Mount Hope | Belmont Campus

There are times where we want or desire something from God. We pray continually for it. We are ready for it and believe it is the right time for the request to be answered. However, despite our desire and best efforts in prayer, God simply says "no". Or maybe he says "not yet" or even "you're not ready". But why? Why does God allow us to stay in this place where we feel stuck? The Bible lets us know about a group of people who were in the same place and endured a similar experience. They wanted to move forward and yet God did not answer their prayers in the way they expected.

"Why are you here?" When asked this, our responses vary, with us looking to the philosophical, the logical, or even the the physical for answers. We may know how we have physically gotten to where we are but we may not always understand why. However you may define the "why," Scripture reminds us that it is connected deeply with God's purpose for us. While we may not realize that our story matters in the bigger picture of God's incredible work, He is accomplishing something grander than is apparent. This week in our series, we look at an important character in whose life, this was a reality. Join us in our series "How God Prepares People," as we look closely at the lives of some people we admire in Scripture and explore God's work that got them there.

Most of us admire the Underdog! We do so because we love the success story of a person who overcome all sorts or adversity to finally become successful in what they set out to do. In this Sermon, we'll look at the life one such person in Scripture: David. Join us in our latest series "How God Prepares People," as we examine closely, some people we admire in Scripture and explore God's work that got them there.

In life we often find ourselves in situations that seem unfair. You're unfairly assigned blame on a missed deadline, or a loved one finds out they have cancer, or a child rebels against the family and God. In such moments it's hard to see beyond the pain and frustration. But Scripture reminds us that God is at work doing something bigger in us and through us even in such moments. In this message, we look at the life of Joseph, whose life seemed to the perfect storm of unfairness. However, that was only a part of his story! Listen in as we continue on our Sermon Series "How God Prepares People.

In most of our lives, we come to moments where it feels like a phase of our life is done. You may remember when you graduated High School or College and it felt like that part of our life was over. But we know that it was not the end of our story. It was merely a transition and the start of a completely new journey. God often takes moments that seem like the end of our story to begin something new. In our message this week, we look at the life of Paul the way God began a new story in His life. Join us in our latest series "How God Prepares People," as we look closely at the lives of some people we admire in Scripture and explore God's work that got them there.

You may have heard the saying, "Show me your friends and I will show you your future." Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said, "We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with." This resonates with us because we know that friendship is important and that the people who we're closest to shape who we become. The friends we keep can be the source of our greatest joys and even pain. They can build us up or tear us down. And so, it is important to be in relationships with the right people. What type of friends do we keep? What qualities do these people need to have?

Maybe you've heard the expression, "The hustle is real." Most of us can relate. We are BUSY, we have too much on our calendars. There are e-mails to send, people to meet with, laundry to get done, and it seems like the list never ends. But what does all this busyness accomplish? Is there a purpose to our work? The Bible is not silent on this topic of work and laziness and even uses the smallest of small to teach us about how we spend our time. When we face the crossroads of work on our journey, we often have to choose how to invest our time, energy, and resource that God has given us.

In our society, there is an emphasis on the importance of material things. Possessions can be made a priority all too easily if we listen to the voices and world around us. In our hearts we, as Christians, know that people are more important than possessions, right? We understand that relationships matter more than things. However, at times it is hard to live out this truth. How do we react when we come to the crossroad of relationships vs. resources? The book of Proverbs certainly has something to say about this crossroad in our lives and how we are to live it out on a daily basis.

There are warnings all around us daily. They may be in the form of traffic signs, or warning labels on the household items or tools we use every day. We may not understand these warnings but they are there for our safety and for our protection. When we look to the Word of God, we encounters some warnings as well. These are words of caution given to us by the Lord. We may not always understand them or see what they have to do with our lives, but God knows the warnings we need to keep us close to Him and on His path. Some warnings have to do with our actions, our decisions, our relationships and even how we view sex in our world and in our marriages. Though it may be a more difficult subject, God has something to say about it and we need to adhere to His warnings.

You may have heard the phrase, "Hindsight is 20/20." This refers to our ability to look back on situations we've been in or decisions we've made and make judgements on whether we handled it the right way or not. We often learn lessons from such moments, after we have already encountered them. At times these are painful lessons learned due the consequences of decisions made in such moments. But how do we spare ourselves the heartache and pain of these consequences? How do we approach decisions and actions in our lives where we don't have to live with regret? Instead, how do we live life with satisfaction and gladness over our choices?

