Warrior God
All will be as all should be
Your God is Too Small
Just be, and I will do
Don't just do something, sit there
The season leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent—a season of waiting and longing for a rescuer to mend our broken world. This morning we think about true love. Not just sappy or sentimental, love is primarily an action more than it is a feeling, and it often does things that look foolish or unreasonable. This morning we think about God’s love—in action, even if it looks foolish and unreasonable.
Shoots and Stumps
The season leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent—a season of waiting and longing for a rescuer to mend our broken world. This morning we think about the nature of peace. Peace is not just a lack of conflict; peace means everything is as it should be. In a world that most of the time does not feel peaceful, where do we find true peace?
From Sparta to Iowa
The season leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent—a season of waiting and longing for a rescuer to mend our broken world. This morning we think about the nature of hope. What does it mean to hope in God, and how can we find sturdy hope, not just Hallmark hope?
Joy in the Darkness (Isaiah's Song)
“Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem,” God tells the Israelites in Isaiah 52, and two chapters later, “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy…” Is God so cruel as to command a ruined city to rejoice—to ask an infertile woman to sing for joy?
When the world around us is bleak, how do we find joy?
Blue Christmas: Finding Joy in Darkness
“Joy to the World,” the song goes, but not everyone feels joyful during Christmas. What do we do when the lights—the festive music—the decorations—the cards—all tell us to feel joyful, but instead we feel darkness?
It can help to remember that joy is not based on our circumstances; it’s a gift from God. And the truest joy comes from God’s greatest gift: his son Jesus. Listen to hear how Jesus offers a transcendent joy in our lives, even in the middle of our darkness.
Blue Christmas: Finding Peace in Grief
Many of us feel varying degrees of grief during the Christmas season — the pain of a loved one who is no longer with us or the sting of a soured relationship. How do we reconcile the absence of loved ones or cherished relationships with the expectations of “holiday cheer?”
Listen to hear more about how Jesus offers a unique brand of peace in the midst of our grief:
Blue Christmas: Finding Hope in Anxiety
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” they sing. But not everyone feels that way. In fact, for many of us, Christmas brings mixed emotions.
For those of us who feel anxious during the holidays—whether about family, or about the future, or about anything else—what do we do when Christmas feels more blue than white?
Find out this morning how Christ gives us hope in our anxiety—even during the stressful holiday season.