Microchurch Minute
Are you being deceived by false prophets? Apparently Paul heard that the church of Galatia was and decided he would not stand for it. His introduction to the church of Galatia is very blunt and strongly worded. Astonished is the word in my translation – Paul is simply blown away that he would share the Truth of God’s redemptive grace through Jesus’ death on the cross, but there were still religious figures that would not let go of the Old Testament traditions and rigid structure of their known gospel. Simply put, we may accept God’s grace and forgiveness through Jesus, it is not a Jesus+ subscription plan to fill our brains and hearts with ceremonial sacrifices. Ceremonial practices, circumcision, or rigid obedience to the law could complete what Christ had already finished.
Does this mean we simply stop doing good deeds? Absolutely not. You see, when we stop working for the approval of man and shift our focus to God we begin to choose good works to honor Him. Do your actions lean towards pleasing God or showing off to fellow sinful mankind? I’m grateful to be no longer attempting to please man, what a heavy burden to carry! When we can freely accept what God has given us through grace, we are allowed to be filled with the peace of not having to work for it. Imagine, the puny efforts of man being enough to buy your salvation, it’s laughable! Christ died to rescue us from a system that required sacrifice and rituals. Anyone calling us to return to that system is a false prophet and, Paul states, is doomed.
Paul’s message was not given by other apostles or teachers, but by the risen Christ Himself. I see how Paul was so swift to remove himself from the teachings that once defined his life, in favor of the Truth that Jesus revealed to him. If Paul had received what he deserved on the road to Damascus, he would have immediately been cast into the depths of hell. But in God’s perfect grace, He called Paul out of his destructive beliefs transforming a persecutor into a proclaimer and giving him new purpose.
So I’m left asking myself: Does my life reflect that kind of transformation? When others encounter me, do they see evidence of the grace God has poured out? And what about you—does your life point to the freedom, peace, and power of the grace of God?
Microchurch Minute
How does the Holy Spirit help us in our suffering? It has been given to ensure our victory over the indwelling sin that is permeating the fallen world. Since the initial sin of Adam, there has not been a time that Christians haven’t suffered due to our internal struggle with sin. The Holy Spirit helps us in our suffering by making us aware of sin, empowering us to resist it, and assuring us that suffering is not meaningless but purposeful. Unlike unbelievers, Christians experience a holy tension: we are freed from sin’s dominion, yet still feel its presence. That tension itself is evidence of the Spirit at work. Conviction is not condemnation—it is God’s loving pressure calling us toward freedom, dependence, and holiness. Unbelievers don’t experience that conviction. I have to wonder, when Paul says that our current sufferings can’t compare to the joy that’s coming – did he mean the external sufferings from the fallen world or our internal sin sufferings that will one day be relieved when we are in our Heavenly Home. Can you even imagine the pure joy that is coming? The day that we will no longer struggle with sin, no longer feel pain, no longer suffer death. We will simply be in the presence of our Savior, exalting Him for all eternity. The very things that the enemy is using to test and try to break your faith are the same endurances that God is allowing to build your faith in Him. How you handle challenges, both internal and external, are bearing witness to the God that you serve. As we live today, creation groans in external suffering – this can include persecution, death, decay, injustice and brokenness. We groan internally, through the battle of inward sin and the grief of craving His holiness. The glory that is coming is not just the absence of pain, but the complete absence of sin.
As Paul reminds us in Romans 8, creation groans, we groan inwardly, and the Spirit Himself intercedes for us as we wait for the glory to come.
Until that day, the Holy Spirit does not remove our suffering, but He walks with us through it, producing endurance, hope, and deeper dependence on Christ.
Microchurch Minute
On Sunday, we recalled our purpose as the Mission Community Church body of Christ and looked forward in declaration of what we pray God will use us for in the coming year.
At the end of Acts 2, we see a powerful picture of the early church—devoted to prayer, the Word, shared meals, radical generosity, and life together. That’s a lot of together, and it’s not just descriptive; it’s prescriptive. This is how God designed His Church to function. We are called to share our lives, open our homes, support one another, and live as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to the world around us. And when we do, God adds to our number daily those who are being saved. What we choose to do today has eternal impact on the Kingdom of God. We were never meant to retreat from the world, but to live with a faith so full of the Spirit that it continually overflows.
Jesus calls us a priesthood of believers. I am so grateful for the teaching team that has been training to share biblical truths with us. They are living as a the modern day priesthood of God’s Church. This year we will pray in support of this team, that God would allow them not only to lead church gatherings on Sundays, but that they would also be held to the standard of biblical manliness. We pray that they would lead their families and their homes well through prayer and study of Truth.
There is often a focus on the idea of a 10% tithe, but that is not the primary emphasis of our gathering. Our heart is centered on how we steward what God has entrusted to us. As a church leadership team, we have spent time in prayer discerning how to support ministries, outreaches, and our own church community in ways we believe God is calling us. I recently said to a friend, “It’s time to put your money where your mouth is,” and I truly believe God is calling me—and all of us—to give generously in every way. Our time, talents, and finances are deeply intertwined, all working together for the good of the Kingdom of God.
I invite you to pray about this, as I have. Ask God to search your heart and reveal where He is calling you to invest every part of yourself.
If Sunday’s gathering stirred your heart to become more financially involved, we’ve included a link to the Mission Community Church giving page. We pray you will join us in what God is doing.
