Jesus has called us to follow him and orient our lives around his purposes.  But what happens when that leads us into dangerous places...when it seems like Jesus has abandoned us and left us to fend for ourselves.  What happens when we are sent out like lambs among wolves?  How can we be bold in the midst of the storm?  What is the source of true Christian boldness?

Simon Peter was a professional fisherman...until he met Jesus.  A simple favor for a religious teacher turned into a life altering moment.  "From now on," Jesus said, "You will be catching men."  Jesus completely redefined the very purpose of Peter's life.  When we encounter Jesus it is equally life altering and reality redefining...it is a "from now on" moment.

Ed Kaylor walks us through the only snapshot Scripture gives us of Jesus' adolescent years.

The Magnificat...Mary's song.  What a glorious song of thanksgiving.  Mary could not believe that God would use her as a part of his incredible plan to provide a savior for his people!  She was overwhelmed and overjoyed...but how?  I mean would we be filled with joy if our life was interrupted and taken over by God's plan in such a strange way?  Mary was, but how?  What led her to see Jesus' intrusion into her life as glorious and what often keeps us from seeing the same glory?

Christmas is a season of joy, but how can we find lasting joy amidst of a world covered in madness and mess.  We find it in Jesus, who did not leave us alone in this broken world, but took on flesh and came right into the middle of it all.  Our joy is rooted in the overwhelming glory of Jesus and sustained by his overjoying grace.

The incarnation is the most incredible story of all-time.  God became a man.  Christmas is glorious…but it is also completely unexpected!  We’ve become so familiar with the story that it no longer shocks us to hear that the angel Gabriel, who stands in God’s presence, was sent to the most unexpected place, Nazareth, and unexpected person, Mary, to announce that she would give birth to Jesus, the savior.  This is unexpected glory!  And we often do not ponder the odd grace this was in Mary’s life.  She was blessed beyond measure to be freely chosen for this task, but it would also bring much difficulty and pain into her life.  This was undeserved grace!  During Advent, we would do well to ponder the unexpected glory of Jesus coming into our own lives and saving us by undeserved grace!

Who is this Jesus...really?  As the season of Advent begins we are starting on a journey through the Gospel of Luke to answer this one question.  We want to travel to the side of the manger and look in to see the newborn Christ in all his glory.  Luke invites us all along for this journey.

Seeing the glory of Jesus propels us to proclaim him to all peoples!  We have been called to take the gospel to the very ends of the earth, but that mission seems way to big for us!  How can each of us and our churches be involved in the global mission of God to reach all peoples with the gospel?

As a community we are to show forth the glory of God in the gospel, but what does that look like?  How do we pursue that as a community?  In Acts 2:42-47, we see five essential things that the early church community gave themselves to in order to pursue being a gospel-centered community. This week we look at how community culminates in mission!  We are to be a missional community declaring the gospel and demonstrating its power through acts of mercy.

As a community we are to show forth the glory of God in the gospel, but what does that look like?  How do we pursue that as a community?  In Acts 2:42-47, we see five essential things that the early church community gave themselves to in order to pursue being a gospel-centered community. This week we look at how they became a generous community and see how they and we should be motivated to generosity not by  greed or guilt, but by grace and gratitude.