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Arbor Church

Arbor Church

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The Arbor Church Podcast features weekly messages and more from the teaching team at Arbor Church in Woodinville, Washington.

Arbor Church

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A Faith that Works: What Do You Want?

Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? – James 4. In the book of John, Jesus asks John: What do you want? This question is remarkably insightful – because we are what we want. Not what we think or believe or do – what we want. Pastor Ryan explains.

A Faith that Works: Wisdom from Above

Who is wise and understanding among you? James’ rhetorical question in Chapter 3 opens a set of verses that help us distinguish true wisdom from counterfeit.

A Faith that Works: Taming the Tongue

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence… okay, James, but how do you really feel? Today, from chapter 3 of James’ epistle, the story of how much trouble our tongues can get us into, and why.

A Faith that Works: Faith and Works

Today, Ryan teaches on one of the most hotly debated passages in the New Testament, James 2:14: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? Surely James cannot be saying that we are not saved by faith alone … so what is James saying? And what does it have to do with a certain cormorant on the Galapagos Islands?

A Faith that Works: The Royal Law

My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. From James 2, some challenging words about favoritism and prejudice, and the Royal Law that shows us how to rise above them.

A Faith that Works: Hearing and Doing

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Thanks much, James, but that’s a lot easier said than done. This week, Pastor Ryan unpacks this passage with some practical advice on how to live out this command, and explores the growing chasm between hearing and doing in the Christian life.

A Faith that Works: Trials and Temptations

My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials… So begins the book of James, and this week Ryan opens our new A Faith that Works series with a message on why James opens his epistle with what appears to a major bummer.

A Better Way Forward: When You've Given Up on Prayer

Have you ever tried to follow Jesus’ example of prayerfulness, only to find that you’re secretly bored … or don’t know what to do … or even aren’t sure if your prayers are actually doing anything? If so, today’s message is for you.

A Better Way Forward: Living in the Now

Jesus was never too busy for the people he encountered as he went about His ministry. Scott Hetherington shares three stories about Jesus bringing hope and healing in during unplanned and unexpected encounters, and encourages us, too, to live in the now as we follow Him.

A Better Way Forward: When You're Too Busy for What Matters

Little by little, we have squeezed more into our days until we’re overwhelmed. What is the better way forward when we feel so rushed and hurried – and so disappointed in the pace and intensity that has encroached upon our schedules – that we don’t have time to do what really matters? Sometimes, the greatest enemy to the life you want may be the life you’re living.

A Better Way Forward: When Christianity Doesn't Feel Like It's Working

Ryan opens our new series A Better Way Forward with some tough, uncomfortable questions … that you probably wouldn’t expect to hear from the pulpit right after the new year. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve probably felt at times that Christianity isn’t actually working. How can we move forward in the way of Jesus in those times?

The Way in a Manger: The Way to Jesus

Ryan closes our The Way in a Manger series with a special Christmas Eve message about Jesus, the Light of the World.

The Way in a Manger: The Way of Love

Ryan continues opens our Advent series The Way in a Manger with a message about gifts, giving, receiving, anger, fear, our way, our wills, and the great love God has for us.

The Way in a Manger: The Way of Peace

Ryan opens our Advent series The Way in a Manger (it sounds kind of like “away in a manger” … get it?) with a message about faith, fear, angels, disgusting shepherds, betrothed lovers, unexpected pregnancies, and God’s peace.

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Joy in Generosity

Bryan, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s messages from last Sunday.

Resilient Joy: Joy in Generosity

Nevertheless, you did well to share with me in my trouble …And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4. Ryan closes our Resilient Joy series at the end of Philippians, which – as it turns out – is really just an extremely loquacious thank-you letter for the generosity of the church at Philippi, and shares 7 reasons that giving is good.

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Joy in Little, Joy in Much

Bryan, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Bryan’s messages from last Sunday.

Resilient Joy: Joy in Little, Joy in Much

I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. – Philippians 4. Today, Bryan leads us through Paul’s famous passage on contentment, and reveals Paul’s answer to the question: how can today be enough?

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Joy in Conflict

Hayden, Michael, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s messages from last Sunday.

Resilient Joy: Joy in Conflict

I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord … Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! Let everyone see your gentleness. – Philippians 4. Today, we look at a conflict that’s often passed over when we read this book, and how Paul admonishes us to shape our response. Will conflict cause us to run away from resilient joy – or will we become more deeply rooted in it?

The Followup: Resilient Joy: A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Bryan, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s messages from last Sunday.

Resilient Joy: A Tale of Two Kingdoms

But our citizenship is in heaven—and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 3:20. Today, Ryan brings his passport to church, and a tale of two kingdoms: the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Heaven, and what it means for us to live in each one.

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Joy From The Lord

Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Alison’s messages from last Sunday.

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Work It Out

Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s messages from two Sundays ago.

Resilient Joy: Joy from the Lord

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. – Philippians 3. This week, Alison leads us through the opening of Philippians 3, and Paul’s extraordinary comparison of his extensive accomplishments and credentials to … well … poop. PARENTAL ADVISORY This episode of our podcast contains scatological humor.

Resilient Joy: Work it Out

On October 30th 2022, we lost power during our 10:00am service, so to make up for it we recorded an audio only version after the fact. We hope this is beneficial and helpful with your study of Philippians and Resilient Joy.

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Others First

Hayden, Michael, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s messages from last Sunday.

Resilient Joy: Others First

Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had… – Philippians 2. Today, Ryan teaches through the first part of Philippians 2 and about the resilient joy that can be found in humility, or, as C.S. Lewis put it: not thinking less of yourself, but thinking about yourself less.

The Followup: Resilient Joy: Two For One

Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan and Scott’s messages from the last two Sundays.

Resilient Joy: The Reason for Joy

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. – Paul, Philippians 1:21. Today, Scott Hetherington unpacks this passage as we continue our journey through Philippians 1, and helps us understand how these conflicting desires were, paradoxically, part of Paul’s reason for joy in awful circumstances.

Resilient Joy: The Perspective Of Joy

We continue our time in Philippians Chapter 1 trying to understand how Paul was able to experience joy despite being in prison and experiencing what is, objectively, a pretty rough life. Did he just try to pretend that all the evil that happened to him was good? Or was there something deeper going on?

The Followup: Resilient Joy: The Posture Of Joy

Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Resilient Joy: The Posture Of Joy

If there’s a word that describes our collective spirits in 2021 and 2022, it might be languishing. This week, Ryan opens a new series on Philippians in which we’ll explore what it means to have joy beyond circumstance and “happiness”.

The Followup: Better Together: Invite Together

Hayden, Michael, and Ryan sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Better Together: Invite Together

Ryan concludes our Better Together series with a message on the invitational life of Jesus – from the woman at the well to Zaccheus the tax collector – and his call to be not just his followers but also fishers of people.

The Followup: Better Together: Grow Together

Bryan, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Better Together: Grow Together

Bryan continues our Better Together series with a message drawn from the community in which Jesus participated, and the community enjoyed by the early church in Acts. If Jesus needs it… we need it!

The Followup: Better Together: Serve Together

Hayden, Michael, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Better Together: Serve Together

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. – John 13:14. Today, Ryan begins a three-part Better Together series with a message about serving, from John 13 and 1 Corinthians 12.

