Genesis Church - Sermons
241 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsThe sermon audio podcast of Genesis Church, located in Eureka, MO.
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Episodes
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
June 10, 2024 02:58 - 58 minutes - 27.8 MBThe situation for the community of faith in Psalm 123 is difficult and bleak. They are a people scorned and oppressed. They would like their God to show up with fire from heaven and devour their enemies, but so far His vengeance hasn’t happened. They need a song reminding them of God’s sovereign rule from the heavens when it seems as if He is absent and uninvolved. Psalm 123 is a community lament seeking relief from the Lord. It is a cry for mercy from the God who can act and change their sit...
Let Us Go To The House Of The Lord
June 03, 2024 02:07 - 50 minutes - 24 MB“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” I remember my parents quoting this almost every Sunday as my sister and I were fighting in the car on the way to church. Psalm 122 is a Psalm of joy anticipating the experience of entering Jerusalem with the people of God. This song for the journey remembered the ultimate destination, Jerusalem, and the goal—to gather with God’s people in His presence to worship. They sang this song to remind themselves that it was a pr...
My Help Comes From The Lord
May 27, 2024 02:21 - 48 minutes - 22.9 MBDon’t you love driving in the mountains? There is something majestic about terrain that is not, well, Illinois flat. Whether driving through the Rockies, Smokies, or our more hill-shaped Ozarks, there is always beauty to behold. On the other hand, a trip through hilly mountainous terrain on foot may not be as fun. For many of the Hebrews, the trip from their hometown to Jerusalem took them through hills and even some small mountains. Rather than seeing beauty, they noticed danger. Hooligans ...
Deliver Me
May 20, 2024 02:20 - 1 hour - 28.8 MBThis morning we will look at Psalm 120, the first Psalm of Ascent, a song from sojourners who are far away from home, who are being harassed and suffering. Yet, they know their God is the source of hope and peace that fills their longings. They are beginning a journey to meet Him face to face.
Preheat the Oven
May 13, 2024 02:13 - 52 minutes - 24.4 MBToday closes out the series, The Recipe, on our vision for making disciples. Over the past weeks, we revealed 10 ingredients that we hope to “bake” in to the lives of people and we have looked at the different types of people we are called to disciple. We have created a grid for disciple making that will help every ministry in our church evaluate and cast vision for the central task Jesus has given our church. Our final sermon in this series will cast vision about the ways Genesis is already...
To Our Neighbors and To The Nations
May 06, 2024 02:23 - 54 minutes - 25.3 MBWith only a couple weeks left in our series, The Recipe, on our task of making disciples, this morning we come back to where we began—with Jesus’ commission to make disciples of all nations. We believe that Christ has entrusted us, Genesis Church, with the commission to make disciples here in Eureka/Pacific and the surrounding area. We are an outpost of Christ’s Kingdom in our community with this task. But, we are also part of the task of taking the Gospel to the nations. Today we will take...
Witness
April 29, 2024 02:16 - 47 minutes - 22.2 MBWe come to the last of the ten ingredients in our recipe for making disciples, - the ingredient of witness. To be a disciple of Jesus is to be an ambassador sent to our world as a representative of Jesus’ Kingdom to proclaim His message of reconciliation. Love for neighbor includes the desire to see them come to Christ. The discipleship found in the Gospels and lived out in Acts is clear… that those who have the Spirit will be Christ’s witnesses. We represent Christ by sharing the good news ...
Mission and Ministry
April 21, 2024 22:12 - 55 minutes - 25.7 MBThe Gospel has an engine that propels disciples out as missionaries. We see this clearly in Jesus’ ministry with His disciples. He invested in their lives, taught them the truths of the Gospel, and did a lot of ministry with them. This was preparation, as Jesus then calls them to lift their eyes to see the lostness and brokenness of their culture and begin praying. The amazing thing is that they actually become the answer to their own prayers as Jesus sends the disciples on mission. Disciple...
