Elizabeth teaches us a great lesson about hospitality this Christmas: talk less about yourself. Elizabeth could have shared about the angelic visit to her husband. She could have pointed to her stomach and confirmed the miracle of God taking place in her womb. She could have given statistics on women her age getting pregnant, but instead she chooses to bless Mary. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches on Luke 1:39-80, and let’s look at the three ways Elizabeth blesses Mary.

Christmas is the only Christian holiday that is also a major secular holiday. The result is two different celebrations, each observed by billions of people, at the same time, for different reasons. Public festivities for Christmas have begun leaving out any reference to Christ—the very reason for Christmas! Background music in stores is moving from “Joy to the World” to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” People are more interested in gifts under the tree than making room in their heart for Jesus. This week as we consider the example of Mary, we'll see just how different her response was to the Christ child. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches that God calls surrendered people to His greater purpose.

Luke is a wonderful historian. Archaeological findings have repeatedly confirmed the accuracy of his accounts. As a historian, Luke goes into greater detail and length than the other gospel writers about the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. Luke believed important things related to the coming of Jesus happened before that first Christmas night in Bethlehem. In this study, we go back to the beginning of Luke’s Christmas Story. We are introduced to Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth—an older, childless couple—and the surprising way in which Zechariah learns that they are going to have a son. Luke begins his Christmas story here, because of the important role the son, John, has in relation to Jesus. Listen in as Pastor Doug Meye encourages us to live in such a way that people will want to know Jesus.

We’re in the final week of a four-part sermon series about living a generous life. In this series we’ve studied several examples of people in the book of Luke who came to Jesus with financial questions. These people had questions about inheritance, job loss, and how to be rich in God’s eyes. Today we’re going to look at the story of Zacchaeus who is well-known for climbing a tree to see Jesus. His experience with Jesus is wild, and because of his generosity we’re still talking about his life today as we seek to follow his example of living abundantly. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches from Luke 19:1-10 on how to live with absurd generosity. 

In this week's Absurd Generosity study, we look at an interaction Jesus has with a rich man in Luke 18.  Jesus invites this man to follow Him, but he makes a poor choice and chooses to walk away. He is one of the few people to leave the presence of Jesus deeply disappointed. In this parable, Jesus instructs us to think more about our Heavenly investments than our earthly investments. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson explains why we cannot serve both God and money.

We continue this week in our sermon series: “Absurd Generosity.” In order to be absurdly generous we need to steward our resources well. In today's message we'll examine the parable of the shrewd manager and hear Jesus’ teaching about stewardship. This parable has sparked much debate about whether or not the character of the steward was acceptable, and those debates may never be settled. We do know, however, what Jesus wanted us to take away from the story, as he continued on after the parable to deliver important spiritual truths. Listen in as Pastor Teller Emmer teaches us about using the "little" to serve the "more."

The month of November tends to spark a heart of gratitude and generosity in people as they look forward to gathering with family and friends and the celebrations of the season. For the month of November, we’re going to talk about the topic of absurd generosity from the gospel of Luke. This week’s passage in Luke 12 is not a parable about Monopoly; it's a parable about greed. In this parable Jesus exposes the tendency we all have to fall into greed and away from generous living. Jesus makes a compelling case for how destructive the love of money can be in our lives. He exposes the pull that greed has on our lives and teaches us how to live in the exact opposite of greed. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches how greed will cripple a generous heart. 

A college student was taking a test and asked God to help him on the test. When he got his grade back he realized he failed the test. It begs the question: “Did God help him on the test or not?” We all have times in our life when it feels like God hasn’t answered our prayers and times when we see God answer them beyond our wildest dreams. As James closes his letter to the early church he encourages them to keep praying in all situations.  As an example, James reminds us of the power of prayer from the life of Elijah the prophet. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches on James 5:13-20. 

Earlier this year the President of North Macedonia stepped in to protect the rights of an 11-year-old girl who was being bullied. In doing so, he taught us how to treat people. As we move into James 5, James teaches the early church how to treat people. It seems that some people were oppressing the poor and not paying them a fair wage. James condemns that behavior and writes a passionate appeal to the church to be patient while they wait for the return of the Lord. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches from James 5:1-12 about how to wait on the Lord and treat people well.

James starts chapter 4 by talking about the war with our personal desires. He addresses how our selfish desires put us in wrong relationship with others and with God. This self-centeredness can lead to fights and quarrels among believers in the local church. However, when we replace selfishness with submission, we get different results. Listen in as Pastor Neal Benson teaches that when we submit to God, goodness will follow.