Genesis 15:1-6 (ESV)God’s Covenant With Abram15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my house...  Read More

As we gather together with family over the course of this week, many of our homes will be filled with laughter and joy. Of course, even in the best of homes, we realize that few ever escape some form of trouble. Sadly, many are filled with brokenness that spills out into the world around them.From the beginning, the earth that God created was meant to be filled with goodness, and as we have seen i...  Read More

For many people, doors are the first form of protection against the harm that would enter their homes. For others, that is not enough, and so they not only lock their doors but they deadbolt them as well. And still for others, they install peepholes or security cameras so that they can see what is outside before they let someone in. The reality is that outside of God’s presence, all sorts of harm ...  Read More

As we learned last week, Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought contamination into God’s creation. It’s not something that we have to imagine; it’s something that we see and feel every day since we are a part of this story. When Adam and Eve sinned, it changed everything. It forced them (and us) onto a dead-end street and into a huge sinkhole.And even though God makes a promise of hope that is to com...  Read More

Genesis 3:1-15The Fall (ESV)3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the ga...  Read More

“The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” - Genesis 2:18In Genesis 2, we find a close-up on the human experience – we were not meant to be alone! Before Adam even realized it, God saw Adam’s need and provided for him. This beautiful expression of God’s love and care is seen in the fact that Adam didn’t have to go hunting for a spouse – God...  Read More