2 Cities Church Podcast

Big Idea: Nothing is better… nothing is worse… than family! Genesis 25:19-26 1. The whole family hurts when one heart breaks.   Genesis 25: 19-21 These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf...

Big Idea: Borrowed faith becomes bold faith, which then leads to loaned faith. Genesis 24:50-67 1.  The family saw this servant’s faith. Genesis 24: 50-61 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter. Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the Lord has spoken.” When Abraham’s servant heard their...

Big Idea: You can’t survive on borrowed faith. Genesis 24:1-49 1. We all start with borrowed faith. Genesis 24: 1-9 "Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything. Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that y...

Big Idea: Pray for God’s will and nothing more in ’24. Jer 29:7 Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. 1. Pray for God’s heart. 2. Pray for God’s glory. 3. Pray for God’s power. Next Steps: Believe: I need Jesus to give me a new heart today. Become: I will seek Jesus’s will and nothing more this year. Be Sent:...

Big Idea: Leave your painful past in nail-scared hands. Genesis 23: 1-20 1. There’s no way to “unlive” last year. Genesis 23: 1-2 Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 2. Moving forward always has challenges. Genesis 23: 3-18 When Abraham got up...

Big Idea: The greatest moments in life come after great anticipation.  Luke 2:25-35 1. Waiting on God is never wasted time. Luke 2:25-27 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Mes...

Big Idea: The Binding of Faith. Genesis 22: 1-19 1. Fulfillment of Promise. Genesis 22: 2 “He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” The critical request: "Your son, your only son, Isaac." Abraham's test and the brink of Covenant fulfillment. 2...

Big Idea: It takes less sweat to prevent a mess than to clean it up later. Genesis 21:8-21 1. Trust Jesus for your protection. Genesis 21: 22-24 At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have b...

Big Idea: It takes less sweat to prevent a mess than to clean it up later. Genesis 21:8-21 1. You can’t scrub away your past. Genesis 21:8-10 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave wi...

Big Idea: Laughter is God’s bandage for your soul.  Genesis 21:1-7 The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as...

Big Idea: You have nothing to fear when you’re clean and clear. Genesis 20: 1-18 1. Lies make you look over your shoulder. Genesis 20: 1-5 ‌ From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. But God came to Abimelech in...

Big Idea: What do you do when a situation goes from bad to worse? Genesis 19: 27-38 1. Don’t Panic. Genesis 19:27-29 ‌ Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace. So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the...

Big Idea: When God leads you forward…don’t look back! Genesis  19:1-26 1. No sin can be hidden from Jesus.  Genesis 19: 1-5 The two angels entered Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in Sodom’s gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He bowed with his face to the ground and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up...

Big Idea:No church is too small to change a community. Genesis  18:16-33 1. No person is insignificant. Genesis 18: 16-21 The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed thro...

Big Idea: The greatest sermons are delivered at the dinner table. Genesis  18:1-15 1. The dinner table is the best place to entertain angels. Genesis 18: 1-8 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. Let a l...

Big Idea: What does obedience mean to you? Genesis  17: 15-27 1. A Promise: Mother of Nations. Genesis 17: 15-18 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Abraham fell facedown...

Big Idea: A faith that doesn’t cost much isn’t worth much. Genesis  17: 1-14 1. Faith demands costly obedience. Genesis 17: 1-8 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: “As for me, h...

Big Idea: It doesn’t matter how fast you travel down the wrong road! Genesis  16: 1-16 1. Hurry won’t accelerate God’s timeline. Genesis 16: 1-5 Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed...

Big Idea: Doubt creates mountains- Faith moves them. Genesis  15:7-21 1. Don’t doubt that God can. Genesis 15: 7-8 He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?” 2. Don’t doubt that God cares. Genesis 15: 9-12 He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-...

Big Idea: God’s promise is more powerful than your pain. Genesis  15:1-6 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield; your reward will be very great.  But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a s...

AMA Week 4 Big Idea: Every honest question deserves an honest answer! 1. What happens to a Christian who died but could not have water baptism?  Matthew 3:13-17  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us t...

AMA Week 3 Big Idea: Every honest question deserves an honest answer! 1. How do I know which faith is true? John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.   John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.   2. Does God help us make...

AMA Week 1 Big Idea: Every honest question deserves an honest answer! 1. How can God “regret” in Genesis 6:6?  2 Cor 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.  Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 2. How c...

AMA Week 1 Big Idea: Every honest question deserves an honest answer! 1. Does evolution change the Big Story of the Bible?  Genesis 1:27   So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. John 3:12  But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 2....

Big Idea: Abraham was a commando! Genesis  14:1-16 1. There’s a war raging around you. Genesis 14: 1-7 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zo...