Haverhill Commons Church

Rocky. Mulan. Aladdin. The 1980 USA Olympic hockey team. What do they all have in common? They’re all underdog stories. And we love them. We often think of David and Goliath as an underdog story but there’s actually more to the story. It’s the story of what happens when people turn away from God and put their trust in something else. It’s a story about God giving his people what they wanted. It’s...

Of all the ways God could have chosen to reveal God’s self to the world, why stories? Why not a systematic theology textbook? Or an easy to read list of principles? Why not just a giant collection of rules? Often we just want the point, the lesson, the answer, the takeaway, but stories, good stories, work differently. Stories invite us to slow down and get curious. To notice details and ask questi...

The road to healing, strength, and peace is not a smooth digital superhighway spanning the universe. It's a river that grinds away our rough edges so that we can embody the other-oriented love of God. The world tells us that the best life is one of comfort and ease, one without struggle, one that is padded and comfortable.  But that’s a lie.  The best life is the one that Jesus lived in the real w...

What happens online stays online, right? Surely the rage baiting and the angry comments sections don’t have an effect upon the real world? Well, we’re learning they do and perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising when we consider that for the first 6 years of Facebook’s existence, the official slogan emblazoned on the walls of its corporate headquarters was “Move Fast and Break Things.” It seems that...

It takes wisdom and discernment to navigate the complex realities of interpersonal or social conflict or to find truth in the sea of disinformation. So, how do we become wise? In this passage, Solomon recognizes he is still a child and does not know how to lead the people of Israel. Instead of asking for wealth, military victory, or a long life, he asks for “a discerning heart to govern your peopl...

Our passage this morning is one you’ve probably heard before, likely at a wedding. But Paul didn’t write these words for a wedding, rather, to a church that was in danger of falling apart. Paul says that they’ve championed some gifts over others, some people over others. He says that giving everything to the poor and similar other-oriented actions, though good, can be done with selfish motives for...

In Greek mythology, after leading his fellow titans in a revolt against the Olympian gods, Atlas was condemned to hold up the heavens for all eternity. Over the centuries, the details of the story got kind of mixed up, so when we now think of Atlas holding something, we picture him holding the whole world. He’s, as we say, “carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.”  We, however, carry th...

The digital age promised a revolutionary new world marked by connection, life, and the sense that we’re all a part of something greater than ourselves. And it has somehow done the exact opposite. There’s something different about these online spaces.  It’s as if they’re trying to replicate something that we can only truly experience when we gather together in a room with other people.  The book of...

For most of human history, relationships were entirely local. Studies of medieval church records find that most people lived their whole lives within a 10 to 30 mile radius from where they were born. Friendships were maintained through physical presence, shared meals, and working side-by-side. The internet has changed everything. We can maintain meaningful, instant, on-going contact with one anoth...

Most depictions of technology we see in popular culture arrive at the same conclusion. Technology is going to end us… Now the Bible doesn’t mention iPhones, the internet, or social media apps, but it does have a lot to say about why things keep going off the rails, and what God has done to put it right. It is not a list of self-help practices, but it does show us how to be healthy and whole human...

Today, we conclude our series on the gospel of Mark and instead of sermon, today is an opportunity to engage and come up with our own takeaways to a question central to the gospel. It’s the same question that Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” There isn’t one right answer to this question. Our relationship with Jesus is not static but dynamic. Our thoughts about Jesus change th...

Can you think of times in your life when you were really surprised? Like, really stunned. How did it feel? Three women arrive at Jesus’ tomb expecting one thing… only to find something they were not at all prepared to deal with. A moment that would change the trajectory of their whole lives.  Sometimes the surprise is so shocking, so earth shattering, so eternally consequential… and so good, that...

Good Friday is the day we remember God's great love to us, expressed to us in the person of Jesus.  On this night we gather at the church to sit at the foot of the cross and consider Jesus' crucifixion and death.   But who is Jesus? What does his life have to do with anyone else’s? What does his life have to do with ours? Does what Jesus said and did 2000 years ago speak to us today?  Three of our...

Jesus tells Peter that he will deny ever knowing Jesus, not once, but three times. To which Peter adamantly proclaims, “even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Then, after Jesus is arrested, Peter is recognized. The fear of possibly being arrested too takes over, and Peter says the first thing he can think of to distance himself from Jesus. Later, Peter is recognized again... and...

It’s often easier to just let someone else make the call. Pilate did not think that Jesus was guilty of the crimes he was accused of. However, he tried to avoid making a call: he sought more information, he tried to buy time, he basically phoned a friend. He was in a position to protect an innocent man, to alleviate his suffering. He had an obligation to do what was right; to bring justice to an u...

“How does following Jesus inform the way we worry about the world?” In Mark 13, Jesus says to his disciples that the temple will be destroyed, which would have meant the end of the world for the disciples and the rest of the Jewish people as they knew it. Four of them took Jesus aside and pressed him, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What signs can we look for?” They wanted to know when and ho...

When asked to sum up all the commandments into one, Jesus says, “You will or you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”  And the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”   The word Mark uses here is the Greek word agape.  Agape is different than say romantic love, affection, or friendship.  Agape is less of a feeling and more a state of the will. ...

What’s the one thing that made Jesus mad? Like, really mad. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, he sees their magnificent temple and passed through its fortified walls. The place is bustling, but Jesus sees through it all, claiming the temple had become a den, a home, an assumed place of comfort, for those who were not living their lives in a way that reflected God’s glory.  Tragically, the church, instead...

In Mark 10, James and John, approach Jesus with a bold request, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  In the ancient world, the person on the right of the king was the second in command. The person at the left was a dear, intimate friend. Just make us the two most important and most powerful people in your kingdom.  The disciples knew what it felt like to be...

Our community believes God cares deeply for kids who need homes. We partner with Fostering Hope to care for children in vulnerable circumstances. Their founder and director, Jonathan Reid, shared with us this Sunday. We also heard from one of our own members serving on a Care Team. The God who is high above all things bends His power toward the powerless: the fatherless, the widow, the sojourner,...

What does it mean when we say we believe in something? The Cambridge Dictionary defines believing as “thinking that something is true, correct, or real”. We believe in things all the time, but what happens when things don’t go the way we believe they will? Whether it’s simple like sleeping through an alarm we believed would wake us up or looking at the chaos and injustice in the world around us an...

A group of children are brought to Jesus so that he would bless them.  Unfortunately, the disciples rebuked the adults who had brought them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant and he said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never...

Runner’s often experience something known as a runner’s high. At the exact moment you’re not sure you can keep going, you get a second wind. Even though you’re still running, your heart rate drops and your breathing stabilizes. It’s like you’ve tapped into a hidden source of unlimited energy and you can keep going.  The Transfiguration was like that for the disciples. They saw Jesus transformed. H...

Psalm 91 is not a psalm about domination, conquest, control, or certainty. It is about shelter, refuge, dwelling, and connection. It assumes that danger is real and that what we as human beings need most in this world is not rugged independence but presence and connection. Or, to use a more modern phrase, humans need secure attachment. When we call, God answers. When trouble comes, God responds. W...

This year, 54% of Americans report feeling lonely. Being around people doesn’t always help. We can be in a crowded plane, classroom, or church, and still feel alone. We can be at a work party with colleagues and friends and still feel unseen. We can be gathered around a dinner table with our own families and still feel misunderstood. But the miracle we’ve gathered to remember this Christmas Eve is...