Welcome to the opening night of our annual prayer week! As a church family, we start every year right by coming into God’s presence and focusing on intimacy with Him. The service begins with thirty minutes of teaching on prayer. Pastor Andy went through John 15 verse by verse and showed how we are to walk in life union with Jesus. Then for the rest of the service, he guides the congregation through praying together and learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit. This service is the perfect starting point for your own prayer time at home!

Scripture References:

John 15:1-7 (TPT)

Ephesians 6:17-18 (TPT)

Matthew 6:9-13 (TPT)

We experience constant cycles throughout history: there are always evil tyrants, there are always cowards who try to appease the tyrants, and then there are courageous people who wipe out the evil. As believers, we are called to courageously defeat evil. It takes courage to share our faith. We do not have to be experts in Christianity to share our faith, we just need a love for people. God has an amazing life plan for everyone, but we must choose to walk in the plan He created for us. We learn the deepest things about God in the intimacy of our relationship with Him. We experience this intimacy when we spend time with Him in prayer, which is a back and forth conversation with God.

Scripture references:

Ecclesiastes 1:9

Matthew 28:19-20

Jeremiah 29:11

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

We can always come boldly to the throne of grace because God understands our weaknesses. The throne of grace is a place of strength for us. God’s love for us is never dependent on our performance or behavior. Satan uses condemnation to push us away from God, but we can always confidently approach God because His grace is endless. God does not want us to live in condemnation because Jesus paid the full price for our forgiveness. Don’t hide from God when you mess up; go to Him and you’ll find the help you need!

This morning, we are tracking the Wise Men’s daring journey to find Jesus. Just as the Wise Men were searching for Jesus, people today are seeking the peace that only Jesus can bring. Everywhere we go, we are on a mission from God to tell people about Jesus. We all have incredible gifts that God has put into us that we get to share with the rest of our church family! Pastor Andy is so grateful for everyone in our church family and towards the end of the service highlights how people are using their unique giftings in the church.

The Christmas story is like a deluxe box of chocolates: it is full of treasures! This morning we are diving into the special details, from Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem all the way to the shepherds visiting Jesus. Bethlehem may have been little and seemingly insignificant, but God picked it to be a key part of the story. God perfectly brought all the different elements of the nativity story together into an amazing miracle. It’s also the biggest miracle in our own lives because Jesus makes us new. God is constantly working with us to grow us and change us into the people He wants us to be.

Just like Mary, we can walk in obedience to the plans God has for us! God is not far away. He is here with us. We must stand for the truth in God’s Word, even when our stance is unpopular. We should be bold in declaring the truth! God is going to give us visions, dreams, and purposes, and we cannot allow our daily, hectic lives to prevent us from going after what God has for us! As we walk in obedience to God’s directions, the Holy Spirit will bring to pass the things that are impossible for us to accomplish.

Jesus has a mission for us to accomplish as a church family! When we hide God’s Word in our heart, we are ready when we have an opportunity to minister to people. As members of the body of Christ, we are designed to be connected and unified with each other. To be a part of the body, we have to humble ourselves and realize that we are not self-sufficient. When we connect with each other, we can use our gifts to help each other. Everybody has something unique to contribute and provide to the church body.

Scripture references:

Matthew 28:18-20

John 17:20

Ephesians 4:11

Romans 12:4

1 Corinthians 11:23

God has created each one of us with purpose and a mission to accomplish. If we surrender to God, we will see His plan come to pass in our lives! A lifestyle of thanksgiving involves giving and being generous to others. We are designed to be bold representatives of Jesus everywhere we go! The Christian life is a mission of telling people about Jesus and showing His love through our conduct.

Scripture references:

Colossians 2:6-7

2 Corinthians 4:15

Philippians 4:5-6

Matthew 28:18-20

Mark 16:14-18

Luke 24:44-48

John 21:15-17

Faith without works is dead. In our earthly relationships, saying we love and trust someone without showing it through our actions is meaningless. If the Word of God is living and active inside us, it will show itself in our behavior. We were created to need relationships because relationships are a part of God’s character. God gave us free will so we could have real relationships, not forced ones. We are designed to be unified as a church body. God wants us to go on a journey with Him! His ability to save is always greater than our ability to be lost.

References:

Hebrews 4:12

James 2:20

Genesis 1:27

John 17:20

John 20:19-20

In honor of Veteran’s Day, Pastor Andy reflects on the speech he heard when he was being commissioned into the US Air Force. General Samuel Jaskilka’s three main points were 1) Know your God 2) Know your people 3) Know your stuff. These three points are the instruction manual for showing Jesus’ love and compassion to every person we meet. We can see miracles happen as we show compassion to people in practical ways. We can bring people to Jesus in our everyday lives! As we walk in compassion, we must listen to and obey God when He directs us to do something or talk to someone.

Attached are the slides from the sermon, including pictures of General Jaskilka!