New Hope Church

BE AWARE OF THE DEVIL’S SCHEMES Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. —Matthew 26:3-4 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. —Matthew 26:14-16             We need to be aware of those around us who may seem to one of us but are actually…

ONLY TWO OPTIONS— YOU ARE A GOAT OR A SHEEP And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. —Matthew 25:33              Those who know Jesus seek to help others.  They are not self-centered but are looking out for the interest of others and not just their own— “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  Yes, those who know Jesus will seek to model after Him— “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to…

BE FAITHFUL MANAGERS ACCORDING TO YOUR ABILITY! Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. —Matthew 25:13-15 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ —Matthew 25:23  But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where…

BE READY TO MEET JESUS For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power…

JESUS IS COMING AT THE CLOSE OF THIS AGE! As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” —Matthew 24:3             Jesus is coming soon!  What are the signs that point to His coming?  Here are a few from Matthew 24:1-22 and they seem to be coming upon us… Many false Messiahs will make claims There will be wars There will famines There will be earthquakes There will be martyrs There will be hatred toward Jesus’ followers by ALL nations There…

WORK WITH WORKERS TO FINISH THE WORK! Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done…

OUR ALL IN ALL—ADONAI— MY LORD The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. —31:1-5 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known…

BE AWARE OF WRONG MOTIVES IN COMMUNICATION 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…

SEEK THOSE DESIRING TO OBEY “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” —Matthew 21:28-31             Better is delayed obedience, than a promise to obey and then not to.  How many people today say they will do something, but then they do not follow through and do…

TEMPLES/HOUSES OF PRAYER He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” —Matthew 21:13             Secularism had crept into the temple.  It was to be a place of prayer, but it had lost that focus.  Think of it.  The temple of God was where He wanted to meet His people and they turned that meeting place into materialistic gain.  How sad…             Today the temple does not exist, but we who believe are temples where God’s Holy Spirit resides.  Is our temple “a house of prayer?”  May it be so and not a temple that…