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This week we are in Genesis 37 as we begin to consider the life of Joseph. The dominant themes of Scripture continue. God works everything together to bring about His will, even our own sin and shortcomings. He allows our sinful behaviours and even uses them, but He is never the author of sin. And we are never absolved from moral responsibility for our actions or free from the repercussions of our choices. It’s important that we both understand the greatness of God and His salvation, but also our sin and our great need of salvation. The sin and dysfunction featured prominently in this week’s text are favouritism and jealousy. Oh, what a mess we make when we play favourites or when we compare ourselves with others.

What’s in a name? That is what we are going to be looking at this Sunday with Jacob’s name change. What were the implications of his name change? What parallels can we draw when we compare our spiritual walk and Jacob’s account of wrestling with God?

It took a lifetime for Jacob to learn that God's plans for his life were neither shored up nor nullified by his almost endless scheming, trickery and treachery. The Love of God doesn't depend on human effort, but is centred in the essence of who He is. His plans for Jacob - and for us, too - succeed because He has, in His love, declared it to be so.

Esau was totally unworthy. He despised his birthright for a bowl of soup; a single meal! But the text goes out of its way to demonstrate what a scoundrel and how unworthy Jacob was too! And Rebekah! And Isaac! And us! But the other glorious truth of the matter is despite Jacob’s unworthiness God in His great grace chose him as His own. This didn’t mean a pass for Jacob when it came to the repercussions of his actions. But it did mean that God would stick by him no matter what. And if you can authentically say that you have come to know God through the grace that is found in Jesus Christ, you too have the same assurance that God will never leave you because He is faithful to His promise, no matter what.

Our passage this week is a classic example of the biblical view of the single most perplexing, most haggled-over and wondered-about aspect of life in this world – the sovereignty of God and the free will of man. God is sovereign over all creation. He plans every detail of our lives and His plans will prevail. However, God chooses to work in a world that is very broken and messed up by sin and dysfunction, more so than we can fathom. Yet God is so great and so good that He is able and willing to work with all the broken pieces of our lives. And, in ways about which we can only wonder, He is able to sweep all of it up into His own amazing hands. The result is a masterpiece; a mosaic of God’s own making. How does He do that? We don’t know. It’s a wonder. But there is no worship without wonder.

When we think of God’s provision we think of our wants and needs. But ironically our lives will continue to lack meaning, purpose and fulfilment until we begin to realize that our existence and the choices we make need to fit into God’s bigger plan, a plan much bigger than our personal lives; a much bigger story. There is a direct linkage between God’s provision for our lives and God’s direction for our lives. When we recognize and are willing to surrender to the directives of His bigger plan, then we can begin to experience His provision for all we need.

Everyone has struggled with direction in their life and in their relationship with God, sometimes more than we'd like to admit. But God's perfect plan and unconditional love is always a constant. Even if it's hard to see in the moment. This Sunday we explore Abraham's calling from God to sacrifice his son and where we need to look when life is turned upside down.

This Sunday we will be spending some time in Genesis 12 considering the promise God made to Abraham. We will also be journeying through Scripture to look at a similar promise God makes to us. Hint - You may want to take a look at Hebrews 11 between now and Sunday morning.

A lot of people know about the book of Job. It has even made its way into our language with expressions like,'He's got the patience of Job'. But it's one thing to know about Job. It's another thing to know Job. This Sunday we will have an opportunity for just that.

Writing on the biblical account of the Tower of Babel, Derek Kidner says that the various aspects of this story are “timelessly characteristic of the spirit of the world.” This is interesting because the story tends to be so misunderstood. It’s not meant to condemn the building of great cities with their sky scrapers or to spread paranoia over the potential of human technology. Nor is God in opposition to us living together in community with harmony and unity. That’s not what this is about. So, what is the story of the city with its great tower all about? Well, it must be something very significant because it is picked up and carried on in Scripture even figuring prominently in the book of Revelation where we learn of the city of the world called ‘Babylon the Great’ at the climax of human history. Have you ever wondered about the mystery of Babylon?

