Hope Lake Country

If we want to have influence in people’s lives, it begins by intentionally investing in them as people we care about. As our relationship capital increases, we have more opportunities to invite them to take a step in faith.

When Jesus called his first disciples, he told them that if they followed him, he would make them into something that they were not. He would make them fishers of men. In this message we’ll talk about the reality that if you follow Jesus, you will fish for people. To follow is to fish.

When Jesus called his first disciples, he told them that if they followed him, he would make them into something that they were not. He would make them fishers of men. In this message we’ll talk about the reality that if you follow Jesus, you will fish for people. To follow is to fish.

What’s one of the worst sins a person can commit? The answer has to do with your chatter and the kind of chatter you listen to. This Sunday, we’ll wrap up “Chatter Matters” by talking about the chatter that doesn’t matter so you know what to ignore and when to ignore it.

Why do we say the words we say? Why do we believe the words we hear? Sometimes people say what they mean. Other times they shade the truth. Whether true or untrue, words are powerful. They can create or destroy relationships. They can create or destroy reputations. They can even create the way a person views reality. Words matter. In this series, we’re talking about chatter matters. We’ll learn to discern between that chatter that matters, and that chatter that doesn’t.

If you’ve ever been hurt by others, you might have entertained daydreams in which the tables are turned and you’re given the upper hand. But what would a person who was convinced that God was with them do? We find out in the life of Joseph. Instead of trying to sit in God’s chair by deciding who he will and will not forgive, Joseph decided, in humility, to forgive his brothers who deeply hurt him. In doing so, we see that Joseph points us to the one who teaches us to forgive others who have hurt us.

It can sometimes be easier to live as if God is with you when everything has been taken away. You don’t realize that God is all you need until God is all you have. Wealth and prosperity can sometimes do more harm to our faith than need and adversity. It’s difficult to live as if God is with you when you feel as if you already have everything. It is a unique test of faith. This Sunday, we’ll see how Joseph responds when life starts turning in his favor. He shows us what a person who truly believes that God is with him would do when things are looking up. 

Joseph’s life began going well, all things considered. But then temptation showed up. The temptation of power and sex attempted to derail Joseph. Yet, in the face of temptation, he resisted at great, personal cost. In this, Joseph teaches us all something critical about resisting temptation. Your ability or inability to resist temptation is directly tied to one thing in your life—what you desire.

What would a person in your circumstances do if they were convinced that God was with them? If that person had your challenges, struggles, opportunities, marriage, or job, what would that person do today if they were absolutely confident that God is with them? The answer to this question is found in the life of Joseph. There were, of course, no external indicators to let Joseph know that God had a plan or that God was with him. There were no visions or revelations. God was completely silent. In fact, many times he seemed absent. In this series, you’ll learn how to make decisions like Joseph – decisions made with confidence that God is with you.

We’re wrapping up our series, “Seasons,”, We’ll be giving you one more diagnostic test to help you figure out whether it’s time to continue on in a season or to bring it to an end. This diagnostic has to do with understanding the people you are dealing with. Not everyone thinks the way you do. Not everyone agrees with the problems that you see. Not everyone is correctable. Knowing who you’re dealing with will help you end old seasons and begin new ones.

How can you tell when it’s time to persevere and when it’s time to pull the plug? How do you know if you’re throwing good money after bad? How can you tell when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em? You were hardwired with an internal mechanism that helps you answer this question. It’s called “hope.” Hope gives us compelling reasons to continue to invest during challenging seasons. But most people end up confusing hope with desire.

It’s not always easy to tell which seasons in your life need to come to an end. We’ll spend the next couple of weeks learning how to figure out when a season has come to an end. You’ve got to know when to walk away, and know when to run! This Sunday, we’ll learn to ask a question that, if answered honestly, will help you quickly discern which seasons need to end in your own life.

There are seasons in life. Every career, every marriage, every partnership, every venture and every life goes through seasons. They all have beginnings and endings. This is normal. However, spiritual and emotional problems arise when we don’t recognize when a season has come to an end and how to move on to a new one. As we kick off this series, we’ll see that wise people learn to recognize when the sun has set on a particular season of life so they can move on to their next season.

A problem that many people, today, have with Christianity is that it is too restrictive. It seems narrow to insist that there is only one path to God. Worse yet, it feels restrictive to submit to any authority that limits personal freedoms. But a lack of restrictions does not lead to freedom. This week, we’ll see that it is the presence of the right restrictions that gives us the freedom we desire.

One of the problems that people have with the Christian faith is the perception that it bases all of its beliefs on a book called “The Bible.” Some people have asserted that it contains contradictions. Many see it as being culturally regressive. Others, yet, simply view it as a myth. It’s not uncommon for Christians to lose their faith in God when they walk on to a college campus, surrounded by intelligent people who discredit the Bible. Is the Bible reliable? Is it regressive? In this message, we’ll explore this hang-up that keeps so many people from faith in Christ.

Are science and faith at odds? Does life in a modern world even allow a reasonable possibility for faith in God? In our age, we think of miracles as something that can’t scientifically occur. The truth is that science and faith have different and distinct purposes. Faith isn’t simply hoping for things that can’t be scientifically proven. It’s certainty of what cannot be scientifically measured.

Everyone sets out on a quest in life to become happy. A frightening few actually achieve it. One would think that in the 21st century, with all of the comforts of our modern life, we would have made significant progress in being happy over the ancients. In this message we’ll talk about the underlying source of our chronic discontent.

One of the problems that people have with religion in general, and Christianity in specific, is that it is so exclusive. In this message, we’ll uncover how every belief system, including atheism and unbelief, is actually its own exclusive belief system. Everyone has a belief system. The question is, which belief system makes the most sense out of life

As the western world seems to become increasingly secular, the major religions are growing worldwide. This reality should influence all of us, regardless of religious belief, to consider why it is that people believe whatever they believe about God. In this series, we won’t just talk about why people have lost their religion, we’ll also see why Jesus make more sense than people might think.

Now that we’ve spent five weeks looking at the masks that sin wears, the questions remains, how are we fully and finally free from it? The answer that we find over and over in the Bible is “repentance.” But repentance is often misunderstood. This Sunday, we’ll see what true repentance looks like through the life of King David. True repentance took him from groaning to singing. Does repentance leave you singing for joy? If not, you might not fully understand it. We’ll wrap up this series by seeing how true repentance sets us free.