Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church

Scripture: Jude 20-23

Scripture: I Corinthians 4:1-5

Scripture: Malachi 1:1-5

Scripture: Acts 9:32-43

Wealth presents substantial dangers for us all. And, lest we think we don’t have to worry about that, compared with the rest of the world, the poorest among us would be considered wealthy. And often, it is the kind of lifestyle that comes along with it that’s just as dangerous (we have great terms for it, like rat race!). Our hectic pace of life leaves us little time for important things, and the...

It’s easy to recognize the presence of God when things are going well: the sun is shining, you have plenty of money in the bank, you’re healthy. But what about cloudy days, when the doctor brings bad news, or relationships seem to be coming apart? Where is God when pain and sorrow come? From Joseph we learn that God is still with us, even in times of greatest darkness.  Scripture:  Genesis 45, 48-...

The last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at Joseph the dreamer. Despite being able to interpret the dreams Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker, his own dreams had been seemingly dashed. Then, upon interpreting Pharaoh’s dream and giving a solution to the coming famine, Joseph becomes 2nd in command in all Egypt. But that wasn’t his dream. What about his previous dreams?  Scripture:  Genesis 42-44 

“Watch your mouth!” Did your parents ever have to say that to you? Maybe you said something hurtful or sinful. In the 9th commandment, God says: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16). “False testimony” is not just for the court of law; it is saying something untrue about others. Jesus, for example, was said to be in league with Satan. Jesus uses the situation t...

As we’ve followed the life of Joseph, we’ve seen that God gave him big dreams, set him aside for His purposes. But Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. The question hangs out there at this point in the story: are his dreams dashed?  Scripture:  Genesis 39-41 

God brings a lawsuit against his people. At the heart of it is idolatry, but the idolatry expresses itself in greed and theft, a breaking of the 8th commandment. God’s call to repent in Micah 6 involves two things. Paul summarizes them well in Ephesians 4:28: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to shar...

What were once sexually deviant views have become mainstream. Ethics teachers will tell you that sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage is not wrong as long as it involves two consenting adults and as long as no one gets hurt. Even among some Christians, it is okay as long as two people love each other. What does the 7th commandment say to such an age?  Scripture:  Matthew 5:27-32; 19:3-9

If Abraham’s life was marked by faith (in experiencing God) and Jacob’s by the “scandal of grace” (God’s grace), then Joseph’s story is about dreaming and the realization of those dreams. Joseph’s life seems a living illustration of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Scripture: Genesis 37

Jacob heads back to Canaan, coming face-to-face with his brother Esau and re-settling in the promised land, part of the covenant promise. Over three chapters about Jacob’s messy family, we can learn some lessons: From Jacob and his family, we can learn how to live in the face of fear & guilt, how to live in an ungodly world, and how to live with God in the land.  Scripture:  Genesis 33-35 

By age 16, a child has seen well over 30,000 murders on television or in the movies, and no telling how many as a participant in video games! Have they, have we, become callous to killing? What does it mean in the 21st century: you shall not kill? How can we, many of whom have never handled a weapon nor intend to kill, take this command to heart? We can look at the command as Jesus did, on two lev...

Paul has been talking to the Ephesians about relationships in people’s lives, starting with a marriage relationship and ending with one’s work (slave-master!) relationship. He notes that both are two-sided. In between, he turns to the relationship between parents and children, so important God addressed it with the 5th commandment. Paul reflects on this relationship, which we don’t often think of...

TGIF, "Thank God It's Friday!" is a popular saying people use to celebrate the end of work's drudgery and look forward to the coming of the weekend, with all of its fun activities.  For most, Sunday simply becomes the second day of that weekend, the last day of mindless pleasure.  Is this what Sunday is all about?  This is what the 4th commandment addresses, as well as Jesus wh...

Can you point to a key event in your life, a seminal moment in which the direction of your life changed for good?  Perhaps it was a career decision, meeting your future spouse, coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  We are going to look at the key moment in the life of Jacob.  Here is when the scandal of God's grace is played out to its fullest, and it came in a wrestling match. Scrip...

Scripture: Luke 15:1,2  11-32

Scripture: I Thessalonians 5:1-11

As we work our way through Genesis, we've been looking at "the scandal of grace" - that God, out of His grace, sometimes acts in scandalous ways or allows what seem like scandalous things to happen.  Thus far we've seen a second son chosen by God (already in the womb), blessed by Isaac (unknowingly), and confirmed by God (at Bethel). Slowly we see his son, Jacob, growing into t...

One of the ways Jesus dealt with the third commandment had to do with oaths. I would guess that's not a major issue in our lives today. Few of us ever have to take an oath in court, although many of us have taken marriage vows.  But at the heart of Jesus' comments on oaths, he exhibits a deep concern for truth.  So we will look at this command from the perspective of truth and how some i...

John 4:19-26; Exodus 20:4-6   The Samaritans of the first century were a product of mixed marriages with foreigners, leaving them half-Jewish (or less). The religion of Samaria had held on to only the Torah proper, the first five books of Moses. This helps explain the distrust, hatred even, between the Jews and Samaritans. Unfortunately, the most direct route between Galilee and Judea was right th...

Genesis 27:41 - 28:22  We’ve been talking about the Jacob section as a “scandal of grace.” Jacob, the second son, was chosen by God to be the son of blessing, and then blessed by Isaac (despite some shenanigans). So Jacob has been confirmed by God as the next son of the covenant. Slowly see Jacob growing into the covenant by learning not to “grasp” from man but “receive” from God. Jacob’s life fun...

In our culture, “self” is the goal of life, the core of life’s meaning, the highest value. Each self becomes its own moral universe, guided by self interest. What could be more alien to the first commandment, to have no other gods? Jesus speaks to this commandment and this idea. While the passage may seem to be only about God vs. money, it is actually about God vs. self! The choice between the two...

Last week we looked at how God chose Jacob over Isaac’s firstborn son, Esau. Even though it was promised by God while the twins were in Rebekah’s womb, Jacob takes matters into own hands by buying the birthright for a bowl of soup. At this point in the story, we see Esau as shortsighted, living for the moment, while Jacob is scheming for the future. The birthright meant a double portion of Isaac’s...