Word of Hope Christian Church Podcast

Today we're continuing our study of 1 John 4 with verses 7-21 and we're going to talk more about Loving One Another. This passage is a call to community and it encourages Christians to mirror God's, unconditional love in their daily relationships. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 4:7-16. Today's passage will explain that Christ gives diverse spiritual gifts to believers to foster unity, spiritual maturity, stability, clarity, harmony, love and the growth of the church. Instead of individual recognition, these roles—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers—are designed equip all believers for service, building up the Body of Christ into mature unity. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

There are two important topics that John discusses in chapter 4. First: 1) Discerning False Prophets and 2) Loving One Another. As much as we'd like to cover all of this at one time, we thought it will be better to divide these into two studies. So today, we're going to talk about Discerning False Prophets (vss 1-6) and then next week we'll pick up verses 7-21 and the topic of Loving One Another. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 4:1-6. This passage marks a transition in Paul's letter from doctrine to practical application, urging believers to “walk in a manner worthy” of their calling by maintaining unity. Paul calls for humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and love to preserve the unity of the Spirit. And this unity is grounded in seven “ones” which we'll talk about and more. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

These verses teach that genuine Christian love, demonstrated through actions, is the definitive proof of passing from spiritual death to life. They also assure believers of answered prayer when they obey Christ's commands to love and believe in Jesus. And lastly, this passage contrasts unloving people (who remain in death) with loving believers (who have eternal life), urging believers to love actively, even sacrificially, as Christ loved us, not just with words, but with deeds and truth. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 3:14-21. Right away we'll discover that Paul's prayer was Trinitarian, focused on the inner person, passionate and focused. Then, we'll discover 3 important keys to Paul's really big prayer. We'll discuss: 1) The posture of prayer, 2) The petitions of prayer and 3) The power of prayer. And we'll conclude with several action steps to help you put into action what you've learned. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The first 10 verses of 1 John 3 are full of hope and encouragement. John tells us that not only are we loved by the Father, but that we are called His children. John promises us that one day when we see Jesus face-to-face, we will be transformed and be like Him. In light of that knowledge, John encourages us to live a life of righteousness so that it is evident that we are God's children. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 3:1-13. Here Paul explains his ministry as a steward of God's grace, revealing the “mystery” that Gentiles were co-heirs with Jews in one body through Christ. And we'll discuss 5 key points to help us better understand the “mystery” and all its implications. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today, we'll conclude our study of A New Commandment. These closing verses of 1 John 2 warn believers that the world and its desires are temporary and it contrasts them with God's enduring will and urges them to live righteously to remain in Him and avoid deception by false teachers (antichrists) who deny Jesus' divine nature. Believers are encouraged to do what is right (to abide in the truth) to have confidence, to remember the anointing of the Holy Spirit and to remain steadfast in their faith in Jesus, the Son of God, rather than being swayed by worldly values or false teachings. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 2:11-22. The main idea we'll addressing is that because of our union with Christ, our differences are put to death so we can live in community with one another. To do that we should strongly consider three key points which we'll talk about along with some suggestion on how put this all into practice. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today and next week we'll be talking about A New Commandment. In Part 1 we'll discover that true knowledge of God means living in His light, demonstrated by practicing the “old yet new” commandment to love one another as Christ loved us, which contrasts sharply with the world's selfish desires (lust of the flesh, eyes and pride). We'll also discover that John wrote as a father to his spiritual children, distinguishing between growing believers who love their brothers and “little children” who still need reassurance, warning against loving the world's ways over God's eternal truth. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The passage we'll be studying today, Eph 2:1-10. This passage contrasts our past spiritual death with our new life in Christ, emphasizing that salvation is a free gift, making believers God's handiwork designed for good deeds. Let's talk about it! Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today is a very short study but it's full of great nuggets of truth. Genuine believers not only commit themselves to obeying God, but they also have deep and sincere love for fellow believers. The Christian principle of love is “new” because believers' ability to love one another is motivated by their love for Christ, who first loved them. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

  Today we'll learn that Paul prayed that believers would grow to know God better. He began in verses 15-16 by giving thanks to God for the Ephesian believers strong faith and love for others. Then in verses 17-23 he prayed that they (and we) would grow in their faith and love for others by understanding 3 key things. Let's find out what they are. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