Microchurch Minute
On Sunday we looked back on our year and followed up with Samuel’s story of raising an ebenezer, an altar in recognition of God’s faithfulness. It’s easy to fixate on the tragedies of your year, traditionally we look at the negatives from last year and make resolutions to fix/improve or save ourselves from them moving forward. But friends, we don’t have to live this way. We have a good Father in Heaven that has shown up for us time and time again, no matter the hurts we have faced in this fallen world. Because we trust that God is good, we can simultaneously mourn with our spiritual family while recognizing and celebrating what He is doing and has done in our lives.
What did God do for you this past year? I saw God bring new families into our church family. I saw spiritual growth in so many people. While we have cried and prayed with those that have received hard news, we have also seen favorable diagnosis and God’s hand in aligning His perfect timing in circumstances that we couldn’t have imagined otherwise.
Loving God and resting in His promises doesn’t guarantee an easy life, Jesus even told us that we would face trials in this life. However, when we choose to look back and reflect on God’s faithfulness, we raise our own ebenezers – in recognition of where we saw Him shine. I have seen God’s goodness too many times to not believe that He will do it again! I have seen His “not yet” turn into a delayed blessing that wouldn’t have made sense if He handed it over in my timing.
Brothers and sister, I encourage you to go before the Father in prayer and petition for the yearnings He has placed on your heart. But, before you do, build Him an altar of your own, out of the ebenezers – the real life examples of what He has done for you. When you remember what God has done in your life, it builds your faith into what you know He is capable of doing (spoiler: it’s everything, He can do it all). You will pray bold prayers. You will expect God to show up, like He’s done before.
We each took a stone and took time to write words on it that served to remind us of events from the past year that wouldn’t have been possible without God. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to keep it going, until I have a front yard rock garden full of reminders that God loves us.
Heavenly Father, I know the circumstances we face are not always perfect in our eyes. Yet I have seen You delay what I wanted so You could bless me in Your perfect timing. I have watched You move in the hearts of others to accomplish Your greater plan. God, I trust that Your ways are infinitely better than my own. As I place my confidence in the evidence of Your goodness, I will continue to build my altar—stone by stone—each one a reminder of where You have shown up before and a declaration of my faith that You will do it again.
Microchurch Minute
Seder, meaning “order,” is a tradition we joyfully observe, remembering how God’s redemptive plan was fulfilled through the coming of Jesus.
The Several Annunciations
Luke 1:24-38 Elizabeth’s Conception & Gabriel’s Appearance to Mary
Matthew 1:18-23 The Angel of the Lord appears to Joseph to announce the birth of Emmanuel
Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah and John’s birth
The Birth of Jesus and visit of the Wise Men
Luke 2:1-20 The census in Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, the visit of the shepherds.
Jesus’ naming and what He came to do
On the fourth Sunday of Advent, we remember the great love God has shown us—a love revealed in sending Jesus to walk among us and ultimately die in our place, bridging the gap that sin had created between humanity and God. God could have wiped out mankind and started over, yet instead He chose redemption, remaining faithful to the covenant He made with Noah. This reminds us that God can be trusted; He does not go back on His word. When He speaks, His promises are final.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, we see the fullest expression of sacrificial love. God no longer requires great sacrifices from us to come near to Him. We are simply invited to receive the grace given through the agape love of our Father and to rest in the promises He has made. In doing so, dying to our old selves is no longer a burden or loss, but a redeeming opportunity—to release what belongs to a fallen world and step fully into our new identity in Christ.
Microchurch Minute
Advent Week 3 — Joy
Theme: The Joy That Has Come
Primary Text: Luke 2:8-20
1. Joy Begins With Good News
Joy flows from the announcement of what God has done, not from our circumstances.
Luke 2:10 — “I bring you good news of great joy…”
Romans 10:15 — “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
2. Joy Comes From God’s Nearness
Joy is found in the presence of God with us—Immanuel.
Luke 1:46–47 — “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Psalm 16:11 — “In your presence there is fullness of joy.”
3. Joy Can Coexist With Fear and Suffering
Biblical joy does not deny pain; it endures through it.
Luke 2:9–10 — “Fear not… great joy.”
2 Corinthians 6:10 — “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”
4. Joy Overflows Into Witness
When joy is received, it naturally spills into praise and testimony.
Luke 2:17–18 — “They made known what had been told them.”
Psalm 96:2 — “Proclaim his salvation day after day.”
5. Joy Is Completed in Christ
Our joy is secure because Jesus has come, died, risen, and will return.
John 15:11 — “That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
1 Peter 1:8–9 — “You rejoice with joy… obtaining the outcome of your faith.”
“True Joy Is Grace Realized”
Grace is God’s unearned favor toward us—His initiative to save, forgive, restore, and dwell with His people.
Joy is what happens when that grace is no longer abstract doctrine, but personally apprehended, received, and trusted.
In other words, joy erupts when grace moves from concept to conviction.
As we frequently associate the hymn Joy to the World with the arrival of our infant Savior in celebration of the holiday season, could I challenge you to observe it on a continual basis? As we live in a perpetual state of advent, in preparation and anticipation of the return of our Savior, Joy to the World, indeed! We can sing this song year round as we rest in the promise of the returning Joy that is Jesus Christ our King.
