Christmas, the time to gaze at the wonderful salvation God provides for us through Jesus Christ! Enjoy this service as we turn our mind’s attention and heart’s affection to what the birth of Jesus means. Join with us as we worship, sing and hear from the Scriptures. Christmas must not be isolated from the rest of the story; Christmas must be strongly connected to Good Friday and Easter. To divorce one from the other three is like reading or watching one part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy with no reference to the others. The meaning is cut short, incomplete and incomprehensible. What we see throughout the New Testament is Jesus “fulfills” and makes complete the rest of God’s story. The Old Testament is full of whispers of the reality to come. Have you ever wondered how those Old Testament “prophecies” spoke of Jesus: his exile in Egypt, his birth from a virgin mom, and his ministry in Galilee? Matthew brings this up in his gospel at least 15 times, and in chapter 4 of his gospel he roots the coming of Jesus and his ministry to historical events: the unlikely defeat of Midian’s army of 120,000 by Gideon’s 300 soldiers (Judges 6 + 7) and the deliverer he will provide for Judah as the Assyrian army approaches (Isaiah 9). Doesn’t sound touchy feelly enough for a Christmas message? Well, hold on, because all of that is really talking about Jesus!

We have spent the last couple of months looking at what it means to be the Church. We've heard what the Bible says about topics such as: church leadership, biblical confrontation, baptism, and communion. This week we look at who God is calling us to be as a local church, at this time and in this location. At the end of this message Robert presents the Membership Covenant.

We often hear messages about the need for reconciliation, but few times do we hear about the process for reconciliation that Jesus spoke about. In Matthew 18 we address the questions that many of us have--isn't "judging others wrong? who am I to confront others when I have so much sin in my life? Hasn't church discipline hurt others? When understood in the light of the whole chapter and in light of the cross and God's work in us, discipline and confrontation can be a wonderful way to see God's grace at work. Be mindful, though, that mercy, grace, gentleness and humility are much needed.

In order for us to truly experience the Advent Conspiracy, we first have to enter into the conspiracy that was the first Christmas.

In part 2 of this series on stewardship, we look at practical money matters found in the Scriptures. We look at what the Bible has to say about Making Money, Spending Money, Saving Money and Giving Money.

The Bible has a lot to say about the topic of money and stewardship. Jesus believed and taught that there was a relationship between a person's heart and what he or she believed about money.

Jesus loves his bride, the church, and knows the best way to serve and protect her--through qualified biblical leadership. In this sermon 1 Timothy 3 is the core passage and we see that leadership within Christ's church is organized into two groups--male elders, male and female deacons, all of whom exemplify servant leadership.

Jesus said in Matthew 16, "I will build my church." He is faithful! We have come to the place in the life of this church plant to begin talking about what it means to be a member of the church. This sermon is the first in the Church Series, in which we will talk about the key indicators of a true Church. Scripture says that the Church is the bride of Jesus and in this sermon we look at a key passage in our understanding of that metaphor. In Ephesians 5 Paul, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, refers talk of husband and wife, Jesus and the church, and Adam and Eve. This brilliant passage sheds much needed light on the nature of the church and how Jesus cares for his beloved.

The Gospel will eventually renew the whole world and all of creation. This is the third part of the definition of the Gospel that Jason laid out for us a few weeks ago. In this teaching we will look at the issue of Infant Mortality in Memphis and determine if the Gospel has a response to it.

After Stephen's murder, the church scattered. Satan thought a major victory had been won, but God had other plans. As the church was scattered, ordinary men and women shared about Jesus. What does it mean for you and I to be missionaries today? What does it mean for us as a church?

Abraham was a man just like you and me. He believed that God would do what He said He would do. In this message we look at the life of faith, as evidenced by Abraham's story.

Why did God choose Noah? Why did God bring about a destructive flood? Was the flood local or global? Should this really be children's book material? Were the people really that bad? Hear about the sheer grace of God who saves and uses us, not because we are good guys, but because he is gracious, kind and long suffering.

Evolution? Creationism? Chance? Perennial issues when we read Genesis 1. How do we engage is these conversations without missing the point? Genesis is the beginning of all things. Chapter 1 makes that very clear, as God is the subject and everything else is the verb. Hear a comparison of God's work in creation and his wonderful work in us through Jesus, making us a new creation. Oh, and the scientists that Jason couldn't remember is Alcmaeon of Croton. He lived 2,200 years before Eustachi.

Can the Bible be trusted, understood, and depended upon? Absolutely! God has given us the Scriptures so that we may know him above all else. So, as we read our Bible, what four things should we keep in our minds? SCAN and see!