Community is a buzzword in our culture today, but consumerism is a much better description of what we actually experience in our day and age. In this sermon, we unpack the difference between consuming and communing, and we seek to follow God’s lead deeper into community.

What makes you go to church? What makes you not go to church?

This month, we're embarking on a short sermon series on who we are and what we do as a church. We will use the memorable and encouraging picture of the early church in Acts 2 to highlight our four strategies as a church: Encountering God, Community, Hospitality, and Mercy. This week, we'll dive into a conversation about encountering God in our Sunday morning worship gatherings. Hope you can listen in.

What is the worth of Worship?

It’s here; we’ve lit the candle; we’ve sung our favorite carols; we’ve heard the story; now listen in as we spend a few minutes together reflecting, considering how the wonder of Christmas might change us. We’re going to read a few verses from about a month after the birth of Jesus, when a mysterious man named Simeon meets the baby and realizes the world is forever changed.

For Israel, the Jubilee was everything. It was offered as a once every fifty years celebration that promised liberty, feasting, forgiveness of debts, and restoration for the downtrodden. Every longing in our hearts for the perfect community would point us to Jubilee. Unfortunately, there's no evidence that Israel ever actually did it. Listen in as we explore how the Jubilee reflects the longings of our hearts and directs us to the Good News of Christmas.

I came to Isaiah 35, and I read these words: "Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God.'" And I thought, that's something I need. Maybe you do too. Listen in as we explore how God takes us from an anxious heart to full of joy.

There's turmoil in our time, in our world, in our hearts. There's a lot of ideas to calm things down, but none of them seem to help as much as we would hope. What, or who, could possibly put an end to the turmoil and bring real peace? That's a question for Advent, and a question we hope you'll listen in to explore.

Advent asks us to do one of the things we least like to do: wait. But waiting isn't so bad if we know something wonderful is coming. This week, we'll look at the first of four life-changing realities that we wait for during Advent - justice. Listen in as we wait and long for justice together.

Does the God of the universe really care what you want? Is that something he even thinks about? If he ever asked you, “What do you want me to do for you,” how would you respond? Do you even know? Join us Sunday as we look at how Jesus meets the deepest desires of those whom he has called to follow him.

Where is God in the midst of the darkness; the darkness of our lives, those we care about, and the world as we experience it today? What do we do when it hard to pray, hard to believe, and no easy answers are available to us? Join us Sunday as we look at one of the most honest, gut wrenching hymns in all of the Bible.