Yesterday we looked at the power of pain, grief, loss, anxiety, worry in conceiving to raising children and all points between. Ultimately naming the fact that those things happen, but how do we trust God in the midst of those things, because the world is broken and God didn’t do this to you. Building trust is inviting God into your grief and unfulfilled dreams.Let me fast forward briefly to how...

  Let’s keep going. Notice God’s interaction with Eve. Genesis 3:15- 16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.I’ve always understood this passage to mean, guess what ladies, giving birth was going to hurt. I got it easy with our two kids, besides not having to do anything, both of our kiddos came as C-section, ...

  Genesis 3:15- 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”What else do you notice about the offspring?Point of reference, some translations also have seed for offspring. For the sake of the rest of our discussion, we are going to look at this passage as seed.The seed will crush the hea...

  Genesis 3:15- 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”What else do you notice about the offspring?Point of reference, some translations also have seed for offspring. For the sake of the rest of our discussion, we are going to look at this passage as seed.The seed will crush the hea...

  This week we are unpacking Genesis 3:14-24, if you listened to the message from Sunday, you will know that we only got so far. There is much within this entire passage. It was also cool to hear of people taking time to unpack portions of this passage for themselves, not just unpacking during the message. That’s the value of giving you these faith challenges, to take what is shared on a Sunday an...

  If you missed last week, I strongly recommend going back and watching it because it sets us up for this week. Let me give you a quick recap.We talked about how the serpent confronted Eve with misleading questions and statements, Eve responded with some truth, but also some fallacies, Adam was an observer, not a protector. Eve took the fruit and gave it to Adam and sin broke into the world, which...

  This week we’ve been unpacking the first 13 verses of Genesis 3. My desire has been to help you “unsee” all the ways you have perceived Genesis 3 and begin to see the chaos of disorder that came through the serpent, the satan, sin. But to also see how God pursue us despite our choosing chaos over trust.I do want to draw our attention to hope. I do want to draw our attention to the significance o...

  Yesterday I shared this quote from Tremper Longmen from his commentary . “The story of Adam, though does expose the nature of sin. What is sin at its heart? Sin is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept him as Lord. Sin places oneself in the position of God, and like Adam and Eve, humans substitute their own ideas of right and wrong in the place of God’s definition. Sin rejects God… The acco...

  Read Genesis 3:1-6- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, ...

  Notice how the serpent creates chaos for Eve and Adam. If that sentence doesn’t make sense, go back to yesterday’s Daily Faith Challenge for a review.If it does make sense, then read Genesis 3:1-6- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the ...

  I don’t know about you, but once you’ve seen something one way, it can be really hard to see it another way or shall I say, “unsee” it? For instance, the classic optical illusions you would see in Psychology class. What stands out to you? Do you see a duck or a rabbit? Can you go back and forth between the two or are you stuck seeing one versus the other? My desire is to help you with that toda...

  Read Genesis 2:21-25- 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was...

  Read Genesis 2:21-25- 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was...

  Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock...

  Read Genesis 2:18-20- 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock...

  Again, thank you to the elders last week for sharing in the service, as well as the daily faith challenges.We’re picking our series back up of Genesis- creation, failure, redemption, repeat and our mini-series of Genesis chapter 2 which is our last part of a four-part series, creation’s Divine intention, formation, and invitation. We saw that the creation story told by the ancients wasn’t simply...

  Think about a worship song that you really like; one that causes you to turn up the volume or start singing. Why do you connect with that song? Is it the melody? Is it the words? Does it reach your heart, your mind, your body? How does God work within you through that song? ......

  Communion Reflection: A Table of Grace and Gratitude Dear Church Family, When we come to the Lord’s Table, we are reminded that it is not just bread and cup - it is an invitation to remember, to receive, and to rejoice. In the breaking of the bread, we remember the sacrifice that opened the way for our salvation. In the sharing of the cup, we receive the promise of new life. And in both, we rejo...

  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:4On Sunday, Sarah talked about Jesus’ invitation to his disciples to abide in Him.  To stay.  To dwell in Him.  To make Him my home.Yet, we struggle as we spend a majority of our lives abiding in other things.  BusynessExpectations of self and othersTechnol...

  Gail shared a story of a painful secret her family held for many years. She stated that unwanted things are going to happen in our lives. She also posed several questions and challenges.Reflect on your own life, what unwanted things have happened to you or those around you? How did you and those around you handle them? Was God present during all that occurred?“When you pass through the waters, I...