Christmas represents the greatest expedition ever undertaken. God is the explorer and Bethlehem is the destination. God is on a mission to rescue His creation, and the Gospel writer Luke makes it clear that God assembles a crew to play different roles on this journey. As people are called to...
Before any great expedition the explorers must take time to get ready. They must take stock of all their supplies to make sure that everything is set and in place, but ultimately all their work is in service of going on the expedition. At the beginning of our Next 40-year journey as a family of...
Everyone has questions. While our questions may be many or few, most of us have at least seven: Does life have a purpose? Is there a God? Why does God allow pain and suffering? Is Christianity too narrow? Is Jesus really God? Is the Bible reliable? Can I know God personally? These questions are...
The great reformer John Calvin said, “There is nothing more perilous to our salvation than a preposterous and perverse worship of God.” Using not so subtle language, Calvin is getting at the idea that when a church worships God rightly, according to His Word, everything else falls into place...
As we conclude our annual focus on the kingdom of God, this series will equip us to practically live out the call to make disciples and reflect God's kingdom wherever He has placed us. As parents, grandparents, children, bosses, employees, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and congregants, we are...
The kingdom of God is often called an “already-not-yet” kingdom. This concept means that the kingdom of God is already here, even as we wait for it to come in a fullness that we do not currently experience. During the season of Lent, we will study the kingdom parables found in the Book of Matthew.
The quest for wisdom is as old as time, yet Scripture tells us that true wisdom can only be given by our Creator. God's wisdom looks different than the wisdom taught in the world around us. As we study Proverbs together, we will be challenged to live our lives in a way that reflects the values...
The Gospel writers make it clear that Jesus is the promised King of the Old Testament. In Jesus’ day, there were many different ideas of how this promised King would come and what He would be like, but the Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that the ultimate and perfect fulfillment of these...
This fall we will be studying Jesus’ first teachings on the kingdom of God in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a section of Scripture we call the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus described God’s kingdom as one that stands in contrast to the world.
God's people have always needed truth tellers. God's people have always needed stern calls to repentance. God's people have always needed reminders of God's faithfulness to the very end of the age. In the Old Testament, God provided prophets to meet these needs. One could summarize the work of...