Hope Church - Fort Worth, TX

Pastor Matt Sturdevant and the pastoral staff of Hope Church continue their two-week series through the Book of Esther, using the Three C Podcast to go deeper than Sunday morning allowed. The big idea of the series is this: certainty is not knowing what will happen next — it is knowing who you can trust when you don't know what's coming. The team unpacks three anchoring truths: God is in control even when we are not, God is working even when we cannot see it, and God has a purpose even when we do not understand it. They also offer a crucial warning — the message of Esther is not that trusting God guarantees the outcome we want. The answer to an uncertain world is not a principle; it's a person — Jesus Christ. The podcast then goes several layers deeper into the historical and Biblical context of the story. Pastor Matt draws a fascinating line connecting Haman the Agagite back to Agag, the Amalekite king whom King Saul failed to destroy in 1 Sam. 15, and traces Mordecai's lineage back to the house of Kish in the tribe of Benjamin — the same lineage as Saul himself. This means the conflict between Mordecai and Haman is, in many ways, a generational rematch of Saul versus Agag. Even further, Haman's plot to annihilate every Jew across all 127 provinces is not merely a political threat — it is an assault on God's covenant promise to Abraham in Gen. 12 and Gen. 22, and ultimately an attempt to destroy the messianic line before the Messiah could come. The team then moves into application, wrestling with the tension between trusting God and falling into passivity. Using a framework of opportunity, obedience, and outcome, they make clear that God provides the opportunities and governs the outcomes, while human responsibility lives in the middle — faithful obedience. They walk through a sweeping list of things we can influence but cannot control: other people's decisions, our children's faith, our health, our reputations, and the growth of the church. The takeaway is both humbling and freeing — we are responsible for our response and our faithfulness, and we can trust God with everything else.

Pastor Matt Sturdevant opens a two-week series called Finding Certainty in an Uncertain World by asking a simple but piercing question: what are you uncertain about right now? Whether it's your job, your marriage, your health, your kids, or the economy, Pastor Matt establishes that uncertainty isn't an unusual season of life — it's simply part of life in a broken world. Beneath that uncertainty, he identifies another struggle: our deep desire to be in control. Yet as he points out, there are things we can influence that we simply cannot control, and one of life's most unsettling discoveries is just how little control we actually have. To wrestle with this, Pastor Matt takes the congregation into the Book of Esther — a real account of a young Jewish orphan who found herself living in a world of uncertainty about 2500 years ago. One of the most striking features of Esther is that God's name is never mentioned once in the entire book, yet His fingerprints are everywhere. From this, Pastor Matt draws three certainties: God is in control even when we are not, God is working even when we cannot see it, and God has a purpose even when we do not understand it. As Proverbs 19:21 reminds us, "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." The sermon builds toward its most important point: the answer to an uncertain world is not a principle — it's a person. Our deepest problem isn't uncertainty; it's sin. But Romans 5:8 declares, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The cross proves God's love, and the resurrection proves Jesus can save. Because of this, Pastor Matt redefines certainty not as knowing what will happen next, but as knowing who you can trust when you don't — and that trust is grounded in Jesus Christ.

Pastor Matt Sturdevant opened the sermon with a striking passage from C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, in which the demon Screwtape reassures his apprentice Wormwood not to panic just because their "patient" has become a Christian — because the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in their favor. That sobering image set the tone for the entire message: becoming a follower of Jesus is only the beginning. Every disciple must be intentional about renewing their mind, transforming their heart, and deploying their hands — because if we do nothing, we drift, and we drift in the wrong direction. The heart of the sermon centered on the big idea that every follower of Jesus has been intentionally placed where they are to represent Christ and help others discover His ways. Pastor Matt walked through three key points: every disciple is sent, ordinary life carries extraordinary purpose, and ordinary faithfulness creates eternal impact. To make that real and practical, he outlined a simple, non-weird framework for living as a sent person: notice the people God has already placed around you, pray for them specifically, care for them genuinely, share naturally about Jesus, invite them to take a next step, and simply walk with them — whether they respond to the gospel or not. The podcast discussion that followed dug deeper into what this actually looks like in everyday life. The team unpacked the danger of two opposite errors — words without a matching life, and a life without words — pushing back on the popular but historically questionable quote often attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words." The truth, Pastor Matt argued, is that good works make the gospel believable, but they cannot make it understandable. Words are necessary. And when it comes to not knowing enough to share your faith, the answer is probably less than you think — because a personal testimony of "I was one way, Jesus entered my life, and now I'm different" is a powerful and accessible starting point for anyone.

In the closing message of the "Fully Engaged" series, Pastor Matt brings the six-week journey to a powerful conclusion with a simple but weighty truth: every follower of Jesus has been intentionally placed where they are to represent Christ and help others discover His way. Anchoring the message in the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8, Pastor Matt challenges the idea that ministry is reserved for pastors and missionaries. If you are a disciple, you are sent — to your workplace, your neighborhood, your school, your family — because there are people in your life that no one else can reach the way you can. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Pastor Matt paints a vivid picture of what it looks like to live as an ambassador of Jesus. Just as an ambassador lives in one country while representing another, followers of Jesus live in this world while belonging to another kingdom. That means our words, our actions, and the way we carry ourselves all matter — because people are forming impressions of Jesus based on how we live. As Pastor Matt puts it, the greatest obstacle to the gospel may not be persecution, but inconsistency. Wrapping up with Jesus' own words in Matthew 5:13-16, Pastor Matt reminds us that we are called to be both salt and light — influencing and revealing the character of God in the most ordinary moments of life. We shouldn't wait for some spectacular opportunity to be used by God. Showing up, loving people, praying, inviting, serving, and living with integrity — that is ordinary faithfulness. And when ordinary faithfulness is placed in the hands of an extraordinary God, it leads to eternal impact.

In this episode of the Three C Podcast, Pastor Matt Sturdevant and the pastoral staff of Hope Church continue their "Fully Engaged" sermon series by going deeper into the meaning of ministry. Drawing from a definition by Dr. Wilson, Pastor Matt unpacks ministry phrase by phrase: it begins with participating with God, recognizing that God is already at work and invites us to join Him, as seen in 1 Corinthians 3:9 and John 5:19. It also means cooperating with people, because there are no "Lone Ranger" Christians in Scripture — ministry is a team effort that requires humility, patience, and putting the mission above personal preferences, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4:16. Ultimately, ministry is about serving others to meet their needs, fulfilling our calling, and bringing glory to God, as Matthew 5:16 and 1 Corinthians 10:31 remind us. The conversation then turns to spiritual gifts — special abilities given by the Holy Spirit to every follower of Jesus at the moment of salvation. Pastor Matt emphasizes that there are no un-gifted believers, pointing to key passages in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4. The staff shares personal stories of how they discovered their own gifts through trial, service, and affirmation from others, reinforcing the principle that you often discover your gifts by using them, not by waiting until you've figured everything out. Pastor Matt also draws an important distinction between spiritual gifts and spiritual responsibilities — just because you don't have the gift of evangelism, for example, doesn't excuse you from sharing your faith. The episode wraps up with a candid discussion on spiritual consumerism versus contribution. The staff challenges listeners to examine their motives and move from simply receiving to actively serving. Pastor Matt offers a practical pathway — pray, explore, try, evaluate, and commit — and encourages everyone to connect with the church's discipleship pastor to find a place to get in the game. As Pastor Matt puts it, Jesus didn't save us from something; He saved us for something.

