Mission Matters: What is the mission of Open Door Fellowship of East Harlem?

If you were falsely arrested what would you say to defend yourself? When Jesus was falsely arrested he said to one of his captors, "My kingdom is not of this world." What was he talking about and what does it have to do with Easter? Why do you and I need that kind of kingdom?

Why Jesus shatters our expectations of Him and why we need that.

What offends you? Can being offended ever be a good or even necessary thing for us? Why did Jesus ask his closest friends, "Does this offend you?"

We all have something in life or someone that we think we simply can't live without. We think if we had that thing or person, we will be set for life. Jesus calls that your bread and calls himself THE Bread of Life. Why?

What's the difference between using Jesus and serving Him? Why does it matter?

Sometimes we are gifted with difficult or impossible situations that show us the end of ourselves and our need for Someone outside of ourselves.

Is it ever good news to be judged? Jesus calls himself THE Judge. How can judgement be good news even when we are the guilty ones? Can Jesus be the JUDGE and LOVE himself in person?

Do you have authority issues? So did Jesus. What were they and why you should know.

Proper Diagnosis and Proper Treatment How Chrisitanity is radically good news for jacked up people like you and me.

Jesus asks the most surprising and scandalous questions. Who does he think he is?

Have you ever had to make a major decision in your life based on whether you could trust what someone said they had done or would do? How did it turn out? Could you trust them? How did you decide? Jesus put a man with clout & power in the same position. Why?

s it possible to have eyes but not really see? Can I simply open my eyes or do they need to be opened by another? Why did Jesus tell His followers to ,"open their eyes?"

Doctors have tools to find out what's going on inside us. In john 3, Jesus, the Great Physician, speaks words to a woman that cuts to the heart. The result was not death but life, healing and freedom.

Everyone has something that we are convinced we need in order to make life worth living. What's are you chasing after? How does a conversation Jesus had with a woman in Samaria shed light on understanding this?

Isn't Christmas cute? It's baby stuff, after all? Well, not if your talking about THE Christmas. If we don't understand this, than our jesus is tame and harmless like a plastic baby in a nativity scene. That jesus doesn't inspire risk or reckless giving. He doesn't break the chains of all bondage or make our hearts worship with joy. The real Jesus, however, does.

Christmas is the truth of God's ultimate rescue plan for us. Think you've heard it before?

You can tell a lot about a person and a society by what they will wait for. Jesus is God's final answer to our deepest waiting and our deepest longing.

How the Gospel brings us Big JOY and brings us down to size.

Jesus says that all three of these show what happens when we move beyond religion and fairytales and dare to really hear from God.

Do I need a way to UNDO the way I live? Do I need to UNDO me? Jesus said we must be born again. Why? What does it mean?

Jesus was a really nice guy right? What would make him pull out a whip and flip tables? It had something to do with money.

Do you find God or does God find you? How you think about this changes everything!

How do you like to think about God? Does it matter? The Gospel of John describes Jesus as an unusual combination of both the Lion and the Lamb. How can that be? Why is it essential to understanding who Jesus is?

Jesus, "the One and Only.." John says that the way to open our lives to real joy is not just a set of techniques, teachings, etc. but a unique person. The question is not, "What's the combination?" but "Who is the combination?"

Jesus said He would Build His Church - Our One Year Anniversary

Loving our enemies, being peacemakers and a story of book burning with a motivation of a different kind.

Change the way you think and your actions follow.

Why do you crave what you crave in life? What if what you crave is destructive to yourself and others? If our hearts had tastebuds how do you change what you crave?

The Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is the remedy for our damaged hearts. How do we apply it to specific areas of our lives so that we can experience lasting change?

What's in your heart? Can you handle the truth? What are you growing in the core of your life? The Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is the "heart scan" like no other.

How will you grow? The Bible uses two vivid word pictures to describe our lives. It says we experience life like thorn bushes and fruit trees. How do we grow fruit instead of thorns?

Everyone is on a mission, no matter what you believe. Christian self-esteem is built on knowing your God given mission.

In order to understand Christian Self Esteem you need to understand what the Bible means by the word, "Righteousness." All of us, whether religious or not, spend our lives going after what that word describes. Understand it and grow a self-image that is revolutionary.

