Real joy does not come from gifts or circumstances. It comes from your relationship with Jesus and the people around you. Happiness fades. Joy lasts. This message shows you where joy starts, what steals it, and how to refocus your life on what brings lasting joy at Christmas and beyond. Simple action steps for you.• Check your focus.Ask what you stare at most this season. Loss or grace.• Heal relationships.Ask if being right matters more than love.• Reorder priorities.Spend more effort on Jesus and people than on decorations and gifts.• Give yourself away.Serve. Encourage. Forgive. Show up.• Stay connected to Jesus.Abide in His love daily. Obedience follows love.

You live in a world that feels dark and unstable. Advent tells you something simple. Hope came. Hope is here. Hope is coming again. Isaiah spoke to people who felt afraid and worn out. God answered with a promise. A child would come. A Savior would reign. Light would break through. Three truths rise from Isaiah 9. Truth 1Hope shines strongest when life feels dark. Darkness does not win. Jesus brings light into your fear, stress, and pain. Truth 2Hope is a person. Not a feeling. Feelings shift. Jesus stays steady. He guides you, strengthens you, and gives peace. Truth 3Hope lasts because Jesus reigns forever. Earthly leaders and systems fail. His rule never ends. His promises stand. Your next stepSlow down. Read the Advent Guide. Pray with your family. Tell Jesus where you feel the darkness pressing in. Hold onto the Savior who holds onto you.

Your family gave you more than your looks. They gave you habits. Some help you. Some hurt you. You pass those habits to your kids unless you stop them. You stop them by following Jesus. Someone has to say it stops now.Israel forgot God. They lived like the people around them for hundreds of years. Their kids grew up not knowing who God was. That is what happens when you drift. Old habits take over. Change takes time, work, and a new way of thinking. God told Israel what to do. Follow me and life will go well. Your choices shape your family. If you change your life, you change your children.You need to name the baggage you were handed. Bring it to Jesus. He breaks old patterns and helps you build a new path. Deuteronomy 6 gives a simple plan.• Do what God says. Your kids watch more than they listen.• Love God. Obedience proves it.• Talk about God in normal moments.• Make your faith visible.• Stay alert when life is good so you do not forget Him.Start with your own life. When you change, your kids have a better chance to change too.

We’ve all watched someone we love fall apart and felt helpless to stop it.2 Samuel 12 shows us how to love people enough to tell them the truth, even when they don’t want to hear it. Main truth: Love without truth isn’t love. Truth without love isn’t heard. Here’s what God teaches us:· Go to God first. Ask if He wants you to step in. Don’t react out of emotion.· Lead with grace. Nathan told a story instead of attacking. Grace opens hearts.· Speak with courage. Real love says the hard thing even when it’s uncomfortable.· Point them to God. Don’t shame them. Remind them who God is and what He offers.· Let God handle the rest. You can speak truth, but only God can change a heart. Nathan’s story points to Jesus, who tells us the truth about our sin and then forgives us with grace. Your job isn’t to fix people. Love them, speak truth, and trust God to do what you can’t. Action step:Pray first. Speak with love. Leave the results to God.

Good relationships depend on how we talk and listen. The way you communicate shapes every part of your life. God doesn’t only want a strong relationship with you, He wants you to have strong relationships with others too. That starts with how you speak and how you listen. Your past affects how you handle conversations, but Jesus gives you the power to change that. Real growth happens when you stop blaming others and look at what’s going on in your own heart. Most conflict points to something in you that God wants to fix. Healthy communication happens when people feel safe, honest, and not judged. When others know they can trust you, they’ll open up, and healing can start. Your words can either build people up or tear them down.If you want better relationships with God, your spouse, your kids, or your friends - start communicating with honesty, humility, forgiveness, and love. Main Truth:Talking God’s way changes every relationship.Call to Action:Start today. Listen more. Judge less. Use your words to heal.

This week we’re taking time to look back and thank God, and to look ahead at what He’s still doing.God has been so faithful, and He’s not done yet. The angel once asked Hagar, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?”That’s a good question for us too. Everything behind us has helped prepare us for what’s next. Philippians 1:6 says the same God who started His work in us will finish it. Here’s what we’re celebrating:25 years of God’s goodness. We’ve grown from about 250 people to over 2,100 each week.1,863 baptisms. Lives changed by Jesus.Spiritual growth. More people reading the Bible, growing in faith, and building stronger families.Faithful giving. Up 11%, showing hearts that trust God’s mission. But we can’t stop now. The building that once worked for us can’t hold what’s coming.Just like a farmer has to plant new fields to keep growing, it’s time for us to take new ground.God’s calling us to reach beyond Choctaw. Our mission now is simple:To introduce people in East Central Oklahoma to Jesus and help them grow in relationship with Him. Our first step is this Easter, two services in McLoud. This isn’t just a test. It’s the start of what’s next. Here’s how you can help:Pray. Ask God to guide us and open hearts.Give. Help make space and build what’s needed to reach more people.Go. Join the team heading to McLoud. God’s done amazing things, but He’s not finished. The best is still ahead.