Theological Formation
April 15, 2024 02:10 - 57 minutes - 26.8 MBTheology matters—it matters greatly. What we believe about God, Jesus, ourselves, and redemption will show up in the way we live our lives. It is God’s design that the church teach people the great truths about God so that people will authentically worship God, standing in awe of His person and work. It is also His desire that believers in Jesus grow in these great truths so that truth shapes their lives and they can be protected from false teachers. New disciples will probably need these t...
Holiness
April 07, 2024 20:03 - 57 minutes - 26.7 MBAs we continue our series on the ingredients necessary for making disciples, this morning we will share the importance of holiness. The concept of holiness, or being holy, is a difficult concept for us; yet, this is actually the ingredient that provides the flavor for the Christian life. The primary goal for disciples of Jesus is for them to be shaped day by day into the image of Christ. Disciples are people growing in the character of Jesus so that they are increasingly demonstrating Script...
Easter Shaped Disciples
April 01, 2024 02:28 - 51 minutes - 24.2 MBToday we celebrate the pivotal and climactic moment for all of history, as the Son of God was delivered over to sinful people who condemned the innocent Savior to death on a cross. Jesus submitted Himself to the divine purpose for our salvation, laying down His rights and life for us. But that is not the whole story! Jesus rose again and defeated our worst enemies: death, hell, and the grave. Before His death, Jesus predicted these events to His disciples and then made a bold demand on those...
Water and Light
March 25, 2024 02:15 - 39 minutes - 18 MBDarin Slater fills in for Mike Hubbard who was ill.
Community
March 18, 2024 02:48 - 54 minutes - 25.6 MBIn the Scriptures, discipleship is never an individual event, it is a team sport. In fact, let’s just state that maybe the biggest obstacle to authentic discipleship in our culture is our rugged individualism. Yet, God designed this Christian life thing to be done in community, a group of “one anothers”. First of all, God has ordained that our growth happens in community. This is modeled in Jesus’ calling of the 12 to Himself where He invested in them, did ministry among them, and then sent ...
Body Life
March 11, 2024 02:32 - 55 minutes - 25.8 MBGod’s means for making disciples is the local church. We live in a time when we have access to all the teaching and content of Christianity on a device, without the mess and time commitment of going to church every Sunday. As a result, many people are disconnecting from their churches and finding other things to do. But, the evidence is significant that growth as a disciple cannot happen apart from a person being present when the church gathers, finding their place in the body, and actively ...
The Disciplines of Our Walk
March 04, 2024 00:36 - 58 minutes - 27.1 MBAny meaningful goal will take effort and discipline. In most cases, long term goals will require dedication to rhythms of intentional effort. Following Jesus is really no different. Growth in the Christian life does require our dedication to rhythms and practices called the spiritual disciplines. As Jesus is teaching His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, He addresses their generosity to the poor, prayer, and fasting. We should notice that He does not say, “If you pray,” or “If you fast,”...
The Disciplines of the Word
February 26, 2024 00:35 - 46 minutes - 21.6 MBPsalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. It’s made up of 22 different stanzas with 8 verses in each stanza. All of the Chapter is devoted to praising God for His revealed word. It’s a song of praise for God’s love for us as shown through the pages of scripture. It’s a Psalm that encourages us as disciples of our need to hear, read, proclaim and even sing the word of God. It’s a song that is ultimately thanking God for His Holiness and for the perfect obedience of the Son – Jesus Christ.
Stewardship
February 19, 2024 03:55 - 51 minutes - 24.3 MBAt Genesis we sing a song that goes, “My one comfort both in life and death is that I am not my own.” This is the essence of stewardship, and the truth that all of our life, from top to bottom, belongs to God, is His, and our call is to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him in everything. This morning, we’ll see how this ingredient informs every choice, every possession, and every relationship we have in our life, and why it’s so important in making disciples.
