Bridgetown Church Podcast

Response to Revenge
2 Samuel 3:31–39 | Guest Speaker: Judah Kuhl
This Sunday, guest speaker Judah Kuhl continued our study through 2 Samuel, walking us through chapter 3 and examining how we respond when we’ve been wronged.
In a world captivated by revenge stories and quick retaliation, Scripture offers a different path. When Abner is murdered, King David’s response is not celebration—but mourning. David grieves publicly, honors his fallen enemy, and ultimately entrusts justice to the Lord.
Through this passage, we see two important truths:
Revenge creates a destructive cycle of bitterness and violence.

Justice belongs to God, not to us.

While David models humility and grief, his failure to fully hold Joab accountable reminds us that even good leaders fall short. David points us to a better King—Jesus—who perfectly balances mercy and justice.
In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us to break the cycle of retaliation by loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. This is not easy, but it is the way of Christ.
As we reflect on this message, we are invited to consider:
Where am I tempted to take revenge into my own hands?

What would it look like to trust God with justice?

Who is God asking me to pray for this week?

Because the solution to wrongdoing is not reaction—but prayer.
Listen to the full message on the Bridgetown Church Podcast or at wearebridgetown.com.

On Valentine’s Day weekend, guest speaker Chris Ochoa opens with a reminder: you are not alone—Jesus loves you and is with you. From there, he teaches on fasting as one of Jesus’ core spiritual disciplines (alongside giving and prayer). Chris frames fasting as a practice of spiritual formation—training that leads to transformation—so believers become the kind of people who look like Jesus in both body and spirit.
Using Matthew 6 and Isaiah 58, Chris clears up common confusion: fasting isn’t a Christian “hack,” a detox, or a way to earn God’s favor. Instead, fasting is about intentional communion with God, paired with prayer, that deepens faith and reorders desires. He highlights biblical patterns of fasting (mourning, petition, response), warns against “false fasting” that’s self-centered and produces quarrels, and points to God’s heart for fasting that produces righteousness, justice, and generosity.
Chris closes with practical ways to approach an upcoming church-wide week of fasting, and he connects fasting to communion and the gospel—Jesus’ final meal, His thirst on the cross, and His victory that makes us His redeemed people.

Pastor Casey Kendall teaches on why healthy boundaries are a blessing, not a barrier. Using 2 Samuel 3, he shows how God often uses conflict and prolonged “relational wars” to separate what’s unhealthy from what He’s strengthening in us. Casey blends biblical leadership from David’s life with practical wisdom from Dr. Henry Cloud to help listeners navigate breakups, hard conversations, and the courage to take the high road while maintaining clear, loving limits.

In this message, Pastor Casey Kendall invites the church into a kind of discipleship that many believers never receive: how to handle conflict in a way that honors Jesus—in marriages, friendships, workplaces, and even church life. Using 2 Samuel 2 as the backdrop, he contrasts the leadership of David (marked by prayer, restraint, and kindness) with the reactive, pride-fueled conflict of Abner and Joab, which escalates until nearly 400 people die.
Through vivid storytelling—including the boxing scandal of Louis Resto and Billy Collins Jr.—Pastor Casey warns that fighting “dirty” can permanently blur someone else’s vision, leaving lasting damage in families and relationships. But there’s a better way: release control, pick your battles, slow down, return kindness for hate, pray for your aggressor, set wise boundaries, and surrender pride to God.
The message ends with a call to repentance and healing: don’t keep “steam” bottled up. The breakthrough comes when we stop fighting, yield control back to Jesus, and pursue the mission of the King—grace.

In this message, Pastor Casey Kendall opens 2 Samuel 2:1–7 and highlights David’s first steps after the death of Saul and Jonathan. Instead of rushing into power, David inquires of the Lord, demonstrating that spiritual maturity shows up in seasons of transition—especially when the “throne feels empty” and the next step is unclear.
Using David’s example, the message centers on the spiritual challenge of waiting. Waiting isn’t passive—it’s often where God does His deepest work in us. Pastor Casey frames the teaching around a “formula for failure” in 2026, calling listeners to trust God’s timing, keep their posture before the Lord, and prioritize character over reputation while God is still working in the delay.
We’d love to see you in person—join us this Sunday at 10:30am.