The Goodness of God
January 7, 2024 • Bryan Fojtasek
God is good, all the time. But his goodness tends to shine the brightest against the backdrop of the broken human condition. In Exodus 33-34, God promises Moses that all his goodness would pass in front of him. We see from this encounter that God's goodness is demonstrated through his willingness to love, protect, and forgive his people -- as well as hold guilty people accountable.
Jesus the Prophet
December 3, 2023 • Bryan Fojtasek
Jesus was a prophet, sent by God, to share God's word with the world. Prophets in the Bible had a special calling to deliver a specific message that God had prepared for the people, and they proved God was with them by performing powerful deeds. But Jesus wasn't just any prophet -- he was the fulfillment of an ancient promise that God gave Israel: one day, he would send another prophet like Moses.
Trumpets and Bowls
Bryan Fojtasek
In this class we go over a couple of tough passages: God's acts of divine discipline represented by seven bowls and seven trumpets. Our approach is to view them as God standing in solidarity with the victims of oppression by holding guilty people accountable, while emphasizing that these acts of judgment are intended to produce repentance.
Blessings from God
November 5, 2023 • Bryan Fojtasek
The book of 1 Peter has a lot of practical wisdom on how to honor God in the midst of adversity. Peter was writing during a time when it was neither easy nor popular to follow Jesus as Lord -- much like today. A lot of his letter centers around understanding our true identity in Christ, living godly lives, and understanding that suffering is an inevitable part of following Jesus. But before Peter is ready to start telling us what we need to do, he begins his letter by reminding us what God has already done. The opening chapter focuses a lot on the blessings we have in Christ, and how our obedience to Jesus is a grateful response to the gifts God has already given us.
Standing up for the Gospel
October 29, 2023 • Bryan Fojtasek
Peter and John make the bold decision to keep preaching about Jesus, even after being thrown in prison because of it. Their story gives us a great example of choosing faith over fear when God opens the door of opportunity to share Jesus with others.
The Judgment Scenes
October 26, 2023 • Bryan Fojtasek
There's a lot of judgment scenes in the book of Revelation. How should we make sense of those? Is God an angry tyrant bent on punishing people he doesn't like? Or is there a healthier view of him that makes sense in the grand scheme of Scripture? Perhaps the better reading is to view God as a loving father who is disciplining his children so that they will turn away from evil and turn to God instead.
Martyrs of the Faith
October 19, 2023 • Bryan Fojtasek
Revelation 6-7 describes a multitude of faithful Christians who remained steadfast in their commitment to Jesus even when it cost them their lives. Their example should inspire us to live bold and courageous lives of faith and to trust in God's goodness, no matter what.