Reconciled

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible records God’s pursuit of humanity. After the first humans fell to sin and rebellion in the Garden of Eden, the Creator set his eternal plan of salvation into motion.The story takes a huge leap forward when, out of all the nations of the world, God chooses one elderly couple to be the bearers of his promise. Through Abraham and his wife Sarah, would come the nation of Israel and God’s final answer to sin and death: Jesus of Nazareth.Join us as we study “God’s Promises to Abraham,” the fifth episode in this series on The True Story of the Bible.

In Genesis 3, sin entered the story and began its terrible reign spreading violence, division, and death through creation. But God won’t allow sin to have the last word so He made a promise to confront and destroy evil at its source. In this next phase of the story, we see God’s justice and mercy, both punishing evil and preserving His creation, allowing His promise to move forward toward its fulfillment in Jesus.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He made human beings in his image to rule the world on his behalf… and everything was good! But, sadly, that initial state of innocence didn’t last long.Sin enters the story in Genesis chapter 3 and God’s good world and everything in it, including us, was corrupted. But there’s good news — immediately after this, God makes a mysterious promise to confront and defeat evil at its source! Join us as we study “The Promise of God,” the third episode in this series on The True Story of the biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation.

What does it mean to be human? What are the implications of being “created in the image of God”? These foundational questions about human existence are answered in the opening chapters of the Bible.On today’s episode, we will explore how the story of the Bible explains our humanity, and how through Jesus, we can be restored to our created purpose. 

Words are powerful, but when words are organized into a story they can captivate our minds an hearts and even move us to act in new and surprising ways. No single story embodies this  power more than God's story, the Bible. 66 books, written over hundreds of years, by many authors who through one spirit are telling one cohesive story. It’s the story of divine existence, of human imperfection, and an eternal, unyielding pursuit to reconcile a beloved creation to its creator. In our newest season we are setting out on a journey to explore this story, the narrative of the bible, as seen through the lens of key inflection points within the text. 

Have you ever been reading your Bible and come across a difficult passage? You know there’s an important point, that there’s something to learn, but you just can’t figure it out. If you’ve ever been there, join the club, but whatever you do, don’t be discouraged!  In this episode, we combine everything we’ve learned this season and apply it to one challenging text in the gospel of Matthew. We’ll discuss how textual, historical and literary criticism come together to improve our Bible study.

Plot, character-development, symbolism, point of view, figures of speech — in all of the discussion of history, theology, and culture, we cannot overlook a basic truth, namely that scripture must also be explore based on its merits as a work of literature.This is the 4th discussion in our series on whether or not we can trust the Bible. We’ve talked about the process by which the Scriptures came into being. Now, we turn our attention to the final products & consider them on their own as works of literature in this episode on Literary Criticism. 

Who, what, when, where & why? — no matter the story, context is key, and the bible is no different. Understanding the historical context of a book helps us derive its meaning. In the case of the bible, Historical criticism investigates the life and times of the author, picking up clues from the text and the history surrounding the text, to better understand its message.

How did we get the bible as we know it today? Christians claim this ancient collection of texts reveal the character and mind of God, but can we trust that our modern versions are reliable when none of the original documents exist?

Christians claim that the Bible is God’s word, but didn’t human beings write it? And if people wrote it, how can we trust that what it says is true? Join us for the first of a series of conversations exploring whether or not we can trust the Bible. 

During times of crisis and loss, we’re often left feeling powerless, confused, anxious and afraid. What do we do with these emotions? Where does grief fit into our lives? In the final episode of this series on the Problem of Pain, we discuss the Bible’s response to a world groaning in anguish: lamentation. 

If the God of the Bible is in control of everything and knows everything, what possible reason could he have to allow human pain to continue? Can anything good come from evil situations? Join us today as we explore the reason for pain.

Our world is plagued with pain and suffering, and all of life is eventually spoiled by death. But if God is all powerful and full of love, like the Bible claims, what is he doing to solve the problem of evil? Join us for our latest episode exploring the problem of pain.