Hope Community Church

The weekend of Easter is the most important of our faith. We will learn about why Easter is the defining moment for christianity by examining: 

1. The historical worldview and implications.
2. The various theories given for the question, “If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, how do I explain everything that’s happened?”
3. How this impacts your life.
4. How you take the next step.

• The historical perspective from a non-biblical worldview is frequently taught.

Around 25 AD during political turmoil in Jerusalem, a teacher named Jesus of Nazareth came on the scene, gathered followers, stirred up the people and was put to death for treason by Rome.

After Jesus’ death, several followers continued to spread His teachings.

If that was it, how do you explain that over half of the world’s population believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This perspective doesn’t explain what happened historically, and it doesn’t explain what continues to happen for believers. (Acts 2)

• There are various theories given for the question, “If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, how do I explain everything that’s happened?”  

Someone stole the body (Matthew 27:62-65)

1. Roman officials assigned soldiers, under penalty of death, to guard the tomb and seal the tomb. Matthew 28:1-15

2. Would you die for a hoax? Jesus’ disciples died for their belief that Jesus rose from the dead.

3. There was no reason for a Jewish leader or a Roman official to steal the body and create a bigger problem for themselves.

4. There were ten specific appearances by Jesus after the resurrection.

The Hallucination Theory

1. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that 500 people saw Jesus alive at one time. Most of those people were still living at the time of his writing and could verify his statement.

The Swoon Theory – Jesus didn’t really die but was just unconscious.

1. Jesus could have never rolled away a two-ton stone after His ordeal of beatings and crucifixion.

The Twin Brother Theory – It takes more faith to believe that than the resurrection.

• The implications of Jesus’ resurrection impacts your life. 

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead changed the world at the time of His resurrection, and it continues to change the lives of believers today.

The implications of whether or not Jesus did rise from the dead changes how we live our lives. There has to be a response. If you’re at the “Something happened; what happened?” stage, take the next step and investigate. 

• How do you take the next step?  

Find the Gospel of John and just start reading it. Get to know the story of Jesus. There’s not much to lose but a whole lot to gain.

The Week Before Easter

The final weekend before Easter is called Palm Sunday. We will learn about this time leading up to Easter by examining: 

1. The sequence of events during that last week.
2. How Pilate tried to substitute Barabbas for Jesus.
3. The interruption by Pilate’s wife.
4. How God treated Jesus like Barabbas so He could treat Barabbas like Jesus.

• The week before Easter was a purposeful sequence of events.  

Matthew 21:9 describes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem where the crowd cheered Him as the King who would free them from Rome. Rather, He came to free them from sin.

On Monday, Jesus wept over the brokenness of the people and cleansed the temple.

On Tuesday, Jesus did some teaching and Judas began his betrayal.

On Thursday, Jesus celebrated the last supper and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.

On Friday, Jesus was crucified, died and was buried.

• Pilate tried to substitute Barabbas for Jesus. 

In Matthew 27:11-18, Pilate tries to gain Jesus’ freedom by having the people choose Jesus, an innocent man, to be released.

Pilate offered a man named Jesus-Barabbas, which means “son of the father” in comparison to Jesus the Messiah who is the “Son of God.”  

Mark 15:7 shows how Barabbas was a known criminal deserving of punishment.

• Pilate’s wife tried to warn her husband to not hurt Jesus, an innocent man.  

In Matthew 27:19, Pilate’s wife tries to get her husband to have nothing to do with Jesus’ persecution because of a dream she had.

There is a big contrast between the Jewish leaders who are wanting Jesus’ death and a Gentile woman who believes that Jesus is truly innocent.

God sent a warning through Pilate’s wife, but he didn’t listen.

• God treated Jesus like Barabbas so He could treat Barabbas like Jesus.

In Matthew 27:20-23, the chief priests and elders persuade the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. (Luke 23:16)

In Matthew 27:24-26, Pilate washes his hands of the responsibility. Instead of doing what was right, he releases Barabbas and gives Jesus to the leaders to be flogged and crucified. 

John Stott says, “For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.”

We can substitute our names into the equation. For God so loved _______ (John 3:16)

God treated Jesus like _______ (our names) so He could treat _______ (our names) like Jesus.

Ten: Week Four

The Fourth Commandment - Rest

God gave us the 10 Commandments to teach us about relationships, relationships with Him and with other people.  We’ll study this fourth commandment by examining: 

1. How resting gives God the opportunity to provide for us supernaturally.
2. How resting gives us the opportunity to be refreshed.
3. That there are consequences when we don’t trust.
4. That there are blessings when we do rest.

• Resting gives God the opportunity to provide for us supernaturally. 

Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

Sabbath is a Saturday, but Christians worship on Sunday because Jesus rose from the dead on the 1st day of the week. 

Exodus 20:8-11, which is the longest commandment, teaches the Principle of Rest.

