Exodus

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:6–7

Beginning Sunday, May 5 we'll be teaching the first part of Exodus.

Why teach Exodus? It's a riveting, cinematic story. There's a reason it’s been adapted into so many movies. It's the epic of the Old Testament!

Dramatic though it is, these events aren't what make it so good. It's not the burning bush. It's not the plagues. It's not the passover, nor the parting and passing through the Red Sea. It’s not the giving of the Law, nor the golden calf, nor the miracles in the wilderness, nor the the tabernacle.

What makes Exodus so riveting ? It's God.

That's why we want to devote ourselves to this book; it's God is just so big.

• May 5 - Exodus 1

• May 12 - Exodus 2

• May 19 - Exodus 3

• May 26 - Exodus 4

• June 2 - Exodus 5

• June 9 - Exodus 6

• June 16 - Exodus 7

• June 23 - Exodus 8

• June 30- Family Worship (NCC Catechism Question #7)

• July 7 - Exodus 9

• July14 - Exodus 10

• July 21 - Exodus 11

• July 28 - Exodus 12:1-28

• August 4 - Exodus 12:29-51

• August 11 - Exodus 13

• August 18 - Exodus 14

• August 25 - Exodus 15:1-21

• September 1 - Exodus 15:22-27

• September 8 - Exodus 16

• September 15 - Exodus 17

• September 22 - Exodus 18

Letter to Exiles

Letter to Exiles: A Study of 1 Peter begins Sunday, January 14, 2024

Do you feel more acutely aware of your homelessness in the world today? The letter of 1 Peter is a timely word to the God's people — “sojourners and exiles” — as they make their way through a world that's opposed to them.

Over the course of 15 weeks we'll devote ourselves to hearing from Peter on Christian faithfulness as strangers in a strange land.

Standalone

The following are individual sermons that aren’t part of a larger series. The sermons are is listed in order of most recent.

Family Worship Catechism Sermons

We are committed to introducing our kids to the beauty and necessity of life together as a church. We do not want the rhythms of corporate worship to be foreign to them until they are an adult. So each fifth Sunday, we incorporate all our kids into a family worship gathering.

The topic of each of the sermons on Family Worship Sundays is a question from the New City Catechism. Sermons are in listed in order of most recent.

The True Story of the Whole World

We are storied beings. We all have some kind of overarching narrative, some “big story,” about the how and why of human history. We’re all wrestling with the questions: What’s the meaning of our lives? What’s the goal of history? Why am I here? Where am I going? What am I supposed to do with my life? What do I live for day to day?

The way the modern world has typically answered this is tell us to “write our own story…” We’re suspicious of “big stories,” we’re cynical about the potential of actually saying anything so comprehensive and nervous about the certainty such a “big story“ requires. But writing our own story is simply too big a burden for us to bear.

So our goal for the next 12 Sundays is to give ourselves to the Christian story. To wrestle with the claim the bible makes; to be telling 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙. We're going to see how it all fits together and discover our place within it.

Join us beginning Sunday, October 1!

• October 1 - Chapter 1: Garden

• October 8 - Chapter 2: Fall

• October 15 - Chapter 3: Promise

• October 22 - Chapter 4: Exodus

• October 29 - Chapter 5: Law

• November 5 - Chapter 6: Kings

• November 12 - Family Worship Catechism Question

• November 19 - Chapter 7: Temple

• November 26- Chapter 8: Exile

• December 3- Chapter 9: Messiah

• December 10- Chapter 10: Spirit

• December 17- Chapter 11: Church

• December 24 - Chapter 12: Renewal

Acts: Part 4

"In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen..." (Acts 1:1-2)

An ascended Messiah, bewildered apostles, repenting masses, angels, the Spirit descending like a dove, tongues of fire, Jews & Gentiles, shipwrecks, snake bites, dramatic conversions, scales from eyes, death from life, earthquakes, magicians, fire & brimstone, grace, kings, governors, prison breaks, miracles, healings, and pork.

Join us on August 6 as we begin our series on part 4 of the Acts of the Apostles!

Acts: Part 3

"In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen..." (Acts 1:1-2)

An ascended Messiah, bewildered apostles, repenting masses, angels, the Spirit descending like a dove, tongues of fire, Jews & Gentiles, shipwrecks, snake bites, dramatic conversions, scales from eyes, death from life, earthquakes, magicians, fire & brimstone, grace, kings, governors, prison breaks, miracles, healings, and pork.

Join us on March 12 as we begin our series on part 3 of the Acts of the Apostles!

Easter Sermons

The following are individual Easter sermons. The sermons are is listed in order of most recent.

Acts: Part 2

"In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen..." (Acts 1:1-2)

An ascended Messiah, bewildered apostles, repenting masses, angels, the Spirit descending like a dove, tongues of fire, Jews & Gentiles, shipwrecks, snake bites, dramatic conversions, scales from eyes, death from life, earthquakes, magicians, fire & brimstone, grace, kings, governors, prison breaks, miracles, healings, and pork.

