SUMMER SERMON SERIES 2022

Scripture tells one arching story with Jesus at the center. This 9-week series explores that arch through the Bible by a deeper dive on familiar stories. 

July 3, 2022: Cain & Abel

How does this story intertwine with the overarching story of Scripture? Abel understood all he had came from God and gave his first and best out of faith. He operated in relationship with God, the way it was designed. Cain gave all he could afford to do without. He saw himself as his own provider and gave out of fear.  

Jesus said that loving others was the essence of the law and the prophets. Are we our brother's keeper? Yes. We see our relationship with others improve in the outcome of our relationship with Jesus. He gave us a call to do what Cain could not do: live not in self-preservation but in brother preservation.

July 10, 2022: Tower of Babel

What is God like? Is He trustworthy? We often allow circumstances to influence how we understand God’s character, rather than letting God’s character influence how we understand our circumstances. In this sermon, Adam uses Genesis 11:1-9 to show us how even God’s judgment at Babel displayed His faithfulness to bring salvation to the world. In Christ, we have seen this salvation. Praise be to God!

July 17, 2022: Noah

Sin interrupts the divine order as it was designed. Any culture left unrestrained in sin will collapse and destroy itself. In this sermon on the rest of the story of Noah, we see the mercy of God to preserve humanity through allowing chaos to enter into the world. Brad Hudson delivers a message of hope through rebirth out of the waters.

July 24, 2022: Abraham & Isaac

What is the difference between compliance and obedience? The key factor is love. Compliance is acting to avoid punishment. Obedience is willful submission to authority out of a developed trust, a byproduct of love. Adam Greenwell discusses the story of Abraham and Isaac as it relates to the trust Abraham developed for God after a period of chaos and displays the ways this story connects to the story of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.

July 31, 2022: Passover

Throughout the entire Old Testament, in the people and stories, we see Jesus. Israel was used as a way to show the world the love of God, for when we see God's justice, it is never separated from His goodness and mercy. Mankind has sinned, so the death of a man is needed for justice; the death of animals wasn't enough. All of this was pointing to a bigger event: Jesus is the perfect, spotless sacrifice to die for our sins, and therefore we will be passed over at God's final judgment. As we come to the Lord's table, what does it mean to identify ourselves with Jesus and his death?

August 7, 2022: Joshua at the River

A key thread throughout the metanarrative of scripture is how God is with us in closer and closer proximity. The Old Testament story of Joshua is marked by God's "with-ness" and his desire to help us cross impossible boundaries.
A practical note: this service marked the first Sunday after the sudden death of a church staff member and beloved part of the Vineyard community, and this new reality is referred to several times in the sermon.

August 14, 2022: Elijah at the Mountain

Throughout the Old Testament, story after story is told of how the power and presence of God transformed a generation. However, as testimony faded with time, the following generations compromised God's definition of order with their own. The story of Elijah on Mount Carmel is an epic display of the power and presence of God over counterfeit gods created from compromise.

August 28, 2022: The Charcoal Fire

Peter, a close companion and follower of Jesus, was tested and denied even knowing Jesus when he came under the pressure of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. In our culture, when Christians fail (especially Christian leaders) we cancel them. Jesus did the opposite; he received Peter's confession and repentance, forgave him, and fully restored him to leadership. Peter is the rock on which the Christian church is built.

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