One of the things that we regularly see in the customer service industry is articles on how to improve customer response times. For example, in one study, it was revealed that 70% of the people who evaluated customer service said that the quicker a business responded and resolved customer issues dictated whether they were viewed as having good quality customer service. Your response times indicated how valuable your customers were to you.

This Sunday, our message was from Acts 7:17-43, we are not going to talk about improving customer response times. We are going to look at improving our Christ response times. In Luke 19, there is this great story of Zaccheus, a tax collector, climbing up in a tree to see Jesus as he passed by in the crowds. Luke writes, “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully” (Luke 19:5-6). That picture is a picture of someone who is eager to receive Christ and to follow Him. To hurry to be with Jesus and to joyfully receive Him.

Are you eager to follow Christ? Are you going out of your way to get above the crowd and the noise to see him and to hear him? How is your Christ response time? Come this Sunday as our sermon is called Improving our Responsiveness to Jesus. I think you will find it encouraging and helpful.

In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

This Sunday’s sermon was called “The Teachable Disciple”. We will be studying Acts 7:9-16. As Stephen preaches his sermon to the hostile crowd of religious leaders and Greek-speaking Jews, he begins with these words, “Brothers and fathers, hear me.” My good friend Bill likes to say “Listen to me now. Hear me later.” Hearing means more than listening. It is leaning in with a teachable and humble heart. It is a willingness to learn and to be taught the word of God, the will of God, the ways of God. Discipleship by its very definition is living a life of perpetual listening and learning. Discipleship is actually a life of learning how to listen to the truth of Christ, to hear, and to follow. One of the great criticisms of the people of Israel down through its history is that they were ever “hearing but not understanding.” How about you? Have you stopped hearing God speak to your life? What is the posture of your everyday following of Christ? Have you arrived and have nothing left to learn or is everyday a day the adventure of growing to know and to love Jesus more and more? Come this Sunday and pray that God would give all of us a teachable spirit. May that teachable spirit be not just for Sunday but for the rest of our lives as God’s people.

In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

Find out more about Waterbrooke Church at www.waterbrooke.church

There is a huge difference between religion and discipleship. Religion often looks for symbols, traditions, rules, buildings, and physical locations to get one’s sense of identity and religious security. Discipleship is living out one’s already existent identity and security in Christ in the adventure of faith and obedience.

In the book of Acts, the disciples are perpetually under pressure and on the move. They often look like they are the ones being threatened but they are actually living in the freedom and the security of Christ. As we will see this weekend, one of the greatest examples in the New Testament of the journey of faith is a very old, Old Testament character, Abraham. The life of Abraham helps Stephen in his journey as a disciple in Christ. Abraham shows us that the life of faith looks for its rest and joy and confidence not in the law, not in the temple, but in the God who called him. Our hope is in the Lord in the same way.

Come this Sunday and may the Lord encourage us together on the adventure of discipleship – following Christ in His mission on the way to the promised land. Our passage will be taken from Acts 7:1-8. Pray for God’s presence and power to be with us all.

In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

This Sunday, we will continued our study of the Book of Acts in Acts 6:8-15. Our sermon is called “Full of Grace and Power.” The gospel of the kingdom of God is now about to advance into the Gentile (non-Jewish) world. Monumental advances in the mission of the kingdom of Christ are about to happen. What we will see here is that the mission of God rarely advances in the book of Acts without significant resistance. Or better said, God often uses resistance to direct the advancement of His Kingdom and reveal His glory not only to those who are witnesses to the events happening but those who are His witnesses.

Stephen, one of the first deacons of the early church, is going to experience God like never before. This is not the story of how Stephen changed the trajectory of the church. This is how God changed the trajectory of Stephen’s life and how in so doing, God advanced his mission in the world. God’s people experience His power, His wisdom, and His glory simply by faithfully serving on mission. Do you want more than a head knowledge of the Lord? Do you want to experience God in a way that is real and powerful and life-changing? Let’s study this text together and pray for God to show us and others the glory of Jesus.

In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

This Sunday’s message was from Acts 6:1-7, is called God’s Providence in Our Problems. One of the foundational convictions of the apostles in the early church is that Jesus is both Lord and Savior of the church. That means, Jesus is not just the subject of the mission. He is the Director of the mission. He isn’t just the Savior of His people. He is the Sovereign over all things. He is large and in charge.

In last Sunday’s passage, Acts 5:30-31, Peter speaks to the religious leaders in Jerusalem and he says “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” The book of Acts is not the book of Accidents. It is the story of the mission of Christ. King Jesus is building his church and even the problems aren’t problems for him. They are predestined for the salvation of souls and the expansion of His kingdom. This is super helpful to us as his people. Life is full of disappointments and failures and events that we would never choose. The church is so often palpably struggling. Yet, God chooses to work in a way that is so different than any of us would work. He does this so that we might see that salvation completely belongs to the Lord. It helps us to recognize that He is gloriously God and we are definitely not. Thank God for that!

The apostle Paul in Romans 11 puts it this way: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Come this Sunday and be reminded that Christ is a solid hope and his kingdom is a sure thing in a world of perplexities and problems. This is such a comfort. It is such a hope.

In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

This Sunday, we continued our study of the book of Acts. As it is the beginning of a New Year, there are several things from this passage that I think will be super helpful as we consider how to approach discipleship in 2025. It is clear that the mission of the early church happened in a less than friendly environment. The apostles were repeatedly threatened and often imprisoned and yet, they are not only able to persevere, they thrive! It’s clear that the twists and turns and the disappointments and failures of ministry as broken people in a broken world are not hindrances to the gospel or to their growth. God’s mission is to advance his kingdom further out into the world and further into the disciples’ hearts. Are you wanting to grow as a Christian? Is 2025 a year where you want to grow in your knowledge and love of Jesus? Acts 5 teaches us that discipleship is the deep and ongoing work of God in the lives his people that happens through the medium of His mission in the world. When God works through us, He also works in us. When God shows the world the glory of Jesus through His people, He also shows the glory of Jesus to His people. Our sermon is called “All for the Name of Jesus” and let’s pray that God will prepare us to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ this year as individuals and as a church family. In Christ, Kevin Dibbley, Senior Pastor

We enter the new year with the last of the messages from our study in Colossians. In this section, Paul closes out his letter to the church in Colossae and sends regards from the believers in prison with him in Rome. While we might be tempted to skip over a list of names like this, each one represents a unique story of salvation and faithfulness which helps us understand our own realities and relationships in light of the Gospel. The good news of Jesus and His love for us fuels a passion for relationships in a world of shallow or apathetic friendships and gives meaning to our labors; it's not just a meaningless grind, everything and everyone is a mission field (including us!)

A lot of times, especially as we head into a new year, we tend to not look back over the previous one. That’s usually because we don’t like to think about the struggles we’ve experienced or are still experiencing. Join us this Sunday as we look at Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, where he encourages the believers in Thessalonica to live with an attitude of thankfulness even in the midst of our struggles.