The Chapel Sermon Podcast

Origins Beyond the Message - Episode 4

In this episode of Beyond the Message, Scott and Ellie take a deeper look at the story of Cane and Abel and unpack some of the misconceptions and questions that come out of this first depiction of giving back to God and how it played a part in the continued fall of humanity and giving into our sin.

The Origin of Generosity | Origins | Part 8 | Scott Chapman

The Origin of Freedom | Origins | Part 7 | Freddy Villarreal

The first words from God to humanity, before sin entered the world, were a declaration of freedom: "You are free." Freedom did not originate in response, or as a solution, to sin. Freedom was and is an integral part of God’s design for humanity, woven into the DNA of who we are.

Any sin that enters our lives robs us of the freedom that God has for us. Sin can appeal to us, entertain us, or make us feel good in the moment, but in the end, sin will always leave us in bondage. 

When Jesus said, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:7), he was sharing the message that God is near, just like in the Garden of Eden. Jesus came to redeem and restore all things to their created purpose so we can experience the freedom that has always been ours.

The Origin of Sabbath | Origins | Part 6 | Scott Chapman

In Genesis, we learn that God created for six days, and on the seventh day, he rested. A quick reading of these verses may leave us thinking God was exhausted and needed a day to recuperate. But this interpretation doesn’t align with the bigger Biblical narrative that God is always at work and never tires or grows weary. So why did he rest? 

The Hebrew word for rest here is sabat, where the word sabbath comes from. In sabat-ing, God was not resting for himself. Rather, he was setting up a pattern for living for all of humanity. God created time with a plan and intention for how we would use it. The literal interpretation of sabat is to cease working. Sabbath says to the world around you that you belong to God. The world may say that to cease working is wasting your time, but in the kingdom economy, this time invested will lead to holiness and yield a blessing.  When we observe the Sabbath as intended by God, we establish a life pattern where we work from a place of rest rather than resting from our work.

Origins Beyond The Message - Episode 3 Part 2

Scott and Ellie are back with Part Two of Episode 3, where they sit down to talk about the real and relevant conversation of gender and sexuality. They look at what the Bible says about it, what the world says about it, and how we can play a helpful role in the conversation as followers of Jesus. 

Origins Beyond The Message - Episode 3 Part 1

This is the first of a two-part episode where Scott and Ellie get into the ever-popular topic of sin. Looking at Genesis 3 as the foundation of the conversation, the two address the reality that no person is immune to the problem of sin.  But that's not all. There is also an opportunity to learn how to address sin in our own lives and the lives of others differently knowing the character and victory of our loving God. 

The Origin of Sin | Origins | Part 5 | Scott Chapman

Sin entered the world in Genesis 3, promising freedom but leading all of humanity into bondage. Sin is not like a disease you catch; it’s more like a spiritual cancer, something within each of us that goes against the image of God in which we were created. We can’t work our way out of our sinful nature. We can’t do more good than bad to get rid of it. We can’t legislate it, put enough money behind something to fix it, or blame others for it. Our best attempts to remove or cover it up are like fig leaves. So what do we do?

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Genesis 3:21

God knew the fig leaves would never work long-term, so he clothed Adam and Eve. Scripture says the garments were made of skins, meaning an animal had to die. Up to this point, they had not experienced death. It would have been very traumatizing for them. Why would God do that? He likely wanted to make a point: sin is horrible, and the solution to sin is horrible. Also, it was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death on the cross. From the very moment that sin entered the world, God had a plan to save humanity.

We all have within us brokenness and a shared need for a savior. There is nothing of ourselves that fixes the problem of sin. The only answer we all have is Jesus. It’s like we are each standing on the bottom of the ocean with no air, and we have to answer the question, will we trust Jesus to get us to the surface? Will you trust him to be your savior and king? If you are willing to trust him, he has an incredible life planned for you. One filled with beauty, power, and joy!

Origins Beyond The Message - Episode 2

Scott and Ellie are back for a second Beyond The Message podcast episode! This week, they bring up a few significant conversations from Scott's weekend message on the origin of gender, sexuality, and marriage. The Barbie movie, good (and bad) marriage advice, and the unique but equal roles of males and females in relationships are just a few of the exciting and insightful dialogues you get to be part of!

The Origin of Marriage | Origins | Part 4 | Scott Chapman

As we read through Genesis 1, we see a recurring pattern: God creates and declares his creation good. Over and over, we read, “It was good.” Then, in Genesis 2, it says – “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Adam was in the garden, communing with God, yet God said it was not good for him to be alone. We learn here that we have been hardwired for relationships with one another. The passage goes on to say that God created a suitable helper for Adam. In the original language, it says that Eve was a perfectly aligned opposite. Men and women were intentionally created with distinct attributes yet have equal worth in the eyes of God. God created Eve from the rib of Adam, symbolizing that men and women would go through life connected, walking side by side as they face life together.

WATCH "It's Not About the Nail" HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg

The Origin of Goodness | Origins | Part 3 | Ellie Dole

God spoke, and everything came to be: the sun, moon, stars, oceans, plants, animals, and humans. As we read through Genesis 1, a pattern emerges. God created, paused, observed his creation, and identified everything as good. Genesis also teaches that we are created in God’s image, and as such, have within us the innate ability to identify the goodness all around us. The struggle we face is the pain, suffering, conflict, and inconveniences that often take center stage in our lives. When we allow our thoughts to be fixed on all that is not good, discontentment defines us and how we see the world. But when we become determined to find the goodness in every situation, even when our circumstances don’t change, it changes us. Recognizing goodness brings contentment to our hearts and minds. As we identify God’s goodness, we stomp out the darkness and change our environments. When we choose to look for, identify, and magnify the goodness in every situation, what we are actually doing is looking for, identifying, and magnifying God – because he is the source of all that is good in our world.