What keeps you from finding joy in your life?  Today Pastor Rich will show us that true joy comes from focusing on Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

Israel in a difficult time in their lives allowed their past to shape their future, and found hope and healing in their past.  Today, Pastor Rich will show us from the book of Ezra that we can find joy in the past (even a painful past) as we remember God's faithfulness in normal everyday circumstances. 

Ezra 2:63, 3:12-13, 8:21-23,31-32

Have you ever heard someone say "I love Jesus but I don't love His church"? - Today we'll discover that the church is the bride of Christ, and you can't speak ill of someone's bride and not have a problem with the husband.  God's church isn't perfect - we're full of broken, imperfect people who sometimes do broken, imperfect things, yet to love Jesus is to love His church.  

Hebrews 10:19-25

While most of us have joyful families, there's often parts of our families that we wish weren't there - individuals that we have difficulty getting along with.  Usually difficulties arise because we mix up God's design and purpose for the family.  When we realize we've messed up, we can find joy again through repenting and following God's plans.

Ephesians 5:15-33

It's not easy to find joy in government, but it is an institution that God has given to us for our good.  The only problem is that we as humans are really good at messing things up thanks to our sin that infects everything in our world.  Today Pastor Rich will show us from Romans 13 how we can find joy in government, and what we as Christians can do to help the communities that we live in thrive.

Romans 13

We were created for joy, and the pursuit of joy is a worthy quest.  However, we often look for joy "in all the wrong places."  Nehemiah 8 says "The joy of the Lord is our strength."  This was written to the Israelites as they wept over their short comings.  The only way we can find true joy is through a time of Godly sorrow as we realize how sinful we are and are moved to repent of that sin.  This brings us true joy as we enter into a right relationship with God.

Today we will look at finding joy in God as our Creator - the foundation of our faith.  He made us in His image for a purpose.  

Genesis 1:26-31

Last week we looked at why bad things happen in Psalm 44.  The writer of the Psalm was crying out to God in despair, wondering why God seemed silent.  Today's passage in Romans 8:31-39 is God's answer to the silence that we sometimes experience as we wait on Him in prayer.

Sometimes we miss out on what God is doing because we can't hear His voice.  Maybe we are distracted by sin that we've justified, or intentionally ignored.  Other times we might miss God's voice because we're experiencing deep emotional pain.  Today Pastor Rich will share that God can bring healing in your life from sin and from deep pain.  God's primary way of speaking to us is through the Bible.  He also speaks to us through prayer, His people (the church), and circumstances.

Psalm 44

As followers of Christ, God has given us a mission with a short time to finish it.  We've been sent by God to a world that needs to hear of Jesus Christ.  Are we willing to obey Him and be a part of His mission, or will we give up and squander the time God has given us in self fulfillment?

God has a plan for the redemption of humanity, laid out since the beginning of time.  He has called each of us to be part of that plan.  Today we'll look at God's call to Mary, and we'll see how obedience to God brings peace, comfort, and purpose.

Luke 1:26-38, 46-55