New Hope Church: Weekend Messages

We all want to please our boss or those close to us by doing what they have asked us to do. The appreciation and gratitude that we receive after a job well done is what fuels the fire to keep striving. How do we know if we have “Pleased God?” What does it look like when we have met or even exceeded God’s expectations? 

Each year nearly 5000 protestant churches close their doors. This trend continues to grow each year due, in large part, to the ever increasing pressures from our modern culture. The church Paul planted in Thessalonica experienced those same pressures (maybe worse??) and yet they did not quit. Today we look at our own faith and ask ourselves 5 questions that the Apostle Paul asked a church family t...

It’s what’s on the inside that counts! Paul, the outwardly-focused Missionary Evangelist spends an entire chapter of the Book of 1 Thessalonians looking inwards at the characteristics of a healthy church. If we don’t get it right on the inside, we will never be effective reaching out to others. If we care well for our church family, we will be prepared and empowered to care well for those outside...

The church in Thessalonica was just one of the churches planted by Paul and his team on their second missionary journey. However, the results were different here than elsewhere. In spite of great persecution from the religious and city leaders, the young church flourished right from the start. What made this early church grow so rapidly and what can we learn from their resilience? 

We are kicking off a new series that walks us through the book of 1 Thessalonians. The theme of standing firm in the face of trouble and persecution is just as applicable to us today as it was 2000 years ago. This week is the Prequel story. Before we jump into chapter 1, we are going to study the story of the founding of the Thessalonian church in the Book of Acts.

Our culture longs for Leaders who seek to serve.  Jesus shows us what Servant Leadership looks like and invites us to follow Him in doing it.

True Freedom is very rare in our world. The freedoms that we enjoy in our country were won and are now defended by incredible sacrifice and determination. That is also true in our lives as believers. True Freedom comes at a cost. It cost Jesus His life, but the battle for our spiritual freedom rages on in our own hearts and minds. This week we will learn to walk God’s Path to Freedom.

Why does the church gather? To Heal? To Recharge? To Sit and Soak? Yes, that all happens in fellowship with God and His people, but there is a much greater purpose: The Demonstration of God’s Power in you! God’s Spirit carefully chose and placed a powerful gift in each and every believer "for such a time and such a place as this.” Don’t miss this awesome opportunity!

What do you buy a Dad who already has everything? Most Dads don’t need more in their lives, they need less. This week we are reading a story about a dad who almost lost everything because he thought he needed more. What he really needed was a lot less sin in his life. The gift of a “Clear Conscience" turned his life around!

What in the world is a “Spiritual Gift”?! Does the name imply that because it is “spiritual," it is not physical? We can’t really touch it or hold it? And if it is a “gift," does that mean it is ours to have and to hold and keep for ourselves? Join us this weekend as we discover how to unpack our Spiritual Gifts and use them as God intended!

Many Christians know the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost. But what if there was MORE to the story than just a dramatic arrival? What if God's gift of the Holy Spirit wasn't the end of Jesus' work, but just the beginning?

It is the age old theological debate: Are we saved by our faith alone OR do we have to “earn” our salvation by works and good deeds? What if we have been aiming our lives at the wrong target? What would a life look like that is aimed at a Faith that Works?!

We set lofty goals, we shoot for the stars and we aim for greatness, but what if God wants us to aim lower? No, I’m not suggesting that God wants us to lower our expectations or think less of our own abilities. What if greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven is not based on power or position but rather on humble service? What are you aiming at?

What if the target you have been aiming at becomes a “Moving Target”? By God’s grace you have adjusted your life to aim at the target He has set before you when suddenly that target (relationship, job, ministry, retirement plan) vanishes! What do we do? What should our focus be? 

“I’m just so tired!” Have you heard that lately? Have you said that lately? Today we are talking about the overwhelming tiredness many of us are feeling right now.  If our lives are not aimed at the target God has set before us, we will continue to deplete our strength, our resources and our lives trying to hit the wrong Bullseye!

All of our lives we’ve been taught that if we work really hard and reach our goals, we will be happy - we will be satisfied… What if we’re not? Maybe we have been chasing after the wrong goal and trying to hit the wrong bullseye! Only when Christ is the focus of our lives, will we truly be satisfied. 

Hearing God’s challenges and promises are one thing. Applying and obeying is another matter. This weekend we will have a conversation about what this messy journey looks like in real life.

Anxiety is defined as “Feelings of fear, dread, and uneasiness that may occur as a reaction to stress.” Anxiety has always been a part of the human experience, but the anxiety our culture is experiencing today as a whole may be at an all-time high. Incredibly, God has spoken to us today about living life without anxiety and surrounded by His peace.

They say, “The exception proves the rule.” The miraculous resurrection of Jesus on that first Easter morning was definitely the Exception, but what is the rule? Guess what… God doesn’t have to follow the “rules!” He made the rules, so He can break them! Our God is the God of the Exception and He wants to do exceptional things in and through you today!

It’s Palm Sunday! That means the passion week is upon us and the Easter celebration is only a week away!! Is that all Palm Sunday is? Just a “place holder” holiday to signal Easter is coming? What really happened on that day and why is this day so important to our Christian faith? This week we dig into the power of Palm Sunday! 

We all “need” some kind of a miracle. We cry out to God for Him to fix our bodies or our finances or our broken relationships. When God moves, it is powerful, but sometimes “our miracle” is just the beginning. God uses some miracles to detonate a much bigger explosion of His miracle power!

 Have you ever stood before a seemingly impossible need and cried out to God for a miracle? Would it help you to know that even before you cried out to God, He was already working upstream on the very miracle you need???

Miracles are great! Who doesn’t need one? Or maybe even two! But is there more to a miracle than just a “quick fix” for our biggest problem? God begins John 9 with an incredible miracle and then spends nearly an entire chapter of the Bible telling us “the rest of the story."

You’ve heard it before; “where God guides, He provides.” But what if He doesn’t?? Sometimes it feels like you have been led straight into a dead end with no way out… That’s where God does some of His best work! He conquers the impossible and "makes all things possible."

There is a miracle that is at work in the everyday things that God has blessed you with. Today we will be talking through the miracle of God's provisions and the contentment that is to be found in them.