The new sermon series that kicked off is called “In God We Trust – the heart of money”. While many

think very secularly about their finances and their resources, the Bible actually talks about these

more than almost anything else. This is because how we think about and use our money reveals

much about our heart. Money promises a fleeting, worldly freedom, but really ensnares us with

worries and anxieties. God intends us to have a life of stewarding and mastering these resources

that he’s given to us, experiencing a life with the freedom of knowing that all is from Him and to Him and for Him.

The new sermon series that kicked off is called “In God We Trust – the heart of money”. While many think very secularly about their finances and their resources, the Bible actually talks about these more than almost anything else. This is because how we think about and use our money reveals much about our heart. Money promises a fleeting, worldly freedom, but really ensnares us with worries and anxieties. God intends us to have a life of stewarding and mastering these resources that he’s given to us, experiencing a life with the freedom of knowing that all is from Him and to Him and for Him.

Joseph speaks continues through the genealogy of Christ, looking to the life of his mother, Mary.

While we often gloss over the genealogy in Matthew 1, it is truly one of the more shocking things in the Bible. The God of the universe entered the world through a bloodline with so many… issues. Judah and Tamar are one such example. In Genesis 38, we read the somewhat blasphemous history of this family- Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law. When his son died, Tamar and another of Judah’s sons were married. When that son died, according to custom, Judah was supposed to give his next son to her as her husband, but he did not. Tamar, realizing that she was vulnerable if she was without any family or children, pretended to be a prostitute so that Judah would solicit her, and she became pregnant. This shameful, sin-filled event is used by God not only to redeem Judah by showing him his sinfulness and how short of God’s standard he’s fallen, but also is used to perpetuate the bloodline that God enters the world through in the person of Jesus. God’s fingerprints of redemption are prevalent all throughout Jesus lineage, and He calls us out of our own lineage of sin and into His lineage of righteousness.

Pastor Travis teaches through 1 Peter 5 - and the direct correlation between humility and hope.

Pastor Joe teaches through 1 Peter 4, and the idea that we’ve all been given gifts through God’s various graces - and the importance of stewarding those gifts well, in the context of our personal relationships and community.

Pastor Joe walks through 1 Peter 3:8-16, and the personal blessing from God’s love and grace as well as the call to be a blessing to others as a result.

Travis continues to 1 Peter 2, looking at Christ as the Cornerstone, the foundation that his followers are build upon.

Travis preaches through 1 Peter 1:3-16. Looking at Peter's letter of encouragement to early believers going through difficult circumstances - pointing to the living hope of Christ working in and through them.

Pastor Joe teaches through Psalm 63, specifically calling out God’s intentionality and love for the widow, the orphan, and the lonely.