Harvest Bible Chapel

Listen now to the weekly sermons from the pastors at Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicagoland.

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Episodes

5 days ago

Have you ever looked at a problem and just done the math — and the math didn't work? The need was too big, the resources too small, the odds too long. So you either froze up or gave up.
In John chapter 6, Jesus's disciples are staring down exactly that situation: a massive crowd, no food, no budget, and no plan. And what happens next is one of the most famous miracles in all of Scripture — but Pastor Jeff Thompson isn't just here to tell us a great story. He's here to show us what the disciples got wrong, and what we get wrong in the same ways today.
Our math is too small. Our little feels too insignificant. And our view of what Jesus can do is far too narrow.
We're in John 6, verses 1 through 21 — Bread, Baskets, and Boats . . . Oh, My! Let's get into it.Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Jeff ThompsonSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday May 24, 2026

Everybody has an opinion about Jesus. Some people want Jesus the moral teacher, but not Jesus the judge. Some want Jesus the forgiver, but not Jesus the Lord. Others build a version of Jesus that conveniently agrees with everything they already believe.
But John 5 will not let us shrink Jesus down into something manageable.
Right after healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus makes a claim so massive that the religious leaders immediately understand what he’s saying: he is making himself equal with God. And instead of backing away from that claim, Jesus presses even further. He says the Son gives life, executes judgment, deserves the same honor as the Father, and will one day call the dead from their graves.
Today Tommy Creutz walks through John 5:18–47 in our series Believe! The Gospel of John, and this passage forces us to deal with the real Jesus, not the version we would prefer to build for ourselves.
Because Jesus is not someone you reduce, review, or reject. He is the divine Son you must receive.
This is a sermon about the identity of Jesus, the authority of Jesus, and the question every person eventually has to answer: what will you do with him?
Let’s get into it.Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Tommy CreutzSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday May 17, 2026

What happens when Jesus gives you what you asked for, but then invites you into something deeper?
In John 5, Jesus meets a man who has been unable to walk for 38 years, lying near the pool of Bethesda and waiting for someone to help him reach the water. Then Jesus asks him a question that seems obvious, but goes far deeper than physical healing: “Do you want to be healed?”
What follows is a miracle, a controversy, and a warning. The healed man can walk, but the passage leaves us asking whether he actually sees who Jesus is. The religious leaders think they are defending God’s law, but they completely miss the renewal God is bringing right in front of them.
Today Pastor Jeff Bucknam is walking us through John 5:1–17 in our series Believe! The Gospel of John, and this passage asks a crucial question: when Jesus calls us beyond what we first wanted from him, will we keep following, or will we take the off-ramp?
This is a sermon about healing, renewal, and the danger of stopping short of Jesus himself. Let’s get into it.
 
Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Jeff BucknamSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday May 10, 2026

During World War II, the Allied forces deployed entire armies of inflatable tanks — rubber decoys designed to fool enemy bombers into thinking they were looking at the real thing. From the air, you couldn't tell the difference.
Jesus says the same problem exists with faith. In Matthew 7, he describes people who prophesied, cast out demons, and did mighty works in his name — and he looks at them and says, "I never knew you." Belief that looks real from the outside can turn out to be something else entirely.
So how do we tell the difference? How do we know if our faith is the genuine article — or just a very convincing decoy?
That's exactly what Pastor Jeff Bucknam is walking us through today from John chapter 4. We're in our series Believe! The Gospel of John, and this week we're in a passage that raises two uncomfortable but important facts about superficial faith — and what it looks like when faith becomes the real thing.
This is The Problem of Superficial Faith. Let's get into it.
Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Jeff BucknamSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday May 03, 2026

One conversation. One encounter. And an entire village is never the same. In John 4, Jesus meets a woman at a well — and what happens next is nothing short of explosive. Today we're diving into the aftermath. This is 'What Happens After the Well.' Let's go.
Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Tommy CreutzSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday Apr 26, 2026

It's high noon. Jesus is tired, thirsty, and sitting alone at a well in territory most self-respecting Jewish men would have walked miles out of their way to avoid. And then she shows up — a Samaritan woman with a complicated past and a water jar. What happens next is one of the most remarkable conversations in all of Scripture. Today we're in John 4, verses 1 through 26. We're glad you're with us for Believe, our series through the Gospel of John. Let's get into it.
Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Jeff ThompsonSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday Apr 19, 2026

