Hope Presbyterian Church In Winston-salem Sermons

Series: The Heartbeat of HopeScripture: Isaiah 52:7, Matthew 4:23, Luke 4:16-22, Galatians 1:6-10 “The church’s great news to a dying world is that there is a living God, whose love for his creation is inexhaustible . . . The church has no other and no better message. This is her great declaration.” Lewis Allen “The world is drowning in its efforts at life; it does not need lifeguards who swim to it carrying barbells.” Robert Farrar Capon “The religious see God as useful; gospel-believing Christians see God as beautiful.” Tim Keller “I am throwing all my good works overboard, and lashing myself to the plank of free grace; for I hope to swim to glory on it.” Charles SpurgeonThe post The Heartbeat of Hope: The Good News Really Is Good first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Scripture: John 10:25-37 “You can get all A’s and still flunk life.” Walker Percy “Can I see another’s woe, and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another’s grief, and not seek for kind relief?” William Blake, “On Another’s Sorrow” “…[Compassion] means not indifference to our times and our neighbors: it means absorption in time. And absorption in our neighbors. It means forgetfulness of self in others. It means entering into every man’s hopes and fears, longing and despairs … It means not that we should live one life, but a thousand lives – bind ourselves to a thousand souls by the filaments of so loving a sympathy that their lives become ours.” B.B. WarfieldThe post A Parable About Loving Your Neighbor first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 9:1-22 “The life of discipleship is not a matter of coming up with a Gospel I can live with; it’s a matter of learning to live with all of the scandal of the Gospel–and that can take a lifetime. Graham Greene’s ‘whiskey priest’ doesn’t for a moment think that the church should revise its doctrine and standards in order to make him feel comfortable about his fornication–even if he might lament what seems to be a denial of some feature of his humanness. All of his doubts and suspicion and resistance are not skeptical gambits that set him off in search of a liberal Christianity he can live with; they are, instead, features of a life of sanctification, or lack thereof. And no one is surprised by that. The prayer of the doubter is not, ‘Lord I believe, conform to the measure of my unbelief,’ but rather: ‘Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.’” James K.A. Smith “Anyone can be sentimental about the Nativity; any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the

Scripture: Matthew 27:45-54

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 8:26-40 “The world is full of darkness, but what I think we caught sight of in that tourist trap in Orlando, Florida, of all places, was that at the heart of darkness – whoever would have believed it? – there is joy unimaginable. The world does bad things to us all, and we do bad things to the world and to each other and maybe most of all to ourselves, but in that dazzle of bright water as the glittering whales hurled themselves into the sun, I believe what we saw was that joy is what we belong to. Joy is home, and I believe the tears that came to our eyes were more than anything else homesick tears. God created us in joy and created us for joy, and in the long run not all the darkness there is in the world and in ourselves can separate us finally from that joy, because whatever else it means to say that God created us in his image, I think it means that even when we cannot believe in him, even when we feel most spiritually bankrupt and deserted by him, his mark is de

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 8:4-25 “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” – Tertullian “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing . . . it is irresistible.” – C.S. Lewis “Albert Einstein once said that we live in an age of perfect means and confused ends. The question which is inherent in that statement I consider to be the most important question of our times. It has to do with the boredom which is deadly, with the emptiness which frightens us, but also with the fulfillments which make life worth living. It has to do with the crucial task which has been set for us, namely, to distinguish between the “means,” which make our life easier, and the “meaning” of our life, which is the only thing that makes life possible. Even the person who has perfectly solved the problem of the means can still perish in suicide because a life without meaning is dreadful. And this dreadfulness actually increases as the outward course of this life grows smoot

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 7:54-8:3 “All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful.” – Flannery O’Connor “I lost fear in the black belt when I began to know in my bones and sinews that I had been truly baptized into the Lord’s death and Resurrection, that in the only sense that really matters I am already dead, and my life is hid with Christ in God . . . I began to lose self-righteousness when I discovered the extent to which my behavior was motivated by worldly desires and by the self-seeking messianism of Yankee deliverance! The point is simply, of course, that one’s motives are usually mixed, and one had better know it.” – Jonathan Myrick Daniels “Let the world despise and leave me They have left my Saviour, too Human hearts and looks deceive me Thou art not like them, untrue Oh, while thou dost smile upon me God of wisdom, love and might Foes may hate and friends disown me Show thy face and all is bright Soul, then know thy full salvation Rise