In this fifth week of the "Fully Engaged" series, Pastor Matt steps back to connect the dots of the entire year's journey — from the Gospel of John to the book of Acts — and asks the practical question: what does all of this look like for us, here and now? The answer, he argues, is found in Mark 10:35-45, where Jesus flips the world's definition of greatness upside down. When James and John jockey for the best seats in the Kingdom, Jesus doesn't rebuke their desire for greatness — he redefines it. In God's Kingdom, greatness isn't measured by how many people serve you, but by how many people experience God's love through your life. Pastor Matt then anchors the why of serving in Ephesians 2:8-10, reminding us that we are saved by grace, not by works — but we are saved for good works. We don't serve to earn God's acceptance; we serve from acceptance. As he puts it, "God does not love you anymore because you serve." Every follower of Jesus has been gifted by God and invited into His mission — not because He needs us, but because He loves us and wants us to be part of what He is doing. The sermon closes with a clear and urgent invitation: get in the game. Pastor Matt challenges the congregation to move from spiritual consumerism toward active contribution, reminding them that the church is not a cruise ship where a few serve while everyone else relaxes — it's a battleship where it's all hands on deck. The key takeaway is both a challenge and an encouragement: we don't serve because we've grown, we grow because we serve.

In this episode of the 3C Podcast, host Jeremy and the Hope Church pastoral team — Pastors Brian, Jake Myers, Luke Myers, and lead pastor Matt Sturdevant — recap a busy ministry weekend that included a group leader meeting, a groups catalog launch, a newcomer reception, and an equipping seminar titled Can I Really Believe? The seminar walked through three "doors": whether God exists, why Christianity specifically, and what it truly means to follow Jesus. Pastor Matt summarized the heart of that third door well: "Christianity is more than believing facts about Jesus — it's trusting your life to him." The bulk of the episode dives deep into the theological framework of spiritual growth, prompted by a question Pastor Matt received after the equipping seminar. Using a diagram of the spiritual journey, he carefully walks through the stages — spiritual death, conversion, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, and finally glorification. Anchoring the discussion in passages like Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 5:1, and 1 John 3:2, Pastor Matt clarifies that glorification — perfected Christ-likeness — means being fully like Jesus in character, desires, body, and relationship with the Father, while never becoming God himself. As he puts it, "Justification means I have been saved from sin's penalty. Sanctification means I am being saved from sin's power. But with glorification, I will be saved from sin's presence." The team then brings it all back to the practical, discussing the six ways to feed the heart introduced in Sunday's sermon: Scripture, prayer, Biblical community, obedience, serving, and generosity. Each pastor shares personally how these rhythms have shaped their walk with Jesus, with Brian emphasizing Scripture as the bedrock foundation, Luke highlighting prayer as the covering over everything else, Jake calling the church to get into groups and take the plunge even if it feels awkward, and Pastor Matt urging listeners not to let shame pull them out of community and obedience — the two areas where the enemy does his most damaging work. Heart Shield Bible: https://www.museumofthebible.org/book-minute/heart-shield-bibles

Pastor Matt opens by addressing one of the most honest questions a believer can ask: if Jesus truly changed my heart, why do I still struggle with the old me? Using Galatians 5:16-25, he makes clear that Paul never pretended the battle doesn't exist. In fact, Pastor Matt argues that the struggle itself can be evidence of new life — because dead people don't fight for spiritual growth, but living people do. The absence of the struggle, he reminds us, is not the goal. Faithful obedience in the middle of the struggle is. To explain how believers grow through the battle, Pastor Matt turns to John 15, where Jesus repeatedly calls his followers to abide in him. Just as a branch doesn't manufacture fruit but simply stays connected to the vine, Christ followers aren't called to try harder — they're called to stay closer. Abiding in Jesus looks like a daily rhythm of Scripture, prayer, Biblical community, obedience, serving, and generosity. These aren't boxes to check, but ways of staying connected to the source of life. Finally, Pastor Matt reminds us that real transformation — the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23 — is grown, not manufactured. It develops slowly, becomes visible over time, and benefits everyone around us. Rather than measuring spiritual maturity by dramatic moments, he challenges us to look for steady fruit. His closing challenge is simple and practical: each morning, before reaching for your phone, pray, "Jesus, help me stay close to you today" — and then walk with him.

What happens when good things become ultimate things? In this episode of The 3C Podcast, the guys continue the conversation about the heart—why pressure often reveals what's really going on inside us, how our reactions can expose deeper desires, and why we shouldn't "waste the squeeze" when life gets difficult. They also explore some of the hidden idols that can quietly take God's place in our hearts. And they aren't necessarily bad things. Ministry, family, plans, belonging, knowledge, theology, and even our memories of the "good old days" can become dangerous when we begin looking to them for what only God should provide. How can you tell when something good is creeping onto the throne of your heart? What does your response when it's threatened reveal? And how does Jesus actually transform us from the inside out? It's an honest conversation about pressure, priorities, idolatry, spiritual growth, and learning to keep God where He belongs—at the center of everything.

Pastor Matt opens with a vivid image: Jesus doesn't want to be a guest in your life, peeking into only the rooms you're comfortable showing Him. He wants your heart to become His home — every room, every closet, every hidden corner. The heart, as Pastor Matt explains, is not simply the seat of emotions, but the command center of life itself. As Proverbs 4:23 puts it, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." Your words, relationships, decisions, and habits all flow downstream from whatever is happening in your heart. The danger, Pastor Matt warns, is that our hearts are never neutral — they are always worshiping something. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 6 when He says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Whatever sits on the throne of your heart will ultimately direct your life. Even good things — family, success, comfort, approval — become dangerous when they become ultimate things. And as Jeremiah 17:9 soberly reminds us, the human heart left to itself is deceitful and desperately sick, incapable of fixing itself. But that's exactly where the gospel shines brightest. God promised through the prophet Ezekiel, "I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). Pastor Matt calls this a heart transplant — and it's available to anyone who surrenders to Jesus. Behavior modification alone will never produce lasting change. Only a transformed heart, made new by Jesus, can produce fruit that lasts.

