[Sunday] Bells On Christmas - Kingdom Way

- Listen to the bells being rung, God’s promise of peace, hope, and salvation breaking into the world, even in the midst of suffering.

Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Bells on Christmas

1. Have you ever experienced a moment in your life when you felt like you could hear "bells" breaking through a time of pain or despair? How did that moment impact you?

2. Read Matthew 2:13-23  (See also Exodus 1:1-13). What similarities do you see in Matthew to what God’s people went through in Exodus?  How is God always at work saving His people in both accounts?

3. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day during the Civil War, a time of personal and national struggle. How can we find hope in difficult circumstances, even when it feels like there is no peace?

4. The sermon compared the despair at the cross with the hope of Jesus’ resurrection.  How does knowing that Jesus was raised give you hope when facing struggles or brokenness in your life?

Notes for the Sermon

Information on Charles Longfellow

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Wednesday] Christmas Variety - Mid-week Advent

- Join us for some Fun and Game at our Christmas Variety Show

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Guiding Light - Kingdom Way

- The Magi following the light of a star mirrors how God has always worked, giving a light to follow through the wilderness, away from the darkness that holds us down.

Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Guiding Light

1. What do you have on top of your Christmas tree?  A star?  An angel?  Something else?  Why is that important to your household?

2. What do you think the star represented for the Magi in the story? How does it compare to the angels' role in other parts of the Christmas story?

3. Read Matthew 2:1-13. People often get too focused on the power of earthly rulers like Herod. What are some examples of times when we might be tempted to focus more on worldly power than on God's true power?

4. The sermon talks about how the Magi were “unlikely” people to be part of the story. How does this remind us of God’s ability to use anyone, no matter their background, for His purposes? Can you think of examples from your own life where God brought an unexpected person into His family?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Wednesday] Century of Gifts - Mid-week Advent

- Singing some classic Christmas Carols and talking about gifts over the last 100 Years

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Named Expectation - Kingdom Way

- Christmas expectations are often Joshed. Yet the name Emmanuel breaks all expectations as Jesus comes to be with us.

Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way: Named Expectation

1. Can you think of a time when you had high expectations for something, only to be disappointed? How did you feel? How did you cope with the disappointment?

2. Read Matthew 1:18-25.  Joseph faced a situation that completely shattered his expectations. Can you think of a time when your expectations were not met, but looking back, you saw how God worked through that situation?

3. Jesus was an ordinary name in the days Matthew wrote his Gospel.  Emmanuel was not an ordinary name.  How does the idea of the ordinary connected to the extraordinary of God coming to be with us (Jesus & Emmanuel), change our understanding of how God works?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Royal Introduction - Kingdom Way

- Introducing Him who completes all of creation with everything humanity has to offer.

Questions for the Week: Kingdom Way -  Royal Introduction

1. Share the greatest ancestor that you have in your family.  What is so significant about them?

2. Read Matthew 1:1-17.  Discuss the inclusion of Rahab, Tamar, and Ruth. How does their presence challenge our understanding of holiness and God's plan?

3. The sermon emphasized the significance of the number seven in the Bible. How does this biblical symbolism deepen our understanding of Jesus' role as the culmination of God's plan?

4.  The sermon emphasized that God's kingdom is not limited to the perfect. How does this understanding challenge our own expectations of ourselves and others?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Kingdom Way (Teaching Series)

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Kingdom Way

The Kingdom of God is right here: The lowly manger being lauded by well traveled kings; wisdom from on high unearthing the way of love; the blind seeing the light radiating from a cold tomb. It's backwards. It's beautiful. It's the Kingdom way.

Christmas / Advent Schedule

• Wednesdays December 4th & 11th

  • Potluck Dinner 5:30PM

  • Carols & Fun 6:30PM

• Wednesdays December 18th

  • Christmas Dinner Out 5:30PM - TBD

• Christmas Eve

  • Christmas Eve Service 4PM & 7PM

    • TDD Service with the Korean Church

• Christmas Day

  • Communion Service 10:15am

• Sunday December 29th

  • Communion Service 10:15am (just one service)

• January 5th

  • Normal Sunday Schedule

Reading Plan
Read around the readings for Sunday

• Click to See the Readings

  • 11/24/24

    • Geneology of Matthew

      • 2 Samuel 23:1-7
        Revelation 1:4b-8
        Matthew 1:1-17

  • 12/1/24

    • Birth of Jesus

      • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
        Romans 1:1-7
        Matthew 1:18-25

  • 12/8/24

    • Magi

      • Isaiah 60:1-6
        Ephesians 3:1-12
        Matthew 2:1-12

  • 12/15/24

    • Flight to Egypt

      • Isaiah 63:7-9
        Hebrews 2:10-18
        Matthew 2:13-23

  • 12/22/24

    • John the Baptist prepares the way

      • Isaiah 11:1-10
        Romans 15:4-13
        Matthew 3:1-12

  • 12/25/24

    • Christmas

      • Isaiah 52:7-10
        Hebrews 1:1-6
        John 1:1-18

  • 12/29/24

    • Baptism of Jesus

      • Isaiah 42:1-9
        Acts 10:34-43
        Matthew 3:13-17