Freedom — we value it, we seek it, we protect it at all costs. It’s written into our national identity. But the paradox is that depending on how we define it, freedom itself, when pursued and clung to desperately, can become our master ... What do we lose when we stubbornly refuse to submit or follow?

There’s no free lunch ... If it’s seems too good to be true, it is. Our sense of justice tells us we need to earn our own rewards, our own freedom. But what if it’s already been earned for us — before we even knew we needed it?

Who am I? What’s my place in the world? It’s easy to define ourselves through the work we do, the people we know, the culture we associate with ... the things we do right. What if who we are has to do with more than where we’ve come from?

The kindness of God ... In the wreckage of the greed, hatred, deception, murder, and human emptiness and pain that is the reality of our world today ... what does it look like to believe that God is actually kind and loving?

Though the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus went largely unnoticed when it happened, it changed human history — and eternity. Thirty years later, a gathering of worshipers of Jesus in Rome were navigating what it meant to identify with His revolutionary, counter-cultural claims in a culture of diversity, authority, culture, philosophy, and turbulent politics. Sound familiar?

It’s easy to allow ourselves to feel defeated, to lose steam ... To question the goals we’ve set or second-guess our ability to achieve what we thought we could achieve. Sometimes it seems like we’ve tried everything within our power and are getting nowhere. But we’re created for more ... for good ... for transformation. When nothing is left ... then what?

Do you know where you’re going? Is the destination in your sights, your eye on the prize? Detours happen, and they can work for us or against us ... They can get us closer to where we originally wanted to get to, or they can distract us. It’s all about focusing on the direction our steps are really taking us ... and remembering every step takes us somewhere.

New goals require new strategy. Diligence and determination are important, but sometimes we need to move from working harder to working smarter ... And sometimes what makes the “how” make sense is a deeper awareness of the “who” and the “why.”

New year, new start! Now’s the time to wipe the slate clean, commit to those goals, be the you you’ve always wanted to be! Sounds straightforward, right? But we all know change — whether or not we call it a New Year’s Resolution — isn’t always easy to lock in, no matter how much we want it. What’s the change that’s worth fighting for?

Join us Christmas Eve! Services at 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00 and 8:00 pm. A sky filled with a host of angelic beings, proclaiming the glory of God, the promise fulfilled ... Surely the waiting is over ... Glory to God and peace on earth! Yet to all appearances, peace is still yet to be seen. Imagine what peace on earth would look like ... and to what lengths God would go to make it possible.