Mount Hope | Belmont Campus

Authority. It is a part of all our lives. Whether it be a boss, a teacher or that police officer in his cruiser on the side of the road as we drive by, authority exists and is a part of our world. There are many ways we can respond to the directives of authority. But how should we respond in circumstances? And more importantly, where does God's authority stand in our life and how should we respond to it?

It can be hard to know what to do when we are awaiting upon the return of another. Patience can be difficult to come by. What do we do to pass the time? What is our purpose in the time of waiting? Jesus knew that He would be gone for awhile and He wanted His followers for be informed and prepared for the time when He would not be with them. We are now living in that gap of time that Jesus was talking about. Our parable from the book of Luke this week teaches us that we have been entrusted with a very important task while we are waiting on Jesus' return. It is vital that we take this call seriously as we will have to account for our time here in the waiting. Listen in to this week's sermon as we are challenged to "Go and Do Likewise" with what we have been given.

How do we become righteous? The Bible talks about quite a bit about living a righteous life. This week as we take a close look at one of Jesus' parable, we are introduced to two different people who teach us much about how to live out a righteous life before God and before others. Join us as we continue on in our "Go and Do Likewise" sermon series.

Prayer is a vital part of our walk with Christ. It is the foundational communion we have with Him each and every day. In our prayer time, we take time to thank and praise our Father, inquire about what's on our heart and we bring to Him our requests. And of course, when we pray about a request, we want Him to answer it. But what about when we have unanswered prayers? Does that mean He isn't hearing us? No. But it does mean we can look to scripture for how to handle the times when we are waiting upon an answer to our prayers.

Money. It is certainly a part of our life but people do not always want to talk about it. It seems to make people uncomfortable or may even feel like a taboo subject in our culture. However, Jesus wasn't afraid to talk about money. In fact, about one-third of His parables have to do with money. So what exactly does Jesus tell us about our money? How are we to spend? How are we to share it? This week, as we read through "The Parable of the Dishonest Manager", we learn how we are to view the money that God has given us and how to invest wisely with a Kingdom mindset. We should not be afraid to talk about the subject of money because it was an important topic in the Bible and God's Word teaches us how to "Go and Do Likewise" in the area of serving Him with what He has given us.

The Prodigal Son is one of our favorite stories, reminding of God's unconditional love for lost people no matter what their past holds. However, that's not the complete message of the parable. Jesus has much more to say especially to those who were considered the religious elite of the time. The story of the prodigal son has much to say to about our attitudes towards each other and about ourselves. Listen to this week's sermon to learn how we can "Go and Do Likewise" as we spend time with others.

Sometimes we may see one person spending time with another and we wonder how it happened. How did they come together? They don't seem to have anything in common. It appears they have come from two different worlds. But yet, they have come together in friendship. What brings a relationship like this together? And it begs the question, how did Jesus decide who He would spend time with?

It's natural for us to know where we rank in life. How do we measure up in our job or in our class? Often, we are keeping score in our own heads. But what happens when we worry too much about our position in this life? How can this affect our perspective?

As Christians, we may have questions that arise when it comes to our possessions or material things. How much is too much? Is this extravagant? Is a Christian even allowed to own this or that? Our flesh often desires a hard line to be drawn with these thoughts. However, there is more to be considered. Jesus takes into account more than what we see on the outside.

Listen to this week's sermon to learn about the importance of doing right when it comes to our neighbor and how the parable Jesus teaches through should change the way we interact with those around us.

At particular seasons in our lives, we may feel that we are ready to move on or move up. We think we are ready for that promotion or that varsity team only be told by another that it is our time to wait. This isn't a new feeling. Even Jesus' disciples were "sitting on ready" to do His work when He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit. So why are we sometimes asked to wait? When and how are we to carry out the work He has for us?

It is no secret that we live in a social media world. And within that world, people are bold to share many thoughts and opinions. In addition, many believers are bold to share the truth of the gospel which is wonderful! However, sometimes as believers we are bold to share online but not when we are going through life with those around us. What happens to our boldness? And how can we grow in sharing with others?

We all have our weaknesses. But we all also have our strengths. Our strengths help us and direct us each day at work and with our families. But what about within the church? What about the Spiritual gifts that have been given to us through the Holy Spirit? Why are they given to us and how are they to be used among the body of Christ?

When it comes to driving or traveling, we often use mile markers or GPS to know where we are headed and more importantly, if we are headed in the right direction. It is crucial to know that we are going the right way. This is no different in our Christian walk. But this isn't always as simple as reading a mile marker or following the GPS. So how do we know in our walk if we are headed the right way? How do we know if we are on God's path?

As believers, we love Jesus and want to serve Him. We do our best to live lives that are pleasing to Him. But what about the seasons when we aren't walking as we should in our relationship with Christ? What about when our actions don't align with following Jesus? We follow Jesus but we still sin. As we continue in our "I Follow Jesus" series, we continue to dig into God's Word to understand who the Holy Spirit is and how he works in our lives. In this walk with Christ, we will battle our sin, but we are comforted in knowing that we don't have to do it on our own. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for us.

In this life, there can be somewhat of a letdown after a holiday or a significant event in our life. Once that time is over, we often wonder, "now what?" We can imagine that this question would have gone through the disciples' minds after the death and resurrection of Jesus. After Jesus had died a cruel death, after the veil was torn in the temple and after He rose again on that glorious day, now what? How were they to move forward? Just like we move on with our lives on Monday after a worshipful Sunday, they went on to do the things that they knew. They went back to their fishing and their daily living. But we learn from God's Word that He didn't leave them there alone. Join us in our new Sermon Series, "I follow Jesus..." to learn more about what it actually meant for Jesus to ascend from this earth and leave us with the gift of the Holy Spirit and how that impacts everything in our daily living.

Explore the three days starting with Jesus' trial and crucifixion on Friday, a day of silence on Saturday, and the resurrection on Sunday.

Toddlers are not the only ones who want to stake claim or ownership on the things around them. We too, as adults, want to hold onto things or relationships. But what happens when what we hold onto comes into conflict with what God has for us? What if holding on too tightly prevents us from our purpose? There is a tension between what we have and what God has for us.

Our past has a way of defining who we are and how we interact with the world around us. Our relationship with God is so often affected by our past failures and brokenness. Oftentimes, we write off God’s promises and goodness to us because we do not feel worthy of God’s goodness. As imperfect people, how do we accept God’s perfect promises?

It is good to ask questions. In many circumstances, we are taught how to ask good questions in order to learn. Inquiring through questions helps us gain knowledge, teaches us new skills and aids us in getting to know another person. Yet, we aren't always comfortable asking our tough questions about life and our circumstances. There was a time in Abraham's life when he had to ask God some questions. He inquired of the Lord God Almighty in order to understand more of who God was, His justice and what His plans were. We see that it is okay to ask questions and that we don't have less faith because we ask tough questions. Listen in to this week's sermon to learn more from Abraham about why it is important to approach the Lord with our questions and concerns.