Harvard Avenue Christian Church

text : Psalm 78: 1 – 8 theme verse : “Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” (Psalm 78:1) // As human beings, we have leanings, inclinations, proclivities, predilections and preferences. We can safely assume God desires our leanings, inclinations, proclivities, predilections and preferences to […]

text : Hebrews 11:32 – 12:2 theme verse : “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely…” (Hebrews 12:1) // “Did you save it to the cloud?”What once may have only been experienced as a metaphorical connection to […]

text : Philippians 2:12-18 theme verse : “For it is God who is at work in you…”(Philippians 2:13) // The path to canonized sainthood is quite an ordeal. First, you must die – so there’s that.Then there are the required recommendations, theological reviews, and necessary miracles to name a few. To earn this badge of […]

text : Romans 1:1-7 theme verse : “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints…” (Romans 1:7) // Intentionality is key in our attempts to be successful at most anything. Much of the time, however, it seems we step into everyday moments with a chance to be a help, an encouragement, […]

text : Jonah 3:1-5, 3:10-4:11 theme verse : “And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’” (Jonah 4: 4) If you think being swallowed by a fish is bad, try forgiving people you despise. Just ask Jonah. God’s about to cut a break to a people that have mistreated him and […]

text : Philippians 3:4b – 14 theme verse : “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” (Phil 3:13) Do you ever find yourself living a life of “what could have been”? It is […]

Text : Matthew 21: 23-32 Theme Verse: “So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’” (Mt 21:27a) // Jesus teaches in parables. We know this. He is a storyteller, capturing the audience around him, bringing a lesson with an illustration and metaphor that they will understand, remember, and hopefully hold for retelling, to themselves or […]

Text : Matthew 9:35-10:1 Theme Verse : “Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.”(Mt 10:1) // Sending the Disciples out on a mission was long Jesus’ practice. Not many staycations for the twelve. Sharing good news by […]

Text: Hebrews 4:14-16 Theme Verse: “Let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) // ‘Mercy’ has become more of an expression of disbelief, like my grandmother who often hollered, “Mercy sakes!” than it is an embodiment of […]

Text: Matthew 6:7-14 Theme Verse: “Pray then in this way…” (Matthew 6:9a) // “I don’t even know what to pray for anymore.” “What am I supposed to say?” “Does it make any difference?” Prayer. It’s complicated and mysterious. No matter your history with prayer or your sense that it has little to offer your future, […]

Text: Matthew 16:21-28 Theme Verse: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) They are popular Facebook memes and witty ripostes at cocktail parties. A sudden putdown when an apparently positive statement is ridiculed by a simple addendum: “Said no one ever!” […]

Text: Luke 4:14-21 Theme Verse: “Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he said, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:20-21) // Once you’ve launched and the adrenaline drains, how do you […]

Text: 1 Samuel 17:31-37 Theme Verse: “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”(1 Sam 17:32) // The starting gun fires and a rush of adrenaline is released into your body. The multiple stimuli you experience can be overwhelming even as it is exhilarating. The moment […]

Text: Matthew 14:22-36 Theme Verse: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come.”(Matthew 14:28-29) // More than once I’ve called for my children to come to me and been met with the response: “You mean now?” We can be prayed up, studied up, and geared up to […]

Text: Colossians 4: 2 – 6 Theme Verse: “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.” (Col 4:2) // Have you ever been so excited about something that you jumped right in before you knew what you were jumping in to? Have you ever dreaded something so much that you resisted facing it […]

Text: Romans 8: 26 – 39 Theme Verse: “For I am convinced that …{nothing} in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:39) // Summer has us busy and moving in many directions. Four preachers in five weeks shows us ministry life is […]

Text: Proverbs 3:19-35 Theme Verse: “Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you.”(Proverbs 3:29) // In some traditions, the term skillful means is used to describe an approach to making decisions and dealing with problems in a way that is appropriate to the situation and causes no harm. Skillful means always […]

Text: Luke 9:57-62 Theme Verse: “Jesus said, ‘ No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”(Luke 9:62) // What is the price of commitment to, well, anything? When Vince Lombardi was a basketball coach at Fordham in the early 1940s, he used to have […]

Text: Hebrews 6:13-20a Theme Verse: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” (Hebrew 6:19) // While we’re approaching mid-summer, perhaps the lazy days of summer are a thing of the past. No matter the season, there is always so much to […]

Text: Luke 14:1-14 // Summer is the season of celebrations and parties. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is found enjoying the company of others at banquets, dinners and other social gatherings. In fact, he offers some important party etiquette for us to take to heart. So, consider this your party invitation to join us for our […]