Unity Presbyterian - Denver, NC

We kick off a new sermon series this week based on our Capital Campaign - Our Legacy, Our Future: Faithfully Together. Unity has been a faithful church for over 260 years, and that doesn't happen by accident. There are many people who have intentionally worshiped, prayed, and given throughout these years to see that what we have today exists. We will talk about their faithfulness and ours as we begin this new series.

Our last metaphor for God is wind, which happens to share a definition in Greek with Spirit. Like the wind, God is an invisible force with a very visible presence, and also a bit of mystery. We don't know where the wind comes from or often where it is going, and we certainly don't have much control over it. But it can be used to power our lives in very positive ways.

"God is a consuming fire..." This is our metaphor for the week. Most of us have never refined silver or gold, but most of us have been through tough times where God is seeking to purify us. The fire can be a metaphor for the challenges or tough circumstances of life. This is the place where we come closer to God, reaching out to Him in a way that our comfortable lives don't allow.

Why don't we offer sacrifices to God the way the Israelites did in the Old Testament? Why you don't bring a lamb to church with you? Have you ever wondered how that changed? This week in our Indescribable God series, Pastor David looks at how we are meant to be a living sacrifice for God, and what that means we should do with our lives.

Another way we try to understand our indescribable God is by equating God to a loving parent. A nurturing mother. A loving father. A mentor we can follow. Someone who wants the best for us, who guides us and has our best interests in mind. We will look at this metaphor of God as our parent this week in worship as we continue our Indescribable God series.

We try to describe an immense God by giving him certain attributes and using similes and metaphors. In the second week of our series "Indescribable God," Pastor David takes a look at God as the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd watches over his flock, caring for them and making sure their needs are met and that predators are kept away.

How do you describe the indescribable? Throughout the Bible, the authors use metaphors to try to give us ideas about God - God is like a rock, or a loving father, or a lamb, or the wind. These give us a picture of a specific attribute of God. This week, Pastor David looks at God as our foundation, a steadfast rock on which we can always rely.

It's the third week of Advent and our characters this week are the Shepherds. These were outcasts, the poorest on the fringe of society, yet they were the first to hear of the birth of the Christ Child. Why were they chosen? What do we learn about how to treat others by looking at the shepherds? Who around us needs to be seen and needs the kindness of Christmas?

As we continue to look at the Characters of Christmas, Pastor Dana takes a look at Mary and Joseph. What trust did they have to have in the angels and in the promises of God? Do we put our trust in God or are we so skeptical that we miss the miracles God has planned for us?

The season of Advent begins this week, where we will take a look at the Characters of Christmas. We begin with the prophets, and their promise of the coming Messiah.