Celebration Center

When something is important, we tend to worry about it. Jesus teaches us that the more important something is, the more opportunity we have to trust God. Besides, what gain do we have when we worry? The more we worry, the less we really understand about God’s love and faithfulness. If we put the first things first, God can and will take care of the rest.

We all carry the weight of the world - pressure that we put on ourselves or that we feel from others. Often times we feel like our actions have somehow disqualified us from what God could otherwise do in our lives. But is that consistent with who God says that we are? Do we dare to activate our dreams again? The reality is God has called us to get moving.

New love is always exciting. When it comes to relationships with people and with the Lord, staying in love is a commitment. This week we explore the nature of loving relationships and dare you to fall back in love!

If you are a parent there is one thing for certain – someone is watching your life! Think of all the things you do the way your parents did them. Whether you have adult kids, young kids, or even no kids, you may have more influence than you know. How do you manage it? The next generation is looking at our faith as their model. I dare you to invest!

Everyone is called to do something! Generally we start with a dream and excitement. However, it is often how we move through conflict that determines if we reach the goals God called us to.

Lights, Stars, Angels, Shepherds, a miraculous birth. Something unusual in all of human history was happening. The God of all creation introduced us to His plan for rescuing the human race. For unto us a child is born… Christ the Lord. An event so world changing that some 2000 years later people from all over the world will celebrate his birth. Let it be. Christmas.

We often refer to Christmas as the “most wonderful” time of the year. It is a time to rest, reconnect with loved ones, and remember just what God has done in the earth. Yet amidst all of the celebration, we often run into complications. We run into problems that seem unsolvable, people that we cannot control, and expectations that we are unable to meet. The first Christmas was wrought with tension. An unexpected baby, a census, wise men bringing gifts and declaring a new king, angel visitations, and a ruthless King that wanted none of it. However, God was still up to something wonderful. Christmas reminds us that He remains up to something wonderful!"

Wait - to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens. Christmas is not wonderful because of what is happening right now…it is wonderful because of what happened! Christmas reminds us that God always promises his presence...however... what do we do when we feel like God has been slow to keep his promise? What does this first Christmas teach us about waiting on God?

Christmas can be a time when we know there should be peace but our own circumstances make peace a difficult personal reality. Join us this week as we explore how to get away from the "normalcy" of life to make room for peace.

Imagine being Mary, a normal young woman, engaged to be married to an upstanding carpenter. Then one day she received a message that changes her world. An angel visits her and tells her that she, a virgin, was going to give birth to the Son of God. How could this happen? Who would believe her? In a moment, her whole world is changed. And the coming of this child can also change your world.

No one aims to live an average life. When we were younger, we all aspired to live extraordinary lives. But somewhere along the way, we settle into an average job, average debt, average marriage, average family, and average dreams. If we were to really follow Jesus, we would not be average. Jesus calls us to give more than expected. He calls us to live for tomorrow. He calls us to action because only by acting can we become anything but average.

One of the things that can keep us from living beyond average is the tension between now and later. We're tempted to live for the moment, to satisfy our desires instantly. But when we pursue instant gratification, there are problems in our lives. Our finances blow up because we buy things before we can afford them. Our relationships are damaged because we don't put in the time to build solid foundations of trust and respect. Our careers suffer because we climb faster than our competence can sustain. Jesus wants anything but average for you. But to be anything but average, you have to learn to stop living for now and begin living for later.

No one wants to be average. You don't want to be an average spouse or parent. You don't want to be an average boss or employee. You may not want to be extraordinary, but you probably want to stand apart from the crowd. You probably want to avoid the pitfalls you see in the lives of some of the people around you. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about three behaviors that have the power to make you anything but average.

In this series we have been looking at the incredible importance of great relationships. Today we focus on having great friendships. The Bible says 'Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!' Great friends can pick us up when we are down, carry us when we are stuck, encourage us when we want to give up. David had a great friend in Jonathan. How did that work?

When the Lord sought a man after His own heart, he chose David. David had a relationship with God that was unique in history. Psalm 23 explores the nature of this relationship. Join us as we finish exploring how an intimate relationship with God can direct us through the difficult seasons of life.

When the Lord sought a man after His own heart, he chose David. Something about David and his relationship with God was unique in history. While David excelled at many things, perhaps the most profound of those is his relational intimacy with God. Many of us have a large volume of "social" relationships, but how do we move beyond a "social" relationship with God?

Our words are powerful! James warns us that we have the tendency to use our lips to praise God and then curse one another. That should not be the case! However, the reality is that our conversations average 6 criticisms to every one encouragement. Is reversing this ratio the key to improving our relationships at home, at work, and in our everyday lives?

Proverbs 27:4-6: When someone lets you down, can you choose to believe the best, or are you forced to believe the worst? Trust is a key component in every healthy relationship. So does the Bible expect us to lead our relationships with trust? In this message, we’re reminded that we have the power to choose our reactions—and the response we choose may make all the difference in our relationships.

Can rest and vacations actually be spiritual disciplines? Communicating the importance of rest was one of the first things God did in the Bible. So why have we neglected - or worse, denied - the importance of this principle? In this message, we examine the pattern God gives us for the pace of our lives. God designed us to need rest, to have margin, and to enjoy his creation. He actually modeled this for us! Feel like your life is too hurried? There's an app for that.

James 5:13-20: At some point in time, confession became a private practice used to relieve your conscience. But that's not the way confession is presented in the Bible. What is biblical confession? How do we do it? When should we do it? In this message, we look at the biblical view of confession and why we should confess to one another, along with God, as a critical life application.