Reset

Do you remember the RESET button on the Nintendo Entertainment System? It used to drive me crazy when my sisters would hit it because I was so engrossed in a game that I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing. Did that ever happen to anyone else?

“But I was on level 15!!!“

Here is another question:

Have you ever thought about hitting the RESET button on your life? 

On July 27th we are going to take four weeks to hit the RESET button on our hearts, attitudes and minds. If the Holy Spirit hit reset in your life, what would you do different? What would you do again? What changes would be made?

Join us for a new four week series, RESET!

•  July 27th – Begin Again 
• The beauty and call of the gospel. 
•  August 3rd – Drudgery or Delight 
•  The motivation for gospel living 
• August 10th – Abide and Thrive 
• The path and results of gospel living 
• August 17th – Remember, Rejoice, Respond 
•  The sustaining power of the gospel for life 

You are invited to join us at The Bridge Community Church at 9:00 or 10:45!
-pastor Ben

 Watch the trailer and share it with your friends!
"RESET" Sermon Series Trailer from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

For His Name's Sake

Last week's special celebration, "For His Name's Sake" is now online. You can watch the entire celebration as well as listen to the conviction behind the transition of the Arnold campus into a local autonomous church. You can also read about the campus transition at this link. 

For His Name's Sake 07-20-14 from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

Dear Bridge Family: Arnold Campus Transition

Dear Bridge Family,

In Matthew 28:19-20 we were commissioned as disciples to “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 I have commanded you.” Our mission as a local church expression has been birthed out of this assignment from Christ himself.

We exist as a local expression of the church to be disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus for His fame.

In March of 2006 we held our first worship gathering and have been blessed to baptize hundreds of new disciples since that time. We are actively pursuing to teach these new disciples to obey the commands of Christ through our corporate gathering and scattering (missional cell families) in the power of the Holy Spirit. In March of 2012, we sent a team of disciples to Arnold to begin a new movement of gospel ministry. Then, in the summer of 2013 we sent our first long-term missionaries to Bangkok to begin another work of gospel ministry.

The gospel is bearing fruit and growing! There has been healthy multiplication as an outgrowth of the mission empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday we celebrated the progress of ministry in Arnold. They are quickly growing from infancy to adulthood as a local expression of the church. In light of this, we are moving towards a HEALTHY transition of the Arnold campus to a local autonomous church.  

Here are three things you need to know.

1. This will involve a name change from The Bridge Arnold to something new on September 7th.  The local Arnold elders are currently seeking to register City on a Hill with the state of Missouri.  This name change is essential due to the fact that another large church has moved into Arnold with a very similar name.
2. Eventually, Arnold will move to full autonomy as they become more financially stable, develop a full plurality of elders, and have a complete staff. 
3. This compels the formation of The Bridge Network of churches. This will keep our family together with Arnold, Bangkok, and other churches that we have helped to plant or will plant. A strong relationship among local autonomous churches will remain through the sharing of ideas, resources, and ministry opportunities.

This is the fruit of healthy gospel multiplication. There is no conflict. There is only a desire for disciples to be made for the glory of His name. These developments increase Arnold’s ability to bring the mission of God into their specific cultural context. Yes, our name will be dropped but His name will be proclaimed. His name will be lifted high and that is what matters. Why? We were never commissioned to make disciples of our name but His. Additionally, we were never commissioned to spread our brand, but we have been commissioned to spread the news that Jesus Christ saves sinners.

So let’s go. Let’s keep making disciples who make disciples for His fame.

“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 I have commanded you.”

For His Name’s Sake,

Ben Durbin

Lead Pastor, The Bridge Community Church

Galatians

I taught the book of Galatians beginning January 2014 at The Bridge Community Church. Below you will find eleven teaching outlines from my sermons. These are what I walk on stage with. Note: Perfectionists beware that you may find incomplete sentences or typos. There were a few additional sermons in this series from other teachers at our fellowship not included here.

