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Today marks the first Sunday of the season of Advent. “it [is] a time of expectancy and preparation for Jesus’s arrival—which happened first in the incarnation (Jesus’s birth) and will happen again at his return. For some, Advent is a reminder to find rest in a season notoriously wrought with materialism,…

Advent - Adventure The word Adventure comes from the word Advent - nothing to do with the Christmas Season - but the meaning is important. It has to do with new arrivals and new beginnings. I like the idea of a new adventure. Celebrating thins - ‘about to happen’, from advenire ‘arrive’. Happened, Happening…

Message It was late in my high school years that I first began paying attention to something called “March Madness.” Yes, I discovered the famous college basketball tournament and began learning about one particular team, Duke University. I had never been into sports very much growing up. Sometimes my…

Living In Exile Our story this morning carries us to the land of Babylon. The Jewish people live in desolation. The Assyrians conquered and scattered the northern Kingdom of Israel. Now, Babylon sacked the small Kingdom of Judea and deported most of the population to Babylon. They had wiped the nation…

The Gifts of Christmas Advent Series Sermon 1: The Gift of Hope Do you ever feel like Charlie Brown? In the midst of the Christmas decorations that have been up since Halloween, the Christmas songs stuck in your head, the lights and shopping and cookies and parties—do you ever want to just stand up and…

Desolation and Promise [Slide: On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate. ( Daniel 9:27 , NASB95)] We live in desolate times. The prophet Daniel speaks of the antichrist as “the one who makes desolate.” According to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, one definition of desolate…

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because…

What the Prince Gave up Have you ever wished you were a prince, a royal? If you were a prince, you would probably have a lot of nice things. You probably would have great toys. Great Food. Rich friends. Can you think of any reason you would want to give up being a prince and live with poor people? What…

God did not spare His Son Hope for a New Year Romans 8:28–32 (ESV) 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that…

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came…

How do you know if someone is a “good” person? How do you know whether you are good person? By what do we measure our goodness? How does our culture define “good”? By what standard does our culture have to measure “goodness”? We live in a world and in a culture that tells us that if we do good things,…

We wait for a better king. ( Isaiah 11:1-5 ) We wait for a better world. ( Isaiah 11:6-10 ) We have a better hope. ( Colossians 3:1-4 )

Intro Advent: Taking time to commemorate the coming of Christ. This Sunday the prophecy candle and hope. Christmas can be a time of year where there is much joy and celebration, but it can also be filled with challenges that often go unspoken or unattended. Main Idea: Captives Hope to be Set Free With…

Where were you when…? Every generation has a “Where were you when?” moment… — Where were you when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon? — Where were you when you heard JFK or Martin Luther King Jr. got shot? — Where were you when Columbine happened? — … 9/11? And the list goes on… Moments like these are…

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Introduction Our thoughts show what we are. Mind Reader? We cannot read minds, we can only know what another is thinking by how they externalize their thoughts in their words and action. If we could read the minds of others, we would know how to…

Today we begin a new series called The Heart of Christmas. Over the next few weeks and concluding on Christmas Eve, we want to look at what is exactly at the heart of Christmas. Today, I want you to know that hope is at the heart of Christmas. Let me take a moment and show you what I mean. I remember…

Today we celebrate the Christmas Season’s beginning. Now, our decorators at church began that last week, so you already had a chance to see all these decorations thanks to the dedication and work of Patty, Andrea, Mary, and the help of Ben and Keon and Laura....anyone else? Bobbi and I were at Yucaipa…

Psalm 71:5–15 (ESV) 5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord , from my youth. 6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. 7 I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with…

INTRO: Illustration: Good to see all of you. Its good to see. Many of you have probably been to the eye doctor on at least one occasion. When they come to the conclusion that you may need glasses they set you on a chair and pull this mechanical mask vision tester thing over your face. You rest your chin…

What’s led up to this point The Jews have been back from the exile for a while, the temple has been built for a while. This has come after the priest Ezra established temple worship again and this is during the time when Nehemiah had returned to the persian king and during his absence he found that the…

Season of Hope

1 Thessalonians 4:18 “So encourage each other with these words.” “Billy, it was just a year ago today that you left us and the sunshine went out of our lives. But we turned on the headlights and we’re going on. Billy, we shall keep on doing the best we can until that glorious day when we shall see you…

Our Scripture lesson this morning is Luke 1:5-25 : In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments…

Well…it didn’t take long did it? The moment we put down our forks and finished our thanksgiving feasts, radio stations began playing Christmas songs, churches began scheduling special services, our neighbors began climbing steep ladders to decorate their homes, and retail stores began pumping up their…

A Message of Hope - God’s Mercy Running from God is not a race we want to be entered in. For those who like to wager on the underdog, that’s not a safe bet. God’s sure to win. So far in the account of Jonah, we’ve seen a prophet with a call and a commission. We’ve seen a decision to disobey and an attempt…