Pastor Chris begins 2019 answering questions you have asked Christmas Eve 2018! Today we look at if Pets are in Heaven and what does it mean to be made in the image of God.

The last verse of the hymn invites us to lift our voices in alleluia's to the one who is "King." This descriptor was more radical for the people of Jesus' time as it resisted the powers of empire that threatened "the least of these" that Jesus came to serve. We are reminded by this seemingly benign and sweet song that whenever there is injustice in this world, we are to look to the one whose power is love. How might this increase our hope for the future?

Rev. Dr. Marsha Middleton from the North Texas Conference is our guest preaching this morning.

The shepherds got quite a wake-up call that night when the sky lit up "like a Christmas tree" (so to speak). Awe at the transformative glory of what God can do in our lives is the focus this week. Glories are streaming every day if we only have eyes to see. How would our lives be renewed if we saw the world and our lives through the lens of wonder?

Today we begin the celebration of Advent. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the writing of Silent Night. These precious words have given comfort and peace for many who have sung these words, today as we begin our journey to the manger, these words help us find a sense of peace.

We conclude our series by looking at the story of Abraham taking Isaac up the mountain for the sacrifice. This is a confusing story, but in the end, we see a challenge of love, grace, and provision from God.

Abram becomes Abraham, this sets the course for the people of Israel and for us today. Through our relationship with God, we get a new name. How can we live in that covenant with God?

As we continue to look at the story of Abraham, we see that there are times we are like him. We want to protect ourselves instead of living in the promises God gives us.

Over the next four weeks, we will look at images from Abraham’s story in Genesis. This story is a journey, a journey we all face in our lives, remembering how God calls flawed people into faithfulness.

This Sunday we are going to talk about possibilities…. what can we do when we are given the resources to do ministry. We will look at the example of the Macedonian church as they cheerfully give to fulfill the mission of the young church.