![Advent | Hope—God Is With Us [Tom Arrington]](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts125/v4/d3/cb/1c/d3cb1c7d-b081-4910-9693-f16fe2550f91/mza_7690067559002613888.jpg/250x250bb.jpg)
Episodi
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As we continue our Grand Narrative, we will take a look at the world as we know it today, far away from the Edenic garden God created, in a world with murder, evil, floods and yet, still hope. If you're feeling a bit unmoored and anxious these days, there is beauty and hope in community together.
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As we continue our study of the creation narrative in Genesis, we hear of a garden, of a human formed from the earth, of some animals in search of a name, and of something that is "not good." In this message we discover anew how this beautiful story speaks life and meaning to us today.
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Episodi mancanti?
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Spark Church is diving into the Bible in 2025! From Garden to Garden, we are launching into a chronological journey through our Grand Narrative for the entire year, from Genesis to Revelation! This talk lays the foundation for our year-long study together!
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The passage of time is what makes the universe breathe. Humanity's marking of that time by numbers, events, and eras has been our attempt at ordering our existence by measuring years or even generations. As the clock ticks upward one more incremental step, we stop, reflect, and consider how we live with and through time, exploreing some meta themes—overarching motifs—of the lives we live, the time we keep (and waste), and how this moment truly is the most important in our lives.
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The Bible calls Jesus “Prince of Peace” in ... well, it doesn’t. That title comes from a message of hope and restoration from the prophet Isaiah centuries before Jesus’ birth. While we can’t not see Jesus in that passage, people in Jesus’ day struggled to see how it could be about Jesus of Nazareth. This second Sunday of Advent we unpack this title we ascribe to Jesus and explore the ways in which Jesus’ life seemed to bring anything but peace to his friends and enemies.
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This Sunday we begin the Advent season talking about hope in a suffering world. The Christmas song, "O Come, O Come, Immanuel" was written over half a millennium ago and we continue to sing this hopeful song today because God is with us (Immanuel). We are not alone.
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Featuring an epilogue to the sermon series "The Parables," the Parable of the Dishonest Manager leads us to consider how important family is, even when we don't see eye-to-eye.
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Many teachings on following Jesus are inspirational. They're about love, connecting with God, and experiencing life in new and "abundant" ways. But a serious reading of Jesus' teachings suggests that discipleship is a very high calling, and costly. In fact, it may end up costing you your life.
In the parable of the tower builder who runs out of money, and the king who goes to war with an insufficient army (from Luke 14), Jesus warns us, "Don't be that guy." Seriously consider what you're getting yourself into. Consider the very, very high bar that Jesus has set for those who wish to follow in his Way, and how high expectations are exactly what we need today.
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This week has been difficult, to say the least. I'm not sure what words to put here. We can find comfort in knowing we are not alone. God is with us and we can be with one another as we worship together and provide space for lament, hope and love, pursuing the way of Jesus, seeking a peace that surpasses understanding.
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We often think the parable of the persistent widow is primarily about being persistent in the face of suffering. When we examine Jesus' words, we find the true, just Judge who wants to hear our cares and concerns. Will He find us faithful when Jesus returns?
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We all know the joy of being forgiven when we’ve wronged someone. We’re also aware of our hypocrisy when we’re stingy with offering that same forgiveness to others. Or are we even aware of it? The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant reveals the ways our senses of superiority blind us from being able to see the ways our lack of forgiveness brings death to those around us.
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Jesus' parable of the landowner in Matthew 20 paints pictures of what God is like, what God's kingdom is like, and how we should treat one another when living in the Kingdom.
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[We apologize for the low-quality recording this week due to technical difficulties.]
We are so amazed, humbled and thrilled at all God has done these past twelve years at Spark. Jesus' Parable of the Lost Things from Luke 15 illustrates for us what kind of party we are throwing!
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The depiction of the "after life" in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus has had an outsized influence in the consciousness of Christians for millennia. Visceral images of a chasm, flames, and the description of agony have so captivated the imagination that principal to many Christian theologies is the avoidance of such a place. But is hell the point? Is avoiding eternal punishment the principle?
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Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a seed, like yeast, a pearl ... a treasure. It is productive, it is rare, it is valuable. It must be pursued, found, and nurtured.
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Parables are told so our ears and hearts are exposed to the teachings. The teachings are given so we understand deeper realities. And understanding deeper realities opens us to the possibility of life, and, in the words of Jesus, "life abundant!" But all of that depends upon the soil in which the teachings are planted.
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Jesus' parables paint pictures of what the world is, what it should be and how we are to live in it. When the world tries to divide us, the way of Jesus is clear, we are to love ALL of our neighbors. Jesus' teaching on the Good Samaritan is one of the most brilliant of Jesus' parables and goes well beyond just helping someone along the road.
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