I invite you to open your Bibles with me to Genesis 23. Genesis 23. Genesis is in the Old Testament, the first book of the Bible. If you are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy, you have gone too far. Genesis 23. As always you are invited to leave your Bibles open as we read... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Where are you this morning?
Where are you this morning? Some of us are coming off an incredible week of Vacation Bible School, both exhausted and exhilarated for what God has done. Others come drained. It’s been a long week, a long month, a long year. We are looking for a little hope, like cool water on the tip of... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Lot and Sodom
It has been almost a month since I have been able to share the Word of the LORD with you. However, this was not exactly the passage with which I anticipated stepping back into the pulpit. As we will soon hear, Genesis 19 feels more like Game of Thrones than like Frozen. There is violence,... Continue Reading →
Sermon: One Who Is Righteous
This morning we begin the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In doing so, we are entering a story that sits quite uncomfortably with many in the late-modern West. The destruction of the cities has been weaponized in the wars of sexuality in the church. Fire and brimstone raining down from heaven and... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Showing Hospitality
In our time together, I want us to internalize a bible verse as we walk through a bible story. My hope is that when the match of our verse strikes the surface of the story, it ignites, giving light so we can see and heat to warm our hearts. The verse is Hebrews 13:2 and... Continue Reading →
Sermon: The Covenant of Circumcision
Please pray with me: Father, may your Word be our rule, Your Holy Spirit our teacher, and the glory of Jesus Christ our single concern. Amen. If you are able, I invite you to stand to hear God’s Word. Listen closely and listen well, for these are the very words of God: When Abram was ninety-nine years... Continue Reading →
Sermon: God’s Will, My Way
As we have journeyed through the story of Abram, we have seen some amazing promises from God. But the story of Abram and Sarai is largely the story of the long wait for these promises to be fulfilled. In this way it foreshadows the long wait of Israel for the messiah and the long wait... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Walking the Bloodpath
Please pray with me: Sovereign LORD, I pray that out of your glorious riches you will strengthen us with power through the Spirit in our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. I also pray that all of us gathered here, being rooted and established in love, may have power... Continue Reading →
Sermon: The Rescue of Lot
Outside of the names of Abram and Lot, few of us will recognize the names we will hear in our passage this morning. As we continue the story of God in the story of Abram, we are entering a dark and murky chapter. It is dark because Genesis 14 is the first story of war... Continue Reading →
Sermon: Nostalgia or Promise?
What do you have eyes to see? When I first got glasses, one of the tests they give is the Ishihara test. They put up a bunch of color-dotted plates and you try to see numbers within them. I have a couple here on the screen. What do you see? I can’t see anything there.... Continue Reading →
Etz Pri 