The creation story in Genesis ends in tragedy. The man and the woman have disobeyed God. He has read them the verdict of the consequences from sin. Now, he enacts their sentence: exile from the Garden of Eden. But even in this tragedy, there is hope. God shows his mercy by protection for the present and hope for the future. Because of that, we can learn to live well in the exile of our lives today.

Many people recognize that the world is broken; few truly understand why. The biblical story, beginning in Genesis 3, shows us how deeply sin has fractured creation and what God is doing to redeem and restore it.

When the first humans chose against God, they opened the door for evil. Now we live—and die—in a world of sorrow, suffering, and loss. How do we live in such a world? To answer the question, let’s go back to the beginning, when Eden sank to grief.

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we'll follow the story of Thomas' response to the news. Over the course of a week, Thomas transforms from a skeptic who demands proof from God to a believer who is overcome in worship. What changes Thomas? How can we encounter Jesus in the same way? Is faith even possible in an age of skepticism?

Jesus evokes many different responses from different people. Some love him. Some hate him. Some are ambivalent towards him or just confused by him. As we look at Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we will consider the various ways we respond to Jesus and the ultimate response that our King deserves—a response of praise.

We want not only to be informed but also to be inspired. The word of God informs us. Does it also inspire us? The imagery of Joel 3 is especially inspiring.

In the middle of a book of warning and lamentation comes one of the most powerful promises in the Bible. God promises his people an experience of presence and unity with him that will completely transform their lives and communities. As we explore this offer, we will see a new experience with God offered to everyone who desires it.

We read in Joel 2:18-27 that the Lord deals “wondrously” with his people. Some of us might want to say, “Really?” How can it be said that the Lord deals wondrously with us?

Who knows what kind of days we will encounter? But we know this: “the Lord disciplines the one he loves” and that discipline, whatever form it takes, presents us with the opportunity to “return to the Lord.”

The book of Joel describes a terrible locust invasion which causes devastation to the people of Israel. Everything is lost. But in their tragedy, we can find hints of our own suffering. And in Joel's suggestions for how to invite God into their pain, we can find an invitation to a deeper journey with God.