This Weekend's Message: When He Appears

Human beings have an obsession with the end of the world. Whether this preoccupation manifests in our interest in post-apocalyptic movies and books or in the Mayan calendar, we find great interest in this subject.

Not surprisingly, then, the subject of Christ’s return captures our interest. When will it be? What will it be like? What events will precede it? These questions have been asked and debated for centuries. They preoccupy us. In fact, too often they distract us from two much more important questions:
    (1) What will be the result of Christ’s return?
    (2) How can I prepare for Christ’s return?

We have just finished celebrating the first coming of Christ. This Sunday, we will take time to anticipate his second coming, and to talk about how we can appropriately prepare for it.

Dan

This Weekend's Message: This is Love

John Lennon once said, “It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, or how you love. It matters only that you love.” While he said this a number of decades ago, this statement reflects the sentiment of our age. We shouldn’t fight because we should love. We shouldn’t exclude because we should love. We shouldn’t judge because we should love. If we would just love one another, everything would be fixed.

In the Bible, God does not disagree with John Lennon on the primacy of love. However, God does disagree that it is unimportant why we love or how we love. And Lennon’s statement makes a significant assumption. It assumes that we even have the capability of living a life of love. After all, very few people would disagree with the sentiment of loving other people, but our world is not as a result free from wars or judgment or prejudice. While it may be true that our greatest human need is to love and to be loved, Lennon’s statement does very little to equip us to live lives of love.

So, how do we get love? How do we experience it, and how do we find the power to give it?

Dan

This Weekend's Message: Good News of Great Joy

Every year people celebrate Christmas through the giving and receiving of gifts, and chances are you have been looking to give a meaning gift to friend or loved one. Well what if I told you that God himself has given you a gift? This week we are unwrapping the Christmas story to discover that gift and its significance. This year we would like you to receive a gift that comes only from God himself.

Matt Sasso

This Weekend's Message: Christ, Our Peace

In 2001 U2 released a song called “Peace on Earth.” Here are the opening lyrics:
Heaven on Earth 
We need it now 
I’m sick of all of this 
Hanging around 
Sick of sorrow 
Sick of pain 
Sick of hearing again and again 
That’s there’s gonna be 
Peace on Earth 

This song powerfully reflects two truths. First of all, it reflects the longing of every human heart for peace on earth. It is no wonder that so many Christmas songs repeat the angel’s announcement of “peace on earth and goodwill to men.” Every politician presents policies that are meant to promote greater peace and harmony on the earth. We all want peace on earth. But the second truth that this song reflects is that we have become cynical about the possibility of peace on earth. It sounds like a nice idea, but the angel’s announcement seems more and more out of touch with reality. It was announced 2,000 years ago, and yet it seems no closer to reality today.

The Bible does not present a pie in the sky idea that human beings can overcome their differences and attain peace on earth. At the same time, the Bible does not present a pessimistic idea that peace on earth will never happen. Our longing for peace will be fulfilled. But it will not happen because of the President or the UN or a new Middle East policy. Peace is an exclusive gift that is offered to the world through the very first Christmas.

Dan

This Weekend's Message: Our Only Hope

HOPE – Hope is an essential part of our life that all of us need. I think the Christmas season brings this idea of hope to the forefront of everyone’s thinking. I remember when I was a kid I would make my wish list, give it to my parents, and then start hoping. Right up to the moment I opened that last present my hope was always alive. If I got what was on my list, of course my hope was realized. If I didn’t, then my hope was disappointed. As a kid, most of the time my mood on Christmas day was determined by whether my hope was fulfilled or not.

This Sunday we start a new series called “Exclusive Gifts for Everyone” as we celebrate advent. As you can tell we will be talking about hope. What is hope and where should our hope be placed? These will be the questions we try and answer. I HOPE to see you Sunday!

Gary