Hesperia Community Church

By Hesperia Community Church

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching ministry of Hesperia Community Church... more

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FAQs about Hesperia Community Church:

How many episodes does Hesperia Community Church have?

The podcast currently has 94 episodes available.

Hesperia Community Church episodes:

September 15, 2019 Stop Settling Spiritually (1 Cor. 3:16-23)
Have you ever settled for less in your life?

There are few experiences more frustrating than realizing that something you chose was not as good as it could have been. Whether it's a car, a home, or a job, we sometimes make what seems to be the easiest or most convenient choice, rather than the best choice. Often, we end up wishing we had chosen differently.

This same concept also applies to our spiritual lives. We lose sight of the amazing reality of life that God offers us through Jesus, and we settle for a variety of replacements that leave us wanting. While we may intellectually believe that Jesus is all we need, we are regularly tempted to settle for less, and end up wishing we had chosen differently.

This week, we will continue in our series on First Corinthians, A Better Way, by learning how the Apostle Paul addressed a church who had settled for less. Paul grieved for the choices that the Corinthian church were making. In 1 Corinthians 3:16-23, he pleads with them to realize what they are missing out on. He's pleading with us too. I hope you can join us and think about whether you have settled for less in your relationship with Jesus. As a church family, let's take an honest look at ourselves and pursue everything that Jesus has for us. Don't settle for less.
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40min
September 08, 2019 Making Progress (1 Cor. 3:1-15)
Remember the game Jenga?

It comes in this long, rectangular box, and it’s really just a pile of wooden pieces which fit together to form a tower. The object of the game is to take turns pulling out a piece at a time without knocking the tower over, then balancing that piece on top of the tower. The last person to successfully move a piece without the tower falling wins. It’s a tricky game. The tower can withstand the loss of certain pieces, but moving others virtually guarantees a mess.

The Jenga tower is a helpful symbol for our faith. It gets built up with a strong foundation, and then pieces start to move. Over time, some vital pieces can be removed, ignored, misunderstood, or overshadowed by circumstances. It seems like everything is stable... until it isn't. Faith can fall apart.

The Corinthian church had been given a strong foundation of faith, but for many, the pieces were starting to fall apart. Paul's letter to the church is intended to help them make progress in keeping their faith strong. This week, as we continue our preaching series on First Corinthians called A Better Way, we'll discover how Paul encourages the church to examine their foundation of their faith in order to make progress in living like Jesus. He wants to help them put the pieces of their faith back together again. Maybe you need to put some pieces back together, or maybe you simply need to ensure that your foundation of faith is secure. Either way, I hope you can join us for this important discussion.
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38min
September 01, 2019 Trustworthy Wisdom (1 Cor. 2:1-16)
Recent studies have shown that there is a growing number of people who would call themselves "spiritual but not religious" or "spiritual but not affiliated." These categories describe people who have a willingness to entertain generic spiritual concepts without aligning themselves with any particular religious institution. Many who fall into these categories are not openly hostile to any one faith system, but enjoy the freedom to take pieces from each one and create their own unique spirituality.

If you guessed that the preceding paragraph was describing 21st century society, you'd be right. But the same paragraph could have been written about 1st century Corinth.

Our study through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, A Better Way, continues with another discussion of wisdom. in chapter 1, we discovered that the Corinthian church had several varieties of wisdom to choose between. Choosing worldly wisdom was leading to division and quarreling in the church. In response, the Apostle Paul makes a distinction between Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. The distinction is clear: Godly wisdom comes through the Holy Spirit, while worldly wisdom comes through the world. Many in Corinth who claimed to be "spiritual" didn't really know or listen to the Holy Spirit, and their actions demonstrated their "spirituality." In chapter 2, Paul describes the ramifications of the fact that God sent the Holy Spirit to help his people understand His wisdom. As we examine his argument, I pray that we will be led to consider whether we are "spiritual" people or Holy Spirit people.
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41min
August 25, 2019 Where's Wisdom (1 Cor. 1:18-31)
Remember Where's Waldo?

