Hope Alliance Bethlehem

The church at Corinth was filled with people struggling with major identity crises, finding their value in the opinions of people around them. Paul's fatherly urge to them is to reject the courtroom of this world and instead find their identity in Jesus and his love for them. True joy in life comes from moving to the beat of the gospel which reminds us we are rescued and secure. This verdict...

To a church filled with people who thought way too highly of themselves, Paul reminds them of their continual need for the basic truth of the gospel - God's love in the midst of their failure. It is this love of God that propelled Jesus to earth and ultimately to a cross becoming the foundation of a whole new way of being defined. They are now God's people - his harvest, his temple. They...

The gospel is divine wisdom because it saw and addressed the true need of humanity. It is a message of victory and identity in the new age that Jesus has brought about through his death and resurrection for those who are powerless. This is the message that the Spirit proclaims and the character of the life of all who are spiritual.

Human wisdom always serves human identity. We do whatever we can to make ourselves better, happier or more successful. Or at least to appear that way. But this wisdom is foolish because it avoids the real issue of hopelessness. Divine power rescues us from hopelessness and reasserts our true identity as sons and daughters of our Creator. This is why divine power is far greater than any human wisdo...

Paul opens his letter to the church at Corinth by reminding them that the church is both established and enriched by God. On the basis of this, his beginning plea to this church in turmoil is that they would embrace unity without the need for uniformity. Unity on the central reality of the gospel without the need for uniformity on secondary issues.

We live in a world that loves to be intoxicated on ourselves. We pursue self-worth, self-improvement, self-indulgence and self-sufficiency at every turn of life. But the gospel call is to be sober - to avoid these intoxication and instead find our value in our Creator and not what we can offer ourselves. Take it from Peter who learned the hard way what it meant to be sober and alert!

In so many ways, the magi had no business being in the nativity scene. And yet God in his perfect sovereignty pave a way for their inclusion. The magi were the result of a legacy of faith, but they also demonstrated their faith in the their pursuit and worship of Jesus.

Unless you wanted someone to watch out for sheep, shepherds were the last choice for any job. And yet, God chose shepherds to be the first witnesses to the arrival of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus came for people like them...people just like us!

Joseph's life was far from impressive. And yet one cannot help but be impressed by his radical humility. Joseph demonstrates this humility in his care for Mary, obedience to God and embrace of Jesus. How would your life be characterized? 

Mary is a poor, young teenager living in a no-name town. If anything, her future seems nothing more than ordinary. And then Gabriel shows up to let her in on God's plan for her life. Mary's journey goes from God's selection to her struggle with God's call and finally her surrender to God's plan for her life even at the cost of her own.

All things are from God and through God and for God. Therefore, we join the apostle Paul in saying, "To him be the glory forever!" And our only proper response to the glory of God is a life sacrificed to him and lived worthy of his gospel. Our lives are to be lived for the glory of God alone.

Scripture alone is our final authority for life and practice. It governs us over and above the church in tradition and council because it is the purest presentation of the gospel, unaffected by the sinfulness and finitude of men. The Bible is not a hammer to attack those outside the church, rather it is the means by which those within the church stay centered on Jesus and the gospel.

"Christ alone" is the core message of Christian faith and belief. He is our only savior, the only acceptable and final sacrifice for our sins and the only mediator between God and man. Therefore, he must also be our only lord. The gospel demonstrates the endless grace and mercy of God and demands the active obedience of those who embrace it.

The gospel is a message of grace alone. It announces our miraculous conversion from death to life enabled by a lavishly kind God. Our God not only rescues us but welcomes us to his table and the full inheritance of his kingdom. This is a wonderful gift which we could never earn or deserve, but is available to us through the love of God and sacrifice of Jesus.

Faith alone refers to the understanding that we are saved by our faith in the person and work of Jesus, not in our good works, religion or upbringing. The Bible says that no one is righteous and this means that no matter how good, moral or religious we might be, it still will never be good enough. Jesus offers our only means to a restored relationship with God and we access this through personal f...

Since the 3rd century, Christians have used the idea of creating a rhythm of life to intentionally plan a life that enables us to be centered on Jesus and not this world. As we conclude this series on margin, the words of James pleading with his readers to not simply be hearers, but actually doers is so critical! Perhaps it is time in the midst of marginless existence to mine the gold of being pro...

Financial margin is much more about finding contentment than discovering how to budget. And true contentment happens when your realize and embrace what you have rather than what you think you need. Most importantly this comes in discovering the inheritance that is yours in God through the gospel. When we deal with this heart issue, then we are ready to consider how to live with financial margin.

We need margin in our life for ourselves. The constant pace and demand of life will assimilate us into the story the world wants to tell. But God calls us to "be still and know that he is God." One great way to live this reality is to enter into the practice of keeping a sabbath. This is not a legalistic or religious idea, but a way to be formed by a God who loves you for who you are, no...

Far too often we sacrifice relationships for tasks. Yet, God created us with an internal need for connectedness and community. In fact, we cannot live the life God created us for without them. The book of Acts gives us a picture of the beginnings of the church. Interestingly, this story has little to say about what they did and lots to say about how they shared life together.

Knowing about God is not the same thing as knowing God. We can spend lots of time reading and studying and learning and never really know God himself. The Bible shows that truly seeking God is leaning into this relationship with our Creator made possible through Jesus. And the only way this will genuinely happen is when we create margin in our life to do it.

Life is filled with choices - so many in fact, that it is often overwhelming. In order to make the most of our life and build margin, we have to know how to make the right choices. Scripture offers two critical questions to ask when facing choices and new opportunities. First, "Is it wise?" And second, "Is it the best?" In both of these, we often need to have the courage to say...

How our life's story unfolds is directly related to who we let tell our story. The world around us is trying to tell our story by asking, "What can you do for me?" This leads us to tell our own story by how we measure up. And all of this leads to a life without margin, always trying to prove ourselves. But God desires to tell an altogether different story - that you are loved simply...

When Jesus says it is blessed to be persecuted, he isn't referring to bringing on persecution in your own righteousness. That is simply being a hypocrite or being obnoxious. He says blessed are those who are willing to align themselves with me even at the cost of their own status in this world. Therefore, even in the face of persecution the follower of Jesus can rejoice because he knows his i...

Those who have received God's peace are naturally and intuitively peacemakers, calling others to peace with God and cultivating peace with people around them. A peacekeeper is someone who sees others with the mind of Christ and therefore pursues them like he would. If you find yourself lacking peace with others, the answer is always found in your personal peace with God.

In order to be a peacemaker, we must first receive peace. This is what it means to be called children of God. The gospel is the wonderful news that a God who we have made war against our entire life is willing to cross the battle lines and offer not just a cease fire, but a full reconciliation. In fact, at the cost of his own life, Jesus makes is possible for us to be called children of God - full...