http://bible.com/events/48573915

Week 1:The road to the cross began the moment sin entered into the world in the Garden, when humanity and all creation were broken.”God finishes what He starts.” – Pastor Adrian

The road to the cross began in the Garden of Eden and that road wound through the Old Testament as a promise – communicated through covenants by God to His people.

Isaiah 43:1 NIV

1 But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Jeremiah 31:31-33 NIV

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.  32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.  33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord.“ I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.This is the covenant formula expressing God’s relationship with His people.
The amazing thing about the story of God and His people in the Old Testament is that God doesn’t snap His finger and say, “Fine. If you don’t want me, then I don’t want you.” He certainly could have, but instead he kept promising, kept pursuing, kept chasing. He longs to dwell with his people, yesterday and today.
-Jefferson Bethke
Jeremiah 31:34 NIV34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
His faithfulness to the Promise summons our adoration, and His promised return stirs up our faith-filled anticipation.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NIV20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,  22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Revelation 21:1-5 NIV

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

http://bible.com/events/48554543

Many of us don’t understand where the road to the cross begins.

For some, we may think the road to the cross begins on Palm Sunday, or the Holy Week accounts in Scripture.-For others, we may think the road to the cross begins in a manger in Bethlehem, or in the Gospel accounts of the New Testament.-But that’s not where the road to the cross begins.

Genesis 3:1-13

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

-The road to the cross began the moment sin entered into the world.
-Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and all of their children, including you and me, would be born with an infected sin nature because of it.

Just as the first lie was uttered by the serpent in the garden, the enemy of our souls is still speaking lies today. Often we can believe the lie that “we are not sinners”, or “we don’t need a Savior”. We believe that if we can be good people, or moral enough, then we don’t need Jesus. But that’s a lie.

Romans 3:23

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:12

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—The power of sin is great.

The power of the cross is greater.

http://bible.com/events/48538153

For What? Part 4: We’re for Hope

Week 1: We are for Jesus. 

Week 2: We are for holiness.

Week 3: We are for compassion. 

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We believe that as a church we are transformed by God to bring hope to others through Christ.

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This week: We are for hope

Hope is: the joy and peace that is found in knowing-truly knowing-that a trustworthy God holds our future in his careful hands.

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Jeremiah 29:4-9NIV

4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.  6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.  9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. 

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Jeremiah 29:10-11NIV

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.  11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

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1. God’s promise of hope has been fulfilled

– We have hope and a future NOW

– We pray to him and he listens to us NOW

– We find him when we seek him NOW

– We have hope NOW

2. Hope is a tool

3. We don’t keep hope to ourselves 

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Romans 15:13NIV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

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God doesn’t just give us hope, he is the God of hope.