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Final Destinations:
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s been a lot of interest in Heaven and Hell lately. This year on the NY Times Best Seller lists are the following titles:

• Heaven is For Real
• 90 Minutes in Heaven
• 23 Minutes in Hell
• I Hope the Serve Beer in Hell
• Love Wins, A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived

Noticing the pop-culture buzz about Heaven and Hell, Time Magazine’s current cover is: ‘What if there’s no Hell?’ Inside it refers back to the famous Easter Issue from 1966 with the cover: ‘Is God Dead’. There’s a lot of questions swirling around right now about the afterlife:

• What about the guy on an island who has never heard about Jesus?
• What about the other religions?
• What about the friend of mine that doesn’t believe in God but is nicer than most Christians I know?
• What would we do for all eternity in heaven or hell?
• If all the people who seem to know how to really party are going to hell, doesn’t that sound like a better place to spend eternity?

With all the questions surrounding one’s Final Destination, we thought you’d might like to hear what Jesus said about the topic.  After all, he’s the only one whose died and come back to tell us about it.  Sure there’s tons of “near death experiences”, but history only has a detailed record of one man’s journey to the grave and back.

Join us this month for a thought provoking look at our Final Destination.

Most everyone prays at some point in their life. Even people who don’t go to church will likely participate in prayers at funerals, before meals, or other special events. I’ve seen coaches who are known for having a hot temper and a foul mouth pray before or after a game.

Some people pray with loud voices or use eloquent old English that Shakespeare would be impressed with, but is God?

It’s no wonder that people are often confused about prayer.  In this series I hope that we can look through the Bible and perhaps clear the air and open the skies about prayer.  My hope for you in this series isn’t that you would simply pray more, that might just make you more religious.  My hope is that you’d feel comfortable entering a conversation with the Living God.

We can spend our whole lives trying to satisfy the one insatiable part of our being, our soul craving. Our capacity for spiritual experience both proves our need for something greater than ourselves and leaves us wanting when we fill it with anything but God.

In this series we will look at our common need for intimacy, meaning, and destiny. Do these soul cravings pointing to the existence of and our need for God? Our hope is that you consider and chase after the spiritual implications of your soul’s deepest longings during this series.

On Sunday, January 9, we will be having a reception to say farewell to Pastor Rick and Mariann.  Pastor Rick has been called to a church in Michigan and his last Sunday at Essential is January 9.   There will be Chinese food, chicken nuggets for those who don’t do Chinese, and of course drinks and dessert!  Please plan on staying after church (or coming back) to bid them farewell.

Practical Atheist

Around 94% of people in America say they believe in God, but I think we could all agree that 94% of Americans don’t live like they believe in God. According to the Barna Research Group, 72% claim to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, yet only 4% of adults really understand the essentials of the Christian faith. Where’s the disconnect?

Are we actual Christians or practical atheists? Do we believe what we profess? Are our lives affected by what we read and see in the Bible? Why do we claim Jesus, but deny Him in our daily actions?  If you call yourself a Christian, are you who you say you are?

This month we’ll be exploring this question: “Are we actual Christians or practical atheists?”

Everyone is trying to change the world. Whether it’s bringing justice to Darfur, building schools, or rebuilding cities, people are flocking to causes bigger than themselves. They’re dissatisfied with the status quo and sacrificing time and money to change it. God’s people should be at the forefront of this movement. But we’re not.

In this series, you will be challenged to take part in changing the world around you by adopting the strategy Jesus used: becoming a “guerrilla lover“. Just as a small group of people who deliver surprise attacks can change the course of a war, you can change the course of love in this world. With engaging true stories of everyday guerrilla lovers, our hope is to inspire you to wage war on complacency and surprise the people around you with acts of love.

es-sen-tial – that which is basic or indispensable; necessary |

This month we are looking at those few things that are indispensable or necessary in order for us to have a right relationship with God both as a church and as individuals.  We will be looking at the simple yet profound elements of our faith: truth, love, restoration, authenticity, and synergy.