Hope Community Church

Léonce Crump – Senior Pastor of Redemption Church in Atlanta, GA

In this series, we will hear from various pastors across the country as they encourage Hope Community Church by explaining how we are part of a bigger picture. We are not alone. Rather, we are in a movement of God that has been growing for thousands of years beyond ethnicity, beyond generation and beyond location. 

Introduction: Big God. Big Church.
Reimagine the Church.

Ephesians 3:1-13

We conceive of the Church as a (mostly) necessary afterthought.

God’s great dream is the Church.

Exposition
Ephesians 3:1

Ephesians 3:2

Ephesians 3:3-4

Paul has “written briefly” on this mystery previously.

Ephesians 3:5

Ephesians 3:6

Paul presents three compound adjectives: co-heirs, co-bodied and co-partners.

In Jesus, belonging to the family of God is no longer ethnically determined but determined by belief.

Ephesians 3:7

Ephesians 3:8

There is no end to the wealth of God’s grace.

Ephesians 3:9-10

What God is doing in the world is the Church!

Jon Stott said, “…the church is God’s new community…conceived in a past eternity, being worked out in history, and to be perfected in a future eternity…”

Ephesians 3:11-12

God’s church is the fulfillment of an eternal Dream for intimate people who 

would reveal His wisdom even to heavenly hosts.

Ephesians 3:13

Why does this matter?
Reimagine the Church as God’s Great Dream.

We cannot say we love Jesus if we do not love His Church.

We cannot truly love God but despise His Dream.

A love for God necessitates that we build up His beloved Church.

Respond
Ask God to make your heart alive with His Divine Dream.
Ask God to help you reimagine His Church.
Ask God to give you a great love for His Church.
Ask God (with me) to forgive you for the ways you have despised, diminished or disregarded His Church.

Week Three – Church 

Everyone needs certain things in life. People need hope. People need community, and people need church. We’ll look at our need for church by studying:

1. Where God is when things don’t go the way we want.
2. Seven signs of a healthy church.
3. What we need to watch out for.

• Where is God when things don’t go the way we want?

Matthew 16:16-19 (NLT)

The definition of “church” according to the dictionary: (N) a building used for public Christian worship.

The biblical understanding of “church” is different. The Greek word “ekklesia” is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” 

– a collection of people

– committed to a mission

– culture shaping

God is here. He is working through us and is represented by His Church. The Church is the hope of the world.

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

Community is where we experience hope. Church is where we express hope.

• Here are seven signs of a healthy church. 

1. Bold Teaching

Acts 19:8 (NIV)

2. Choose to Follow Jesus

Acts 19:9 (NIV) 

Obstinate;…refuse to believe

3. Persistently Sharing the Gospel 

Acts 19:10 (NIV)

I Corinthians 9:19-23 (MSG)

4. Biblical Unity

Acts 19:17 (NIV)

5. Spirit-Filled Worship

Acts 19:17 (NIV)

6. Life Change

Acts 19:18-19 (NIV)

7. The Church Created a Disturbance

Acts 19:20-23 (NIV)

• There are things to watch out for as we move forward as the Church.

Warning: Missing Motive

Revelation 2:2-3 (NIV)

Revelation 2:4-5 (NIV)

Love Jesus.

Be the Church.

Community - Week Two

Everyone needs certain things in life. People need hope. People need community, and people need church. We’ll look at our need for community by studying:

1. What keeps us from having significant relationships.
2. How we love others like Jesus loved.
3. What life would look like if we adopted the mentality of Christ.

• What keeps us from having significant relationships? 

Ecclesiastes 4:8 (NIV)

Why don’t we have significant relationships?

Self-sufficient

Personality

Superficial

Fear

Busyness

Luke 19:1-9 (NLT)

• How do we love others like Jesus loved Zacchaeus? 

We go out of our way to build relationships.

Luke 19:1 (NLT)

We really get to know people.

Luke 19:5a (NLT)

We do life together.

Luke 19:5b (NLT)

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Luke 19:7 (NLT)

Luke 19:10 (NLT)

• Life would look different if we adopted Christ’s mentality for how we love people.

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

Community is where we experience hope. Church is where we express hope.

Three Words Everybody Needs - Week One: Hope

Everyone needs certain things in life. People need hope. People need community, and people need church. We’ll look at our need for hope by studying:

1. What the Bible says about hope.
2. A better place for our hope that will never disappoint.

• The Bible speaks a lot about hope. 

There are 180 verses in the Bible that have the word “hope” in them.