It began as Where's Wally? in 1987, a book of crowd scenes created by a British illustrator named Martin Handford. He started hiding Wally in the middle of these complex backdrops as a way of helping readers focus more closely on his artwork. Children of all ages quickly began spending hours staring at pages trying to find the weird looking guy with the striped shirt, glasses, and the pom-pom hat. There was such a sense of triumph when he was finally found after a diligent search... until the page was turned and a new search began.

You might be surprised to know that there is a version of Where's Waldo? happening in our lives right now. We are looking for answers that seem to be harder to find than Waldo ever was. The backdrop of our society is as complex and confusing as it has ever been. How do we make choices day to day? How should we live as the church in our fractured times? Our Waldo is wisdom, and we need it more than we realize.

This week, we will continue our study on First Corinthians, A Better Way. We'll discover how the Apostle Paul addresses the divisions in the Corinthian church with a discussion of wisdom. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Paul tells the church that the solution to their problems cannot be seen in the wisdom of the world, but only in the wisdom of God. Paul makes it clear that our "Waldo" can be found. I hope you'll join us this week as we learn what wisdom is and where to find it.
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37min
August 18, 2019 The Right Tool for the Job (1 Cor. 1:1-17)
One of the first purchases I made after moving to Hesperia was a new toolbox. In the process of moving, I had somehow misplaced several of my poorly organized tools, and I couldn't find anything that I needed to use to put everything in place in our new home. So I went to Orchard Supply (R.I.P..) and stocked up on the basics: screwdrivers, wrenches, a small power drill, Allan wrenches, and the like. Repairing stuff is not my strong suit, but one thing I've learned: for every task, there is a proper tool, and I needed to make sure my toolbox was full.

Not only is there a proper tool for every household task, but there is a proper tool for every spiritual task. The Apostle Paul had a monumental spiritual repair job to do: help the church in Corinth become who God meant them to be. It was an incredibly difficult task, full of complexities that come from dealing with sinful humanity. In his toolbox, however, Paul had the one tool which works for every spiritual need: the Gospel.

This week, we formally start our journey through Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church. Our series is called A Better Way, and from his first words, Paul wants to point the Corinthians towards Jesus, the better way to repair all of their dysfunction as a church. I hope you will join us as we study 1 Corinthians 1:1-17.
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38min
August 11, 2019 A Better Way: Intro to 1 Corinthians
We may be able to get away with ignoring the directions when assembling a desk or a toy, but there are other things to assemble which absolutely require directions in order to be function properly. The most important assembly project we will ever have in this life is the Church. God uses people to accomplish His purposes, and His people are called the Church. The Church does not come fully formed, however. There is much assembly required. The good news is that the Bible contains God's instructions for the assembly and function of the Church, and we must not ignore them.
God is calling us to fully turn our attention to one part of those instructions. This Sunday, we will begin our next preaching series on the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. We’re calling our series through First Corinthians A Better Way. Paul is writing to a particular church in a specific context, but the principles behind his instructions are crucial for us today. Paul invested a year and a half into assembling the Corinthian church, and his desire was that they be holy and united in the midst of a sinful culture. God called Paul to show the church how to be better, and I believe He wants our church to learn how to be better as well. Scripture teaches that everyone has a role to play in assembling the Church as God means it to be, and so I invite you to be challenged to pursue a better way for yourself and our church.

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39min
August 04, 2019I'm Coming for You (Nahum 1-3)
Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells about a U.S. Senator who wrote about the stages of a nation. The senator wrote that these stages of a nation are…
From bondage to spiritual faith

from spiritual faith to courage

from courage to liberty

from liberty to abundance

from abundance to selfishness

from selfishness to complacency

from complacency to apathy

from apathy back to bondage

How might a nation even move from bondage to spiritual faith? If their faith is in the God of the Bible, then it comes from the revealed truth – written or proclaimed word of God. This senator then connects the dots by sharing the results of spiritual faith – courage, liberty, and abundance. Likewise, there is a connection that explains the results when the foundation of spiritual faith is replaced by the foundation of selfishness. That result is bondage.

