In this episode’s sermon, we’re going to be exploring the story of Herod the Great—the man that was king of the Jews when Jesus was born. We’re going to talk about his reaction to that good news and see how Herod’s selfishness caused him to miss out on the very first Christmas.

We’ll also be talking about how our selfishness can cause us to feel like we miss out on Christmas too, and we’ll see what we can do to change that this year.

Christmas can be a time when we can get caught up in a lot of different things...from buying presents, to decorating our homes, to getting ready for get-togethers. But Christmas is about more than any of these things.

So, in this episode's sermon, we're going to be exploring the story of someone who has not only forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, he's also given up on Christmas altogether.  But in this story, he experiences something that will change the way he thinks about all the Christmases yet to come. 

And as we explore the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, he might just help us stay focused on the most important part of Christmas too.

We’re into the Christmas season. But in our podcast, we’re actually going to be skipping ahead talking about how we have all felt at one time or another after Christmas has come and gone for another year. At one point or another, we've all felt a little let down or disappointed after Christmas—we’ve all felt like we missed out on something.

But none of us want to feel that way. So beginning next week, we’re going to be exploring a few stories about people who missed out on the very first Christmas. And we’re going to see what we can learn from them to make the most out of Christmas this year.

Being a part of the church isn't about perks and privileges, but it’s about what your church needs from you. In our last few episodes, we've talked about two things your church needs from you: love and service. In this episode, we're talking about one more thing that the church needs from you…but this one isn’t quite as obvious as the first two. But it’s every bit as important to helping your church be who God wants it to be.

My first car was a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am. I loved that car...but it had one major problem that forced me to get rid of it as soon as I could. One small part in the car kept failing and that caused the whole car not to work. In this episode's sermon, we're going to see that the church is a lot like my Grand Am. If every part isn't doing its job in church then the church can't do what God created it to do either.

What does it mean to be a part of the church? In our world today, being a member is usually about perks and privileges...but is that what it means to be part of the church? In this episode's sermon, we begin exploring these questions in a bit of an unusual place. We're going to start thinking about what it means to be a part of the church by exploring a passage of scripture you're more like to hear at weddings than anyplace else.

It may be a little earlier to start talking about Christmas, but in this episode's sermon, that's exactly what we're going to be doing. Because we want to tell you about our church's partnership with the Salvation Army's Angel Tree Program, and maybe inspire you to pick out an angel or find another to show the world God cares for those who are hurting.

And we want to hear how you've been inspired. So visit our podcasts' webpage at anchor.fm/melbourne-heights---sermons and let us know how you're showing God's love to the world.

In this episode's sermon, we are finishing up our Recalculating series, where we’ve been talking about what we can do when plans change. So, in the last couple of episodes, we’ve talked about the fact that having your plans change isn’t necessarily a bad thing…and it may mean that God has bigger things in store. And we’re talked about how we can face the uncertainty that comes with change, by reaching out to God instead of being afraid.

Fear is probably the most common way we respond when plans change and our future is uncertain. But time and time again throughout the Bible God tells us not to be afraid.

So in this week’s episode, we’re going to talk about how we can recalculate the problem of uncertainty. And find a better way to deal with change than being afraid.

In this episodes sermon, we are started into a brand new series of sermons where we’re going to be talking about what we can do when our plans change.

Now, usually when our plans change, we don’t like it. But in this episode’s sermon, I’m going to tell you why it isn’t always a bad thing to have your plans change, because sometimes when our plans change, God has something bigger and better in store for us.