Bedrock Church Sarasota

Is This Real?

In a world where we constantly question what's authentic—from videos to faces to words—this message grounds us in the timeless truth found in Luke chapter 2. We encounter two remarkable individuals, Simeon and Anna, who immediately recognized Jesus as the real thing when they saw Him in the temple. Their story offers us three powerful clues for discerning spiritual reality in our increasingly confusing age. First, we must give place to the Holy Spirit in our lives. It's not enough that the Spirit dwells within us as believers; we must be filled with the Spirit, which manifests through praise, thanksgiving, and submission to one another. Second, we must practice our worship—not just singing on Sunday mornings, but cultivating a lifestyle of prayer, Scripture reading, and faithful gathering with God's people. Third, we must participate immediately in the Jesus reality, giving God what He doesn't automatically possess: our trust, love, worship, loyalty, heart, and time. As we enter this new year facing unprecedented challenges to truth itself, these ancient witnesses remind us that knowing what's real requires intentional spiritual discipline. The question isn't just whether something is authentic—it's whether we're positioned to recognize the real thing when we encounter it.

Family Ties: Quiet Faithfulness

This powerful exploration of significance challenges us to reconsider how we measure value in our lives. Through the story of Jesse from 1 Samuel 16, we encounter a shepherd from an insignificant town who becomes central to God's redemptive plan. Jesse wasn't famous for his accomplishments—he's remembered simply as David's father, and he wasn't even an exceptional parent by worldly standards. Yet God chose this ordinary man's family line to bring forth both King David and ultimately Jesus Christ himself. The message confronts our tendency to measure importance by worldly standards—appearance, position, wealth, or achievements—when God measures the heart. We're reminded that God doesn't create spare parts; every person has divine purpose. The story of Miep Gies, who sheltered Anne Frank, illustrates how history-changing impact often comes from faithful obscurity. As we approach Christmas, we're invited to see ourselves as God sees us: not as insignificant nobodies, but as beloved children with kingdom purpose. The prophecy in Isaiah 11 about a shoot coming from Jesse's stump reminds us that God specializes in bringing life from what appears dead or diminished. When we feel overlooked or past our prime, we're actually in prime position for God to work—because in our weakness, His strength shines brightest.

The True Redeemer

The story of Ruth and Boaz reveals something profound about how God works in our lives—He writes redemption through broken beginnings. We often think Christmas starts with angels and shepherds, but it actually begins generations earlier in places of desperation, grief, and hopelessness. Ruth was a Moabite widow, an outsider with no claim to God's promises, yet she appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Her story teaches us that God doesn't wait for perfect circumstances or perfect people to accomplish His purposes. When Naomi felt empty and bitter, when Ruth had nothing but scraps to glean from the fields, God was already arranging divine appointments. Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, becomes a beautiful picture of Jesus—someone who pays the price to redeem us, covers us with his protection, and welcomes outsiders into the family. The most powerful truth here is that our broken stories don't disqualify us from God's plan; they're actually where He loves to work most. If we find ourselves in a season that feels more bitter than pleasant, more empty than full, we can trust that God is still writing our redemption story. Christmas reminds us that the Messiah came from a redeemed family line, not a perfect one, and He came specifically for people like us—broken, desperate, and in need of a Redeemer.

Family Ties: Do You Trust God?

This powerful message invites us into the messy, complicated family tree of Jesus through the story of Abraham—a man whose faith journey was marked by fear, doubt, and repeated failures, yet who remained central to God's redemptive plan. Through vivid imagery of walking alone in a dark parking lot, we're confronted with a profound truth: fear informs trust, but truth must inform fear. Abraham's story reveals how easily we can operate in ignorance rather than truth, making decisions based on what we assume is happening rather than what God has promised. From lying about Sarah being his sister out of fear for his life, to taking matters into his own hands with Hagar instead of waiting on God's timing, Abraham struggled with trusting God's protection, provision, process, and timing. Yet through 25 years of infertility and waiting, through the unthinkable test on Mount Moriah where he was asked to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham's trials became the foundation for future trust. The genealogy of Jesus includes Abraham not despite his failures but as a testament to God's redemptive power. This Advent season, as we face difficult family gatherings and navigate our own fears, we're reminded that Jesus' arrival proves God is trustworthy—every promise finds its yes and amen in Christ, and our broken trust can be healed by the One who is eternally faithful.

Gratitude

What if the key to transforming our entire life experience isn't found in changing our circumstances, but in cultivating gratitude? This powerful message explores how gratitude serves as a gateway to God's presence and a weapon against anxiety. Drawing from Philippians 4 and Psalm 100, we discover that gratitude isn't just polite words—it's a deliberate, humble recognition of God's goodness and the Giver behind every blessing. Scientific research confirms what Scripture has taught all along: deliberately writing down things we're grateful for reduces depression by up to 25%, increases optimism, improves sleep, and literally changes our brain chemistry. But more importantly, gratitude opens the gates to God's presence and allows us to experience the peace that surpasses understanding, even in the midst of trials. The Apostle Paul, writing from a prison cell, commanded believers to rejoice always and present their requests with thanksgiving—not because circumstances were perfect, but because God is faithful. When we remember God's benefits—His love, faithfulness, mercy, grace, holiness, sovereignty, wisdom, power, presence, and unchanging nature—we realize there's not one more good thing He needs to do for us and He is still good. Everything beyond our salvation is overflow. Gratitude transforms us from the inside out, helping us see our past properly diminished and our future magnified by God's promises. It's the vocabulary of heaven, and when we speak it, we experience heaven's reality here on earth.

