In Luke 1, Mary sings for joy at being seen and chosen by her mighty God. Up until this point, she was someone who had lived in expectation of the coming Messiah. We see in this passage that she was aware of how God was using her to fulfill his promise, but she was also likely aware that this would be a difficult and disruptive call on her life. While we will probably never experience it to the degree that Mary did, we can often rejoice when we see God at work without truly understanding how much perseverance and difficulty might be involved in the process.

On November 13th we had a family gathering potluck after church. If you were there, you know the food was amazing. You all outdid yourselves! Once we all had some time to eat and visit together, we joined together in prayer.

Check out this video overview of our recent trip to Mexico.

Jeremiah Robinson is a member of the Renewal Team and an elder candidate. Read his thoughtful answers to questions about the work he is doing as part of the Renewal Team.

Sound City, please continue praying for our Renewal Team as they prayerfully work, in partnership with the elders, to seek direction for our church body in the future!

What an honor and privilege it was to be able to go to summer camp with the students this year. As a fairly new leader in student ministries, one of my first goals for the week was to remember every one of their names. I tend to have a hard time with names, but I’m happy to say that I had them all down by only the second day! It was a joy to get know many of them better during our week at camp.

On June 25th the women of Sound City gathered for a mini-conference featuring some talks from The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference. By the end of the day, minds and hearts were full from feasting on rich teaching from speakers like Jackie Hill Perry and Jen Wilkin. There were times for discussing and digesting what was taught, as well as for prayer.

Derek and Bonnie Clauson visit an assisted living home in Everett once a month to gather with brothers and sisters there. Bonnie plays the piano and leads them in hymns from their own spiral-bound hymnals. She even takes requests as the residents call out the page numbers of their favorite hymns.

What a full and joyous weekend we had celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus! Good Friday was a beautiful time of remembrance and reflection with a moving reading from John 19, music that filled the room and cut to the heart, and the Lord’s table taken together. We experienced the tension of grief mixed with joy, the reality that a seed must go into the ground and die in order to bear fruit. We are made new through the costly death of Jesus.

This time of year can be dreary. We are all ready for spring, but while many of us experience the doldrums of March, our youth continue to inspire us by pursuing Jesus and one another, full of youthful energy.

“As parents we must remember that spiritual growth—just like growth of all other kinds—is usually a slow, gentle, and even painful process rather than a series of big leaps. It rarely comes through amazing performances in which we explain an aspect of Christian faith clearly and comprehensively to a child who listens, spellbound, before responding with perfect understanding and immediate acceptance.”