The Followup: Summer On The Mount: Judgement

Bryan, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer on the Mount: Judgment

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye”?

The Followup: Summer On The Mount: Retaliation

Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer on the Mount: Retaliation

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." – Matthew 5:38–39. This is one of the most challenging teachings Jesus gives us in the Sermon on the Mount. Did the One who flipped tables in the temple really suggest that we should lie down and let others walk all over us?

The Followup: Summer On The Mount: Salt and Light

Hayden, Michael, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer on the Mount: Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet." – Matthew 5:13. Pastor Ryan unpacks the rich meaning of this familiar passage: what salt and light tell us about who we are, how Jesus sees us, and our role in the world in which we temporarily reside.

The Followup: Summer On The Mount: Peacemakers

Bryan, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer on the Mount: Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9. Ryan opens our new Summer on the Mount series with a message on peacemaking in our divisive and polarized times – not peacekilling, or even peacekeeping, but literally doing the hard work of making peace, as believers and as a church body.

The Followup: Summer At Arbor: Uncertainty

Alison, Hayden, and Ryan sit down to discuss Ryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer at Arbor: Uncertainty

No one likes uncertainty, but adversity and uncertainty go hand in hand with following Jesus. In his first message as Arbor’s lead pastor, Pastor Ryan explains why this is so, using examples from the Scripture, his own life, and Arbor’s past.

The Followup: A Special Welcome Pt.2

We are excited to introduce Ryan Plantz, our lead pastor! Take a listen and get to know our new staff member at Arbor Church.

Changes: Change is Here

We send off Cliff with Alison giving the word from the book of Ezra and how change can be viewed differently from each person and their experiences. *Note: We apologize in advance for Alison’s audio missing from the beginning portion of the stream/video message. The audio podcast will have the complete message from the beginning.

The Followup: A Special Welcome

We are excited to introduce Ryan Plantz, our lead pastor! Take a listen and get to know our new staff member at Arbor Church.

Summer at Arbor: It's Gods to Use

We continue our summer series with Pastor Cliffs last message with us at Arbor as he leaves us with a message from the story of Moses and how what we have in life is Gods to use.

Summer At Arbor: Loving Your Neighbor

We start our new series Summer At Arbor with Michael speaking about how we can love ourselves and love others around us.

The Followup: Changes: Joseph and Nicodemus

Cliff, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: Jospeh and Nicodemus

We conclude our series Changes with Cliff diving into the New Testament and talking about two men who personally knew Jesus and discovered the Grace that he gave to them.

Changes: Fathers

Happy Fathers Day! Cliff continues our series changes by diving into how God is seen as our heavenly father

The Followup: Changes: Legion

Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: Legion

We continue our series Changes with Pastor Cliff reading from Mark and how Jesus restored the possessed man.

Changes: Truths From Ruth

Alison takes the stage today as she continues our series Changes diving into the book of Ruth and showing how through life changing seasons, God will provide.

The Followup: Changes: Ruth

Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

The Followup: Changes: ...But God

Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: But God

We continue our series Changes with Pastor Cliff telling us the two words that will change our perspective on life.

The Followup: Changes: Expectations

Alison, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: Expectations

Cliff continues with part four of our series Changes talking about John and how he changed his expectations about who Jesus was.

The Followup: Changes: Blindspots

Alison, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: Blindspots

Cliff continues part three of our series Changes talking about the blindspots in our walk with God looking into John 9 with Jesus healing the blindman

The Followup: Changes: Hannah

Alison, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: Hannah

Cliff continues our Changes series with the story of Hannah, Samuel, and how giving sacrificially to God changes us.

The Followup: Changes: Lazarus

Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Changes: Lazarus

Cliff starts our new series Changes with a message on the raising of Lazarus, God’s incredible ability to turn grief into belief, and how trusting God changes us.

The Followup: Forgiveness: 5 Secrets of Good Forgivers

Alison, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Forgiveness: 5 Secrets of Good Forgivers

Alison concludes our series with a Buzzfeed-worthy message on the top 5 secrets of forgiveness.

Forgiveness: Easter Sunday

Cliff concludes our Forgiveness series on Easter Sunday with a message on the greatest act of forgiveness in history.

Forgiveness: The Passover Lamb

From Exodus 3-12, Cliff reveals the amazing parallels between the Passover Lamb and other Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’ death on the cross.

The Followup: Forgiveness in the Old Testament

Alison, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Forgiveness in the Old Testament

Scott opens our new 3-week Easter series on forgiveness with a deep dive into what forgiveness looked like in the Old Testament, before the arrival of Jesus changed everything.

The Followup: Circles (The Ends of the Earth)

Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Hayden’s message from Sunday.

The Followup: Circles (Neighborhood)

Alison, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

The Followup: Circles (Home)

Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Cliff concludes our All In series on Romans 8 with this wonderful truth: God’s love overcomes all obstacles.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:31-34)

Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 31-34

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Can God really work all things for our good? Cliff unpacks the beautiful truth of that simple phrase: God is for us.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:28-30)

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 28-30

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose… Today, Cliff teaches from his life verse and reveals God’s plan to turn our pain and problems into praise.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:23-27)

Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 22-27

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly… Bryan teaches from the next section of Romans 8: hope, firstfruits, groaning, intercession… and above all, the wonderful truth that we are not alone.

The Followup: Impossible Possibilities

We apologize for the technical issue with Alison’s microphone. We found out about it, after the recording had ended.

Impossible Possibilities

Today we celebrate Arbor’s fifth birthday, a milestone many church plants never reach! Cliff commemorates the occasion with a message based on the story of Gideon and God’s supernatural knack for making the impossible possible.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:18-21)

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 18-21

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us… Today, Scott draws the short straw and continues our series in Romans 8 with a look at verses 18-21 and the essential role of suffering in the life of the Christian.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:12-17)

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 12-17

Today, we continue our series, All In. It’s a series about understanding our faith, drawn verse by verse from the 8th chapter of Romans. Cliff takes us through the deeper meaning of adoption into God’s family.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:5-11)

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 5-8

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Today, a message from Alison on how our mindset impacts our faith … and our life.

The Followup: All In (Romans 8:1-4)

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Romans 8: Verses 1-4

Today, we start a new series, All In. It’s a series about understanding our faith, drawn verse by verse from the 8th chapter of Romans. Cliff starts us off with a deep exploration of the first 4 verses of this chapter; you might recognize them: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

The Followup: Christmas Stories: Between the Star and the Stable

Alison, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Christmas Stories: Between the Star and the Stable

Alison wraps up our Christmas Stories series with a message about what happens in our lives as Christians in the space between the Star – the hope of God’s promises – and the Stable – the fulfillment of those promises. The journey can be so long; how do we live in that space?

The Followup: Christmas Special

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Christmas traditions and stories.

Christmas Stories: Home for Christmas

No church service this Sunday after Christmas … instead, the Arbor staff gathers for a special year-end conversation, looking back at 2021 and ahead to what’s next.

The Followup: Christmas Stories: Fear Not

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Christmas Stories: Fear Not

Fear not. Angels say it again and again – but what’s it mean when we’re also often admonished to fear God? Scott brings us into the heart of these two powerful words.

