Science Ridge Mennonite Church

The people have left Egypt. They have made a Covenant with God at Mt Sinai. Now God will use the time in the wilderness to continue to form this people. They have a lot of baggage from Egypt to unlearn along the way. 
Often we find ourselves in times of wandering, or "wilderness-like" experiences. As scary as they can be, God can use those times to shape us and mature us for the next stage of life.  

In the Bible, the events of Mt Sinai take place in a jumble of laws and instructions. It can be easy to miss this important event in the life of God's people. Here God forms a Covenant with the people, gives them some boundaries and instructions, and lays out an identity for the people to be a "nation of priests" in God's plan to restore humanity back to God. 
We often think of rules as restrictive. But rules can also form us as people and inform the habits and values that we take on. Within God's expectations for us there is room to find life and purpose. 

The people of Israel have found themselves enslaved and Egypt is afraid they might start an armed rebellion. How do they escape? Through God's awesome power!
When we are stuck in life our temptation is to get out with our own power. What if God has a better way to release you?

Sometimes we fin ourselves in situations that are hard to get out of. We are bound, stuck in a rut. Maybe even directly attacked or oppressed by someone taking away our freedoms. 
 
This week we look at how this chosen people of God end up enslaved in Egypt. And we are reminded that we too can be rescued from the things that bind us. 
 
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God has chosen the family of Abraham to work through. Much of Genesis follows this family and we quickly see that they are imperfect. They make mistakes, but God stays loyal to them. 
Today we look at one of those stories, the story of Judah and Tamar. This story is a great example of needing to know the cultural background of the Bible to better understand the values that it is teaching. www.scienceridgechurch.org

We continue to look at the grand story of the Bible. Last time we looked at that problem of sin. Humans are full of pride and violence. Today we see God promise a solution to the sin problem. God will walk with a family so they can eventually be the source of blessing to the world.www.scienceridgechurch.org 

Every good story has a problem or challenge to over come. The Bible is no different! Today we look at Genesis 3-11 and 4 stories that define the "sin problem." This problem is what God seeks to solve over the rest of the Bible.  

Today we begin a new sermon series. We are going to be looking at the overarching story of the Bible. How do we make sense of these various stories, letters, historical accounts, poems, genealogies, etc.? We start our exploration by looking at creation and a couple of key things to note in the story of creation that will help us better understand who we are and how we fit into God's larger work across human history. 

This Sunday was a bit different! Instead of a sermon, I answered some questions that people had submitted. Some were related to past sermons, others were questions people had during their own Bible reading and devotional time. It went well and I look forward to doing it again. Questions can be emailed or messaged to our church on Facebook!
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What if...
Worry and anxiety can weigh us down. Often we are afraid that we won't be prepared or cared for if something happens. What if we run out of money? What if I can't get this thing I need to thrive or be happy or feel safe? 
Today we see what Jesus teaches when it comes to worry and concern for our future. I really enjoyed this message, and I hope you will too!