God's Reboot (Genesis 6:5-7:24)

The Flood is one of the most well-known stories in all the Bible, especially for children. But this is no fluffy fairy tale. It's an account of wickedness and judgment and death. God hits the restart button and reboots the whole earth because humanity had become so corrupt. Yet Noah "finds favor" (grace) with God, who preserves him and his family through the storm. In this passage, we'll see the gravity of God's judgment against sin and the great lengths he goes to save us.

Fear of God's Judgment (Genesis 6:1-8)

This difficult passage clearly demonstrates the judgment of God. How do you live the abundant Christian life in view of God’s ability to wipe you out? The prospect of God’s judgment serves to eliminate from your options that you can come to Jesus and do whatever you immorally want. Are you looking to see what you can get away with in your Christian walk? Instead of focusing on your brokenness, give greatest attention to knowing and loving God so that your love for him motivates you to live in harmony with his will. But how do you live this way if you are afraid of his judgment?

Crouching Sin, Hidden Motives (Genesis 4)

Today we'll look at the story of Cain and Abel, and we'll ask three questions that will help us see this familiar story in a new way:

  1. What do we learn about God's character? What is important to Him?

  2. What do we learn about Cain, and about ourselves?

  3. Where is Jesus in this story?

And God Created Woman (Genesis 2:18-25)

For the first time in God’s creation something is not good. Adam is alone. In another dramatic and creative act of God woman is created from man. Even greater still, this relationship between the first man and woman is an image of the relationship God desires with you. Amazing that God is so passionate for an intimate and ongoing relationship with people like us. This relationship between the first man and woman reveals the root of our redemption. (For the “punchline” read Ephesians 5:21-33, especially verses 31-32)

Rest Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself (Psalm 127:1-2)

Do you take a day off from working? Is your day off filled with chores and errands? How are you sleeping? As we continue our series on battling Crazy Busyness, this Sunday we're going to examine why rest is so crucial for each of us, and how God has designed us to rest as a fundamental act of trust in him.

Mission Drift (Mark 1:32-39)

Last week, we saw that busyness is serious business. Busyness is dangerous because it can choke out the power of the gospel in our hearts. So how do we avoid being Crazy Busy? We're going to examine how, in the midst of a crazy busy day, Jesus stayed on the mission that God gave him. And we'll see how we can battle crazy busyness and keep on God's mission for our own lives.

Serious Busyness (Mark 4:1-20)

Is it hard to remember the last time you had five minutes to just sit and reflect?
At the end of the day, are you exhausted, but still wish you could have accomplished more?
Why are our lives always so Crazy Busy? In this sermon, we're going to explore the cause of this busyness and argue that busyness isn't just an inconvenience...it's dangerous!

John the Baptist's Song: Prepare Your Way for the Lord (Luke 3:1-18)

How would you like to grow this year? In this final Advent Song, John the Baptist exhorts "all people" to "prepare the way for the Lord." As we reflect on 2016 and look ahead to 2017, this is a fitting time for us to heed John the Baptist's call to evaluate our current way of life and strive to make greater room for Christ.

 

The Christ Song: Descended Then Exalted to the Highest Place (Philippians 2:6-11)

At Bethlehem God became human. It’s an enormous descent when God the Son leaves the Godhead (Trinity) and is birthed as a baby in Bethlehem. A huge descent! But once his mission is accomplished, he is exalted to the highest place, returning to the Godhead as Jesus Christ our Lord and God. You are invited to come and experience this enormous plunge Jesus endured for us from highest high to the lowest low and back again so that we might live in a relationship with God forever.

Simeon's Song: Now I Can Die in Peace (Luke 2:29-32)

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Simeon received the unique promise from God that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah with his own eyes. This song is his response to the fulfillment of that promise: the moment when he held the baby Jesus in his arms. One of the lyrics of his song is, to paraphrase, "Now I can die in peace." What would it be like to be to able to face death with that kind of contentment? The Bible tells us that if we are in Christ, we too can not only die in peace, but we can live in peace too!

Mary's Song: Moving from Anxiety to Adoration (Luke 1:39-56)

We're looking at Mary’s Song (Luke 1:39-56), often called "The Magnificat" from the first line, "My soul magnifies the Lord." Mary is a troubled teenager who finds herself in an anxious yet glorious situation. Troubled because she is pregnant and unmarried, yet she knows she’s a virgin.
 
But when God speaks to her, affirming his plan for her, she moves quickly from anxiety to adoration. It’s remarkable what a spoken word from God will do to the countenance of your soul. A word from God to you could move your soul from anxiety to adoration in an instant. Come…let’s talk about it.