Love Chapel Hill

Advent: God With Us --- Luke 1:26-38

Our tradition doesn't venerate Mary quite like others, such as the Catholic church. But treating her like the simple vehicle for the miracle of Christ's birth is absolutely a mistake. Mary's response with the news of her pregnancy shows a fierce faith. It's inquiry rather than doubt. Zechariah's disbelief struck him dumb until the moment of his son's birth. Mary's faith shouldered the social stigma of a pregnant then-unwed woman and brought the promised Messiah into the world. And his Kingdom has outlasted the Roman Empire by millennia. Small wonder that Mary's name means "Rebellion."

Advent: God With Us --- Luke 1:5-20

We're back to the season of Advent, the time of anticipation for the arrival of Jesus -- God with us. We're blessed to be able to kick it off with another powerful spoken-word performance by Hanna Watson. Also, we remember the answered prayer of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a faithful couple who had longed for a child their whole lives and had given up hope that God would answer their prayer. Their longing mirrors the entire Jewish community suffering under Roman occupation, waiting for an anointed King to deliver them from their enemies. Maybe you have a prayer this year that you think has been forgotten, too. But as Zechariah discovers when Elizabeth becomes pregnant as an old woman, Yahweh Remembers.

Garden Soul --- John 15:9-13

NOTE: Audio issues on this track resolve after 2 minutes!

We're excited to welcome our own Vimala Rajendran to the stage; a staple of the Chapel Hill community. She shares her very personal testimonies about the nature of love, friendship, and immigration. It's important and convicting to remember that Jesus was a homeless immigrant, of sorts. He migrated from Heaven to Earth as flesh and spoke with the voice of the disenfranchised. How then are we, a nation of immigrants, called to treat our neighbors?

Garden Soul --- John 15:1-8

It's been said many times before that Chapel Hill is a transient community. You would be hard pressed to find someone who has been here more than a decade or so. The word "abide" in this passage refers to an "abode" or a place to call home. Maybe Chapel Hill isn't really that for you. As Christians, if we are to bear fruit we must abide in the Vine. Now that's always home. We draw our strength from the words of Christ and our faith in God. Is this invitation to dependence comforting to you? Or is it a challenge?

Also, we hear from Seth, Annalise, and Lydia about a new church plant we've partnered with in Charleston, SC: Harbor Town Church!

Garden Soul --- John 15:1-8

NOTE: The video for Donna Tesh's beautiful testimony of service can be found at https://vimeo.com/298924622.

When we picture the Father as the Gardener, we’re tempted to envision the digging, watering, and preparation of the soil where the vine needs to grow. God crafting a comfortable and healthy environment. But this week, we challenge you to add shears to the image. The Father cuts at the vine, even on the branches that bear fruit. Now the metaphor sounds painful…And it is. But a gardener who prunes a fruitful branch creates an opportunity for exponential growth at that site. The call for a relationship with Christ is a call to pain, yes, but not destruction. Growth happens under the knife. Look for fruit to emerge from the deepest point of your pain.

Garden Soul --- John 15:1-3

It's a new series! We move from the imagery of water to a garden. Matt chooses a simple beginning: Jesus says "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener." As with all of Jesus' metaphors, this one is selected as a familiar one for his people. But not so much in the way you might think. Scripture has used the image of the vine before, but it hasn't been in a positive context. Once again, Jesus is the redeemer of the biblical narrative.

It's Family Ministry Sunday! This week, we spotlight the incredible work of our Family Ministry. The Hastings and our volunteers have created an environment where our children can grow up emulating the Postures of Christ, and they share that vision with us today.

Ephesians 1:3-11

Josh LeRoy is back at the Varsity today! And he challenges us with a huge question: What is God's ultimate plan? What should we be concerned about? Ephesians begins with the certainty that God's plan is being enacted, and it isn't something we can change. So how do we, as a congregation, respond to it? It's time to stop thinking about individual plans and destinies. It's time to turn our hearts and minds back to the examples Christ gave during his life. We need to think and live in unity like Christians...And not divided like Americans.

Kingdom Tide --- Ezekiel 47:1-12

We conclude our Kingdom Tide series this week with a vision from Ezekiel. A heavenly figure shows him a river flowing from the Temple that is so deep it could not be crossed. It was flowing into the Dead Sea where new life flourished in a formerly impossible environment. Here’s the thing: Ezekiel was a captive of Babylon and the Temple had just been destroyed. But he saw something dead awaken into incredible growth. When you look at your home, town, state, or country, what do YOU see? A Dead Sea that is too poisonous God’s kingdom? Or the potential for staggering revival?

As a special treat, we also welcome Hanna Watson to the stage for incredible poetry of life, death, forgiveness, and salvation.

Kingdom Tide --- Psalm 46:1-11

The psalm this week describes a river that "make(s) glad the city of God." Like a literal river in a desert city, the water is a vital source of life, transportation, and trade. Without it, whole communities would cease to exist. So, too, must we think about the Holy Spirit within our own community. A gathering of people like Love Chapel Hill languishes and decays if we don't allow ourselves to be nurtured by the Spirit. We are called to be restless and mobile, with hearts turned outward rather than in. This is especially true now as our state is suffering from the lingering effects of Florence. Feeling called to help? Matt gives us the details.