Pastor Matt Sturdevant and the pastoral team at Hope Church gather around the table to dig deeper into Sunday's sermon on winning the battle for the mind. The central text, Romans 12:2, calls believers not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. As the Phillips translation puts it, "Do not let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within." The team walks through a practical "discipleship audit," asking honest questions: What gets the first word of your day? What gets the most time? Where do you instinctively go when you have questions? The answers to those questions reveal who — or what — is truly discipling your mind. The conversation gets personal as the pastors share how social media, anxiety, and current events have each tested their own thought lives, and how returning to God's Word and Biblical community has made a real difference. Pastor Matt also challenges parents directly, pointing out that a parent's greatest failure with technology may not be what they give their kids, but what they passively allow. Devices aren't just entertainment — they are formation, shaping children's understanding of truth, identity, beauty, and value. Technological freedom, he argues, should never outpace a child's level of maturity and character. The team closes by getting practical about how to actually take thoughts captive, leaning on tools like the "Hey, Say, Pray, Obey" framework, the thought filter of Philippians 4:8, and the four ordinary means of grace: Scripture, prayer, Biblical community, and obedience. None of it is dramatic or flashy — it's the same faithful, boring-but-it-works training, day after day. As Pastor Brian puts it, keeping the Shield of Faith raised isn't a one-time act; it's a practiced discipline, strengthened over time through consistent, ordinary faithfulness.

Pastor Matt opens with a penetrating question: "Could there be a lie influencing your thoughts, attitudes, or decisions that you have never recognized as a lie?" Building on the previous week's foundation of faith, he turns the focus to what comes next in the Christian journey — transformation. Anchoring the message in Romans 12:1-2, he makes the case that God transforms our lives by renewing our minds, and that lasting change doesn't begin with trying harder, but with thinking differently. Salvation, he reminds us, happens in a moment, but transformation happens over a lifetime. Pastor Matt draws a sharp contrast between two forces described in Romans 12:2 — being conformed by the world, which presses in on us from the outside in, and being transformed by God, who works from the inside out. He warns that our minds are always being shaped, and that every day we are being discipled — either by the world or by the Word. The world, he explains, disciples us to follow our feelings and fit into culture, while the Word disciples us to follow Jesus and be transformed by His truth. Like Eve in Genesis 3, who accepted a lie before she ever reached for the fruit, we are reminded that long before a sin becomes visible, it usually becomes believable. To help his congregation fight back, Pastor Matt offers a practical three-step battle plan: identify the lie, confront the lie with truth, and continue to take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5). He also outlines four ordinary but powerful ways God renews our minds — Scripture, prayer, Biblical community, and obedience — and challenges the congregation to move from merely trying to actually training for godliness, as Paul urges Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7. The sermon closes with an invitation to write down the lie you battle most and pair it with a truth from God's Word, because freedom begins when God's voice becomes louder than the lies we've been believing.

Pastor Matt and the team at Hope Church launch the 3C Podcast as a companion to their Sunday messages, diving deeper into ideas that didn't fully fit the sermon or deserve more unpacking. The first episode picks up from a message on Biblical faith, built around the big idea that faith is not simply believing the right things about Jesus, but responding to him with a trust that renews the mind, transforms the heart, and deploys the life. Pastor Matt draws a sharp distinction between historical or intellectual belief and saving faith, pointing to James 2:19 — "even the demons believe and shudder" — to show that knowing facts about God is a far cry from belonging to him. The conversation gets refreshingly practical as the pastors share personal stories of what "everyday faith" actually looks like — trusting God through a daughter's gymnastics injury, releasing control over a college-bound teenager's decisions, and dying to self in the middle of an ordinary parenting moment. They also walk through a spiritual health self-assessment introduced on Sunday, encouraging listeners not to obsess over their score or compare themselves to others, but to use it as a baseline — a starting point to ask better questions, identify next steps, and measure growth when the assessment is revisited at the end of the series. The goal, as Pastor Matt puts it, is simple: the version of you today should look more like Jesus than the version of you yesterday.

Pastor Matt opens the Fully Engaged series by drawing a striking distinction between people who know the Bible and people who are actually growing in it. After more than twenty years in ministry, he has observed that it is entirely possible to believe all the right things about Jesus — to attend church faithfully, to know sound doctrine — and still never be fully surrendered to Him. To help the congregation honestly assess where they are, he walks them through a Spiritual Health Assessment organized around three words: head, heart, and hands. The big idea anchoring the entire series is this: God wants my mind renewed, my heart transformed, and my life deployed. From there, Pastor Matt unpacks three foundational statements about the nature of faith. First, Christianity is rooted in reality — not blind leaping, but trust built on evidence. John wrote his Gospel so that people would believe, and he pointed to miracles, eyewitnesses, and the empty tomb to make his case. Second, faith is more than agreement. Drawing from James, Pastor Matt reminds the congregation that even demons believe the facts about Jesus and shudder — yet they refuse to surrender. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as belonging to Him. Third, faith demands a response. Just as Matthew left his tax booth and Peter left his nets, genuine faith always produces movement — from the inside out, from a renewed mind to a transformed heart to hands that serve, give, and live on mission.

Christian Impact directors Jacob and Katie Willebeek-LaMair sit down to share their stories of faith, marriage, and ministry. Jacob grew up moving between Arizona, Illinois, and California, making an early decision to follow Jesus as a child but drifting during a difficult middle school season before genuinely recommitting in high school. A pivotal moment came in college when a mentor named Neil helped him see that following Jesus wasn't something you left at church — it was a whole-life surrender. That truth, rooted in Galatians 6 and Hebrews 12, set Jacob on a path of real discipleship and eventually ministry. Katie, who grew up at Hope Church as a staff kid, came to faith at age five and was shaped by a community that modeled sacrifice for the kingdom. A summer trip to Chico, California cracked open her heart to evangelism and ultimately led her to move there, where she and Jacob would eventually meet, marry, and go on full-time staff together. After years of fruitful ministry in Chico, God called them — through a conversation with Pastor Matt Sturdivant, a confirming word from Ruth 2:11, and a Cross Conference that seemed to speak directly to Jacob — to move to Fort Worth and launch Christian Impact from the ground up. Starting with zero students, they've spent five years learning what it means to be faithful when ministry doesn't look the way you imagined. One of their deepest lessons has been releasing the pressure of flashy results and trusting God with the fruit, while staying committed to reaching students on two-year community college campuses that most college ministry strategies overlook entirely. They close with a warm and honest conversation about sharing the gospel. Both Jacob and Katie encourage people to stop letting fear be the deciding factor, reminding listeners that statistics show most people are open to spiritual conversations. Jacob's lawn mower illustration captures it well — God is doing all the pushing, but He graciously invites us to put our hands on the handle. Whether it's asking someone "Do you go to church anywhere?" or walking a friend through a gospel conversation, the encouragement is simple: learn what the gospel actually is, get some reps in, and trust that God is the one doing the real work of drawing people to Himself.