Your kids won’t remember how much money you made or the stuff you owned, but they’ll never forget how you lived your faith. Isaac’s story reminds us that faith isn’t inherited by accident; it’s modeled, spoken, and trusted out loud. Abraham showed Isaac how to trust God in hard moments. Isaac learned to hear God’s voice for himself. He spoke blessing over his kids and trusted God with their future, even when life was messy. Parents, that’s our calling too. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be faithful. Your walk with God is the greatest inheritance you’ll ever leave. Action Challenge:Live your faith in front of your kids. Let them see you trust God, hear you speak life, and feel you release control of their future into His hands.

Every man is passive in some area - marriage, parenting, faith, or finances  and that’s often where he’s failing. Jacob’s life shows what happens when passivity takes over. He repeated the same broken family patterns he grew up with, stayed silent when his daughter was hurt, and allowed compromise in his home. But even in Jacob’s failure, God was faithful. God used his broken family to bring Jesus into the world. The same God can use your story too, but only if you face your passivity, take responsibility, and start leading your family toward Him. Main Truth: God is faithful even in your failures, but it’s time to stop being passive and start leading.

Eli looked like a great parent. He led the nation, had influence, and looked spiritual, but he failed where it mattered most: at home. His sons disrespected God, and Eli did nothing. He cared more about their comfort than their character. God isn’t impressed by our parenting image. He wants our hearts, and our kids’ hearts too. Eli’s story warns us that:Good parenting manages behavior. Godly parenting shapes hearts.Good parenting aims for appearances. Godly parenting aims for faithfulness.Good parenting takes kids to church. Godly parenting brings Jesus home.Good parenting goes alone. Godly parenting walks in grace and community.Parents, success isn’t raising kids who behave, it’s raising kids who believe.You can win in public and still fail at home if your kids don’t know and love Jesus. The good news? Where Eli failed, God remains faithful. It’s not too late to start leading your family toward Him. Call to ActionAsk yourself today:– Am I raising kids who act right, or kids who walk with God?– Have I brought Jesus into my home, not just my Sundays?– Will I parent from my strength, or from God’s grace?

Parenting isn’t about producing perfect kids, it’s about faithfully sowing seeds and trusting God. Even the only perfect Parent, God Himself, watched His children rebel. Adam and Eve had the best home, the best environment, and the clearest truth, yet they chose sin. Israel had God’s love and provision, yet turned to idols. Your kids also have free will. You cannot insulate them from sin, you cannot make them obey truth, and you cannot give them enough to make them grateful. What you can do is plant God’s Word in their lives, model faithfulness, and love them even when they rebel. The outcome belongs to God. Parenting is not about control, it’s about trust. Action: Stop carrying guilt for your child’s choices. Stay faithful to sow truth, even if you see no immediate fruit. Love your kids, especially the ones who break your heart. Trust God with the outcome.

Psalm 111 is all about celebrating God. Like fans cheering when their team wins, we should cheer for God because He never fails, never breaks a promise, and always shows up. Celebration isn’t about how we feel, it’s a choice. The psalm gives us five steps: choose to celebrate, remember what God has done, see who He really is, trust His promises, and keep praising Him every day. If we see God clearly, we won’t be able to stop praising Him. The challenge: don’t just watch others worship, join in and make praise your way of life.

Jesus shows us that the wilderness is the space between identity and ministry. At His baptism, God declared who He was: “My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Immediately after, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He faced testing and temptation. The wilderness revealed truth, demanded self-denial, and exposed Him to Satan’s attacks. Jesus was tested to prove His character and tempted to abandon His mission - through questions of His identity, God’s love, and His purpose. Yet He stood firm. The same is true for us: if God is preparing us for something, there will be a battle for our lives. The enemy wants to derail us before we ever step into God’s calling. But we are not alone, God sends strength and reinforcement. The wilderness shapes us into people who not only know what we believe but live it. The Core TruthIf you choose Jesus, you will face the wilderness. And it’s there, between calling and ministry, that God prepares you to live out your purpose.

