Christmas 2025 at New Roads

When life turns out differently than we hoped, hope can feel fragile or even lost. This week, we look at Joseph’s story and discover that hope isn’t about getting the life we planned, but trusting that God is still present and at work in the life we didn’t. Even in disappointment, the thrill of hope is this: Emmanuel—God is with us.

Even the strongest believers (including John the Baptist) experience doubt and discouragement. This week we explore how God meets us in the struggle, and how patience, honesty, and bringing our questions into the light can steady our hearts. Hope doesn’t eliminate the waiting; it transforms it.

God’s renewal often begins not with dramatic change but with something small–like a shoot growing from a stump. Isaiah invites us to look for those tiny signs of new life, and John the Baptist calls us to “repent,” not in shame, but by waking up to God’s nearness and turning toward what God is already growing in us. This week, discover the small beginning God may be planting in you, and take one simple step to turn toward it.

Hope isn’t wishful thinking or optimism; hope is trusting that God is at work even when we can’t see how. This week we explore Isaiah’s call to “climb” toward hope and Paul’s reminder to wake up to God’s presence. We end with a simple Advent challenge: identify where you need hope and ask God each day to awaken hope there.

On the Feast of Christ the King, we remember what kind of King Jesus is: merciful, self-giving, and still inviting us to build with him. In a world obsessed with building our own brand and comfort, we’ll ask the bigger question: What if your life could help bring God’s Kingdom to earth right now?

Building anything that matters–faith, family, or purpose–always gets messy. When life feels shaky, Jesus reminds us that these are the very moments our faith can speak the loudest. This week we look at how to build a faith that bears witness, even when life gets hard.

God isn’t just helping us build our own lives–he’s building his Church. In today’s Gospel, Jesus clears out the clutter to make space for what’s sacred. He’s inviting us to do the same: to put him back at the center and to invest in what lasts. When we give, serve, and invest in our local church, we’re not just “keeping the lights on.” We’re joining God in creating a place where people can encounter hope and light for generations to come.

Life is short, but what we build with it doesn’t have to be. On All Souls Day, we’re reminded that love–not titles, money, or accomplishments–is what endures. This week we explore what it means to live with the end in mind and invest in the kind of legacy that outlives us.

We often try to build our lives on performance and comparison–doing enough, looking good enough, proving we’re better than someone else. Jesus says there’s a better foundation: humility. This week we explore how an honest, open posture before God reshapes us and why serving others lays the bricks of a life God can use.

We’re all building something–careers, families, reputations, lives. But what if we’re pouring our time and energy into things that won’t last? This new series invites us to look at the foundation we’re laying and the legacy we’re leaving. In this first week, we see even Moses couldn’t do it alone. Victory came only when friends stepped in to hold him up. If we want to build a life that matters, we can’t build it solo. God designed us to hold one another up, and to let others hold us up, too.

What if you’re missing the miracle--and don’t even realize it? In this final week of the series, we explore how rushing and distraction blind us to God’s work and how noticing and turning back can fill life with gratitude and joy.

Disappointment can quietly pull us away from trust and into frustration and scorekeeping with God. In this message, we look at Jesus’ call to use the faith we already have and keep trusting--even when life feels hard and prayers seem unanswered.

In a world full of distractions, love begins with noticing. This week, we explore how paying full attention to those around us--our families, neighbors, and colleagues--is a moral act that transforms both them and us.

Distraction doesn’t just keep us from rest, it keeps us from purpose. In this message, we explore one of Jesus’s most misunderstood parables and how it challenges us to live not reactively, but intentionally, with eternity in mind.

When life feels overwhelming, our first instinct is often escape: scrolling, numbing, distracting ourselves. But Jesus offers something better: a way through. This week we explore how the cross transforms pain into healing and how looking to the one who was lifted up can lead us to real life.

Distraction is everywhere--but what’s it really costing us? This week we explore how distraction quietly pulls us away from what matters most and how Jesus invites us to live with greater intention, clarity, and purpose.

During a time when we can’t see people in person much (or at all), our relationships have been challenged. In the midst of a time when we’re rightly taking a lot of precautions to maintain our physical health, this series is all about getting relationally healthy.

During a time when we can’t see people in person much (or at all), our relationships have been challenged. In the midst of a time when we’re rightly taking a lot of precautions to maintain our physical health, this series is all about getting relationally healthy.

During a time when we can’t see people in person much (or at all), our relationships have been challenged. In the midst of a time when we’re rightly taking a lot of precautions to maintain our physical health, this series is all about getting relationally healthy.