Hoover Church of Christ Sermons

Hoover Church of Christ Sermons

By Hoover Church of ChristReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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Hoover Church of Christ Sermons episodes

  • We Will See His Face

    The Bible is replete with theophanies–special occasions when God revealed himself to people in incredible ways. Think of God’s glory passing by as God covered Moses’ face in Exodus 33, for example.

    But even at these special times God’s appearance is obscured or mediated in some way so that people can’t see him in all his glory. Apparently, it’s because of this: “No one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). There’s something so special about God’s holiness that we–presumably because of our sinfulness–can’t safely see him.

    When Christ came, he revealed the Father, of course (John 14:9), so people saw God in that mediated sense.

    In the middle of all of this, there’s this inner longing to see God, especially for those who have submitted to him and who love him. Like the psalmist writes, “”As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).

    Will that ever happen? Will we actually get to see God in all his glory?

    Near the end of the Bible, as John gets glimpses of the new heavens and new earth, there’s this tantalizing verse: “They will see his face” (Revelation 22:4).

    Tomorrow we’re going to explore the intriguing implications of the possibilities implied there.

    33 min
  • Living in Exile

    Most people in the church know something of this storyline: Judah rebelled against God and persisted in idolatrous practices in spite of myriad warnings, so God eventually sent Babylon to conquer Jerusalem and take many captives to Babylon.

    What many people don’t know is how this theme actually reflects something much more than just that relatively short period of history. The entire biblical story–and many of the stories within Scripture–can be framed in terms of Exile and Return, and I plan to study some of those ideas with our congregation Sunday morning. In a sense, we live in Exile in Babylon, awaiting the return that will be accomplished only when Jesus comes to make everything right again.

    But for now, we live as Exilic People in a world with strange gods and strange customs. One of our greatest challenges is figuring out how to be God’s People in the midst of a world that doesn’t honor him. We’ll reflect on some of the thoughts that the prophets shared with Judah as they adjusted to life outside of their homeland.

    42 min
  • I Have Found a Book
    These days were some of the darkest in Judah’s history. Manasseh’s fifty-five-year reign of terror was followed by the two-year reign of his son Amon, which was little better.
    Then came Josiah at the tender age of eight. He began his reign when the people had never known a king who cared about God. Idol worship filled the land, the priesthood was largely corrupt, and the people were lost.
    And then one day several years later when Josiah had come of age, his secretary came to him and said—almost casually, it seems—“The high priest found a book in the temple and gave it to me.”
    He read it to Josiah, and the king fell apart, tearing his clothes.
    Why?
    Because it was the long-lost Book of the Law, probably the book of Deuteronomy, or at least a book that summarized the Law of Moses.
    It’s unimaginable to us that God’s people had apparently lost the Bible. They had been led by such ungodly people and the Word of God had become so unimportant that they didn’t even know where it was.
    Imagine a church that had no Bible.
    When Josiah heard the reading of God’s Word, he instituted a series of reforms that completely changed Judah, at least in his day.
    Tomorrow we’re going to study these reforms and think about what happens to us when we give God’s word the power that it deserves to change everything about us.
    “I have found the Book of the Law.” It’s amazing what God does when we allow his word to shape who we are and what we do.
    25 min
  • Pierced for our Transgressions
    When considered within the scope of both testaments of Scripture, it clearly refers to Christ–something we would know even if we didn’t have Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian Eunuch, a man who was confused by his reading of Isaiah 53. Luke tells us that Philip began with our text and “told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35).
    Perhaps the most obvious way this text reaches us is by teaching us again about Christ’s substitutionary death. Notice how many times Isaiah uses phrases like “he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” . . . “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities,” and so on.
    The text forces us to remember again all that he went through. For me. For you.
    But there’s another connection that I look forward to sharing with the church Sunday morning, Lord willing. Some verbal similarities suggest that Paul had this passage in mind when he wrote Philippians 2:1-11 (“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, . . .”).
    The cross is more than just something that Christ did “for us.” It is an attitude that ought to fill our hearts, leading us to live out its principles “for others.” Jesus became a Suffering Servant for us so that we could learn to exhibit the same attitude for others. Just as he was abused, we will be mistreated. Just as the world disregarded him, so it will sometimes mock and scorn us. Just as Jesus received no immediate glory for what he did, our serving the world will usually be met with ignorance.
    But Jesus suffered anyway, because he knew what it would accomplish long-term–a lesson we must learn as well.
    So this beautiful text challenges us to be grateful for what Jesus did, but it also leads us to follow in the Servant’s footsteps.
    35 min
  • Be Still, and Know That I am God

    The words of this Psalm may have been especially meaningful to Hezekiah. A few years earlier his kinfolks in the northern kingdom of Israel had been absolutely annihilated by the cruelest nation on earth–the Assyrians. And now the conquerors are back, this time with Judah and Jerusalem and Hezekiah in their sights. No army on earth was built to stop Assyria, and everybody knew that. Even Hezekiah knew that.

    “. . . though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling . . .”

    From a purely military standpoint, it must’ve seemed like Hezekiah’s world was indeed falling apart. Where do you turn when you hit bottom?

    None of us have had the fortunes of a nation resting on our shoulders, but we’ve all had the uneasy feeling that everything is slipping out from under us. The career, perhaps, or the finances. Maybe our marriage or our kids or our health. Times when it seems we’re in freefall.

    “though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea . . .” Maybe that’s pretty much what it felt like.

    What then? What now?

    The confidence of the Psalmist is remarkable: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear . . .”

    “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”

    “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

    “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

    When the world seems to be falling down around us, we’ve got a kind of unshakable confidence that many people don’t. God is there, he’s present, he cares, he’s in control, and his fortress will never be moved.

    That’s why we can Be still, and know that [he] is God.

    29 min

About Hoover Church of Christ Sermons

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Our church family here is a loving, close-knit group of Christians trying our best to live for Christ. We’re not perfect, of course, but we’re striving each day to let God’s Word be our guide for everything we do—in everyday life, at work, at school, at church. . . everywhere. Many of us come from different backgrounds, and we work in various fields, but we share a common love for Jesus Christ and His church and look for opportunities to share that love with others.