Word of Hope Christian Church Podcast

God made us in His image and He is all about community. The triune God-head—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—commune with one another. He knows we need fellowship. So, today we'll discover that God has implanted in our souls a desire for relational community. We'll talk about 5 key components needed to build authentic Christian community and 6 advantages to it as well. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

As if to confirm the fears expressed in verse 19 (last time), today's passage begins with a group of Greeks (Gentiles) who were trying to have an audience with Jesus. We're not told if their request was granted but Jesus replied with some instruction on the necessity of His own death. We'll also see that God the Father broke the silence of heaven to encourage His Son in the final days of His mission on earth. And we'll find that Jesus Himself emphasized again that His time on earth was coming to end after which the Light would no longer be present. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today, we'll find that chapter 3 is going to teach us to accept life's ebb and flow and to understand that every season has its divinely appointed time. It's going to encourage us to find joy in our labor and acknowledge God's supreme and mysterious plan that far exceeds human comprehension. And despite the world's apparent injustices and the grim reality of mortality, we'll see that we are called to trust in God's ultimate judgment and live our lives with faith and contentment. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's Scripture passage we'll talk about two more happenings. First, we'll begin with a portrayal of Mary anointing Jesus. Then we'll move to Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Lots to talk about so let's begin. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Here's the main idea for today: If you're looking for self-worth in your work, you won't find it there. But we CAN worship God by how we work. When Solomon tried to find meaning in what he did, he concluded work was vanity—it wasn't worth it. How can we honor God with our work? Stay tuned and let's find out! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Just a quick note to say there will not be a midweek Bible study lesson today. But we'll resume the study of the Gospel of John (John 12:1-19) next week, July 30. Thanks for your understanding and we'll see you then!

In today's sermon we'll discover that the more Solomon pursued pleasure, projects, possessions, prestige and performance, the more he lost perspective on the purpose of life. Friends, we will never find our purpose in life if we put the pursuit of our pleasures above God's priorities. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's Scripture passage we'll talk about two happenings. First, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead—a powerful miracle that would highlight Jesus's authority over life and death. But this event would also trigger a plot by the Jewish religious leaders to kill Jesus, which will demonstrate the conflict between faith and unbelief. Let's go! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In Solomon's search for satisfaction, he tried to squeeze meaning and purpose out of life by conducting three experiments. He tried, and he tried, and he tried, but he couldn't get no satisfaction. The journey today will make clear: You can search for satisfaction under the sun in your work, in our secular world or in human wisdom, but you will never find it there. Come...let's learn more. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Many of you have had an encounter with Jesus. I'm sure it was unique in many particulars, but it was also life changing. There's just nothing or no one like Jesus. You can't be neutral toward Him either. He evokes a deep-seeded response, either you're drawn to Him or repelled by Him. Today we're going to look at a relational encounter with Jesus and two of his very best friends, Martha and Mary. It's found in John 11:17-37 so open your Bible and/or Bible app and let's get to it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Friends, life is empty apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ. The only way to find meaning in everything under the sun is by means of God's Son. Only He can give us purpose when everything around us and inside us feels empty. Looking for satisfaction in this life is like chasing after the wind. The book of Ecclesiastes reveals a longing for something greater, for Someone greater. Without God as the goal of your life, your life will become vain, empty and meaningless. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's Scripture passage, John 11:1-16 introduces us to the story of Lazarus—his illness, death and Jesus's subsequent raising of him from the dead. This passage highlights the deep love Jesus had for Lazarus, Mary and Martha and it sets the stage for Jesus' most spectacular miracle, demonstrating His power over death and revealing His glory. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

A pastor once said: God's people following God's plan receive God's promises.” Amen to that! But what is God's plan and how can we receive God's promises. 2 Chronicles 7:14 gives us the answer. In this verse we will not only find the 4 conditions we're to follow to honor God but then in that same verses we find the 3 things God will do as a result. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's study is about a pivotal passage that reveals Jesus' divine nature, His role as the Good Shepherd and the importance of faith in Him for receiving eternal life. Are you ready for more? Let's go! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

