New Hope Christian Chapel Podcast

Take a few minutes with Steve Hedges Jr. as he shares the vital role obedience has played in his life and the critical importance that the Bible shows God has always placed on it throughout history. Are there things in your own life that you are avoiding even though you feel God might be calling you to do them? What could it mean for you if you prioritized God's leading over your own reluctance?

You may want to have love, peace, joy, self-control and all the other results of our faith...but are you willing to accept the responsibility to grow them? Christ-followers are given the seeds of these attributes, but will they accept their roles as gardeners, nurturers, growers and harvesters of this spiritual fruit? And what if the primary method for tending and nurturing these spiritual qualiti...

What does it mean to wait on the Lord? When we're anxious or running out of stamina or worried about the future...what does that show us about our source(s) of peace? How can we find true strength? Who can help us with our anxiety? What would it take to feel confident and capable in the midst of our struggles? Take a few minutes with Rachel Caetano to hear some of her story seeking answers to thes...

Everyone experiences temptation...the question is, how do we respond? How do you handle accusing thoughts, tempting actions, resisting desires, or negative impulses? Do you pray? Do you exert will-power? Do you hang on and hope things will be better one day? The Bible is filled with examples of people who struggled and suffered with being tempted by evil. How did they handle it? What encouragement...

Everyone experiences anxiety...the question is, what do we do with it?! Do we suppress it, distract ourselves, complain, get angry, try to escape? Do we seek therapy, trusted friends, accept tension or pray? What is God's advice on how not just to avoid or ignore stress and anxiety, but actually to remove it?! In a world that continually puts us into feelings of stress and anxiety, let's take God'...

What does humility look like? Is it a feeling? It is an attitude? Is it a self-image? Or is it more? Could you "do" humility this week? Can someone "see" humility? What if humility is actually an inter-personal skill set? What if humility is a way of treating people rather than a way of thinking about people? How could God change the world through people who "do" humility?

Consider with Hal Gershman the differences, similarities, and path to contentment, happiness, and joy. Are you experiencing these things in your life right now? Do you wish you were? What advice does God give for how to pursue and embrace and achieve contentment, happiness and joy?!

Do you know Jesus' love languages? Just like anyone else, we can't just love Jesus however we feel like, we need to know and to learn and to come to discover what pleases Him! The apostles learned by closely living with Jesus what it looked like to love Him and be a part of His community. And if we learn from them how they taught the earliest Christians to love Jesus, we can then discover what it...

The Christian faith boils down to a single statement from Jesus..."Follow me." What does it mean to follow Him? And how can true following of Jesus only be accomplished in community?

In the ancient Middle East, how did the earliest Christians relate to the historical figure of Noah? How did the apostle Peter compare the waters of the flood to Christian baptism? And what can we learn and apply from these ancient events and practices that can help us in our own modern day trials?

The opposite of fear is not courage. It is hope. Hope is a truly life-changing, world-changing force! And it comes from within, from those who it has been given to. It radiates! It influences! Our world causes so much fear. Are you a source of hope? Do you need hope? How can we embody a living hope?

How does one leave "well"? When something comes to an end, how do we bring it to a close in a God-honoring way? What lessons and wisdom does the Bible offer for how to leave a church, a community, or friends? How could leaving result in building and increasing our faith?! Walk with Pastor Dave as he explores a moment in history where the apostle Paul has a tearful farewell with a church that he pl...

If you were starting up a new church and could only choose six things, what would you pick? Would you pick skilled people like a pastor or worship leader or evangelist? Would you pick important logistical things like a good location or musical instruments? Would you pick key ministries such as discipleship or children's programs or music or outreach? Would you pick six core values such as a warm w...

Do you blame others for how you act and respond to them? Do you justify your actions based on their behavior towards you? Are you living a life of authentic identity, or have you become just a by-product of your responses and retaliations? What could life look like if we initiated God's goodness into our difficult situations, and the difficult people in our lives? What if we didn't justify our poo...

What makes you...you? What defines you? Are you known for the kind of work you do? Are you admired for your skills or experience? Do you have a lot of national pride in your country of origin? Do you define yourself at your core by your race or ancestry? What is the source of your uniqueness and worth? Peter, who lived with Jesus, who walked on water with Him, who encountered Him after He rose fro...

In ancient Near East construction of temples, palaces, and cities, the use of a foundational "cornerstone" was not just functional, but sacred and symbolic. It consecrated the structure, it stabilized the structure, and it determined the level and plumb and direction of everything built upon it. As we build the culture of our households, are we stable, strong, and unified in purpose and meaning? W...

In a world filled with anxiety, hopelessness, despair and sadness, Jesus creates beautiful gardens of flourishing people filled with the love and hope and beauty of God! These gardens are like an oasis in the desert...places of life surrounded by death, as they offer beauty, purpose, rest, living water, and freedom to all who will accept Jesus' invitation to join Him there! What would it take for...

Whom did Jesus visit first after His resurrection? His first five appearances were to people who were grieving, fearful, doubting, skeptical and ashamed. If Jesus intentionally sought out and met those people in those emotional and spiritual places, then He can still meet with us when we find ourselves in those same places! Jesus meets everyone right where they're at...but He never leaves them the...

Is Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem a happy event or sad one? Is about the coronation of Jesus as King, or His grief-filled acceptance of His imminent crucifixion? Are the crowds joyful or hypocritical? Were the crowds there for Jesus the King, Jesus the miracle worker, or Jesus the Lord? Who is Jesus to you? Do you see Him as a teacher, a miracle worker, a ruler, a King...or Lord? Without th...

What are the mechanics of holiness...how does it work...where does it come from...is it simply morality, or possibly something more? Take some time with Pastor Dave to explore and celebrate the other-worldly nature of divine holiness! May you pursue the holiness of your Father God in how you resemble and reflect Him to the world!

What would it look like for us to prepare to be used by God? How would we focus our thinking as we prepare for action? How would we "roll up our sleeves" to get our hands dirty with the practical efforts of loving those around us as ambassadors of Jesus Christ? Has God revealed to you the amazing things He's about to do in your world, and how He wants to use you to accomplish His purposes? Are you...

If you lived your entire life waiting for something to happen and it never did…couldn’t that feel like a major disappointment? If you spent your entire life working toward some kind of goal and you never achieved it…couldn’t that feel like you didn’t fulfill your potential? If you spent your entire life praying for something and God never provided it…couldn’t’ that feel like He didn’t come through...

Are you sure you really want faith? Even if it means living in the "almost" as you exercise faith waiting for answers to prayer? Even if it means trusting God in the most trying circumstances? Even if it means not being in control, but leaning solely on the Holy Spirit for peace, guidance and strength? Wouldn't we much rather have results than faith? Wouldn't we so often rather have quick answers...

What is church? How would you define it? Is it a place to come on Sundays to sing and learn? Is it a religious organization? Is it a set of intellectual beliefs? Is it a place to get spiritually fed? Is it a place to volunteer and serve? New Hope is on a mission to search for the answer to that big question, "What is church?"! We base our approach on Acts 2:42-47, in a grass-roots, family-style, o...

If Christians are "saved", and "a new creation", and "born again"...then why do they still sin? Are they made new or are they still the same? And why do Christians so often just look like everyone else in the world instead of transformed, redeemed, reflections of Jesus? Are we saved? Are we being saved? Will we be saved? How? When? The Bible actually teaches that salvation through Jesus Christ has...