SERMONS | ADVENT INITIATIVES | RESOURCES | TEXT-IN QUESTIONS
The word Advent means “arrival,” and this time of year, the global church celebrates the arrival of the birth of Jesus. But this celebration is not an end in itself. It’s a reason to hope as we look ahead to the second Advent - the return of Jesus.
For the next four weeks, we’re looking at the book of Revelation and what Jesus’ second Advent will look like. Far from being a book filled with hidden codes and secrets, Revelation teaches us how to live between the first and second Advent. Because Jesus was born, we can live with the hope that Jesus will return. All our hope for the future is tied to a baby that gives us a “no matter what” hope for the future.
This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.
To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.
Week 1: Pulling Back the Curtain
(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)
Week 2: The Baby Who Slayed the Dragon
(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)
Week 3: The Way of the Lamb vs. the Way of the Dragon
(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)
Week 4: All Things New
One of our goals as a church family is to be generous people. So every year around the holidays, we press into generosity to think about God’s generosity to us and to talk about how we can grow in walking in the kind of generous love He’s shown to us.
Each year, we focus on three practical ways to grow in generosity:
INITIATIVE DETAILS
1 - Start Tithing
We consider tithing a spiritual practice that helps develop a lifestyle of sacrificial generosity. We encourage church members to set up a recurring tithe because the gospel transforms us to be generous around the holidays and throughout the year. It’s also specifically how we fund and fuel all we do as a church in our city.
2 - Give to Serve the City
Serve the City is our initiative as a church family to partner with local organizations serving the most vulnerable people in our city. This year, we are raising $20,000 to fund the various Serve the City initiatives we do throughout the year to serve these organizations and the people they work with. These funds will also go towards our Serve the City Weekend on March 22, 2025. We partner with the following local organizations:
Transitions
Home Works
The Ezekiel Center
Epworth Children's Home
Daybreak
Salvation Army
3 - Personal Finance Seminar
We want to equip our church family to be spiritually healthy by stewarding the financial resources God has entrusted us. On January 25, 2025 from 9am-12pm at our Downtown church, we’re hosting a practical training class to manage your finances, pay off debt, invest well, and practice biblical generosity.
Check out our Year of Biblical Literacy site for more articles, podcasts, and book recommendations.
BOOKS | COURSES | ARTICLES
Throughout the year, we want to know the concepts and passages you wrestle with. We'll answer some of these questions in podcast episodes throughout the year.
To submit your topic or question, text "DOWNTOWN" followed by your topic to 855-855-0655.