Arbor Church

You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk – indeed all malice. – Ephesians 4:31 Ryan’s back, with a message from Matthew 18 about getting unstuck from something we’ve all been stuck in – bitterness.

Guest speaker Luke Frank from Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission continues our summer series Unstuck with a message on breaking free from apathy.

Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and yet he struggled with discontent; even with all his wisdom, wealth, and power, he found himself feeling empty. From both Solomon’s early writings and his reflections in Ecclesiastes near the end of his life, Alison shares what we can learn from his journey to find contentment.

Self-reliance is reliance on one’s powers and resources rather than those of others. In Bryan’s final message before he departs on his next adventure, he shows us how to get unstuck from unhealthy self-reliance.

But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him. – Luke 15:20 Addiction is a powerful force that can leave us feeling stuck and alone. Ryan shares how the story of the Prodigal Son can help us find our way back to God’s love and grace.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?" – Matthew 6:25 When anxiety rises, where we fix our focus determines whether we will fall apart – or find peace. Ryan opens our summer series Unstuck.

On this Father’s Day, a message from Mark 10:46-52, on another healing of a blind man – and this man is one we can look up to as a shining example of how to follow Jesus.

They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking!" – Mark 10:37-38 Today, Ryan speaks about the hard truth that the Disciples confronted in Mark 10: how we so often prefer the security of the throne over the sacrifice of the cross.

*“Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” From Mark 10:17-31, the story of a man who seemed like he had absolutely everything he needed to enter the Kingdom of God – humility, obedience, religious piety, and sure proof of God’s blessing in his abundant wealth. This week, Ryan helps us understand what this question meant for first-century Jews … and what questions we can ask about our relationship to money today.

Then some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" – Mark 10:2 The Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into taking sides on the topic of divorce. It was a contentious matter in Jesus’ time, and, in the two thousand years since, it hasn’t gotten any easier. Today, Scott tackles this tough subject with love and humility.