The bible tells us that God planted a garden in the east, in the land of Eden, a perfect little ecosystem complete with mountains and rivers and fruit trees everything Adam and Eve would need to get started. They were to cultivate the plants and care for the animals. They were to expand the garden […]
So we know this story already, right? There’s Mary and Joseph wandering the streets of Bethlehem at midnight, looking for a place to have their baby. And there’s the mean inn-keeper saying, “you can’t come in here. There’s no more room!” And Mary says, “Oh, Joseph, whatever shall we do?” And Joseph says, “I simply […]
The Book of Daniel has been all about the clash of empires in history, and how God’s people are supposed to survive in the midst of the chaos. Chapter 1 set the theme of the book, really: Babylon defeated and completely devoured the rest of the kingdoms of the world — including the kingdom of […]
Okay. Picking up again where we left off last week: God has been leading his newly liberated nation of Israel ever deeper into the Arabian desert east of Egypt. They are now camped in a place called Rephidim, alongside a river flowing with fresh, life-giving water. But that river is actually a new feature. Rephidim […]
More than 4000 years ago, we are told, there was a great civilization in the far east that fell into civil war and began a long collapse into chaos. But out of that chaos God called one particular man and his wife. God told the man to leave his father’s family, his father’s people, his […]
The first book of the bible — Book of Genesis — ends with the story of a young man who was carried away from his home and his family and sold as a slave in a foreign land. He is severely tested, but he remains faithful to his God for several years. And as a […]
What does it mean to be a “centred set” church? An old story goes that a visitor to an Australian ranch noticed the lack of fences. He asked the rancher how he kept his cattle from wandering away. The rancher replied, “Oh, that’s no problem. Out here we dig wells instead of building fences.” In […]
Let me start by asking: how many of us have read the Old Testament from beginning to end? To be quite honest: I don’t think I’ve even done that. But here’s a more important question: how many of us understood what we read? How many of us can say with confidence that we “get” the […]
In the beginning, we are told, God formed the man out of dirt, and breathed his own Spirit into him. And then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. In other words, the man was designed to work the earth, […]
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.0.105″ custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ transparent_background=”off” background_image=”https://www.cdpckl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2017-e1523536403755.jpg” custom_padding=”0px|0px|194px|0px”][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ background_color=”#ffffff” admin_label=”section” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row padding_mobile=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_method_1=”off” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off”] [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off”]To us, these words Slow, Small, Simple and Still represent our commitment to take […]
So as we catch up to Jacob here, he is on the run, escaping from his brother Esau, who wants to murder him. Why does Esau want to murder Jacob? Because Jacob — first — used manipulation to steal Esau’s share of their father’s inheritance, and then — second — he used deception to steal […]
When we last saw Abraham, he was busy writing his Last Will and Testament, and the most important thing on his mind was where to find a wife for his son Isaac. Really, he had two problems to solve: first, the bride could not come from any of the local nations, because that would bind […]
Okay: last week, as the thunder from Mount Sinai began to speak to the people of Israel, he started by saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” And because this sentence was an echo of how he had begun his covenant with Abraham […]