This week we will be exploring Genesis 44 together, Love According to God. Can people truly change? It is a good question. Sometimes we see someone set in their ways and we don't think that they will ever change. Sometimes we look at our own lives and realize how hard it is to change. But if people cannot change, then that means that a bad marriage will always stay bad, a dysfunctional family will always live in dysfunction, a stagnant church will always remain stagnant, a divided commu...

Pastor Steve Foster teaches on Genesis 43.

Pastor Zach Benton teaches on Genesis 42.

Pastor Zach Benton teaches us on the sovereignty according to God based on Genesis 41.

This week we will be exploring Genesis 40 together, Dreams According to God. Have you ever had a weird dream? Or a vivid one that was hard to forget? In Genesis 40, Pharaoh's cupbearer and his baker, who are both in prison with Joseph, each have a unique dream that puts them in a contemplative, confused state of mind. Joseph's interpretation of their dreams sets a whole chain of events into motion that will eventually take Joseph from the pit to the palace. But, in the meantime, Joseph ...

This week we will be exploring Genesis 39 together, Conviction According to God. Just like last week, I am changing the sermon title from what is in the study guide. Yes, Genesis 39 deals with sexual purity but the main message seems to be focused on the strength of Joseph's faith and his convictions. Genesis 39 is a contrast to Genesis 38. In Genesis 38, Judah cannot control himself in the face of temptation. In Genesis 39, Joseph can. Why? What's the difference? Joseph knew God ...

This week we will be exploring Genesis 38 together, Confession According to God. Yes, the original title was Sexual Immorality According to God. That title is what is in the study guide. And it makes a nice contrast with Genesis 39 in which we will see Joseph's commitment to sexual purity in the face of enormous temptation. But studying Genesis 38 more, it becomes apparent that the true heart of the story is when Judah confesses his own sin. The immorality is there, but, praise God, tha...

This week we start our study through the life of Joseph. Hopefully you have picked up a study guide and are committed to diving into God's Word this fall. Joseph's story is one of the most beautiful and powerful in all of Scripture. His life models many aspects of the life of Christ and his faith through many unfair, painful trials is an encouragement to us all. Joseph's story highlights the providence of God. God is always at work, moving circumstances and events according to the counsel of ...

This week we will be exploring Genesis 35 together, Rededication According to God. Jacob's life is filled with ups and downs. One victory in his life seems to be followed immediately by a failure. Right after he wrestles with God and reconciles with his brother, Esau, he finds himself in a place of complacency, hanging out in Shechem longer than he should and exposing his family to great danger. God finally has to wake Jacob up and tell him to get out of Shechem and go to Bethel. In mod...

This Sunday, September 7 (9am, 10:45am), we will have a special guest speaker for our Genesis series, Dr. Terry Mortenson of Answers in Genesis. Dr. Mortenson has a Ph.D. in the history of geology from Coventry University in the UK. He has taught on creation and evolution issues for over 50 years in 37 different countries. It will be an encouragement to have Dr. Mortenson with us this coming weekend to address some of the controversies surrounding the book of Genesis and how science supports ...

This week we will explore Genesis 33 together, Reconciliation According to God. Here are four basic truths that I have learned in life: Relationships are essential. Conflict is inevitable. Ongoing conflict is miserable. Reconciliation is beautiful. Let's face it...relationships are hard! It is nice to talk about love, fellowship, forgiveness, and reconciliation but they are so hard to live out in our daily relationships. We can irritate one another, disagree with one another, ar...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 32 together, Wrestling According to God. Or perhaps it should more accurately be called Wresting with God. Jacob literally wrestles God in this chapter. It is a hard thing to imagine. In fact, most Jewish interpreters struggle to make any sense of this chapter. And it is the very chapter that explains where the name Israel came from! Some see Genesis 32 as a dream or a vision. Some see it as a throwback to some kind of mythical battle ...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 30:25-31:55 together, Hard Times According to God. This is another passage that could be under the "Strange Stories in the Bible" category. We have weird breeding strategies, a bunch of oddball sheep and goats, stolen household gods, a daring escape on camels, a showdown at Gilead, and Jacob's first country song. It's better than any movie out there! But in the midst of this crazy story, God is still at work. He is slowly molding and s...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 29:31-30:24 together, Dysfunction According to God. "Wow! These people are messed up!" I remember hearing that from a new believer who was reading through Genesis for the first time. There are no real heroes in this passage of Scripture. Everyone fails on some level. You have an apathetic man. An unloved woman. An angry husband. An unhappy wife. Arguing parents. Neglected children. Sibling rivalry. Family conflict. Misused sex. Misused praye...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 28:1-22 together, Grace According to God. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin! Grace is such a beautiful word and such a beautiful attribute of our God. We see His grace in Jacob's life. Jacob is a heelcatcher, a finagler, a deceiver, a coward. There is not much "good" in him when we meet him in Genesis 25-27. But God has a purpose for him and...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 29:1-30 together, Disappointment According to God. Have you ever felt disappointed in life? Have you ever wondered why life hasn't turned out as you expected? Have you ever faced the stark reality that the people, things, relationships, and circumstances of this world will never fully satisfy? In Genesis 29, Jacob is about to get a big dose of reality. In fact, he is going to get a big dose of his own medicine. Life has pretty much always worked o...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 26:34-28:9 together, The Blessing According to God. In many ways, this passage is a sad story. Isaac and Rebekah's marriage appears to be in shambles. Rebekah rules the roost. Isaac is ruled by his palate. Jacob deceives his own aged father. Esau wants to kill Jacob. This is the last time that we will see this family together. But in the midst of the dysfunction, God's sovereignty and grace still function. God overrides the fooli...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 26:1-33 together, Digging Wells According to God. I originally titled this chapter, "Flashback according to God." A strange title. But in Genesis 26, you really have an interruption in the narrative with a flashback to an earlier time in Isaac's marriage (before the twins) with many parallels to Abraham's life before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac follows in his father's footsteps in many ways...both good and bad. But Genesis 26 as a ...

This week, we will be exploring Genesis 25:29-34 together, Foolishness According to God. Esau and Jacob are very different twins. Esau is hairy. Jacob is smooth. Esau is an outdoorsman. Jacob is an indoorsman. Esau is physically strong. Jacob is mentally strong. Esau is a fool. And Jacob is a heelcatcher who knows how to take advantage of a fool. Genesis 25:29-34 is a strange passage in many ways. It is only six verses long but it packs massive implications for the story of Jaco...