New Hope Church - Podcast

God never intended us to spend our lives in isolation, but to live in community. God’s nature is relational, and He charged us with the important mission to work together to accomplish his work on earth. When we combine our gifts and talents for the greater good, we’re able to make a huge difference in our community and in our world.

When we choose to put our confidence in Jesus, we gain faith that will help us navigate difficult, even dangerous, situations in life. God has a plan for all of us, and we can believe that He can and will deliver on all of His promises.

Doing the right thing can be tough. From the big decisions in life to the everyday details, we can often find ourselves weighing the benefits of the available choices. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves negotiating between right and wrong. The truth is, doing the right thing is always the best thing, and often ends up being the easy thing in the long run.

Sacrifice means giving up something that is valuable or important in order to help others. In our ‘me-centric’ culture, it is a virtue that seems all but forgotten. As Christ-followers, we can never forget the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus on our behalf.

One of the most important instructions Jesus left for us is to love each other like He loves us. That doesn’t mean we’ll be best friends with everyone we meet, but it does mean that every person we encounter deserves kindness, compassion and respect – with both our words and our actions.

Courage and bravery are words we commonly assign to heroes - certainly more so than we might to just ‘regular people’ like you and me. The truth is, we’re all equipped to act courageously every day. It simply means showing bravery in the face of fear; doing what’s right, even when no one else is; never giving up on good; and following the directions God gives us.

A critical part of following God’s plan for our lives is learning to keep our eyes focused on Him, even when our own plans seem more appealing. Practicing good self-control teaches us to rely on God, rather than ourselves. After all, He is the author of the past, present and future.

We all have gifts and talents given to us by God. In fact, each of us was uniquely created to fill a role designed specifically for us. When we learn to combine our gifts and work together, we can accomplish amazing things for Him.

Being a man is tough. But what does it look like to be a man of God? To be a provider, a mentor, a husband, a father, a friend, a leader? In this message, we will challenge men to stand up as the leaders God is calling them to be as we explore what it looks like to be a modern man in a relationship with Jesus. Are you up for the challenge?

Pretending that things were/are better than they are isn’t good. Neither is holding onto failure, hurt and disappointment. There is a healthy way to acknowledge brokenness while finding a way forward to a healthy future.

The longer we know others, the more we learn. Along the way we gather data about them we can use to justify our defensiveness, anger and worse. This can create a filter of dissatisfaction that skews our view and can harm our relationships. It’s time to stop keeping score.

Research and life experience tell us that family problems are made significantly worse by poor and unhealthy communication. In some cases it’s a lack of talking, while in others it’s only a one-way transmission. The good news is we can learn new habits to help us tune into the same frequency.

Ignoring, hiding or pretending that a problem doesn’t exist doesn’t change the reality of it. In fact, it makes it worse. There are elephants in our homes that have been around so long they’ve become like a member of the family. But elephants aren’t good in our homes. They trample all over things, they make a mess, and they smell bad.

I believe the church is outdated, like an old institution that is no longer needed. And what about all the corruption I see in the headlines? Plus, the rules, rituals and traditions are just too much. There is no value to me with organized religion and I prefer to worship on my own.

I’m so weary of feeling like I’m nothing more than a religious agenda; an argument to win, a point to make, a cause to defend, a soul to save. I’m the one searching for a place where I can be known and belong; a place where it feels like God lives. I need you to stop preaching at me, and fighting me, and judging me, and sin-diagnosing me. I need the real love only Jesus can give and be part of com...

Jesus was proactive in His ministry. He never stopped reaching out to people or encouraging His followers to reach out to people – ALL people. Even after His final day that ended on the cross, He continued to encourage, instruct and pursue us. That is as true today as it was over 2000 years ago. He sees you right where you are and wants to meet you there. And He asks us to view others through thos...

Most of us have felt some level of political dissatisfaction at some point in our lives. It can be so frustrating when we don’t feel heard, or worse, when political power is abused. Jesus didn’t work to overthrow the government or establish a new one. He spoke truth to the powerful even as they ignored justice.

The Bible tells us all sin is judged equally. If that’s true, why is it easier for us to forgive some people more than others? And why is it so hard for us to do the right thing at times? Jesus was criticized for hanging out with some notorious “sinners,” but the fact is, many were open to Him in ways the “non-sinners” weren’t.

We don’t have to physically be alone to feel isolated. Many have mastered the art of hiding in plain sight. It’s easy because we can use things like social media to portray our lives as perfect. Our inability to measure up to the fantasy can leave us feeling empty and worthless. Jesus shows us we are all valued in God’s eyes.

Our lives are full of first-world problems, and the terms people use to describe our American culture aren’t always positive. Words like arrogant, entitled, and self-centered are just an example. We might react poorly when our designer coffee isn’t made correctly, but Jesus sees the true condition of our hearts. While He neither caters to us nor denounces us, He meets us where we are with compassi...

Those that truly know God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and hope are blessed when they actively pursue Christ and work to persuade others to come to Him, too.

This weekend we’ll celebrate baptism in all of our services. Why is baptism so important? Because it signifies our inclusion in God’s family. Baptism declares our faith, shares in Christ’s burial and Resurrection, symbolizes our death to our old life and announces our new life in Christ. It publicly announces to the world, “I am not ashamed to be a part of God’s family.” Jesus commanded this beaut...

Once we acknowledge our need for the forgiveness and restoration that God offers, we are ready to grow and become living proof of what can only be found in Him.

The first step to the happiness God offers is to recognize that we are spiritually bankrupt and in desperate need of His help.