New Hope Church Hilo Hawaii

Isaiah announces that God’s judgment will purify Israel and prepare his people for the coming messianic king and new Jerusalem. But along with warnings against Israel's sin and rebellious ways came a message of hope in a new depth that would carry on for centuries after Isaiah's passing.

When we're in tough situations, whether it's financially, with relationships, marriage and family, making critical decisions, and anything that we struggle with, we hear so many different voices that we don't know which one to trust. Usually, we give in to the voice that pressures us the most versus the voice that knows us the most. How do we trust the right voice?

The Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is not technically a book. It's a love song between two lovers! But according to ancient Hebrew writings, this song is considered the Song of Songs in the same way Jesus Christ is the King of Kings. What makes this song greater than any other love song? And what is it doing in the Bible?

When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced the fiery furnace they continued to trust God’s covering and protection - even if He does not. When the Israelites were going into exile, the prophet Jeremiah called them to go into exile, and continue to prosper anyway. As days and weeks go on and seem to not change, how do we continue to trustfully continue moving forward?

This book forces us to face death and random chance, and the challenges they pose to a naive belief in God’s goodness.The Book of Ecclesiastes is the critic's response to Proverbs, which states we live a good life when we fear God and follow wisdom.

David’s son Solomon leads Israel to greatness, only to fail and lead Israel to a civil war and ultimately towards destruction and exile. After centuries of sojourning, struggles, and conquest, God's promise to Abraham appears to finally be tangible - David and Solomon unite the Israelites into a single kingdom with descendants as "numerous as the stars.”

Just as an ax needs sharpening from time to time, so does our life. The busyness of everyday life seems to dull our life. So we become sluggish, undisciplined, emotionally unstable, and spiritually weak. God wants to sharpen us so that we will be able to cut through the most challenging times in life.

David’s reign is marked by incredible success, terrible failure, and God’s promise. The book of 2 Samuel continues to show us the virtue of humility, the destructiveness of pride, and the faithfulness of God’s promise. We see David succeed and fail, and we see God’s promise for a future king at the beginning and end of the story.

Grace and forgiveness are given to us because there is a God who loves us. Sometimes it’s difficult to receive grace and forgiveness because we feel we don't deserve it. But that's what grace and forgiveness are...it is something freely given by God out of His goodness, not ours.

God raises up two kings, one proud and the other humble. The book of 1 Samuel is an exciting book, split into two parts due to its large size. The first part explores a character study in the figures of Saul and David. They show the importance of humility in God’s people.

We will all encounter situations where it's just too hard to endure. God has all the wisdom, power, strength, and resources to equip us so that we can continue to live the life He purposed for us.

God uses a faithful non-Israelite to bring restoration to his people. The book of Ruth is a beautifully crafted look at how God’s good purpose interplays with human decision. It’s a tale of love, loss, faithfulness, and redemption.

We have all done something that gave us a guilty conscience. For many, they have chosen to sear their conscience so that they can function from day to day. The problem with that is now they don't have a conscience, so everything they do is done without thought of consequences. God gave us a better way, He took on the guilt and shame for us so that we could live with a clear conscience.

Israel abandons God and becomes completely corrupt in the land. What happens when Israel forgets their God? The book of Judges shows the tragic downward spiral of Israel’s leaders and people. It’s a sobering examination of the human condition that highlights the need for a deliverer.

God's ways are different than our ways. In fact, the bible says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." So when it comes to how we live, we'll have all the wisdom and direction from God who does things a lot better than we do.

Joshua leads Israel to settle in the Promised Land. The book of Joshua shows us God’s faithfulness to his covenant with the Israelites to bring them into the land he promised to Abraham. This book points to the importance of covenant obedience before, during, and after God fulfills his promises.

There are three "wills" in our lives. God's will, my will, and the devil’s will. God's will is the wisest of them all because it is a perfect one to live out. How we carry it out and how we will be faced with obstacles may not be perfect, but His will is, making it possible for us to walk in it.

Moses gives Israel final words of warning and blessing. At the end of his life, Moses delivers a final call to covenant faithfulness. He covers the story so far, a collection of laws, and a charge for Israel to listen and obey rather than rebel. He sees Israel’s dismal future as well as their promised hope.

Whatever is most important to us, we will invest our time into. The same is true with our finances. Whatever is important to us, we will invest our finances into. As a believer, we can see that God has a much bigger picture about life and eternal life for all of us, and He wants us included in His great plan. He wants to use us to become Kingdom expanders and Legacy builders, for the sake of people's eternities.

Israel’s repeated rebellion in the wilderness is met by God’s justice and mercy. On their way to the Promised Land, Israel rebels against God again and again. God responds with short-term severity and long-term generosity that tells us much about God’s covenant faithfulness.