New Hope Church Messages

When Paul and Silas left Philippi, they made their way to Thessalonica. And they didn’t waste any time before they began sharing the Gospel with the people there! As we look back at how Paul evangelized in that city, we can gain some practical insights that will help us share the good news of Jesus wherever He has placed us today.

In this Bible study, we’ll see the aftermath of Paul and Silas’ run-in with the city magistrates in Philippi, how they handled brutal persecution, and how the Philippian church grew in grace and sanctification by supporting Paul’s ministry.

While Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke were sharing the gospel in Philippi, Paul cast an evil spirit out of a slave girl. Their reward for working such a powerful miracle in the name of Jesus? Intense persecution. In this message, we’ll look at what happened in Philippi and learn how persecution is inseparable from the Christian faith. 

Paul and his team take the Gospel into Europe for the first time starting with the city of Philippi, where they encounter two very different women - one a picture a freedom, the other a picture of slavery.

Paul and Barnabas have a heated disagreement, part ways, and head out on new journeys to visit the churches they had planted previously and preach the Gospel.

The Apostle James settles the Jerusalem Council with a letter to the Antioch Church that calls Gentile Christians to cut all ties with pagan idolatry and sexual immorality and affirms their identity as full members of the Church.

Paul, Barnabas, and some of the other brothers from Antioch journey to Jerusalem for the first apostolic council to answer the vital question, "What must a man do to be saved?"

The crowd in Lystra goes from hailing Paul as a god one day to trying to stone him to death the next. We’ll look at what causes such dramatic changes in people’s attitudes toward the Gospel, and why it is God’s plan that we go through trials in this life.

After being expelled from Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas head into the countryside and preach the Gospel in the provincial town of Lystra. After healing a lame man, the city responds by declaring them to be gods! We'll learn the Gospel always creates division, and we'll see how godly men respond to unhealthy amounts of praise and adoration.

Paul encourages those who converted to Christianity following his sermon to “continue in the grace of God.” We’ll examine what that means, what it looks like in the life of the believer, and how it proves our salvation.

Paul powerfully preaches the Gospel to an audience of Jews and Gentile seekers in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch.

Paul and Barnabas set out with John Mark on their first missionary journey after being sent out from the Church in Antioch. They head to Cyprus, where thousands turn to follow Jesus and they end up in a discussion about the Gospel with the Roman governor of the island. However, there is a Rasputin-like figure lurking in the proconsul’s court who opposes the message of Paul, resulting in a clash between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.

As God calls Paul and Barnabas to be missionaries, we gain insight into how and when God speaks, and learn how every believer can find the power to effectively minister to those the Lord has placed in their life.

As Peter sleeps in prison, scheduled to be executed the following day, he is visited by an angel who miraculously escorts him to safety. We’ll talk more about guardian angels, giving glory to God, and the difficult question of why God works miracles for some but not for others.

In the last lesson of our series and the last choice, we’ll learn the “Y” in our R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y acrostic stands for “Yield.” It also stands for “You.” God wants you to yield to Him and allow Him to recycle the pain in your life for the benefit of others. We’re going to answer two important questions in this message: “Why does God allow our pain?” And “How can we use our pain to help others?” At the end of this message, Rachelle will share a bit of her story with us.

We’ve submitted, trusted, and committed. We’ve made room for God to make major changes in our life. But now, if we’re not careful, the dreaded R-word can creep into our life: Relapse. If we don’t keep the positive momentum going, any one of us can relapse back into the old hurts, hang-ups, and habits that Jesus has been freeing us from. And this is what we’re going to be talking about in this message - how we can keep the momentum going so that we can experience more and more of the freedom God wants for us, instead of going back to where He saved us from. At the end of this message, Randy will join us to share a bit of his testimony of how Jesus has been working on this process in his life.

In Choice 6, we’re going to work on making “corrections” in some of our relationships by doing some relational repair work that involves a two-part process. We’ll start by looking at what’s involved in forgiving those who have hurt us, and then we’ll work on making amends for those we have hurt. At the end of this message, we’ll hear from Heidi as she shares a bit of her story with us.

Because God loves you, God wants to change you. In this lesson, we’ll look at what a character defect is, and why it is so darn hard for us to get rid of them. And we’ll learn how to cooperate with God in His process of changing us. At the end of the message, we’ll hear from a member of Gospel City Church, Kyle, as he shares some of his story with us.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could live without the fear that our past might catch up with us? If we are ever going to recover from the hurts, hang-ups, and habits in our lives and know the joy of a pure heart, we’ll have to learn how to let go of our guilt and shame and gain a clear conscience. In this lesson, we’ll learn about coming clean. It won’t be easy, but it is broken down into steps – and the results will change your life forever. At the end of this message, BJ invites his wife, Jessica, to join him and she shares part of her story with us. 

How do you break out of the cycle of despair? If you’ve followed through on the first two choices in this series, you’re already moving out of this vicious cycle. You’ve made the “Reality Choice,” where you admitted your need. You’ve also made the “Hope Choice,” believing that you matter to God and that He has the power to help you. Now you are ready to make the third choice, the “Commitment Choice,” where you make the decision to walk across the line. You take a step across that line of decision – a step toward God that says you are giving it all to Him and a step away from the old way of doing it all yourself. If you haven’t made this choice as yet, it will be the most important choice in your life – the choice to accept Christ. For others who have already chosen Christ, this choice will mean a renewed commitment to let go of their lives and give them over to Christ’s care and control.