This love is an indescribable gift. What are we doing with it? Keeping it to ourselves? Ignoring it? The 3rd candle reminds us of the gift of God’s love. It’s because of this great love that God sent Jesus to save us. The Bible is our instruction manual (like what often comes with a great gift…instructions!)

The gift of wisdom can only be received by those who are humble. 2nd candle represents the wisdom that God gives when we humble ourselves and follow Him. Matthew 2:1-121 Kings 3:7-14

God fulfilled the plan we read about in Genesis. He fulfilled His promise and sent His Son from the most perfect place, heaven, to a world filled with sin. Matthew 1:18-23, Isaiah 9:2,6-7

Journeys are often marked by multiple paths. This week, we imagine the two roads that we travel at the same time during our stewardship journey: The Ordinary Road and the Extra-Ordinary Road - our weekly tithe and our over-and-above gift. What ties it all together is the understanding that everything is owned by God and we are simply stewards.

God's Grace is too big for us to understand. Who would send His own Son to die for people who consider him an enemy. But that's what He did for us. Together we step on this journey of prayer, of faith and of sacrifice as we consider the question, "What shall I (we) return to the Lord for all his goodness to me (us)?" Psalm 116:12. It all starts with our understanding of what God has given to us through His Son!

Family issues can be ugly. One of the most powerful ways not only to survive your family but to thrive is a constant practice of Forgiveness. Today, we look at the family issues between Jacob and Essau.

Even though the weekly worship is important, reconnecting to a smaller group fosters spiritual growth and positive life-change. Andy Stanley says that life change doesn’t happen in rows but in circles. Community is both what we experience when we are connected and the place we are encouraged to serve.

Originally, the Church did not describe a building or a weekly event. The Church was (and still is) a movement of people who met together, learned how to follow Jesus and went out to love the world. Today’s message shows the importance of continuing to meet together and the benefits of reconnecting to Church.

The prophet Elijah "put it all on the line" when he challenged a huge, hostile crowd to call on Baal to send fire to light their sacrifice, and then called on God to send fire to light his sacrifice. Elijah's prayer was for everyone to see God's power and faithfulness so that they could return to God. And God's answer was powerful and undeniable.