Illuminate Community Church

If you have been listening to the Genesis sermons and reading the Bible for the first time, you are probably shocked by what you experience in chapter 38. Will the family dysfunction ever come to an end? After being introduced to Joseph last week, chapter 38 turns to his older brother, Judah, and Judah’s daughter-in-law, Tamar. What a sordid relationship we have here. However, it leads to an unexp...

This Sunday we are introduced to another key figure in the Genesis narrative. He is a teenager named Joseph. His life is by far the longest and most masterful account in the entire book. The story is famous enough to launch Andrew Lloyd Weber’s big musical hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. But I can assure you that the real life story of Joseph is far more entertaining and has an...

Finally! We get to the part where Jacob is in full surrender to God! In Genesis chapter 35 God tells Jacob to go back to the very spot where he first spoke to him 30 years earlier. If you remember from Chapter 28, Bethel is the place where God began speaking to him through a vision of a stairway extending from earth to heaven. It symbolized God’s ongoing presence in his life. Like many of us, it t...

Genesis chapter 34 contains one of the darkest events recorded in the Bible. The Scriptures do not hide the fact that evil is real. The story goes like this...One day Jacob's daughter Dinah has gone to the city to socialize with the women in the nearby town of Shechem. A man named Hamor (a prince with great influence and wealth) has a son, also called Shechem. He sees Dinah, grabs her and sexually...

Perhaps you’ve read the famous story of Jacob wrestling with God. I’m not convinced my Sunday school teacher gave me all the details. For example, the text says Jacob’s hip was put out of joint with a touch. I’ve always pictured it being something like a solitary finger placed on the joint to dislocate. However, the Hebrew words translated as socket and hip are actually used to describe flesh and ...

For the last few weeks, we’ve been reading about the life of a man named Jacob. He is the third generation recipient of God’s specific promises spoken to his grandfather Abraham. Jacob began his young life living up to his name which means “deceiver.” He deceived his father and stole a blessing from his brother Esau. This caused Esau to be violent with anger so Jacob fled. The family is torn apart...

Genesis chapter 30 could be titled, “Birth Wars.” It’s the story of Rachel and Leah in competition. Each wants what the other has. Rachel was gorgeous but struggled to bear children. Leah was ordinary but fertile. She struggled to be loved. Leah has the upper hand at first, but after getting what she wants, she is still not satisfied. This is the true human condition. In the writings of Augustine...

“What goes around, comes around.” That’s a fitting title for our text. A few chapters ago we saw Jacob deceive his father. He tricked him as his father’s eye sight was failing and in the end Jacob received a family blessing intended for his brother. Jacob lives up to his name which literally means, “heel grabber.” When the twin boys were born Esau arrived first but Jacob was grabbing his foot as i...

When Jacob deceived his father by bringing him some food in the way of Esau, Isaac asked, “How did you kill and prepare the game so quickly?” Jacob, acting as Esau said, “Your God gave me favor,” He doesn’t say “our God” or “my God.” Why? Because at this point Isaac’s God is not Jacob’s God. Jacob didn’t know God personally. You see, Jacob was a religious man, but he didn’t have a relationship wit...

Rebekah and Jacob develop a plan to steal the blessing from Esau and have it pronounced on Jacob. But there’s some intense deceit involved. They must take advantage of old dad’s failing senses. Jacob is smooth-skinned and Esau is hairy. Jacob will feel, smell and sound like Esau if they are successful. Jacob is not convinced of the plan, but not because he doesn’t want it, instead, he thinks it co...

What if you could directly ask Jesus one question, face to face, right now? What would it be? My guess is an overwhelming amount of people might ask Him, why am I here, or what am I supposed to do? There is an instance in Scripture where a man comes and asks Jesus a question like this. His goal was actually to discredit Jesus, as he didn't believe He was the Messiah. But, in typical Jesus fashion,...

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” (Psalm 139:7-8)   As we come to Genesis 26, we find what amounts to a short narrative of Isaac’s life. It’s interesting that, even though Isaac lived longer than any of the other patriarchs (180 years), less is recorded about him than any...

I have loved this series in Genesis because we have looked carefully at the origin story behind God’s plan to redeem and restore all of creation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What has been most shocking to me is how the all-powerful God of the cosmos chose a family to start His plan of redemption. As I get older, I become more aware that one thing is true about every family…....

Genesis chapter 22 contains one of the most well known stories in all of ancient narrative. Abraham’s willingness to make an offering of his son is the crescendo moment of Abraham’s faith. How did he get here? What was it that caused Abraham to embark on this journey with God in the first place? The author of Hebrews tells us… By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land,...

Our text this week starts off on a high note. A specific promise from God to Abraham and Sarah is being fulfilled. Let’s just say it’s a big one that will change the course of human history... The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.  -Genesis 21:1-2 Can...

Once again we find our man Abraham sliding into his old ways. Familiar sins die hardest. We’ve said several times throughout our study that the Bible portrays its heroes as real people. They have moments of great success and moments of great failure. Makes them relatable. Shows us that in spite of our failures God doesn’t abandon us and his love is not conditioned on our performance. It also remin...

It doesn’t get much stranger than the account of Lot and his two daughters. In fact, it’s probably one of the darkest accounts in the Bible. Go ahead and read the text and then come back and you’ll quickly understand for yourself.   Lot is a complicated man. On the one hand, he is considered righteous (2 Peter 2) and on the other hand, he is a man with many faults. In this text, he is used by othe...

Genesis chapter 19 tells the story of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are known for God’s judgment upon their wickedness. Now I understand that the judgment of God doesn’t sit well with modern people. In fact, there was a time when it was an uncomfortable topic for me. However, I have changed significantly and here’s why... I do not want to serve a God that turns a blind eye to the...

When I was in elementary school, there was a special reward for well-behaved kids. One week, I was chosen. One week. The reward was eating lunch with the Principal at his table. This is the guy who is in charge. He has all the power. Even the teachers seem to bow down to him. This was a very special honor in my little 8-year-old mind. Of course, when you get to Junior High, sitting with the Princi...

Our text this week includes the story of two mothers, Hagar and Sarai. Each has her moments of triumph and tragedy. The tragedy is in part due to the relational conflict between husband and wife. As a result, pregnant Hagar is on the run. This happens because Sarai becomes impatient and decides to help God accomplish his will.    God doesn’t need our help to fulfill his promises.   We can relate....

"Doubting does not prove that a man has no faith, but only that his faith is small. And even when our faith is small, the Lord is ready to help us." J.C. Ryle Doubts. At times we all have them. It might surprise you to know that God wants to speak directly to our lack of faith. In fact, when we doubt He is ready and able to give us what we need. This was certainly true in the life of Abram. "After...

So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Genesis 13:1-2 This is the first time wealth is mentioned in the Bible. The Bible doesn’t view wealth as inherently good or evil, rather it is neutral. What makes it good or bad is the way it is used and its effects upon you and others. C...

He is Risen!!! The single most important event in human history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and here’s a few reasons why… 1. Jesus’ resurrection means that all who believe in him will also be resurrected to eternal life. 2. It proves Jesus is to be trusted and believed. 3. It demonstrates God’s love in rescuing us from sin's penalty of death. 4. The empty tomb gives us hope!   Humans need...

My favorite character in the movie Shrek is Donkey. You can’t help but love and cheer for him. He’s affable, likable, self-reflective and the portrait of humility. You may know that during times of war ancient kings rode horses but during times of peace they rode donkeys. Jesus is communicating something with his choice of transportation. This is not a messiah warrior mounted on a massive white st...