New Hope Church

THE BETRAYER And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” —Matthew 26:21-25 Judas would…

SALVATION LEADS ONE TO SERVE “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” —Matthew 25:34-36             Here are some areas where our Lord expects His people to be involved in.  Are we? I…

THE PACIFICATION BY FEAR If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible. —Leviticus 5:1 The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.  The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.. —Proverbs 29:24-25 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. —Ephesians 5:11             If we know something that we have seen or learned about and do not bear witness to it then it is sin.  That is a challenging…

THE COMING SHOCK OF REALITY! “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’  “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. —Matthew 24:29-30 See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and…

A COUPLE INDICATORS OF THE END And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold… And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.— Matthew 24:12,14             Lawlessness will be increased… It is interesting that this does not simple say that lawlessness will increase, but that lawlessness WILL BE INCREASED.  There will be an intentional, active and purposefulness for someone(s) to cause lawlessness to intensify.  That is one of the signs that the end is getting nearer.             As we look at the United States there is a deliberate destabilization…

RELIGIOUS HYPOCRITES Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! —Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29             Those who are “religious hypocrites” only play the part of what they portray to be.  There has been no change in them, just an outward appearance of change.  What they are on the outside is not what they really are on the inside.  Jesus said of these type people— They hinder people from entering the kingdom of heaven. They are not themselves entering the kingdom of heaven. They will travel long distances to make a convert. They make that convert twice as much a child of hell as they…

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH! Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. —Matthew 23:1-3             Do we live our lives according to what we say?  Do we practice in our own lives what we preach to others?  Are we living out what we say we believe?  Is what we say really what we believe?  A lived life will reveal if one truly believes what is spoken as belief.             It is a…

GOD-GIVEN ABILITY And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you. —Exodus 31:6             What God has called you to do He will give you the ability to do it and He will gather all those who are to serve with you as well and give them the ability to accomplish what He desires.  This is a wonderful truth.  He calls us to a work and He equips us for the work.  He calls us to a work and He calls others to the work to work with us.  He does it!  Will you trust Him for it?             So…

GIVE! Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said…

NOT WORKS OR POSITION, BUT REPENTANCE AND BELIEF Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. —Matthew 21:31-32 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls…