(March 8, 2020) “Trusting God’s Provision”

from Genesis 22:1-19

Sometimes it seems that one of the most difficult areas in which to trust God, is in whether or not we will be provided for. If I surrender my life to him, will I truly have all I need? Will I have the kind of income I want, the kind of house I want…what about relationship? So often, when we think of provision, we find our thoughts wrapped up in material possessions, but what if what God promises to provide goes deeper than the material?

Can we truly trust that God will provide all that we need? What if the trials and the challenges in our lack, is not God ignoring our plea, what if it is God teaching us to walk in faith?

w/ Vern Collins

(March 1, 2020) “Trusting God’s Truth”

from Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-13, 21-24

In Psalm 16, David says to the Lord, “Your boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places,” but the reality is that many of us don’t think of boundaries in our lives as being pleasant, rather we tend to think of them as being restrictive. So in order to be able to pursue life as we feel it should be, we begin to create a truth for ourselves that is often outside of God’s Truth for us.

What if we began to see God’s Truth…the boundaries that God’s Truth creates, not as restrictive, but as gracious…as permissive…as life-giving?

w/ Vern Collins

“Let the Journey Begin” (July 15, 2018)

from Genesis 12:1-9

In the first of a special two-part series (and brief break from our “Summer Reading” series), we welcome new Senior Pastor Lory Beth Huffman who challenges us to consider what it might look like for us to journey TOGETHER with the future that God is calling us in to.

God is calling.  Right where you are.   Will you follow?

w/ Lory Beth Huffman

“Falling Into Goodness: Wrestle With God” (March 18, 2018)

from Genesis 32:22-32

Yes, you’re taught not to fight…but we fight anyway don’t we?  Maybe it’s not about throwing punches, but it nearly impossible to go through this life without finding ourselves in contention with others from time to time…

What if fighting is actually a part of the journey?  What if it has everything to do with what you are fighting for and who you are fighting?

For our 5th Sunday in Lent we consider Jacob and the fight he had with God…perhaps it’s time for you to get in the dirt with God!

w/ Vern Collins

“Life Together: Made For Each Other” (February 5, 2017)

from Genesis 1:26-27

Our lives tend to be a web of relationships.  Marriage, family, dating, friendship, classmate, co-worker, employee and employer, proponent and opponent of an issue or idea…

Relationships can often be a source of great joy or they can be a source of great pain in our lives.  There are times when we find ourselves seeking isolation because we have been so wounded by relationships…and there are times when without realizing it, we find ourselves living in a “functional isolation” born our of the illusion of connection we create through social media.

To say that relationship is complicated is an understatement…but what if we saw relationship not just as a challenge we have to navigate, rather something for which we were actually created?

Imagine how you might begin to look at God, and humanity around you differently if you lived like you were created for connection with both.

w/ Vern Collins

“More to the Story: Noah” (July 3, 2016)

from Genesis 6:5-22

In week 3 of our “More to the Story” series, we look at one of the most well known stories in all of Scripture…the story of Noah.  While there are any number of questions surrounding this account of Noah’s building of the ark and God’s bringing of the flood, we find that there is a questions posed to us…

In this world where we might say (save for a promise and a rainbow) we’re probably due for another wiping of the slate…what if in looking back at the account of Noah, we begin to see it, not as an issue of morality, but one of theology…does creation still allow God to be God?  Does humanity still allow God to be God?  Are you, in your life, allowing God to be God?

w/ Vern Collins

“Rhythms: Sabbath” (February 14, 2016)

from Genesis 2:1-4

Many of us operate at a pace the leaves us feeling like we are barely keeping our head above water.  There are demands on our time, demands for our attention, demands for our affection, worries about today and plenty for tomorrow.

Our culture promises products that simplify and make life easier, and yet even those tend to become our focus and end up feeling like they are stealing life from us.

As we begin our new “Rhythms” series, we start with what is most important…STOPPING.  RESTING.  SABBATH.

w/ Vern Collins

“Dreamers” (August 16, 2015)

from Genesis 37:1-11

Dreams are often nothing more than an interruption to a night’s sleep, or make us question what is real when we awake from them…sometimes we blame them on a bad meal, and others on recurring fears…whatever the case, we rarely give our dreams much attention.
What if you knew there was a dream that has existed since the beginning of Creation?  What if you knew a dream has been shared and passed down since the beginning?  What if you were told you could have a part in it?
God has a dream for this world that stretches from the Creation Story all the way to Jesus’ return to establish His Kingdom on earth forever.  In this new series, we will dive in to this dream of God’s for the world He created, and for humanity whom He loves.
w/ David Hockett and Vern Collins