Claim OwnershipGroundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life
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Groundwork is a half-hour conversation that digs deeply into Scripture, the foundation for our lives. Each week, pastors Dave Bast (president of Words of Hope) and Scott Hoezee (director of CEP at Calvin Seminary) cultivate our understanding of God's Word by unpacking the richness of the Bible and applying it with insight to today's world.
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The emotional weight of what Jesus suffers gets heavier as we journey through the Stations of the Cross during Lent. At station five, we read about Jesus before the Roman governor, Pilate. We’ll consider who Pilate was in history and why his presence is important. Then, at station six, we somberly remember the mockery, persecution, and suffering Jesus endured at the hands of the Roman soldiers. Together, we’ll reflect on how these stations highlight Jesus’ innocence and the magnitude of his sacrifice, and what they mean for us as his disciples today.
After witnessing Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, we move to the next two Stations of the Cross, the third and fourth. First, we see Jesus before the Sanhedrin, a council of religious leaders who condemned him, and then we join Peter outside in the courtyard where he denies Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times. As we take time during Lent to reflect on the events Jesus endured, we consider how we might put Jesus on trial in our own hearts and the ways we deny Jesus in our own lives. At the same time, we ask ourselves how these scenes speak into our lives today, and we discover comfort for our own fears and failures.
When Jesus' time had finally come, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. It is there, during the season of Lent, that we begin following Jesus on his road to the cross, through the first two stations in the traditional Stations of the Cross. Join us as we discuss the long history of this tradition and the Scriptures that teach us about the events in the Garden of Gethsemane: Jesus’ prayer, betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and arrest. Together, we’ll reflect on Jesus’ humanity, what it cost him to embark on this journey on our behalf, and what it teaches us about our faith as we follow Jesus.
There are situations in life when forgiveness seems especially difficult, maybe even impossible. For example, how do I forgive myself? What if someone died before I could offer them forgiveness? Is it possible to forgive someone who is not sorry? Do I have to forgive someone who keeps hurting me? Let’s see how Scripture helps us address the hard questions that arise when life’s circumstances make forgiveness complicated, and discover what happens in our hearts when we bring our struggles with forgiveness to God.
We live our lives in a sin-filled world: brokenness and grievances will happen. God calls us to forgive those who sin against us, but we understandably have questions about how exactly that plays out in our everyday lives. Let’s explore Scripture to learn what forgiveness is and what it is not. We’ll discover how our ability to forgive others grows out of God’s forgiveness and find help in dealing with the strong emotions that so often surround forgiveness.
Telling someone they need to forgive somebody else is easy. We use the phrase “forgive and forget” in our human efforts to restore relationships, but is that really what forgiveness means? Ultimately, forgiveness begins with God. Together, we’ll let Scripture teach us what forgiveness is, when it’s needed, and what it reveals about God’s character. Along the way, we’ll consider the nuanced meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words commonly translated as "forgiveness."
The apostle Paul wrote extensively about salvation and the Christian life. He firmly teaches that we are saved by God’s grace through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. He also teaches how believers ought to behave. Join us as we study Paul’s teachings in his letter to early Christians. Together, we’ll see how his message clarifies how we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, growing in Christlikeness, as we keep Christ’s work on the cross at the center of salvation through Grace alone.
Protestant Christians around the world believe that we receive salvation by grace alone through faith, as the apostle Paul taught. And yet, we also come across the words of James: “Faith without works is dead.” This seeming contradiction has led believers of every generation to wonder, “Do the things we do impact how God sees us? Do our works contribute to our righteousness?” Together, let’s examine the book of James as a whole to understand his teachings on grace and works in context. We’ll compare what we learn from James to what Paul teaches about the relationship between God’s grace and our works, and then consider what it means for our daily lives.
If we are saved by grace, what is the purpose of our works? If God does it all, do our works matter? We all long for purpose, but in our daily lives as Christ’s disciples, we can find it challenging to understand the relationship between grace and works. Our thoughts and expectations might quickly slide into legalism on one hand or laziness on the other. The apostle Paul clarified the relationship between grace and works in his letters to early Christians. By studying his writing, we can gain a deeper understanding of how God’s grace and our works cooperate to help us grow in Christlikeness.
We may experience some tension when trying to discern the relationship between God’s grace and our works as it relates to our salvation. This is understandable if we limit our study to the writings of Paul and James in the New Testament. However, by revisiting God’s original covenants with Abraham in Genesis and the new covenant Jesus establishes in Matthew, we gain understanding of how God works, his gift of grace, and what he expects from us as his people.
Twelve days after Christmas every year, churches around the world mark the day of Epiphany, remembering the appearance of the star to the Magi. The light of the star led the Magi to Jesus; this event signifies the extension of God’s family to include Gentiles, which had a profound effect on the future of God’s people. Thankfully, the Bible tells us what to expect when we encounter the transformational light of Christ and how that light affects our discipleship.
Together, let’s explore the moment the prophet Isaiah’s anticipation of light becomes the reality of the Light of the World among us. We’ll explore the profound meaning of Christ’s light shining in our world by examining Bible passages that describe his birth, life, and the hope he brings, and what this means for how we live as children of light.
Light changes everything. A lamp illuminates the room, giving clarity to our surroundings. Dawn brings daylight that transforms the landscape and banishes the uncertainties of night. What happens when the Light of the World arrives? The Bible shows us how Jesus Christ illuminates our lives and the world.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world. During Advent, we celebrate his birth and look forward to his second coming. Let’s discuss what it means to prepare our souls for the hope and illumination that Jesus brings, and learn what it means to live in the light of Christ with expectation.
Advent is a season of waiting. We’re waiting for the Light of the World. The Bible uses the imagery of light from Genesis to Revelation. Exploring the Bible’s theme of light from the beginning, through the prophets, in the gospels, and in the prophecies of Revelation gives us a fuller understanding of what we’re waiting for as we begin to prepare our hearts for the arrival of Jesus at his birth at Christmas.
Discover what Jesus taught us about the heart and mind of an ideal disciple. Join us as we examine the remaining beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5:7-12 with our guest, Danny Daley. Together, we’ll explore what Jesus taught us when he described the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted as blessed. Then we’ll discuss how understanding and cultivating the dispositions Jesus described in the Beatitudes in our lives of discipleship gives the world a glimpse of God’s kingdom here on earth.
The Beatitudes have provided generations of Christians comfort, guidance, and strength for their faith. Join Groundwork as we study the first four of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-6 to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, and to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We’ll also discuss why Jesus promises the kingdom of heaven and blesses those who possess these dispositions, and why he invites us to cultivate them in our own lives of discipleship.
Jesus taught about the ways of his kingdom as he traveled from place to place with his disciples. One of his most famous sermons, “The Sermon on the Mount,” begins with a series of statements that start with “Blessed are…” Known collectively as “The Beatitudes,” these teachings of Jesus hold profound meaning for us as disciples today. Join us as we discuss the context and setting of Jesus’ Beatitudes and their connection to the Old Testament with our guest, Dr. Danny Daley. We’ll gain a deeper understanding of the purpose and meaning of this list of blessings and how they serve as a guide to a kingdom lifestyle on our journey of discipleship with Jesus.
The life of faith is a journey, and it’s natural to have questions along the way. Does God truly care for us as individuals? What is my role in my walk with God? How do we overcome sinful habits of the flesh and find deeper freedom as we walk along with God? How do we make sense of suffering? Can I trust God’s mysterious grace and timing? God invites us to bring him both our joys and our laments, our confidence and our questions. Dig into Scripture with us and discover answers to these questions about God’s care, discipleship, suffering, and God’s timing.
It is natural to feel a little confusion about the Christian belief in the Holy Trinity. The whole concept of one God who is comprised of three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—requires some acceptance of mystery. To answer your questions, let’s examine the scriptural foundation for this belief and gain a deeper understanding of the nature of our Triune God and the relationships between the persons of the Trinity. Then we’ll delve into a particularly challenging Bible passage to see how our belief in the Triune God influences our worship and the sacrament of baptism.
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