For many preachers, a sermon on giving ranks up there with having a kidney stone. While some get uncomfortable preaching sermons on stewardship, we don't because stewardship is an essential part of our Christian walk. We would have to apologize to God if we didn't preach on the joy that comes from giving what God has given to us. That said, we're not out to make anyone feel guilty or to coerce them into giving money to this church. But we DO need to remember—when we give as God tells us to give, we will have everything we need to do what God tells us to do. No one can give everything beloved, but everyone can give something and to God be all the glory!. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The kind of relationship Jesus desires to have with His people is one that is familiar, personal and leads to abundant life. Jesus described Himself as “the Good Shepherd” calling into our minds Psalm 23 and the promise of God to lead His people to green pastures, still waters and rest. In John 10 Jesus basically said, “I am the God of Psalm 23” in your midst to lead you to life. The problem though is that there were competing voices and Jesus used strong language and called them thieves and robbers who want to steal the sheep. He also pointed out that others are hired hands who take off at the first sign of danger. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today we're going to Study John 9:13-41 and talk about 2 important happenings. First verses 13-34 is about the religious leaders questioning the blind man. Then in verses 35-41 Jesus will teach about spiritual blindness. There are some really important takeaways in today's journey so stay with us and let's discover them together. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Folks, we have finally reached the end of our Journey through the Book of Acts. This is the final sermon about this incredible book of the Bible—and what a journey it has been. It's taken us a little over a year to complete but it has been worth it and to God be all the glory for it!!! You know with all the news and information out there on Social Media, trying to make sure we are “caught up on things,” and with all of life's daily demands in front of us, we can easily neglect the very thing that will keep us anchored, focused and in a place of faith. We must be intentional to make time to Stay Spiritually Sharp. Let's talk about it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

All of Jesus' miracles pointed to who He was. John follows Jesus' discourse about being “the light of the world” in Chapter 8:12 with the account of Jesus restoring sight to a man who was born blind. This story illustrates the spiritual truth of Christ being the Light of the World. As the blind man come to “see” that Jesus is the Messiah, so Jesus offers us spiritual sight to enable us to see Him as our Savior and Lord. We too are born spiritually blind and need the gift of sight that only the Light of the World can provide. The Light of the World becomes our light when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Thanks for watching. Blessings and love in Christ!

Today's Scripture is Acts 28:1-10. As you read those verses you can see there were a number of situations that could have gone horribly wrong and the devil could have triumphed. But God, in His presence and power, not only saved all 276 people from that shipwreck but in every challenge they faced on the island He showed up and showed out. It's within these verses we find 10 important lessons that we want to share with you today. Let's find out what they are. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The Jewish leaders, unable to refute Jesus's teachings, label Him as demon-possessed and a Samaritan. Jesus responds by stating that He keeps His Word and will never see death, highlighting the importance of believing in Him and His teachings. He then declares that He existed before Abraham, which is a direct claim to divine identity, leading the Jewish leaders to seek to stone Him. There's a lot more to discover today so let's get to it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The hope set before us as an anchor of our soul is that Jesus Christ has already gone before us into the holy of holies where God dwells in glory. God's Word promises that we will be with Him there one day. That future reality is already secured by the finished work of Jesus, our High Priest. He is also our Great Shepherd who “through the blood of the eternal covenant” equips us “with everything good for doing His will” while we are on earth. (Heb 13:20–21; see also Eph 2:8–10) This hope as an anchor holds us steady in this life and secure in the future because it is firmly attached to the eternal throne of God. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Jesus makes one of His most famous statements from the Gospel of John in today's passage. He said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set free.” Our modern world wants to interact with the idea of relative truth, absolute truth, post truth and alternative facts and we can pull out this statement as a “proof.” What Jesus pointed to though was more than just about relative vs absolute truth, He pointed to how all of reality centered on abiding with Him. He was and is the truth from God and the Jews who heard Him teach were offended that He'd suggest they were enslaved to sin because they were wrapped up in the Father of Lies. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

A central theme in this sermon series is that we are called to be witnesses to the world—we are called to testify to the world about what we know about Jesus! So with that in mind in chapter, in Acts 26 we're going to learn how the Apostle Paul witnessed to King Agrippa. Within this chapter Paul lays out 10 transferrable principles about witnessing for Jesus Christ. Let's talk about them. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today is Mother's Day. From all of us at Word of Hope to all the mom's—thank you for your faithfulness in serving your children and families. But today can be challenging for some. Maybe your mother is no longer here and you really miss her. If maybe you're relationship with your mom is on the rocks or cut-off. Regardless of what kinds of feelings get stirred up on Mother's Day please keep stay with this message because we're going to discover truths which will apply to each of us individually. And we'll find motivation to mentor others, whether or not they are our own children. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

This passage is a narrative and narratives by nature contain characters. So we approached this passage through the perspective of the individuals we came across. We decided to give them nicknames to help you remember and relate to them. They are:   1) Governor Festus – the people pleaser (Vss 1-9) 2) The Religious Leaders – status-keepers (Vss 7, 24) 3) Paul – the Gospel preacher (Vss 8, 10-11) 4) King Agrippa & Bernice – the pleasure seekers (Vss 13, 23) 5) Jesus – The Life Changer (Vss 19-21, 26)   The question at the end will be: Which one most represents you? Thanks for watching. God bless you! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's passage is often referred to as “the woman caught in adultery,” and it depicts Jesus forgiving a woman accused of adultery, highlighting His mercy and grace. But it also points out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders as the whole point of bringing this woman before Jesus was to trap Him in His response. NOTE: This passage's authenticity as part of John's original Gospel has been debated by scholars. Yet when all is said and done, even the textual critics who doubt that it belongs in John's Gospel all seem to agree that it is an authentic account of a true encounter between Jesus and a woman caught in adultery. And the church as a whole has seen in it the true spirit of our Lord. That said, let's get to studying. Thanks for watching. Blessings and love in Christ!

