When you read the Christmas story, and really listen to what it says, you begin to see what this peace can look like and feel like in your life.

At Christmas, Jesus brings peace through

Through Proximity – being close to you and not leaving you alone;

Through Power- the capacity to do what you can’t do because nothing with God is impossible; and

Through the Promise that when evil does come, or struggle, or hardship, or suffering – that he will protect you, save you and give you a new life that is eternal.

And it is a gift Jesus gives to all those that trust him.

At Christmas, strained relationships can weigh especially heavy. This weekI will talk about how God’s treatment of us in Jesus offers us a model for our treatment of one another. Joseph embodies this model in his treatment of Mary. The Christmas story says that Jesus is an expression of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness towards us. What would it look like for us to treat others in our lives with the same this season?

The angels at Christmas declared that Jesus’ birth would bring us peace. In a divided world, with complicated families and stressful schedules, we still need that gift. Throughout the Christmas season, we will talk about how Jesus can help bring peace to all aspects of our lives. From our inner spirit to outward relationships, Jesus can resolve tension, reduce stress, heal relationships, and bring us peace.

Join us for part 1: Peace in Our World, as we talk about how Jesus can bring peace to divided communities and countries like ours.

Practicing gratitude takes time and energy that is in short supply for most of us. Because of that, we tend to be people that blaze right through life, along with a lot of good stuff, without noticing or stopping to say thank you. In our focus on anxiety about the future, we often fail to practice gratitude for the present.

In the middle of busy and hectic lives, we are called to be people that give thanks continually. This is, after all, God’s will for us. We practice thanksgiving when we notice, when we speak, and then ultimately when we act.Paul writes that he has figured out the secret of being content in all circumstances, and the secret is gratitude.

Today we continue our series on gratitude. Last week we talked about giving thanks in good times, but today I want to move to a different challenge, giving thanks in seasons of struggle and when the circumstances in your life aren’t great.

When Paul tells us to be glad in the Lord always, or to give thanks in every situation, he isn't trying to deny difficulty. does not want us to pretend that tough times are anything other than hard. But what Paul does offer us is a pathway through seasons of struggle. And the pathway is defined by gratitude. Paul writes that he has figured out the secret of being content in all circumstances, and the secret is gratitude.

We’re starting Three Weeks of Thanks. We’re in this season that’s centered around thankfulness and gratitude yet we often as humans struggle with what it means to be thankful, to show gratitude.. This isn’t something folks have a hard time only in challenging times in life, we often can struggle to show thanks even when things are going well in our lives. In this series, we’re going to chat about gratitude, how we’re built to be people who give thanks, and how to practice gratitude in every season.

Faith requires risk, moments when God asks us to trust and step out in faith. When Peter sees Jesus in the storm, Jesus doesn't come to meet him in the safety of the boat, rather Jesus calls Peter out on the water into the storm. Peter had a choice to make, a risk to meet Jesus somewhere new. He took the step, and even though he faltered, he got to experience walking on water! For many of us, the move towards generosity feels like a risky step of faith, but it is one that can lead to incredible experiences of Jesus.

Have you ever received a really great gift? What made it good? How about a really bad gift? What made it bad? When Jesus and the disciples were in Jerusalem, they observed people making an offering. Jesus does something surprising, he deems certain gifts as better than others. Why? In part 4, we will talk about what makes a gift generous and allow God to challenge us to think about the nature of the gifts we make.

Jesus doesn’t teach generosity to subtract from our life. He doesn’t talk about it in terms of sacrifice, or the giving up of something. Instead, Jesus says that giving is a pathway to a fuller way of life. So why do we give? What does generosity do in us and for us? Jesus put it really simply. A life of generosity is better. In part 3, we will look at biblical teachings around what a life of generosity can do for us and what it looks like to grow in this practice. We will also unpack the vision again in this message as well as the pathway to giving.

If we want God to do more through our church, we have to allow God to do more in our lives. Generosity is one of the ways that we make more of our lives available to God – to shape, mold, use. The young ruler wanted God to do more with his life, but he was unwilling to allow God to do more in his life. Jesus challenged him to follow, and he couldn’t do it. We too have an opportunity to allow God to do more with us by allowing God to do more in us. Will we follow?