Finding Security in the New Year

Every year, OFB’s Tim Butler assembles a Twelve Days of Christmas booklet to help anyone interested in meditating on the miracle of Christmas over that season between December 25 and Epiphany. This year’s booklet is the Kings Before, looking at Old Testament kings and what they do to help us understand who Jesus is. Today is the Seventh Day of Christmas, and if you haven’t already been on this thirteen day adventure with us, you can begin it right here.

Mystery Ahead of Christmas

Every year, OFB’s Tim Butler assembles a Twelve Days of Christmas booklet to help anyone interested in meditating on the miracle of Christmas over that season between December 25 and Epiphany. This year’s booklet is the Kings Before, looking at Old Testament kings and what they do to help us understand who Jesus is. The first day’s reading appears on this page exclusively ahead of the full release on Christmas night.

Grown Back from the Stump (November 30, 2025)

This week’s sermon:

Christmas can arrive wrapped in lights and joy while grief, loss, and the sense that this world is deeply broken remain close at hand. The Gospel of Mark opens with “the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ,” echoing creation itself and pressing an Advent question beneath all the decorations: What kind of beginning can Jesus bring to lives that do not feel whole?

A Year's Changes Come Slowly (December 23, 2024)

Tonight’s Steadfast:

Pastor Tim spent time in Busiek State Forest to better think about the time between the Newborn servant coming into the world and when we, His followers, will get to experience His triumph.

He Was Like Me, I'll Be Like Him (December 16, 2024)

This week’s Steadfast:

Two truths come out of Jesus being a human being: one that reminds us of His understanding of our situation and one that reminds us our present state is not the destination.

The Lemonade of Life (December 9, 2024)

Tonight’s message:

We feel like we deserve more and claim that deserved state whenever we have the opportunity. But, God gave us what we don’t deserve and calls us to give to those who don’t deserve.

Give More than a Fruitcake (December 2, 2024)

Tonight’s message:

To understand Christmas, we need to understand who Jesus is and what He gave for us. It gives us a direction for what He intends for our lives.

The Problem You Want Fixed (November 26, 2023)

This week’s sermon:

We all arrive at Advent carrying something broken—a diagnosis, a fraying relationship, a season that feels anything but joyful—and our instinct is right: we want God to fix it. In John 6, the crowd feels exactly that after watching Jesus feed five thousand people, so they move to do something about it. The question the passage presses on us is whether we actually understand what problem he came to fix.

What Did Mary Know? (December 11, 2022)

This week’s sermon:

How did Mary wrap her mind around who Jesus is? How do we?

Faithful Waiting (December 4, 2022)

Sunday night’s message:

God often calls us to be faithful as we wait for what He is doing next. What does that look like?