Hope Wisco Podcast

The people Jesus loved were messy. The way that Jesus loved people seemed inconsistent, unfair, and confusing. On the one hand, he could teach that God’s righteous moral standards for our lives are even higher than we imagined they were. On the other hand, he ate with the tax collectors and talked with the adulterers. As his church today, we still struggle to understand his extraordinary love – bu...

Everyone in our generation has associations with the word “church”. The problem is that our associations bear little resemblance to what Jesus designed and launched in the first century. He didn’t design an institution that exists to perpetuate itself. He created an assembly of people who are part of a movement that exists to declare God’s praises and is characterized by love.

Hopefully, you’ve learned quite a bit from your future self in this series. But your future self has one problem. It’s still you. The same you that has created all of the problems in your life up till now. The good news is that there’s someone else who is ready to offer advice. He’s not just from the future, he’s the beginning and the end. We’ll wrap up the series by considering our question from...

Many times, instead of eliminating the obstacles that keep us from moving forward in life, we try to compensate for them and keep going. We end up dragging our baggage and sin from one stage of life to the next. But God wants us to get rid of everything that hinders us and slows us down from becoming the future person that he has in mind. Don’t compensate for what you must eliminate. In light of y...

One of the things that makes it so hard to listen to the future you is that the past you is speaking too loudly. Maybe the past you is condemning you with accusations of failure, guilt, or shame. The Apostle Paul was no stranger to this reality. In fact, his past self was even worse than your past self. But he learned how to tune out to his past self and listen to his future self, the future self...

If you could go back in time five or ten years to deliver your past self a message, you know exactly what you would say. Change this habit; Prioritize that goal; Pay attention to your cholesterol; Dump him; etc. You could save your past self so much worry, heartache, and money if you could share some of your current wisdom with your younger self. But what wisdom would help your present reality? Wh...

Jesus identified a very specific reason for the season. It was a search and rescue mission. Not only have we been rescued by Jesus, but we’ve been recruited to join in the mission. Who are you inviting to Christmas in Lake Country?  

The reasons for Christmas isn’t just about Joy to the World and Peace on Earth. One of the reasons for Christmas is destruction. Jesus came to destroy the work of evil in our world and our lives. 

The reason for Christmas begins with us. We were dead in our sins. We didn’t just need some advice or some teaching. We needed resurrection. Jesus was born to give us a second birth.  

In today’s episode of Beyond Grateful, we’re taking a deep dive into Psalm 103, exploring it verse by verse to discover its powerful message about gratitude and praise. Whether you’re a long-time Bible reader or simply curious, this is an invitation to experience gratitude in a fresh and meaningful way. Together, we’ll uncover how gratitude can bring hope, perspective, and joy to your everyday lif...

The appropriate response to help is to express gratitude. In fact, failing to express gratitude create an inequity in a relationship that can undermine the integrity of a friendship or family dynamics. This dynamic is also true in our relationship with God. In the story of the Ten Lepers, we see how expressing thanks to God is critical for a healthy faith in God.  

This is our third biggest weekend of the year! We are going to raise as much money as we can to support our partner's charities in Southeastern, WI. Why? Because on our own we can’t do much, but together we can make a difference and give hope to those in need right here in our own community. There’s a common habit that is destroying American families and communities. They’re being destroyed throug...

There’s a common habit that is destroying American families and communities. They’re being destroyed through words of gossip and slander. This Sunday we will see why God reserves the harshest judgement for gossips and slanderers. More importantly, we will unmask the self-deceptions that cause us to justify gossip and replace them with words that build community.  

“Don’t judge me” is a popular phrase. Yet people continually pass judgment on one another. We judge people for their politics, their competence, their appearance, their maturity, and – well, pretty much anything. This judgmental attitude is dividing people. Jesus had something to say about this. He didn’t tell us not to judge others. He told us that you will be judged by the same standard that you...

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It's cute, but it’s not true. Words have power - power to build - power to destroy. Words shape reality. The words spoken to you have shaped you in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Words weigh way more than we think they should or do.  Since words are so powerful, we will begin to discover how to use our words to make a difference...

Have you ever had a moment where your brain caught up with your words – three seconds after they left your lips?  Why do we say the dumb things we sometimes say?  It happens because there is a direct conduit from your heart to your mouth. Sometimes, the things that you believe, think, and feel in your heart get out of your mouth before your brain has a chance to filter them. Your words are the win...

The local church is the best financial you can make. Most charities exist to solve downstream problems. They want you to practice intervention giving (and you should). But church is the place where we do prevention giving. Generosity towards the church keeps bad things from ever happening in people’s lives because we help them follow the way of Jesus.

This Winter, we’re embarking on our most ambitious, faith-growing, world changing project since the church was built. We’re opening a new church. This is an “all hands on deck” kind of project. If you’re grateful for hope Church. NOW is the time to engage or to re-engage. You’re invited to participate in something bigger than yourself. And investing in the church returns the best return on your vo...

If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll keep you busy. Busyness keeps the activities that matter the most off of our schedules. This week we’re going to learn that if we wasn’t to make the world a better place, and if you want to make your world a better place, it will require something from you. It’s going to require some of your time. And once you’ll give it, you won’t want to live any other way.

We all want to be known for something. People want to be known for everything from great parenting to great success. But according to decades of research, if we’re going to lead happy and fulfilling lives, the goal isn’t to be known for something but be known by someone, or by a group of someone. In this message, we’ll understand why Jesus designed his church to be a team sport.

Celebrations matter. What people celebrate reveals what matters to them. So what does God celebrate? Jesus’ answer to the question surprised the people in his generation. But if we don’t absorb the lesson of what God celebrates, we’ll miss out on what matters most to God.

Storms will come in life. If we don’t know how to respond, we’re at risk of drowning.  Peter’s reaction to witnessing a miracle can show us what we need to do when we are in the middle of a storm and gives us a glimpse of what Heaven looks like.

If Jesus asked you “What do you want me to do for you,” how would you respond?  Jesus once asked this question to a man named Bartimaeus who was blind. You think the answer would be obvious—“to see!”. But as we see with Bartimaeus, not only did he want to see, but he also wanted to follow.  Bartimaeus didn’t see Jesus as a genie, but as Lord. He was ready before he was healed to follow Jesus in th...

Life is so much easier when we know what's coming next. Minor inconveniences and frustrations now don't seem so bad when there's a glimpse of the good to come. Yet, what happens when life throws you a big problem and you have no idea what to expect next? That's scary. In this miracle, Jesus provides a snapshot of a restored world as God intended it to be. Your "right now" may be causing you anxiet...

Not all miracles of Jesus were to heal people who were sick or broken because life in the Kingdom of God will not just be about us having resurrected life. Some miracles were done to glimpse how we will relate to God in resurrected life. Although Jesus has hit a dark place in his ministry, his transfiguration showed his disciples, and us, that this was part of his rescue plan to lead his people in...