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

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.

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.

God often gives a glimpse of the end before the beginning. That's what Jesus did when he took his disciples up on the mountain. As he was transfigured before them, he showed them his glory in a way they would only see again in eternity. In the same way, we often need a glimpse of what God has in store to power us through the journey.

The time had come. Jesus turned to his disciples and asked them a very important question, who do you say that I am? Speaking for the group, Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." That was true then, and it is true now. We're all faced with the same question; who do you say that he is?

Surrounded by a hungry crowd, Jesus took a few loaves of bread and some fish and fed thousands of people. All four gospel writers include this miracle in their accounts. What is it they want us to see? There's more than a meal going on here. Jesus, moved with compassion, supplies the needs of his people through a royal feast. And he's still doing the same thing today.

When Jesus invites Peter out onto the water, he quickly finds himself in over his head. But what do we take from this story? It is not a story about Peter, but one about Jesus. Matthew shows us what Jesus was doing during the storm then and what he is doing during the storms we face now. We're often in the place of Peter, and in those moments, we can be sure that Jesus is with us, praying for us, and has a purpose for us.

Jesus came onto the scene announcing that the Kingdom of God had come. His disciples must have wondered, where is it? In these kingdom parables, Jesus reframes our expectations about how the kingdom works and who can be a part of it. The kingdom is like mustard and leaven, like hidden treasure and a valuable pearl. These apparently innocuous parables hold profound meaning for us today.

To explain the nature of the kingdom, Jesus begins to speak in parables - earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. The first and paradigmatic parable of the sower and the soils. Like so many other parables, this story is a mirror for us to examine our ears and our hearts and evaluate the way we respond to God's Word. 

On Easter, we celebrate the fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead, and because of that, everything has changed. When Paul found out that some of the Corinthians were doubting the resurrection, he reminded them of the essential tenets of the faith; Christ has been raised, sin has been defeated, and eternal life has begun.