 3 First Peter was written to Christians who were experiencing hostility for their faith. Christianity was a new religion. The Greco-Roman world didn’t understand it and looked upon it with suspicion. I think we have all come to accept that at times we will experience misunderstanding for our faith. […]
Sunday, November 28: Bolivia Sunday Preview Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful weekend of turkey, football, and spending time with the people you love. God has been good to us in 2021; we have a lot to be thankful for! I have two specific things to share with you this Sunday that I am thankful for. First, […]
Sunday, October 17: The Parables Luke 12:13–21 Among the many vices known to man, Greed is perhaps the most prevalent and the least recognized. That’s not a quote from anybody famous, just an observation. It’s easy to see when someone is under the affect of gluttony, or wrath, or lust, but greed usually flies below […]
Sunday, September 19: Missions Recap Sunday Our Life Entwined series has been about worship, community, and mission. This Sunday we focus on the idea of living on mission! And what better way to display this than recapping the youth mission trips from this summer? Believers Fellowship has a rich history of supporting mission not only locally, […]
Sunday, November 29: Baptism Matthew 28:18–20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that […]
Sunday, October 18: Follow Me Mark 10:1–16 As we follow Jesus in the gospel of Mark, we’ve seen a regular pattern of his concern for the vulnerable. Whether it’s vulnerable children, the hungry, or the sick, Jesus’ ministry is marked by special care for those who are most often left out. In our passage today Jesus […]
Sunday, October 11: Follow Me Mark 9:30–50 In Mark 9:30–50, Jesus and his disciples are traveling through Galilee when Jesus says to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” (Mark 9:31 ESV) […]
Sunday, November 24: Bolivia Sunday 2019 Ten years ago, we entered into a partnership with Food for the Hungry to work in a Bolivian community called Ushpa Ushpa. In 2010, things were bleak in Ushpa Ushpa—there was no clean water, the schools were under-resourced, parents were compromising their kids’ safety to make ends meet, and […]
Sunday, November 17: Bound by the Spirit Acts 24:1–27 Procrastination. There must be ten thousand websites on it, covering scholarly essays, articles in psychological journals and university studies. There are tests you can take to quantify how bad off you are. Apparently, twenty percent of us can be identified as chronic procrastinators. You can even find […]
Sunday, February 10: Moses Exodus 2:11–3:12 Even for those who are not all that familiar with the Bible, almost everyone knows the story of Moses. If you’re on the younger side, you probably saw, The Prince of Egypt. If you’re a little older, you might remember Cecil B DeMille’s classic biopic, The Ten Commandments. The life of Moses […]
Sunday, November 11: Lord of All Acts 11:1–30 Last week, we looked at a turning point in the history of the church: Peter’s meeting with Cornelius. For the first time ever, a Gentile believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit! You would think that Peter’s return to Jerusalem after the meeting would be marked […]
Sunday, October 28: Lord of All Acts 9:32–43 In Acts 9:32-43, we are reunited with the Apostle Peter and join him as he visits the early church in Joppa. The ministry of Peter is similar to Paul in many ways, but it also shows us how different people are equipped in different ways around a […]
Sunday, October 21: Lord of All Acts 9:20–31 What comes to your mind when you think of the Apostle Paul? Great preacher and apologist. Courageous missionary to the Gentiles. Unflinching defender of the Christian faith. A.W. Tozer went so far as to call him, “the world’s most successful Christian.” I’m not sure about that but […]
Sunday, September 30: Lord of All Acts 6:8–8:3 Acts 6-8 is one of the most memorable scenes in the whole book. We are introduced to a promising young man named Stephen—he’s full of the Holy Spirit and powerful in all that he does, and he’s put in charge of caring for widows in the early […]
Sunday, September 23: Making a Greater Impact 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not […]
September 16, 2018 Family Ministries Where is our church growing? What can we improve? These are questions we talk about this Sunday concerning the vision of our church. So, what’s next? Last week, we talked about how life together is better. What better way to continue that discussion than to share our plans for the […]
Sunday, September 2: Missions Recap “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” John 17:18 As the people of God, we are sent out into the world, just as Jesus himself was sent out into the world. We participate in acts of service, by visiting brother and sisters […]
Sunday, June 10: Witness Acts 6:1–7 One of the things that sticks out about the early church is how quickly it grew. In the first 5 chapters of Acts, at least 8,000 people become Christians. That’s exciting!But a question for you: How many of those 8,000 can you name? I’ll answer it for you: None. […]
Sunday, June 3: Witness Acts 5:17–42 What does it look like to be a witness in Gig Harbor? Do we have to lose our life to be a witness, or can we be bold for Jesus in the safety of suburbia?Good questions. In our Witness series, we have been studying the first chapters of Acts, […]
Sunday, May 27: Witness Acts 5:1–11 “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” The post-Pentecost church was characterized by a […]
Sunday, March 11: Joseph Genesis 45:1–28 What is it that makes Joseph great? Have you ever thought about that? Why did the Spirit of God give him so much ink in Scripture? Maybe not as much as a Moses or a David – but still a lot.Think about it. He never did a miracle. He […]
Sunday, December 31: Baptism Acts 2:38 Do you remember the day you were baptized? Was it in a lake, or a river, or a stream? Perhaps even a horse trough? No matter where you were baptized, it’s probably a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. It’s the marker between an […]
Sunday, December 3: Champs & Misfits Hebrews 12:3–17 A few years back I ran a marathon. Okay, it was a long time ago. Even though I was considerably younger it was still excruciating. It felt like running from Tacoma to the top of Mt. Rainier and back – barefoot. Your muscles ache, your lungs burn, […]
Sunday, November 20: One Ephesians 5:1–20 Wake up, O sleeper, Rise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you. One of the fun things about my job is watching people fall asleep in church. Folks often put up a valiant effort but then the eyes glaze over. The lids drop to half-mast. The shoulders […]
Sunday, June 19: Baptism & Father’s Day G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Christianity is a sacramental religion, that is, a religion of the flesh.” That’s true! While much of God’s work is done in our hearts, He has left us with signs of His work that remind us that our faith involves our flesh. Baptism is one of […]
In John 13:31-38, Jesus tells His disciples that He is leaving and that they can’t come with Him. As always, Peter speaks up first and insists that he is ready to die for Jesus. But Jesus won’t hear it. He warns Peter that he isn’t as committed as he thinks he is and that he […]