Origins

"Genesis is a book about origins: the origins of humankind, the origins of Israel, and the origins of the unique relationship between God and a particular people." —Nahum Sarna. We will listen to the memory of ancient Israel wrapped in poetic narratives. We will spend time with the strangeness of these stories, attending to the faith embedded in them. We will let the text draw us into a cosmic account of creation, the epic beginning rooted in the stories of the ancient Near East and artfully reshaped to tell the good news: Creator calls the world into being and out of love binds Godself to it. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann believes that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are among the most important in the bible, but they are also among the most misunderstood. So, come back with us to the origins with your big questions. Bring your daily experience of the glory and darkness of human nature. Let's wander together into the stories of falling and faithfulness. And let's listen well.