Glorifying God by making disciples.

Luke 3:1-6 | There are two massive and connected statements regarding the life of John the Baptist. The first is something he said: "He must increase, and I must decrease."" The second is something Jesus said of him: "...among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist..." These realities are connected. John understood the best way he could spend his life was to humble himself in a way that exalted Jesus. This is the picture of true greatness. We begin a four week look at the life and ministry of John the Baptist seeking to understand what a life of decrease so Christ increases can look like. 

Luke 2:41-52 | As we turn our eyes to Luke 2:41-52, we see the only account in the gospels of Jesus’ life between his birth and the beginning of his adult ministry. The story of Jesus’ time in the temple as a twelve-year-old is all about obedience: obedience modeled by his parents, obedience to his heavenly father, and obedience to his earthly parents.

Luke 2:22-38 |What are you ultimately waiting for with eager anticipation? We may eagerly anticipate many good things, but only one can be ultimate: the day our faith becomes sight. The day we see our Savior face to face. In Luke 2 we are introduced to Simeon and Anna, two aged saints waiting and longing for their faith to become sight. Though we now live between the two comings of Christ, we can learn much from these two saints about what it looks like to wait and worship until our faith becomes sight.

Luke 2:1-21 |The King of Kings came to earth in the humblest of ways. His birth was announced to the most unlikely of people. Worship over what had happened resounded in the most unlikely of places. The message was shared by the most unlikely of messengers. The Highest King came in the humblest of ways, and there is so much for us to be instructed and encouraged by as we look at this reality.

Luke 1:57-80 | John's birth had been foretold, now it is realized.  With this promise from God fulfilled, worshipful ramifications ripple.  And with this promise fulfilled, Zechariah is filled with a prophecy of praise.  This passage highlights for us God as a promise keeper and compassionate Redeemer. The implications of these two realities of God have a massive impact on how we live with Him in the here and now of everyday life.

Luke 1:26-56 | We know Jesus is gracious.  We experience his grace.  We see his grace in his life, death, and resurrection. Luke 1 unpacks for us, though, the grace of God in the announcement to Mary that she will conceive and give birth to a son. Everything about Gabriel's announcement to Mary magnifies the amazement of God's glorious grace.  So let's walk through this announcement in Luke 1 and see grace signified, grace personified, and grace magnified in such a way that leads us to deeper awe of God's amazing grace.

Luke 1:5-25 | We established in week one that he Gospel of Luke is a Spirit-inspired, historically perfect, authorized biography of the Lord Jesus Christ. So what we might expect next is for Luke to mention Jesus...but he doesn't. Mary and Joseph? Nope. Luke introduces us first to the parents of John the Baptist. Why is this? And what are some massive lessons God is teaching us through this couple we meet in Luke 1?

Luke 1:1-4 | What are you certain about?  I didn't ask what you were confident about, but what are you absolutely certain about?  Some say you can't be certain about anything.  Luke would beg to differ.  This Sunday we begin our series in the gospel of Luke, and we begin with the declaration that we can have absolute certainty about Jesus.  Let's go on this journey together to see the life and teaching of Jesus Christ and what it means for us to follow him as Lord with absolute certainty. 

Acts 4:23-31 | What is our greatest need to be a faithful gospel witness? What is our greatest hurdle to a life of faithfully sharing Christ with the lost? It isn't more training.  It is more boldness. In Acts 4 we see the church gather in the face of threats to ask the Lord not for more safety, or more training, but to ask for more boldness.  This Sunday, as the final sermon in our prayer series and the final session of our Sent Conference, we will look at the prayer, the power, and the perseverance of prayer-fueled witness. 

Various Passages in Acts | The old adage goes, "The family that prays together, stays together." It's true for church families as well: The church that prays together, stays together. There is unity, fellowship, joy, and missional oneness that comes as we devote ourselves to prayer together. We will take a walk through the book of Acts to look at the times the church gathered for prayer together and the circumstances that drove them to corporate prayer. This must deepen our own convictions for the priority of corporate prayer.

Matthew 6:5-13 | E.M. Bounds in his classic, Power Through Prayer, notes that prayer is great spiritual work, and our flesh opposes great spiritual work. This is so true. We long to lean into this great spiritual work in a deeper way because we know there is a depth of communion, transformation, and enjoyment with the Lord as our prayer life with Him deepens.  This Sunday we turn to Jesus' teaching on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount to prepare us for a deeper prayer life in 2026. 

Nehemiah 13 | Nehemiah came to Jerusalem the first time a revivalist. He now returns to Jerusalem a reformer.  A reformer sees the evils that are downright wrong and seeks to make them right before the Lord.  In this chapter we will watch as Nehemiah seeks to bring purity back to the people of God and their worship of God through the reforms he initiates.  As we walk through each of these five reforms, may we be sensitive to where the Lord may want to reform these areas in our own lives as well.

Nehemiah 12:27-47 | Most versions of Nehemiah 12:27-47 have the heading “the dedication of the wall.” As this passage of scripture unfolds, we’ll see much more than just a dedication of a wall, and much more than the celebration of an incredible accomplishment, but an all-out worship service to a sovereign God who always fulfills his promises. This morning we’ll unpack four elements of corporate worship we see from this wall dedication, and how they impact the corporate worship gathering today.

Nehemiah 9-10 | God's people have been captivated by God's Word, and now they are under conviction.  As Nehemiah 9 begins we find God's people gathered in sackcloth, fasting, and with earth on their heads.  This is a solemn assembly. In the midst of this conviction, we see them express God-exalting contrite confession (ch. 9) and God-exalting resolute repentance (ch. 10).  What bout their confession and repentance keeps God at the forefront and his glory their motivation?  And what can we learn so our confession and repentance is driven more by the worship of God than by the wallowing in self?  Let's get a glimpse of what God-exalting confession and repentance looks like in our life. 

Nehemiah 7-8 | The Word of God...that lamp to our feet, hammer to our will, double-edged sword that pierces our inmost being.  The power of the Word of God transforms everything.  Nehemiah 8 is a vivid picture of a revival with the Word of God at the center of it.  As we walk through it together we will look at 6 Convictions for People of the Word.  This passage will stoke our reverence for and dependence on the Word of God.