For most of the Bible, God’s people were seen as an exiled people. Life was far from how they imagined or hoped, as they were constantly reminded of the brokenness and sin around them. And yet, amidst their exile, God reminded them that good news was on the way.
This year has been far from how anyone of us would have imagined or hoped either. We’re reminded in the headlines and in our daily lives that we are still a people in exile. So during this Christmas season, we want to once again remember that good news has come through Jesus, and one day He is coming back.
So every year, we take 3-4 weeks to intentionally focus on our hope in Jesus through growing in generosity. We take this time to think about how God has given us undeserved grace while we were still sinners and continues to grow us as his people.
Listen to sermons & download LifeGroup resources.
Week 1: Jesus, God With Us - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 2: Jesus, Our Shepherd King - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 3: Jesus, Our Comforter - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
Week 4: Jesus, God's Love - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)
What are we praying & hoping to see God do in the midst of this series?
Our |giv| initiatives are practical ways for our church family to grow in service and generosity this year.
1. Sign up to Tithe
We want our first step of ongoing generosity to be towards the mission of our church. We are encouraging our church family to set up a recurring tithe because the gospel transforms us not just to be generous around the holidays, but throughout the entire year.
2. Attend the Personal Finance Class
We want to equip our church family to be spiritually healthy by stewarding the financial resources that God has entrusted to us. On Sunday, January 24, January 31, and February 7, we’re hosting a class that consists of practical training to manage your finances, pay off debt, invest well, and practice biblical generosity. The class will be hosted virtually from 2:00-3:30pm.
3. LifeGroups partner with a Serve the City Organization
Due to the pandemic we’re postponing our annual Serve the City Weekend to a later date; however, we want every LifeGroup to select a Serve the City organization to partner with over the next year to serve.
4. Give to Homeless No More
Homeless No More is a nonprofit organization that believes family homelessness is entirely solvable. They provide a continuum of care – from emergency services to transitional and affordable housing – that keeps each family together and meets their needs at the right time with the right services. By providing the support to move each family toward a permanent, self-sufficient solution, they continue their work to eradicate family homelessness and help parents and their children achieve lasting independence.
Because of the invaluable services they provide to our neighbors along the Two Notch corridor, we are excited about partnering with them to help meet the needs of some of the children they serve. We are asking each of our LifeGroups to come together to "Adopt & Shop" for clothes to help make sure each child has clothes that fit them this Christmas. Please see your LG Leader for more information about what is needed for the child your LG is adopting.
These items can be dropped off at the December Family Parade on Dec 5th, or at one of our Sunday Worship Services on Nov 29th, Dec 6th, or Dec 13th.
In addition to sponsoring children, we encourage you to give towards helping us reach our goal of raising and donating $2,000 to Homeless No More to further enable them to meet needs in our community.
To help us prepare our hearts for the Christmas season, we wrote a brand new five-week-long Advent devotional guide for you and your LifeGroup to work through during this season. Iif you haven’t received a hard copy yet, you can pick up a copy at any of our on-campus events. The guides are first come first serve and the suggested donation is $6 per copy.
