Sunday, February 16, 2025
SUNDAY'S sermon
Last week we looked at Daniel’s life and heard the words of the prophet Jeremiah. It’s while Daniel is in exile for several decades that he’s able to develop and display the courage to live differently and bear witness to God’s glory. Jesus called us to love people regardless of whether they’re on our side or not. He called us to love those who are hard to love. Daniel does that, while still maintaining absolute obedience to God. And people start to notice, even foreign kings. A foreign king blesses the Israelites and sends a bunch of them back to rebuild their temple. Yet, a similar pattern emerges. The Israelites find a perfect excuse to stop focusing on God and His temple and start focusing on protecting themselves. The Israelites – who were sent with the blessings and resources of a foreign king to rebuild God’s temple – give in to fear, start focusing on their own houses, and stop building for God. We have great intentions of living sold-out, faith-filled, Jesus-like lives. Are we mostly focusing on and trusting in God or mostly focusing on and trusting in ourselves and our stuff?
Scripture Readings:
- Ezra 1:1-7 (NIV) read by David Sherman, Director of Music & Worship Arts
- Haggai 1:1-15 (NIV) read by Tom Hansen, Senior Pastor
The Story
september 2024 - may 2025
The Story is an exciting church-wide experience that unites and equips participants as they engage the Bible. Reading like a novel, The Story offers a seamless, compelling narrative. Condensed into 31 accessible chapters, The Story sweeps readers into an unfolding chronological progression of Bible characters and events. We hope that as we read The Story together, we will be swept up in the story of God’s love and God’s plan for our lives.
For further information and links to resources, please see The Story webpage.
resources from Pastor tom
As we go through the Old Testament portion of The Story, there are many questions about violence, war and bloodshed. To help us think through these sensitive and important questions, the following resources are recommended.
Did God Order Genocide in the Old Testament?
This is a one-page article from a publication of the Christian Reformed Church. It will not answer all of your questions, but help us to think more deeply about the scriptures and our responses to them.
God Has a Name Teaching Podcast by John Mark Comer
- Episode 1: Yahweh
- Episode 2: Yahweh Elohim
- Episode 3: Compassionate and Gracious
- Episode 4: Slow to Anger
- Episode 5: Forgiving Wickedness, Rebellion, and Sin
- Episode 6: Carry the Name
Archived sermons