City Harbor Church – Hampden, Baltimore, MD

Luke 2:8-15 Third week of Advent is based around Joy Luke 2:8–15 recounts the angelic announcement to shepherds: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” This joy is tied to the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. Understanding Joy Joy is described as “an often cheerful contentedness,” rooted in hope and peace rather than circumstances. It’s marked by calm within a person and...

Luke 1:26-37 – Matthew 1:18-25 Holy Night – Part One Again and again in the Old Testament, God promises a broken and pained world that he will send a Messiah — that is, a Deliverer — to start to renew and restore all things. Genesis 3:15 Isaiah 9:1-7 Micah 5:1-4 Because the coming of the Messiah was a long time coming, it was easy for God’s people to start to think of it as an impossib...

Matthew 6:9-13 Praying according to God’s Purpose: “Kingdom come, will be done,” Praying on Purpose –  in alignment with God’s purpose What would your neighborhood look like if each person received God’s love? What would your neighborhood sound like if each person shared God’s love with others? In what ways would the daily interactions change if each person shared God’s value on...

Matthew 6:9-13 How do we know what Jesus’ followers believed about their participation in God’s Kingdom? “ Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” – Colossians 4:2 “ I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him (Jesus). Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Roman...

1 John 5:14 “ We are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that  pleases him .” – 1 John 5:14 How do we know what Jesus’ followers believed about their participation in God’s Kingdom? “ Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” – Colossians 4:2 “ I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him (...

Acts 1:14 Colossians 4:2  Romans 15:13 Prayer that is personal, persistent, and on purpose. “ Devote yourselves to prayer  with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” – Colossians 4:2 “ I  pray  that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him ( Jesus ). Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 ...

Colossians 4:2  Romans 15:13 Prayer that is personal, persistent, and on purpose. “ Devote yourselves to prayer  with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” – Colossians 4:2 “ I  pray  that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him ( Jesus ). Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13  NLT &nbsp...

“ But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB A People of God’s choosing sealed with t...

“no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, of God’s household,” – Ephesians 2:19   Context: Ephesians 1:7-14 God’s Purpose – salvation Ephesians 1:7-14 “ In Him  we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of H...

As ambassadors for Jesus, we invite people to receive and respond to this Good News covenant. “16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this...

Philippians 3:20-21   “citizens of heaven” – Philippians 3:20-21   “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” – Philippians 3:20-21  NLT   “a...

Matthew 14:22-32 Where is Jesus in the storm? In & Above Matthew 14:22-32 Matthew 14:22-32 Jesus & Peter walk on water, context Jesus’ teaching rejected in Nazareth, Herod kills cousin John the Baptist, remote place Jesus feeds more than five thousand miraculously, Jesus prayer retreat, comes to the disciples in a storm, (have faith)   1. Jesus in the storm with them. 2. Jesus above t...

Hebrews 11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (NLT) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (NIV) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (ESV) We are not called to have blind faith. No, God created the universe with intention, precision, with a masterstroke...

Matthew 25:14-30 What do we learn? God gives abilities, resources, and opportunities. God expects stewardship. Jesus taught that the Scriptures pointed to him as Messiah, and that those who would reject him would lose what truth they thought that they owned. We are now stewards of our God-given abilities, resources (including time, energy & money), and opportunities.   Perspective from ou...

Perfect Love: How Imperfect People Can Love One Another With God’s Key Passage: 1 John 4:7-21 NLT   Love Defined Love is a word that is thrown around so much, especially in the English language, and it means different things to different people How is Love Defined in the Bible? 1 John 4:7-10 NLT 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Love comes from God. God is love. God showed the depth and reality of...

Romans 14:17 – ”  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” What is the issue? Primary Issue – Jews and Gentiles in the same congregation bringing their life experiences into church. They are quarreling. Romans 14:1 – Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matt...

Matthew 13:47-50 Truth that the audience was coming to understand:  Jesus is the love of God expressed to us. Bringing the Good News of a New Covenant Gospel, Jesus is our Savior, Lord, and King. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn th...

Matthew 13:44-46 “The  kingdom of heaven is like  a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the  treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so  happy  that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field. Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and  sold everything he had and bought it .” – Matthew...

Matthew 13:18-23 1. What does Jesus teach about his followers’ identity,  in  Matthew 13:18-23?  “ You have been  chosen  to  know  the  secrets  about the  kingdom of heaven , (Matthew 13:11) This requires that we use  active listening , to God, with an intent to understand and respond with gracious humility. 2. What is active listening? Key Aspects of Active Listening: Full attention: Giving the...

Matthew 13:9-17 Preview: What does Jesus teach about his followers’ identity? What are the obstacles to active listening, to God, and how do we overcome them? Matthew 13:9-17 Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach They must have wondered: Why was Jesus telling these stories that people could only partly understand? Why was he making them think and not telling them the answers? ·         “ parables/storie...

God desires us to earnestly ask Him for more workers for the harvest and to actively participate in that work by following the example of Jesus. Matthew 9:35-38 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed a...

Matthew 22:1-14   Wedding feast – a countrywide celebration of several days, coming to the feast represents entering His Kingdom   Bible Wedding Feast imagery: “Lord, will make for all peoples, a feast…all nations, wipe away tears, ‘Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.'” – Isaiah 25:6-9 “feast on the abundance of your house. For with you...

Mark 4: 26-29 (NLT) 26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain...

1. The Kingdom of heaven is the culmination of the good news of Jesus. This is the good news of Jesus: a. God, who is the source of all  goodness ,  morality ,  beauty ,  love , and  authority  created people to be a reflection of His character and authority. (Gen. 1:26-27) b. He originally designed for us to be “fruitful and multiply” and to fill the earth and rule over it. (Gen 1: 28). (which me...

Key Verses: Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43 1. Horticultural Sabotage: Wheat vs. Bearded Darnel a. The People listening to Jesus would have likely been able to picture this concept. b. Wheat and darnel crops are identical to each other when they are immature. It isn’t until they reach maturity that one can visually distinguish which one is which. 2. What’s It Mean To “be good”? a. In English,” good&...