Reimagine Church --- Acts 2:24-27 As Franklin Street begins to wake back up as the heart of a bustling college town, we're beginning our new series for the fall: Reimagine Church. As it was for the Apostles when they reformed the followers of Jesus into what would eventually become the church, you may need to reset your expectations. Jesus said ver…

Proverbs: Wisdom for Summer --- Proverbs 31 If the inverse to wisdom is foolishness, how can we spend more time away from this foolishness? Today, we'll look at a portrait of the wise life. It comes from an often misused passage. Where do you find the most inspiration here, regardless of whether you're male or female? Sunday: https://lovechapelhill…

Proverbs: Wisdom for Summer --- Proverbs 27 The best wisdom rarely comes out of isolation. We are a communal people and we naturally thrive when we spend time with one another. In love, we challenge ourselves, support our friends, and grow in faith because of the diversity of our experiences. Iron sharpening iron. Our small groups and discipleship …

Proverbs: Wisdom for the Summer This week, we're honored to welcome the newly Reverend Nikki Taylor from the Yellow Door House in Greensboro, NC! We're moving into the section of Proverbs with short statements of advice for a beneficial life. Wisdom isn't just knowing a list of verses though. It comes from listening, living, and expanding on what h…

Proverbs: Wisdom for the Summer --- Proverbs 8 In Proverbs 8, the writer introduces us to a cast of characters who personify Wisdom and her companions and foils. It reminds us that wisdom is more than a set of relative snippets of advice. Scripture guides us into a better life that enhances ourselves and those around us. It also reminds us that the…

Proverbs: Wisdom for the Summer --- Proverbs 2 There's no shortage of wisdom today. At least that's what it masquerades as. Advice and opinions come at us everywhere. If there's one thing you can count on, it's that they won't agree. The best kind of wisdom is accompanied by experience, trust, and love. This is a lesson time and time again in Scrip…

Proverbs: Wisdom for the Summer --- Proverbs 1:1-9 In the second half of the summer, we're taking on the book of Proverbs. This is good because we certainly need some wisdom on this end of 2024. Pursuing wisdom, even written here in the time of Solomon is ultimately a pursuit of Jesus too. It begins in the Word; knowing the Scripture we proclaim to…

Fill in the ____ --- Hebrews 13:8 We dusted off one of our oldest LCH traditions this week and celebrated 5th Sunday with our friends at St Joseph's CME Church and Lifechurch! Today of all days, let's remember that Jesus was God made flesh and so he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We have a tendency to hold onto what makes us different.…

Fill in the ____ --- Psalm 27:14 You're not going to like this one. As Americans living in the explosive growth of faster and faster gratification, the call of this Psalm to "wait" can be especially grating. But this isn't the benign checkout queue. We wait on the Lord with anticipation. With hope. And with activity. The tension of what the world i…

Fill in the ____ --- 1 John 1:8-9 "Sin" gets thrown around a lot. Almost a Christian slang word. But what is sin? And what does healing and restoration look like? Sin is that which separates us from God. To the ancient Jewish people, it presented as uncleanliness; a barrier to approaching the presence of God. Today it might look a bit more like pre…

Fill in the ___ -- Romans 12:2 Transformation. Renewal. These are terms we've often used when we describe the power of salvation. But let's get real here; becoming a Christian doesn't magically alter your mind. It begins a journey. In short, it's work. God can make a new creation of you. But the Bible shows that time and time again, we need discipl…

Fill in the ____ --- Psalm 24 Who could be called the inheritors of the earth? The church? A certain people? While it may seem obvious in those terms that it isn’t one group’s, how does that square with the culture of the American church? We are guilty over and over again of pressing our models of culture and believe onto others and calling it righ…

Fill in the ____ -- Matthew 11:28-30Jesus calls us the follow Him, but he doesn't call us to do more. He calls us to sit at his feet, listen to Him, and lay our burdens down on Him, where He will give us rest.Oleh Justin Simmons

Resurrected Life to Us -- 2:1-12It's Pentecost Sunday! Join us as Pastor Joel invites us to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Sunday: https://lovechapelhill.com/sundayConnect: https://lovechapelhill.com/about-us/connect-cardGive: https://lovechapelhill.com/giveOleh Joel Philbrook

Resurrected -- Acts 1:6-11Jesus is ascended and reigns on high with the Saints, He sits at the right hand of the Father. In this passage, the disciples watch in amazement as Jesus leaves Earth to return to His throne in Heaven.Oleh Justin Simmons

Saul's Conversion -- Acts 9:1-19As we continue in our Resurrection series, we turn to the Jesus' encounter with a man named Saul. Where, and with who, do we meet Jesus today? Sunday: https://lovechapelhill.com/sundayConnect: https://lovechapelhill.com/about-us/connect-cardGive: https://lovechapelhill.com/give…

Resurrected -- Acts 2:28-40On the day of Pentecost and the Holy Ghost fills the disciples, Simon Peter points to the prophet Joel and his words on how God's power will come to all people, and that we should "repent and be baptized" to be forever changed and surrendered to God.Oleh Justin Simmons