Pastor Matt returns to the pulpit to close out a 16-week journey through the Book of Acts, reminding the congregation that Acts is not simply a history of the apostles, but a living account of what the risen Lord Jesus continues to do through ordinary, Spirit-filled people. The big idea of the message is clear: the mission of Jesus is unstoppable, and now it's our turn. Drawing from Acts 27–28, Pastor Matt walks through three lessons — the mission cannot be stopped by storms, faith looks forward even when the future is uncertain, and the gospel keeps moving forward — showing how every apparent setback in Acts became an opportunity for gospel advancement. A central theme of the message is the nature of Biblical faith. Pastor Matt points to Paul's courage in the middle of a violent Mediterranean storm, noting that Paul's confidence wasn't in the ship, the captain, or the weather — it was in God. Referencing Proverbs 3:5-6, Pastor Matt reminds the congregation that faith has never required perfect understanding, but it always requires trusting a perfect God. He challenges the church with a simple but convicting truth: faith doesn't remove uncertainty, but it changes how we walk through it. Pastor Matt closes by connecting the Book of Acts to Hope Church's own future, introducing Vision 2028 — a plan to launch a new gospel work in the DFW area by the church's 50th anniversary. Grounding the call in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and the warning of Judges 2, he reminds the congregation that every generation decides whether the gospel advances through them or stops with them. He invites the church to pray boldly, live on mission right where they are, and trust that the same God who was sovereign over Paul's storm is sovereign over theirs.

Pastor Brian opens by drawing attention to one of the Bible's most consistent and powerful images: a river. From the river flowing out of Eden in Genesis 2, to the prophetic river in Ezekiel 47, to Jesus declaring in John 7 that rivers of living water would flow from those who believe in Him, all the way to the river of life in Revelation—this image traces the unstoppable flow of God's redemptive message throughout all of Scripture. Just as a river cannot be permanently stopped by rocks, logs, or even a dam, neither can the gospel of Jesus Christ be halted by any obstacle the world throws in its path. With that foundation laid, Pastor Brian walks through Acts 21–26, where Paul faces a furious mob, a corrupt governor, a two-year imprisonment, and a skeptical king—and yet the gospel keeps flowing. Each obstacle Paul encounters becomes a missional platform rather than a dead end. The angry crowd in Jerusalem, the political delays of Felix and Festus, and the royal audience with King Agrippa all become opportunities for Paul to tell his story of what Jesus accomplished in his life. Even Paul's appeal to Caesar—which seemed to close the door on his freedom—ultimately placed him in Rome, where he would write the letters that make up much of our New Testament today. Pastor Brian closes with a challenge for every believer: the river keeps flowing, but God calls His people to be faithful channels of it. Whether you are surrounded by people far from God or by fellow believers who need encouragement, your mission field is wherever you are. The question is not whether God's river will continue—it absolutely will. The question is whether you and I will be faithful enough to let it flow through us.

In this honest and heartfelt conversation, Jessica and Glenda open up about their years of walking through infertility, each sharing the unique ways God worked in their hearts during that season. Jessica and her husband Matt were married about 14 years before having their daughter Kinsey, and she describes the deep inner wrestling of learning to surrender the picture she had drawn in her heart of what her future would look like. Glenda, who had Lindy about eight years into marriage, shares that her struggle was less about longing for children and more about the feeling of being left behind — as though life was a race everyone else was winning while she fell further back. Both women point to the same anchor that steadied them: returning again and again to who they are in Christ, not what they have or haven't been given. Jessica shares a powerful moment of clarity the Lord brought her — realizing He had actually been answering her deepest prayer all along, using her life for kingdom impact during the very years she felt He was withholding from her. Glenda echoes this by pointing to Psalm 145:16, which says, "You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing," as a verse she returned to often when she needed to be reminded that God is the one who truly satisfies. Their practical encouragement is just as valuable as their spiritual reflections. Both women urge those struggling with infertility to go to the doctor sooner rather than later, to fight the pull toward isolation, and to lean into celebrating friends who are pregnant rather than pulling away — because choosing joy for others, even when it's hard, is actually what sets your own heart free.

In this sermon, Jordan Funderburk walks the congregation through the second half of Paul's third missionary journey in Acts 19-21, using Paul's experiences as a lens to answer one central question: what is the cost of following Jesus? Jordan opens with a relatable illustration — weighing the cost of a car repair or a vacation — before anchoring the big idea in Luke 14:27, where Jesus himself says that whoever does not carry his own cross cannot be his disciple. Following Jesus, Jordan makes clear, is the biggest decision a person will ever make, and it is never without a price. As Paul moves through Ephesus, Troas, and toward Jerusalem, Jordan draws out several specific costs that surface along the way. The riot stirred up by Demetrius and the silversmiths in Ephesus illustrates that radical change often provokes radical opposition, and that following Jesus may cost you your popularity, your finances, and even your health. The all-night gathering in Troas — where a young man named Eutychus falls from a window and is raised back to life — highlights the cost of time and convenience. And Paul's tearful farewell to the Ephesian elders, paired with his unwavering resolve to press on to Jerusalem despite certain danger, shows what it looks like to obey God despite unknown outcomes. Jordan closes by pressing the congregation with a challenge rooted in Luke 14:33, where Jesus says that anyone who does not renounce all that he has cannot be his disciple. Drawing on the image of Jesus as both Savior and Lord — two sides of the same coin — Jordan reminds the church that we cannot accept one side while rejecting the other. Quoting John MacArthur, he leaves the congregation with this: it costs nothing to become a Christian, but it costs everything to live fully as one. The good news, however, is that as Luke 18:29-30 promises, whatever is surrendered for the sake of the kingdom will be repaid many times over, both in this life and in the life to come.

In this summer interview episode, Matt and Brian welcome their wives, Jessica and Glenda, to the table for a conversation that longtime listeners have never quite gotten to hear before. After a lighthearted round of get-to-know-you questions, the group settles into the real stuff — sharing how they each grew up, how they met their spouses, and how they first came to faith in Christ. Glenda recalls hearing the gospel for the first time at a tiny church during a summer with her dad, moved by the simple truth that Jesus was a "stay" — someone who would never leave. Jessica, who grew up at Hope Church, describes watching people come to Christ as just a normal part of childhood, and later having her faith solidified through hard providential moments, including the loss of her little sister and two summers on the mission field overseas. The deeper thread running through the whole conversation is how walking with Jesus looks different in every season, but always involves the same essential movement: a step of trust, God coming through, and then a call to trust him further still. Brian describes bumbling forward in faith like a toddler on a balance beam, with God's hands on either side. Glenda reflects on learning that whatever assignment God has her in is the assignment she needs to be fully present for. Matt draws it all together with the image of a foundation — the higher you want to build, the deeper it has to go — and reminds everyone that uncomfortable obedience is often exactly how God does his best building work.

