Jesus is supreme. Jesus is ultimate, He is the highest expression of glory. This past Sunday, we kicked off our new series SUPREME with our annual Dream Sunday. Filmore shared about how we can reset our hearts to make the Lord first in our lives by seeking first God's kingdom. When we dream with His heart, our dreams will always include others.

Since the beginning of time, man has attempted to create a savior and tried answer the question, "Why I am here?" The virgin birth shows us that salvation requires no effort from man—God so loved us that He overruns every guilt and every shame in our lives. This week during our special Carols by Candlelight services, Pastor Josh Kelsey shared an encouraging message on Jesus' birth. His perfect love came to live inside of us, through the Holy Spirit. Who can resist perfect love?

When the Good News of Jesus' birth was announced to the shepherds, the angel's first words were, "Fear not." This was the Kingdom announcement of the end of fear because Christ came to break the distance between us and God. This past Sunday, Pastor Josh Kelsey preached a message on Jesus restoring our lives and bringing an end to fear. We can live in freedom knowing that Jesus is with us and for us.

We often carry burdens we aren't meant to in our own strength - circumstances, worry, fear, or guilt. Jesus came to release all of that from us, for us to receive rest rather than trying to achieve it. This Sunday, Filmore Bouldes preached on coming to Jesus to truly find our rest. We need to stop running to ourselves and recognize our need for help, for Jesus.

Jesus elevated a symbol of weakness, a child, as the greatest in the Kingdom. Our society tells us to hide our vulnerabilities, but Jesus, who entered this world clothed in the weakness of a newborn baby, calls us to that same childlike humility, vulnerability and dependency on our Father. This Sunday, Emmanuel Hastings shared a powerful message kicking off our Advent series, challenging us to push past the pride and self-reliance we often develop in our adulthood in order to recover our much-needed posture of humility and wonder. To live by God's strength and grace, we enter the Kingdom like a child.

Ambitious praise is the crescendo of our faith because praise reminds us of the One who saved us. This Sunday, Pastor Josh Kelsey urged us to live a life overflowing with praise and thanksgiving to God. Praise will always be the result of a life that is firmly rooted in Christ. The certainty of our faith will give us access to all the riches of God as we discover His great mystery.

Generosity is the way of the Kingdom. This Sunday, Pastor Josh Kelsey preached a message on Vision Sunday encouraging us to step out in our giving to build God's Kingdom in New York City and beyond. We give because we have already been accepted — not to earn salvation but out of the overflow of His grace in our lives. We release the miracle-working power of God when we give what may seem insignificant to us but can be used significantly by Him. May we be ambitious in our generosity, build the Kingdom and have hearts sown deeply in God's vision.

We need to use the ambition God has given us to lift up the name of Jesus in our city. This Sunday, Pastor Josh launched our November series AMBITION on seeking to reclaim our generation's desire to build the Kingdom of God. The God we serve is an ambitious God — like Abraham, we are called to step out of our limited tents, lift our eyes to His unlimited vision and count the stars. Nothing is impossible with God, and as we trust Him, we will see Him do more than we can imagine.

God is not looking at the eloquence of the words in our prayers — He's looking for our honesty, our heart. This Sunday, Pastor Josh Kelsey finished our Motel series with fresh insight into the Lord's Prayer. Prayer gives God access to our hearts and shapes our earthly desires into heavenly ones — shifting our focus off ourselves and onto Jesus and His Kingdom. The more we surrender to His will, the more earth will look like heaven.