As we step into 2026, we look to Joshua 3 and the moment God’s people stood at the edge of the Jordan River—facing an unknown future and learning to move forward by following His presence together. This message invites us to shift from individual faith journeys to a shared one, rooted in trust, unity, and obedience.

God forms His people not in isolation, but in community. Like a grove of trees sharing one root system, our strength comes from being deeply connected beneath the surface. This teaching calls us to deepen our roots with God and with one another, trusting Him to lead us where we have never been before.

On the final Sunday of 2025, we gathered a little differently. Instead of rushing ahead, we paused to reflect, remember, and give thanks for what God has done this past year.

Drawing from Joshua 3–4, we revisited the moment when the Israelites stood at the edge of the Jordan River, called to follow God’s presence into unfamiliar territory. After experiencing a miracle, God instructed them to build a memorial stone so they would never forget His faithfulness and so future generations could hear the story.

In this message, we’re invited to do the same:

• To look back and remember where God showed up in 2025

• To treasure those moments, just as Mary pondered God’s work in her heart

• To carry testimonies of God’s faithfulness as we step into a new year

• To follow God’s presence into places we’ve never been before

As we prepare for 2026, this is a moment to pause, give thanks, and realign our hearts with the Lord—trusting that the same God who led us this far will continue to guide us forward.

Merry Christmas. On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, we turn our attention to God’s unending love—a love that did not remain distant, abstract, or untouchable, but took on flesh and bone and came near.

Advent invites us to slow down and remember the story of Jesus’ coming: Hope. Peace. Joy. Love.

Not as ideas, but as a Person.

This message explores the deepest truth of Christmas: Immanuel — God with us.
A God who was once experienced as “above” and unapproachable draws near in Jesus, enters family life, touches the fearful, restores the broken, and ultimately comes to dwell within us by His Spirit.

We reflect on:

• Why humanity’s deepest longing is not for answers, success, or control—but for God Himself

• How Jesus reveals the Father fully and completely

• What the incarnation tells us about love, family, and belonging

• How the Christmas story moves from God above us → God with us → God within us

• Why the birth of Jesus is not just a celebration, but an invitation

We also look closely at the nativity story through the lens of Scripture and first-century culture, discovering that Jesus was born not in isolation, but into family—pointing to God’s heart to place the lonely into families and reconcile us into His own.

This message reminds us that Christmas is not about behavior modification or religious striving. It is about receiving love—a love wide and long and high and deep, a love that heals, restores, and sends us back into the world as carriers of that same love.

As we close Advent and step into Christmas, the invitation remains: Open your heart. Say yes. Receive the God who came for you—and now lives in you.

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