Join Pastor Matt Sturdvant, Pastor Luke Myers, Pastor Jeremy Good, and Pastor Brian Cropp as they dive into the launch of Hope Church's new sermon series "The Financial Squeeze" and share personal stories about navigating financial pressures.

n This Episode:

• The pastors share their weekend highlights, including Rhonda Gales' retirement celebration and some late-night lawn mowing adventures
• Personal stories about the last time each pastor felt a real financial squeeze - from car troubles to unexpected medical bills
• How different personalities respond to pressure: Do you go toward "idleness" or become a "busybody"?
• The importance of taking personal responsibility and partnering with God in our work
• Practical advice for excelling in your field, whether you're a student, professional, or stay-at-home parent
• How faithfulness in small things prepares us for bigger opportunities

Key Takeaways:

✅ Everyone has God-given responsibilities that look different in each season of life

✅ Your future is built out of your faithfulness today

✅ Turn your commute into a classroom - practical tips for continuous learning

✅ God often uses our secular work experiences to prepare us for future ministry

Whether you're facing financial pressure right now or just want to hear some honest conversation about money, work, and trusting God through life's squeezes, this episode offers both encouragement and practical wisdom.

Pastor Matt begins a new series called "The Financial Squeeze," addressing how believers should respond to financial pressure. He explains that society has been trained since the New Deal of the 1930s to look to government for bailouts rather than to God for help. The sermon's key perspective shift is: "God wants to use the pressure I experience financially to grow my dependence and faith in Him."

Pastor Matt distinguishes between "burdens" (overwhelming difficulties we help each other with) and "loads" (personal responsibilities we must carry ourselves) from Galatians 6:2-5. Using 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, he emphasizes that God designed hunger as a motivation beacon, stating "if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." Pastor Matt concludes with three practical applications: excel in your field, expand your responsibility, and endure the weight of your responsibility—all conditions for experiencing God's help during financial squeezes.

Welcome back to Season 3 of the Sunday Extra podcast! After a refreshing summer break, Pastors Matt, Brian, Luke, and Jeremy are back to dive deeper into Sunday's message about God's multigenerational plan. This week, they explore how different generations can work together in the church and what it means to have "all hands on deck." Join us for some laughs with the "Mind the Gap" generational trivia game, insights into building a 150-year church vision, and a preview of the upcoming "Financial Squeeze" series.

In celebrating Hope Church's 47th anniversary, Pastor Matt examined the Biblical concept of generations and God's multi-generational plan. Using Psalm 145:4 as the theme verse, he presented five key truths: God has been unfolding His generational plan since creation (Genesis 1:27-28); He works through leadership transitions to continue leading His people forward; contribution to God's work is lifelong though roles change over time; older generations must train younger ones (Psalm 78:5-7); and everyone has a role in shaping future generations.

Pastor Matt emphasized that God thinks on a grander scale than we do, seeing our lives in the context of His bigger picture. He illustrated how our lives can be divided into thirds—the first third focused on learning and preparing, the middle third on building and leading, and the final third on encouraging, praying, and finishing well. Regardless of our stage in life, we're called to pass on both the character of God (testimony) and the content of Scripture to those who follow us, fulfilling Acts 13:36 by serving God's purposes in our generation.

In this sermon, Pastor Brian tackles the question that has nagged him most as a worship pastor: "What are we doing here?" He explains that Biblical worship involves humbling ourselves before God and demonstrating His worthiness through our actions and attention. Jesus told us in John 4 that "true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people."

Pastor Brian distinguishes between two essential types of worship. First, private worship (Monday through Saturday) deepens our closeness with God through both scheduled devotional times and spontaneous moments of praise. Second, corporate worship (Sunday) strengthens our identity as Christ followers when we assemble together. The Sunday service follows an intentional order to offer our collective worship in an orderly way, as Paul instructed in 1 Corinthians. Pastor Brian concludes with practical takeaways: establish a private worship practice, set prayer triggers throughout your day, memorize Scripture, and get involved with a local assembly of believers, as Hebrews 10:25 encourages us not to give up meeting together.

