Though the name “Jesus” doesn't appear in the Bible until the New Testament, the gospel message can be found throughout all of ... Scripture. In Genesis 3, God gives us an initial impression of how he is working to save his people and to save humanity. Though this first revelation of the gospel is vague and indistinct, viewing it through the lens of the rest of Scripture helps us to better understand what is entailed in God’s first promise to the first sinners. Listen as ruling elder Daniel Thies teaches on Genesis 3:15, showing that God meets grave sin with great grace; God’s grace persists in the face of evil opposition; evil is real; and Jesus and his people will triumph over evil.

We all want a good life, to be what we were made to be, to experience what it is to be fully alive, to see our friends... and family flourish. The Bible calls this kind of flourishing “blessing.” Blessing is one of the main themes of Genesis, beginning with God’s abundant blessings on creation in the first two chapters. But by the third chapter, a new word enters the vocabulary of Scripture: curse. Because of sin, curse enters the world and creation is subject to futility and groaning. What once was blessed is now cursed, what once was good is now corrupt. But does this mean we are doomed to lives of suffering and frustration? Or is God’s blessing still possible in a sin-cursed world? Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches from Genesis 25, showing through the life of Jacob how God is continuing his plan to bless the nations, focusing on God’s sovereignty, God’s subversion of human expectations, and the foresight of faith.

God doesn’t bless you simply to bless you. He does delight in his people and desires to bless them. But God doesn’t bless you simply... for you. God blesses you for his glory and for the good of those around you. Despite human rebellion, our fallen nature, and the wrath we deserve, God is determined to bless. In Genesis we see that the blessing of God comes to and through the seed of Abraham. We see this imperfectly through Isaac, preeminently in Jesus, and, by God’s grace, through us as well. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche explains from Genesis 26, showing how God’s blessing on us changes our relationship to others, freeing us to love sacrificially, enabling us to endure enmity, and serving as a means God uses to bless others.

Christianity can often be falsely represented as a means of getting good stuff for yourself: a trophy... wife, a big house, all the recognition “you deserve,” if you just pray for your blessing and claim it in Jesus’ name. But this false gospel misunderstands the nature of blessing and the timing of blessing. God’s true blessing is everything that is good according to God's will and God’s timing. In this sermon on Genesis 26:34–28:9, in which Isaac attempts to bless Esau, but ends up blessing Jacob instead, Pastor Luke Herche shows how to take hold of God’s blessing, exhorting us to recognize our sin, to respect God’s plan, and to put on Christ.

Every human heart longs to meet with God. It’s a longing we were born with and cannot fully escape. Many attempt... to fulfill this longing by our own methods and means. Whether by moral deeds or seeking signs from heaven, through mind-altering drugs or ritual and tradition, we create all kinds of ladders and stairways to attempt to make our way into the presence of God. In Genesis 28, we find Jacob, fleeing for his life after grievously deceiving his father and enraging his brother, Esau. And yet, it is while Jacob is in this state of exile, sleeping in the wilderness, that God comes down to meet with him in a dream. In this sermon on the well-known story of Jacob’s ladder, Pastor Luke Herche shows that God, in Christ, has drawn near to his covenant children, meeting us in the mundane, promising his protecting presence, and assuring us through the cross and the resurrection. And because God has drawn near to us, we can now draw near to God.

The book of Genesis is a discipleship primer. It is the ABCs of the faith. In... Genesis we learn about the power of God in creation and the beginnings of his covenant relationship with his people. Through the accounts of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel’s early history, we see what it looks like to walk with God. In this sermon on Genesis 29:1–30, in which Jacob marries Leah and Rachel, Pastor Luke Herche shows that walking with God looks like accepting God’s sovereign care, receiving God’s fatherly discipline, and humbling ourselves to serve, even as we anticipate glory.

Where do you look for wholeness? Living in a world that is under God’s curse, we find that things don’t work... as they were intended. Our present age is broken. We are broken, longing to be made whole again, to no longer sin or be sinned against, to no longer suffer or get sick or old or weary. We long for things to be put right, to be as they were intended from the beginning. But in our longing to be made whole, we so often look to the wrong things, in the wrong places, by the wrong means. In Genesis 29:31–30:24, we find sisters Leah and Rachel following this tragic pattern as they compete with each other in child bearing. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on this passage, talking about our longing for wholeness: where we look, why it will never work, and where wholeness is found.

