Journey through some of the Old Testament’s most familiar stories — from Creation and Noah’s Ark to David and Goliath, Jonah, Daniel, and the Fiery Furnace — exploring not just what happened, but what these ancient stories reveal about God, humanity, suffering, courage, forgiveness, justice, and hope.
Along the way, we’ll wrestle with difficult questions about violence, survival, faithfulness, and God’s presence in a broken world, discovering again and again that God works through the overlooked, the vulnerable, and the underdog to bring life, redemption, and covenant hope.
Let’s start at the very beginning – a very good place to start. Genesis 1:1-31.
In Genesis 4:1-16 a murder is committed. Cain kills his brother Abel.
What lessons can ancient Bible stories like Noah’s Ark still teach us? First, our pastors will unpack Genesis 6:9-13, 18-22 and its complexity: Sinfulness. The flood. Animals. A rainbow. And then the bottom line: God’s promise to pursue the hearts and lives of every person and care for every creature on earth.
Think you’re unqualified to be God’s ambassador? Think again. In Genesis 41 God gives Joseph – a slave and prisoner in a foreign land – the ability to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams turning Joseph into a trusted leader.
In Exodus 14 God sends Moses to help liberate the Israelites from captivity in Egypt. The Parting of the Red Sea is one of those miraculous moments where it seems as though the end of God’s people is at hand only to have them be saved at the last minute. The God of Hope always makes a way forward.
Samson was one of Israel’s Judges, chosen by God to lead and protect the people before they had kings. After Delilah betrayed him, Samson lost his strength and was captured. In his final act, he brought down the Philistine temple, leaving us to wrestle with the story’s themes of violence and vengeance. How can humanity survive and honor God when we treat one another this way?
In 1 Samuel 17:31-37 David faces his giant and wins, demonstrating his fierce faith in God, his bravery, and his commitment to his own people. What does this gruesome story tell us about bravery? And what does it tell us about the younger child – is this motif in Scripture saying something important?
God called the prophet Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh, but instead of obeying, Jonah ran in the opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a great fish after a storm at sea. Jonah’s story challenges us to consider not only whether we can outrun God’s call, but also whether we’re willing to extend God’s mercy and forgiveness to the very people we’d rather see judged.
After Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Daniel remained faithful to the God of Israel despite persecution, and God miraculously rescued him from the lions’ den, encouraging God’s people to trust that the Lord would remain with and deliver them even in exile.
There’s a theme in the Old Testament: the underdog…the people who seemingly had very little power…could become great and last through history because of the God who made a covenant with them. Protagonists Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego tell us more in Daniel 3:13-27.