Passion
February 12, 2024 03:33 - 55 minutes - 25.8 MBIt’s Valentine’s week, so no better topic than to talk about love. What we love defines us, shapes our lives, and we are continually being shaped by the objects of our affections. So, it should not surprise us that the primary call in making and becoming disciples is a command to love. This is so vital for our Christianity; we must continually remind ourselves that our faith is a relationship, not a call to religious performance. God is a loving Father and we are invited to know Him, to love...
Gospel Fluency
February 05, 2024 03:07 - 54 minutes - 25.5 MBAs we continue our series on Genesis Church’s recipe for making disciples, this morning we begin explaining the key ingredients … and the first and most important ingredient is Gospel clarity and fluency. Knowing and believing the Gospel is central to our journey of becoming disciples—followers of Jesus. Apart from the Gospel, religion will be centered on efforts to change our own lives by fulfilling religious duties and rules. Paul reminds us of the universal need of the Gospel, but also th...
The Recipe
January 29, 2024 00:01 - 56 minutes - 26.6 MBWhat is a disciple and how are they made? If Jesus’ call to each person is to be a disciple and His commission to His church is to make disciples, we had better know what this means. We might learn about disciple making by thinking about the perfect chocolate chip cookie. First of all, no way a great one comes from store-bought dough. To get the perfect recipe, you have to start with the goal of knowing the texture, taste, and aroma for the perfect cookie. Then you will need to develop a rec...
On a Mission from God
January 21, 2024 23:45 - 56 minutes - 26.4 MBJesus’ parting words to His followers gave their marching orders: to go and make disciples. While we may struggle to understand all the implications of this call, these men knew exactly what Jesus was commanding. They had spent over three years with Jesus as He invested in their lives making them disciples. So they knew that the commission was to invest in others the way Jesus had invested in them. This morning we begin a new series on this commission to make disciples. Over the next couple ...
How to Face a Rapidly Changing World
January 07, 2024 23:44 - 39 minutes - 18.2 MBCan you believe how rapidly our world is changing? We witnessed how quickly the world can be paralyzed with the threat of a global pandemic. Your savings can be wiped out almost overnight with a stock market crash. Advancing technology is changing every industry, sometimes for good, sometimes… not so much. With Artificial Intelligence a student can write a 10-page term paper in minutes! The uncertainty that comes with rapid change can be disabling. So how do we face such a rapidly changing w...
Sole Mates In Bethlehem
December 31, 2023 23:43 - 48 minutes - 22.9 MBAs we close out 2023, we also come to the end of our Hallmark Christmas Story. Boaz, in response to Ruth’s proposal, seeks out the closer relative to Elimelech and his deceased sons. He isn’t going to let another 24 hours pass before he has Ruth’s future secured. Will the budding romance between Boaz and Ruth come to fulfillment or will the closer relative step up? And, how does all this play into God’s sovereignty?
Small Town Proposal
December 17, 2023 23:41 - 1 hour - 28.2 MBAs we continue in Ruth 3 this morning, the focus of our story is an unusual proposal. Boaz’s kindness and attention spurns an interesting plan initiated by Naomi to be carried out by Ruth. In the previous chapter we were introduced to Boaz, a great guy who could marry Ruth and rescue the family. But like so many guys, he seems to be unaware of the opportunity in front of him and drags his feet to initiate a relationship. So, the budding love story takes a crazy turn as Ruth proposes to Boaz i...
Holiday Harvest
December 11, 2023 03:13 - 55 minutes - 26.2 MBAccording to the Law, the Hebrews were to leave the edge rows of their fields for the poor. This act revealed that they knew God was the giver of the harvest and that they were God’s representatives to the poor. In our passage today, as Ruth goes and gathers wheat, she catches Boaz’s attention and he shows her kindness and even welcomes her at his table. While love might be in the air, the greater beauty in the story is that Boaz is a picture of His God and the promised future Redeemer. The ...
A Very Mara Christmas
December 04, 2023 03:55 - 1 hour - 28.2 MBDo you like sad stories? The start of Ruth is set in a difficult period of history and begins with really hard circumstances for two women. Oppression of God’s people, a famine, tragic deaths of providers all lead to a season of bitterness and darkness. But, this sad story turns to one of redemption as Ruth returns to the homeland of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Little did Ruth know that this was the beginning of a redemption story that would put her in the family tree of the ultimate King for ...
Who Is Like You?
November 27, 2023 03:53 - 58 minutes - 27.3 MBMicah ends His prophetic book by raising the question embedded in his name: Who is like Yahweh? The answer is the only source of hope for people who have fallen, broken lives in a fallen, broken world. The True and Living God is full of grace and forgiveness – He will not stay angry forever, rather He loves us and will be faithful. And, He keeps His promises. How do we know? Because the hope promised in Micah and throughout the Old Testament finds its fulfillment on a Spring day when Jesus d...
Lament and Repent
November 20, 2023 03:52 - 1 hour - 28.3 MBDuring the final years of Micah’s ministry, Assyria is ripping through the northern portions of the land leaving Israel devastated and in bondage. Micah helps God’s people realize that there was a connection between their sinful disobedience and the judgment of God in their lives. The consequences of their rebellion is costly, yet for those in a relationship with God, there is always an invitation to repentance which leads to restoration and forgiveness. In the first of Martin Luther’s 95 Th...
The Way Forward
November 13, 2023 03:50 - 59 minutes - 27.6 MBIt is a simple yet complex question: “What does the Lord require of you?” This is a question many people want answered. People are spiritual and religious and, for the most part, they want their leaders and gurus to give them the rituals and activities necessary for acceptance by God. The Jews in Israel at the time of Micah were no different. So far, Micah’s prophecy has given an indictment for God’s people and then pointed to the birth of a King in Bethlehem as the ultimate source of hope. C...
O Little Town
November 06, 2023 03:08 - 55 minutes - 26 MBIt was really just a small, redneck town. Not a whole lot there— just a small shepherding village about six miles from Jerusalem. But the small village of Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David. In one of the clearest prophecies about the coming of Jesus, Micah predicts that the little shepherding village of Bethlehem will be the birth place of another promised Shepherd-King who would bring hope and restoration to the people of God. Like the nation, this King will come to rule, but will ...
After Darkness, Light
October 29, 2023 22:50 - 56 minutes - 26.3 MBWhere do we find hope in our world? It’s not hard to look around and find things fairly bleak in the world. It can seem that the world is random, chaotic, and cruel. The tone of Micah’s message changes quickly in Chapter 4. While judgment on Israel is coming, this is not the end of their story. Micah shifts from the indictment on their rebellion to the hope for restoration. And that hope did not rest on the goodness and obedience of the nation, rather this hope is in the dawning of a new Ki...
God’s Plan and Promise for Suffering Saints
October 23, 2023 02:55 - 48 minutes - 22.1 MBThe whole world has just gone through a time of trials and suffering. God never promised the church to keep us from suffering. The tough reality is that God guarantees that we will face various trials. The good news is that God has a profound plan for the trials He permits in our life and part of that plan is to fulfill a powerful promise to each of us. As we walk through 1 Peter’s teaching this morning, we can be encouraged by what God has done in the past four years in Ecuador and carry tha...
Indictment: Oppression
October 15, 2023 21:02 - 1 hour - 28.6 MBThe phrase goes, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” In Micah’s day, the illusion of peace and prosperity hid the fact that the leaders were the primary perpetrators of the injustices taking place in the land. Rulers used their position to protect their own power and wealth and the prophets of the day were more than happy to proclaim a message that benefitted the powerful—who were also more than happy to use them. The truth is that evil and unjust leaders are a sign of God’s judgment...
Indictment: Injustice
October 09, 2023 02:12 - 45 minutes - 21.4 MBGod’s love and grace should produce people who are generous, gracious, and deeply care for others. Instead, God’s people were involved in the worst types of injustices, showing no concern for human life, and mistreating the poor, immigrants, women, and children. Those in power will do anything to anyone to gain wealth, get more land, and become more powerful. Cries for justice matter, and God’s people should care for the marginalized and hurting. And, we must never forget that ultimately, G...
