Often at Christmas, we think about the coming of the Wise Men, but the story of their coming, actually shows us three different responses to the coming of Jesus. What is your response to the coming of King Jesus? 

This week, as we prepare for Christmas, we think about the importance of the Virgin Birth and explore the beauty that, in Christ, God is with us, and because he is with us, we can live lives of obedience and love. 

For all the obsession with Ancestry.com these days, you'd think it was new, but the Bible was tracing out lineages long ago. While we would expect the lineage of Jesus to be a list of the holy who's who, that's not what we find. Instead, Jesus comes from a long line of outsiders, and sinners. He comes from people like us, and not only did he come from them, but he came for them and us as well. 

Today, we begin a new series through the book of Matthew called As It Was Written. This week we examine only the first verse fo Matthew, but we discover a great deal of depth, promise, and encouragement in it. Join us as we see what it means for Jesus to be the Son of David; the Son of Abraham. 

Pastor Tom Hooe shares with us this week a very personal and powerful sermon from Psalm 103, in which David urges us to not forget the benefits we have from God. 

As we close out our series in the book of Ruth, we see how the author begins to zoom out from the particulars of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, and show that the grace shown to them, expands to the whole people of Israel, and ultimately to the whole world. 

What if we've been reading this story wrong? The beauty of the story of Ruth isn't that the worthy and commendable Ruth is redeemed, but that Elimelech, who abandoned God, is redeemed. The story isn't about a husband for Ruth, but a son for Elimelech. This sort of redemption gives us hope that we too could be redeemed. But this sort of redemption, and our redemption, is costly. 

The call of God on our lives is not that we simply don't do wrong, but that we act with radical righteousness. However, radical righteousness is only possible when we are filled with hope. This week we see Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz acting in this sort of way, we are reminded that it is the way Jesus lived as well, and we look within to see how we can take steps to do the same. 

As we continue in the book of Ruth, we are introduced to a new character this week, a relative of Naomi's named Boaz. Boaz is unique in his time, a worthy man in a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. We see Boaz in this chapter not as the future husband of Ruth, but simply as a conduit for God's kindness in her life. 

It seems the Lord may be calling us as well to be conduits of kindness in a world full of despair. If we take Boaz, or God, as our example we will find three important aspects. Our kindness must be intentional, abundant, and lasting. Join us as we examine this story and see how we too can point people to God by demonstrating his great kindness for them. 

Satan is the father of lies, and we are far too quick to believe them. In this short passage from the end of Ruth 1, we see Naomi giving her self over to lies and half truths. But the community around her, refuses to let her dwell in bitterness. Instead they become a community of truth tellers to this dear woman. Join us as we examine the lies and half truths we believe, and as we consider what it would be like to be a community of truth tellers ourselves.