Dr. Swanson | The primary task of the church has been and always will be - worship. We worship individually, sure, but we must always gather in community (Heb 10:25, 12:22-24) to praise, confess, receive, and send his people.

Romans 15:5-13

Dr. Swanson | We begin with the seminal text in Acts which described the basics for church life: to learn, care, worship and evangelize. We've lost a bit of these in the pandemic (Intro from Hill) so we need to work to reclaim our practices.

Acts 2:42-47

Rev. Tanner Fox | The life of Christ is shaped like a J. He descended, in humility in the incarnation, and descended even further as a servant, and even further to death on the cross to save us and redeem the world. His person and power accomplished salvation and he also gave us a pattern for the Christian life… a life of humility. Our lives should be J shaped in the likeness of Jesus. 

Philippians 2:5-11

Bret Allen, Jonathan Wagner and Karen Roberts | A sweet time of worship and reflection as 2021 comes to a close.

Dr. Swanson | Science has proven that when we are sick, we feel worse at night. It bears out what we already knew: the darkness of night can exacerbate our fears. It was on a perilous night that the light dawned, causing a frantic old priest and semi-retired organist to craft a carol that would quiet and encourage a people: Silent Night. 

Luke 2:8-12

Dr. Swanson | In 1745, John Wade was a Catholic priest running for his life due to strife with the Church of England. He composed "O Come All Ye Faithful" as a means of uniting the church in a prophetic way, emblematic of the faithfulness of John, foretelling Jesus' coming and remaining faithful event his death. 

Matthew 3:1-4, Mark 6:26-29

Rev. Fox | We will look at "Go Tell It On The Mountain" and the way that the song invites us to the story of Jesus’ first Advent, the experience of Christ revealing himself, and the experience of serving him as a herald of the truth.

Isaiah 52:7

Rev. Swanson | While "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" seems uplifting and positive, its original intent was a charge and challenge to remember the least and the poor, much like the shepherds in those fields.

Luke 2:8-9

Rev. Swanson | As we look at our world today, the plea of this great carol echoes even more deeply. Reflecting the prophecies of the Old Testament, one of the oldest carols, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," was written by an exiled priest and an ancient monk, pointing the world to the hope that would come for them - and for us.

Isaiah 7:13-14

Rev. Swanson | We live under the illusion the money brings us "in" to the people or the life we want. We feel like outsiders, and we want to be insiders. However, for Naman and Zaccheus, God is the one that bring them in...and so their generosity and their view of money is radically changed. 

Kings 5:11-14, Luke 19:5-10