New Hope Baptist Church Podcast

Pastor Rhys Stenner

5.0 (6)
Christianity
Updated Weekly

We are a Bible believing church featuring dynamic worship at two locations along with two Hispanic campuses – one in the heart of Fayetteville, Georgia and another on the cusp of Peachtree City/Senoia. Our vision is to join God in reviving the spiritual landscape of our community and world by connecting people to Jesus.

3d ago

Chosen to Receive a Reward: Chosen People

ESTHER 5 & 6 (NIV) 1) On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2) When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3) Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” 4) “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.” 5) “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6) As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” 7) Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8) If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.” 9) Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. 10) Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11) Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12) “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. 13) But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.” 14) His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up. 1) That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2) It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 3) “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered. 4) The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him. 5) His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” the king ordered. 6) When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7) So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8) have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9) Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’ ” 10) “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” 11) So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!” 12) Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, 13) and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” 14) While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared. TAKEAWAYS 1. You cannot rush God’s reward 2. Revenge ruins a reward 3. God turns big problems into better opportunities I. This is a total turnaround II. We can approach the throne of grace III. We have the Royal Robes (Ch 5:1 she wore the royal robes/Ch 6:11 Haman put on Mordecai’s robe)
Jul 6

Such A Time As This: Chosen People

ESTHER 4:1-17 (NIV) 1) When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. 2) But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3) In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4) When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5) Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why. 6) So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7) Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8) He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. 9) Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10) Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11) “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” 12) When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13) he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14) For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” 15) Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16) “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” 17) So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions. TAKEAWAYS 1. The darkest hour is before dawn 2. We can have confidence that deliverance will come (v 14) 3. EVEN if we don’t, God will 4. This is our time for courageous obedience
Jun 29

Standing Firm When God Seems Hidden: Chosen People

ESTHER 3:1-15 (NIV) 1) After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2) All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. 3) Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4) Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. 5) When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. 6) Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. 7) In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. 8)Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. 9) If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.” 10) So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11) “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.” 12) Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. 13) Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14) A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day. 15) The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered. TAKEAWAYS 1. The Warning: Prideful Power Is Dangerous 2. The Challenge: Conviction Can Be Costly 3. The Deception: Sin Can Dress Up Anger As Wisdom 4. Our Confidence: God May Seem Hidden, But His Victory Is Certain GOD’S SILENCE IS NOT GOD’S ABSENCE
Jun 22

Father's Day: Biblical Manhood

PROVERBS 4:1-27 (NIV) 1) Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. 2) I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. 3) For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. 4) Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. 5) Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. 6) Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 7) The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. 8) Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. 9) She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” 10) Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11) I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12) When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. 13) Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. 14) Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. 15) Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. 16) For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. 17) They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18) The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 19) But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20) My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21) Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22) for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. 23) Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24) Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25)Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26) Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27) Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. TAKEAWAYS 1. Seek instruction and wisdom 2. Guard your heart 3. Lead in speech and in action 4. Remain faithful Wisdom is a.... - Protector: “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you, and she will watch over you.” (v 6) - Exalter and Honorer: “Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you." (v 8) - A Straight Path: “I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.” (v 11-12) - Life and Health: “Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.” (v 13) …for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” (v 22) - The Morning Sun: “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” (v 18)
Jun 15

Chosen for Quiet Service: Chosen People

ESTHER 2:1-12;15-18;21-23 (NIV) 1) Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. 2) Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3) Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4) Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it. 5) Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, 6) who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. 7) Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died. 8) When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9) She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem. 10) Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11) Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her. 12) Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 15) When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16) She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17) Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18) And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality. 21) During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22) But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23) And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king. TAKEAWAYS 1. The King Was Pathetic I. His anger subsided (v 1) II. He began to see the implications of his folly III. The king faced consequences 2. Esther Was Patient I. Humble II. Blessed III. Prepared 3. Mordecai Was Proactive
Jun 8

When Men and Women Fall Into Pride: Chosen People

ESTHER 1:1-22 (NIV) 1) This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: 2) At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3) and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present. 4) For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5) When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. 6) The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. 7) Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality. 8) By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. 9) Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. 10) On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— 11) to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12) But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. 13) Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times 14) and were closest to the king—Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom. 15) “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.” 16)Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17) For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ 18) This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord. 19) “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she. 20) Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.” 21) The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed. 22) He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue. TAKEAWAYS CREATION: God made us male and female, and said, “Good” CREATION: Marriage and parenting is the foundation of a healthy nation FALL: The sin of Adam created a disconnect with God and each other, but what God has joined together let no man separate 1. Pride disconnects us from the word of God 2. Pride leads to a fall 3. Pride leads to seeking pleasure in the wrong places 4. Pride leads to private problems spilling out publicly 5. Pride stops us receiving wisdom 6. Pride prevents de-escalation 7. Pride makes God seem invisible, but He is still invincible
Jun 1

Bold Messages: Bold Moves

ACT 17:24-34 (NIV) 24) “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25) And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26) From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27) God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28) ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29) “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30) In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31) For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” 32) When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33) At that, Paul left the Council. 34) Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. TAKEAWAYS 1. Creation: Where do we come from? I. Secularism and naturalism - Nothing lead to Everything - Everything came from natural processes - Nature made nature II. The Bible - God created Everything - And in Him it all holds together 2. Resurrection: Where are you going?
May 26

Stand Boldly Against Idols: Bold Moves

ACT 17:13-21 (NIV) 13) But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14) The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15) Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. 16) While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17) So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18) A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19) Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20) You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21) (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) TAKEAWAYS 1. What did Athens say? 2. What did Paul do? I. Saw Idolatry II. Felt Intensely III. Spoke Reasonably & Powerfully

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We are a Bible believing church featuring dynamic worship at two locations along with two Hispanic campuses – one in the heart of Fayetteville, Georgia and another on the cusp of Peachtree City/Senoia. Our vision is to join God in reviving the spiritual landscape of our community and world by connecting people to Jesus.

Creator

Pastor Rhys Stenner
Years Active

2023 - 2026
Episodes

139
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 New Hope Baptist Church Podcast
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New Hope Baptist Church Podcast