Harvest Bible Chapel

The Problem of Superficial Faith | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

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
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What Happens After the Well | Pastor Tommy Creutz

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/
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I Can't Get No Satisfaction | Pastor Jeff Thompson

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/
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Getting Jesus Right | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

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/
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You Must Be Born Again | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

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/
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Temple Turnover | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

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/
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Cabernet at Cana | Pastor Tommy Creutz

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/
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Come and See, then Pass It On | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

Have you ever hidden from an opportunity to share your faith? Like, literally hidden? Pastor Jeff Bucknam has, and he's not afraid to admit it. From a Mormon girl he didn't know how to talk to, to ducking out at a Teen Jam, he describes himself as having "a checkered history with personal evangelism." If that resonates with you, you're in the right place.
This week in our series Believe! The Gospel of John, we're in John 1:35–51—a passage about how the very first followers of Jesus found him, and then couldn't stop telling other people about it. Pastor Jeff walks us through four invitation cycles in this text and lands on a surprising conclusion: the key to sharing your faith isn't guilt, and it isn't technique. It's a delight. When you've genuinely come and seen that Jesus is good, passing it on starts to feel less like a duty—and a lot more like telling a friend about the best restaurant you've ever been to.
So if evangelism has ever made you want to hide—this one's for you.
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/
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It's Not Me. It's Him. | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

We all know someone who has a quote on their wall. Maybe it's Churchill, maybe it's C.S. Lewis, maybe it's that one about smiling while you still have teeth. Those little phrases are supposed to orient us — to remind us who we are and what we're here for.
But what if the most important thing you could put on your wall wasn't about you at all?
In John chapter 1, we meet John the Baptist — a man so compelling that crowds were flooding out of Jerusalem to hear him speak. Religious authorities sent a formal delegation to interrogate him. The whole country was buzzing. And when they asked him, "Who are you?" — he had every opportunity to lean into the hype.
He didn't.
Instead, he said something that sounds almost countercultural today: I am not the one you're looking for. I'm just a voice. He's the one.
In a world that tells us to build our brand, grow our platform, and make a name for ourselves, John the Baptist modeled something radically different. His entire identity was wrapped up not in who he was, but in who Jesus is.
Today, Pastor Jeff Bucknam walks us through John 1:19–34 with a message titled "It's Not Me. It's Him."
Let's listen in.
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/
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Children, Glory, and Grace | Pastor Jeff Bucknam

On this episode of the podcast, we continue our series through the Gospel of John called Believe! with a message from John 1:12–18 titled “Children, Glory, and Grace.”
Every day we’re surrounded by voices telling us who we are and what really matters—messages about success, power, image, and security. Over time, those messages can distort our sense of identity and leave our spiritual bearings a little off. But the opening chapter of John’s Gospel gives us something better: a clear reminder of what is true for those who believe in Jesus.
In this passage, we discover three astonishing realities of the Christian life: we have become children of God, we have seen His glory in Jesus Christ, and we have received grace upon grace from His fullness.
Join us as we explore how the eternal Word who made all things became flesh and dwelt among us—and what that means for our identity, our relationship with God, and the overflowing grace available to us in Christ.
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/
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