The Followup: Christmas Stories: Mary

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Christmas Stories: Mary

We continue our Christmas Stories series with a message from Pastor Cliff about Mary, the mother of Jesus… an ordinary person whom God used for extraordinary things.

The Followup: Christmas Stories: Jesus' Genealogy

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Christmas Stories: Jesus' Genealogy

Our new series Christmas Stories explores the miracle of Jesus’ birth through new eyes and perspectives. This week, Brian opens the series with the stories of three of Jesus’ ancestors: little-known characters in the big genealogical records that preface the Gospels, and how their story became part of His.

40+ Days of Prayer: The Stories

Today, our 40+ Days of Prayer series ends – not with a message but with story after story of how God has moved, healed, and restored in the last 40 days as we have sought Him together.

The Followup: 40+ Days of Prayer: Multiplying Your Prayer Power

Bryan, Cliff, Darcy, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

40+ Days of Prayer: Multiplying Your Prayer Power

Do you feel like your prayers just aren’t doing anything? The last message in our 40+ Days of Prayer series is for you: from Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thess 5:17, and Luke 18:6-8, Cliff shows us how to multiply our prayer power.

The Followup: 40+ Days of Prayer: The Breakthrough

We apologize! We had some technical difficulties on this one!

40+ Days of Prayer: Breakthrough Prayer

Breakthrough prayer requires intentionality and persistence … it doesn’t change God, but it does change us! Cliff speaks on fasting, tongues, gifts, and how these things can be used by God to help us experience breakthroughs in our spiritual lives. Note: This recording was cut off about 45 minutes in due to a brief power outage.

The Followup: 40+ Days of Prayer: The What

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

40+ Days of Prayer: The What

Sometimes prayer is about getting to know God more than about getting the answers we’re looking for. God wants to teach us through prayer, so we need to be paying attention! But what if God just seems … absent? Today, Cliff continues our series on prayer with answers for one of the toughest questions people ask about prayer: what is going on when God is silent?

The Followup: 40+ Days of Prayer: The When

Cliff, Darcy, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

40+ Days of Prayer: The When

Prayer is the weapon that wins spiritual battles! Today, Cliff takes us through the Armor of God in Ephesians 6, explaining each piece and outlining 4 winning battle strategies.

The Followup: 40+ Days of Prayer: The How

Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Karen sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

40+ Days of Prayer: The How

Knowing how to pray makes praying a lot easier! Today, Cliff breaks down how we should (and shouldn’t) pray, using a 4-part framework Jesus gave us in Matthew 6. (Hint: it’s one you can probably already recite.)

The Followup: 40+ Days of Prayer: The Why

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

40+ Days of Prayer: The Why

This week we embark together as a church on a 40+ day prayer adventure. Cliff opens the series with a message about why we pray, how God answers, and what prayer does in our lives. Very simply: we pray because prayer works, and it’s the key to knowing God.

The Followup: Family Values: Serve Sacrificially

Alison, Amanda, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Family Values: Serve Sacrificially

1 Peter 4:10 – As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace… From this passage (and from a variety of As Seen On TV products), Bryan closes our Family Values series with a message on what it means to Serve Sacrifically. How are you using your gift?

The Followup: Family Values: Give Generously

Alison, Bryan Hayden, and Loren sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Family Values: Give Generously

Jesus talked a lot about money and generosity; by one count, 25% of his teaching was on this subject. Today, Alison looks at Scripture to discover what it looks like to give generously and why we give generously… and offers both an exemption and a money-back guarantee.

The Followup: Family Values: Growing Spiritually

Alison, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Family Values: Grow Spiritually

From Hebrews 5, Scott shows us how to grow spiritually by following the example of Jesus, the great High Priest. Spiritual growth isn’t about strength, knowledge, or having all the answers … it’s about weakness, prayer, a willingness to endure discomfort, and ultimately our relationship with God.

The Followup: Family Values: Engaging Consistently

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Family Values: Engage Consistently

Drawing from the accounts of the earliest believers in Acts, the courage of Daniel, Paul’s admonitions, and other Scripture, Cliff demonstrates how consistent engagement turns our beliefs into our lifestyle.

The Followup: Family Values: Living Invitationally

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Family Values: Live Invitationally

Our new series Family Values is all about how we, as a church and as individuals, achieve our mission of helping people find and follow Jesus: we live invitationally, engage consistently, grow spiritually, give generously, and serve sacrificially. Today, Cliff teaches from Luke 12 on the subject of Living Invitationally and the value of truly being ready for Jesus. How does it change our schedule, priorities, relationships, and lives?

The Followup: A Summer With Jesus: The Finale

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer with Jesus: A Time to Show Up

This Labor Day weekend, Bryan concludes our Summer with Jesus with a message from Acts 1, as Jesus spoke his final words on Earth. Like the disciples, we’ve spent time with Jesus… and now it’s time to show up like He did, in His likeness.

The Followup: A Summer With Jesus: Summer Cemetery

Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Summer with Jesus: The Summer Cemetery

Cemeteries aren’t very … summery. But today we visit one with Alison: from John 11, the story of Lazarus, Martha, Mary, our plans, God’s plans, and an empathetic, life-giving man named Jesus.

The Followup: Community Serve Day

Alison, Austin, and Hayden sit down to discuss Community Serve Day.

The Followup: A Summer With Jesus: Truth and Lies

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Summer with Jesus: Truth and Lies

From the first lie in the Bible (in the first chapter of Genesis!) to Jesus’ words of warning in John 8… today’s message from Cliff is about the lies the enemy tells us, and what we need to do to overcome them with the truth that comes from Jesus.

The Followup: A Summer With Jesus: Kid's Sunday

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Michael’s message from Sunday.

Summer with Jesus: Let the Little Children

It’s a very special Sunday at Arbor: today we celebrate with families who are dedicating their children. Michael, our Children’s Director, gives a message from Matthew 19. Jesus said, “let the little children come to me … for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." What did He mean? Can we see and love people the way Jesus sees and loves people?

Summer with Jesus: Retreat, Restore, Return

This week on Summer with Jesus, Scott Hetherington speaks on a pattern of living that Jesus taught his disciples and modeled throughout his ministry: retreat with Jesus, restore with God … and return with purpose.

The Followup: A Summer With Jesus: The Samaritan Woman

Alison, Bryan, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Summer with Jesus: Talking with Jesus

From John 4, Bryan teaches on the story of Jesus’s conversation with the woman at the well. What happens when we’re confronted with a sin or change we need to make in our lives?

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

The Followup: Worship

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss worship.

Summer with Jesus: Draw Near to God

Special guest and longtime friend of Arbor Mike North delivers today’s message. Our mission at Arbor is to help the hurting… and to do that we must first address our own hurts, habits, and hangups. Mike challenges us to examine ourselves honestly and with humility, and to draw near to God for help and healing.

The Followup: A Summer With Jesus Week 1

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Summer with Jesus: Healings

Today, Cliff starts a new series, Summer with Jesus, in which we’re looking at things that apply to us personally based on what Jesus did and what Jesus said. Today, from Matthew 8, the story of Jesus healing a man with leprosy.

The Followup: Personal Devotions

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss how they spend our time in the Bible.

The Followup: Family Values

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Arbor’s family values.

