Jesus is working to see the whole church share the whole gospel with the whole world. Satan is working against this plan by trying to turn everyone in Christ’s church into spiritual weaklings. To see Christ’s plan prevail, Jesus is training us to receive His divine gifts, including the sword of the Spirit and prayer in the Spirit, so the world gets the Good News, God gets the glory, and we all, except Satan, get to be a part of it.
Sermons by Dean Wertz (Page 12)
God loves children and so do the people of Hope. Since the kids will be with us throughout this 4th Sunday service, Pastor Dean will bring a shorter and kid-relevant message entitled, “Kids, God is For You!” from Ephesians 6:1-4. Parents, this message will encourage your children to abide in Jesus in various ways, including through obedience and honor toward you so if you are in town, join us as God’s family unites to worship and receive His wisdom for our everyday lives.
Sometimes we disagree with people we love. This difficulty can cause sleepless nights, stomach aches, avoidance, anger and sometimes even slander. Last week we learned from Ephesians 4:1-16 that God’s vision for the church is unity, not uniformity. In this coming message, from Ephesians 4:17-32, we will begin to discover God’s guidance on how to be faithful to our convictions and kind toward others, especially when we disagree.
Imagine a deeply unified people. What would it look like for people with legitimate differences to eagerly maintain unity in a community of peace? Christ envisions His followers to be this unique group and in this message, we will learn how He summons us to think and live together that it may be so!
Why pray if God is sovereign over all? Why pray when time is limited and there is so much work to be done? Why pray if God already knows everything including what I will converse with Him about? After writing to the church in Ephesus about the awe-inspiring and freshly revealed gospel of Jesus, the Apostle Paul shares the reason why he bows his knee before the Father. In so doing, he has inspired generations of people like you and me to do the same. Join us for this message and service to worship God and discover a potentially new and compelling reason to pray!
Jesus is available for all. Everyone who gets acquainted with and then accompanies Jesus becomes united in realities that surpass the divisions among us. This week’s message celebrates some of these realities and then includes an insightful conversation with Seth Slay, Hope and Bloom’s Worship Leader about the people of God uniting as a community of praise.
On sunny and rainy days, it is good, necessary and right to consider the goodness of God. Please join us this Sunday as we unite in song, prayer and God’s Word to meditate on several blessings which God has given to all who love Jesus. This week’s message will be the first in a new series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
How shall we respond when life doesn’t go according to our plan? While on earth Jesus was guided by the Holy Spirit in ways that were often unexpected. The Spirit led Jesus to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness and into Jerusalem to be crucified. The disciples were often confused by the mysterious steps the Spirit led Jesus to take. Now that Jesus has ascended and fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit into His followers, we can also expect to be led in ways that are unexpected, unplanned, and confusing. In this message, we will be encouraged and guided to walk faithfully when seasons of mystery arise.
God created us to walk with Him. Yet, who would do so if we think God is angry or against us? In this message we discover what the 1st followers of Jesus sought to know; how can we most accurately get to know this God who invites us to live with Him in all of life? In Christ, God is revealing Himself to us as One who loves us, is for us, forgives us and wants us (and all who don’t yet rightly know Him) to live all of life in the conscious awareness of His kind presence and purpose.
When was the last time you were surprised? What does it take to astonish you? To marvel is to live with surprise, wonder and amazed curiosity. God made you to live with an ever-expanding amazed curiosity and in this message, Jesus will show you how to do so.