Have you ever felt like you were stuck in the wilderness? Whether literally without a map or cell phone, or figuratively with a sense of loneliness, of being left out or looked over or left behind, these times in life are frightening. In our passages for today, good news breaks through. Whatever your circumstance, today’s message is for you. Join us, and may this Sunday awaken the reality of good news in you.

Romans 15:5-7

Peace. It is elusive. It is vital. We long for it in our personal lives, just as we wish for it in our broader society. And yet, just as for those who’ve gone before us, peace often seems tantalizingly out of reach. Our sermon today covers a significant amount of territory. We explore times through our biblical history rarely covered in our church life, yet highly relevant to the coming of Jesus and to the bringing of peace. How does this relate to you and to me? Join us for this inspiring, thought-provoking journey through our history and into our lives.

Songs of the Heart

Psalm 139

The very middle part of our Bible is where we find the Psalms. Here we experience some of the most brutally honest and deeply spiritual words in scripture. Our passage for this sermon, Psalm 139, gives us the entire range of emotions: loss, sadness, despair, even hatred. Yet each of these is punctuated by assurances, hope, and an abiding faith in a vastly compassionate, ever-present all-encompassing God. Join us as we explore together the depth and breadth of this extraordinary scripture.

Jeremiah 8:18-22

We need to hear the truth. The prophetic role in our biblical tradition attempts to confront us with just that. The scripture for this Sunday combines both transparent sadness (giving us permission to be honest with our feelings!) as well as hard truths that the people then and we today need to hear.

Join us as we continue our Journey through the Bible with the words of Jeremiah and our need to hear the truth!

Genesis 29:16-30

Have you ever gotten stuck seeing yourself through the eyes of others? Living through the perspectives of those around us deadens a sense of self. Such was happening to our hidden hero in today’s passage. This story in Genesis forms a key beginning in the life of our spiritual ancestors, and it shapes an entirely new trajectory for our lives of faith. It begins as a saga of exclusion and pain; it becomes a story of resiliency, determination and redemption. Join us!

Today’s sermon is the third in our current series: Our Journey through the Bible. Catch up on the first two you might have missed by visiting our website www.fbcdecatur.com, and be sure to join us for our future sermons in this exciting series. The next two weeks will be taken from the book of Exodus chapters 1-4 and chapter 20. We encourage you read ahead through these chapters for your preparation; you can also enjoy watching the Pixar movie, The Prince of Egypt for well-researched background in history, architecture and geography.

We moved quickly, but thoroughly! From this single verse in Genesis 2, we continued our Journey through the Bible with the key insights into our Human Condition. In Dust and Spirit we are created; we struggle and we succeed. We fail, falter and occasionally rise good and right places. We also are Naked, exposed and vulnerable in this unpredictable world. As a result, we too often make decisions based out of our Fear. We struggle with Competition and Pride. And yet, like Abraham, we continue to be called to be a Blessing.

Join us for these remarkable “Seven Words of Truth.” The Bible speaks; let us listen and respond accordingly!

We begin our Journey through the Bible with this very appropriate creation story of Genesis 1. In doing so, we discover a trajectory of expected responses to our scriptures. The expectation here and elsewhere: wonder, faith and responsibility. Join us as we explore this remarkable beginning to our Bible. And continue with us each week as we will be sharing this biblical journey together through the spring.

Next week: Seven Words of Truth, Genesis 2:7

In preparation, read Genesis 2:4-25; Psalm 19:1-6