Continuing through the book of Acts, Pastor Luke focuses on the beginning of Paul's third missionary journey, where the emphasis shifts from simply planting churches to strengthening the disciples already in them. The big idea driving the sermon is that the gospel doesn't just save — it transforms every part of our lives. Pastor Luke illustrates this first through the story of Apollos, a brilliantly educated man from Alexandria who nonetheless lacked a full understanding of the gospel. When Priscilla and Aquila — ordinary tentmakers — took him aside privately and explained the way of God more accurately, Apollos humbly received their correction. That humility, Pastor Luke argues, is what made him teachable, and his teachability is what made him wise and ultimately one of the most impactful teachers in the early church. The second half of the sermon turns to the Ephesian believers and the contrast between genuine and counterfeit spirituality. When the seven sons of Sceva tried to invoke Jesus's name as a spiritual technique without any real relationship with Him, they were overpowered and publicly shamed. The Ephesian believers, by contrast, responded to what they witnessed with deep repentance — publicly confessing their practices and burning their magic books, valued at the equivalent of several million dollars. Pastor Luke draws a clear line between syncretism — treating Jesus as one spiritual resource among many — and true discipleship, which declares Jesus as Lord alone. He closes by calling the congregation to ongoing repentance and surrender, reminding them that transformation isn't a one-time event but a lifelong process powered by Christ Himself.

In the first episode of the Sunday Extra Podcast Summer Interview Series, Matt sits down with Pastor Harold Bullock — the man who founded Hope Church in Fort Worth in January of 1978 — to give the growing number of newer members a chance to get to know the man behind the church's beginnings. Harold shares his story of growing up in northeast Tennessee in a blue-collar family, coming to faith at around age seven during a church revival, and then spending much of his college and graduate school years spiritually adrift. It wasn't until January 1970, while pursuing his doctorate in chemistry at USC, that God used a young pastor and a community of believers to finally get Harold's feet firmly on the ground. From that point, Harold sensed a clear call into ministry, and by October of that same year, the Lord had made it plain that he was headed into pastoral work. Harold goes on to describe the early years of Hope Church — from the chaotic first meeting where a blaring radio derailed their worship service, to the "Tour de Loop," when the church bounced from hotel to hotel around Fort Worth without a permanent home for years. Through all of it, Harold and his wife Deborah held to a simple, gutsy commitment: there was no Plan B. They had surrendered every other option to the Lord and pressed forward in obedience. Harold also reflects warmly on the leadership transition to Matt in May of 2020, describing it as a genuine joy — a moment of passing something he had always understood to be God's, not his own. Closing out the conversation, Harold offers two pieces of counsel to the people of Hope. First, he urges every believer to take their walk with Jesus seriously, because this is not one option among many — it is how reality itself works, since God runs life. Second, he encourages people to focus on their own stewardship rather than everyone else's, and to learn to cooperate with the leadership God has placed over them. And for anyone wondering whether following Jesus is worth it, Harold's answer — shaped by decades of hard roads, including the loss of a daughter — is an unqualified yes. As he puts it, the good lies around the next very difficult bend in the river.

In this message from Acts 17–18, Pastor Jeremy unpacks Paul's evangelism in Athens and Corinth, anchoring everything around one central truth: the gospel must be faithfully communicated in every culture. In Athens, Paul doesn't wait for his traveling companions before acting — when the Holy Spirit spurs him, he moves. And rather than defaulting to Old Testament history as he would with Jewish audiences, Paul meets the Athenian philosophers right where they are, using their own altar "to the unknown God" as a springboard to proclaim the living God, the resurrection of Jesus, and the good news of the gospel. From there, Paul moves on to Corinth — a bustling, morally notorious trade city — where he meets Aquila and Priscilla, two ordinary tentmakers who become the backbone of his ministry. Pastor Jeremy draws out a powerful lesson from their example: you don't have to be a gifted speaker or a called pastor to play a significant role in God's kingdom. When ordinary people are faithful, God makes them extraordinary. Paul is eventually kicked out of the synagogue, threatened by Jewish leaders, and in need of God's protection — and God delivers on every front, even using the Roman official Gallio to shield Paul so he can spend 18 fruitful months in Corinth.

Guest speaker, Josh Hofford, opens with a word of encouragement to every father in the room — reminding them that their assignment was given by God Himself, that it is eternal and essential, and that God will not run out on them or their children. From there, Josh anchors the message in a sweeping passage covering Acts 15-17, tracing Paul's second missionary journey across roughly 1,300 miles on foot. The big idea Josh returns to throughout the message is this: God often redirects our plans to accomplish His greater mission, and faithfulness matters far more than our comfort. Josh walks through a series of moments where everything seemed to be going wrong for Paul and his team — the painful split with Barnabas, closed doors from the Holy Spirit, imprisonment in Philippi — and shows how God was not moving them out of the way, but moving them into position. Through each setback, God provided: Timothy joined the team, Lydia and her entire household became the first European converts to the gospel, a demon-possessed slave girl was set free, and a Philippian jailer on the verge of suicide came to faith along with his whole family. None of this was what Paul had originally planned. Josh closes by bringing the message home with two pointed questions: Where are you tempted to quit? And what would obedience look like if you pressed on anyway? Drawing from Acts 17:6 — the declaration that Paul and his companions had "turned the world upside down" — Josh reminds the congregation that the gospel still has that same radical power today, and that Hope Church's own mission teams, both in Folsom, California and Southeast Asia, are continuing that very same mission.

In this bonus episode of the Sunday Extra podcast, Pastor Matt fills in some important context before the church moves into the second missionary journey in Acts 15. Specifically, he walks through the Jerusalem Council found in Acts 15:1-35, where a dispute arose after Jewish believers from Judea began teaching that circumcision according to the law of Moses was required for salvation. Paul and Barnabas strongly opposed this view, and the council — including Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James — gathered to settle the matter. The council's conclusion was decisive: salvation is by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ — Jesus plus nothing. As Peter put it in Acts 15:11, "We believe that we will be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus, just as they will." While Gentile believers were encouraged to avoid certain practices like food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality, these were not requirements for salvation but practical steps meant to promote unity and fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers.

Randall Robinson, a longtime member and Antioch graduate of Hope Church, opens by sharing his own story of being commissioned and sent to Kansas City to help plant a church — a story that mirrors the very passage he's preaching from. Picking up in Acts 13–14, he walks the congregation through Paul's first missionary journey with Barnabas, beginning at the church in Antioch where the Holy Spirit called them out while the believers were already actively worshiping, fasting, and seeking God. From there, Paul and Barnabas traveled through Cyprus and into the region of Galatia, going first to the synagogues and then to the Gentiles, boldly proclaiming the gospel in ways tailored to each audience — while keeping the message itself unchanged. Randall draws out five key points from these two chapters: the mission starts with God's initiative, the gospel must be proclaimed clearly, the gospel will be both received and rejected, the mission advances through resilient faith, and the glory for the results belongs to God alone. He's especially careful to remind the congregation that when people reject the gospel, they are not rejecting the person sharing it — they are rejecting God, and it is God who is ultimately responsible for the outcome. Closing with a personal reflection on God's faithfulness through job loss, illness, and transition, Randall challenges every believer to live sent, learn to share the gospel clearly, expect resistance, and hold the results with an open hand before the Lord.

