Blessed Hope Church

Throughout Scripture we find commands to wake up, be on guard, be ready, and stand firm. But if we are not careful our thinking can lead us into complacency when it comes to our faith. Before we know it, we end up in a spiritual slumber, but God calls us to wake up. He wants […]

In today’s episode, we look at the heart of complaining and how we intentionally live lives of gratitude.

What does our testimony mean? How does it affect our lives and those around us? Elder Ryan Koehn shares his testimony and why it’s important we do too.

It doesn't take long to find things in our world to be negative about but if we are not careful we can quickly become negative people. This is when our attitude is programmed to ignore the abundance of good that surrounds us and instead pays attention to the bad in people, situations, and events. Overcoming […]

In today's episode, we continue to explore toxic thinking as we spend some time looking at our identity as parents as well as seasons of doubt.

Every person will have moments where they struggle with doubt. But doubt is not the enemy of faith. In fact, God can use our times of doubt to take our faith to levels it has never been before. The key is how we choose to approach our doubts.

Within every person is the need to know who they are, where they belong, and how they relate to the world. It comes down to knowing our identity. The crisis comes when we allow our thoughts to define our identity on anything other than Jesus. God longs for us to know who we are in […]

We’re back! In today’s episode, we dive deeper into our new sermon series, Toxic. We take some time to do our own toxic thinking audit and answer questions like, “Can Satan hear our thoughts?” and “What does it really mean to surrender?”. Resources: Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by […]

There is a violent battle raging around us at all times. It is the battle for our minds, and this battle is vicious. It is unrelenting, it is intense, and it is unfair because our enemy does not fight fair because we are always with our thoughts. This battle cannot be ignored but it also […]

Israel has just crossed through the Jordan River by the power of God and is ready to start claiming the land of promise. God decided to have them start with one of the most fortified cities that they would come against. Before the conquest begins God makes sure that Joshua is in the correct position […]

The crossing of the Jordan River represents passing from one level of life to another. As Christians, God is always leading us to go deeper with Him and to do so requires us to live by faith. It takes faith to leave behind what we are familiar with, faith to step into a way that […]

A consistent truth of life is that change happens. Those shifts might be small or extremely significant, wanted or unwanted but no matter what change is part of life. The book of Joshua begins with a big change that has an impact on Joshua as an individual and for the entire nation of Israel. Within […]

In this episode, we continue in our summer series of testimonies…stories of how Jesus changes lives. Today, Nate Stalheim shares his story of faith.

We know Jesus is the only door to salvation; now we explore how we can show that we love and belong to Him and gain our Lord’s approval.

This Sunday we heard a message from one of our elders, Ryan Koehn. When we replace the old with the new, there is change taking place in our lives.

In this episode, we continue in our summer series of testimonies…stories of how Jesus changes lives. Today, Robb Cromer shares his story of faith.

As I prepare to leave Blessed Hope, I want to spend my last Sunday with you focused on 3 areas. I want to remind you of the true salvation that we all share. I want to admonish you to guard the true doctrine of the church. And finally, I want to encourage you to rest […]

As Job’s suffering continues – he wants answers from the God who is in control. He thinks he deserves them…but God thinks differently. Ultimately, God knows that Job’s questions (and ours) aren’t really about “why”…but “who.” We don’t need answers…we need God. And knowing God intimately will allow us the freedom to lament well.

In this episode, we continue in our summer series of testimonies…stories of how Jesus changes lives. Today, Shawna Kurth shares her story of faith.

In the middle of trials – many of us feel like our hope is fading. We wonder if these feelings will ever really go away or if circumstances will ever change. We can’t picture a reality where the hurt is less…so we wonder, why should we keep hoping? And why is God silent? Why won’t […]

While we know it’s true that no one is truly “good” – we still wonder why bad things happen to people who are trying to please God…or who are just minding their own business and trying to follow the rules? And what good is our faith in all of this? If our faith can’t spare […]

In this episode, we continue in our summer series of testimonies…stories of how Jesus changes lives. Today, Mike Dominick shares his story of faith.

The Holy Spirit descended on the believers in power and the Church was born. In the power of the Spirit, Peter stands to proclaim the Gospel to the city of Jerusalem and 3,000 people entered the family of God. Immediately God allows us to see how this new family cared and did life together. Our […]

Who is responsible for caring for the people of the Church? The pastor? The elders? Those in leadership? Just those that have the spiritual gift of caring for people? The answer is simple…we all are responsible when it comes to caring for one another. As we shift our thinking toward the Church back to what […]

In this episode, we kick off a summer series of testimonies…stories of how Jesus changes lives. Today, we flip the script as our host Malea Lee shares her story of faith.

