The Glorious Mystery of Christmas is not a baby in a manger it is God in human flesh. We follow the story of John 1 on three movements. The Son (Jesus) was in eternal perfect relationship with God, He experienced complete separation from God, So that we could have eternal perfect relationship with God.

We begin our new series through the book of John, not at the beginning of the book, but at the end, where John tells us his purpose in writing, that we might believe and that we might find life in Jesus.  We discuss that the life in Jesus is eternal and abundant, but it is also radically different the life this world would offer and celebrate.  So how will we each respond to the claims and calls of Jesus?

We welcome Tom Hooe to share with us from Proverbs 3.

We finish our study in the book of Joel looking ahead to that glorious day of the Lord still yet to come. A day of great salvation for all who follow Jesus, and great judgment for all who reject his reign.  

It is the day the promises of God will be fulfilled for his people, but we must consider whether we are his people.

Repentance changes everything for the people fo Israel and for us as well. As God's mercy for His people leads Him to restore all that has been stolen by sin and brokenness.

In Joel 2 the prophet turns from the current day crisis, to point the people forward to a greater crisis coming, The Day of the Lord. And he pleads with the people to repent, because where there's no repentance, there's no salvation, but where there is, there is.

As we embark on a four week journey through the book of Joel we consider the question, how ought we respond when crisis hits? We will see that crisis is an opportunity for us to reevaluate and reengage with God. It is an opportunity for us to repent and run back to God. As bad as it may seem, nothing is bad if it drives us to God.

Stephen Covey says "The main thing, is to keep the main thing the main thing." Paul agrees and emphasizes here that the Main Thing is the Gospel, truth that leads to Godliness.

The radical transformational work of Jesus in our lives is not just for our sake, but for the sake of the world. We are saved by the love of God and then sent out to display that love to the world. Saved by love; saved to love. 

We consider together the work of Christ in our lives, past, present, and future. Specifically his work fighting sin for us and in us. Not just fighting, but claiming victory over sin. The work of Christ deals with the penalty, the power, and the permanence of sin in our lives.