Hope Church (Dubuque)

Mark’s sermon, Finishing Strong, draws parallels between Mr. Rogers and Nehemiah, emphasizing their dedication to making the world better and pointing people to God’s purpose. Nehemiah’s story, as seen in Nehemiah 13, shows his commitment to rebuilding the wall and restoring the people’s faith, yet upon his return years later, he finds the people had fallen back into sin, neglecting the house of G...

Ross’s sermon highlights how Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem was about more than restoring walls—it was about God restoring His people’s hearts for His glory. In Nehemiah 11-12, the Israelites pause to marvel at God’s work and respond by dedicating themselves to Him through worship. Ross identifies three marks of a life dedicated to God: setting our hearts on His purposes, rejoicing in His fait...

In Marty’s sermon, he uses the analogy of a "Jar of Life" to illustrate the importance of prioritizing our lives according to God’s design. The jar represents our life, filled with big rocks, pebbles, and sand. The big rocks symbolize our primary commitments—things that shape our character and relationship with God. The smaller pebbles and sand represent lesser priorities and trivial matters. Mart...

Mark's sermon highlights that Nehemiah’s story isn’t about building walls but about shaping God’s people. While the wall was built swiftly, the heart transformation took much longer. After completing the wall, the people, now familiar with God’s Word, move from celebration to true repentance—confessing their sins and recalling God’s unwavering faithfulness throughout Israel’s history. True repenta...

In this sermon on Nehemiah 8, Pastor Ross emphasizes the pivotal moment when God's people, having completed the physical rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, now turn to spiritual restoration. The focus shifts to a renewed passion for God's Word. Ezra reads the Law to the gathered people, who respond with conviction, understanding, and worship. Nehemiah encourages them not to grieve but to find joy in...

In this sermon, Nehemiah shows how to persevere through distractions while building for God's glory. His enemies repeatedly tried to divert him from his mission, but Nehemiah stayed focused, declaring, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.” Distractions, like entertainment, busyness, or even good things, can pull us away from God’s work today. We must, like Nehemiah, stay committed...

In Marty's sermon, he contrasts the self-centered messages we often hear in modern culture with the biblical call to live for God's glory. He reflects on how phrases like "it's all about you" can lead to emptiness and brokenness, whereas living for God brings fulfillment. Marty emphasizes that from creation to the time of Nehemiah, humanity has struggled with making life about themselves rather th...

In his sermon on Nehemiah 4:1-23, Ross emphasized the theme of being "Faithful in Opposition" as followers of Christ. He discussed how Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem faced both external and internal opposition while rebuilding the city's walls for God's glory. External mockery and threats came from their enemies, while internal discouragement and fear plagued the workers. However, Nehemiah's...

In his sermon, Ross teaches from Nehemiah 3, focusing on the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls as a metaphor for building our lives for God's glory. Nehemiah is about a great God who uses people to fulfill His promises. In this chapter, Ross highlights how God uses various types of people to build for His glory: those who are dedicated, diverse, humble, and sacrificial. Just as Nehemiah's community...

Mark’s sermon, "Reliant on God’s Wisdom," contrasts worldly leaders who fumble through decisions with Nehemiah, a model of wise and focused leadership. Nehemiah’s story shows a leader who carefully planned, prayed, and trusted in God’s wisdom every step of the way. Unlike Hollywood’s bumbling heroes, Nehemiah didn’t act on impulse; he inspected Jerusalem’s walls in secret, understanding the realit...

In his sermon, Marty emphasizes the importance of building lives, marriages, families, and a community of disciples who surrender to Christ, aiming for a legacy that lasts into eternity. Drawing from the story of Nehemiah, Marty illustrates how God uses unlikely people to accomplish His work, highlighting four key necessities for being on mission with God: watchful patience, strong courage, deep r...

In this sermon, Pastor Ross introduces a new series on the book of Nehemiah, emphasizing that the story is not just about rebuilding walls or a great leader, but about God's desire to rebuild His people for His glory. Nehemiah's journey begins with a deep burden for the brokenness of Jerusalem, reflecting God’s heart for His people. Pastor Ross explains how God uses Nehemiah’s prayer, marked by ad...

