Hope Lutheran Church

Happy Easter! Jesus lives! In our Easter sermon, we looked at Luke's account of the resurrection, where we learned something incredibly simple, and yet at the same time completely life-changing: Easter happened.

Why doesn't Jesus come down from the cross? It's what everyone wants to know. They mock him. They ridicule him. They say that if he would just come down, they'd believe in him. But Jesus doesn't. Why? Because he didn't come to save himself. He came to save others.

How are we supposed to feel on Palm Sunday? Are we supposed to rejoice and shout our praises to Jesus like the crowd did that first Palm Sunday? Or should we continue the solemn, reflective mood of Lent as we wait for Good Friday? There's all kinds of tension on Palm Sunday. So what do we do with that tension? Jesus tells us. Praise him in it.

This week we had Pastor Lucas Bitter from Intown Lutheran Church in Atlanta with us. He shared a message based on the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. He reminded us that for us as believers, it's always safe to return to God in repentance. When we do, we know we'll be welcomed home with open arms by our Heavenly Father.

Some stories are worth telling over and over again. Apparently, this is one of those stories. It's one of only two parables Jesus tells that gets repeated three times in three different Gospels. So what is it about this story that's so important? There are two valuable lessons here: one about the stubborn wickedness of the human heart, and one about the unexplainable grace of our God.

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. That seems to be the go-to reason to study history. But is that the only reason Paul shows us these examples from Israel's history? While he is warning us to avoid the sins of the Israelites, Paul is also encouraging us to Trust God's Faithfulness.

How do we stand firm as Christians despite the changes all around us? How do we find the strength to keep going even when things get hard? That's what Paul writes to the Philippians about in our text for today. He encourages them to stand firm by following an unpopular example and by focusing on an unseen citizenship.

It's a familiar story: the underdog, David, shows incredible courage and slays the seemingly unconquerable giant. But what application should we draw from this story for our own lives? Do we simply take David as our example? Or is there something else this story is meant to teach us? That's what we learn in this week's sermon from 1 Samuel 17.

On this Transfiguration Sunday, we looked at a lesson from Exodus 34, where we see God's glory reflected in the face of Moses.

Weakness isn't often something we appreciate. We want to appear strong and self-sufficient. But in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that he delights in weakness, and we can too because God's grace is sufficient for us, and his power is made perfect in weakness.

Why would three fishermen walk off the job immediately after the greatest catch of their lives? It seems like something that would never happen, and yet it's exactly what happens in Luke 5, when Jesus calls Peter, James, and John as his disciples. What we learn from this story is that, even when it goes against everything we think we know, when Jesus speaks, we listen.

There aren't many people who would want the call that Jeremiah had. He was called to go preach to a stubborn nation and call them out for their sin, warning them that judgment was coming. He was going to be rejected by everyone around him. He was going to feel utterly alone. And yet he faithfully served as a prophet for 40 years after this call. So why and how did he do it? He did it because he had God's Word to speak. And the Word does everything.

The story changes so quickly. One minute the people of Nazareth are marveling at the gracious words spoken by Jesus, the hometown kid. The next minute they're trying to throw him off a cliff. How did things change so quickly? And is it possible we could end up having the same reaction to Jesus as they did? Those are the questions we address as we look at Luke 4:16-30.

There is so much we don't know. It's true of our world, it's true of our universe, and it's true of our God. Yet so often we think we have it all figured out. We think we have the love and the power of God mastered. We think we know it all. Paul is going to rid us of any such illusions in this lesson from Ephesians 3:14-21. First he's going to show us how little we know, and then he's going to pray that God would give us power to know the unknowable love of God.

We live in a wolrd that is obsessed with appearance. It's not hard to see examples of it. We know that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and yet we still judge ourselves and others by outward appearance. Thankfully, God isn't like us. What we learn from the story of Samuel anointing David is that God sees what we don't.

What can we learn about Jesus from the story of the wise men's visit? At first it seems like we don't get many details. But this story foreshadows everything we need to know about our Savior. It shows the opposition he'll face, the people he'll save, and the worship he deserves.

What is the true meaning of Christmas? It's something just about everyone has an opinion on. Is Christmas about spending time with family, about giving gifts, about the awe and wonder of supernatural things? The writer to the Hebrews answers that question in Hebrews 2:10-18.

Merry Christmas! In our Christmas Eve message, we looked at Romans 8:31-32, where we see the meaning behind the events of Christmas. By coming into this world, God proved that he's on our side. And if God is on our side, then we can be confident and full of hope, no matter what's going on in our lives.

What do you do when your life gets flipped upside down? For most of us, we get upset and confused. But Mary, not long after having her life flipped upside down, was able to sing this magnificent song of praise. How? Because she believed the Lord's promises to her.

How do you think God feels about you? It's easy to get the idea that God is a disappointed father who begrudgingly still loves you just because he has to. Or maybe you see him as an angry God who has unrealistic expectations for you that you can't live up to. In our lesson from Zephaniah we learn how God really feels about his children. God loves you so much that he rejoices over you with singing!

Are you ready for Christmas? You probably have a lot of preparations that still need to be made before Christmas comes. But in this lesson from Luke 3, we see that the most important preparation for Jesus' coming is repentance. John came to show us that Repentance Makes You Ready.

Nothing lasts in this world. Things wear out and break down, people fail us, and we fail ourselves. When that happens, it's easy to get discouraged and lose hope. But God gives us these words in Isaiah 51 for just those moments. He lifts our eyes off the circumstances of our lives and shows us that Salvation is On the Way.

