Hope Downtown Minneapolis Podcast

What do you do with a love poem in the middle of your Bible? This week we’ll see how the Song of Solomon pulls back the shades on our closed, hurried world. In a culture chasing superhuman strength through technology and self-reliance, this ancient poem invites us to slow down, listen, and see the Bridegroom bounding toward us in love. Cloud of Witnesses Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

If God makes promises and God keeps his promises, why is life so hard? Why do I have good desires (for peace or intimacy or joy) that go unmet? Our cloud of witnesses reminds us that this world is not our home, and our unmet desires prove it. Instead, we desire a better (heavenly) home. Don’t grow weary and lose heart for our true home exists and awaits us! Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Right after Jesus dies the Bible says, “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” It was not torn from the bottom-up, as though we could tear the veil open. Rather through the death of Christ—through his torn body—we are given access. No more insiders or outsiders but rather we are all welcomed in on account of Christ. What great news! Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Bruno Mars says, “I’d take a grenade for ya.” Esther says something similar, that she would stand between a degree of death and her people’s pleas for life. In a much greater way, we can say that Jesus has done the same, he has taken the grenade of sin and death for us. Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

The birth of a child is a time for excitement, whether you are the parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, or friend. Under no circumstance should a parent ever name their child “No Glory.” But that’s exactly what Ichabod means. Why would his mother choose such a name? And how could this possibly be connected to the birth of another son, who himself was destined for (no) glory? Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Buried within the Old Testament is the story of a woman who drove a tent peg through the temple of an army commander. What kind of religious text is this? How could one scrape together morality from such a biblical passage? What if it’s not about religion nor morality but instead about preaching the gospel more than 1,000 years prior to the death of Christ? Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

When Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, Peter does what we all do: he scrambles to preserve the moment & stay on top. But the voice from the cloud doesn’t invite Peter to build something; it calls him to listen. In a world chasing curated wellness and manufactured peace, the Transfiguration confronts our illusion of control and reveals a Savior who walks down the mountain into our darkness to bring us into lasting light. Cloud of Witnesses Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

An Old Testament figure named Naaman appeared to have it all––riches, power, favor. But he encountered a problem he couldn’t fix. And through his story we see how God often operates in unexpected or (from a worldly perspective) upside-down ways. Would Naaman (and will we) trust in the solution God offers? Cloud of Witnesses Drew Heindel Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

An Old Testament figure named Hagar identifies God as the One who sees her. As part of our cloud of witnesses, she encourages us to believe that God sees all the details of our lives including those parts we’re ashamed of. More than that, as Tim Keller said, God loves us “all the way to the bottom” seeing all of our unlovable parts yet declaring “I love you anyway.” Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

It starts with two brothers and two offerings. One is accepted, the other isn’t, and what unfolds exposes something hidden in all of us—a quiet comparison, a craving to be enough, a soul that won’t settle. You can’t outwork that restlessness, but you can let better blood speak. Cloud of Witnesses Davis Johnson Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Our current cultural moment lends itself to highly narrated identities. What is a highly narrated identity? It’s a self-conception that is shaped, curated, and reinforced through continuous personal storytelling. Essentially, you’re the author. Scripture confronts this thinking and invites to embrace a new author and new identity, one beyond your ability to manufacture. Cloud of Witnesses Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently overturns people’s expectations and reshapes their understanding of who God is and what He is doing. He flips the script by working in unexpected places, changing lives, and transforming the world through a group of the most unlikely people. In the most surprising act of all, he dies and rises again—so that now through the good news of the gospel, he can rewrite any story. Cloud of Witnesses Paul Stiver Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

This passage is filled with perils, promises, and planks. The bible often uses narrative to communicate spiritual realities. In this story, a ship is destroyed and those unable to swim cling to wood planks eventually arriving safely ashore. Isn’t that our spiritual story—awash in sin and death until a wooden plank in the form of a cross surfaces and saves us? Acts: The Story Continues Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Through four “snapshots” we cover a lot of the middle of the book of Acts, allow us to reflect and enjoy all the beauty of wonder of the gospel’s spread on Paul’s second missionary journey. Acts: The Story Continues 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 our study of Acts so far, we have seen a lot of things. In chapter 15 we see this new movement of the followers of Jesus facing a very real threat, that, if not handled correctly, would be the end of true Christianity! Acts: The Story Continues 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 faith, and in life, we keep score. I’m winning. Ope, I’m losing. Nope, I’m back to winning. Oh, I think I just lost. The great relief we find in the bible is that Jesus has played the game and won. Dear friend, relax…do away with the many scorecards of life…and trust afresh in the good news of Jesus. Acts: The Story Continues Cor Chmieleski Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Some words stretch over time -- literally, awesome, curated, decadent. The word Christian may fall into that category too, loaded with assumptions, baggage, and cultural shorthand. But in Acts 11, we see its very first use in history not to describe the squeaky clean or hyper-religious, but those rescued by Jesus, relieved by grace, and racing to the bottom with love. Being a Christian isn’t about climbing higher, but living in light of the storm that’s already passed. Grace is the big relief at the heart of Christianity -- and it changes everything. Acts: The Story Continues 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 the longest narrative in the book of Acts, we see a twist to the story of Scripture that for us, seems like no big deal, but for the early church was earth shattering. The Gentiles are to be included in the church WITHOUT having to convert to Judaism. And, there are plenty of applications for us today as well. Acts: The Story Continues Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.

Early in Scripture, our ancestors were told not to eat from one tree—but they did. Since then, nothing has been as it should be. We keep seeking life and fulfillment in ways we weren’t made for. Is there hope? Yes—through another tree. The cross, a tree of death, has become for us the tree of life. How can we be sure? The resurrection of Jesus is our proof. Easter 2025 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 your sphere of influence, who is the person who comes to your mind as “the very last person who would ever become a follower of Jesus?” If you were to ask the early church that, they would have said, “Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church.” And yet, in God’s ironic economy, Saul not only is converted to following Jesus, he becomes the most influential person ever as a spokesperson for Jesus. Hear how Jesus’ work in Saul’s life transformed him to be this person. Acts: The Story Continues Steve Treichler Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis Download Message Slides For more resources or to learn more about Hope Community Church, visit hopecc.com.