Where do you feel like you belong?

There has been a decline of social connections over the decades. We are more isolated, inside in our lives of air conditioning and Netflix. And we’re not just isolated but also divided- in a pandemic of loneliness. But we were made for community.

How can we share the gift of Christian community more fully this year?

The book of Ephesians goes deep in looking at God’s design for the church.

In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul talks about the POWER of the church through Jesus Christ, he’s trying to wake us up to what we have in Christ.

Paul prays for:

• Wisdom & revelation
• Hearts may be enlightened
• Know the hope to which He has called you
• Know the glorious inheritance of the saints (the gifts of one another, the connections)
• Know his incomparably great power for us who believe

So much of the power of the church comes from the service of so many of the overlooked servants of the church, servants like Gene Powell who passed away over Christmas. Gene served our church in so many ways for so many years.

In Christian community, we are engaging in something mysterious and powerful. When we gather together and the Spirit is among us, something happens. People walk away from church for all kinds of reasons, or sometimes maybe they stay on the outskirts, but in Ephesians, Paul is calling us to sink into it. That we belong. It takes time and at times it’s inconvenient, but there is an alchemy of transformation in which ordinary people become saints as followers of Jesus. There is power in Christian community.

Are you willing to risk, to brave the waters and dive deeper into Christian community? There is surprising power that meets a deep longing in our hearts in and through Christian community.

Opening Heaven: Jesus is Baptized
Weekly Devotional 1.6.2024

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

At the start of Matthew 3, Matthew moves from the birth narrative to John the Baptist preaching the baptism of Jesus. In the gospels, John the Baptist and Jesus are paired together in the announcement of their births and actual births. While John’s birth is seen as a miracle, Jesus' birth was divine, and heaven and earth rejoiced at the newborn Savior. Zechariah was told that he and Elizabeth would bear a son who would prepare a way for the Lord. Now, around 25 years later, after Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned to Nazareth, John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness. John preaches that people should repent because the kingdom was at hand—the same message Jesus preached in the next chapter (Matthew 4:17). People then confess their sins and are baptized by John in the Jordan River. Repentance and baptism all go hand in hand. We must first recognize that we are sinners and in need of salvation. Baptism symbolizes the repentance of sin. John is baptizing people who confessed their sins and repented to flee from God’s wrath. Jesus was without sin and took upon God’s full wrath on our behalf. He received the Father’s wrath for our sins so that we could receive his righteousness. This is entirely different than why John the Baptist was baptizing people. They would confess sin to flee from God’s wrath, but Jesus was without sin and took on God’s wrath. Jesus is the opposite on both accounts! While baptizing the repentant crowd, John the Baptist condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees as hypocritical and unrepentant and then spoke of one greater who would come. That greater one is Jesus. Jesus went from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, John responded by saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” John knows that Jesus is greater, that He was without sin, and that he offered a lesser baptism than what Jesus could offer. Why would Jesus need to be baptized if He was without sin? Jesus was getting baptized with sinners as a way to identify with the very ones for whom He gave us His life. Jesus repenting does not mean that he is confessing sin, but rather offering himself fully to God. When we repent, we turn away from sin and towards God’s will for us. We cannot follow sin and God at the same time. By being baptized, Jesus also affirms the message that John is preaching and reveals that He is God’s beloved Son. Together, we see that God’s Son has come down to dwell with the people and live a life of obedience fully reliant on the Father.

Ronney Joe Webb - A Baby Changes Everything - 1 Corinthians 15

•If it weren’t for a loving God, there would be no baby. Good loves us so much that God wanted a relationship with us by sending his son to earth.

•If there were no baby, there would be no sinless man. Jesus did what we cannot do - be perfect in every way.

•If there were no sinless man, there would be no cross. Jesus’ death is the perfect sacrifice for our sinful nature.

•If there were no cross, there would be no resurrection. Jesus died so that we may live.

•If there were no resurrection, there would be no salvation.

•Without salvation, we cannot live eternally with God.

•We need a loving God, we need a baby, we need a sinless man, we need the cross, we need salvation, we need Resurrection because we were DESIGNED to live eternally with God.