Today, we turn to Acts 24 where we see Paul had been labeled as a revolutionary seditionist. After Paul providentially survived the plot against him because his unnamed nephew spoke up, he was taken to Caesarea where he was held as a prisoner in Herod's palace to face the results of an investigation before Felix the Governor. We can learn a lot from Paul's tone of tenderness and attitude of respect when responding to the charges against him. And here's the takeaway: When your faith is challenged, make a cheerful defense. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

On today's journey we'll talk about the growing conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders during the Festival of Shelters. There was a lot of confusion as people were debating whether Jesus was the Messiah. And as the Jewish leaders' continued to look for ways to arrest Jesus the people began to question the intent of their own leaders. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

When you consider this world-altering, life-changing event it's clear that the crowds didn't comprehend what Jesus had come to do. The chief priests and teachers of the Law didn't understand. And even Jesus' disciples didn't have a clue. But one man got it. There was one man there that day who saw Jesus on the cross and he KNEW what was happening. There was one man who understood what Jesus was all about and it changed who he was. Do you know who that one man was? Stay with us let's find out. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Throughout this chapter, John highlights the various opinions the Jews had about Jesus. Before Jesus appeared at the festival, opinions about Him were swirling through the visiting crowd. Some of these Jews may have seen Jesus' miracles or heard Him teach while others may have only hear of what He had done both in Jerusalem and in Galilee. That particular year, Jesus was the hot topic of conversation during the Festival of Shelters. Meanwhile, Jesus was leaving Galilee for the last time. Events were moving rapidly toward “His time,” and He would not have any more opportunity to travel back to the place of childhood. This visit marked the third appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem during His ministry.Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

It's amazing that when things go our way, when God does what we want, when He rises to our cause, it's easy to cheer. But what happens when God doesn't do those things? What happens when you face oppression? What happens when you experience troubles? Too often, the cheering comes to a stop. And that's happened on Palm Sunday. In the text we find 3 reasons why the cheering stopped that day. Let's talk about it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

From this chapter forward John will show Jesus as the suffering Messiah—suffering the unbelief of His own family, the divided opinion of the crowd and the persecution of the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. By portraying Jesus' rejection, John provided his first readers and us with a realistic picture of the costs of being a disciple. Those who followed did so knowingly and willingly. John encourages us to believe, to stand firm and to resist being like those who opposed and doubted Jesus while He lived on earth. Ready to find out more? Let's go. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Our text in Acts 23:12-35 is interesting because we see no commands or exhortations. The names of God the Father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit are not mentioned at all. We see no supernatural miracles, no message from the Lord, no believers praying, no explanation of salvation and no exposition of Biblical doctrine. What we do see is an amazing illustration of the doctrine of God's providence. Let's talk about 4 ways to help you increase your trust in God's providence. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Those who had been listening to Jesus there in the synagogue in Capernaum were experiencing a crisis in their determination to follow Him. Thus far many of Jesus' actions had been attractive though sometimes curious. But all this talk of consuming His body and blood was difficult to stomach. Jesus' claims forced His followers to examine their real motives and the depth of their commitment. Would they stay or would they go? Let's find out more. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In today's text, Acts 23:1-11, we're going to be talking about taking courage in our testimony. We're going to follow Paul through what happened to him before the Jewish high council and we'll learn 4-keys to taking courage in our testimony. Ultimately, this message will highlight the importance of remaining steadfast in faith even amidst persecution and that we should continue God's work, even in difficult circumstances. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

In the previous study we found that Jesus was indeed the true Bread from Heaven. Now many of the Jews in Capernaum that day could not believe their ears. They knew this man's family, yet He claimed to be the Son of God?! To them, Jesus was delusional. In their minds, Jesus was a local product with interesting power and unusual authority but was audacious when it came to speaking about Himself. Jesus responded with uncompromising directness. Then He required, as He does now, an unconditional acceptance of His Lordship. And any attempt to soften His claim amounts to rejection of His central message. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Welcome to today's sermon titled The Power of Your Testimony from Acts 22:1-29. Today we're going to share with you a tried-and-true method to help you share your testimony. In fact it's been around for thousands of years and it can be summed up in three words. Let's find out what they are. Thanks for watching. God bless you! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

