Laughlin Community Church

Isaac's Marriage to Rebekah This is the last stop before Abraham is sent the the grave. Today we are going to be with Rivqah. Remember here name is the sounds of the work “blessing” in Hebrew, with the letters mixed up. And we're gonna follow her on her Abraham-like journey to the land of the new Eden.…

Introduction: The Danger of Small Things Small things can cause big problems. A single spark can start a forest fire. One missed detail can derail a mission. And, as Ecclesiastes 10 opens, a few dead flies can ruin a whole bottle of expensive perfume. This isn't just about hygiene—it's about how a little…

Sarah's Tomb as a Mini Eden This story is designed with three major sections. There's a little opener, there's a long dialogue in the center, and then there's a little concluder. The dialogue itself has three parts, with a little fourth part that concludes the dialogue. 1 Now Sarah lived 127 years; these…

Introduction: The Quiet Strength That Goes Unseen In a world that celebrates loud success, celebrity, and brute strength, Ecclesiastes reminds us: wisdom—though often quiet and overlooked—is a treasure beyond measure. But it's also fragile. Ecclesiastes 9:13–18 13 I also saw under the sun this example…

Blessing for the Next Generation A Heroine From the Non-Chosen Family 20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo…

Introduction: Joy in a World of Shadows Have you ever been so overwhelmed by life that joy seemed... out of reach? You wake up, go through your routines, shuffle through responsibilities — but joy feels like a luxury, or worse, a distraction. Ecclesiastes understands that. It doesn't ignore death, suffering,…

Abraham Surrenders Isaac Still in that test moment the Genesis 3 place 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 Abraham took…

Introduction: There's a strange comfort and a haunting chill that comes when we hear the words: “The same event happens to the righteous and the wicked.” Koheleth is pulling no punches. Everyone dies. This fact levels us—it humbles kings and commoners, it erases fame, and it silences ambition. Death…

Abraham's Ultimate Test 1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains…

Introduction Have you ever looked around and thought, “That's not fair!” Maybe you saw someone cheat their way to success, lie to keep their job, or abuse others and walk away untouched—praised, even. Meanwhile, someone who's done things the right way—honestly, humbly, sacrificially—gets passed over,…

Abraham's Covenant with Abimelech Today we are going through the second half of Genesis 21 which happens in two parts The first part is focused on Hagar and Yishmael, which makes sense. That's what flows right out of it. But next is gonna come another round of interactions between Avraham and Abimelech.…

Testimony Moment Invite a volunteer or child (with parent) to briefly share what VBS meant to them. Introduction: A Week to Remember This past week, our church was filled with laughter, games, memory verses, crafts, music, and the unmistakable energy of children discovering that Jesus loves them . But…

In chapter 20 we have seen Abraham behave like the deceiver again and the king who is not a believer act like the righteous. 8 Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally told them all these things, and the men were terrified. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham…

Good morning, church. Today, as we celebrate Religious Liberty Sunday , we are reminded of a precious gift— the freedom to worship without fear. We can gather here without the threat of persecution. We can open our Bibles without worry. We can speak the name of Jesus boldly. But even more precious than…

The Blessing of Seed Distorted 30 Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to…

Introduction Who among us hasn't questioned those in charge at one time or another? Whether it's the boss at work, a government official, or even a church leader—our relationships with authority can often feel strained, especially when their decisions seem arbitrary or self-serving. In Ecclesiastes 8:1–9…

A Flood of Fire 15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the…

Introduction: The Paradox of Life Have you ever looked at the world and felt like things just don't make sense? Like the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper? Ecclesiastes 7:15 begins with this kind of observation: “In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing…

Introduction: Happy Father's Day. Today we celebrate dads—young dads with kids in diapers, seasoned dads with kids raising their own kids, grandfathers, and even spiritual fathers in the faith. But I also want to acknowledge that Father's Day can bring mixed emotions. For some, it's a joyful day of family…

Abraham Intercedes for Lot Starting in Genesis 18 On the hilltop, with sacred trees, we're eating a meal, God and humans, by the tent. How Wonderful We've got Avraham. Yahweh voice of God is appearing as a human, we've got Avraham, we've got Yahweh, we've got Sarah in the tent. And it was this whole…

Ecclesiastes 7:1–14 1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. 2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. 3 Frustration is better than laughter,…

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah We just walked through another cycle of the melody. From God providing the delivering help for the helpless one, the naked one; God splitting in order to provide what his chosen one can't do for themselves; the making of a covenant; but then the abuse of those covenant…

Introduction: Finding Peace in Life's Uncertainty Life feels uncertain, doesn't it? Jobs change, relationships shift, economies fall, and health fails. The plans we made so carefully often unravel. And when life gets uncertain, we instinctively scramble for control. We grasp for clarity, for security,…

Covenant #2 With Avraham: Sign of Circumcision God blesses the one who you think he would curse, which is the oppressed immigrant. Let's flip it over. We see how God re-creates Hagar. What's in store for Avram and Sarai? And this is what we call Genesis 17 . It's the climax of this walk through the melody…

