On the first day of 2010, I was single, wanting to throw in the towel and quit, at the end of myself and ministry. That month God sent me my future husband, I got married and my dad prayed at our August ceremony that God would expand our tent and increase our impact like that of Jabez in the Old Testament. It always stuck out to me because it was such an unusual prayer fr...

Reinforcement is vital. Sometimes it is the only way that we can remember what we have been taught and the same is true of Hope Extreme students....

You are More than Valuable Perhaps you remember the old Christmas Classic It's A Wonderful Life? All George has is a fifteen-thousand-dollar life insurance policy, but with only five hundred dollars equity. Mr. Potter says "You're worth more dead than alive." George goes to Mr. Martini's tavern and starts drinking, and then praying for divine guidance. His friends, includ...

Are You Salt and Light? Jesus was preaching the sermon on the mount and this is some of the first teaching we see from. As the crowds gather around him we see him preaching from the mountainside to reach the crowds of people. After preaching through the beatitudes (the attitudes of life that we are to have) we see him start with this teaching. Matthew 5:13-16 Salt and L...

Are You Willing to Pray? One of the most significant reversals in the history of the Christian faith took place in America during the 1780's in America just as the new nation was defining its independent identity and scripting is Constitution. Drunkenness was epidemic, city streets were lawless at night and the church appeared to be in terminal decline. John Marshal wrote...

We Gather to Scatter The two ways we Gather here at Hope Community(and we think it quite biblical by looking at the ministry of Jesus and following His example) 1. Sunday Mornings in Crowds The idea starts in Genesis, because every biblical idea and thought process does.It is not good that the man should be alone. (Genesis 2:18) And so God gave Adam to Eve. And then th...

Our Forever Home 1 Corinthians 2:7-9 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those...

Have you been guarding and rebuilding your gates? It’s so important. Not just for what you let in but also for what you keep out. So be like Nehemiah and take care of your gates. And as he was rebuilding he was also fighting. That’s right FIGHTING. So many times we think that rebuilding will come easy or without a fight. But that’s just not true. And Nehemiah...

Thank you for joining Hope Community this Sunday. We are so pumped for what God is doing in and through our Rise Up and Build series. We have heard stories of people praying throughout the day and other people that are encouraged to persevere through opposition and their past. Truly let's RISE UP AND BUILD. Today as we continue our study in Nehemiah we see something in...

From Prison to Palace. Scripture says in Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” Joseph's story has so many things that are applicable to our lives today. So dare to dream again and join us on our journey to the PALACE. ...

Truly God is a good father and restores us back to himself. But He is not content to let us stay that way. His desire is that we would become His disciples. So today we encourage you to pick up your cross and follow Him. He alone is truly worth following. ...

We continue in our series of "I am Jesus" with another statement that Jesus made about himself and perhaps the most profound. He declares that He is the ONLY WAY. Exclusivity. In a world that wants us to be culturally inclusive Jesus clearly makes a statement int he opposite direction. So the question becomes do we believe what he says about himself? And if so, what a...

So many times we are tempted to use the phrase "it wasn't me," even when we know full well that it was. Ever been there? Caught red handed but still denying. Most people have been in that situation at least once in their lives. And since the beginning of time we have been bust covering up our sin. Today we encourage you to be honest. Admit your faults and allow God t...

Practical. So many times we like to be spiritual or emotional or the like. But a lot of what Jesus teaches is just practical. In the next couple of weeks we will be getting practical insights for life from God's word. Working hard and accomplishing all that God has for us is so important. So "Get Busy" and watch what God accomplishes in and through you....

Has something unexpected ever happened to you? Perhaps a special blessing or a bonus at work. Maybe the blessing of another child or just a really good day in the midst of some bad ones. Zechariah and Elizabeth were at the same place in their lives, barren and overcome by circumstances that they just couldn't seem to shake off. But God came through in an unexpected way...

