New Hope Church

LACK OF FAITH SUPPRESSES THE REVELATION GOD’S POWER Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.  But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”  And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. —Matthew 13:54-59…

THE WISE AND THE FOOL— HE WHO DOES OR DOES NOT UNDERSTAND  Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” —Matthew 13:8-9  The seed sown along the path is like “anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:18). The seed sown on rocky soil is like “the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on…

DESTRUCTIVE DIVISION  Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. —Matthew 12:25              Division is the great divider of people at any level— a nation, a state, a city, a neighborhood, a family or even between two people.  Jesus made it clear that those divisions are destructive in relationships at any level.             Presently the United States is divided badly.  If we keep going in this direction this nation will cease to be what it has been.  There appear to be forces that are intentionally causing confusion and division while encouraging animosity and hatred.             When we…

HATRED’S DESTRUCTIVENESS  But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more… His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. —Genesis 37:4-5, 8  They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. —Genesis 37:18  Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let…

OMNIPRESENCE!  YOU ARE NEVER ALONE!  Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” —Genesis 35:3  Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead…

BE AWARE! “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” —Matthew 24:21-23 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a…

GIVE TODAY!  Freely you have received; freely give. —Matthew 10:8              What have you freely received from our Lord Jesus?  Really the answer is everything!  We were lost and He saved us.  We were in the kingdom of darkness and He transferred us into the kingdom of Light.  We were sin sick and dead, but He healed us and raised us to new life.  We were enslaved by Satan to do His will and now we have been freed by Jesus to do His will.  All of this we have received freely.  He gave without cost to us, but it was at great cost to Him!  Now He desires us…

OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK!  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” —Matthew 9:36-38              Ok, there are few things we learn about the harvest— Lost people have Jesus’ compassion Lost people are harassed Lost people are helpless Lost people are like sheep without a shepherd The harvest is plentiful among lost people The workers in the harvest for lost people are few Jesus is the Lord of the…

CONFLICT AND GRIEF When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. —Genesis 26:34-35             Marriages should be a time of joy and celebration, but sometimes they are not.  In the verses above Esau married Hittite women who were under the curse of Noah (Genesis 9:25).  These two women were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.  There was obviously conflict between Esau’s wives and Esau’s parents.  This is a hard thing to live with.             Anytime there is conflict/grief in families through a marriage — it…

THINK RIGHTLY AND DON’T WRITE A FALSE NARRATIVE IN YOUR MIND!  Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” —Genesis 20:11             What actions have you taken or are you taking or will you take because of wrong thinking or depending on your own thoughts?             In the verse above Abraham had: Thought wrongly Thought wrongly about the people of that place (an area between the Dead Sea and Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea) Thought wrongly about the people’s belief of God in that place Thought wrongly that he would…