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I wonder how much of it we have taken in. Have we considered why Jonah ran? What did he think he was escaping from? Who did he think would replace him? What did he think God would do? How did he respond when God did exactly what he thought he would do?
There is one group that does not make it into those scenes, but they lurk in the shadows of each retelling of the story. Without them the backdrop of the story is blank. They fill in the significance of this anticipated event. Who are these characters? The prophets foretold the coming of one that would come to rescue His people from slavery. They told of one that would come in the spirit of Moses as a deliverer. They told of one who would be the true son of David.
I'm excited to jump into this book that I believe can help us navigate this odd and awkward time.
Coronavirus series
What's your favorite Christmas movie? There are all kinds of unforgettable characters that surround Christmas - Frosty, Rudolph, Buddy, Kevin, and John McClane to name a few, but one I've been thinking about recently is Ebenezer Scrooge. The original Bah Humbug himself calls us to consider the path that we are on and how it potentially could lead us to happiness or destruction. That's the morality of Christmas. Be kind, nice, and generous especially at Christmas. We might think that the point of Christmas is not to end up on the 'naughty list'.
If we aren't careful, we overlay these messages to our celebration of Advent. The Cast of Christmas just becomes another in the long line at Christmas that are telling us be be better and be nicer. While the true story of Christmas will change us, this change doesn't well up from within us. It actually originates from something beyond us, and the cast of Christmas wants to point us toward it.






Paul wants us to think about the authorities in our lives, including the government. Why are they there? What role should they play? Do they deserve our loyalty? Don't I have a King, not a president?
Paul wrote these words to a group of people who lived under a government that at the time was ambivalent and mostly ignorant to Christianity, but in a few short years things would not be nearly as peaceable. Ceasar would not only demand loyalty, but worship. Christianity would be outlawed and severely persecuted. Under these circumstances how do we think about these words? Is there a limit to submission? Is there a time or even a duty at times to disobey the authorities? When is that?

A lot of us are pretty squeamish when it comes to blood. It freaks us out. Some of us even faint at the sight of it. I'm not sure how devoted we would be if we lived in Old Testament times. Ancient Judaism was a bloody religion. Worship was filled with sacrifices, most of which involved death at the hands of the priest or worshiper. Taking life and identifying with death was essential to spiritual life.
As Paul turns the corner from explaining the gospel in chapters 1-11, he wants to lay out some specific implications of this new life in Christ. He begins with a 'reasonable' response - sacrifice. This sacrifice is bloodless. In fact, it's not even dead.
This week begins a new section in Romans - chapter 12 which I've entitled 'Together'. Romans 12-15

Enter Romans 8


As we continue through Romans we will be looking at how God provides salvation. How does it take sinners and enemies and make them righteous? How does it do this without violating His character? It's gonna be a beautiful exploration of God's work. You don't want to miss it.
Join us as we begin a grand journey through the book of Romans. This monumental book begins with helping us understand who we are in light of who God is. It has something to say to everyone regardless of how religious or non-religious you are. It will leave no one untouched.
When we think Christmas we may recall the picture perfect scenes of family, friends, and gifts. Our memory may wander further back to Tiny Tim and the Ghost of Christmas Past. We may take another step back to St. Nicolas and his generosity. We may even wander all the way back to dirty stable and a child.
But the story is even older then that.
To understand the story of Advent we need to rewind all the back to the very beginning. This story starts all the back.
Join us this Advent season as we explore and explain the story from the very beginning to the very end. Join us for 10:30 in December for Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.
Jesus was a master at hiding truth in plain sight. He told stories to the masses. Some are easily and quickly grasp. Some have wholesome characters and others righteous villains. But all of them contain spiritual truth about salvation, the kingdom, and following Him.
This summer we will explore these stories - the Parables. Join us as we seek to discover the truths hidden in plain sight!
An honest reading of the Psalms seems to bring a very different experience. These tear soaked pages contain responses to real life in all its joys and horrors. They contain praises and sobbing. They have cries for justice and judgement along with pleas for mercy. How do we understand them? And how can these provide a pattern for our own experience?
Join us this summer for our series Psalms: emotion and devotion.
Unfortunately it can be like that with spiritual truth. When we hear something over and over and over we fail to see the reality of what it is teaching us. That is no where more true then The Lord’s Prayer. Many can recite it from memory. The phrases are familiar. But what if I asked you, ‘how has the Lord’s prayer changed your prayer life?’ Other then meaningless parroting now and then we would probably say not at all. But it was originally meant to give us template to transform our prayer. So why hasn’t it?
We all have a story. Some of them are with dramas filled with wild twists and turns. Some are love stories. And some might be considered tragedies. But most of us are just boringly normal.
But what if there was a greater story? And what if your story and my story were just small parts of one huge story--a story that was more ancient than we thought and wide enough to include every person who has ever lived? And what if that one big story that put into perspective all of our stories?
This year at Hope we are exploring the Story that explains it all. Take some time to browse through some key events of this story below.
Wanna read the story for yourself? Here is a copy of the reading schedule for this year.
The Beginnings - How did it all start? Where did we come from? Is this how things were meant to be? In the important opening chapters of the Story, we explore these questions.
From the very beginning the story line has been about God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule. But not far from the beginning it all went very wrong. God’s people decided to rebel and become their own people and reject God’s rule. So God kicked them out of His place. The rest of the story is about redeeming, renewing, and recreating those initial realities.
But the Apostle Paul was violently opposed to religion. He wanted the Galatians to understand the purity and freedom that is found in believing and living out the true gospel.
This fall we will work through the important letter to the Galatians to better understand the gospel and the dangerous imposter to it. And not only will we seek to understand these critical truths but how they daily impact our lives.
Will you join us as we explore true gospel freedom?
Some have withdrawn in fear. Others have become louder and louder in hopes of inciting change. Still others have lingered in confusion. And some have just willingly closed their eyes hoping that through ignorance things might return to great familiarity.
Does God have anything to say about how we respond? Is He concerned about what is going on? What is He calling us to say? What is He wanting us to do?
Will you join us as we explore God’s requirements for us in this crazy world? They are different than you might think.
The first half of the Story (the Old Testament) has told us that we have a problem, a deep, pervasive problem. We are rebels against God. Instead of worshipping, loving, and serving Him, we decide to forge our own destructive path.
But God is merciful. And He has initiated a plan to save us. The plan will come in the form of a person. As we enter into the next phase of the Story, we meet this one who has been sent to save us all.
Click for a copy of the reading schedule.
The following is the audio from the "i want a New Marriage" seminar to remember, recommit, and renew one of your greatest possessions: Your Marriage!
•You will get an objective snapshot of your marriage relationship—Strengths and Growth areas
•You will have an opportunity to learn and practice skills that will strengthen your relationship and help you resolve conflict.
•You will work together to develop a plan to address the growth areas of your marriage.
•You will leave encouraged to move forward in a healthy, intimate relationship.
I pray that this series will give us all a realistic look at life and a reason for true, living hope.

Have you ever felt the presence of God? Was it one of the holy moments? Those times seem rare, isolated to moments of special venues and secret times. They are hard to describe and even harder to recapture. But what if God was here? Right where you are? That time and space would become sacred. Not in a mysterious hidden temple kind of way but at a spot where you met the only one who knows you thoroughly because he created you.
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