Posts by Hoover Church of Christ
Love God
There’s a lot I don’t understand about matters of faith, but one thing I get: there’s only one God, and he deserves (and expects) top priority. You’ll find this thought in pretty much every book of the Bible. God stated it emphatically at the beginning of his covenant relationship with Israel: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on November 14, 2018
Sermon Title: Why We’re Here: A Worshiping Community Text:Luke 24:28-35 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) This was the last of a four-part series under the heading, “Why We’re Here,” focusing on Luke’s description of the earliest Christians in Acts 2:42-47. The previous sermons have emphasized the church as a learning community, a sharing community, and an eating together community. Sunday we focused…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on November 7, 2018
Sermon Title: Lights in the World Text: Philippians 2:12-18 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) On the first Sunday morning of each month in 2018, we’ve emphasized our theme: Love God. Love People. Change the World. As we near the end of the year we’re using the last of these to emphasize the last part of that theme: Change the World. God put…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on October 31, 2018
Sermon Title: Why We’re Here: Breaking Bread Text: Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) This is the third of a four-part series called “Why We’re Here.” I’m aiming to help us as a church think introspectively about some practical reasons why God put us here. To do this, we’re considering Luke’s description of the earliest Christians. The third thing Luke…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on October 24, 2018
Sermon Title: Why We’re Here: Sharing Text: Acts 2:42-47 and 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) We live in a world where many people—especially younger adults—are turning away from organized religion. They still believe in God, but for different reasons they no longer see the need to be a part of a church—a local, visible community of people who…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on October 17, 2018
Sermon Title: Why We’re Here: Becoming Disciples Text: Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) It’s important for churches to ask themselves the question in the sermon title: Why are we here? And it’s important for members of churches to ask themselves a similar question: Why am I a member of this church? What is God doing through this church and…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on October 10, 2018
Sermon Title: And Change the World Text: Acts 3:24-25; 17:6 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) Our theme for 2018 has been “Love God. Love People. Change the World.”This past Sunday we turned our attention to the last of those three descriptions of what we are called to do: Change the World. Few would disagree with the fact that the world is…
Self-made
She’s a self-made millionaire. He’s a self-made man. Self-made? It starts early in many of us. When one of our kids was a toddler, she shied away from accepting our help with almost anything she was trying to do. “I do it self!” she would say (quite emphatically). Tempting, isn’t it? We’re much too socially conscious to say it out loud, but we’ve been tempted to think the same thing, with only a slight modification. Maybe it’s success on the…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on October 3, 2018
Sermon Title: Courage to Walk on the Spiritual Waters of Faith Text: Matthew 14:26-33 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) For anyone to Walk on the Spiritual Waters of Faith, they must have courage . . . Courage is the mental or mortal strength to venture, persevere, withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. In a world full of Hypocrisy, with so many engulfed…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on September 26, 2018
Sermon Title: Walking with Abraham: God’s Test Text: Genesis 22 (ESV) Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) In so many ways Abraham’s life has always been moving here. It’s been 40+ years since God first appeared to him, making him the promise about a land, a nation, and a blessing. It’s been 15+ years since the promised son Isaac was born, and Abraham and Sarah…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on September 19, 2018
Sermon Title: Walking with Abraham: Are You Serious? Text: Genesis 17:1-27 (ESV) Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) It had been almost a quarter of a century since God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. Now he’s 99 years old, and (one would think) he’s pretty much given up hope. What 99-year-old man and 89-year-old woman are able to…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on September 12, 2018
Sermon Title: Walking with Abraham: The Ups and Downs of Faith Text: Genesis 16:1-16 (ESV) Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) What do we do when we face unfulfilled dreams? When life doesn’t turn out the way we want? When God doesn’t seem to be doing the things that he said he would? Sometimes we “help” God. We do his work for him to “encourage”…