Life can swing quickly from the mountaintop to the wilderness. Elijah knew this in 1 Kings 19: after bold victories, he crashed into fear, exhaustion, and despair. God used that wilderness moment to teach him, and us, four truths: (1) you can be right with God and still face hardship(2) rest and nourishment matter for spiritual clarity (3) God speaks in whispers, so quiet the noise(4) feeling alone doesn’t mean you are alone.  If burnout has broken you down, God is ready to build you back up. Rest in Him. Listen for His voice. Lean on community. Step forward in His strength.

Life doesn’t always go the way we planned. Hagar didn’t choose her story, she was given away, used, abused, and cast out. Twice she found herself in the wilderness with no idea where she was going. But both times, God showed up. He called her by name, reminded her that He hears, and gave her hope for a future. Hagar’s life teaches us two things: life isn’t fair, but God still sees. We don’t always get to choose the wilderness, but we do get to choose our attitude. We can fight, complain, or give up—or we can trust that God’s plan is better than ours. The wilderness may be the place where God changes what we’ve resisted for years. So if you’re in a season you never wanted, stop asking “Why me?” and start asking “Where is God leading me?” He sees you. He hears you. The question is: will you follow Him, even when it hurts?

The wilderness is never wasted. It feels lonely, scary, and hopeless, but in the Bible it is where God shows up. The wilderness is a place of testing, revelation, and preparation. Moses, David, Elijah, even Jesus, all had wilderness seasons. It is where failure turns into second chances, where God heals old wounds, gives rest, and brings clarity. The wilderness is not forever, it is a season. The question is not, “Why am I here?” but, “What does God want me to bring out of this wilderness?” If you will let Him, God will use this season to transform you and prepare you for what’s next. Challenge: Don’t waste your wilderness. Stop running. Listen for God’s voice. Let Him use this season to heal, reset, and prepare you for your greater purpose.

Today we welcome guest pastor Jeremy Stalnecker from the Mighty Oaks Foundation. Life with Christ is a race. You are not running alone. Others have gone before you, the church runs beside you, and some need you to encourage them along the way. To finish well, you must stay focused, lay aside sin and distractions, run the race God set before you (not someone else’s), and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus when it gets dark. The greatest battle is in your mind, so choose daily not to quit. Run so that when you stand before God, you can rest in exhausted peace, knowing you gave Him everything.

Today we honored Vic Wood and his incredible legacy at TheRoad. Vic has faithfully served as our Executive Pastor for many years, guiding our church with wisdom, dedication, and heart. The service celebrated his leadership, reflected on the impact he has made, and gave our church family a chance to show gratitude for his years of service. It was a meaningful time of recognition, appreciation, and celebration for a life devoted to serving others.

Life doesn’t run on your clock. Sometimes heartbreak, loss, or chaos interrupts your plans, and you’re left wondering what God is doing. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that God rules over every season, both the ones we celebrate and the ones we want to escape. His timing may feel mysterious, but it is never meaningless. He uses time not just to shape our days, but to shape our eternity. Your job isn’t to manage or fix every season, it’s to trust Him in it. Be still, remember He is God, and believe that He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Ever feel like you're doing everything right but still coming up empty? In this message, we look at John 21 and discover that sometimes the issue isn’t your effort, it’s your direction. The disciples were in the right boat, doing what they knew, but caught nothing until Jesus showed up and simply told them to try the other side. When life feels stuck or off track, the answer isn’t always a big change, it’s often a small adjustment toward Jesus. Don’t let frustration pull you back into old habits. Look for Jesus. Listen to His Word. Then do what He says. The breakthrough might be just one shift away.

The Most Unforgettable Fish Story Ever ToldGod will often put us in situations we can’t handle, on purpose. Not to shame us, but to grow our faith, increase our maturity, and remind us who the real Provider is. The miracle of feeding the 5,000 wasn’t just about bread and fish, it was about trust, surrender, and stepping out with what little you have… so He can show you what He can do. Three Life-Changing Truths from the Feeding of the 5,000:1. God Puts You in Over Your Head for a Reason - Jesus didn’t ask Philip how to feed the crowd because He needed ideas. He asked to teach him—and us. 2. Miracles Are Built on What You Already Have - Miracles aren’t magic tricks. 3. Seek the Provider, Not Just the Provision - Jesus doesn’t want to just give you stuff. He wants to grow your trust in Him. Call to Action: Look at your life right now, where are you facing something bigger than you? Step in with what you do have. Surrender the outcome. Trust that Jesus is enough. You don’t need to figure it all out. You just need to show up, give what you’ve got, and remember who holds the basket.