This message traces the story of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s ancient promise, revealing Him as the true Light and our blessed Hope in a dark world. From Genesis to the Gospels, it shows how Scripture points to a Messiah who would come through the woman, arrive marked by divine light, suffer for our sins, and ultimately reign as a victorious King. The teaching highlights how Jesus’ kingdom defies worldly expectations, exposing false forms of “light” such as human reason, success, technology, and good works apart from love. Ultimately, it challenges viewers to examine their own lives by a simple test of faith: not what we achieve for Christ, but where we are willing to carry our cross and follow Him.
This message concludes the series "The Gathering", emphasizing why regularly meeting with other believers is essential and why neglecting church gatherings—whether for bad reasons like offense or indifference, or for seemingly “good” reasons like work, money, education, sports, or busyness—is spiritually dangerous. Scripture teaches that isolation makes believers vulnerable to the enemy, that the cares of life and the deceitfulness of success choke spiritual growth, and that choosing urgent, worldly pursuits over the important discipline of gathering leads to unfruitfulness. While occasional absence and legitimate life circumstances are understood, forming a habit of missing church becomes disobedience to God, undermines spiritual leadership, and sets a poor example for young people, children, and new believers. God saved His people to gather them, just as He gathered Israel in Exodus, and He continues to meet, speak, heal, and nourish His people through every part of the corporate gathering—not just the sermon. Learning to gather faithfully is a fundamental part of Christian identity and devotion; it forms us, unlocks spiritual growth, and aligns us with God’s presence and purpose as we offer our worship, attention, and wholehearted participation to Him.
In Part 4 of The Gathering, Dr. Smith teaches on what it truly means for the church to function as "ecclesia", a Congress of heaven placed on earth to carry out the work of God’s kingdom. This message focuses on how gathering is not a cultural habit but a spiritual remedy that stirs believers toward love, good works, and a renewed sense of responsibility. Dr. Smith explains how we enter God’s presence with gifts of praise, maintain loving relationships through reconciliation, and guard our hearts from the three hustles that compete with kingdom priorities. He closes by showing how God calls every believer to influence their sphere of life by seeking God, serving people, solving problems, and sharing the gospel with boldness.
In this message from The Gathering series, Dr. Joshua teaches that church is not something we attend but something we are. Using the picture of a State of the Union and a joint session of Congress, he shows how our gatherings are the Congress of Jesus, where we welcome the King, receive his counsel, and step into our responsibilities as his people.
In this message, Dr. Smith continues “The Gathering” by calling us out of a consumer mindset and into our true identity as the church, the ecclesia, the gathered Congress of King Jesus. He warns against “creative disobedience” in giving, shows how God takes our motives seriously, and then walks through Scripture to show that church is not an event you attend but a branch of heaven’s government with real authority, responsibility, and power when we gather.
Dr. Smith begins a new series reminding us that gathering is more than attendance; it is God’s design for transformation. In Acts 2:42-47, the early church devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. That devotion - not convenience - invited the power and presence of God. The message calls believers to restore the sacred rhythm of gathering with expectation, to bring sacrifices of praise, time, humility, and focus, and to see themselves as living stones in God’s spiritual house. From Genesis to 1 Peter, Dr. Smith shows that we were created to walk with God together, to see Him more clearly, and to glorify Him as one body.
Dr. Smith walks through 1 Chronicles c29 to show how David led a holy building campaign and what that means for our pledges today. The heart of the message is simple; God tests and directs our hearts through cheerful, willing, wholehearted giving, and through a renewed devotion to gather. The building serves the gathering; we are the living stones God is forming into a spiritual house.
Dr. Joshua teaches on faith, sacrifice, and legacy as we prepare for Commitment Sunday. Drawing from Cain, Seth, and Abraham, he shows how obedience and unity lead us to build something lasting together.
This week centers on sacrifice as a spiritual tool God uses to shape our hearts and lives. Dr. Smith reviews Cain and Abel to show that God looks at the heart behind our giving and calls us to offer what we trust most back to him. The IMAGINE campaign is more than upgrades to loan, infrastructure, lighting, projection, stage, communication, and seating. God is forming us through prayer, devotion, and commitment, so that our giving ripples into transformed lives and daily work that becomes worship.
In this second IMAGINE message, Dr. Joshua teaches the principle of stewardship through Cain and Abel. God does not need our money. He wants our hearts. The campaign invites prayer, devotion, and commitment so that generosity forms us spiritually, not just financially.
Today’s message is God’s goodness and a church-wide call to prayer, devotion, and commitment as we begin the IMAGINE campaign. Dr. Joshua announces our sanctuary grand reopening date and outlines why we chose to restore and upgrade now. A campaign video follows, then Dr. Joshua teaches on the heart God desires in giving by contrasting David and Saul. We end with a simple pathway for the month: prayer, devotion, commitment.
