Fig Leaves - Carlton Landing Community Church

Fig Leaves: Joseph

July 30, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 45:1–15, Genesis 50:15–21

Joseph is the last of the great patriarchs in Genesis. The long arc of sin and family dysfunction comes to a close when Joseph reverses the course of the story and forgives his brothers. As his story shows, it takes great faith to forgive. Christians have been commanded to forgive one another, but how can we do what often seems like an impossible task?

Fig Leaves: Jacob and Esau

July 23, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 32—33

It would be hard to find someone with more relationship problems than Jacob. From his brother Esau, to his parents, to his own family, strife followed him wherever he went until his life-changing encounter with God. After wrestling with God, he was blessed, renamed, and changed forever. In the same way, when we encounter God, the fruit pops up in our relationships.

Fig Leaves: Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar

July 9, 2023 • Jarrett Ford • Genesis 16

We often find ourselves waiting for God. We may know his promises, character, and track record, but waiting for God is still difficult. Abraham found himself in a similar situation, but instead of waiting he sought his own solution. In this message, Dr. Jarrett Ford reminds us of the importance of waiting for the Lord and the wonderful promises he has given us.

Fig Leaves: Abraham and the Covenant

July 2, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 15

Abraham is the father of the faithful, a paragon of what it looks like to believe God and follow his plan. But after ten years without a son, Abraham looks for a sign. In Genesis 15, God meets Abraham's doubts, not just with facts, vision, or assurance, but with a covenant. In Abraham's time of doubt, God gave himself in an eternal covenant that would be fulfilled thousands of years later through one of Abraham's descendants.

Fig Leaves: Abraham and the Call

June 25, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 12:1–9

Abraham is known as the father of the faithful - even the friend of God. In Genesis 12, we are introduced to a man who looms over all of history. But what made him special? God called out to Abraham when he was far from God and in a desperate place, and when he heard from the Lord, Abraham believed God. This simple act of taking God at his word is the life of faith, then and today.

Fig Leaves: Nimrod and Babel

June 18, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 11:1–9, Acts 2

Nimrod was the greatest man in the generations after the flood. Having settled in the flood plain of Shinar, he decided to build a city named Babel with a tower reaching up to the heavens. This endeavor reveals the rival way of living, self-reliance versus reliance on God. The city fails and the people scatter, but the way of Nimrod endures through the ages. In this story, we encounter a choice between values and a vision of life fully centered on God.

Fig Leaves: Noah

June 11, 2023 • Terry Feix • Genesis 6:5–14

By the time of Noah, the problem of sin had spun out of control. The world was full of evil, violence, and corruption. God sent a flood to judge the earth and cleanse it of evil, but he also had mercy. Noah and his family trusted God, and he provided safety and a covering for them. Even now, God's grace comes through similar acts of faith. Guest preacher: Terry Feix

Fig Leaves: Cain and Abel

June 4, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 4:1–16

Cain and Abel is a story about brotherly strife, but it's deeper than that. The root of Cain's sin takes place not between him and his brother but between him and God. In these opening chapters of Genesis, we learn about the nature of sin, the tenderness of God, and the wonder of grace as God takes our fig leaves and gives us a covering.

Fig Leaves: Adam and Eve

May 28, 2023 • Cole Feix • Genesis 3

The opening chapters of Genesis portray the human condition before and after sin entered the world. When Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened, and they were ashamed. They sewed fig leaves together to hide their nakedness and we do the same thing today. But in the first picture of the gospel, God clothed them, covered their nakedness, and offers to do the same for anyone who comes to him.