Worship
Sundays at 8:00 AM (in-person & live-streamed) and 10:30 AM
Mondays at 6:30 PM
Midweek Advent Worship
Wednesday, December 4, 11, and 18
3:30 PM & 6:30 PM
This Week
Livestream
Midweek Advent 3
3:30 PM
Fourth Sunday in Advent
8:00 AM
Christmas Trees: The Tree of Life
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Pick an apple off its tree, and you have a great source of antioxidants and fiber. Pluck the fruit of an orange tree. It provides the daily supply of vitamin C. If you are fortunate to live in a climate where avocado trees grow, you get to eat that tasty fruit packed with healthy fats, B6, and potassium. Different trees, different fruits, different health benefits.
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Now imagine a tree that produces a fruit that enables you to live forever. Such a tree once existed. It stood in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
When mankind fell into sin, plunging all creation into decay and death, God banned access to that tree. He did not want us to live forever in a world as broken as this one.
But today, we see that through the work of Christ, access to that life-giving tree has been restored.
We conclude our series on Christmas Trees by looking into paradise restored. There we find the Tree of Life, given to us once again by our gracious God.
So eat up! Eat from the Tree of Life and live forever!
A Real Christmas Lifts up the Lonely
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By this time in the holiday season, people are often carrying heavy burdens. We feel guilty about presents that are not perfect, parties that weren't as planned, year-end projects that haven't been completed. . . the list goes on and on.
To top it all off, now is when it dawns on us how little attention we have given to the spiritual preparation Advent invites. We feel guilty for squandering opportunities to prepare spiritually for Jesus' arrival.
If that is how we feel, perhaps the frenzy of December has done us a favor. We have been stretched to our limits. We have been made painfully aware of our shortcomings. We have been humbled. And that's just what we need!
Being made aware of our failures and sins doesn't disqualify us from God’s care. It does exactly the opposite. It is what prepares us for the work he does best. He is God who heals the brokenhearted, God who lifts up the lowly.
