One of the most painful and debilitating things you can experience is discouragement. When life doesn't go the way you hope, it is easy to become disillusioned and even depressed. In this encounter with Sarah, this passage shows us how God meets us in our discouragement and brings hope and renewal to our lives.
Understanding and growing in faith necessarily means wrestling with doubt. It seems like every morning we are confronted with something on the news that makes faith in God seem unlikely, or even ridiculous. This famous passage helps us by showing the true nature of our doubts and questions, and even more importantly, how God responds to our doubt to bring us into a deeper relationship with himself.
It is impossible to understand God's purpose for the world, and the meaning of the whole Bible, without understanding Abraham and especially God's call on his life in Genesis 12. His story also shows us the meaning of faith, and how to grow in such faith ourselves. As we begin the season of Advent, we continue our series in Genesis with the story of Abraham, the man of faith.
Where do you find hope for the world? One of the biggest challenges facing our society today is the tendency to be so focused on our own cultural identity that we end up in competition or even hostility with those of differing identities. Therefore, one of our greatest needs is to find a basis of hope that is big enough to include us all, but without erasing our own personal cultural backgrounds and identities. Fascinatingly enough, it is that challenge this passage addresses, and it is that need the gospel meets.
Apocalyptic language and imagery is pervasive in our culture, from film and tv (e.g. Hunger Games, Walking Dead), to all manner of public discourse (especially political). The question this passage addresses is: What do you do in the aftermath of an apocalypse? In other words, when the world seems to be falling apart at the seams, how do we respond? The amazing thing about this passage is that it shows us first how God responds, and how his response is an invitation for us to respond accordingly.
The story of Noah and the Flood is one of the most famous, and also most terrifying stories, in the Bible. Many feel the idea of a God of judgment is not just primitive, but reprehensible. But this narrative has some surprising things to show us, both about God and about ourselves. Not least is the reality that if we reject a God of judgment, it actually creates even bigger problems for us. Join us as we explore this paradigm-shifting passage.
Hope for the world is a deep yearning in our society, and also a challenging question. Many are optimistic about our power to fix the problems of the world (e.g. the exploding startup scene), while others are much more pessimistic (e.g. the prevalence of dystopian film and tv). Where do we find hope for the world, and what is the basis of that hope? This passage is about the birth of the city, and has much to show us about our social distortions, and the spiritual distortions at their heart.
Much of our cultural baggage with the concept of "sin" comes from a shallow understanding of what sin really is. Finding a solution to the problems of the wold requires a deeper understanding of this perennial struggle for humanity. This week we continue our study by seeing the dynamics of how sin works in our lives.
One of the strongest and most enduring experiences of human beings is the sense that this world is somehow not the world we were meant for. That sense of alienation extends to every sphere of our existence: spiritual, psychological, social, physical, etc. Why do we feel that way? Is there anything that can be done about it? The end of Genesis 3 has much to show us about these questions, and much to provide in the way of answers.
If secular solutions (education, science, technology, etc) to the problems of our world have been so ineffective, perhaps it's because these treatments do not address the real problem. The concept of "sin" causes an allergic reaction in our culture. But much of this reaction is due to a superficial and simplistic understanding of what sin really is. If we're willing to look, Genesis 3 gives us a much deeper, and far more nuanced, understanding. This week, we continue our study by exploring not just what sin is, but its effects in our lives and our world.
"Sin" is a deeply problematic word in our culture. On the one hand, it's often seen as a primitive, oppressive, and dehumanizing doctrine. On the other hand, much of the baggage comes from a shallow understanding of what sin really is. But if we really want an effective solution to the problems of the world and of our lives, it's essential we have an accurate diagnosis of those problems. This week, we begin looking at the question: What's wrong with the world?
What kind of difference does the presence of God make in our world and in our lives? If God really does exist, and really desires to inhabit or indwell this world in some way, how would that change our lives? For example, do you need God to be good, happy, content, or satisfied? As we continue our series in Genesis, we look at this crucial question, and find some surprising answers.
"Work" is something that can carry a lot of baggage for us. It often has connotations of hardship, toil, and unpleasantness. The lack of work can also be a dehumanizing and painful experience in our lives. But what does the Bible say about it? Is work a good or bad thing? What is it for, and what should our relationship with it be like? How can we find satisfaction in our work, and how can we find rest to say enough is enough? Join us as we explore this huge topic in this week's sermon.
What kind of beings are human beings? What does it mean that we are created in the image of God? How would that impact the way we see ourselves, the way we see others, and the way we practice things like justice and human rights? The doctrine of the image of God has tremendous implications for our lives and the world. Join us this week as we explore this foundational topic.
We can't understand who Jesus is and what he came to do without understanding the "back story" of the Bible. Genesis gives us basic answers to some of the biggest questions in life: Where are we? Who are we? What's wrong with the world? What can be done about it? This week, we begin by looking at one of the most foundational questions anyone can ask: What kind of world is this in which we live? Genesis 1 gives us some answers that may surprise us, answers that offer us a radical, yet deeply encouraging, counter-narrative to many of the other answers out there.
Justice is a huge topic in our society these days. More people are talking about justice and looking for ways to make our society more just than ever before. A deep concern for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized has always been one of the primary themes in the Bible. This passage shows us why justice is so important, and how we can make a bigger difference in the world.
Money, financial stewardship, and generosity don't normally strike us as the most spiritual of topics. The Bible, however, talks about money - and our attitude toward it - as one of the main indicators of our spiritual health. This passage offers us surprising news about how God wants to use our money not just to change the world, but to change our hearts.
Friendship is an important, though often overlooked, part of a healthy Christian life. Traditional cultures emphasize family, while our contemporary culture emphasizes romance and sexual love. But the Bible has always emphasized the importance of friendship in addition to these kinds of relationships. Whether we're married or single, whether we have a family or not, we see that this topic is of vital importance for all of us.
What kind of community is Christian community supposed to be? Many feel that faith is fine, as long as you keep it to yourself. This passage, however, shows us how radically counter-intuitive, and counter-cultural, Christian community really is. Along the way, we discover some surprising things about the ultimate source of our identity, and how that shapes our relationships with people both inside and outside the church.