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INSIDE OUT claims that sadness is actually good because it fosters relationships. In the Church, we avoid sadness as a negative emotion, but the Psalms teach us to make room - lots of room! - for grieving even in our worship. How can the Church recover the gift of grief?

Our lives are busy and hectic, and at times we feel as though there’s no hope. How do we remain faithful to God when life gets out of control? The early Christians found they needed to hear the voice of their shepherd and follow him. Spiritual practices are more than just things to do, they change who we are. They form us into people that are at peace, even in the midst of the storm. And when we are at peace, we can hear God’s voice and follow faithfully.

Our Consumeristic culture tells us that the way to the “good life” is to get more, buy more, have more. But God prescribes that the “good life” is found by giving. When the Israelites were about to enter the land, God gave them some specific instructions of how to handle their resources. Don’t take it all for yourselves, leave some for the poor and foreigner among you. What practices can the church give us that will help us resist consumerism and embrace generosity.

As we continue to discern our spiritual gifts, we must recognize that it flows out of our loves. Spiritual gifts are not a way for us to elevate ourselves, but to engage the world. As we learn to the love the world more, God will reveal the gives in us, and the calling that will bring us life, and the world hope.

When looking at the story of the Israelites being enslaved by the Egyptians, I've always looked at it as a metaphor. I related to the Israelites because I know what it's like to be a slave to sin. But take the metaphor away and it's hard for me to relate to them. I find myself relating more to Pharaoh than I'd like to admit.

On a journey of discovery, we can easily become discouraged. Practicing gratitude helps us to continue seeking. When we are exploring our God-given calling, our gratitude is shaped by where we're GOING - our thanks are future oriented, grounded in God's faithfulness. FROM SERIES: "WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN WE'RE EXPECTING" The future can be a scary thing – especially because it doesn’t come with a roadmap. But when God calls us, we rarely get all the details. How do we move forward faithfully when we don’t know where we’re going? Advent invites us to anticipate well, to look to our fathers and mothers as they longed for God’s rescue. Their stories teach us how to hope well and move forward faithfully.

It's hard to know what to do next. In life, in our walk with God. Thankfully, God is ahead of us calling us forward.

This is the last sermon in our series called, Every ____ Needs a _____. In this sermon, Sprang shares how the only to make sure what God has done in our lives doesn't stop with us, is to share it with someone else. We must become the sensei.

We don’t naturally think about technology from a theological perspective. But since everything is spiritual, we must learn how to approach technology with God in mind. While the first questions that come to mind about screens in particular is a question of time (and the most natural answer is a list of rules, recommended hours, etc.), we want to move our questioning toward where is this screen time leading me? Knowing where you’re going, setting a goal, makes it easier to know how to use the technology at your disposal to get there. The proper use of technology should be moving us toward heaven on earth, while improper use of technology would bring hell to earth.

Everyone faces crises of faith. In those moments, we can’t help but wonder if faith is like a kids’ magic show – just smoke and mirrors. But the difficult questions of faith can be a gateway to a deeper reality, a faith that can only be described as magical.