Bay Area Community Church

I once heard Charles Stanley say that seemingly insignificant events can have eternal consequences. Jesus’ birth appeared to be anything but significant to the outside world. In fact, to the average person it was just a baby born to two young parents. But to a few, Jesus’ birth was such a significant event, it changed their destinies. Why? Because of who they understood Jesus to be. This week, we look at three types of people who all knew about the birth of Jesus, but responded to it differently. Join us as we continue in our Calm & Bright series and reevaluate our own response to the birth of King Jesus.

Joseph Mohr’s famous Christmas carol, "Silent Night," continues to bring calm and bright as we sing it during Advent. This week we look at the third stanza: "Silent night! Holy night! Son of God, love's pure light, radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth." Jesus is the embodiment of the pure light of love. Join us this Sunday as we continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus in Annapolis, Easton, Odenton and online. Together we will learn from an elderly man named Simeon who teaches us about love’s pure light!

Calm and bright. That’s what Jesus brings when he enters the scene. In a world filled with anxiety, we need calm. In the midst of darkness, we need light. This week as we celebrate the second Sunday in Advent, the heavenly hosts make an astonishing declaration of praise to some shepherds outside Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Peace. Calm. It’s found only in one Person: the babe wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger. The shepherds discovered the peace we all long for. Join us this Sunday in Annapolis, Odenton, Easton, or online as we allow Jesus to bring calm to our hearts. This is a great series to bring a neighbor or invite them to watch.

For as long as I can remember, the song Silent Night has been part of my Christmas. Whether sung in church or at home, this song has brought such joy because of its lullaby melody and powerful lyrics. calm and bright are the two words the author used to describe the night that Jesus was born. And it's these two qualities that we believe we need more of in our lives right now. As we begin our Advent to Christmas, we invite you to experience the calm and bright that Jesus offers each of us. Join us this Sunday as we kick off our new series and learn how the birth of Jesus, the Holy Infant, breaks through the chaos and darkness of our lives to bring Calm and Bright.

We live in a culture that likes to boast. We boast in our favorite sports teams, our children or grandchildren, our accomplishments. Sometimes our posts on social media are a subtle (or not so subtle) form of boasting. Bragging has to have an object. We brag about something. And that which we brag about we find an attachment to: an identity attachment. As a result, we are usually unashamed of bragging. We take pride in boasting in that which we identify. For the follower of Jesus, there is one thing that is our boast. Boasting in this changes everything. Join us this week as we learn why we are to brag about the cross.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “you reap what you sow.” In other words, the quality and impact of our lives is determined by what we sow. Everyone wants to experience life at its best: full, meaningful, purposeful. We often get deceived into thinking that if we gratify the flesh, we’re going to experience life. What we are sowing right now will be our harvest down the road. What we are reaping today are the seeds we have sown in the past. We will be looking at sowing to the Spirit vs. sowing to the flesh. One reaps corruption, one reaps eternal life. Join us as we take a look at what we are sowing and how it is shaping the trajectory our lives.

Most of us are pretty tired mentally, and maybe even physically right now. With so much being thrown at us every day, we find ourselves trying to control everything around us and failing. If I’m not surrendering all of these things that are happening around me to God and am instead sitting in anxiety, I’m only accelerating the exhaustion. Self-reliance will always lead to this. But when I am walking in step with the Spirit, I am no longer growing weary and faint. We need to ask God to fill us with the Spirit so we can be empowered. But what does it mean to walk in step with the Spirit? And how do we keep walking in step with the Spirit even when our circumstances don’t change? Join us as we dive back into Galatians.

This coming week is a very important week. Perhaps one of the most important weeks of your life. Why? Because it’s a week where you get to make a choice. As important as the election is, I’m referring to a different choice. A choice Paul challenges us with in Galatians 5. A choice for following burdensome laws and rituals of religion, or a choice for the freedom that can only be found in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus. Your choice matters! Join us on Sunday as we continue in our study of the New Testament book of Galatians.

At the end of Galatians 4, Paul takes a different approach in urging the Galatians to remember the truth of the Gospel. This is one of the only places in the New Testament where allegory is used to paint a picture. Here Paul tells of the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar to give the Galatians a picture of what it looks like to live under the law or under grace. Join us this Sunday as we look their story and make the choice of how to live for ourselves.