Join us on August 14 as we begin our series on part 2 of the Acts of the Apostles!

Praying with Paul | Part 2

How do Paul’s prayers teach us both how and what to pray? How can we align our hearts with God by praying with what the Spirit led Paul to pray? What do Paul’s prayers teach us about God’s desires for His people? We’ll kick off 2023 considering a few of Paul’s prayers for the purpose of increasing and enriching our prayer!

God of Light & Love

What words and images come to mind when you think of Advent and Christmas? Light, love, peace, and joy? This Sunday begins our advent study through 1 John where John describes God as a 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚; whose light and love is made evident and concrete through Jesus. And this God of light and love also creates a 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. Join us beginning in November 27 as we study John’s little letter!

• Nov. 27 - 1 John 1:1-2:6

• Dec. 4 - 1 John 2:7-27

• Dec. 11 - 1 John 2:28-3:24

• Dec. 18 - 1 John 4

• Dec. 25 - 1 John 5:1-12

• Jan. 1 - 1 John 5:13-21

Sing!

What does scripture command most often? Would it surprise you that the Bible commands us to SING almost more than anything else?

We'll spend two Sundays in November considering some of what the scripture has to say about singing… and, of course, SINGING!

• Nov. 13 - Sing with Thanksgiving! (Col. 3:12-17)

• Nov. 20 - Sing Together! (Rom. 15:1-7)

The Church that Jesus Builds

“I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!”

— Jesus, Matthew 16:18

We'll spend 5 weeks considering each of these words of the Lord Jesus.

• October 9 - I Will Build My Church

• October 16 - I Will Build My Church

• October 23 - I Will Build My Church

• October 30 - I Will Build My Church

• November 6 - I Will Build My Church

Acts: Part 1

"In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen..." (Acts 1:1-2)

An ascended Messiah, bewildered apostles, repenting masses, angels, the Spirit descending like a dove, tongues of fire, Jews & Gentiles, shipwrecks, snake bites, dramatic conversions, scales from eyes, death from life, earthquakes, magicians, fire & brimstone, grace, kings, governors, prison breaks, miracles, healings, and pork.

Join us on May 8 as we begin our series on part 1 of the Acts of the Apostles!

So Great A Salvation!

The author of Hebrews refers to all that Jesus has done for us a "so great a salvation" (Heb. 2:3). Beginning on Easter Sunday, April 17, we will begin a three week series rejoicing in just a tiny, minuscule, bite-sized sliver of a piece of a fraction of a glimpse of all that Jesus has done for His people. We will spend those three Sundays in the opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church!

Ecclesiastes

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

A generation goes, and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever.

Ecclesiastes 1:2–4

Join us beginning January 2 as we study this profoundly wise and challenging book this winter.

The Everlasting Wonder

The hymn, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, captures the wonder of the Jesus’ first coming (also called the incarnation) perfectly; Christ - the One by whom and for whom all things were created - was born.

Come to earth to taste our sadness / He whose glories knew no end;

By His life He brings us gladness / Our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.

Leaving riches without number / Born within a cattle stall;

This the everlasting wonder / Christ was born the Lord of all.

What a mystery! How is this possible? Why would God choose to do this? Why would the Son willingly come to "taste our sadness"? In 1 Tim. 3:16, Paul echoes the hymn-writer's awe at the story of the Incarnation, calling it the “mystery of godliness.” But Paul and the hymn-writer aren't just saying these things in a “this-stuff-is-hard-to-wrap-our-brain-around” kind of way; they're pointing to the immense power and beauty of the story of Jesus’ first coming. It's an event that is truly wonder-full. We'll spend the season of Advent 2021, beginning November 28, in a teaching series intended to revel in The Everlasting Wonder of Christ's Incarnation.

Following the Crucified King

We'll be concluding our series, The Crucified King, on October 31. The gospel of Matthew ends with Jesus giving the Great Commission: sending His disciples to make disciples of all nations. We want to take three Sundays to really drill down a bit further into this Great Commission, casting a vision for exactly how that call can play itself out at TCGS.

The Crucified King | Matthew 26-28

“The Lord has established his sovereignty from a tree. Who is it who fights with wood? Christ. From his cross he has conquered kings.” (St. Augustine)

This fall, we'll study the final chapters of Matthew's gospel as he depicts Jesus as the Long Awaited King who offers His life for His people.

*Big thanks to Reality Church in Los Angeles for letting us use their series graphic!

The Way of Wisdom

You and I are taking in so much content constantly; a digital diet of Doritos and Skittles, as one author described it. How are we to navigate the noise? We need wisdom. And the Lord generously gives to those who ask, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). Wisdom is personified as a woman inviting us to dine with her and walk in her ways (Prov. 9:1-6). Join us as we study the Proverbs this summer and seek God's help in walking The Way of Wisdom!