- The perfect plan of God to become part of and redeem the human race was carried out through the birth of Jesus. For something that God planned so carefully, though, why did it seem so messy? Born to an unwed mother, who had to travel on the back of donkey during the very last stages of her pregnancy, only to find that there was no place other than a stinky cave to give birth to the Son of God. In truth, everything happened exactly as God had planned, as the wheels of history, current events, and the personal stories of each of the participants meshed in perfect harmony to accomplish His purposes. Just as in the Christmas story, we often feel like our lives are a mess - but God is working through all of our circumstances to help us realize His purposes for our lives.

- The Apostles’ Creed ends with, [We believe in] “the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.” These two statements of belief are a reflection of the entire hope of the Christian: that we will receive an immortal body, free from sin and the desire to sin, which will enable us to live eternally in the presence of God. We are not destined to sit around on a cloud, playing a harp. God has much more in store for us than that. Listen as Pastor Doug explains what the Bible says about the next chapter of every believer’s life.

- [We believe in] “the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins…” In this portion of The Apostles’ Creed, we confirm the ideas that all followers of Christ are part of the same (universal) church, and all are saints as well. When the Apostle Paul and other New Testament authors talk about the role and character of saints, they are talking about all Christians, not just those who have achieved fame or performed miracles. Of highest importance in the communion (fellowship) of Christians is the acceptance of the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the extending of this forgiveness to everyone who has wronged us, whether we feel like forgiving them or not. Pastor Doug reminds us that - according to Christ - our forgiveness from God is actually conditional on our forgiveness of others.

- We believe “in the Holy Spirit, in the holy universal church.” On the day of pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out over 120 believers in Jerusalem who were then empowered to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. That day, 3000 people repented and made Jesus the Lord of their lives, thus establishing the Christian church. The church today is not a building or a specific denomination - it is the global community of believers who have an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this message, Pastor Doug explains that the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to first empower us to be witnesses of Christ, then to guide us in all truth, and lastly to be our constant comfort and help.

If you would like to learn more about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, click here to watch Pastor Doug’s video.

- The Apostles’ Creed, after discussing the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, goes on to say that “...He will come to judge the living and the dead.” In fact, there are going to be 2 separate judgements after Christ returns, one in which it is determined whether or not you are a believer, and another for believers to determine your rewards for the way in which you used the gifts God gave to you. While judgement is something that is misunderstood and feared by many, there is no need to live in fear or in confusion. In this message, Pastor Doug clearly explains the purposes of God’s judgement and how you can be confident as you stand before Him on the day of judgement.

- We’ve heard the story of the cross so many times that we almost start to take for granted the wonderful series of events that changed the entire course of mankind’s story. Pastor Doug takes us step by step through what Christ did for us, first by becoming one of us, living a perfect life, and then conquering sin and death so powerfully through His death, descent into Hell, ascension to Heaven, and His resurrection.