This week, Pastors Matt, Jeremy, Jake, and Luke dive deeper into Sunday's sermon on Acts 10:1–11:18 — one of the longest continuous narratives in the entire book of Acts (66 verses!). Why did Luke dedicate so much space to the conversion of Cornelius? And what does it mean for us today? In this episode: Why the Cornelius account is a major turning point in Acts — and in all of church history The "But God" moments hidden in this passage (and throughout Scripture) The religious categories of the first century: pagan Gentile → God-fearer → proselyte → ethnic Jew What Peter's mini-sermon in Acts 10:34–43 reveals about the core essentials of the gospel Surprising parallels between Roman military discipline and the Christian life What "uncomfortable obedience" looks like across every stage of life A Bible reading plan check-in: finishing Job and entering the books of Wisdom and Poetry Key Verse: "God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean." — Acts 10:28

Pastor Matt opens by setting the stage with Acts 1:8, the last recorded words of Jesus before his ascension, where he commands his followers to be witnesses "to the ends of the earth." For the first nine chapters of Acts, the gospel had been spreading rapidly — but almost exclusively among Jewish people. The burning question hanging over the early church was this: What about the Gentiles? Could people who were not ethnically Jewish truly become part of God's family? Acts 10–11 answers that question decisively, Marking one of the greatest turning points in the entire book. Through a pair of divine visions — one given to Cornelius, a Roman centurion and God-fearer stationed in Caesarea, and one given to Peter involving a sheet full of unclean animals — God begins dismantling centuries of cultural, ethnic, and religious walls. When Peter steps into the home of Cornelius and shares the gospel, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles just as he had on the Jews at Pentecost. Peter's response says it all: "Who was I that I could stand in God's way?" Back in Jerusalem, the church initially pushes back, but when they hear the full account, they fall silent and glorify God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18). Pastor Matt brings the message home with three practical takeaways: God is pursuing people we might tend to overlook; following Jesus means letting him reshape our perspectives and assumptions; and the Holy Spirit directs and confirms God's mission to all people. The call to action is clear — just as someone once crossed out of their comfort zone so the gospel could reach us, it is now our turn to step into uncomfortable obedience and move toward the people God is already pursuing.

In episode 21 of season four of the Sunday Extra podcast, Pastor Matt Sturdivant, Pastor Jeremy, Pastor Jake Myers, and Pastor Luke Myers gather around the table to recap and expand on the previous Sunday's sermon from Acts 9:18-43. The big idea of the message was that God develops who He calls — and while a calling can be immediate, the preparation for that calling is always a process. Four key lessons were drawn from the passage: immediate obedience doesn't guarantee immediate results; God often does His deepest work in hidden seasons; opposition should be reframed as confirmation, not contradiction; and we all need people to help us grow and step into our calling. The team then digs into the portion of Acts 9 that didn't make it into Sunday's sermon — Peter's private ministry in Acts 9:32-43. Peter heals a paralyzed man named Aeneas in the name of Jesus Christ, and raises a beloved disciple named Dorcas back to life in Joppa. Both miracles result in widespread belief, with Acts 9:35 noting that "all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord." Pastor Matt also highlights Acts 9:31 as a powerful summary statement on the state of the early church — walking in the fear of the Lord, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and multiplying — not merely surviving. The conversation closes with a rich discussion on the "challenge of the decades," a framework originally taught by their founding pastor, which maps out the spiritual and personal challenges unique to each decade of life. The team encourages those under 30 not to despise their development season, and those over 40 to stay faithful even when progress feels slow. They also challenge listeners who feel lonely to take personal responsibility — to get into a group, take a risk, and stop waiting for community to come to them — because as Pastor Matt puts it, you cannot fulfill your calling in isolation. Wisdom Through the Decades (Wisdom Conference)

Pastor Matt opens by honoring Memorial Day, reflecting on John 15:13, where Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." He draws a connection between the sacrifice of soldiers and the sacrifice of Christ, reminding the congregation that sacrifice for the good of others is honorable and meaningful. From there, he transitions into the ongoing series through the Book of Acts, picking up in Acts 9:18–42 with the life of Saul following his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. The central big idea of the message is this: God develops who He calls. Calling may be immediate, but preparation is a process. Pastor Matt points out that what Acts describes as "many days" was actually closer to three years — a detail filled in by Paul himself in Galatians 1:17 — and that Saul largely disappeared from public view for another 8 to 10 years after that. These hidden seasons, Pastor Matt argues, were not wasted time. God was rewiring Saul's theology, building humility, developing ministry skills, and clarifying his calling. The key truth is that God often does His deepest work in seasons no one sees. Pastor Matt draws four practical lessons from the passage. First, immediate obedience does not mean immediate results — faithfulness precedes fruitfulness. Second, God uses hidden seasons to prepare people for future impact, and a calling may determine your direction, but preparation determines your capacity. Third, opposition should be reframed as confirmation rather than contradiction, because following Jesus will not make life easier, but it will bring new meaning, purpose, and power. Fourth, every believer needs a Barnabas — someone to believe in them, bridge the gap, and speak life into them — and many are also called to be that Barnabas for someone else.

In this episode, drawn from his message on Acts 9:1-18, Pastor Matt walked through Saul's conversion with one driving idea: Jesus transforms sinners and sends them on mission. Three lessons anchored the sermon. First, Jesus confronts us in our direction — and as Pastor Matt pointed out, you can be sincere and still be sincerely wrong. Second, Jesus interrupts us with His presence because salvation is a divine act that demands a human response. Third, Jesus redefines our purpose. He doesn't just save you from something; He saves you for something. Woven into the middle of the sermon was the Antioch Training Program graduation, honoring those who completed Hope Church's rigorous five-year vocational ministry training. Rather than holding the ceremony separately, Pastor Matt intentionally placed it within the Sunday morning service so the whole congregation could witness what it looks like when the church rallies together to raise up the next generation. The moment powerfully illustrated that calling isn't reserved for a special few — it belongs to every Christ follower. The podcast discussion also expanded on material that didn't make it into the sermon, including a helpful breakdown of three types of calling, the difference between wisdom and discernment, and a word of caution about praying for God to humble you. As Pastor Matt put it, if God has to do the humbling, it's going to be a lot more painful than if you humble yourself.

Pastor Matt opens by grounding the sermon in a universal truth from Romans 3:23, which says, "For everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God's glorious standard." From that foundation, he introduces the big idea of the message: Jesus transforms sinners and then sends them on mission — He starts working in you, then works through you. Turning to Acts 9:1-18, Pastor Matt walks through the stunning conversion of Saul, a man who was not merely indifferent to Jesus but was actively "breathing threats and murder" against His followers. On the road to Damascus, Jesus confronted Saul with a blinding light and a piercing question — "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" — and in that moment, everything changed. From this passage, Pastor Matt draws three lessons: Jesus confronts us in our direction, Jesus interrupts us with His presence, and Jesus redefines our purpose. The sermon takes a meaningful turn as Pastor Matt connects Saul's story to a present-day celebration — the graduation of Jacob and Katie Willoughby from the Antioch Project, a five-year vocational ministry training program. Just as Saul spent years being trained and prepared before God deployed him fully into his calling, Jacob and Katie have spent five years in deep study, mentorship, hands-on ministry, and character development. Their work with Christian Impact — a college ministry they launched in Fort Worth, Texas — is already bearing fruit, with students coming to faith and growing in their walks with God. Pastor Matt closes with a challenge to the entire congregation: everyone has a calling, everyone has a next step, and no one ever fully arrives on this side of eternity.