We don’t keep the 10 Commandments to be saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But, there are blessings if we keep them.

In Exodus 16:23-30, God showed how He would provide for the Israelites day by day as long as they trusted in Him.

The Jewish people were to remember and observe the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 7:12)

While in slavery, the Israelites were never given rest, but God loved and rescued them. (Deuteronomy 7:8)

• Resting gives us the opportunity to be refreshed.

The Sabbath was a great sign to the world because no other nation before Israel rested one day a week. (Exodus 31:14-17)

On the seventh day after creating everything, God breathed in, and He rested and was refreshed. (Exodus 31:17, Genesis 1:3, Genesis 2:7) 

If God refreshes Himself, why don’t you?

• There are consequences when we don’t rest.

In Numbers 15:32-36, a man was sentenced to death for breaking the Sabbath. Four things in the Old Testament incurred the death penalty: murder, not keeping the Sabbath, adultery and rebellious children.

Is it possible that you’re killing yourself by not resting one day a week?

In 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, the Israelites went 490 years without letting the land rest every seventh year. This added up to 70 missed Sabbaths, which is how long they were in captivity, 70 years. 

• There are blessings when we do rest.

In Mark 2:23-27, Jesus explains that the Sabbath was made for man not as a legalistic rule with God.

There’s an old Jewish saying, “More than Israel has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept Israel.” 

If you don’t rest one day a week, you’re not trusting God, and the principle of rest is a gift from God.

Ten: Week Three

The Third Commandment - Humility

God gave us the 10 Commandments to teach us about relationships, relationships with Him and with other people. We’ll study this third commandment by examining: 

1. Why God would be so concerned that we don’t misuse His name.
2. Three ways that we sometimes misuse God’s name.
3. How we can use God’s name in a positive way and how it comes back to grace.

• Why would God be so concerned that we don’t misuse His name?

Exodus 20:7 says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

God’s name is His character. It’s who He is. The name of God is synonymous with the person and character of God. 

In the Lord’s prayer, “hallowed be Thy name” means “to be set apart, holy.”

“Yahweh” is used almost 7,000 times in the Old Testament and means, “He who caused existence; He who has always existed.”

Israel went into exile in 586 B.C. after they misused and profaned God’s name. 

(Ezekiel 36:20-23)

“Misuse” means “lift up or carry.” God is saying in the third commandment that “You shall not carry my name in a vain, empty, worthless or prideful way,” which teaches the principle of humility.” 

We need to make sure we carry the name of “Christian” with humility by honoring what that name means.

The name of God is interchangeable for the person of God throughout the Bible. 

(Proverbs 18:10, Psalm 20:7, Romans 10:13)

• We misuse God’s name in three common ways.

1.  We misuse God’s name when we pray with the wrong motive. (James 4:3)
2. We misuse God’s name when we speak for God.(Leviticus 19:12, Jeremiah 23:25, Ezekiel 22:28)
3. We misuse God’s name when the use of His name doesn’t honor Him.

• We can use God’s name in a positive way, and it all comes back to grace.

We can praise God’s name and give Him gratitude. (Psalm 44:8, Psalm 100:4, Psalm 113:3)

In the second part of the third commandment, God says that He will not leave anyone “guiltless” or “unpunished” who misuses His name. 

We’ve all misused God’s name before, but it’s important to remember how holy and reverent God’s name is. 

Jesus took on our sin and took our punishment for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21) 

The Ten Commandments are all about grace because God is such a God of grace.

The Second Commandment - Purity

God gave us the 10 Commandments to teach us about relationships, relationships with Him and with other people.  We’ll study this second commandment by examining: 

1. The Israelites’ new home and how it affected their relationship to God.
2. The principle behind the second commandment, which is purity.
3. The blessings of purity.

• The Israelites left slavery to enter a pagan land, and God instructed His people to distance themselves from that.

In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus answered the religious leaders when asked about how to sum up the Old Testament.  He said to love God more than anything, which is the point of the first four commandments.  He also said to “love your neighbor as yourself,” which is the point of the last six commandments.

In Deuteronomy 18:9-15, God told the Israelites to not follow the pagan rituals and beliefs of their new homeland in Canaan. God would raise up a prophet for them.

- Psalm 106:37 describes how the Canaanites sacrificed their sons and daughters to false gods.

- Acts 3:22 says that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy found in Deuteronomy 18:14-15.

God created His people to be in relationship with Him.  

• The relationship principle behind the 2nd Commandment is “The principle of Purity.”

Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an image (idol) in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth below.”

Israel was the only nation on the planet at that time in history who didn’t worship images of their God. He was the invisible God, and Jesus is the embodiment of that (Colossians 1:15). 

The Israelites were tempted by their environment and began making idols and worshiping other gods (Judges 3:7 and 1 Kings 18:19).  

