Listen to this message on 1 Peter 5:6-11 by Jimmy Hoang preached at Risen Hope Baptist Church. 

Listen to this message on 1 Peter 5:1-5 by Ben Whitley preached at Risen Hope Baptist Church. 

Listen to this message on 1 Timothy 3:1-16 by Pastor Jayson preached at Risen Hope Baptist Church. 

The gospel will only advance when the needs of the church are properly addressed. The members of the church have spiritual and physical needs that must be met with both word and deeds. Therefore, the love of Christian neighbor in the church requires a division of labor between those called to the ministry of word and prayer and those called to serve people's physical needs. Enjoy this message from Acts 6:1-7 from Pastor Jimmy Hoang.

In all three of the synoptic gospels Jesus says something to this effect: “I am among you as one who serves.” The word “serves” in the original Greek is diakoneō which is where we get our English word deacon. A deacon is a servant — something we’re all called to be as followers of Jesus. And this scene in John’s gospel demonstrates for us, in a dramatic and very memorable way, what Jesus means by those words, “I am among you as one who serves.” The word deacon never actually appears in this text. Instead, we’re going to seeJesus deaconing! And how Jesus deacons will lay the foundation for how we deacon each other in the body of Christ.

Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:8 that “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things!” When it comes to praise, we quickly default to whatever is true, honorable, pure, lovely, and commendable. How about whatever is just? Is God’s justice — specifically God’s just judgement of evil — worthy of our praise? Judgement is not something that we usually offer God praise for! Judgement makes us a bit uncomfortable. Which is why this is an important message for us to hear. We not only need to acknowledge that God’s judgement is necessary. We should also see it as praise-worthy! Enjoy this message from Revelation 18:1-19:5 as we seek to add God’s judgement to our list of praise-worthy things to think about. The last thing we want to do is withhold from God any praise that he is due.

Cue the DJ, raise your glasses, and make some noise in honor of the Beast and his Bride! She looks quite alluring in a certain light — a true marvel of beauty. But upon closer inspection, she’s not the honorable, virtuous woman she initially appears to be. The woman introduced to us in Revelation 17 completes the picture of Satan’s doomed kingdom. Enjoy this message from Revelation 17 preached at Risen Hope Baptist Church in Sioux Falls, SD. 

War is a constant source of anxiety, fear, and frustration no matter where we live or in what year we live! War is nothing new and it’s not going away. Jesus told us to expect more wars and conflict as the end draws near, not less. Scripture tells us that this is part of the great escalation of this “Cosmic Story” leading up to a Final Showdown between God and the Dragon. How do we prepare? That’s the purpose of a Revelation 16:1-21 — to aid our preparation as we witness this escalation of history towards the Final Showdown. Enjoy the message!

There are some realities that are too great to merely discuss; they demand singing! If there is anything too great to merely discuss, if there is anything that demands singing, it is the unique and unsurpassed greatness of our holy God. At the heart of Revelation 15 is a song — a joyful song — and those standing and singing that song in God’s very presence, demand to know, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy!” In other words, nothing makes the redeemed sing for joy like God’s holiness. They can’t imagine a reality more deserving of loud, happy, endless singing! Enjoy this message from Revelation 15:1-8.

Happy Mother's Day! You’ve probably heard that the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. Motherhood is also a marathon not a sprint. Endurance is required for both! And any marathon runner, or mother for that matter, will tell you that endurance requires fuel. We can’t endure and finish the race on an empty tank. In Revelation 14:14-20 we’ll see that the fear of the Lord is our fuel for endurance.