Hope Community Church

Week 2 Community – Dave Ferguson – Community Christian Church, Chicago, IL

As Christians, we were made to be in community. We need community to support each other in times of difficulty and to push each other to live the way God wants us to live.

• As Christians, we can further community by adopting the B.L.E.S.S. model of outreach, which teaches us how to share our faith.

Matthew 22:39 (NIV) “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Genesis 12:2,3 (NIV) God will bless us, and He wants us to be a blessing to the world.

“What do you value in a person with whom you would talk about spiritual matters?”

1. “Someone who will listen without judgment.”

2. “Someone who will allow me to draw my own conclusions.”

3. “Someone who has confidence in sharing their own perspective.”

There are five missional practices Jesus used over and over again, which can be remembered with the acronym for B-L-E-S-S. 

B – Begin with Prayer.

L – Listen.

E – Eat.

S – Serve.

S – Story.

Week 1 Community – Albert Tate – Fellowship Church, Monrovia, CA

As Christians, we were made to be in community. We need community to support each in times of difficulty and to push each other to strive into the way God wants for us to live.

• We need our Christian brothers and sisters to live in community with us so that we can be a support to each other.

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

Lean into community.

Lean into the practice of community.

Lean into the struggle of community.

Ghost Stories

Week 3 – Guide

In church, we speak about God and Jesus all the time, but we tend to avoid the subject of the Holy Spirit. By evading the topic, we miss out on an amazing gift God has given to us as Christians. The Holy Spirit acts as our teacher, advocate, and guide.

• The Holy Spirit is given to us as Christians as a gift, and He acts as our guide.

John 16:13 (NLT)  The Holy Spirit will guide us.

God’s will is a relationship with Him, and His Spirit helps us to know that will.  

Romans 8:14 (NLT)

There are a few essentials the Holy Spirit offers us to know God’s will for our lives.

1. To know God’s will, we need God’s Presence.

Ephesians 5:18 (NLT)

Acts 2:4 (NLT)

Acts 4:31 (NLT)

To be guided by the Spirit, we need His constant Presence in our lives.

Prayer: “God, fill me.”

2.  To know God’s will, we need God’s Purpose.

Ministry is using whatever God has given us to serve Him and the needs of others.

Ephesians 4:12 (NLT)

1 Corinthians 12:7,11 (NLT)  

Prayer: “God, show me.”

3.  To know God’s will, we need God’s Plan.

Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

John 16:13 (NLT)

God shows His plan in four ways:

a.  When the request is not right, God says, “No”.

Acts 16:6-8 (NLT)

b.  When the timing is not right, God says, “Slow”.

c.  When the request and timing are right, but you’re not right, God says, “Grow”.

d.  When the request is right and the timing’s right and you’re right, then God says, “Go”.

Acts 19:21 (NLT)

Prayer: “God, use me.”

4.  To know God’s will, we need God’s Power.

Acts 1:8 (NLT)

Prayer: “God, empower me.”  

Week 2 – Advocate

In church, we speak about God and Jesus all the time, but we tend to avoid the subject of the Holy Spirit. By evading the topic, we miss out on an amazing gift God has given to us as Christians. The Holy Spirit acts as our teacher, advocate, and guide.

• The Holy Spirit is given to us as Christians as a gift, and He advocates for us to God the Father.

Shame is an emotion felt by all people.

“It matters not if the person earns a two-comma salary or works for minimum 

wage. She may be married or single. He may be African American or Caucasian. 

Depressed, anxious or just plain angry; happy, sad or indifferent. He may be the father or the son, the employer or employee. It may be an individual, a couple, family, community, school or business organization. And you needn’t have ever darkened the office door of a psychiatrist. It doesn’t require the breakdown of our mental health to be plagued by it. It only requires that you have a pulse. To be human is to be infected with the phenomenon we call shame.” – Curt Thompson, “The Soul of Shame”

Genesis 2:25 (ESV)  Humanity was created without shame.

Genesis 3:7 (ESV) They felt shame and tried to hide.

Genesis 3:1 (ESV)  Satan began to deceive.

Genesis 3:2-3 (ESV)  Eve got confused and began to doubt her own story.

Genesis 3:4-5 (ESV)  Satan tempted Eve.

