Genesis Church - Sermons

If you’ve ever sung in a group setting, you might have experienced a feeling of elation or comradery with those around you. Science actually backs up that notion: studies have shown that singing produces chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin, which produce feelings of elation and aid bonding with others in the group. It also reduces cortisol, which lowers stress and anxiety, not to mention the added intake of oxygen which increases blood flow to the brain and lowers blood pressure. Is it possible that God designed our bodies to work this way as a supplemental physiological benefit to His biblical call to sing together as His redeemed people?

Today, we will encounter a song in Judges 5 that functions as the response of God’s people to the revelation of His redemption. We will see how it was the sovereign hand of God orchestrating the events of the crazy story in Judges 4 such that He fulfills His mission in ways we could not predict that portray His undeniable love, grace, and mercy for His people. Over and over in scripture, we see how in response to the revelation of His redemption, God’s people will naturally respond in song, glorifying His name and proclaiming wide the story of the gospel for all to hear.

Today is a special day for Genesis as we will introduce the Good Neighbor Initiative and the work of Oasis International during our service. Rachel Hart, Director of Good Neighbor, will be with us to share how we can join the mission of God in loving our refugee neighbor.

Our text this morning in Judges 4 is a crazy story and, at first glance, does not seem to fit the message we intend to share. The truth is that this crazy and bloody story in Judges is all about the mission of God and His glorious purposes.

God’s mission for His people at this time is tied to His protection of them as a nation of people. So, God raises three different people—a prophetess, a warrior, and housewife—to be His arms of rescue and deliverance.

God’s mission is different in the New Testament; no longer about defending a nation, now the mission is taking the Gospel to neighborhoods and the nations. Yet, God is still raising up ordinary men and women to trust Him and be used by God for His glory while proclaiming and demonstrating the love and justice of Jesus.

What do you think about when you hear the word “idolatry”? A little golden statue encased in a make-shift shrine with primitive people bowing down to it like something from The Temple of Doom?

These sorts of idols seem almost silly to our culture. It seems so distant when God commands His people to avoid making idols and warns the Hebrews about falling into the idolatry of the surrounding peoples. Sadly, the book of Judges shows the utter failure as Israel slipped deeply into that very idolatry.

We may think of idolatry as bowing to a little wooden or golden images, but the problem lies much deeper. Actually, the Bible show us that idolatry happens whenever we put something other than God in the place of God—pursuing created things as ultimate things— believing our happiness, identity, and purpose is in them.

Judges helps us understand idolatry as the core problem in our humanity and the fountain that produces all of our sin. And, it reminds us that idols never keep their promises because they are gods that are not real or true.

What do we think of when picturing a judge? A man or woman in a robe sitting on a bench and dispensing justice for a court? This is not the meaning of a judge in the Biblical book.

There was no king, so as people did right in their own eyes, they ended up in oppression. As they cried out to God, He raised up deliverers, generally in the form of military leaders who became an extension of God’s justice, both to Israel’s oppressors and for the nation in rebellion. He fought their enemies, often in crazy and rather insane ways, returning the nation to the state of blessing promised under the covenant. But these judges are not heroes. Rather, they are incredibly flawed humans who actually grow worse and worse in character as the nation drifts further away.

But, they are pictures of our need for rescue from the worst of enemies brought on by idolatry and sin, and of the better Judge who came to bring God’s justice for the nations and deliverance for us, His people.

The book of Joshua (just prior to Judges) details a glorious military campaign with victories on every side that resulted in God’s people being given the land God promised Abraham. But, they did not fully trust and obey God in the process. Judges begins with reminders of the faithfulness of God to keep His promises, but also shows the unfaithful path His people begin to take. Judges ends with a statement that defines the whole book, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Of course, we should read this a bit sarcastically; there was a King—God was their King. But they turned to worship the idols of the surrounding nations and, as a result, forfeited God’s protection. The outcome is a downward cycle that runs through the whole book. Today’s sermon will introduce this repeated cycle of apostasy—God giving them over to bondage and the people cry out. God raises a deliverer who rescues them, and they have a season of ease, which then starts the cycle again. The reason they (and we) live in this cycle begins simply, we forget the blessings of God’s rescue and want to be our own king.