The Not-It Crowd

This message takes us deep into Acts 13, where we encounter the church of Antioch—a congregation of unlikely leaders who became instrumental in launching the first missionary movement. The leadership team included Barnabas, a Levite from the wrong place; Simeon from North Africa, facing racial prejudice; Lucius from Libya, a Gentile convert; Manaen from royal privilege; and Paul, formerly a persecutor of Christians. Each had reasons to feel disqualified, yet God used them powerfully. The central truth here challenges everything we believe about our own limitations: God uses the least likely people to do the most unlikely things. This isn't just ancient history—it's a mirror reflecting our own insecurities and excuses. We're confronted with the reality that every reason we think disqualifies us from kingdom work is demolished by this chapter. The Antioch church wasn't great because of pedigree or talent; they excelled in the basics—worship, fasting, and prayer. They positioned themselves to need God, and He showed up. The story of Paul confronting the sorcerer Elymas reveals that our past struggles aren't prisons but training grounds. What was meant to destroy us, God redeems for His purposes. The question becomes intensely personal: Are we spectators or participants in God's mission? Are we living as 'Comcast Christians,' merely watching life happen, or are we stepping into the calling that's been placed on our lives? God doesn't need our perfection or our credentials—He's looking for our 'yes.'

Peace in the Prison

Acts 12 confronts us with a powerful paradox: sometimes our greatest miracles arrive when we're too exhausted to even recognize them. This passage captures the early church in their darkest hour—James has been executed, Peter sits chained in prison awaiting the same fate, and the community gathers in desperate prayer. Yet what unfolds reveals profound truths about faith, persistence, and divine intervention. Peter sleeps so soundly the night before his scheduled execution that an angel must physically strike him awake to orchestrate his escape. Meanwhile, the very believers praying fervently for his release refuse to believe it when he shows up at their door. This beautiful human moment exposes our own struggle: we pray with passion yet prepare for disappointment. We ask God to move while secretly doubting He will. But here's the transformative truth—God responds not because our faith is perfect, but because His character is faithful. The chains fall, the gates swing open, and deliverance comes not through Peter's striving but through his surrender. We're challenged to examine our own prayer lives: are we persistently bringing our requests before God like a child who never stops asking? Or do we give up when the answer doesn't arrive on our timeline? This story reminds us that supernatural peace in impossible circumstances isn't manufactured—it's a gift from trusting the Author of our story, even when the next chapter terrifies us.

No One Is Excluded

This powerful exploration of Acts 10 confronts us with a radical truth: God's kingdom has no dividing lines. We journey alongside Peter and Cornelius—two men from opposite worlds—as God orchestrates their meeting to shatter centuries of prejudice and religious barriers. Cornelius, a Roman centurion representing everything the Jewish people despised, was nonetheless seeking God with genuine devotion. Meanwhile, Peter receives a vision that challenges his deepest cultural convictions about clean and unclean, pure and impure. The message reverberates through time: no one is excluded from God's kingdom based on their background, nationality, occupation, or past. God responds to those who genuinely seek Him, regardless of their pedigree. This narrative pushes us to examine our own dividing lines—who have we written off as unreachable? What 'dark places' are we avoiding rather than bringing light into? The story culminates in a beautiful truth: even good people need a Savior, and nothing will stop God from reaching those He loves. We're challenged to step into uncomfortable spaces, to be light in darkness, and to recognize that where the world sees reasons to exclude, Jesus finds reasons to include.

Available for the Impossible

In this powerful message, we're challenged to step out in faith and believe in the God of impossibility. The story of Peter healing Aeneas and raising Tabitha from the dead in Acts 9 serves as a compelling reminder that God is still in the business of miracles. We're encouraged to be available and interruptible, just as Peter was, allowing God to use us in unexpected ways. The parallel drawn between these events and Jesus raising Jairus' daughter emphasizes that what seems impossible to us is merely 'sleeping' to God. This message urges us to reflect on areas in our lives where we've stopped believing for the miraculous, perhaps because we've curated our lives so carefully that we no longer need faith. Are we willing to trust God for the impossible, even when it means stepping out of our comfort zones? This teaching reminds us that God's name is not 'I was' but 'I AM' - He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, capable of doing the extraordinary in our ordinary lives.

Are You Living Transformed?

In this powerful message, we're challenged to examine our lives and ask: Are we truly living transformed lives? The central theme revolves around the conversion of Saul (later known as Paul) in Acts 9, illustrating how a dramatic encounter with Jesus can completely reorient our purpose and vision. We're reminded that transformation isn't just about changing our actions, but about shifting our entire perspective to see life through the lens of Christ. The analogy of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly beautifully illustrates this process - our core identity remains, but our purpose and direction are radically altered. As believers, we're called to move beyond self-focused living and embrace a life dedicated to glorifying God and building His kingdom. This message encourages us to confront areas where we might still be 'revolving around ourselves' instead of Christ, and to courageously step into the purpose God has for us, even in the face of opposition.