Stewartstown Alliance Church Message Podcast

The First Witnesses (From the Series) Witnesses Luke 2:1-20 "How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given." Except for two notable exceptions: the shepherds and the magi received a personal invitation to the party, reminding us that there are many ways to receive the good news, as long as we are willing to receive a King and not seek to be king ourselves.

Prayer invites us to connect our hearts with the Creator of the universe. By recognizing our need and His ability, we step into the Advent story. Prayer connects us to the One who has come and will come again.

The gifts of solitude and silence come in many forms. When we are quiet enough to truly meet with God, we find His presence is essential to our pilgrimmage. While we can often approach God with a hope to understand more about ourselves, He instead meets us with a declaration of who He is. As we experience the character of God, we find He is enough.

Pastor Mike Carletti The model of Jesus is a rhythm of retreat and return. Solitude and silence balanced with healthy community and engagement with the world around us positions us to hear from and be filled up by Jesus and to make an eternal impact.

If we are going to become like Jesus, it will require us to change. For that to happen, we need to understand holistically how change happens, and then be intentional about our formation journey.

We know we are supposed to be disciples and make disciples. However, for many of us, the concept of discipleship is a bit fuzzy. Only when we understand what it truly means to be a disciple are we able to get there.

Apprenticing after Jesus is a choice that many of us didn’t even realize was in front of us. Without an intentional decision to become like Jesus, we will never get there.

Galatians 5:16-25 The call to follow Jesus didn’t stop with the first disciples. The fruit of the Spirit comes through staying in step with the Spirit.