Ash Wednesday Homily

Genesis 1v27-28, Revelation 22v1-5 with Tyler Staton From Genesis to Revelation, the biblical story reveals that we are created in God’s image to rule by working and keeping his world for the flourishing of others. Yet when work becomes a way to prove our worth or secure our identity apart from God, it turns into anxious toil instead of a blessing. This teaching invites us to rediscover our everyday work as participation in God’s renewal, shifting from success to service and learning to labor at the pleasure of the true King. bridgetown.church/teaching

Ash Wednesday invites us to reflect on our mortality not as fear, but as formation. This teaching explores Lent as a voluntary journey into the wilderness, where we learn dependance on God, patient trust in his deliverance, and a deeper understanding of him as our true refuge.    bridgetown.church/teaching

John 6v47-58 with Christian Dawson Gluttony is not simply about excess. This teaching invites us to consider how our habits with food and drink shape our desires and form our lives as disciples. As we examine everyday patterns of consumption, we are invited into a different way of eating and drinking that leads to gratitude, self-control, and deeper trust in God. bridgetown.church/teaching

1 Corinthians 6v19-20 with Tyler Staton and Bethany Allen   Vanity often goes unnamed, but this teaching reveals it as a quiet, shame-driven attempt to secure identity and control through the body. Rather than managing appearance for worth or safety, we are invited into a gentler way of life - receiving our bodies as good, limited, and deeply loved. This teaching offers an honest look at how vanity forms us and points toward freedom through presence, community, and trust in God’s care.   bridgetown.church/teaching

Matthew 25v14-30 with Bethany Allen Jesus’ parable of the talents exposes how sloth takes root through comfort, delay, and quiet disengagement from the life God entrusts to us. This teaching invites disciples to resist spiritual apathy and practice faithful participation shaped by trust, courage, and love. Bridgetown.church/teaching

Daniel 4v4-9, 22-34 with Ken Shigematsu Through the rise, fall, and restoration of King Nebuchadnezzar, humility is revealed as acknowledging God as the true source of power and life. The story shows how pride unravels us from the inside out, and how recognizing God’s rule restores what was lost. bridgetown.church/teaching

Luke 12v13-34 with Tyler Staton Jesus names greed as rooted in a mindset of scarcity and invites his disciples into a radically different imagination: a life shaped by God’s abundance. As part of our series on the seven deadly sins, this week explores the psychology, sociology, and spirituality of greed. bridgetown.church/teaching

Jonah 4v1-9 with Christine Caine Anger has become normalized in our world, quietly fracturing our relationships, health, and life with God. Through the story of Jonah, we’re invited to notice how unresolved anger grows, distorts our priorities, and blinds us to God’s compassion. By sitting with God’s question, Is it right for you to be angry? we’re pointed toward a better way where anger is faced honestly, healed at the root, and no longer allowed to rule us. Bridgetown.church/teaching

Romans 7v7-12 with Tyler Staton. This teaching begins a new series on the seven deadly sins by examining envy and the disordered desires beneath it. We explore how comparison and coveting shape our inner life and why confession in community is central to healing. bridgetown.church/teaching

Luke 2v4-7 with Tyler Staton At Christmas, we reflect on the birth of Jesus and what it reveals about God’s love. From Abraham to the manger, this teaching invites us to consider belief as a personal response to a God who comes near and makes his home with us bridgetown.church/teaching