There is no order, no boundaries. And into this great, vast, chaos, God speaks the first words we ever hear Him speak, “Let there be light.” It says his first act in building a home for us was to separate light from darkness. What would the rest of creation have been like without the gift of light? Move forward in time to AD 90. The apostle John pens his gospel, beginning with a reprise of the creation story except in John’s telling, he starts before the beginning. And like everything John does, he begins with Jesus, the Light of the World.

Throughout church history, Advent has been a season of anticipation, anticipating the birth of Jesus and his return. It’s an opportunity to remind ourselves that Jesus entered our world with all its troubles. In a time when many of us want to escape the worries of this world, Jesus enters it. A holy God chooses to take on our flesh, relationships, problems, temptations, and troubles.

Isaiah’s announcement of Jesus’ arrival includes the description “Mighty God.” But therein lies a tension: waiting for His mightiness to be displayed in our circumstances. It’s not about believing that God can act. The tension is, when will He? The ancient people reading Isaiah’s prophet felt it. And, we feel it, too.

We celebrate the arrival of Jesus, God’s promised Redeemer, each Christmas. However, the wonder of that event is often drowned out by the demands of culturally traditional celebrations, or dampened by a long slog through the “grayness” of any winter season.

Fortunately, Isaiah 9 reminds us that we were meant to be in awe of Jesus’ arrival as the long-promised “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, (and) Prince of Peace.” So, this year’s theme for Christmas at B4 is Wonder, and our Advent teaching series focuses on the awe-inspiring names given to Jesus by the prophet. This first message delves into “Wonder Counselor.”

We all experience hallway seasons, aware of movement from one place to another while traversing an in-between space. Maybe that’s due to a job layoff or a relationship that’s ending. Perhaps it’s because you’ve graduated and it’s time to put that degree to work. Or, maybe it’s because you’re entering the proverbial empty nester years of your marriage. Whatever the reason, you find yourself in a “hallway.” So, how do we navigate the hallways with reverent resilience?

Even God has hallways seasons. The most profound in all of Scripture is the long, dark Saturday between Jesus’ Crucifixion on Friday and His Resurrection on Sunday. In this message, Pastor Bo helps us understand how to traverse our hallways with godly wisdom.

Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Jeremiah's letter to the Israelites suffering exile in Babylon promises a good ending. The beginning? That’s the past. There are promises in the beginning, made by a good God and you can count on those. The middle? It’s where you are now. It’s the muddy middle, a mixture of things you welcome into your life and things you’d rather not. The same God who made those promises will also care for you in the muddy middle. But, the future? The future is good. It’s really good.

After water, food, and shelter, we crave security. We are made to seek out a safe, protected environment. Unfortunately, the harsher realities of our world often prompt us to do so behind walls and weapons. As illustrated in Jeremiah 29, God offers us an alternative: security within His Presence. This is not an ironclad guarantee that we will experience no hardship, but it is part of God’s good plans. He promises to make all things right through His Messiah, Jesus Christ. And, He declares that He has secured good things for us in the meantime.

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most often quoted verses in the Bible. It can frequently be misunderstood if readers try to apply its truth in an individualistic and overly personalized manner. What God offers His people, the Exiles in crisis, is a reassurance that He has good plans for them, even though He is the one who sent them into exile.

These people were far from home and fearful. God reassures them that He remembers His promises and actively brings those commitments to pass. The lesson for us? Live wisely within the tension of difficult circumstances, trusting that a good God who is faithful has good plans for His people.

We live in a culture driven by ambition and emotion. The high achievers are encouraged to go even higher and they’re handsomely rewarded for their accomplishments. At the same time, those driven by unregulated emotions often gain the most attention and an increased measure of influence — especially on social media.

However, Psalm 131 sees the relationship between ambition and emotion in a different light. It offers us a biblical perspective and ancient wisdom that feels readily applicable in the present day.

Everyone suffers to some extent. It’s a universal human condition that causes skeptics to question God’s character. The Psalms engage suffering through another universal human experience: sin. Psalm 130 offers a poetic treatment of the issues, acknowledging suffering and sin while affirming God’s character. 

Plumbing the depths of Psalm 130, Pastor Bo explores its ancient wisdom, applying it to 21st-century life, offering hope to the afflicted.

 

Building anything worthwhile—a building, a business, a family—requires a lot of work. It’s a big deal. And no matter how hard we work, we cannot fully guarantee a good outcome. Real estate sometimes fails to return an investment. Businesses fail. Families fight and fracture—not all the time, but often enough to cause us anxiety.

Psalm 127 addresses this by acknowledging and inviting God’s involvement. It addresses three kinds of building: houses, cities, and children. And, it reassures us that our labor is in vain unless God is a part of the building. It also acknowledges that He is pleased to do so, and give His people rest.