Hope Christian Fellowship

The holiday season is a special time of reflection for Christians. Leading up to Thanksgiving we set aside time to meditate on the things we are grateful for and give thanks to God, and then as Christmas rolls around we contemplate the greatest gift God has ever given in the birth of Jesus. Yet every one of us has experienced dark times when it feels difficult to see what good things God has for u...

Do you have any reason to worry? Of course you do! Human beings are not able to control the world around us, nor are we able to direct everything in our own lives. There are dangers aplenty – many of which we do not see. So we have no choice but to worry and fear, right? Wrong! As believers, we live with a different view of security and life itself. There are many passages in Scripture that teach...

Our kids are such a huge part of our church.  And when Christmas rolls around, one of our greatest blessings is the annual kids Christmas program.  This Sunday we get to enjoy this holiday tradition.  It reminds us of how blessed we are as a church and as families to have these amazing kids.  Plus, it brings joy that is beyond description to have them as a part of our Christmas celebration.  We we...

"Don’t get mad…. Get even.” It’s such a simple saying that gives focus and direction when you’ve been hurt. The betrayal or pain makes you feel powerless, and the thought of revenge reverses that. Instead, your pain makes you strong. That all makes sense in human terms and it is the way many of us want life to work.  But for those who follow Jesus, there is a very different way. We are called...

The world we live in has firmly adopted the idea that each of us get to decide fundamental truths about our lives. This has been seen most prominently in the discussions of gender and sexual orientation. It is understandable that people who do not worship the Lord will chase whatever they define as a path to happiness and satisfaction. But how do Christians face these issues? Again, we are in this...

Do you know someone who has control issues? It is human nature to want to shape our lives according to our desires. But as we fight for what we want or need, are we following the example of the lost world around us? We’re going to look at how Christians fight differently in the battles we face. First and foremost, we have to learn what it means to let the Lord fight our battles. From the story of...

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 d...

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...

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 calli...

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.

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...

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 fro...

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...

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 a...

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 instructio...

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 a...

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....

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 th...

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 sim...

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...

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 Ecke...

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...

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 Jes...

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 s...