It's great to be back with you after the Christmas break. In the last study we completed the Gospel of John. Today, we continue with the writings of the Apostle John with the book of 1 John. In his Gospel, John proclaimed that Jesus, the “light of the world” had come to illuminate truth and to lead men and women to God. Here in 1 John, John urges all to forsake darkness and live in the light. Do you yearn for direction in life? Follow the light. Do you doubt and wonder what's real? Turn on His light. Do you stumble and fall? Walk in the light. As we study 1 John let us all be encouraged that our Light (Jesus) has come—let it shine! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

2026 has finally arrived and it's important for us to begin with a solid foundation. So, to help us do that we're beginning a new sermon series in the book of Ephesians called: Getting back to Basics. To start things off today's message is titled Blessings from God and we'll be looking at Eph 1:1-14. This passage is a powerful declaration of God's gracious plan of salvation in Christ, revealing that believers are chosen, adopted, redeemed and sealed with the Holy Spirit before creation for His praise. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

As we complete 2025 we have one more Christmas devotion for you. It's a powerful message of surrender and hope. Thanks to all for joining us this year on this amazing journey with Christ. We're excited about what 2026 will bring and we hope you continuing the journey with us. Thanks again for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.   NOTE: WHCC does not own the rights to these devotions. They are shared in good faith for the encouragement of all people and to the glory of God.

Is there a way to be happy, or is there more to life than the pursuit of happiness? What if the Bible gave a proven way to have a Happy New Year? Well...it does! The pursuit of holy living is the pathway to a happy life. Happiness is a byproduct of holiness and there are 5 ways you can accomplish that according to today's Scripture, Psalm 1. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Welcome to Christmas Eve! Today, we're so excited to be with you another encouraging message from God's Word called Love Fulfilled. The Scripture reference is a familiar one, Isa 7:14. Here we'll look at how a 700-year-old promise was fulfilled with pinpoint precision when a virgin named Mary gave birth to Jesus on a Silent Night in Bethlehem. Thanks for listening. God bless you! And a happy and blessed Christmas to you and yours! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

A very happy and blessed Christmas Eve to all! Here is another encouraging Christmas devotion as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.   NOTE: WHCC does not own the rights to these devotions. They are shared in good faith for the encouragement of all people and to the glory of God.

Today we come to end of this series on The Advent of Christ. In today's message we'll find that God entrusted the greatest message ever sent from heaven to a bunch of smelly shepherds. Actually, that's not so unusual, is it? God has always worked wonders for the forgotten, for the despised and the lowly. As we briefly look at the shepherds' response, we'll see some lessons that we can apply to our lives so that we don't forget Jesus this season. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Here is another Christmas devotion help you navigate the Christmas season. We hope it will be a blessing to you. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.   NOTE: WHCC does not own the rights to these devotions. They are shared in good faith for the encouragement of all people and to the glory of God.

During His life on earth, Jesus was the example of love. He showed compassion and mercy for those who needed it and offered forgiveness to the repentant. He also explained the standard of love we are to live up to in the commandment He gave in Mark 12:30-31. We may not always be able to follow the command, but we should make every attempt to do so by loving Jesus with everything we have as well as treat even total strangers with a spirit of love and compassion in all we do. He IS the Lord of Love...let's spread the word! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

We completed our of The Gospel of John last Wednesday. And we'll begin a new study in 1, 2 & 3 John on Jan 7. In the meantime, for the next 4 Wednesday's we're going to bring you short devotions of encouragement to help you navigate the Christmas season. We hope they will be a blessing to you. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.   NOTE: WHCC does not own the rights to these devotions. They are shared in good faith for the encouragement of all people and to the glory of God.

Isaiah 9:6 says, Jesus' name is Wonderful Counselor...He's the cure of boredom, He's the solution to life's problems; His name is the Mighty God...He's the strength for our weaknesses; His name is the Everlasting Father...He brings a new dimension to our lives. And as we'll talk about today, He's the Prince of Peace...He reigns over the disturbances in our lives. There are several factors in Christ's ministry as “The Prince of Peace” that are important for us to know so stay tuned. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today, we come to the end of our journey through the Gospel of John. In this final chapter, John recounts Jesus' post-resurrection appearance to His disciples in Galilee, which begins with a miraculous catch of fish after they had fished all night without success. After breakfast, Jesus restores Peter to leadership by asking him three times if he loves Him, which counters Peter's three denials. Jesus then predicts Peter will be martyred and tells him to focus on his own calling. Then John ends the Gospel with a reflection on his future. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today marks the beginning of the celebration of Advent, traditionally the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. As such we're excited to share with you our sermon series called The Advent of Christ. Starting today and then for the next 3-Sundays we're going to share with you about 4-key aspects of Advent – Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Today we begin with “Hope” and message titled: Rejoicing in Hope. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's passage, John 20:19-31, we'll study about the risen Jesus appearing to His disciples two times after His resurrection as they were hiding in fear behind locked doors. In the first appearance three key things happen. Then in the second appearance to the disciples Jesus specifically addresses one of His disciples, Thomas and his unbelief. And in the closing verses John will tell us the purpose of the Gospel. All that and more so open your Bible or Bible app and let's get ready to study! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

