Hope Alliance Nazareth

We find hope and joy in the midst of fear and struggle because our Great and High God became small and lowly.  The incarnation demonstrates the love of  God for His people despite  their unfaithfulness.  The greatness of God saves us from ourselves.

Jesus is the second, better Joshua.  He leads his people into the promised land of full life, now and in the future.  That gives us joy and hope in the midst of our fears and struggles.

In Luke 1, Mary experiences real fear, but she is comforted by the favor of God which gives her hope.  We can experience true hope and joy in the midst of our fears because of the favor of God shown through Jesus.

The People of God have always been called to trust God and be generous.  But instead, going all the way back to Eden, they've been a people with a scarcity mindset.  Jesus redeems us in his generosity and frees us to be generous.

The people of God have always had shepherds...Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets, apostles, and elders.  But they're all pointing to the chief shepherd: Jesus.

The people of God are both gathered and scattered for the glory of God.  Jesus has sent out his disciples as ambassadors of his kingdom to bring his peace and power into the world.

Prayer is a key way in which the people of God stay connected to the Vine; how the body stays connected to the Head which is Jesus.  The people of God pray to the Father for their basic needs.  But it's through prayer at a deeper level that relationship with the Father and transformation in the Gospel happens.

The Bible is critical to our identity as the people of God.  It speaks his word to us with authority by relaying the gospel and its implications on our lives.  When we embrace it with an open heart as a church and as individuals, God uses it to teach us the gospel, rebuke and correct us when we embrace false gospels, and train us in how to live in light of the gospel.

Going to church is not a new invention.  For thousands of years the people of God have gathered in sacred assembly one day out of the week to recenter around one God, in His presence, to encourage one another, and to worship in hope.

Being the People fo God is an identity, not an event.  And most of that takes place on the 6.5 days we are NOT "in church".  The Apostle Paul and the early church show us what this looks like.

As the people of God, the church is the body of Christ but made up of many parts.  Each part does its work for the common good which makes the fullness of Jesus known out into the world AND matures the body in the Gospel.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes it clear that we ARE one in the Gospel, and can maintain that same oneness through the Gospel rather than our own efforts or legalism.  And when we are one, God gets the glory!

Paul picks an interesting analogy for the people of God: a body with Jesus as the head.  It's meant to indicate the power that Jesus has, but also his loving connection to his people.  Our goal as individuals and as a church is to stay connected to Jesus and the Gospel...like branches to a vine.

In Hebrews 10 the author encourages us that in the midst of struggle and turmoil to not turn back to religion, but instead rely on our relationship with Jesus to draw near to God, hold on to hope, and encourage one another.

After Jesus ascends to heaven, Peter assumes the role of being the rock of the early church that fishes for people.  And rather than trying to gain power to control a physical empire, Peter tells a new story of the power of the resurrection...and it changes the course of history.

Peter's stunning and dramatic fall is met by the even more stunning and dramatic forgiveness of Jesus.  In this story we see the incredible reversals that happen in Peter through the reconciling and restoring work of Jesus.

In the famous story of Peter's denials of Jesus, we find that Peter is actually declaring all that he is not.  And Jesus is declaring "I am".  And what Peter learns is still true for us today: that God looks at us with pure love despite all that we are not.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus prayed in sorry, Peter slept in sorrow.  And what he learned there and teaches us is that prayer is a powerful guard against the enemy of our souls and a guide for our passions.

In John 13, Peter learns what it means to be cleansed by Jesus and to join him in serving others.  We learn that when our identity is rooted in the Gospel, we can join Jesus in serving others, too.

Jesus' cursing of a fig tree is meant to show his disciples the danger of external religion.  This story, married with the cleansing of the temple, points out that while everything might look good from a distance, the truth is that religion cannot produce what God desires - a heart bent toward him.

In the Kingdom of Jesus, Peter discovers that forgiveness is not a religious obligation, but is instead a motivation of the heart that has grasped the Gospel.

In a strange story that seems to center on a fish with a coin in its mouth, we actually find that Jesus is revealing to Peter that "the family of the King is free."  In Peter's context and ours, this means we are free from religion, free to worship in the true temple, and free to act in love.

At Hope Alliance, we are all about "Simply Jesus".  He is first, everything else is second. At the transfiguration of Jesus, God confirms that everything is fulfilled in and around Jesus...the Law, the Prophets...everything.

In a very famous account of his life, we find that Peter "the rock" believes Jesus is the Messiah, but quickly becomes Peter "the stumbling block" when he questions Jesus' method and mission of suffering.  We, too, have a tendency to desire a king who secures us, not a suffering servant who asks us to join him.

When Peter walks on water and then sinks, Jesus calls him to more faith.  What we find is that when we have Gospel-motivated faith, it does the miraculous in our lives. Questions to Consider during prayer: How are you straining at the oars right now, trying to retain control? How have you experienced the presence of Jesus lately?  How might you pursue the presence of Jesus more fully in the storm?...