4/13 Sermon Recap and Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

•    Pastor Suzanne talked about the multiple things to see in the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. She invited us to look at the story and see the connection to the Jewish celebration of Passover. 

•    John makes intentionally adds details to his gospel that help us see the connection to Passover. (See image below) 

•    Suzanne emphasized that in the Passover celebration, the sacrificial lamb was not being punished for something. The lamb was a sign th

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4/6 Sermon Discussion and Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne talked about the religious leaders during Jesus’ trial and invited us to consider how it is possible to be both “deeply sincere and dangerously wrong.”She pointed out that the religious leaders had good reason to want to stop Jesus: he was claiming to be God. This was a heresy that the Old Testament says is punishable by death. They then become so focused on getting this accomplished that they are willing to use any means necessary. By the end o...
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3/30 Sermon Recap and Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

Pastor Sara talked about Pilate’s question to Jesus: “What is truth?”Pilate, due to changes in power dynamics in Rome, was left unsteady, and unsure what would bring him security, so he was left bending to the will of the crowds.She talked about how a lot of people in our postmodern world are wrestling with this question for a variety of different reasons. She encouraged people who are walking alongside people questioning their faith to consider asking questio...
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3/23 Sermon Recap and Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne talked about the importance of making sure we are not compartmentalizing our lives in unhelpful ways. She talked about how Peter behaved one way around his fellow disciples and another way around other people. He was not able to integrate and live consistently and with integrity in a variety of environments. Suzane talked about 3 reasons we likely are not consistent everywhere we go: We want to feel accepted and like we belongIt’s easier- we cho...
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3/16 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne taught us about the character Annas - who served as the high priest, but was removed from his position by Rome. Annas then appointed his sons as priests and continued to operate with authority behind the scenes.Annas was treated unjustly and then felt justified in his attempts to maintain power and even sanction violence. Annas should have been the person who recognized Jesus, and ended up being the person that assured his death. Suzanne asked u...
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3/9 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

Pastor Bep asked us to consider the power dynamics in the story of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Pharisees and Roman officials show up with physical displays of power: big numbers and weapons.

Jesus, however, displays his power through choosing submission to his arrest and by speaking truth instead of turning to manipulation or force.

Peter tries to step in to use power to control the situation by cutting off someone’s ear, and Jesus instead, use

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2/23 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne talked about how the Holy Spirit invites us to choose into practices that bring peace. She talked about how the command “do not let your hearts be troubled” is more accurately translated “do not let your hearts be continually troubled.” Jesus himself talked about being troubled, but that we are encouraged to choose practices of slowing down that keep us from continuing in our anxiety and trouble.The world tells us that we will get peace through ...
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2/16 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne talked about how we are living in a world where it is getting harder and harder to discern what is true/real.She gave us the image of a flashlight to describe how the Holy Spirit works to reveal to us what is true. She reminded us that Jesus is truth. So more than facts to argue with, truth is a person to submit ourselves to. If we want to know truth, we need to look at Jesus.She called us to two action steps:First, start with yourself. Rather t...
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2/9 Sermon Recap & Discussion Questions

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Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne talked about the Holy Spirit as our comforter (paraklete). In the passage Jesus is preparing his followers for the time when he will no longer be with them. He promises not to leave them as orphans (ones with deep grief), but to send them a comforter. She talked about how, in the Greek, the word for comforter refers to one who responds to a call to help (like the short clip from Mrs. Doubtfire) and comes...
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2/2 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

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  Scripture Reading

Sermon Recap

Pastor Sara asked us to consider the question: “What are you longing for?” She talked about the story of the Samaritan woman and how Jesus invited this woman to look at her places of thirst and longing so that the Holy Spirit could meet her with Living Water in the places she most needed it. Pastor Sara told us that the Holy Spirit is meant to be the place that we go when we realize we are thirsty and longing for someth...
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1/26 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

 

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  Scripture Reading

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne kicked off a new sermon series on the Holy Spirit. She reminded us that learning to recognize and cooperate with the Holy Spirit is the key to a life of transformation, guidance, ad power to love and serve God and others.She reminded us that the Holy Spirit is God, a person, and they have their own mind, emotions, and prays for us when we don’t know what to pray. The Holy Spirit is the personal presence ...
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1/19 Sermon Recap and Reflection Questions

Sermon Recap

As we looked at the list of all the names of people who brought their unique gifts to help rebuild the wall around the temple in Nehemiah, Pastor Suzanne reminded us that if we are going to build things and create new habits, we need other people.She named that we often don’t invite others in because we are proud, or stubborn, or afraid, but that ultimately research shows that people are most fulfilled and better at reaching their goals when they have other pe...
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1/12 Sermon Recap and Discussion Questions

Take a moment to remember and appreciate Pastor Suzanne’s graphic creation skills.

Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne reminded us of Newton’s laws of motion: An object at rest wants to stay at rest, and an object in motion wants to stay in motion. So as we look to build habits that help us build our bridges, getting started is often the hardest part. Suzanne taught about how Nehemiah had to overcome his fear because of the culture, his history, and his personal story to start the ...
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1/5 Sermon Recap & Reflection Questions

1/5 Sermon Recap

Pastor Suzanne shared the unfortunate statistic that only 6% of people actually accomplish their New Year’s goals and resolutions. As we look at our goals of building our bridges to God, Self, and Others we are going to look at the strategies used by Nehemiah to practically build something so that we can realistically achieve our goals. Nehemiah was called by God to return to Jerusalem during the Israelites’ exile to help rebuild the wall around the city. ...
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12/29 Bridge Devotional

Video from Pastor Suzanne

  My Next Bridge

  Adult Bridge Opportunities ...
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