Genesis 3:7a (ESV)  Once the man and woman disobeyed, they felt shame.

Genesis 3:7b (ESV)  They tried to cover their shame.  

Genesis 3:8 (ESV)   They hid themselves from God.

The Holy Spirit is our advocate to God the Father.

John 14:16 (ESV)

1 John 2:1-2 (ESV)  Jesus is another advocate as He covers the sin of the world.

There is no condemnation once Jesus has died in your place, and the Spirit lives in you.

Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)

Romans 8:33-34 (NLT)

Romans 8:15-16 (NLT)

Romans 8:5-6  (NIV)

Week 1 – Teach

In church, we speak about God and Jesus all the time, but we tend to avoid the subject of the Holy Spirit. By evading the topic, we miss out on an amazing gift God has given to us as Christians. The Holy Spirit acts as our teacher, guide and advocate.

• The Holy Spirit is given to us as Christians as a gift, and He teaches us God’s truth.

The Bible mentions the Holy Spirit more than 800 times.

Genesis 1:2 (NLT)

Job 33:4 (NLT)  

John 16:5-7 (NLT)

We need a Biblical understanding of who exactly the Holy Spirit is.

1st – The Holy Spirit is a person.

John 14:16-17 (NIV)  “…he lives with you and will be in you.”

2nd – The Holy Spirit is God.

Francis Chan said, “While these serve as cute metaphors for an unexplainable mystery, the fact is that God is not like an egg, a three-leaf clover, or the three forms of water. God is not like anything. He is incomprehensible, incomparable, and unlike any other being. He is outside our realm of existence and, thus, outside our ability to categorize him. While analogies may be helpful in understanding certain aspects of him, let’s be careful not to think that our analogies in any way encapsulate his nature.”

Genesis 1:26 (NLT)

3rd – The Holy Spirit is eternal and holy.

John 14:16-17 (NIV)  One God – coequal, coexisting and eternal

John 14:16-17 (NIV)

The Holy Spirit teaches me God’s truth.

John 14:26 (NLT)

1 John 2:27 (NLT)

This is an example of how to read/study the Bible:

1. Ask God to teach you.

2. Read the passage.

3. What does it say?

4. Why is this important?

5. What do I need to do?

The Holy Spirit makes me like Jesus.

Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT)

Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)  We will find God if we look for Him.

Enough
Week 3 – Talent

God knows we can hoard things in our hearts that can cause us to lose our way. He wants us to be content and not tied down with greed whether that involves our time, talent or treasure. God gives to us generously, and He wants us to give generously, so we can bring others to His Kingdom.

• How do we use our talents to build God’s Kingdom?

Luke 16:1-2 (ESV) Jesus tells a parable to teach about using your talents.

Luke 16:3-4 (ESV) The manager in the parable comes up with a plan after he is fired.

Luke 16:5-7 (ESV) The man reduces the amount the debtors owe the master.

Luke 16:8 (ESV) The master commends the craftiness of the man.

Luke 16:8-9 (ESV) Jesus makes His point. We need to approach our jobs as Christians with as much shrewdness. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) God gives help to people to equip them for the work of the church. 

This means two things:

1. The greatest ideas are in the congregation.

2. The greatest opportunities are outside the church doors.

Week 2 – Time

God knows we can hoard things in our hearts that can cause us to lose our way. He wants us to be content and not tied down with greed whether that involves our time, talent or treasure. God gives to us generously, and He wants us to give generously, so we can bring others to His kingdom.

• Is there ever enough time?

James 4:14 (ESV)  James wrote about how our lives are but a mist.

The right question to ask is, “What do I do with the time I do have?”

Psalm 90 is a prayer written by Moses as he faces the end of his life.

Moses mentions three truths through his prayer:

1.  The clock is ticking, and we are fragile.

Psalm 90:1-2 (ESV)

Psalm 90:3 (ESV)

Genesis 3:19 (ESV)

Psalm 90:4 (ESV)

Psalm 90:5-6 (ESV)

2.  The clock is ticking, and we are needy.

Psalm 90:7 (ESV)

Psalm 90:8 (ESV)

Hebrews 4:13 (ESV)

Psalm 90:9-11 (ESV)

“Only when we see the depth of our sin will we be electrified by the 

wonder of grace.”  Tim Keller

Psalm 90:12 (ESV)

3.  The clock is ticking, and God is gracious.

Psalm 90:13-16 (ESV)

Psalm 90:17 (ESV)

Count your days so you can make your days count!

