In our third week of this series, we come to Act II of the story: the problem. Genesis 3 is the passage of scripture that anchors our understanding of the one big problem, the conflict at the heart of our life and all creation: sin and all its consequences. How did we go wrong? How broad are the effects? What is our fundamental question before a holy God? And is there any good news in the midst of all this bad?
on story: the why, how, and what
We step into something new: The Story. Human beings live by stories – we read, watch, and listen to them and we tell them and pass them around. More than that, we live from stories – we look to them to make sense of our lives and know where we are on the journey we call life.
Week 1 starts us out in Acts 14. At its core, the gospel (“good news”) of Jesus is a story. It is a story where God is the author and the main character. And it is a story about reality – it claims to be the one true story of the whole world. Each of the next four weeks will take one key movement in this big story, making it clear from the Scriptures and showing its power in our ordinary lives.
By the end of these six weeks, we hope you discover that you belong in God’s story – and are equipped to live out your part in it!
from hope(less) to hope(full)
This Easter morning, we listen in on a conversation from that first Easter Day … but a little known story, later that day, in the evening, as it was getting dark. Because sometimes hope comes from the most surprising place – when you most need it and least expect it. Let’s listen and learn as Jesus shows us that though we might give up on God, he has not given up on us. And he has given each of us a new starting point for our story in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
anger, passion, and praise
Palm Sunday means Psalm 118 – a prayer both on Jesus’ lips and in the people’s praise. We look at passion for God’s praise – in the streets, in the public square, and at the table after a meal. Along the way, we get a sense of what anger really is – a passion for what matters to you, a voice to be heard – and two key pictures of when it is rightly ordered (Jesus in the temple) and wrongly ordered (the leaders in response). We discover that this Psalm helps us see Jesus for who he is, give him the praise he deserves, and gain a passion for more people to enjoy him and praise him.
from hurt to healing: taking revenge to God
Psalm 137 stands out in the Bible as a white-hot cry of pain from a place of hurt.
Let’s discover one more way the psalms teach us to be honest about our hearts before God and others… instead of denial or resentment and revenge, bringing our hurts to God and finding attention and healing. Thank God that his word embraces our very real world, in all its hurt and hardship.
from fear to faith, wisdom, and help
First of the new series! We look at Psalm 27 and the core human emotion of fear. Over these five weeks, the Psalms will both show us our hearts and teach us to be honest with our hearts to God. They teach us to pray, as David Taylor says, “Not to escape your life but to be open and unafraid about it”. Psalms help us express our hearts to God, not praying what we “think” we are supposed to, but what’s real and what we really feel. Today in Psalm 27 we get a prayer for when we are feeling fear – and learn to feel it and face it and take it to God, discovering help, wisdom, and faith.
God is the one who over and over again in the Bible says these words: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” As Scotty Smith put it:
- the most frequently repeated command in the bible is “do not fear. Don’t be afraid.”
- and the most frequently repeated promise in the Bible: “I am with you”.
May you discover the gift of fear – telling the truth, discovering your need and gaining a heart of wisdom — becoming whole-hearted, depending in love on the God who loves you, who has sent his son to secure a place for you, and who gives you his Spirit. He will never abandon or forsake you.
portrait 6: Jesus on the new creation
Revelation 21-22 paints the most beautiful picture of God’s new creation – life in the new heavens and the new earth. We discover that it is a real place, packed full of God’s people, and filled with his presence. And that focuses and fuels our work as a church now: in this place, with these people, pointing to God’s presence and his call to salvation! Thanks for staying with us as we wrap up this series of portraits God paints to encourage his church in patience, endurance, and faithfulness in mission.
portrait 5: Jesus on “the end”
Revelation 19.2 starts with “for true and just are his judgments.” In these two chapters, we get the true word on Jesus’ return, his judgment, and his salvation. Come discover why these matters must matter to us and why they are safe in God’s hands. And hear the choice before you and the invitation to meet the judge …who is a friend.
portrait 4: Jesus on the conflict: why it’s so hard
Revelation 6-19 is the part of the book … “where the wild things are.” It’s the unrolling of the scroll: God’s plan to save and to judge. We look at chapter 6 plus selected scenes to discern what’s happening, what God does with his church, who the enemy is, where we live – and how we persevere. Note: this is a re-recorded “extended version” since our recording did not quite take when we were live on Sunday.
portrait 3: Jesus at the throne
We keep pressing on in this letter …to Portrait #3: Jesus at the throne! Revelation 4-5 are the key to interpreting this whole book. Here we zoom in on the throne room scene to see Jesus, the lamb who was slain, standing right there at the center. Join us in discovering how this vision redefines so much for us – our posture in worship, our grasp of power, and our ethics: how we live.