Waterbrooke Church

Global Missions: ”Building the Kingdom of God When All Other Kingdoms are Crumbling” by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This week starts Mission Week and our message is called Global Missions: Building the Kingdom of God When All Other Kingdoms are Crumbling. In Luke 21:5-19, Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for a time of kingdom turbulence. Recently, I flew on a flight that had terrible turbulence to the point that the plane was damaged on landing. We weren’t prepared for that and it was a relief to be safely on the ground in Nashville. In this passage, Jesus warns that there are rough times ahead for the nation of Israel and for Jesus’ disciples, but it is in that chaos and crumbling that God is building His kingdom.This text is a great passage of Scripture for the times in which we live. As we commit ourselves again as a church to global missions, it is encouraging to know that Christ will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The times are turbulent but our mission is clear. Will you pray with our Missions Team that God will expand and strengthen Waterbrooke’s impact for Christ among the nations? Will you ask God how you might be a part of His kingdom work personally?Looking forward to worshiping Jesus with you this Sunday! Pray with us for a fresh work of the Spirit in our midst.
In Christ,Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor
 
Find out more about Missions Week at Waterbrooke Church www.waterbrooke.church

The Resurrection Changes Everything” by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This Sunday’s message was from Luke 20:27-21:4 is entitled, “The Resurrection Changes Everything.” Jesus continues to be bombarded by the religious establishment who are seeking to change public opinion against him. They recognize that He poses a threat to their place and position in Israel. That is a fact, because Jesus has come to fulfill all that the Old Covenant had promised. Jesus is the better Solomon. He is building a better temple. He is establishing a new Israel and an eternal Jerusalem. He is a better and more lasting priesthood. Those clinging to power find his words and ministry very threatening. He brings big change and it is desperately needed by those who grieve and suffer. He has come to make everything better especially for those languishing in sorrow and brokenness. Jesus has come to rescue the outcast, the poor, the widow, and the orphan.Are you grieving and struggling behind the scenes of life? Do you feel the pain of death and the sorrows of lives shattered by sin and death? Here’s good news… Jesus has come to bring a better day, a better and more lasting life. He has come to make all things new. He sees you and He has come to free you from a life of languishing in the shadowlands. The resurrection really does change everything.
In Christ,Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor
 
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”In Search of Integrity - for Better or Worse!” by guest speaker Dr. Rick Shenk

Last week, Pastor John looked at the passage where Jesus’ authority was questioned (Luke 20:1-18). The question he helped us wrestle with is this: Do we want Jesus!? There is no question more important. While anyone who wants Christ can have him, we are both: distracted by the world and religion and so away from Jesus. And also, if we are honest, we too often find Jesus to be inconvenient.Christians and Not-yet-Christians, my primary goal is to show you Jesus in his marvelous integrity, the Image of the only God! I want you to delight in Jesus, our righteousness, who defeats hypocrisy! He goes alone into battle, seemingly unarmed against a powerful enemy who outnumbers him. Yet in battle he is the victor! He does not crush them with coercive power, but instead by wisdom and integrity. This is our leader.Or if you are a Not-Yet-Christian, I tell you Jesus is a leader you want to follow! He shows courage and wisdom. He is the warrior-prince you have been looking for. A true leader, image of the very God, worth all you have and infinitely more. He would have us follow him to eternal life, away from hypocrisy: ours and the world’s.
In Christ,Dr. Rick Shenk
 

”Disruptive Authority: When Jesus Invades Religious Systems” by Pastor John Hall

Waterbrooke Family,Things are heating up in the gospel of Luke! This weekend we picked up where we left off from last weekend. Our sermon text for Sunday is Luke 20:1-18 and the title of the sermon is "Disruptive Authority: When Jesus Invades Religious Systems."This passage of scripture is both disruptive and incredibly hopeful at the same time. The religious leaders hate Jesus' authority, and Jesus isn't backing down. This begs the question that we must ask ourselves, "Are we willing for Jesus to exercise his absolute authority in our lives, even if that means that everything changes?" Are we willing to let go of control over our lives, to stop playing religious games and begin to build our whole lives upon Jesus? This is the only appropriate response to the good news of the gospel. This message is disruptive in that when we follow Jesus, everything changes. It's hopeful that following Jesus is the most secure and sure foundation we could ever build our lives on. He is faithful and will bring us safely home.In Christ,John Hall, Pastor for Student and Young Adult Ministries
 
