Paul’s speech before Festus is carefully worded and clearly structured. Paul was well-prepared for his moment to share the gospel, and he is an example for us. Followers of Jesus today should take conscious steps to be prepared to tell others about him!

In Acts 8-14, Philip, Peter, and Paul model how to introduce people to Christ. We can draw 3 principles from them: start where people are, work as a team, and pray when trouble happens. Listening to the Spirit, they built on what people knew of God’s story to point them to Jesus. Ganongs and their team are doing the same things to reach Baga people. Please pray against their obstacles, for translation progress, for the Baga Pentateuch, and for their home assignment time.

The account in Acts 2 tells us that the earliest Christians experienced deep fellowship – and their faith was stronger for it. One of the reasons our faith can feel shallow today is because we don’t experience that same level of fellowship. The believers in Acts modeled a way for us to deepen our fellowship: to share.

We often struggle to pray because we’re distracted, out of time, or are entirely self-focused. Jesus’ prayer life was much different, and when we read Luke we see how highly Jesus valued prayer – often slipping away from everyone else to focus on God. We can learn a great deal today from Jesus’ example.

We nearly never approach human relationships like we do our relationship with God. People who are close want to spend time together. When we want to get close to God, we often turn to spiritual disciplines and checklists. Psalm 84 teaches us that instead of a flurry of activity, faith is a relationship that requires presence.

This year at SLCC is all about what’s NEXT. A new year gives us a chance to make a clean break with the past, overcome things that have been holding us back, and set a new course with purpose.

When you love something, you want to be close to it. You want to interact with it. It draws you in. God loves his creation. God loves people who were made in his image. This week, we talk about the Advent of Jesus and how God’s love draws near. The question for us is how will we respond? Will we step in or will we run away

At the center of the religious and cultural practices that make up our understanding of Christmas, we find the idea that buying the perfect gift will bring us JOY. Paul gives the Philippians 3 life changing gifts that we could perfectly find on the bottom shelf.

When Isaiah prophesied of the coming of the Emmanuel to King Ahaz, he called the coming child “Prince of Peace.” In the announcement to the shepherds, the angels pronounced “peace”. Peace, by its very nature is optimistic. It looks beyond present conflict into what can be. This Christmas, we encourage you to look forward, and to seek peace.

Due to the way that our society views Christmas, we have lost what it means to have a biblical version of Hope. Jesus’ birth inaugurates a hope that goes beyond just our comfort but promises renewal for all of creation.