Lance’s family has been working on puzzles this Advent, spreading the work out over the whole season to watch the picture come together slowly over Advent - so they can learn how to look for joy.

That’s what Advent is. We’ve been given a glimpse of the beauty wants to do in the world by the gift of the Savior.

Isaiah 35:1-10

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Instead of rushing to the nativity this year, we are spending a time with the prophets. Which isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite! They can be a downer.

But the joy the prophets speak about is a hope that we can cling to in the darkness, in good times and in bad. A joy that is unshakable.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

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Lance finishes our series on The Goodness Of God - just in time for Thanksgiving - and explains what it means to praise the Lord “from prayer to prayer.”

He wants us to ask ourselves, “how are you blessing the name of the Lord?”

Praise is the work of God’s people.

Psalm 145

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Sometimes we wonder when we pray - does God hear us, does God see us? What does it mean to “taste and see that the Lord is good?”

There’s a quote Lance has been considering: “In prayer we act like people, in praise we act like angels.” As he continues his series on the goodness of God, he dives deeper into the need to praise God’s name.

Psalm 34

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The word “goodness” has been running through Lance’s mind this season, as the news turns grim. As we begin a new series, he walks through Psalm 23 and reminds us of the faithful promises of God.

As we walk through the difficulties of daily life, Lance urges us to look closely at the paths we are led down. Where are you going? Who is shepherding you?

Psalm 23

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Giving generously can cause anxiety - after all, we think, if we give away too freely, what if we don’t have enough? But in Corinthians, Paul is trying to tell us that the grace of God is more precious than any possession we can have. And when we give generously, we reflect the very nature of God.

God doesn’t sow sparingly, he sows bountifully. That’s the very nature of God, to give abundantly.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

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Lance looks into the Parable of the Talents, and asks the question - what was it that the third servant actually did wrong?

When it comes to the Parable of the Talents, burying your talent isn’t just a failure to invest. It’s hiding your light under a bushel.

Matthew 25:14-30

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In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the church Lance was serving in decided to open its doors to people needing shelter, despite not being in any way set up to take in people - because they felt that this was what God was leading them towards.

In today’s Scripture, the story of the feeding of the five thousand, we find a similar expression of faith.

“It is tempting to look at what we have as individuals and see scarcity.”

Lance reminds us that even though we may not have enough by ourselves, faith is the act of putting it forward anyway, knowing that God will make up for all that we lack.

Matthew 14:13-21

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At the Wedding in Cana, Lance shows how Mary asked Jesus for help, and that the ask mattered.

Throughout the gospels, ordinary gifts were brought to Jesus by ordinary people, and something miraculous happened as a result.

John 2:1-11

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