Hope Downtown Minneapolis Podcast

Every murder mystery reveals a twist. Once known, it is enjoyable to re-watch or re-read that story with that twist in mind. The same is true for the bible. This week and next we return to the beginning of the story to see how trusting in God’s promises of salvation brings righteousness––not religious works or sacred rituals or having a certain relative…and that’s how it’s always been! Question: An often-used pattern in Scripture is promise-fulfillment. God makes promises. Eventually, he fulfills them. In the time between when he makes the promise and when he fulfills the promise is our opportunity to trust him. Today, are you now trusting in Jesus Christ and the promises he has made to bring forth his eternal rescue and righteousness? Romans Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

In chapter 4 of the book of Romans, Paul will try to defend his explanation of what Jesus has done for us. But, does his answer fit with the Old Testament storyline, and what exactly is he trying to defend. This week, we will discover what Paul saw as God’s ultimate plan for the salvation of his people. Romans Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

In the 90’s and early 2000’s there was a dramatic rise in books and movies about the end of the world. Many of these cultural artifacts, however, were more preoccupied with current events than the Bible. In today’s passage, we take a closer look at one of those parables that seems to be about the end of the world, and find some surprising twists in the way Jesus thinks about the end times and how it relates to his death. Not Just Another Story Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

In an amazing twist, Jesus informs us that anything that is held on to ‘for dear life’ outside of making him our entire life will ultimately sour and never satisfy the way he does. Putting our entire trust and hope in Jesus is the real only way to have life and have it to the very utmost! Not Just Another Story Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Jesus failed to match expectations that religious leaders had for the Messiah. They expected to see power and affluence and authority; he showed weakness and humility and smallness. This week’s parables make clear how God moves in ways we might consider upside down. Application Will you embrace that God works in upside down ways––amidst the common and ordinary, the unseen and the slow? Not Just Another Story Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

This week’s story works on two levels. On one level, it is an easily accessible story of reversal – the rich (or self-reliant!) becomes poor and the poor becomes rich. On a second level, it communicates the great Christian truth that Jesus (who is rich while being completely God-reliant) becomes poor so the poor (or incapable, helpless, deficient, needy) might be rich on account of him. And this second level is why we can say this is “Not Just Another Story!” Questions: The passage communicates that cheer and splendor resulting from self-reliance impedes our looking to God for help. In a spiritual sense, have you abandoned the belief that you are capable and self-reliant to secure your intended hopes and dreams for the future–that, truly, you need to be “helped by God”? Can we identify 1 or 2 areas where it would bless (y)our souls to be carried by Christ across the chasm from self-reliance to God’s presence?Paragraph Description Not Just Another Story Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneap

The story from today’s passage often gets ignored. Why? Because it depicts a wasteful and unrighteous manager, on the cusp of being fired, acting “shrewdly” to the detriment of his employer…yet his employer commends him. What? How can such a guy get praised? How can such a character be exemplified by Jesus within his teaching? Questions Are you quick to believe God is a “debt reliever” and “burden lifter”? Have our non-Christian friends, family, and coworkers heard the good news that God is a “debt reliever” and “burden lifter”? Not Just Another Story Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

About today’s story, Robert Capon says, “The point is that none of the people who had a right to be at a proper party came, and that all the people who came had no right whatsoever to be there…Grace as portrayed here works only on the untouchable, the unpardonable, and the unacceptable.” That grace is ours if we but accept the invitation of Jesus to come to his banquet. Questions: Do you believe the cost to attend the banquet of Christ has been paid? Does the free grace of the Gospel lead you to the table with no strings attached?Paragraph Description Not Just Another Story Ben Goessling Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Many of our intuitions around what it looks like to read the Bible often steer toward "how to" -- that is, what does God want me to do. But here in Luke's gospel, Jesus begins to lay his cards down the table for how he interprets the Scriptures. Using the phrase "greater than" he shows us the ways grace changes how we comprehend both the Bible and our very lives. Gospel Application Where is God inviting you into the freedom of not being your own?  Not Just Another Story Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

You can always come home no matter what.” My wife, Jill, and I have repeated that phrase countless times to our boys. Why? Because we make mistakes. These mistakes can lead to guilt and shame. And pretty soon we start to believe sin and shame’s lies. This week we hear the good news that Jesus has taken our shame and opened the door for us to come home.   Reflection questions Does the lens of honor-shame make clear the willingness of Jesus to bear (y)our shame that we might have the door opened to us? Who else needs to hear that the door has been opened by the gracious homeowner (God)? Not Just Another Story Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Given the times we live in, it’s so easy to think we know best. This can, occasionally, include knowing best how God should be doing his job. The people of Jesus’s day had this too. They had expectations for how promised rescuer (the Messiah) should act. And Jesus didn’t match all those expectations. Even John, the forerunner to the Messiah, had questions whether Jesus was the one. And that’s where the story gets good. Reflection Questions Is Jesus your salvation today? Can we—Hope Community Church—be a central and important support to one another? Not Just Another Story Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Burnout is largely the result of humanity’s complicated (even religious!) relationship with work, which is one of many reasons God required the Israelites to cease from all labor for one day a week in the Old Testament. Jesus uncovers the deeper mystery behind this day of rest when his disciples are accused of breaking this law.Paragraph Description Not Just Another Story Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

In his own hometown, Jesus gives a reading from Isaiah the prophet and uses a story from the Old Testament about two non-Jewish people who experienced God's grace. The response? They try to throw Jesus off a cliff! What about Jesus' sermon made them uncomfortable and how can we read this story to point out our own idols? Application: What about Jesus makes you uncomfortable? Not Just Another Story Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Comparison. It is something we do every single day. How am I doing in my job? Do I shovel the walk as good as my neighbors? Are my kids as well behaved as our friend’s kids? It is a constant theme for us. In this sermon we look at the very heart of where all this comes from. Romans Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

The Old Testament is clear that the Lord hates when the guilty are acquitted. So how can God remain just if he acquits the guilty or, as our text describes it, if he justifies the ungodly? In this message, we’ll see how God can remain just even while acquitting people like you and me (a.k.a. the guilty). Romans Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Why did the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ need to be done publically? What did this have to do with the snake on the stick in the Old Testament? Join us this episode as we examine Romans 3:25 in light of what God did for us in Christ. Romans Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Luther called this section of Romans not only the center of the letter, but the center of the very Bible itself! In it, we see the human problem diagnosed, and discover the only, multifaceted solution through the rescue of God. It’s a kaleidoscope of good news that transforms lives. Take and eat! Gospel Application: Where can the kaleidoscope of God’s rescue light up the world around you? Romans Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

In this sermon, we look at how hopeless, lost, dark and alone is the human condition apart from God’s intervention in Christ. Application – Because the law shuts our mouth, are you trusting Jesus’ blood to speak on your behalf? Romans Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Is there any advantage in being Jewish? If everyone is a sinner, was there any real point to the whole Old Testament story about Israel? What actually made them special? Romans Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Religion can be a beautiful thing, if handled correctly. However, it has often led to smugness, superiority, and exclusion. Is your religion killing you? Romans Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.