Black Friday. It’s a day where marketers are vying for our attention. The promise of life-changing deals on everything, from clothing to new technology, bombard us from all directions. Companies are desperate for us to spend money on their products. It is out of control. In any case, the good news of Black Friday is that Christmas is not far away. As followers of Jesus, our hope is not based on getting the latest gadget or upon making Christmas “magical” for our children. Instead, our rock solid hope is in the baby that was born in a Jerusalem stable over 2,000 years ago. This Sunday marks the first of the Advent season. Advent means “coming,” and each year during this season we celebrate the first coming of Jesus, as we also anticipate his second coming. We have entitled this year’s advent series “The Light of the World” because we will be spending the weeks leading up to Christmas in the first chapter of John’s gospel, exalting “the true light, which gives light to everyone” (John 1:9). Join us on Sunday as Pastor Jared preaches on John 1:1-5, a truly majestic passage of Scripture. And on this Black Friday, take a moment to fight against the materialism of our age and read John 1. Dwell upon the One who came and dwelt among us. See you on Sunday, Pastor Eric...
When we looked at Galatians 5:16-17 we spoke about the flesh. But it is more than simply the flesh that threatens to undo us in this life. Ephesians 2:1-3 speaks of the trifecta of difficulty we face in sanctification. ...
In our sermon last week we looked at Galatians 2:20, the description of the decisive death to our old person that has happened when we believed in Jesus and where crucified with Christ. In this quote from John Stott see three ways that Scripture speaks of this union with Christ in his death and the kind of death(s) that we die....
On Sunday morning we spent some time in Psalm 119:9-40. My main goal was to begin this new school year (and re-entry into post COVID??) by helping us desire to be nourished by the Word of God. We didn't spend time on the "what does this look like practically" or "how can we try some new ways to study God's Word" because I wanted for us to desire God's word before we looked for ways to satisfy that desire. In this and the next few blog posts, I want to give a few practical tips for how you can practically infuse more Bible into your daily lives. ...
We should be set free from the view of planning and decisions that make us put the weight on ourselves that only God should bear. We will not plan for everything. Sometimes we won’t know what to do. Even in our best plans, there will be the unexpected that arise. We take comfort in a God who is in control and who works all things according to his purposes....
Join other Hope Fellowship women on October 8th & 9th in Bristol, WI as Nancy Guthrie leads ladies through the basic makeup and storyline of the Bible. She'll trace major themes that run from Genesis to Revelation and demonstrate how a better grasp of these themes can help to understand and apply the Bible rightly. Find out more information or register to join ladies from Hope for the Biblical Theology Workshop here. Early bird registration ends August 31 - current cost is only $20!...
If you have been around Hope for any length of time, you have probably heard us talk about the “functional centrality of the gospel” from the pulpit and in our mission groups. Starting the last week of August we’ll be unpacking what it means that the gospel is central and functioning as it should in our lives and church. My desire is that this short series serves to help people connect with one another as we begin our mission groups and welcome those who are new to Hope....
In Psalm 90:12, Moses lays out a long list of petitions, asking God to act. What does he request of God? I suggest that each of you read these and pick out one or two of them to focus on this week. They can serve as a starting point to recalibrate 2019 in light of who God is and who we are....
Many of my books sit on the shelf only being referenced once every year or two, as need arises. There are other books like "Jonathan Edwards on the Christian Life," by Dane Ortlund that I come back to again and again. And there is one chapter in this book that I find exceptionally helpful to me personally as I seek to grow in my faith; his chapter on "Gentleness: The Aroma of the Christian Life."...
By “reason,” I mean rational thinking and God-given common sense. Proverbs 3:5 does not say, “do not use your understanding” but rather, “don’t rest on human understanding, don’t make it your ultimate rule; don’t put all your weight upon it!” Instead, put all your trust in God who rules and over-rules all human decisions. There are always gaps in our knowledge. Even the most logical decisions necessarily have some unknown factors. So what is the proper role of reason? ...
Of all the issues that cause stress and confusion among Christians, the question of divine guidance must be near the top. How can I know God’s will for me? Are there certain steps we need to learn in order to access information from God that we would not otherwise know? How does God guide me?...
The garage door went up and out went our minivan. For the first time in nearly 8 years, I wasn’t going to church. I was scheduled to preach, but stomach issues laid me low, so home I sat (providentially with an internet outage to remove the temptation of NFL Countdown)....
Grace is enough for even the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). It is sturdy. It can withstand the most difficult suffering and trials. It is enough on our best days, when we think we earned something, and enough on our worst days, when we wonder how God could possibly love us....
