Mars Hill Church - Fairhope, AL

This week, we're exploring intentional discipleship. Jesus commanded us to proclaim the gospel to not-yet disciples and teach and train already-disciples. Paul says he aimed to proclaim Christ...and present others mature in Christ. Discipleship happens in a variety of ways and contexts, but not without faithfulness to Jesus' command and intentionality with those around us. 

This week, as we continue exploring “What We Value” at Mars Hill Church, our focus is on gospel community. We're not just talking about community groups, but how we were created, the gift of our new kingdom family, the unifying power of the gospel, and the ethos, culture, and attitude we should have toward this family.

This Sunday, we launched our summer series, exploring five principles and practices that we value at Mars Hill. Every church has theological imperatives that it holds tightly (ours are outlined in our statement of faith). Additionally, every church also has theological distinctives that shape how it practices its beliefs and identity. We've traditionally referred to these as our three pillars,...

This week, we come to the conclusion of our study of Ecclesiastes with a look at Ecclesiastes 12:9-14. In these verses, Solomon emphasizes the meticulous care he took in crafting his words, saying that his words are the words of truth given to confront, challenge, and encourage us in an uncertain world. He closes by summarizing his chief purpose in writing: that we lift our eyes over the sun to Go...

In Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8, the Professor urges us to make the most of the life and gifts God has given, encouraging us to remember God and rejoice in his blessings, whether young or old, all the days of our lives. 

We're in Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 this week, and Solomon continues to offer practical wisdom as he approaches the conclusion of Ecclesiastes. In these verses, we're encouraged to act, to act wisely, and to do so by faith in our loving and wise God who sits over the sun. 

We're studying Ecclesiastes 10 this week. As Solomon turns toward the conclusion of this book, he begins to offer practical wisdom for life under the sun. Though the world often ignores wisdom and exalts folly, the Professor urges us to pursue wisdom. His call to pursue wisdom and reject folly echoes throughout the Bible and into the New Testament, where we see Jesus is the wisdom of God in th...

This week we're studying Ecclesiastes 9:11-18. In these verses, Solomon reminds us, yet again, about the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of life. The only way through is by lifting our eyes from under the sun (and ourselves) to over the sun (and God). The story he tells to illustrate his point powerfully captures the whole storyline of the Bible, the invitation to trust the true and be...

After catching our attention once again with the subject of death (9:1-6), the Professor turns our eyes to enjoying the gifts God has provided under the sun. Through his words, we are pointed to the true and ultimate gifts of life and joy in Jesus. 

This week we're studying Ecclesiastes 8:10-9:6. Under the sun, life is confusing, perplexing, and even frustrating. How do we navigate life when justice is slow and even perverted? When life is unfair? Do we take things into our hands and rely on our own power and wisdom? The Professor once again points out a problem under the sun in order to redirect our attention and trust over the sun to th...

This week, we will examine Ecclesiastes 8:1-9. We all live under some type of authority, whether parents, teachers, bosses, government leaders, or other decision makers. How should we respond to the ruling authorities, especially when they are inconsistent or even self-serving or unjust? The Professor, like Paul in Romans 13:1-7, will urge us once again to look over the sun and trust God, the auth...

How do you navigate the difficulties of life? The problem of evil? The reality of suffering? The injustice of the righteous suffering while the wicked prosper? The wounds and betrayal of a child, a spouse, or a friend? The Professor shows us it is not by running from God, but by running to him. It's not by relying on our own limited under-the-sun wisdom. It's by clinging to the wisdom of G...

The Professor circles back again to our constant quest for more, saying four times that we are never satisfied. Yet, few people take the time to stop and ask why more is never enough. In pointing out the emptiness of this world, the Professor lifts our eyes to the fullness of God and encourages us to see all things as a gift from him.

This week, we're looking at Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. Because Ecclesiastes spirals and repeats itself in a number of places, we'll cover 4:4-16 in two other locations during our study. In 5:1-7, the Professor turns from observations about life under the sun to instruction about approaching God. He points out wrong ways we can approach God and encourages us to instead approach with humility, atte...

This week the Professor points out the problem of injustice under the sun. If there is no God then we can't be surprised by injustice, can't have concepts of justice or injustice, and can never have hope in the face of injustice. Fortunately, the professor tips his hand again and points us to the God who judges all things at his perfectly appointed time. And through this revelation and his...

This week, the Professor forces us to deal with time. Specifically, our limited time and our limited ability to control it. He once again tips his hand, though, and in verses 9-15, he points us to the God who rules over time.

The Professor's initial claim was that everything under the sun, apart from God, is vanity and chasing after the wind. This week, he examines another place we look to for meaning, purpose, and identity: the pursuit of earthly treasures and pleasure. His final analysis is the same, this too is "vanity and chasing after the wind, there is nothing to be gained under the sun." But like a...

In Ecclesiastes 1:12-18, The Professor continues his chief question, "What gain is there in_______?" and examines the pursuit of human knowledge and wisdom. He shows that under the sun, apart from God, human wisdom is incomplete and insufficient to fix our crooked world or heal our broken hearts.

Mars Hill Church began a new verse-by-verse study through the Book of Ecclesiastes this past Sunday. Ecclesiastes often gets a bad rap, but it's extremely honest, applicable, necessary, and rewarding. Join us over the next few months while we learn Biblical truths through the study of God's Word in Ecclesiastes.

Mars Hill Church closed out our verse-by-verse study through the Book of Acts this Sunday. This recap sermon looks at how we can individually and corporately remain faithful to the mission and message of the early church today. 

We're wrapping up our verse-by-verse study of Acts this week with Paul arriving in Rome...finally! We'll see the gospel preceded Paul long before he arrived or even wrote to Rome. We'll get another case study in evangelism which leads some Jews to believe and the whole imperial guard to hear. And finally, though the book of Acts is finished, the gospel continues unhindered!

Surviving a storm and shipwreck, Paul now survives the snake and makes the most of this opportunity to share the grace of God in Jesus with people who were traditionally disregarded. Nothing can stop God's promises and plans to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. 

In our verse-by-verse study through Acts Chapter 27, we see how Luke devotes 58 verses in Acts 27:1-28:14 to recounting Paul's journey to Rome. He meticulously details 17 geographic points and 5-6 months of travel. Why does he devote so much space to something he could summarize in a sentence?  The voyage, the violent storm, the hopelessness of man-made remedies, the invitation to trust God&#3...

In Acts 26, we hear Paul's testimony for the third and final time. There is much to learn and discuss from what he shares and how he shares it. For more resources on this passage, head over to the Mars Hill website at ⁠pomh.org⁠ .

In this week's scripture study through Acts 25:13-27, the narrative of Paul's trial continues to slow down while the threat intensifies. Governor Festus is confused and perplexed and Herod Agrippa II and many prominent leaders enter the scene. Everyone in the line of Herod tried to destroy the way of Jesus. Everyone in this scene thinks they've come to sit in judgment of the way of Chr...