We are officially 4 days from Thanksgiving Day. So, we though it would be a great time for us to consider how we can Engage with Thankfulness. There are two texts for today: 1 Chron 16:1-10 and Phil 4:10-13. As we'll see in 1 Chron 16, for a long time, God had not been front and center in the life of Israel. Perhaps some of us have drifted away spiritually as well. It's time to put the Lord back as the focal point of our lives. To do that we need to address our greediness and then we'll be able to engage in thankfulness to the Lord. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's passage will highlight different kinds of belief, from the initial shock and grief of the disciples to Mary Magdalene's recognition of Jesus through His voice. It will emphasize that belief in the Resurrection is based on eyewitness accounts and evidence, like the empty tomb and grave clothes. The story will begin “while it was still dark,” symbolizing the confusion and death that surrounded the event. But, as Mary recognized Jesus, the darkness will give way to the light and she will become a messenger of hope. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's sermon we're going to talk about, what is or will be for some, a very uncomfortable topic. It's about phony Christians and hypocrisy in the church. Nothing turns the world off to Christ more than phony, hypocritical Christians. The non-believer often asks, “If their religion is real, why doesn't it show in how they speak, how they act and in what they do?” To help us we'll define hypocrisy and we'll study some Biblical examples both OT and NT. Then we'll tell you how you can answer folks who say the church is full of hypocrites in a God-honoring way. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

At this point Jesus was suffering and in great agony on the cross. But in today's passage Jesus actually gives up His life and dies. And when He does, we see a remarkable change in the tone of John's Gospel. The emphasis shifts from all that Jesus must still do to all that Jesus has now accomplished in full. The death of Jesus was a monumental event in salvation history. His death on the cross would pay the price for all sins, making it possible for all who would believe in Him to have eternal life. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today we want to honor all our armed service veterans. To you we owe a debt of gratitude because you were willing to go, to serve and to give on behalf of the United States of America! God bless you! We're also going to talk about a different kind of veteran, a spiritual veteran. So, we've titled the sermon simply Spiritual Veterans. Let's turn our attention to what it takes to be a spiritual veteran of Christ, something we all need to be and do. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

We must never forget the reason Jesus died. Unless we recognize the eternal tragedy that would have happened to the human race without the Cross, we will not be able to see the Cross as our victory. At great personal cost, Jesus won eternal life for us. He paid the price for our sin with His own life. That He offers us life as a free gift ought to give us deep joy. We must be touched by Christ's death, for He died in our place! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today, we're going to take a look at an individual who was maxed-out emotionally. He was running on empty and had no margin left in his life. After he took it to the limit, God intervened and, in the process, taught him a few things—things we can learn as well. Who was this individual? Stay with us and let's find out. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's study we'll discuss the details of Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate. Pilate will actually find no guilt in Jesus but will be pressured by the Jewish leaders and their accusations. And despite his repeated attempts to release Jesus, Pilate will ultimately succumb to the crowd's demand to crucify Him, declaring, “We have no king but Caesar.” Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

