Isaiah 7:10–16 & Matthew 1:18–25 These Isaiah and Matthew texts together proclaim God’s surprising nearness in moments of fear and uncertainty. Isaiah names a sign of hope given amid political anxiety, while Matthew reveals that sign fulfilled in Jesus’ birth through Mary, embraced by Joseph’s faithful obedience. These texts testify that God acts beyond human expectation, entering vulnerability to save, accompany, and remain with a troubled world—Emmanuel, God with us. Listen to the message to gain insight into the intersection of faithful obedience, fear, and uncertainty. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

Isaiah 35:1-10 & Matthew 11:2-11 Isaiah 35 promises a wilderness transformed—creation erupting with life, healing, and rejoicing. Matthew 11 reveals John the Baptist waiting in uncertainty, asking Jesus if he truly is the One. Together, these texts name our living reality wherein human doubt and holy expectation coexist. God’s future blooms in deserts, yet often slowly, hidden from immediate sight. Jesus answers John not with theories but with evidence of restoration: the blind see, the lame walk, good news is preached. Join us at 9AM where we will continue to be faithful, waiting well, trusting that even in confusion, God’s renewal is already breaking in. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Isaiah 11:1-10 & Matthew 3:1-12   In this message we encounter God’s transformative intervention in a world longing for renewal. Isaiah envisions a Spirit-anointed shoot from Jesse, a righteous ruler whose reign brings justice, peace, and the healing of creation. John the Baptist echoes this hope, calling Israel to repentance as preparation for the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. Both texts confront our brokenness while promising God’s restorative future: a kingdom where righteousness prevails and peace reshapes all relationships. In the message we explore the relationship between holy waiting/listening and acts of repentance. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Isaiah 2:1-5 & Matthew 24:36-44 The practice of waiting involves a posture that is largely uncomfortable and laden with anxiety. In any given scenario, not “doing” can be perceived as apathetic, detached. When it comes to matters of the heart, not “doing” can be perceived as even unfaithful. How do we challenge the narrative of faith being just about what we do? What does it look like to wait on the will of God, instead of the will of man? Listen to this message and hear how both Isaiah and Jesus faithfully anticipate God’s action.  Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Christ the King Sunday is a transition Sunday between the church seasons of Ordinary Time and Advent. Before we turn our attention to the story of promise that leads to Bethlehem, we turn to Luke’s account of the crucifixion. Amid scoffing and slander from those who sarcastically call him Messiah and king, Jesus reveals that to be Messiah and king is to give one’s life for others. Jesus uses his power to welcome a despised sinner to paradise but puts his own death into God’s hands. Extraordinary. What does it look like to move from an ordinary posture of living to an extraordinary posture? What does it look like to live hopeful and forward? In this message we ponder ways in which we can transition our lives fully into God’s control. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

In this message, women of Nativity ages of 10 to 94 lend their voices to this worship service. Women were an integral part of the early church, and are an essential voice in its life and ministry today. Many thanks to Breanne Johnsen for delivering the message by expanding our understanding of family through her own story. A special Thankoffering was taken for the Doris Karlik Local College Scholarship for women. It was a great day in the life of Nativity! Click here to Explore and support the Doris Karlik Local College Scholarship for Women. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Sadducees who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, try to trap Jesus by concocting an unrealistic and convoluted case of a serial widow who marries a succession of seven brothers. Jesus responds in a rather sarcastic manner by teaching about God to whom all are alive and in whom all relationships are fulfilled. Ann then there is Job...his life has burned down to nothing, and yet in the ashes he finds a faith that will not die: “My Redeemer lives.” What good does it do to not trust in the presence of a God who defeated death and the disciples despair by coming back to life? Why has this ”story” survived to this very day? In this message we ponder the presence of God in seemingly Godforsaken moments of life. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

In this All Saints Sunday message we ponder what it looks like to live and act like a ”saint”. With echoes of the prophet Isaiah and Mary’s song of praise, Jesus reveals surprising things about who enjoys blessing and who endures woe. He invites his disciples to shower radical love, blessing, forgiveness, generosity, and trust even on enemies and outsiders. This message is meant to challenge, and inspire you to embrace your blessedness, and to avoid woeful living.  Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

In Psalm 46, David extols God’s providence, power and peace. In John, Jesus speaks of truth and freedom as spiritual realities known through his word. He reveals the truth that sets people free from sin. In Romans, Paul wraps up the readings with theological might…we are justified by faith in the cross of Christ. In this Reformation Sunday message we ponder God’s divine redemptive activity on the cross, and our inability to earn it. And for that we exclaim, thanks be to God! Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

