Hope Christian Fellowship: Recent Episodes
Hope Christian Fellowship
Hope is a non-denominational Christian church that simply strives to be a genuine New Testament church
On a typical day, how many times do you see images of people and their lives that invite you to compare your life with theirs? This has always been ‘a thing’ but today’s technology world certainly magnifies the opportunity for each of us. Our culture is grounded in comparison as a way to measure our worth, our accomplishments, and our attractiveness to others. But Christians live differently. We don’t allow our self-image to be swallowed by this trap. Instead, we see ourselves and our world differently. Let’s take a walk through some of the things Paul says to the Corinthians and see what the Spirit will do in our hearts.
Those who follow Jesus actually don’t belong to this world. Jesus says exactly that in John 15. Peter says we’re citizens of heaven. Both Peter and Paul say we’ve become a part of the family of God. But we still live in this world and we have to deal with decisions, tasks, pressures, and ideas while we’re here. So in John 17:14-18 when Jesus says that He has sent us into the world, but that we are not ‘of the world’, it means that we need to understand how to live as people who think differently, believe differently, and live differently while interacting in our mission field for Jesus.
When we set out on a mission of authentically representing the God we call Father and a Savior who died for our sakes, it can feel a little like mission impossible. We look to others for leaders that we can follow, we read books to find habits that we can adopt, but the nitty-gritty of our calling as children of God often lies in introspection. Being an ambassador for Christ is not a selfish calling but it is a self-aware one, because it is only after we become aware of our weaknesses and imperfections that we can better follow an all-powerful and perfect Lord.
How do we best prepare for the road ahead? Life is so full of twists and turns, ups and downs, highs and lows, it’s hard not to allow circumstances get us off track. As we gather together, let us look together to best prepare to walk in the road where God has called us.
Light is one of the most common metaphors used of Jesus and his followers. At Stellar VBS, our students heard all about the Light of the World and were encouraged to shine Jesus’ light for all to see. What are the characteristics of light and how do we embody them? Today we’ll take a look at a few passages where Jesus talks about light and see how we can be a light in the darkness.
Our favorite week of the year is here! And we know it is going to be filled with fun and laughter as well as the power of God. As we get everything in place to welcome all kinds of kids into our VBS, we are reminded that God’s promises are sure. We know this is going to be a great week because we know that God is at work in us and through us for His Kingdom. Plus, the news we get to share about salvation is His passion. We get to join with God in His faithfulness and rest in His promises for the week ahead. We can’t wait to see what God will do.
Relationship advice is everywhere. It seems like people have opinions on what you should be doing in your friendships, your marriage, your parenting, and every other relationship in your life. Maybe you’d trust some of them more if their relationships looked healthy, but there does not seem to be a correlation between competence and the sharing of opinions. Paul talks about his relationships with the people in the church at Corinth. This is not an exhaustive discussion of Christian relationships, but it does include some pretty significant guideposts. These same ideas have life for our relationships today!
You’ve probably heard someone say that God will not give you more than you can handle. It is a well-intended statement, but ultimately it is misleading. God does indeed put us in situations that overwhelm us and cause us to despair. Paul tells the Corinthians that he and his friends experienced exactly this in Asia. And then he goes on to tell them how knowing Jesus transformed that experience from loss into gain. It is a pattern that the Corinthian church was invited to follow and that we are too! When we learn how to rely on the Lord, we find a deliverance and hope that we can hold on to.
We all like to be comfortable and try to avoid uncomfortable situations. This can be as normal and small as being socially uncomfortable for a few moments or as large as a major trial or loss that unsettles your whole life. Our minds fixate on what we think will be easy and enjoyable because we think there is too much to lose in discomfort. However, Paul opens the book of 2 Corinthians by talking about how comfort and suffering are connected for believers. Maybe you’ve never thought of it this way, so let’s take a look at Paul’s promise of God’s comfort that actually is brought through suffering.
The idea of surrender as a Christian can be offensive to people who don’t understand it. It sounds like giving up. It sounds weak and desperate. It can cause those who are willing to be brave and bold to think that there is no place for them in following Jesus. But Jesus’ surrender showed us that yielding does not need to have anything to do with powerlessness. It can come from tremendous power and strength. The call to give our lives up is not one that requires us to believe that we have no ability to do anything else. In fact, it actually asks us to choose it in spite of the fact that there are many other things we can do. Jesus’ example (and Peter’s) on the night of the betrayal brings our ‘One Night” series to a close with a look at these ideas.
Life is challenging. In fact, it is so full of challenges that many people are convinced they can never find peace or joy or even hope. Yet God's people are invited to walk by faith in the power of God. One story that illustrates this perfectly is the story of Jericho. The army of Israel is essentially asked to just go through some seemingly powerless motions. The point of God's instruction to His people here is to teach them about battles and victory. If you or someone you know is facing a giant wall that never seems to fall, this story is for you!
We live in the United States of America. But we probably don’t think about the irony of that name for the current state of the country we call home. There have always been disagreements and debates, but it seems that there are few times in our nation’s history when we have been more divided than we are now. We used to see tragedy join us together, but now even that seems to be another reason to argue and fight. Jesus doesn’t want division to be a marker of His people. As Christians, we belong to another kingdom, and Jesus’ prayer for us as well as all believers is that the Father would make us one. Living in a culture that normalizes division, it can be hard to even know where to start. Let’s take a look again at Jesus’ words about unity in Him and see if the Spirit will help us understand how to be one in Christ.
As believers, we recognize that our kids have to grow up in a world that seems so much more lost than anything we experienced. This can cause us to want to double down on protecting them and even isolating them from the world around them. While there is an appropriate level of insulation for our kids, we also have to recognize that part of our job is teaching them how to interact with their world. For the gospel to be advanced in their generation, they will have to both know Jesus and their culture. A word in Scripture that Jesus uses in this discussion is ‘sanctification.’ This concept has direct application to believers who are trying to figure out how to interact with this world and how to navigate it with our children. Let’s see what Jesus has to say in His prayer for His disciples on this topic.
On the best teams, the players are more interested in the team’s success than in their personal accomplishments. Sayings like “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’” find traction over and over again because a team that is working selflessly together is a team that maximizes their abilities and strengths. Too often, Christians in churches miss this reality. They become more invested in what people think of them individually rather than what they think of our cause or (more importantly) our Savior. Jesus prays about His followers on this last night before He dies. And one of the most amazing points that He makes is that, somehow, broken and messy people are a part of how God brings glory to His Son. Isn’t that an incredible privilege? Maybe it’s so extraordinary that it’s kind of hard to believe. But what if we stepped into the opportunity for our lives to bring glory to Jesus? Could that change the world?
How many people can you think of who suffered mistreatment in their time, but later that same event was part of why their lives had a great impact? People like Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela who suffered imprisonment were later hailed as leaders beyond compare. Their convictions and jail experiences were transformed from shame into honor. Many believers throughout history have had a similar experience. We see some of these stories in the book of Acts. What was painful and humiliating turned into something that was a source of glory. For Jesus, He opens His prayer to His Father talking about the hour that has come. And He connects this moment to the glory that comes through it. In doing so, Jesus teaches those who follow Him that our suffering and shame are not what they seem. When we are rejected and mocked for believing in and following Jesus, it only serves to bring glory to our Savior. May we be people who believe the truth deeply enough to face shame with faith.
There are many callings that God places on His children. We are called to share Jesus with others. We are called to love one another. Our job is a calling. Parenting is a calling. Marriage and singleness are callings. These may endure or may just be for a season, but while we’re in them, it is clear that God is asking us to serve His kingdom by being faithful in the place He has put us. Motherhood definitely falls under the category of a calling. It is one of the greatest privileges and one of the heaviest burdens that a woman can bear. So what does God’s Word teach us about facing our callings faithfully? We’re going to go to a calling in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah. He was a prophet that God used and continues to use in significant and powerful ways. Maybe we think his calling was simple and straightforward, but if we look at the story of it, we may find that our callings feel the same as his.
In 1988, the World Series featured two teams from California – the Dodgers and the As. Game 1 is remembered for one swing in the 9th inning that won the game so improbably that the announcer said “I don’t believe what I just saw.” Kirk Gibson who had injuries to both legs and could barely walk was summoned to pinch hit in the bottom of the 9th inning against a Hall of Fame closer named Dennis Eckersley. Somehow, Kirk Gibson hit a home run turning a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win. They say seeing is believing, but sometimes what you see is hard to believe. And most times, it is hard to believe without seeing. But Hebrews tells us that faith is exactly that. In this part of Jesus’ discussion with His disciples, Jesus talks again about peace. His disciples say they can now believe because they see. And Jesus disagrees. There is power in learning how to face trouble in this world without losing your peace. Let’s see if we can hear from Jesus on how finding that kind of peace can change the world.
How much joy is in your life? You probably have a lot of reasons to be glad and full of gratitude, but that’s not the question. To what degree does your experience match up with a promise from Jesus of joy? On this night we’re studying, Jesus says some pretty surprising things about joy. We probably make the same assumptions that the disciples did before this conversation. Joy comes when life is going well and sorrow comes when life is hard and painful. Yet on this night, Jesus takes time to tell them that following Him should be filled with joy as a norm. Even grief will be turned into joy. Is that idea still true? Does following Jesus allow us to live as people full of joy? Let’s see what Jesus says and allow Him to teach us what He was trying to teach His disciples that night.
As believers, one thing that we receive that is both mysterious and powerful is the Holy Spirit. There are many ideas about what the Spirit does in people, but on this night Jesus spends with His disciples, He actually takes some time to talk about the Spirit and His work. This group of men who were about to change the world seemed no more ready to have a historical impact than any of us. But Jesus knew that when He went back to heaven, the Spirit was coming, and that would be a game changer. Since the Spirit still comes into those who believe today, the same power to change the world is alive in us! So let’s take some time to look at what Jesus has to say about the Spirit and hopefully we’ll understand a little more about how this Spirit can work in us to change our world.
This is a morning that we celebrate together the resurrection of our Savior in power and glory. We are reminded again that nothing in this world compares to what He has done for us and what He can do for each person who believes. And in that simple truth comes a challenge. We’re not trying to get people to see us; we’re trying to show them Jesus. When some men came asking to see Jesus, Jesus had some words in response that help us understand what it takes for His disciples to point people to Him. He says if He is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. This may mean more than you think it does. Let’s take Easter morning to allow Jesus to teach us how to make Jesus known in our lives and in our world.
On this day, we celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem amidst cries of worship and honor. In that moment, it seems clear to all who watch (even Jesus’ enemies) that He can take over as King. Yet only a few days later, Jesus dies on a cross. What is the point of this episode in Jesus’ life and what did His disciples learn from it? It turned out that God’s work at that time was to open a door of invitation for all who would believe. Normally, kings rode into a city in power to conquer by force. But the church was about to be birthed through faith and grace. The King that rode into Jerusalem that day still keeps the door open for all who would believe.
We all have those seasons where it feels like the harder you try to get ahead, the more you fall behind. You try to be more careful about your money and as soon as you begin seeing some extra in your account, an emergency hits that drains you again. New Year was a time to set new goals on healthy eating, but at just the wrong moment, you have to go to a party and you wind up eating what you shouldn’t. Bumps in the road are normal and can be endured. But what really derails us is discouragement. We think that our hard work will never make a difference. Jesus talks to His disciples this night about the response they are going to get from those who call themselves “God’s people.” It is surprising to hear, but we can imagine it was hard not to be discouraged when they were living it out. Let’s see if we can learn the same lesson Jesus tried to teach them so that we can be ready to change the world.
Everyone wants to be liked, right? Disapproval and exclusion are powerful tools to pressure people to conform or fit in. Some people will do almost anything to gain the approval of others. It is such a universal reality in our world that many people get trapped in living for ‘likes’ or for the opinions of others. But we follow Jesus. And on the night He was betrayed, He had some words for His disciples on this very topic. He said that in fact they would be hated as He was hated. He gives reasons for this, and they don’t include being rude or obnoxious and then claiming that ‘we’re hated like Jesus was hated.’ Instead, the bigger point is one that offers freedom to live for the King and His Kingdom without the fear or pressure of what everyone thinks of you.