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 6:8-7:1 I would not have preached the honor and glory of the cross if I feared the death of the cross.” The Apostle Andrew “Seek what you seek; but remember that it is not where you seek it.” Augustine, Confessions “All that the world has to do to escape judgment is believe—for the simple reason that, by the gracious work of Jesus, it has in fact already escaped it. It need do nothing to earn that escape, and it certainly need not compile questionable lists of good works to prove that it deserves to escape. It need not negotiate with God, or be afraid of God, or try conning God into being lenient. It has only to believe that God in Jesus has settled all his problems of sin and to laugh loud and long at how graciously easy the whole business always was.” Robert Capon, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment “Yielding to God’s will can be hard. And sometimes, it really hurts. But it always brings peace.” John Perkins, Let Justice Roll DownThe post Every Story Whispers His Name first a

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 6:1-7 “If the churches came to understand that the greatest threat to faith today is not hedonism but distraction, perhaps they might begin to appeal anew to a frazzled digital generation. Christian leaders seem to think that they need more distraction to counter the distraction. Their services have degenerated into emotional spasms, their spaces drowned with light and noise and locked shut throughout the day when their darkness and silence might actually draw those whose minds and souls have grown web-weary.” Andrew Sullivan  “I believe in the power of distraction.” Woody Allen  “A personal gospel without a social gospel is like a soul without a body. A social gospel without a personal gospel is like a body without a soul. One is a ghost. The other is a corpse.” Bryan ChapellThe post Distraction first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 5:1-11 “Perhaps the most common invitation to cynicism about the church is hypocrisy. Cynicism’s standard cliché about the church is that it is “filled with hypocrites.” This is a curiously powerless criticism. Of course it is filled with hypocrites. What else is new? Hospitals are filled with sick people. Hypocrisy is a human problem, not a distinctively Christian problem. Is anyone suggesting that there is no hypocrisy outside of the church? . . . Just because hypocrisy is so widespread, almost normal, this does not lessen its seriousness. Jesus reserved some of the most stinging rebukes for hypocrites. He repeated, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” no less than seven times in one chapter (Matthew 23) as he denounced one hypocrisy after another in the religious leadership. They crucified him at the end of the week.” Dick Keyes “I hate, I despise your festivals, and take no delight in your solemn assemblies . . . Take away the noise of your songs; I w

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 4:32-37 Once we begin to understand and experience ‘wealth’ according to God’s definition of the term—that he himself is our only true riches and that in comparison to him money is a small and insignificant thing—our perspective on the value of persons will be reoriented. Our hierarchies of who is important and who is expendable, of who is noteworthy and who is not-worthy, of who deserves our friendship and who does not, completely fade away. Because in God’s economy, the poor in spirit—regardless of their so-called net worth—are the sole heirs of God’s riches.” Scott Sauls, Irresistible Faith “Hospitality is not so much a task as a way of living our lives and of sharing ourselves. … A life of hospitality begins in worship, with a recognition of God’s grace and generosity. Hospitality is not first a duty and responsibility; it is first a response of love and gratitude for God’s love and welcome to us.” Christine Pohl Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 4:1-31 “Christianity is a religion of salvation, and the fact is that there is nothing in any of the nonChristian religions to compare with this message of a God who loved, and came after, and died for, a world of lost sinners.” John Stott, Basic Christianity “The gospel is not a preference. It’s not another piece of flair we add to our vest. It’s something far more beautiful and disturbing. The gospel is the power to raise the dead, to proclaim the greatness of God in a fallen and confused world.” Alan Noble, Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age “It’s time to see what I can do To test the limits and break through No right, no wrong, no rules for me I’m free!” Elsa, “Let it Go,” FrozenThe post There is No Other Name first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 3:1-26 “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread.” D. Thambyrajah Niles “Words without deeds are empty, but deeds without words are dumb.” Lesslie Newbigin “The biggest problem with poverty is the shame that comes with it. When you give the best you have to someone in need, it translates into something much deeper to the receiver. It means that they are worthy. If it’s not good enough for you, it’s not good enough for those in need either. Giving the best you have does more than feed an empty belly – it feeds the soul.” Kristine LevineThe post One Beggar Telling Another Beggar Where to Find Bread first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 2:42-47 “The priority for the Church is neither evangelism nor social action; it is to live under the lordship of Christ . . . As a Christian learns to live her life under the lordship of Jesus Christ, as she learns to adopt his perspective on money, sex, power, time and eternity and live her life in the light of these, then she will become the kind of person who provokes questions in the minds of her twenty-first century non-Christian neighbours.” Graham Tomlin, The Provocative Church “What is the normal Christian life? What are we hoping to see cultivated in people? We are constantly driving people to make a big splash. Once or twice a year, a group comes along with a plan to ‘take Auburn by storm.’ There is always a lot of noise and clamor, a lot of labor and money spent, and for a moment everyone (the Christians at least) look up to see what’s going on. As quickly as it appears, it disappears. Some get excited and want to make more noise next year. But for the mo

