Genesis 15:7-21The Promised Land Promised God reminds Abram that He brought him out from Ur, just as He would later remind the Israelites that He brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery (Exodus 20:2). In both cases, God brought His people out of a place that...
Genesis 15:1-6Changed by God’s Gracious Promise In Genesis 12, God promised Abram that He would make him a great nation. In Genesis 15, Abram is struggling to hold on to that promise, given that he still has no children, not even one son. In his human nature, Abram focuses on the one...
Matthew 21:1-17Palm Sunday When I was growing up, Palm Sunday was the day we children walked down the aisles of the sanctuary waving palm branches while the congregation sang the hymn “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna.” Pray that all of us will clearly understand the deep significance of...
Genesis 11:1-9Great ― God = Bad The people who built the city ultimately called Babel were unified. Pastor Shannon noted that people today similarly hunger for unity and peace but turn to means such as politics in a vain effort to achieve it. He asserted that true, lasting unity among...
Genesis 9:18-29 Thank God for a church that doesn’t skip over Scripture passages that are difficult or uncomfortable. Thank Him for the training and preparation that equip our pastors to teach us well. Many passages of Scripture are self-explanatory, but I’m confident all of us...
Genesis 9:1-17 Pastor Dave explained that, even though the “bookends” of this section of Genesis 9 are the command, “Be fruitful and multiply,” the main theme is death. Take time before the Lord to imagine a world without killing – whether man killing beast...
Genesis 6:9 – 7:24 The writer of Genesis calls Noah righteous and blameless. Noah’s righteousness was not sinlessness but rather obedience to God’s commands. Pastor Dave asserted that we, who know we are saved by grace not works, often fail to take God’s commands...
Genesis 6:1-8 Yesterday Pastor Dave explained three different interpretations of who the “sons of God” were, and he concluded that we cannot say dogmatically which, if any, is correct. My small group frequently comes to the same conclusion as we study Revelation and consider...
Genesis 4:1-26 As Pastor Shannon stressed yesterday, we humans downplay, underestimate, or flat-out fail to recognize sin, especially in ourselves. It is not a pleasant topic, after all. It’s depressing to realize that sin is not just something I do now and then; it’s who I am...
Genesis 2:4-25 So many people live in despair today, believing their lives are accidental and pointless. Does that describe anyone who is part of your life, even tangentially? Pray that he (or she) will discover that he is made in God’s image, quickened to life by God’s own...