The concept of love really defies a clear and concise definition. Stories have been written and rewritten. Songs have been sung over and over. People think they have a sense of what love is because they “know it when they feel it.” But Jesus is having a discussion with us about what kind of love He’s calling us to. In this part of the conversation, Jesus invites them to bear fruit that will last. Still using the picture of a plant, He now explains more to the disciples about how we are to stay connected to the vine and what that will do for our souls. We are invited to change the world like they did by choosing great love.
How many times do we hear about the darkness of this world? Christians are presented with more and more opportunities to shine a light in the darkness, but how do we handle circumstances that are unfair or even painful? This week we will take a look at how the Apostle Paul endured being incarcerated for doing the work of the Lord.
Some people are really good with plants. Others are really bad with them. Whichever one you are, you understand the simple illustration Jesus gives His disciples about living in a way that changes the world. The spiritual reality is quite complex. It is hard to walk in what Jesus is instructing. But the picture He gives is simple, easy to understand, and gives us helpful insight so that we can know when we’re doing it right (and when we are not). If every Christian lived like Jesus talks about in these verses, we’d change the world!
Have you ever taken a minute to think about what it must be like to live in peace? Not for a minute or an hour, but as a normal mode of life – what would a life of peace feel like? Maybe it seems unrealistic because the only way we could figure out to live like that is to be superhuman (which none of us are) or to find some way to calm everything down around us. But Jesus tells His disciples that peace is a gift that He gives. Does that mean He gives it to us too? It sure seems like that’s what Jesus meant and why John wrote these words down. In this moment, Jesus is talking about a peace that they learn how to live out over time, but one that will feel far away over the next few days for them. Launching this promise right at this moment has meaning for us too. Let’s see what we can learn from Jesus’ offer of peace.
Nobody likes to need help. We’d rather be the ones giving help than receiving it. But life has a way of putting us in the position of need more often than we’d like to admit. Can needing help be more than just an inconvenient truth? Can it be part of changing the world? Jesus seemed to think so as He talks to His disciples at the Last Supper. He gives the disciples a few promises that seemed strange and scary to them, but turned out to be the exact pathway to a having a transformational effect on their world. We need the same kind of help and it is available to us. How do we live in the power we’re offered? There are a few simple choices we can make that let us step into the help Jesus wants to give us.
People have all kinds of ideas about God. Some think He is a distant old man sitting on a throne paying little attention to what happens in our world. Others imagine him to be an angry person ready to zap people who do the wrong thing. Still others pretend that He is a soft and warm guy who never gets upset and waves away any idea of right and wrong. All of these ideas (and more) existed when Jesus came to earth. On this night of the Last Supper, Jesus has something to tell His disciples about who God really is. He explains it to them in a way that seems simple, but turns out to be profound and powerful. How can we really know who God is? The answer is the same today for us as it was for them. And when we see Him, we’re ready to change the world.
Is it possible to live in such a troubled world with an untroubled heart? We hope so… we want it to be true… but most of us either don’t know how to get there or don’t believe that we can. At the Last Supper, Jesus has some very interesting words for His disciples that leads to one of the most famous statements He makes. How does Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life connect to having hearts that are at rest in the chaos of this world? Thinking about what is about to happen after this dinner, why would Jesus say this to the disciples at this moment? Perhaps John records these words for us so that we can know what Jesus invited the disciples to know and believe. One way we change the world is by living with an unshakeable hope in the ups and downs of life.
Today, almost everyone agrees that love is one of the highest values that exist in human experience. The devotion of a parent to their child, the affection of a husband for his wife, the enduring connection of a friend – these are just some of the many examples in the real world of how precious we hold love. But love did not have such an elevated status when Jesus walked the earth. In fact, as he speaks with his disciples on this night, he gives them a command that seems to be both overly simplistic and almost irrelevant. With what they are about to face in the next hours, a command to love one another seemed pointless. Yet later, when they actually understood this command and lived it out, it changed the world. What if the same power is available and at work in us today? Could God change the world through believers loving one another as Jesus loves us?
Betrayal is a wound in the soul that feels like it changes everything. You don’t know who you can trust or if you will ever be able to put your faith in someone again. All of your thoughts bend toward how you didn’t see it coming or didn’t believe what you saw. Regret can spill into those thoughts as well and start to disable you from even trusting yourself. But in this story, we are presented with a different outcome to betrayal. We know what’s coming so we can connect the dots. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus led to the events of the cross and the empty tomb. And Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him; he actually sent Judas to do it. What does this have to do with us? And how is this betrayal part of why this group went out and changed the world? Let’s think through that together.
Does this world need help? Perhaps it needs even more than that. Jesus’ world certainly did. Just before He died, He spent one last night with His disciples around a dinner table and talked to them about what He knew they needed to know. The result of that conversation eventually changed the world. When you think about it, those last words before Jesus suffered and died have more significance and impact because of when He said them and who He said them to. As we look at these chapters in the Gospel of John, let’s keep in mind that these ideas grounded men who were about to run away from Jesus so that one day they flipped the world upside down.
A New Year. This moment is regularly used to evaluate what we need to change and how we need to hold onto what is valuable while letting go of what is empty. As a church, we’re going to begin the year by observing Communion together and by asking ourselves what kind of church Jesus wants us to be. What should be our focus as Christians and as a church family for this New Year? This morning we’re going to propose that we work on being a responding church. What does that mean and how do we do it? Maybe we have been responding to the wrong stuff and missing the good stuff. Maybe we don’t understand how to know the difference. Join us as we figure out what it means to be a responding church.
If you could invite lonely and needy people to your Christmas table, would you? Of course, that’s a difficult question. We don’t know who is lonely unless they tell us (and we believe them). The same thing goes for those in need. But it’s likely that our hearts would WANT to include as many as possible if we truly believed we could help meet their needs. Christmas is good news because God’s heart is just like that. He wants to include everyone possible in His goodness and grace. Christmas tells us that story because Jesus, God’s own Son, came to be born as a baby so that He could invite as many as possible into the love of the Father. But He doesn’t force anyone to accept the offer. So, if you’ve never responded to this offer with a yes, will you? And if you have accepted this offer, will you share it with as many as you can? *Please note the children’s performance will not be live-streamed for privacy purposes, but the message will be. Tune in around 10:30 to watch.
