The events surrounding the birth of Jesus were far from peaceful and easy. God Himself was far from silent. God made huge announcements and ushered in His plan of redemption in some very unexpected ways with some very unexpected people. Those people all had one thing in common, fear. Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and group of shepherds were all told the same thing “do not be afraid”. This Christmas God has the same message for each of us in the middle of our circumstances. Each week we will unwrap one gift that can fuel our courage in the midst of our fears.

Good things come in pairs. Locks have keys. Soap has water. Needles have thread. Chips have salsa. Buzz has Woody. Some things were meant to go together. And in a short letter written by the brother of Jesus, we see several ingredients to living a faithful life that are inseparable.

The Church is designed to be a multi-generational family. Younger people need to experience the wisdom of older people and older people need to experience the passion of younger people. Few things threaten the health of the Church like generational division. Understanding what has shaped each generation will strengthen our love for one another and our love for Jesus. It will also unite us around our common mission of restoring a fractured world.

Paul describes marriage as a profound mystery. It’s a dramatization of something bigger than itself, a real life picture of Jesus and his love for the Church. And in any good movie or play there are parts to be played and roles to be embraced. In this series we will explore why God created marriage, what went wrong, how we can help restore it, and what all of us have to look forward to as a result of it.

Jesus invited twelve young men to follow him and they said “yes” to his invitation and the world hasn’t been the same since. What could happen in your life if you started saying “yes” to every adventure God invites you to be a part of? In this series, we’re going to find out together.

What we see happening in our world today should concern us, but not cripple us with fear. From school shootings to terrorism to the threat of nuclear war, God always sends his people into the darkness to be a bright light of hope. And in the Old Testament, there are real life stories that stand out like neon signs to light the way for future generations. In this series we will learn how to read those signs and face our biggest fears with faith in an even bigger God.

The Bible often uses animals as metaphors for teaching important truths about God and His Kingdom. His redemptive plan is revealed in the interactions his people have with a snake, a lamb, a donkey, and a horse. Understanding the symbolism in each interaction will strengthen our faith and give us a glimpse of a future reality where God’s original plan for creation will be restored.

We love to cheer for the underdog. We long to see good triumph over evil. And in the heart of every hero and in the heat of every battle is a love that gives us the courage to take a stand and not back down against things that threaten our well-being. To love anyone or anything, we must be prepared to fight for them. In this series we’ll explore who we’re fighting for, who we’re fighting against, what we’re fighting with, and how to win the battles that really matter.

All too often we settle for things in life when God has so much more he wants to give us. And there is nothing like a vacation at the beach to help us gain some perspective on our priorities. The worries of our everyday lives get lost in the sound of the waves and God comes into clearer focus as we watch the sun set over the horizon. C.S Lewis once described it this way—"It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased". In this series we will explore the incredible gifts God wants to give us and how to never settle for anything other than his best for us.

Matt Proctor talks about the Andy Stanley quote: "Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise." As Christians, part of living out our faith is sharing it and passing it on to a new generation, and Matt will be teaching about how we can do so intentionally.

Have you ever felt trapped or cornered or like there’s nowhere to go? One of the most powerful phrases in the English vocabulary is, “…but God…” In this series we will learn how to surrender our worst and weakest moments to a God who wants to help us and change us for the better. (I can’t, but God can)

From threat of nuclear war to cancer to poverty, our world could use some good news. And tucked away in the pages of the Bible is a short letter that shows us how to express joy when we’re surrounded by sadness on all sides.

Whether it’s a past regret that haunts us, a difficult family member to get along with, or a fear about what the future holds, all of us have something that keeps us up at night. God wants us to lay our heads to the pillow each night, trusting that he is in control. In this series we will explore practical ways from Jesus’ first sermon to keep from tossing and turning when we should be sound asleep.

Nehemiah felt a calling from God to doing something greater with his life: to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. It took courage and passion to even start the project, and he was immediately met with opposition. Very few wanted him to succeed. Have you ever felt the tension of pursuing what God wants for your life while others do whatever they can to discourage you? In this message, we'll talk about that tension and how to pursue great things in the new year while tuning out the negativity around you.

