“Start honoring God by honoring others”

Pastor Mike Francisco gave us a really hard truth on Sunday: we can’t claim faithfulness to God while being unfaithful to people. We cannot compartmentalize our Sunday morning worship from our midday Monday interactions. Ultimately, integrity isn’t just about morals, it’s about being whole and undivided. So how we treat our spouses, families, friends, coworkers, and neighbors says a lot about how we honor God. A lack of honor always leads to a lack of integrity. God invites us to stop living compartmentalized lives and instead living full, integrated lives.

“How you treat God determines your experience of Him”

Pastor Mike Francisco opens up a new series by asking the hard question… “how did you do at honoring God last year”? Most of us probably didn’t do as well as we would have hoped. If we’re honest with ourselves, we probably only honored God in ways that were convenient and comfortable.

Similarly, Malachi, the prophet, spoke to God’s people about their lack of honor and respect for God. His words cut deep and challenged the casual relationship they had grown accustomed to with the Lord. It’s a new age, but the message translates… God doesn’t want us to treat him as common. Ultimately, we hinder our experience of God’s love, grace, and blessing in our lives when we treat him like just another guy.

Pastors Mike and Colleen Francisco remind us that Christmas is a story of journey, light, and grace. It's a story of humble beginnings. A story of the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, Immanuel; born not in a palace, but in a stable. A signal that this King and His kingdom will be different.

Shepherds saw heaven break into the night sky. Wise men followed a star. Promises spoken centuries earlier came true. Jesus came as grace upon grace... new grace replacing the old, light overcoming darkness, God with us. And that light didn’t stop at the manger.

Today, we carry it.
We live it.
We shine it.