Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

Did the Christmas story really happen? Wasn’t Christmas originally a pagan holiday? Why do some churches celebrate Advent? Join Groundwork as we dig into Scripture to answer commonly asked questions about Christmas and Advent.

Have you ever wondered what will happen when Jesus Christ returns? Whether you call it the Day of the Lord, Judgment Day, or the Second Coming, all these titles refer to the time and events of Christ’s return to earth. The early Christians waited expectantly for Christ’s second coming, but when he didn’t appear, scoffers planted seeds of doubt among the believers. Concluding his second letter to the believers in Asia Minor, the apostle Peter encouraged them to view life through the lens of eternity patiently. Join us as we reflect on God’s divine timing and patience and learn from Peter how we can live holy, purposeful lives in light of the coming Day of the Lord.

We will always experience pressure to compromise our faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter urged the early Christians to remain vigilant against deceptive influences and trust that God would ultimately hold false teachers accountable for their deceit. In our world today, we continue to deal with false teachers who distort the truth of the gospel and seek to lead believers astray. Together, we’ll study how Peter’s ardent defense of the gospel helps us stay rooted in God’s truth, learn discernment through the Holy Spirit, and live lives that fully align with the teachings of Christ.

Do you ever feel like God asks the impossible of us? The apostle Peter reminds us that we need to rely on God’s divine power to live godly lives. The Holy Spirit nurtures virtues like goodness, self-control, and perseverance in us, empowering us to grow in our salvation. This, and the authority of Scripture, equips us to recognize truth, resist cultural pressures, and persevere in our faith, distinct as followers of Jesus Christ.

In closing his first letter to the early Christians, Peter offers some final advice that remains valuable for us today. Peter urged his readers to remain vigilant in their faith and act with love and humility. Speaking to their anxiety, he assured them that God indeed cared and that he would ultimately have the final say. Today, we can stand firm in our faith because we are not alone; in everything, it is the God of all glory who calls us, restores us, and makes us strong.

Have you ever been tempted to hide your faith for fear of judgment or ridicule? By studying the words of the apostle Peter, we’ll find courage in the grace of Jesus Christ to remain faithful to the gospel in the face of injustice and suffering. In his letter to the early Christians, Peter reminds us that we have the strength to live this way because Christ lived this way first.

As humans, we long for significance and the sense that our lives have value. This is especially acute when we’re experiencing suffering. When we’re through challenging times, we may find ourselves wondering: “Does my life matter? Am I making a difference?” But the apostle Peter confidently proclaims that all who have put their trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ have value and purpose. As we study 1 Peter 2, we’ll see how Peter comforts Christians experiencing suffering by affirming their identities in Christ and their intrinsic value as God’s chosen people.

When the culture we live in seems to restrict our faith to a list of rules focused on what we shouldn’t do, the apostle Peter challenges believers to embrace godly behavior that produces God-honoring fruit because we are grateful for our salvation in Jesus Christ. Learn what it means to live a holy life, set apart by God for his purposes, and how dwelling in God’s Word provides the spiritual sustenance needed for an active faith that flows naturally from us in all circumstances.

Life is full of ups and downs: times of great joy and seasons of significant hardship. When early Christians faced mockery, persecution, and forced dispersion, the apostle Peter wrote to encourage them that even in suffering we have reason for great joy: our living hope and identity in Jesus Christ. This remains true for us today. Discover the incredible value of our faith as Peter opens his letter by praising God for the living hope and inheritance we receive as a direct result of our faith in Jesus Christ.

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.

Judgment and consequences can feel unfair. They can even feel mean, especially when we don’t understand why they’re occurring. The prophet Ezekiel received many messages of judgment for Israel—so many that, at times, when reading the book of Ezekiel it can feel like God’s judgment is relentless. But by studying these judgments, we can learn about the character of God and better understand where God’s judgment comes from, what it means, why it’s necessary, and why it’s also a source of grace.

