Jason Hovde

The Apple of God’s Eye Two Big Ideas: Don’t measure to see what God is limited to, He is not limited by our small visions We are to respond to our redemption by breaking free from our bondage And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you…

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. “The Lord possessed…

Merciful Man in the Myrtles Zechariah 1:7-17 I begin my preaching this morning with 3 verses from the New Testament. Yes, our study is from the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah, but as always, I desire that you see that all of scripture works together to teach us. And none of it ever contradicts each…

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting…

Big Idea: Christians focus their energy on eternal things. Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions People tend to focus more on their earthly security than on eternal blessings We do not know how long we have in this life, so we are better off preparing for eternal life. Last week: We must…

Big Idea: We must take seriously our need to honor God Acknowledging Christ is to be acknowledged by Him. Many sins can be forgiven, but one cannot The Holy Spirit empowers believers to speak boldly Last week: The leaven of the Pharisees: Hypocrisy. Big Idea: If we properly understand God, we will not…

Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there,…

Helping Hannah Kings don’t just show up. Neither do heroes. When a leader comes into power, it didn’t just happen. When a hero comes to save the day just in the nick of time, it didn’t just happen. It may seem coincidence to us, but everything that happens has happened because God has ordained that it…

Recap: dead works External washing vs. Internal generosity Careful tithing vs. justice and love of God Recognition vs. facade Big Idea: Works bring only judgment to those who are spiritually dead Now Jesus turns from the Pharisees and the woes on them to the lawyers (those who claimed to know the law…

Lies that kill and Truths that save What is so important about the Easter story? Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important? Why does it matter anyway? There are many people who don’t feel they need religion, or faith, or even contemplation about life & death. But I tell you this morning that it is…

Undercover Unbeliever Suppose for a moment that a prophet came into our building. This is just a thought exercise, and the point is not whether there are still prophets today as in the Old Testament sense, but just to get you thinking about a response you would have. So let’s pretend for a moment that…

“If you give God the gifts He’s given you, He’ll give you Himself!” Genesis 22:1-19 Have you ever been around a baby or a toddler as they learn to communicate? Early on, before they can really speak through ideas, they make attempts to be part of the world around them. They want to be involved with their…

Big Idea: Works bring only judgment to those who are spiritually dead Three things Jesus addresses: External washing vs. Internal generosity Careful tithing vs. justice and love of God Recognition vs. facade Introduction: The danger of pride in our works, status or otherwise outward persona, such as:…

A little girl was sitting in her first Good Friday service, and the epic story of the Crucifixion was beautifully read. She heard about Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. She heard about Peter’s denial. She listened to Pilate’s cross-examination of Jesus. She pictured the crown of thorns and felt the beating…

Context: 11:14. Jesus is accused of casting out demons by some and others, in verse 16, demand signs. Jesus knows these are insincere requests. He gives the parable of a strong man, and the unclean spirit that returns (representing mans attempts at morality) Then he says that the truly blessed will be…

Readings:Lent is a 40-day period of penance, reflection, and fasting observed by many Christians, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending before Easter Sunday. It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, and believers often use this time to prepare spiritually through prayer, self-denial,…

What is More Attractive than sitting at the feet of Jesus? We often hear phrases thrown around the church. Particularly in the modern church, many have adopted the philosophy of Christian life that says Jesus is Savior, and that Christianity is not about rules, its about relationship. Or we hear, it…

Big Idea: Unbelief leads to blasphemy. Healing was a staple of Jesus’ ministry Those who hated him could not explain away the miracles So they say vile things about him. Reading 14-28, but will not get through all of it this morning. Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone…

Recap: The Lord’s Prayer (Or Disciple’s Prayer) Priorities in our prayers: The Holiness of God A desire that he be exalted A prayer for his Kingdom to come For our daily bread For forgiveness: to be granted to us that we would forgive others (sin is a debt) That we be protected from temptations that…

Big Idea: We should pray that we be protected from temptation. Recap: Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray. As John’s taught his disciples. He teaches them a simple prayer. Luke’s version is even shorter than Matthew’s. He was not commanding the prayer to be recited, but rather offered a template…

What is more attractive than serving together? An argument against outsourcing in the church Our world over many decades now has become a world of outsourcing. When we hear that word, outsourcing, we may think of a company outsourcing their manufacturing to a country like China. Or a company may outsource…

Big Idea: Our forgiveness of others is evidence of our being forgiven The Lord’s Prayer (Or, the disciples prayer) Hallowed be your name: He is Holy, holy, holy. We must treat him with all reverence Your kingdom come: May there be continually increasing evidence of God’s kingdom impacting this world.…

This morning we continue our look at the Lord’s Prayer, and we now are going to focus on the third verse of Luke 11 , “Give us each day our daily bread”. As we take a look at this, it may be a good reminder that we often complicate life. In our lack of contentment, we often are unhappy because we do…

When I was a brand new pastor, I was excited to attend the first prayer meeting with some of the people of the church. The prayer meeting was held at noon at a home, and some of those attending were on their lunch break, and others were retired. I came to the prayer meeting ready with some scripture…

What is more attractive than corporate worship? Religion defined The very word religion bothers some Christians. People like to say “Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship”. Or even more directly, some Christians have made videos and written articles saying “I hate religion” Or “God hates…