Starting Point Series: Where Did It Start? – Luke 24:1-9 

Everything has a starting point.  Whether it’s you, whether it’s a book, whether it’s a football game.  The question for us is: where does Christian faith start?  It starts with Jesus, and it starts with what happened on the Sunday after he died.  For us, faith starts with a simple question: Who is Jesus?

The text for this week comes from Matthew 4:1-11.  The theme is Prayers from the Wilderness: God's Provision and Providence. COVID has tested our abilities to be alone.  Jesus experiences the internal wrestling of loneliness in the wilderness. Here, we learn how to rely on God for all our needs, so we can emerge from a wilderness season with an unshakable hope.

The text for this week comes from 2 Samuel 11:1-3.  The theme is Prayers from the Wilderness: God's Provision and Providence. 

Instead of leading his army into the wilderness of battle, David stays back and find himself isolated in a disaster of his own making – Bathsheba pregnant, Uriah killed, and confronted by Nathan.  We need forgiveness – of God and others in order to find peace when we know we’ve caused the pain around us.

The text for this week comes from Genesis 37:23-28.  The theme is Prayers from the Wilderness: God's Provision and Providence. When Joseph’s brothers sell him off, they change his story to hopelessness.  But Joseph perseveres, praying and leaning into the fact that there will be a future.  By finding ways to persevere, we can see that God’s story is often LONGER LASTING than the vision we often have for ourselves.

The text for this week comes from Revelation 21:1-6.  The theme is The Biblical Bookends of History: The Promise of God. This will be the final part in the sermon series on the Scriptural understanding of history. The questions we will be asking include: How does history, as we know it, enter into the Biblical narrative; what does the Bible say about the human condition; and how do the scriptures portray God’s involvement in history?  

Salvation History is going someplace. God’s hand has from the beginning been guiding history to a final rebirth of life and joy. The old enemies of sorrow and death, the devil and evil, will be vanquished and God’s grace will reign. We live between the bookends and, like Abraham and Sarah, the first century Christians to whom John wrote and people of faith everywhere, we are called to trust that God is not inactive but has purpose for history and our lives. This purpose is revealed in the Risen and Ascended Savior, Jesus.

The text for this week comes from Genesis 12:1-9.  The theme is The Biblical Bookends of History: Beginning and Ending. This will be a two-part sermon series on the Scriptural understanding of history. The questions we will be asking include: How does history, as we know it, enter into the Biblical narrative; what does the Bible say about the human condition; and how do the scriptures portray God’s involvement in history?  

Sunday's topic is The Call of God.  Salvation History - begins with a couple and God’s promise. Faith is demonstrated in Abraham’s (and Sarah’s) active trust in the promise of God. This faith, radical at the time, would have been overlooked were it not for the retelling of it by their ancestors. Is God’s involvement in our world like this? Is there direction for history in this story? What is God doing and can we discern why?

The text for this week comes from Jonah 3:1-10.  The theme is Jonah: The Prophet Who Did It Wrong, with the topic being " Bringing The Pain."Jonah’s message to Ninevah was simple: God is coming to punish you.  But his message had an unintended consequence.  The people of Nineveh turned to God and asked for forgiveness.  Followers of Jesus aren’t called to tell the world what they are doing wrong, but to invite others to a new way of life.  A way of life that understands that sin is washed away by grace.

The text for this week comes from Jonah 1:1-17.  The theme is Jonah: The Prophet Who Did It Wrong, with the topic being "The Wrong-Way Run."

 

At God’s call, Jonah turns and runs.  But he can’t possibly run fast or far enough.  God’s message is for us both because of our obedience and in spite of our disobedience – we are children of God.

Join Pastor Bob Bekkerus this week for "Faith > Fear: The Strength of Persistence." The text is Matthew 13:10-17.

Jesus’ parable of the sower is interpreted in dozens of ways, but between the story and the explanation, he helps us see why he is telling the story. Bringing hope is hard, and there are all kinds of obstacles. When we presume to bring God’s hope to the earth, we will encounter evil, persecution, backlash, worry, and even wealth as opposition. But Jesus encourages us to forge ahead – the hope of new growth comes from continuing to plant seeds of God’s word.

Listen to Jess Gulseth, Director of Children and Family Ministries, as she talks about "How Does Jesus Address Those Who are Suffering?" The lesson is John 9:1-5.