Blue Ridge Community Church (audio)

This week we celebrate baptism! Come hear stories of life change, and learn how Christ is our “Wonderful Counselor.”

With all the family get togethers, office parties and other social events, Christmas feels like a time when we are forced into rooms with people who think different, act different, and have different morals and values. How can this year be different? Where do we start?

Black Friday shopping in the wee hours of the morning, wrangling all the kids to smile in their matching Christmas sweaters, trying to fit in all the commitments of the season (yes, Aunt Sally is still expecting to see you soon). . . . Are you tired already? Does it feel like too much? What can you do differently this year?

As we finish our 168 hours of prayer and we look back on the journey God has taken us on through Joshua and toward new places, we come to a moment much like the Israelites. A moment of decision — of commitment. What is God calling you to? How will you answer?

As the Israelites settled in their new land, some stayed on one side of the river and the rest went to the other side. This geographic separation sometimes led to other divides. As we at Blue Ridge go to different locations, how do we stay unified? What can we learn from Joshua?

In golf they have “Mulligans," those opportunities to get a second shot. We all have made choices in life that, if we could, we would like to take as a Mulligan. Maybe we’d not make that investment, date that guy, purchase that car or take out that loan. How can we learn to minimize those bad calls? Join us this week as we learn from Joshua 9, when the Israelites stumbled on their new journey.

Our brain has an amazing ability to compartmentalize, to separate and put aside certain thoughts and emotions. Like rooms in a house, we sometimes close off the ones that are messy, so the people in our lives only see the good, the pretty, and the proud. What would be the good in opening up that messy closet? What would we do with all that junk anyway?

We all love a good plan. It’s the stuff of successful businesses and winning teams. Or so it seems. God’s strategy, on the other hand, can seem a bit baffling. A boy with a slingshot facing a giant. A man with a giant boat no where near the sea. What are we to do when God's plan doesn’t seem to make sense?

Yogi Berra once said, “No matter where you go, there you are.” Doesn’t it sound great to go somewhere new and and get a fresh start? But what happens when we get to the new place and realize we brought the old stuff with us. What can we do about unfinished business?

When we open the book of Joshua, we see a people who have been on the road a while. They had seen big, amazing things in the past — parting the Red Sea, manna from heaven, the fire to follow at night. Still, they seemed uncertain of whether after all these years they could really trust God. They had to literally get their feet wet to take the next step. It can be the same for us today. As we look forward to the journey God has us on, what’s your next step?

When you think of the heroes of the Bible, who comes to mind? Joseph, a kid who was rejected by his brothers.  David, a shepherd boy almost overlooked by the prophet Samuel. Paul, a man set on debunking Christianity. Are they people you would have sent to build your kingdom?  Sometimes God chooses unlikely people. And the results are extraordinary.

We often talk about “following the cloud” — following where God is leading. As we begin a new series in the book of Joshua, we take a look at how following God can sometimes leave us with more questions than answers. And why we can’t take the journey any other way!

We’ve been talking about starting a campus in Bedford for about a year now. You probably have some questions about that. The big one: Why Bedford?  Is going to Bedford to start a church really living on mission?

This week we celebrate baptism and the freedom and joy we can have in Christ. Come hear stories of life change.

This week we celebrate baptism and the freedom and joy we can have in Christ. Come hear stories of life change.

This week we celebrate baptism and the freedom and joy we can have in Christ. Come hear stories of life change.

This week we celebrate baptism and the freedom and joy we can have in Christ. Come hear stories of life change.

You’ve certainly seen the news about racial tensions and violence across our nation in the last two years. Is this just a political issue? Or is it something that we, as a people of faith, need to move toward?

Grace is such a beautiful concept — receiving something you don’t really deserve. And for many of us, we can accept that for our minor mistakes, our little white lies, our errors in judgment. But what about the really big stuff? The things we cannot even forgive ourselves for. The things we cannot forgive others for. Aren’t there times where you reach a point of no return?

As we’ve been talking about serving, you may have decided you’re ready to step out and give it a try. But what’s the first step? Where do you start?