Two challenges to go after:

1.  Pursue Jesus fully.

Luke 9:23 (ESV)

2.  Invest in your family deeply.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

Count your days so that your days count!

Week 1 – Treasure

God knows we can hoard things in our hearts that can cause us to lose our way. He wants us to be content and not tied down with greed whether that involves our time, talent or treasure. God gives to us generously, and He wants us to give generously, so we can bring others to His kingdom.

• What is Enough?

Luke 12:13, 14 (ESV)  A man is demanding legal advice from Jesus as a Rabbi, but 

Jesus notices something different in the man.

Luke 12:15 (ESV)  Jesus warns against covetousness/greed. 

Greed is an enemy that attacks, so Jesus says to be on guard against it.

God doesn’t want to get your money. He just doesn’t want your money to get you.

Luke 12:16-19 (ESV)  Jesus tells a parable about how the love of money can hurt a person.

Luke 12:20-21 (ESV)  God rebukes the man.

Jesus points out two mindsets/beliefs that are foolish:

1. More will one day be enough.

2. It’s all mine.

Because we are stewards of what God has given us, that means two things:

1. We’re going to be held accountable.

2. Eventually, we will have to give it all back.

Luke 12:33-34 (ESV)  Jesus gives an answer for the man who had abundance. 

Generosity is the only defense against the enemy of greed.

With the extra in our lives, take one of these steps:

1. Give for the first time.

2. Give regularly.

3. Give proportionally.

4. Give extravagantly. 

God doesn’t want to get your money. He just doesn’t want your money to get you.

Week 5 – Jesus is Glorious

As people, we all know what it’s like to question who we are and what our purpose is. But what about the identity of Jesus? Do we know who He is? The real Jesus not just the image we have of Him? His identity changes everything about who we are trying to be as Christians.

• Jesus is Glorious.

John 11:1 ESV

John 11:2 ESV

John 11:3 ESV

John 11:4-6 ESV

John11:14-15 ESV “…Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe…”

Job 42:5 ESV  “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”

God will often delay His power in order to reveal His glory.

John 11:17-35 ESV

From the Message – John 11:33 “When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him.”

John 11:34-35 ESV  “And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ 35 Jesus wept.”

Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end…but He’s also present at every step in between.

“Our tendency is to feel intuitively that the more difficult life gets, the more alone we are. As we sink further into pain, we sink further into felt isolation. The Bible corrects us. Our pain never outstrips what he himself shares in. We are never alone. That sorrow that feels so isolating, so unique, was endured by him in the past and is now shouldered by him in the present.” 

– Dane Ortlund Gentle and Lowly

John 11:38-44 ESV

John 11:2 ESV “It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.”

Revelation 21:1-5a NLT

Revelation 22:3-5 NLT

Week 4 – Jesus the Provider

As people, we all know what it’s like to question who we are and what our purpose is. But what about the identity of Jesus? Do we know who He is? The real Jesus not just the image we have of Him? His identity changes everything about who we are trying to be as Christians.

• Jesus is the Provider we need.

John 6:1-15  This is the story of the feeding of the 5,000.

Jesus knew if He could provide for their physical needs, they’d be more open to what He could offer them spiritually.

Jesus is a Provider. Jesus is the Provider.

Jesus can provide everything from nothing.

If we’re empty, we have nothing to give.

The primary reason we don’t pray dangerous prayers is because they might prompt us to do hard things.

We don’t do hard things because we don’t know how to do hard things.

The greatest rewards in my life, I would have missed, if I wasn’t willing to do hard things to receive them.

Psalm 139:23-24, Psalm 139:19-22  David is praying to God.

Show me what I need to change.

If you pray this prayer, it will require you to acknowledge that you have some work to do…on YOU.

David asked God to reveal his anxiety.

“God, am I allowing crippling fear to short change my calling, purpose or blessing?”

David asked God to reveal his sin.

“God, is there a sin I need to put to death that is stifling my calling, purpose or blessing?”

David asked God to lead him.

“God, is there a place or calling in my life that I’m missing because I’m scared to follow you entirely?”