Annually Hope Community Church asks God for an intentional focus for our Sept. through Aug. ministry year. This year’s focus is to shift to become a more relational disciple-making church. As our elders, leaders and ministry areas have begun intentionally seeking to follow Jesus and equip others to do the same, some people have asked a valid and important question, “Why?” In this message Dean Wertz explains several reasons for this year’s emphasis and casts a vision for what this could look like for generations to come.
Sermons by Dean Wertz (Page 30)
We are made to worship. God engineered our souls to thirst for increasing doses of delight. So throughout our city as in the 1st century city of Lystra men and women seek pleasure in many unsatisfactory quests. In this text the Apostle Paul succinctly declares the secret for every soul, “Turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” Listening to this message will clarify for you why only God will satisfy your soul and equip you to expand your delight in Him.
Have you noticed how some followers of Jesus seem to have something special when it comes to helping others come to believe in and follow Jesus as Lord? The Apostle Paul was used by God to point thousands of people toward a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As we seek to be disciples who help others to become disciples, this message unveils values that God used in Paul to draw many to become disciples of Jesus. What if we all learned from Paul as he learned from Christ?
Many years ago Saint Augustine wrote, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” In today’s message, we meet Sergius Paulus, a Roman proconsul on the island of Cyprus, who appeared to have it all. Yet he longed for more. Overcoming great distances, a dangerous ocean and discouraging words, God sent messengers…
Why do we still send out missionaries in our contemporary world? Aren’t there enough needs to address locally? Since people’s spiritual framework is intertwined with their culture, isn’t it disrespectful to enter their world for the purpose of influencing their religion? If you ever grapple with questions like these this message will provide three God-centered motivations for followers of Jesus to join our centrifugal God by sending missionaries and/or going ourselves until the whole earth is “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Have you noticed how often a difficulty arises once you take a step to faithfully do what God wants you to do? In our passage today, strong opposition came against God’s people when king Herod killed James and captured Peter to kill him as well. If you desire to see God break through like only He can do this message will encourage you to anticipate opposition, pray to our King and know with certainty that He will deliver you in His time according to His plan for His glory and your amazement.
Aspen forests grow as each tree distributes seeds and sends out root sprouts. Similarly, our exalted Jesus expands His Kingdom here on earth in various ways through ordinary people like you and me. In this message by Dean Wertz, united with a God exalting testimony from Uriel Luebcke, founder and Pastor of SkateMinistry.org, you will be inspired to discover, and then remain steadfast to, your divine purpose.
A godly disciple named Stephen has been executed. Authorities have entered the Christians’ homes. Male and female disciples have been dragged off to prison. And the One who said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness” is seated at the Father’s right hand with all authority in Heaven and on earth. What is King Jesus up to? Beginning in Acts 8, through the whole Book of Acts and up to today, we discover that King Jesus is in the process of unleashing the whole church to bring the whole gospel to the whole world. In this message, we are challenged not to waste our lives and trained how to join Jesus in this mission – until He comes again.
Description: Do you long for your co-workers, classmates and friends to know and delight in God? Do you want to see fewer homeless, sick, lonely and hopeless people in our city? Do you dream of the day when people around the world know and glorify God? The good news is God desires these realities and He has a plan to bring them about. In a phrase, His plan is for all of us to join Jesus in his mission to make disciples of all nations. While there are many ingredients which our Lord Jesus uses to multiply the number of disciples within a city this message reveals 4 that are indispensable. May God help all followers of Jesus to honor widows, respect His Word, prioritize prayer and mature in Christ for the good of our neighbors, the renewal of our city and the glory of God among all nations.
There are two ways to live life. We can live with God, love one another, love our neighbors and serve according to our divine purpose with joy and peace even in the midst of opposition. Or, we can live with jealousy, fear and anger while still considering ourselves religious. In our message today these two ways are contrasted in the lives of the apostle Peter and the high priest Caiaphas. Why was Peter able to serve with love and joy even when thrown in prison and beaten? The answer to this question is revealed in Peter’s words to Caiaphas. It is also the secret for living the life God created for us today.