Hope Alliance Bethlehem
528 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsA sermon podcast of Hope Alliance Church
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Episodes
Proximate Hospitality
June 26, 2022 18:00 - 40 minutes - 27.9 MBLove engages other people, no matter their ideology or worldview. It means getting proximate and embracing a posture of hospitality that humanizes everyone. Jesus shows us exactly what this looks like and the societal impact it can have in his relationship with Zacchaeus. May we go and do likewise!
Changed by Love
June 19, 2022 13:00 - 40 minutes - 27.9 MBAs Christians we are people who have been radically changed by love. God's love, ultimately displayed in the gospel, is transforming us. We cannot manufacture love on our own. Instead, we love others because we know God and have an ever deepening understanding of the gospel. And when we step out in love toward others, we join in God's transforming work of our own hearts, helping to bring it to completion.
Love and Politics
June 12, 2022 04:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBHow should Christians engage in politics, especially in this season of utter divisiveness? For us at Hope, it means the church is necessarily apolitical, while individual believers engage as best as they can following their consciences. But as a church and as individuals, we are governed by our mission to make disciples, our message - the gospel, our call to love God and others, and Jesus deep desire for unity in the church. Our allegiance belongs to Jesus, not a political party.
Temples not Towers
June 05, 2022 04:00 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MBHumanity tends to react to our polarized world by building towers. Whether by fear or pride, we build towers around what we believe to be true and right in order to separate ourselves from the world. Towers have never been God's design. Instead, following Jesus and his calling on our lives, believers are called to be temples - bringing God close to humanity in loving pursuit.
New Family Rhythms
May 22, 2022 04:00 - 36 minutes - 25.3 MBIf we are going to put on the new clothes of God's family, we have to embrace our true identity. In order to help us do that, Paul offers some important rhythms to include in our personal and corporate lives as the people of God. These rhythms foster a new creation culture for the family of God in Jesus.
New Family Clothes
May 15, 2022 19:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBAs part of God's new family in Jesus, we have been given a new identity. On the basis of this identity, we are called to live a different way. Paul uses the analogy of putting on new clothes - compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. This is the ethos of our new family. And we've been given the vocation of revealing God's character to creation by living this way.
Leaving Our Family of Origin
May 08, 2022 04:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBJesus is clear with his followers: if they want to be his disciples then they need to give him their highest love and loyalty. This always means reordering priorities as well as leaving behind our past ways of doing things. To fully embrace the new family of God in Jesus means to necessarily leave behind our family of origin.
Leaving the Family of Adam
May 01, 2022 18:00 - 37 minutes - 26 MBTo be adopted into the family of God through Jesus means we are adopted out of the family of Adam. We are set free from the shame, rebellion and violence that characterize so much of humanity. So, the only right response is to leave behind the ways of Adam and embrace the true life found in living God's way.
Adoption
April 24, 2022 04:00 - 36 minutes - 24.8 MBTo be a Christian means to be adopted by God as a son or daughter. This reality of adoption shows us God's heart of love and gives our lives a whole new trajectory. God's love and grace flow lavishly on us and we respond by reflecting his glory in how we live.
A New Family
April 17, 2022 04:00 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBGod has always seen his people as a family. But sin and rebellion have invited all sorts of blame and violence into our world. The incarnation and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus is all about new creation. It welcomes again the possibility of God's intention for humanity and our world. And thus the resurrection launches a new family.
Prone to Wander
April 10, 2022 04:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBJames finishes his letter with a warning about wandering from the truth - Jesus, the gospel and its implications. Knowing that wandering can lead to death, James urges the whole church community to be alert and involved in the perseverance of the saints.
Prayer for Healing
April 03, 2022 04:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBNo matter the circumstances of life, our right response is prayer in dependence on God. In particular for the weary and those who are sick, James urges them to call for the elders to pray for them that they might find healing. Prayer offers healing by catalyzing God and by conforming us to his will and image.
Patience
March 27, 2022 04:00 - 45 minutes - 31.1 MBA big part of the Christian life is patience, derived from an expectation of the imminent return of Jesus and the very character of God. On the basis of this, James reminds us to be people who wait expectantly and persevere. In order to do so, James reminds us to strengthen our hearts and be careful to groan properly. In so doing we walk the way of Jesus.
A Warning to the Rich
March 20, 2022 04:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBJames calls out the wealthy who are hoarding, withholding, living in self-indulgence and even stealing life from those of lesser means. Wealth is not evil, but when we find our security and significance in it, we can do unthinkable things. The gospel shows us an altogether different way to live.
Presumptuous Planning
March 13, 2022 18:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBWhen we make plans, we should never do so presumptively. Rather, we should submit them to God's will, being careful to evaluate our plans so that they enable us to trust and glorify God as well as love our neighbor. In so doing, we are embracing God's ultimate plan of restoration and redemption.
The Damage of Slander
March 06, 2022 05:00 - 37 minutes - 25.9 MBSlander damages the identity and value of another person while trying to defend or regain identity and value for ourself. And when we act in this way, we are positioning ourselves not only as a judge of that person, but also over the law of God and God himself. As we are transformed by the gospel our tendency toward slander becomes a tendency toward love.
Grace for Adulterous People
February 27, 2022 20:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBAs James turns to address the hearts of his readers, he does so with a piercing accusation of spiritual adultery. They, like us, have hearts that share their affection with other gods. The result is we look just like the world around us and actually work against God. God's response to our idolatry is more grace. And the way we embrace that grace is through humble repentance.
Pure Wisdom
February 20, 2022 05:00 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBHuman wisdom leads to envy and selfish ambition. But wisdom from above is pure and promotes peace in ourselves and our relationships.
The Untamable Tongue
February 13, 2022 05:00 - 45 minutes - 31.1 MBThe small, the tongue has great power for good or for evil. So how do we grow in using it for good? You can't tame it. James reminds us it's never been done. Instead he calls us to look deeper into the source from which the tongue draws, namely the heart. And to engage in the battle to draw not from our broken human heart, but from the new creation heart God has given us.
Faith and Works
February 06, 2022 05:00 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MBIs there a such thing as false faith? With Jesus as his teacher, James reminds his readers the answer is a resounding "yes." Justification comes by grace through faith, but genuine faith always produces works of the kingdom. Faith that only hears and depends upon creeds and cultures, but fails to produce works ought to make us shutter.
Equal Standing in the Gospel
January 30, 2022 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBWhy do people tend to be partial against those with less means? Largely because we are looking for our own glory. But the glory of God is on display in Jesus, who was rich but became poor that we might be welcomed into God's family. When we embrace this gospel we realize that we are poor and yet rich and we start to do the work of loving our neighbor to display God's glory rather than gain some for ourselves.
Listening and Doing
January 23, 2022 05:00 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MBIf we are going to grow and mature in our faith, then the gospel must be central. And we must not only hear it, but we also have to do it - live by faith on the basis of it. But James understands there is an often overlooked reality that makes this possible. We must embrace the gospel - literally welcome it in. Pulling on Jesus' parable of the sower, James calls us to do the hard work of making space in the soil of our lives to implant the gospel within us. It is the implanted seed of t...
Battling Temptation
January 16, 2022 05:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBWhile life is certainly filled with external trials, it is even more full of internal trials. James calls these temptations and warns us that they only lead to death. Our only hope in the face of this death is the good gift of new birth that God offers through the gospel. It is the joy of this salvation that sustains us when we meet trials (external and internal) of various kinds.
Perseverance in Trials
January 09, 2022 05:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBThe reality of trials and struggle in life is a "when" not "if" reality. And James tells us that only way to sustain ourselves in them is to fight for a stabilizing joy that comes from our hope in the gospel. Single-minded maturity is the product of seeking and acting on God's wisdom. And in this race of life, single-minded means to fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.
Single-Minded Maturity
January 02, 2022 05:00 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MBJames is a prominent leader in the church at Jerusalem writing to a scattered group of believers on the heels of great persecution. In this difficult season, he is calling them away from arrogant self-dependence and to single-minded maturity that comes from a dependence on God and his wisdom.
Jesus Brings God
December 24, 2021 20:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBAt Christmas we celebrate that Jesus Brings God; Emmanuel, God with us...in our flesh and in our struggles. Jesus is full life and brings light into our lives. When we make room in our hearts, he and the Father come and make their home in us, giving us light and life now and forever.
Jesus Brings Victory
December 19, 2021 05:00 - 39 minutes - 26.8 MBSometimes the idyllic nature of the Christmas story, distracts us from seeing what is actually happening. A king is arriving to inaugurate his kingdom and that is a threat to many. When we see Jesus for who he really is, we are left with two choices: either we kill him or we crown him. Herod shows us what those gripping to power are inclined to do, but the magi show us the right way to receive our victorious king - in worship.
Jesus Brings Peace
December 12, 2021 05:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBTo a people who were looking for a shepherd of peace to rescue them from a scattered identity, Jesus arrived ending God's silence. And in him, God graciously gave peace to the world. Reversing the results of sin and death, Jesus brings peace with God, peace with each other and peace with ourselves.
Jesus Brings Justice
December 05, 2021 15:00 - 37 minutes - 25.5 MBScripture tells us over 200 times that God cares for the poor and marginalized. Because his throne is founded upon justice and righteousness, he does justice and calls his people to do the same through living out Christ's kingdom on earth.
Pray for Direction
November 21, 2021 05:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MBWhen Jesus concludes his paradigm for prayer, he is showing us our desperate need to pray for heart direction. In this wilderness journey called life, just like our forefathers, we all have God's direction, but we have hearts that embrace unforgiveness, wander into temptation and are gripped by evil. Prayer and the intimacy with God it facilitates is a means or not only asking for a transformed heart, but also pursuing it.
Pray for Sustenance
November 14, 2021 05:00 - 43 minutes - 29.7 MBWhen Jesus tells his disciples to pray for daily bread, he is invoking the great Exodus story of their past. In so doing, he calls them to pray for provision and contentment. And as they will go on to see, he is ultimately telling them to pray for more of him. It's in Jesus that we realized the ultimate Exodus, meet God's provision and find true contentment.
Pray to Align with God
November 07, 2021 04:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBThe context of prayer is a holy God who comes down the mountain to engage with us - how miraculous! Our prayer then is in many ways a divine negotiation. We make our requests known while seeking God's kingdom and will. Likewise prayer prepares us to act. God's will and kingdom advance on earth as his people embody them in the particularities of their daily lives.
Pray with Purpose
October 31, 2021 04:00 - 31 minutes - 21.5 MBPrayer is not a means of coercing God. Instead, prayer is a posture of sincerity that comes to God in the context of a relationship with real desire and real needs. And our Father already knows what we need and stands ready to meet us with his covenant faithfulness and love.
Pray to be with God
October 24, 2021 17:00 - 36 minutes - 25.4 MBPrayer is not a performance and God is not an audience. He is a loving Father who desires an intimate relationship with us. Prayer is the means by which we engage our Father and cultivate this relationship. And when we do, we gain the true reward of prayer - the very presence of God with us.
God is Gracious
October 10, 2021 19:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBOur world and our flesh are constantly telling us that we need to prove ourselves. But just like the rich young ruler who met Jesus, the questions "what do I have to do" and "what do I lack" typically leave us exhausted. True life comes when we believe that God is good, so I don't have to prove myself. When we tase the grace of God and come to him like a child, we find true and full life.
God is Good
October 03, 2021 04:00 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MBGod is good so I don't have to look elsewhere for satisfaction. The story of the woman at the well and her interaction with Jesus demonstrates God goodness in his pursuit of people, his restoring power, his offer of full life and even his willingness to expose our brokenness. It in those moments of seeing our brokenness that we realize we haven't believe God is good and have looked elsewhere.
God is Glorious
September 26, 2021 04:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBThe Bible warns us that the fear of man is a snare aiming to catch and devour us. We fear others when we revere them to the point of granting them control over us. In a word, we worship them. But the good news of the gospel is that we don't have to fear others because God is glorious. It is when we live deeply into this truth that we find real peace.
God is Great
September 19, 2021 04:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBGod is great, so I don't have to be in control. When we embrace the gospel of the reign and rule of Jesus, we are invited to a different perspective on life as the resurrected Jesus brings true peace to even the stormiest moments of life.
What is the Gospel?
September 12, 2021 16:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBThe gospel is the true declaration that Jesus is the victorious, rightful and eternal King who has brought peace to earth through his incarnation, death and resurrection. We access this peace through repentance and belief - deposing the would be kings of our lives and turning in active faith to the rule and reign of Jesus.
Everyone Blessing
September 05, 2021 04:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBFollowers of Jesus should be known by their love of their neighbors. This has always been God's design - that his people would be a blessing to the world. In order to be intentional about loving our neighbors - we want to BLESS them through prayer, listening, eating together, serving and sharing our stories.
Everyone Inviting
August 29, 2021 04:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBOne of the first realities we see of disciples of Jesus is that they are inviting other people. Specifically they are telling their friends and even those throughout their village to "come and see." Most of us are not evangelists or apologists, but we are all witnesses. And disciples of Jesus are always asking others to "come and see."
Everyone Serving
August 22, 2021 17:00 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBTo be the church God is calling us to be, we need everyone serving. This means serving each other, serving those in need and serving the church. And as we do this, even if its unglamorous at times, we are quite literally building something together for the glory of God.
Everyone Engaged
August 15, 2021 04:00 - 39 minutes - 27.2 MBTo be the church God is calling us to be, we need everyone engaged. That means we are intentionally in - not dragging our feet or reluctant, but diligent and empowered by the Spirit. And it means we are active - not just hearing, but doing.
Identity and Vision
August 08, 2021 04:00 - 46 minutes - 31.8 MBAt Hope we are committed to making disciples to the glory of God. To be intentional about this, we embrace a simply Jesus identity and a multi-congregational structure that desires to see the gospel within reach of every single person in the Lehigh Valley (and beyond).
Make Disciples
August 01, 2021 04:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MBJesus said that we bring glory to God by finishing the work he gave us to do. What is the work of the church? To make disciples. This means introducing people to Jesus, helping them embrace the gospel and enabling them to grow in their faith. To glorify God we need to make more disciples and mature disciples.
The Glory of God
July 25, 2021 04:00 - 41 minutes - 28.6 MBThe glory of God is the reason we exist as humans. And it's the reason the church exists. The glory of God enables the world to know God and to worship God. As we take up this divine purpose, we are charged to be fruitful and multiply - to grow, so God's glory increases.
The Care of God
July 11, 2021 04:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBAs the book of Numbers concludes, once again the character of God is on full display, namely in his gracious care for his people. He shows his care for the insignificant, for those carrying a special calling or burden and for those in dire circumstances. This care points directly to Jesus, the ultimate manifestation of the care of God for his people by laying down his life.
Engaging the Battle
July 04, 2021 04:00 - 49 minutes - 34.1 MBThe Israelites were called to engage the Canaanite enemy and lay claim to the entire land of promise on the basis of God's faithfulness. Though they fell short, Jesus came and announced the defeat of the actual enemy - sin and death. And on the basis of our union with him, he calls us to engage in the battle against sin. This fight is largely fought, as the apostle Paul reminds us, through the renewal of our minds.
Settling for Less
June 27, 2021 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MBJust as the nation is ready to lay hold to the land God has promised, two tribes express their desire to settle east of the Jordan River. Moses' response shows us their folly. In settling down, they are actually settling for less than God has offered. Just like them, we tend to get bogged down by our stuff, weary from the journey and comfortable where we are and thus settle for less of God and less faith in God's promises.
God's Love and Justice
June 20, 2021 14:00 - 36 minutes - 25.2 MBIn Numbers 31 God brings judgement on the Midianites for their opposition to His kingdom advancement. In His providence He has mercy on Israel but condemns Midian. When we really analyze God's judgement, we find that we can either die to self because of His love or die in our sin because of our guilt.