Haverhill Commons Church
Religion & Spirituality
About
Weekly sermons from Haverhill Commons Church located in Haverhill, MA.
Episodes
- It Is Good To Be Together (Acts 2:42-47)
The digital age promised a revolutionary new world marked by connection, life, and the sense that we’re all a part of something greater than ourselves. And it has somehow done the exact opposite. There’s something different about these onl…
- Re-Membered (1 Cor. 12:12-22, 25-26)
For most of human history, relationships were entirely local. Studies of medieval church records find that most people lived their whole lives within a 10 to 30 mile radius from where they were born. Friendships were maintained through phy…
- In God's Image (Gen. 1:26-28, Psalm 8:3-6)
Most depictions of technology we see in popular culture arrive at the same conclusion. Technology is going to end us… Now the Bible doesn’t mention iPhones, the internet, or social media apps, but it does have a lot to say about why things…
- “Who do you say that I am?” (The Capstone Experience)
Today, we conclude our series on the gospel of Mark and instead of sermon, today is an opportunity to engage and come up with our own takeaways to a question central to the gospel. It’s the same question that Jesus asked his disciples: “Wh…
- A Very Good Surprise (Mark 16:1-8)
Can you think of times in your life when you were really surprised? Like, really stunned. How did it feel? Three women arrive at Jesus’ tomb expecting one thing… only to find something they were not at all prepared to deal with. A moment t…
- Good Friday (Mark 15:16-39)
Good Friday is the day we remember God's great love to us, expressed to us in the person of Jesus. On this night we gather at the church to sit at the foot of the cross and consider Jesus' crucifixion and death. But who is Jesus? What does…
- When Courage Crumbles (Mark 14:53-54; 66-72)
Jesus tells Peter that he will deny ever knowing Jesus, not once, but three times. To which Peter adamantly proclaims, “even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Then, after Jesus is arrested, Peter is recognized. The fear…
- Engage (Mark 15:1-5, 9-15)
It’s often easier to just let someone else make the call. Pilate did not think that Jesus was guilty of the crimes he was accused of. However, he tried to avoid making a call: he sought more information, he tried to buy time, he basically…
- Keep Calm, Carry On (Mark 13)
“How does following Jesus inform the way we worry about the world?” In Mark 13, Jesus says to his disciples that the temple will be destroyed, which would have meant the end of the world for the disciples and the rest of the Jewish people…
- The Gravity of Love (Mark 12:28-34, 41-44)
When asked to sum up all the commandments into one, Jesus says, “You will or you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The word Mark uses…
- A Tree, A Temple, and a Table (Mark 11:12-21)
What’s the one thing that made Jesus mad? Like, really mad. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, he sees their magnificent temple and passed through its fortified walls. The place is bustling, but Jesus sees through it all, claiming the temple had b…
- Not So With You (Mark 10:35-45)
In Mark 10, James and John, approach Jesus with a bold request, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” In the ancient world, the person on the right of the king was the second in command. The person at…
- Fostering Hope (James 1:17-27)
Our community believes God cares deeply for kids who need homes. We partner with Fostering Hope to care for children in vulnerable circumstances. Their founder and director, Jonathan Reid, shared with us this Sunday. We also heard from one…
- Help My Unbelief (Mark 9:14-29)
What does it mean when we say we believe in something? The Cambridge Dictionary defines believing as “thinking that something is true, correct, or real”. We believe in things all the time, but what happens when things don’t go the way we b…
- To Become Like a Child (Mark 10:13-16)
A group of children are brought to Jesus so that he would bless them. Unfortunately, the disciples rebuked the adults who had brought them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant and he said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not…
- Second Wind (Mark 9:2-13)
Runner’s often experience something known as a runner’s high. At the exact moment you’re not sure you can keep going, you get a second wind. Even though you’re still running, your heart rate drops and your breathing stabilizes. It’s like y…
- A Shire Psalm (Psalm 91)
