Vanguard Tri-Lakes

One thing God is really good at is pushing past the fluff and getting right to the heart of the matter. In one of the strangest passages in the book of Ezekiel, God does just that. He utilizes the death of Ezekiel’s wife to make a point about what matters most to Him.

Jeff Rudder is our guest communicator this week, but, he’s far from a “guest”. A VTL’er himself, Jeff brought to this passage a passionate and inquisitive spirit that yields for us SIX QUESTIONS that Ezekiel had to wrestle with, God’s people had to wrestle with, and YOU need to wrestle with.

This is a powerful message.

Do you believe in Generational Curses? Do you believe that the sins of the father flow through his bloodline, like it or not? What does God have to say about it? What if it’s not at all about Generational Curses… What if the truth is that it’s always only ever about Personal Choices?

He is Risen!
Now what?
The Resurrection, while incredibly distinctive in the identity of a Christ-Follower, is not how any of the Gospel writers end their telling of the Gospel story.

What some might consider the Epilogue of each Gospel narrative may actually be the point of the story.

As we walk the road to Easter Sunday together, it's important that we take note of how the Lord Jesus interacted with and invited the worst treatment any innocent man has ever gotten. Yes, Jesus made enemies with darkness. And, yes, this week, Jesus is sentenced to death. How does He respond? And how does His response set the example for His followers?

One thing we keep running up against in our study through the book of Ezekiel is the theme of falseness. There was more than one reason God chose to send His chosen people into Babylonian exile. We’ll cover three components of the Christian life that must be true and not false, and we’ll have some fun along the way!

You can tell a lot about a person by the questions they ask. This sermon series through the book of Ezekiel prompts all sorts of questions for the Christ-follower. The same things that irked God in the time of Ezekiel irks Him now. And, He’s got a few questions for you to wrestle with today…

God is angry.
Ezekiel is available.
The message is clear.
Human Idolatry demands Holy Wrath.
So, what does that mean for us, today?

The book of Ezekiel is a one-of-a-kind fantastical ride through sprawling prophecy and spurning elocution. We’re going to take this ride together and try to find ourselves, both in the objects of God’s frustration, and in the vehicle for His communication. This week, we’ll ask ourselves a crucial question: How do you hear from God for yourself?

We certainly haven’t covered this topic comprehensively, which is to say that there are, of course, other reasons why people are “out” on church, but, in this final sermon from out “In & Out Churchers” series, we’re going to do our best to give you one last good reason to be “in”.

One of the loudest skepticisms about “church” is the issue of money. Financial malfeasance, irresponsibility and lack of transparency have all made us skeptical and suspicious of organized religion. (Fair). And yet, the topic of generosity in your Bible populates discussion over 10x more than prayer, and 3x more than love. God loves a cheerful giver. Is that you?