God is Good + This Sunday at Immanuel!
Good morning Immanuel. As we prepare for Sunday, let's remember the goodness of God.
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)
There is a world of theology embedded in these few verses, but there may be one observation that is easy to miss. Notice how God's default setting is to bless— you may surely eat of every tree. He only gives man one prohibition: not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This observation tells us something about the goodness of God. Goodness is a broad category, but at the very least, we see that God didn't engineer a world of bare minimal joy. His life and love are bountiful and broad. Creation itself is the overflow of His own superabounding inner life of joy. God had every right to give us 10,000 prohibitions with only one token of kindness, but He did the complete opposite— He gave humanity far more than we needed to survive. He gave us 10,000 ways to enjoy Him and flourish under His rule. He only gave us one prohibition, and even that was for the sake of our joy in Him.
Dear believer, the Lord is not a stingy God. He’s no miser, seeking ways to frustrate our joy. God is good. He is the Lord of joy. He is gracious and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. The evidence of this superabounding goodness is most evident in the gift of His Son because when God gave us His Son, He gave us His all. In Christ, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What greater gift could God give? To us who believe, every drop of God’s wrath was poured out on Christ so that every spiritual blessing might be poured out on us. Surely now, goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives! God is good!
November 13, 2022 - This Sunday At Immanuel
Sunday Morning
SERMON - Immanuel is turning 15, and we are excited to welcome Ray Ortlund to preach this Sunday as we celebrate God’s goodness!
BREAKFAST IN THE BREEZEWAY - Join us in the breezeway between services for Breakfast in the Breezeway, potluck style!
Bring your pastries, pancakes, or any other breakfast item to the breezeway by 9:50 am as we celebrate the goodness of Jesus! Breakfast in the Breezeway takes place between our 9 am and 10:45 am service. See you there!
ENGAGE - Sunday morning presents new opportunities to participate in the work Jesus is doing. Here are a few ways to engage at Immanuel:
Discover Luncheon - This Sunday is Discover at noon in the Cafe. RSVP here!
Park Avenue - Our Park Avenue ministry is collecting $25 Kroger gift cards to help Park Avenue Elementary families put a Thanksgiving meal on the table this November. Please drop them off at the Park Avenue table in the lobby!
Give - Your generous giving enables us to plan for strategic gospel ministry as we seek to make the real Jesus non-ignorable in our city and far beyond. You can give online here.
Seminars
9 am: Studying the Bible Together led by Tom Cox in the Staff Lounge (ongoing)
9 am: First Word Seminar led by Russell Moore in the Cafe
9 am: Student Seminar led by Vince Greenwald in the gymnasium (ongoing for grades 5-12)
10:45 am: Next Steps 1 led by Tony Shepherd in the Staff Lounge (ongoing)
College Lunch immediately following the 10:45 am service.
On The Horizon
Carolfest 2022 - Carolfest is coming up on Friday, December 9th! We'll sing carols together and enjoy a special Christmas Cookie Competition for Immanuel Kids & Students!