"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1) A stump is without hope. Everything involving life has been cut off. The nation of Israel was in the same state when Jesus was born. The once great kingdom of Israel had long since been cut down to a lifeless stump. Yet at an unexpected time, with unexpected people, in unexpected ways, Jesus came from a family tree that appeared to be dead. The family tree of Jesus is found in Matthew 1 and it’s distinctive among ancient genealogies. Typically in the ancient world a family tree would list the members of a family that made the family proud, the kind of people who carried the family name well. Almost always in the ancient world genealogies would exclude women, foreigners, and notorious sinners. Yet in Jesus’ family tree we see all three! In this series we will look at how God takes people who should be cut off, disqualified and without hope and through Jesus He includes, qualifies, and restores life to them.

The human heart is where God has chosen to take up residence. And the parables of Jesus give us a clear picture of the kind of life he wants to partner with us to build. It’s a better life than anything we can construct on our own.

God designed the church to stand out, not blend in to its surroundings. All too often the indictment people bring against the followers of Jesus is that they don’t act like their leader. That was definitely true for a church that Paul planted in the city of Corinth. It was plagued by sexual immorality, idolatry, lawsuits, and a variety of other worldly behaviors that created confusion among the people who were trying to figure out what it means to be a Christian. In this series we will walk through Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth to gain valuable insight on how Southland can avoid the pressure to blend in when God is inviting us to stand out.

Too often we allow our past to negatively impact our future. Jesus wants to help us leverage our mistakes to create a life marked by freedom and joy. In this series we will look at people who surrendered control of their lives to Jesus and the impact it had on them. He changed their names and their futures.

Jesus showed us how to establish dynamic, life-giving relationships. Every conversation and interaction he had with people was seasoned with a mixture of inclusivity, vulnerability, and eternity. In this series we are going to explore how to leverage southern hospitality for Christ-centered community.

There is a lot of confusion about whom the Holy Spirit is and what he wants to do in and through the followers of Jesus. In this series we will explore his powerful identity and purpose.

Idols are good things that we’ve turned into ultimate things. And if we’re not careful, we can spend our lives missing out on the good things God wants to give us. In this series we will explore the ugliness of idolatry and the beauty of a life that is surrendered to a living God.

In our culture, most four-letter words are bad words. But the Bible is full of four letter words that are good and powerful and life changing. In this series we’re going to look at four of those four letter words that describe who God is and how we should respond to him.

Every family has its fair share of drama. From jail time to addiction to custody battles to arguments about an inheritance, no family is immune to relational conflict. The first book of the Bible (Genesis) gives us an incredible amount of insight on how to deal with the day-to-day craziness that threatens to divide our families. In this series we will look at how God wants us to handle our difficult family dynamics.

In his book about Jesus, John doesn’t write anything about the birth of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, his temptation or his parables. Instead, John focuses on the reality that God came in the flesh. His writing is about the intimacy and proximity of God, thus he writes about Jesus’ extraordinary interactions with ordinary people. In this series we will take an in-depth look at the people Jesus talked with and the life he invited them into.

Do you ever feel like someone has you on the end of a string and is playing "Yo-Yo" with your life? You aren't alone. In this series we will meet other people who have experienced the highs and lows of life and we'll learn how to handle the unpredictable from their experiences.

Solomon said, “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue.” The tongue has no bones, but it’s strong enough to break someone’s heart. We must use it wisely. Words can transform us, others, even the world! As Jesus-followers, we need to learn how to speak words that are kind, loving, positive, uplifting, encouraging and life-giving.

It’s one thing to level up in a video game, your airline miles, or the number of followers you have on Instagram, but that’s not what we’re talking about in this series. We want to look at what it means to level up in life. Specifically, we’re going to uncover some ways to level up when it comes to our relationships, our joy, our contentment, our character, and most importantly, our relationship and connection with God.

What the participants in the first church had in common was an uncommon love for Jesus and people. As citizens of heaven and Kentucky we have to decide if we’re going to become uncommon followers of Jesus or remain unchanged. The decision seems obvious, but obvious isn’t always easy.

The 1617 sermon will give us the opportunity as a church family to look back at 2016 and see what God has done through our ministry efforts. And it will give us the chance to look forward to 2017 and anticipate all that he is going to do through our ministry efforts. The Jewish people had a regular rhythm through annual feasts of looking back and looking forward. It was a yearly reminder that the best way to live is by thanking God for what he has provided and trusting God for what he will provide. New Year's Day will give us a similar opportunity to prioritize faith in God.