When we think of grace, we think of it more like a couch rather than a coach. We think of grace like a couch: you sit, relax, chill and grace does all the work (maybe brings you a snack). We should be thinking of grace more like a coach. In Titus 2:11, the Apostle Paul says it's God's grace that trains us to renounce ungodliness. God sends Coach Grace into our lives to bring lasting transformation. Coach Grace motivates us, drives us, inspires us, energizes us, to achieve seemingly insurmountable levels of godliness. Transformation, like any form of change, always hurts... at least temporarily, but Coach Grace is there for us to help you train through the pain to become the person God has called you to be.

In Titus 1:5-16, Paul gives a seemingly impossible list of qualifications for leaders in God's church. They are to be self-controlled, upright, holy, disciplined, etc. As I was reading the list, it hit me that there were no seminaries in Crete; no Christian bookstores, no Christian blogs, podcasts, conferences, etc. Where were these ninja-Christians supposed to come from? Crete? Yes! Crete!

One of the most hopeful truths of Christianity is that we really can change. By the grace of God, we can actually be transformed. What an amazing truth!! As the cliché goes, God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. Well, God has placed a great calling on your life, and He's willing to equip you! The question is, are you willing to accept his "equipping" and be transformed by it?

At the beginning of tomorrow's sermon, I'm going to take a look at what the Lord has done in and through Mosaic Boston, and also cast vision for all I long for the Lord to do in and through us in 2016. 2015 was an incredible year for our church body! In many ways, it was the greatest year to date, in terms of quantifiable growth. In order to be good stewards of God's grace upon us, we need to be aware of this growth, and make wise decisions moving forward, in order to fulfill the ministry Jesus has entrusted to us.

Furthermore, we're launching a new sermon series tomorrow, through the phenomenal book of Titus. We're entitling the series "Boot Camp and Battlefields." The big idea of Titus is found in Titus 2:11, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness..." The grace of God is given to us to train us. We are to be Christians who are in constant training to lead the lives we are called to live.

Have you ever completed a project, only to realize minutes later your work has been undone? You hit the bottom of your inbox, but by the time you send your last reply there is a new message waiting for your response. You clean the house, and before you can sit down to admire your work the kids' toy box has already exploded across your living room. So much of life comes with the feeling that there is always more work to be done. It can be exhausting. Frustrating. Nothing is ever finished!

Today we are excited to have Charlie Dunn, the planting pastor of Hub Church in South Boston, with us to preach on Jesus last words from the cross. What are the implications of Jesus' words, "it is finished"? What is finished? Is anything ever really finished?

Join us as we worship together and dive in to the hope and the freedom that are offered through the completed work of Jesus Christ!

"It's a New Year and that comes with new energy and passion to bring about change in our lives for the better. But more often than not, we hear stories about how people just didn't follow through. That diet just wasn't "for them". The gym just didn't "work with their schedule". The new Bible reading plan just wasn't "giving them what they needed". Data show that 25% of us will have fallen short of our New Year's Resolution in just one week!

And the people written about in the Bible are no different. Peter says he'll never deny Jesus, but he does. David is made king as a "man after God's heart", but he falls into sin. Today, we'll be looking at a less famous character of the Bible, King Hezekiah. He's called the most faithful king of Judah, but even he falls away from what he set out to do for God. See just what his ancient situation says about our current one, and how Jesus' resolve is what we must ultimately rely on."

This Advent season we're looking at the four Authorized Biographies of Jesus Christ to inform our understanding of the first coming of Christ, and prepare for his second coming. Today, we look at Christmas according to the Gospel of John, from John 1:1-18, one of the most theologically and philosophically rich texts ever written. In preparation for our time together, be sure to spend some time today meditating and reflecting on the text.

The key verse in this text, regarding the 1st Advent of Christ, is verse 14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

What an incredible God we serve, who willingly humbled himself, and became flesh and lived with us. The God who spoke the universe into existence, became a fertilized egg, an embryo, a fetus. He entered the world as a baby. The infinite became an infant. God learned to crawl, stand, walk. The Alpha and Omega learned his ABC's (so to speak). God experienced childhood. God experienced puberty. That last one right there proves that God loves us. God experienced hunger, thirst, pain, sickness, loneliness, heartache, tears, as well as happiness. God laughed, and ate and drank and went fishing with friends. We worship a God who doesn't just know about what we're going through. He knows experientially everything you're going through.

Join us today as we look at John's account of the Advent of Jesus Christ.

This Advent season we're looking at the four Authorized Biographies of Jesus Christ to inform our understanding of the first coming of Christ, and prepare for his second coming. Last week we looked at "Christmas according to the Gospel of Matthew." Today, we're looking at "Christmas according to the Gospel of Mark."

At this point, you should be asking, what in the world did Mark say about Christmas? At first glance, it appears that he doesn't say much. But you definitely have to join us tomorrow as we see that Mark has plenty to say about the first Advent of Jesus, and even more about the second coming. Mark describes the incarnation of Jesus Christ with the phrase, "The Heavens were torn open," meaning the ideal has become real, the metaphysical has become physical, the immortal has become mortal, the transcendent has become immanent and the unapproachable is someone you can embrace and by whom you can be embraced.

Join us tomorrow as we look at Mark's account of the both Advents of Jesus Christ in Mark chapters 1 and 13.

Advent is the celebration of the first coming of Jesus Christ and the anticipation of his second coming. I think our culture has over-sentimentalized Christmas. Yes, the Christmas story is a sweet story in some respects: there's a cute baby, farm animals, shepherds, wise-men, gifts, angels singing. Nice. However, there's also lots of heartache, shock, anxiety, pain, and suffering, and blood-shed. And God comes right into the middle of that whole mess.

This season is the perfect time to reassess where we are in our relationship with God and be reminded of the fact that our God is with us. This is a fact. The Christmas story isn't just a nice, sappy, moral parable. The Christmas story is Good News. Good reportage. What makes the Christmas story so amazing, isn't that it's a story, but that it's history. To remind us of the facts, we're going to look at the four authorized biographies of Jesus Christ: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Join us tomorrow as we look at Matthew's account of the 1st Advent of Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow we plan on wrapping up our sermon series through the 10 Commandments, with the last one, which is simply "You shall not covet." At first glance this seems to be a strange way to wrap up the "greatest laws ever." Where's the climax? Where's the crescendo? Seems like more of a dud, than anything else. Right? Well, not exactly. The 10th Commandment is actually a perfect culmination of the Decalogue, because it reduces all sin to the wrongful motives of the heart. Also, there couldn't be a more appropriate time to talk about coveting than right before the holidays!

As we look at commandment #9 tomorrow, we’ll be thinking through the question: “What is truth?” and the corresponding question: “What is a lie?” We live in culture that’s accepted the lie that there is no such thing as truth. At least, not ultimate truth. Not Truth, with a capital “T”. Nowadays, we’ve even accepted the lie that the Truth, even if it does exist, doesn’t really matter. In John 18, Pilate asks Jesus “What is truth?” Great question. He even asked the right person. But he didn’t wait for an answer. He didn’t really want to know.

Jesus, the embodiment of Truth, taught his followers to be lovers of the truth and speak the truth in love. However, what about all the examples in Scripture of people who lied? What about the Israelie midwives in Egypt? What about Rahab? What about David feigning madness or pulling off military deceit? Doesn’t the end justify the means? Great questions.

Join us tomorrow as we look at Commandment #9, and think through the vast implications of this commandment for our lives and culture.

Have you ever been stolen from? I'm sure we all have. Remember that feeling the moment you found out? It's hard to describe, but we all know how it feels. You feel a mixture of shock, anger, helplessness, maybe ever grief. You feel like you've been violated. How could this have happened? How dare they?! What can I do to get it back? How can I seek justice?

What's the most valuable thing you've had stolen from you? A watch? A purse or a wallet? Money? A bike? Your car? Your passport? A position in a program or at work? Your ideas? A boyfriend/girlfriend? Maybe you've had someone steal your identity? We've all had someone steal from us. It hurts. We know it's wrong. It's just wrong. Right?

However, have you ever stolen anything? Of course you have. But when we steal, it usually is a little more complicated that "It's just wrong." We have our reasons, right? We can probably even make a great case to justify why in your case, in this particular instance, it's not necessarily wrong, per se. You don't just steal. You did what you did because you had no choice, right? Wrong.