New Hope Church - Podcast

Unprecedented times can leave us asking a lot of questions. Things that might have seemed preposterous a year ago are suddenly our every day experience. Wearing masks, teleworking, home schooling, social distancing, and more have redefined how we function and relate to the world around us. While things are feeling a bit flipped upside down, this is hardly the first time history has seen such an upset. The challenge ahead of us lies not only in how we adapt to the unknown, but also how we learn to thrive and grow in its midst.

Not only has God given us the greatest gift in the world, He has also given us the privilege and responsibility to share it with everyone around us. His gift is still the answer for a lost and seeking world.

God knows what we need whether we do or not. He has provided a gift for us that was highly unexpected and enormously expensive.

Over time, we take stock of our lives and discover disappointment. It may be that we didn’t get what we wanted, or maybe we did, but it didn’t give us the peace we expected.

The mentality we had as kids at Christmas can stay with us into adulthood. We set our hearts and minds on things we are convinced will bring us the happiness we desperately crave.

Many of us experienced great excitement creating our Christmas list as children. It was our opportunity to create a list of our greatest hopes and dreams each year. What is on your list this year?

We don’t know every detail about the night Jesus was born. We do know it was in a barn on the outskirts of town, free of the noises of a crowded city. We also know it was dark and clear enough to see the stars. Aside from the sounds of a few farm animals, a historical and miraculous thing happened in the still of the night. He was the answer to the prayers of many, wrapped in a bundle that didn’t exactly meet expectations. God’s plan and His timing are perfect. The impact of Jesus is seen in ripples throughout history. And He is STILL the answer to our prayers today.

There’s nothing more humbling and faith-building than watching God move. Thanking Him in advance for what we know He will do is the key to faith-filled gratitude.

When our situation becomes impossible, we get to see just how faithful God really is. He will find a way where there is no way.

When we face challenges, we learn a lot about ourselves and others. We need this character growth to follow Him well.

Sometimes it’s hard to be patient and follow God’s timing…especially when we’re excited about something new. The thing about God’s timing is there’s always important growth and preparation happening in the waiting.

God promises to never leave us. When we make the decision to follow hard after Jesus, He will guide our steps.

Look around you…everything in the universe is something God dreamed up. As we follow His lead, God puts purposeful and fulfilling dreams in our hearts, too.

God uses our faith to help us grow as we journey towards the dreams He’s given us. He has incredible plans for us!

Do you ever wonder what God thinks of you? Or if He even thinks about you at all? The Bible tells us that not only does He think about us (a lot), but when we accept Jesus as our Savior, He delights in us as a father for his child. You were uniquely created with great love and purpose. God’s plan for you already takes into account the mistakes you will make along the way. He has seen every moment of your life – every failure, sin, and heartache – and still, He loves you beyond measure. What does it look like to take a step forward to pursue His plan for you? We’ll explore that together as we learn to better understand how we were all created to dream.

Hindsight can sometimes feel like our worst enemy because it’s quick to show us where we failed or could have done better. What if we flipped our perspective and used it as a tool to grow and change for the better? We can help each other do that by sharing our lives in community together.

Whether we realize it or not, we all use different strategies to manage our lives. We develop “playbooks” that guide our behavior, much like the game of football. When players make mistakes, they have a coach to guide them. We also have a coach, but He is so much more.

Every successful athlete knows the importance of conditioning and understanding the fundamentals of their sport. Not only do they help build endurance, but they lay a firm foundation of knowledge of the game. The same is true for us as followers of Christ. The stronger we grow in understanding God’s word and will, the better equipped we are to navigate our lives well.

In Element City, fire, water, land, and air residents live together… but very separately. Ember is a spirited and tough young woman from the fire community. She wants to make her father proud but often erupts into anger because of her annoyance with others. Ember’s unlikely friendship with a go-with-the-flow guy from the water community challenges her perceptions. Wade shows her a different way to view people from all walks of life, one that is based on love instead of animosity.

Otto Anderson is a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. He is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door. Otto is challenged to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around. This is a profound story of love, loss, and life…and the importance of community.