Science Ridge Mennonite Church

One of the great problems the early church wrestled with was how "Jewish" the new followers of Jesus had to be. How many of the customs given by God in the Old Testament applied to non-Jews? And related to today, what do we do when people from different cultures want to follow Jesus and join our church?  Rural vs urban vs "hood" vs "redneck" vs business class vs educated vs tradesman vs... That is...

As the early Jewish believers begin to spread the message, they initially ignore the gentiles. Why would these people care about what God is doing? But the Holy Spirit challenges the early church's idea about who is included in this new Kingdom of God that is breaking into the world. 

In the book of Acts we see the Spirit of God come upon the followers of Jesus for the first time. This is something new! And this new movement of God results in a community of believers that live differently from the way the rest of the world works.

There is no event in human history with a larger impact than the death and resurrection of Jesus. But why? Why do Christians keep this event so central to our faith? That's what we'll be talking about in today's episode. 

Today we look at the person of Jesus. Jesus reveals God to us more completely than any other prophet or writer can, and that has implications for how we understand the Bible and the teachings from Jesus.     Join us as we explore the implications!

This week Eric again brings us the message, this time from John 3. This is a well know part of scripture and Eric did a great job going deeper with it for us!    Enjoy this lesson on another important part of Jesus' ministry.

The next couple of Sundays we'll be learning about some of Jesus' well known teachings. This Sunday we have guest preacher Eric Sipes with us to talk about the "easy yoke" and "light burden" of Jesus from Matthew 11. 

Sometimes it's hard to get along with people who don't see the world like we do. Today our world has split and polarized along lines of beliefs and opinions and worldviews, and it is easy to belittle the "other side." But Jesus gives us a challenging teaching that mandates we do something different.  Listen in to see how Jesus teaches that our actions towards others should mirror God's actions tow...

How do you get people to like you? Jesus wrestled with some similar challenges.  What kind of Messiah will Jesus be? How will Jesus gain a following? That is one of the questions we ask as we explore the beginning of Jesus' ministry.  (Stay tuned to the end and I share a 2nd idea about the symbolism of Jesus' temptations.) You are also welcome to join us for the Be Our Guest Sunday, April 12, 10am...

Why does a sinless Jesus request to have a baptism of repentance?  That is what we will explore in this massage as we begin to explore the ministry and message of Jesus.    If you are curious about church or are wondering about the best Sunday to check us out, mark your calendar for April 12. We have a special "Be Our Guest" Sunday at 10am, followed by a free meal. We'd love to have you join us! h...

The promised Messiah has come! But who is this child? Today we look at Luke 2:11. The angels can't contain their excitement and they rush to find someone to tell about this wonderful thing that has happened. Jesus is Savior, Messiah, and Lord, According to the angels. 

The Bible is missing 400 years! There is a large gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament. How did the Romans get there? What impact did Alexander the Great have? Today we explore what is happening to the people of Israel between the return from Exile and the birth of Jesus. 

The people of Israel have gone into Exile. They experienced the consequences of being the "People of God" who were not actually representing God to the world. Now they have been in Exile for 70 years. How has this experienced changed them? How can God transform our experiences of being lost and cut off from what we are familiar with? Tune in to find out!

How were the people of Israel conquered? Why did God allow it to happen? And could the same thing be repeated in our time? Today we have a bit of a history lesson. We'll look at some of the events leading to the downfall of both the Northern and Southern Kingdom and see what warnings and promises God gives the people. 

How long did the plagues in Egypt last?  How many people knew about John the Baptist? What if the whole US was pacifist and we were invaded? Is there predestination?   These questions and more for our "Ask the Pastor" Sunday!

Today we talk about an event in Israel that had a major impact that we rarely talk about.  1 Kings 12 tells the story of how the nation of Israel becomes split into 2 Kingdoms, Judah (sometimes called the southern Kingdom) and Israel (also called Samaria or the Northern Kingdom). And it all has to do with a King who decided to take the advice that made him feel good, rather than advice that would...

As kings become a part of Israel's history there arises the role of "prophet." Their role is to help keep the king accountable to God and call for repentance and and turning back to God when necessary. Today we attempt to summarize (at least in part) the primary message of the prophets by looking at Micah 6:6-8. 

How long have you kept a promise? Today we learn a bit about King David and a promise that God made to David that was finally fulfilled 1000 years later.   

As humans, we want a leader. We want someone to turn to when trouble is brewing. The people of God were originally called to live with God as their king, and God would call up people to lead when needed. But between corrupt human leaders and the uncertainties that come with not having a central leader the people began to demand a king "like the other nations."   Our ability to trust God sometimes...

Why did God lead the people of Israel to "the promised land?" What's so special about this place? And what do we do with some of the stories of God seeming to authorize violence on the people that were already living there? Today we'll explore those questions.

The people have left Egypt. They have made a Covenant with God at Mt Sinai. Now God will use the time in the wilderness to continue to form this people. They have a lot of baggage from Egypt to unlearn along the way.  Often we find ourselves in times of wandering, or "wilderness-like" experiences. As scary as they can be, God can use those times to shape us and mature us for the next stage of life...

In the Bible, the events of Mt Sinai take place in a jumble of laws and instructions. It can be easy to miss this important event in the life of God's people. Here God forms a Covenant with the people, gives them some boundaries and instructions, and lays out an identity for the people to be a "nation of priests" in God's plan to restore humanity back to God.  We often think of rules as restrictiv...

The people of Israel have found themselves enslaved and Egypt is afraid they might start an armed rebellion. How do they escape? Through God's awesome power! When we are stuck in life our temptation is to get out with our own power. What if God has a better way to release you?

Sometimes we fin ourselves in situations that are hard to get out of. We are bound, stuck in a rut. Maybe even directly attacked or oppressed by someone taking away our freedoms.    This week we look at how this chosen people of God end up enslaved in Egypt. And we are reminded that we too can be rescued from the things that bind us.    www.scienceridgechurch.org

God has chosen the family of Abraham to work through. Much of Genesis follows this family and we quickly see that they are imperfect. They make mistakes, but God stays loyal to them.  Today we look at one of those stories, the story of Judah and Tamar. This story is a great example of needing to know the cultural background of the Bible to better understand the values that it is teaching.  www.sci...