Garden Imagery in Scripture

Sermon Text:

Genesis 2:4-9

Revelation 22:1-5

It is Youth Sunday at Resurrection church and our very own Ryan Matthews delivers the sermon this week. In this sermon, Ryan traces the symbolism of the garden motif throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation focusing on four gardens. Beginning with the garden of Eden, Ryan looks at how key themes are developed at the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden of Golgotha, and the eschatological garden of Revelation. This is one of those rare sermons that is not only informative, but also generative as you continue to think and meditate on the ideas that Ryan connects with the image of the garden. This is one sermon you will not one to miss and its not near as long as the sermons from other preachers who will remained unnamed.

Exodus Part 36: Sabbath Rest

Sermon Text:

Exodus 16:22-36

In the second part of Exodus 16, YHWH continues the process of de-Egyptification, by issuing a new commandment. On the seventh day the Israelites were commanded not to collect manna. Instead they were to do something completely baffling - rest. What is it about the seventh day and why are the Israelites commanded to rest? We will look at this question and what it means for the alternative society that YHWH is trying to create through the Israelites.

Exodus Part 35: What Is It?

Sermon Text:

Exodus 16:1-21

Today we study the second story in the wilderness wandering section of Exodus. This time the Israelites complain of a lack of food. YHWH will provide them with a substance that falls from the sky called manna and also will throw in a side of quail. However, the real lesson of this story is the economy that is created by the manna and what values YHWH is trying to teach His people.

Exodus Part 34: Teaching Trees

Sermon Text:

Exodus 15:22-27

As the Israelites wander in the wilderness they encounter their first major obstacle - lack of water. When they finally find water the people find that it is undrinkable. The people grumble but YHWH provides by “teaching Moses a tree” Rejecting the traditional interpretation which focuses on the grumbling and lack of faith among the Israelites, we look at the unusual language being used to arrive at a more profound point about what YHWH is trying to teach his people. YHWH is crafting the people into a new kind of society completely opposite of the Egyptians who had enslaved them.

Exodus Part 33: The Song of the Sea

Sermon Text:

Exodus 15:1-21

Today we look at one of my favorite texts, the Song of the Sea. This is one of the oldest passages in the Bible and also a Hebrew nerds dream. We look at the structure of the song and some Hebrew poetic devices (though not as many as I would like). Along the way we learn more about the identity of YHWH. We also conclude by learning about grammar - specifically the difference between the perfect and the imperfect. It sounds boring but it actually leads to a really important point about worship and how we live our lives as a community of followers of Christ.

Exodus Part 32: The Parting of the Sea of Reeds

Sermon Text:

Exodus 14:10-31

In the face of the understandable terror of the people of Israel as they find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army of charioteers and a large body of water, Moses delivers a message from YHWH. The people are told to fear not, stand firm, and wait for the salvation of the Lord in silence. Its very churchy advice, but what do we actually do with it? We seldom find ourselves pursued by large armies. Yet when we look at the world we see one that is hopelessly broken built on structures and systems that seem impossible to change. How are we do to enact Moses’ advice in such a world where our fear and despair can get the better of us? We look at these issues along with an examination of the Biblical view of sin in order to recover a greater vision of the church’s mission in a world that continues in the violence, oppression, and exploitation of Egypt’s Pharaoh.

Epiphany Part 2: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About The Magi

Sermon Text:

Matthew 2:1-12

Today we study the mysterious magi. Who were these people and why does Matthew include this story in his gospel? What would the details of this story meant to his audience? More importantly what possible relevance could a group of Zoroastrian astrologers possibly have for us? Along the way we will touch on a lot of history and also a Resurrection Church favorite - numismatics!

Epiphany Part 1: Born of the Holy Spirit

Sermon Text:

Matthew 1-18-25

After giving us a long genealogy about where Jesus came from, Matthew tells us a completely different and contradictory story about where Jesus comes from. Why does Matthew do this. As we learn in this sermon, Matthew loves to mess with us in order to make a point. Today’s sermon explores the importance of the Holy Spirit in the incarnation and why it is absolutely key to the whole gospel of Matthew.