1. No Other Gospel - Galatians 1:1-10
2. A Gospel Driven Life - Galatians 1:11-24
3. Freed Through Faith - Galatians 2
4. Living by Faith - Galatians 2:20 - 3:14
5. Living by Promise - Galatians 3:15-25 
6. Adopted by God - Galatians 3:26-4:7
7. Breaking Free (aka Grace to the Barren) - Galatians 4:21-31
8. Free from Self-Righteousness - Galatians 5:1-15
9. Free from Self-Effort - Galatians 5:16-24
10. Free from Self-Centeredness - Galatians 5:25-6:6
11. Free from the World - Galatians 6:11-18

To listen to these sermons go to our podcast or video site.

"Here it is Lord, my shell collection."

Bridge Family, 

This Sunday we end our time in the book of Galatians together by wrestling with the question, "What do you boast in?" This will be the fourteenth and final sermon from the book.  Please gather with us this Sunday as we close out our series, "Living Free!"

Why? 

This section of scripture contains one of the most important messages that a Christian can ever hear on daily living. Paul shows us how to live free from the trappings of this present world. We will see that the Christian's life is to be driven by one thing; the cross of Christ.

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14 ESV)

So, what's with the title of this blog you may ask? As I study for this passage, I can still hear the words of John Piper ringing in my ears from a sermon he delivered at a Passion One Day Conference in Memphis, TN in the year 2000 for college students. The title of the message was "Boasting Only in the Cross." It later became fleshed out in one of his books, "Don't Waste Your Life." A few years later, a friend gave me this message and it challenged me to question the validity of the dreams that I had for my life and submit them to God.

I am sharing with you a section of this sermon today for you to view before coming to our gathering this Sunday. You can watch the clip below. I also wanted to challenge you to just listen to the message without pressing back. I know some may say, I don't like Piper because he has said this or that or the way he talks about _____ (insert whatever you want here). But, let's be honest...I don't even like some of the things that come out of my own mouth sometimes. Simply check this out and let it check you before coming. It is about eight minutes long.

I hope to see you this Sunday. 

What do we boast in? May it be said of us that we boast only in the cross of Christ!

"Here it is Lord, my shell collection." - John Piper

I Don't Know Why

Last November I shared with some friends that I had a few songs that I still wanted to get out. You can read about my current music project here. Then, this past Sunday Becky and I decided to share a simple preview of one of these songs on social media. It was three years ago this past Sunday that we lost a baby. Honestly, this time was a tough season in our lives. We trusted Jesus, but we found that this sort of thing was something that Christians rarely talk openly about or process. How do you talk about miscarriage? I honestly still do not know all of those answers, and that's OK. We don't need every answer. But, we also don't need to walk through these times alone.

I am sharing a preview of this tune now on my blog to let others out there know that they are not alone. The pain you feel is real. There is a whole community of Christians that hurt every time Mother's Day or Father's Day rolls around. You are not alone and Jesus has not abandoned you. There is good news. Jesus has risen. His tomb is empty.

You can listen to an acoustic preview of this song by clicking the link below.

https://app.box.com/s/xwqnbhljxl5jktn5zfkk

Song Preview: I Don't Know Why

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Sowing and Reaping

Bridge Family, Michael Goldsmith did a wonderful job teaching Galatians 6:7-10 yesterday in part four of our current series Living Free. I wanted to follow up today with some Bible notes I made on the passage as I studied. I have been trying to do this every Monday following a sermon to provide ongoing discussions. Remember, your walk is more than one hour on any given Sunday; it is daily...

Verses 7-10 are Paul’s final warning, verses 11-18 are his final invitation. We will look at verses 11-18 in next Sunday's sermon. 

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10 ESV)

·         “Do not be deceived” in verse 7 is in many ways a theme of the whole letter. Do not be deceived by false gospels (early in the letter). Then, do not be deceived by selfish living, in the last half. 

·         Sowing and reaping is a farming or gardening illustration

o   First, whatever you sow you will reap

§  Planting (Sowing)

§  If you sow tomato seeds, you do not get corn

§  If you give in to your sinful nature, you will reap spiritual breakdown and destruction will make its way around you.

§  Sin is destruction and breakdown

§  Verses 6 & 7 can really sum up the book of Proverbs (wisdom)

§  To sow dishonesty breaks down relationships and leads to loneliness

§  To sow jealousy and envy breaks down contentment and so on…

§  Sin produces destruction rather than joy and life

§  Your sin will eventually find you out. Take it seriously

§  Paul has already warned that if we reject the gospel for a self-salvation project, then slavery and destruction will be complete (total).