Pastor Matt concluded his series on the Lord's Prayer by examining the textual history of Matthew 6:13b ("For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen"), which appears as a footnote in many modern translations. He explained the process of Biblical transmission from original manuscripts to modern translations, noting that the Bible's reliability remains uncompromised despite textual variations. Pastor Matt demonstrated that while Matthew 6:13b may not have been in the original manuscripts, it functions as a fitting doxology that accurately reflects Biblical truths found throughout Scripture, particularly echoing King David's prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:11.

The sermon also analyzed the structure of the Lord's Prayer, showing how it begins and ends with God's glory while addressing man's needs in between. Pastor Matt emphasized that this model prayer covers our past (forgiveness), present (daily bread), and future (deliverance from temptation) while teaching us to approach God with both intimacy and reverence. He concluded by encouraging listeners to use the Lord's Prayer as a mirror for spiritual self-examination rather than a source of discouragement, inviting them to yield their lives to Christ.

In this sermon, Pastor Jeremy continues his series on the Lord's Prayer by examining the line "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." He addresses the apparent contradiction between this prayer and James 1:13, which states God tempts no one. Pastor Jeremy explains that the Greek word "pismon" is neutral, meaning both temptation and trials/testing, and appears throughout Scripture with both translations.

Pastor Jeremy emphasizes that temptations come from our own desires, not from God, though God allows us to walk through trials for our growth. When facing these tests, we should respond by considering it joy (James 1:2), recognizing God is developing our endurance and character. He assures us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) and provides ways of escape. To combat the evil one during these times, Pastor Jeremy encourages us to pray for God's help and rely on Scripture as our defense, following Jesus's example of ultimately surrendering with "not my will but yours be done."

Jacob Willebeek-LaMair examines the forgiveness portion of the Lord's Prayer, explaining why Jesus specifically emphasized "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." He clarifies that sin creates not a financial debt but a justice debt before God—a debt so massive that we could never repay it ourselves. Using Romans 6:23, Jacob illustrates how sin leads to death, but God offers the gift of eternal life through Christ.

The sermon's central message is that Jesus explicitly teaches we are forgiven to the extent that we forgive others. Jacob references Matthew 18:21-35, where Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant who was forgiven an enormous debt but refused to forgive a much smaller one. Jacob shares his personal journey of forgiving someone who bullied him in middle school, offering practical advice for forgiveness: be understanding of others' brokenness, don't dwell on others' sins, put others' interests above your own, and trust God with justice.

Jake Myers examines the line "Give us this day our daily bread" from Matthew 6:11, using the famous "Grace" photograph as a visual representation of the humility and dependence we should have before God. Myers breaks down the verse into three components: "Give us" reminds us God is our source and we approach Him in humility; "this day" teaches us to trust God for daily provision rather than storing up to avoid dependence; and "our daily bread" helps us distinguish between true needs and mere wants.

The sermon emphasizes how the Lord's Prayer shifts from focusing on God's kingdom to our needs at this point, but maintains a community focus with "us" rather than "me." Myers references Exodus 16:4 where God provided manna daily to the Israelites, teaching them dependence, and challenges believers to develop an attitude of dependence on God, maintain appropriate expectations about provision, and cultivate a heart for others' needs. He concludes with practical challenges to pray with family before meals, pray publicly, and offer to pray for servers at restaurants.

In this sermon, Pastor Brian examines the phrase "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" from the Lord's Prayer, addressing the tension between God's sovereignty and human free will. He distinguishes between God's moral will—the framework for how we should live—and God's sovereign will—His overarching plan that will ultimately be accomplished. Using personal examples like his family's car accident with a fleeing criminal, Pastor Brian illustrates how events that don't align with God's moral desires can still be used within His sovereign plan.

Pastor Brian explains that when we pray for God's will to be done, we're not attempting to influence God but rather aligning ourselves with His purposes. We can discern God's moral will through Scripture, being led by the Holy Spirit, and having our minds renewed through regular engagement with God's Word and His people. As we choose to live according to God's ways, we experience a taste of heaven on earth, similar to how angels in heaven perfectly obey God. The prayer is ultimately a surrender of our own plans and desires, trusting that as Romans 8:28 promises, all things work together for good for those who love God.