God is love. The defining characteristic of a Christian is love. We are called to love God and to love others. As we grow spiritually, we should be growing deeper in love. Jesus came to teach and show us how to live. Jesus loved everyone always, and this is our call as His disciples. As we grow in our love for God, we will grow in our love for others. Are you growing in your love for God and your love for others? Let’s commit to growing deeper in our love in 2021 and beyond.

Jesus calls every disciple to share our faith with others. For many Christians this is a struggle. We feel uncomfortable sharing our faith or we don’t know what to say, so many times we just don’t say or do anything. Yet, our world desperately needs Jesus! Everyone needs the hope and help of Jesus. Fact is, someone shared Jesus with us, and we are forever grateful. Now it is our time to reach out to others with the love of Jesus. This is actually an area where we can make an incredible difference for the glory of our great God. Let’s be obedient to Jesus and reach out when He prompts our heart. Together, we can see God change the world!

We are God’s people. We have entered into a relationship with God through the price Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. We are redeemed and restored by His goodness and grace. Jesus invites us to follow Him. To learn to hear His voice, trust, and obey. Jesus longs to lead us into a great life - life ”to the full.” Who are you listening to? Are you listening to what your enemy says about you or what God says about you? Listen to One Voice, and then together, as God’s people, let’s proclaim with one voice His goodness and grace in 2021 and for all eternity!

What’s your “but” when it comes to church attendance? How about when it comes to church service? We all have them–those exceptions to what matters. Participating in the ministry of a local church comes with a long list of ifs, whens, and maybes for most people. However, the Church is Christ’s body and it will be built with you or in spite of you. Truth is, nothing in your life and your pending year (2021) matters as much as who you say Jesus is and what part you play in the building of His Church. It’s how we grow to maturity, avoid the calamity of wandering, and help others in love to do the same. What part will church play in your coming year and more importantly, what part will you play in the Church?

2020 has been a hard year for everyone, but CHRISTmas is here. Jesus has come to bring Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy into our world and into our life. Joy comes when we focus on what we do have, and not on what we don’t have. Because of Jesus, we have everything we will ever need - salvation, peace, hope, love, and joy. Will you experience the Joy of CHRISTmas this year? Take time to express your gratitude to God for all He has done in your life and embrace Jesus, and His Joy, this CHRISTmas.

Mary’s song is a hymn of worship. Her words paint the picture of what God has done and what He will do. They tell the story of the Gospel. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son so that we would have eternal life. Eternal life does not start at death. It starts with our new birth. Mary’s song points us to the truth that we are born to a new way of life. A new life together in community.

Today, at this moment in time we desperately need to meditate on the truth found in these verses that retell the story of Christ coming to earth. Because it is a story of peace, a story of peace being restored to people broken by sin. We need the peace that comes with the reminder that God has a plan and at just the right time He sent His son to earth, to put on flesh and be present with us. We need to be reminded that God sent His son to provide the peace that only He had the power to provide. We need to be reminded that peace comes when we submit our lives to the Prince of Peace and His purpose for us.

Hope is powerful. Where there is hope, there is life. Think about all the places where you place your hope? “I hope to see my family. I hope I get this job. I hope this deal comes through. I hope there is a vaccine.” Yet, God wants us to place our ultimate hope and trust in Him. God always comes through. Everything in this world will fade away, but God lasts forever. Let’s place our hope firmly in Him. God is with us and He is for us. May we always be people of Hope and may we share Hope with others today as we live in a world desperate for Hope. Jesus is our Hope!

This has been a crazy year, yet our God is faithful. Think about all the ways He has provided for you this year. Thanksgiving should be more than one day a year. We are called to be thankful everyday of our life. Being thankful changes our mindset and attitude. Therefore, let’s start each day being thankful to our great God. What a difference Thanksgiving makes in each of us. We all have so much for which to be thankful - mainly Jesus, and our hope and eternal life in Him.

This is our Commitment or Re-Commitment Sunday. In November 2018, God called us as a church to embark on a 3-year “For the Kingdom” Campaign in order to invest in the next generation, expand His work into Nolensville and Nashville, grow the Franklin campus to impact more people for Christ and to build two new Transitional Living Homes for vulnerable children in Moldova. God has done miracles in these first two years, but He is not finished yet. Will you commit, or re-commit, to “Finish Strong” together in these last 12 months? Let’s be like Caleb and live wholeheartedly in our relationship with God. This is our time and opportunity. As God’s Church, and as His followers, let’s be faithful and bold today!