The theme for the Thanksgiving Eve service is "Gratitude" and the reading is from Colossians 3:12-17.

The theme for this week is Hope from Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16.

"Starting Point Series: You’re Invited" - Matthew 4:18-22 

Join a group.  Serve on a team.  Sign up your kids.  There is a never ending list of things you can do at church.  Why are there so many things?  Jesus disciples get a simple invitation – “Follow Me” and they begin to see where Jesus would lead.  You’re invited too – these steps are designed to lead us not to be busy, but to see where Jesus might take us.

This is the final message in our Starting Point Series.

"Starting Point Series: You’ve Got to See It to Believe It" -  John 20:19-23

The disturbing reality is, we can have faith in all kinds of things as long as we surround ourselves with people who believe similar things. When the faith of the disciples stops at Jesus death - the only thing that convinces the disciples to believe again is seeing him raised. The faith we share doesn't come from each other, but from this critical, world-changing event.

"In God We Trust" - John 17:20-23 

Election season can be divisive, and this one seems to be going above and beyond. Jesus not only demands our hearts, but he teaches us how to live with each other in difficult times. Join us as we ask how trusting God might change our hearts this season.

"Starting Point Series: Let's Make a Deal" – Ephesians 2:1-10 

God, if you do this, I promise to do that.  We’ve heard it, and to some extent, we do it too.  If I bring my kids to church, will you make sure they don’t end up in prison?  But, the Christian faith doesn’t work like that.  It functions on an idea we cannot barter with – Grace tells us that God loved us before we started making the deal, and we are forgiven before we start bartering.

"Starting Point Series: Can We Fix It?" – John 14:1-7 

At the center of faith is a question – do we really belong?  Sin, shame, guilt, brokenness is all a part of all of our lives.  We try to self-improve.  We get counseling.  We work out and get hypnotized and try to forget.  But we learn that Jesus offers himself as the only forgiveness that can restore us, and in going to him we experience freedom beyond understanding.

"Starting Point Series: Thou Shall Not…" - Matthew 22:34-40 

Rules are a hallmark of faith, and the 10 commandments are the center of our faith.  But why does religion have rules? God gives us limitations because we are already part of the family, but we can often apply them to each other as if following the rules make you part of the family.  These rules, rightly understood, help us live the best possible way because they are for us, not for making us behave.

Starting Point Series: Picking Up The Pieces – Genesis 15:12-21 

What do you do when the glass has shattered?  Sweep, gather, and wonder – can it be put back together.  God begins the story of restoring the world not with Jesus, but with another pillar of faith – Abraham.  God asks Abraham to trust the arc of the story, and from there we see how we might be put back together, too.

Starting Point Series: My Mistake – John 5:36-39

 

It doesn't take long for us to see how admitting a mistake allows us to get better.  But some mistakes aren't accidents, but choices we make.  How does beginning to understand those differently help us to see why we might need Jesus in our lives?