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The King of Peace and His Mission to Save” by Pastor Gabe Zepeda

Jesus set his face to journey toward Jerusalem. He is going to the city in order to seek and save the lost by dying at Calvary. That is the trajectory of Luke’s Gospel. Last week, we saw Jesus coming down the Mount of Olives riding on a donkey.
 
The people celebrate him as the King of Israel. And now, the moment has come. Jesus finally enters Jerusalem. But celebration turns into lamentation. When Jesus sees the city, he bursts into tears. The city is consumed with war and corruption. The temple is profaned by ritualism, discrimination, and idolatry. And Israel’s religious leaders are consumed with power and pride. As a result, Jesus predicts the city’s near-future destruction because they are blind to the things that make for peace and because they reject Jesus as their King of Peace.
 
How did it come to this? Israel was supposed to be a beacon of peace and light before the Lord and among all the nations. But any serious reader of the Bible knows that Israel fails the Lord by turning after idols again and again. And when Jesus enters Jerusalem, Israel is still caught in a cycle of self-dependence, idolatry, and pride. 
But we are no different. 
 
All of us seek to live independently of God—either by rebelling against him or by trusting in our goodness to earn us acceptance with God. All of us have our own version of a self-salvation project. But if we are honest, when we try to run our own life, our biggest fear is losing control. It is exhausting to always wonder if our best is good enough. We are devastated when we fail to keep the standards on our own. A self-salvation project always leads to misery, not joy. Resentment towards God and others, not love. A judgmental spirit, not encouragement. Jealousy, not kindness. Pride, not humility. Chaos, not peace.
 
But Jesus is our King of Peace. And he came to bring peace on earth through his death on the cross. He came to reconcile us to God and to one another. He came to tear the temple curtain in two that stood between us and God. He came to teach us the gospel and his mission to spread his saving peace from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Even now, Jesus weeps over Victoria, pleading with all who have eyes to see that it is time to repent before it’s too late. If you reject him as King, you’ll know destruction and misery. But if you embrace him as King, you’ll know peace and joy. 
 
In Christ,Gabe Zepeda, Pastor of Worship and Gospel Formation
www.waterbrooke.church

”The King Who Has Come: An Unexpected Way to Victory by Pastor John Hall

Last weekend we continued our series in the gospel of Luke and will be walking through Luke 19:28-40. We have reached a turning point in Luke's gospel as Jesus now, at last, approaches Jerusalem. The sermon title for this weekend is "The King who has Come: An Unexpected Way to Victory". Jesus has been set on going to Jerusalem where he will be rejected, mocked, shamed and ultimately crucified. This is the mission of God. This is God's way of gaining victory. This is how Jesus is establishing his kingdom of peace in the middle of a world that is full of hostility and violence.While Jesus was crucified and enthroned as king 2,000 years ago, his mission remains. He is still seeking and saving the lost and His methods haven't changed. The big question for us this weekend is, "What does it mean for us to follow this kind of King in our world today?"Looking forward to worshiping with you!In Christ,John Hall, Pastor of Student and Young Adult Ministries

