Grant Fishbook, Lead Teaching Pastor

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

construct

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” Genesis 1:28

construct

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” … But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Genesis 2:18, 20

construct

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Construct

Genesis 1 & 2 is not ; it’s .

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,
      but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered; Proverbs 28:26

Jesus every single construct.

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6

How Jesus responds to someone living outside God’s framework:

² At dawn he [Jesus] appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
     They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 
     ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
     ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
     ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:2–11

Small Group Questions

1. What is your favorite part of the fall season?
2. How do you emotionally approach the topics of gender, sexuality, roles and marriage? Are you fearful, anxious, excited, empowered, etc.?
3. Which of the four constructs prompt the most questions for you? How does the scripture help you move towards an answer?
4. Jesus responded with kindness, grace, and truth in offering the woman a new way to live. How are you doing at balancing these three as you represent Jesus in your everyday world?
5. What is your biggest take away from this message?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

Grant Fishbook, Lead Teaching Pastor

Recent Headlines

• From the Guardian in the UK: A revival is happening: Church hails resurgence among young in UK
• Axios Magazine: Young men are leading a religious resurgence
• USA Today: Not just at Easter: Gen Z is returning to Christianity. Data proves it
• The Wall Street Journal: Sales of Bibles are booming

8 realities regarding the authority and veracity of the Word of God

1. The Bible contains verifiable .
2. The Bible is a story woven together by , not .
3. spoke to the authority of God’s Word.
4. The Bible contains future-proof .
5. The Bible’s is a testimony to its validity.
6. The timeless wisdom of the Bible .
7. The original followers of Jesus believed this “truth” was .
8. The Bible doesn’t shy away from its own .

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:13–14

Key Signs of Authority Issues

Difficulty accepting

Chronic

Distrust of

Fear of

Once again…

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

People often think they can have three responses…

1. the truth
2. Seriously the truth claim and stay there forever. (Ultimately, you do have to make a choice.)
3. the truth

²⁴ “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
      ²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. Matthew 7:24–29

Small Group Questions

1. What was the highlight of your summer?
2. What is one word you would use to describe the Bible?
3. What is one part of the Bible that you love? One part that you struggle with?
4. Which of the 8 realities primarily leads you to believe the Bible is true? Which one causes more questions for you?
5. What are your toughest questions about the role of God’s authority in your life?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

Grant Fishbook, Lead Teaching Pastor

What do superheroes do?
They evil, people who need help, and the world.

Then Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:16

Thomas began as a devoted man of .

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
      Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:5-6

God uses to speak truth into our lives,
but who do you go to ?

²⁴ Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
      But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
      ²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
      ²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
      ²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:24-29

One more time…
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not yet seen, and yet have believed.”

The path of Thomas’ questions led him to a deeper passion for .

Small Group Questions

1. Who is your favorite superhero?
2. What is your toughest question for God?
3. Where do you go to find God’s wisdom?
4. Read John 20:24-29 out loud. What does God say to you about the conversation between Jesus and Thomas?
5. How can you change your world tomorrow?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

Brian Behrends, Creative Pastor

Judas means “”

LESSON 1: is not the same as .

Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

LESSON 2: Giving is not the same as giving .

John 12:3–5
Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
      But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

LESSON 3: Following a is not the same as following a .

Matthew 26:25
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Small Group Questions

1. Have you ever been physically close to someone but emotionally or spiritually distant? What was that experience like?
2. What do you think kept Judas from fully connecting with Jesus on a heart level?
3. What fears or barriers keep us from giving everything to God?
4. What are some ways we can make sure we’re actually connecting with Jesus—not just showing up to church activities?
5. What is one step we can take this week to give more of ourselves to Jesus?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

Josh Lease, Student Ministries Pastor

Our  influences our .

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
      “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38–42

Martha’s heart posture is one of .

Mary’s posture is one of .

“The active life in the world for God can only properly flow
from a deep inner life with God.”
– Pete Scazerro

After she [Martha] had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
      When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:28–32

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
      “Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.” John 11:33–34

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
      But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” John 11:36–37

Honest that is greater than .

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
      But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
      “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:1–8

Mary of Bethany shows us to position ourselves in a place of extravagant over self-righteous .

No matter the circumstances, Mary’s posture remains the same: .

Mary’s posture and position models the life of a —at Jesus’ feet.

Small Group Questions

1. What do you think of the statement “Your position influences your perspective?” How have you seen this to be true? 
2. What would you say is the position of your heart toward Jesus in this season of your life?
3. Who do you relate to most: Martha, the crowd, or Judas? Do you relate to Martha’s busy productivity? The crowd’s cynicism? Or Judas’ self-righteousness?
4. What might it look like for you to reorient yourself to Jesus’ feet?
5. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

Grant Fishbook, Lead Teaching Pastor

An Invitation to Some Ordinary Heroes

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
     A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too.  They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Matthew 4:18–22 (New Living Translation)

The invitation from God to any potential disciple:

Become a (there’s a new goal!)

