The Voice of Hope

God in the Hands of Angry Sinners Luke 22:63-23:12             On July 8th, 1741, New England Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In that sermon, he warned sinners about their precarious position outside of Christ.  His text was Deuteronomy 32:35; “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of...

God in the Hands of Angry Sinners Luke 22:63-23:12             On July 8th, 1741, New England Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In that sermon, he warned sinners about their precarious position outside of Christ.  His text was Deuteronomy 32:35; “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of...

A Godly Leader’s Judgment II Corinthians 11:7-15             Has anyone ever said to you, “Stop judging me!” In Matthew chapter 7 Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Is Jesus forbidding you and me to exercise judgment in any circumstance? What is Jesus actually saying t...

II Corinthians 11:1-6               Jealousy is a powerful emotion or passion. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:4, “Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” Think about that. Anger and fury are violent emotions that often lead to bodily harm, but Solomon says jealousy is worse.               Just what is jealousy? Often, we use it as a synonym for envy. But they’re not...

What Do You Boast In? II Corinthians 10:7-18               In Philippians 2:5 to 8 we read, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider [His equality with God something to be held on to], but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humb...

Missed Part 1 of “Who Is Jesus?” Find it here! Who Is Jesus? : Part 2 Isaiah 9:6-7 The Next CHARACTERISTIC (that helps us understand who Jesus is) is, His Empathy – Wonderful Counselor In this section of our text, the prophet gives several names to this child who is to be born.  The first is Wonderful Counselor. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament has this to say about the word, wonderfu...

Find Part 2 here! Who Is Jesus? Isaiah 9:6-7 He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life. He ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water. He was weary, yet He is our rest. He paid tribute, yet He is the King. He was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons. He wept, yet He wipes away our tears. He was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet...

Engaging in Spiritual Warfare II Corinthians 10:1-6 A pastor friend of mine and his wife were visiting the country of Nigeria. They had gone to bed for the night and were sound asleep. All of a sudden, his wife cried out; someone or something was shaking her bed. So, they turned on the lights to see if they could see what was happening. But there was nothing under the bed and nothing attached to i...

The Graces of Giving II Corinthians 9:1-15 Our Scripture portion today addresses an important subject for every follower of Jesus. It is the subject of Christian stewardship. When Jesus was on earth, He had a lot to say about money and possessions. But statistics reveal that not many churches provide regular or systematic teaching on the subject of stewardship. Why this lack of teaching? It may be...

Guidelines for Group Giving II Corinthians 8:16-24 The Bible is a very practical book, it teaches us how to live well. Reading through its pages we find specific teaching on a wide variety of subjects. That’s not to say that the Bible addresses every possible subject, but it does give us principles that can be applied to every situation you and I face in life. For example, the Bible doesn’t give u...

Achieving Excellence in Giving II Corinthians 8:8-15 Not long ago at Heralds of Hope, we were discussing the importance of our core values as an organization. We currently have seven core values that guide us but it’s hard to remember all of them. So, our Executive Director, Tony High, worked to condense them into just three main items. Then the rest were added as subpoints to those three. One of...

The Heart of Giving II Corinthians 8:1-7 One of the few things I remember about my grandpa’s garden from when I was a boy is that he raised celery. If you’ve only eaten celery bought in the grocery store, you don’t really know what good celery is. Raising celery the old-fashioned way is labor intensive but it produces a vastly superior taste. And the heart of a fully bleached celery stalk is espec...

Contagious Joy II Corinthians 7:13-16 What is the value of unity in the Body of Christ? And what is the primary response to that unity? Listen to Psalm 133. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon,...

Are You a True Believer? I John 3:1-10 In the past, John 3:16 was one of the most well-known verses in the Bible. But today, the most well-known verse is probably Matthew 7:1; “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  If you try to live a Biblical lifestyle and believe that’s important for all Believers, you’ll soon be accused of being judgmental. But is it judgmental to point out obvious violat...

Enjoy this special Christmas program of music and selected scriptures.

“The Joys of Sorrow” II Corinthians 7:2-12 Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughterrises, was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into yourbeing, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your [drink] the verycup that was burn...

Maintaining Faith and Practice I Timothy 4:6-11 In the previous message, we explored Paul’s warning to Timothy that, in the latter times, including our day, some leaders would try to influence others to depart from the faith. As we examine verses six through eleven in chapter four, we will see Paul counsel Timothy on how to combat these false teachers and the harmful effects of their teaching. I k...

Departing from the Faith I Timothy 4:1-5 Most of us know people who, at one time, embraced a life of faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His Word.  We saw the power of the living God transform their lives from the inside out. Their minds were being renewed by the power of God’s Word and they were becoming conformed to the image of Christ. They were hungry for the Word of God and spiritual instr...

Joyful Thanksgiving Psalm 95:1-11 It was October of 1942 and Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B‑17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But somewhere over the South Pacific the B-17 became lost. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean, hurling them into the most harrowing adventure of their lives. For nearly a mon...

Part 1 of this interview can be accessed here: https://heraldsofhope.org/the-voice-of-hope/victor-kaonga-interview-part-1/ In this episode of the “Voice of Hope,” J. Mark Horst interviews Victor Kaonga, of TWR-Malawi, about his story and the work that God is doing in Malawi, Africa.

In this episode of the “Voice of Hope,” J. Mark Horst interviews Victor Kaonga, of TWR-Malawi, about his story and the work that God is doing in Malawi, Africa. Listen to Part 2 here: https://heraldsofhope.org/the-voice-of-hope/victor-kaonga-interview-part-2/

Love the Truth II Thessalonians 2:8-17 What is truth? That was the question Pilate asked Jesus at His trial. How would you define truth? I once heard a definition I really like. Truth is, “Reality from God’s point of view. The title of our study today is, “Love the Truth,” and our text is Second Thessalonians 2:8 to 17. I read about a pastor who starts each confirmation class with a jar full of be...

The Fruits of Deception Genesis 3:8-21 In last week’s teaching, we looked at three basic sources of deception: our humanity (the lust of the flesh), our prosperity (the lust of the eyes), and our philosophy (the pride of life). We’re warned in I John 2:16 and 17 that these things are not of the Father but pertain to the world and are only temporary. The body with its desires will pass away, but th...

Sources of Deception James 4:1-10 A source is a point of origin, of initiation. A stream has a source, and we understand that as its beginning. When we hear a news report, or we’re seeking information on a certain subject we talk about “going to the source.”  By that we mean, going to the person who is closest to the report or the one with the most accurate and reliable information. Deception is d...

The Pursuit of Holiness : Part 2 II Corinthians 6:11-7:1 Paul begins this section with an emphatic command, “Stop becoming unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” The idea here is to become “mixed up” with them. Incidentally, the prohibition against using an ox and a donkey in the same yoke, Deuteronomy 22:10, is bookended by the prohibition of mixing seeds in the garden and two different fibe...