Advent | Christmas Don't Be Late

The mirage of Christmas promises happiness but rarely delivers. It has come to be a time where we add the pressure of the season on top of our already busy lives leaving us limping through the days, crushed by the weight of expectation. In the end, presents are opened. Christmas is over...finally.

We desperately need the real Christmas, the anticipation of a hope in Christ, to bring joy to the world. To find our value in Him instead of stuff. We gather together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Business subsides. The things of earth grow strangely dim. Life is breathed into our desperation. We realize again that God is with us. The weight of expectation fades and Christmas...begins.

Join us for our Advent series called “Christmas Don’t be Late” as we expose the mirage of Christmas and see that there are broken, hungry, and lonely people who need the hope that Christmas brings with it, the hope of Emmanuel, God (always) with us.

Beginning November 28.

- Doug Gunsalus, SoCoCommunity.com

Catalyst Family Photos

Hey everyone!

We are wanting to decorate the new lounge with photos from past Catalyst events.  If any of you have high-resolution photos (10 megapixels or more) that you've taken at events, please help us out by uploading them to a temporary Photobucket account.  The username is CatRowPics and you will receive the password in the the beaker.weekly email this week.  Thanks so much and we look forward to seeing (and showing off) our Catalyst family photos!


It's super easy to upload photos on Photobucket.

1) Enter username (CatRowPics) and password (find in beaker.weekly email).

2) Click on "Upload Images and Videos"

3) To upload more than one picture, hold down the Control key (or Command on Macs) and select as many pictures as you want.

4) Select "Open" (or hit Enter) and they will all begin to upload.

That's it!  No need to add captions or anything.  We will take care of the rest.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at sprang@catrow.org.

Love God, Love Others

This is the most fundamental thing that we know about our life with God. When Jesus is asked to name the greatest commandment His response is just that: "love God will you are, and love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:38-39) He goes a step further and says that EVERYTHING in the whole of Scripture can be summed up by these two thoughts.

At Catalyst, we teach with this in mind. We love God when we gather together and worship Him with singing, and we love others through accepting people where they are and trusting that God will change what needs to be changed.

How do you show God that you love Him? How well are you at loving others that are different from you?

Our next Core Values series begins Oct. 17. Check out last years teaching on this Core Value: