The Spirit's Gift
Rev. Stacey Cox
The Spirit's Gift
In the film The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her pals the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow journeyed to see "the wonderful Wizard of Oz." The Wizard was thought to be some kind of god, until Toto, Dorothy's dog, rips the curtain back revealing reality. The Wizard was far from a god; he was just a guy operating a bunch of controls behind a green curtain. To see life as it really is is a gift. This is the work of the Holy Spirit; it's the gift He offers. Reality. Sunday we explore this marvelous gift the Holy Spirit offers this Christmas season.
Your Gift
Rev. Lane Stephenson
Your Gift: The Lord is Our Righteousness
What will we offer to God on the day when we stand before the One unto whom all secrets are known? Will our lives be like a "white elephant gift" that is ornately wrapped only to conceal a useless or frivolous gift? Or will we stand before God with the righteousness required of us? This Sunday we see the gospel foreshadowed in Jeremiah 23:5-6 as we look at a prophecy given some 600 years before the birth of Christ. God promised the coming of the King whose name is "the Lord is our righteousness." The great news of the gospel is that God Himself provides the righteousness He requires of us!
The Son's Gift
Rev. Stacey Cox
The Son's Gift
When our daughter Anna was a child, buying Christmas presents for her was simple. If it had anything to do with the lovable, purple dinosaur known as Barney, we couldn't go wrong. Barney hung the moon and filled our home. For several Christmases, Barney was the perfect gift. Question: What would be the perfect gift for God the Father, which would make him smile with pleasure? What do you get the guy who literally has everything? His Son knows. Sunday we continue our Advent series with, "The Son's Gift"!
The Father's Gift
Rev. Stacey Cox
The Father's Gift
A big part of Christmas in America is the presents. And there are basically two types of people when it comes to shopping: Those who began shopping in June and those who begin on Christmas Eve. And every January, the second type resolves that they are going to become the first type, but they never do. One of the problems with the second type is they tend to buy presents that are spontaneous, expensive, and not particularly useful. But on that first Christmas many years ago, God the Father gave us the most precious gift He has, and the gift we most needed. Sunday we begin our Advent series "A Very Different Christmas" and kick it off with "The Father's Gift"!