Hope Alliance Bethlehem

Every follower of Jesus has been given spiritual gifts. These come from God's grace and are used in God's power for God's glory. Unfortunately many people haven't discovered their gifts or aren't using them. For the church to be what God intends it to be, Peter reminds us that we need to use our gifts!

Hospitality is not equal to hosting. It is a way of life, a disposition of generosity that includes having an open home, open hands and an open heart. And those who follow Jesus are called to do it without grumbling.

Peter is so concerned about being sober that he says it twice in one sentence. Why? Because he is aware that we are easily intoxicated by the world around us. This reality should press us to a prayerful dependence upon God.

Forgiveness is at the center of God's story of love for man. The debt that God has forgiven those who receive it is incalculable. And the more we live in that story, the more we realize God' call on us to forgive others.

How do we receive and/or understand Jesus? These two parables help to remind us that Jesus must be central. Moreover, Jesus came to give us new life, not simply be a temporary patch and additive to life. This is good news!

Is God fair? This is a question as old as history. In reality, there are two ways to view the world: me-centered and God-centered. And how you choose to view it will have unbelievable ramifications on your understanding of God and life. And it will determine whether you are characterized by grumbling or gratitude.

What is your most prized possession? A man finds a treasure and sells everything he has to buy it. In this short parable, Jesus reminds those who will hear that the kingdom of God must be found, valued and bought. What value does the kingdom of God have to you?

When Jesus compares the kingdom is like a mustard seed, he is telling us that God takes the improbable and does the undeniable. And he is reminding us that the kingdom grows in order to bless the world and infuse with the gospel.

It isn't hard to look at the world and know that it is not now how God intended it. Jesus used a parable to illustrate this reality and to affirm that a time is coming that God will set things right. Jesus is also careful to remind us of God's patience and our tendency to want to act.

Jesus said the gospel is like seed which falls on all kinds of soils. The soil represents the heart of those who hear it. Some receive it with a hard heart, others with a shallow heart and still others with a divided heart. And some receive it with an open heart. How is the soil of your heart?

We are all given the call to be witnesses of Jesus. And our life's impact will be far greater than we can imagine, having global and eternal implications. Some are called to go to foreign lands and make Jesus known to people who have not heard. In all this, Jesus reminds us that mission comes through struggle and sacrifice, is aimed at people and has the ultimate desire of seeing Jesus return...

When Jesus told the disciples that they would be witnesses in Samaria, it was far more revolutionary than just suggesting another geographical advance. Samaria was a place of different religion and culture, a people the disciples would have sneered at and considered enemies. It was a place that they intentionally avoided in their travels. The implications would not have been lost on the disciples...

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he had a paradigm in mind. They came to announce the kingdom, traveled with nothing, entered into the homes of others and were prepared for rejection. So when he commands us to be witnesses in Jerusalem (locally), this should become our paradigm too - driven by the gospel, dependent upon God, contextually/relationally engaged and aware of the challenge.

Why does Jesus pray so intently in the garden before the cross? Why do the disciples pray so devotedly in the upper room before the Spirit comes? Why does Daniel pray so boldly under the threat of death? They do so because prayer is the first thing in living out the mission of God. And like them we are called to engage in prayer for the kingdom of God to come.

Why does the apostle Paul use words like toil and struggle when he talks about his ministry? He does so because Jesus has become his overarching pursuit and he has given his life to it. What might it look like for us to do likewise? The possibilities and implications are immense. However, it is only possible when we stay dynamically connected to Jesus and allow him to live his life through us.

Our vision at Hope is to be a training center. A place where people know and are rooted in God's story. A place where people know and follow God's call on their life. Our desire is to provide people with everything they need to accomplish this.

The gospel is the message of redemption through Jesus. It is a story for us and for the world. As we are saturated in this story, the implications are incredible for us and our community. Our vision is to be a gospel saturated community.

A look at Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus and the faith of those involved with an application to how faith should be manifesting itself in our lives.

Jesus' miraculous feeding of over 5,000 people.