This morning, we’ll take some time to keep talking about why Christmas is good news. Jesus’ arrival tells us that God is relational. That means He wants and seeks personal relationships with people. How does the birth of Jesus tell us that? We’re going to look at Jesus’ words at the Last Supper to see what He says about why He came and who He’s connected to. Then we’ll see that it’s also the reason behind why Jesus came – because a relationship with us meant that much to Him!
Here we are in December and it is time to celebrate Christmas! In the coming weeks, we’re going to look at why Christmas is good news for everyone. And today we start by talking about the way Christmas relates to one of the big questions of history and of our lives: Is there a God? Jesus’ arrival settled that question for all time. There is indeed a God of the Universe, all-powerful and glorious. Why is that good news for us? We’ll take a look this morning at the impact of this reality on everyone’s life.
Have you ever looked back at some pictures of yourself from years ago and wondered what you were thinking? You may even remember that you thought you really looked good. But now, with fresh eyes and a good deal of distance from that moment, you have a very different opinion of your appearance. For this last church in Revelation, Jesus tells the church at Laodicea that what they think of themselves is untrue. They think they are looking good, but Jesus actually tells them they are disgusting and to be pitied. As harsh as this message is to this church, it may have more application to the church today than any other message we’ve discussed so far.
With our state banning plastic bags, you may have found yourself in this situation over the past few months. Since we’re so used to having grocery bags to carry all of our purchases, sometimes we forget that we’re not getting them anymore. That leads to an awkward attempt to carry as many loose groceries as possible into the house, which creates another problem… opening the door! With no hands left, you have to decide what to put down so you can find your keys and get the door open. The closed door stops all progress of getting your food into the house until you find a way to get it open. Jesus uses this picture to describe a spiritual reality. He opens and closes doors for us. When God makes the way clear, we need to be ready to step into the opportunity He gives. And when He closes a door, we shouldn’t waste our time trying to pry it open. These words to the church in Philadelphia are words of encouragement and motivation. May they be the same to us today!
Today, we hear a lot of talk about being ‘Woke’. That one word has been used as either a challenge or a derogatory label for people. Depending on what you think are the best answers for our country, you can think that being called ‘woke’ is a compliment or a curse. But long before it became a code word for some social or political ideology, Jesus came with a message to the church in Sardis, telling them to ‘Wake up.’ Do we know what a sleeping church looks like? What does Jesus mean when He says this to the church and what would that look like today? We may be surprised at what how this church is described because it seems far away from what our idea of ‘sleeping’ would be. So let’s hear from Jesus for the church at Sardis and see if there are any messages we need for our lives
If you have children, have they ever continually resisted advice you give them, but then when someone else gives them that same advice, they enthusiastically embrace it? This is one of many challenges in raising kids! Parents are pretty alert to the voices who have influence in their children’s lives. That’s because they know that the choices their kids make are greatly impacted by who they listen to. For the church at Thyatira, they were listening to the wrong person. Jesus says they should know better and warns them to stop. In fact, He says that He will deal with the one leading them astray and purify His church. With so many voices trying to steer our lives today, it may be just the moment to be reminded that our true leader is Jesus and we need to check with Him so that we don’t embrace advice He would reject.
These days, it is probably hard to imagine getting lost while driving to some new location. We use technology that tells us each turn to make and when to make it. We even get to see a map with a symbol showing us where we are and how we’re moving. But before smart phones, it was pretty easy to get lost if you were on the road. Consulting a map could help, but it wasn’t always a guarantee that you knew where you were going. Spiritually, we can get lost too. The Spirit could be a continuous guide like our smart phone, but many believers drift away from His direction. And before you know it, we’ve lost our way. We’re going to look at Jesus’ message to the church at Pergamum and notice that we can fall prey to the same forces that pulled this church off the path. What do we do when we find ourselves here? Jesus has that answer too!
We’ve come a long way from the days of traveling with a map that unfolds, which has made it harder and harder to get lost. The hopeless feeling of being lost is one that is much harder to come by due to the abundance of GPS apps. By looking at a popular parable given to us by Jesus, The Prodigal Son, we will explore God’s desire to draw all people unto Himself and the response we give as a result of God’s deliverance of those we feel don’t deserve it.
When you kicked off this year, you may have made some resolutions. They probably didn’t include any aspiration to suffer. We just don’t like the hardship or pain, and we look to escape as quickly as possible. But Jesus talks to the church at Smyrna and tells them that He sees their suffering. He goes on to tell them that they will suffer more and in greater measure. But instead of apologizing for this coming persecution, the Lord talks to them about the perspective they have and need to hold onto in suffering. And then He calls them to faithfulness in it. In the end, Jesus has a purpose for what they are about to endure, and He promises that He sees them and that they will receive a reward for holding fast to faith as life gets very hard. These words will be a great challenge to us as we allow the Spirit to sort through our lives and the hardships we’re enduring.
Sometimes as you’re doing things online, you come across one of those videos where a service member who has been overseas surprises their family by coming home and showing up unexpectedly. If you’re given to emotion (and even if you are not), you can’t help but be overwhelmed with how much it means to the family to be reunited. When you love someone, you want to be near them. Plenty of people today think that God either doesn’t exist, or that, if He does, He stays far away from us. But nothing in Scripture presents God as someone who stays distant. Instead, He is close to us and holding us. As Revelation opens, Jesus has some words that still ring in the ears of the church. He holds us and speaks to us, meaning He knows what is happening in our lives, it matters to Him, and He has direction to give us for our good.
Sometimes when you’re watching a movie or a TV show, you see and actor and kind of recognize him or her, but you can’t quite remember where you’ve seen them before. In our world today, we whip out our phones and look up their name and their career so that we can connect the dots. It’s good to get an answer to the question “Who is that?” even if it’s for something as trivial as just not having to keep wondering. But the question of “Who is Jesus” is more than just a mental exercise or an answer to some trivia question. Your answer to that question is the defining decision of your life. The Apostle John knew Jesus as his friend on earth for about three years. But then John meets Jesus in heaven and is overwhelmed with who Jesus really is. Let’s pray that as we read about John’s experience that we see Jesus afresh and that this vision changes our lives too!
