Jesus appears as the light that shines in the darkness. Dark places remain covered in the shadow of sin and unbelief. Now there are, however, bright places, too, and there you find God’s children. Jesus shines his light by preaching repentance and the good news of the nearing kingdom, and he invites us to follow him to a life illumined by him.
Jesus Appears: As the Lamb of God
Jesus appears as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This Lamb would take away the sin of the world and bring both Israel and the Gentile nations into the Kingdom of God. The hearts that see this Savior in faith cannot help but take news of this salvation to the ends of the earth.
The Baptism of our Lord - The First Sunday in Epiphany
This past Friday, January 6th, the Christian church celebrated the Epiphany of our Lord. Epiphany means “to reveal.” Over the course of the next several weeks, we are going to see how God reveals to us that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One. In fact, the titles “Christ” and “Messiah” both mean “The Anointed One,” and they describe how God prepared Jesus for his mission of saving all people from sin. Today, we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. At his baptism, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power and declared this son of Mary to be the Son of God—the one anointed to be the Savior of mankind.
Baptism Of Christ by Pietro Perugino, 1481-1483.
The Littlest Martyrs
Our meditation this morning from guest Pastor Keith Kruk is focused on Matthew 2, the story of Joseph taking his new family to Egypt to escape the slaughter of the innocents by King Herod.
Christmas Day - The Festival of the Nativity of our Lord
Christmas is a day to celebrate the fact that what once was hidden is now revealed. That isn’t the case just because presents that were once wrapped have been opened. It’s because the baby born in Bethlehem is God’s Son revealed for all. Come see just what our God is like as we celebrate his love and his salvation.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
There are so many things that bring fear to our hearts—accidents, sickness, loss of job or income, those things that go bump in the night, death… and the list could go on and on. The shepherds knew that same fear. But the angels came with news that drove fear from their hearts. Hear again the good news that drives fear from your heart: Do not be afraid! A Savior has been born to you!
Children's Christmas Narrative Service
Midweek Advent Service: God Will Come to Save His People - Just as He Promised
364 Days of Thanksgiving - Overwhelming Generosity and Faithfulness
For the last three weeks, we have talked about what it means to be thankful. In the end, beingthankful is the secret—the secret to happiness, the secret to true, godly success. Thankfulness comes from being able to see what God has done for you and recognizing all that he has given you. Today, as we see how Jesus faithfully served us, how Jesus faithfully lived for us, how Jesus faithfully died in our place. Seeing Jesus’ faithfulness to you, we respond by thankfully and faithfully serving him.
364 Days of Thanksgiving - Overwhelming Generosity
Thank you. Only two words, but when spoken from a thankful heart they express what Go desires from Christians -- an appreciation of blessings. Our gracious God showers us daily with a multitude of blessings -- and many times we don't see them. Today we continue a three-week worship series called 364 Days of Thanksgiving that will help you recognize the blessings you've been given and how to live with a spirit of thankfulness and generosity. Our focus in this service is learning the secret to overwhelming gratitude. The secret to overwhelming gratitude is opening our eyes and recognizing all the amazing things God has done for us. God has been overwhelmingly generous with you. The believer's response to God's generosity is overwhelming gratitude which naturally leads to our own overwhelming generosity.
364 Days of Thanksgiving - Overwhelming Gratitude
This past week, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. Officially established in 1863, Thanksgiving Day has long been one of our most cherished national holidays, yet we only celebrate it once annually. What does that mean for the other days of the year? Today we begin a three-week worship series called 364 Days of Thanksgiving that will help you recognize the blessings you’ve been given and how to live with a spirit of thankfulness and generosity. Our focus in this service is going to be about how God’s uncommon and unbelievable mercy toward us led him to send his Son to save us. This mercy prompts in the believers heart a feeling of uncommon gratitude toward God and spills over into all the other areas of their life.
Sinner/Saint... In Eternity
Are you a sinner or a saint? It’s easy to think it’s a multiple choice question. We assume we can only be one or the other. As our Christian Year draws to a close, we remember the fact that God sees our sin even more than we are able to. And yet, in Christ, we have been given the status of saint. This week we consider how God sees us at the time of our judgment. Since we sin daily, it’s easy to think as though that sin must be atoned for daily as well. But Jesus offered his life as a once-for-all payment for sins. The verdict we receive from God doesn’t depend on whether we manage to seek forgiveness for every last sin we commit before we die. His judgment will be on the basis of Jesus’ complete and perfect work for us.