As we continue our walk through the Christmas story, Dr. Crane will lead us through a look at the great hymn of Christ found in Colossians 1:15-20. We will learn about the preeminence of Christ, and how we can make him more preeminent in our lives.

While this season can be full of family time, Christmas lights, cookies, and gifts we want to be sure we remember the true reason for our celebration. The birth of Jesus is the incredible story of God putting on flesh to dwell among us. These next four weeks, we’ll be looking at different aspects of Christ; this week, Jakob King will lead us in a look at Christ’s worthiness.

Last week Dr. Crane told the story of Joshua’s speech to the leaders of Israel, where he reminded them of their history with the Lord, and exhorted them to continue to obey the Lord. As we wrap up our series on Joshua, with this next speech we get a glimpse at a more systematic approach from Joshua as compared to his pastoral approach in chapter 23.

Dr. Crane reviews the story of Joshua’s speech to the leaders of Israel, where he reminded them of their history with the Lord, and exhorted them to continue to obey the Lord. It's a great reminder of the importance of being strong, being careful to obey, and loving God.

Dr. Crane shares a story about a misunderstanding that almost led to disaster. fortunately, the truth prevailed, and God's people were able to reconcile before harm was done. We can learn to avoid leaping to false conclusions, believing the best about others, dealing with issues immediately, directly, and constructively, and seeking and celebrating moments of reconciliation.

This week we’re looking at the allotment of land given to each tribe, including stories of faithful service, the tribes working for their inheritance, and dealing with the complaints of one tribe.

Dr. Crane tells the story of Joshua taking on another groups of kings aligned against the Israelites. The Lord encouraged Joshua, and he was successful against them. Nonetheless, some Anikim survived, and years later their descendants would cause great problems for Israel.

Jakob King presents the four key values of ECC, including Biblical teaching, authentic community, discipleship, and servanthood. These values guide us in our decisions and daily lives as we pursue a relationship with Jesus.