In this episode of the Sunday Extra podcast, Pastor Matt Sturdevant and the Hope Church team revisit Acts 8, going deeper into the passages they couldn't fully explore on Mother's Day Sunday. The overarching big idea of the sermon was that God advances His mission through ordinary believers who are willing to faithfully follow wherever He leads. Pastor Matt opens by taking a closer look at Acts 8:4, emphasizing that the early believers went out preaching the Word not out of convenience, but out of genuine conviction — they truly believed Jesus had risen from the dead, and that changed everything. They understood the mission, had been personally transformed by the gospel, and even saw suffering as part of following Jesus. As Pastor Matt puts it, "Persecution scattered them geographically, but it did not silence them spiritually." The team then digs into the story of Simon the Magician (Acts 8:9–25), which Pastor Matt uses to illustrate that whenever the gospel is preached, it will inevitably produce both genuine saving faith and false faith. Simon appeared to believe, was baptized, and followed Philip — but when the apostles arrived and the Holy Spirit was given, Simon's true motivation was exposed: he wanted the power of God, not God Himself. Pastor Matt connects this to the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13:24–30, where Jesus warns that weeds will grow alongside wheat until the final harvest. The arrival of Peter and John in Samaria, Pastor Matt explains, wasn't just a validation of Philip's ministry — it was a critical moment that kept the unity of the early church, preventing a split between Jewish and Samaritan believers. Perhaps the richest part of the discussion centers on Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Pastor Matt unpacks the enormous significance of who this man was — a high-ranking government official, a eunuch who would have been denied full access to Jewish worship (Deut. 23:1), and a representative of what the Greeks and Romans considered the very ends of the known world. When Philip leads him to faith in Jesus and baptizes him, the Ethiopian continues reading Isaiah and would have soon arrived at Isaiah 56:3–5, a passage that speaks directly to foreigners and eunuchs being given "an everlasting name" in God's house. The team reflects on the goosebump-worthy reality that this man, who had likely left Jerusalem discouraged and excluded, was now not only forgiven and filled with joy, but carried the gospel back to the ends of the earth — fulfilling Acts 1:8 in a way none of them could have fully anticipated.

Pastor Matt opens by asking a question most of us can relate to: have you ever had your plans completely redirected? Using Acts 8 as his text, he shows how the early church faced exactly that when persecution broke out in Jerusalem. Rather than stopping the mission, the scattering of believers actually fulfilled Jesus' own words from Acts 1:8 — that His followers would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The big idea Pastor Matt anchors the entire sermon to is this: God advances His mission through ordinary believers who are willing to faithfully follow wherever He leads. The central figure of the sermon is Philip the Evangelist — not an apostle, not a headliner, but one of seven men chosen to serve the early church. Despite being displaced by persecution, Philip preached Christ in Samaria, saw lives transformed, and then obeyed what seemed like an illogical call to leave a thriving ministry and head out to a desert road. There, he encountered an Ethiopian official reading from Isaiah and, starting right where the man was, led him to faith in Jesus and baptism. Pastor Matt draws a meaningful contrast between this Ethiopian — a humble, genuine seeker — and Simon the Magician, who was interested in God's power but never truly surrendered. In honor of Mother's Day, Pastor Matt pauses to connect Philip's ordinary faithfulness to the quiet, daily faithfulness of mothers. Just as Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1, tracing Timothy's faith back to his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, Pastor Matt reminds mothers that their consistent, unseen obedience carries eternal weight. The sermon closes with a practical call to action: surrender to Jesus, step out in obedience, and identify the "Ethiopian official" in your own life — someone who is searching and whom God has placed in your path.

Pastor Jake's sermon covering Acts 6–7 centers on the big idea that local faithfulness launches the gospel of forgiveness globally. He walks through the early church's organizational response to a widow-care problem, the false accusations leveled against Stephen, and Stephen's sweeping sermon before the Sanhedrin — a sermon that drew clear parallels between Moses and Jesus while declaring that God works outside of Israel and is not confined to the temple in Jerusalem. Stephen's faithfulness ultimately costs him his life, making him the first Christian martyr, but his death becomes the very spark that propels the gospel outward, fulfilling the promise of Acts 1:8 — "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" — as seen in Acts 8:1. The podcast discussion opens up several threads that didn't make it into the sermon. Pastor Jake unpacks the nature of forgiveness, emphasizing that it is not a matter of conjuring up good feelings but rather an act of the will empowered by the Holy Spirit — the emotions and freedom often follow the choice, not the other way around. He also highlights the powerful moment in Acts 7 where Stephen sees heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God — the only instance of that image in Scripture — suggesting that Stephen was catching a glimpse of his ultimate destination even as his life was on the line. Pastor Matt adds rich historical context, explaining that the widow problem in Acts 6 was not random but the surface-level eruption of four centuries of cultural tension between Hebraic Jews and Hellenistic Jews. He also draws a compelling through-line from Acts to church history and the present day, pointing out that persecution has never stopped the gospel — it has consistently refined and spread it, from the explosion of Christianity in China under Mao to the rapid growth of the church in Iran today. The conversation closes with a challenge for every believer to examine whether their faith depends on comfort or conviction, and to ask honestly: Where has God placed me, and am I on mission right there?

In this message from Acts 6–7, Pastor Jake Myers walks through a pivotal turning point in the book of Acts — the moment the gospel begins its journey outward from Jerusalem to the rest of the world. At the center of this transition is Stephen, not a pastor or apostle, but an ordinary church member appointed to serve in food services. Stephen was chosen because he was known — described as a man full of faith, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit. His faithfulness in a simple role set the stage for something far greater than he could have imagined. When Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin on false charges, he delivers a powerful sermon tracing God's work through Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, ultimately pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of all Scripture. He boldly declares two revolutionary principles: God works outside of Israel, and His presence is no longer tied to the temple. As Jesus said to the woman at the well, "the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). These truths enraged the religious elite, and Stephen was stoned — becoming the first Christian martyr. Yet even in death, he mirrored Jesus, praying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). Pastor Jake closes with a challenge to the congregation: be known and get involved, choose forgiveness even when it's hard, and write down the name of someone who needs to hear the message of forgiveness. Stephen was just a church member serving food — and God used him to open the door for the gospel to go to the ends of the earth. The same God who used Stephen is at work in each of us today.