Psalm 91 is not a psalm about domination, conquest, control, or certainty. It is about shelter, refuge, dwelling, and connection. It assumes that danger is real and that what we as human beings need most in this world is not rugged indepen…
- Fear Not Being Alone
This year, 54% of Americans report feeling lonely. Being around people doesn’t always help. We can be in a crowded plane, classroom, or church, and still feel alone. We can be at a work party with colleagues and friends and still feel unse…
- Fear Not the Dark (John 1:5, Isaiah 9:2)
Have you ever noticed that when it's very dark, noises sound louder? Or that it’s harder to tell what’s real and what isn’t? That’s our brain trying to keep us safe by increasing our fear. And when we say things are “dark” we don’t always…
- Fear Not Change (Exodus 3:1-7, 13-14)
Human beings are highly resistant to change. Change often involves embracing an unknown future and often, we fear what we don’t know and therefore, we fear change. When we fear change it becomes hard to move on from a miserable job or end…
- Tomorrow Will Not Be The Same As Today (Luke 1:67-79)
One of the things that gets lost in the coming of Jesus is the fact that the people of God had been waiting a long time for a Messiah. We’re not talking about waiting for Christmas morning to come again… we’re talking about waiting hundred…
- Fear Not Fear (Luke 2:8-18)
Variations of “do not fear”, “do not be afraid”, and “fear not” appear more than 100 times in the pages of scripture—it’s clearly something that God wants to address, and it’s clearly one of the things we’ll struggle with most in life. We…
- Moment of Truth (Mark 8:27-37)
Mark structured the first half of his gospel so that we would arrive at this moment of truth. The disciples have seen and heard enough. They should be able to answer the question that Jesus posed to them. “Who do people say that I am?” Pet…
- Our Place in God's Story (Mark 7:24-30)
When you think about your life and the ways you move through the world, would you say that you see yourself as the main character? If so, what does that mean for how you view those around you? Are you so focused on your own chances to stan…
- Being Good (Mark 7:14-23)
It’s easier to claim to be virtuous, than be virtuous. It’s easier to talk the talk than walk the walk. And that's what Jesus was talking about in this passage—the discrepancy between what we project on the outside and what’s actually goin…
- Everybody Eats (Mark 6:32-44)
Wealthy people, poor people, kids, adults, progressives, conservatives… we all get hungry. Using their stomachs as a common denominator, Jesus was teaching them that their needs united them in solidarity with every other person. And if we…
- The Storms Within (Mark 5:1-20)
We like to suppose we control of our lives, but if you’ve ever found yourself outdoors in a storm, you realize just how small and helpless we really are—completely at the mercy of a storm so much bigger and more powerful than anything we c…
- Living by Faith (Mark 5:21-43)
Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves can get in the way of what is actually possible. We sometimes assume our problems are not big enough compared to what else is happening in the world. Or, we may believe we're not worthy or deserving…
- Pondering Parables (Mark 4:26-34)
What is a parable? Parables are stories thrown alongside real life to illustrate or explain something. It’s a story with a lesson, a creative way to make a point, a mirror to help us see ourselves more clearly. At the end of chapter 4 Jesu…
- The Kindom of God (Mark 3:20-35)
According to Jesus’ family, he was, “out of his mind”, beside himself, not seeing things clearly. The religious leaders also thought he was “out of his mind” and were threatened by ruling breaking and challenges to their authority. The two…
- Good News For Who? (Mark 2:13-3:6)
In his gospel, Mark is purposefully stringing seemingly random and unrelated stories together and in doing so, invites us into the interpretive process. He wants us to not examine these stories in isolation but in relationship to one anoth…
- Changed for Good (Mark 1:21-45)
In Mark chapter 1, Jesus is a disruptor. He’s not merely tweaking the system, he’s re-writing it, stirring the pot, unsettling the status quo. It’s clear here that Jesus has authority to restore not just one aspect of our brokenness but ev…
- Very Good News (Mark 1:1-15)
In the first chapter of Mark’s gospel, Mark declares, that Jesus is the gospel, or in every day English, the good news. The word “gospel” is that the Romans, the ones who ruled Judea in the time of Jesus, had already been using that same w…
- The Work Is Finished, Even When It Isn't (Isaiah 65:17-25)
