Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

Have you ever felt so hopeless that the idea of experiencing or attaining anything remotely good seemed impossible and out of reach? It’s during similar moments of hopelessness in the book of Ezekiel that God interrupts his messages of judgment with powerful images of restoration. In Ezekiel, God famously depicts Israel’s sinful condition as a valley of dry bones. But in this vision, the bones amazingly do not stay dead. Slowly, death is reversed and beyond all reason and logic, the dry, dead bones are restored to life. The bones were not lost forever and through this vision, God was promising restoration for Israel. Join us in studying the hope-filled imagery of this and other restorative visions in Ezekiel and be reminded of just how great God’s love is for his people, how seriously he takes his promises, and how deeply we can trust that one day God will restore us fully too.

Malachi prophesied to God’s people after they had returned to Israel from exile in Babylon. His message was one of caution and warning. Back in their homeland, the people were finally comfortable again and spiritual apathy began to settle in their hearts. Through Malachi, God addresses Israel’s indifference and unfaithfulness to him. Join Groundwork as we study the profound words of Malachi and witness how out-of-sync life can get when we go through the motions of faith without investing our hearts. We’ll learn from his warnings against spiritual apathy and his encouragement to examine our hearts, and discover how our faithfulness to God impacts our lives and our communities. Together, let’s explore how the timeless wisdom of Malachi can illuminate our faith and transform our worship today.

In our work-driven culture, it can be hard to rest. And yet, in the Ten Commandments, God commands us to 'Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.' What exactly is God asking of us with this commandment? Does Sabbath rest just mean taking a day off? Or is there more to it than that? Join us as we trace the spiritual discipline of Sabbath rest through Scripture to better understand what God designed Sabbath for. Together we’ll evaluate commonly held ideas and traditions about the Sabbath, consider healthy ways to keep the Sabbath, and discover how cultivating this time-honored practice can strengthen our faith and draw us closer into relationship with our Creator God.

Have you ever wondered if you’re too broken, if you’ve sinned too much, or if you’re just too far gone for Jesus to love you? Witness an interaction between Jesus and Peter that gives us the hope and courage to love Jesus despite our failings and to trust that Jesus is more than willing to restore us to full relationship with him. Join us as we study this post-resurrection appearance of Jesus Christ in the closing chapter of John’s gospel and discover what Jesus calls all of his followers to go and do.

After the Apostle Paul started the church in Corinth, others came after him that began to teach the Corinthian Christians differently. These false teachers were challenging Paul’s teaching on the resurrection, a crucial and important truth at the heart of the Christian faith. Influenced by the culture around them, they suggested that Christ’s resurrection was not a true, physical, bodily resurrection. As Paul responds to these false teachings, he is adamant that it is necessary to believe in the truth of Christ’s bodily resurrection. Discover what Paul says are the consequences for our faith if Jesus is not raised from the dead and why this truth is crucial to the gospel message. Learn from Paul’s message to the Corinthians why you can continue to stand firm today on the truth and reality of Christ’s resurrection.