Is our biggest problem that we don't love ourselves enough? Christian self-esteem 101

Is our biggest problem that we don't love ourselves enough? Christian self-esteem 101

Can some beliefs make you sick? The Bible says that the beliefs we choose have matter and will impact our lives.

By asking questions that get to the root of our Problem, Jesus offers himself as who we really need.

Have you ever been exposed? What happens when Jesus meets a woman and tells her, "everything she ever did...,?"

Jesus crashes the home of a short, crooked, rich tax collector who was living the dream he set for himself. The Tax Collector changed and gave his dreams away. Why?

Does the life of someone with Hope in Christ look different from the life of someone with hope in someone or something else? If so, how and why?

Does real love judge? How should we view the J Word, judgement in our relationships with one another?

The early Christians built their hope on the return of Jesus. He said that upon returning He would come as Judgement. There it is the J Word, one of the most objectionable and offensive things about Christianity. What does the J Word have to do with the other J Word, Justice?

History testifies that the first Christians change the world and challenged the Roman Empire by building hope of Jesus as Lord or the one in charge. Their hope wasn't just a desire for how they wanted the world to be but was built on belief in the shocking events of Jesus, His Resurrection, Ascension and Return

Resurrection So What? Part 1 - What the first Christians believed about the Resurrection of Jesus and why it matters

Easter Series 4: The Resurrection of Jesus and the people it produces

Easter Series 3: What the questions asked by Jesus and His accusers during his false trial and arrest teach us about God and ourselves

Easter Series 2: There are two key times in the Bible where we were asked to, "Take and Eat." One lead to death and the other to life

Easter Series 1: How Jesus entered the most important city of His "career."

Thinking about Jesus in a way that does not confuse kindness with weakness

Keys to Understand the Bible Part 3: The Big Story that the entire Bible is about & how it changes us.

Keys to Understand the Bible Part 2: How should what Jesus said about the Bible change how we go about understanding it? Is the Bible enough for life in today's world? How can we trust it?

Keys to Understand the Bible Part 1: What does being in community with other believers have to do with really understanding the Bible?

The tragic events in Haiti and different circumstances in our own lives force us to ask questions like, "Where is God?" and "Why does God allow suffering to happen?" How have you or would you respond to a disastrous event in your own life?

The tragic events in Haiti and different circumstances in our own lives force us to ask questions like, "Where is God?" and "Why does God allow suffering to happen?" How have you or would you respond to a disastrous event in your own life?

The Bible tells us that how we do justice and the way we treat those who are most vulnerable and in need are one of the ways to measure how spiritual we really are.

Have you ever been asked to go on a long subway ride to meet someone or visit someplace that made you ask yourself the question, "Is this even worth the trip?" The book of Matthew tells us the story of Magi from the East traveling great distances and risking danger to get to Jesus. What's up with that? Why does Matthew tell us this story? Why is it important in understanding our or anyone else's journey to Jesus?

Have you ever brought someone or something into your life that you thought was harmless but ended up changing things? The original Christmas story is the story of the ultimate gift. The gift was good news for some people but threatening news for others. It was comforting, disruptive, outrageous, incredible, infuriating, amazing, insulting, etc. It was anything but cute. Why? How does Christmas change us?

What is thankfulness anyway? Is it just a feeling? What if you have good reasons not to feel thankful? Why does God command it over and over again? What is the relationship between thankfulness and change?

What happens when Jesus meets a widow at the funeral of her only son? How are we like the widow and how are we like her son? How does Jesus bring us from death to life?

In the Old Testament there is a story of an epic battle between two kings. The victorious king has the chance to wipe out everyone in the family of the king he defeated. What does he do? What does it have to do with Jesus. How is understanding that a key to real change in our lives?

The Story of David & Goliath like all the Old Testament points us to Jesus. He is our champion, THE GIANT KILLER who defeated our guilt, death and hell. Since He won, we win!

Jesus is more than just "nice" He is the King of both Justice & Mercy

Jesus described His mission this way. What is the good news? What kind of King is Jesus? Why is His Kingdom upside down?

The Outrageous Invitation to be tight with the God of the Universe

Live to the Full In the City Through the Door