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be ‘in the know’ and others are left in the dark? Whether we’re talking about what’s happening at school, at our jobs, or in our family or friend group, it can be really hard to be left out of the latest news. Some of that feeling is what drives people to stay constantly connected on their phones, scared they may not know what is happening. Spiritually, being ‘in the know’ revolves around knowing what God says in His Word. As we start a journey through Jesus’ messages to the early churches, we read how John describes both getting this message and the One who gave it to him
Thanks to the ever increasing speed and reach of mass media, we have access to all sorts of opinions and beliefs. Instead of leading to us all being more open-minded and well-rounded, most of us have retreated to our echo chambers. We’ve surrounded ourselves, in real life or through our media consumption, with voices that reinforce our own opinions and beliefs. This leaves us ill-suited to handle disagreements well. Yet, the early church was full of tension and disagreements. In fact, Paul thinks that diversity of opinion is to be a feature, not a bug in the body of Christ. In polarizing times, it takes practice to live well in the midst of tension.
One of the most natural inclinations we have as humans is a desire to use what is ours for ourselves. We spend the first several years of children’s lives teaching them to share. We never have to teach them to be protective of what is theirs. We do get better at sharing, but we also get better at hiding the fact that we aren’t sharing. As adults, we can be quite possessive of that which we deem is rightfully ours – especially our attention, actions, and money. But the whole of scripture is pretty clear, everything we have that we call “ours” is actually a gift from God. And what’s more, God didn’t give it to us so we can use it on ourselves. As followers of God, we are supposed to use all of our resources for the benefit of others. Jesus is the clearest example as his life is an embodiment of the expression, “What’s Mine Is Yours.”
As Americans, we talk a lot about freedom. Certainly, we have been given more liberty than the vast majority of people who have ever lived. And in this freedom, our country has thrived. Most of us have conveniences and resources that are beyond the imagination of many living today or who have gone before. But the freedom America offers is not true freedom. It has no power to actually set us free. In fact, many Americans who have freedom are still living in bondage. In fact, true freedom comes through Jesus. It is the kind that sets your soul free. And it isn’t dependent on political or national freedom – it often thrives in slavery and poverty! The tragic truth is that many Christians who have been set free don’t actually live free. Let’s look at why that is and how we can practice living free!
When a couple gets married, they vow to one another to love one another through whatever comes. Right in the traditional vows themselves is a plain acknowledgement that life is uncertain. So the vows say that no matter what they face (sickness or health, riches or poverty, etc) the love they are promising will endure. Truly this is one of the most notable and desirable parts of love. But it is something we practice. Love holds on. But there are misunderstandings about HOW it holds on. Is an abused woman supposed to stay in a marriage with her abuser because she loves him? Are parents supposed to keep housing and feeding their child who is being wrecked by addiction? How can believers love others in an enduring way while staying healthy and alive in their souls? There are some answers in Scripture and in the example of God’s love for us!
How many times have you had something stuck in your head because a person said something hurtful to you? Maybe you played it off and acted like it didn’t bother you, but later on you can’t seem to get it out of your mind. The truth is that it is difficult to let go of wrongs done against us. In fact, the larger the offense, the more difficult it is to disentangle ourselves from both the pain and the fallout. But following Jesus invites us to a way of healing. And part of that way is to forgive. You cannot live in love and hold onto the bitterness of hurt at the same time. Jesus invites us to know some transformational truth about ourselves that helps us respond to others by letting go of what they did to us. It asks us to believe that He is better at justice than we are and that our healing lies on the other side of forgiveness.
As we kickoff our week of Vacation Bible School, we are going to continue our discussion about the practice we need in the things that Christians do. In fact, we’re going to talk about one of the ways we practice loving people in this week, and the mindset that it reflects. In a world where social anxiety and tribalism dominates our connections (or lack thereof), we believe that being a Christian includes a heart to include those who are different or strange. So this week, we intentionally work hard to invite outsiders into the family and to serve them in love. This concept is familiar, but we’re going to give it some basis from Scripture. Then we’ll turn our attention from ‘discussing’ to ‘doing’ as we launch into a week where we can apply what we’ll hear this morning!
If you’re a photographer, you know a thing or two about focus. Most of us take focus for granted since our phones automatically focus for us. But there are a few apps that let us go back to a technique where you can choose what is ‘in focus’ in the picture, and what is blurry instead. For artists, this control of focus was used to direct the viewer’s attention as desired. What was in focus naturally drew the eye of the one seeing it. In a similar way, what we choose to focus on in live will have a large impact on what we see, what we pay attention to, and how we process what happens in our lives. Love chooses what to focus on. And that’s a habit we need to develop into a healthy pattern. What are some of the right things to focus on, and what needs to move out of the picture? Paul gives us three phrases that help us know what we need to work on!
While we’re talking about practicing as believers, we should note that our culture gives us regular opportunities to practice what isn’t core to following Jesus. For example, we are constantly barraged with opportunities to envy what someone else has. Desire is seen as a good and healthy driver to decision making. So why wouldn’t a company selling something try to fan the flame of “I want that” to get us to hand over our money so we can get it? But did you know that this is something that disables and quenches love? We’re going to look today at the phrase ‘love does not envy’ and consider what we need to do so we can practice eliminating envy from our lives. Only then can we be people who reflect Jesus by loving others well.
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who always seems to need to ‘one up’ whatever you say? If you talk about some kind of struggle, they respond with how much harder they have struggled. If you relate something you’ve learned, sure enough, they have learned that long ago and mastered it. It’s really frustrating isn’t it? This is an expression of pride, and pride is a tremendous barrier in relationship. If we’re called to love others, we need to go to war with the patterns of pride in our own lives. In fact, we need to replace them with practices of humility. We’re going to take a look today at some of what the Bible says about how pride impacts our ability to love others. We’ll try to come to some ideas on how we can practice humility instead. As an added bonus, we’ll hear an update from our missionaries Josh and Kelly Hallahan on their ministry in Kentucky.