This Sunday, we will have the 1-2 Thessalonians ESV Scripture Journals for sale for $3. These are a great resource for our new series “Don’t Give Up: Messages from 1 Thessalonians” which will enable you to see the text of scripture as well as take notes....
We’re always looking for peace in our lives, but can’t find it because our hearts are always shifting allegiances. None of the things we set our shifting hearts on can cancel out the noise in our lives. Psalm 131 shows us that calm and quiet souls are possible. ...
Psalm 46 shows us that God created all of us with the need to be still and know that He is God and we are not. ...
We're all busy. We need rest. Psalm 46 helps us find true rest by answering two big questions: Who is God? And what is our response? ...
Ezra and Nehemiah is the last chapter of the Old Testament narrative ...
“And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” ...
The resurrection is meant to be an immediate and constant source of joy and hope to the Christian. The empty tomb gives us meaning beyond the grave, and meaning brings hope...
If we look at Luke 23, we see Jesus, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, wrongfully accused, tried, beaten, and now hanging on a Roman cross. If anything seems unforgivable, it is that offense. And yet, we hear Jesus on the cross pray, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”...
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, "lead us not into temptation" and near the end of his life, Jesus calls them to "pray that you may not enter into temptation." This should lead believers today to ask what temptation is, and how God uses prayer to combat it....
We live in a #mefirst culture. But lest we think the disciples who spent time with Jesus were any different, we see how on the last night of Jesus’s life with them before the cross, they begin to argue among themselves who is the greatest. Jesus takes the time to show them who is truly great, and what true greatness is....
It’s not enough to be interested or intrigued by Jesus. We can’t stop at agreeing intellectually to some facts about who he is...
In Luke 12:22, Jesus is reminding us of our value to him, so much more than other things of creation. He provides for those other things, so why are we anxious about those things that we can’t ultimately control? Jesus concludes Luke 12 with the call, “Seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” What does it mean to seek his kingdom? ...
We should spend ourselves, no matter how many years we have left, waiting purposefully for Jesus return by working for his glory. Luke 9-19 points to a number of ways we can do this. Today, we will focus on how as we wait, we should be about the business of being good stewards of what he has entrusted to us....
We should spend ourselves, no matter how many years we have left, waiting purposefully for Jesus return by working for his glory. Luke 9-19 points to a number of ways we can do this. Today, we will focus on how as we wait, we should be about the business of showing mercy toward those in need. ...
Jesus has a call in Luke 19:11-27 for how we are to live as we wait for him to return: we need to be busy about kingdom work. In short, we’re not called to kill time or be distracted as we wait, but to work...
Throughout the Bible, we see that God is a missionary God...
Jesus cares about the children, because he cares about all those made in his image. But Jesus’s point isn’t to give us a verse to use for why churches should have children’s ministries...
The faith of a follower of Jesus is a dependent faith, dependent on God who does the impossible...
What do the writers of the New Testament mean when they say gospel? Why is it such a central concept that Christians need to understand today?...
What does it mean for us to be trained by the gospel? Titus 2:11-14 is a key passage to help us understand grace, gospel and training in righteousness....
Martin Luther said every Christian should have only two dates on their calendar...
What does the gospel have to teach us about unity as Christians?...
At the heart of the gospel and the Christian life is the person and work of Jesus. If Jesus is most excellent and above all and if Jesus is worthy of all the praise of the universe, then it would follow that for our thinking to be what Paul is calling for in Philippians 4:8, “If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise†then it must find it’s source in Christ. If we want to change the way we act, we must change the way we think and the way to change how we think is to understand right doctrine that is founded upon Jesus. He is the cornerstone....
Dr. Josh Moody, Sr. Pastor at College Church in Wheaton, joined us on Sunday morning, October 14. He preached from Galatians 2:11-14 "How One Long Word Can Make a Big Difference to Your Life." Dr. Moody wrote an article on justification that has been posted on Christianity Today Online. Since we have been going through our doctrinal statement as a church, and Dr. Moody will be touching on justification this Sunday, it would be a helpful article for you to check out....
Have you ever felt uncomfortable when "money" or "giving" is talked about at church? You are not alone. There are very few topics about which we are more reticent to share with other believers than the topic of how we handle our personal finances. And yet, Jesus spoke frequently on the subject. Perhaps this is because He knows how money can uniquely displace God as the foc...
Keep Reading Let's admit it: church life can be difficult at times. Why is that? Perhaps it's because living in community exposes our flaws and shortcomings. That is uncomfortable. Not to mention that at some point we will inevitably hurt others, and be hurt by others. Consequently, some of us have concluded that life is better lived with a bit of distance from other Christians. The ra...