Could it get any worse? Oh, yes! When a nation has been given the light of revealed truth which leads to the fear of the Lord, and then casts off that protection, there is only one more stage – the indignation of God. If your mind has connected the possibility of this result with any modern-day nation, that is a brilliant way to see how the book of Nahum is for us, even though it was not written to us. It was written to the nation of Assyria, whose capital is Nineveh.

Nations rise and fall. On what ever news channel we listen to or watch, we are only told the facts as we can see them “under the sun.” There is more behind the scenes. God is at work. He causes nations to rise and fall. We will see the fall of Nineveh in the book of Nahum, and we will see how it happens from God’s view.

This Sunday, we will close our series on the Minor Prophets – Come Back to Me – as we look at the big ideas of Nahum. We will learn about the wrath stored up for God’s (Yahweh’s) enemies and God’s compassion toward His oppressed people.
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43min
July 28, 2019 Habakkuk: The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
“If God is so loving and all powerful, why doesn’t He put an end to all the evil in the world?”

Have you been asked this question before? Better yet, have YOU asked this question before? As we look at the world we live in, the problem of evil is apparent to everyone. Injustice, oppression, dishonesty, lawlessness and the like are all around us. People sin, benefit from it and are praised for it. Those who are trying to live a godly life often go unrewarded, unrecognized and are ridiculed for even trying. How can our omnipotent, loving God allow evil to continue?

If you have ever struggled with the problem of evil, you are not alone. The prophet Habakkuk saw evil becoming more and more a part of the people’s lives in Judah. He cried out to God to put an end to it… and couldn’t believe God’s answer! God was going to use an even more wicked nation to correct His people: the Babylonians! Can God use sinful people to still bring about His holy plan? The answer is a resounding YES! That is how powerful and loving our God is!

As we continue our series through the minor prophets entitled Come Back to Me, we will see how God truly works all things for the good of His people and for His glory. As His plan unfolds, He calls the righteous to live by faith, trusting the Master to unfold His perfect plan of salvation and praising Him for who He is regardless of life’s present circumstances.
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42min
July 21, 2019 Amos: Seeking God on His Terms
For many people, the God of the Old Testament seems to be judgemental, harsh, and lacking grace. Read out of context, much of the writings of the prophets could lead us to that same conclusion. But, understanding the context of each book could lead us to the exact opposite conclusion about God. For about 200 years, God watched as his people, his chosen people, continued in their sins. Israel had become more and more like every other nation around them, and instead of seeing and hearing the warnings that God sent to them, they ingored his prophets, rejected his law, and despised his mercy. Amos comes on the scene at one of these moments to let them know that God is serious about his people. Join us this week as we continue our series through the Old Testament prophets and take a deeper look at the book of Amos.
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47min
July 07, 2019 Hosea: A Love Story
     There are few concepts in our culture more complex than relationships. Friendships, marriages, family interactions... all of these occupy a huge portion of our time and energy. When they are working well, they provide great joy. When they break, they are the source of an equal amount of pain.
     God created humanity for relationship with Him, and he spends incredible effort in building that relationship with His people. Unfortunately, His people aren't always very good at responding to Him. God sent messengers called Prophets to call God's people to change their ways and return to Him. Throughout the Old Testament, but particularly in the prophetic books, we see examples of relational dynamics that challenge and encourage us.
     As we begin this 5-week preaching series on a section of the Old Testament which describe important relational lessons. Our preaching team will be covering five Minor Prophets in a series titled Come Back to Me. Join us as we discover truths which these uncommon books teach us. We begin with the prophet Hosea, whose incredible experience demonstrates the depths of God's love for His sinful people.
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37min

FAQs about Hesperia Community Church:

How many episodes does Hesperia Community Church have?

The podcast currently has 94 episodes available.