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 2:14-41 “A church can become crowded with legitimate causes, concerns, and needs. And it can be hard to find Jesus.” Ray Ortlund “There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself … as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. Man! Ye see it in smaller matters. Did ye never know a lover of books that with all his first editions and signed copies had lost the power to read them? Or an organiser of charities that had lost all love for the poor? It is the subtlest of all the snares.” CS Lewis  “The great desire of the Holy Spirit is that our churches so exalt Jesus Christ that men and women are moved to God through Christ, become his disciples in the fellowship of the churches, and then follow him into adventuresome service and controversy in the world . . . The Holy Spirit want

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 2:1-21 “Spirit of God, descend upon my heart. Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move; Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art; and make me love Thee as I ought to love. I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, No sudden rending of the veil of clay, No angel vision, no opening skies; but take the dimness of my soul away.” George Croly  “The work of the Spirit is Christocentric. He will draw attention not to himself but to Christ. He will glorify Christ. It is the things of Christ that he takes and declares, that is, his ministry is built upon and is the necessary sequel to that of Christ . . . Wherever a church or person centers thoughtfully (that is, biblically and evangelically) on honoring the person, teaching, and work of Jesus Christ, there, we may be quite sure, we are in the presence of the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit’s work is the thoughtful honoring of Christ.” Dale BrunerThe post The Promised Spirit first appeared on Hope Church PCA.

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 1:12-26 “Wait, pray, and believe, and all shall be well. He will not suffer them who fear Him and depend upon Him to want anything that is truly good for them.” John Newton “Waiting on God isn’t about the suspension of meaning and purpose. It’s part of the meaning and purpose that God has brought into your life. Waiting on God isn’t to be viewed as an obstruction in the way of the plan. Waiting is an essential part of the plan. For the child of God, waiting isn’t simply about what the child will receive at the end of his wait. No, waiting is much more purposeful, efficient, and practical. Waiting is fundamentally about what we will become as we wait . . . God is using the wait to do in and through you exactly what he has promised. Through the wait he is changing you. By means of the wait, he is causing you to see and experience new things about him and his kingdom. And all of this sharpens you, enabling you to be a more useful tool in his redemptive hands . . . Waiti

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 1:1-11 “Waiting and fidelity are closely connected, and many of us struggle with both. Lured by the promise of freedom and infinite choice, we are fearful of foreclosing our options and limiting our opportunities. Why make commitments to something in the future, when better opportunities might surface in the meantime? Why live in a way that anticipates a future when the present includes so many other possibilities? What promise could possibly be so life-giving that we would shape our lives around it?” -Christine Pohl, Making Room “When the scriptural people of God seek redemption, they want personal salvation, and they express their desire in what sounds like a cry of the heart.  But to them redemption goes far beyond personal salvation. When biblical people want God to redeem, what they want is freedom and righteousness throughout the land.  They want God to unseat Pharaoh or Caesar. They want God to drive the Midianites back across the border. They’re Exodus people,

Series: Witness UnhinderedScripture: Acts 1:1-11 “It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world.  Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission . . . We ask, ‘Where does God fit into the story of my life?’ when the real question is, ‘Where does my little life fit into the great story of God’s mission?’” Christopher Wright “In his earthly career, Jesus changed the world but he didn’t perfect it. He healed many sick people, but not everybody. He cast out some demons, but not all. So far as we know, he turned water into wine only at Cana. He invited just one disciple to walk on water, with mixed results. So in his first advent, Jesus did much but he also left much to do.” Cornelius Plantinga “We must not lag behind the king in some kind of unwarranted pessimism as though his first coming and present reign do not make a difference. We must not run ahead of the king in some kind of unwarran

Scripture: Psalm 126 “A common but futile strategy for achieving joy is trying to eliminate things that hurt: get rid of pain by numbing the nerve ends, get rid of insecurity by eliminating the risks, get rid of disappointment by depersonalizing your relationships. And then try to lighten the boredom of such a life by buying joy in the form of vacations and entertainment. … There is plenty of suffering on both sides, past and future. The joy comes because God knows how to wipe away tears, and, in his resurrection work, create the smile of new life. Joy is what God gives, not what we work up.” Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction “‘We want suffering to be like pregnancy—we have a season, and it’s over, and there is a tidy moral to the story.’ I’ve come to sense that isn’t what faith is at all. What if there is never an end? What if the story never improves and the tests continue to break our hearts? Is God still good?” Kara Tippetts, The Hardest Peace “[The real heroes of the Civil Rights Mo