This Sunday we move from the subject of sin to the subject of judgement, as we consider the story of the great flood and Noah’s ark. (Gen 6-9) We might be tempted to skip over these accounts because they scandalize our minds and our hearts. We struggle to believe these incredible records of things that God has done in the past and we struggle to reconcile them with our concept of what it means for God to be good. But if we aren’t careful to consider them well, as God has given them to us, we may miss out on the greatest of truths - that out of His great love and faithfulness, God provides Himself a refuge for us within Himself even from the storm of judgement that is sure to come.

This Sunday we’re in Genesis chapter 3 – the Fall. The world looks upon this as a fable. To us who believe it, and know it to be true, it is history. And it’s foundational to our faith and to our world view. The doctrine of Sin and the atomic fall-out of the Fall is critical to our understanding of life in this world. More than that, it is critical to an understanding of our own hearts and any hope we have for a solution. As much as we like to talk about forgiveness, we can’t really understand forgiveness without understanding transgression. Nor can we experience forgiveness without acknowledging our sin. So, this is history but not only history. This is our history, and we need to personally own it as our own before there can be any hope of forgiveness and restoration.

We are beginning a new 3-year cycle through the Bible, which puts us this Sunday in Genesis 1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And so, it begins. What does it mean for God to be God? The answer to this question is why we worship Him. We worship the One True God, because He is greater than all. Everything that exists was made, except for God Himself Who is the Maker of all things. So, we worship Him because He is the only One who is worthy to be worshipped. That is the theological/philosophical starting point for life. And if you don’t start there, you will not end up where you need/want to be. But there is something else of gigantean importance we learn about God in Genesis 1 - not only does He exist as the Creator and Sovereign Master of the Universe, but He is good! So, what does it mean to believe in God? Simply that He exists as the Creator? Hardly. “The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good.” Oswald Chambers These are ‘basic’ Bible truths, but truths with the

This week we are looking at the last two chapters of the book of Revelation. We are concluding the vision John was given as to what our victory is going to look like. Our glorious King will return and usher in a new heaven and a new earth. Yet there is no time frame as to when this is going to happen. Revelation is not a secret code for us to decipher when God is coming again. But it is a vision for us to know that we are to be living a life that matters. This book was written to challenge us and give us hope. So the question is, what are you doing while you are waiting? Are you fulfilling Gods call on your life?

Is the kingdom that you are building, a Kingdom that is worthy? Kingdoms can be built with bricks and wood, and a strong nation can be strengthened by a powerful influence or impactful words. But no other authority in this world can match the power and grace of the timeless kingdom of our Creator and Saviour.

From our earliest days, God has been actively pursuing a personal, communicative relationship with each of us. He may meet each of us on very different roads, but his pursuit is always through the captivating, inviting unveiling of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Would we be willing to decline his invitation? Or would we be glad for his presence on this journey?

What are we waiting for? We spend our lives waiting for the next weekend, the next big thing, or the next transition. We worry if we will have enough money or if our kids will turn out OK. Jesus said “don’t worry”, but how are His people to do that? It is simply an outcome of faith. The 2nd Coming of Jesus is the 2nd most mentioned doctrine in the New Testament. Focusing on it should be therefore a priority for the church and ourselves. Rather than over-speculating on it, we need to know the Scriptures and let the reality of His Coming be like a magnet for our heart. Then hope will overtake worry and we will live more patient, restful and holy lives. What are YOU waiting for?

This Sunday we are looking at the small letter of Jude. This letter might be small but it packs a punch. Jude is calling us to defend our faith against those who deny Christian morality. Jude also encourages us to stand firm in the faith and fight for the truth of the gospel.

Over Coffee, episode 7. Pastor Alex White and summer student Jalen Carter talk about this past Sundays sermon. Also, Alex and Jalen touch on the book they will be reading over the summer, "The New Pastors Handbook" by Jason Helopoulos.

1 Thessalonians 4 - HOPE Are we forgetting why Jesus died for us? It certainly can look that way sometimes, and even feel that way. When we are watching loved ones dying, or feeling defeated in our mundane world, we need to look to our hope! This Sunday we remember the hope we have in and from heaven!