Uncertainty almost certainly leads us to a scarcity mindset. As life feels up in the air, our natural inclination is toward self-preservation. This is why the practice of generosity is so important!

Intentionally practicing generosity can undermine our desire to horde in a time like this. This morning, pastor Rick unpacks the disciplines of generosity in three ways...

• Why we should be generous
• How we can be generous
• The consequences of our generosity.

We pray you are encouraged and maybe even challenged that no matter where you find yourself in this season of uncertainty and anxiety we can all still practice generosity.

Each Wednesday we'll be bringing you practical ways and encouragement to practice last Sunday's discipline. Last Sunday we unpacked the discipline of "gratitude."

How will you practice gratitude this week?

Our present circumstances would suggest there is nothing to be grateful for. While this point in time is painful and frustrating for so many, followers of Jesus do have opportunities to be grateful.

This morning we jump back into our series on Spiritual Disciplines and we explore the discipline of "gratitude" in Colossians 3:12-17. Paul encourages us to...

• Look behind us
• Look in front of us
• Look around us

To see God's goodness and how he is at work. We pray that this sermon strengthens you faith and propels you to take inventory of God's faithfulness in you life.

If Jesus was really raised from the dead then it changes everything. 

It means that Jesus is who he said he is, it means that his death has accomplished something for us. In this time of uncertainty, fear and anxiety we wanted to focus in on one thing that resurrection secures for us. Peace. And specifically...

• A peace that is RELATIONAL
• A peace that SURPASSES
• A peace that EMPOWERS

The resurrection is the proof that Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient and that we have peace with God, it secures an eternal peace that surpasses our present suffering. And it is a peace that empowers us to live in a broken world with boldness.

Why in the world was "Good Friday" good?

Every year Christians reflect on the brutal execution of a man named Jesus and call it "good." But why?

We reflected on 3 words that shed some light on what is happening in Matthew's account of Jesus' crucifixion.

The Rejection

The Reversal

The Reason

The rejection of Jesus, the reversal of sin's curse and the reason God did this, show us the deep cost of this moment but also why it is such good news for us on the other side of the cross.

We pray this sermon illuminates God's love for you and shows that while God's grace is freely given, it wasn't cheap.

We are living through a time that no-one would have expected a few months ago. Now we find ourselves adapting to the unexpected.

This morning we're unpacking how God gives us hope in the unexpected because God has and can weave redemption into the most unexpected circumstances. Nothing shows us that more clearly than the cross.

On Palm Sunday Jesus is welcomed in as the Messiah, the one who saves! By the following Friday he is rejected as a criminal to be hung on a cross. Jesus wasn't what Israel was expecting - and the cross  certainly wasn't what His disciples were expecting. Yet God knew exactly what He was doing. The most beautiful expression of love and redemption came from the most unexpected source and that can offer us hope in these unexpected and terrible times.

What we need most is what we seemingly can't have. 

In this moment of intentional social isolation, many of us are realizing just how wired we are for connection and community. With anxiety and fear at unprecedented levels, we need one another more than ever.

It has been 3 consecutive weeks since local churches have been unable to gather in person for worship and more recently gather for any type of in-person fellowship. 

In light of this, we've decided to unpack our crucial need for community as followers of Jesus. We need one another, to remind each other of our hope in Jesus and spur each other toward love. The "church" isn't a building or an event but the people of God. Therefore, it's deeply important that we adapt and get creative in how we can connect as a church, because this is the worst time to cut ourselves off from one other. 

We pray you find this message hopeful, encouraging and challenging. 

What does our faith look like in these uncertain times?

During these unprecedented times of COVID-19 we have decided to launch a new sermon series to help encourage and equip us to pursue God individually, with our families and even with our church family in unique ways. 

So we're launching a series on spiritual disciplines. In this time of isolation, rest, anxiety and even some boredom, we'll be exploring practical ways to pursue our relationship with God and express our faith. 

We felt it an appropriate place to start was with prayer. We unpack Paul's words to Timothy, in hopes of becoming people of prayer. 

Feeling anxious? Feeling dismissive?

Depending on who you are, you could be feeling very different things in this uncertain and chaotic time that we find ourselves in, during the spread of COVID -19. As the church we believe Jesus models how we should respond. We do not believe the church should fear, but we also don't believe we should be dismissive or indifferent. We believe Jesus models a third way, compassion. This is an opportunity for the local church to step up and show love and concern for our neighbors when some need it most!

While AWC did not gather physically this morning, we did worship together online. If you missed our live-stream on our Facebook page we hope you find this time of worship and teaching encouraging.

If you'd like more information, please visit www.anchorway.com