Hope Alliance Bethlehem

Love 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 l…

As 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 oth…

How 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…

Humanity 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…

If 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 corpor…

As 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 - comp…

Jesus 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 p…

To 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, …

To 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 lavis…

God 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 …

James 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 …

No 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 t…

A 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 …

James 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 signific…

When 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 l…

Slander 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 judg…

As 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 i…

Human wisdom leads to envy and selfish ambition.  But wisdom from above is pure and promotes peace in ourselves and our relationships.

The 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 in…

Is 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 pro…