Gateway Church - MO

Have you ever felt like a “Scrooge”. You felt small, distant, trapped in the darkness by your past or stuck in the present. There’s good news. Jesus came to transform us. We don’t have to be stuck in the past with its pain and disappointment. We don’t have to drown in the mundane present or face a hopeless future. Jesus, who is ‘God with us’ came to transform our lives and offer us transformation...

The Christmas season can be exhausting, frustrating, even discouraging for some. You to try to celebrate it, but it seems to fall flat. Everything seems so cliché or commercial. But what if the problem isn’t the holiday OR how we celebrate it. What if the problem is with our heart. We can be like King Herod in the original Christmas story who had a hard heart and caused grief for everyone else, or...

Longing, disappointment, and joy. Feelings we have all had during the holidays and feelings many of us have all year round. We all hope for something to fill the void in our lives. Money, things, success and prestige can be nice but will always fall short. True fulfillment is only found in the gift that God gave us that first Christmas, His only son, Jesus.

The story that began in a garden, ends in a city — the New Jerusalem — where God once again dwells fully with His people. Every tear is wiped away, every sorrow healed, every distance removed. We will see His face and live forever in His presence. This series closes by pointing us toward our eternal hope: that one day, the presence of God will fill everything, and we will finally be home.

In Jesus, the story of God’s presence reaches its climax — the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Everything the garden, the tabernacle, and the temple pointed to Jesus. Through Him, God stepped into our world to bridge the distance between us and to bring us back home. This week we celebrate that the presence of God isn’t a place we go, but a person we know — Jesus, Emmanuel, God w...

When Israel builds the temple, God’s glory filled the house, and everyone celebrated the fact that God was with them. But over time, just like many of us, they began to trust the symbol more than the God it pointed to. Eventually, the temple became a symbol of pride rather than presence. But just like God reminded them, He wants us to understand that His true dwelling is with those who are humble...

From the moment humanity was exiled from the garden, God has been working to restore His presence among His people. The tabernacle was more than a tent — it was a living reminder that God still longs to dwell with us. His presence is holy, powerful, and guiding — a cloud by day and fire by night for those who follow Him. In this message, we’re invited to make our own lives a living tabernacle, cre...

We were created to live in the presence of God — that’s where we are most at home. But sin pushed us out of the garden and away from the fellowship we were made for. The tragedy of sin isn’t just punishment; it’s distance. Yet God refused to leave us exiled. From the very beginning, He initiated a plan to bring us home through His Son, Jesus Christ. This message invites you to take that step — to...

Anymore it seems like almost everyone is a cynic. The lack of trust in institutions and the constant barrage of negative views found on social media platforms gives us a lot to by cynical about. But cynicism is deadly to our relationships and our faith. The good news is that we don’t have to be cynical. We can learn a lot from the innocent faith that our children have. In fact, Jesus calls us to t...

Discontentment is a way of life. We hate being discontent, but we are trained to live that way. In fact, an entire segment of our economy is based on our discontentment. We have become discontent with just about every aspect of our lives. We long for satisfaction, but it always seems just out of our grasp. But there is an antidote. The secret to satisfaction is the practice of gratitude. 

One of the most subtle poisons in our lives is greed. Most of us don’t see ourselves as greedy. We’re simply cautious or wise with our money and our stuff. But the truth is, when we hold to tightly to what we have, it isn’t long until our possessions possess us. When we are under the influence of greed, we stop trusting God and our soul slowly dies. But there is an antidote: Generosity. Generosity...

Fear is one of the most toxic things we can encounter. Fear causes us to freeze up. It causes us to invent problems and monsters that don’t exist. Fear frequently gets in the way of our obedience to God. But when we focus on Jesus, the fear in our lives – both real and imagined – fade to the background. When Jesus is at the center of our lives, fear cannot control us.