In this Sunday’s message we explore what life looks like for us when we wrestle and persevere for what is righteous and good in our world we do this through the lens of two biblical stories. First, we hear of how Jacob wrestles all night long with a divine adversary who ultimately blesses him and changes his name to “Israel,” a name that means “he wrestles with God.” And in the gospel of Luke Jesus tells a parable of an unjust judge who is worn down by a widow’s pleas. How might these two stories shape us to be what God created us to be? Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Jesus’ mission includes making people whole again. Jesus encounters and heals ten lepers, yet  only one, a Samaritan recognizes that he has been healed of his leprosy. The others moved on seemingly unaware or without gratitude that they had been healed. In this message we ponder the relationship between healing and gratitude.   Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Part 4 of 4 part Stewardship Series Because of God, Followers of Jesus Do For God Paul’s letter to Timothy is a personal message of encouragement. In the face of hardship and persecution, Timothy is reminded that his faith is a gift of God. He is encouraged to exercise that faith with the help of the Holy Spirit. In this message we consider the stewardship of God’s mysteries in how we  share and pass on faith to our family.  Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

Jesus tells a parable in which the poor one is “lifted up” and the rich one is “sent away empty.” In this message we explore compassion as the divine attribute that binds us to one another, that keeps us from being insulated by wealth or comfort, and that reorients us toward generosity, stewardship, and love. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Part 2 of 4 part Stewardship Series Because of God, Followers of Jesus Do For God Jesus tells the curious story of a dishonest manager who cheats his employer and then is commended by him for having acted so shrewdly. Jesus wonders why his own followers are less creative and diligent in their stewardship given that they are managers of a far more valuable household. In this message consider what it looks like for you to serve the interests of God and not wealth.    Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Part 1 of 4 part Stewardship Series Because of God, Followers of Jesus Do For God In this Sunday’s Gospel, Pharisees and scribes are giving Jesus grief for welcoming and eating with sinners. Jesus goes on to tell a pair of parables that speak to what time well spent for God looks like. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s divisive death, how might we be a reflective image of God’s love? What God-given talents might you employ so as to bring about times of unity in the name of Christ?  Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Part 2 of 2 sermon series Serving the Future On this God’s Work Our Hands Sunday we hear Jesus use sharp and divisive language to explain the level of commitment expected He expects out of those who follow him. A follower of Jesus doesn’t half-commit to His movement. A follower of Jesus is fully aware of what they are getting them self into. A follower of Jesus’ primary interest is serving the future for God. Followers of Jesus carry their cross. What cross carrying work are you/we called to in serving God’s interest’s today, and tomorrow? Through this message contemplate what we want, alongside what the kingdom of God needs. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

Part 1 of 2 sermon series Serving the Future In this first of two part series Jesus shares the spiritual significance of serving the future of God’s kingdom by denying our ego and delaying our gratification. What does it look like for you and I to individually, and collectively serve God’s interest’s today, and tomorrow?  Listen to this message and contemplate what we want, alongside what the kingdom of God needs.  Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

Part 3 of sermon series Pillars of Faith. Through the story of Jesus healing a woman on the sabbath, we contemplate courageous faith. Listen to this message for insight into what faith in the face of opposition looks like, and how you can go about expanding the depth and breadth of your faith in God. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

Part 2 of sermon series Pillars of Faith. Jesus is having what we call a “Come to Jesus meeting”. Using the family unit as His example, Jesus delivers harsh words to his disciples about how purifying and potentially divisive God’s call to obedience is. The cross of Christ often leads followers to encounter hostility and rejection, even from those they love. For Jesus, obedience to Him, is obedience to God’s will that often remains to be seen, but yet trusted to be in play out in front of us. Listen to this message and gain insight into Jesus’ fiery rhetoric. It’s not damnation, but a call to step into the fires of life. For it is there where we are refined, freed and empowered.  Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

Part 1 of sermon series on Pillars of Faith. God promises childless and aging Abram that a child of his own will be his heir and that his descendants will number as many as the stars. Abram trusts God’s promise, and through this faith he is considered righteous. In the Gospel reading from Luke Jesus addresses his disciples doubt, telling them to not be afraid. In this message we ponder the importance of faiths great and small, weak, stronger, and even indifferent. Our attempts at faithfully seeking to understand God’s love for the world through Jesus Christ count for something to someone. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity