HOPE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH

HOPE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
  • 5.0 (17)
  • Christianity
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Know. Grow. Serve. HOPE is here.

  1. 5d ago

    Living in Between: He's Coming Back and They're coming with Him

    1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Big Idea: Because Jesus died and rose again, we can grieve with hope, knowing he is coming back for us and bringing our loved ones who died in him, so we will be together with the Lord forever.   1. GRIEVE, AND BELIEVE (13-14) 2.  HE IS COMING BACK FOR US (15-17) 3. ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS (v. 18)  Reflection Questions START: Read through 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (work on memory verse)  Paul doesn’t say “don’t grieve.” He says don’t grieve “as others do who have no hope” (v. 13). What’s the difference between grieving with hope and grieving without it? Have you seen someone grieve with hope? “To meet the Lord” pictures a city going out to welcome its returning king and escort him home (Acts 28:15; John 12:13). How does seeing the church as a welcoming party, not an escape party, change how you think about Jesus’ return? Paul says, “Encourage one another with these words” (v. 18). Who comes to mind who needs this hope right now? What’s one way you could reach out to them this week? Charitably discuss these Four Views of Christ’s Return: Dispensational: The church is raptured, then seven years of tribulation, then Jesus returns and reigns on earth for 1,000 years, then the New Heaven and New Earth. Historic Premillennial: Jesus returns once after the tribulation, then reigns on earth for 1,000 years, then the New Heaven and New Earth. Postmillennial: The 1,000 years is a long golden age of gospel growth, and then Jesus returns once to establish the New Heaven and New Earth. Amillennial: The 1,000 years is a picture of this present age, as Christ reigns from heaven. He returns once to establish the New Heaven and New Earth. All agree: Jesus is coming back, he will judge the living and the dead, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will always be with the Lord.

  2. Oct 6

    Living in Between: Faith That Goes to Work

    1 Thess. 4:9-12 Big Idea: The hope of Jesus' return doesn't pull us out of everyday life. It sends us back into it. While we wait, God's Spirit teaches us to love one another more and more, and to live quiet, hardworking, honest lives so the world can see that the gospel is real. 1. THE WAY YOU LOVE EACH OTHER MATTERS (9-10) 2. THE WAY YOU LIVE BEFORE OTHERS MATTERS (11-12)   CONCLUSION: AND WHAT YOU BELIEVE MATTERS  Reflection Questions START: Read through 1 Thessalonians 4:9-18 Paul tells a church that's already loving well to "do this more and more" (v. 10). What's one practical way you could love someone in our church family more this week? What does "aspire to live quietly" (v. 11) look like in your daily life? What tends to make your life feel loud, anxious, or hurried? What can we learn from Jesus’ life/style on this?  Does your faith go to work (or school) with you? Where can we be most tempted to cut corners, and what would it look like to live with "no question marks” next to our work?”  Read 1 Thess. 4:13-14 together a few times, it’s a the memory verse for this week. How does believing that Jesus died, rose again, and is coming back change the way you live, work, and grieve right now?   Close your time in prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for teaching us to love by Your Spirit. Help us love one another more and more. Give us a quiet confidence in You, hands that work hard, and lives of integrity that point others to You. While we wait for Your return, fill us with hope. Amen.

  3. Sep 29

    Living in Between: Holy Living in Between

    1 Thess. 4:1-8 Big Idea: God alone has the authority to tell us how we ought to live, and He gives us His Spirit and His grace to walk in it.   1. Your Lifestyle Matters (1-2) 2. Your Sanctification Matters (3-6) 3. Your Calling Matters (7-8)   Reflection Questions START: Read through 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Where do you see our culture being selective about its "oughts"? Why is God's authority a better foundation for how we live than cultural values that shift over time? Paul uses the image of a "walk" to describe the whole Christian life. Which area of your lifestyle (time, money, relationships, entertainment, thought life) do you find hardest to submit to God, and why? Paul commends the Thessalonians ("just as you are doing") but still urges them to grow "more and more." Where are you tempted to settle for minimal holiness, and what would growing "more and more" look like for you this month? Why do you think sexual immorality is so closely tied to sanctification in this passage? How does sexual sin affect not only us, but others (v. 6)? Verse 8 is both a warning and an encouragement. How does knowing that God gives you His Holy Spirit change the way you face your struggles with sin? What is one practical step (prayer, Scripture, accountability, community) you can take this week to walk in that grace? Close your time in prayer: Lord Jesus, You are holy. The angels cry out unceasingly before Your majesty, singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts." Make me holy, as You are holy. Help me put to death the sin that so easily clings to my life, and let me live in victory over it by the power of Your Holy Spirit. When I fall short, help me cling to Your grace and get back up in faith, knowing that You are not finished with me yet. May Your mercy fill me, and may Your grace empower me. You are my God. Amen.

  4. Sep 15

    Living in Between: Turned From Idols to Serve God

    1 Thess. 1; Acts 17:1-11 Into and Series Set Up:  Joy in Affliction (1:6, 2:1-2) Turned from Idols to Serve God (1:9b-10)   Conclusion:  Reflection Questions   START: Read through 1 Thessalonians 1 together, and skim Acts 17:1-11 to remind yourselves of the persecution and conflict this young church was born out of. This is week one of a new series through 1 and 2 Thessalonians. What's one thing from the intro or background this week that gave you a new appreciation for these letters? Paul says the Thessalonians received the word "in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (1:6). Those don't usually go together. When have you felt real joy in a hard season? The sermon named idols as the little kingdoms we build with our time, talents, and treasure. What's a modern idol that's easy to build a life around without noticing? Read Exodus 20:1-6. How does it connect to Paul's language of "turning from idols to serve the living and true God"? The sermon drew a line between a transactional faith (pay for what you want, get what you paid for) and serving as investment (pouring your life into something bigger). Where do you catch yourself treating faith like a transaction? Close your time in prayer: Living and true God, thank you for calling us out of idols and into your service. Forgive us for the small kingdoms we keep building for ourselves. Give us joy in affliction, and give us hearts that serve you first, not because we have to, but because you laid your life down for us. While we wait for your Son from heaven, let us be found faithful.

  5. Sep 9

    Pray Earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest

    The Lost Sheep The Plentiful Harvest The Lord of the Harvest   Reflection Questions START: Review the storyline by reading through Matthew 9:35-38, and take a moment to skim back through Matthew 8-9 to remind yourselves of the string of healings and miracles leading up to this summary statement.   Share something you’ve learned or grown in from the Daily Prayer series or from the Daily Prayer guide.  Jesus describes the crowds as "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." What's an example, from the news, your neighborhood, or your own life, of people who seem to fit that picture today? The sermon walked through the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son as pictures of Jesus's compassion, one that acts, and one that moves first. Which of those two stories do you relate to more, and why? Jesus tells the disciples the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few, and his very first instruction is to pray about it, not to strategize. Why do you think he starts there instead of somewhere else? As a group, is there one specific need, in our church or in this community, that we could commit to praying for together this week?

  6. Sep 2

    The Answered Prayer

    2 Kings 19:14-19, 32-37 Intro: Assault Address (v. 14) Adoration (v. 15) Awareness (vv. 16–18) Appeal (v. 19) Outro: The Answer Reflection Questions START: Review the storyline and plot by scanning through 2 Kings 17-19 (also, interestingly this account is also recorded in 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 36-37)    Who's the most intimidating or mocking person you've ever had to stand up to, and how did you handle it? (imagine being in Hezekiah’s shoes)  The sermon made the point that the real crisis in this story wasn't Assyria's army, it was Judah's sin and wrestling before a holy God. Why does Scripture so often frame our problems that way, as ultimately about our standing before God rather than just our physical circumstances?   The sermon tied Hezekiah's deliverance to the cross, God defeating His enemies through weakness/sacrifice rather than raw force. Why is that such an unexpected way for God to win and triumph, and what does it say about how He works in our lives too?   What's one area of your life where you've been trying to fight your own battle instead of laying it before God the way Hezekiah did? Is there a "Rabshakeh" voice in your head right now telling you resistance is pointless or that God won't come through? What would it look like to answer that voice with prayer instead of fear this week?

  7. Aug 25

    The Nevertheless Prayer

    Habakkuk 3:1-19 Crash Course: Who Is Habakkuk? Getting Up to Speed (Chapters 1-2)  The Prayer of Faith (Chapter 3)   Defiant Nevertheless: Choose Joy (Hab. 3:17–19) Reflection Questions START: Read Hab. 3:17-19 Not every prayer of complaint is a lack of faith, Habakkuk brings real complaints to God and God engages them. What's the difference between honest lament and outright doubt? Where's the line for you? Read Habakkuk 2:20: "The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." When does that look like for us to actually sat in silence before God rather than filling the space with your requests or complaints? What makes silence hard for you? Karl Barth wrote that joy "is a defiant 'Nevertheless!' that Paul sets like a full stop against... anxiety." Does that description of joy as defiant surprise you? How is that different from how our culture usually talks about joy or happiness? Read Romans 3:23–26. Habakkuk asks God to "remember mercy" in the middle of deserved wrath. How does seeing that prayer answered at the cross change the way you read Habakkuk's fear and trembling in chapter 3? Read Philippians 4:11–13. Paul says he has "learned" contentment, meaning it wasn't automatic for him either. What is one practical way you could "learn" contentment in God this week, rather than just wishing you had it? If a close friend came to you this week and said, "I don't think I can keep trusting God through this," how would Habakkuk help you respond to them?  Close your time in prayer.  "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17–18

  8. Aug 18

    Praying For Help

    The Wrong Place to Look (vv. 1–2) Look to God for Help (vv. 2–8) Willing to Ask for Help How to Ask in Faith Reflection Questions START: Read Psalm 121 together before you begin. The Incas sacrificed their own children to mountains they believed were gods, trusting the gods of the mountain could save them. What are the modern “mountains” we sacrifice for, hoping they'll come through for us? Read 1 Kings 18:20–40. What does Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal reveal about the emptiness of false gods compared to the living God? Of the ways God “keeps” you in this psalm (immovable, never sleeping, your shade, guardian from evil, keeper of your going out and coming in), which one do you most need to hear right now, and why? Peterson asks whether this psalm means Christians never get hurt, never struggle, never suffer. Have you ever felt like the promises of Psalm 121 or the bible didn't match your actual experience? What happened? How would you answer the cynic inside of you?  Of the “three kinds of hope,” no hope (doubt), false hope (pride), or true living hope (childlike trust), which do you default to when you're struggling?  Read Matthew 7:7–11. Do you actually believe God is a good Father who wants to give you good things? What makes that hard to believe sometimes? Luke 18:1–8 describes the persistent widow. Is there something you've been praying about and have been tempted to give up on? What would it look like to keep asking, like she did?    Close your time in prayer.  “He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

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Know. Grow. Serve. HOPE is here.

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  • Creator
    HOPE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
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    HOPE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH