West Pines Community Church

The first two chapters of Genesis are a narrative of the perfect plan God had for creation. Over the last 7 weeks we have studied the various aspects of that perfect plan and how they should be a part of our lives. Today we discuss the culmination of that perfect plan - marriage. Once God completes his perfect plan for humanity, he decides that the only missing piece is a “helper” for the man and, after searching through everything he had created up to that point, he decides to perform one more act of creation - woman. He then outlines a relationship that is more important than any other in our lives - our marriage. If that is the final piece of God’s perfect plan, then the pursuit of God must be the focus of any successful marriage. We are created specifically to complement each other as man and wife and therefore to help each other as we become rescued, awestruck and mobilized in our journey to become Mathetes.

Good Friday: He Took the Cup

It is the most notorious crime in history! However, at first glance it seems so insignificant. What’s so bad about eating a piece of fruit, regardless of how forbidden it is? But it’s not just bad, it’s deadly? Like any good murder mystery, there are twists and turns in this story. In this story, the mystery is not who did the crime. The mystery is who is the victim. The answer may surprise you. There is no doubt a Murder in the Garden. This story is not some distant fiction. Every one of our lives gets wrapped up in this mysterious plot...

God was clear that they were not to eat of the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. That tree was named, The Tree of the Knowledge of good and Evil. God warned them that they would die the day they ate it. Then the snake came along. HeIt starts to tempt Eve to eat the fruit. As we know, the snake was successful. Both Adam and Eve ate the fruit. But how was the serpent able to talk them into taking such a risk?. The stakes were high:… death. The snake was very crafty. His pitch was very intentional. And THE SETUP was masterful. He exploited their weakness - how well they knew what the Creator had said.

The Snake is trying to trick Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. This will be the mother of all sins. All sin that happens stems back from this first act of rebellion. So the DNA of our sins, can be found in that mother sin. If we can take a look at how The Snake tried to trick Adam and Eve, we can learn how we can avoid the same traps. One of the craftiest traps that snared Adam and Eve is The Snake successfully distorted their perspective of God. He got them to see God as distant and not personal. They began to question God’s motives, the benefits of following Him, and the consequences of rebellion. Sin only becomes desirable, when our view of God is distorted.

The evil mastermind in this Murder Mystery is The Snake. His plan is so precise, so manipulative, so well planned out, that in three sentences he takes down all of humanity. How did he do it? He appealed to the three strongest fundamental impulses in humanity: the desires of the body, the desires of the eyes, and the desires of what we want to be. These desires are not evil in and of themselves. However, when we try to satisfy these desires in the wrong way, it can get us into serious trouble. In order for us to withstand temptation, we must be able to understand how these impulses operate and how God desired for them to be fulfilled.

Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit may seem harmless, but it is the mother of all sin. All other sin and evil stems from that original act of rebellion. So if we study that original mother sin, we can see the DNA of our sins. And knowing how our sins operate can help us avoid major mistakes in our lives. One of the instructive things we see in Adam and Eve is how they operated after they sinned. In reaction to their sin they attempted to cover their shame, run from God, and avoid blame. These instinctual reactions to failures can prevent us from overcoming failure. Even worse, they can keep us locked in the same sin patterns.

The story of the flood may conjure up cartoon images of an “ark” with animals peeking out the top. And of course in that mental image there is a gentle rainbow splashed across the baby blue sky. But this story is not just a children’s story. It is a unrestrained depiction of who God is and our relationship to Him. The most vivid part about the story is God’s symbol that still appears today. The rainbow is not just God’s artistry displayed to make the sky look a little prettier. It is a powerful message from God, that if we understand its meaning, can still impact us to the core of our being.

Life is hard. The more we live, the more clearly we see how true that simple statement is. Sometimes the challenge of life is not that something has suddenly happened that causes us pain, but rather the challenge is that something hasn’t happened. We’re just waiting. We’re still waiting for a child. Still waiting for a job. Still waiting to find the right one. In a rather startling way, this is how Noah’s story intersects with each of our stories. When what should happen or what was promised to happen, hasn’t happened, how can we stay faithful in the wait?

The story of Noah and the Flood may be one of the craziest stories in the Bible. Other stories have miraculous events in them, but they were isolated. Maybe they were just anomalies. But this story is talking about a global event. For something so dramatic to be true, there would have to be compelling evidence all over the world. Is this one of the Bible stories that Christians should just try to stick in the closet and hope people don’t bring up? Are we supposed to choose between being a Christian and being an intelligent, logical, rational person? But what if there is compelling evidence both scientifically and historically? The story of the Flood is a great test case, for us to learn how to react when challenged by doubt.

