Welcome to Roseville Covenant Church!

In the ancient world, most religions centered on which deities could be of best help to your project. Would a rain god provide enough precipitation for your crops? Could a fertility goddess help you conceive a healthy child? Would a warrior deity grant you strength on the battlefield? It's tempting to read the Old Testament in a similar way, but careful reading of the Hebrew Scriptures actually subverts these expectations.

One of the most iconic stories in the Book of Joshua is the Battle of Jericho: a miraculous victory over a fortified city (Joshua 6:1-25). But something crucial happens right before the walls come tumbling down. Joshua meets a Divine warrior and asks, "Whose side are you on: ours or the enemy?" The captain of heaven's armies answers simply, "neither" (Joshua 5:13-14).

It's a sharp reminder that the Almighty isn't a mascot for our projects or a divine power to enlist in our battles. The question isn't whether God is on our side, but how we get on His? In a world of increasing polarization it is tempting to sort people into allies and enemies, but the scriptures have a subtle and provocative alternative: instead of assuming God's endorsement for our tribe or party, we are called to humbly submit to his strange and divine will. In this we may find a richer faith where God is not so much a tool in our hand, but that we become tools in his hands.