Christ Church Dunn

The arrival of Jesus is not good news of great joy for all people, and Herod the Great, the ruler of Israel at the time of the birth of Jesus, embodies this. He can only see the birth of Jesus, King over God's Kingdom, as a threat and responds with extreme violence. What does this opposition mean for God's plan?

Almost nothing in Matthew 2:1-12 goes as expected; but this shows us much of the wideness of God's mercy in Christ.

Matthew 1 shows us Joseph about to do what he thinks is the right thing, not knowing that he will be getting in the way of his own good and God's plan of salvation--until God intervenes. What does Joseph have to teach us about the interrupting and healing grace of God?

The New Testament begins with a family tree, showing Jesus as the heir of the promises of God to Abraham and David. But when we see who is listed, we discover an unexpected genealogy for a Messiah. What can this teach us about God's purposes in Jesus?

Why do human beings exist and how do we live that out? What is God up to in our world?

What do the worship practices in the Book of Exodus surrounding the temple tell us about God's holiness and the mission of Jesus?

How do Christians learn from and apply the calendar God gave the Israelites, with its Sabbath, Festivals, Sabbath years, and Jubilee?

How do we relate to the civil laws that we find in Exodus which organized young Israel as a nation but are no longer binding on God's people? What can we learn from these things that sound strange, obscure, or even offensive to us?

How does God direct us to live as part of his Kingdom? What does living in this freedom look like?

What does God's reign mean for our failure and sin? How can our heart idols be dealt with?

In Exodus we see Moses serving a mediator: representing God to the people and the people to God. How does this role point forward to how Jesus redeems us by God's grace?

What is the significance of "covenant" when describing our relationship with God? What does it mean to be God's covenant people?

Exodus tells the story of how the Israelites went from a people under slavery in Egypt to a kingdom of priests under God as their King. What does this have to show us about what it means to live with Jesus as King in the here-and-now?

How can we overcome our prejudices and find the true reconciliation with others that Jesus has won for us?

How does the concept of "exile" and the experience of Jesus and the ancient Israelites relate to our relationship with the world around us?

What does gospel-centered community look like?

Jesus made it very clear: the only way to dwell in the kingdom over which he is king is to receive it as a child, with open hands. What does this have to teach us about discipleship?

How does worship answer our deepest longings of our hearts: to find God and find ourselves?

What does it mean to be on mission with Jesus to make disciples? What does it even mean to be a disciple?

So much of our lives are things we didn't specifically choose. One philosopher describes human existence as being thrown into a life. Is true freedom trying to escape this? What does it mean to reach out beyond ourselves by faith in this thrown-ness?

Many, many people have marched forward to use force and power to conquer in the name of Jesus, using the idea that God is a warrior as their justification. But is that how we should think of God?

What do the life of Moses and his parents show us about Jesus and what it means to follow Him in the face of injustice?

Enoch and Noah are the two people that the book of Genesis say "walked with God." But does this mean that they were especially righteous in themselves, and God rewarded them according to what they deserve? And how did they point to Jesus?

The story of Abel is a tragic one, showing a wrong that has been part of human history since the beginning. How does Abel point us to Jesus, and what can we learn about what it means to follow him?

God shows himself like an artist in his creation. But the brokenness of creation makes it hard to see and believe that He is good. How can we live by faith in God's good purposes for his creation?