Scripture shows us that Jesus sees us and comes to us in our darkest times. We can experience peace, even in the storms of life, by keeping our eyes on Jesus, using the resources that God provides, and naming the burdens that weigh us down.

We will explore where God might be leading us in 2023 in prayerful obedience. As we move into the future we want to be a church that sees Jesus show up no matter what, makes a real difference sharing the presence of the living Lord, and follows wherever Jesus may call so that lives are transformed in Christ.

We will explore the Biblical model of being gathered and sent, one of our unique features as a church, and how to model this in today's world. We experience the power and vitality of the Holy Spirit most when we live and operate as a gathered and sent church.

We will explore the Biblical perspective of humble power, one of our core values, and how to pursue it. We are called to live into humble power not just as individuals, but as a church.

We will explore the Biblical perspective of beautiful diversity, one of our core values, and how to pursue it. We want to be a church that is beautifully diverse in the grace, truth, and mercy of Jesus Christ. We want to be a church that defies human categorization by breaking down the barriers that divide our society through love and service in Jesus Christ.

We will explore the Biblical perspective of rugged discipleship, one of our core values, and how to pursue it. We desire to be a church filled with rugged disciples. This means to live as disciples who not only believe in Jesus, but also seek to follow and act in accordance with Jesus by reorienting our lives in costly ways to share the love of Jesus in tangible ways with all people.

The essence of God is dynamic and leads to powerful transformation in our lives. We want to be a church that experiences transformation in Jesus Christ in ways that comfort us and disrupt us so that we can embrace new life in Jesus Christ for ourselves and with others.

In the model and words of Jesus we want to be a church that is gathered and sent, offers healing in our world, is fully reliant on God, and defies categorization.

Participate in reflection and discussion at a worship experience around the table. Feel free to listen to this on your own, or with others.

Today, we get to experience the light of Christ and celebrate the hope, peace, joy, and love that comes with the birth of our Savior, Jesus. On Christmas Eve we are called to embrace and celebrate the light of Christ against the backdrop and expectation of darkness in our world. We recognize that the light of Christ comes and that the darkness does not overcome that Light.