To begin this series covering creation in Advent, Pastor Cana brings us to Colossians 1:15-19, in which the author clarifies that Jesus, firstborn of creation, has been a Creator since the beginning and created all things. We are encouraged to create, mindful of our own createdness.

Pastor Cana Moore turns to Matthew 26:26-29, which shows Jesus establishing bread and wine as a grounding point for the disciples to prepare them for the coming of His crucifixion. The Lord’s Supper offers the disciples identity, forgiveness, and a meal to bring them together in crisis. Our responsibility is to keep our identity, forgiveness, and Communion as the glue of our lives.

Pastor Cana Moore turns to Matthew 10:1-4, which shows Jesus unifying the disparate disciples through instructing them to share the Good News and act out of that belief. No matter how different we are from other Christians, we are all called like the first followers to spread the news of Jesus and work together to do good works.

Emmanuel Christian Seminary’s Kit Dotson dives into Luke 10:38-42, where while they gladly host Jesus in their home, Mary listens eagerly to His teachings and Martha focuses on preparing the meal, upset that her sister wasn’t helping. But Jesus teaches that the one thing that we need to concern ourselves with is making God our focus.

In this message, Pastor Cana refers to Joshua 2, where Rahab meets the spies of Israel and for her silence and their safety, the spies agree that her and her family would be safe when the city is conquered. Participation in God's work is not restricted or guaranteed by any element of ourselves, only by accepting God's invitation to participate in the story.

In Hebrews 9:1-2, 8-14, the author yearns for the perfect covenant of heaven, yet unfulfilled on earth. Christ has begun the new covenant of heaven, but we are still under the covenant of earth (death) for now. Pastor Cana urges us to join the author of Hebrews in yearning and waiting for the time for the covenant of heaven to be fulfilled.

Pastor Cana argues that anger is a neutral emotion God has given us and can be an important indicator of injustice in the world. In Mark 3:1-6, Jesus expresses anger at the Pharisees’ and the crowd’s interpretation of Sabbath law, which made no room for compassion to do good works. They would rather weaponize His healing of a man on the Sabbath. We are challenged to consider our anger and see it as a tool for righteousness.

Betty Rupp shares a few examples of friendships found in Scripture (Job 1, Daniel 3, and 1 Samuel 18) to compare and emphasize that the company we keep matters. We can attract good friends by praying, being the good friend to others, keeping a distance from those with poor character, and remembering that Jesus is the greatest friend.

In Psalm 80:1-3; 14-19, the Psalmist asks for God’s face to shine for Israel’s salvation, expressing glory in the world. God is beautiful and present in ourselves, each other, and in creation. Pastor Cana challenges us to observe the ordinary world every day and find God’s beauty in unexpected places.

Pastor Cana Moore turns to James 3:13-18, where James teaches the Jewish Christians the difference between unspiritual and spiritual wisdom. Unspiritual wisdom’s fruit is wickedness, while spiritual wisdom’s fruit is peace. Using the descriptions of spiritual works, we can ask ourselves how to live out the right wisdom in our daily life.