HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Today is our "Vision Sunday" where we look at the various ministries of our church, staff, goals, what we are prayerfully asking God to do in 2025, and MORE!

It is crazy to think we have already arrived at the end of 2024! And what an amazing year it has been, filled with God's goodness and grace. As we look forward to the upcoming year, it is healthy to reflect on this past year and evaluate our growth and experiences. When we do this, we can look forward to see all what Jesus will do through our lives in 2025!

Redemption is such a beautiful word. It tells a story in just its definition alone - something that was once lost or sold has now been bought back with a price and restored to where it belongs. Is that not the most clear picture of the Gospel? We were lost, under sin and Satan's power, and Jesus steps onto the scene and rescues us. He says, "I will pay whatever price it takes - even my own life." As we approach Christmas, let us lift our hearts and minds to the amazing truth that God redeemed us with His own blood.

All too often during the Christmas season, we tend to put a heavy emphasis on Christmas shopping, visiting family, and the weather changing. Even church during Christmas time can feel very routine. However, today we are going to see that there is SO much more to the birth of the Savior than we ever imagined! Not only does it show how much God loves us but it also demonstrates God's incredible sovereign power & control over time.

Last week we learned about God's sovereignty over time and space. This morning we take a deep look into God's grace. The reality of the Gospel is that Jesus did not HAVE to die for us. God did not even have to show us MERCY. Out of HIS grace and love He decided to do something about our self-inflicted situation and sent Jesus at JUST the right time for our good

All too often during the Christmas season, we tend to put a heavy emphasis on Christmas shopping, visiting family, and the weather changing. Even church during Christmas time can feel very routine. However, today we are going to see that there is SO much more to the birth of the Savior than we ever imagined! Not only does it show how much God loves us but it also demonstrates God's incredible sovereign power & control over time.

The Bible says that God loves a "cheerful giver" - but what exactly does that mean? Sometimes being generous can be difficult and may not seem particularly "joyful." However, just like true "love" and "joy" are a choice and oftentimes a state of mind, cheerful giving is also a choice we can make. The amazing reality is once we begin to have a LIFESTYLE of generosity, those feelings of joy and "excitement" will be sure to follow. Why? Because we will have tasted of the divine joy that our Father has when He HIMSELF gives generously to us.

How would someone describe your attitude when it comes to giving? Not just money but also your time, abilities, attention, and skills? Would "generous" come to their mind? Or do they see you as being selfish, stingy, and close-fisted? When it comes to our heart and mindset towards giving anything away, we should seek to have the same approach that Jesus did - complete surrender and willingness to sacrifice. God wants us to not only be generous with our wealth but how we spend our time and resources He has given to us. Let us ask God to give us "generous" lives.

Worship comes in many different forms, styles, and appearances. Even though music and instruments may instantly come to mind, biblical worship goes so much deeper than that. Music can certainly be a PART of worship, but God cares more about the "posture" of our hearts than anything else. He wants us to praise Him no matter what our current circumstance. He wants us to rejoice and worship Him even when the night is darkest - even when our prayers aren't answered. Why? Because we trust Him no matter what. We must refuse to allow our situation and our trials to dictate how we see and feel about our Father.

When the topic of money and giving are brought up in a crowd, a whole range of emotions usually can follow. Some people may get excited and enjoy giving of their time and resources, others might squirm a little and feel uncomfortable. No matter how you feel about it, the fact is God loves a giving heart and wants us to naturally desire to be generous. Often times the question that comes up is, "How much do I HAVE to give?" when Jesus wants us to ask, "How much CAN I give?"

Sometimes when it comes to revival, we like to imagine how WE think God should do it and end up expecting that He’ll do it that exact way. But just like all throughout the Bible, God knows best and is more concerned about our hearts than anything else. He always calls His people to a humbled attitude and to present themselves fully surrendered to Him. Jesus wants us to lay down anything that is pulling us away from Him on the altar of "dying to self." THAT is when revival begins - when all we truly want is Jesus.

