Mad-lib Christmas. The Christmas Story, verified as history, was once just a prophecy being foretold. This is why God is the best one to author our life - He knows the beginning from the end. We often live a crazy mad-lib version of life, making it up as we go. But allowing God to author our destiny and charter our course will bring Peace and Joy that steady us in every season.

Recently the Urban Dictionary added a new phrase - “Going Viral.” It’s been said that when a video or post has at least 5 million views in 3-7 days, it’s “gone viral.” The point is this, we share all sorts of things — most of which have little impact on the grand scheme of life. The story of Christmas is worth sharing because it has eternal significance. Sharing the story of Christ, bring joy to listener and to the one doing the story telling.

Crowded malls, family travel, finding the perfect gifts and the multitude of gatherings can add to the tension and stress of the season. Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but for many, the Christmas cheer gets crowded out by our Christmas demands. Is Joy really possible? Yes! Let’s look at the Magi chasing stars to learn how to locate our Joy!

Grinch Fix. The Grinch has a small, non-joy-filled​ heart. The way we fix the Grinch within us to choose to be generous toward others. God is the most generous being, ever. He gave first, so we could receive and learn to give ourselves.

Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership. As we look to God our Creator, we see He originated the idea of boundaries to strengthen our relationships. As we draw closer to His perfect love, we find the confidence to own our moments and take control of our actions and attitudes.

We live in a time where there is a dilemma for Christ-followers. We have a culture that seems to be drifting away from God and for many people,​ our go-to response seems to be fear or anger. We want to be correct, but we don’t always have credibility. We want to be helpful, but we often lack humility. It’s true, culture seems to be shifting and our faith is being tested. God’s Word guides us so we don’t have to be derailed by this dilemma.

Leadership, in it’s most powerful and simple form, is influence. No matter our profession, education, background, or financial status - we influence others. While some are “born to lead” I believe all of us can develop the leader (influence) within us.

Supernatural Strength. God wants us to live victoriously over the enemy of our souls. We cannot be strong on our strength, we need to be strong in the Lord. We need supernatural strength if we are going to win at life. That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit — so we can have supernatural strength to defeat satan.

*Note: first ten minutes of this sermon didn't get recorded. We apologize for this error.

Knowingly and unknowingly, people who love God often open the door of their lives to be influenced by the wrong forces. The enemy of our soul, the devil, wants to trap us using his schemes and tactics. But Jesus wants to set us free!

Ever been in a fight? The only thing worse than being in a fight is not knowing who you’re supposed to fight! We not only want to know who the battle is (and isn’t) against, we want to know their tactics and strategies so we can outmaneuver them. What are the enemies tactics? How can we win?