This Sunday’s lesson was on just that – loving the Church. Sometimes we don’t realize our status as believers united in Christ. Bryan made the point that, as Christians, we have more in common with an Afghan soldier who is a Christian, than an American soldier who is an atheist. That statement is challenging, not just because it highlights our true citizenship primarily as citizens of Heaven, but that our relationship with other believers turns conventional allegiances on their head. The church is our real family, despite any earthly relationships.

Another important thing to remember is the Church is ALL believers, not just the ones you worship with, the ones in your denomination or theological “tribe,” or even your country. The Church belongs to Christ, not to us. This should shatter our petty doctrinal feuds and turn our often cold shoulders toward our brothers and sisters who see things differently than we do. God’s vertical love for us causes and empowers horizontal love of our brothers and sisters as well as our neighbor, the orphan, the leper, and the widow.

When realizing her true identity, the Church is a beautiful thing. Just as the Bible says that woman is the glory of man, so the Church (as the Bride) is the glory of Christ. He cherishes her, gives to her, and dies for her. He even prays for her (and logically for you and me):

“My prayer is not for [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Here, Jesus prays that the future Church would be unified, that we would love one another, that through us the world will know Christ. We need to love each other and build each other up with purposeful love, not just focusing outward (and loving the world), but inward as well and loving and supporting each other. Christ is gathering us together so we can die to ourselves and love others instead, pouring ourselves out for our brothers and sisters because He first loved us.

But there is still a lot of confusion and misconception when it comes to the role and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV) So, in that way, the Holy Spirit is here to help us, to convict us, to keep us on the proverbial straight and narrow.

That seems to make it fairly cut and dried, but many think that, in order for the Holy Spirit to be with us or working in us, we need to feel it. That’s not the case, though. And as Andrew pointed out – what exactly should you be feeling, anyway? We often chalk up the overwhelming emotion we sometimes feel when worship hits us just right or when we are overcome with joy as the work of the Holy Spirit. And it might be, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only time He’s there. Truthfully, He could be working on us just as diligently when we don’t feel Him at all as when we feel Him the most.

In fact, there’s nothing in the bible that gives any credence to the idea that the Holy Spirit comes and goes as He pleases. Instead, it’s far more biblically sound to say that once you’ve accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit joins with you and stays with you for the rest of your days. Today you may feel Him there; tomorrow you may not. But like gravity or oxygen, He is there always; only, unlike gravity or oxygen, He is pulling for you, teaching you, preparing you for the life you were designed to lead.

Which is ultimately why I believe the name “Comforter” fits Him the best. Because, isn’t it a comfort to know that we’re never alone – that Jesus saw fit to leave us with someone who could be with every single one of us, any time, anywhere? And not just that, but that even in our darkest, weakest moments, we have someone who, “himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26 ESV), so that even when we’ve gone beyond the point of knowing what to say, He speaks for us, connecting us to our Heavenly Father, for all time.

How amazing it is to have a God and Savior who loves us so much and is so in tune with us that He gave us a guide to keep us company and help us keep our eyes toward heaven until His return.

We are truly blessed.

Josh Eck

We are excited to celebrate as we remember where our campus started and how we’ve grown over the last three years. In order to do that well, we knew it was a year for a special service, to celebrate this special time at our campus. 3 years in Huntington Beach, serving our church community, our city, and our God.

As a reminder, there will be one combined morning service, at 10am, at Huntington Beach High School (1905 Main Street). We will be meeting in the outdoor Amphitheater for service, with a time to gather and share a meal together following service.

There is amphitheater seating, but we will provide a few extra chairs (and tables) for service but we do encourage you to bring your own chairs, blankets, sunscreen!, and a dish to share for the BBQ.

If you have questions about service this Sunday, please email huntingtonbeach@rockharbor.org. Thank you for celebrating with us and joining in as we look thankfully at our past and what’s coming up in the future!

