New Hope Church Hilo Hawaii

The bible tells us that "Anyone who calls upon the Lord shall be saved." It doesn't tell us that "Anyone who calls upon the name of the Savior, He becomes their Lord." Salvation is freely given to us. Jesus chose to die for us, but He cannot choose for us to make Him our Lord. Salvation is what Jesus chose to bring to us. Him being our Lord, is up to us.

The book of Matthew begins with a genealogy, showing that Jesus is a king from the line of David. The rest of the book is filled with examples of Jesus’ teachings that paints Jesus as an authoritative teacher not unlike Moses. The book then makes the shocking claim that Jesus is not just a king or a great teacher like Moses, he is Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus is the God of Israel incarnate, who came to earth to usher in the upside-down Kingdom of God where everyone is welcome and the power structures are flipped on their heads. Matthew’s Gospel account shows readers how the promises and prophecies God made to his people in the Hebrew Scriptures came to pass in the person of Jesus.

The Great Banquet that Jesus spoke about was for everyone. God wants His Banquet filled with people, and He's inviting us to invite others to attend with us.

One hundred years after the exile, the Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem were as evil and corrupt as their ancestors. The book of Malachi addresses their corruption while also stating that God will remain committed to His people and fulfill His promises. Despite generations of sin and rebellion, God remains faithful to His people and promises to send a Messiah to rescue them. He will defeat evil and establish a new Jerusalem where the faithful remnant will know peace, healing, and justice forever. This promise offers the Israelites much needed hope after generations of darkness.

Jesus is the King of His Kingdom and has invited us to be a part of it. He is the ruler of His Kingdom and does not need a democratic system like we do here in the USA. He doesn't need any further input or help because of His wisdom, His love, and His power. His Kingdom is held together by Himself.

The book of Zechariah contains several visions that encourage God's people to remain faithful. Zechariah is writing to the post-exile generation to remind them that they must keep their covenant with God to receive the promises of the new Jerusalem and the messianic Kingdom. Sometimes we focus so much on our past that we can never see a hopeful future.

It seems like a no brainer that God's will is better for us than our own will. But reality shows that we are in constant battle with wanting our own will to be done, only to pray for His will to be done when we have no control over our present circumstances or when all else fails.

Haggai challenges the returning exiles to remember their covenant, remain faithful to God, and build the temple before constructing their own homes. While the new temple didn't meet their expectations, their efforts and faithfulness will be blessed. Haggai also encourages the people with God's promise to build a new Jerusalem for his international Kingdom, defeat evil, and live in their midst.

We live in a temporary world, with temporary careers, while trying to build eternal relationships. The most important one being our relationship with God. Building bridges in relationships that last must first be built on the Word of God. It is His Word that will abide forever.

Zephaniah announces God’s purifying judgment on Israel that will remove evil and open up a new future where all people can flourish in peace. The book of Zephaniah contains some of the most intense images of God's justice and love found in the prophetic books. Zephaniah warns Israel and the surrounding nations that the Day of the Lord is near.

We are imperfect people, trying our very best to live in an imperfect world, building a relationship with a perfect God. We are bound to mess things up when it comes to relationships. What do we do when relationships go bad? How do we follow God when there are broken relationships?

Throughout the book of Habakkuk, we see Babylon as an example of a nation that exalts itself above God and practices injustice, violence, and idolatry. In the end, God reminds Habakkuk and every generation that God will deal with evil. We can continue to love and trust his timing and plan as we remain faithful.

God made it possible for us to live in a world filled with pain, suffering, and disappointments, while remaining confident that we will be able to become the person He created us to be. We have a vague picture of who we're supposed to be, God has the complete image of who we really are.

The book of Nahum highlights the goodness and justice of God by showing the fall of Nineveh; an oppressive, bloody city that was guilty of shedding innocent blood. Although God is slow to anger, He will not tolerate the abuse and violence on others. In His time, He will bring down the wicked.

God has given us an opportunity for a great life, to reach our full potential, and to give us wisdom in dealing with relationships. It is our choice if we're going to do something with that opportunity. Jesus came to give us life, the devil comes to steal it. Although Jesus is the victorious One, we determine who's team we'll be on in the celebration of it.

In the book of Micah, we learn that the prophet declared three very important decrees. First, the doom facing God’s people because of their attitude and secondly, the destruction that will take place for their actions. However, the third declaration is one of deliverance that will come out of the acknowledgment of who God is towards us. These themes of doom, destruction, and deliverance is not just one we hear from the book of Micah but is also relevant in our world today. We’re going to discover from the proclamations of the prophet Micah three principles that will help us navigate in a time of doom, destruction, and deliverance.

Jesus said that apart from Him we can do nothing. Yet, we tend to trust Jesus AND… our finances, jobs, other people, politics etc. We will learn why we need to trust God, not lean on our own understanding or abilities and follow Him.

Through Jonah's story, we have the opportunity to perform a spiritual checkup on ourselves. Do we truly forgive and love our enemies? Do we run away from God when faced with difficult decisions? By examining ourselves in Jonah's story, we can learn to trust God in his final decisions and bring our concerns before him, knowing that he desires to save every person on earth and reunite with them forever. No one is too far for him to reach.

When a bridge is being used, we really don't think about all of the details put into the sturdiness and structure of the bridge so that it holds us up. Those details are not found on the surface, it is much deeper. If we're going to remain strong in our relationships, especially when we have differences, the reinforcement of the strength in any relationship is in the details.

The book of Obadiah details the judgment against the nation of Edom. The Edomites, who were descended from Jacob's brother Esau, still carried a grudge against Jacob for his deception of his brother. The nation of Edom hated Israel. They refused to help Israel in their need, sold them as slaves, and even abused them while they were exiled in Babylon. God calls Obadiah to declare judgment over Edom and prophesy that they will be erased from history. Babylon overtook Edom 100 years later, and the nation was never restored.