In episode 17 of season four of the Hope Church Sunday Extra podcast, Pastors Jeremy, Brian, Luke, and Jake gather to discuss Luke's sermon from Acts 3–5. The big idea of the sermon is that the Spirit-filled church is bold in both its mission and its commitment to holiness. Luke walks through five scenes from the text: Peter healing a lame man and pointing the crowd to God's glory, Peter and John modeling obedience before the Sanhedrin, the church responding to opposition with prayer and unity, God exposing the hidden sin of Ananias and Sapphira, and the church pressing forward with rejoicing. The sermon closes with two pointed questions for every listener: "Are you willing to take God seriously?" and "Whose name are you living for?" Though away on a ministry trip, Pastor Matt chimes in via a recorded segment to expand on the communal sharing described in Acts 2:42–47. He is careful to address a common misreading of the passage, explaining that what we see in Acts 2 is not a Biblical case for communism or socialism, but rather Spirit-produced, voluntary generosity flowing out of transformed hearts. He draws a helpful contrast: communism is forced by the state and driven by an external system, while what happens in Acts 2 is a spiritual movement — people filled with the Holy Spirit loosening their grip on possessions because they understand that Jesus gave everything for them. Matt also draws from his Old Testament reading, reflecting on the life of King Asa from 2 Chronicles 13–16, whose early faithfulness to God gradually gave way to self-reliance — a sobering reminder that starting well does not guarantee finishing well. Luke then adds what he didn't have time to cover on Sunday, diving into the significance of Solomon's Colonnade — the very place where Jesus declared "I and the Father are one" in John 10:23–39 — as the location where Peter preaches his second sermon. He also unpacks the rich names Peter uses for Jesus in Acts 3–5, including Servant, Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life, the Prophet Moses spoke of, and the Christ of Nazareth, showing how Peter is making the unmistakable case to his Jewish audience: don't miss Jesus again. The episode wraps up with a candid conversation about the three battlefields of spiritual warfare — the world, the flesh, and the devil — and a personal, honest discussion around what it really looks like to take God seriously and live for His name in everyday life.

Pastor Luke walks through Acts 3–5, centering the sermon around one big idea: the Spirit-filled church is bold in mission and serious about holiness. He opens with the healing of a lame man at the Beautiful Gate, where Peter declares, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). Pastor Luke emphasizes that the miracle wasn't done in Peter's authority but in the name and power of Jesus — a theme that echoes throughout all three chapters. Rather than basking in the crowd's amazement, Peter seizes the moment to point to God's glory, calling the people to repent and turn back so their sins might be blotted out. As the church faces growing opposition from the Jewish leaders, Pastor Luke highlights how the early believers responded not with fear or retreat, but with prayer, boldness, unity, and open-handed generosity. Acts 4:29 captures their prayer well: "Grant your servants to speak your word with all boldness." This Spirit-empowered boldness stands in sharp contrast to the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit about the proceeds of their land. Their story serves as a sobering reminder that the same Holy Spirit who unifies and emboldens the church also brings judgment against hidden sin and corruption. Pastor Luke closes by pressing the congregation with two searching questions: Am I willing to take God seriously? and Whose name am I living for? Drawing on Proverbs 3:5–6 and 1 John 1:9, he calls believers to courageously confess their sin, live holy lives, and boldly exalt the name of Jesus — even in the face of opposition. Like Peter and John, who declared "we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20), the church today is called to rejoice in suffering and keep proclaiming the name that is above every name.

In episode 16 of season four of the Hope Church Sunday Extra podcast, hosts Jeremy, Brian, Luke, and Jake gather around the table to look back at Pastor Matt Sturdivant's sermon on Acts 2 — one of the most significant passages in all of Scripture, where the Holy Spirit falls on the disciples at Pentecost, Peter preaches the first Christian sermon, and 3,000 souls are added to the church in a single day. Pastor Matt organized the passage around four movements: preparation, power, proclamation, and response. Before the Spirit moves, God is forming unity, dependence, and readiness among the disciples. Then the Spirit arrives with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and divided tongues of fire, and Peter stands up to preach a sermon rooted in Old Testament Scripture, centered on Jesus, and calling the crowd to repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. The table discussion goes deeper into the cultural backdrop of the passage, noting that the Galileans speaking in all these languages would have been shocking to the crowd — Galileans were viewed as rural, uneducated outsiders, and even religious leaders scoffed at the idea that anything good could come from Galilee. The pastors also unpack what it looks like to be filled with the Holy Spirit in everyday life, sharing personal stories of God giving them the power to forgive, the words to share the gospel, and the self-control to respond graciously rather than react harshly. As Galatians 5:16 reminds us, "Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." The episode wraps up with a practical conversation about living on mission where we live, work, and play — whether that's disc golf with a skeptical friend, intentional conversations with neighbors, or simply letting the fruit of the Spirit shine in the workplace over time.

Pastor Matt delivered an energetic message on Acts 1-2, tracing the birth of the church through four movements: preparation, power, proclamation, and response. He began by describing how 120 disciples waited in unity and prayer in the upper room after Jesus' ascension, following His command in Acts 1:8 to wait for the Holy Spirit's power before becoming witnesses. The dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost came with supernatural signs - a sound like rushing wind and divided tongues of fire resting on each disciple. Pastor Matt explained that Pentecost was a major Jewish festival celebrating God's provision, with people gathered from many nations. The disciples began speaking in other languages, proclaiming God's mighty works to crowds who were amazed that these "Galilean rednecks" could speak their native tongues. This supernatural display got everyone's attention, setting up Peter's powerful sermon. Peter's first Christian sermon masterfully connected Old Testament prophecies to current events, centering everything on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. When the crowd was "cut to the heart," Peter called them to "repent and be baptized" for forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit. The response was overwhelming - 3,000 people were added to the church that day, creating a new community devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer, generosity, unity, worship, and daily mission.

Pastor Matt Sturdevant began a new sermon series on the book of Acts, examining Acts 1:1-11 and establishing that Jesus continues his mission through the Holy Spirit-empowered church. He made five key points from this passage: Jesus's work is both finished (redemption) and unfinished (mission), we need the Holy Spirit rather than just more human effort, believers must stay focused on the mission instead of getting distracted, the mission is clear according to Acts 1:8, and Jesus's ascension means the mission continues through his disciples. The central verse, Acts 1:8, reveals that power comes from the Holy Spirit, the purpose is to be witnesses (not experts), and the plan extends from local to global - Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Matt also presented two helpful charts during the sermon: the "JAR" chart showing how John, Acts, and Romans fit together in answering key questions, and a structure chart breaking Acts into three sections with Peter (chapters 1-7), Philip (chapters 8-12), and Paul (chapters 13-28) as central figures. He concluded with three applications: we cannot experience God's power without surrendering to Jesus, Jesus's mission is now our mission as disciples, and we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength but need the Holy Spirit as our helper and guide. The passage ends with Jesus's ascension and angels redirecting the disciples from gazing into heaven to getting moving on their mission.