After feeding the 5,000, Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee and Jesus walked on the water through a storm to meet them, a miracle that initially frightened the disciples. Then after arriving in Capernaum Jesus emphasized that true spiritual nourishment came from Him, stating “I am the bread of life,” and that eternal life is granted to those who believe in Him. There are a lot of great points to be talk about and truths that we all can implement in our lives so...come on, let's go! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

When we think about persecution, we usually think of believers struggling in foreign countries that are closed to the Gospel or what happens to foreign missionaries—but not today. For many weeks throughout this sermon series we've seen how the early church grew through persecution. Now it's time to go deeper. Through the study of Acts 21:27-40 we're going to discover at least 3-ways to handle persecution. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

The feeding of the five thousand is just one of those passages that stick with you. You never really forget about it. Even if you didn't grow up in church you've probably heard this story at some point. This story is prominent in part because it's recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In fact, this is the only event outside of the crucifixion that is recorded in all four of the Gospels. But have you ever stopped to ask: Is Jesus simply a charity worker that wants to fill people's bellies or is there more to the story? Let's find the answer to that and much more. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Accomplishing God's will in our lives is really important and it's not a one and done event. It's a life-long journey of commitment to the Lord—a commitment that involves: 1) Doing what God wants you to do, even if it's hard, 2) Staying steady, even when others don't understand, 3) Remembering what God has done and giving Him the glory for it and 4) Facing the challenges and trusting God. To God be the glory! Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

As we learned last time Jesus claimed to be equal with God (5:18), to give eternal life (5:24), to be the source of life (5:26) and to judge sin (5:27). These statements made it clear that Jesus was claiming to be divine—an almost unbelievable claim, but one that was supported by another witness. Let's find out who it was. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

As we come to the second half of Acts 20 in our Journey Through Acts series, we encounter an emotional goodbye from the Apostle Paul. And as he prepared to leave the Ephesian elders, he gave them an exhortation to keep going—to finish. His goodbye was full of encouragement and charge. In essence he told them to finish well. And he even told them how to do it. Let's find out how. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today's passage is a response to religious leaders who were angry that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. And Jesus' claims to divinity and power over life and death were supported by evidence, including miracles, human testimony and Scripture. Ultimately this passage is a call to believe in Jesus as Savior and to honor Him. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

God gives freely through Jesus Christ. But to receive salvation, a person must believe. The lame man by the Pool at Bethesda had to want to be healed. Then Jesus approached him later to explain to him that he needed to believe and receive spiritual healing as well. God makes the offer and God performs the miracle, but we must respond to His offer and accept it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Lots of people have a romantic notion about following Jesus, like seeing that classic convertible on the side of the road and dreaming about how neat it would be to drive with the top down. But when they call the number on the sign and find out how much it costs they decide it's just too much. The same can be said of following Jesus. People love the idea of eternal life, escaping hell and having Jesus at their beck and call. But they are not willing to leave the life they now live. Today's text, Acts 19:21-41 describes the importance of counting the cost of following Jesus. And we're going to learn that it's costly to follow Jesus but it's worth it. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Last time we talking a lot about what happened when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. And we found that during their exchange Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah. But when Jesus' disciples showed up the conversation was interrupted. What the woman might have said to Jesus at that point we don't know but what she did is clear. She went and told everyone in her village about what had happened and what happened next...well...let's read and see. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today we're going to look more into Paul's third missionary journey. The purpose of this journey was to revisit and strengthen churches that he established on previous trips, to encourage believers and to correct any misunderstanding or false Biblical teachings. And we decided to title today's sermon – Biblical Doctrine Matters. Now there are some who, when they hear that word “doctrine” want to turn and head for the door just tune it out altogether. Perhaps they think it'll be a boring or uninspiring message. We hope that's not y'all because this is really important—we can't stress just how important proper Biblical doctrine is. So hang in there with us let's find out more. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Every Christian is to be active in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. That's not hard to do when you're at church or in a group of interested people. But what about when you're meeting people out in the world for the first time? That can be a lot harder. But we have a responsibility to try and bring to these people to knowledge of the truth regardless of their background or what sins they have committed. This study today highlights a first-hand account of Jesus doing just that. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.

Today in Acts 18 we'll find that this chapter underscores the power of connections, teaching and divine guidance in the expansion of the Gospel. The mutual support between Paul and the Corinthians, the nurturing of Apollos by Aquila and Priscilla and God's encouraging vision to Paul, all intertwine to unfold God's work. The chapter will inspire us to value our Christian community, to continually deepen our understanding of the Gospel and to rely on God's assurance amidst adversity. Thanks for listening. God bless you! To find out more about our church please go to www.whccnb.org.