Have you ever read the stories in the Old Testament and desperately wished you could have physically seen the miracles that God did? Well the amazing reality is the God of the Old Testament is STILL the same God today and continues to do miracles for us, among us, and through us. They may not necessarily "look" the same but we can rest assured He still does great and wondrous things. Never give up hope or faith. God ultimately does miracles for His glory but we also profit from them because they are ALWAYS for our good.

Peer pressure can be a very difficult thing to not only encounter but overcome. One of the clearest examples of this can be found with Daniel's three friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. From the beginning, they knew life in Babylon was going to be hard but they probably never thought they'd be faced with life or death for choosing to follow Yahweh. But even in the face of losing their lives, they trusted in their God until the end, even if He chose not to save them. And it's through their story that we can draw out principles to help us in our current culture.

Have you ever wondered if there is more to your walk with Jesus than just reading a chapter of the Bible every day, telling God what you want Him to do, going to church every Sunday, and living a "moral" life until you die? Well the good news is there is ABSOLUTELY so much more! When you first believed the Gospel and started following Jesus, that wasn't the end - that was JUST the beginning. Similar to how your wedding day wasn't the “end” but the first day of your "happily ever after," so it is with Jesus. He has SO much more in store for us, not only in Heaven but also here, right now, on this Earth. The only question that remains is do you want it?

 We all have that friend or have met that person who always has an “excuse” for everything. We ask them to hang out or do us a favor and they never fail to have a reason as to why they can't do something. Typically our emotional response is one of annoyance, frustration, confusion, and distrust. The sad reality is that this is often the case when it comes to us and Jesus. He has clearly laid out His desires and commands for us in His Word and yet we will come up with all the excuses in the world to not do them - especially sharing the Gospel. We must decide this day if we are going to just "say" we are a disciple of Jesus or if we are going to bury our excuses and actually "live" like a disciple.

Last week we talked a lot about the problems facing us in the Church today. But this morning we will look at the ONLY solution that can turn the tide and change EVERYTHING: Jesus Christ. The more we know about Jesus and just how powerful & mighty He is, the less power our trials and struggles will have over our lives. It is so important that we spend time with the One who gave His life for us.

The fascinating thing about human nature is we would all admit we "know" one day we are going to die but it doesn't really "feel" like that day will come. Life just seems like it will keep going on forever. However, if we don't realize NOW how short life truly is, we will waste the valuable time God has given us. In light of eternity - forever - 100 years on this Earth is not a lot of time at all. NOW is the time to change our way of thinking & living and we need to focus on what truly matters: to live each day growing closer to Jesus and telling others about Him before it's too late.

 We all have that friend or have met that person who always has an “excuse” for everything. We ask them to hang out or do us a favor and they never fail to have a reason as to why they can't do something. Typically our emotional response is one of annoyance, frustration, confusion, and distrust. The sad reality is that this is often the case when it comes to us and Jesus. He has clearly laid out His desires and commands for us in His Word and yet we will come up with all the excuses in the world to not do them - especially sharing the Gospel. We must decide this day if we are going to just "say" we are a disciple of Jesus or if we are going to bury our excuses and actually "live" like a disciple.

A lot of times when we pray to God and ask Him to do something, we already have it planned out in our minds how we think God should do it. And then when He doesn't or it doesn't go exactly how we thought, we become frustrated and even angry at Him. As we will see in today's message, we must remember that God's ways are higher than ours and He knows best. It is up to us if we are going to trust Him by faith or try to figure things out on our own. It is only by fully surrendering to Him we will experience the answer or "healing" to our situation that we are looking for.

In today's culture, if you don't have a degree, don't have a career job, aren't making a lot of money, don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse, then you simply aren't successful and living the "American Dream." This is pushed upon us everyday from everywhere - from friends and family to social media and coworkers. The sad reality is this mindset of the "American Dream" has crept into the church and disguised itself in the form of the "abundant life." Because of this, a lot of our thoughts, motives, and directions in life are driven by our pursuit for these achievements. But is that what it truly means to follow Jesus? To be a "disciple”? What if we lived each day or each week as if it was our last? What if we treated this Earth and our possessions as things given to us to lead others to Christ? Today we are going to dive deep into what it would look like if we were to abandon a "comfortable" faith and instead embrace a biblical faith.