Christmas is difficult. For many, it is a time of conflict, grief, pain, and fear. In this second message of the “Christmas Is” series, Jonathan Shanks unpacks the way the Christmas story speaks to the difficulty of the season.

Luke 1 tells two stories of angel encounters: The first is to Zechariah who found himself at earth's end and desperate for a miracle. The other is to Mary in the midst of mundane, everyday life. In the Christmas story, however, BOTH receive a miracle: the MIRACULOUS IN THE MOMENT OF NEED and the MIRACULOUS IN THE MUNDANE.

Christmas is miraculous because Heaven came down to Earth when God became a baby in Jesus.

The story of the character Elijah in the Old Testament is a story of the making of a man of God in the secret place. God used trials and difficulties to forge in Elijah character that God would later use. This message will encourage you that God works in us that He might work through us, and that becoming a person of God will require a season of:

The story of King Josiah is a story of revival, of following conviction to repentance. Do you need revival in your life? This message will be an encouragement to you.

How do we prepare for revival? We:

In this fifth message of the Kings & Characters series, Benjamin Shanks explores the story of King David's life alongside the theme of THE SECRET PLACE. All of us have a 'front stage' that is visible to other people, and a 'back stage' that is between us and God. The secret place is in the back stage, and without the secret place, life falls apart.

The seven stages of David's life:

"In self-deception, a person is both the deceiver and the deceived."

In this fourth message of the Kings & Characters series, Jonathan Shanks explores the life of King Saul, highlight his (many) character flaws which stem from one thing–SELF-DECEPTION.

This message you will find both challenging and encouraging, as we are prompted to turn to Jesus for light, grace and truth.

The Philistines were the nemesis of the people of Israel—a constant threat in battle after battle after battle. The overarching story of the Old Testament tells us that "the axis on which the battle against the nemesis is won or lost is the FEAR OF GOD."

In this message, Benjamin Shanks explores the theme of the FEAR OF GOD and its counterpart, IRREVERENCE in the story of David vs. Goliath.

This message will encourage you to hold on to the Fear of God in a culture of irreverence.

"We are made for the presence of God." In this message, Jonathan Shanks unpacks the Ark of the Covenant and reflects on the importance of the encountering the presence of God in our lives.

The presence of God brings:

REVELATION

TRANSFORMATION

PROCLAMATION

Words have power. 1 Samuel 3:19 says "The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground." In this first message of the Kings & Characters series, Jonathan Shanks unpacks the story of Samuel around the theme of WORDS.

1. BREAK GENERATIONAL CHAINS

2. CONFRONT GENERATIONAL DRIFT

3. RELEASE GENERATIONAL BLESSING

In the final message of our "Grace to Overcome" series, Jack Long teaches on greed and how to overcome it by God's grace.

1. Greed is not passive, it's aggressive.

2. Greed blinds us.

3. Greed is futile, but grace is sufficient.

"Grace to Overcome" is a 3-week/10-part sermon series looking at how the grace of God is sufficient to overcome anything. We’ll be hearing from 10 of our very own preachers unpacking one vice each.