Watermark Bible Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

Have you ever been afraid of the dark? At one point or another we’ve probably all been there. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells the church how to approach a dark world. He calls the church to lives of holiness in the mission fields of life to display greatness of His gospel. For many people when they understand Ephesians 5 it is as if the lights are turned on related to the purpose of the posture of the church.

Culture matters. We’ve all been a part of an atmosphere that is exciting and life-giving. It’s a place where you can feel joy and are excited to be. We’ve also been in a part of an atmosphere that is heavy, where everyone is walking on eggshells and it is absent of excitement. Jesus designed his church with a distinct culture. It is a culture of grace where everyone is discipled to accomplish God’s purpose in their lives. We’ll explore that together this week as we see clearly who the church ought to be.

Have you ever been hurt or hurt someone with the truth? At times, the truth can be a weapon. It’s in Ephesians 4 where Paul writes speak the truth in love. There we learn you can be right but still be wrong. However, it’s in Ephesians 3 where Paul prays that the church would be rooted and established in the love of Christ. We’ll study that prayer together this Sunday and see just how powerful intimacy with Christ truly is.

I’m excited for the opportunity this Sunday to share with you what the Lord has shown me in my study of Ephesians 2, as we continue our Masterpiece Mission message series. Pastor Steve and his family are taking Emma out to Ohio to get her settled on campus, so please pray for them as they make this big transition in their family. And I encourage you to come to our gathering on Sunday fired up, because this is one of the most inspiring passages in all of Scripture, where God reveals to us some powerful truths about the significance of our lives within His purposes. If you’ve ever lost track of time doing something you loved or completely lost yourself in a project, then I think you’ve experienced a little bit of the bliss that God intends for us when we are living out of His masterpiece design for us.

As believers we have been adopted into the most powerful body on the planet, the church. In many circles the church has drifted from who God made her to be to settling for something less. You see this drift any time the church is seen as a place you go instead of who you are, when we call for more volunteers instead of equipping more disciple-makers, whenever we think we need more resources when we really need more Jesus. During the next 6 weeks we’ll look at the book of Ephesians and discover that we were made for a masterpiece mission. We’ll examine 6 shifts that equip the church to impact every corner of culture and every sphere of society.

We all know the verse, "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) At some point or another we started to equate eternal life with living forever. In Philippians chapter 3 Paul reminds us that eternal life is more than living forever. It is to know Jesus in an intimate way.

If you have read the news this past week, you will have seen the headlines that hundreds of people have died in geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and in Asia. We also have seen people in our neighborhoods and city that passed away each day due to various reasons. The question for Christians should be: "Did anyone tell them about Jesus? Had anyone shared the Gospel with them before they died?" This week we'll talk about the Apostle Paul's challenge to us to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

Have you ever felt like you're not good enough for God to use you? On Sunday, we’ll talk about how our doubts, fears, and past failures don’t disqualify us from God's purpose - they're often the starting point. You don’t need to have it all together; you just need to be willing. .

This Sunday, as we continue our This Verse Changed My Life series, we get to hear from Darrell Taylor. He will talk about how a life In Christ Alone is The Key to Spiritual Maturity. This is the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.

A year into my walk with Jesus, the summer before my senior year of college, I came to Richmond, Virginia to participate in a summer training program hosted by the Navigators. Apart from getting to know a group of great guys and working at Kings Dominion, I also learned some life-changing things from God’s word. This week, as we continue our message series This Verse Changed My Life, we’ll look at five things that describe and define what Jesus’ disciples look like. If we want to be successful in our disciple-making mission, it’s important that we know what the goal is. And there’s no better guide for that goal than the very words of Jesus.

Some people have a life verse. Maybe you have a verse that holds special significance and meaning. Perhaps a verse that helps guide and shape the way you see the world. A verse that sticks in your mind and helps you communicate your faith more frequently and with more clarity. During the next 6 weeks you will hear from 6 different speakers. We will each share about a verse or passage that greatly affected our lives. You’ll see the importance of being people of the Word and how God uses the Bible to conform us into the image of Jesus.

This Sunday we will be concluding our we are Watermark series. One of the things we’ve seen in this series is that a name tells you a lot. Our name rests on the Bible, our unchanging foundation for life. This Sunday we’ll look at the importance of being Biblical.

In Bible times names always meant something. God named different people for a reason. The names of places and people help define their character. We are called “the church” for a reason – to communicate that we have been called out from the world with a disciple-making purpose. So also, the name of any church says something about her character, her mission, and her conviction. Watermark Bible Church reminds us among other things of the lasting impact we are to have. After all, once something is watermarked that imprint is there.

Certain items because of the excellence are watermarked. As we continue our series, We Are Watermark, we’ll see how God calls us to an excellent life. Join us this Sunday to see how our excellence honors God and inspires people to praise Him.

This Sunday we get the opportunity to hear from Andrew Fry as he continues our We Are Watermark series focused on Authenticity. We will also take time at the end of the gathering to pray for and commission the Fry family as Andrew is retiring from the Coast Guard and will be moving to Washington as he takes on a pastoral role.

Many have noted that as a culture we are experiencing an identity crisis. Statistics show us that anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues are all on the rise. Identity is a trendy word, but few understand how to have a healthy identity. Our culture would tell us to look within and go through a process of self-discovery. The truth is to know who you are you must first know who God is and what He’s done. During the next 5 weeks we will be going through a sermon series titled, We are Watermark. Earlier this year we changed our name. We didn’t simply want a name that was catchy or appealed to our preferences. We wanted a name that was purposeful and would reinforce our identity. This series will walk us through how Watermark reminds us of who we are. That’s important, because if you don’t know who you are, the world will define you, and the world always gets it wrong. So, join us in this special series that will cement our true identity which is found in Jesus.

We are arriving at the end of our Long Story Short sermon series where we have traveled from Genesis to Revelation and seen the grand narrative of the Scriptures. You won’t want to miss the ending, where everything is tied up in Jesus.

Have you ever reached a point in life where you wonder what’s next? It’s not a great feeling. During our long story short series, we’ve arrived at a point where it is clear salvation is by grace alone not by works. So, if it’s not works what does that mean for the church? What’s next? Paul would spend the rest of his life educating the church on that topic.

Maybe you have heard the book of Acts referred to as the acts of the apostles. Did you know that’s a bit of a misnomer? This week we’ll continue our series, Long Story Short, looking at the spread of the church and some challenges that arose. As we do it, it will become clear that a more accurate title would be the acts of God through the apostles.

Have you ever watched a movie where you think things are winding down, but then there is a twist and the action picks up again. We read the great climax of the resurrection and might be tempted to believe that’s basically the end of the story. However, there are still 23 more books of the Bible to go. The resurrection enabled an even greater climax. Before we reach that climax, however, we enter a new age with the birth of the church.