We live in a generally mobile age. People rarely stay in one place for long. Because of that it is hard... for us to understand the value of “place” in Scripture. But in the Scriptures, the promises of God hinge on place. In the beginning, God made a place, a garden in Eden. Because of their rebellion, man and woman were removed from the holy place, and they became exiles, homeless, wanderers. In Genesis 12, God calls Abraham to Canaan and promises to give a new place to him and to his offspring. Yet, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each leave this promised land for a time, and all three of them experience exile, receive blessing during their exile, and eventually return to the promised land, wealthier than they left it.

Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on Genesis 30:25–31:55, telling of Jacob’s departure from Laban in Haran, and showing us that we are exiles who will experience troubles and hardships on our journey, but Jesus is with us by his Spirit to bless us and he will restore us on the last day.

Some lessons take virtually a lifetime to learn. The Christian life is a life of being gradually... conformed to the image of Jesus in both his character and his work, daily taking up your cross and following him. In Genesis, we see Jacob slowly learning to walk with God over a period of more than 20 years, and in his life we have both a preview of the life of our Savior and a pattern which we, too, are to live out as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on Genesis 32–33, teaching us to rest in God’s promises, to cling to God in weakness, and to step out to serve, as we have been served, in Jesus.

How do you respond to the troubles of the present age? Do you stick your head in the sand and hope for... the best? Or do you come out swinging, hoping to win one for your team? We live in a morally complex and confused age. In Genesis 33:12–34:31 Jacob’s daughter Dinah is defiled, and we find Jacob and his sons responding to the horrific situation with compromise and combativeness. But those are not our only options when we find ourselves face-to-face with ugly situations. Listen as Pastor Luke walks us through this passage, drawing some conclusions about the moral complexity and confusion of our age, about the temptations to comprise and combativeness, and about the peace made through Christ and his cross.

Where do you need renewal to happen in your life right now? Where are you weary, tired, numb? Where are your relationships... stale or taken for granted? How is your relationship with God, your Father in Heaven? Is it growing, exciting, and thriving? Or does it feel static?

In Genesis 35, Jacob’s story proper comes to an end and we see that it’s a sort of climax of Jacob’s life, a renewal. As we look at Jacob’s return to Bethel at this high point in his life, we see that God calls us, even as he called Jacob, to be renewed in our relationship to him. God calls us to recommit ourselves to him even as he assures us of his commitment to us. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on this passage, showing the need for renewal, the pursuit of renewal, the context for renewal, and the future of renewal.

If you grew up in a church—if your parents are believers, members of a church, disciples of Jesus—what does that mean for... you? It doesn’t mean that you don’t have to own Christianity for yourself. You, too, need to repent and believe, to turn your life over to Jesus, to take up your cross and follow him. Esau was a covenant child, and while his story could be considered tragic, we ultimately find God’s covenant faithfulness there. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on Genesis 36:1–37:1, taking us through the genealogy of Esau and showing us God’s covenant blessings, God’s severe judgement, and God’s wide-open mercy.

Who is the Son of David? Listen as church elder Brian Aldridge preaches on... 2 Samuel 7:12–13, showing us the promise of the Son King, the identity of the Son King, belief in the Son King, and the sons of the Son King.

Whoever might have won this past week’s election, it does not change the truth of what God says nor does... it change the reality that Christ is on the throne. Our hope, ultimately, must never be in an election. Our hope is that Christ is on the throne. Concluding a three-sermon mini-series, Pastor Luke Herche has previously been teaching, first, that we are to obey governing authorities and, second, that we are to obey God rather than men. In this final sermon of the series, focusing on Psalm 2, Pastor Luke shows that we are to know that Christ is on the throne, in four points:

    · Though the nations rage, Christ is on the throne!
    · God has set him there; Christ is on the throne!
    · Serve the Lord or face his wrath; Christ is on the throne!
    · Blessed are all who take refuge in him; Christ is on the throne!

