Hope Alliance Nazareth

Advent is a time for waiting and expecting.  Similar to the people of Israel waiting for a deliver in Egypt, the people of God were waiting for a deliver in the 1st century. However, God did the unexpected by sending Jesus to tabernacle among us in the flesh full of grace and truth.

The people of God have always given offerings to God.  Because of Jesus we now give offerings because of a heart orientation instead of religious obligation.  We do this in response to the Gospel, to root ourselves in the Gospel, and to reproduce the Gospel in others. 

Jesus celebrated "the last supper" with his disciples as a pre-enactment of his sacrifice which was the greatest Passover and Exodus for the people of God.   The church now celebrates the communion meal as a way to remember and proclaim the gospel: that the cross is the great equalizer that cuts us to our knees in humility and then raises us to status with Jesus as heirs of the Kingdom.

The people of God gather regularly to hear the words of God because they are authoritative and they lead to salvation and purpose.  In gathering regularly and listening to Gospel-centered preaching, the people of God know who He is, who they are, what they're to be about.

Christians sing because we are made in God's image and because He has given us a song.  It is the completely human response of a mind that has been illuminated and a heart that has been awakened by the Spirit through the redeeming work of Jesus.  

Every week millions of Christians "go to church". For many, they don't truly understand why.  In this sermon we take a look what it means to be the called out ones of God that gather to remember the resurrection and to recenter our lives around it.

Alan Rathbun of the Eastern PA District shares with us about our connection to the Christian and Missionary Alliance...that we are part of a Christ-centered, Acts 1:8 family that has been blessed to be a blessing to the world around us.

Stories and Sharing for the One Year Celebration of Hope Alliance Nazareth

At Hope Alliance we believe that the Gospel of Simply Jesus is powerful and life-giving to all people.  One of our core passions is to have a multiplication mindset that motivates us to see disciples, ministries, and impact multiplied for the sake of kingdom growth.

At Hope Alliance we pursue Genuine Connections with God and others in our worship gatherings and our lives.  Through the Gospel, we our known and loved by God in such a way that we can be genuine with Him.  That in turn leads us to genuinely connect with others in the same way.

At Hope Alliance we live and pursue Casual Depth in our worship gatherings and our lives. What we see in Acts 15 and in the teachings of the apostle Paul is this: it should be easy to meet Jesus, but it isn't easy to stay with him if you don't anchor deep into the Gospel.

At Hope Alliance, everything is about Simply Jesus.  To live that identity out as a church and as an individual we saturate ourselves in the Gospel.  What we find is that it leads to our rescue, renewal, and it spreads to our spheres of influence.

At Hope Alliance, Jesus is first.  Everything else is second.  It's that simple.

Jonah 4 concludes with a gut punch to the reader: why are we so quick to have mercy for ourselves and yet have frustration when God has mercy on others?  We quickly turn in to "older brothers" that despise the Father and our brothers.   By remembering God's mercy to us and where we came from, we can join God in being merciful to the world around us.

In Jonah 3 we see the people of the great city of Ninevah humbly choose to "believe God".  And in His compassion God gives them life.  Today we, too, find life when we live a life of repentance...of turning to believe God.

Jonah is brought low by self-inflicted troubles, but finds God's salvation and grace in the depths.  When we finally come to a place of brokenness and admit the depth of our lostness, God can raise us up with Jesus.

In Jonah 1 the author wants the reader to know that despite our best efforts to run away and pursue other gods, the true God pursues the ignorantly and intentionally idolatrous and has mercy on both.

Guest preacher Jim Rudd shares with us from the book of Acts about how the early church and believers learned to love their neighbors cross culturally.

Jesus calls his disciples to love their neighbors even if that includes their enemies.  What we find is that forgiveness and love of our enemies go hand in hand.  Ultimately, we see that Jesus lived this out by loving and forgiving US...his enemies.  

Because of the grace and mercy God has given us, we love our neighbors by being people of justice.  That means we have compassion for and take action on behalf of our weak, less fortunate, and oppressed neighbors.

For many if not most Christians, sharing our faith is a scary reality.  But the apostle Paul tells us we don't have to be afraid or ashamed to do it.  He reminds us that the gospel is powerfully good news for everyone.  

The Gospel shows us that God is "hospitable" and draws us near, into His kingdom and family, through Jesus.  We in turn get to use our homes and lives as outposts for that same Gospel to welcome in strangers who become friends who become part of the family of God.

One of the best ways we can love our neighbors is by listening to them well.  But loving by listening is an act of faith in the Gospel.  When we believe the Gospel, we don't need to prove ourselves or perform but can instead enter someone's story and listen well.  Furthermore, when we believe the Gospel, we don't feel the need to fix someone but can walk with them instead by listeni...

If it's not a lack of time that prevents us from loving our neighbor, it's often not knowing where to start.  But what we learn from the good Samaritan and from Peter's letter to scattered believers is that we're actually called to love our neighbors intentionally by staying on the path God has put us on.  We are providentially placed into the spheres of influence that we are s...

A common argument against loving our neighbors is that we don't have enough time to add something else into our busy lives.  But what we find in the Gospel is the freedom to choose to put margin into our lives so that we can live the full life of loving God and loving neighbors.