from Isaiah 7:10-16
J.B. Phillips writes, “The towering miracle of God’s visit to this planet on which we live will be glossed over, brushed aside or rendered impotent by over-familiarity.” Advent season comes and goes each year, and yet our hopes remain.
What if, this year we allowed the deep longing we carry inside us for this world to be different…to be the catalyst for seeing the hope of the season of Advent anew? Rather than becoming numb to the miracle of the incarnation…of Emmanuel, “God with us,” we listen back to the words of the prophet Isiah and hear this promise that God has not and will not leave us alone…that He has come and that He is coming again.
May the thrill of such hope stir in our hearts an expectation for God to move anew in our lives.
w/ Vern Collins
*from our Combined Worship Gathering for our Christmas Cantata
from Isaiah 35
J.B. Phillips writes, “The towering miracle of God’s visit to this planet on which we live will be glossed over, brushed aside or rendered impotent by over-familiarity.” Advent season comes and goes each year, and yet our hopes remain.
What if, this year we allowed the deep longing we carry inside us for this world to be different…to be the catalyst for seeing the hope of the season of Advent anew? Rather than becoming numb to the miracle of the incarnation…of Emmanuel, “God with us,” we listen back to the words of the prophet Isiah and hear this promise that God has not and will not leave us alone…that He has come and that He is coming again.
May the thrill of such hope stir in our hearts an expectation for God to move anew in our lives.
w/ Vern Collins
from Isaiah 11:1-10
J.B. Phillips writes, “The towering miracle of God’s visit to this planet on which we live will be glossed over, brushed aside or rendered impotent by over-familiarity.” Advent season comes and goes each year, and yet our hopes remain.
What if, this year we allowed the deep longing we carry inside us for this world to be different…to be the catalyst for seeing the hope of the season of Advent anew? Rather than becoming numb to the miracle of the incarnation…of Emmanuel, “God with us,” we listen back to the words of the prophet Isiah and hear this promise that God has not and will not leave us alone…that He has come and that He is coming again.
May the thrill of such hope stir in our hearts an expectation for God to move anew in our lives.
w/ Vern Collins
from Isaiah 2:1-5
J.B. Phillips writes, “The towering miracle of God’s visit to this planet on which we live will be glossed over, brushed aside or rendered impotent by over-familiarity.” Advent season comes and goes each year, and yet our hopes remain.
What if, this year we allowed the deep longing we carry inside us for this world to be different…to be the catalyst for seeing the hope of the season of Advent anew? Rather than becoming numb to the miracle of the incarnation…of Emmanuel, “God with us,” we listen back to the words of the prophet Isiah and hear this promise that God has not and will not leave us alone…that He has come and that He is coming again.
May the thrill of such hope stir in our hearts an expectation for God to move anew in our lives.
w/ Ed Glaize
from Philippians 4:4-7
Scripture is full of reasons to give thanks. It is full of instruction toward gratitude and thanksgiving before God. A Spirit of Thanksgiving ought to be one of the things that marks the people of God and sets us apart from a world that has a difficult time being able to place deep-rooted hope in anything lasting. But what do we do when Thanksgiving is difficult? What do we do when a Spirit of Gratitude seems hard to muster? Is there hope of finding reason for thanks in all seasons? Reasons for gratitude no matter the circumstances? Imagine how different life might be if we actually could…
w/ Vern Collins
from Hebrews 12:28-29
Scripture is full of reasons to give thanks. It is full of instruction toward gratitude and thanksgiving before God. A Spirit of Thanksgiving ought to be one of the things that marks the people of God and sets us apart from a world that has a difficult time being able to place deep-rooted hope in anything lasting. But what do we do when Thanksgiving is difficult? What do we do when a Spirit of Gratitude seems hard to muster? Is there hope of finding reason for thanks in all seasons? Reasons for gratitude no matter the circumstances? Imagine how different life might be if we actually could…
w/ Vern Collins
from Hebrews 12:1-3
Scripture is full of reasons to give thanks. It is full of instruction toward gratitude and thanksgiving before God. A Spirit of Thanksgiving ought to be one of the things that marks the people of God and sets us apart from a world that has a difficult time being able to place deep-rooted hope in anything lasting. But what do we do when Thanksgiving is difficult? What do we do when a Spirit of Gratitude seems hard to muster? Is there hope of finding reason for thanks in all seasons? Reasons for gratitude no matter the circumstances? Imagine how different life might be if we actually could…
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Ed Glaize
from Matthew 28:16-20 and Matthew 7:24-29
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20 and Matthew 7:21-23
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20 and Matthew 7:15-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Ed Glaize
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins
from Matthew 28:16-20
*Mission Celebration Weekend*
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Eric Heistand
from Matthew 28:16-20
“Go and make Disciples.”
The command seems simple enough. The invitation to BE a disciple is inviting enough (on the lips of Jesus, that is)…inviting, but unapologetic in what it costs to follow Him well…to follow Him TRULY and FAITHFULLY.
Over the course of this series we are going to consider as many facets of this encounter the disciples had with the Risen Jesus…to consider the setting…the ask…the promise…the doubt…the worship…all in hopes of hearing the call in our own lives and taking seriously enough what we are being invited to and what is being asked that we are willing first to truly BE disciples and second to be a part of the work of MAKING disciples!
w/ Vern Collins and Ed Glaize
from Psalm 23
Walter Bruggemann says of the Psalms: “On the one hand, Israel’s faithful speech addressed to God is the substance of the Psalms. The Psalms do this so fully and so well because they articulate the entire gamut of Israel’s speech to God, from profound praise to the utterance of unspeakable anger and doubt. On the other hand, as Martin Luther understood so passionately, the Psalms are not only addressed to God…They are the voice of the Gospel, God’s good word addressed to God’s faithful people.”
Where do you need to be given permission to be honest with God? With what you are feeling. With your frustration. With sadness, or disappointment, or fear, or anger. With great joy and thanksgiving. This summer journey with us as the reality of what it means to be human collides with the goodness and unending faithfulness of God.
w/ Jeff McClain
(Jeff’s final sermon from Sanctuary service-audio issues in Crossroads resulted in no recording-Be Blessed!)
from Psalm 71
Walter Bruggemann says of the Psalms: “On the one hand, Israel’s faithful speech addressed to God is the substance of the Psalms. The Psalms do this so fully and so well because they articulate the entire gamut of Israel’s speech to God, from profound praise to the utterance of unspeakable anger and doubt. On the other hand, as Martin Luther understood so passionately, the Psalms are not only addressed to God…They are the voice of the Gospel, God’s good word addressed to God’s faithful people.”
Where do you need to be given permission to be honest with God? With what you are feeling. With your frustration. With sadness, or disappointment, or fear, or anger. With great joy and thanksgiving. This summer journey with us as the reality of what it means to be human collides with the goodness and unending faithfulness of God.
w/ Vern Collins