Do you ever doubt whether God could really forgive you? Or forgive that one sin that you still feel ashamed of? In Hebrews 9, God shows us that he dealt with every one of your sins at the cross of Jesus, once and for all.

At first glance, this woman's offering doesn't look like much. But appearances can be deceiving. That's what we learn in this lesson from Mark 12. That the people who treat Christianity like a performance intended to impress others have it all wrong. This woman, who simply trusted God with her whole life, had it right. That's why, empowered by Jesus, who gave it all for us, we give our whole lives in service to him.

This week we continued our Live Like You'll Live Forever series by looking at Revelation 20:4-6, where John encourages us that the best is yet to come for us as Christians. Even when things aren't going well in the world, we don't have to be afraid, because in Christ, our victory is secure.

This week we kicked off a new series called Live Like You'll Live Forever. In this series, we'll be answering the question of how we live knowing that we have eternity ahead of us. Today we specifically focused on how the eternal gospel we have to proclaim makes us live lives of courageous witness.

This week we wrapped up our Self Talk series with a look at Acts 3:1-10, where we see that Jesus sees and cares about even people who might feel invisible.

This week we continued our Self Talk sermon series by looking at Romans 12:14-21, where Paul tells us how we should treat our enemies. He tells us that as Christians, who have been loved by a gracious God, we shouldn't hate our enemies, but instead overcome evil with good.

This week we continued our Self Talk series by examining the phrase "I Need" based on Philippians 4:10-20. In this sermon we learn what Paul calls the secret of being content in every circumstance.

This week we continued our Self Talk series with a look at James 4:13-17, where we see that we are not in control. God is. But how do we respond to the fact that we're not in control? We can fight against it, we can worry about it, or we can accept it and embrace it.

This week we continued our Self Talk series by examining the phrase "I Deserve" in light of James 3:13-18. In this reading, James shows us two different kinds of wisdom that tell us two different things about what we deserve, and as a result lead to two very different attitudes and ways of life.

This week we continued our Self Talk series by looking at Mark 9:14-29, where we see all kinds of people who can't do the things they want to do. The disciples can't do anything to drive out the demon. The father can't do anything to help his son. He can't even bring himself to believe that Jesus will help. But what we learn in this lesson is that it's not our strength, or even the strength of our faith that matters. What matters is the strength of the one our faith is in.

This week we kicked off a new series called "Self Talk." In this series we talk about the things we tell ourselves about reality, about ourselves, and about God. The problem is that often the things we believe aren't true. So in this series, our goal is to identify those lies and replace them with the truth of Scripture. This week we look at the statement "I'm unworthy" by studying the story of Jesus calling Levi in Mark 2:13-17.

People are walking away from Jesus and the church at a staggering rate over the last 25 years. So why shouldn't you? That's the question we seek to answer this week as we look at the last part of Jesus' Bread of Life sermon from John 6.

This week we continued our Bread of Life series looking at John 6. Today's sermon focused on how we come to Jesus and the results of coming to Jesus. Spoiler alert: the results are good. Really good.

This week we started a new series looking at Jesus' Bread of Life sermon from John 6. This week we dig into the title Jesus gives himself. What does it mean that he is the bread of life? We learn that Jesus is bread that never spoils, and bread that always satisfies.

This week we wrapped up our Man of God sermon series with a look at 2 Kings 6:8-23, where God opens the eyes of Elisha's servant to see God's unseen protection. This story helps us deal with the times in life where we feel surrounded and overwhelmed by our fears.

This week we looked at 2 Kings 4:38-44 where we see two stories that show us how God provides for his people. We see him provide three things in these stories: the cure for death, everything we need for life, and the freedom to serve without fear.

This week we continued our Man of God series by looking at the story of Elisha healing the water at Jericho. In this story we see how God's grace overcomes all opposition, and how it reverses the curse of sin.

This week we started a new sermon series called Man of God focusing on the prophet Elisha. Today we look at the beginning of Elisha's ministry, with the prophet Elijah passing the torch before being taken into heaven in a whirlwind. From this story we learn that the Spirit that empowered Elijah's ministry is the same that would empower Elisha and the same that empowers us stil today.

This week we had Pastor Don Patterson from Holy Word in Austin, TX lead us in worship. He encouraged us in his sermon from 2 Timothy 2 to Live Strong in grace, in the message, and in all circumstances.

This week we had a guest preacher, Pastor Gunnar Ledermann from Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, TX. He shared a message with us based on Mark 4:35-41 called "Jesus' Words Silence My Fear Driven Life!"

This week we continued our Life With Jesus series by looking at a story from Mark 5:21-43 where we learn valuable lessons about fear, faith, and the timing of God.

Have you ever been in a place where you expected good things from God, and it seemed like all you got was disappointment? That's where the people in Ezekiel's day were at. So God sent Ezekiel with a message of comfort. A message about how God grows his kingdom, and about how he can bring hope out of even the most hopeless situations.

There are a lot of people with a lot of different opinions about who Jesus is. We see that here in this reading from Mark 3. His family thinks he's out of his mind. The religious leaders of the day think he's demon possessed. But Jesus tells us who he is, and along the way he tells us who we are. He is the Son of God who came to defeat the devil, and we are Jesus' family.

Feeling exhausted? Find out from Deuteronomy 5 how life with Jesus is a life of rest.