New Hope Church

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”  The Plot to Kill Paul. The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot… But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.  Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” So he took him…

Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” —Acts 23:1              What is “the duty to God” that Paul said he had fulfilled “in all good conscience to this day?”  In Acts 20:24 he told us that “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  Paul’s task was “testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  That’s what he lived for.              How about you and I? …

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.  Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  For the Lord watches over the way of the…

One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. —Proverbs 18:9              Slack work causes destruction in many ways.  Those who are slack in their work don’t only impact themselves, but they impact others as well.  Those— We seem to be living in a time where so many only do what they need to do in the workplace.  I know that is a general statement and it has probably always been like this to some degree.  We have observed it in our workplace and have heard from others who have observed it in their workplaces as well. Unfortunately, this destructive slacking is in the professing church…

Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” —Acts 21:13              How challenging this is to me!  Is it to you?  The brothers and sisters knew Paul would be arrested as prophesied by Agabus.  They pleaded with Paul that he not go up to Jerusalem.  How did Paul respond?  He said, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”  So, the question I have for…

You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. —Acts 20:20 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. —Acts 20:24 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ —Acts 20:35              God’s Word is to be…

Praise the Lord.  How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! —Psalm 147:1 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. —Psalm 147:4-5 Praise our Lord.  Sing songs of praise to Him.  It is pleasant and fitting to praise him!  So, let’s do so!  Lord— So let us praise our Lord in song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moL8iDWiyRQ&list=RDmoL8iDWiyRQ&start_radio=1 Thank Your Creator of all, for Your love.  We love You because You first loved us.  May I encourage others to love You as well and to live for You…

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord… —II Kings 13:2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord… —II Kings 14:3 The Lord loves the righteous. —Psalm 146:8              Brothers and sisters, fellow followers/disciples of Jesus, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).  How does our Lord see you?  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).  Praise God that He does not look at a snapshot of our lives and condemn us for that one picture of failure.  No, He…

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. —Psalm 145:3 All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you.  They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.  The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. —Psalm 145:10-13              How great is our Lord?  Just look around at what He has created!  Songbirds are chirping out the melodies He has given them.  Clouds burst forth their…

When Paul and his companions… came to Thessalonica… on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. —Acts 17:1-4 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them…