”The King and His Strange Kingdom” Luke 19:11-27 by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This Sunday’s sermon, from Luke 19:11-27, was called “The King and His Strange Kingdom.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote “A king who dies on the cross must be the king of a rather strange kingdom.” The kingdom of heaven is indeed a rather strange kingdom. The King reigns from a cross. His subjects rule by sacrificially serving others. The challenge that we face every day as believers is this – will we advance God’s kingdom in this world by taking the role of a servant? The only way that we can actually do this in our lives is to see that the greatest joy of Jesus is to be the King who lovingly and perpetually serves. Even now, Jesus reigns over all by serving His subjects with love and grace and mercy. As we will you pray along with me, that we would welcome the opportunity to advance the kingdom of God on earth as those who humbly serve? What a counter-cultural concept to all the ego and selfishness of this world! It is possible because Jesus only lives to make it possible.
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”The Other Rich Ruler” Luke 19:1-10 by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This week’s sermon was called “The Other Rich Ruler.” In Luke 19:1-10, we see something remarkable: a rich man entering the kingdom of God. Zacchaeus is very rich. In the previous passage, Jesus said these words: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus’ disciples are filled with despair in chapter 18 when the rich young ruler goes away very sad because he can’t give up his wealth. They ask, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replies “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”Zacchaeus is a miracle at every level. So are we, if we are in Christ. As we come to take communion this Sunday, let’s give thanks that in Christ, and in Christ alone, it is possible for sinners to enter the kingdom of God. This ought to cause us to rejoice and to celebrate the miracle of our salvation. It also ought to put fuel on the fire for our mission to bring others to know the forgiveness of God in Jesus. Do you believe that what is impossible with man is possible for God? Do you really and truly believe it? 
 
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”Lord, Let Me Recover My Sight” Luke 18:31-43 by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This week we returned to the subject of prayer in Luke 18:31-43. We have seen the prayer of the tenacious widow at the beginning of his chapter who cried for justice. We have seen the humble prayer of the tax collector who cried out “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”. Now, we see the blind man who is pleading with Jesus for eyes to see. He pleads “Lord, let me recover my sight.”  What we are going to see is that spiritual sight is different than physical sight. In this passage, there is a direct contrast between those who could see with their eyes but were blind to the wonder of who Jesus was and why He had come and this blind man who could not see with his eyes but who clearly knew who Jesus was. 
Our sermon this week is called "Lord, Let Me Recover My Sight" and there is no doubt that this is what God wants us to be praying. Ask yourself how different your life, your priorities and your joy would be if you could see Jesus clearly as He really is for us in the gospel. Waterbrooke let’s pray this together this week – Open our eyes to see Jesus! 
 
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”How Good is Our God?” by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This Sunday, we looked at the story of the rich ruler in Luke 18:18-30. It is a powerful passage to study because Jesus intends to bring us to terms with our great need for His saving hand and Jesus' incredible love in coming to save us. I have called the sermon "How Good is Our God?"What we often think is that God's goodness is shown to us by how blessed we are with success, wealth, health, power, influence, and recognition. We say to one another, "Isn't God good?" when things go well in our lives. What Jesus teaches is that the markers that we look to in order to feel affirmed by God are often the very things that we ought to fear most. What if the signs of God's favor and love are not the things that make us feel good about ourselves but rather the things that make us feel desperate for Jesus? Let's come and look at the goodness of God as revealed in the story of the rich ruler and pray that God might show us the glory of His goodness in and through Jesus Christ this Sunday.
 
How good is God? Looking forward to a fresh work of God's Spirit in our midst this week.

”Entering the Kingdom Like a Child” by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This Sunday was New Year's Eve. Often the symbolic picture of the new year is a baby. The past year goes out like an old man. The new year begins like a baby. That is fitting for the text this week in Luke 18:15-17 where Jesus tells his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."Entering the new year, it should be our ambition to make sure we enter the Kingdom of God. This passage is one of the best ways to think about how we go about entering and advancing the kingdom of God. We really hope you can join us for worship as you learn one of the simplest and most powerful ways to think about how to live your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Our sermon is called "Entering the Kingdom Like a Child". Jesus says - this is an absolute must!
 