In his sermon, Pastor Ross outlined the church's vision of raising up disciples who surrender their lives to Jesus. He emphasized the importance of connecting with God through Christ, growing together in faith, and serving others as essential steps in this journey. Drawing from scriptures like Ephesians 2:13-18, Acts 2:42-47, and 1 Peter 4:7-11, Pastor Ross encouraged the congregation to embrace u...

In his sermon, Pastor Ross outlines the new direction for Hope Church, emphasizing a focused vision to raise up fully surrendered disciples of Christ. Drawing from Matthew 28:16-20, he highlights the Great Commission as the foundation for this mission. Pastor Ross identifies three key characteristics of a disciple: worshiping Jesus, obeying His commands, and reaching others for Christ. He encourag...

In today's sermon, we concluded our series on worship by delving into Psalm 145 and exploring the heart that adores God. We reflected on the various heart postures in worship—seeking holiness, praising, celebrating, trusting, and surrendering—that help us understand and treasure God's infinite worth. Like the facets of a diamond, each posture reveals a unique aspect of God's beauty. Psalm 145 remi...

In his sermon "Heart of Worship" on Psalm 95, Ross emphasizes that true worship involves a heart fully surrendered to God. Worship is more than singing; it is a deep devotion, reverence, and adoration expressed through our entire lives. Ross explains that surrender, akin to raising a white flag in battle, means submitting to God's authority. He highlights recognizing who God is—our Creator, Shephe...

In today's sermon, Ross continued the "Heart of Worship" series, focusing on Psalm 25 to highlight that true worship involves trusting God completely. He explained that worship is not just about singing but living a life of deep devotion and reverence for God. Ross discussed how David exemplified trust in four areas: trusting God's lead, embracing God's forgiveness, following God's wisdom, and rel...

The sermon continues the "Heart of Worship" series, exploring worship through Psalm 149. It emphasizes that worship is more than singing; it's a deep, devoted response to God’s grace and mercy. True worship involves celebrating God’s goodness, paralleling the joy of personal milestones like engagements. By examining Psalm 149, the sermon highlights reasons to celebrate God in all seasons, starting...

Using Psalm 96, the sermon emphasizes that worship isn't just a ritual but a heart posture towards God, characterized by constant praise for His deeds, nature, and future judgments. It underscores that God deserves our highest praise for His creation, salvation, and majesty. The speaker urges the congregation to continually express their admiration for God, akin to writing 5-star reviews, and to w...

In this sermon, Pastor Ross emphasizes warning signs highlighted in Jude 1-16. He warns against ungodly influences and false teachers abusing God's grace, denying Jesus as Lord, and living fruitless, rebellious lives. The call to action is to turn to Jesus, repent, obey, and surrender.

The sermon on Psalm 15 addresses who can dwell in God's holy presence, emphasizing the need for a righteous and blameless life. It explains the Old Testament context of God's holiness and lists characteristics of a holy person, such as integrity and truthfulness.

In today's sermon, Pastor Ross introduced the new series "Heart of Worship," which explores worship through the Psalms. He explained that worship is about expressing deep devotion and adoration for God, not just through singing but with our whole lives. Using Psalm 27, he highlighted five facets of worship: seeking God's protection, offering praise, praying, desiring God's presence, and following...

Jude urges believers to contend for the faith by being vigilant against false teachings, staying prepared through discipleship and prayer, and actively engaging in a mission of mercy towards others. The sermon emphasizes the importance of maintaining faith, living in anticipation of God's mercy, and extending that mercy to those who doubt or oppose.

Pastor Marty spoke to how favoritism is inconsistent with our faith in Jesus. He speaks on James 2:1-13 showing the command James gives us to show no favoritism as all are equal in God's eyes. He then gives us four different ways to apply this to our lives.

Pure religion, the sermon argues, involves two main things: listening intently to God's word and living it out obediently and intentionally. It emphasizes the importance of actively engaging with God's word and allowing it to transform behavior, leading to a life that reflects Christ's teachings and character.