God delights in dwelling among his people, but in a vision, God shows Ezekiel one of the most painful consequences of Israel’s unholy ways: God’s glory must depart from Israel’s midst. Studying this vision gives us the opportunity to reflect on the relationship between our behavior and God’s reputation. It also reminds us that God does not leave us without hope. Even as God grieved and gave Ezekiel a painful message about consequences, he promised his glory would one day return and dwell among his people again. A promise we now know God kept in Jesus Christ and continues to keep through the presence of the Holy Spirit today.

One defining characteristic of Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry is the visual nature of the messages he received from God. In the book of Ezekiel, God repeatedly gives his prophet both a verbal message and instructions on how to also convey that message visually. God goes to these lengths because he wants his people to see the consequences of sin and rebellion and to help the people understand why exile was necessary. Through Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry, we witness God’s heartbreak and grief. We discover he is not an angry God, but rather a God who deeply loves his people and goes through great effort to get their attention.

It can be hard, even shocking to follow God’s call on our lives. Join Groundwork as we study the story of Ezekiel’s call to ministry as a prophet of God. We’ll see Ezekiel wrestle with his calling and listen as God warns of the difficulty Ezekiel will face speaking truth to an audience of people that don’t want to hear his message. Together, we can learn from Ezekiel’s experience and discuss what it means to be called, to be a prophet, and to speak truth in a hostile context. All while we’ll also examine our own hearts by asking: Are we receptive to God’s truth or rebellious like Israel?

The fourth major theme of the Bible is that of consummation, the time when God will complete his redemptive plan and make all creation new. Join us as we study biblical passages that describe a future where God’s presence eradicates suffering and evil, and brings justice and eternal joy. We’ll talk about what the hope of consummation means for us as we live in anticipation of the ultimate restoration of creation while persevering in God’s work of love and justice now.

The biblical theme of redemption is unique to Christian theology and sets Christianity apart from other religions. Join us as we trace God’s story of redemption from Genesis through the Old Testament to the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Together, we’ll learn how our loving God sent his only Son to accomplish our salvation, without expecting anything from us first. We’ll discuss distinctives of depravity, election, and grace as articulated by the confessions in the Reformed faith tradition. Reflecting on the transformative power of God’s redemptive work, we’ll talk about living redeemed lives as we go about our daily lives.

Just after the story of creation, the Bible tells us the story of humanity’s fall. The immediate result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden was alienation from God and relational discord. It released sin and brokenness into the world with all the strife, suffering, and decay we see around us to this day. Together, let’s examine the second major theme of the Bible, the Christian doctrine of the fall. Drawn from both Old and New Testament Scriptures, this theme emphasizes the catastrophic impact of sin on humanity and creation and clearly articulates our universal need for a Savior in Jesus Christ.

The Bible begins with an origin story: God’s creation of our world and of us, his image bearers. It’s a story that introduces us to our loving Creator God and the theme of creation that echoes throughout the Bible. Join us as we study the creation theme and discuss what it reveals to us about God’s character, love, and intentions. We’ll marvel at God’s acts of creation, ponder creation as God’s temple, and consider our call to reflect God’s creativity with our own as bearers of his image.

The Christian belief in the Holy Trinity significantly influences our worship, prayer, and daily living. As we reflect on the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught his disciples, the Great Commission he gave them before he ascended to heaven, and other apostolic teachings in the New Testament, we can see how these biblical truths shape our worship and prayer. Together, let’s discuss the implications of our trinitarian theology for our sanctification and Christian community and witness the essential work of our triune God in every aspect of our lives.

Within the triune nature of God, each person of the Trinity is distinct from the others. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have important traits, attributes, and roles. Three persons, united as One. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must accept the Trinity as a mystery. Yet, we can study Scripture to better understand the nature of each person of the Trinity and the awesome phenomena of their unity as One. Together, let’s discuss what this reality means for our faith, what we believe, and how it transforms our worship and daily Christian living.