Dec 13, 2015
Joseph: The Voice of Reason
By: Pastor David
Series: The Voices of Christmas
Matthew 1:16-25
This Sunday is our big Christmas concert, with choir, orchestra, skits by the kids, and carols. You don’t want to miss it! There will also be a guest appearance from Joseph, the human father of Jesus. Joseph, a simple carpenter, brings the voice of reason amid the twelve voices of Christmas we hear this year. Christmas challenges our reason, our thinking. It forces us to look at things differently. God is doing things that don’t necessarily make sense. Come hear how in Christmas, God challenges you to rethink your life, and shows you what you couldn’t see before!
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- Dec 13, 2015Joseph: The Voice of Reason
Dec 13, 2015Joseph: The Voice of ReasonBy: Pastor DavidSeries: The Voices of ChristmasMatthew 1:16-25This Sunday is our big Christmas concert, with choir, orchestra, skits by the kids, and carols. You don’t want to miss it! There will also be a guest appearance from Joseph, the human father of Jesus. Joseph, a simple carpenter, brings the voice of reason amid the twelve voices of Christmas we hear this year. Christmas challenges our reason, our thinking. It forces us to look at things differently. God is doing things that don’t necessarily make sense. Come hear how in Christmas, God challenges you to rethink your life, and shows you what you couldn’t see before!
- Dec 6, 2015John the Baptist: The Voice of Preparation
Dec 6, 2015John the Baptist: The Voice of PreparationBy: Pastor DavidSeries: The Voices of ChristmasLuke 1:67, 76-80There is a voice calling in the desert! “Prepare for the coming of the Lord!” This Sunday we will hear the voice of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, as the voice of Elijah proclaiming that the promised Messiah is coming. Jesus born in Bethlehem is a new king, and this king changes how we live. Don’t miss this Sunday, when we hear this voice of Christmas tell us how Christmas changes our lives!
- Nov 29, 2015Zecharias: The Voice of Disbelief/Elizabeth: The Voice of Blessing
Nov 29, 2015Zecharias: The Voice of Disbelief/Elizabeth: The Voice of BlessingBy: Pastor DavidSeries: The Voices of ChristmasLuke 1:5-20Luke 1:21-25We will hear two voices of Christmas this Sunday. One is Zechariah, the voice of disbelief. The other is Elizabeth, the voice of blessing. We hear these two voices in our lives in this coming month, and as we hear their message of what Christmas is truly about, our disbelief is turned into blessing. Don't miss this important preparation for your Christmas this year.
- Nov 22, 2015Gabriel: The Voice of Disclosure
Nov 22, 2015Gabriel: The Voice of DisclosureBy: Pastor DavidSeries: The Voices of ChristmasLuke 1:11-20, 26-29As we prepare for Christmas, we are going to be hearing the voices of those who are part of the first Christmas. This Sunday the angel Gabriel will come and speak words of excitement, anticipation and blessing. Don't miss this first witness in "The Voices of Christmas!"
- Nov 15, 2015The Invincible Iron Man: Being a Good Steward
Nov 15, 2015The Invincible Iron Man: Being a Good StewardBy: Pastor DavidMatthew 25:21,23Tony Stark is a handsome, genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. Yet, his life is aimless, until he realizes he needs to stop selfishly squandering all he has been given on his own pleasure and amusement and instead use his resources and his very life to help others. Stark’s change of heart (pun intended, as he has a critical heart condition!) helps us think through our own stewardship of what God has given us. Each of us is rich in our own way. How are we using our money, our mind and talents, our relationships, and our health to glorify God and serve others heroically? (P.S. And, we also have a suit of armor - check out Ephesians 6!)
- Nov 8, 2015Captain America – Serving God and Country
Nov 8, 2015Captain America – Serving God and CountryBy: Pastor DavidMatthew 17:27November 11 is Veterans Day. We stop to give thanks to all those who have served our country and helped make it such a great nation. Yet we realize that our country also struggles to do what is right and good. We are in an election year, and as we watch the rhetoric, we wonder if as a country we are able to rise above our differences and work together for what makes our country great. In the comic world, Captain America embodies all that is good about veterans and the ideals for which they have always fought. This Sunday we will use the figure of Captain America to explore how we, as people of faith who strive to serve God heroically, should we live out our faith as American citizens. Don’t miss it!
- Nov 1, 2015The Mighty Thor: Living between Heaven and Earth
Nov 1, 2015The Mighty Thor: Living between Heaven and EarthBy: Pastor David1 Peter 5:5What do we have in common with a Norse thunder god with long blond hair and an enchanted hammer? Consider: Is Thor’s primary loyalty to his heavenly realm of Asgard or to the planet earth? Does he carry himself with the pride and nobility befitting a prince or with the proper humility of someone who knows that others are as special as he is? We do see ourselves in Thor’s tensions. Our identity as followers of Jesus is that we are God’s children and princes and princesses of heaven. Yet we are called to live humble lives of service into the world we live in daily. How do we do that authentically? Come find out this Sunday how you are royalty living in our world.
- Oct 25, 2015The Mighty Avengers – Assembling a Community of Saints and Sinners
Oct 25, 2015The Mighty Avengers – Assembling a Community of Saints and SinnersBy: Pastor DavidLuke 4:18-19The newest box office superhero hit is Avengers: Age of Ultron. While a great movie, it also captures how working together with a constantly changing group of people who come with different backgrounds and different life experiences can be challenging. We can relate to this! Time and time again, however, The Mighty Avengers find a way to work together to save the world. As we strive to live out heroic lives by linking up with others we struggle to understand and agree with, God gives us the grace and wisdom necessary to work together for God’s good in our torn world. Come to find out how you can receive this grace and wisdom, too!