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You Are Not Alone - Merry Christmas from Waterbrooke Church

Merry Christmas Waterbrooke friends,
Christmas can feel acutely lonely for many of us. However, the truest truth of every Christian's life is this: God never forsakes His children. 
Have a blessed day with your friends and family and know you are never alone in Jesus who loves and cares for you.
Waterbrooke Church

Pray Humbly by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This week our sermon, from Luke 18:9-14, is called Pray Humbly.Jesus recognized that we have a tendency to fall into two ditches in our spiritual lives.  On the one hand, we can give into religious despair. We doubt that God actually cares about the needs of His people or He would have answered the way we expected. Jesus calls us to be bold and determined by faith in our praying. He wants us to be indefatigable prayer warriors who believe in the power and promise of God to bring His kingdom to its fulfillment at the day of Jesus Christ. The other ditch that we can slide into is that of religious pride or self-righteousness. We become confident in ourselves, not realizing that it is not our prayers but God's mercy that is the ground of our hope. Most of us have to recognize that we have to battle those two dangers - spiritual discouragement and spiritual pride.In this passage, Jesus gives us a helpful diagnostic tool for discovering spiritual pride and motivating us to humble and faith-filled prayer. Would you pray for Waterbrooke to be filled with humble and hopeful prayer warriors? Let's look forward to being helped by the Holy Spirit as we gather to celebrate the grace of God towards undeserving sinner and saints through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
 
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Pray Tenaciously Luke 18:1-8

This Sunday’s message, from Luke 18:1-8,  is entitled “Pray Tenaciously”. One of the common experiences for many of us as Christians is that we lose heart. Life in a fallen world is hard and what really causes us to stumble is the unfairness of life. We suffer injustice. Evil seems to prevail. We become cynical and disillusioned. Jesus knows this and he speaks to us as His disciples and tells us “to pray and to not lose heart.” Pray tenaciously. You would think if anyone would have lost heart in the face of persistent hostility and slander and evil, it would have been Jesus. He was constantly harassed and slandered. However, he didn’t stop praying and pursuing God’s call on His life. Why? It is because Jesus knew the One to whom He prayed. Jesus knew why He himself had come. Jesus knew that He was not on a fool’s errand but God’s will would prosper in His hand. Do you have that same confidence and hope? Have you begun to lose heart in your life as a Christian? Pray that this Sunday, God would reignite your prayer life or ignite your prayer life for the very first time. We ought to pray and not lose heart.

”Fostering a Kingdom First Focus” Luke 17:20-37 by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This Sunday’s message, from Luke 17:20-37, is called “Fostering a Kingdom First Focus”. Luke 17 is a great chapter for teaching the local church about how to make disciples to the glory of God. This week, we will hear Jesus teach his disciples how to stay on focus to advance the kingdom of God. There are so many ways that we can lose a sharp focus on why we are here as a church. What we will learn from Jesus is that just as he is focused on pressing on to Jerusalem for our sake, we are to press on and press into the New Jerusalem for Jesus’ sake.December is a great month to love others, to serve Christ, and to prayerfully and joyfully advance the kingdom of God. Let’s ask God to help us become increasingly focused on the Kingdom of God when we feel pulled by so many competing ambitions. Look forward to the joy of worshipping together with you this Sunday.

Making Disciples to the Glory of God Luke 17:1-10 by Pastor Kevin Dibbley

This Sunday, our message is from Luke 17:1-10 and is entitled, Making Disciples to the Glory of God. Jesus calls us into His kingdom ministry of making disciples and to put it plainly, it ain’t easy. It ain’t pretty… but it is glorious.Here’s the amazing truth of the gospel – Christ comes down into the middle of our sinful, broken world and takes upon Himself our guilt and shame in order that we might be set free! Then he sends out into a world of struggle and brokenness to announce there is a “Way” out of sin, shame, and guilt, and you are welcome to come home to God. Redeemed sinners are sent to yet to be redeemed sinners announcing the forgiveness of God. Announcing forgiveness and extending forgiveness go hand in hand. We go hand in hand into battle to rescue one another from the sin, guilt, and shame that has too long held us. Discipleship is a beautiful, messy, merciful ministry and we need one another. Come this Sunday and be encouraged in the grace and forgiveness of Jesus.
Join us for Christmas Eve Service at the Chaska Community Center at 5pm.  www.waterbrooke.church

