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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we trace the breakdown of Isaac’s family in Genesis 27 and follow its ripple effects into Genesis 37, showing how deceit, favoritism, and envy repeat across generations. The thread points beyond human failure to the one hero of Scripture and the new life he gives.

• Genesis 27 as mirror and warning
• One hero theme: Christ at the center
• Types and symbols that point to Jesus
• Repeating patterns of sin in families
• Favoritism as a seed of division
• Goat imagery linking both deceptions
• Joseph sold for silver as a foreshadow
• Freedom from generational cycles in Christ
• Practical steps toward a new pattern

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we trace Genesis 26 through famine, fear, and a turn to worship, watching Isaac move from anxious survival to open-handed trust. God’s presence becomes the hinge: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you,” reshaping obedience, witness, and peace with former enemies.

• Isaac obeys without worship and lives small among the Philistines
• Fear drives deception and compromises witness
• God blesses amid failure, yet conflict rises
• At Beersheba God speaks and reestablishes presence
• Peace treaty and banquet echo Psalm 23
• Real change flows from reverent worship not mere rules
• Confidence shifts from human strength to God with us

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we trace Jacob and Esau from Genesis 25 into Hebrews and Romans 9 to show how Scripture uses real events to reveal God’s sovereignty and our responsibility. We challenge fatalism, highlight faith alone for salvation, and show why right doctrine fuels urgent mission.

• Hebrews’ warning through Esau’s birthright
• Romans 9 and the oracle to Rebekah
• Why Paul chose twins over Ishmael and Isaac
• Election grounded in God’s call, not works
• Human responsibility affirmed alongside sovereignty
• Inclusion of Gentiles by faith alone
• Paul’s model: persuade, adapt, and “save some”
• Avoiding hyper-Calvinism and apathy
• Grace-driven effort in ministry and mission

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we trace why godliness requires training, not drift, and how grace fuels effort without sliding into legalism. We unpack praying the Bible and meditating on Scripture with clear steps, real barriers, and practical next actions for our church family.

• Godliness as training with present and eternal value 
• The dangers of legalism and antinomianism contrasted 
• Grace that instructs us to deny ungodliness 
• Evidence of the Spirit in making war on the flesh 
• Praying the Bible through the Psalms, step by step 
• Meditation that renews the mind and leads to obedience 
• Simple tools: journaling, discussion, repetition, application 
• Resources by Donald Whitney available at the Welcome Center 

Join us next Tuesday at six thirty for our prayer summit

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we walk through Genesis 24 to champion marriage as a good gift and explore how walking with Christ, working hard, and pursuing sexual purity prepare us to bless a future spouse. We wrestle with real questions about temptation, guardrails, and whether to date while struggling.

• Genesis 24 as a framework for dating and marriage
• marriage as a good, not a barrier
• be the best thing that happened to someone
• walk with Christ as the core preparation
• work hard and build resilience for covenant life
• sexual purity as virtue, not only avoidance
• fire in the fireplace analogy for blessing and danger
• cultural saturation, temptation, and wise guardrails
• self-control and lifelong battle before and after marriage
• should you date if you struggle with porn and lust
• 1 Corinthians 7, tension with fleeing immorality
• honesty, accountability, direction over perfection

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we look at how Moses honor's Sarah’s life, slow down with Genesis 23, and trace Abraham’s final lap of faith as a foreigner who buys a tomb in hope. We unpack Hebrews 11 and 1 Peter 2 to show how citizens of heaven live well in a land that feels like home.

• why Genesis 23 is more than a footnote
• honoring Sarah and the first funeral in Scripture
• Abraham’s go-and-stay faith in Hebrews 11
• living in tents while looking to a better city
• citizens of heaven shaping earthly citizenship
• dangers of comfort and disengagement
• bearing slander, doing good, and public honor
• 1 Peter 2 on authority, integrity, and fear of God
• the cave at Machpelah as a sign of hope
• setting our minds on future glory to endure now

Set your mind on the things above. Set your hope on the things above.

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we explore why prayer is a relationship to pursue, not a button to push, and how that vision deepens trust in the Father who sees in secret. We also unpack prayer as power in temptation, the Lord’s Prayer as a template, and how praying Scripture reshapes desire into obedience.

• the aim of prayer as relationship with the Father
• private prayer versus performative prayer
• Matthew 6 and the Lord’s Prayer as a template
• God’s sovereignty as confidence in asking
• Gethsemane and the gap between intent and obedience
• “spirit willing, flesh weak” and resisting temptation
• praying Scripture and the Psalms to shape language and desire
• honoring God by praying his promises
• upcoming training on praying the Bible and meditation

Go to our website or the Church Center app and sign up for Equip, October 24–25, with Dr. Donald Whitney. Price is $20 for adults and $10 for middle and high school students. Space is filling up pretty quickly—join us October 24th to 25th

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This week on Beyond the Pulpit we explore how the early church's unity became a powerful witness to the reality of Christ. When believers devoted themselves to fellowship, outsiders saw something compelling that drew them to faith.

• Acts 2:42-47 shows how the early Christians' devotion to life together attracted others to Christ
• Jesus prayed for Christian unity "so that the world may believe" (John 17:21)
• Our unity reflects the Trinity and serves as evidence that Christianity is real
• The church represents a new "generation" defined by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
• Christians across all times and places are united by sharing in the life of Christ
• Powerful examples like public forgiveness demonstrate the gospel's transforming power
• Our relationships with fellow believers serve as a witness to the reality of salvation

Join us in displaying the glory of God through our unity as believers. When we truly love one another, the world sees Christ.

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Peter's first sermon after Pentecost demonstrates the power of Scripture in proclaiming Christ, as he uses Old Testament passages to prove Jesus is the promised Messiah.

• Peter quotes Psalm 16 to show David prophesied Christ's resurrection a thousand years earlier
• David couldn't have been speaking about himself since his tomb and remains were still present
• Jesus could not be held by death because Scripture had foretold his resurrection
• Psalm 110 (the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament) predicted Christ's ascension and exaltation
• The apostles consistently grounded their understanding of Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures
• Experience matters but isn't the foundation—Scripture provides the authoritative basis for faith
• The Holy Spirit transformed Peter from one who denied Christ to a bold proclaimer
• We need both Old and New Testaments to fully understand God's revelation
• Like Peter, we should anchor our hope in the Scriptures, "as to a lamp shining in a dark place"

Join us Wednesday night as our fall ministries kick off! Kids Club, Community Groups, and Student Ministry all begin this week. Also mark your calendars for Movie in the Village on September 20th—a perfect opportunity to invite friends and neighbors for a no-pressure evening of fun.

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Jesus makes the extraordinary claim that unless we believe he is God, we will die in our sins, connecting his identity to the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush.

• Jesus repeatedly uses the phrase "I am he" (ego eimi) which directly connects to God's self-revelation in Exodus 3
• The religious leaders understood Jesus was claiming divinity, which is why they attempted to stone him
• Jesus also claims the title "Son of Man" from Daniel 7, another declaration of his divine authority
• When confronted by the high priest, Jesus' claim to be the Son of Man results in charges of blasphemy
• Jesus' claims to deity cannot be separated from his ethical teachings - they are fundamentally connected
• If Jesus is merely human, his death means nothing; if he is God, his death brings eternal life
• We must respond to Jesus' claims - there is no neutral position or "sitting on the fence"

Join us next Sunday as we begin a four-week miniseries on the book of Acts, examining the basics of Christianity and what the early church practiced.