Come and Worship: The Visit of the Wise Men

Weekly Devotional 12.30.2024

“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

After Jesus was born, the wise men gave gifts that showed their admiration for Him and affirmed that the King was born. “What is the significance of these gifts?” In those days, gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were used to show honor to a royal ruler. These lavish gifts were often given to a future king and were highly prized and expensive. Gifts for a king were not new when Jesus came. Psalm 72 was a prayer for the future kings in the Davidic line, beginning with Solomon, to rule in righteousness, protect the weak and needy, and bless the nations. In the psalm, we see all others falling down to serve the one king and presenting him with gifts. In 1 Kings 10:1-10, the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon and brought lavish gifts, including gold and spices, just like the Wise Men to Jesus. Only this time, it was for the true King who would have an eternal kingdom and rule forever.

Today is the third Sunday in Advent when we light the candle of love. What is Christmas if not a story of love reaching across time and space and dimensions - from the heavenly realm to the earthly? When the Bible wants to describe the divine motivation for all that Jesus has done, it goes to this:

"For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

It is God's love that sparked the birth of Christ and the celebration that we have today and this week. As we read through the stories in Matthew and Luke, we find stories of love in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men- God's love moving them all. God's love moves us at Christmas. God's love transcends time. We will reenact the manger scene and place ourselves in that moment on Christmas Eve, drawn by the love of God as if time compresses at Christmas. We look back 2,000 years and we also look forward to the promise return of Christ again and the fresh gift of resurrection life and the hopes that he brings.

God's vision of love is to lift up those who are broken and to heal the sick and the struggling and to give hope to the hopeless and peace to those who are exhausted by violence. God's love in Jesus is here to make the desert places in your heart bloom with life.

For God so LOVED the world...

Glory to God in the Highest: The Birth of Jesus
Weekly Devotional 12.23.2024

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12

The Château de Versailles is unlike any other palace and stands in stark contrast to the birthplace of King Jesus. Instead of an elaborate palace with curated gardens, Jesus was born in a humble stall. The true King’s birthplace wasn’t filled with marble floors and gold leaf furniture, but instead a feeding trough for animals where He was wrapped with strips of cloth. The promised Messiah came in the most mundane and humble way, and yet, heaven and earth marveled and exalted His birth, giving praise and glory to God for the arrival of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Everything about the arrival of the Savior was humble and meek.

Discover Joy - Luke 2:8-14 - Dr. Jeff Raines

We don't have to manufacture joy or hold onto joy but instead discover joy because it's not an emotion we have to figure out how to feel. Our impulse and our world says that joy is found in youth, in money, in getting things, in feeling good.

But joy comes more in the seeking and in the struggle. Joy is what happens when the Holy Spirit intersects the human heart.

In Luke 2, the announcement of good news comes to the shepherds- the outcasts, on the fringes of poverty.

Joy often comes in the unexpected. When we're serving or creating or building- sometimes when we're engrossed with something joy surprises us.

Joy often comes in the midst of a struggle. James 1:2-4 implores us to "consider it pure joy... when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your fairy produces perseverance..." Growth and maturity can sometimes only comes through being broken.

Joy often comes in obedience to God. Going to see an infant wasn't convenient for the shepherds, but the errand brought great joy. God's work intersected them in a surprising way.

How's your joy today? Sometimes it takes opening our eyes to see it. Sometimes it takes closing our eyes and asking God to reveal it to us. Sometimes it takes letting go of our idols. Sometimes it takes taking the next step in obedience. God's joy is available to all of us. It's there for us to discover.

My Soul Magnifies the Lord: The Birth of Jesus Foretold
Weekly Devotional 12.16.2024

“And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” Luke 1:46-48

Announcements are important because they focus on a single event that will happen in the future and the importance of the event. One of the most significant announcements was from the angel Gabriel to Mary and that she would bear the promised Messiah, Jesus our Lord. The angel’s announcement to Mary, the sequence of the announcement in the gospel story, and her reaction are significant and help us better understand the Christmas story and God’s plan throughout redemptive history.