A Sure Hope

To know real truth about Jesus and to experience full joy in knowing Him, spend time in God’s Word. Know Him intimately. Do what His Word says. Pastor Dave is going to show you today that John pointed out this simple truth over and over because it’s such an important truth. Living for God brings great joy.

There’s no greater joy than knowing Jesus intimately. God’s Word is the only source of complete truth about Him, and Pastor Dave wants you to know how important it is today to spend time in It daily. John knew the importance of it, too, and it’s a message you’ll hear repeated again and again in the book of 1 John.

Can you think of a time when you were extremely happy? How long did that happiness last? In today’s message Pastor Dave shares about something that doesn’t come and go as happiness can. One of many blessings you receive when you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Have you ever heard of Ripley’s Believe It or Not? It was a book that told amazing true stories of people that were honestly hard to believe. In today’s message Pastor Dave shares that many in the early church began to have doubts about Jesus and the reality of His existence. Do YOU believe it or not?

What questions about the Christian faith have you had or do you have? One of them may be about salvation and how do you KNOW you are saved? In today’s message Pastor Dave shares about how John tells you how you can know FOR SURE that you are saved. As well as other encouraging words.

Think about the person you have the best relationship with. What makes that such a great relationship? In today’s message Pastor Dave shares about a relationship, you can have that is better than any relationship you can have on earth. A relationship that Jesus shared with John and he wants to share with you.

Have you ever been to court? Did you think the judge was fair regardless of how he ruled? Well, in today's message Pastor Dave shares about how God rules justly in the area of sin. You must realize that God is always on the thrown and will show grace to you when you turn to Him and away from sin.

Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. You’ve heard that many times. Well in today's message, Pastor Dave shares that when we compromise on inches our decisions can become miles. And those miles are leading us miles away from God and his plans - and into a big mess if we are not careful.

We all know that if we hang out with certain people, trouble is not far behind. For us and them. In today’s message, Pastor Dave shares about how you as a Christian can be influenced and your faith compromised when you connect too closely with unbelievers. That can lead you to a distant relationship with God.

You have probably heard that “God is a God of order”. But why? Why is He a God of order? In today’s message, Pastor Dave will help answer that question. He’ll share with you how things don’t turn out so well when you go against God’s order of things that are detailed in the Bible - and actually can go very bad.

There are going to be times in your life when you’ll go through terribly difficult seasons. Today, Pastor Dave wants you to remember that in these dark valleys, God is with you! He’s still working and if you trust Him, you’ll see Him glorified and His plan accomplished. When you’re in that darkness, look to the Lord!

Do you ever feel like your sin is just too terrible for God to love you or use you in this world? Well, today, Pastor Dave wants to encourage you to remember God will never give up on you! He’ll pursue you and forgive you of any sin the moment you turn to Him in faith! And He’ll work through you to do amazing things in this world!

In your work for God, in your life as a believer, you will fail and falter as you serve Him. But, as Pastor Dave teaches today God hasn’t left you in your failure. He, in loving and patient kindness, will restore you. He will continue to use you if you humbly acknowledge your failure and return to Him. He longs to use you in the world!

You will face difficult times in your life. Times of trials and testing will bring fear. When these times come, what will you do? Today, Pastor Dave warns against running away from the Lord and feeling sorry for yourself. Instead, stay close to God, trust Him, and hold onto your belief. Remember He is good and in control!

Elijah, full of obedience and faith, went where God directed, spoke what God dictated, and was a part of some incredible miracles. Yet, after a great victory, Elijah fled in fear the moment adversity hit. Today, Pastor Dave will challenge you to stand firm in the Lord. Trust Him and remain confident that He’ll continue to work.

The Israelites witnessed a great miracle on Mt. Carmel and saw God do the impossible. Yet, it didn’t change their heart or cause them to believe in Him. Today Pastor Dave will challenge you to examine yourself and see if you do not just know God, but believe and trust Him. You may think that knowing about God is good enough. He wants more!

So often today, society will waver in their opinion of God. Someone may cry out to God if desperate but completely forget Him the next moment. Today, Pastor Dave challenges you to examine if you are double-minded. Don’t waver! If you believe in Christ, then follow Him! Give Him your life fully.

Nations, neighborhoods, or even homes without God can be very dark and difficult places. But those broken places are the very places that need the good news of God. Pastor Dave will teach today that God may send believers into these dark places, in order to shine His light on these needy people. The Lord will use you where you are!

There’s a false belief today amongst believers that they should only serve in areas of strength and they should be able to accomplish all things set before them. Well today, Pastor Dave will instead challenge you to faithfully follow Jesus, and rely on HIS strength and equipping to do that task. God will do miracles, even through your weakness.

You’ll face circumstances in your life that will tempt you to fear and doubt God. But God doesn’t want you to live in fear! Today, Pastor Dave will encourage you to seek to live by faith. Believe that God is able, that He’s working, and that He is good! Don’t allow fear to overpower you. Trust in God! And watch Him work.

The nation of Israel was dark and evil – King Ahab had led them away from God and God stopped blessing them. Elijah on the other hand was faithful and obedient to God. And, as Pastor Dave teaches today, God blessed his obedience. He provided everything that Elijah needed. Follow and obey God and He’ll bless you for that.

Many believers will proclaim that they want to be used mightily by God in this world. But, all too often, those same people don’t live a life that God would use for His good. Today, Pastor Dave will explain how you must be willing to follow God obediently in order to be used by Him. He’s faithful to use you as you walk faithfully where He leads!

Believers in God can sometimes feel alone and isolated in a culture of darkness. When you see the world as it is, you may feel like God has lost control. Well, today, Pastor Dave teaches that when society is falling into sin, God will send people in who will teach and convict of the Lord’s will. God will never let His people fall away.

It’s becoming more and more common today to see sin accepted and tolerated in our culture. In fact, sin is even being celebrated. Today, Pastor Dave will explain how the sin rampant in a nation can and will tear the nation apart. It happened to God’s nation of Israel. And it can happen here! Don’t tolerate sin. Speak out against it!

Many people, when they commit sin, have the viewpoint that it’s not harming anyone. They may even include others and think it’s no big deal. Yet, as Pastor Dave points out today when your sins cause someone else to sin, you’re going to be held to a harsher judgment. Don’t lead others to sin. God will judge you for that!