Satan tempted and deceived people into thinking an image could have power by the fact that God made man in His image with His Spirit in man (Genesis 1:26). You are the image of God on Earth, and God puts His Spirit in you.

When you begin to imagine yourself in a situation other than what God has provided for you, you have an idol, and you’re never content as a result.

Exodus 20:5 says, “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing (visiting) the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me…”

The Hebrew word for “punishing” can be translated as “visiting” throughout the Old Testament. The sin of the parents would affect the lives of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. in multigenerational homes. 

A good “jealous” is when you love someone so much that you don’t want anything bad to happen to him/her.

In Ezekiel 18:13-17, God says that a son will no longer die for the sins of his father. 

• There are blessings from living a life of purity.

The ending of Exodus 20:5-6 says, “…but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Deuteronomy 7:9 says that God is showing His love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

We often read the Old Testament and only see judgement, law and rules, but it’s all for relationship. 

God wants to have a pure relationship with us.

The First Commandment

God gave us the 10 Commandments to teach us about relationships, relationships with Him and with other people.  We’ll study this first commandment by examining:

1. How the 10 Commandments are about relationships.
2. Why the Israelites (us) try and keep a distance with God.
3. The Principle of Priority.

• God gave us the 10 Commandments to teach us about relationships. 

In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus answered the religious leaders when asked about how to sum up the Old Testament. He said to love God more than anything, which is the point of the first four commandments. He also said to “love your neighbor as yourself,” which is the point of the last six commandments.

In Exodus 20:1-3, God reminded the Israelites that He is their Lord, and He brought them out of Egypt. He freed them from slavery.

Paul says that Jesus frees us from being slaves to sin in Romans 6:6.

• In Exodus 20:18-20, the Israelites kept their distance while Moses approached God.

Moses and the Israelites wanted to have a deeper relationship with God, but the Israelites wanted that relationship through Moses not themselves.

The people were afraid that they would die in God’s Presence (Exodus 20:19).  Our “old self” always dies in the Presence of God. 

When the “old self” dies, Jesus can live through us.

Moses not only knew what God did but why He did it (Psalm 103:7), which can only happen through relationship.

• The relationship principle behind the 1st Commandment is “The principle of Priority.” 

Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” God is not saying that you can have other gods but just make Him first. The word “before” can be translated as “besides” (Isaiah 45:5). It could say, “There is no god besides Me.”

When we put others first, we put God first.

This principle runs throughout Scripture. The Israelites gave their first and their best to God.

In the story of Cain and Able (Genesis 4:3-5), Cain gave some of his fruits for offering while Able gave his first and his best to God.

Jesus speaks of this principle in Matthew 6:31-33 when He tells us to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.

When we put God first, the rest falls into place.  In 1 Kings 17:12-17, God provided for the woman who put Him first. We can share in that same blessing if we put Him first in our lives.

God has given us timeless traditions and elements to practice that bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  Being God-centered or having trust is the last in this series.  We will study this truth through questions and key points. 

1. What would my life look like if God was the center?
2. In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus teaches His disciples a valuable lesson about trust.
3. God will never take anything from us that He doesn’t replace with something better.
4. Life can only be experienced to the fullest when we trust in God.

• What would my life look like if God was at the center of every area of my life?  

Instead of letting God be the center, we often argue with God rather than just trusting Him.

Sometimes, we get so focused on the risk that we miss the goodness and faithfulness of God.

What do you want out of life?  Who’s smarter?  Who fulfills those needs better? 

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

• In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus proved His trustworthiness and called His disciples to a different life. 

Jesus performed a miracle by nearly sinking the boats of the fishermen with such a large catch after they had fished all night with nothing to show for it.

This is God’s pattern for our lives:

1.  Jesus gives us evidence of His trustworthiness.

2.  Then, He asks us to trust in Him.

3.  We weigh the risks and choose to trust Him or not.

When God asks us to trust Him, the only thing we’re sure of is what’s in our hand.  But, trust is making the leap without knowing the results. 

• God will never take anything from us that He doesn’t replace with something better.

God waits for us to trust Him and make the first move.

It’s really not about our stuff or the substitutes we acquire to try and bring fulfillment to our lives; it’s about whether we believe God is trustworthy.

• Life can only be experienced to the fullest when we trust in God.

You have a loving Heavenly Father who has your best interest in mind.

To be obedient and follow Him will cost you, but not to obey and follow will cost you far, far more.

When you choose to trust, your fear will intersect with God’s faithfulness, and you’ll experience God like never before.

God has given us timeless traditions and elements to practice that bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  In this fourth week of our series, we’ll look at stewardship and generosity by studying:

1. The difference between member vs mission
2.  The parable of the mina in Luke 19
3.  The Mina Project for our community

• At Hope, we want to be on mission instead of just being members.

A question for a member is, “What are they doing for me?”