We've been journeying through the Book of Ecclesiastes for the past 16 weeks in A Search for Significance. Today, we come to end of that journey with the final message titled: The Conclusion of the Matter and the text is Ecc 12:9-14. In Solomon's concluding words we'll be challenged to wake up and warm up to what is most important with 4 final conclusions. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's study we're going to talk more about Peter's denials as well as a pivotal conversation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate where Jesus confirmed His kingship but clarified that His kingdom was “not of this world.” Jesus will also explain He was born to “bear witness to the truth,” and everyone who is of the truth hears His voice. This passage sets up the irony of Pilate declaring Jesus as the “King of the Jews” on the cross, fulfilling the title despite his own cynicism about truth. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Ecc 12:1-8 is a poetic and urgent call to remember God during one's youth before the physical and mental decline of old age sets in. We'll discover that Solomon uses vivid metaphors of aging to illustrate the body and mind's breakdown before death. He'll conclude with the somber but inevitable reality of the body returning to dust and the spirit returning to God, reinforcing the "meaninglessness" of life lived without Him. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's text details Jesus' arrest after Judas's betrayal, His initial questioning by Annas and the beginning of Peter's denials. This passage highlights Jesus's control over the situation, His divine authority in the garden where His words cause the arresting soldiers to fall back and His calm submission to His fate. It also sets the stage for his subsequent trial before the high priest Caiaphas. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In Chapter 11 Solomon is saying life is uncertain and situations are often unexplainable. As we journey through this chapter it will challenge us to accept those uncertainties and still act with wisdom and strength. It will be a reminder that while life is unpredictable and sometimes unexplainable, that's no excuse for inaction. By embracing the unknown and balancing youth's vitality with the wisdom of age, we will learn to live fully and faithfully. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

This entire chapter is Jesus' prayer. From it we will learn that the world is a tremendous battleground where the forces under Satan's power and those under God's authority are at war. Satan and his forces are motivated by bitter hatred for Christ and His forces. In this chapter we'll study how Jesus prayed for Himself, His disciples and for all future believers. He will pray that God would keep His chosen believers safe from Satan's power, setting t hem apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through His truth. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In Ecc 10 we're going to explore several key themes: First, the contrast of wisdom and folly. Then we'll discover how a small act of foolishness can ruin a great reputation, like a dead fly in perfume. Next, we'll find discover the consequences of actions, from foolish traps leading to downfall to a dull ax requiring more strength. Lastly, we'll find that the chapter also critiques incompetent leadership, where fools hold positions of power and advises careful speech, as words can spread and cause harm. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's text, John 16:5-33, summarizes Jesus' final instructions to His disciples before His arrest. He'll explain the coming work of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Jesus then predicts His departure and the disciple's eventual sorrow turning into joy, promising that He will send the Advocate to guide them into truth. Jesus concludes by reassuring them that they will experience tribulations in the world but should take heart because He has overcome it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

As we come to the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon stops and looks around, then he does a deep dive into life once again. He's frustrated by the seeming randomness of life's events. And in the process, he discovered 5 more life lessons that he no doubt would have wanted to tell his younger self about—lessons about life, death, joy, eternity and wisdom. Let's dive in. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Jesus has been calling His disciples to abide in Him and to love one another. But their relationship with the world was going to be entirely different. Because they loved Jesus and were so like Him, the world would transfer its hatred of Christ to them. Yet they were still going to have to take the Gospel to the world. Today's study explains how the disciples, with the help of the Counselor, would continue Jesus' work of glorifying the Father in a hostile world. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In chapter 8, Solomon is going to unpack for us a topic that he has already addressed before when he discussed oppression under the sun. Oppression, of course, is a cold, hard reality of life. When given authority over others, people often use it to harm those under them. In today's text Solomon will give us wisdom so we know how to navigate life under those who have such authority over us. He will also teach us about obedience and living with joy. Let get to it... Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today, we're going to discover that Jesus' teaching on the vine and the branches isn't like most of the parables in the Synoptic Gospels, which are usually stories with one or more spiritual points. Here, Jesus will draw our attention to a fruitful vine and then provide applications for us to learn from. John 15:1-17 isn't very long, but these verses contain some of the most important and beloved passages in the Bible about the disciple's love relationship with Jesus, so let's begin. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

As we've been learning in our study of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was a student in the school of dissatisfaction as he searched in vain for meaning and significance under the sun (apart from God). In school terms he earned a lot of incompletes and failed every course he took. [That's saying something since he was the wisest man on earth!] Join us as we dive into today's Scripture, Ecc 7:15-29 and discover 8 more life lessons we should all consider. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Earlier in chapter 14, Jesus had been comforting His disciples, explaining that He was the way, the truth and the life. He also talked about His intimate relationship with the Father. Now Jesus begins teaching His disciples about the Holy Spirit who will come to take His place when He goes to the Father. All this and more in a moment. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today we're going to unpack 6 principles for living focusing on that word “better” which appears 8 times within these 14 verses. And at the end we'll come to the conclusion that: Jesus is better because He's the best! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.