Blessed Hope Chapel Treasure Valley Idaho Sermon Podcast

The word preeminent can be defined as surpassing all others, having paramount rank, dignity, or importance. Synonyms for preeminent include: sovereign, supreme, highest, greatest, and foremost. The Apostle Paul destroys the false teachings pervading the Colossian church by unwrapping the glory and beauty found in the preeminent Christ. Jesus, in Colossians 1:13-15 is presented as the Son and belov...

Gnosticism pervaded the early Christian church. Gnostics claimed a special wisdom and knowledge that superseded that of the Christians. The early church father Irenaeus said of the Gnostics, “They say they are not only wiser than the elders but also the apostles.” (A.H. III:2:2). Paul wastes no time refuting their heresies by hammering out the truths of who Christ is, what He’s accomplished, and w...

2 Corinthians 4:4 states,”…the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Satan is doing all he can to keep unbelievers from coming to Christ, but his work doesn’t stop there. He tempts Christians, distracts them, and uses any means possible to draw their minds astray from pure devoti...

Jesus told his disciples in the gospel of John that they knew the Holy Spirit though the world could not accept Him. On the day of Pentecost, they were filled mightily with the Holy Spirit and brought in a harvest of three thousand souls. These new believers were filled with the Holy Spirit as life, blessing, and peace marked the early church. However, taking a look at the Corinthian church, the H...

Fatherlessness is a plague that is crushing our nation. Many fathers have checked out, and the reverberating consequences are catastrophic. 63% of teen suicides, 71% of high school dropouts, 85% of youths in prison, and 90% of homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes. Fatherlessness is a huge problem. Fatherless hearts void of the Heavenly Father is a greater problem. Jesus said in...

If anyone knew what it was like to fall it was Peter. He was self-confident, testifying to Jesus that he was ready to go to prison and to die with Him. It was but shortly after that when Peter denied even knowing the Lord. Jesus forgave Peter, restored Peter, and commissioned him to be a pillar of the early church. Peter gave us two New Testament letters and closes them out with the strong admonit...

The church in Corinth was a mess. They were divided, sin was running rampant, and the very apostle who led them to the Lord they were now treating with contempt. The Apostle Paul continued to minister to them in love but told them he was afraid for them. He was terrified of the condition they were in, and concerned that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness their minds were being led astra...

On September 29, 2006 Navy Seal Michael Monsoor was on a rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq with several other Navy Seals when an enemy grenade hit him in the chest and fell to the deck. Monsoor, the only one on the rooftop near an exit, chose to throw himself on the grenade and take the blast to protect his fellow soldiers. He died thirty minutes later and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for cou...

Sometimes in life, the bad news can seem to cloud out the good news. The pain of hearing the passing of a friend can cause us to forget the joys they are experiencing in the presence of God. God gives us many reasons in Scripture why we can look forward to the joys of heaven. The new glorious body, the great rewards, and being with Jesus are some motivations Scripture gives us to look forward to t...

God gives all his children thorns in the flesh to keep us humble and dependent on Him. Sometimes He takes them away and other times, like in the life of the Apostle Paul He allows them to remain. Hanna had two thorns. God closed her womb, and Elkanah’s other wife provoked her relentlessly to the point of tears. Yet, Hanna persistently sought the Lord and made her requests known to Him. The result...

King David rose to the top of all of Israel. Everything in his life was going well. He had favor with God, the people loved him, and everything he did seemed to prosper. What could possibly go wrong? 1 Corinthians 10:12 states, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” David let his guard down, decided to stay home from the battle he should have been at, and the rest is history. Psalm...

Some Psalms begin with a question, others begin with a statement, and some begin with a plea and petition to God for help. In Psalm 16 David begins with a plea to the only one who can save him, protect him, and guard him from the enemies of life. David quickly moves from pleading to praising as He meditates on God and His goodness. He prophesies of the resurrection of Christ and looks forward to b...

In the Psalms, we find great men of God who had real struggles with doubt, despair, and broken-heartedness yet they found answers in the presence of God. A prime example is Asaph in Psalm 73. A man who admits he almost fell when disillusioned by the success of the wicked, yet he returns to the sanctuary of God where God gives him the much-needed answers he’s looking for.

In a day and age when people are making Jesus to be whoever they want Him to be, the Bible gives us a vivid description of who the glorified Jesus is. He’s the King of kings and Lord of lords, with eyes like a flame of fire, and a voice like the sound of many waters, He rules over the kings of the earth, and He’s coming back again to pour out His wrath on His enemies and bring relief and comfort t...

1 Corinthians 15:17 states, “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” According to Scripture if there was no resurrection then there’s no Christianity and our faith is worthless. The Apostle Paul showed the absurdity of saying Jesus did not rise from the dead. Jesus appeared to the Apostles, He appeared to His brothers, appeared to more than five-hundre...

It was Cicero who once said, “It is a crime to put a Roman citizen in chains, it is an enormity to flog one, sheer murder to slay one: what, then, shall I say of crucifixion? It is impossible to find the word for such an abomination.” It was through this horrific means (the crucifixion of the Son of God) that God used to bring forgiveness for sins to the world. Like a beautiful diamond being turne...

After the last supper with the disciples Jesus made His way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Scripture tells us He was in agony to the point of death. Jesus did what we all should do when tested—He prayed. He cried out to His Father with these crucial four words: Your will be done. Jesus lived for the will of the Father and modeled for us what should be the foundation of every prayer we pray—Your will...

It’s one of the most popular verses in the Bible. It’s seen on billboards, held up at football games, and sums up the Christian message in one verse. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Eye-opening typology throughout the Old Testament sheds light on the verse and its context and reveals the am...

In a world where we are bombarded on a daily basis with temptations from the world, the flesh, and the devil we are in desperate need of self-control. Scripture testifies that God’s divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to subdue the flesh, have victory in our lives, and bear fruit that is pleasing to Him. The more we yi...

Studies show that people complain as much as fifteen to thirty times a day. As Christians God calls us to do all things without grumbling or complaining. Tests come our way every day in different forms, the question is will we choose to worship God and give thanks or succumb to grumbling and complaining. Two Old Testament examples (Job and the Israelites) show us how to and how not to respond to t...

The Greek word for faithfulness (pistis) used in Galatians 5:22 is translated 238 times in the New Testament as “faith”. When we as Christians are walking in the Spirit and crucifying the fleshy desires that come our way, our faith in the Lord will grow stronger and stronger. Two main fleshly desires that rage against believers souls that must be squashed if we want to bear the fruit of faithfulne...

In Galatians Ch.5 the Apostle Paul lays out two lists—the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. The goal of the Christian should be to bear much fruit for the Lord, and this only happens when we walk by the Spirit and crucify the flesh. Bearing the fruit of goodness shows forth in our lives when we pursue purity instead of immorality, peace instead of division, sober-mindedness instead o...

The Christian life in Scripture is described as a race, a fight, an athletic contest, a wrestling match all of which require endurance, stamina, self-control, determination, and strength. When trials come our way, they bring weakness along with them. The question is what do we do with that weakness? If we cling to the Lord, in Him we’ll find strength in weakness (Hebrews 11:34) and the Lord will g...

David was a man after God's own heart. Scripture testifies he was a skillful musician, a valiant mighty man, a warrior, skillful in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD was with him. Yet, after becoming King of Israel he drifted from the Lord and had a massive fall. Though he deserved death, God showed him mercy. Psalm 103 gives a beautiful account of the great mercy of God, written by a man w...

As we begin the new year it’s a time to reassess and prioritize the things in life that matter most. The book of Nehemiah gives us an example of a man of God who made it his ambition to fear the Lord above all else. His life is a testament to what God can do through us when we cry out to Him, tremble before Him, and give Him the honor He deserves.