When we find Jacob in chapter 35 of Genesis, he has come through quite a bit. There has been deception, murder, conflict, and betrayal; but God has prepared a place of promise and he calls Jacob to build an altar, purify and consecrate himself and go up to the place that He has promised.

When God calls Abraham to go, he goes. Even though he does not have a clear picture of how God is going to fulfill His promise, he trusts God. The altar that he builds when he arrives, is a monument to the God whose promises are sure and steadfast.

What He has promised, He will fulfill.

When Noah stepped out of the ark, his first act on this newly recreated world was to build an altar. It was a sign of thankfulness, of consecration, of dedication and rememberance. 

Through storms and adversity, God brings hope.  The life that springs from the past creates hope for a new future that surpasses what was before. 

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

This Father's Day we finish our "You Belong" series by looking at the fifth chapter of Ephesians where we find a call to live an open, transparent, authentic life that reflects the light of Christ. His light illuminates not only our life but it causes us to radiate His light to others.

"Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!"

Because God has brought us together into His family, we are connected to the power of His spirit to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine because it is according to his power that is at work within us.

If you look for it, you will always be able to find differences and characteristics that separate us. In the world Jesus lived in, there was no greater divide than between Jew and Gentile. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, calls this barrier between those who belong and those who will never belong "hostility." 

This week we are discussing how Jesus put this hostility to death on the cross and brought us all together by making something entirely new.

At some point each month we try to highlight ministries of our church.

Our new sermon series "You Belong" gave us the perfect opportunity to sit down with our Youth, Children's and Preschool directors to talk about how they work to create programs, events and ministries where youth and children are not only invited, but are welcomed.

 In a world full of disconnection, the church - our church - is called to be a place where people belong. But it doesn't actually start at a human level; it starts at God's level. Because before we get into the rest, you need to know above all, no matter what, you belong to God.