The Followup: Father's Day

Ben, Bryan, Hayden, and Jon sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

In this special Father’s Day message, Bryan teaches us about about the influence fathers wield, whether they intend to our not, and – from the familiar story of an official with a sick son – shows us how to be intentional with that influence.

The Followup: Priorities: Go Ye

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Priorities: Go Ye

Today, Cliff teaches us from Matthew 28 that “all authority has been given to Jesus in Heaven and on Earth. Go ye therefore…” Will you trust Jesus? Will you go?

The Followup: Priorities: One Job

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Priorities: One Job

“You had one job!” … We’ve all heard it, especially when that one job isn’t done well. Today, Cliff teaches from the Parable of the Ten Minas: as followers of Christ, what is our One Job?

The Followup: Priorities: Battle Strategies

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Priorities: Battle Strategies

This Memorial Day weekend: a message from the book of Job, not about the earthly wars we often remember at this time but about another kind of warfare entirely. We win these spiritual battles when we use God’s strategies, and Cliff reveals the 3 strategies that He has given us to be victorious over the Enemy.

The Followup: Priorities: Neither

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Priorities: God's Way

New series this week! Cliff opens Priorities with a fresh take from the life of Joshua. Say it with us: It’s not my way or your way … it’s only God’s way.

The Followup: Good News: Access

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Good News: Access

Scott wraps up our Good News series with a message on our access to God: why do we have access to God? what privileges does this access bring? … and how can we use this access in the way He intended?

The Followup: Good News: Appreciation

Alison, CJ, and Darcy sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Good News: Proverbs 31

Today, Alison with a word not just for mothers but for women everywhere, from Proverbs 31. This chapter doesn’t read like good news to those of us who see it as an unattainable standard for women. But … what if Proverbs 31 is about who we are, not who we aren’t?

The Followup: Good News: Love

Alison, Bryan, Cliff, Hayden, and Michael sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Good News: God's Love

This week in our Good News series, a message about God’s love – truly the greatest news ever told. From 1 John 4, Cliff teaches us about God’s love, and what it means for us to be on the side of love.

The Followup: Good News: Forgiveness

Alison, Cliff, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Good News: Forgiveness

Today, Scott uses Paul’s letter to Philemon to outline the good news of God’s forgiveness … and who we are because of it.

The Followup: Good News: Broken Pieces to Masterpieces

Alison, Bryan, Cliff and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Good News: Broken Pieces into Masterpieces

From John 6, Cliff tells the well-known story of Jesus feeding a crowd with loaves and fishes, and invites us along the way to stop and reflect on what Jesus can do with whatever we are willing to offer to Him: He alone can take broken pieces and from them create masterpieces.

The Followup: Good News: Lost and Found

Bryan, Cliff and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Good News: Lost and Found

Cliff opens our Good News series with a message on Jesus’ mission to seek and save what was lost. Along the way: a sheep, a coin, a son, distractions, carelessness, and a simple truth: Jesus doesn’t care how you got lost. He just wants you to be found.

This Easter Sunday, Bryan takes us a walk with two men on the road to Emmaus… reflecting on all that’s happened, reflecting on this last year for all of us, and listening to what Jesus has to say about Himself through His own words.

The Followup: Galatians 6

Alison, Hayden and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: Galatians 6

Scott closes our series Letters to a Young Church with Paul’s final exhortations to the Galatians, on the topics of bearing each others’ burdens, sowing and reaping, and the art of gentle restoration.

The Followup: Galatians 5

Alison, Bryan, Hayden and Michael sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: Galatians 5 (Part 2)

*…Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. * – Galatians 5:13b. Today, Bryan looks at our freedom in Christ from another perspective. Along the way: shoulder demons, shoulder angels, logs, specks, spiritual fruit, and a man named John Baker. How will you use your freedom?

The Followup: Galatians 5

Alison, Bryan, Hayden and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: Galatians 5

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. – Galatians 5:1. Scott shows us what the Scripture has to say about how to stand firm in that freedom and avoid the yoke of slavery.

The Followup: Galatian 3-4

Alison, Bryan, Cliff and Hayden sit down to discuss Cliff’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: Galatians 4

New interim pastor Cliff Tadema continues our series Letters to a Young Church with a message on Galatians 4 and our freedom in Christ.

The Followup: Galatian 2-3

Alison, Scott and Hayden sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: Galatians 2-3

Thessalonians was a letter of encouragement, but Galatians is a little more confrontational. The early church, barely a few years after Jesus founded it, had already begun to suffer a division as legalism and tradition took the place of grace and freedom. Scott digs into the story of the Galatian church and shows us why this story sounds so familiar. (Plus, he says the word circumcision a lot.)

The Followup: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Alison, Bryan and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Part 2)

In the his closing thoughts in 1 Thessalonians, Paul admonishes the young church to build … with their leaders, with each other, and with God.

The Followup: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:12

Alison, Scott and Hayden sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: 1 Thessalonians 5

On this Super Bowl Sunday, Scott opens Thessalonians to the last part of Chapter 4 and the first part of Chapter 5, and speaks to the hope that Christians have of life with Christ in death.

The Followup: 1 Thessalonians 4

David and Bryan sit down to discuss the message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: 1 Thessalonians 4

The Apostle Paul did some stuff that was downright crazy from the world’s perspective. And as God works in us to sanctify us… well, that can look a little crazy, too. Today, David speaks from 1 Thessalonians 4 on the beautiful, crazy life of the Christian.

The Followup: 1 Thessalonians 3

Alison, Scott, and Bryan sit down to discuss Scott’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: 1 Thessalonians 3

The culture is a little different than it was in Bible times, but some things about the life of a Christian haven’t changed. As we look at the 3rd chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Scott outlines the trials we can all expect … as well as strength, encouragement, and a life of love and steadfastness.

The Followup: 1 Thessalonians 2

Alison, Hayden, and Bryan sit down to discuss Alison’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: 1 Thessalonians 2

In the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Alison leads us through the establishment of Paul’s credibility and outlines both the pastor’s part and the church’s part of the worthy walk that God has called us into.

The Followup: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Alison, Hayden, and Bryan sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from Sunday.

Letters to a Young Church: 1 Thessalonians 1

Bryan leads us through 1 Thessalonians 1 and Paul’s encouragement to the church to continue in their faith, love, and hope.

Alison and Bryan wrap up our Still series with a message for the Arbor family, about who we are, what our church means, our family values, what’s changed, what hasn’t, and where we want to go together. It’s been one crazy year … but we are still Arbor.

A special Christmas Eve message reminding us that we can be still … because God is still with us.

The Followup: Still... Moving

Alison, Hayden, and Scott sit down to discuss Scott’s message from yesterday and the Christmas story.

The short story of Mary and Joseph, though just a prelude to the bigger story of Jesus, reminds us that in the midst of uncertainty and waiting, God is still moving – and when God moves, we need to get moving with him.

The Followup: Still... Working

Alison, Bryan, and Hayden sit down to discuss Bryan’s message from yesterday and the intertestamental period.

This Christmas, in all the chaos in our world and in our lives, we’re exploring the idea of Still. Bryan opens with a look at a time in the history of God’s people that’s rarely part of the Christmas story: the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. Reduced to a comma in sentences, a single blank page in your Bible – where was God during these centuries of silence?