- Oct 18, 2015Wonder Woman – The Strength of Love
Oct 18, 2015Wonder Woman – The Strength of LoveBy: Pastor David1 John 3:11-21Strength, power, and influence don’t have to be defined in terms of brawn, aggression and violence. In a world where we personally experience “might makes right” almost on a daily basis, we need a different approach. Our God calls us to be strong and mighty, but not in the ways the world operates. Wonder Woman, our superhero this week, offers an alternative, a way for us to see how we can live heroically in the strength and power of love, truth and justice.
- Oct 11, 2015Daredevil – Vengeance or Mercy?
Oct 11, 2015Daredevil – Vengeance or Mercy?By: Pastor DavidMicah 6:8During the day, Matt Murdock is a lawyer who tirelessly strives as an advocate for justice by taking on cases no one else will. By night, he dons a red devil costume and fights as a vigilante against those who have escaped legal justice. In himself, Matt is torn between his own heroic ideals and his moral failures. People of faith are not always perfect pillars of virtue either. We are called to fight for justice and at the same time to show mercy. How do we authentically do both? Come this Sunday to struggle with this devil, if you dare!
- Oct 4, 2015The Uncanny X-Men – Dealing with Discrimination and Diversity
Oct 4, 2015The Uncanny X-Men – Dealing with Discrimination and DiversityBy: Pastor DavidGalatians 3:28The X-Men are a group of people who were born different. Because of that, people fear and hate them. Even so, they have sworn to protect the very people who are prejudiced against them. They have more ethnic, racial, and gender diversity than any other superhero team. What would you do if you were mistreated, feared, and even hated simply because of the way you were born? In this Sunday’s message we will wrestle with how God’s people are called to confront prejudice, welcome the stranger, and be a diverse community.
- Sep 27, 2015The Incredible Hulk – Controlling Our Anger
Sep 27, 2015The Incredible Hulk – Controlling Our AngerBy: Pastor DavidEphesians 4:17-32When brilliant scientist Bruce Banner gets angry, he transforms into the mean green monster known as The Incredible Hulk. The Hulk is one of the most identifiable fantasy characters in popular culture. But is he a superhero or supervillain? His anger fuels his strength, which he can use for either good or for harm. The Hulk can be a vivid image of the visceral power of our own anger. Does our anger make us stronger? Does our anger make us lose control? Don’t miss this Sunday as we explore how God’s Word teaches people how to handle our own ambivalent relationship with anger.
- Sep 20, 2015Spider-Man – Responsibility and Hard Times
Sep 20, 2015Spider-Man – Responsibility and Hard TimesBy: Pastor DavidGalatians 6:1-10 and Luke 18:9-14What does Spider-Man have to do with our life of faith? At first glance, it seems downright silly to try to draw lessons for living in the real world from someone who wears red and blue tights and has the proportional strength and abilities of a spider. Yet Spider-Man Is the most human of heroes. In his everyday life as Peter Parker, spider-Man is just a normal guy who, despite the hard times that come his way, tries to deal with those problems and life his life in a responsible manner. This Sunday we will put Spider-Man in dialogue with the Bible and discover ways that we can also live heroic lives, despite all the obstacles that stand in our way and the hard times we must endure.
- Sep 13, 2015Fantastic Four: Family, Friends, and Foes
Sep 13, 2015Fantastic Four: Family, Friends, and FoesBy: Pastor DavidMatthew 5:38-48This Sunday is Superhero Sunday! We’re starting our new series, Marvelous Myths, where we look at popular Marvel supreheroes to see examples and lessons of how we all can live heroic lives. Our first message uses the Fantastic Four, four ordinary people who are infused with cosmic rays that cause them each to develop unique superpowers. They commit to work for good and to fight crime. Yet their biggest challenges are learning to get along and work together. This is a powerful message we all need to hear! We are ordinary people infused with divine power to work for good. Yet sometimes our biggest challenges are around learning to work together and getting along. You don’t want to miss this exciting issue...er...I mean message. “Fantastic Four: Family, Friends and Foes.”
- Aug 30, 2015A Pelican in the Desert
Aug 30, 2015A Pelican in the DesertBy: Pastor DavidPsalm 102 and John 4:7-15Are you dry? Are you thirsty? Are you wear traveling the hot, dry road? Jesus is living water. He is the one who can change your situation. Jesus offers living water that brings life to barren waste, that brings green plant-life and colorful flowers to hard, cracking soil. Come to find out how you can have living water!
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- Aug 2, 2015Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Aug 2, 2015Where Everybody Knows Your NameBy: Pastor DavidSeries: VitalActs 2:42-37Who knows your nickname? When a church grows, it may be too big for everybody to know everybody. But we should never be too big for everybody to know somebody. Small groups connect people in relationships. Being together in the community of a group can give Christ-followers both roots and wings. Roots keep you connected to Christ. Wings are what release you to serve. Are you in a small group? Everybody has a deep desire to be known, cared for, prayed for and welcomed…and that can happen only in a small group. Are we making room for new people to join groups within our church family? How will we intentionally create at least one more connection point?