A question for someone on mission is, “What am I doing or giving to others?”

Ephesians 3:20  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

God has given us three ways to invest in His Kingdom:

1. Time – spending our time wisely
2. Talents – the ways in which God has gifted each individual
3. Money – handling what God has entrusted to you because it ultimately belongs to Him (Job 41:11, Exodus 19:5, Psalm 24:1)

• In Luke 19:11-15, Jesus shares the story of the parable of the mina.

There were five elements to the story:

1. There’s a man of noble birth.
2. There’s a group of servants.
3. There’s a certain money given to the servants.
4. There are specific instructions given.
5. There’s accountability for the servants. (The servant who hid the mina away was declared wicked when what he did was measured against what he could have done.) 

There are a couple lessons in this parable as it relates to us as stewards of what we’ve been given.

• • When we invest in God’s Kingdom, it’s an investment of His resources not ours.
  • We will ultimately give an account to God for how we manage His resources.

    (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

• The Mina Project is an initiative where Hope invests resources in our community through our people.

Every person over 18 gets an envelope with money inside to invest it, grow it and cultivate it.  Grow it and return it on the weekend of April 18 & 19.

In John 17, Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer in which He prayed for three things:

1. Jesus prays for Himself.
2.  Jesus prays for His disciples.
3. Jesus prays for us.
4. To Reach the Triangle and Change the World, all gospel-centered churches must be unified around the gospel.
5. Our goal is to make sure that every man, woman and child have multiple opportunities to see, hear and respond to the gospel.

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God has given us timeless traditions and elements to practice that bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  In this third week of our series, we’ll study the church service by examining:

1. How society views church service
2. What the Bible says about church service
3. How we should approach church service

• Society’s views of church service have changed dramatically over recent years.

The statistics are sobering: 49% of Baby Boomers, 46% of Generation X, 35% of Millennials attend church twice a month. 

Outside of Northern America and Europe where christianity is often oppressed, church service is thriving.

As an American Christian, we are deeply affected by a distrust of man-made institutions and by consumerism.

• The Bible explains the meaning and significance of church service.

In Hebrews 10:19-25, the author helps us understand through two phrases he repeats three times each: “we have” and “let us.”

“We have” 

1.  “…we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place…”

2.  “…we have a great priest over the house of God…”

3.  “…having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water…”

“Let us”

1.  “…let us draw near to God…”

2.  “…let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess…”

3.  “…let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together…”

In Ephesians 4:14-16, Paul tells us how to grow so that we aren’t immature infants in our faith.

Without intentional faith-building togetherness, it’s nearly impossible to live and progress in our spiritual walk.

• There are things we can do to be intentional in our approach to church service.

Show up early.

Show up often.

Show up to the same service.

Show up with a plan.

Show up expecting.

God has given us timeless traditions and elements to practice that bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  This week we’re studying baptism, which includes:

1.  The truths that baptism symbolize

a.  We are forgiven of sin

b.  The old self has died

c.  We are a new creation

2.  The tension between what God says is true and our lived reality

3.  The battle to believe and the weapon of baptism

• • In Romans 6, Paul explains what baptism is all about and what it symbolizes.

Some people think that being saved lets them go on sinning because they have been forgiven in the past, present and future. Paul emphatically says the opposite.

Romans 6:1-11  When we believe in Jesus, we give our lives to Him, and the following three things happens:

1. All of our sins, mess-ups and mistakes are fully forgiven.
2. Our old, sinful self dies, and our connection to sin is severed.
3. We become a new creation in Christ.

2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Baptism symbolizes our death to sin when we go down into the water, and it symbolizes our new life as a new creation when we come up out of the water.

• • The tension between what God says is true and the reality we live can seem to be in conflict.  (Romans 8)

God has killed our old, sinful nature and made us a new creation in Him.  

Our old self seems to have power over us trying to bring us back to our sinful desires, but it’s dead.  It just doesn’t know it yet.  

• • Our battle to believe follows us throughout our new lives and baptism is a weapon to help in this fight.

The parts of ourselves that want to go on sinning even though we are new creations make it feel like a battle of belief is being waged.

In this battle, we radically overestimate the power of sin and radically underestimate the power of the Spirit.  

We can choose to believe that God can and will free us from our sin when we live in faith.  

1 John 3:5-9  “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.  And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning… No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed (or Spirit) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”

• This means that God is actively changing us, and we don’t have to live in habitual sin forever. 
• These promises give us Hope.

Philippians 1:6  “I am confident of this, that he who  began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of  Christ Jesus.”

We are commanded to be baptized because it is a powerful weapon in the battle of belief.

Baptism grounds us as a reminder of how we died to sin and arose a new creation in Christ.  

If you are ready to take your next step and be baptized, click here to sign up to talk to an area pastor. Our next baptism weekend is on Feb. 22 & 23. 

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