“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” (Luke 1:46-47)

Take a moment and stop. Close the tab opened to Amazon. Put down the Walmart gift guide. Set aside the gift inventories and shopping lists, just for a moment. Ask yourself this question: What have I turned Christmas into?

It’s a tough question to answer, isn’t it? There is no intent to induce guilt here, just a sincere invitation to reflect and evaluate the status of things. Christmas, the season for giving, is right around the corner, but judging by the commercials and billboards and advertisements, one would think it’s a season for getting. On purpose or not, we have turned Christmas into that annual time to justify spending money we don’t have, eating food we don’t need, or lining our pockets with profits.

What if instead of a season for getting we treated Christmas as a season for receiving? What if instead of a season for getting stuffed we treated Christmas as a season for being filled? What would Christmas become then?

During the four weeks of Advent, we will ask these questions in light of the example we see in Mary, the mother of Jesus. We’ll see that when Christmas is about receiving and being filled that, by necessity, it becomes for the faithful a season of responding. Mary’s response to the news of the incarnation recorded in the Gospel of Luke is a model for what all responsive Christian faith should look like.

Perhaps this year Advent will allow us to not only evaluate what we have turned Christmas into, but also consider all that God desires Christmas to turn us into.

Series Playlist

The Magnificat

Measured Incredulity

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  Measured Incredulity

  Dec 2, 2018 • 34:04

  Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Rather, it provides an opportunity to move beyond trusting yourself in order to obediently give all of your life to God. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: The Magnificat Scripture: Luke 1:26-38  

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  Faith From the Heart

  Dec 9, 2018 • 32:56

  Through Mary’s example we are encouraged to both express our faith out of duty to God’s call but also find our delight in it. Speaker: Aaron Meservey Series: The Magnificat Scripture: Luke 1:46-47

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  Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise

  Dec 16, 2018 • 38:02

  God takes notice of the lowly and invites them to become a part of his redemptive purposes for the world. How could their response be anything other than surprise and surrender Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: The Magnificat Scripture: Luke 1:46-55

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  All of Me for You

  Dec 23, 2018 • 42:35

  Faced with the realities of her circumstances, Mary’s faith in a trustworthy God is expressed through wholehearted devotion. Speaker: Sean ScribnerSeries: The MagnificatScripture: Luke 1:46-55

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  The Foolishness of Christmas

  Dec 30, 2018 • 41:24

  Speaker: Jeff WortmanSeries: The MagnificatScripture: I Corinthians 1:20-25

“God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

The book of Revelation is as perplexing as it is intriguing. For many Christians, its complex, symbolic imagery makes it almost impossible to understand, let alone apply to their daily lives. It’s easier to treat it as simply a message for the future. Yet that was not its intended purpose. It is a book for the people of God in the present.

How will the church conduct itself in an ungodly world? This is a critical question for every church of every age. The people of God are always faced with the temptation to compromise in some form or another. The revelation given to John runs counter to the world and demands people change their perspective or face judgement. John perceives there is a real danger that the churches will conform to what are considered the “normal” values of the world-system rather than to God’s transcendent truth.

Over the next several weeks, we will see the heart of Jesus for his church exposed. Through the apostle John he exhorts believers to remain faithful in spite of present sufferings. This heavenly vision has motivated suffering Christians of all ages to hold to the glorious promises of God and not to fall away.

The path to ultimate victory is in one’s willingness to suffer for Christ. “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.” (Revelation 22:7)

Series Playlist

Dear Church,

The Battle Cry of Victory

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  The Battle Cry of Victory

  Oct 14, 2018 • 36:22

  The book of Revelation was not given as a chronological forecast of world events – something we can place on our calendar in order to master the future. It is an invitation to come know and submit to the God of all history. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church, Scripture: Revelation…

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  The Two Witnesses

  Oct 21, 2018 • 42:35

  God’s protection and provision ensure that the church’s prophetic witness will endure despite the persecution it encounters in the world. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church, Scripture: Revelation 1:1-3

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  The Unholy Trinity

  Oct 28, 2018 • 47:18

  The evil kingdoms with their political, economic, and religious institutions demand the people of God must submit or face the consequences. In the present age, Christians will be faced with the decision to stand up for the one, true God, or bow to the world-system. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church,…

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  The Wedding Cloak

  Nov 4, 2018 • 35:46

  Those who persevere in their faithfulness to Christ will be rewarded at the end of time, and their reward will be nothing less than nuptial union with Christ himself. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church, Scripture: Revelation 19:6-10

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  On Earth as it is in Heaven

  Nov 11, 2018 • 40:24

  The snapshot of heaven serves to show us not only that God is gloriously sovereign and deserving of submission, but that he desires to manifest his glory throughout the world through the lives of those yielded to him. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church, Scripture: Revelation 4

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  A New Heaven and Earth

  Nov 18, 2018 • 42:25

  The work that God has begun will one day be completed. The power of Christ’s resurrection is at work in you, and its pattern will define all of eternity. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church, Scripture: Revelation 21:1-8

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  The Rider on the White Horse

  Nov 25, 2018 • 36:08

  The one who will finish what he started in revealing God’s salvation and judgement will make known the fullness of who he is then to those who seek him now. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Dear Church, Scripture: Revelation 19:11-16