Experiencing Jesus -- Acts 1:3-8 Jesus made eight appearances to his followers in-between his resurrection and ascension. But how does Jesus appear to us today? Join us this week as we discuss Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit for all believers. Sunday: https://lovechapelhill.com/sundayConnect: https://lovechapelhill.com/about-us/connect-cardGive: …

Resurrected -- John 21:1-10After Jesus' resurrection, the Disciples return to what they know best - fishing - but they find themselves with nothing to show until Jesus appears to them on the shore and tells them to cast their nets to the other side. Once their net is full, Jesus invites them to share breakfast together, and invites them into this n…

Doubting Thomas -- John 20:24-29 What happens after Easter? This week, we start a new series, "Resurrection." When, like Thomas, do we doubt? And how does Jesus attend to our doubts, even today?Sunday: https://lovechapelhill.com/sundayConnect: https://lovechapelhill.com/about-us/connect-cardGive: https://lovechapelhill.com/give…

Resurrection Sunday -- Mark 16Today is the day of the Lord's Favor, a time of Jubilee as Jesus has conquered the grave. Happy Easter, He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed.Oleh Justin Simmons

Palm Sunday -- Mark 11:1-11 Ahead of Easter week, we explore what the disciples' expectations of Jesus can teach us about our own. Where and how is Jesus still defying our expectations today? Sunday: https://lovechapelhill.com/sundayConnect: https://lovechapelhill.com/about-us/connect-cardGive: https://lovechapelhill.com/give…

Reimagine Discipleship --- Mark 10:17-31A rich young man comes to Jesus to ask how he might inherit "eternal life", or "life unto the ages". When Jesus responds he must give up all his wealth, the young man leaves sad. What are you giving up to seek after Jesus?Oleh Joel Philbrook

Reimagine Discipleship --- Mark 10:13-16Jesus continues to teach the disciples about the "upside-down" nature of the kingdom of God. Not only does God accept the little children, Jesus tells them, but God's kingdom actually belongs to them. What does such a statement mean for us today? Sunday: https://lovechapelhill.com/sundayConnect: https://lovec…

Reimagine Discipleship --- Mark 9:33-41After Jesus returns from The Transfiguration, the disciples argue over which of them is the greatest, but Jesus tells them that to become the greatest, you must become the least.Oleh Justin Simmons

Reimagine: Discipleship --- Mark 9:1-13 The Transfiguration of Jesus was clearly an overwhelming experience. Blinding brightness, the return of the most important figures in Israel's history, an indescribable new form for Jesus. Heaven and Earth came together for a brief moment. But it represented something beautiful and lasting. Jesus would contin…

Reimagine: Discipleship --- Mark 8:31-9:1 Discipleship isn't easy. We 21st century Americans may not be experiencing the persecution Mark's audience was, but the call to endure for the sake of Christ's salvation is still as loud today as it was then. Even Jesus needed reminding that what was less than suffering and death was a temptation for an eas…

Reimagine: Discipleship --- Mark 6:7-13 We're remaining in Mark, but our Reimagine series is moving from New Beginnings to the natural next step in the Way: Discipleship. It's one thing to accept the truth of Jesus and quite another to walk so close behind him that you're covered in the dust of each of his steps. It's easy to be a Christian in name…

Reimagine: New Beginnings --- Mark 5:1-20 A demon-possessed man. A community that didn't know what to do with him. While the confrontation here may not be the same as a contemporary mental illness, the conflict and suffering would be familiar to any who have experienced it. As we close this New Beginnings series with a fiercely intimate account of …

Reimagine: New Beginnings --- Mark 4:1-20, 26-32 This early and familiar parable of Jesus offers quite the challenge. We may be tempted to find ourselves in the good soil here. But Jesus reminds us that the best harvests come from when the sower's few seeds multiply into many times what they were when they fell? Has scripture always borne that kind…

Reimagine: New Beginnings --- Mark 1:14-20,3:13-19 We continue in the book of Mark as Jesus gathers his disciples. Imagine being these men. You're told that the promises of generations were coming to pass, that the world you existed in was a distorted reflection of what it should be and salvation was coming. Would you then drop your livelihood with…

Reimagine: New Beginnings --- Mark 1:9-13 Jesus opens his ministry in a dynamic and beautiful display of power and identity. All elements of the Trinity come together to kick off three years that would change the rest of history. The baptism of Jesus also harkens back to our fall and foreshadows the redemption that is about to take place. The peopl…

Reimagine: New Beginnings --- Mark 1:1-8 Happy 2024, Love Chapel Hill! The turning of the year makes us all feel a call to start something new... to varying degrees of success. (Usually low). And this year, like so many recently it seems, we know that so much of what is needs to be renewed. When Jesus's ministry is heralded by his eccentric cousin,…

Protagonist -- Luke 2:8-12 Merry Christmas, Love Chapel Hill! It's the last Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve to boot! As it was for the shepherds in Bethlehem, we are in a period of night. The anticipation of the Light doesn't diminish the darkness of the night before. More than four-hundred years had passed since Israel's last prophet spoke. The…

