Claremont United Church of Christ

In our final installment of "Taste and See," we find the Israelites in Numbers 11 craving the foods they remember eating in Egypt. So often we desire to return to the past in order to escape the present. Is it even possible to go backwards? Are we capable of restoring some romanticized past? Do we even want to?

God gave the Israelites manna every day while they wandered in the wilderness. The word "manna" means, "what is it?" As we continue to ask God for our daily bread, maybe we should be asking, "What is it?" each day as well.

2 Kings 4 presents a fable of the prophet Elisha multiplying jars of oil to save a woman and her sons from debt slavery. How did the people of Israel use this story to declare a new message about the economics of God's Kingdom? How can something so small like a jar of oil provide us with hope in our moments of greatest need? Taste and See that God is good!

Join us as we kick off our new sermon series Taste & See with a passage from Ezekiel that involves eating a scroll! Luckily, the prophet reported that it tasted sweet as honey. What is so sweet about God’s Word in a world often filled with bitterness?

Animals and stories about animals are found throughout the Bible, from the first story of creation to Noah's Ark to Daniel in the lion's den. Jesus uses animals to teach us about God, ourselves, and the world, and God is compared to animals several times throughout Scripture. What can we learn from our fellow creatures today?

The final installment of our series, "God Never Said That," is here, and we are tackling the most used cliche of them all: "Everything Happens for a Reason." It is comforting to know that God has a plan for us, but could it really be true that God is orchestrating everything? What about natural disasters? What about starving children? What about the times we suffer abuse and assault as our eyes are opened to the number of people who are speaking out with #MeToo to highlight rampant sexual assault in our society? Is God involved? Tune in to learn more.

When God closes a door, a window opens…or does it? Join us as we investigate another cliche that is commonly quoted but not found in the Bible.

The Bible says that Scripture is God-breathed, but does that make it infallible (without any errors)? Is the Bible perfect just like God is perfect? If it's not, how do we know which parts of the Bible to take seriously? Pastor Jacob explores our next cliche that God never said: "The Bible is Infallible."

The phrase "God won't give you more than you can handle" is meant to be comforting, but actually has some troubling implications. Can we as followers of Jesus do better than this hollow cliche? Join us as we talk examine the story of Job and learn how to truly comfort each other in times of suffering.

It's true that life requires a lot of hard work, but does God really help those who help themselves? Join Pastor Jacob as he explores God's vision for making sure everyone in the world has enough and hear the words that God speaks to us in our moments of greatest need.