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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How many episodes does Hesperia Community Church have?

The podcast currently has 94 episodes available.

Hesperia Community Church episodes:

April 14, 2019 The Agape Way (Romans 12:9-21)
we continue with our series on Romans, Live By Faith, by examining Paul's explanation of love to the Roman church. In Romans 12:9-21, Paul continues his description of what it means to be a living sacrifice who lives a transformed life by using the gifts that God has given. In the context of personal decision making, Paul says, "Let love be genuine." The word for love here is the word agape, which is one of four words the Bible uses to describe the various kinds of love humans experience. Agape is unique, however, in that it always describes self-sacrificial love. Paul's exhortation is to walk in the agape way, and he gives us a number of specific ways to do just that.

It's no coincidence that we will be examining this text on Palm Sunday, the day when the Church remembers Jesus' triumphal entry in Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week, the last days of Jesus' earthly life before He went to the cross. No one lived out agape more than Jesus, the one who was sacrificed to save us from our sin. I hope you can join us as we set our minds and hearts on these important truths.
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45min
April 07, 2019 God's Design for Believers (Romans 12:3-8)
It's impossible to read Scripture and not come away with a sense of awe at how uniquely and wonderfully we humans are made. Moreover, the imagery of the body is used not only to convey physical truths about how we are made, but deeply spiritual truths about how we are made to operate in this world.
This week we will continue in our series on Romans, Live by Faith. We are moving through chapter 12, which marks a turning point in the letter. After laying out the Gospel message clearly in the first 11 chapters, Paul spends the last five chapters focusing on the practical changes that the Gospel brings to our lives. In Romans 12:3-8, Paul uses my favorite analogy to show us how to respond to Jesus: the body. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus for salvation, we become part of a body that is much larger and more complex than our own. In the same way our bodies contain our unique identity and wiring, so the body of Christ contains all of our unique identity and wiring. Paul exhorts his audience to discover and live out their unique design, which is my desire for all of us.
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36min
March 31, 2019 Be Transformed (Romans 12:1-2)
As we continue our series in the book of Romans, Walk by Faith, the Apostle Paul has spent the first eleven chapters making our situation clear. We were condemned sinners with no hope of saving ourselves from the eternal punishment our own sin earned. BUT Jesus lived the sinless life we could not, died on the cross in our place and rose again from the dead making the gift of salvation available for anyone to receive by faith. This situation demands an appropriate response from us: becoming a “living sacrifice.”

What is a living sacrifice? How do we become one? What does that look like practically in your life? That is what we will begin to explore together this week starting in Romans 12:1-2. Suffice it to say, it requires change. It necessitates transformation! In light of everything God has done for us, this is the least we can do for Him. I
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37min
March 24, 2019 Incomprehensible Mercy (Romans 11:25-36)
Mercy is one of those words that we all know how to define, but describing the full weight of the concept creates a challenge (sort of like describing the concept of “time”). Mercy is gloriously overwhelming. Though we are able to understand and think of mercy, our brains cannot fully grasp of contain the gravity of what mercy is. It is at once freeing, arresting, painful and beautiful. This week, we wrap up Romans chapter 11 by considering incomprehensible mercy from an incomprehensible God!
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38min
March 17, 2019 The Hope of Redemption (Romans 11:1-24)
Webster's Dictionary defines hope as "a desire accompanied by the expectation of or belief in fulfillment." It's that expectation that drives people like Paul to continue to preach and plead with everyone he meets to receive the Gospel and be saved. His hope is in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the expectation of or belief in fulfillment of his desire drive him to never give up on his goal.

This week, we continue in our series on Romans, Live By Faith, by watching Paul once again pour out his hope-filled heart towards his Jewish brothers who had rejected Jesus. In chapter 11, he reminds his audience of some of the reasons why redemption is available, and he reiterates his earnest hope that some of them will listen. Join us as we consider Paul's hope for his brothers. We'll be encouraged to renew our hope for those around us to be redeemed as well.
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43min
March 03, 2019 The Root of Righteousness - 2nd half (Romans 10:1-13)
We continue in our series on Romans, Live By Faith, by looking at another root, one that gives life to much more than just one tree. Isaiah 11 speaks of Jesus as "the root of Jesse" and "a shoot from the stump of Jesse, a branch that will produce much fruit." In Romans 10:1-13, Paul makes the case that the fruit that Jesus produces is righteousness. God has always desired for His people to be righteous (upright, justified, morally correct) in His sight, but our sin has made it impossible for us to be righteous on our own. In His amazing grace and mercy, God has decided to make righteousness possible, but there's only one root of righteousness, and everyone who wants to be righteous in God's sight has only one way of doing so. Without our Root, we could not be saved. Join us as we consider again Paul's plea to his Jewish brothers to find righteousness in the only place it can be found: Jesus.
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24min
February 24, 2019 Wrestling with Our Sovereign God, Pt 2 (Romans 9:19-33)
As someone with very little artistic skill, I've always been fascinated watching those who do make wonders. Whether it's on canvas, on a wall, or with a lump of clay, gifted people can take nothing and make it into something amazing.  Consider a potter and a wheel, for example. Have you ever seen a potter in action? It is mesmerizing to watch a master craftsman take a lump of clay, and through careful, powerful, and patient work, create something beautiful and useful.

Now, imagine for a moment that a lump of clay, upon being taken out of its bag, turns to look at the potter and says, “Nope, not in the mood today. I don’t want to be made into anything. Just leave me like this.” Or, "I know you think you want to make me into a teapot, but I really think you ought to make a vase out of me." If that were to happen, it would be a little weird, right?