Protagonist --- Matthew 1:18-23 Imagine that you suddenly found yourself as a key figure in a story that defines a whole culture's identity. Mary and Joseph were told that they were the culmination of Israel's centuries of redemption, fall, and salvation. Very human people responding in faith to enter into the power of the narrative. Remember that …

Protagonist --- Isaiah 9:1-7 Expect the unexpected. God incarnate and the prophesied King came to the world in a feeding box and grew up as a carpenter's son. Gideon defeated the Midianites with a tiny army and a lot of noise. Jesus was what the world needed, even if he bucked expectations of what the Messiah would be. And yet the redemption he bro…

Protagonist --- Isaiah 64:1-4 The Advent season has arrived! We make a natural move from our series in Isaiah to the coming of the foretold King generations later in Bethlehem. Using the devotional written by Pastor Matt and Josh LeRoy as guide, let's turn our hearts to the moment God came down to live among us. Where the story about God's people p…

God is Speaking --- Isaiah 61 We close this series in Isaiah with the hope of restoration that Jesus himself directly quotes. It uses the imagery of the year of Jubilee, giving Israel a glimpse of what a return to their homeland would be like. With the same passage, Jesus would expand that vision to the whole world. We don't even have to wait until…

God is Speaking --- Isaiah 53 The glimmers of hope to Israel offered in these latter chapters of Isaiah truly coalesce into the person of Jesus centuries later. The sins of the past are acknowledged, but the intercession of the sacrificial lamb point the way out from bondage. Would those who have ears hear it? Perhaps. But as will most prophets, do…

God is Speaking --- Isaiah 40:1-5 He tried to tell them. Today we hop into the latter writings of Isaiah, those that emerged during the Babylonian exile, well after what Isaiah had been warning about came to pass and the Kingdoms collapsed. The Lord, though, has words of comfort and promises to the Israelites who are now a few generations removed f…

God is Speaking --- Isaiah 7, 37 It’s a tale of two kings. And a cautionary one at that. The reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah were characterized by different kinds of faith. For Ahaz, he did not put his trust in God and instead hedged his bets with several different deities in the hopes that something would stick. Hezekiah faced similar long odds that h…

God is Speaking --- Isaiah 5 Not a lot of nice things coming from Isaiah this week. He invites us to imagine a vineyard where everything was meticulously cared for and prepared. The seeds were sown. But what came from the vines were no better than what spouts up outside of the vineyard and could not be used for wine at all. This is the metaphor Isa…

God Is Speaking --- Isaiah 1 Who was Isaiah and who was he talking to? Come with us as we leave Pages 1-3 and make our way deep into the Old Testament. Past Abraham, the Exodus, and even the building of the Temple, Israel had seen generations of triumphs and tragedies. The Prophet Isaiah arrived in relative comfort and prosperity. But if the people…

Pgs. 1-3 --- Genesis 3 And just like that, we’re 14. Happy Anniversary once again, Love Chapel Hill! We’re also finishing our series on Genesis this week with the sobering reminder that the idyllic relationship between humanity, Earth, and God we saw in the first two pages doesn’t last the first generation. Whether you read the Fall literally or no…

Pgs. 1-3 --- Genesis 2 Creation again! Flawless powerhouse of the pulpit Allison Otwell, whose husband lost the ability to apologize for these summaries years ago, takes us back to what was likely a second and in many ways distinct narrative of God creating the world and humanity's place in it. If there's one thing this passage is not, it's a weapo…

Pgs 1-3 --- Genesis 1 Joel take our new series back to the beginning. And I mean the VERY beginning. We’re diving into the first chapters of Genesis. One of the richest illustrations of our relationship with God is how we tell the story of the creation of life. How those events coincide with the literal has inspired passionate debate for centuries.…

Welcome To --- Matthew 22:36-40 Welcome to Love. Our name IS our mission. The DNA of the church is bonded by love. We follow a Christ who did not come to condemn our world. He lived in it. He love its people. He raised up the downtrodden. He died for the people who cursed him. Discipleship, mission, and community naturally comes from a church with …

Welcome To --- Acts 2:42-47 It can't be done alone. From the very first days of the church, worship and service were acts of sharing. Koinonia is part of what defines a church. We gather. We support. We organize. Monasticism and private philosophy can only get you so far. When you enter our doors, you're entering an invitation to join with your fel…

Welcome To --- Matthew 25:31-46 You're invited into Mission! We continue exploring the DNA of Ekklesia, who we are as followers of Jesus, and who we are as the church family of Love Chapel Hill. Today, we're looking at how followers of Jesus are invited into the Missio Dei (the mission of God). Are you ready to be an every day, everywhere missionar…

Welcome To --- Matthew 4:18-22 No, your ears don't deceive! We're back home in the big theater in the Varsity, and our podcast will benefit from our tools in the booth once again! Welcome to Fall! And, this week, welcome to discipleship. Jesus began his ministry by telling fishermen to follow him. That's what discipleship is. It's following. Gettin…