Hope Alliance Bethlehem

In Advent, we celebrate an unexpected baby who brought with him an unexpected salvation.  Jesus was a miracle baby like Moses with a name like Joshua who was the ultimate fulfillment of God's gracious rescue and restoration of this world. 

When we are radically generous people, we are responding to God, rooting ourselves in the gospel and reaching out to extend the kingdom of God.  We give not out of obligation or to prove ourselves, but because as Christians we follow a Christ who was generous in every facet of his being.  

The church celebrates communion because it unites us to Christ and the ultimate fulfillment of the Exodus that is found in him alone.  And when we do this, it unites us together as believers as we are again brought to our knees by our equal need for God and raised up to a place of honor as equal participants in his family.

What is the purpose of a sermon?  We preach in order to awaken our minds and hearts to God and what he has and is doing in the world, so we can grow and remember.  To do this well, we preach messages centered on Jesus and from the Bible.

Christians have sung when they gather since the inception of the church.  We do it because we have been created by a God who sings in his image.  In our singing we passionately respond to who God is and what he has done.  And as we sing, we grow in our understanding of and commitment to him.

What the purpose of a regular church gathering? It is not about demonstrating your holiness and spirituality, nor is it about earning God's favor.  Rather, the church worship gathering is an important opportunity to remember God and what he has done and be re-centered on it.  Church is not something we come to consume, it is something we are a part of.  We come to participate and play our rol...

For many, if not most, in our world, work is the place we look to for our identity.  This is the natural outcome of sin.  What was once meant to glorify God is now used to grab glory for ourselves.  But God in his grace comes down to rescue those who are trying to build their way up to him.  And when we pause to remember that he is God and we are not, there is a release from the tiring need to wor...

One of the reasons our work is so tiring is that we don't place the same value on it that God does.  As humanity, we are created for work.  And work is one of the primary ways that we bring glory to God and reflect his image to the world.  

Pursuing isolation from or identity in relationships is a dangerous and tiring path!  Instead, Paul shows us the life-giving reality of meaningful relationships.  An identity found in Jesus through the gospel is the basis for meaningful relationships and meaningful relationships constantly point us toward the gospel-centered identity.  

One of the major reasons we are feeling so tired in this life is the unending pursuit of self esteem.  The world tells us this pursuit is central to our existence.  But the gospel shows us that true life and rest come from not thinking higher or lower of ourselves.  They actually come from thinking of ourselves less often.

In our tiredness, pursuing a relationship with God can feel overwhelming.  For some, the experience of pursuing God is tiring.  Our posture toward God is the key to unlocking a life-giving, dynamic relationship.  Rather than being another thing to do, our connection to God becomes the means by which we gain true identity and rest for our souls.

Our world is obsessed with performance.  And when we buy into the lie that our value comes from our performance it leads to exhaustion.  The gospel tells us that God loves us even though we have nothing good to offer.  We we believe this truth we find true life and rest for our weary souls.

As the story of Jonah comes to a close, we find a disgruntled, self-righteous prophet throwing a tantrum.  His anger has overcome him and his entitlement complex has paralyzed him.  And remarkably, we still find God relentlessly pursuing him.  Will God's compassion lead Jonah to return to God?

God loves the world and is patiently pursuing its rescue and restoration.  Humanity's only response to this is what the Bible calls repentance - a turning away from our rebellion and toward God.  In Nineveh, we see that this is possible even in the most unlikely places. 

Sometimes our present circumstances aren't always the easiest.  How can we be grateful people, even in the belly of a fish?  We have to believe that our past circumstances were as dire as they truly were and that our future victory is as certain as it truly is.  And as we come to grips with God's gracious rescue, our love for him only deepens.

How does a prophet run from the God he serves?  When his heart is just as hard as those God has called him to.  As the book of Jonah opens, we see that it is less about a prophet sent to a foreign people and more about a God who pursues all of humanity (even rebellious prophets) and lovingly seeks their restoration.

Jesus outrageous command to love our enemies is not simply a moralistic call to a different way of living.  It is a gospel-centered call to a different way of viewing humanity.  Those who have been shown mercy are called to show mercy to others.  And our identity as children of God make this possible.

Because of the grace and mercy God has given us, we love our neighbors by being people of justice.  That means we have compassion for and take action on behalf of our weak, less fortunate, and oppressed neighbors.

For many if not most Christians, sharing our faith is a scary reality.  But the apostle Paul tells us we don't have to be afraid or ashamed to do it.  He reminds us that the gospel is powerfully good news for everyone.  

Peter urges his readers to offer hospitality without grumbling.  What he means is that radical hospitality is not just and open house, but open hands and an open heart.  This kind of love for our neighbor is only possible when we realize that we too are strangers who have been welcomed in by God.

In many ways, genuinely listening to someone is a great demonstration of love for them.  If that's true, then why do we often struggle to do it well?  The Bible shows us that we are prone towards pride.  And our transformation toward humility is only possible through Jesus sacrificial love for us.

As part of God's family, we have a unique identity and mission - to love God and others.  And we have been providentially placed where we are as scattered people to live into this reality.  So, we should love our neighbors with intentionality.

One of the biggest barriers to loving our neighbors is time.  We live busy lives and the thought of adding more to it can be overwhelming.  The Bible gives us a paradigm for how to order our lives.  If we are proactive in using it, we can find freedom to do the things that we were created to do.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a constant reminder that neighboring is not something you do, but a neighbor is someone you are.  And our only hope for being a good neighbor is to have truly experienced and embraced the ultimate neighbor - Jesus.  His love transforms us to love others.

The book of 2 Samuel is constantly pointing us to a greater king to come - Jesus.  He is the one who ultimately fulfills all of God's promises and brings the blessings of God's kingdom.  For those who have believed that Jesus is the rightful king, we see a model of how to live in the lives of the "mighty men" of David - to pursue his kingdom and not our own.