The Old Testament book of Judges opens by setting this historical story in the larger narrative of Israel’s relationship with God. As a book of history, Judges is doing so much more than giving us facts and details about events in history, movements, and leaders. The key to understanding Old Testament books of history is to see that they are revealing the true and living God in a covenant relationship with a nation of people whom He loved, rescued, redeemed, and brought into a relationship.

Through the series, we will learn that God is faithful and people are not. Because God is faithful and gracious, He has provided The One True Rescuer.

Welcome to 2026! The first week in January—the time where gyms are full, weight loss programs make all their money, and financial plans are in place.

It’s one thing to make resolutions; it’s a completely different thing to develop some healthy rhythms. The 70’s Christian song “Day by Day” gives us a good prayer for the New Year: “Three things I pray. To see Thee more clearly, to love Thee more dearly, and to follow Thee more nearly, day by day.”

The book of Psalms begins with a vivid picture of two paths to walk. One becomes a path to a withered and wasted life. The other is a path that creates deep roots like a tree near a stream. But how do we walk the path to life? The Scriptures teach us that the way to walk this path is in developing healthy rhythms that lead us to deeper love for and knowledge of Jesus and a more devoted life to His mission.

Today we will look at the spiritual rhythms of Bible intake, prayer, rest, worship, and fasting; sharing ideas to implement these rhythms in our lives to help us walk in the way of the Lord day by day.

Kevin McCallister just wanted to make his family disappear. The next morning he woke up and the bossy, critical, and negative group of people were gone. He was all alone, able to do whatever he wanted. Our culture loves this story because it personifies the central belief of the American dream—you can be your own person, set your own agenda, and pursue your own dreams. And, even if a couple robbers show up, you have it in yourself to save yourself and your house. Think about it, our most known document is the Declaration of Independence.

But here is the problem, this pursuit doesn’t work and actually leads to loneliness, despair, and hopelessness. The Bible compares us to sheep for a reason. Left to themselves, sheep will get stuck, fall off a cliff, or get eaten by a wolf. Sheep need a shepherd. When Jesus declares His name to be “The Good Shepherd,” He is connecting Himself to multiple Old Testament passages, including Psalm 23 and Micah 5,promising a future Shepherd for God’s people. Not only does the Good Shepherd love, care for, and feed His sheep, but He also gives them a flock where they truly belong. And He gives us a purpose that is way bigger than ourselves.

The path to an abundant and fulfilling life is found not in our independence, but in our dependence on the Good Shepherd.

Clark Griswold had a noble goal—to provide the perfect Christmas for his family. But, what ensues is a hot mess that shows all the faults in Clark and the imperfection of every person in the family. We can laugh at it because it’s someone else, yet the truth is that we also long for a sort of perfection and many of us get deeply stuck in the traps of performance and appearances.

Since Adam and Eve messed everything up in the Garden of Eden, two things are true. We long for things to be perfect, whole, and right, and at the same time, no person or situation is ever perfect. The Bible uses the term “righteousness” to refer to things being right and perfect. It is a good thing to long for righteousness. Yet, we are unrighteous people living in a broken world. Furthermore, our desire for perfection in life and things is often driven by pride or guilt and shame as we seek to make our own identity known or strive to make up for past failures. These truths are on display in the Griswold house and they are incredibly evident in the manger scene—with one exception. Laying in the manger is the One whom Jeremiah calls “the divine righteous branch from David” who is named “The LORD is our righteousness.” The glorious meaning revealed in this name for Jesus is the remedy for our pursuit of perfection, and brings a promise that deals with our failures in the past, our longings for things to be right now and the declaration that all will be made totally right in the future.

In the 1946 Christmas Classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, the likable George Bailey was disappointed time and time again with how his life was turning out. Making decisions to help others in his small town of Bedford Falls meant putting HIS dreams on hold. He was not satisfied with his life because he longed for a greater purpose. At least, greater in his mind. When Old Man Potter stole all his company’s cash and he was faced with jail for embezzlement, he considered suicide. That’s when his “guardian angel” Clarence helped him understand his real purpose in life.

But, the movie stops short of naming the only source of real purpose in life, our savior Jesus. Today we will discuss Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:35) as the only source of real purpose, satisfaction and fulfillment.