Shartel Church

There was a huge crowd following Jesus. Over 5000 people. Maybe as many as 10,000 or 15,000. After a long day of teaching, they were hungry. The disciples had no food, nor enough money to buy food for that many. Then, a young boy offered his lunch. Jesus picked HIM to be the catalyst for a miracle! Jesus reminds us again and again, “Little is much when God is in it!” What’s your “little” that God is waiting for YOU to offer?

It was out of a fresh, new vision of God that Isaiah became passionate about being picked by God. When we really see God, we remember who He is and what He can do. And we renew our passion to be about His work.

In this message, we’ll explore what it is in this past year that we need to leave behind. Paul says that we need to “forget” the past. The word actually means to “set it aside.” This message will help identify those things in our lives that are keeping us from being all God has called us to be and to let them go.

In this message, we’ll explore what it is in this past year that we need to leave behind. Paul says that we need to “forget” the past. The word actually means to “set it aside.” This message will help identify those things in our lives that are keeping us from being all God has called us to be and to let them go.

As we celebrate Christmas Eve, we will reflect on Jesus as our Light. He brings warmth to our lives. He brings hope to our lives. He came as the Light of God’s Welcome to us. And He stays as the Light of God’s Guidance to us. To a people who are prone to wander, He is the Light that shows the way.

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Truer words have never been spoken. But the love the world needs is not a love that it can create on its own. The Bible reminds us that “GOD is love.” This last Sunday before Christmas, we will celebrate that Jesus came to us as the highest expression of God’s love for us. He came to show us how to BE loved, RECEIVE love, and to GIVE love. It is a gift that can change the world.

The world can be a dark and dangerous place. Life can be hard and overwhelming. It’s easy to forget as we forge our way forward that life wasn’t meant to just be endured. It was meant to be enjoyed! This Sunday of Advent we celebrate Christ’s coming with a reminder that He came to do more than just give us New Life. He came to give us Abundant Life. He came to restore our JOY!

It almost seems funny that in the busiest season of the year, we talk about “peace.” But the peace that Christ brings isn’t the absence of chaos. It’s being anchored in the midst of the chaos. It’s the stability and security that comes when we remember who He is and whose we are. He is our “Prince of Peace.”

Hope—Is there any greater need in the world than that? Hope for healing. Hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for a way out, a way through, a way forward. It was to a world that was utterly hopeless that Jesus came. And He brought to the world on Christmas what He brings to us today—Hope.

Kings come and go. Governments rise and fall. Those who are considered the wealthiest, or the most powerful, or the most invulnerable, will all fade away. But there’s one Kingdom that lasts forever. That’s the Kingdom of God. That’s why our God is our Rock, our Strong Tower, and our Foundation. This message will be about building our lives on something that is UNSHAKABLE.