Hope Church at Silver Lake

Nehemiah 4:7-23Not everyone wanted the walls to be rebuilt. Nehemiah faces opposition from outside, as well as from within. How did he handle the opposition? Are there times when our traditions, our comforts, our preferences, our peace stand in opposition to the work that God is doing? How have we contributed to the opposition? How will we help to build the walls in spite of the opposition the work faces?

Nehemiah 3:6-12Nehemiah has arrived in Jerusalem, and it’s time to build the walls. Not everyone is a trained wall-builder, so who will do the work? It wasn’t all trained laborers. God calls and equips ALL. When the needs of the ministry are obvious, are we willing to listen to the call of God and do the work? 

Nehemiah Chapter 1The Lord puts upon Nehemiah’s heart the need for restoration of Jerusalem’s walls. He confesses to God. God opens doors. He walks through them. Are we willing to see the work that needs to be done? Are we willing to walk through the doors that God opens?

Luke 5:12-28God meets us in our places of hurt and suffering. Are we willing to meet others in their areas that make us uncomfortable?

Matthew 21:6-11Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem with palm branches and much fanfare. And yet, the whole city asked: Who is this? Was Jesus who the crowds expected? How would they react if he wasn’t? How does knowing Jesus affect our lives?

Matthew 28:1-10Jesus has risen! Mission has been accomplished! What does his rising mean for us? Let us celebrate this good news together!

Isaiah 53:10-12Jesus died for us, and it was God’s will. And yet through the crushing of Christ, we have hope. Because of Jesus we can live in the promise of life eternal. How grateful we are for the love that Christ poured out.

Isaiah 53:7-9Jesus was innocent, and yet he offered no objection to the punishment he endured. He did not raise his voice in protest. He did not push us away. How does it feel to sit in the grace that was poured out over us that day?

Isaiah 53:4-6Jesus bore our sin. Are we comfortable with that concept? Someone else being punished for what we have done? Are we comfortable with sitting in the realization that we are sinners and that we could do nothing to make ourselves right with God?

Isaiah 53:1-3Jesus did not come to us in the ways that we expected him to. And so he was rejected. Have we put expectations on God? Do we want him to treat us a certain way? Have those expectations been met? How have we responded?

Acts 1:8As the Early church lived out being the Early Church, God added to their number generously. God didn’t stop wanting to save people. His mission didn’t end in Acts 2. God is still growing his church and we have been called to be part of the church, part of the missional arm of the body of Christ.

Psalm 145:1-13In the church we praise our God. For all that he has done. And for all that he will do. We are united in the faith that he has given us, the promises that he has made us and the hope that we have in mighty works and the abounding love of our God.

1 Chronicles 29:14-20All that we have been given is from God. Do we struggle in giving back? Why is it important to tithe? Why is it important to give to the church? How is this a part of ministry? How is this a part of mission?

John 15:9-17Discipling is inviting people in. Jesus doesn’t hold us at arms length. He invites us into the mission. Into obedience. Into fellowship. Are we discipling well? Are we handing down well? Are we encouraging and enabling the gifts that we see in others well? Or are we creating silos? Are we scared of losing our place? Losing who we are? Losing our value to the church? Are we a discipling movement?

1 Corinthians 1:10-17The Early Church was united in who they were and their service to each other. What does unity look like today? How well are we doing at being united in our mission/goals/calling? 

Romans 1:8-13Fellowship, being together, is a huge part of being a church. We see it in the Early Church. We see Paul’s desire to gather with the church in Rome, that they might be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Does our faith encourage others? Are we encouraged by the faith of others? How does this functionally play out in churches today?

2 Timothy 3:14-17 The early church submitted itself to the teaching of the Apostles. The Word of God is central, the foundation of what we teach. What are our churches teaching? Are we willing to submit ourselves to it?

Isaiah 9:2-5God has heard our cries, called us out of captivity, and come to lead us Home—into light, life, and everlasting love. So let us sing with joy!

Isaiah 66:18-23In the unbroken Home Jesus will one day establish, every wound will be accounted for, every relationship restored, and every heart united in everlasting joy.

In the house of the Lord, there is life-giving food—free, abundant, and without end. It secures a place we cannot lose and sends us on a mission we must not ignore.

At Christmas, God leaves his home to enter our exile so that, by grace through faith, we might be brought home to him—a gift we could never earn but freely receive in Christ.

This message wraps up this sermon series. In the text, Paul once again highlights that there is only one gospel. And that those who would seek to make themselves look better are trying to edit it, attempting to add to it. The question we must wrestle with is: Are we?

Galatians 6:1-10        What does it look like to live in a Gospel centric community? Are we comfortable with that? Why or why not?

Galatians 5:13-25            There is a real danger of abusing the Gospel. How do we live by the Spirit, and not the Law, but avoid abusing the Good News?

Galatians 4:21-31          Old Testament illustrations of Hagar and Sarah. How do we understand this strange illustration that Paul uses? What hope does this give us? What warning?

Galatians 4:8-20           The Gospel frees us from our chains. Is that how we see it? Is that what we actually want? What chains is Paul talking about? How do we live in freedom?

Galatians 3:26-4:7We may come from different cultures. We may hold different social status. We may have different economic circumstances. We may be different in so many ways. But in the Gospel we are unified, for in the Gospel we have been given a new identity.

Galatians 3:15-25         What is the relationship between the Law and the Gospel? Why are they both so important? Which one do we like more?

Galatians 3:1-14  What is sanctification? How are we sanctified? Why is it important?

Galatians 2:11-21Truth isn’t concerned with who proclaims it. Do we believe that the Gospel does what it says it does? Are we willing to hear this truth through whichever means it is delivered? 

Galatians 1:10-24The Gospel has the power to change a person’s heart and life. Do we recognize that? Do we let it? Do we see how it has changed our hearts? How about the heart of our neighbor?

Galatians 1:1-9Our world is full of ‘other gospels’ other ‘truths’ than the reality of Christ and what he has done for us. How tempting is it to turn to those gospels? Do we even realize that we are doing it? What is the True gospel?