Hey, Bridge Family,
My wife, Lori, tells me at least once a week that I’m “so odd.” While I’m not always sure if I truly am, it makes me smile to be considered out of step with the world. I enjoy being different, if you will. That’s why I particularly liked this week’s Bible Point, “Jesus is Different,” emphasizing how we live differently. Our lesson was from Matthew 5-7, known as “The Sermon on the Mount.”
This is not an easy lesson, and Brandon, who taught it this week, did a great job! It’s challenging because a lesson like this can easily become a checklist for righteous living, rather than a genuine desire to honor our King of kings and Lord of lords. When it’s treated as a checklist for righteous living and we credit our righteousness based on our actions, two things can happen. First, we fail to give credit to Jesus, “who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God…(2 Cor 5:21), and then we often give up because we see the futility of our effort. Face it, the expectations Jesus presents in his sermon are really high!
Do you want to know one reason why our kids leave the church when they grow up? It’s because they feel they can’t meet the expectations. They miss the point! Following Jesus isn’t about meeting expectations; it’s about living a lifestyle that’s out of step with the world—one that honors Jesus. See, we are supposed to live differently simply to acknowledge that we know he is King and we want to witness to his Lordship. It’s really the point Jesus was making with the “Rich Young Ruler” (Matt 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18), if you think about it.
So, what about us as parents? Are we truly living to honor our King—the one we profess as our Lord? Or are we only proclaiming Him as our Savior, giving thanks, but not letting His Spirit guide our lives? Do we find ourselves struggling to keep the checklist of righteousness and misleading our children into doing the same? It’s an easy trap to fall into, and many of us have sadly done so. Face it, if our kids miss the point while growing up, chances are we did as well.
Try this: read through the Sermon on the Mount with your family, and show your children that, in truth, only one person could meet such a standard, and that’s Jesus himself. Then talk about how to live differently. Learn to be out of step with this world as a family, so that his light may shine.
Remember, it’s never too late to engage. As long as your child is at home, you have an excellent opportunity to share the Bible and explore it together, making faith an exciting and meaningful adventure. God Bless, and hope to see your family on Sunday.
Pastor Bob

Hey, Bridge Family, 
 
Sorry about the lateness in getting this out. Last week, we learned that Jesus is Amazing, so we believe in Him! The story was from John 4:43-54, which vividly illustrates what it means to trust in Jesus and recognize His greatness. In the story, a man approached Jesus to heal his son. Jesus healed the boy, but the most notable part—and its relevance to us—is that Jesus and the Father were over 20 miles away from the boy. Yet, the man believed Jesus without needing to see the proof of his son’s healing. When he finally heard that his son was healed, he realized it had happened exactly when Jesus said his son would be okay.  
 
Can you picture the joy in that family’s home? The mother must have been overwhelmed to see her son, who was probably near death, up and moving as if nothing had happened. Then, hearing her husband say that her happiness was because of Jesus, it’s no surprise that the Bible says that the father and “his entire household believed in Jesus.” When we realize how incredible Jesus is and choose to believe, do we share that with our families? Do we look for opportunities to share Jesus with our loved ones? Do we actually show them Jesus? I know this isn’t easy, so here’s something I wish I’d read when my kids were young: read a Bible story, like 1 Samuel 3. 
 

1. Notice ways God acts in the story. There are several, so you may need to write them down. 
   
2. Meditate on ways Jesus acts the same in the New Testament as well as today, and thank him for the kind of Savior He is. 
3. Share what you learned. Let your family see your desire to see Jesus. 

 
The more we are willing to share Jesus, to talk about him with others, the closer we come to him and the more we bear witness to the truth of the Gospel. 
 
Remember, it’s never too late to engage. As long as your child is at home, you have an excellent opportunity to share the Bible and explore it together, making faith an exciting and meaningful adventure. God Bless, and hope to see your family on Sunday. 
 
Pastor Bob 
 

Hey, Bridge Family,

Would you agree that prayer is vital? The problem is that many of us treat prayer like we do stretching. It’s something we know we should do daily, but we struggle to find time for it. Whether or not we exercise, stretching is essential for our long-term physical health. The same is even more true for prayer, especially when it comes to our spiritual health. Yet, for some reason, like stretching, prayer often becomes an afterthought for many of us. However, the Apostle Paul points out we need to “never stop praying (1 Thes 5:17 NLT),” which by the nature of that statement means prayer should never be an afterthought but a way of life. So then, how many of us never stop praying? I wish I could tell you I never stop, but I can’t. I wish I prayed more. It is truly a habit I need to focus on in my walk. How about you? How about your children?

I believe we sometimes avoid prayer because we make it more complicated than God intended. We make it too difficult and miss out on the amazing benefits God offers to deepen our relationship with Him. Like stretching, we fail to see that prayer is what truly improves our long-term spiritual health. The great thing is that it is never too late to start, or for that matter, never too early for our children to begin. Teach them to pray from a young age, and I believe that they will never stop praying.
Pray often with your kids; you pray and have them pray as they learn from you. Here are some ideas that can help you get started. You can use the Lord’s prayer as a template (Matt 6:9-13).

1) Talk to God as you would to a friend—no need to use fancy words.
2) Praise God for being awesome.
3) Thank him for the things going on in your life
4) Ask God to help others in your life
5) Rejoice in his forgiveness and ask him to help you faithfully follow him.
Remember, it’s never too late to engage. As long as your child is at home, you have an excellent opportunity to share the Bible and explore it together, making faith an exciting and meaningful adventure. God Bless, and hope to see your family on Sunday.
Pastor Bob

Hey, Bridge Family,

I hope you and your family are well. Are you ready to return to your routines as summer vacation comes to an end? This week, your kids learned about “Joy,” and that because God is joyful, we should be too. This can be challenging for both adults and children. What does it really mean to be joyful? Can you be joyful and sad simultaneously? It’s possible if we understand that joy comes from the unchanging truth that God loves us and wants a relationship. Even in dark times, we can find joy by trusting that truth. Here are some resources that I found to help us find godly joy.
1) What do we consider our worth based on? In our materialistic society, many of us, whether consciously or not, base our self-worth on possessions, achievements, or status. I’ll admit, I used to think along those lines. For many, success is defined by salary, wealth, power, appearance, or fame. But as followers of Christ, we are called to find our worth elsewhere. Our value comes from Jesus, who is worthy. God’s love makes us important to Him. In Christ, there’s no need to prove ourselves; we are free to enjoy life regardless of our circumstances.

2) Our time usage shows our priorities. How do we allocate it—on reading the Bible, praying, watching TV, or playing games? Reflecting on daily routines reveals what truly matters. We should reassess actions to identify behaviors that bring us closer to God, our source of joy.

3) We should recognize that God is truly the source of our joy. In Psalms, David shows turning to God during times of crisis, which leads to experiencing joy. Real joy comes from knowing God, appreciating what He has done for us, and trusting in His ongoing care.

4) Finally, to best serve our children and teach them about true godly joy, we need to demonstrate it ourselves. Children observe our preoccupations, how we allocate our time, and how often we recognize and thank God for His love and care in our lives. If we let His joy fill our lives, they will see and learn to do the same through our example.
Remember, it’s never too late to engage. As long as your child is at home, you have an excellent opportunity to share the Bible and explore it together, making faith an exciting and meaningful adventure. God Bless, and hope to see your family on Sunday.

Pastor Bob