No potter would take instructions from the clay. Rather, because of his love and dedication to his craft, the potter would use the power and skill that he has to make that lump of clay into something beautiful and useful. He diligently and patiently forms the clay into his own intended result.

Scripture tells us that God does this exact thing with His "clay":

But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
    we are the clay, and you are our potter;
    we are all the work of your hand. (Isaiah 64:8 ESV)

This week, as we continue in our series on Romans entitled Live By Faith, we'll continue to wrestle with one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture. Romans 9-11 contains many uncomfortable truths about the nature of salvation and the character of God. Paul's words basically provoke a wrestling match centered around the question of the sovereignty of God. Who is really in control of salvation? How do we respond to God's work in our lives? In the second half of chapter 9, Paul introduces the imagery of the potter and clay to drive home our spiritual reality. He says that the clay doesn't wrestle with the potter, so how can we fight with our Potter as He forms us into the vessels He has chosen us to be? We do have a responsibility to respond to our Potter, however, and Paul describes that response very clearly. Join us as we continue wrestling with our sovereign God.
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42min
February 17, 2019 Wrestling with Our Sovereign God, pt 1 (Rom. 9:1-18)
Wrestling is hard.

I don't know this personally, but I asked our very own Matt Kephart, HCS Executive Administrator, longtime wrestler and coach. He told me that college wrestling matches are split into 3 periods of 2 minutes each. There aren't really any breaks. It's basically just six minutes of constant motion, attacking and defending yourself against your opponent. Matt told me his advice to the new wrestlers who would join the team at his former high school: "You are going to feel like you're going to die. But you won't."

There are many different kinds of wrestling besides the kind that takes place on a mat. We wrestle with big decisions, tough relationships, difficult circumstances, or even theology and beliefs. We wrestle with many things, and sometimes it does feel like we're going to die.

We're not the first to be wrestlers, though. God's people were. The word "Israel" is the combination of two words: "wrestle" and "God". In other words, God created a people who would wrestle with Him. And boy, did they ever. Their wrestling match didn't last 6 minutes, it was hundreds of years. They were wrestling with the God who only wanted them to thrive in relationship with Him. They kept battling, trying to do life on their own, rebelling against God in myriad ways. When God finally sent the clearest Coach that ever existed to let them know that the wrestling could end and the match was over, all they did was fight harder. Their wrestling continues to this day.

This week, as we continue in our series on Romans, Live By Faith, we come to what many commentators agree is the most difficult part of the letter. In chapters 9-11 of Romans, Paul takes his comprehensive explanation of the Gospel from chapters 1-8 and applies it to his own family, the nation of Israel. Paul's heart breaks for them, because they rejected Jesus and continued to fight against the Gospel. Paul responds, beginning in Romans 9:1-18, by laying out the case that God is the One who is in control of the match. He uses the experiences of a number of Old Testament figures to show that God has always been in control, and now salvation is available through Jesus to those who submit themselves to His will.

You don't have to be an Israelite to be a wrestler. Many of us struggle in the same ways that they did against a God we don't fully understand. Paul's words to his brothers are applicable to us today. Lord willing, our discussion will help each of us learn and grow as we continue our journey to become like Jesus. So join us as we try to better understand and respond to our sovereign God.
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40min
February 10, 2019 Safe & Secure (Romans 8:31-39)
How many different tools do you use to keep yourself and your loved ones safe?
There are lots of options: locks, alarms, safes, passwords, arming ourselves, and so on. We spend lots of time and money using these and other tools in order to feel safe. In the back of our minds, though, we know that all of these tools can fail. In most cases, something is certainly better than nothing, but there is no foolproof way to keep anyone perfectly safe.
This week, as we continue in our series on Romans entitled Live By Faith, we'll learn of the only guaranteed means by which we can be safe: the love of God. The conclusion of chapter 8 of Romans has been a touchstone for believers ever since it was written. In verses 31-39, we find a confirmation of the effect that God's love has on us. No matter what we face, we can be sure that God himself can meet us in our suffering and help us to overcome our suffering, even if the suffering isn't removed. Our safety and security rests with the God who created us and loves us.

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30min
February 03, 2019 Making Sense of Suffering (Rom 8:18-30)
Pastor John Ortberg tells the story of a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer and had three months to live. So, she started to make preparations for the end of her life. She contacted the pastor of her church and told him how she wanted things arranged for her funeral service. She decided she was going to lay out the whole thing. She told him what songs she wanted to have sung, what Scriptures she wanted to have read, what she wanted to have said, that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible.

Then she said to him, “There's just one more thing.” And he asked her what it was. She said, “This is important, so pay attention to this. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.” The pastor didn’t know what to say; he’d never had that request before. He asked her why. She explained, “In all my years in going to church functions, whenever food was involved my favorite part came when whoever was cleaning the dishes off the table of the main course would lean over to me and say, '"You can keep your fork." It was my favorite part because I knew it meant something great was coming. It wasn’t Jell-O, it was something with substance—cake or pie, biblical food. So I just want people to see me there in my casket, with a fork in my hand after I’m gone, and I want them to wonder, What’s with the fork? And then I want you to tell them, "Something better is coming."

This week, we'll continue in our series through Romans entitled Live By Faith by listening to Paul tell us to keep our fork. Romans 8:18-30 is a foundational passage of Scripture for any Christian who is experiencing the suffering that comes from walking through this world. Because of the Holy Spirit's work in us, our perspective on the pain and struggle of our lives can change. I hope you'll join us as we try to make sense of our suffering together.
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39min

FAQs about Hesperia Community Church:

How many episodes does Hesperia Community Church have?

The podcast currently has 94 episodes available.