Beautiful Savior
Pastor Quinn • December 29, 2024

God Gives Heaven's Best Gift in Earth's Unlikeliest Places

When the President of the United States visits a city, he does not stay at a discount motel. He stays in some posh hotel with luxury accommodations. Moreover, when making such trips, the President’s agenda generally does not include him spending time with common, ordinary people. He meets with heads of state—powerful, important people. 


If that is the case when the President makes a visit, what should we have expected when the Son of God came to earth? Not the event of Christmas Eve! Jesus is born into our world far from power, mired in poverty, and absent of any earthly fanfare. The first guests he receives are not kings or emperors, but humble shepherds.


Because God put heaven’s best gift in earth’s unlikeliest place, there will always be room at the manger for you. You will not need to stand in line, wait your turn, or prove yourself worthy first. Instead, you can know with certainty that God gave this gift—and all the gifts he brought with him—“to you.”

By Pastor Quinn February 9, 2025
It is easy for us to assume that if God says “no” to a request, we are getting less than we wanted. We need to have an epiphany moment, seeing the reality—that God always wants more for us than we want from him. Saying “yes” to all our requests would often result in us receiving less joy, less blessing, a lesser life. So, when God says “no” to our request, we can be assured it is because he wants to give us more. Far more than existing as a “help desk” or 911 dispatch, God’s love for us is like that of a groom for his bride. His love for us exceeds all expectation and understanding. In that love, God always delivers more than we ask, not less.
By Pastor Quinn February 2, 2025
Freedom is one of the United States’ key ideals. And while ideological divides mean different groups have different concerns when it comes to the pursuit of freedom, there’s a common thread woven throughout all the varying perspectives: self-determination. Such emancipation from outside control and the opportunity to follow one’s own path in life is a cherished right. Yet, that ideal of freedom assumes that individuals are, in themselves, free. But is that true? The fall into sin means we’re not only impaired in our ability to understand and make decisions; this same condition applies to our very motivations, desires, and passions. While it seems we are free to do what we want and want what we want, in reality our very impulses are deceptive. The deceit of sin runs deep. Not only does it fail to deliver promised freedom, it actually brings a truly sad and desperate slavery to a cruel master. Satan’s lies brought servitude and suffering, pain and death to our first parents and every generation since. Yet in abundant mercy, God has revealed truth in his Son Jesus Christ—truth that saves. Truth that brings life. Truth that frees from sin’s deception. This truth of Jesus Christ is beautiful beyond measure, and the freedom it brings is so very deep and profound. And it is a truth that is for all. Stewarding the truth, therefore, requires us to help people recognize their sad condition and to speak the beauty of true freedom in Christ into their specific experience of sin’s deception.
By Pastor Otterstatter January 29, 2025
“The deep search for identity—Who am I, really?—is going on in each person, and no one should accept shallow answers” (Kinnaman and Matlock, Faith for Exiles ). Though identity has become an especially hot topic today, our sense of self has always been a critical aspect of being human. Generation after generation has been shaped by a combination of internal and external factors, giving us points of connection with one another and contributing to our sense of individuality. However, in the recent past, aided by media, consumerism, and technology, we’ve also experienced a tremendous shift in the relative authority of various factors, with an increasing emphasis placed on personal experience or choice. The idea that my preferences, desires, and feelings define me is the core of what some have called expressive individualism or elective identity . Regardless of how we seek to define ourselves, our merely human answers are limited. They may reflect an aspect of our experience, but they can never fully satisfy. They cannot provide enduring answers. To one degree or another, they disappoint.  But God’s answer to the question, “Who am I?” is truly different. Truly better. Truly beautiful . Our true identity is found in Christ. It will become ours fully at the resurrection, but even now we get to live each day as God’s restored “very good” creations who are continually set free from sin’s deception because Christ shared our humanity. Our call as stewards is to deeply grasp this beautiful identity for ourselves and to share it with the generations after us.
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