New Hope Church

ONE’S TRUE NATURE WILL BE REVEALED For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” —II Peter 2:20-22             A dog is a…

GROW IN GRACE OR STAGNANT IN SIGHTLESSNESS Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from…

THE HUMBLE RECEIVE HIS FAVOR Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. —I Peter 5:5-7             Pride has the “I” in the center of the word just like pride in a person is all about them being the center of attention.  Sentences often start with “I” when the prideful are communicating.  It’s all about them.  They are center…

YOU RECEIVED GOD’S GIFT TO SERVE OTHERS FOR HIS GLORY As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. —I Peter 4:10-11 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. —I Peter 4:19             What is the gift or gifts that God has given you?  Do you know?  Why is it you do not know?  How long have…

WHAT YOU SOW, YOU REAP! And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. —Ezekiel 36:26-27 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. —Ezekiel 36:31 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and…

I AM FREE! Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. —I Peter 2:16             Free!  We are not imprisoned any longer.  Satan no longer has control over we who have called on Jesus who were once not thinking right, trapped and captive to do Satan’s will (II Timothy 2:26).  Now, instead of doing Satan’s will, we are set free to serve God and “keep his commands and do what pleases him” (I John 3:22).  “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak…

THE GOOD NEWS— OUR LIVING HOPE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-1fwZtKJSM Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. —I Peter 1:3-5 “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word…

BE STEADFAST… EVEN IN SUFFERING As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. —James 5:10-11             Suffering?  Our Lord is “compassionate and merciful.”  Wait on Him!  Trust Him!  Did Job ever know why He suffered?  We are not told that he was told or ever knew the answer to his “why?”  The prophets and Job remain steadfast when under trials.  Oh, that does not mean that they did…

ONLY IF IT IS GOD’S WILL! Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. —James 4:13-17                Where is…

NOT JUST WORDS SAID, BUT EVIDENCED BY A LIFE LIVED Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. —James 3:13             Who do you know that fits this description?  Who are the wise that you know?  Who are those that have understanding that you know?  Who that you know bears evidence of possessing these characteristics by the “good life” they are living?  Are they, through wisdom, being humble?  These are the people to be around and learn from.  They are the examples to follow.             People can say they are wise.  They can…