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Christmas is a time to remember that our healing is found through Jesus. Like sheep, all of us are lost, but all is not lost. No matter how hopeless things seem, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, longs to bring us back into a life of purpose and wholeness.

Isaiah 11 describes Jesus as a shoot that bears fruit growing up from the stump of Jesse. Jesus has come to restore, to give purpose, and to cultivate our lives in such a way that we bear fruit, no matter how far gone things may sometimes seem.

When light enters the room, it changes the way we see everything. Jesus is our light, and His coming into the world has the ability to change the landscape and perspective of our lives forever. We have seen a great light, and His name is Jesus.

When we are obedient to God’s call to generosity, it’s not so much that we are giving TO the church, but THROUGH the church. This kind of giving allows it to be in the name of Jesus, displays God’s power, and points people to the hope we have in Him.

Gratitude and generosity go hand in hand—gratitude wells up in generosity, inviting the blessing of God, leading to gratitude. We invite you to give yourself fully to God and experience that commitment well up to shape your heart through generosity.

Money and possessions reveal our heart’s affection. How we handle money tells the story of what is most important to us. As we open this series, we want to start by going straight to the heart—what is the deepest desire of our heart?

The unseen war behind all wars features an already-defeated enemy. Although defeated, he is desperate and will do everything he can to distract the people of God from the true battle. When we know who our enemy is, we know what to keep our focus on.

Jesus was concerned His disciples could easily grow comfortable in their waiting for His return. His challenge to them—and us—was to be ready, to live in such a way as to still have an urgency in the waiting and be prepared for the coming of Christ.

In Revelation, John charges us to live a life of faithfulness to Jesus regardless of our trials and tribulations. We are assured that where there is judgement for the sins of the world, there is also mercy from the One who has overcome the world.

Even in the midst of many signs, we won’t know what day the Lord will come. Speaking to His disciples near the end of His ministry, Jesus placed the emphasis of the topic not so much on when the end times will come, but on how we live within them.

Near the end of His ministry, Jesus shared with His disciples that He would return someday. His challenge was to keep watch, not living focused on what’s fleeting, but instead living with the end in mind—Jesus will return as the King and Lord of all.

The Spirit helps us see sin for what it is, but we often live by our feelings instead. Seeing sin for what it is, we don’t begrudgingly curb our sinful desires but gladly strive for self-control like a sinking swimmer reaches for a life preserver.

Bitterness, rage, anger, and slander seem to be our first language, but if we tune out the loudest voices, we can hear the Spirit guiding us into a life of gentleness, where we don’t scream for attention but are slow to anger and quick to forgive.

Faithfulness is the practical response to a confident expectation that God will do what He said He would. The Spirit develops faithfulness in us so confident in God’s promises that we choose obedience even when the reward doesn’t come when we expect.

Noting the relational shift that occurs in our lives when we’re led by the Spirit, Paul, in Galatians 6, clarifies what it means to be filled with “goodness.” The Spirit calls and empowers us to never give up on goodness and to give it away freely.

When people irritate us, it’s like they’re chipping away at our restraint. However, the duration and intensity of our patience has a lot more to do with the promised return of Jesus. The Spirit empowers us to live patiently in light of eternity.

The type of peace Paul talks about in Philippians 4 isn’t dependent on our circumstances or our sense of safety. It’s a Spirit-facilitated internal restfulness that comes from bringing our needs to God and aligning our thinking with His heart.

The resurrection of Jesus and the Gospel message offers a type of joy and hope that can’t be stolen. We don’t become who we were made to be by going beyond these simple Gospel realities, but by going deeper into them, following the Spirit’s lead.

The love that the Spirit cultivates in us is not self-seeking or self-centered—it’s sacrificial. As we become the people God created us to be, we begin to choose what’s best for others, even when it costs us.

When God came in the flesh and lived as we were intended to, He did so in community. Jesus prayed for who God wanted Him to do life with. Who are the people God has or wants to bring into your life to join you on the path to true community?