The Old Testament reading in 1 Kings 19, which follows directly on the heels of one of the prophet Elijah’s greatest victories, puts us face-to-face with one of God’s most powerful prophets. And what we see in Elijah could be a mirror where we see ourselves – both the good and the bad. Hope comes to us in knowing that the Lord is with us in any and every circumstance; that it is He who works both in and through us; and that even when we are at our lowest point, hope is not gone when our hope is in the Lord.

Old Testament: 1 Kings 19:9-18 
Epistle: Romans 12:1-8 
Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28 
Sermon Title: “Hope in the Face of Success and of Depression” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

Peter was bold. Peter was brash. Once he got over his initial fright at seeing Jesus coming to them walking on water, he challenged Jesus – “If it’s You, Lord, invite me out to join you on the water!” He did it – but that was a short walk. What do we learn about hope in the face of the scary things we have to face in our lives? What about this account of Jesus’ ministry can instill hope in us?

Old Testament: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Epistle: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33
Sermon Title: “Wanna Walk on Water?”

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

We know that spiritually-speaking, we have nothing – empty hands as we stand before the Lord. In Isaiah 55, He invites us to come to Him to buy, eat, and drink, even though we have nothing in-hand to pay for it. In the Gospel, Jesus ordered His disciples to feed 5000 people, even though their hands were essentially empty – all they had was five loaves of bread and two fish. At the outset, there didn’t seem to be much hope. But then Jesus went to work, filling His disciples’ empty hands with His good gifts – food for the hungry crowd! That miracle, along with His invitation and promise from Isaiah 55, fill us with hope, in spite of the empty hands we may have. His hands are never empty – He is a God who offers hope when humanly speaking, hope seems in low supply!

Old Testament: Isaiah 55:1-5
Epistle: Romans 10:5-15 
Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21 
Sermon Title: “Hope with Empty Hands” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

Today’s Gospel in Matthew 13 is Jesus telling a series of very short parables in quick succession – all of them about the Kingdom of Heaven. What do we learn about hope from what He shares with us? We’ll couple those short parables with the Old Testament reading and one of many beautiful images the Lord gives to us in His Word about what eternity with Him is going to be like. Hope? Absolutely!

Old Testament: Isaiah 25:6-9 
Epistle: Romans 9:1-5 
Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52 
Sermon Title: “Hope in the Kingdom of Heaven” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

Romans 8:28 is one of those well-known and oft-quoted passages of Scripture. It is a passage that is filled with hope! The verses that follow build on those promises and give reason for our hope to grow and flourish – because of the love we know in Jesus. It’s a love that no one can take away. It’s a love that fills us with hope! I might also relate this to Solomon’s request of God for wisdom – instead of riches or anything else. That wisdom we seek is a wisdom grounded in the wonder and mystery of Jesus and His love for us.

Old Testament: 1 Kings 3:5-10 
Epistle: Romans 8:26-39 
Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33 
Sermon Title: “Hope Through What We Cannot Understand” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

In Romans 8, Paul speaks about the tension between the flesh and the Spirit. We hear confident promises that we ARE God’s children! He expresses how even creation itself is groaning, awaiting redemption and Christ’s return. He ends this section by speaking about hope – we can’t see it, but we know it is real, it’s a promise. In Jesus’ parable of the weeds, we get a sense of what St. Paul was writing – we recognize the insidiousness of the devil and how he works in our world and in our lives. And through it all, we are encouraged by the profound patience our God has – and seeing God’s perspective, we can understand at least a little more clearly why we go through all we do.

Old Testament: Isaiah 44:6-8 
Epistle: Romans 8:12-25 
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 
Sermon Title: “Hope in the Unseen” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

The analogy that Isaiah spoke of connecting the rain and the snow with God’s Word is picked up by Jesus in the well-known parable of the sower and the seeds. We’ll look at both of those reading this day and be reminded of the power that comes to us in God’s Word – and the hope we find in it.

Old Testament: Isaiah 55:10-13 
Epistle: Romans 8:1-11 
Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 
Sermon Title: “Hope in God’s Word” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

St. Paul expresses a frustration that we all feel – we want to do good, we want to do better, we want to be better. But it just seems like we keep falling in the same hole over and over and over again. We’ll explore that frustration (and reality) that is very much part of our lives. Where can we find hope in spite of what we experience with this frustration with sin and my sinful actions? In the throes of our struggles, we need to hear Jesus’ invitation to us in Matthew 11 to come to Him! Don’t worry – there is hope!

Old Testament: Zechariah 9:9-12 
Epistle: Romans 7:15-25a 
Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 
Sermon Title: “The Devil Made Me Do It!” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

With two baptisms on this day, the profound way that Paul instructs us regarding baptism brings hope – the life-giving connection our baptism makes directly to Jesus and His death and resurrection. How does He do it? We’ll dig deeply into these amazing words and promises from our Lord here in Romans 6.

Old Testament: Psalm 89:1-4 
Epistle: Romans 6:1b-11 
Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42 
Sermon Title: “Hope Through Baptism” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/

In Romans 5 St. Paul speaks clearly of the unusual place from where our hope originates – from suffering! It’s surprising and unexpected, even unbelievable, from a human vantage point. But this is the way our Lord works and how He chooses to bring hope into our lives – even in the most unusual of circumstances with outcomes we could never foresee. Psalm 86 urges us to come to the Lord in those times of suffering and trouble and difficulty. When we take that into consideration with Romans 5, there’s a lot that starts to make sense when it comes to our relationship with the Lord and trust and faith we have in Him.

Old Testament: Psalm 86:1-7 
Epistle: Romans 5:1-8 
Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26, 35-38 
Sermon Title: “From Suffering to Hope?” 

As always, if you can’t be here in-person, take advantage of our live stream option. We live stream our worship services directly from the home page of Immanuel’s website through YouTube. You can view our worship live streams here: https://immanuelloveland.org/