New Hope Church - Podcast

El Roi is the God who sees me. When we feel our most vulnerable, the most invisible, we can find hope and power in God who cares for us faithfully.

El Sali is the Lord, my strength or rock. When we are weary or falling apart, God gives us the strength we need to carry on. In fact, His power lives inside of us and allows us to do impossible things.

Jehovah Jireh means, “the Lord will provide.” If you are alive, you’re going to face trials. We can take comfort in knowing God is trustworthy and will see us through every trial – big or small.

El Shaddai is a Hebrew name meaning ‘God Almighty’ or ‘All Sufficient’. Either definition works because God is power and provision. With great compassion, He meets all our needs and gives us strength.

There is a kind of unity we were created by God to enjoy. It is when we recognize our differences, but don’t let them divide us. It comes when we recognize some key things we have in common and humbly choose to value them the most.

Some have the idea that followers of Jesus should be happy all the time. If we are walking in Jesus’ footsteps, there are times when our hearts will be broken over our own sin, the sin of others and the brokenness in the world.

It is a lot easier to talk about change than to do it. From God’s perspective, reform should be something we are constantly open to and ready to embrace in order for our lives to line up with Him.

When we look at the concept of justice, things can get confusing. God has given us a framework to have a good understanding of what He sees as just and right.

Recently, terms like “my truth” and “fake news” have become common. If we aren’t careful, we can slowly begin to think truth is something squishy and more a matter of opinion than objective fact. God wants us to have some rock-solid truth that undergirds our lives.

The book of Ruth is one piece of a much bigger story of God’s redemptive plan to lead us all to Jesus.

In that time and place, Ruth would have been an easy target for exploitative men. She chose to be faithful and not take easy short-cuts, and was blessed because of it.

As a single woman living in a time of lawlessness, Ruth had few options. One choice was to remain in the city with a long list of immoral opportunities for survival. The other choice was to leave the city to struggle in the open country.

Over the next four weeks, we’ll look at the book of Ruth. It begins with a story of disobedience and consequences, and gives us a glimpse of how God prepared the way for Jesus to come.

The story of Jesus began long before He came to earth. There are clues woven throughout Scripture that fully display God’s loving plan. When Jesus defeated death, He did it for all of us in one extraordinary act of love.

When we believe we are on our own, we can justify anything to survive…but God has a different and much better way. When we learn and adopt His way, we begin to change from the inside out.

When we’ve been hurt, abandoned and/or misunderstood, it’s easy to become convinced we are different and that no one is able or willing to understand us.

Some of us grew up with the message that we are inadequate. When we believe this, we are defeated already.

Over time, after we’ve tried to change and failed, we can begin to believe real change is hopeless. Rather than giving up, this can be the opportunity to surrender to God and discover how He is able to transform us from the inside out.

When a computer has bugs or viruses it produces distorted results. Our minds are similar. If we have incorrect or incomplete thoughts, we cannot function or live in a healthy way.

God’s church is called to be an example of what genuine community can be. In addition to the character traits we looked at last week, there are specific actions we believe are mission-critical.

We’re all aware of the critical need for people to live together in peace, harmony, and respect. Jesus not only taught us how to live together, but also offers the ability to do it.

od accepts us as we are, and then begins a process of developing and growing us into the people we can be. Followers have God’s Holy Spirit living within us, so we can become people that reflect Jesus’ character, values and attitude.

The Bible tells us Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve. If our purpose is to follow His lead, then serving others is a top priority.

When you discover something that changes your life, it’s natural to want to share the good news with others. At a time when hope is low and frustration is high, Jesus is the answer.

If you want to know what is most important to someone, just look at their bank statement. Generosity is a characteristic of those who genuinely follow Jesus.