Neighborhood Church - Messages & Sermons

Putting yourself "out there" - it can be scary! Deep down, we all fear rejection, not being accepted, being made fun of... It's not the best feeling in the world! So how do we get past our fears, and move into a place of boldness when it comes to our neighborhoods? What prejudices or ignorances are we holding on to that might prevent us from being willing to step away from what's comfortable into an unknown relationship?

As we continue in our series of Hey Neighbor!, this morning Pastor Fred has us looking at how we can get to know our neighbor, not for any purpose other than truly loving them. What does it mean to be in a relationship, or to start a relationship, with no hidden agendas? Often times our subliminal mindset is a hidden purpose, or a "What can I get from this?" - but that's not what Jesus ever did!

Today we have the privilege to hear from Dave Hartman, founder of Arms of Refuge ministries in Dallas, TX. He is one of the missionaries we regularly support, and is here to talk to us about how to love refugees in our world.

So what is "neighboring"? What does it mean for us to use the word "neighbor" like a verb? Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves - but what does that mean? We have this great example of the heroic Samaritan man who stopped to help his enemy, and sometimes we stop there - only helping in heroic or great lengths. But what about the people literally right next door? Let's look together at what it means to neighbor, and how we can grow in our understanding of what it means to love others and meet them where they are at.

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." The course of our life! How crazy is that!? So having a pure heart, a clean heart... that seems rather crucial. To know God, to have our hearts in tune with His, we must be pure and completely surrendered to His will. Let's explore what this means, and how we are to live.

Have you ever heard of the expression, "Fight for peace?" It sounds oxymoronic, but peace doesn't mean "passive." It takes action to make peace, and people who can do this - who can remember what it takes to make peace in a non-peaceful situation - are blessed. This is an attribute, an attitude, highly praised by Christ.

Righteousness is something repeatedly talked about in the Bible, Old and New Testament. God wanted us to be made righteous in His eyes - His ultimate reason for sending us Christ. It makes sense for us to be blessed for striving after it - but how do we do this?

Is being "meek" a sign of weakness, or is there something more to it? What does this attitude look like lived out in today's world? Obviously Jesus thought it important enough to command us to do it - so let's take a closer look!

As we continue in our series out of Matthew chapter 5, we look at verse 4: "Blessed are those who mourn." What does this mean?

Did you ever notice how easily our well-being can be displaced? One little thing and were upset, discouraged or frustrated. If I asked you on that day, would you feel blessed? Being blessed is a deeper and stronger basis for our well-being. We are going to be discussing Jesus' teachings. Those teaching keep our lives rock solid, regardless of what happens. Jesus said, "Whoever listens and does what I say will be like a person who builds their house on a rock." It’s as if He is saying your well-being is based on something far more solid than any circumstances.