** Night service will still be at 7pm at Community Bible Church (401 6th Street).

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it” – Matthew 13:44-46

Jesus is inviting you to live the life you were created to live,
but what it costs you is to surrender the life you’ve been living.

This was the main message from this weekend’s gathering. The parable points out two people who discover the Kingdom of God, and do something very absurd to make it their own. They sell everything.

I wonder if they hesitated to sell everything. Or if they thought about keeping a few things. But the story doesn’t say that. It says when they found it, they went away from it, sold everything, and then purchased it.

I feel the disconnect for us today is that we truly don’t understand what Jesus is offering us when He tells us about life in His Kingdom. Maybe we’ve been raised in a church that made Christianity seem like a burden, an un-cool lifestyle, nerdy, awkward, and definitely not any fun. Or maybe we intellectually ascent to the idea that the Kingdom of Heaven is good and it’s what we need, but we’re absolutely unwilling to risk any of the life we’re living right now. But I wonder what would happen if we took the time to really unveil what the Kingdom of Heaven is, if we really paid attention to what Jesus invites us to. I wonder if then we’d be more excited, more dramatic, more confident in selling all we have to gain it.

All throughout the scripture, Jesus repeatedly speaks to the crowds and to Pharisees and to His own disciples. All along the way, He tells them things that make them “astonished” or “silent”. I had never understood why, until I was listening to the gospels on my phone, and realized that Jesus was in the habit of showing people what their lives were truly like.

He does it all over the place. But one example that stands out to me is when the man with the shriveled hand comes and asks for healing on the Sabbath.

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. – Mark 3:1-5

He poses a pretty simple question, but He’s saying something infinitely profound. The Pharisees had pursued the law of Judaism so fervently, they had missed the person of God entirely. They had created more than 600 laws to prevent from breaking the 10 commandments, but in doing so, they had created weird rules that prevented healing (and subsequently, wholeness) on the Sabbath as they considered it work. But here Jesus identifies their ignorance, and they are shocked. They don’t have anything to say because they realize how ignorant they’ve been.

He repeatedly explained the reason behind the reason. He identified the truth under the truth. Here he explains the problem beneath the problem.

Jesus doesn’t do this to make a spectacle of us or Himself. He does it to show us that there’s a different way to live. Namely, in the Kingdom of God, we are invited to live the life we’ve been created for. A life of freedom, a life of work, a life of fulfillment, of happiness, of joy, of wholeness.
When I see the Kingdom of God in this light, and realize that Jesus isn’t offering me awkward, judgmental asceticism, but that He’s inviting me into the fullness of life, I too, want to get rid of everything I own to join in that.

But it definitely costs us a lot. We’ve grown up with this lifestyle as a part of us. It’s not something we can do lightly. Whether you’re 13 or 30 or 93, surrendering your entire life for life in the Kingdom is costly. But it’s worth it. Both the person who found the treasure and the one who found the pearl sold it all, and they were joyful. For the first time they were experiencing true joy.

It’s true for me and you today : Jesus is inviting you to live the life you were created to live, but what it costs you is to surrender the life you’ve been living.

Thaddeus Fennig

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

What could have caused the abrupt change in these men’s lives? How could someone instantly leave their family and business to follow someone they hardly know. The answer is simply true obedience to a Holy God. Their scandalous action to leave everything and follow Christ was an indicator of trust in God. They didn’t just sit there sipping lattes and talk about their belief in Jesus. The followed him, and at great cost.

Pastor Andrew brought up a great point about the meaning of the word “repent.” He argued that American Christians seem to equate repentance with feeling sorry. However, it is much more than that. The Greek word metanoeó literally means to change one’s mind. And “mind” here isn’t just an organ. It’s your entire conscious perception of the world. It is a fundamental change, not an apology. This is what Jesus is radically calling us to when he says, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” As Andrew stated, we are called to be like spiritual butterflies that shed our caterpillar skin and come out a new creation. And this new creation is not just defined by a set of beliefs; it is defined much more by obedience.

