SMARTALK - hope for today

The King in the Crowd. Imagine reading a book by one of your favorite authors, say, Shakespeare, J.K Rowling, or J.R.R Tolkien, and as you read the book you actually meet the author in the story!  That's what happens in the events of Holy Week in John Chapter 19. Come and meet the author of your life.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartal...

Releasing Hatred.  In the movie Grand Torino with Clint Eastwood  we see a man slowly released from hatred. Jonah Chapter 4 reveals to us the power of Christ to do the same in our lives.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Att...

The God of The Second Chances. In Jonah Chapter 3 we see how God can re-commission us after a time of failure for fruitful service.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licen...

Drowning in the Darkness: Jonah Chapter 2 presents us with the vocabulary for those dark times in life. Few have ever been in such a dark place as Jonah was but even he found hope through the reality of the God who can hear prayers in the darkness.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Ce...

When We Think We Know Better Than God. Jonah Chapter 1 is a classic life lesson on running from God and how that never works out quite how we expect it! In fact it can often reveal something inside ourselves that needs to change.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLe...

It's a Wonderful Life:  Multinationals and the wealth they generate can help fuel the idea that life is all about money. Isaiah Chapter 23 unveils the inherent instability behind even the greatest financial giants and points us to where real security in this life and the next can be found.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smar...

Never Disappointed: Many people have asked of life, is that it? But that is like an eagle trying to live like a mole, refusing to see the bigger picture of life with God at the center.  Isaiah Chapter 22  highlights the danger of being so short-sighted and points to Christ who will not disappoint us.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk    ...

Empathy for an Enemy. God is in control of whatsoever comes to pass and yet earthquakes hit this world. In  Isaiah Chapter 21 we see how to process these truths from the heart and learn how to love even those who may oppose what we believe about Christ.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide...

Tempted by a Quick Fix.  It's easy to envy and then want to copy those who are the success stories of our culture.  But Isaiah Chapter 19 graphically sees the danger of dancing with this temptation, by dissecting what people trust in. Then we can see that so often it's like building on sand.  Instead, we need to hear God's invitation to build our lives upon Christ, the Rock that nev...

The Cure for Spiritual Amnesia. The Russian novelist and essayist Aleksander Solzhenitsyn gave his Templeton Address in 1983 and his words still ring true;   "I heard a number of older people offer this explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: 'Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened'…. If I were asked today to formulate as concisely as pos...

Losing and Gaining Everything. Listen to the story of Miriam a refugee, who brings to life the truth of Isaiah Chapter 16 that you can lose everything in life, and yet at the same moment gain everything! Although Miriam does not exist, this message told in the first person is replicated in thousands of lives down through history and across the globe today.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church web...

Pride Comes Before a Fall so reaching for the stars doesn't always go to plan. In Isaiah Chapter 14, verses 1 to 17 we see promises from God, the problem of Pride and the perspective death brings to our lives.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed...

Influence in High Places.  Who are the real influencers in our society today? what stories do they tell our children?  Isaiah Chapter 13, verses 1 to 14, we learn of their danger, their limits, and the true Influence of Christ that we need in life. Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Cel...

Living Through a Spiritual Car Crash:  People can have a real go at you in life.  In Acts Chapter 19, verses 23 to 41 we see Paul's life hitting a moment of intense opposition. It was like having a car crash with a dangerous driver, where you are the victim but God is the E.R. Doctor who can heal our wounds.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/...

Hope Springs Eternal.  As we enter into 2023 our minds can be filled with thoughts about the future. But the best way to keep everything in perspective is to focus on the ultimate future Christ holds out for us. Revelation Chapter 21 shows us what heaven is like which empowers our lives today with hope.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk  ...

God's answer to all that's wrong with this world came in such a small package that it's easy to miss. But Isaiah reveals to us that wrapped up in that gift was a king able to fix everything in this world. Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licen...

We celebrate two births in the Christmas narrative that both brought joy. John was like the starter and Jesus the main course because we need to be prepared in life to meet Christ who brings us the deepest joy and delight in life.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacL...

Moving Beyond Failure.   How does Christ deal with the failures of his followers? John 20:19-31 shows us that despite the vast contrast between who he is and who we are he is still filled with compassion towards us and the power to renew his calling upon our lives.  Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Ac...

The Long Distance Relationship.  Loving someone far away from you can be hard. So as we walk through the season of Advent it is a good time to dwell upon Christ's second Advent when he will return. John 14:1-21 shows us that the love Christ had for his followers when he was with them will be the same when he returns.  It is a love that completes us, nurtures us, and constantly communicates wi...

Mind The Gap!  How do we bridge the gap between God and Man? Even for believers, there can be a sense of separation.  John 13:1-17 and the help of Thomas Goodwin help to reveal the heart of Christ towards his people.    Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licen...

Confident Christianity.  Are you tempted to be a spiritual chameleon, blending in with your surroundings so no one will ever question your faith? There is a better path to walk. In Acts chapter 19 verses 8 to 20, we are encouraged to be confident (yet humble) when bringing Christ into the public square, even in the face of opposition.    Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an emai...

Close but not Quite There.  People can be just one step away from making the biggest discovery of their lives and it may be your call to help them cross over that line. Acts chapter 19 verses 1 to 7 we meet people who were followers of Jesus' cousin John the Baptist who finally came to understand who Christ is, setting off a revolution in their home city.    Contact Pastor Smart from our Chur...

Playing Chess With Jesus. In Acts chapter 18 verses 1 to 23 we see how Jesus works in the background of our lives all the time, through all our troubles and knows exactly how to sustain us all the time.    Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Cr...

Everybody's Religious.  Yes, that is how Scripture understands human nature and once we understand that we understand how people tick.  Acts chapter 17 verses 16 to 34 unpacks this in Paul's famous address to the Athenian Philosophers.    Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.com/smartalk       smartalk@hope4tampa.com Music : Achaidh Cheide - Cel...

The Offer of a Lifetime. Doing the right thing, even being successful in life doesn’t mean you will be excluded from hardships. In fact, the two are usually joined at the hip. As we see a powerful invitation to the Gospel being made in Acts chapter 17 verses 1 to 15 we see rejection and acceptance are part of life.   Contact Pastor Smart from our Church website or send an email.       hope4tampa.c...