The Followup: Helping The Hurting: Ourselves

Alison, Bryan, and Alison sit down to discuss Alison’s message from yesterday and everything from grief to Gilmore Girls.

The Followup: Christmas Traditions

Its Alison and the boys! This week Alison, Bryan, Hayden, and Michael talk about Christmas traditions and what they grew up doing every December.

Outlandish Love

Today, Mike Howerton introduces us to a radical, over-the-top, expansive love … a beautiful, outrageous, outlandish kind of love that could only come from God.

Homesick: Living with Heaven in Mind

How we think about eternity determines how we live today. If that’s true and I’m living with my eternal end in mind, what does life practically look like? How does living with heaven in mind affect my calendar, my contentment, and my conversations? Heaven is our home, and scripture tells us that it’s worth looking forward to!

Homesick: Living in Heaven

Today we tackle all the big questions about the eternal heaven: What will it be like? Will I know and recognize loved ones? Will I receive a new body? Do I get wings? Will there be dogs in heaven? If I’m really there for eternity won’t I eventually get bored? The Bible has answers that may surprise you.

Homesick: Eternal Heaven

Just when you thought heaven couldn’t get better, it does. All things will be made new, including heaven and earth. The work of Christ’s restoration plan is much bigger than we could’ve ever imagined. He’s not only redeeming our souls, he’s renewing all of his original creation.

Homesick: Intermediate Heaven

Have you ever wondered what your loved one is doing in heaven right now? Can they see and hear you on earth? When we die, we are immediately with Jesus for all eternity, but at some point in eternity… heaven is going to move. And until that happens, our loved ones are in what theologians have termed the “intermediate heaven”.

Homesick: Heaven Our Home

How often do we think about heaven? Typically we don’t, unless we receive a difficult diagnosis or lose someone we love, the afterlife is usually an afterthought. The writer of Hebrews says that this world is not our home… heaven is our home. How would our lives be different today if we really believed we were going home tomorrow?

The Life You Were Made For: Part 2

Mike Howerton concludes our two-part series on The Life You Were Made For with message on overcoming the one obstacle that often looms largest: our own fear.

The Life You Were Made For: Part 1

A young Mike Howerton walks a into a classroom to see a big question (maybe the biggest question) written on the chalkboard: what is the good life? Jesus spoke of it: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10); what did He mean? Mike shares the 8 areas of life in which we need to live with purpose and intention in order to experience this good, full, and abundant life.

Who Needs Church?

As pews sit empty for months in the wake of a global pandemic, some are beginning to wonder for the first time if we truly need to fill them again… but long before the first COVID-19 case, a generation had already begun voting church non-essential with their feet. This week, Jake answers the tough question: who needs church?

Worship: What will Worship be like in Heaven?

Alison Acone makes her debut with a message about what worship is like in Heaven.

Worship: Why Are You Here?

Scott Hetherington takes us through two different accounts of the story of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, where He overturned tables and fulfilled prophecy. What would the Temple be today?

Worship: Syncing Your Heart and Habits

Mark 7 tells the story of a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees … on hand washing, of all things, something we’re all thinking about more often. Guest speaker Jesse Butterworth contrasts the Pharisee’s outside-in view with Jesus’ inside-out perspective, and asks some tough questions about modern-day hypocrisy.

Worship: Lift Your Voice

As we’re discovering this summer, worship is about a lot more than just singing – but singing is still a big deal to God! From Acts 16, Jake shares the story of Paul and Silas’s miraculous release from prison, encourages us to worship rather than worry, and reveals which Thanksgiving food singing would be if singing were a Thanksgiving food.

Worship: True or False?

In Jesus’ famous conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well, he told her that “true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Today, from Scott Hetherington: what it means to worship in Spirit, what it means to worship in truth, three kinds of false worship, and an awkward conversation with an English teacher.

Worship: The Widow's Mite

This week, from Luke 21, Mike Howerton brings us the story of the widow’s mite – the two very small coins she offered to God that Jesus declared to be worth more than all the riches that had been offered before them. Along the way: generosity, money, happiness, and what it really means to worship through giving.

Worship: An Overflowing Heart

Bryan continues our summer Worship series with an in-depth look at the story of the woman who poured out a very expensive bottle of perfume at Jesus’ feet, from John 12. What can it teach us about what it means to worship with lavish love?

Worship: An Invitation

This week we begin both Tent Church and a summer series on worship. Jake opens the series with an in-depth look at Psalm 95 and the meaning, motive, and modes of worship. (Did you know that it used to be called worthship?)

Somehow, in the midst of a global pandemic, the church has – instead of facing the challenge together – become more divided than ever. Jake echoes the pleas of Jesus and Paul for unity and shares the two things we need in order to come together again.

The Strange, Sad Story of Samson

This Father’s Day, Mike Howerton brings us the story of Samson, one of the Old Testament’s tragic heroes – a man devoted to God but mastered by his desires, and a man who could have benefited from some coaching. Mike shares some thoughts on who and what we allow to master us, and the everyday mantras that keep a life in alignment with God.

Begin Again: Life After Death

This is the story of the most famous verse of the Bible, John 3:16. It’s the story of that verse in its proper context, a nighttime conversation with a certain Pharisee, who had some questions about the kind of Beginning Again Jesus had been talking about. Jake takes 5 truths from Jesus’ answers … and one simple question.

Begin Again: A Conversation About Racism

In light of George Floyd’s death and the nationwide protests it has ignited, Scott Hetherington pivots this Sunday to address the topic on everyone’s minds. He speaks from personal experience as a man with Black mentors and a servant on a diversity and equity committee, and leads us in a difficult conversation about the Bible, the Church, racism, and each one of us.

Begin Again: Life After Loss

This week, we embark upon a new series, Begin Again, and Jake teaches from the story lovingly painted on hundreds of church nursery walls but somehow regularly passed over by grown-ups: Noah’s Ark. Everyone knows the story of how the world ended, but less well know is what came after – how Noah started again.

Peter: The Wise

This week, Jake concludes an epic 12-week series in which we’ve sought to understand Jesus through the life of Peter. We remember who Peter was, who he became, and why, and learn from the wisdom he expressed later in his life in his epistles – 1 and 2 Peter.

Peter: The Dreamer

Today, from Acts 10, Scott recounts the story of Peter’s bizarre dream at Simon’s house: a sheet full of animals is lowered from heaven, three times. What did it mean for Peter? … And does it mean anything for us?

Peter: The Liberated

Ten years after the Resurrection, Peter was finally the faith-filled follower of Jesus that he was meant to become. Today, the story of his miraculous liberation from jail, and a tough question it raises concerning God’s character.

Peter: The Healer

Peter didn’t have money, but he did have a God-given gift of healing. After God healed a lame man through Peter, people would place the sick where Peter’s shadow would fall on them, believing that even this would heal their loved ones. Today, we explore the theology of God’s gift of healing in Peter’s day … and ours.

Peter: The Preacher

Today: How an uneducated, impulsive fisherman became a fisher of men.

Peter: The Restored

After Jesus’ resurrection, John chapter 21 tells the story of Peter’s restoration. How could the man who denied Jesus in His darkest hour possibly be restored to His side?

