Hope Church Montgomery

Pastor Justin Dancer continues through Acts focusing on Acts 27:1-44.

Life is full of storms, and Acts 27 gives us a powerful look at how God works in the middle of them. Paul, a prisoner being transported to Rome, endured a catastrophic 14-day storm at sea alongside 276 others. Through it all, God demonstrated three unchanging truths: He is sovereign over every storm, He provides sustenance and salvation in the middle of crisis, and He is steadfast in keeping every promise He has made. Not one person on that ship was lost, because God had already declared it would be so. The cross of Jesus Christ is our anchor, a hope that is sure and steadfast no matter what we face. God is not surprised by your storm. He was there before it started, He is with you in the middle of it, and He will bring you safely to shore.

Pastor Justin Dancer teaches through Psalms 145:1-13 and unpacks the "why" behind our For Generations Building Initiative.

God has always thought in generations, and that truth has everything to do with how we live today. Psalm 145 reminds us that one generation is called to commend God's works to the next, and that chain of faithfulness is how the gospel has survived and spread for thousands of years. None of us arrived at faith on our own. Someone was faithful before us, and now we are a link in that chain for the people who come after us. We are stewards of what God has entrusted to us, and faithful generations are built one faithful moment at a time. The generations to come are waiting on our faithfulness right now.

Pastor Justin Dancer finishes the Changed Series focusing on Worry today from scripture passage Philippians 4:4-8.

Worry is more than an emotional struggle. It is a spiritual one, rooted in a deep distrust of God. Philippians 4 gives us a clear path forward: because the Lord is near, we do not have to be anxious about anything. Instead, we are called to bring every concern to God in prayer, with thanksgiving, and trust Him with the outcome. There is also an important difference between concern and worry. Concern leads to action, while worry simply stews. Whatever you are carrying today, God is near, He hears you, and His peace is available to you right now.

Every person carries something they cannot seem to let go of, whether it is a habit, a craving, or a pattern that keeps repeating. The Apostle Paul described this same internal war in Romans 7, making clear that this struggle is not unique to a few people but is part of the human condition under sin. The root of addiction is often idolatry, placing something other than God at the center of life and expecting it to satisfy a longing only He can fill. But Paul did not stop at the struggle. He pointed to Jesus Christ as the answer, and Romans 8:1 declares that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Freedom is not found through willpower alone but through replacing lesser desires with a greater one. Jesus is bigger than whatever has a hold on you, and He is able to set you free.

Dr. Justin Dancer continues the Changed Series this October, focusing on Broken Relationships.

Broken relationships are one of the most painful realities of life, but the gospel has something powerful to say about them. In Ephesians 4:31-32, Paul identifies two categories: things to take off, like bitterness, anger, and slander, and things to put on, like kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Bitterness left unchecked moves from an internal wound to outward destruction, causing us to miss the grace God has available right now. The good news is that forgiveness sets two people free. It releases the person who wronged you and releases you from the prison of bitterness. You cannot control the other person, but you can control whether you harbor bitterness in your own heart. When we fix our eyes on Jesus rather than on the hurt, we find that there is always hope. The gospel gives us the power to put off what destroys and put on what heals.

Dr. Justin Dancer continues through Acts, focusing on Acts 26:12-18.

Shame is one of the heaviest burdens people carry, yet few talk about it openly. There is an important difference between guilt, which says 'I did something wrong,' and shame, which says 'I am wrong.' There is also a critical difference between conviction, which the Holy Spirit uses to draw us back to God, and condemnation, which drives us away from Him. The story of Paul in Acts 26 reveals three powerful truths: God is light and shame belongs to darkness, God is the great lifter and not the one who presses us down, and God gives us a new lens through which to see ourselves and our lives. Jesus did not just pay for our sin on the cross. He carried our shame so we would not have to. Because of Christ, those who believe are seen by God as holy, set apart, and fully His.

Dr. Justin Dancer continues our series through Acts focusing on Acts 20:1-12.

A young man named Eutychus falls from a third-story window during one of Paul's sermons in Acts 20 and is raised back to life. This remarkable moment opens up some of the richest truths in the Christian faith. Sunday worship is rooted in resurrection, and every time believers gather on the first day of the week, they are holding up the proof that Jesus truly conquered death. The story of Eutychus also mirrors the parable of the prodigal son, where a father runs and throws himself onto his returning child with no blame and no shame. In the same way, Paul covering Eutychus points to Jesus stretching Himself out on the cross, taking on our sin so that we could be covered in His life. The Lord's Supper is the church's regular moment to pause and remember that sacred exchange. Grace does not assign blame. It restores the dead to life.

Dr. Justin Dancer continues our series through Acts focusing on Acts 19:11-41.

Acts 19 is filled with extraordinary events, from miraculous healings to a failed exorcism that left seven men beaten and fleeing. The sons of Sceva had the right words and even the right name, but they had no real relationship with Jesus, and the spiritual realm knew it. True authority does not come from using the name of Jesus like a formula. It comes from genuinely belonging to Him. When people in Ephesus truly encountered Jesus, they burned their magic books worth millions without hesitation, because everything else lost its value by comparison. The real miracle is not the miracle itself. It is having your name written in heaven and being filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the greatest treasure, and when we truly believe that, everything else gets reordered around that reality.

Dr. Justin Dancer continues our series through Acts focusing on Acts 19:1-10.

What are you aiming at in life? In Acts 19, Paul arrives in Ephesus and encounters a group of disciples who believed in repentance and were waiting for the Messiah, but had never heard of the Holy Spirit. When Paul explained the fullness of the gospel, they received it with open hearts and were baptized in the name of Jesus. Their story raises an important question for all of us: is it possible to have most of the truth and still be missing the center of it? Scripture is clear that when a person places genuine faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them as a seal and guarantee of salvation. Beyond salvation, the Christian life is meant to grow. Paul's aim was not only for people to know Jesus but to be rooted, established, and filled with the very fullness of God. The question worth sitting with today is not just whether you are saved, but whether you are growing.

Dr. Justin Dancer continues the series through Acts focusing on Acts 18.

Encouragement is not a luxury for believers. It is a necessity that God Himself designed into the Christian life. Acts 18 shows us that even the apostle Paul faced fear and discouragement in his gospel work. God met him through three powerful sources: gospel friendships, the direct encouragement of the Father, and the faithful example of others pressing forward on the front lines. Priscilla and Aquila remind us that deep, mission-driven relationships are essential to staying the course. The Father's words to Paul, reassuring him of His presence, are the same anchor available to every believer today. When we root ourselves in what we know about God rather than how we feel, we find the strength to keep going.