When my little sister Bree entered our family, it marked a significant turning point in my life, a transition from self-centeredness to selflessness—everything wasn't about me now. While selflessness still doesn't come naturally to me, I've come to understand how important it is in fostering strong, healthy connections with my husband and with othe…

Continuing in week three of "I Do, but Do I," Pastor Josh reminds us that we can grow in selflessness when we share generously, serve humbly, and submit willingly.// Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

What we all need to recognize is that the intimacy we long for can only be found in the person of Jesus Christ. There is no more intimate act than Christ’s death for us. He knew everything about us, all of our sins and shame, and yet, He still laid down His life for us. He fully knows you and fully loves you.…

Pastor Josh joins us for our "I Do, but Do I?" series and shares how the goal of marriage is physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

Marriage matters to God because it reflects the depth of His love for His people. Just as Christ laid down His life for His bride, the Church, so too, are husbands and wives called to sacrificially love and honor one another. In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, marriage became a testament to the transformative power of God's love—a tes…

Pastor Tim introduces "I Do, but Do I?" a new series focusing on the essential qualities needed to build strong marriages and develop relationships. During this week's talk, he explains why marriage matters and defines marriage according to the Bible. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays…

Jesus is our hope! He died as payment for our sins and rose again to conquer death. God’s desire for us to be in a relationship with Him was made possible. Now, each of us has a responsibility to recognize that we have a sin problem that can only be solved by believing in Jesus as the forgiver of sins. The question you must ask yourself is, “Do I a…

Pastor Tim wraps up our "Foretold" series by teaching through Isaiah 53 and sharing five surprising things the prophet Isaiah foretold about the Messiah who was to come. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/live…

I was incredibly angry at God for many years because He allowed my siblings and mother to die in spite of my family's faithfulness to Him and the incredible amount of prayer that people offered for my family. I couldn’t understand it. Why would God allow that? That’s a question I have wrestled with for most of my life. While this was originally som…

Holy Saturday is an invitation to stillness, contemplation, and anticipation. On this day, the tomb would still be inhabited—Jesus’ body lying there, broken for us. All the momentum the disciples felt as they were celebrating Jesus coming to be crowned King just days ago came to an abrupt halt—forced stillness. This was a day of sorrow for the Apos…

It was on Golgotha, the place of the skull, that Jesus was crucified. But before His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, He endured unimaginable pain. For hours leading up to the cross and for six long hours nailed on it, Jesus endured shame and suffering in every imaginable way. Yet through His agony, Jesus exemplified His love for humanity, …

Barabbas’ story points to the idea that the Gospel is about a righteous Savior dying for guilty sinners—setting them free. Barabbas was a rebel and murderer. He was probably the next in line to be nailed to a cross, but because of a tradition related to the Passover festival, he was set free instead.…

As I read through the text, I found myself looking for the emotions of those involved. When you search for the emotions, you question the hows, the whys, and the whats. How could Judas betray Jesus? Why did the disciples not understand what was going to happen to Jesus? What emotions did Jesus go through as He spent His last moments with His discip…

We are commanded to love God with every piece of us—our hearts, our souls, and our minds. However, Jesus also commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, we aren't going to go to our neighbors and say the unloving things we say to ourselves. We must begin by loving ourselves just as Jesus loves us.…

Pastor Tim continues our “Foretold” series by pointing out three Old Testament stories from Israel's time in the wilderness that lead us to Jesus and the cross. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

During the last week of Jesus’ life, He returned to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When He entered the temple complex, Jesus expected to see people praying, praising, and thanking God. Instead, He witnessed money changers and merchants exploiting and overcharging the people. And, because they set up shop in the Court of Gentiles, they made it…

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. It was the hardest thing that He had to do and something He didn’t necessarily want to do, but He obeyed His Father. He took on the sins of the world by dying on a cross for every one of us.By Chestnut Ridge Church

The instructions God gave the Israelites during Passover were not to be followed alone; they included other people. This is how we are called to live once we have received the grace God has given us—together.By Chestnut Ridge Church

Pastor Tim brings us a powerful message centered around how the Passover story clearly points to Christ. Jesus is our Passover lamb. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

For those of us who know the story well—we can miss out on just how shocking it is to see God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. My encouragement to you would be to read through some of the most familiar stories in the Bible with fresh eyes because when we don’t genuinely wrestle with God’s Word—when we don’t ask hard questions and wonder, “W…

Pastor Tim joins us for another week of "Foretold," magnifying the significance of how the story of Abraham and Isaac foreshadowed God's willingness to sacrifice His Son, Jesus, on the cross for our sins. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/live…

Jesus' substitutionary atonement serves as the cornerstone of our faith, underscoring the depth of God's love and the unfathomable extent of His grace. It is a testament to His unwavering commitment to reconcile humanity to Himself, offering redemption and restoration to all who choose to accept it.By Chestnut Ridge Church

Continuing in our "Foretold" series, Student Ministry Director Andrew Archer teaches through Genesis 3, highlighting the story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man. From this story, we can see that God instituted an entire sacrificial system to temporarily atone for the sins of His people until Jesus Christ came as the Lamb of God to take away the s…

Just like Legacy Marbles provide a visual reminder of the number of weeks you have left with your child before they graduate high school, what if we had a jar of marbles that represented our lives? Would we be more intentional with our time with God? Would we be out spreading His Word and love more than we are right at this moment?…

Pastor Tim kicks off our new Easter series, "Foretold," focusing on some of the hidden messages of redemption found in Old Testament Bible stories. This week, he explores seven Old Testament references that prove God planned ahead of time to save us through His Son, Jesus. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live onlin…

