Jesus is the pivot point in God’s big story. Before His birth, prophets foretold His coming. After His ministry on earth, the church continually taught one another about Him and looked forward to His return. This week, Pastor Connor continues our series “From Garden to City” with a look at Jesus and the way that He brings salvation. Jesus is God, the eternally existing creator and sustainer of all things. He became human and dwelt among us, sharing in our sorrows and pain. He is the salvation that was promised to humanity from the very beginning, the sole solution to our problem of sin and death. He bore the penalty for our sin once for all in His body on the cross. Jesus is enough to save us, and we can add nothing to His work on our behalf. Faith in Him is the only way to God. He alone is our path away from the brokenness of sin back into a relationship with God.

This week, Pastor Jeremy continues our series, “From Garden to City,” with a look at the covenants God made with His people in the years between Adam and Christ. Like the covenant in Eden, the Mosaic covenant was one where God dwelt among humans and gave them land to rule and extend His rule. In both covenants, disobedience led to expulsion from the land and death. And just as Adam and Eve violated the covenant of Eden, the people of Israel violated the covenant of Moses. But God is faithful, and remains faithful even when we’re unfaithful. His good plan to deliver humanity could not be thwarted by our rebellion, and in Christ, He provided the ultimate atonement that the Mosaic covenant foreshadowed.

God created the first humans to be in fellowship with Him, then placed them in a perfect garden with everything they needed. So what went wrong? This week, Pastor Connor begins our new sermon series, From Garden to City, with a look at humanity’s biggest problem. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the garden of Eden, they set an example that every one of us has followed. They sinned against God, got separated from Him, and were stuck in their miserable new home outside the garden. Death entered the world because of their disobedience. But even in the midst of this great curse, God already had a plan to save and restore His beloved people.

How do we pick which songs to sing on Sunday morning? This week, Pastor Jeremiah and Pastor Connor conclude our two-part series, “Called to Worship,” with a look at that question. Song selection is a vital part of the teaching ministry at TBC, so all of our songs are evaluated to be sure they’re Biblical, singable, memorable, and transformative. Our songs serve many purposes, ranging from praise and adoration to reflection and response. Some songs are more “vertically” focused, with an emphasis on God’s nature, while others are more “horizontal,” focusing on our response to the truths we see in Scripture. In every case, our aim is to love God and grow closer to Him, and singing together is tremendously helpful in pursuing that aim.

We sing in church every Sunday, but why? This week, Pastor Connor and Pastor Jeremiah team up for the first week of a special two-part series, “Called to Worship.” They take us through several passages that instruct us to sing praise to God, to let the word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts through music, and to encourage one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The Lord designed music to shape our hearts, teach us truth, and unite us with our sisters and brothers in the church. So singing isn’t just an extra activity on Sunday; it’s a vital part of how God is forming His people.

The Bible talks a lot about walking in the right path, but how do we find it? And once we're on it, how can we stay on it? This week, Pastor Spencer continues our Summer in the Psalms with a look at Psalm 25. In it, King David is walking through danger, fear, guilt, and loneliness. But instead of asking for these things to be taken away, David confesses his sin and prays for God to teach him the right way to walk. Over and over, this Psalm shows us that God alone can set us on the proper path. So our proper path begins with submission to God's truth, and then we continue that submission by repenting when our ways are out of line with God's ways.

Have you ever been so excited to enter the presence of the Lord that you pounded on the door of the church for them to open up? This week, Pastor Connor continues our Summer in the Psalms with a look at Psalm 24, where King David does exactly that. He’s eager to worship the Lord, who created the earth and all it contains. But there’s a problem: only people with clean hands and pure hearts are allowed into God’s presence. The only way sinful people can stand before a holy God is by receiving the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He allows us to come before the King of Glory, and our proper response is wholehearted worship. 

King David was a shepherd king: A strong leader who was responsible for his people's well-being. But in one of his most famous songs, David described himself as the sheep in need of a shepherd's care! This week, Pastor Jim continues our Summer in the Psalms with a look at Psalm 23. This is a Psalm we often learn as children, and it remains with us throughout our lives. We can return to it over and over through life's trials, and it is often used to comfort those who are near the end of their lives. Psalm 23 helps us to find peace in the middle of difficult circumstances. Because the Lord is our shepherd, we have everything we need, we are never alone, and we know where we are going.

Have you ever felt abandoned by God, right in the middle of your fiercest battle? King David certainly did. This week, Pastor Connor continues our Summer in the Psalms with Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross. In this song, David cries out for deliverance from his enemies. He asks why God has forsaken him, but he also remembers how God has cared for him and his ancestors. In the final part of the Psalm, David sees and celebrates God’s salvation. He had never actually been abandoned; God was there all along. We can trust God to save us. And when He does, we ought to declare what He has done, worship with others, strengthen others’ faith, follow through on our vows, and store up accounts of God’s goodness for the future.

When God works on our behalf, the right response is to celebrate! This week, Pastor Connor continues our Summer in the Psalms with King David’s celebration song in Psalm 21. The king rejoices in how God has crowned him, granted him life, and delivered him from his enemies. Pastor Connor highlights how this Psalm is ultimately fulfilled in the kingship of Jesus. As Christians, we’re called to trust our crowned King, believe in our living King, bow to our exalted King, draw near to our joyful King, and celebrate our victorious King.