What is the Church? There are a variety of answers that can be given to that question but at its core, the Church is a family. Not just any family though as it is the family of God made up of brothers and sisters who have been united by blood…the blood of Jesus. Before grasping […]

This Sunday we finish up our Sermon on the Mount series and celebrate all that God accomplished through Faith in Action! Over these last couple of months, we have worked through all the teachings Jesus gives and concludes by calling us to be wise builders who put His words into practice. Jesus has spoken with […]

In this episode, we talk pet peeves, level b roads, and library board meetings, as we wrap up our Sermon on the Mount series.

Am I really a Christian? How do I know? Are they? What’s the evidence? There are a lot of people out there that call themselves Christians…is that real? Who decides? In a community where even those who identify themselves as Christians can’t always agree on what the Bible is, who Jesus is, or how we […]

What does it really mean to love one another? How does it work? What does it look like? Refusing to act in a judgmental way is a good start…but it isn’t enough. Love is more than not treating someone poorly. Love is active and productive. It can be hard to do…so we ask God for […]

In this episode, we talk more about money, judging, and Matt’s favorite Pastor Appreciation gift.

The entire thrust of the Sermon on the Mount is to show the complete and total distinction between true religion and false religion…between spiritual truth and spiritual hypocrisy. And this is most clear with regards to how we relate to, disagree with, and correct others. Jesus is clear that acting in judgmental ways without love […]

People are naturally stuff oriented. We tend to be wrapped up in seeking, acquiring, enjoying and protecting our stuff. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses both those who have plenty and those who don’t. He addresses those that stockpile for selfish reasons as well as those who strive daily for […]

In this episode, we look at giving, prayer, and fasting as we continue in our Sermon on the Mount series.

Prayer can be a little confusing. At our core – we know that prayer matters. But how? None of us can really comprehend exactly how prayer works within the infinite mind of God. The Bible teaches us that prayer is important…but what’s the right way to do it? As we continue digging into the Sermon […]

In the heart reframes of chapter 5 (murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, and love) Jesus is focusing on our internal righteousness. As we shift into chapter 6, Jesus will start to shift the focus to our religious activity. But even that comes with a stern heart warning against hypocrisy. If we want to receive the […]

Today we are celebrating our 100th episode with special guest (and B-Side founder!) Vincent Derr!

We live in a world that is obsessed with our rights. And from a human perspective it makes perfect sense. The only way to be sure that everyone is protected is to focus on our rights – especially when it comes to people who have hurt or wronged us. When our rights are violated we […]

The most significant moment in all human history took place on an early Sunday morning in a tomb where everything changed for all eternity. Many attempt to call it a myth but when the evidence is presented no person can stay neutral. The choice to deny or believe must be made. This Easter Sunday let […]

In this episode, we look closer at what God says about divorce & oaths.

We’ve all been guilty of it to a degree – saying things we don’t really mean. Whether it’s a “little white lie,” an exaggeration to prove a point, something to make us look better, or just an outright untruth – we’ve all been down that road. As Jesus continues in the sermon on the mount, […]

As Jesus continues to help us see sin for what it is – a matter of the heart – he reframes the issue of lust, sexual sin, and divorce. These sins take root in the heart and it’s only when we understand their origin that we can hope to cut them out of our lives […]

In this episode, we dig further into Matthew 5:17-26, discussing both Old Testament ceremonial laws & sinful/unsinful anger.

Jesus ended the last chunk of Scripture with the clear call for our righteousness to surpass the Pharisees and teachers of the law…and that if it didn’t, we would not enter the Kingdom of God. Why not? Because the righteousness that God requires is first and foremost a matter of the heart. And the lesson […]

Many Christians struggle with the line between faith and works. Following God’s law as a way of being “OK” with Him vs. trusting God’s grace. But the truth is that the most basic question, “How much do we need to do to make sure we are really saved?” shows us that we don’t really understand […]

In this episode, we spend some time discussing what it means to be salt and light.

As we see in The Beatitudes – we are called to the blessed life – which is a life that is surrendered to Christ and is completely countercultural to how the world lives. So by our nature – Christians are called to live a different…and effective kind of life. The Bible describes that as Salt […]

In the Beatitudes Jesus tells us that the only blessed life is found in Him and through the Gospel. The power of the Gospel is not just to save us but the power to radically transform our lives in every way possible. With the rest of the Beatitudes, Jesus reveals how we are changed after […]

In this episode, we unpack the first week of our Sermon on the Mount sermon series.

The blessed life…everyone wants it and there are countless opinions on how to get it. But Jesus begins the most significant sermon ever given by clearly establishing where the blessed life comes from. These are not isolated statements made by Jesus but the roadmap to the blessed life through Him by a surrendered life to […]

Disobedience is a powerful thing that we constantly underestimate. For some inexplicable reason, we never assume that small disobedience today will lead to bigger problems tomorrow. But, as we see with Israel during the time of the Judges, little disobediences often ultimately lead to destruction. It’s the natural consequence of doing whatever seems right in […]