Indictment: Idolatry
October 02, 2023 02:05 - 56 minutes - 26.5 MBMicah’s message begins with a major warning for His people Israel, predicting coming destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire. This was ultimately God’s sovereign judgment on His people who were drenched in idolatry. Micah builds Jehovah’s case to show the people’s guilt and deserved justice. The first indictment is that Israel had traded their relationship with True God for cheap imitations and fake man-made gods who cannot deliver. Most of the time, the drift toward idolatry is subt...
Mr. ADA
September 25, 2023 02:23 - 58 minutes - 27.2 MBMicah stands in a long line of prophets, those sent with the Word of the Lord in their mouths and on their pens. They functioned as God’s prosecutors, indicting the nation for their failure to remain faithful to the covenant, while reminding them that God is holy and will be faithful to His promises. While their messages are difficult, any time we have a Word from the Lord it comes with an invitation and a promise. The invitation is to repent and believe the Gospel. And the promise is that Go...
True Religion
September 17, 2023 19:34 - 45 minutes - 25.1 MBAs a church, we are setting aside today to emphasize the importance of foster care and adoption. Jesus’ brother, James, wrote a letter to early Christians and his words are striking. The clearest evidence of true religion shaped by the Gospel is the way the faith community cares for the marginalized—specifically widows and orphans. This sentiment is echoed throughout Scripture. Furthermore, one of the most beautiful metaphors of the Gospel is that we have been adopted into God’s family, with ...
Mission
September 10, 2023 21:25 - 42 minutes - 21.2 MBWe like to say that the Gospel comes with an engine. The Gospel saves individuals, but then places them in a community of people and then sends them on a mission. And, not just any mission—we are invited into the Missio Dei, the mission of God. Our Community Groups are so much more than a place to hang out, read a few verses together, and then eat cookies. We see ourselves as a people who have been rescued by the Gospel so that we make the Gospel visible to our city and the world. Peter wro...
The Gospel
August 27, 2023 20:55 - 55 minutes - 27.3 MBWelcome to Genesis Church and Baptism Sunday! Today we start a 3-week series, Pillars, where we will see that God’s purpose for us has always been tied to three key pillars: the Gospel, Community, and Mission. Many of us grew up believing that the Gospel, the message about Jesus’ death and resurrection, was the ABC’s of Christianity, the first message we need to know in order to be saved—that after believing the Gospel we move on to the deeper things, right? Actually, the Gospel is the A-Z o...
How Can A Loving God Send People to Hell?
August 21, 2023 02:35 - 1 hour - 27.7 MBWe close our Confronting Christianity series with a doozy. How could a loving God send people to hell? Philosopher and Theologian Peter Kreft has said, “Of all the doctrines of Christianity, hell is the most difficult to defend, the most burdensome to bear, and the first to be abandoned.” Hell has to be an outdated idea flowing from religious zealots seeking to control the lives of people, right? The truth is that no single person said more about the existence and nature of hell than Jesus ...
How Can You Take the Bible Literally?
August 13, 2023 22:31 - 49 minutes - 22.7 MBToday Elder John Parke will lead us in a study of Psalm 19 and how that scripture can help us answer the question “How can we take the bible literally”? We will look at the composition of the Christian bible, the various human authors and literary styles. Our text today will testify to the power and authority of the true author of scripture, God Himself.
Hasn’t Science Disproved Christianity?
August 08, 2023 22:16 - 50 minutes - 23.3 MBHasn’t science disproved Christianity? The vast majority of our current academic community and culture would answer that question with a resounding YES! So, we need to understand the difference between “science” and “scientism”. When we do, we will see that through the ages, sinful man has found a way to twist the beauty of God’s gift of science into a belief system that denies God. Far from disproving Christianity, science fully supports our faith. Science is a God-given tool used to reveal...
Isn’t Christianity Homophobic?