Have you ever misunderstood someone so completely that you walked away with the exact opposite of what they meant? It happens with Jesus more than you might think.
In the Gospel of John, we watch it happen in real time. A religious leader hears Jesus talk about being born again and thinks he's describing a literal second birth. Temple officials hear Jesus talk about raising the temple in three days and think he's making wild architectural promises. Over and over, people listen to Jesus — and completely miss him.
So what does it actually look like to get Jesus right?
That's the question Pastor Jeff Bucknam opens up today in John 3:22–36, the next stop in our series Believe! The Gospel of John. In this passage, John the Baptist steps into the frame — and unlike the religious leaders, unlike Nicodemus — John actually gets it. And watching how he responds to Jesus reveals three marks of someone who truly understands who Jesus is: they recognize that everything they have is a gift from God, they willingly lay down their own popularity for his purposes, and they treat his words not as suggestions — but as the very words of God himself.
This one is going to challenge the way you think about contentment, ambition, and what genuine belief actually looks like in practice. Let's get into it.
Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Jeff BucknamSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday Apr 12, 2026

You've seen it at football games. Maybe you've held up the sign yourself. John 3:16 is arguably the most famous verse in the Bible — but here's a question most people never stop to ask: what's the context? It starts with the word "for," which means it's explaining something. But what? Today we're going back to that conversation — a secret, late-night meeting between Jesus and one of the most powerful religious leaders in all of Israel. A man named Nicodemus. Educated, respected, devout. And Jesus looks at him and says something that stops him cold: "You must be born again." Not "keep trying harder." Not "you're almost there." Born. Again. This is the conversation that gives us John 3:16 — and when you understand what leads up to it, that verse hits completely differently. We're in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verses 1 through 21. And today we're going to see that spiritual rebirth isn't self-improvement. It isn't religious achievement. It's something that has to happen to you — from above. We'll look at why it's needed, how it actually happens, and what it looks like when it does. Let's get into it.
Executive Producer: Dave PutnamSpeaker: Pastor Jeff BucknamSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Sherri Smith
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday Apr 05, 2026

Most of us grew up hearing that the God of the Old Testament is harsh and demanding — while Jesus is gentle, meek, and mild. But what do we do with a Jesus who braids a whip, flips tables, and drives merchants out of the Temple? Turns out, the gentle Jesus we've imagined may be a little too tame. In this message from John 2, Pastor Jeff Bucknam takes us to one of the most dramatic moments in Jesus' ministry — the Temple Turnover — and shows us three things that rile Jesus up: perfunctory worship, unauthorized authority, and bogus belief. It's a passage that raises a pointed question for every one of us: Is my faith the real thing? This is "Temple Turnover" from our series Believe! — The Gospel of John. Let's get into it.
Executive Producer: Flavius HerloSpeaker: Pastor Jeff BucknamSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Dave Putnam
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Sunday Mar 29, 2026

This week in our series, Believe! The Gospel of John, we find ourselves at a wedding in Cana — and things are about to go sideways. The wine has run out, the host is about to be humiliated, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. It's into that moment that Jesus steps in, and what happens next is more than a miracle. It's a window into who He is. In John 2:1–11, we'll look at a problem no one could fix, a command no one fully understood, and a provision no one saw coming. Join us as we open God's Word and see what this first miracle of Jesus reveals about His glory — and about the kind of Savior He truly is.
Executive Producer: Flavius HerloSpeaker: Pastor Tommy CreutzSound design, mixing, and editing: Bryan TrippGraphic Design: Wesley CassfordSocial Media: Bryan SpahrProducer: Dave Putnam
WE INVITE YOU TO CONNECT WITH US:• Website: https://www.harvestbible.org/
WE INVITE YOU TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Instagram: @harvestbiblechapel• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harvestbiblechapel/

Harvest Bible Chapel

One church meeting on multiple campuses across Chicagoland serves together for this purpose: to glorify God. Bearing witness and bearing fruit, we have seen God continue to change lives through the people and ministries of our church. Listen now.

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