Pride is one of those toxins that’s easy to see in others but hard to identify in ourselves. But our pride is one of the things that keeps us at arm’s length from God. However, when we are willing to admit our need and our weaknesses and humble ourselves before God, he is drawn to us and our lives point others to Him.

Anger has a way of saturating every aspect of our lives. Anger, left untreated, spreads like a poison and infects every relationship we have. Unchecked, it always infects and that infection leads to bitterness. But when we learn to let go of our anger by forgiving others and trusting God, the poison stops spreading. When I let go of my anger, bitterness lets go of me.

It has been said that the ultimate thief is death. Death steals our future, our hopes and dreams and ultimately our peace. If you have ever grieved the loss of someone, you know how death can rob you of everything including peace. But Jesus conquered death through his own death and resurrection. In defeating death, he robbed it of its power. When Jesus is in the room, not even death can steal your...

Sometimes there things that rob our peace. Health issues, relationship breakdowns, just life in general. Our natural response when our peace is gone is to work and fight to get it back. There are many things that promise peace, but they fail to deliver in the end. Ultimately the peace we need comes from just one source; Jesus. He restores peace when nothing else can.

Many of life's storms are the result of what is going on around us. And often we have no control over them. But the strongest storms we face are often the ones that rage inside of us. The truth is that most of our fear, stress, worry and anxiety are the result of spiritual needs that we have tried to meet in ways that only Jesus can. But the storms inside of us are still subject to the power and a...

Sometimes if feels like life is out of control. Chaos, confusion, frustration and anxiety seem to mark our days more and more frequently. We often feel overwhelmed and wonder if we can keep our heads above water. It can all be pretty discouraging. But there's good news.  In scripture we see that Jesus is bigger than our storms and when we call on him, he will bring order out of chaos and peace in...

We like a sure thing. We like to know that whatever we do will succeed. But the reality is that we have no such guarantees in life. But when we try to play it safe and avoid taking risks, the only thing we succeed in doing is nothing. Jesus expects his followers to have a bias for action. Serving God by serving others doesn't guarantee success from the world's perspective, but it open's the door t...

Most of us like a good bargain. We love the idea of getting something for nothing or at least getting a lot for a little. However, when we approach Jesus with a ‘bargain hunter’ attitude, we miss out on the depth, richness and fullness of his kingdom. There are no bargains to be had when it comes to following Jesus. Following is always costly and a faith that doesn’t cost something is worth nothin...

To enter God’s kingdom, one must do His will. Lip service won’t suffice. God won’t tolerate those who don’t produce fruit in the kingdom. It’s not about good works; it’s about your heart for God and people. God’s invitation to His table is gracious and costly, but the benefits are beyond compare.

Most of us love to keep score. And often, when it comes to the Kingdom of Jesus, we want to keep score for others. Are they good enough? Have they done enough? Do they work hard enough. But do we really want God to operate that way. Because if we want God to keep score, he keeps it for ALL of us. What if, instead of keeping score, we just accepted the grace of the Father. In the Kingdom, it's not...

When we've been hurt, our natural response is to hurt back. It's no wonder that hurt people hurt people. But in the Kingdom of Jesus, responding to our pain by causing pain in others isn't an option. In fact, Jesus says that we're supposed to forgive those who have hurt us. Not just a few times, but EVERY time. This is one of the most difficult aspects of life in the Kingdom. But when we recognize...

So often we feel like our efforts are unappreciated, unimportant or simply insignificant. When we think of the Kingdom of God, we think of huge acts of faith, we think of miracles, or we think of “celebrity Christians” having a big impact. We rarely stop to think that our small efforts matter. But Jesus tells his followers that even a small faith and a small effort, when surrendered to God can hav...

Nobody likes the person who makes it their business to do everyone else’s job, especially the job of whoever is in charge. We often tell such people to “worry about themselves” or to “mind their own business. It’s solid advice.  But often, those of us in the Kingdom of God take it upon ourselves to try and do God’s job for him. We want to determine who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out.’ But Jesus tells his...