Hard Truths for Hard Hearts by Pastor John Hall

This Sunday the sermon is from Luke 16:14-31 and is entitled "Hard Truths for Hard Hearts". This passage of scripture is one of the most sobering, alarming, and graphic in all the Bible.There are only two reasons someone would speak such blunt, clear words of warning. The first is because they want to prove people wrong and show themselves to be a know-it-all. The second reason is a deep and profound love for those who are in danger. Jesus is looking at the Pharisees and going right to the heart of their sin and then warning them of the danger to come. He does this because he is holding out hope for all of us and urgently telling us to flee to Him before it's too late.These are hard truths to look at. But they are so good for us to embrace. Pray that Jesus would begin, even now, to prepare us to worship Him as a church family together on Sunday as we sing, pray, listen to His word and take the Lord's Supper together.
In Christ,John Hall, Pastor of Student and Young Adult Ministries

The Elder Brother in Me, Luke 15

This week’s message is called “The Elder Brother in Me".  As we study Luke 15 and the famous parable about the “prodigal son”, Luke makes it clear that the main focus of Jesus’ teaching is actually the elder brother. Jesus is responding to the grumbling Pharisees and scribes who are offended that Jesus actually welcomes and dines with tax collectors and sinners. The elder brother is offended at the grace and love and approval that the Father shows towards the reckless and disreputable younger brother. All of us have a little of both brothers in us. Some of us lean towards trying to save our lives by throwing off all restraint and the shackles of religion and family expectations. We want to be free to live without anyone telling us how we ought to live. Others of us are decent, moral, hardworking elder brothers. We are respectable, reliable, and religious. Both brothers have a problem. Their path to self-salvation doesn’t work. The younger brother sees his lusts leave him empty-handed and alone. The elder brother feels that his sacrifice and hard work isn’t appropriately rewarded. So, the pendulum often swings within us. We get frustrated with trying to be good so we give ourselves to sin and self-indulgence. Or we are frustrated with the emptiness of sin and self-indulgence so we try to compensate by serving and working at being a better person. The answer in Jesus’ parable is not religion or irreligion. It is the grace of God in the gospel of the kingdom. Come this Sunday as we look at the elder brother tendency in each of us and flee to our only hope for true joy – Jesus Himself.
 
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RUN HOME, Luke 15: 11-32 (Part 2 of 2)

This Sunday’s message is called “Run Home”. This is part of a two week series in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. This is one of those blow you away with the grace of God passages! The two brothers in the parable are both resisting their Father’s loving appeals. One, the younger brother, is trying to save himself through “freedom” from any restraint. Sinning with reckless abandon is the goal of life for him. However, it also ends up ruining him. The other brother, the elder, is trying to save himself through religion. That is just as deadly and disappointing. It makes him bitter and angry and resistant to the pleas of His Father. Thankfully, Jesus teaches us there is another way. The arms of the Father are opened wide to self-indulging rebels and to self-righteous religionists. The call is to the broken and the embittered, the ashamed and the self-assured: Come home. Run Home. This week, we are going to look at the younger brother. Though his sin is great and grievous, his Father’s love is far greater and far more glorious than all his sin. Come to worship this week and find yourself running joyfully to the open grace-abounding arms of your heavenly Father. Look forward to seeing you!

RUN HOME! Part 1 of 2 - LUKE 15:11-32

This Sunday’s message is called “Run Home”. This is part of a two week series in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. This is one of those blow you away with the grace of God passages! The two brothers in the parable are both resisting their Father’s loving appeals. One, the younger brother, is trying to save himself through “freedom” from any restraint. Sinning with reckless abandon is the goal of life for him. However, it also ends up ruining him. The other brother, the elder, is trying to save himself through religion. That is just as deadly and disappointing. It makes him bitter and angry and resistant to the pleas of His Father. Thankfully, Jesus teaches us there is another way. The arms of the Father are opened wide to self-indulging rebels and to self-righteous religionists. The call is to the broken and the embittered, the ashamed and the self-assured: Come home. Run Home. This week, we are going to look at the younger brother. Though his sin is great and grievous, his Father’s love is far greater and far more glorious than all his sin. Come to worship this week and find yourself running joyfully to the open grace-abounding arms of your heavenly Father. Look forward to seeing you!