Jude 1

Ambrose is a saint known as "Doctor of the Church," which means he was one of the teachers whose intellectual contributions helped shape the Church. Ambrose helped people think more clearly about the beauty of the Gospel and its impact on philosophy, music, art, politics, and more. He also fought against false teaching - A LOT. Christmas initiates a battle for truth and requires that we contend for the faith we've been given against false doctrines and teachers.

1 John 4:7-21

You may not know much about Wenceslaus, duke of Bohemia, unless you know the classic Christmas carol about him. But the early church knew his name and knew that he was brave and principled leader who showed what can happen when a ruler converts to Christianity and governs in a way that is modeled after Jesus' love and kindness. In the story of Wenceslaus, we see that Christmas introduces us to the Savior who empties himself and serves. Once we understand this, we get to follow his example as generous peacemakers. 

Luke 10:1-24

The Lord of the Harvest sends out his laborers in teams and ensures that all of their needs are met in advance and in Him!

John 4:31-38 

When Jesus met with the women at the well of Samaria, he talked a lot about the harvest. What does it mean when he calls the Samaritan town a field and the people grain? Jesus was clear: there is great satisfaction and nourishment in obeying God and harvesting the fruit he and others before us have sown.

Psalm 126

This message begins by sharing and celebrating the reveal of the FORWARD campaign. As we reflect on the way God uses the gospel to spread the kingdom, we can't help but notice that he has an amazing ability to bring joyous fruit and growth at the end of very difficult seasons. Things that the world would call pointless and too costly are often the very places where God restores the fortunes of his people and turns their mourning and struggle into harvest.

Lord of the Harvest

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Fall has always been a time when people gather, count up, and store their blessings for the winter and share comfort and kindness with each other. This passage discusses God's goodness to deliver us out of slavery and into rich harvest. Offering him our first fruits creates a testimony of faith and freedom, and is cause for rejoicing!

1 Timothy 6: 2-21.

This message concludes our FORWARD series. It studies one more question of

biblical, sacrificial stewardship: WHEN? It would be easy to

think of stewardship as a future event; it is so oriented

toward long-term strategy and eternal benefits that we

could easily see it as a “tomorrow” item. Stewardship may

be about the future, but it always takes place NOW; the

sacrifices and investments of today will shape eternity! The

payoff is eternal, but the sacrifice is a daily event.

2 Corinthians 9

This message discusses the heart condition of the giver. Stewardship is first and foremost a matter of the manner in which we give - only a free heart full of joyful generosity can please God. So we must learn to cultivate and curate our heart motives if we wish to give in a life-giving way.

1 Thessalonians 2

When we think about WHAT we are stewarding as Christians, we often jump immediately to issues of finacne and tithing. Stewardship is about SO much more than money; in fact, if all we give to God is our money, we are really falling short of missing the point. True stewardship recognizes that investing tangible and temporary treasures is a great way to increase our ability to invest intangible and eternal ones. Real lgenerosity is about joyfully pouring out our whole selves and all God's treasures to reach people and grow his kingdom! 

Exodus 35:4-10, 20-29; Mark 12:41-44

This message explores the WHO of generous stewardship. Many think that the gift of generosity is only given to some people, and that most likely they will be the wealthy ones who have an excess and can give more away without much discomfort. The problem is that there is always someone wealthier and always reason to feel like giving will put us at risk. The truth is that everyone is called to steward boldly; it isn’t an option, it isn’t for some elite group, and it isn’t a competition!