"What are you seeking?" How would the evidence of your life answer this question? We often seek significance, peace, pleasure, or purpose. Jesus teaches us that the better answer to this question is that we seek after Him, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The good news is that He comes to us and invites us to remain with Him forever! Let us worship Him together!

In Baptism, we believe that God works forgiveness of sins. Before Jesus started His earthly ministry, He went to the Jordan River to be baptized. Why did someone without sin choose to do such a thing? What exactly is Baptism anyway, and why do we do it? Thankfully, Jesus stood in the waters of Jordan, where we belong, so we can stand outside the empty tomb, where only He belongs. Let us worship our "stand in" this morning!

With a new year comes new hopes. What are you resolving this year? Is it going to make much of a difference to the people that God has placed in your life? King Solomon demonstrates that when we can ask for anything, the best thing to ask for is wisdom, a gift that serves others. We can gain such wisdom by spending time with God, His Word, and His people. Let's resolve to spend time in each this morning, as we worship His name together!

Have you ever been in such a desperate spot that you tried something crazy...like prayer? So often, prayer is our last resort, the break-glass after trying everything else. But what if we made it our first priority? Thankfully, when we pray, we are communicating directly with the creator and sustainer of the universe, who lovingly invites us to come to Him. When we pray, we are speaking to the mighty King of creation, the only one who can actually do anything for us. So, let's strive to worship this King!

We have trusted in the past, only to be rejected and left abandoned, feeling both hurt and lost. Because of this, we are reluctant to trust again. Instead, we put guardrails up all around us. Hearing that Advent announcement of the coming of a King can cause us alarm, afraid to trust again. Thankfully, we learn that this King is our trustworthy helper who brings not pain, but everlasting JOY. Let us worship this King!

In life, we eagerly seek deliverance from any bad situation. Sometimes it comes, often it does not. When the stakes are low, we can learn to get by. However, there is a shared experience we all desperately need deliverance from, our sin and its destruction! This Advent season, we remember that God has chosen to deliver us by sending a newborn King. As we remember His first arrival, we also eagerly anticipate His second coming. We are thankful that this King is also our Just Deliverer. Let us worship this King!

It can take a considerable amount of time to build the life we want. Fittingly, it can be difficult not to do everything we can to hold on to it. Yet, like most things in life, the harder we try to hold onto it, the more likely we are to see what we have ruined. Thankfully, what we have is not really ours at all, but rather a gift from our abundant God of mercy. Since He is the giver, we can be free in our giving, knowing that: "Our God of abundance enables us to give abundantly".

The Apostle Paul spent a lot of his ministry collecting funds for believers who were in need. Even when one Church was going strong, he still took the time to encourage others to give. For him, giving was the only response to knowing and trusting in the Lord who had already given everything. We, too, are blessed to know that the more we know the giver, the more we are to grow in giving, and that God uses this for the advancement of His kingdom here on earth. So, let's serve Him by giving for Him today!