The object of our hope is what’s important.

 Job 8:13-15

 Psalm 62:9-10

 Proverbs 11:7

 Jeremiah 14:22

 Isaiah 49:23

 Psalm 42:5 (42:11, 43:5)

• There is a better place for our hope that will never disappoint us, and it’s Jesus.

1 Peter 1:3

1 Peter 1:4

1 Peter 1:5

1 Peter 1:6

1 Peter 1:10-12

1 Peter 1:12

1 Peter 1:13

Christmas – Week One 

Christmas is one of our most cherished holidays. But, what does it mean?  What are the things we need to remember about Christmas? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:

1. The meaning of Christmas.
2. What is the theology of Christmas.
3. Two essential truths we need to believe about Christmas.

• There is the meaning of the word, Christmas.

Christmas comes from two words, “Christ and mass.”

“Mass” is a Latin word that means, “celebration” or “festival.” This means that Christmas is the celebration or festival of Christ.

• The theology of Christmas is important to understand.

Matthew 1:18-23

The arrival of Jesus was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 7:10-14)

Isaiah 7:12

Isaiah 7:14

• There are two essential truths we need to believe about Christmas.

1st Essential Truth – Jesus was born of a virgin.

Matthew 1:18

Matthew 1:20

Immanuel means, “God with us.”  

John 3:16

God came Himself to pay the penalty for our sin.

2nd Essential Truth – Jesus came in the flesh.

Matthew 16:16

John 1:1,14

1 John 4:2-3

2 John 1:7

Hebrews 2:14

One out of one people die!

Isaiah 9:6

Elijah – Week Five

As a prophet during a time of unbelievable idolatry and immorality, Elijah stood against the evil all around him. Could we stand with the same conviction? What happens when anxiety and depression enter our lives? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:

1. The reasons why Elijah was depressed.
2. What God did to bring Elijah out of his depression.
3. Some practical suggestions to develop relationships to get through tough times.

• There were reasons why Elijah was depressed. 

1 Kings 19:1-2

1 Kings 19:3

There were several reasons why Elijah got depressed:

1st reason – He was coming off an emotional high.

2nd reason – He isolated himself from his supporting relationships.

1 Kings 19:3-4

3rd reason – He was physically exhausted.

1 Kings 19:4

4th reason – He felt sorry for himself.

• God did certain things to bring Elijah out of his depression.

1st – God offered Elijah rest and refreshment.

1 Kings 19:5-6

2nd – God offered the comfort of His word.

1 Kings 19:7-9

1 Kings 19:10

1 Kings 19:11-13

1 Kings 19:18

3rd – God gave Elijah a close personal friend to counteract his loneliness.

1 Kings 19:19

1 Kings 19:21

Mother Theresa said, “It’s easier to fill a hungry stomach than to fill an empty heart.”

• There are some practical suggestions to develop those relationships that will help you through those tough times.

1st – Take some relational risks.

Proverbs 18:24

2nd – Learn to be hospitable.

1 Peter 4:9

3rd – Join a Small Group.

What would it be like if we developed these kinds of relationships?

1st – It would help us deal with our depression, disappointments.

2nd – It will put us all on the fast-track to spiritual maturity.

Elijah – Week Four

As a prophet during a time of unbelievable idolatry and immorality, Elijah stood against the evil all around him. Could we stand with the same conviction? Would we stand for God even if we’re alone? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:

1. The questions we ask when life is difficult.
2. What happened during Elijah’s stay in Zarephath.
3. The things Elijah demonstrated from which we can learn.

• When life became difficult for Elijah, he faced many of the same questions we face in times of trouble. 

1 Kings 17:4-6

Three questions we face in times of trouble:

1st  “What’s happened?”

2nd  “Why me?”

3rd  “God, where are you?”

1 Kings 17:8-9

• Elijah encountered events in Zarephath, which showed much about his character and his reliance on God.

Zarephath in Hebrew means, “to smelt, crucible.”

1 Kings 17:10-11

1 Kings 17:13

1 Kings 17:12

1 Kings 17:13

1 Kings 17:14

1 Kings 17:15-16

1 Kings 17:17

1 Kings 17:18

1 Kings 17:19

1 Kings 17:19-23

1 Kings 17:24

• There were things Elijah demonstrated during his time at Zarephath, which are some lessons we can learn from him.

1st – There was calmness and contentment.

2nd – There was a gentleness and a self-control.

3rd – There was an undiminished faith.

4th – There was humility.

