In some ways it’s strange that we class books like Job, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs as 'wisdom literature'. When you read them, you will notice that they are all doing very different things, they are almost nothing alike. Moreover, they were written at very different times, often centuries apart.

But if you keep reading, it's almost as if these books respond to each other, as if one book says something and then the other book says something back. So perhaps the people who gathered these books together and those who classified these books as wisdom literature, imagined these books in conversation with each other. In this series, we're going to listen in on this conversation that took place in the ancient past and which spanned several centuries as we let each speaker take their turn.

This week, we reflect on what it means to be made in the image of God—as told in Genesis 1. Rather than treating imago Dei as a theological abstraction, Eric invites us to consider the deeply relational, grounded, and human dimensions of bearing God's likeness. To be made in God's image is to live with dignity, creativity, vulnerability, and connection.

Through stories, scripture, and honest reflection, the sermon challenges the cultural pressures that distort our sense of identity—urging us to resist performance, perfectionism, and isolation. Instead, we’re reminded that our truest selves are already enough. This is a message of grace and presence: an invitation to live fully human, fully seen, and fully loved.

Easter 2025 - This Sunday Stephen delves into Genesis 1:2, exploring how God's Spirit hovers over the "formless and void"—the Hebrew tohu vavohu. The message acknowledges how many people today feel formless, empty, or overwhelmed by chaos. Drawing connections between ancient scripture and modern experience, this sermon offers a tender invitation to imagine God’s Spirit not as distant, but as hovering close—even over the mess, uncertainty, and sorrow of our lives.

Rather than rushing to fix or fill the void, what if we embraced the God who lingers in the silence and stays present through the unformed places of our souls? What would life look like if we learned to trust that God begins His creative work precisely where things feel most uncertain? Stephen gives a gentle call to patience, vulnerability, and the radical hope that even in chaos, new life is being shaped.

Moving beyond debates about literalism or science, this week we focus on Genesis 1 as a poetic and theological proclamation—a “song” about God’s nature, creativity, and intent for the world. Eric unpacks how Genesis offers a hopeful alternative to the violent origin myths of the ancient world, presenting a God who creates through presence and peace, not chaos or conquest.

Rooted in both scripture and personal reflection, the sermon calls listeners to live as “Sabbath people”—those who embody God's image by practicing presence, community, and rest. Through meditations on love, vulnerability, and the invitation to resist consumer-driven rhythms, the message becomes both a reinterpretation of a sacred text and a practical call to wholeness in everyday life. This is not just a story about the beginning of the world—it’s an invitation to reimagine our place in it.