Hope Church (Dubuque)

Sean challenges the common phrase “Heaven gained an angel,” showing that while it sounds comforting, it’s not what Scripture teaches. Angels and humans are distinct creations with different purposes—angels serve God as messengers and ministers, but humans are uniquely made in God’s image and invited into a relationship and inheritance that angels don’t share. Rather than becoming angels after deat...

Ross kicks off the Bumper Sticker Theology series by challenging the popular phrase “follow your heart,” showing us that while culture treats our hearts like a trustworthy compass, Scripture reveals they are actually bent, broken, and deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9). Instead of leading us to life, our hearts often lead us deeper into confusion and sin, exposing our need for something more than self-help...

Ross walks us through Mark 16:1–8 and centers on the moment that changes everything—the resurrection of Jesus. He challenges us to see that Easter isn’t just a meaningful ending, but the defining event that gives power to our faith. Because Jesus is risen, it reshapes what we believe about Him—not just a teacher, but Lord—and what we believe about ourselves as people in need of grace. And it trans...

As we come to the final moments of Jesus’ life, we look at familiar figures—Peter, Judas, and a devoted woman—and discover that their stories reflect our own. This message challenges us to stop using Scripture to evaluate others and instead let it reveal what’s in us. We see how devotion can take different forms: passionate but incomplete, self-serving, or rooted in pride. And ultimately, we are i...

Jesus is asked what matters most, and instead of simplifying things, He raises the bar—calling us to love God with everything we are and to love others just as deeply. In this passage, we see that faith isn’t about checking boxes or doing just enough to feel okay with God; it’s about a transformed heart that overflows in love. The tension is clear: we can understand the truth, agree with it, and s...

In Mark 13, Jesus responds to the disciples’ questions about the temple and the end of the age by calling his followers to readiness rather than giving a timeline. He warns us not to be deceived, alarmed, surprised by opposition, or spiritually asleep as history moves toward his return. Instead, we are called to remain faithful, alert, and anchored in the truth, hope, and mission of Jesus as we aw...

As Easter approaches, we begin slowing down to look closely at the most important week in human history—Holy Week. In Mark 11, Jesus enters Jerusalem to crowds shouting “Hosanna,” appearing to receive the authority people wanted to give Him. Yet instead of claiming power the way they expected, He rides in humbly on a colt and heads to the temple, where He boldly confronts corruption and restores i...

Mark places two moments side by side to show us the clear mission of Jesus. As He predicts His death again, we see that He is unwavering—He came to deal with sin once and for all. Meanwhile, the disciples miss it, arguing about greatness and position. So Jesus refocuses them—and us—on what His kingdom truly looks like: welcoming the overlooked and serving others as a way of life. The Son of Man ca...

In Mark 8:27–9:13, Ross walks us through a turning point in the Gospel of Gospel of Mark as Jesus asks the question that reframes everything: “Who do you say I am?” We see Peter’s bold confession that Jesus is the Messiah, followed by a sharp correction as Jesus reveals He must suffer, die, and rise again. Then comes the call—to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him—and finally the con...

In Mark 6:30–56, we see Jesus reveal Himself as our Shepherd — One who cares for us in our exhaustion and hunger and who leads us even into storms. He has compassion on the crowds, teaching them and miraculously providing bread in the wilderness, showing that He is more than enough for both our spiritual and physical needs. Then, after sending the disciples into rough waters, He walks toward them...

Marty walks us through four tightly woven stories in Mark 4–5 to show how Mark uses storytelling to reveal one powerful truth about Jesus. As we move from a raging storm, to a demon-possessed man, to a dying child, to a suffering woman, we see a shared human experience of helplessness that leads people to respond with humility, faith, and reverent fear. Each encounter answers the same question—Who...

Jesus draws massive crowds who come expecting a powerful Messiah and an obvious Kingdom, but instead of clear explanations, He teaches in parables—stories that both reveal and conceal. In Mark 4, these “Kingdom parables” show us that God’s Kingdom doesn’t work the way we expect: fruit matters more than appearances, nothing stays hidden in the light, faithfulness matters more than effectiveness, an...

