Proverbs 11:3-8 (The Message)

Competency is a tool with which we can make an impact, but it is our character that guides what we do with that tool. Working on our character, alongside our competency, aligns us with God's intentions, leading us into the deep life God has for us.

Psalm 73:1-5, 16-18

A major temptation we face in today's world is to focus on the timely, trying to keep up with everything as it is happening. But when we realign our perspective toward the timeless, we lay the foundation for living deeply.

Fifty years ago, the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 travelled almost a quarter of a million miles to study the moon, and they ended up discovering something far more important—the Earth. By shifting our perspective, this historic mission and the birth of Christ allow us to see our world and the love of God in a new way.

John 1:1-5, 9-14

One of these Gospels is not like the other… While Matthew, Mark, and Luke offer us Advent and Christmas narratives we might recognize, John tells us a Christmas story that is all but impossible to recreate with inflatables in your yard.

The Gospel of Luke offers a Christmas extravaganza! Angels and shepherds, prophecies and songs, miracles and glory shining bright! But within this big, bold production lies a smaller yet no-less-important story of faithfulness.

Mark 1: 1-8

In a world where everything is moving at a blistering pace, Christmastime often cranks things up to 11. Mark, the writer of arguably the fastest paced Gospel, starts his book with John the Baptist's call to prepare the way for the Lord. Advent's interruption of the space-time continuum reminds us to do just that - to step out of the hurry and prepare.

Acts 15:36-39, 2 Timothy 4:11

The Bible doesn't record a single word that Barnabas said, but his influence on the early church and the New Testament is indelible. By actively working to identify and develop potential in others, he made an exponential impact far beyond what he could have accomplished on his own.

It is impossible to develop leadership in others without giving them the opportunity to lead. This means sharing responsibility and taking a step back so others can step up. We can make an impact with our own leadership, but in order to have exponential impact, we need to be in the habit of launching leaders.

Acts 11: 19-26

No matter how much natural leadership talent we have, it needs to be developed. And for many of us, it took someone seeing the potential in us before that development could begin. The first key to having exponential impact is perceiving the potential in others.

John 17:20-23

We are 48 hours away from another election. And the second that one is over, the next one begins. The divisions that drive us away from one another feel as though they have become permanent. But what if there were a way to reclaim unity without needing to prove who is right and who is wrong?