In this message we explore God’s amazing and intruding grace. The Lord intrudes upon Jacob in the midst of his cheating and deception only to give him a vision of a ladder which reaches from earth to heaven. When the clear teaching of Jesus is shone upon this vision we discover that Jesus is this ladder or stairway--the only way to heaven is through Him!

One authenticating trait of Scripture is its realism. It does not paint a false rosy picture of life in this fallen world. In Genesis 27 we get a view of family dysfunction--favoritism, rivalry, rebellion, deceit, false repentance, and more. At the start we see some of our own family dysfunction but as we continue to study we begin to see ourselves! The message of hope in this chapter is that even in the midst of all the fallenness, God’s purposes to save His people go unthwarted. If the Lord can save a person as deceitful as Jacob He can save you and me!

It is possible to be devoted and even love Jesus while being in great error about who He is, why He came, and what He accomplished. It is only as Christ reveals Himself to our hearts that these errors begin to diminish and the joy of salvation take root. In this message, Rick leads us as we follow the women to the tomb and encounter the risen Lord.

In this message, Rick shows us that it is possible and even common to come to Jesus with the wrong idea of who He is. Our hearts are more than ready to invent a “custom Jesus.” And if we come to Jesus with the wrong idea of who He is or why He has come we are in great danger of falling away when we realize He is not who we thought. This is how the crowds could go from worshiping Jesus on Palm Sunday to crucifying Him a few days later. From this we see that our souls depend on our receiving Jesus as He is offered in the gospel.

Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar and beloved portions of scripture. Listen as Donald Bean explains why this text provides hope for believers throughout the ages.

When you are scared, lonely, tired, lacking in wisdom, do not know which way to go, where to turn it is comforting to have someone with you. In this message, I labor to show that if you are in Christ, the Lord is with you in a way that even surpasses the way in which He was with Isaac. With this comforting truth we can face any and all things that come our way!

In Genesis 25:19-34 we are met with the two important doctrines: God’s sovereign choice in election and our responsibility to embrace God’s promises. In this message I labor to show from the text that God alone builds His church through His electing grace. But that having been said, we are responsible to embrace these promises--promises that are readily available to each of us. Dismissal and indifference to God’s promises in Christ show us to be lost like Esau who sold his birthright for a pot of stew.

Genesis 24 reveals to us nothing other than Almighty God advancing His kingdom. In the midst of this heart warming narrative we see the Lord working providentially, opening hearts, and giving the gift of faith. Through this story we see not only how the Lord has worked in our own lives but also how we can hope for Him to work in the lives of our loved ones and neighbors as well.

Living a life devoted to following the Lord in this life is not easy. Many of the things the believer in Christ goes through are perplexing--even shocking. In the course of our study we have walked with Abraham as he as made his way through his earthly pilgrimage with the Lord. We have seen him through the ups and downs. But never does he face a test like that of Genesis 22. In this message we follow Abraham to observe all the Lord is teaching us through life’s difficulties and trials.

Genesis 21 is a chapter which demonstrates the great faithfulness of the Lord in keeping His promises. After 25 years Abraham and Sarah have a son--Isaac--the child of the promise! And Isaac’s miraculous birth points us to both the miraculous birth of the Ultimate Child of Promise--Jesus the Messiah--as well as the new birth that each believer experiences in Christ. The burden of this message is to show that this rich salvation is all of God!