Love is not an idea, it is a person, and His love is deeply personal. God does not love humanity in general, He loves you specifically, uniquely, and relentlessly. His love is not static, it is growing, moment by moment, tailored exactly to who you are.

He knows you, He delights in you, and He desires to live with you. As we learn to rest in His presence, to dine at His table, and to let His love fill every unmet place, we become carriers of His presence to a broken world.

This is where victory is found, not in avoiding suffering, but in knowing we are never alone. His love goes deeper than our pain, stronger than our fear, and closer than our breath.

Today we sat with joy, not as happiness, but as something deeper, resilient, and anchored in presence. Joy isn’t the absence of struggle, it’s what emerges when we recognize we are not alone in it. When fear and anxiety try to lead in moments of uncertainty, joy comes from yielding again to Jesus as our Shepherd.

True joy grows when we allow God to lead us through what we cannot see, trusting His presence in the rocking and the unknown. It is formed through watching, preparing, and choosing to rejoice even when the path feels unstable. In His presence there is fullness of joy, a joy that steadies us, restores us, and reshapes how we live, love, and move through the world.

Advent is not just about remembering what has come, it’s about paying attention to what is forming in us now. To watch, to prepare, to rejoice, and to behold, not as ideas, but as practices that shape who we are becoming. What we give our attention to is what builds the inner temple of our lives.

Jesus reminds us that everything hangs on love, love for God and love for others. When we watch what God is doing, prepare our hearts, choose joy, and truly behold Him, something solid is formed within us. Advent asks us to slow down, lift our eyes, and allow Christ to dwell more fully in us, shaping our hearts, our relationships, and the way we move through the world.

Lack is a cruel taskmaster. It drives anxiety, fuels striving, and keeps us chasing scraps instead of coming to the source of life. When we believe something is missing, we start running to anything that promises relief, distraction, or control, but it never satisfies, it only deepens the hunger.

Scripture keeps pointing us back to the same truth, Jesus! When He is the one shepherding us, we lack nothing. Rest replaces striving, peace steadies the soul, and fear loses its grip. The question isn’t just what you’re lacking, but who you’re allowing to lead you. Without Him, everything we chase becomes empty. With Him, we find ourselves sustained, satisfied, and held.

This week I’m still camping in John chapter one, and the word that stopped me this time was behold.

Beholding is not passive. It is choosing to stop, to turn my attention, and to yield my time and my inner posture to God.

In Scripture, behold always comes with provision, something God gives that we cannot produce through our own effort.

Let's unpack how beholding begins in humility, open hands, and waiting, and how that waiting becomes transformation. When we make space for the Holy Spirit, He straightens what is bent, brings rest where there has been striving, and produces fruit that effort never could.

Beholding is how grace meets us, how freedom breaks in, and how we learn to stand upright, rooted in who God says we are.

This fall, I keep hearing the same invitation from Jesus, come to me. In John 1, He turns to the first disciples and asks, what do you seek, and that question has been working on my heart. In this message, I share some of my own “false comforts” and distractions, the places I run to when I am tired or overwhelmed, and how they never actually give what my heart is really looking for.

We walk through the calling stories in John 1, the repeated theme of being found, and the way Jesus sees Nathaniel under the fig tree before Nathaniel ever sees Him. Brandon shares the story of losing, and then finding, his brother Colin at the fair, as a living picture of the Father’s determined love. What does  it mean to be truly seen, truly found, and to respond again to Jesus’ simple invitation, come and see?

Jesus’ first question to His followers was simple and disruptive, what are you seeking. This message looks at that question through John 1 and Mary’s response in Luke 1, where the soul magnifies and the spirit rejoices. We talk about how easily our desires drift, how quickly our attention magnifies the wrong things, and how Jesus invites us out of striving and into His easy yoke. Through stories of encounter, honest reflection, and the practical call to “come and see,” this teaching invites us to lay down what exhausts us and step into the rest, clarity, and companionship found in Him.

We Were Made For More! At just sixteen, Niamh shares a powerful message on what it means to live a mission lifestyle right where you are. Through her own story of shifting from building her own “kingdom” to helping build God’s, she reminds us not to settle for less than what we were created for. She challenges us to love our neighbors, lead through serving, and step boldly into the fullness of life God offers.

Since 1998, Deb has quietly and faithfully answered the call to missions, traveling to more than 16 countries, often returning multiple times to serve and encourage. She will share what first drew her into missions, how her experiences have shaped both her life and the lives of those she’s encountered, and how the Great Commission, Jesus’ last instruction before His ascension, continues to stir her heart.

Join us as we hear her story, and the transformative power of saying “yes” to His call.

This Sunday, we welcome Shaina Gomes as our guest speaker who will be sharing her message entitled: “Living Life on Purpose” Throughout our Summer Voices series, we’ve been building on the foundation that God is our friend and He is completely trustworthy. But knowing this is not the end of the story…it’s the beginning! The question now is, how will we respond? Following Jesus was never meant to be passive, it’s a call to action, a call to live with intention. This week, we’ll look at what it really means to “live life on purpose” and explore practical ways to align our everyday choices with the life Jesus is calling us into as we walk with Him.

Name the competing voices in one decision, then choose the one that sounds like Jesus

Read a short passage daily, note what it shows about God’s character

Take one concrete step that aligns with love