The hope that God gives is not just for this life - it's for eternity!

Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that our hope is found in the promises of heaven overcoming the pain of earth.

Our job as Christians is to seize this hope, and to share it with others!

One word we see over and over again in the Bible is "restoration," - the act of returning something to its former condition.

Why does the Bible emphasize this one word so heavily, and what does it mean for us to be truly restored?

As we continue to explore how God is making all things new, we talk about the hope we have in Christ's restoration.

Even as we work to live by hope, we know that we'll encounter difficult times, such as saying goodbye to loved ones.

There's never truly an easy why to say goodbye, but we all know it's inevitable.

This week, we explore how God's love gives us hope even in these hard times- hope for now and for eternity with Him.

We sure could use some hope right now. Our world is increasingly chaotic, and it can be hard to find the good in it.

As we enter a new year, we need a renewed sense of hope for the future. So where do we find it?

In God, the ultimate giver of hope. He is making all things new.

Throughout this series, we've talked about several different people who missed out on the first Christmas.

Joseph, however, is one of the few people who ALMOST missed out on Christmas- but thankfully he didn't.

So what changed within Joseph so that he didn't miss out on Christmas? And how can that change us?

There is a dark note in the first Christmas story that is not very often talked about.

When told that a new king was born in Bethlehem, King Herod had many children killed. Their mothers mourned.

This leaves us with a big question: how do we understand and cope with hurt, loss, and sadness at Christmas time?

Competition can be great in sports or business, but dangerous in life.

When we compete to be the king or queen of our own world, we can find ourselves at odds with others and with God.

King Herod faced this same challenge, and his choices caused him to miss out on the birth of the true King.

The innkeeper plays a seemingly small role in the story of Jesus' birth.

Distracted by busyness, he had no room for Mary and Jospeh, and missed out on being part of the first Christmas.

What if instead he had taken the time to make room for Jesus? And how does his story speak to our busyness this Christmas?

As we close out our series on Galatians, we take a look at one more important freedom we have in Christ- the freedom to grow together. We aren't just called to follow Jesus on our own. We're called to carry each other's burdens as we grow closer to Christ together.

If we are promised freedom through Christ, how are we called to live in that freedom?

Paul emphasizes in his letter to the Galatians that we should use our freedom to serve others.

Join us as we study Paul's call to service in Galatians 5.