RUF Michigan

Do you ever want God to just do something miraculous? Maybe to help you believe? Maybe to help you pay the bills? Jesus gives Peter exactly what he wants in Luke 5:1-11---he miraculously provides FISH, an abundance of fish! But Peter's response surprises us...he doesn't want anything to do with Jesus. It's a scary reality for him to behold. Join campus minister Robert Knuth as we look at this interaction and ask questions about what it means for Peter, and specifically what it means for his life's purpose.

As the famous adage goes, "if you want to know someone's character, then look at who he/she is friends with." With that in mind, what does it say about Jesus that he calls Peter one of his best friends? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he unpacks what it must have been like for Peter to behold Jesus for the first time in John 1:35-42. This is the first sermon in a series this semester that we are calling "Life of Peter." It is our effort to try and gain clarity on what it means to follow Jesus and be his friend, using Peter as an example.     

In the midst of a global pandemic, the idea of human decency is at the forefront of our minds. Do we have an obligation to our neighbor? What does that look like? How is the Church at the forefront of God's mission to the world? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he revisits the story of Cain and Abel in Gen 4:1-11 to find answers. 

Anger: we all feel it. Whether it's your favorite sports team losing, or someone cutting you off it traffic...the rage deep within is all too familiar. So what do you do with it? Join campus minister Robert Knuth as he argues from Genesis 4:1-6 that, at the heart of the Gospel, is the reality that in order to be healed, we have to first let God peel back our anger. 

We live in a world that clamors for people to take moral responsibility for everything. We range from feeling self-righteous to totally incompetent. It's an unhealthy cycle that either makes us feel exhausted or hopeless. What if God's question then, "what is this you have done?" is actually a grand invitation to live into the reality of a morally responsible existence, while also simultaneously acknowledging the limits to our moral responsibility, and, in the end, letting God be God. Confused? Let campus minister Robert Knuth unpack things for you. 

What do you long for? How have the broken experiences of your life shaped what you believe to be true? Is there a better narrative out there? The 3rd question that God asks in Genesis 3 probes our individual stories, and invites us to investigate how our hearts have responded to our stories.

Ideas have fateful consequences. Who tells us what to believe? Genesis 3:1-11 is clear: we all get our ideas from someone or something. How do we know these ideas about the our identity, the world, and God himself are true ideas? Campus Minister Robert Knuth unpacks this question and more.  

"Where are you?" The question that has reverberated throughout time as Adam and Eve's shame has been handed down through the generations. We all hide under layers and layers of fig leaves in our efforts to cover the weight of our shame, but yet, at the same time, so desperately desire to be found in our hiding places. What hope is there? Campus Minister Robert Knuth unpacks this and more from Genesis 3:1-9 and Luke 19:1-10.