This summer, I want to invite you to join me on a journey through the Book of Psalms. This wonderful collection of inspired poetry is a gift to us as we strive to know God intimately, and it can be a wonderful experience to share together. C.S. Lewis describes the pain of not being able to share delightful things like the psalms with others: “ I think…

One of the most painful moments of my life was surrounded by what felt like a total failure. I was a freshman Bible student at Cedarville University, and had been asked to serve as the freshman class chaplain. The job was to help run the freshman class chapel services, and it would allow me the opportunity to preach God’s Word to my classmates. To be honest, I allowed homework, the fun of college, and everything else to get in the way of preparation for my first teaching. When the day came I was completely unprepared. I still vividly remember standing in front of a thousand peers and having nothing to say. For those of you who know me, you know that was a unique situation!

One of my favorite memories of Hope Church is from the pandemic. On a particularly rainy spring day, I pulled into the church parking lot and saw a massive, crisp, double rainbow over the entire property. I was instantly reminded of God’s faithfulness to me, and that He is a keeper of promises.

In Northeast Ohio, it feels like spring has finally shown up just in time for summer! I want to invite you to join us this Sunday, as we are looking forward to an extra special day packed with food, fellowship, and fun. We will begin with one service at 10:45 AM. If you regularly attend the 9:00 AM service, I hope you will join us at 10:45 for a “combined” service where we will worship together and get to watch members of our church family get baptized.

Years ago, I read a wonderful little book by Chuck Swindoll titled, Improving Your Serve. The premise of the book is simply that we can get better at serving. Each chapter reintroduces the reader to the gentle art of living unselfishly, reminding us how impactful true servanthood can be. My favorite takeaway is that we can all become better at serving others.

Have you ever given a gift to someone that you were convinced was perfect for them, only to find later that they never used it? That feels pretty lousy, doesn’t it? It feels like a waste of time and energy. Can you imagine God feeling that way about the many, many gifts that He gives us? We have been blessed beyond measure. It is incredible to think about the ways God has blessed us and provided for us, both as a church and as individuals. He has heavily invested in us. This applies to financial provision and also to spiritual gifts. God has given each of us gifts intended to be used for blessing others. As the apostle Peter put it, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10 ESV)

Have you ever had a time when you heard God’s call to do something or an invitation to join Him in something, and you agreed with your whole heart? Then life happened, and you sort of forgot about it? I vividly remember when a student of mine pulled me aside when we were recruiting for a mission trip to Liberia, West Africa. She shared a beautiful story of how God had called her to go on the trip. She was amazed how the calling was confirmed by others and she was very excited to see what God was going to do in and through her.

A common thing that happens when I do a little spring cleaning is finding things that I forgot owning. Have you ever put a clothing item in your closet only to realize you had the same thing already? For example, I have two of the exact same shirt, purchased months apart, because I forgot what I already had. And just the other day, when I was cleaning out my basement, I came across some parts for my lawn mower. I had completely forgotten that I purchased them at the end of last season, and literally had the same items in my Amazon shopping cart because I needed them. I am guessing it would do us all some good to pause and think about the many wonderful things the Lord has done for us. The apostle Paul calls this “the secret of being content” in all circumstances.

Growing up in Dayton we had a family friend who was over seven feet tall, who played basketball for Wright State University. Needless to say, Bruno (that was really his name), had a bit of a different perspective on life. He would joke with my mom that she needed to clean the top of the window sills and the top of the refrigerator because she could not see what he could see. One way for us to do some “soul spring cleaning” is to do some soul searching. King David said it beautifully when he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

This spring, I am challenging our church family to do some “soul spring cleaning.” One of the ways we can do that is to be honest with ourselves about what holds us back when God asks us to do things. I can think of many times when I felt God calling me to do something. Sometimes it seemed a little weird, but most of the time it simply involved talking to a particular person, and being willing to talk to them about God.

I can think of no greater burden for an individual to carry in their heart than unforgiveness. It has been well said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping that someone else dies. One of the most provocative teachings in all of scripture is found in Matthew 18 when the apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times he needed to forgive someone who had sinned against him. Perhaps Peter was thinking of the old rule, Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, or the three-strike rule? Whatever his number was, I would guess he was thinking that he was being generous when he said to Jesus, “seven times?” But Jesus said, “seventy times seven,” or in other words, an incalculable number of times.

This Easter, I want to challenge you to consider who you might invite to join us for our services at Hope. We plan to communicate the gospel clearly. In our study of Revelation, there was a wonderful phrase used in chapter five: “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered!” (Revelation 5:5b ESV) This simple phrase summarizes the beauty and hope of the gospel. We do not have to weep any longer because the One who conquered the grave through His resurrection can conquer our grave as well. This is a beautiful, powerful truth, and we need to be willing to share it.

As we prepare for Easter, I am challenging our Hope Church family in these weekly emails to do a little “soul spring cleaning.” I intend to help all of us prepare for what God wants to do in and through us this special Easter season. Jesus made a provocative statement in His Sermon on the Mount. He said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

(Matt. 5:23-24 ESV)

As the seasons change, it feels like the right time for us to do a little spring cleaning. Maybe you take advantage of the relatively nicer weather in Ohio this time of year to get rid of the clutter and residue of a long, hard winter. Interestingly, the Christian tradition of Lent has a lot to do with cleaning out the clutter that has crept into our lives.

One particular word stands out to me in our study of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. The word is “repent.” I think we might avoid the word because it provokes images of harsh street preachers. If I am honest, I never like to be told that I am wrong, and by definition “repent” means admitting we have been wrong and need to change our minds.

Florence Chadwick was a world-famous swimmer. In her lifetime, she successfully swam several extremely difficult distances including the English Channel. She decided that she was going to be the first woman to swim the 26-mile span from Catalina Island, California to the California mainland. Florence went into the icy cold Pacific with several boats surrounding her, which would spot for sharks and report on her progress to the world as she attempted her historic swim. Hour after hour, she swam. Fifteen hours and 45 minutes into her trek it got very dark, a thick fog set in, and she could only see a few feet ahead of where she was swimming. Finally, she waved to the boats and said, “I can go no farther, the fog is just too thick. I am done.” They hoisted her out of the water less than half a mile from the coast of California. All that effort and yet she didn’t quite make it.

Have you ever been on a long water slide? I often think about one we would go on when we lived in the Bahamas. It was long and straight and it felt like you were going straight down. This particular one had the added experience of taking you into a real shark tank. Thankfully there were many layers of glass between you and the apex predators, but it gave a sensation of dropping right down into a pool of sharks. I admit that almost every time I rode the ride, about halfway down, I would think…Why am I doing this? This is dumb. This hurts…how can this possibly be fun? But that did not stop me from getting back in the line to do it again and again. I think sin works that way sometimes.

Talk about getting your attention! In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said something that would have been hard to ignore. He said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:29-30 ESV)

Jesus said something quite profound when He told His disciples that they need to, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1b ESV) This might be the type of warning that is easy for us to sort of skim over. It is hard for us to relate to. As a group, the Pharisees are one of the most prominent villains in the New Testament. They are constantly arguing with Jesus, attempting to trick and trap Him. They are deeply involved in the murder of Jesus. We have a number of recorded confrontations with them such as, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt 23:27-28 ESV).

About 20 years ago, I had a conversation that profoundly impacted my life. It was with Dr. Ramesh Patel, who was teaching a class that I was auditing at Antioch University. The class was about world religions, and I was fascinated by it and by him. Dr. Patel had multiple doctorates in Eastern and Western Philosophy and Religion, and he devoted his life to learning about what motivates individuals to pursue God through different religions.