In Mark 3:7–35, Jesus confronts our assumptions about what it means to belong. Crowds surround Him, religious leaders analyze Him, and even His own family misunderstands Him—but Jesus makes it clear that proximity, knowledge, or family ties aren’t enough. Belonging begins with Jesus’ call, not our effort, and it shows itself in a life shaped by obedience and trust. This passage challenges us to mo...

In “All Systems… Disrupted,” from Mark 2:1–3:6, we see Jesus step directly into the religious systems of His day—not to preserve them, but to upend them for the sake of grace, healing, and restored relationship. As Jesus forgives sins, heals on the Sabbath, and calls people like Levi the tax collector, He exposes how easily faith becomes about rules, performance, and control rather than mercy and...

Ross preaches through Mark 1:16–45 to show that Jesus reveals His true identity through His authority, an authority that calls, commands, and cares. He explains that Jesus’ authority is not forceful but compelling, seen first as He calls ordinary fishermen to reorder their entire lives around Him, then as He teaches and commands with unmatched power—even over demons—and finally as He compassionate...

In this message, we wrestle with the defining question of faith: Is Jesus the One? Mark’s Gospel opens with a bold declaration—Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God—and then unfolds five clear spotlights that affirm it: Old Testament prophecy, the ministry of John the Baptist, the testimony of the Father at Jesus’ baptism, Jesus’ victory in temptation, and His proclamation that the kingdom of God h...

Caleb walks us through Psalm 77 as a year-end reflection on faith in hard seasons, showing us four movements of a heart in distress: reaching our limits, asking honest questions, choosing what we will remember, and trusting that God is still at work even when we can’t see it. Through Asaph’s raw honesty, Caleb reminds us that lament doesn’t weaken faith—it reveals our need for God—and that questio...

Christmas Eve centers on the simple but powerful truth that Jesus came near—for us. As we reflect on the longing beneath the noise of the season, we are reminded that Christmas is about more than gifts or traditions; it’s about God stepping into our world. Through the birth of Jesus, we see that God comes near to be with us, near to save us, and near to stay with us. Jesus is not distant or detach...

This week of Advent focuses on Love. Scripture reminds us that love comes from God and is defined by Him, not by our imperfect experiences of it. In Jesus, we see love fully revealed—given to those who are needy, to those who fail, and even to those who oppose Him. His life shows us that love is not earned or performance-based, but freely given and sacrificial. As we reflect this Advent, we rememb...

This third week of Advent centers on joy—not as a shallow feeling, but as a deep, steady reality available to us even in hard seasons. Walking through the familiar story of the shepherds in Luke 2, we see how God delivers a joy-filled message to an unlikely group of people who felt overlooked, unimportant, and on the margins. The angel’s announcement reminds us that the good news is for all people...

In this Advent message, we explore how God brings life and hope out of the most unlikely places—often in the very conflicts, tensions, and strained relationships we carry into this season. Romans 15:4–13 reminds us that God’s power doesn’t just remove conflict but breaks and transforms our hearts so real peace can take root. Sean reflects on surprising moments of peace in history, like the 1914 Ch...

Today we open our Christmas series by looking at HOPE—not wishful thinking, but the confident expectation that God keeps His promises. Through the stories of Mary and Joseph, we see that true hope comes from God and grows as we trust and obey His Word. Their surrender and obedience point us beyond themselves to Jesus, the fulfillment of every promise and the true hope of the world. As we begin Adv...

In this message, Mark wraps up our journey through Romans 8 by reminding us that in Christ, we are already living in the victory. Like holding all the wild cards at the end of a game of Uno, we see how the gospel answers three huge questions we wrestle with: Who can be against us? Who can condemn us? Who can separate us from God’s love? As we walk through Romans 8:31–39, we remember that God is fo...

In Romans 8:28–30, we see a truth we cling to when life doesn’t make sense: God is at work in all things for our good. But today, Ross helps us see that this “good” is far deeper than comfort or ease—it’s the good of being shaped into the image of Christ. As we walk through suffering, weakness, waiting, and unanswered prayers, God is not distant. He is working in every detail, forming us, holding...

Life’s hardships often leave us asking, “Why?” In Romans 8, Paul reminds us that our present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that will one day be revealed in us. As we wait, creation groans, we groan, and even the Spirit groans on our behalf — all pointing us toward a future hope that far outweighs our pain. This message invites us to fix our eyes on what’s unseen and live with patien...