Hope Alliance Bethlehem

David's act of kindness to the Ammonites is misunderstood and a major battle ensues.  With the army surrounded, Joab suggests a radical battle plan - trusting in the support of those around us and in the goodness of God.  

In David's embrace of Mephibosheth, we get a beautiful picture of God's kindness toward us.  He pursues us and calls us by name - not for judgment, but because of his love for us.  He takes the shame of our past and gives us new identity as sons and daughters and a place at his table forever.

As we continue in 2 Samuel chapter 8, we see that God gives David the victory wherever he went, and we learn what it means to experience victory in our own lives as well.

When David wants to build God a house, God's response is stunning.  Not only does he not want David to build him a house, but God will instead build David a house.  This unfailing promise and covenant gives the perfect picture of who God is and would be ultimately fulfilled by Jesus' arrival as the ultimate king.

The coming together of Israel under David as king demonstrates the realization of the covenant that God had first made with Abraham - a nation, a land and his presence.  It's the presence of God that moves in power, guidance and protection for his people and demands a response of worship from them.  How do we respond to the presence of God with us?

In the life of Abner and his contemporaries, we see that humanity has a broken need to seek power and control - thinking that this brings the significance, acceptance and security we long for.  Even David is not immune from this.  But the ultimate fulfillment of David's royal line, Jesus, tells us that meek will inherit the earth.  And then he goes and does just that and calls everyone to fin...

As David's reign begins, once again we see a man who seeks the wisdom of God, whose life is marked by obedience and faith, and who graciously offers the blessing of his kingdom to those around him.  So too Jesus calls us to partner with him in taking the kingdom to those around us.

When David received the news that Saul was dead, his natural reaction was grief.  Why we he respond that way towards his enemy?  David sought God's glory above his own and showed himself to be the rightful king.  Hundreds of years later, Jesus sought God's glory instead of simply grabbing for the crown.  And in so doing he showed himself to be the rightful, ultimate king.

Confidence is not merely a secular ideal.  It can be a spiritual reality, rooted deeply in our hope and producing true faith.  We see this played out in the life of King Hezekiah during the Assyrian invasion of Judah.  Though tempted and tested, his confidence remained strong because his hope in God was deep.  The greater king who would come - Jesus - would even more perfectly demonstrate this con...

Isaiah prophesies to a nation in the midst of significant uncertainty and anxiety.  Their corrupt king has led them in all the wrong ways.  But God in his grace is sending light into their darkness - a new king who brings justice and righteousness.  Ultimately, this child who was to come, arrived as a baby in a manger and brought with this the fulfillment of our hope.

The prophet Jeremiah foretells a time when there is stability in the land and the beginnings of renewal by God.  It's into the reality (while shepherds watched their flocks by night) that Jesus arrived as the exponential culmination of God's renewal for the world.  And now as we wait for his return, we are called to be people marked by hope and working for renewal in this world.

In a broken world, the message of hope finds footing - that out of pain there will be peace.  And this peace is not just the absence of conflict, but a sense and reality of wholeness.  So when the shperhpeds respond to the angels message of "peace on earth" we are cued into God's vehicle from pain to peace.  It is Jesus.

To a nation who had been beaten down and lost its glory, God spoke a word of rest, forgiveness and restoration - a promise of return to its past glory.  This is ultimately accomplished through Jesus - the sturdy oak of righteousness to the glory of God.  We too, take hope in the midst of a broken world, while we await the return of Jesus to make all things new.

Early in his life, Paul saw himself as the epitome of religious success - calling himself blameless.  Towards the end of his life, Paul called himself the "worst of sinners."  Meeting Jesus and understanding his human brokenness changed Paul's outlook on life - not to seeing himself as a morbid failure, but to seeing his relationship with God accomplished only through Jesus' wo...

Peter's bold profession of Jesus as Messiah is followed a major blunder in correcting Jesus.  Even with this display of imperfect faith, Jesus not only embraces Peter, but makes it clear that he will be a key part of building the church.  And this church is meant to follow the lead of Jesus in subverting evil with good.

When Jesus famously tells Nicodemus that he must be "born again," he is really striking directly at his religious identity.  For a man who placed all his hope in his Jewish heritage and superior morality, Jesus was alerting him to a deeper reality.  He didn't need more teaching - he needed to be rescued just like everyone else.  

Though we focus on the stature of Zacchaeus, the truth is he was likely a very bad guy.  And so while it is important to notice Zacchaeus looking for Jesus, the beauty of the story is actually that Jesus was searching for Zacchaeus.  And when Jesus found him, he embraced him which led to his transformation.

When faced with a well-orchestrated trap by the religious leaders of the day, Jesus responded by demonstrating the brokenness of all people - religious and irreligious.  And he announced a radical forgiveness that would be made available to everyone who believes in him.  

In the interwoven story of Jesus healing a bleeding woman and the daughter of a synagogue leader, we see two important truths about Jesus.  First, he is completely interruptible.  And second, he is completely impartial.  For Jesus, it is not about who we are or what we can do for him.  Rather it is about who he is and what he intends to do for us.

The story of Moses meeting God at the burning bush is at its core a story about our God who relentless pursues us. He seeks Moses by coming down the mountain and entering into the natural path of Moses life. And when Moses (and us) turn aside to God, we find a God who doubles our name and calls us deeper into his story of rescue. Study Guide with questions

Baptism is an act of obedience that announces and aligns ourselves with God's gracious rescue in Jesus. In our baptism, we dramatically and symbolically portray the great thing God has done to ultimately set the world right and how he has given us the gift of true life.

This teaching ends our series on the Holy Spirit by highlighting Paul's urge to the church to not quench the Spirit. It is followed up by a question and answer time based on questions we received during the series.

The Spirit works supernaturally in and through the church according to his will and power. This is not a license to pursue spiritual elitism, power, gain or ecstatic distraction. Rather it is a reminder of our dependence upon the Spirit to live and be the people of God.

Spiritual gifts are part of God's empowerment in our lives to serve his church and extend his kingdom. They are from his grace and meant to be used in his power and for his glory. We discover our gifts as we live in light of the gospel and hear the affirmation of others, see our impact and realize what motivates us.

The Spirit is in every believer in Jesus. In fact, he is at work in our lives in power and testimony. He is powerfully transforming us from life to death and testifying to us about our acceptance by God as his sons and daughters. Why then do we struggle so much with sin in our lives? We fail to give the Spirit space and control. We experience victory in our lives when we make space to hear the Spi...