Origins
Genesis 1-3
Creation and Covenant
November 20, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Revelation 22:1–5
The Bible often refers to God's promises as His covenant. That word is really important and a lot of other essential matters hang on that word. It appears 295 times in the Bible. If you have been watching the story unfold as we have studied Genesis 1-3 and the story threads all the way to Revelation, you will notice something extraordinarily important - God keeps all His promises and all His promises hinge on one big promise - God will be our God and we will be His people. The Christian life hinges on that truth.
Paradise Lost... For a Bit
November 13, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 3
Picture yourself entering a once glorious palace that has fallen into disrepair. It obviously used to be grand but now it’s in tatters – parts of it looked bombed out, there is vandalism, furniture is in decay, fabrics are thread bare. A question haunts you: what happened here? How did it get this way? Moses is answering that question to his contemporaries – and us. Yet another layer of Genesis 1-3 is the reality of sin, a key character in the storyline of the Bible - yet a character that has a shelf life - and sin's end is coming soon. Praise be to God.
Serving and Protecting Creation
October 23, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 1:28–31, Genesis 2:1–3, Genesis 2:15
The environment has gotten a lot of press since the early 80's, particularly how population growth and our technologies negatively affect it. I think most of us love a good vista or sunset, but should we go beyond just a nice devotional moment to consider what our Christian responsibility is toward the created order? Does the Bible call us to more intentional living as caretakers of the world? I think so. Without any hint of idolatry, or sentimentality, the Bible does shape our vision of creation stewardship and we will look at that storyline.
Race & Ethnicity
October 16, 2022 • Ryan McKee • Genesis 1:26–31
This week we will be concluding our 3-part mini-series within our series on Genesis on what it means to be human by looking at the topic of ethnicity and race. We will learn from Scripture how ethnicity factors into our identity as God‘s people, how sin has fractured the human race, and how the local church is to participate in God’s overall plan of redemption of becoming the “one new humanity” in Christ.
Marriage, Singleness, and Broken Identities
October 9, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 2:18–25
In this week's sermon, we will take up what Genesis teaches us about marriage AND singleness. But then we need to talk about what we do if our situation is compounded by the fact that we are not only sexually broken in general, but we experience things like same sex attraction or gender disassociation. Our time will be quite practical and I hope very formational as we consider what it looks like for all of us to face sexual brokenness without despair or theological compromise, but rather with hope, faith, and unreserved desire to honor the Lord by His grace and for His glory.
Sex, Gender, & Marriage
October 2, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 1:26–31, Genesis 2:1–3
This week, we begin a series within a series, a 3-part series on humanity from Genesis 1-3. We are going to look at sex, gender and marriage in week 1. Sexuality in particular, week 2, with a focus on what we do with people who do not feel aligned with Biblical reality in terms of their sexuality and gender. We will also talk about singleness on week 2. Our final week we will look at race and ethnicity in seed form from Genesis 1-3. Here is the deal - what it means to be human is the core of our cultural narrative right now and so I am looking forward to getting into the Word to be reminded that God has beautifully designed the reality of what it means to be human, what it looks like to be human, and the ultimate point of being human - intimacy with God.
Eden was a Temple
September 25, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 2:10–17
The Garden of Eden seemed like a remarkable place. Paradise, right? Indeed. But there are some details that make it pop as paradise! If you read the details of the description of the garden and then compare with the descriptions of the tabernacle, the Temple of Solomon, and even all the way to the descriptions of the New Jerusalem and of heaven, you realize something clear and powerful - EDEN WAS A TEMPLE. That temple was designed to expand, grow, and fit the earth. And, even though sin entered the world through the failed original keepers of the garden, God graciously kept the temple going by providing the Ultimate Keeper - Jesus, who died on the Ultimate Tree of Life, in order to kill the consequences of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Because of Jesus, who is the Temple par excellence, we the people of God are the earthly temple and we have the precious hope of the Forever Eden-Temple that is coming soon!
Science & Faith
September 18, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 2:1–4
This Sunday, we are going to look at the issue of whether there is a conflict between the plain teaching of the Bible on creation in Genesis and the findings of science. HINT: There is not. But, we will have to understand, then, what the Bible is trying to focus on in Gen. 1-2 and we will have to admit that science is great, but has limits and must be utilized with humility and respect of the Bible. And then I hope, after clearing some brush, to actually understand and obey what Gen. 2:1-4 is saying!
How to Read Genesis
September 11, 2022 • Jay Thomas • Genesis 1, Genesis 2:1–3
We begin Genesis this Sunday. For most of this semester, we will take our time and look at the vital themes of Genesis 1-3 in particular. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is our text for this Sunday and there we will find Moses laying out the main elements of the story: GOD, His people, in His Place, under His Rule, for His glory. How we interpret the length of the days mentioned in Ch 1 aside, the greater point in Moses's prologue to the Bible is the origin, meaning, and purpose for the world, not least for God's people. We are created for worship. We were created to dwell with God. We were created to enjoy God, forever. Amen.