In today's world when we have a question, where do we go? There are many avenues to get the answers we need quickly in this digital age. Gone are the days of heading to the library to find the answer or waiting for the weekly newspaper to keep you updated. Nowadays, it's a lot easier to get the information we need. But what about when we have deeper questions about the world around us or about how we are walk in our day to day tasks? Many Christians, thankfully, open God's Word. However, sometimes God's Word is perfectly clear on an issue or topic. Sometimes it isn't so black and white. What then? As we come to the close of this passage in Colossians, Paul teaches us how to handle questions that aren't perfectly clear in God's Word. He lets us know what is important and how to address these times of not knowing or seeing the clear answers.

As Christ followers, we are called to live in good relationship with others. Often, this is easier said than done. If we look around our society today, there is plenty of diversity. But this diversity comes at a cost. What makes us diverse can also divide us. We are divided by our worldviews, politics, wealth, preferences, and so much more. So how do we live out our call to live in unity? In the words of Paul, how do we put off what divides us and put on what unifies us? As we continue our sermon series on the book of Colossians, join us as we learn about what God has to say through the apostle Paul about unity in Christ.

Over the past couple weeks, we've explored the need for change in our lives, especially the sort of change that only God can bring. Regardless of the type of change we experience, it should be reflected in our words. The way we speak to people now should not be the same as before our encounter with God's grace. Simply put, as Christians, our speech should be different than that of the world's. However, at times, we find ourselves falling into the old pattern of speech we had before our experience with the Gospel. We struggle with words spoken in anger and words that tear others down. How do we change our words so that they reflect God in us? How do we learn to build others up with our words? Paul, in the book of Colossians, teaches us what we need to do in order to change our old self into our new self, as reflected in our speech.

We see things around us all the time that need to be changed. Whether it is rearranging our house, or making career adjustments, or working on our relationships, there are things in all our lives that we would like to see changed. However, we often don't take the time to make these changes. This is not only true of the physical things we see but also the spiritual needs within us. We tolerate the things in and around us because we simply don't know where to begin. Fortunately, God does. Through the book of Colossians, He reminds us that change comes by ridding ourselves of certain things and focusing on others. This past Sunday, we explored what God calls us to get rid of and what He calls us to focus on. As we continue our sermon series on the book of Colossians, join us as we learn about what God has to say through the apostle Paul about this process of pursuing change

In this life, it seems that many of us are often in pursuit of change. We oftentimes chase down what can make us better. We might make changes in our health, changes in our finances or in how we spend our time. Unfortunately, these changes we realize are not permanent as we revert back to our old lifestyle and ways of doing things. So how do live in a way that makes brings about permanent change in our lives? What does the Bible have to say about these pursuits? How is change to be sought after in light of God's Word? As we begin our new series on the book of Colossians, we see how Paul speaks to us about who we in Christ are and how this reality plays a role in the pursuit of change.

In life we sometimes experience things that we can't quite comprehend. How do you process such moments? How do you bridge the gap between experience and the explanation of the experience? At times, we are left with more questions rather than explanations in these moments. This Easter we look at some of the big questions we often ask ourselves and examine how the Bible would answer them.

What do you do when you have to keep something valuable safe? Where do you store it? When faced with a task like this, we often look for the safest, most secure place we can find. Whether it's a bank or a safe for our money, or maybe a high quality phone case with the right screen protector for the newly purchased phone. We take measures to make sure that our valuable possession is kept safe. We believe in a God who has a treasure worth protecting. However, how he does so is very different from how we would do it. Paul tells us that he chooses to store His treasure in "jars of clay..." something precious, in something fragile! This Easter, we explore what it means to be given this treasure.

As we come to the close of our sermon series, we explore the final instructions given to Daniel as he continues to live in exile. Join us on this last sermon through our series as we explore what it means to stand for God in a culture that opposes him.

How do you respond when you feel pressured and intimidated? Do you run away, clam up, or do you have confidence. Take a look at how Jesus responded in a moment people tried to pressure him and learn how you can gain confidence and clarity in life.

When we are interested in a topic or want to grow in a certain area of our lives, the most productive thing we can do is to to seek out the experts. We nay do this by reading books, follow experts on social media, or even meeting with people who can help us develop in these areas. Doing this in our spiritual life, helps us as we strive to grow in our walk with Christ. In the arena of prayer, one such expert is Daniel, who shows us how to pray especially in the midst of some of the toughest times in life.