One of God’s gifts to the church is worship! Yet, sometimes worshipers do things that we don’t like while we praise God together. Worship gatherings for the Corinthian Church were lively but also chaotic and in many ways, disrespectful. Though many aspects of first-century worship were different than ours, the solution Jesus unveiled through the Apostle Paul’s pen is the same. Join us on Sunday at 9 a.m. as we unite to worship God and discover the intermingling of worship and love!
Sermons by Dean Wertz (Page 8)
An ordinance is a Christian experience with physical elements (water; bread and cup), that is celebrated when the church of Jesus comes together. This word is closely associated with the term sacrament, which is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace. Join us at 9 a.m. this Sunday 10/30 as we meditate on Jesus and the significance of His table, followed by an invitation to participate in the ordinance of communion together.
As the inventor, designer and overseer of marriage, singleness and sex; God communicates His intentions and guidelines for His people throughout the Bible. One of the places where He does so is in 1 Corinthians 5-7. Join us this Sunday at 9 a.m. as we worship our Great God in song, prayer and further meditation on what union with God looks like in our single and married lives.
Like gravity, photosynthesis, germination and everything beautiful in our world, sex was God’s idea. As the inventor, designer and overseer of sex, God has been comfortable communicating His intentions and guidelines for sexuality among His people. One of the places where He does so is in 1 Corinthians 5-7. Join us this week and next as we consider God’s vision for this mysterious reality and what fidelity to God’s plan looks like.
This Sunday, we welcome back our Lead Pastor Dean Wertz from his sabbatical! In order to reconnect as a community, Dean will be leading our congregation in a time of sharing words of encouragement and testimonies of the work God has been doing in our lives. Then, next week, Dean will continue us in our study of I Corinthians.
Should our southern border have a wall? Should our northern border remain closed for non-vaccinated people? Should the FBI have raided former President Trump’s home? What should be included in our schools’ curriculum? So many opinions on so many topics divide so many people every day. In our divided culture, what would it look like if all who call on the name of Jesus heard and obeyed His appeal for a united church? Join us this Sunday at 9 a.m. to worship God and learn from our 2nd message from 1 Corinthians entitled, “Our Lord’s Appeal for Unity.”
Problems exist in the world and church. For us who live in Christ to be of service in the brokenness, the opening paragraph in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Church starts by assuring Christians of our blessed status with God. Join us Sunday at 9 a.m. to worship God as we begin our timely series entitled, “In Christ in Culture” through the book of 1 Corinthians!
Within Hope Church we are united in our commitments to grow, gather, give and go. The primary reason why we do these things is because Jesus included these habits in His life, and He summoned us to do the same. Of the many times when Jesus would “go” to love people, this Sunday we will consider the account of His going to a tax collector and the implications for our going to also love those in our lives.
Our bodies grow until they stop growing. Yet our life with God is meant to grow continually. When the first disciples devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, they began their life-long journey of increasing nearness to God. Join us on Sunday to learn how you can increase your closeness to God and why a commitment to grow for the duration will produce a life of sustained exhilaration.
Last week we learned that our church’s mission comes from Jesus when He declared, “make disciples of all nations.” In this next message, we will consider the gift of intimacy with Christ while we join in the ministry for Christ.