Have you ever wondered what a Christian is actually supposed to do? After hearing the message and invitation of Jesus, believing in Him, having an ‘ah-ha!’ awakening… it can be hard to know what the next steps are. There are so many methods, voices, and opinions on how we should act and behave as Christians. But in this message, we look at the command of Jesus “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” and what that means for us as his modern-day disciples. How can we respond and follow in the dust of the Rabbi?
Sermons by Tara Farrell (Page 2)
What makes someone a good leader? When we vote for a political leader, we typically vote based on what they promise to accomplish. But what about when they don’t do what we thought they would? This Palm Sunday, Tara Farrell brings a message on Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem that examines the various contrasts between the kind of King they wanted Jesus to be, and the King He really was.
Our families can teach us a lot about ‘tough love’. Being in a family often requires loving those who drive us nuts, and enduring hardships together in a way that’s totally unique from any other type of relationship in our lives. After having explored what it means to love God and love our neighbors, this week Tara Farrell brings a message that explores Jesus’ new commandment of “love one another”. We discuss why this can be the most challenging (and rewarding) type of love and why it’s vitally important to the family of Christ.
If your house was burning down, and everyone was safe, but you had a few minutes to save one thing – what would it be? You’ve probably been asked this kind of hypothetical question before as a get-to-know-you or team-building exercise. That’s because whatever someone chooses to save reveals a lot about what they value most in life. In our final message on the Values of Hope Church, Tara Farrell will show us how God’s Presence, Guidance, and Peace are by far our most valuable possessions as Christians because they serve as the foundational blueprint for how to abide in Christ.
Praise God, the wait is over! Christ is born and Christmas is over, but this Sunday, Tara Farrell brings a message asking us to continue to reflect on a final character from the nativity story – the lowly shepherds. We began Advent by asking, “What are you waiting for?”. Now, we ask ourselves the same question again – only this time we see how even the shepherds rejoiced exceedingly at the angel’s good news, and we ask ourselves – when it comes to worshipping and experiencing God – what are we waiting for?
Have you ever made a plan that went entirely different than you expected? How do we respond when the things we want and expect out of life don’t happen? Or when the Lord calls us to something different than what we planned for ourselves? This second Sunday in Advent, Tara Farrell brings a message on the story of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and how God reached into her life and turned everything upside down. And more importantly, how Mary responded to His plan to redeem Israel and ultimately the entire world.
How do you know what is true? In the “information age”, where we have constant immediate access to the media, it can be difficult to untangle the objective reality from our limited knowledge and personal experience. In his concluding message to the Ephesians, Paul calls all believers to armor themselves against the lies and confusion of their day. He warns the only way to stand firm against spiritual attack is to bind our faith together with the fundamentally important belt of truth.
When something happens in life that we simply can’t explain – how does this affect our faith in Jesus? This week, we read Paul’s important reminder that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a beautiful and wondrous mystery, revealed to us in the present age, and worthy to be shared with the entire world. Even when we can’t explain everything – we can rest assured in His love for us and in our hope for the future.
Do you feel successful in life? Do you feel that you’ve accomplished everything you’ve set out to do? Today we often measure our success in having a spouse, kids, property, money, recognition, or fame. Yet, Jesus didn’t have any of these things – and still said at the end of his life that said he accomplished everything He set out to do. Join us this Sunday in our Walking with God series as we look at how we can define our success by bringing glory to God – just like Jesus did.
Following Jesus is not always easy or comfortable. It often wasn’t easy for the disciples, especially when He led them into unexpected places – like Samaria – and did unexpected things – like talking alone with a woman at a well. But it is often in these moments where the most profound, earth-shattering revelations of God are given, and the abundant fruit of salvation is seen. As believers at Hope, we want to walk faithfully with our God – even as He leads us into uncomfortable places in our lives.