Peter: The Forgiven

In Easters past we have looked at the reality of the resurrection. This year, we look at its result, through the eyes of Peter.

Peter: The Failure

In this special Good Friday message, we remember and reflect on a blood-stained cross, and enter the next chapter of Peter’s story: the awful truth of the three times he denied Jesus.

Peter: The Rock

This week, we discuss what Jesus meant when he referred to Peter as the Rock, and Peter’s answer to the most important question Jesus ever asked: who do you say that I am?

Peter: The Learner

This week, we’re excited to welcome Mike Howerton to our regular speaking team! Mike continues our series on Peter with a message on three of most important lessons Peter learned in his short time with Jesus.

Peter: The Bold

One of Peter’s defining moments was when he walked on water with Jesus. Today we read that story in Matthew 14 carefully, verse by verse, to learn what enabled Peter to look past his fear and take that step. During this time of global pandemic and turmoil, can we learn to trust Jesus in the same way?

Peter: The Ordinary

This week we start a new 10 week (yes, 10 week!) series on Peter. He was just an ordinary man who lived what was in most ways an ordinary life, a big-hearted fisherman who Jesus loved. Our aim in this series is not just to learn about Peter himself but to learn more about Jesus as we see him through Peter’s eyes.

The Story of Mark

Today, the story of John Mark, better known in Scripture as simply “Mark.” Like most of us, Mark was just an ordinary man. But God loves ordinary men, and God used him (and He can use us) for extraordinary things.

Scott Swan joins us for Arbor’s first Gospel Sunday to speak on how Jesus miraculously saved him and how Jesus can also save every one of us.

Discover: The Who?

It’s graduation day! In the final week of our class, we’re completing our discussion of Arbor’s purpose by talking about WHO accomplishes that purpose. Week 4 Booklet (PDF)

Discover: The How?

In the first two weeks, we covered what our purpose is and why we’re here. Now it’s time for the nuts and bolts: how, exactly, do we go about accomplishing our purpose? What’s our strategy? Special guest appearances from people behind the scenes at Arbor, including the leader of our Groups ministry and someone who’s witnessed firsthand what God’s been doing through our care team. Week 3 Booklet (PDF)

Discover: The What?

Last week we talked about why Arbor exists, and now we’re answering the next big question: what is our purpose? The answer is a simple phrase … but sometimes even a simple phrase can mean different things to different people, so today we’re going deep and talking practically about how we live out our purpose. Week 2 Booklet (PDF)

Discover: The Why?

In our new series class, we’re learning about the fundamental principles on which Arbor is founded, starting this week on Arbor’s 3rd birthday with the Why: Why a new church? Why now? And most importantly, why are we here? If you’re watching or listening online (and especially if you enjoy filling in blanks), we encourage you to download and print the booklet so you can follow along: Week 1 Booklet (PDF)

Choose: Important over Urgent

Scott wraps up our Choose series by asking us to make the hard choice to chose what’s truly important when our lives are full of urgency.

Choose: Surrender over Control

It’s hard to give up control. It’s scary to give up control. And we often feel unsure of where we should give up control. Jake shares some stories from Scripture that illustrate the consequences of hanging on to the reins too tightly, and gives us three questions to ask to determine if we should let go.

Choose: Discipline Over Regret

Scott Hetherington continues the Choose series with a talk on how we should choose discipline in our life rather than eroding ourselves with regret.

Choose: Purpose over Popularity

Our new series is about the handful of critical choices we all make in life. In this first message, Jake asks us to consider whether we’re choosing to please people … or to follow the purpose God’s given us.

We celebrate our first Family Sunday with a message from our Student Director, Bryan, who has some words for the kids in the audience – and their parents – from Ephesians, and the story of a young Jesus’ disappearance in Jerusalem. (Can you imagine losing the Son of God?)

Christmas Table

A special Christmas Eve message featuring … Mephibosheth. This story of this little-known man’s journey to the king’s table is also our story – and the story of Christmas.

Just Like Jesus: Forgave

Garrett closes our series with a look at how Jesus taught us to forgive – and not just in the Sunday school sins-of-the-world sense, but in a part of his teaching about prayer that’s often overlooked.

Just Like Jesus: Preached

Jesus may be the most famous preacher ever to have lived. And if you don’t think of yourself as a preacher, that’s okay… because telling the story of Jesus is something anyone can do. Today, we learn from how He did it.

Just Like Jesus: Prayed

This, then, is how you should pray, said Jesus, and what follows is the most famous prayer in all of Scripture. Today, rather than turn it into a formula or checklist, we walk through each of its verses and phrases, looking for the heart and intent as we study how Jesus taught us to talk to our Father.

Just Like Jesus: Washed Feet

Imagine it, the Son of God washing the feet of His disciples: it was shocking, intimate, outlandish, and probably a little awkward. Jesus told us to go and do likewise, to wash each other’s feet. Today we’re looking at that strange, powerful encounter verse by verse to learn what it means to truly serve each other.

Just Like Jesus: Loved

They will know we are Christians by our love: What does that love look like? Jesus’s love was … well, a little different. Guest speaker Scott Scruggs explains.

Just Like Jesus: Walked

From now until Christmas, we’re going back to the basics and looking at the life of Jesus so we can simply learn to be like Him. Jake opens the series with a look at how Jesus walked – and not, of course, in the pedometer sense.

Baggage: Resentment

Resentment isn’t easy baggage to put down. It often weighs us down for years and years, sometimes to the point where we even start telling ourselves we’re comfortable with it. Scott teaches us how to confront it, using lessons from Paul’s letter to Philemon concerning Onesimus.

What does the Scripture have to say about debt? How should we prioritize our spending when there doesn’t seem to be enough to go around? Garrett asks these tough questions and offers hope as we look at one of the biggest killers of marriages, relationships, and freedom. Links to resources Garrett mentions in his message: Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace University, EveryDollar Budget App

Baggage: Secrets

Our new series is all about baggage. Our hope is to identify the different kinds of baggage we’re carrying – and how to drop it. Jake opens the series by talking about the heavy burden of secrets.

Ghost: the Power of

Jesus said that we would “receive power” from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)… but what kind of power, exactly, does the Spirit give us? What’s a spiritual gift, and how is it different from the Fruit (or, of you will, Produce) of the Spirit? Jake tackles these tough questions and more in the conclusion to our series on the Holy Ghost.

Ghost: the Produce of

You’ve heard it called “the Fruit of the Spirit,” we’re calling it the Produce, and one translation even calls it the Harvest of the Spirit. No matter what you call it, Paul’s famous list helps understand what it means to live a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life. Bonus: lessons from a French Press.

Ghost: the Promise of

Jesus promised us a Helper. Today we’re talking about the fulfillment of that promise, in detail: How has the role of the Holy Spirit changed since the days of the Old Testament? When does He begin to dwell in the heart of a believer? What does it mean for Him to dwell in us in the first place? And – what if He’s supposed to be present, but we just don’t feel it?

Ghost: the Person of

Yes, we’re going there: our new sermon series is all about the Holy Spirit. This week, Jake talks about who, exactly, the Holy Spirit is, finally addressing from the pulpit the question Christians have been asking for so many years: what is the one difference between the Holy Spirit and essential oils?

