Happy Wednesday, friends. This is our final midweek update of 2025. This is going to conclude our Christmas season and our whole year together.

I hope that over the last month, you have been engaging with us around the names of Jesus, especially the word Emmanuel, God with us. I hope as you reflect on the last year, you recognize this, that God has been with you the entire time. In all of its highs and all of its lows, God is with you. If you’ve lost sight of God’s presence in your life, perhaps as we turn now to 2026, you would rededicate yourself to the awareness, the intentionality of seeing God with you, that you would want to be in step with the Holy Spirit, not rushing ahead or lagging behind, but journeying with him.

We’re going to step back into our series in the Gospel of John. Jumping back into John chapter 10 where Jesus is revealed to us as the good shepherd, the one who lays his life down for his sheep, the one who knows his sheep and whose sheep know him. The call in 2026 is not be a better Christian, do more, but to walk closer to the good shepherd.

And so, how can you reorganize your schedule, perhaps even reshape your days, that you would follow the shepherd most closely, that you would know him, that you would hear his voice, that he would direct your path. And so, as we close out one year and remember that God is with us, we look forward knowing that God will be with us whatever 2026 brings, and that he will be with us as the good shepherd.

We love you, Calvary, and we can’t wait to gather very soon in a new year.

Thomas Milburn, Senior Pastor

What do the names of Jesus actually tell us about who He is—and why does that matter at Christmas?

In this episode of The Weekly, Jay Ewing is joined by Thomas to reflect on Advent, Isaiah 9:6, and the powerful titles given to Jesus: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Together, they explore how these names shape our understanding of Jesus, reframe the Christmas story, and call us to live prepared for His return.

From the surprising meaning of “Everlasting Father,” to the hope of belonging to a new family of everlasting life, this conversation invites listeners to slow down, look deeper, and allow Advent to reorient their hearts—not just toward the first coming of Christ, but toward the second as well.

Whether you’re walking through the Advent season intentionally or simply longing for hope and clarity, this episode offers rich Scripture, thoughtful theology, and pastoral encouragement.

In This Episode:

• What Advent teaches us about hope and waiting
• The meaning and significance of Isaiah 9:6
• Why “Everlasting Father” is both surprising and comforting
• How Jesus brings us into a new family of everlasting life
• Living prepared and expectant for Christ’s return

Friends, we hope that you are gearing up for a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. When we think of you, we give thanks to God.

When Paul writes to a church in Thessalonica, he opens up his letter with a an act of gratitude where he says, “We give thanks to God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers.” And what he remembers in his prayers, Paul says, is their works of faith, their labor of love, and their steadfastness of hope in Jesus Christ.

Friends, I want to tell you this. We give thanks to God for you always. We are constantly remembering you in our prayers. As a staff, ministry, leadership, we’re often sharing what we see God up to in your life, through your life. We’re bragging about the ways in which we have observed you in your faith, in your labors, in your steadfastness of hope.

I pray that you are encouraged this Thanksgiving. And as you give thanks for whatever it is in your life, remember this. We always give thanks for something, to someone. We don’t just give thanks. We give thanks to someone who has given us these things. Remember this that all things, all good and perfect gifts, come from our Father who is from above. And so let us collectively this Thanksgiving give thanks to him the giver of all good gifts.

And then after Thanksgiving, yes, there’s Black Friday. Do whatever you want. But then on Sunday we begin an intentional season called Advent. Advent just simply means the arrival. This is a season in which we as a church remember that we wait on the Lord. That Israel was waiting on the Lord’s Messiah, that Jesus Christ came at Christmas, and we as a people look back and remember his coming in humility to be crucified on a cross. And then we wait on the Lord for his second coming, which will be in glory.

And so we are going to look at a passage from Isaiah chapter 9 where it says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of darkness, on them has light shone.” As you’ve seen in the Gospel of John, Jesus is this great light. And we know his name as Jesus. But here the prophet Isaiah says, “He is a child who is born to us. A son is given. The government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of Peace.” Each one of those names will reveal a character of who God is and how we can trust him in the land of darkness. We hope that you will join us on one of our campuses this Sunday as we begin Advent together.

Thomas Milburn, Senior Pastor

When life doesn’t go the way you hoped — when prayers go unanswered or faith feels hard — where else can you go? In John 6, many walked away after hearing Jesus’ hard words. But Peter stayed: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of life.” In this episode of The Weekly, Jay and Thomas talk about what keeps us saying yes to Jesus. They explore how God’s grace draws us, why faith often involves risk, and what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the bread of life.”

In This Episode:

• Why we keep saying yes to Jesus
• How God draws us by grace
• When “no” becomes an invitation to deeper trust

In a world full of uncertainty, where do we turn for hope? This week on The Weekly, we talk about why keeping our eyes on Jesus is the only way to find lasting peace and life. Join us as we unpack the Gospel of John and discover how the good news of Christ speaks right into the distress of our world today.

In this episode:

• The Gospel of John was providentially chosen for this season — it speaks powerfully to our current cultural moment.
• In times of crisis or distress, God’s Word lifts our eyes above the chaos and centers us on Jesus.
• Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus shows that credentials and human effort can’t earn eternal life.
• Being “born again” is about spiritual renewal — the new life that only God can give.
• Jesus is not just a teacher or miracle worker, but the Savior sent to bring hope to a broken world.
• God’s love is the starting point of salvation — He initiates, we respond by believing.
• The cross is where God’s justice and mercy meet, providing life for all who look to Jesus.
• Our call as believers is simple yet profound: keep our eyes on Jesus, the source of hope and eternal life.

Calvary, the summer is coming to a conclusion and we are starting a new series. This summer we have looked at Old Testament narratives that reveal the character of God, the nature of man, and the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation for humanity, culminating in sending his son, Jesus Christ, the anointed one, Messiah, the Christ.

Who is this Jesus that also reveals the Father to us? Well, we’re going to be looking at the Gospel of John. The scriptures contain four gospels. Consider the Gospels as historical eyewitness peer-reviewed accounts of the life of Christ, all that He taught and did, and the death and resurrection of Christ. We’re going to be looking at the Gospel of John that has a unique beauty in revealing who Jesus is as one with the Father from the beginning.

John says in his Gospel that he has recorded all of these teachings, all of these events, so that we might know who Jesus is and that by knowing who He is, we might believe. John says, “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,” the one that all of the Old Testament narratives were pointing to, so that you may believe he is, “the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

If you are looking for real life, life to the full, life unending, it is found in Jesus Christ. And so, let us put our eyes on the Gospel of John to know who is this Christ, the son of God, that we might believe in Him and have life. We hope that you will join us on one of our campuses in Boulder, Erie, or Thornton, or we look forward to seeing you online.

Thomas Milburn, Senior Pastor