§  People can easily be deceived to look to self (sinful nature) rather than the Gospel to provide endurance and motivation for life.

o   Second, whatever you so you will reap

§  Harvesting (Reaping - sow to the spirit reap eternal life)

§  The seed may lie in the ground to no apparent effect for a long time, but it will come up.

§  To sow well we must not give up and become weary in doing good

·         There is always a delay between sowing and reaping

·         People who do good will experience fruit---eventually (it may look different than expected)

§  What is” doing good” in sowing?

·         “do good to everyone, especially the household of faith”

·         First, our Christian life isn’t primarily about programs, but people

·         Second, we give them whatever love discerns as their needs including

o   Word – evangelism

o   Deed – action

·         “as we have opportunity” – Third, we can’t meet the needs of “all” people but as we have God given opportunity we respond.

·         Fourth, supremely this love is to be given to the “household of faith”

o   We are a family

o   We must do good intensely with those who are in fellowship with us

o   Be active in a local church community. Be known and know others. Help others. Self-deception says be individualistic. But the Gospel has a community on mission together that need each other.

o   This is the lifestyle from which we will have a real, fulfilling, and everlasting life

§  This type of life requires sacrifice in the short run. You bind your heart up emotionally with others. This means you could have avoided some distress but choose not to. You sacrifice money for people, ministry, and mission. The list of sacrifices could go on, but the rewards Paul hints to are much greater.

§  The rewards we can experience:

·         First, we often get the direct and deep satisfaction of seeing other lives changed

·         Second, we may get the deep satisfaction of seeing communities transformed

·         Third, we may even get to see changed lives begin to change other lives

·         Fourth, We will find our own character changing deeply through ministry, even when we never see much outward success. This is the deep harvest. And by trusting the gospel (sowing to the Spirit) we have eternal life. 

Gospel Reminder: Sowing and reaping is not karma. Karma says you get what you deserve. The gospel says we get what we do not deserve because of the work of Jesus Christ and our deep trust in Him. Cling to the Gospel. Sow to the spirit. 

For more on a Christian sowing to the Spirit or the Flesh, go and re-read Galatians 5:16-24.

The gospel provides perseverance in the pursuit of deep community that brings fruit. Self-deception leads us to sow to ourselves rather than to the Spirit.

A Self-Correcting Family

I finished this past Sunday's message challenging everyone to spend some time wrestling with a few questions. It is Monday and time to keep wrestling with them. They are:

Questions:
 How does your conceit show itself in relationships? Do you tend to be provocative or envious?
 What opportunities has God given you to carry another's burdens?
 Is there a habitual sin you need to gently restore a brother from?
 Are you willing to listen to others who seek to restore you?
 How are you supporting the mission of our local church?

Below are the sermon notes to help you remember the context. Also go re-read Galatians 5:25 - 6:6. 

The Big Idea: The gospel births a community of restoration and self-correction—of brothers and sisters, not consumers and critics.

The Problem: Self-centeredness turns us into consumers and critics.

Key Verse: Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. - Galatians 5:26

Conceit = "vain-glorious" or "empty of honor"

Key Truth #1: conceit is a deep insecurity, a perceived absence of honor, leading to a need to prove our worth to ourselves and others.

Provoking = looking down on someone who is perceived to be weaker
Envying = looking up to someone who is perceived to be above them

Key Truth #2: Both superiority and inferiority are forms of conceit. Both are self-absorbed

The Solution: Only the gospel makes us neither over self-confident nor self-disdaining, but both bold and humble.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. - Galatians 6:1

A Self-Correcting Family:
1. Spirit-filled brothers help others "trapped" in a sin
2. Gently bringing healing pain
3. Humbly recognizing that we are capable of similar sin.
4. Willing to put our strength under others burdens.
5. Stewarding our gifts and talents in a way that honors Jesus.
6. Supporting the mission of our local church.

The sermon will be uploaded to our podcast and video channels tonight.