John 1:43–50 (New Living Translation)
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
      Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses, and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
      “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
      “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
      As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
      “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.
      Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
      Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

Breaking down the invitation:

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”
      “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.
      Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.
      Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
      Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

A heartbreaking statement you hear in the counseling world:

Hurt people hurt people.

When Jesus steps into the conversation:

Forgiven people people.

Healed people people.

Found people people.

Invited people people.

Small Group Questions

1. Which of the original twelve disciples do you most relate to? Why?
2. What cost did you consider before you agreed to come, follow, and fish for men?
3. What keeps you from inviting people to “Come and see for yourself”?
4. What do you learn about the heart of Jesus in his conversation with Nathaneal?
5. How can you live out the mission of a true disciple this coming week?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

GRANT FISHBOOK, LEAD TEACHING PASTOR

The 3 Invisibles

• James, son of Alphaeus (also known as James the Lesser)
• Thaddaeus
• Simon the Zealot

Some are called to simply be there. To follow. To serve.

Lessons Learned from The Invisibles
1. on earth still gets center stage in heaven.

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life…” Revelation 2:10

2. Every believer is and .

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
     The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. 1 Corinthians 12:18-23

3. True impact is often .

4. A reminder of the value of .

Small Group Questions

1. What do you do to cope with hot weather?
2. Have you ever felt invisible? In what ways did that feeling affect your life?
3. Why do you think the Bible leaves out the details of the lives of these three men? What do you believe is the purpose of this silence?
4. What lessons can you learn from “the invisibles”?
5. What is one thing you do, that no one else know about, but you believe has value in the eyes of God?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

RYAN ERVIN, ADULT MINISTRIES PASTOR

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
and then are angry at the Lord.
Proverbs 19:3 (New Living Translation)

Romans 5:3–5
…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

James 1:2–4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

“It is remarkable that in all of his writings, Paul’s prayers for his friends
contain no appeals for changes in their circumstances.” – Dr. Timothy Keller

Job 1:6–8
One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
      Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
      Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

Job 1:21
Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
     And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
     Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 19:25–27
I know that my redeemer lives,
      and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
      yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
      with my own eyes—I, and not another.
      How my heart yearns within me! 

Isaiah 53:1–6
Who has believed our message
      and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
      and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
      a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. 

4 Ways to Suffer Well

1. Breathe
2. Pay attention to what hurts, and why it hurts
3. Be in community
4. Offer it back to God

Small Group Questions

1. How quickly do you reach out to God when you’re in pain?
2. How has faith played a role in your suffering?
3. How have you experienced God in times of pain and suffering?
4. What could it look like for you to reorient yourself to the pain in your life as an opportunity to be formed by God?
5. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week? 

 

GRANT FISHBOOK, LEAD TEACHING PASTOR

What God has promised you…

• His renewal (2 Corinthians 4:16)
• His nearness (Deuteronomy 31:6)
• Hope (Jeremiah 29:11)
• A straight path (Proverbs 3:5–6)
• Rest (Matthew 11:28–29)
• Provision (Philippians 4:19)
• Strength (Isaiah 41:10)
• Restoration (Psalm 23:1–3)
• Deliverance (Isaiah 43:2)
• Protection (Psalm 46:1)
• Answered prayer (Luke 1:9–10)
• The Holy Spirit’s guidance (John 16:13)

And finally, you have the promise that God keeps his promises.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

4 Challenges to Believing and Claiming God’s Promises

1. Personal experience—we have all had to deal with broken promises.

2. Lag time—it’s challenging to remain hopeful in the lag time between the promise made and the promise kept.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

3. We want the details!

Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. Joshua 21:45

He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations…” Psalm 105:8

…even if we are faithless, he remains faithful…” 2 Timothy 2:1

4. We are doing all that we know to do, and the promise has not been fulfilled.

Know therefore…that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9

John 6:66–69
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
     “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
     Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Small Group Questions

1. How do you handle the heat of summer?
2. Has someone ever broken a promise to you? What happened in your heart in the moment, and why do you think you still remember that event to this day?
3. Which of the 4 challenges have you encountered in your own life? How has God helped you as you struggle?
4. Why do you believe we want so many details about God’s plan for our life? Why do you believe God holds some of those back and asks for trust instead?
5. Read Deuteronomy 7:9 and John 6:66-69 out loud. How can you live out God’s promises today?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?

 

GRANT FISHBOOK, LEAD TEACHING PASTOR

…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17b

We are free from…

and religious

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil…” 1 Peter 2:16

The grip of

People are slaves to whatever has mastered them. 2 Peter 2:19b

The of death, failure, and condemnation

Now, we are not just free from something, but we are also free to something!

We are…

Free to accept the Spirit’s invitation to

We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10:19

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Matthew 27:50-51a

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence… Hebrews 4:16

When you come to God…

Bring your

Embrace the

Free to

Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13

Free to walk in and

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Corinthians 3:12 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

Small Group Questions

1. What did you do on the 4^th of July?
2. Do you think fireworks should be banned? Have fun with this one!
3. What have you personally been freed from because of your relationship with Jesus? What have you personally been freed to because of your relationship with Jesus?
4. What does “full access” to God mean to you?
5. How can you walk in freedom this coming week?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?