Last week we took a good look at who we are in Christ! Not in the eyes of the world... Not in the eyes of parents, friends, spouses, or even in our own eyes...But in Christ! And we found that many, even MOST of us... Have been held in a prison of false Self-Identity for much of our lives! Not seeing ourselves as we should...Therefore, not seeing and loving others as we should...And especially, not feeling worthy or accepted to be close to Christ as we should!

In our Candlelight Service, we discussed how the most important thing about knowing Christ is not really just whether we know of Him at all, but whether we have opened ourselves to Him in the most intimate of ways; whether we have invited Him in to truly know us in the most surrendered and committed way, some people avoid or push Christ away and reject all that He did for us because we cannot accept that we are the type of person that Jesus would ever want to be near; to share a life with.

In our Advent this year, we have considered how the Nativity may have looked from a number of different perspectives...
 
Black- To represent the world that completely missed His coming because they were living in the darkness of their sins...
 
Gold- To represent the Angels of Heaven, who knew Him best...
In their amazement and intrigue over how much He sacrificed for us...
 
Red- To represent Satan himself, as he saw the coming of a Warrior King...
Who would grow to be the One that would topple his reign and take this world back from his authority...
 
Now we light the Purple Candle... To represent Majesty... Kingship!

If read carefully the Scriptures tell us that the star leading the wise men to Jesus went out for a time leading the Magi to consult Herold and his court to the whereabouts of the new born King before reappearing and guiding their way once again. Why? In this special Christmas sermon Pastor Doug explains what God's purpose in doing this was as well as how it affects us today.

What does it mean to be blessed and highly favored by God? Is it even possible? In this message Pastor Doug examines the life of one person that the Word tells us was blessed and highly favored: Mary the mother of Jesus.

There are many misconceptions regarding salvation. In this message Pastor Doug debunks some of the more common (and dangerous) of these misconceptions and shines a light on what the Word actually says regarding this extremely important topic.

Fear and anxiety run rampant in our world today. It could easily be seen as one of the most affecting problems we face daily. In this message Pastor Doug shows what the Word says about handling fear and anxiety.