We are excited about our new series “A Christmas Story” and the learning of the real reason for the season. Today we learn the story of Anna and Simeon, people that both waited on the promised Messiah. Both of them waited for years and yet never lost patience. Wow. What about you? Are you patient in waiting? We encourage you today “Don’t Hate the Wait, Be Pat...

Our Grow series has been exciting as we have learned that we are Gifted and Removed the Foxes and moved our of our comfort zones into Outreach. Today we learn of WONDER. Wonder is like miracle grow for our souls. It keeps us hungry. It keeps us coming back for more. The problem is that often times we move away from wonder into the mundane. Today we pray that the God ...

In order to grow, sometimes we have to remove. There are things, relationships, and situations that steal from the growth that God intended both in our lives and in the lives of the church. We encourage you to remove those things from your lives so that we can grow into the mature Christians and Church that Christ has called us to be....

Faithfulness. This is not a word that is practiced too much today but definitely was practiced in the New Testament church. You don't have to be great, just faithful. Today we encourage you the believer to be faithful to what God has called you to and watch God work in and through your life....

Generous. We love when people are generous with us. Generous with their money. Generous with their time. Generous with their forgiveness and grace. God has called the Saints to be the same, generous. Let's let go of the tight fist we have around our money and time and be known as a people who are generous with all that God has given. ...

We love the Saints!! And in spite of last week's game we are still rooting and cheering for that black and gold. But more than we love those New Orleans Saints, God LOVES the Saints of God and he has issued us a call to action. It's time. Don't just sit on the sidelines, let's get in the action of the game and become all that God has intended the church to be....

As we study the life of King David we see that he was anointed, pure, and accountable but he also had a Secret Place. He found it as shepherd boy but developed this place all the years of his life. His Secret Place was under the Shadow of the Almighty. What about you? Have you developed a secret place that moves past church attendance and an occasional reading of the B...

We are Set Apart. The bible is clear that we are a chosen people but also that we are called to be separate. We are not to look like the world, we are to look like Jesus. Today we find David facing an inner battle of purity. Though God has chosen him, the enemy was still plotting to destroy his life and testimony. Today we pray that you chose purity with a purpose. L...

We have commandments but we also have a commission. It's our assignment. It's why we are still here. Join us today in following the last lesson that Jesus taught while still on this earth. Go therefore and make disciples....

Ephesians 6:10-16 If we had fought the devil more in the world, he might never have been able to invade the church so terribly as he has done. Attack with the sword, for it is your calling, and thus will you best defend yourself. Charles Spurgeon ...

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We are so excited to be starting a new series called "Controlling your Emojis." Life is full of ups and downs. Everybody, loves being happy, so why is it so hard to stay that way? Learn what the Bible says about fighting our feelings and discover how to take control of your moods before they take control of you....

Have you ever been tempted to stop? Stop what God has called you to? Today we are studying Joshua 6 and how the people of God were tempted to stop. BUT THEY DIDN'T Not the first time, second time, third or fourth. They kept on going and got the victory. We encourage you to to do the same....

Pick up the dishes. Take out the trash with a smile. Serve someone who is not even grateful. These are not things that come naturally to us. Yet Jesus exemplifies this every day of his life. Today we encourage you to remember that Jesus is master and we are his humble servants. So Serve God. Serve one another. And go out and serve our city....

Everyone has a set of keys. Some open our house. Some lock the keys to our shed. Others let us enjoy our cars. One of the biggest keys in our Christian walk is forgiveness. It's essential. The bible says that we are called to forgive because of all that Christ has forgiven us from. Not once but over and over again. When we choose to do this it closes the door to ou...

Heaven is for real, we all know that, but what about hell? In today’s culture it is socially acceptable to be politically correct and not really bring up any issues of truth, but Jesus does just the opposite. In Luke 16 he shares a story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Both died and both went somewhere. Both places are real. Today we pray that you wou...