It is easy to start an argument when you want to ensure your opinion is heard—but why? What do we gain by starting arguments? Do we really persuade other people to agree with us by voicing our opinions? Do we show other people the type of love that God wants us to convey?By Chestnut Ridge Church

Have you ever struggled to communicate with someone who has a different perspective than you do? Pastor Tim wraps up our "Truth Is" series by sharing five guiding principles to help us speak the truth with love.// Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/live…

Pause, slow down, and think about what you believe—about the world, yourself, humanity, and God. Ask yourself, “Why do I believe this?” “Where does this ‘truth’ I’m believing come from?” Then, with diligence and patience, relentlessly seek the truth.By Chestnut Ridge Church

How is your spiritual sight? Pastor Tim comes around the story of Paul and shares three resources that God has given us to see, know, and live the truth. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

“Two Roads Diverged in a Wood” is from the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. Just like in Robert Frost’s poem, we must pick from two paths in life, one leading to life and one leading to death.By Chestnut Ridge Church

How are you living your life and by whose standard are you living? Pastor Josh takes us through the story of the Prodigal Son to remind us that doing life God's way is the only life-giving way.// Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/live…

A number of us would quickly agree that we are a "good person." If we look at our lives as a whole, we feel like we are doing good. On the other hand, a number of us would say that we aren't good—we feel like a failure or have made too many mistakes. You can probably place yourself in one of those categories, but the truth is, we are both. We are w…

Focusing on the truths found in Psalm 139, Pastor Josh shares that while we are worse than we think we are, we are also more loved than we think we are. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

While many people claim to seek "the truth," they are looking for "their truth," which is grounded in human ideology, not Biblical absolutes. "The Truth" proclaims there is only one way to God, and His name is Jesus Christ.By Chestnut Ridge Church

Pastor Tim continues in our current series, "Truth Is," with a talk challenging the societal belief that all roads lead to God. Diving into Scripture, he shares three reasons why Jesus is the only One qualified to be the Savior of the world. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 1…

A tender-hearted child is modeled by the adults around them. Your child seeing you read God’s Word, talking about what you have learned, and praying are some of the greatest ways to develop a tender heart in your children. How is your tender heart?By Chestnut Ridge Church

Pastor Tim shares a talk about how the Bible is the Word of God and is completely trustworthy. Looking to 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34, he highlights the story of Josiah and challenges us to treat God's Word the same way Josiah did—as truth.// Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + …

Whether we know it or not, and whether we like it or not, we are highly malleable beings. Thankfully, Paul understood this problem and gave us the blueprint to resist being conformed to this world—"be transformed." However, true transformation is not something that we can contrive on our own.By Chestnut Ridge Church

What are some ways our culture has strayed from the truth, and how can we graciously stand firm as we face those in our society who look to undermine it? Pastor Tim launches us into the new year by introducing a new series titled "Truth Is" and sharing three reasons why the truth matters. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Jo…

How did this year end for you? What are your expectations for next year? Executive Pastor Bruce Lane closes out the year by sharing a talk titled "All's Well That Ends Well," which looks at what the Bible has to say about finishing the race of life well. //Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sunda…

One of the most interesting parts of the Christmas story is that a large group of strangers from Babylon arrived in Jerusalem asking, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" The Magi were not Jewish, so why did they travel hundreds of miles over several months to kneel before this child-king and present Him with gifts? In this Christmas m…

Attending a Christmas service may be a given in your home. But what about your colleague? How about a family member or friend? Think about a person in your life who doesn’t attend church regularly. Maybe he or she doesn’t know much about Jesus. That is where you step in.By Chestnut Ridge Church

Continuing our Christmas series, Pastor Tim looks to Hebrews 12:1-3 and explains how Jesus is the Pioneer of our faith and paved the way for us to follow Him into this life and the next. //Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/live…

Through the life of Jesus, from His birth, to His death and resurrection, the redemption plan was made complete. To be redeemed is not just the paying of our sin debt—it is much more.By Chestnut Ridge Church

Pastor Tim joins us for another week of "He Will Be Called," highlighting the fact that Jesus is our Redeemer and came to pay our debt and save us from our sins. // Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 11a: www.theridge.church/liveBy Chestnut Ridge Church

Part of my faith journey includes some unsound doctrine, a wrong way of believing, that damaged me. I fell for the manipulation of the “name it and claim it” theology, otherwise known as the “prosperity gospel.” Part of this theology is the belief that we can make God move according to our will instead of moving into God’s will for our lives accord…

Pastor Tim launches us into the Christmas season with a new series, "He Will Be Called." By exploring some of the Biblical titles, names, and descriptions given to Jesus, we can better understand who Jesus was and is and honor Him accordingly. In Sunday's talk, Pastor Tim focuses on "logos" and explains how Jesus is the "logos" or the Word of God./…

Merely giving what we feel is adequate to ease our conscience can be our go-to; however, when we give with joy and anticipation for God to use our gifts, we reflect God's kind of generosity. God gave us His unlimited resources and Himself, not because He had excess or felt obligated, but out of love knowing that nothing less would save us.…

Pastor Josh wraps up "Freely Given" with a talk highlighting the importance of generosity. As we strive to follow Jesus and be imitators of God, we are called to humbly and selflessly put others first and prioritize their needs above our own.// Verses and message notes: www.theridge.church/notes // Join us live online or in person Sundays at 9a + 1…

We live in a world bustling with distractions and hardships; the concept of gratitude is being lost. Gratitude is not just a feeling of thankfulness but a state of being. It is a choice we make in spite of our circumstances.By Chestnut Ridge Church