The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word parousia. It has had various meanings and traditions over the early centuries (and is celebrated in different ways still today) till Roman Christians tied Advent to the coming of Christ. Regardless of tradition, Advent is a call to be ready. The Messiah is coming… and He is coming again!

Why are you here? You got up this morning… you took a shower (maybe)… you ate some breakfast… and now here you are sitting in (likely) your usual pew! But why? What are you here to do? Today we are exposing worship. Why do we worship? And more importantly, how should we worship. 18th-century pastor Jonathan Edwards said, “I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth.” Huh? We’ll talk about that today!

I'm sure you've thought or said this phrase at least once in your life after someone has asked you for help of some kind: "...But what's in it for me?" It's easy to look for ways, even when serving others, to be rewarded for what you do or to use your help as leverage for a future favor. Sometimes, it can even seem like self-preservation (or at least prevention of being taken advantage of) to make sure there's something in it for you, especially when everyone else seems to have that same idea. Today, we'll take a look at why we have that kind of mentality, what its consequences are, and how to replace it with a godly mentality by comparing the "But What's in It for Me" mentality to how Jesus lived.

A preacher out in the country was testing out one of his members. John was a farmer and the preacher asked him, “John, if you had 100 pigs, would you give 25 to God?” “Yes Pastor, I would.” “John if you had 20 pigs, would you give 5 to God?” “Absolutely, Pastor.” “John, if you had two pigs, would you give one to God?” “Preacher, cut that out! You know I only have two pigs!” As long as we’re being hypothetical, we are pretty good at being generous. But once God asks us what we’re going to do what the treasures He has given us, answers often change. Today we will speak to one of the most sensitive issues to talk about in church - money. Who should give? Why should we give? How much should we give? And why giving is so important are four questions we will answer today.

Do you like the worship? Do you participate in worship? When we read those words we immediately think… music. Do I sing along or do I like the songs the band plays. But music is simply one piece of worship. We worship when we give. We worship in our desire to understand God’s Word. We worship in serving and we worship even in how we treat our waitress at lunch. I heard someone say this past week, “Worship doesn’t begin - worship is aimed.” Today we will look at Romans 12 and look at what motivates us to worship in all we do.

Judas was a traitor. The other disciples were traders. Words that sound very similar but have vastly different meanings. Today we willcompare two worldviewsand the impactthey haveon our time, talents, and treasure. Are you a traitor or a trader? We’ll find out!

Do you ever get frustrated with God? Have you ever had your feelings hurt by unanswered prayer? There are times where we plead before God that He would act on our behalf and yet heaven seems silent. Do we just give up? Keep praying even when nothing happens? Today we will look at a heart wrenching prayer and get equipped on what to ask, pray, and do when it seems that our prayers aren’t answered.

What does it look like for a man who prays? What does he pray for? How does he pray? Today Pastor Adam looks at what it means to be someone who prays earnestly.

“Oh my goodness! You’ve got to try out this new …” You’ve had these conversations. Someone goes to a new restaurant, or a new store, salon, coffee shop, or even dryer sheets and they tell you all about it and end with, “You’re going to love it!” Prayer is something you know you SHOULD love but DON’T love until you DO IT! But it takes practice in a sense. Not practice like learning special words or phrases… but practice like building a relationship. When you go running for the first time you get home hoping you’ve dropped 10 pounds. You’re discouraged when it turns out you actually gained 2! But running over time does make you healthier and you will (shockingly compared to when you started) end up LOVING to run. The same is true of prayer. And today you will be challenged to make a prayer investment. Are you ready?

Did you have breakfast this morning? According to Web MD eating breakfast will give you energy for the day, improve your concentration, control your weight, and lower cholesterol levels! But not everyone acts on this advice. Researchers say 31 million Americans skip breakfast every morning. They are too busy or… just don’t have the appetite. How is your spiritual appetite? Do you long and crave time spent with God in prayer and Bible reading? As we continue in this message series on exposing our spiritual shortfalls, we will take a look at prayer and see the connection between spiritual hunger and prayer and a way to jumpstart your prayer life!