Thrive Harbor

Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor’s local director, continues Thrive's series on Romans by looking at the second half of Romans 1. Like a prosecuting attorney, Paul in 1:18-3:20 constructs an air-tight case that all humanity is guilty and in need of a savior. In this section, Paul first tells us why humanity is guilty, and secondly he shows us how God responds to our sin—by giving us over to the very sin we crave.

Tim Cedarland, Thrive's regional director, opens a several-month journey through the "cathedral of the Christian faith," the book of Romans. Besides teaching on the first half of chapter one, Tim takes us on a whirlwind, high-flying overview of the entire book, in order to show how all the different pieces of Paul's letter fit together into one big picture.

Dennis Fuqua, director of International Renewal Ministries and special speaker for Thrive's 2018 Christmas Formal, looks at the classic Christmas word "Immanuel" (meaning "God with us") in order to show that the Christmas story is actually far more than what that word implies. It's amazing enough that in being born as a human, Jesus is God with us. But because of His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus is also "God in us." The life we live isn't our own; it's Jesus, living within us by His Spirit—meaning that we no longer have to do things in our own strength, no longer have to submit to sin's power, and no longer have to live separated from the love of God.

Often it's assumed there's a tension between a community that is inwardly focused—concerned with the needs of insiders—and outwardly focused—concerned with the needs of outsiders. But Christian community is both at the same time. When Christians love, serve, and build each other up, the result is a community that showcases the love of God to a lost and hurting world, or in other words, a community that is inherently evangelistic. 

Scripture passages cited in this message include Exodus 19:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:6-8; Isaiah 2:2-4; Ephesians 2:6-7, 10; 3:10; Matthew 5:14-16; John 13:35; and 1 Peter 2:12.

Christian community helps answer the profound longing of the human heart to be deeply loved and deeply known at the same time. It's a space where it's possible to really tell the truth about your deepest struggles and yet still be loved and welcomed—a community not just of truth but trust. What does that kind of community look like? It looks like a band of believers who pray for each other, confess their sins to each other, and restore each other. 

Scripture passages cited in this message include James 5:13-20 and Matthew 18:15-17.

Salvation by grace is the crucial foundation of Christianity, distinguishing it from all other world religions. But how does grace affect community? The famous parable of the prodigal sons shows that sin and self-righteousness inevitably destroy community but that the grace of God creates community—a community marked by love, diversity, and humility. 

Scripture passages cited in this message include Luke 15:11-32, Romans 15:7, Romans 14:13, Ephesians 4:2, Ephesians 4:32, Isaiah 53:6, and Joel 3:13.

What gave such vibrancy to the early Christians? It wasn't fancier worship or slicker preaching. All that the early church did was a fresh, organic explosion of awe at Jesus and what He had done—creating a new kind of community that the world had never seen. Passages cited in this message include Acts 2:42-47.