Hope Alliance Nazareth

At Hope Alliance we believe that God's love changes us to be more like Jesus: a good neighbor that stays on the path that intersects will people and demonstrates the love of God.

All of our desires and longings are an indication of our homesickness for something we've lost.  The Good Shepherd pursues us all the way home to the presence of God.

In Psalm 23, David paints a poetic picture of the good shepherd preparing a table for him while he's surrounded by enemies.  What we see in the Gospel is that we are invited to the table with Jesus, the good shepherd, who gives us a full life.  He anoints us with oil and overflows our cup of blessing.

In this life we will walk through valleys of troubled and dark times.  But when we follow the shepherd who has been through them himself, we find that the valleys are opportunities to find full life in being WITH the shepherd.

Religious moralism and the culture we live run us ragged.  They are bad shepherds that sometimes we follow without even realizing it. Jesus alone truly restores our souls and gives us true contentment.

In John 20, Jesus tells his disciples that they are being sent out the same way the Father sent Him.  By the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, they would be empowered to be the pictures of God for an onlooking world to see.

In John 21, Jesus shows us a picture of God graciously restoring the disciples and Peter to the mission to which they'd been called.  In doing so, we see that God gives us grace for our own brokenness, but also enough grace to share with the world around us.

In the death and resurrection of Jesus we see that the sins of the people are forgiven because the covenant was finally fulfilled.  The exile is over.  God's presence has filled the land and new creation has begun, both personally and in the world.

In John 13, Jesus shows his disciples the full extent of his love by washing their feet in the midst of the Passover celebration.  He is painting a picture of God as our servant king, come to earth to overturn the power of the enemy and to glorify God.

"What do you want me to do for you?" By asking this question of people, Jesus shows us a picture of our God as more than just a genie that answers our wishes.  Instead, God gets to the heart...to our hearts.  And when we follow Jesus on The Way we find a new life of loving Him and others by becoming servants.

In John 11 we see Jesus as fully God and fully man, intentionally exchanging his own life to resurrect Lazarus.  In his ministry to Martha and Mary, Jesus paints a picture of God meeting people where they are at. To some he minsters with truth and hope, to others with tears and comfort.  

Humanity has always advocated for a quick fix, whether it be religious, political, or vocational in nature.  But in Matthew 13, Jesus paints a picture of God as being patiently slow and even subversive in the way He grows the kingdom in and through us. 

In Matthew 15 Jesus teaches us that religious legalism and moral relativism don't deal with the root problem of sin.  But we see in Jesus a picture of God as fulfilling the Law and leading us into a life of love over legalism.  Ultimately, God cares about the heart and changes us from the inside out to fulfill the law of love for God and others.

In Mark 5 Jesus shows us a picture of God as interruptible...stopping in the midst of profound ministry to heal and give dignity to a few different people.  In doing so, we see that God will still interact with us despite our mess, walking with us, and calling us daughters and sons.

In the story of Jesus "cleansing the Temple", we find a picture of God who defends His children and makes a way for them to connect with Him through prayer.  And through prayer, we find a Father that wants us to come to Him as we are...but who wants to give us His Spirit to make us "heaven and earth people".

God Himself took time to cease working and enjoy new creation. He set up a day of rest for His children after rescuing them from slavery in Egypt. In Jesus we see a picture of our God as the Lord of the Sabbath.  In Jesus we can rest and enjoy New Creation...satisfied instead of striving.

In John 4 Jesus has a scandalous interaction with a Samaritan woman at a well.  We see a picture of God breaking through gender, racial, and religious barriers to offer His life-giving Spirit to all those who will walk in the truth.

In the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus in John 3 we see a picture of God as loving humanity and welcoming them into the light of full and eternal life.  We find that Jesus is confronting Nicodemus' legalistic religion with the love and acceptance of the Father.  Finally, we see that by the Spirit we have been given the right (ie - power) to become children of God and no longer need to f...

In the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4 we see a picture of our God who wants to see idolatry (and temptation) overcome.  And in Jesus we see his faithfulness to God to do just that!  Through our union with Jesus, we, too, are able to know the God that Jesus knows and keep God on the throne instead of anything or anyone else.

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, it not only connected him to the larger narrative of the Gospel throughout Israel's history, it also firmly rooted him in and WITH humanity.  In looking at this first major event in the ministry of Jesus, we see a picture of God WITH us in the muck and mire of life and it shows again the love of God for us.

What we think God is like has practical implications in our everyday lives whether we realize it or not.  To get a clear picture of God, we simply need to look to Jesus.

After trying to find their identity and provision in anything but God, "nevertheless" God tells His children that hope is coming into their darkness and despair.  In Isaiah 9 we see that their hope is the coming of a son...the true King of Israel. Knowing now that the true King of this world is Jesus, we find hope and our identity in living in the ever expanding kingdom of Jesus.

In Jeremiah 29-33 we find a God who calls His people to invest and to be a light in the midst of exile and pain.  They can do so because their hope is in the God who will restore. But when we look further, we see that restoration and a return to the land God had promised comes when the covenant is fulfilled by Jesus. We, too, can invest and be light in the midst of exile and pain because we know t...

In this season of Advent we remember that our hope for spiritual and physical healing is found in Jesus.  Looking back to Isaiah 53 we learn that the mighty warrior God of Isaiah actually becomes the suffering servant who provides healing and the shalom of God for the returning exiles.

In this season of Advent we have reason to put our hope in God.  Isaiah 61 points to a savior who would come and rescue the children of God, giving them purpose, provision, and righteousness.  We see this fulfilled in Jesus who is the rescuer of all. (Please forgive the poor audio quality)