In Sermons:

Who Do You Perceive Jesus To Be? Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 23, 2014

Who do you perceive Jesus to be? Every person can develop an accurate perception of Jesus by taking three steps: determining who Jesus really is, discovering why he came, and deciding to put their faith in hi

Welcome to Freshwater. We are one church in multiple locations committed to making healthy disciples and we are glad that you are here on Easter weekend. I heard a story about this kindergarten teacher who wanted to teach her students about self-esteem. She said to her class, everyone who thinks ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6-7

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mary Christmas Series

Contributed by John Braland on Dec 10, 2010

Mary’s example teaches us that godly men and women still understand that God’s favor still rests on them. And Mary teaches us that godly men and women still respond to God’s calling. When God leads us to do something we need to follow, we need trust God.

Every morning the kids get up and prepare for school. Kathi makes them breakfast and packs their lunches and we get them ready to board the bus. And now that it’s cold out the kids don’t want to stand at the bus stop for very long because they will get cold and we don’t want to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus In Jeans Part 3 Of 3 Series

Contributed by John Braland on Aug 21, 2007

Jesus tells his disciples that they need to go out into the world and sing God’s song. This requires action! Not everybody will recognize God’s song but for those who do, it will be beautiful. This requires action on our part. We are the ones who sing

VIDEO: YOUTUBE: Joshua Bell; Washington Post in Metro DC, Length 2:44 Gene Weingarten from the Washington post writes: "HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L’ENFANT PLAZA STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE A TRASH BASKET. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:1-2

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus In Jeans Part 2 Of 3 Series

Contributed by John Braland on Aug 21, 2007

What kind of a disciple are you? Are you a Christian in name only? Are you a wishy washy disciple? Or are you a revolutionary talmid, one of his fully devoted followers who live like Jesus and teach like Jesus and touch other people with God’s love jus

The tragedy at Virginia Tech has touched lives from coast to coast. The senseless acts of a rogue individual has damaged hundreds and thousands of peoples lives forever. The sad thing is that is exactly what he set out to do. Now we are in recovery mode and the first question people are asking ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus In Jeans Part 1 Series

Contributed by John Braland on Aug 21, 2007

Spiritual vitality begins when we teach God’s Word and touch others with God’s love. Christians will not only be known by their words, they will be known by what they say and by what they do. Be like Jesus and demonstrate God’s love today.

We had all filed into the large auditorium to receive our diplomas. It was finally time to graduate. After reading dozens of books and sitting through countless lectures and writing even more papers the moment had finally arrived. I was actually going to walk. I was going to receive my college ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:42

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Picture This! The Net Effect Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

Over and over and over Jesus says: The kingdom of heaven is like… Then he goes on to explain it. Before we wrap up this series we need to take a look at one more parable and it’s found in Matthew 13:47-53. This parable amplifies what has already been s

Over the past four weeks we have been looking at word pictures that Jesus painted for us. Do you see the pictures? The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who went out in his field to scatter his seed. Some fell on the path, some fell among the rocks, some grew up with the weeds, and some were ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:47-53

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Picture This! Buried Treasure Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

Jesus used money and things to illustrate a spiritual point because everyone understands money. So if the kingdom of heaven is so valuable, why doesn’t everybody do everything they can to be a part of it? I think it’s because value is often in the eye o

I have always been a car nut. When I was fourteen I asked my dad if he was going to buy me a car when I turned 16. He told me that if I wanted a car, I had better start saving for one. So I did. I worked hard all summer helping to paint houses and stuck every penny I could into a savings ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-45

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Picture This! Weeds Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

Weeds come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some of them flower and look absolutely beautiful and others will poke you and make you bleed. Some weeds are hard to identify as tender shoots but as they age their identity will become clear. Jesus kne

Last summer my daughters Katie and Sara asked if they could take our dogs Shadow and Reba for a walk. Now Shadow is a black lab and he needs to walk because he has a bit of a weight problem. Reba is 12 and is deaf but always willing to take a spin. I live on a gravel road that is surrounded by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Picture This: A Farmer Planting Seeds Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

A parable is a story that reveals a deeper meaning and Jesus was a master storyteller. He spoke in parables all the time because people like stories and we remember them. And when he applied spiritual truth to his parables they were easy for people to u

Max Lucado tells the story like this: The faces of the three men were solemn as the mayor informed them of the catastrophe. “The rains have washed away the bridge. During the night many cars drove over the edge and into the river.” “What can we do?” asked one. “You must stand on the side of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faces: Joshua Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

The name “Joshua” means “Jehovah saved.” And that is exactly what happened again and again over the course of the life of the man we are going to study today. Joshua was Moses protégé so he had a great leadership example right in front of him. After Mo

Today we get to look at Joshua. That’s right, he’s the one who marched around the city of Jericho seven times, gave a shout, and watched the walls come tumbling down. The Book of Joshua is a marvelous recording of numerous miraculous events shaped Israel for a thousand years. The name “Joshua” ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faces: Nehemiah Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

Nehemiah reads like a novel and is full of practical wisdom for many of today’s complex problems. We read it to gain wisdom and for direction. Nehemiah has been an example to many when it comes to dealing with difficult people and he has been an inspira

The movie Amazing Grace accounts the determination of a man named William Wilberforce who spends his life crusading for the abolition of slavery. Wilberforce came from a prosperous family that lived near a North Sea port which saw little in the way of slave trading. At the young age of 21 he was ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faces: Samson Part 2 Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

Samson was reckless. He became arrogant in his self pursuits always assuming that God would bless him because he was special. He virtually abandoned his spiritual life over the course of 20 years then was shocked that God was gone. In the end, he lost

Last week we learned that Samson was special. Even before he was born God had put a call on his life and all Samson had to do was walk into his calling. His calling was clear, God wanted to use Samson to move the Israelites out of their complacency because they were losing their identity. They ...read more

Scripture: Judges 16:1-31

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faces: Samson Series

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

All Samson had to do was walk into his destiny. Instead, he chose to walk wherever he wanted. His life is a shining example of how to know God’s will then ignore it.

Kids have a unique way of telling stories. Their heart is in it, but their mouths don’t always spit out the right words. Here are a few of my favorite headliner Bible stories stated by kids: *The first three books of the Bible are Genesis, Exodus, and Laxatives. *Noah’s wife was called Joan of ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The New You

Contributed by John Braland on Jan 4, 2007

All of us are tempted from time to time to portray ourselves as more popular than we really are. I mean who doesn’t want their neighbor to think that they have the perfect family. Who doesn’t want the extended family to think the marriage is perfect? A

Have you ever heard of a web site called MySpace? Chances are, if you are webminded or have kids that are webminded, you have heard of it. If not, then let me explain. MySpace is a web site that allows a person to create a web page detailing their life. It can include pictures, stories, a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-3

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Holy Spirit Series

Contributed by John Braland on Oct 18, 2006

What is the Holy Spirit? What is it’s function and what do I need to know about it? Millions of peopel equate the Holy Spirit with the Force found in the Star Wars movies. Why is that? This message will eduate non-Christians and equip believers as to

How many of you are Star Wars fans? Josh is eight now and he loves the Star Wars movies. We have light sabers and lego fighters the Star Wars games on the Nintendo DS and all of the movies except episode #2 which Josh has been begging me to buy. Every night before bed we have an epic battle that ...read more

Scripture: John 16:7-11

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational