John the Baptist is most well known for identifying Jesus as the Messiah and immersing him in the Jordan River. But he’s also a really big part of the Advent story. John first recognized Jesus while in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. When a pregnant Mary came to visit, John did a dance of joy!

So what can John the Baptist teach us this Advent season? Learn how your life has way more in common with John the Baptist than you would ever think.

God shows up in the most unexpected ways. That truth is found in the fact that He chose to become one of us to rescue all of us. Every encounter with Jesus is an opportunity to experience His goodness. Tonight, we come together around song and story to embrace the Immanuel moments that remind us how much God wants to be with us!

The word “advent” (the arrival of an important person or thing) is derived from the Latin word “adventus,” which means “coming.” Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas. During Advent, we anticipate the coming of Jesus. It’s a time full of reflection, excitement, and hope. Each year gives us an incredible opportunity for a powerful encounter with Jesus.

un·hur·ried

/ˌənˈhərēd / adjective

moving, acting, or taking place without haste or urgency

Have you ever wished that you had just a couple more hours in your day? Or ever felt like the to do list continues to grow and your sanity continues to shrink? So many of us live each day rushing from one moment to the next, feeling like we will never catch up.

Dallas Willard said, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Hurry is an enemy that distracts us from friendship with God and true life in His Kingdom. Listen in as we learn practical steps to stop the hustle, end the hurry, and experience the freedom that it brings.

How will your life change if you choose to live unhurried?

Momentum shifts happen in almost imperceptible ways but are the catalysts for changing impossible situations. Recently, I traveled to Bolivia to visit our sister church, Genesis Cochabamba. When I landed the entire country was on the brink of civil war. The government was threatening to become a dictatorship through fraudulent voting and consolidating power. It did not look hopeful! But God had different plans and a momentum shift was all it took to realize that Heaven always has the final say. Prepare to be inspired by stories from the front line that will fuel your own momentum shift.

Being thankful is tough when nothing is going your way. Complaining can feel cathartic for a while but it ends up making you feel more helpless. Gratitude isn’t just something you feel, it’s something you can do that will pull you in the direction of victory.

Did you know you can literally rewire your brain with gratitude? Science and scripture agree that gratitude makes us realize that life is worth living, bringing mental health benefits through a positive feedback loop that leads to resilience—the ability to bounce back quicker during hard times.

Gratitude is therefore essential to overcoming difficult circumstances and achieving success in all areas of your life!

We love to box people into categories. It makes it easier to justify judgment and criticism. We often refer to these groups as “those people” followed by some negative traits that we’ve assigned to the group. God turns the tables on this nonsense by shining the spotlight on the qualities that define “those people” and contrasting them with one particular quality that He is asking us all to possess. Humility! If you desire to be one of “those people” that gets God’s attention then a little lesson in humility is in order.

When Jesus was asked to sum up everything into one command, He said to love God with everything you have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’ve turned this simple idea of loving our neighbors into a nice slogan without actually putting it into practice.

What would happen if every follower of Jesus took the Great Commandment literally? Is it possible that the solution to our society’s biggest issues has been right under our noses for the past two thousand years?

The Art of Neighboring is a series that will inspire and challenge you to be the kind of neighbor Jesus would want next door.

When Jesus was asked to sum up everything into one command, He said to love God with everything you have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’ve turned this simple idea of loving our neighbors into a nice slogan without actually putting it into practice.

What would happen if every follower of Jesus took the Great Commandment literally? Is it possible that the solution to our society’s biggest issues has been right under our noses for the past two thousand years?

The Art of Neighboring is a series that will inspire and challenge you to be the kind of neighbor Jesus would want next door.

When Jesus was asked to sum up everything into one command, He said to love God with everything you have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’ve turned this simple idea of loving our neighbors into a nice slogan without actually putting it into practice.

What would happen if every follower of Jesus took the Great Commandment literally? Is it possible that the solution to our society’s biggest issues has been right under our noses for the past two thousand years?

The Art of Neighboring is a series that will inspire and challenge you to be the kind of neighbor Jesus would want next door.