Ora et labora is a Latin phrase with origins in Christian monastic communities. It was a maxim of monks and... nuns throughout the history of the church that captured what they thought the Christian life was all about: prayer and work. And there certainly is an integral connection between our prayer and our work. Listen as RUF Campus Minister Ethan Brown preaches on Psalm 46:10 showing how this passage of Scripture, through the help of the Holy Spirit, can help us lead lives of prayer and work for the glory of God.

Church elder Scott Morrison kicks off a new evening service summer series on some of the Songs of Ascent, preaching on ... Psalm 121, addressing the questions: Who helps you? Who keeps you? And who protects you?

Writing of Psalm 127 Derek Kidner says, “One of the most telling features of this short poem is that it singles... out three of our most universal preoccupations—building, security, raising a family—and makes us ask what they all amount to and to whom we owe them.” Rather than looking at the psalm according to these three common preoccupations, church elder Jamie Chesser proposes we look at it instead in two parts in order to reveal something about God’s providence. Listen as Jamie teaches on this passage, looking first at the warnings giving about our striving, when done apart from God, and then looking, in contrast, at God’s perfect provision.

Church elder Daniel Thies preaches on Psalm 130, showing how this text reveals the... depths of our sin, the source of our righteousness, and the certainty of our hope.

Something is wrong. And our culture has a hard time pinpointing what it is. Different people at different times have their own explanations... and their own solutions, but none of them work. So what is the problem? Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo begins a new Advent sermon series aimed at helping us better understand what darkness is, what light is, how they interplay in Scripture, and how a people living in darkness, on them the light of Christ has shone. In this sermon on Isaiah 9:2, Pastor Josué shows us how people living in darkness have seen a great light.

Gardening is difficult. There are the weeds and the waiting and the garden pests... but eventually you get to experience the wonder... of watching something new grow. The book of Isaiah describes a shoot growing from “the stump of Jesse.” It’s a passage that comes bearing Advent promises: Jesus is that righteous branch, the shoot of the stump of Jesse, a branch that will bear much fruit. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches from Isaiah chapter 11, helping us to understand in greater depth what it means that this King came 2000 years ago to a manger in Bethlehem, and what it means that this King will come again.

The book of Isaiah is interjected with several “servant songs,” passages that paint a picture of God’s chosen servant who will come to the ... aid of his people. They show us that this servant will judge rightly as the true king, will be a true prophet to guide God’s people, and a true priest who will cleanse the people of their sins. This servant who brings true restoration to the covenant people is a picture of Jesus, the true prophet, priest, and king. In Isaiah 52–53 we are provided with a glimpse of what Jesus would come to do as the true priest, the Lamb of God and the mediator of the covenant. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches from this passage, showing that as the Lamb of God the mission of Christ was redemption; as the Lamb of God Christ’s affliction was necessary; and as the Lamb of God the meekness of Christ was his victory.

What story are you living? We are all in the middle of a story. It’s the story of redemption, the story of grace..., the story of Jesus. And it’s his story, not ours. We didn’t make it up, it’s not fantasy, and the ending is already set—but it’s a story all the same. It has a beginning, middle, and end, a sovereign narrator, narrative tension, a hero, and plenty of plot twists. Being able to imagine this story, to hold it in your mind, enables you to better live the Christian life. Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on Jeremiah 29:1–14, showing how this text points to where we are in God’s story, and therefore how we are to live in the story. He begins with getting the plot right (seeing how Israel’s story is our story) and then shows that God has placed us where we are to flourish and bless, in hope of things to come, as we keep our eyes on him.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? In order to get moving, something has to grip your heart. Maybe... it’s a new job, a new goal, that first cup of coffee. In Habakkuk 2, we find a better source of hope, of strength, of power to grip your heart. To move you. To get you out of bed. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (ESV) Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on this verse, first providing the context of Habakkuk, then looking at the language and vocabulary of the verse itself, and finally sharing three implications: delight in the glory of the Lord in Christ, wait for that glory to come, and reflect that glory to the world.