The Daily Battle

Hey Bridge Family, 

I ended yesterday's sermon (Galatians 5:16-24) with a challenge that walking in the Spirit involves an internal, daily crucifixion of our sinful desires, and a daily heart adoration of Christ. It is Monday and time to engage and do battle. 

Here are some questions to help. 

1. Which of the works of the sinful nature listed yesterday do you see in your own life?
2. What are the false beliefs behind the desires that cause you to behave in these ways?
3. What are the idols that need identifying and dismantling in your own life?
4. How will you preach the gospel of Jesus to yourself to undermine these desires and strangle sin at the motivational level? How does this lead to change at the behavioral level? 
5. Examine yourself. How can you see the fruit of the Spirit growing in your own life? 

Christ is all.

You can listen to last Sunday's podcast here.

"Living Free" "Free From Self-Effort" 03-23-14 from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

No Other Gospel - Sermon from 1.12.2014

No Other Gospel

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Set Free

Galatians 1:1-10

Benjamin Durbin

1/12/2013

You can watch the celebration as well.

"Set Free - No Other Gospel" 01-12-14 from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

Intro:

The apostle Paul was a church-planting missionary. After he planted a church and left a region, he continued to supervise new congregations through his letters. One of these letters is this epistle to the Christian churches in the area of Galatia in Asia Minor, which he planted on his first missionary journey in Acts 13 and 14. Paul writes to these Christians concerning the truth of the Gospel. There were some teachers who had been presenting a whole different way of relating to God than the true Gospel that he preached and taught them.  To Paul, everything was at stake if this young church were to lose grip of the true gospel.

Key Verse: 

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— (Galatians 1:6, ESV)

The Big Idea: There is only one gospel. There is no other Gospel than that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us and was raised. This scandalous grace is what sets us free.

The True Gospel:

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5, ESV)

•        While founders of other religions came to teach, Jesus came to deliver.  (vs. 4)

Buddha’s last words:

 "It may be that after I am gone that some of you will think, ‘now we have no teacher.’ But that is not how you should see it. Let the Dharma and the discipline that I have taught you be your teacher. All individual things pass away. Strive on, untiringly." - http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/death-and-legacy-part-2/

Jesus’ last words:

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30, ESV)

Grasp:  The average person on the street believes that a Christian is someone who follows Christ’s teaching and example, but Paul implies that is impossible unless one has first been rescued.

Illustration:  You do not throw a drowning woman a manual on how to swim, you throw her a rope. Jesus is much more than a teacher,  He is a rescuer and deliverer.

•        This means that we are sinners in need of deliverance.  (vs. 4)

Sin didn’t make us bad, it made us dead. And we won’t belittle Jesus by urging you to fix that.

•        Jesus paid the debt of sin on our behalf (vs. 4)

•        Jesus was raised defeating sin and death itself.  (vs. 1)

Christ’s death is not presented here as a general sacrifice purchasing us a “second chance” to get life right, but rather it is presented as a substitutionary sacrifice. This means that Jesus did all that we needed to do, but cannot do. Jesus did all we should have done, in our place, so when he becomes our Savior, we are free .

•        Before we asked for a rescue, God planned it.  (vs. 4)

There is no indication of any other motivation or cause for Christ’s mission except the will of God. There is nothing in us which merits it.

•        This means that salvation is sheer grace

•        Jesus achieved the rescue we could have never achieved ourselves.

If we contributed to our rescue of if we had rescued ourselves, then we could pat ourselves on our backs. The Apostle Paul’s gospel is clear, that salvation from first to last is God’s doing.  It is grace all the way down. In Romans he writes…

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30, ESV)

•        The only one who gets “glory forever and ever” is God alone.

But we love to be our own saviors. Our hearts love to manufacture glory for themselves. So then we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive…We quickly move on to Jesus plus something else, and so must have the believers in this young church plant.

False Gospels:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9, ESV)

So the history behind this text is that there's a group of men from Jerusalem called the Judaizers who have come down into the churches of Galatia, and they're teaching the Christians in Galatia, who were Gentile pagans, that in order for them to be fully Christian, they must first become Jews. They need to be circumcised and be obedient to the dietary laws and the festivals. So they're adding to Christ. They are changing the gospel...and Paul is saying that even if an angel shows up and tells you a different gospel and wants you to put them on golden tablets...Run!!