Keep Reading When you picture a "church leader," what comes to your mind? Are you filled with gratitude and gratefulness for those who have loved you, cared for your soul, and humbly taught you the Word of God? Or do you picture someone who has hurt you, disappointed you, or someone whose behavior has disillusioned you? Regretfully, many of us identify with the latter description more ...
Keep Reading As we begin the New Year, the elders have called a prayer meeting for this Sunday evening (1/8) at 7pm at the church offices. As you contemplate whether to attend, you might be asking yourself, "Why should we pray together?" It's a valid question. Here are 10 reasons, in no particular order: We pray together because we are completely dependent on God for everything. We...
Keep Reading Somehow January 1st feels different than other days. It feels like change is more possible. It feels like there is a bit of a reset, a blank slate ahead. Now if we're honest, we know that we won't change just because the calendar does. However, in a very real way, the beginning of a new year can provide the motivation to do things we've been meaning to do. Like exercise. O...
Keep Reading It's hard to believe that Christmas is only two days away. The anticipation is building. Presents are getting wrapped, and last-minute gifts are on their way (Please get them here soon, Amazon!). Holiday traditions are in full swing. As we hurry around, readying ourselves for the big day, have you stopped for a moment to consider your motivation for all this busyness? The...
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As Christians we always have an occasion to give thanks. The apostle Paul exhorts us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to "give thanks in all circumstances." So as Christmas approaches, don't let it pass by without spending many moments giving thanks to God for sending his Son Jesus. Last week's passage in John 1 reminded us of this unfathomable truth: God became a man. Amazing. Jes...
Keep Reading Black Friday. It’s a day where marketers are vying for our attention. The promise of life-changing deals on everything, from clothing to new technology, bombard us from all directions. Companies are desperate for us to spend money on their products. It is out of control. In any case, the good news of Black Friday is that Christmas is not far away. As followers of Jesu...
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Why is it so challenging to pray, or at least to persevere in prayer? Perhaps it is because prayer feels unproductive in our efficient age. Perhaps it is because our minds are so easily distracted. Perhaps it is because we are unsure of its effectiveness- we secretly think "Is God really listening? Does He really care?" Perhaps we forget the intense spiritual battle ...
Keep Reading This Sunday, in Colossians 3:18-4:1, we come to a passage that continues to answer the question: "How do I walk in Christ throughout my daily life?" It's a section of scripture that Martin Luther called "household tables," which are commands related to how a household should function. Three sets of the typical 1st century household are addressed: wives and husbands, childr...
Keep Reading Have you ever wondered: "Why do I still struggle with some of the same sins if I am a redeemed child of God?" or "How can I defeat the ugly pattern of thoughts and actions that remain in my life?" If so, you are not alone. In this Sunday's preaching passage, Colossians 3:5-17, God continues to show us how to live the life that is ours in Christ. This involves "putting to ...
Keep Reading This Sunday we come to yet another majestic passage in Colossians. Paul begins chapter three by turning our eyes heavenward: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1). After reading this verse, questions may be flooding your mind, such as: How am I raised with Christ? What are...
Keep Reading On Sunday we will be celebrating communion together once again. You may be thinking, "why so soon- I thought we did this two weeks ago?," and you would be correct! The recent pattern at Hope has been to participate in the Lord's Supper once per month, with some exceptions. However, for a while now, even before I arrived at Hope, the elders have been considering an increase...
Keep Reading This week we will have the opportunity to participate in child dedications during the service. As an aside, we should really call these "parent dedications" since it is the parents who are dedicating themselves to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. In any case, let us reflect today upon the tremendous blessing it is to be raised in a family...
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Sunday morning marks a significant moment in the life of our church. As always, our focus will be upon worshipping the Lord Jesus through the preaching of God's Word, prayer, and song. In addition, during the service there will be a special moment where the elders will officially "install" me as your lead pastor. Here are three reasons (among many) that a pastoral installa...
Keep Reading This Sunday we will dive into Paul's letter to the Colossians - I'll be preaching on the first fourteen verses of chapter one. What an amazing text! The letter to the Colossian church was penned by Paul from a prison (Col. 4:18), likely in Rome, while he was serving time on account of the gospel. During this prison stay, Paul probably also wrote the letters to the Ephesian...
Keep Reading Last Sunday we launched the Colossians series and celebrated communion together. It was a meaningful service, and if you missed it, you can watch here. As we look ahead to this Sunday, in Colossians 1:15-23 we come to one of the most amazingly majestic passages about Jesus in all of Scripture. Remember that the believers in Colossae were being tempted to move beyond Jesus ...
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