Together: Like a Mosaic

Maybe you feel like you’re on the outside looking in when it comes to the church – not a perfectly fitting Lego but some sort of melted or misshapen blob. Thankfully, though, you don’t have to be perfect to fit… and sometimes a shape that’s not perfect is exactly what is needed to create something beautiful. Scott explains.

Together: Like Family

It’s hard to imagine a more apt metaphor for our togetherness as a church than a family – in fact, it’s not a metaphor at all; we are a family! Jake shares the three blessings we receive as adopted children of God, and specific ways we can support our siblings in Christ.

Together: Like Legos

Our new series Together starts this week! (Did you know that Arbor Church was almost “Together Church”?) Jake opens it up with a few lessons we can learn from the humble Lego.

Psalms: Psalm 30

Guest speaker Phil closes our series in Psalms with Psalm 30 and his own remarkable testimony.

Psalms: Psalm 51

Scott teaches us about Psalm 51, where David shows us how having a broken and contrite heart when asking forgiveness brings us closer to God.

Psalms: Psalm 23

“The Lord is my shepherd…" Thus begins David’s 23rd Psalm, one of the most oft-quoted and beloved Psalms in the Bible; a comfort to martyrs, cited by presidents, simple enough for a child, yet full of theological depth. Garrett helps us understand the rich imagery in this beautiful poem.

Psalms: Psalm 140 & 141

David’s Psalm 140 and Psalm 141 mirror each other, and both teach us about the awful power of tongue. Some words are helpful; some words are hurtful–but all words are consequential.

Psalms: Psalm 1

Today we go back with Scott to very first chapter of Psalms, which centers around the power of God’s word – the best self-help book ever written.

Psalms: Psalm 42 & 43

Garrett talks us through Psalms 42 & 43 and how we can praise God even when we are experiencing “Spiritual Depression”

Psalms: Psalm 150

Today we’re embarking on a new series in the book of Psalms, and Jake kicks it off by opening to Psalm 150 – a short Psalm that nevertheless lays a kind of framework for praise.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1). On a week when we’re celebrating the freedom of our nation (by blowing stuff up, of course), Scott asks what it means to free – and how we’re to live inside that freedom.

Given that our days are numbered, how do we savor the time we have left? Jake reveals a surprisingly simple answer based on his own limited time with his daughter Maggie, the wisdom of Moses in Psalm 90, and some insight from an interview with Aaron, a member of our family who has received some of the worst news you can from a doctor.

Savor: God's Word

Do you have a Bible collecting dust on a shelf? You’re not alone – only one in five Christians are in God’s word daily. Bryan exhorts us to take our Bibles off our shelves and savor the incredible, living word of God.

We’re all so busy all the time – we even take pride in it. Do we really need to abstain from every little bit of work on a “Sabbath” day to experience the rest that Jesus spoke of? Garrett starts with the resting God did back in Genesis and works through the Bible to see what it truly means to rest in Him.

Jake speaks on how to savor peace and where it is found.

Savor: Salvation

Our new series is about savoring some of the things God’s given us, starting with the biggest and best–salvation.

What's the Point: Prayer

Are we missing the point of prayer? Guest speaker Neely McQueen speaks about not just how to talk to God but how to listen to Him.

35 wks 9 hr 18 min

What's the Point: Pain

It’s one of the most enduring questions Christians wrestle with: Why does God allow so much pain – in the world, and in our own lives? What’s the point?

31 wks 6 days 17 hr 44 min

What's the Point: The Church

Guest speaker Nate Hettinga continues our What’s the Point series, and today we’re asking what the point of church is. To get some answers, Nate turns to the place where it all started.

What's the Point: My Life

Is the point of our life to be happy? Maybe there’s something more than just that. How do we discover our specific purpose in life? A good place to start is by listening to this podcast.

Easter: Mary Magdalene

Even though Jesus foretold his own resurrection, it caught everyone off guard: nobody expected no body. Jesus chose to reveal the best news in the history of the world to … a woman who couldn’t even legally testify in court? Today we visit the old story through new eyes: hers.

On Sunday we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but this Good Friday, we must first walk with Him through the final days before His death on a cross.

There are few people in Scripture who were put through a more difficult trial than Job, from whom was taken almost everything that can be taken. Job’s story, full of suffering that seems senseless, reminds us of Who is in control, and helps unravel the age-old mystery: how do we reconcile a loving God with a world full of pain?

Tested: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego

Guest speaker Mike Howerton continues the series with a reminder that God is with us in our tests… and that He will bring us through them, just as He did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego in the fiery furnace.

Tested: Rich Young Ruler

If you’ve ever failed a test, you’ll relate to this message about The Rich Young Ruler and his encounter with Jesus. Tests reveal the contents of our heart, and in this case, there was more love for wealth than for Jesus. Listen and imagine what your response might’ve been.

Our new sermon series looks at people in the Bible who were tested, starting with Jesus himself – a man who endured a trial directly from the enemy himself. What can we learn from how Jesus handled his trials, and from the shapes and patterns they took in His life?

Name Changers: Simon to Peter

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter.) – John 1:42. But Simon’s name change wasn’t so simple; like ours, his story is messy, full of ups and downs and slips back to his old identity, ready to defend Jesus to the death one day and denying him the next. Scott outlines the four basic phases he went through (and we go through) as Jesus defines who we are.

Name Changers: Saul to Paul

In Saul’s story, we see a name change become a LIFE change. This story speaks so much hope to those of us who feel we’re too far gone for God to love us or have a purpose for. If He could do it for Saul, He can do it for us.

Name Changers: Jacob to Israel

Just like Jacob, we struggle to surrender our future and identity to God. In this message, Pastor Garrett shares how to rest, not wrestle, in who God says we are.

Name Changers: Abram to Abraham

In our new series, we’re studying some people in Scripture who were so wholly transformed by God that that He commemorated the occasion by giving them new names. Abram (or, as he’s now more commonly known, Abraham) was the first of these, a man of faith whose new identity as a father of nations must have seemed, at first, a cruel joke…

What Would Jesus Undo: Greed

Most of us don’t think of ourselves as greedy people, but we all struggle with it to some degree – and perhaps more than we realize. What exactly is greed? Why is it wrong? And how in the world can we undo it?

What Would Jesus Undo: Spiritual Pride

We’ve all heard the saying “Pride comes before the fall.” Perhaps that’s why the scriptures have so much to say about pride… because God doesn’t want us to experience the pain associated with falling. This week Garrett walks us through a story Jesus told that highlights how spiritual pride can get in the way of us experiencing the fullness of life that God intends for us.

What Would Jesus Undo: Spiritual Indifference

If you were in the church scene in the 90’s, you can’t have missed the WWJD bracelets everyone was wearing – What Would Jesus Do?. In our new series, we’re turning that question on its head: What would Jesus undo? And this week, it’s that spiritual meh, the “enough Jesus to get me by” doldrums we’ve all walked through at one time or another. Jake shares one simple thing you can do to undo spiritual indifference in your life.

Making Disciples: Part 2

What does it take to help someone find and follow Jesus? Do you have what it takes? You might not feel like it, but as a follower of Jesus – you do. Scott analyzes find and follow, and unearths the old flannel-graph story of Zacchaeus.

