We gather because connection matters. While strong ties sustain us, weak ties—relationships across churches and leaders—help move the Kingdom forward. Around shared tables, collaboration forms, resources flow, and our city is better served. We come together because we love Jesus, love Long Beach, and believe we’re stronger together than alone.

Joy does something holy in the human heart. Rooted in God’s presence, it is not dependent on circumstances or emotion. Scripture calls it our strength, a deep and steady joy that quiets fear, restores hope, and reminds us we are not alone. Like Mary’s song, this joy is born not from ideal conditions but from divine companionship, shaping how we hold sorrow and inviting courage and healing even in the waiting.

Peacemaking isn’t passive—it’s the courageous, often messy work of restoring what is broken. This week’s Advent reflection invites us to look beyond “keeping the peace” and toward the disruptive, redemptive way of Jesus, who enters tension rather than avoiding it. As we consider His birth and His ministry, we’re reminded that true peace requires proximity, courage, and a willingness to join God in mending the fractures of our world.

This first week of Advent invites us into the quiet, holy work of waiting. Before celebration or proclamation, Scripture calls us to slow down and notice the God who forms us in the silence. In this week’s reflection, Dr. Keith Douds helps us see waiting not as wasted time but as the place where God renews our strength and prepares our hearts for Christ’s coming.

Gratitude is more than a feeling—it’s one of God’s gracious “emergency exits” when life feels heavy. This Thanksgiving week, we’re invited to pause, breathe, and remember the countless ways God has loved us, sustained us, and met us with kindness.

Your to-do list is long, the year is moving fast, and everything in you says, “Just keep pushing.” But Scripture invites us into something radically different: rest. Not once the work is done, but right in the middle of the unfinished. Rest is a sign of trust, a reminder that God is the One sustaining all things—including you. If you are exhausted, overwhelmed, or stretched thin, hear this clearly: you don’t need to earn rest. You are allowed to stop.