July 30, 2023 21:22 - 52 minutes - 24.3 MBChristians are painted many ways in our culture, as we’ve learned over the course of this sermon series, and one of the loudest accusations is that “Christianity is Homophobic.” Certainly, mass attention goes toward the loudest of groups such as Westboro Baptist Church, a cult who yells obscene and sinful things at people who identify as LGBT, but the question is, do they represent the ideas of the majority of Christians? In this sermon, we will learn what God’s Word says about sexuality, Go...
Doesn’t the Bible Condone Slavery?
July 23, 2023 21:18 - 57 minutes - 26.3 MBThere are many questions that people use to discredit The Bible and God Himself, often looking to the horrors historically present in our world. One such question is how The Bible, and ultimately God, responds to the notion of slavery. Does God forbid slavery in the Bible, or does He condone it? Why should we believe in a God whose people were complicit in using the Bible to support slavery and oppress so many people? While people tend to look for black or white responses to these questions, ...
How Could a Loving God Allow So Much Suffering?
July 16, 2023 21:16 - 53 minutes - 24.6 MBFor many skeptics of the Christian faith, the question of suffering and evil is seen as a trump card disproving the existence of God. If God is good, and God is all powerful, how can this God allow so much purposeless suffering and evil in the world? Of course, those raising this question come at it from two different perspectives. Some ask the question philosophically, seeking to discredit the idea of God. Others though, ask the question experientially, as sufferers who have gone through hor...
Doesn’t Christianity Hinder Morality And Cause Violence?
July 10, 2023 02:49 - 55 minutes - 25.6 MBToday we will look at two questions from the book Confronting Christianity that address similar issues. Doesn’t Christianity hinder morality? And, doesn’t Christianity and religion cause violence? Be careful not to answer these questions to hastily. The truth is that religion is the cause of much suffering, injustice, hate, and evil around the world. Furthermore, religion has pushed agendas and morals that have deeply hurt people. And yes, at some times and places, institutional Christianity...
Faith That Perseveres
July 02, 2023 05:02 - 51 minutes - 23.7 MBOur guest speaker today is Ramon Rivera. Ramon’s wife, Diamond, and their two children, Scarlett and Levi, are joining us as special guests today. The Riveras live in Chicago where Ramon serves as a Pastoral Resident at Renewal Church. The Riveras are considering planting a church out of Renewal in the Humboldt Park area. Ramon is a recent graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. On a personal note (from our Pastor, Mike Hubbard), we got to know Ramon and his family when he officiated t...
Doesn’t Christianity Denigrate Women?
June 26, 2023 04:58 - 59 minutes - 27.1 MBThis morning we continue our Confronting Christianity series, wrestling with the questions our culture is asking about the Christian faith, as discussed in Rebecca McLaughlin’s book. We will wade into a difficult cultural question this morning—one that has led to many leaving the church. Doesn’t Christianity denigrate women? We do need to acknowledge that Christianity has often misused Scripture to support a male-dominated society and has participated in the denigration of women. But if we l...
Doesn’t Christianity Crush Diversity?
June 19, 2023 04:54 - 45 minutes - 21 MBTake a look around at the folks attending this morning. Notice anything unusual? Probably not. The vast majority of us are Caucasian. Most of the churches in Eureka and the surrounding area are majority Caucasian. Does that indicate that Christianity is primarily a “white man’s” religion? Or, instead, maybe that indicates that we’re not seeing the bigger picture. Today we’re going to look back at the birth of Christianity and also look forward to the culmination of the Church and see how tha...
Aren’t We Better Off Without Religion?
June 12, 2023 04:51 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBIn a recent opinion article in our local newspaper, the writer shared from her experience reasons for leaving the church and pursuing a different path for feeling close to God or the universe. She is not alone in her sentiments, as millions of people are leaving Christianity, deconstructing their faith, and abandoning religion. A common thread in many of these stories are experiences of church hurt and interactions with hateful religious people. In reality, aren’t we better off without religi...