There are many false gospels such as: Jesus + this political position, Jesus + tolerance (universalism is blasted in this text), Jesus + poverty, Jesus + prosperity, Jesus + speaking in tongues, Jesus + my denominational heritage, Jesus +this other teaching,Jesus + anything. But I want to focus on two common false gospels rampant in our context. I am thankful to Tim Keller for helping with this terminology. It is useful to describe them, so I will use them here today. 

They are the...

Religious False Gospel = Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing

---this is going to get hammered throughout the book.

---- this is Jesus plus extra-biblical rules and tradition

--- in this book we will come to see that grace isn't opposed to grace driven effort, but it is wholly opposed and Paul is even hostile against any sense of earning salvation.

And there is the... 

Secular False Gospel =  "Grab ahold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now"

The secular false gospel is more sneaky. It strokes our hearts and ego and says

"God helps those who help themselves.”

It is much more an attachment and sales pitch for faith in the American dream, than biblical faith in the apostolic gospel.

If you listen carefully,  this popular false gospel is telling you that you can be your own Savior. Like the little engine that could, you can do it. You can do it. If you just do this, God will do this for you right now. But, the message of the Bible is that you cannot do it. That is why Christ came to this earth. He did what we could not do, dying on the cross to pay for your sins and rising from the grave to give you life if you repent and believe in him. Telling people that they can do something they really can’t is not helping people. It is putting them in bondage.

And it makes people restless... So we get more and more stuff. And we compare ourselves to others to try and one-up. Then like gangrene it spreads to our relationships...and we are restless and tired of our spouse, or disappointed in our kids, or jealous and combative towards our peers at work...then disillusioned and depressed because the little engine inside of us...must not be as big as the engine inside the neighbor, co-worker, Facebook friend, or business owner...

Restless striving...focus on self...it is total bondage.

Only the true gospel sets us free.

Religious and Secular message = "God helps those who help themselves.”

Gospel Declaration: Jesus substituted himself for a people who could not help themselves

Every false gospel elevates man and downplays Jesus.

Both the religious and secular false gospels are messages of self-salvation but the gospel comes and turns them both upside down!

And Paul says, those who preach a false gospel, let them go to hell.  (vs. 9)

False Religion suggests:

Believe in Jesus + Obedience = God’s acceptance

The Gospel Declares:

Believe in Jesus = God’s acceptance + desire for obedience

Justification: God declares us right because of Jesus’ obedience

Sanctification:  God continually changes us with his power as we obey

False Religion says God only loves you if you perform well.

The Gospel says Jesus performed for you.

False religion says you do not need a rescuer in your place to save you. "You just need look within yourself."

The Gospel says you must have a rescuer, and God gave Jesus.

False religion says work harder, do better, to gain approval and favor.

The Gospel says you can now work from the approval you have in Christ.

Let’s see it in a picture. This illustration is from Darrin Patrick.

Now look at verse 10 as we close, because there seems to be an accusation being made against Paul, and he's not having it. I love this. Apparently there's an accusation being made against Paul that the reason Paul didn't tell them about circumcision (because that can't go over well to grown men), and the reason he didn't tell them about the dietary laws, is that he wanted to win friends and influence people.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

The accusation is that Paul soft-pedaled the gospel in order to gain converts. So Paul goes, "If anybody preaches other than this, let him be damned. “

So, who's trying to win friends now? Paul says if I was simply trying to win friends I certainly wouldn’t be a servant of Jesus. I would be doing something else... The implication is if I'm just trying to win friends then I'm not a servant of Christ. If I'm trying to tickle your ears, then I do not love Jesus."

So Listen closely....

There is only one gospel. There is no other Gospel than that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us. And deliver us He did. Then, He was raised and we can be raised. Raised to new life in Christ. Raised to enjoy him forever. He is our prize.

This scandalous grace is what sets us free.  It is grace all the way down. IT SHOUTS God helps those who need delivered and cannot help themselves.  It’s all Jesus. There is no other good news. There is no other gospel.

Communion.