Introduction: The Paradox of Plenty Have you ever known someone who “has it all” but still seems empty inside? Maybe that person is you? We live in a world where success is measured by accumulation—money, property, followers, accolades. Yet Ecclesiastes 6 reminds us that even with all that, we can still…

God Hears the Cry 7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She replied, “I'm running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back…

Ecclesiastes 5:13-20 13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, 14 or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. 15 Everyone comes naked from their mother's womb, and as everyone comes, so…

Introduction Good morning, Church family. Today we honor one of God's most beautiful and profound gifts: mothers. And not just biological mothers, but all women who have loved, nurtured, prayed, and comforted others like a mother would—whether you're a mom, a spiritual mother, a grandmother, or a mother-figure.…

The Oppression of Hagar I was trying to draw attention to the way that the vocabulary and imagery of the Eden story is permeating chapter Genesis 11:27–25:18 . And so that's, again, setting us up with the melody. So what comes after the great promise and provision of blessing and abundance and seed and…

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? 12 The sleep of a laborer is…

God's Covenant with Abram Setting - After these things . is Abram back at the sacred trees of Mamre or is he outside of Salem? Outside of Salem is the last place we saw him, but his camp was outside of mamre. The answer is we don't know. We are having another conversation with God. 7 And He said to him,…

8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. Introduction:…

Tenth Could it have been because Melchizedek is the 10th king and he gives them the 10th? Probably Tenth rimes with the word for "wealth." This is what the Israelites will be called to give to honor the priestly staff in the temple. Royal Priest But the whole point here is that this is not a priest from…

Introduction: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Today, we gather to celebrate the greatest event in history—the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His life was unlike any other. He walked among us, teaching with authority, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and loving the outcasts. He came proclaiming…

A Flood of Violence What's happening in this story is Sodom and its five kings become engulfed in a metaphorical flood. And the floodwaters represent these kings. And these kings are heavily armed. They're out for blood. They're out for glory and honor. And these kings, these kings are actually so formidable…

The Intersection of Two Great Events Today is a significant day in the life of the church and in biblical history. It is Palm Sunday , the day Jesus entered Jerusalem to the praises of the people, riding on a donkey as the King of Peace. But today also marks the beginning of Passover , the Jewish festival…

Introduction Worship is one of the most vital aspects of our relationship with God. However, in our modern culture, it is easy to approach worship casually, focusing more on external expressions than the posture of our hearts. Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 offers a sobering reminder that our worship must be marked…

Genesis 12-13 as Replay of Genesis 2-6 If Genesis 2 was about the Eden blessing, Genesis 3 , failure one, Genesis 4 and 6, we kind of already traced through that. And it led up to an unleashing of violence on the land, and God met it with cosmic collapse and the flood. We're clearly walking along that…

Introduction A man stands at the pinnacle of his career. He has wealth, influence, and a reputation for success. Yet, when he looks around, he realizes there is no one to share in his joy, no one to celebrate with him, no one to call a true friend. His pursuit of power has left him isolated. This is…

Abram and Lot Separate A macro view, here's our little map of this section that we're in. We began with a journey out of the fire of Babylon, and they went out. And they go into the land of promise and arrive at a high place in Canaan, where they receive God's blessing. And they receive a promise of…

Ecclesiastes 3:16–4:3 16 And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there. 17 I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge…

Abraham the Snake Today we are going to follow Avram and Sarai, exalted father and princess, and they're going to fall from their heights of Eden glory, unfortunately. I've found that it really pays off to be sympathetic as we read about these characters. Put yourself in the mindset of the characters…

Introduction The beauty of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us that life is full of seasons—times to laugh, weep, plant, and uproot. But as we move into verses 9-15, the Teacher (Qoheleth) invites us to wrestle with an even deeper question: What does it all mean? Why has God designed life with its ebb and…

God Calls Avram and Promises Blessing 1 And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing.…

Introduction Good morning! Today, we continue our journey through Ecclesiastes in our series, Ecclesiastes: The Quest for Meaning. This book challenges us to grapple with life's complexities and uncertainties under the sun while calling us to look beyond the sun to the eternal God. This morning, we come…

Two Journeys We're gonna dive into the opening moments or paragraphs of the Avraham story. Just to give us a macro view, the first big section is from second half of 11, 11:27, all the way up to the Sodom and Gomorrah story. The hyperlinks, we're gonna follow the vocabulary and imagery of Genesis 1 to…

Introduction Good morning, church. We've been spending time in Ecclesiastes, a book that resonates deeply with anyone who has ever wondered, “What's the point of all this?” It shows us how easy it is to spend our lives chasing after things that ultimately leave us empty. In our culture, we're often told…

Abraham and Sarah in the Biblical Imagination Abraham and Sarah Key Figures in the Bible. Abraham is mentioned in nearly every part of the Bible, and the story of his journey from Babylon to Canaan, the tales of his failures and his faith, and the covenant promises that God makes to him are all foundational…