Unfortunately, a large portion of Christianity in America does not preach this. The late Christian philosopher Dallas Willard observed, “We believe in Jesus in America, we don’t obey Jesus.” Too much of the time we are navel-gazing in cafes instead of leaving our nets and following after Him. We might know a lot about Jesus, but do we actually know Jesus?

Our salvation is costly. We must not cheapen it by living in disobedience to Christ’s commands of justice and mercy. Jesus didn’t die so that we could be happy and go to heaven. He laid claim to our lives in order for us to serve the Kingdom, with him leading the way and us following close behind.
This is not an easy task. However, we have the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us and a church community that can walk with us in this task of obedience. We are not alone. Our challenge is to walk as Christ walked, speak as Christ spoke, and love as Christ loved. We must sacrifice our comfortable little caterpillar existence for the risky, yet beautiful gift of flight. Only then can we understand the true cost of discipleship: our very lives.

Justin Worley

Just this past Sunday, Andrew invited the whole campus to read through the Gospels together.

For those who have asked or may be unsure, below is a reading chart to help you navigate through the Gospels over the next 4-weeks.  We are excited to do this together so please spread the word and share with other RHHB campus attenders, family, friends, read with your kids . . . walking through the word together and sharing in who Jesus is as a whole community.

Feel free to read as much or as little as you’d like in a sitting, with the goal being to read an entire gospel each week.

Water exclusively. *Children should only be doing baseline fast.

Read

Matthew 27:45-56

Consider

“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40 ESV)

This past Sunday’s service was a big one. Not only was it the last before Easter – arguably a Christian’s biggest reason for celebration each year – but it was also the final sermon of our Worship series.

It seemed fitting that these two things coincided so well. Throughout this series, we’ve explored, discussed and encountered a host of ways we can worship God in, with and through our lives. And now, with Easter upon us, we can take all we’ve learned through this series and we can worship with an even greater love and higher understanding of what He’s done for us and how much He deserves to be worshipped.

We started in Luke 19 with our Savior’s descent down the Mount of Olives and entrance into Jerusalem. This was a huge, joyous moment full of worship and praise that would also serve as a precursor to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

But at the same time, this moment was a fulfillment of prophecy laid out in the book of Isaiah, leaving nothing to doubt as to whether or not Jesus was the true Messiah for whom the Jews had been waiting. But their inability to see Him as such was made evident when some of the Pharisees told Him to rebuke His disciples for being so excited about His entrance into the city, and for referring to Him as “the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 19:38-39 ESV) To that, Jesus replied with, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40 ESV)

Those 13 words cut straight to the heart of what it means to worship our Lord, our God, and the Creator of the world we live in and everything we are and have. It is intrinsic for us to worship Him – we were MADE to worship Him – which is why we often get so emotional and feel so close to Jesus during times of worship.

It’s also why, for those who don’t know the Lord, there is a void that they try to fill by worshipping other things – by wanting and desiring and consuming as much as they can, all in an effort to feel what we were all made to feel when we want and desire and worship the Lord instead.

But going back to the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem – for me, and maybe for many of us, knowing the end of the story makes this such a beautifully bittersweet scene. Jesus comes in on the back of a colt with everyone cheering and praising Him, so happy to be in His presence, only for many of those same people to turn their backs on Him and ultimately have Him crucified just a little while later.

That, of course, leads us into what we have to be so thankful for as we look toward Good Friday. Jesus did all this knowing His fate all along. And through the whole thing, He loved, He gave, He healed and He taught. And then He endured brutal torture and absolute abandonment and ultimately died on a cross, all so that we could live.

But it’s not just that He did all this to save us. It’s that He did all this and then rose again three days later. It’s that He was victorious over death so that we can be victorious over death as well. It’s that we can know and be confident in the fact that we worship a living God who knows us, loves us, wants a relationship with us and would literally do anything for us.

And that is absolutely cause for huge celebration this and every Easter Sunday, where we’ll join our brothers and sisters in Christ—and even the very stones—as we cry out in worship of our great and worthy King.

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38 ESV)

Josh Eck