Though the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt, Pharaoh’s economy of never-ending work, greed, and oppression had formed and patterned their relationship to work. We live in economy like that of Pharaoh’s—an economy governed by the al…
- The Work of Misión de Caridad (Proverbs 11:23-28)
Misión de Caridad was formed to break the cycle of poverty for displaced women and children on the Mexico side of the United States border by educating and empowering families to build healthy lives of purpose within self-reliant communiti…
- God’s Story of Worship (Revelation 7:9-12)
Revelation 7 gives us a glimpse of what worship could look like when we get to heaven. Here, the church isn’t plagued by debates over different worship styles and practice or what’s the “right way” to worship. The image presented is one of…
- Micah's Far Better Future (Micah 4:1-5)
It important to look forward and visualize what we hope will happen. When I was a teacher, we would set goals for our classes and students. Knowing where we wanted to be at the end of the year helped us make decisions about what to priorit…
- Come, Lord Jesus (John 3:14-16)
There is no doubt the world is a place of great need, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the extent and complexity of that need. It's hard to know where to even begin. Can do we end hunger? Can we fix unjust systems? Can we save the worl…
- Spoiler Alert (Revelation 21-22)
We’re kicking off a new summer sermon series called Spoiler Alert: God’s Story Rules. We are going to explore the end, or perhaps the culmination, of God’s story. We will talk about the ways that knowing the trajectory of God’s story infor…
- Beginnings (Acts 9:10-19)
We all tend to overestimate our abilities. For example, 93% of drivers think they’re above average drivers. But what’s that based on? How do we arrive at these conclusions? Similarly, do we overestimate our ability to know and understand h…
- The Gooey Middle
In his book Transitions, Bill Bridges notes that when we’re in the middle of change, we’re more aware of how little control we have over our circumstances. Yet in those moments when we’re the most uncertain about what will happen next, we…
- A Last Sunday
We’ve all experienced transitions. You start a new job, you move from elementary school to middle school, a relationship ends, another begins. Your daughter goes off to college. Your hair starts turning gray. Even something as simple as yo…
- The Good is Out There (Philippians 4:2-9)
We’re all more comfortable interacting with people who are like us. Often when we encounter difference, which can lead to the belief that they’re not just different—they’re wrong. And then next thing you know, the world is divided into us…
- Swords and Crosses (Philippians 3:17-4:1)
Rome valued strength because strength was power. If you have enough power, in the form of money, or physical strength, or military might—then you can make people do what you want them to do. God has infinitely more power than we do. God ha…
- Renovate Revisited (Philippians 2:12-16)
Maybe you feel like you’re alone making major decisions or struggling through transitions, changes, and challenges. And if so, you might wonder, “Where is God?” Is God on the sidelines, judging how well you’re doing or does God jump in and…
- Hope Breaks In—Easter Sunday (Matthew 28:1-10)
That morning, the women who had witnessed Jesus’ death and burial came to tomb. They came needing to grieve and express their love for him. They needed a tangible way to embody the deepest loss they’d ever experienced. This is their lament…
- Prayers that End in Question Marks (Lamentations 5)
We’ve all been in situations where we’re somewhere in the middle of our journey, trying to find the strength to keep going, but we’re so weary that we don’t know what else to do but give up. In the poetry of Lamentations 5, Israel finds it…
- Confessing the Consequences Sin (Lamentations 4)
The road to restoration and healing is long, there can come a point where we feel like we don’t have the strength to continue. The Israelites have good reason to be feeling exhausted and defeated. They’ve lost everything they once knew. Ir…
- It's Complicated (Lamentations 3)
We love it when things are simple, when there’s a straight line between cause and effect. We’re conditioned to reduce the complexity of life down to things we can understand. But reality isn’t straight-forward. Of all the chapters of Lamen…
- Bearing Witness (Lamentations 2:5-11)
We all want to be protected. We want to know that if disaster strikes, we’ll still be okay, that someone will have our back, defend us and protect us. Sometime it can work too well. When we hide behind our walls, we might come to view ever…