Hope Alliance Bethlehem

In Advent, we celebrate an unexpected baby who brought with him an unexpected salvation.  Jesus was a miracle baby like Moses with a name like Joshua who was the ultimate fulfillment of God's gracious rescue and restoration of this world. 

When we are radically generous people, we are responding to God, rooting ourselves in the gospel and reaching out to extend the kingdom of God.  We give not out of obligation or to prove ourselves, but because as Christians we follow a Christ who was generous in every facet of his being.  

The church celebrates communion because it unites us to Christ and the ultimate fulfillment of the Exodus that is found in him alone.  And when we do this, it unites us together as believers as we are again brought to our knees by our equal need for God and raised up to a place of honor as equal participants in his family.

What is the purpose of a sermon?  We preach in order to awaken our minds and hearts to God and what he has and is doing in the world, so we can grow and remember.  To do this well, we preach messages centered on Jesus and from the Bible.

Christians have sung when they gather since the inception of the church.  We do it because we have been created by a God who sings in his image.  In our singing we passionately respond to who God is and what he has done.  And as we sing, we grow in our understanding of and commitment to him.

What the purpose of a regular church gathering? It is not about demonstrating your holiness and spirituality, nor is it about earning God's favor.  Rather, the church worship gathering is an important opportunity to remember God and what he has done and be re-centered on it.  Church is not something we come to consume, it is something we are a part of.  We come to participate and play our role in the body of Christ.

For many, if not most, in our world, work is the place we look to for our identity.  This is the natural outcome of sin.  What was once meant to glorify God is now used to grab glory for ourselves.  But God in his grace comes down to rescue those who are trying to build their way up to him.  And when we pause to remember that he is God and we are not, there is a release from the tiring need to work for identity.

One of the reasons our work is so tiring is that we don't place the same value on it that God does.  As humanity, we are created for work.  And work is one of the primary ways that we bring glory to God and reflect his image to the world.  

Pursuing isolation from or identity in relationships is a dangerous and tiring path!  Instead, Paul shows us the life-giving reality of meaningful relationships.  An identity found in Jesus through the gospel is the basis for meaningful relationships and meaningful relationships constantly point us toward the gospel-centered identity.  

One of the major reasons we are feeling so tired in this life is the unending pursuit of self esteem.  The world tells us this pursuit is central to our existence.  But the gospel shows us that true life and rest come from not thinking higher or lower of ourselves.  They actually come from thinking of ourselves less often.