You have everything you need to do what God wants you to do.

John 14:16-17

Elijah – Week Three

As a prophet during a time of unbelievable idolatry and immorality, Elijah stood against the evil all around him. Could we stand with the same conviction? Would we stand for God even if we’re alone? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:

1. Two specific events in Elijah’s life.

• There are two specific events in Elijah’s life that we can identify with and learn from to apply to our lives. 

1 Kings 18:1-2 

1 Kings 18:7-8 

1 Kings 18:9

1 Kings 18:15-16

1 Kings 18:17

1 Kings 18:18-19

1 Kings 18:20

1 Kings 18:21

“How long will you waver between God and Baal?”

This addresses the first group of people, the Dancers.

This type of living harms our relationship with God.

You can’t have a close relationship with God in the present while you are planning to sin 

in the future.

1 Kings 18:21b

1 Kings 18:22-24

1 Kings 18:24b, 26-29

1 Kings 18:30-39

1 Kings 18:40

The next group is the Decided.

The theme of perseverance is throughout Elijah’s story.

1 Kings 18:41-43

1 Kings 18:44-46

We must have perseverance. It’s a long obedience in the same direction.

Elijah – Week Two

As a prophet during a time of unbelievable idolatry and immorality, Elijah stood against the evil all around him. Could we stand with the same conviction? Would we stand for God even if we’re alone? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:

1. How Elijah had to go through difficulties.
2. The two reasons why God told Elijah to go and hide.
3. Some lessons we can learn from Elijah.

• Elijah had to go through difficulties to become the man of God he needed to be. 

1 Kings 17:1  Elijah pronounces to King Ahab that there would be a drought.

1 Kings 17:2-3  God tells Elijah to flee.

• There are two reasons why God told Elijah to go and hide.

1st – To protect Elijah from Ahab.

2nd – There was a lesson that Elijah needed to learn.

1 Kings 17:4  God tells Elijah how he will survive, by depending on God.

1 Kings 17:5  Elijah did what God told him to do.

God provided for Elijah, but there were hardships. (1 Kings 17:6,7)

• There are some lessons we can learn from Elijah.

1st – The God who gives the water has the right to take the water. (Isaiah 49:14-16)

2nd – God’s journey for your life includes God’s provision. (Matthew 6:34)

“You must live today, today.”

“You cannot live tomorrow, today.”

William Elliot: The reason why so many of us are so stressed out, tense, distracted and anxious is because we have never mastered the art of living one day at a time. 

Physically we do live a day at a time—we can’t help ourselves. But mentally we live in all three tenses at once, and that will not work. 

3rd – A dried up brook is often a sign of God’s pleasure, not God’s disappointment.

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, and skill a man, 
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him

Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!

How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,  
And which every purpose, fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about – Anonymous

Elijah – Week One

As a prophet during a time of unbelievable idolatry and immorality, Elijah stood against the evil all around him. Could we stand with the same conviction? Would we stand for God even if we’re alone? We’ll help answer these questions by studying:

1. The history of Elijah’s time.
2. Who Elijah was.
3. Three lessons we can learn from the life of Elijah.

• The history of Elijah’s time shows how courageous and extraordinary he was. 

After Solomon died, there was a civil war that divided the country into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah).

There are 19 kings in the Israel and all were evil. There were 17 kings in Judah with 9 wicked and 8 good. Elijah lived in the days of the Northern Kingdom. (1 Kings 14:20, 15:25-26, 15:29,34, 16:25)

King Ahab, married to Jezebel, was the king in Israel during Elijah’s time. (1 Kings 16:31)

Ahab and Jezebel did incredible evil in the kingdom. (1 Kings 16:32-33)

• Who was Elijah?

1 Kings 17:1 gives us three significant insights into Elijah.

1st – The name “Elijah” means “my God is Jehovah.” Even his name announced who he was and who he stood for.

2nd – Elijah was from Tishbe.

3rd – He stood before Ahab and made a declaration, which showed his courage and that he would have to stand alone. (just Elijah and God)

We will never take the risk to do great things until we believe that one person can make a difference.

We will never take the risk to do great things until we are comfortable standing alone.

• There are three lessons we can learn from the life of Elijah that are extremely relevant today.

1st – God looks for special people at difficult times. (Ezekiel 22:23-30)

Learn to stand alone!

“Gradually the unthinkable becomes tolerable, then acceptable, then legal, then praised.”

2nd – God’s methods are often surprising.

3rd – First and foremost, we stand before God.

2 Chronicles 16:9