ADVENT: A Hope-Filled Advent This week, we begin the Advent season together by looking at what it means to truly hear and share the story of God; not as a tale or something to be dismissed as old-hat, but something to behold for the truth that it is.

GIFTED: Are You My Neighbor? This has been one of the most contentious, vitriolic presidential election seasons in our recent history. Some of us are rejoicing, some of us are mourning, and many of us are confused as to what direction our nation will pursue. Our ultimate hope is not in a president, political party, or platform but in the Risen Christ and His Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. That truth and reality stands firm today. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). As followers of Jesus, I want to encourage and challenge all of us to be ambassadors of hope and healing right now. Over the coming days, weeks, and months, many of us will engage people who are frustrated, fearful, and despondent over the results of the presidential election. We have an opportunity to compassionately listen. We have an opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus in both our words and deeds. Let us not get drawn into the partisan divide. Let us not get drawn into the rhetoric of anger and desperation. Instead, let us be representatives of hope and healing. Let us pray that God would have mercy on us as a nation. Let us pray that God would change the lives and hearts of our elected officials to pursue laws and policies of goodness and justice (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Let us pray that God would empower us to be conduits of hope and healing today and in the days and weeks to come. In that theme, we will be looking at what it means to be a "neighbor" through Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan as we continue our series, Gifted: All We Are for All that Matters, this Sunday. A neighbor is someone who sees needs and meets them. The religious leaders of Jesus' day avoided people's needs, but a truly generous person does not step away from a need, they step towards it, and leverage what resources they have for the sake of others.

GIFTED: Return On Investment There is a term in the business world that comes up in almost every conversation about the health of a company: ROI. ROI stands for “return on investment,” and it is a way to measure whether the time, money, and energy they are spending is yielding the desired results. While many of us are familiar with the ROI of our businesses, are we prepared to answer that question when it comes to our spiritual and emotional health? This Sunday we’re starting a new message series called “Gifted: All We Are for All That Matters.” Throughout Scripture we see that one of God’s defining characteristics is his generosity. And rather than being measured by money or possessions, God’s generosity is measured by joy and fulfillment. The process of becoming more like Jesus is a commitment to becoming a more generous people who are known for our joy and investment in the things that matter.

KINGDOM COLOR: What Can I Do? This week, we’re concluding our series on racial justice, Kingdom Color. For many of us, this has been a welcome conversation, but it has also been difficult and challenging! It is a heavy conversation but there is a great invitation from God for us in it. Ethnic and cultural diversity are a gift from God and a more complete expression of His kingdom. I’m grateful to be a part of a church family that isn’t afraid to enter into essential conversations, even if they can be uncomfortable at times. But this Sunday isn’t graduation day, it’s a commencement. This Sunday isn’t the end but a commissioning to integrate God’s heart for reconciliation in everything we do as a community. I am trusting that God’s grace and provision will continue to meet us as we take steps of faith together. I hope you’ll join us on the journey.

KINGDOM COLOR: Holy Musts A 2014 Pew Research study found that most Americans, whether conservative or liberal, actively prefer to live in communities that reflect their own cultural identities and ethnic makeup. While surprising to some, the data only confirmed what has historically been true, not only in the United States but around the world: we stay close with the people we feel most comfortable with.  This Sunday we are continuing our series Kingdom Color by looking at an encounter in the Gospels that should not have happened at all. Instead of taking the path most traveled to Galilee, Jesus walks through Samaria, a region that most Jewish people actively avoided. In his encounter with the Samaritan woman, we see Jesus’ heart for restoration and wholeness, while acknowledging the real differences that exist. And through the text, we are challenged to follow Jesus into unfamiliar and challenging spaces to gain a deeper understanding of God’s vision for his world. I hope you join us as we continue this very important conversation.

KINGDOM COLOR: Listen One of the most often repeated solutions to conflict in the community is “love.” But if the first duty of love is to listen, as author and theologian Paul Tillich suggests, it seems that our task may be more challenging than at first glance. That’s because as a culture, we have lost our ability to listen to each other. More often than not, we begin to formulate our response even before the other person is finished sharing. Our conversations are closer to monologues than genuine interactions. Sadly, this is true in our current national and local dialogue about racial justice. But when we fail to listen, we miss the opportunity to not only see an important perspective, but more importantly, we are deprived of an opportunity to recognize our common humanity as fellow image-bearers of God.  When we fail to listen, we fail to love. This Sunday, I have invited people of color from our community—at Flood and from around San Diego—to share their personal experiences. As I have personally heard from each of them, I have been both challenged and inspired by the way they see and experience God in the midst of racial realities. I hope that our panel on Sunday will do the same for you. I am praying for a posture of openness and receptivity as we listen to God and each other this weekend.

KINGDOM COLOR: Lament Our current message series Kingdom Color is bringing some healthy challenge to us as a church family that is necessary for us to pursue fullness in Christ. If we are going to live out the reality of the Gospel, we need to learn how to cross racial and ethnic boundaries and pursue reconciliation. One way of doing that is learning the healthy spiritual practice of lament. Lament is one of the Christ-like ways we respond to pain and suffering in the world. Join us this Sunday as we learn about this ancient and essential Christian practice.

KINGDOM COLOR: Wide Awake As we become increasingly aware of the systemic injustice and racial tension in our culture, one of the first questions we often ask is, "What can I do?" We sense the need and the brokenness, so what are the tangible things we can do to make a difference? In order to get to the right answers we need to make sure we are asking the right questions. In the conversation about the gospel and race is "What am I supposed to do?" the right question? It is a good question, but I believe there is a more essential question we need to ask first. Join us this week as we explore what that question is and what it means for us as we seek to be reconcilers.

KINGDOM COLOR: The Rise of the Reconcilers This is the first message a new series "Kingdom Color: the Christian Imperative for Racial Justice" by Pastor Efrem Smith. He is the CEO and president of World Impact, and a Teaching pastor at Bayside Midtown in Northern California. We are honored to have him share with us as we enter into this sensitive, and imperative series.

SHIPS IN HARBOR: Set Sail When it comes to faith, there are countless theories about spreading the good news of Jesus. But the disconnect between our family and neighbors and faith usually isn’t solved with more information. Instead, it requires us to look for the genuine obstacles that exist—like injustice, painful experiences, or misunderstanding—and asking “how is Jesus good news for this person?” Often, we may find that asking this question leads us outside of our comfort zone. But when we step out in faith, we follow a God that is always doing new work that’s good news to us and to our world.