The Psalms give us permission to cry out to God -- which is great, because we can be pretty desperate from time to time. Psalm 130 starts with despair and ends with hope. Even if our circumstance hasn't changed (yet), we can shift our focus and wait with expectancy to the God who can do something about it. Kathy Keasler and Adam Wood co-teach this Psalm that shows us how to wait in hope even in the chaos of life.

Every four years during an election these 2 questions invite our attention: "Where do I look for help?" and "Where do I find my hope?" Help and hope are what keep us going -- election year and every day. However, it's part of our human condition to misplace both. That's where the Psalms can help us. The Psalms ground us and remind us that God is with us, God is trustworthy, and God is at work. So take a deep breath and remember this: God is our help and in him is our hope, let Psalm 146 remind you.

It's a beautiful day in the Neighborhood! But for us, a more crucial question than "Won't you be my neighbor?" is: "Will we be a church who welcomes all the people nobody else wants?" We can't choose our neighbors but we can choose to love them -- no matter who they are -- as ourselves. Jesus encountered a blind man written off as a sinner and kicked out of the religious community. No one seemed to want him when Jesus sought him. By God's grace, we hope to make the gospel visible by our love, service, and hospitality to all people, even those nobody seems to want.

We entering into a new chapter under a new name: The Neighborhood Church. But how do we live into our name? In this vision-casting message, Pastor Adam shares 4 invitations from a powerful healing in the book of Acts. The future of this church lies in the ability to join God and rely on the Spirit's power as we follow Jesus together for God's kingdom in our neighborhood.

This was a special night in the life of our church in which we ordained our first 7 deacons. The audio contains the story of the first deacons in the first church (from Acts 6), an explanation of ordination, reflections from all of our candidates, and their commissioning words from Pastor Adam that followed their ordination (taken from John 13). We hope you enjoy hearing these portions from a significant night of prayer, worship, and sending these men and women into this role of service.

Favoritism is hardwired in humans. The word literally means to "receive face" -- to make a snap judgment based on someone's appearance. This was a problem in the early church and it's one that can rear its ugly head in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways today. That's why we need to hit our reset button. Kingdom people are called to "Love our neighbor as ourselves" and to see everyone as God sees them -- valuable, created in his image, and worthy of love.

James writes in a style that's easier to understand than it is to live. But everybody's mentor for an everyday faith actually believes that we -- you and me today -- can really live the way Jesus lived. The central message of this section is to "Be a doer of the word." Be a "Doer" in speech, in compassion, in holiness. Your life can make a kingdom difference in our world...if you live out God's word.

Everyone lives in 5 different neighborhoods: Geographical, Familial, Relational, Psychographic, and Digital. What are the ways we're called to steward these neighborhoods -- these spheres of influence -- for God's kingdom? Guest speaker J.R. Briggs introduces us to an unlikely missionary who stewards his influence after Jesus sends him back to his own neighborhood. J.R. is a Pastor at the Renew Community in Philadelphia, author of Fail and co-author of Eldership and the Mission of God, and director of the Ecclesia Network and Kairos Partnerships.

In this powerful message, guest speaker Alan Fadling encourages us to shift our focus from the "many things" that trouble us to the "One thing" that can help us. Alan uses Psalm 27 as a guide to praying in the midst of trials and pain, reminding us to put our hope in God and wait on him. You can learn more about our friend Alan and his wife, Gem at http://unhurriedliving.com/ Also, we encourage you to check out Alan's book -- "An Unhurried Life" -- it has been a great blessing to our church.

Trials and temptations are not an "If" but a "When" in our life with God. How do we respond? How is God involved? James wants to be clear about the purpose of trials and the origin of temptation. So often in difficult circumstances we're tempted to lash out at others, to harm ourselves, or to turn away from God. That's why James reminds us of our unchanging, generous, and faithful God who is with us in the midst of the storm. (See also Mark 7.21-23; 1 Corinthians 10.13)