Have you ever had a conversation with a person who really likes to talk about themselves? While it is normal in conversation to talk about your own experiences and ideas, there’s something unmistakable in certain people who cross the line into self-absorbed. When you notice it, you first marvel at their ability to take any topic and turn it back to themselves. But before long, you are looking for a way out. Love isn’t about ‘me’ at all. We read about this in our description on love from 1 Corinthians 13 because it says love is not ‘self-seeking’. We have many examples in Scripture of how this principle of love plays out. We’ll take time this morning to hear from one of our missionaries, Roberta Nagel, as she gives us an update on her ministry. And we’ll explore how we can practice loving others by not making it all about ‘me’!
For the past few years, Father’s Day has been a special service at Hope. We turn the morning over to our HopeKids ministry and enjoy watching and participating in what God is doing in our children. Kids have always been a big deal to our church family, so we show up and support them, we serve them and teach them, and most of all, we love them. VBS is only a few short weeks away, and we’ll need all hands on deck. But we serve kids every single week, and we love doing it. Come out and lend your support and encouragement to our kids and our ministry leaders as they take over our service this morning.
Think for a minute about someone you love. We probably think of feelings first when we try to identify love. While love definitely includes feelings, it is much more. In fact, when we read the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, we find a very different picture of love. Love is choices, and probably not ones you ‘feel’ like making. As we continue to talk about the practice it takes to be a Christian, we’re going to shift to talking about loving people. And we’re starting with ‘love is patient’ and ‘love is kind’. Chances are you’ve thought of yourself as ‘loving’ someone with whom you were also impatient and unkind. So let’s think through what kind of practices it takes and what patience and kindness bring to our lives.
Did you ever wish you could win the lottery? Maybe you dream of all the bills you’ll pay off or all the stuff you’ll buy. In your best moments, you think about all the people you’ll help. But did you ever think that giving away what you get for free doesn’t mean as much to your soul as giving away what you earn yourself? It’s even possible that a large amount of money that suddenly appears in your life could be detrimental to your well-being. Today we’re going to look at a story from the life of David where he makes a statement that should challenge us in our service toward the Lord. Do we just give the Lord the left-overs or extras? Or do we give Him something that actually costs us personally? This idea of sacrifice is central to living out a deep love for Jesus. Today, we start looking at things we need to practice as believers, and in connection to loving God, we need to practice sacrifice.
One of the best parts of your birthday as a kid is the presents you get. A close second is the cake. No one seems to get tired of getting presents and eating cake. Underneath the rituals, a birthday celebration has deeper meaning. We gather to celebrate the blessing of life and God’s gift of another year of living. People need patterns like this as we navigate the ups and downs of our days. As our study through Numbers concludes, we’re going to take a survey of a couple of chapters near the end of the book where God gives instructions to His people on regular patterns of celebration and ritual with deeper meaning. These symbols and actions were to help Israel stay connected and faithful to their Lord. And it just could be that we need symbols and actions as well – patterns that help us remember who God is, what He’s done, and how we are connected to Him.
Have you ever thought that someone was ‘holding on too long’? Maybe it was an athlete who couldn’t recognize that their time was over, or someone who found a look they liked years ago and held onto it decades more than they should have. The reality of time for all of us is that we grow older and eventually our time on this earth is done. What should we do with that? In this story about Moses, we see the moment where he passes on his calling and position to Joshua. It wasn’t something that happened suddenly; Joshua had been around for a while as Moses’ right hand man. Things like pride and sentiment can hold us back from paving the way for others. But with a cause as great as ours, we can’t afford to drop the ball. We should live for what matters, and work so that others will pick up where we leave off.
If you grew up with siblings, you may have experienced this dynamic. In a specific situation, you made a deal together meant to sidestep the bickering and fighting that naturally happens between siblings. Whether it was who got to sit in the front seat, or who got to pick the restaurant, or even who got to play first with a favorite toy, you all agreed. And then someone decided it was unfair! This kind of reality isn’t limited to sibling debates. When a group of people or a leader try to come up with guidelines and rules meant to help everyone, it often misses someone. And the only way we find that out is to live through the setup for a little while before the flaws start showing up. The Law that Israel had been given had a hole in it, and after living with the law for a while, some women point it out. This short story in Numbers points to both the courage of these women for speaking up, and the heart of Israel’s leaders in addressing it. It’s also an example for God’s people today to faithful reflect His heart in our dealings with one another.
The idea behind Judo is to use your enemy’s strength against them. You take their energy and redirect it to their own damage. There are few things more demoralizing than fighting or working really hard, but only causing damage to yourself. As Balaam’s story comes to a close, it does so with an amazing twist. God has stopped him from speaking any kind of curse on God’s people. So Balaam gives advice behind the scenes to the Moabites. He tells them to seduce Israel so they will bring a curse on themselves. This tactic enables Balaam to bring a curse on Israel even though he was thwarted in his attempts to do it through prophecy. It illustrates the true nature of sin and how those who choose it bring their demise on themselves. As we look at this story, let’s allow God to search our hearts for how we are treating the sin in our lives and the damage it is doing.
If you are ever in the position to train someone for any reason, you’ll find yourself making promises. You tell that that if they do certain things, they will like the outcome, and if they do other things, they will not. If you are the trainer, you probably have experience with both types of outcomes and you’re trying your best to pass along a roadmap to what works and what doesn’t. The prophecies of Balaam reflect this characteristic from God as well. They tell of the good that God does to those who trust in Him and are His. And they tell of the judgment to be faced by those who reject Him in spite of His invitation to come and worship. God is not making this up as He goes; He is instead giving us instruction on the way to life and warning against the path to death. In His grace, He even gives this to those who will ultimately reject Him in rebellion. As the people of God we should take both comfort and warning. We will be held by His good hand, but when we push away what He tells us, we too will face destruction.
As we celebrate together today, we are overwhelmed with the grace of God. He has come to save us and we, by faith, have been raised spiritually to new life. For each person who has experienced this, it is the greatest gift we’ve ever been given. Before we know Jesus, we understand that life is the most precious gift we ever get. And after we put our faith in Jesus, we know that eternal life is immeasurably more. So we’re going to look at the impact of the resurrection today. What happens when we put our trust in Jesus and how does His resurrection affect our lives? To do that, we’re going to go back to a story that Jesus uses to illustrate what He was going to go through on Good Friday and Easter. And then we’ll ask the Lord to show us where we need to bring the full impact of His resurrection into our lives.
