Risen Hope Baptist Church

$185.6 million. That is how much money Americans bet on the Super Bowl last Sunday. This year broke the previous record of $179.8 million that was bet on the Super Bowl in 2022. Gambling is huge in America! There is one undeniable fact about gambling: The house always wins. You might win a little here and a little there. But the casino or bookie will always win in the end. It’s just math. It’s ine...

So often we hear reports about the decline of Christian conviction. Many people are deconstructing their once firmly-held Christian beliefs. Regular church attendance is on a general trend downwards. All of this can perhaps make us feel a bit disillusioned about what God is up to. Perhaps even cynical? Maybe a bit grouchy? Is there any hope? Is there any reason to be optimistic about what God is u...

It’s not just Christians who talk about the end of the world. There are all kinds of “doomsday” scenarios out there. Large-scale nuclear war, global pandemic, runaway climate change, giant asteroid, super-volcano, artificial intelligence, reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles, biological warfare, technological warfare, cyber-attacks, alien invasion, zombie apocalypse, etc. Take your pick! So...

When we think of God’s grace we typically only think of his “saving grace” – the grace that covers our sin and counts us righteous. As amazing as this grace is, the Scriptures tell us that God gives even more grace. God gives all kinds of grace! There’s grace to be holy, grace to obey, grace to serve, grace to wait, and grace to endure. There’s grace that is just for us. But there is also grace gi...

“Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships”…or so they say! When it comes to the Christian life, and our mission as a church, defense is critical. In fact, defense is everything. There’s a saying that’s popular in military circles: “The key to a good defense is a good offense?” But the opposite is true about the mission of the church – the key to a good offense is our defense! Today we’ll...

A disciple is someone whose life has been reoriented to see God’s glory, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. But of course, we are often convinced that we need all the “extra things” and the very suggestion that our wants are not essential produces a kind of nervous anxiety in us. Jesus anticipates this nervous response. He devotes this entire section of his sermon to dealing with anxiety. But his goal...

Listen to this final message in our Advent series "The Dragon and the Christ Child" from Pastor Jimmy Hoang on Romans 16:17-20.

There is a sense of letdown that often hits us once Christmas is over. After the family goes home, the tree comes down, the decorations are put away, and the coffee shops go back to playing regular music – now it’s just winter. I believe this letdown is because we make Christmas about the wrong things. We have given our hearts to the wrong kind of Christmas! And when it’s all over, our hearts are...

Christmas is just not what we think it is. It’s not what so many Christmas cards depict. It is not all candy canes, and mistletoe, and eggnog, and chestnuts roasting on open fires. Christmas is war! “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Christmas is a full-on assault against unseen forces of evil. The Son of God didn’t come to earth to forever be...

In the last message we saw that“Every good story needs an villain.” And we saw that the villain in the Christmas Story, the reason the Son of God (the hero) appeared, is the Dragon – the ancient serpent, the devil. He crept into God’s perfect world, deceived God’s Beloved, and whisked her away. But we ended on the hopeful note: “The Dragon is doomed!” But perhaps, even with that promise, many are...

This line from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit sums it up: “It does not do to leave a dragon out of your calculations.” Today begins what is traditionally known as Advent which is just a fancy word that means “arrival” or “appearing.” It is the time leading up to Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ birth. We  can easily get caught up in the joy and celebration and revelry of Christmas. But do...

“The Lamb is God’s answer to all our prayers.” But let’s be real – he’s not the instantaneous answer to all of our prayers. The Lamb isn’t a genie who instantly snaps his fingers and grants our wishes on the spot! For many of our prayers, we are still waiting for them to be answered. Waiting makes us wonder , “Have my prayers even been heard?” Waiting makes us worry , “What if my prayers don’t eve...

There have been other scrolls in the past that contain God’s word, during the times of prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, for example. But this scroll is THE scroll. This scroll is of such ultimate significance that a mighty angel asks with a thundering voice, “Who is worthy to open this scroll and break its seals?” If the scroll can’t be opened then everything God’s people have been hoping in an...

When everything in this life and in this world looks and feels like it’s coming apart at the seams, where do we look for encouragement and hope? Revelation chapter 4 contains the definitive answer! Listen to Pastor Jimmy Hoang explain as John is called up to the throne room of heaven and given a glimpse “behind the scenes” of history to see where our hope and help truly comes from. 

On the surface, Laodicea was an extremely prosperous city that had a lot going for it. It was situated right on a main trade route. It was home to a number of lucrative industries. It boasted of technological advancements, advanced healthcare, and banking institutions. In other words, Laodicea was affluent and self-sufficient . In fact, when the city was hit with a massive earthquake in AD 60, the...

I’ve always loved music and I wish I had more musical skill and ability than I have. But the truth is, I’m just a hack . And sometimes being a hack is good enough – it’s gotten me by! But where it didn’t get me by was when I tried out to play drums for my high school jazz band. I had never taken any drum lessons. I didn’t even own a real drum set. I just watched drummers in music videos and I sat...

As the days keep getting shorter, I think we’re all finding it harder to wake up. It seems to stay dark forever. But no worries! We’ve only got a couple more weeks to go before Daylight Savings time ends and we gloriously “fall back” and get that precious extra hour of sleep. Then the sun will actually be up at a normal time again. This time of year can serve as a kind of an analogy for how we fee...

No matter who we are, we generally feel the need for three things: sustenance , security , and significance . And there are endless options for how we might satisfy those needs that are not Jesus. Don’t take the bait! Jesus wants us to be uncompromising. In this message we'll drill down into that third need – the need for significance . What exactly does it mean to be truly significant in thi...

What are your needs?   I’m well aware that in a room like this there are many of needs – physical needs, financial needs, emotional needs, relational needs, and of course, spiritual needs. Many of you share your needs every week and we diligently pray for each one. Regardless of what you specifically need this morning, generally speaking, I’d would argue that every one of us, no matter who we are,...

INTRODUCTION Are you good with boundaries? Do you have the guts to draw hard and fast lines that you are unwilling to cross, or allow other people to cross in your life and relationships? Are you able to say to people, “Thus far and no further!” For example, are you firm with your employer about your availability outside of work hours? Or are you constantly at their beckon call 24/7? Are you clear...

INTRODUCTION Some say that today we’re witnessing the greatest religious shift in our nation’s history. Millions of Americans, close to 40 million in fact, have simply stopped going to church over the last 25 years. It’s a phenomena known as “ The Great Dechurching .” It has led to much sober reflection, critical analysis, and even a bit of hand-wringing among Christians for quite some time. What...

Have you ever seen something so beautiful and awe-inspiring that you just have to take a picture of it? Perhaps you’ve been to Yellowstone National Park, for example, and stood on the platform just at the top of the Lower Falls, where the mighty Yellowstone River plunges into the gorgeous canyon below. You thought, “I need to share this beauty!” You took your expensive smartphone with all of its s...

Pastor Jayson preaches a message from Revelation 1:1-8 in our Hear & Heed: The Revelation of Jesus Christ sermon series! INTRODUCTION Just a few short days after Mount St. Helens unexpectedly erupted on Sunday, May 18th 1980, another significant, unexpected event rocked the nation. The Empire Strikes Back , the long-awaited sequel to Star Wars , opened in theatres. And a collective “gasp” reve...