Hope Alliance Nazareth

In Luke 8, Jesus invites Peter into the room when he raises a dead girl back to life.  Jesus demonstrates to Peter and to us that he is relevant, relational, and able to speak life into death.  And then he commissions Peter and us to do the same.

One of the earliest lessons Peter and the disciples learn from Jesus is how he prioritizes his time with the Father.  Even after a long and exhilarating day of ministry, Jesus retreats to meet with God showing the disciples (and us) the power of regular meetings with God to realign our identity, purpose and direction.

In John 1 and Luke 5 we find the most common man with a common job renamed and repurposed to join Jesus as a fisher of men.  Our lives, too, are radically changed when we give control of lives to Jesus.  We are renamed and repurposed to be fishers of people.

Our hope for restoration and wholeness is not found in a good economy, a return to normalcy, or having things under control.  The prophet Ezekiel shows us that the breath of God is what brings new life amidst exile and pain.

Where is God during hard times?  Is God absent?  Does God still care for his people?  These the are the questions that the author of Esther wants us to wrestle with when we read about the Jewish orphan turned queen "for such a time as this."  And what we find is that our God is a God of "great reversals".

Jeremiah's letter to the exiles was both good and bad news.  Seventy years of captivity, but even that could not rescind God's faithfulness.  His plan for them was a certain future and it brought with it resolute hope.  On the basis of this hope, the prophet tells the people to intentionally invest their lives, even while in exile.

When things get tough we often wonder where God is, if God is punishing us, if God has abandoned us altogether, or even has enough power or love to intervene.  We learn from the story of Joseph that God is with us and has the love, power, and wisdom to bring good things out of evil circumstances.

In Daniel 3 we find the story of three young men who were living in strange times in a foreign land...in exile.  Their faithfulness to God testified to God's faithfulness and how no God can save like the true God.  We, too, did not ask for our present reality of a global pandemic, but how we engage it speaks to others about who we believe God is.

The eyewitness accounts of the centurion and Mary to the crucifixion and resurrection are so informative to us.  They show us the significance of a real encounter with Jesus that leads to a whole new identity and mission.  By the Scriptures, we too are eyewitnesses called to bear witness to a waiting world.

In Paul's very personal closing words to the Galatians, he lets them know one more time that boasting in the cross and finish work of Jesus is the mark of the true people of God; not works of legalism.

Paul takes time to help the Galatians see that their Gospel freedom should lead them to move towards one another and carry their burdens as opposed to legalism that simply burdens people with more.

Paul tries to show the Galatians readers and us that freedom in the Gospel doesn't lead to self-serving.  Rather, freedom FROM legalism leads TO being yoked to Jesus.  That in turn leads to loving God and loving others.

Religion has no power to gain us access to God or to transform us.  It is on the gospel that can set us free into God's family and unto a whole new experience of life.  So, stand firm in this gospel!

Using the famous story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar as an allegorical device, the apostle Paul helps the Galatians and us to see that we are actually children of the promise through Jesus.  While doing so, he points out again that laying claim to or trying to take on Jewish ethnicity and law is actually slavery.

In Galatians 4:11-20 Paul takes a distinctly personal tone.  In this brief passage we get a better understanding of Paul's missional mindset as well as his pastoral friendship to the Galatian churches. *please excuse the poor audio quality as there was congregational involvement as well as a problem with the recording.  

Paul encourages the Galatians and us that when we put on Christ we are adopted as sons of God.  Christ and the spirit of sonship stands in direct contrast to the putting on of our own identity-building schemes which lead us into slavery.

Paul makes it very clear that the promises of God have always been the point, not the Law of Moses.  But if that's the case, what was the Law for?  Was it a trick?  Was it simply to preoccupy the Israelites' time?   Paul helps the readers understand here (and in Romans) that the Law served a good purpose in guiding us to see what a life devoted to God should look like...but also convicti...

In Galatians 2:11-20 we have a verbal altercation between Paul and Peter and one of the most famous verses in the New Testament.  What we see is that while Peter is seeking justification by customs and culture which leads him to fear, Paul gives testimony to our true justification by faith in the faithfulness of Jesus.  

In Galatians 2, Paul tells his readers that the threat to gospel freedom is often a subtle, quiet infiltration.  He uses his own story again to tell them that additions to the Gospel must be vigorously opposed by the church family as well as in our own personal walks with Jesus.  The Gospel is Jesus + nothing.

Rather than simply telling the Galatians "Believe what I said because I told you so", Paul recounts his own story of gospel transformation.  In doing so, he is helping the Galatians (and us) see that zeal for legalism is only to please man, and doesn't lead to liberty in Jesus.

In Galatians 1:6-9 we see Paul’s astonishment that the Galatian Christians are coming under the influence of other Christians that are perverting the One Gospel.  We, too, also need to look out for these non-Gospels that try and lead us to desert the one who called us in grace - our loving God and Father.  

In this first sermon in Galatians we use a reading and group response to discover who the Galatians were, Paul's authority to be writing to them, and the true One Gospel that he will so passionately write about.

Jesus was born to be not only the King of the Jews, but the king of the world.  In Matthew's gospel account he leaves the reader with a choice: to be threatened by the reign of King Jesus like Herod was, or to bow in worship like the magi.  

While Caesars past and present glorify themselves through various means, Jesus comes to earth to glorify the Father.  And in a most unexpected reality, God glorifies his children through the indwelling Spirit of God.

In Mary's "song" in Luke 1 we find a humble woman who has found unexpected hope in God.  Jesus was born from Mary into humble flesh.  And through his humility, we find hope when we humble ourselves to receive him this Christmas.