Remember that daytime game show ‘Let’s Make A Deal’? Aside from the fact that everyone comes in a costume, the premise of the show is that contestants have to ‘make a deal’. The problem is that they most often don’t know the deal they are making. They are invited to give away something of known value for something of unknown value. Only after they make a choice do they get to see what they’ve chosen (or could have chosen) instead of what they already had. Too often, people think of religion as ‘making a deal’. We probably all know that this game show reflects a lot of what it’s like to make a deal with sin or the devil. But what about when we try to make a deal with God? Let’s see what happens when Balaam and Balak try to maneuver God into a deal to curse Israel.
COMMUNION Fictional stories of spies can be truly exciting. An agent pretends to be the target’s friend and gets close to them, but all of their words and actions are just a disguise because their true intention is to bring harm to the one they are getting close to. The story often revolves around the tension of whether the spy will be successful and avert whatever danger is trying to be avoided. Or if somehow, the spy will be found out and his true motivation will be uncovered. These are fun tales to read, but we would probably not want to live them. So why then do we try to play spiritual games with God? People try to ‘be a good person’, but they’re actually just covering up the stuff they know is wrong by trying to balance it out with good. Or Christians try to focus on the stuff they think they do well and overlook the places where they are living in disobedience to the Lord. Do we think we can fool God? Balaam didn’t, and neither can we.
Have you ever felt like someone wanted to use you? For whatever reason, you got the sense that they wanted what you could do for them, but weren’t interested in you or your well-being at all. Maybe you didn’t notice it at first, or you stayed oblivious until after they got what they wanted and were on their way. But it always hurts. Along those lines, we’re going to see a story today begin with some powerful people deciding they want to get God’s power to work for them. But they don’t want God. So they try to hire a prophet to ‘force’ God to use His power for their benefit. We’ll see this as the start of Balaam’s story. There are some important elements included in this part of the story that give us hints as what we studied last week. But our focus for this morning is noticing how people (including us!) often go to get God’s power with no interest in getting Him.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be taking an abbreviated look at a famous story in the history of Israel: the story of Balaam. If you haven’t heard of Balaam, you might recognize one of the most shocking parts of this story. Balaam’s donkey actually talks to him. We’ll see why God used this almost unbelievable method of communicating with a prophet. And we’ll take a journey through this story to see what God did and what Balaam wanted to do. If we just started with the narrative in Numbers, we might be confused (until we got to the end) about who Balaam was and why this story is included. So we’re going to take our first week and look at all of the other places in Scripture that refer to this story and what they tell us about the big picture. This is not only a way we can understand this story, but it is also a way that we work through to a better understanding of Scripture. Balaam presented himself as a ‘good guy’ but was in fact driven by money and power. God sees and holds back Balaam from cursing His people, but in the end, Balaam finds a way to bring devastation to Israel anyway.
Learning a new skill can be frustrating. You don’t seem to quite have the feel for whatever it is you are trying to do. There are so many things you naturally and easily do better, so it can be quite tempting to discard the new endeavor in favor of something more likely to bring a sense of full success and accomplishment. But there is value to the struggle. Eventually, you start to figure out how to do whatever it is you are trying to learn. With practice and repetition, it starts to feel more natural. And before you know it, you are over the hump and enjoying your new skill. With the Lord, this process is reflected in how we learn to move away from what we naturally do that is wrong. In the beginning, we can’t seem to stop or to find any other way to approach the matter. But it is vital that we let God teach us and that we patiently learn so that God’s power can be poured out on our lives in the way His heart desires for us.
I keep hearing the phrase “we are living through unprecedented times” more and more throughout the last couple of years. The 24 hour news cycle continues to bombard us with story after story outlining present and future danger. Now more than ever, it’s good to be reminded of the sovereignty of God. Through taking a look at the life of Joseph, let’s look how God walks with us through being on the wrong side of a turbulent word, people’s intent to do harm, and the fallout of both.
This Sunday Pastor Dan and our teens will explore this tough question and give a roadmap to finding an answer that is life giving and fulfilling, whether you’re a teen asking it for the first time, or an adult who has grown unsatisfied with their answer.
Do you have any struggles in your life that just keep showing up again and again? Maybe you’ve tried to overcome some kind of habit or pattern because you know you’re making a mess, but you just can’t seem to break free. Israel had a national pattern of complaining. Their impatience drove them to once again speak and act like God had not been good (or good enough) to them. This time, God supernaturally brings a deadly danger to them in response to their continued grumbling. But the story doesn’t end there. We see once again the God of grace moved to compassion for people who deserved to face the fruits of their sin. Instead, God provides salvation through an equally miraculous means. And it is a story that Jesus tells when He’s explaining His mission to Nicodemus in John 3. So let’s look at this brief story that tells us so much about our own problems, God’s judgment, and His great grace.
Sometimes life is just plain hard. For God’s people, this can be just a reflection of the brokenness of this world and the fallen nature of humanity. But there are times when God brings struggle to believers for a purpose. That purpose is always good, even when the experience is awful. For Israel, God brings a roadblock and a loss into their story for His work in them. As a newly formed nation under God, they need to learn some things about the God they worship and the way they should relate to Him. A seemingly unnecessary obstacle shows up and asks us why God would allow it. Then a major loss comes and God seems to use it to remind them of something and to ask them to learn how to grieve and to look forward. In these stories, we’re still learning what it means to be God’s people!
The instinct among people to look like they know what they are doing and have it all together is powerful and drives so much of how people interact. When you’re in charge or think a lot of people are looking at you, it can really make you want to seem full of power and confidence. But whether we’re talking about parenting or teaching or being the boss, in any leadership role for a believer, we have to interact under the authority of our great God. Moses faces complaints from Israel again. But this time, he steps out of what God instructs into what makes him feel powerful and effective at confrontation. Unfortunately, this brings real and hard consequences to Moses. Why did God not just forgive him and move on? Why the need for such a confrontation with His appointed leader of Israel? The answer to those questions and more are our topic for today!
