Chelten - a church of hope

This is one of the most well-known passages in Scripture. It starts with what seems to be a command—"do not worry about your life"—but the words are intended to be a comfort. The passage makes you feel like you are on a walk with Jesus in a summer meadow, and, on that walk, he talks with you about your fears and worries. What could be more important?

Jesus digs into to our hearts by challenging us to examine our greatest treasure: is it our money or our God? He urges us to ask who we really serve. Are you ready to ask yourself some hard questions? The answers will show you why treasuring God above our money is so much better, rewarding, and longer lasting.

As we continue our sermon series on GOD'S NEW HUMANITY we find ourselves at the center of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount—the centerpiece of his teaching. And what we find surrounded by all these heart–centered expectations of Christ are the subjects of prayer and forgiveness. It seems to be a refreshing rest stop for the disciples as they learn about their access to the heart of God (prayer), and thei...

As part of the new humanity, we are called to "let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." However, Jesus cares about more than just outward performance. He cares about why we do what we do. This week we will examine our motives for why we practice our righteousness. Is it to be seen by others, to impress them and gain their approval? Or...

God’s loving commands always mirror his own character. He wants his new humanity to reflect his own glory. That’s why Jesus fulfilled God’s law and explained how we can too. Following God from our hearts is the only way to obey and be just like our heavenly Father.

The Law. What do you think about when you hear that word. How do you feel? Is it scary or intimidating? Or do you agree with the psalmist who said in Psalm 119, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long." Christ came to fulfill the law, give his people a new heart and forever change the way we think of the law.

When you’re hungry for a tasty meal, doesn’t a little salt make a big difference? Isn’t a flashlight a lifesaver when you need to see in the dark? Jesus uses these two simple metaphors to remind us that as God’s new humanity, we are called to make a difference. This week we will be challenged to draw attention to our God and his kingdom by our good deeds in a world of decay and darkness.

Think of someone you consider fortunate, who deserves to be congratulated or even envied because they are truly happy. Perhaps you have a picture of someone who has their life put together, is wealthy, smiling and carefree, surrounded by their friends. No matter what details you picture there's a good chance that your picture does not look anything like what Jesus describes as blessed. Jesus says,...

When the Son of God entered human history, he came to restore what was lost. The second Adam from above fathers a new humanity of those who truly love God with new hearts made alive by their faith in Jesus the Messiah. Like Moses before him, Jesus instructs his disciples about how to live in this restored "upside down” kingdom. Heaven enters earth and begins to turn the world upside down, or bette...

Have you ever had a case of the Post-Christmas blues? Every year it seems like the Christmas season comes and goes even faster than the year before and we are left looking at "The most wonderful time of the year" in the rear-view mirror. This Sunday we will explore the ultimate demonstration of God's Love, the giving of his Son, and how that love enables us to find hope, faith and peace not only a...

“Peace on earth” is a common Christmas theme in our carols and our cards. Where did this concept ever come from since “peace on earth” is not the best way to describe our world? Yet Isaiah predicts a time when all wars will cease forever and when all people will worship the God of Israel. This week we will see how that prophecy of our Consolation really does make sense in our troubled world and gi...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." Was Charles Dickens writing about Christmas? For many, Christmas is "the most wonderful time of the year." While for others, the sorrow only increases around the holiday time. The Good News of Christmas is that because Jesus is here, we have everlasting joy! This joy is not anchored to something temporary, but to Emmanuel, God with us, who...

Do fears ever keep you awake at night? Fears can be paralyzing. God calls his people to turn to him when they are gripped in fear. This Sunday we will see how fear-filled King Ahaz faced the choice of trusting God’s sign of a virgin birth, the gift of Immanuel (“God with us”).

When life really hits us with struggles, hardship and disappointment we tend to either fall into despair or we deal with our problems by disengaging from them. Neither one of these makes the world a better place. What the world needs is humble people who are courageous enough to honestly look at the brokenness of this world and diligently work to build something good. What the world needs is a peo...

This week, we conclude our Neighboring series by looking at the final chapter of the book of Ruth. In the conclusion to this powerful story, we find that love always costs something yet the result is far more magnificent than you could imagine. Come and see how Ruth 4 points ahead to the better Boaz, the one who embodies and empowers this type of love.

It’s usually easy to give your time or resources to organizations that help people in need. What happens when someone close to you, a relative or a friend, needs your help. If you’re committed to that person, you choose to give even when it hurts. That kind of love is on display in the beautiful story of Boaz, Ruth’s guardian-redeemer, whose love reflects that of our Guardian-Redeemer.

When God gave his people laws to live by, he wanted them to be “a light to the nations” so that everyone would look at them with envy and desire the good life they received from their good God. One way God told them to live differently was to be inefficient in harvesting their fields. That unusual way of farming was designed to help those in need. How do you harvest your life?

Biblical neighboring throughout the book of Ruth at times will be pictured as intentional and active, but also unintentional and passive. Ruth 1:1-22 seems to reveal a long-term, passive, unintentional, as well as a mutually beneficial, neighboring between Naomi and Ruth. There's even evidence that the Lord himself has been and continues to neighbor both Naomi and Ruth. Apparently, our biblical ne...

See for yourself the illuminating vision and explicit purposes of God shining redemption across our community, nation and globe. Jesus changes our thinking and choices, and through these changes, your family, community, nation and world can make and share these changes with others. These changes renew our minds and deeds so that they might do the same for others. Light always changes what we see!

We have been talking about neighboring (shorthand for "love your neighbor as yourself") for nearly two months now. How are you doing with it? No, seriously... if you're honest, how are you doing with it? Are you discouraged and disappointed at how many opportunities you let slip by? Maybe you're actually ashamed of how you don't even care about your neighbors, or this series, at all. What if the p...

Look around your neighborhood. Turn on the evening news. The needs are all around us and they are great. Do you ever feel like your attempts to intentionally love your neighbor are just too small to be worth it? Feel like they will never amount to anything of meaning in this world? Good news—in our ordinary acts of love there is true power. But it all depends on whose hands it is in.

This month we continue to explore more penetrating truths that flowing out of Jesus’ story about a good Samaritan. After hearing some of the sermons, have you felt overwhelmed by the weight of command? How can one person even begin to love all our neighbors? This Sunday we’ll see that actually God didn’t say, “Love your neighbors,” but rather, “Love your neighbor.” One small step in care to one pe...

Jesus concludes the Parable of the Good Samaritan with the command to "go and do likewise." How you understand this command depends on which character in the story you see as yourself. Come and discover how the plot twist in Jesus' story makes all the difference in how we love our neighbor, especially when it is difficult.

Loving your neighbor as yourself will cost you—there’s no way around it. Guest preacher Ed Welch comes this week to remind us of the love of our God who generously gives to us as his neighbors. It is this generosity that we have received which transforms us into generous neighbors, who willingly give of ourselves in order to love those around us.

The ultimate question about how to get eternal life was answered by the Lord Jesus Christ, “Love God and your neighbor.” The person who asked Jesus that question then asked him another, “Who is my neighbor?” Instead of giving a simple answer, Jesus told a penetrating story. The story’s answer may surprise you as it did the questioner. It's not as simple as you may think!