The Branch Church

The King has come, but how do we live beyond Christmas? What does it mean to respond to the coming of Jesus?

The responses to the coming of Jesus are quite varied, and are embodied in the part of the real Christmas story found in Matthew 2:1-12. People talk about “being in the Christmas spirit.” But which one?

Kicking off our journey in the Gospel of Matthew, Chris brings up the front and back of Christmas trees, “coffin apartments,” and what in the world those things have to do with Matthew 1!

This weekend is the final (and possibly the most important) message of our series on the Holy Spirit. The thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is often used to speak into marriages, but it’s not really about marriage. It’s about life with the Spirit!

This weekend, we find out what the Holy Spirit has to do with “body-building.” We also explore how the spirits of inferiority and superiority so often get in the way of us growing together in the ways and work of the Holy Spirit.

Do you have a Christmas gift list? Did you know there’s such a thing as a Spirit gift list? And did you know you can ask for the gifts on the list?

We’re spending some time in 1 Corinthians 12-14 over the next couple of weekends. We’re called to be more than open to the ways the Holy Spirit operates in our lives. We’re called to eagerly desire and pursue such things by the grace of God. Let’s grow together!

One of the most common references to the Holy Spirit in Scripture is as a “deposit.” This has implications both for our attitude and our mindset about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives today, but also how the work of the Spirit points us to a future day.

There were varied opinions and reactions to the move of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2... but no one was indifferent about it. Something is happening. Come and see.

This weekend, some will be challenged and stretched by this particular part of the series. We are considering the power of the Holy Spirit.

The power of the Spirit doesn't always work to get us out of a jam, or make our life easier or more comfortable. The One who walked in it more than anyone else ever has — Jesus — still had a cross in His future. But He also had a resurrection! The power of the Spirit was involved in both. (see Hebrews 9:14 and Romans 8:11)

This weekend we consider what Scripture has to reveal about the Holy Spirit as a person, and why that matters.