In this message Pastor Brent Powell explored how God broke through 400 years of prophetic silence to reveal His light to the world through Jesus Christ. Just as the shepherds experienced heaven's glory on an ordinary night while doing ordinary work, God continues to show up in our everyday moments—not when we're perfectly polished, but when we're faithfully present. The message challenged us to understand that light always overcomes darkness, not through our strength or perfection, but through Christ's presence in us. We examined how His light reveals our true condition, restores what's been broken, and reorients our path forward. The core truth: darkness has no power because it's simply the absence of light, and when we carry Christ, we carry the very source of light itself.

This week's sermon took us back to the very beginning of creation to understand God's eternal promise of hope. We explored how darkness entered the world through Adam and Eve's fall in Genesis 3, and how God immediately spoke a promise of light that would come to crush the darkness. Throughout humanity's "long dark night" spanning thousands of years, God continued sending prophets to remind His people that hope was coming. That hope arrived in the person of Jesus Christ—not just as a feeling or wish, but as the embodied promise of God to restore, redeem, and bring light to every dark situation we face.

The message explored the biblical principle of divine vindication—how God Himself clears the names of His people, restores honor to those who have been dishonored, and rights the wrongs committed against the righteous. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 as our foundation, we discovered that thankfulness is not just gratitude for blessings received, but a powerful weapon that aligns our hearts with God's justice while we wait for His verdict. Through the examples of David, Joseph, and other biblical saints, we learned that vindication is not merely a reward we earn, but an inheritance we receive from a God who takes personal ownership of defending His children.

In this message Bishop Ed Akers shares the power that Thankfulness has in our lives. When we look at Psalm 100 we see the power that comes from changing our perspective and focusing on all that God has done. Kill the thieves of thankfulness in your life by choosing to be grateful for all God has done and is doing in your life.

The message explored how offense is gratitude's silent killer and one of the enemy's most effective weapons against believers. We examined how offense disguises itself as justified anger or righteous indignation, but actually builds a prison of bitterness around our hearts. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ("In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"), we discovered that gratitude and resentment cannot grow in the same soil. The message challenged us to recognize that offense doesn't protect us—it poisons us. It steals our peace, short-circuits our praise, and shuts down our ability to walk in the fullness of what God has for us. Most importantly, we learned that the enemy uses offense to keep us from becoming the ambassadors of reconciliation God has called us to be.

In the message Pastor Brent explored how comparison steals our joy and blinds us to God's goodness in our own lives. We examined how the thief of comparison transforms gratitude into grumbling, causing us to measure our blessings against others rather than looking up to God. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 5:18—"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"—we discovered that true contentment comes not from having what others have, but from recognizing our unique identity and assignment in Christ. This message challenged us to run our own race without looking sideways, to stop watering our neighbor's garden while our own goes untended, and to realize that what God has placed in us isn't for us alone—it's meant to flow through us to others.

In this message we explored how unmet expectations can steal our joy and create distance between us and God. When life doesn't unfold the way we hoped—when prayers seem unanswered, when timing doesn't align with our plans, when God's "how" differs from our expectations—disappointment can open doors to doubt, offense, and spiritual deception. We discovered that gratitude isn't just a response to blessing; it's a weapon against despair and a declaration of trust in God's faithfulness, even when we can't see the full picture. The enemy uses our disappointments to whisper lies about God's character, but thankfulness realigns our hearts with Heaven's perspective and closes the door to familiar and seducing spirits.

Due to an audio glitch the last 10 minutes of this message were unsalvageable.

The sermon explored the glorious future that awaits believers beyond the tribulation—the millennial kingdom and the new heaven and new earth where God will dwell with His people forever. This isn't about floating on clouds as baby angels; it's about a restored Eden where we will rule and reign with Christ in glorified bodies, doing meaningful work, and experiencing unbroken fellowship with our King. From Eden to Eden, God's plan has always been to dwell with us, and every trial we endure now is refining us for that eternal purpose. Nothing we experience is wasted—God is preparing us for an eternity of purpose, peace, and His presence.