Results

Looking back and grounding in scripture When we had our AGM last year Rebecca and I were fresh into things and didn’t have a lot to report. It feels like we’ve been really active as a parish since then, punching well above our weight. But before we pat ourselves on the back, let’s draw back to scripture.…

Joseph’s story Matthew tells the story largely from the point of view of Joseph. This is not only between Mary & God, but the story ripples wider and wider until it reaches the ends of the earth, until it reaches even us Joseph plays a critical role in that story. Without his acceptance and love, then…

Celebrating the Wider Body of Christ Yesterday, I had the great privilege, with my wife Bobbi, of attending the dedication of the new worship facility at Community First Church of God in Homeland, CA. Pastor Mike Gratzke with his wife Kim have served the church there for more than 10 years. I have worshipped…

The Bible is a rather complex collection of writings over two-thousand years old; how do we best read and apply its message into our world today?

Works and the Tongue James jumps from faith and works to the danger of the tongue In between he warns against wanting to be teachers (pastors) May seem disconnected on the surface, but these passages are related James is teaching how to strengthen faith while also identifying true faith Be Careful Little…

So far during this series we have looked at that it takes a good set of blueprints to build a great bridge and it takes the right tools. And today the next step in the process is sometimes it takes rebuilding. Sometimes in order to bridge the gap and mend relationships you have to start a rebuilding…

Go to the lost, give what you got, and bring peace. intro me We talk a lot at Hope City about how the Bible is our absolute authority - over tradition, over culture - because we believe it is God’s word to us. We want to be a church which hears what God has to say through it, and a church that tries…

Evening 31 December 23

intro me We’re continuing our journey through the eyewitness story of Jesus’ life found in the gospel of Matthew in the Bible. Today we have a pretty extraordinary section following hot on the heels of Jesus’ baptism which Pat took us through last week. At his baptism, we saw the Spirit of God descending…

Food You do Not know About Jesus is challenging all of us to take another step towards the promises He spoke about your life. When you walk down the path of God’s promises to your life, the manna will stop. 12 The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the…

Jesus speaks to his disciples in parables. In Hebrew, a mashal is like a riddle , intended to tease the mind into insight rather than to communicate a simple idea by means of an illustration. Seven Parables, four before to all the people, and Three Parables about the kingdom of God. Jesus speaks to the…

Celebrate Faith Cultural “Have faith” diminishes faith to wishful thinking. But Faith is something that is divinely Biblical and distinctly Christian. It’s such an important motif throughout scripture that we see it again and again and again. Today I hope to address the topic of faith through a question-answer…

“Our Father” Good Morning! Today is Sunday May 3rd. Welcome to today’s episode. We began a new series last week. Looking at the Lord’s Prayer from a slightly different perspective. I gave some introductory remarks about how the LP mirrors that of the Exodus out of Egypt in the OT. Which brings about…

Ephesians 5:19 As human beings, we have been created in the image and likeness of God, which means that God made us to reflect his greatness and goodness through our attitudes, words, and behavior. One special way that we do this is through the ability God has given us to be creative and communicate…

Disconnect between the Church and the Wider World "Atheist” is no longer a dirty word among Generation Z (13-18 year olds) General Adult population in US - 6% identify as Atheist Generation Z - 13% identify as Atheist - DOUBLE general adult population Your relationships with others reflects your relationship…

Call To Worship 1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord ! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! 3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord ! Giving 21 For where your treasure is, there your…

Intro: We’ve examined the faith of Rahab and the two spies; now the focus moves to the faith of an entire nation. I want us to keep in mind that the Book of Joshua deals with much more than ancient history. What God did centuries ago for the nation of Israel, He can do for us, the church and America…

Jesus tells us he comes not to bring peace but division - division because hypocrites reject his warning about the judgement to come. And yet his warning is also filled with hope since he himself will pay the debt that we could never pay.

Summary - Rev 12 On what day was Jesus actually born? What year? Does the timing matter? Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25, but virtually all Christians know that day isn’t the real birth date of the messiah. While that is certainly the case, has the birth date of Jesus been lost…

Live life shaped by Messiah’s merciful call Intro me Rather than looking at tiny slices of the bible in isolation, reading things in context is always important. Each passage we study fits into the bigger story, slotted together with those around it like puzzle pieces. This week it’s particularly important…

Luke 19:1-10 As Christians, we realize that we are to walk in the love of Christ, we are to walk in the footsteps of Christ. We need to look at his life and analyze it at times to more fully follow after him. Like you and I, Jesus liked to do lots of things in life. He always, as he conducted himself,…

The mission of the church sends us out to serve others; the way in which we serve our local community frames our actions as followers of Jesus.

Background What do you know about Luke before we even get started? When we finish this series of studies I ask you to look back at the notes you took here at the beginning and see how it changes. As good bible students and that is what we need to be in a bible class we need to be detectives and ask questions,…