The Psalmist does a beautiful job of summarizing what we’ve talked about. I share it because this is how the ancients would have understood the creation story. Psalm 33:6-9- 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the p...  Read More

  We mentioned on Tuesday about how Jesus’ name may not be on the pages of Genesis, but because God is revealed in Genesis, we can affirm that Jesus was as well. Take a moment and read John 1:1-5, 9- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made....  Read More

  Let’s read Genesis 1:1-13. What do you notice, what gets your attention? What is created on each day? How is it created? What do you notice about the repetition of words?Genesis 1:1-13- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let ...  Read More

  Let’s read Genesis 1:1-13. What do you notice, what gets your attention? What is created on each day? How is it created? What do you notice about the repetition of words?Genesis 1:1-13- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let ...  Read More

  Last week we introduced our new series on Genesis- back to the beginning, seeing how God establishes life through creation, fall, redemption and repeat. This week we are kicking off the specific verses, going from Genesis 1 to Genesis 50.If you are familiar with Genesis 1 or remember how it started from last week, this is what we read: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Whic...  Read More

  Genesis, origins, the beginning is the story of God, not just history, and it’s not just their story, the origins of Israel, it’s our story. John Walton says, “It expresses God’s love for the people he created and his intention to bless them in spite of rebellion and sin. The picture of love, mercy, and compassion thus portrayed by means of blessing stands in stark contrast to the self-protectio...  Read More

  Notice how God steps into the life of Abram, eventually Abraham and how he starts anew with similar promises of Creation.Read Genesis 12:1-3- The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless th...  Read More

  The talking snake slithers onto the scene and starts up a deceiving conversation with Eve and then Adam.Read Genesis 3:6-11- 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and ...  Read More

  The purpose of Genesis is to remember the beginning of who God is and his activity- creation, fall, redemption, repeat. We see this in Genesis, as the micro-story, but we also see this throughout the Bible. In Genesis we will see it through different words or key ideas; life, blessing (creation), failure (fall), redemption, and covenant (new relationship or commitment).What I want to do for the ...  Read More

  We are kicking off our new series: Genesis- Back to the Beginning.For those of you who were with us when we went through Mark, this will be similar. Don’t worry, it won’t be as long . But what I want to invite you to do is take your time through Genesis. Even if you have another reading plan, go ahead and add this to the list. We are going to take our time going through Genesis and today, I hope...  Read More

Because of his great love, our lives should look different. When Jesus spent the last night with his disciples, he washed their feet before the Passover meal and before everythingwent “amuck”, even though it was for our good. Jesus gives us a new command in John 17. Notice how Peter Briscoe shares it,“Man-made religion and legalism would soon be nullified by the sacrificial death of Jesus “because...  Read More

The spoken word that was shared on Sunday and then again with the Daily Faith Challenge on Monday was written by our very own Holly Vogel and read by Josh and Emilie Dahm.We started and ended the reading with the most popular verse in all of Scripture. John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For Go...  Read More