Hope Lake Country Podcast Jason Ewart

We live in an age of expressive individualism, and Americans uphold “freedom” as our highest value. But what began in America as political freedom, hallmarked by empowering citizens and giving everyone an equal vote, has devolved into radical individualism, in which no one has the right to restrict the individual. And this is one reason why society is fragmenting. It’s going to get worse until we realize that a lack of restrictions doesn’t lead to freedom but enslavement. It is the careful selection of the right restrictions that leads to freedom.

When life is predictable, losing sight of what’s most important is easy. But in the face of
uncertainty, a person’s true values come to the surface. As we face (yet another) election year, does the uncertainty surface anything in you? As you think about what comes to the surface, what does it say about what’s most important in your life? And is it Jesus? The Christian faith begins (or ends) with your answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” If a New Testament author were to write a letter to the American Church, the correct answer to this question might be the central theme. Jesus is God’s Son. Jesus is King. Jesus has the words of life. To believe in him is to fear him and to follow him. He must be central.

Imagine a moment where everything changes—for the better. We're celebrating a turning point in history that brought hope and new beginnings this Easter. It’s not just about painted eggs and bunny rabbits; it’s about the incredible story of a man named Jesus who, after making the ultimate sacrifice, didn't let death end his story. Against all odds, he rose, offering a message of renewal and love that's as relevant today as it was over two thousand years ago.

One of the metaphors for sin in the Bible is leprosy. That’s because it slowly devours us, and we are numb to reality. In this episode, we’ll look at how the sin of pride is all-consuming. Pride is the opposite of faith. Pride destroys both love and wisdom. It refuses to acknowledge the need we have or embrace humility and receive grace from God. In this message, Naaman teaches us that to be healed from sin, all we need is a need that we know we cannot heal ourselves. God is quick and gracious to heal.

What is it about the human condition that we know what we shouldn’t do, we know the consequences, yet we do it anyway? The Bible’s explanation isn’t just that we sin but that we are slaves to sin. Sin is not just an action in our lives. It is a power in our lives. In this message, we’ll see how God liberates us from our layers of slavery so we are free to serve God.

Addiction doesn’t kill people as much as a denial of the addiction kills people. In the same way, self-deception is not the most terrible thing that we do, but it allows us to do the most terrible things. And until you defeat self-deception, you will never overcome the destructive power of the sins we do to ourselves. In this story, King Saul tries to prop himself up and build esteem for himself. But to do that, he disobeyed God. And, he thought he had perfectly good reasons for disobeying God. We think the same thing. We are brilliant at finding perfectly good reasons to disobey God. In this message, we’ll see that it’s only after we realize that Christ has made us great and filled us with his esteem that we’ll stop letting sin deceive us.