Gospel Hope Church

The book of Hebrews can be read in about 45 minutes. Throughout the book, the reader encounters the tension of being exhorted to persevere in faith and be encouraged that God will faithfully preserve those that are His. The focus of the Christian's faith must be Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews reminds the reader that Jesus is better. As we look at the life of Abraham and Sarah, we are reminded...

Most of us enter marriage with the hope and expectation that life with our spouse will be better than ever. But then life happens and our hopes are diminished and our expectations are deflated. It’s not that we expected every day to be a fairytale experience, we just never expected love to be so challenging and marriage to be such hard work. And why is it sometimes so painful and disappointing tha...

As we’ve been learning through the “Love One Another Series,” sacrificial love is what marks a community of faith like our church. But Ephesians 5:25-32 shows us that sacrifice “now finds a more specific application in the husband’s role in contributing to marital harmony” (Andrew Lincoln). While superheroes and cowboys in white hats might tend to think of taking a bullet as an example of laying d...

Why can’t we all just get along? Why is conflict so prevalent in most areas of our lives? Even with those we love most and would consider closest, friction can be the norm. And it feels like we are never on the exact same page for very long. The Bible gives a very simple answer: Pride. Proverbs 13:10 says, “Only by pride comes contention.” So when Paul pleads for Christian people, who are so prone...

Our society places great value on personal autonomy and freedom. Some believe that it is one of the ultimate personal values. We fight for it, defend it, and make every effort to preserve it. And while personal freedom is a great privilege, it sometimes becomes a sovereign idol commanding and governing the ambitions and motives of our hearts. Like all idols, personal autonomy is a cruel master. It...

When we come to the Lord’s Table, we participate with Christ and one another in a significant moment of personal fellowship. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” While the cup doesn’t turn to actual blood or the bread to the actual body, ther...

Today we’re taking a break from the “One Another” series and taking a brief journey into the mountain range of God’s majesty. Peter uses the term “majesty” in our morning’s text to describe both the visible glory of Jesus Christ as He was transfigured on the mountain before Peter, James, and John and also as a title for God the Father, The Majestic Glory. The majesty of God has reference to His gr...

How do we deal with pain in the church? Not misery delivered by some outside party, but self-inflicted wounds from other members of the body - like irritating habits, unintended hurts, or intentional sin against us. The natural human instincts of fight or flight are not God’s answers to internal pain. Neither is self-effort to fix other people’s tormenting behaviors. Instead God calls us to a new...

God has issued a divine summons to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. It is a summons of salvation to freedom. We’re free from the guilt of sin, free from the slavery of our flesh, free from pursuing a righteousness that comes by the Law, and free to do all the Holy Spirit leads us into. But freedom doesn’t mean that we can now do whatever we want to do. We’re never free to sin. Paul says...

Throughout history culture after culture and person after person has created gods and idols in a failing attempt to meet the variety of needs and situations people face on a daily basis. Our culture has its gods and idols too. We may think ourselves to be a little more sophisticated than civilizations that put their faith in sun and moon gods or wooden and stone idols, but we still pursue things l...

It is natural to expect that gathering together as Christians will be a positive experience: that it will be good for us, for our family, for others, and maybe even “good for God.” We’ll be better off for having attended. We especially think this way about times the church gathers together for special occasions – like celebrating communion. And yet in I Corinthians 11:17-34, God warns us that not...

In that same way that Christ has welcomed us as an act of humility and love, so we are called to welcome one another. That means that despite our strong differences of opinion, we pursue harmony with one another even while we seek to honor the Lord by the way we live the Christian life. There will be significant differences of opinion as to what honoring God looks like, but we don't have to and sh...

Some of the most challenging words I've read of late come from a book written by Andy Naselli and J.D. Crowley titled, Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ. They write: "Ponder this. The Son of God, who was not a Jew (Christ “became” one), left his complete freedom in heaven and became a good little Jewish boy, and then a good, law-keeping Jewish man. The whole time...

We are created for meaningful relationships with others. Families and communities are the visible demonstration of our natural bent toward doing life together. Sin continually drives us apart from one another. But through the work of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, God the Father is building a new community of people. The true children of God are those who believe in Jesus Christ...

Paul writes to the Church at Rome, For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:12-13). The gospel is freely offered to all. A believer's identity is not connected to an ethnic identification such as Jew or Greek. A believer's identity is no...

We're people created to love and be loved, yet we often find ourselves frustrated, disappointed and lonely. And sometimes it is the people we are closest to who create the greatest pain and frustration. When God saves us and begins the process of remaking us, an essential part of His plan is to bring us into healthy, loving relationship with other believers. In John 13:34-35 Jesus commands us to "...

When God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, He signaled that the work of salvation was accomplished. Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross forgiveness has been secured. The individual record of debt which stood against sinners has been taken out of the way. The rulers and authorities of darkness have been disarmed. And Jesus Christ has openly triumphed over them by His cross. When Go...

There is more to the name Gospel Hope Church than just a fresh start with a new sign out front and a new website online. There is actually important biblical truth behind it that is good news for the life we're all trying to live. In Colossians 1:23 Paul encourages believers to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. The hope he refers to is tied dire...

Have you ever felt like you couldn't shake those nagging feelings of guilt and failure? Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the thought of death and how the end might play out for you? These thoughts and feelings are common to the human race. And sometimes these thoughts arise from the powers of darkness. Satan is called "the accuser of the brothers" and "the one who has the power of death." Th...

Have you ever wished that you could hit the reset button of life? Sometimes life is so frustrating and messy that we wish we could call a do-over. The good news of God's word is that in Christ there is not just an opportunity for a reset of the old life, but for an altogether new life. As we are spiritually united to Jesus in His death and in His resurrection, a "new us" is born. In God's kindness...