Does it feel like you can never figure out what God wants you to do? Many times, it seems like God is playing hide and seek with us as we search for His will. But is that actually the truth? We’ll see in this story from Israel that God desires to make His direction for us clear and memorable. And He is the One responsible for making it so. Our problem is not so much that God doesn’t show us as it is that we don’t want to listen or respond. After the events surrounding Korah’s rebellion, God takes a moment to do something that lives on long after this moment. His symbols are powerful reminders that God wants us to know and remember His instruction. We are invited to follow by faith!
Some stories in the Old Testament can feel like they are showing us a God of anger and violence. Certainly, the Living God is not someone who cannot be reduced to something less than who He is, and part of His existence is righteous justice. When we read stories like the one we’ll read this morning, we can get stuck on how high the price is for sin. But today, we’re also going to see that most stories like this also include an element of God’s patience and grace. If you’ve ever felt like you were living in the fallout of your sin, the end of this story is a reminder that our Lord is full of grace and ready to rescue you beyond what seems possible.
Have you ever noticed someone’s accent? Isn’t it interesting how our patterns of speech are distinctly affected by where we live? Even if you move away from your hometown, you still hold onto some of that accent. But you also start picking up some of the way your new hometown talks as well! We are more influenced than we realize by the people around us. If you work with negative people all day long, chances are you feel the pull toward what is negative. In so many ways, we need to be aware of the impact people are having on our lives. And in the case of spiritual influence, we want to choose wisely in the influences that guide our journey. In this part of Israel’s story, people who want to be spiritual leaders have pointed others in an ungodly direction. Now we see clearly the fallout for these men and those who choose to stay close to them. The warning to move away is an evidence of God’s grace and goodness in giving them (and us) a chance to move away from people who are pulling us in the wrong direction.
Restarting Numbers – Facing Dysfunction The story we’ve seen so far led Israel to a rebellion that stopped the Lord from taking them into the Promised Land immediately. If you thought that this would be enough for Israel to learn to trust God and stop turning away from His instructions, you’d be wrong. As we continue looking at the stories of Numbers, we’ll see that Israel’s years of slavery stay with them and the ugly comes out again and again. But it never stops God from treating them as His people and eventually receiving His promise of a land to call home.
Korah’s Rebellion: Why Should We Follow You? (Numbers 16:1-19) Some people are born leaders, others just think they are. You probably know someone who thinks everyone should follow their advice. They seem to know what you should do in every situation, even if their advice seems out of touch. A natural response to those who imagine themselves as leaders is to think, “Why would I follow you?” This is what some of the Levites said to Moses as he leads them in the aftermath of Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land. They even blame Moses for the fact that they are still in the wilderness. We’ll see that one sign of dysfunction is that we are unwilling to follow leaders God places in our lives. And we’ll see how Moses responded to the challenge these men bring against his leadership.
Whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in between you may be all “peopled” out after the holidays. Dialing back the social calendar can offer some respite, but it is never a long term solution. In fact, we need each other. Our need for community and God’s plan to bring us all together are themes that run all the way from Genesis to Revelation. This morning we’ll track that theme and camp out on a few specific ideas that will help us utilize the community God has given us in Hope Christian Fellowship. You’ll also be challenged to step into the role God has for you in this community.
Most of our morning this day will be filled with music from our choir. We are going to have ‘Bonus Christmas’ because the whole Christmas thing probably ends a day too soon. And then we’ll take a few minutes at the end and look at a part of the story of Jesus’ childhood that’s hard to read. There are refugees running from death in fear. But in all of it, we see the reality that Joseph follows the Lord’s instructions and waits to be safe. But this safety isn’t probably as ultimate as we would think. And that’s why the Christmas story has lasted for thousands of years and is still changing lives today!
Christmas is THIS WEEK! Part of what makes it so meaningful is the wonder that surrounds it. We are often so jaded that we miss the moments that can gather our attention toward the profound and what moves us deeply. This morning we’ll enjoy our elementary kids program and then we’ll look at a part of the first Christmas story that reflects both the wonder and worship of Jesus’ birth. As we wait for Christmas, we can feel the anticipation of the look on a loved one’s face when they see the surprise we have prepared for them. We can be filled with eagerness for a candlelit Christmas Eve service and the notes of a well-loved Christmas Carol filling the room. But the root of all this wonder is a baby born that stirred both wonder and worship in some foreigners who traveled far to meet the newborn King. Let’s see their story again and remind ourselves why we worship!
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to meet God face to face? We probably have ideas of how we’d feel depending on what we think He’s like. For those who are Christians, we should be looking forward to that moment with excitement and confident hope! But for anyone unsure of what that encounter will bring, it could be a very fearful thought. Throughout the centuries before Jesus’ birth, God’s people were waiting for this very moment. They had been told that God Himself would come to them, and that was their hope. We’re going to talk today about WHY it was so full of hope for them, and how different that was (and still is) from any other concept of deity that existed in their time. And we’ll be invited to celebrate the wonderful news that God has come!
We are all waiting for Christmas. Some parts of that are really enjoyable: we get to see Christmas lights night after night and listen to music that fills us with wonder. But other parts are not so great. We feel the pressure to shop for the perfect gifts, while our schedules seem to overload more than ever. For many, we’re trying to figure out how to manage all of our social and family desires and obligations around Christmas. Waiting isn’t always fun. And that’s true far beyond Christmas. Today we’re going to look at a moment in this story when we can see how real the story of Mary and Joseph is in the waiting. And we’ll see what the Christmas story tells us about waiting as the children of God. There’s a lot more hope in waiting than we usually experience so let’s see what the Lord has to show us!
As we kick off Christmas season, it brings into focus the family we do (or don’t) have in our lives. We’d all like to have the type of family that is full of fun and life and brings joy to our hearts – especially at Christmas. But many of us don’t have that. Instead, our family contributes to the mess in our lives. If any part of your family life is difficult, you may find it interesting how Matthew begins his telling of the story of Jesus’ life. Let’s take a look at this introduction and notice what he includes and what we can learn from it about the story of Jesus and of Christmas.