Genesis Church - Sermons

Nothing like jumping into a hot one, but that’s our topic this week: What does the Bible Teach About Gender Roles? We live in a culture that is deeply divided and greatly confused, not just about gender roles, but even the existence of gender.

As we look into the grand story of the Bible, the Scriptures paint a beautiful picture that affirms the full and beautiful equality of every human being as a person made in the image of God, of equal worth before Him and an equal partner in the creation mandate given in Genesis 1 & 2. On the other hand, the story also affirms the goodness of gender, God creating His image bearers as male and female, and therefore, different biologically and emotionally, and having different roles in the home and the church.

Today we will explain a theological position called “Complementarianism” which seeks to affirm both the equality and differences of the two genders. And we will share that the path to our flourishing as individuals, families, churches, and communities happens when we rightly understand how the Bible defines our humanity and we seek to submit to His purpose and will for our lives.

David Meyer is bringing the message today on the question, “How can we talk to people about Jesus when they have no faith background yet struggle with objections?” We are honored to have David and Brenda with us today from Ecuador!

This week, we will be looking at the way the Apostle Paul approached this question with the people of the city of Thessalonica. The people of Thessalonica weren’t that different in their thinking than those of our modern society. The Thessalonians thought of religion mostly in terms of what the myriad of gods could do for their own prosperity. The teaching of the Gospel, a free gift of salvation through the sacrificial death of a Man named Jesus on a Roman cross, was a difficult concept for the Thessalonians to digest.

Paul gives us three principles in this chapter that we can use in sharing our faith today. First, our preaching must be with the boldness that comes from the conviction that we speak the truth. Second, sharing our faith is just as much about sharing our life of faith than it is about opening our mouth. And finally, the effectiveness of our message rests in the God who provides salvation, not on our own powers of persuasion.

Welcome and happy Independence Day weekend! We hope you have enjoyed the holiday weekend. As we give thanks for our country, we have an interesting question today from our Top 10 Series: How should we approach US politics and the role of Evangelical Christians?

There are two things we shouldn’t discuss in polite society, religion and politics, and this morning we are going to discuss both. Our goal, however, is not to tell you how to think about issues or vote. Rather, what we will share is the central truth found in Scripture for our political engagement, which is this: A follower of Jesus, and therefore an Evangelical Christian, is first and foremost, a person who has trusted in Christ as King and, therefore, whose primary allegiance is to His Kingdom.

Peter reminds us that Jesus’ followers are sojourners and exiles in the kingdoms of men; remembering this puts us in the best position to be the best citizens in any nation, rightly relating to the rulers and government as well as our neighbors. In the US, while we are thankful for our freedom, we need to heed Peter’s challenge to “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” May this be our posture this weekend and throughout our lives.

Have you ever wondered about what happened after the resurrection of Jesus? Where did He go? What did He do? Today’s topic from our question-based summer sermon series focuses on the question: “What happened in the 40 days between Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension?”

While we can certainly dig into the physical actions reported in the Bible that Jesus took during those 40 days, we don’t want to miss the long game of what Jesus was accomplishing on a more broad scale in fulfilling God’s plan of salvation.

To do this, we will step into the very beginning of the book of Acts to get a picture of what Jesus did during the 40 days after His resurrection and how that plays into God’s plan of redemption of sinners by grace through faith in Christ.

If you’ve been around Genesis any length of time, you should have picked up by now, that we love the Bible—God’s Word. It is how God has chosen to make Himself known to us and how we know what He expects from His followers. One of the consistent drum beats heard here is that you need to be reading and studying the Bible on your own and not just listening to us on Sunday mornings.

The question we’re addressing this morning in our Top 10 List is “How to do in-depth Bible study.” If this concept is new to you, or maybe you’ve struggled with doing this on your own in the past, we’re going to look at a method that will, if you invest the time, allow you to dig deep into God’s Word, getting to know it well, so that you can apply it practically to your own life, and be aware of when others are mis-applying Scripture.

Happy Father’s Day! Today we have a great topic from our Top 10 series as we remember the importance of dads. In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father to protect disciples who are sent to the world like He was, but also that they would not be of the world. That is a tricky line to walk, to be in the world, sent by Jesus, but not of the world. And it is challenging to raise children who are prepared to hold fast to their faith and live for God’s glory in this world.

Our question this week is, “What are some ways we can parent children who are “In the world” while trying not to be “of the world”? To help answer this question we will turn to the ancient book of Deuteronomy and a passage called the Shema, which means “to hear”. In this text, God reminds His people to be certain of their God and to remain diligent to pass their faith and love for the True and Living God on to their kiddos.

So, we hope to glean some truths about how we can raise kids who love Jesus in our technology addicted, pluralistic society.

f you hang around Genesis long enough, you are likely to hear something about “Reformed Theology.” In fact, Reformed Theology plays a big role in our thinking and in our practice at Genesis.

So what is it, why is it a big deal, and what does it have to do with you?

That’s our subject today and small spoiler alert: God’s sovereignty is the central subject of today’s sermon!

Today starts the Summer Top 10 series addressing topics nominated and voted on by you. We held nominations in the Winter, voted on topics during the Spring, and starting today, we will preach on the Top 10 (well, actually 12) topics chosen by you. And we start with a big one.

This morning we seek to answer, How should we understand the book of Revelation and the Tribulation? The closing book of the Bible is definitely one of the most difficult to interpret and debated sections of God’s Word. It is filled with symbols, images, numbers, and metaphors that have meaning for God’s people. But to understand the meaning of the book, we have to know what these meant for those who initially received the book. The story begins with a mess in the world and a throne in the heavens, and ends with the close of history and the city of God.

This morning we hope to give a glimpse on how we can best understand this book to give us hope in the present and for the future.

We come to the end of our journey through the book of Hebrews that began last September. This amazing book has reminded us that Jesus is better. “Better than what?” you might ask. The answer is that Jesus is better than anything and everything.

The letter begins by reminding us that this man who lived in history was also the Creator and Owner of everything, and is the radiance of the glory of the True and Living God. Now, Hebrews ends with a beautiful benediction, a prayer that the God of peace would work through the Gospel of Jesus to equip the church for every good work. Jesus is our good Shepherd, the one who leads, feeds, guides, and protects His sheep. He is also the one who laid down His life for the sheep.

Hebrews has been a reminder about the supremacy of Jesus in all things and a call to love Him deeply and glorify Him above all things. His glory is on display in the church around the world through a people doing His will and with His power working in and through us. So, the author ends this letter helping us endure in the faith and reminding us to fix our eyes on Jesus, to surrender all of life for His purpose, and to love His church to the end.

As the writer of Hebrews nears the end of his sermon, he reminds his readers and hearers of the wonderful pastoral leaders God gave His church, and calls them to watch their way of life, follow their lead, and submit to their authority in the church. But the author also warns them about other leaders who call them to embrace false teaching, move away from Jesus and grace, and to give themselves to false worship.

The goal is to find godly leaders who will serve as a plurality of Elders, who will point people to Jesus and keep watch over the souls of God’s people. When men don’t do that, don’t follow them and show them out. When they do, go all in to follow their lives and make their ministry a joy.

And, most important, pray for your leaders continually.