This week we look at what we can call the summary and synopsis of Judges. Here we learn the theological lens through which to interpret the rest of the book. As well, it will challenge us on what the mission of the church is, and why our faith is more than just getting saved, being moral, and coming to church. In fact, it is precisely because we misunderstand the cross that our Christianity so often fails to be what Jesus died for.

A sermon on how the church has forgotten its purpose for existing.

This week we begin one of the darkest books in the bible: Judges. The book chronicles Israel's downward spiral into sin after God tasked them with setting up his new Garden of Eden in an effort to renew creation. We begin in chapter one, where God commands the slaughter of the Canaanite people. it is incredibly uncomfortable and difficult to reconcile this image of God with the Jesus that dies for our sins in the gospels. However, all scripture is inspired by God and we must find a way to understand why and how God can do the things he does in the Old Testament. So join us as we try to discover just how the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament, and what it means for us as the church today.

This week we begin one of the darkest books in the bible: Judges. The book chronicles Israel's downward spiral into sin after God tasked them with setting up his new Garden of Eden in an effort to renew creation. We begin in chapter one, where God commands the slaughter of the Canaanite people. it is incredibly uncomfortable and difficult to reconcile this image of God with the Jesus that dies for our sins in the gospels. However, all scripture is inspired by God and we must find a way to understand why and how God can do the things he does in the Old Testament. So join us as we try to discover just how the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament, and what it means for us as the church today.

This week we finish our ancient romcom. In this chapter we encounter the final objective to Ruth and Boaz's marriage: a more eligible suitor. However, there are some hidden problems with this suitor we may not pick up on right away. So today we do a bit of a character study, and then turn a mirror on ourselves to see what we can learn about our own dedication (or lack thereof) to the people of God.

This week we get to the conflict of our ancient RomCom drama. We will see how the book of Ruth continues to subvert our expectations and story tropes left and right. And in the end we are challenged on our humanitarian responsibilities as people, as well as the grave dangers of forgoing a life of prayer and meditation of God's word.

We are back after a short break! Today we continue looking at the story of Ruth. In today's passage Ruth meets Boaz for the first time and Boaz makes a huge political and social statement by providing for her and blessing her. We also look at ancient near eastern hospitality practices and how Boaz's actions challenge us on the numerous ways we unknowingly hold prejudices against people and what it actually looks like to love others the way Jesus does.

The question, "If god is so good, then how come there is so much needless suffering" is one that has resounded throughout the ages. In Christianity, it is often met with philosophical theodicies to justify one's faith, but rarely does Christian teaching on this subject face this question head on and provide some sort of ultimate hope. This week, that is what we strive to do. Hopefully this message can explain why, even in the face of unexplainable suffering, Jesus can bring us hope. And I promise this isn't the "8 Reasons God Allows Suffering" message you've heard before. We don't even try to answer that question because, in the midst of suffering, answers like that hardly help. Today we try to find a true hope that cannot die even in the midst of the worst suffering. It is a modest attempt at a large subject, but hopefully it takes the conversation in a different direction than we are used to.