Making Disciples: Part 1

If you’ve been to Arbor, you’ve seen our enormous Making Disciples … Together sign. It’s not just a slogan: it’s one of the things that makes Arbor what it is. In this new series, we’re going to explore what we mean by this simple phrase, and what it practically looks like to make disciples today.

Great Expectations

You’ve probably got some expectations about what’s going to happen when you walk into church – or play this podcast. Today, though, is a little different. We’re going to break some of those expectations and talk about the expectations we have for ourselves, for our church, and for God Himself.

Hope: when I Feel Abandoned

The Good Book tells us that we should pitch our tents in the land of hope (Acts 2:25-28), but how are we supposed to do that when it feels like God’s left us to suffer alone? Dave Swenson offers three tent pegs.

Hope: for the Future

In this special Christmas Eve message, Jake closes out our series on hope with a message about … Simeon. “Who’s that?” He only gets a passing mention in the Christmas story, but if there’s one character in the drama who knew something about hope, it may well be this man, who spent most of his life waiting for God’s promised Messiah.

Hope: for our Present

We’re continuing our series on Hope with Joseph’s story. The Bible doesn’t say much about Jesus’ earthly father, but what we do know paints a picture of a man who had hope when things weren’t looking so good in Bethleham.

Hope: for our Past

Ever felt disqualified because of something in your past? Because of where you’re from? Think your family’s just too messed up to be worth anything? Well, today we’re looking at that long genealogy in Matthew that you’ve probably skipped over once or twice to take a look at Jesus’ family tree. And if you think your family is a train wreck, wait until you hear about His!

Overwhelmed: by People

Sometimes the most overwhelming part of the holidays is just the people around us. What is it about those close to us at holidays that can make us feel as though we can’t take another minute? Bob Lee digs into Philippians 2 to help us understand why we so often feel that way – and what we can do about it.

Overwhelmed: by Pace

You might not admit to being overwhelmed by money or fear, but many of us are somehow proud of being overwhelmed by the pace at which we live. We take pride in being busy and filling our time with activities and responsibilities. We’re certainly doing a lot – but is that really the life Jesus is inviting us into?

Overwhelmed: by Money

Money is one of the biggest things we fight about, one of the most frequently discussed topics in the New Testament, and yet still somehow a taboo subject. You’ve probably felt overwhelmed by finances at least once in your life – and odds are you find them overwhelming now. So, today: straight talk about money, from a spiritual perspective (via Pastor Jake) and from a practical perspective (via our own Mr.

Overwhelmed: by Fear

If you ask someone how they’re really feeling as we enter the holiday season, “overwhelmed” is likely to be an honest answer. Why does it feel sometimes like we’re drowning when we’re just trying to make it through the day? In this series we’re looking at what overwhelms us – and today Jake talks about fear.

Dangerous Prayers: Send Me

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me." – Isaiah 6:8. It’s easy enough to say these words, but when it comes down to it, most of us have a lot of excuses and qualifications around this prayer. Guest speaker Pat Swanson breaks these down and shows us what it means to pray this prayer and mean it.

Dangerous Prayers: Break Me

“Break me." – another prayer that should come with a warning label. When Jesus showed us how to pray this prayer, it was at what we now call the Last Supper. What can we learn from His prayer in this hour?

Dangerous Prayers: Search Me

Our new series is about some of the prayers in Scripture that … well, let’s say they shouldn’t be prayed lightly. We’re starting with David’s dangerous prayer in Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart…

Text: Question the Book

We’re wrapping up our series on the Bible with the tough questions you sent in over the last few weeks. What do we mean when we say the Bible is inerrant–isn’t it full of inconsistencies? How do we know the right books made it into the Bible? How can we reconcile the wrathful, genocidal tribal God of the Old Testament with the loving Father of the New Testament? Wally Kowalski joins us for a chat about these questions (and more!

Text: Study the Book

If the Bible’s a text message from God, it’s certainly an awfully long and daunting one – and anyone who’s tried to read it cover to cover knows that isn’t the best way to do it! This week, Bob gives us some simple tools for reading and learning from Scripture. You might say it’s as easy as using soap.

Text: Trust the Book

The veracity and authenticity of the Bible may have been unquestioned in earlier years, but lately there are lots more skeptics challenging the idea that we can trust it completely. Unfortunately, many of us only have faith-based answers to their fact-based questions, so today we’re going to the facts! Jake blazes through those facts today, laying down the overwhelming case for the Book.

Text: Read the Book

This week we start a new series called Text. It’s about the Bible, and today and Jake exhorts us to actually open it up and read it, addressing one by one the 7 most common excuses people give for letting the dust gather on their Bibles. (#6 will shock you!)

Splitting Logs: Outreach

Garrett wraps up our series on splitting logs with a look at what we’re doing – together – for the grieving, addicted, and lost.

Splitting Logs: Teams

What if the teams serving in our church … didn’t? Well, on this special Sunday .. they don’t. We set up our own chairs, there’s no band up front, we’re looking everywhere for coffee that was never brewed, and Garrett interviews the leads of each team about what they do.

Splitting Logs: Serving

“He who splits logs is endangered by them. If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.” – Ecclesiastes 10:9b-10 (ESV). This week we start a new sermon series based on this verse. For starters we’re talking about splitting the log of serving, and Jake shares some wisdom from Scripture (and his father) on focus and burnout.

Outsiders: Paul

Bob Lee tells us the story of Saul/Paul’s conversion as an example of how God treats outsiders that are hostile towards Christianity.

Outsiders: The Woman at the Well

Neely McQueen from Overlake drops by to talk in our latest message from the Outsiders series about the woman at the well and how Jesus showed great love and compassion to her.

Outsiders: Woman Caught in Adultery

Garrett talks about how Jesus fully embodies grace and truth when confronted with the dillemma of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery: uphold the grace He speaks of in His teachings and save her, or uphold the law of Moses and stone her.

Outsiders: Children

Continuing with the Outsiders series, Jake speaks on a group of people not usually thought of when the term “outsiders” is used: Children. He shows us what Jesus had to say about children and how we can act like Jesus by focusing on and blessing children both near and far.

Outsiders: The Man with Leprosy

Lepers were quit literally outsiders in Jesus’ day, feared and banished from society. That Jesus guy, though… well, he didn’t treat this leper the way everyone else did.

Outsiders: Zacchaeus

In our new sermon series, we’re focusing outward rather than inward, not at ourselves but at those Jesus has called us to serve and reach. Zacchaeus was unquestionably an outsider–a short, unethical man despised even among his own people. Bob walks us through the short story of Zacchaeus’s encounter with Jesus and explains the 6 thing Jesus did to invite him in.

Questions Jesus Asked: Could You Not Keep Watch With Me for One Hour?

In Jesus’s last hours, he asked his disciples to stay awake and pray with him… but it wasn’t easy! How can we, too, stay woke?

Questions Jesus Asked: Who Do You Say I Am?

Jesus asked a whole lot of questions, and we’ve studied some of the more important ones together over the last few weeks. In the penultimate sermon in this series, Jesus asks the most important question: who do you say I am?

Questions Jesus Asked: Which of Them Will Love Him More?

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Jesus asks Simon Peter this simple question with an obvious answer. Like the questions of Jesus we’ve been looking at in this series, though, there’s more beneath the surface…