The Bible unequivocally says that God is a good God. It also literally says, “God is love.” But then how are we supposed to fit that with the account of the Flood? How is a God that destroys virtually all of the life on the earth also a benevolent God? The narrative of the Flood actually addresses that. It helps us understand evil and God’s plan for actively eradicating evil. It also reinforces God’s passion for justice and His advocacy for the broken and hurting. Far from painting a picture of a harsh God, the Flood helps us understand that He is the source of goodness and peace. And we can know He is at work bringing that into our lives.

Grandpa Abraham lived a long time ago, but his life was quite an adventure. Fortunately for us, he passed down many exciting episodes from his life. His stories are fascinating. This is especially true because they are full of rich insights for the adventures in our lives right now. In the beginning of the story, Grandpa Abraham hears God call him to take a risky step. How God called him is so often how God works with us too. We usually don’t know what the entire journey will be, but God gives us just enough so we can discern what the next step should be. In Part 1 of Campfire Stories, we hear from Grandpa Abraham about the time he heard a call.

The majority of Grandpa Abraham’s stories are about a man who set the example for how to be a Godly man. However, there are two distinct stories in which he displayed his flawed humanity and God displayed his forgiveness and sovereignty. These episodes serve to remind us that even though we are human, God has our well being as part of his plan and will extend grace when we make mistakes and even turn them into something that is positive and furthers his larger plan for humanity. While this does not mean that everything that happens to us will be good, it gives us assurances that in the end, God will work it all out for his good.

Grandpa Abraham has lots of stories -- as all of our families do. The more we learn about our family history, the more we can be equipped to deal with the trials life throws our way. A lot of Grandpa Abraham’s stories are about how he had faith in God and responded in a way that would make a great example for us. But there are other stories too, like when he didn’t have faith or when he went about things the wrong way and God taught him something. Often the result of his disbelief affected everyone else in his family. Some of the effects still echo in our lives today. In Part 3 of Campfire Stories, we hear about Grandpa Abraham and time he bent the rules.

In the stories of Abraham and Lot we find a pattern of leadership. Abraham shows us that while he keeps Lot from catastrophic consequences, he allows Lot the freedom to make his own decisions, some that are bad,and learn from them. All of us should have an Abraham in our lives, and most of us have many Lots in our lives, that require us to lead well. Fortunately the Bible provides a blueprint through the life of Abraham, specifically regarding his relationship with Lot, that shows us how to do that in a way that protects those in our care but also allows them to grow into leaders themselves.

When it comes to spirituality and our relationship with God, it seems our default mode is to see it through a lense of what works for me? We can tend to leave a worship experience asking things like: “did I get anything out of it?” or “did I feel like my soul was fed?” or maybe simply, “was it what I like?” But what if that is the wrong question? Maybe our encounters with God, both together at church and privately in our personal lives, are more about what we offer rather than what we get. Grandpa Abraham’s encounter with a mysterious person, named Melchizedek, challenges the way we view the idea of worship. If we learn from Grandpa Abraham, it may completely overhaul our interaction with God.

07-26-15 Grandpa’s Campfire Stories, Part 6: The Time He Found a Shield by West Pines Community Church

There are many different kinds of laughter. There’s the snicker, the snort, the cackle, the fake laugh, the evil laugh, the belly laugh. But if I tell you that someone laughed at someone, we would know that is a mocking kind of laugh. In this episode of Grandpa Abraham’s life, his wife Sarah laughs at someone… God. And to her fearful surprise, God calls her out on it. Can you imagine laughing at God? In her defense she didn’t laugh in His face. But she did laugh to herself, and of course God knew. Whether we want to admit it or not, sometimes we have the same jaded attitude in our hearts. And God sees. But luckily for Sarah, that wasn’t the last laugh...

Maybe you’ve heard someone describe God like this: “in the Old Testament God always seems angry,” or “sometimes God seems ruthless in the Bible.” Some of the stories in the Bible seem like that at first glance. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a classic example of one such story. But in this episode from Grandpa Abraham’s life, we learn about a side of God that we are all drawn to. We discover that this story actually reveals that God is a protector of the weak and a warrior for the helpless. To be more like Him, we must stoke the glowing embers of our hearts, into a fiery passion for justice.

It is common for people to look for ways to display who they are. For example, someone could have a car decal of where they like to vacation, or of what causes they support, or of little stick figures of their families. Many people get clothes showing that they are part of the fanbase of a particular sports team. In this story, God gave Abraham an outward sign that communicated and demonstrated their relationship. Did you ever stop to think that there may be an outward sign Jesus commanded of all Christians to boldly and unashamedly proclaim their relationship to Him? There is a sign. This ancient symbol helps us always remember what God has done to transform us.