December 1, 2024
When The King Comes | Is Life Supposed To Be Like This?
Advent 2024
Genesis 1:31-2:3
This is the beginning of the Beginning! The Creation story lays out many bedrock truths, including our purpose and God's purpose. The 7th day of Creation reveals that God is the rightful King and we are part of a good Kingdom. These two truths alone are the foundation for life-giving hope.
Songs for this week: Spotify
- How would you define ‘hope’? Recall a time when you had hope (confidence!) for something that had yet to arrive.
- In what ways could you use or draw upon the truths of the Creation Story to encourage a friend who was feeling hopeless?
- Does the picture of Creation (Earth and the far-flung stars) as God’s Temple resonate for you? In what ways does the visible creation move you to worship?
- God is the King of the Universe. With your small group, track through the Scriptures and remind each other how ‘kingship’ plays out through Israel’s history, through Jesus’ birth and death and into the promise of the life to come.
- Pray together for the person you named on the Christmas ornament you hung this past Sunday.
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Recent Sermons
How To Face The Hard Stuff James gets right down to business! For everyone not currently soaking in a hot tub, suffering is a first order of business. In just a few verses, James explains how trials can grow maturity, how wisdom helps the journey, and how to avoid wasting a suffering experience.
Empowered Baptism is recognized throughout the Church as the beginning of a ‘God thing.’ John’s baptism was a visible demonstration of the start of a new life — clearing out the junk to prepare for what God was about to do. Jesus’ baptism reveals the true heart of baptism: God’s desire to bless and express His delight. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the start of the Kingdom. Ordinary women and men were now filled with the Spirit of Jesus to continue on the ministry Jesus started.
Luke 3:21-22 -At Jesus’ baptism, the Father said, “You’re my son. I love you. I’m proud of you.” As Christians, our baptism is a sign that we are in Christ, that what is true about him is true about us, and that the Father’s blessing now defines us.
Luke 3:1-20 - The first mention of baptism in the Bible begins with John. John was the cousin of Jesus and also His opening act. John called the people of his day to "Get Ready." The public sign of a life getting ready for God was, and still is, baptism. Get washed so God can do what God wants to do.
Revelation 21:1-8 - Jesus wins; Jesus has already won; stay faithful to Jesus! This is the message of John’s sometimes confusing book of Revelation. It is full of encouragement and hope for disciples. Jesus, the Lamb, is on the throne. And he is preparing a future for us that includes heaven and so much more!
Acts 21:37–22:22 - Acts 21 finds Paul in Jerusalem, at the Temple, getting beaten for his faith in Jesus. In a wild turn of events, Paul had the opportunity to talk to those who wanted to kill him. What do you say to people who want you dead? Paul told his story—a story of his own self-righteous zeal, of Jesus meeting him in an unmistakable way, and of a kind believer who stood with him. What a great testimony!
