Citylights Church Podcast

Have you experienced family, community, vocation or even church where evil was called good and good was naive? Down the family tree of Cain and his brother, Seth is two distinct family cultures that reveal God's redemptive work in the world and our lives.

IQ: Since 2009 what curses have God turned into blessings? What will your answer be in 2029?

The sin problem spirals rapidly as the first son born outside the garden kills the second. The Story of Cain and Abel is written in with seeming gaps and ambiguities but with thoughtful meditation, it offers us important insight into life with God outside the garden of Eden.

IQ: When you don’t understand will you trust God or take control?

We continue our study of Genesis 3 as Adam and Eve experienced the pain of their decision to redefine good and evil. They are not cursed like the serpent but their decision exiles them from the presence of God. How can the humans ever get back to their garden home with Yahweh? Listen in as we unpack how sin in the Bible is more relational than legal and how it affects us every day more than we think.

IQ: Where have you redefined good and evil in your world and what are the consequences?

Many secular intellectuals today have come to see that evil is not just a systemic problem of humanity but part of its nature. Genesis 3 unveils how evil entered our world. Adam and Eve encounter a mysterious serpent who strategically undermines the relationship between God and man.

IQ: Where is there wisdom without intimacy with Jesus in your life?

The same way God separated the light from dark in creation, He separated rest from work, and God rested. This tells us that rest and work are not just for survival but something divine in us to image Him. As we conclude the Creation segment of Genesis, we consider how work and rest are more than compensation and vacation.

IQ: What is robbing you of the joy-filled rhythm of work and rest?

When Jesus was asked about divorce, He immediately responded with a reflection on Genesis 1 and 2. For Jesus, the meaning of marriage, divorce, sexuality, and gender were directly tied to what it means to be human. As we continue in our study of Genesis we are reminded of what it means to be human and therefore what it means to be married, divorced, or single.

IQ: Where has intimacy come before imaging Jesus for you?

In Genesis 2 the writer gives a second creation account that portrays God being even more intimately involved in His creation than in Genesis 1. Here, we see a picture of God, creating the Garden of Eden, a place where He could dwell with Adam and Eve. In this part of the creation story, we learn what it truly means to be human and how Jesus is a new answer to human hope in a broken world. (Genesis 2:1-17)

IQ: How are you called to ‘work and keep’ the Garden of Eden around you?

As we kick off our series in Genesis we meditate on the Creation Story in Genesis 1. Though there are valid debates of science, history, and physics within the accounts of Genesis we are reminded that Genesis 1 is written in the language of worship. Listen in to this first message as we reflect on the wonder of creation and how we might live in God’s Genesis 1 blessing in the midst of the Genesis 3 curse. (Genesis 1:1-28)

IQ: Who is God, and what is he up to in the world?

Oliver Wong

This week we conclude our series Defining Discipleship by discussing our plan to make disciples at CITYLIGHTS. Through the book of Acts, a pattern emerged that strengthened the early church for centuries.

IQ: How is God using your home for discipleship?

Oliver Wong

If someone asked you how to follow Jesus what would you tell them? This Sunday we continued our defining discipleship series by intentionally reflecting on the kinds of relationships that help people us follow Jesus to look like Him.

IQ: How could relationships around you grow more in invitation and challenge in Jesus?