Today in the Word for November 18-22

Today in The Word

Tuesday Nov 19, 2019

So, which is the most important, faith, hope, or love? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. One of Paul’s most famous lines is found in I Corinthians 13:13:

 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

 Then it is settled. Paul the apostle said the greatest is love, so it must be the most important. Love makes the world go round. Yet the same apostle in Colossians 1:4-5 says:

 “…we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel”

 He is saying that faith and love are a big deal, but both spring from the hope we have in the gospel of Jesus. 10-meter divers could not do their amazing twists in the air if they did not have a platform—a springboard from which to launch. Hope in the gospel message is the platform from which we launch our faith and love. My original question is really an unfair one. It is not a case of which is the most important. All three matter. And hope in Jesus is foundational to the greatest of all—love!

 And that’s the Word from David Baker of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana. 

Today in the Word

Wednesday Nov 20, 2019

Hope is a good thing, but what are we to hope in? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Paul gives us clear direction in our hope in I Thessalonians 4:13-17:

 “…we do not want you to …grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him…For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

  Hope is built on two points of belief. The first is that Jesus really rose from the dead after his crucifixion. The second is based on the first. If Jesus really rose from the dead, then he has the power to raise us from the dead too. Our hope rests in the resurrection of Jesus to make it possible for us to survive our death. The Christian hope is that we can live forever with Jesus. The Christian hope is hope placed in an event, the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 We are to hope in that.

 And that’s the Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly.  Join our Wednesday adult Bible Study at 6:30 for more of the Word.

 Today in the Word

Thursday Nov 20, 2019

If hope is important for a person’s well-being, can we humanly manufacture hope? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. The song-writer tells us otherwise in Psalm 33:16-17:

 “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.”

 This verse lists several vain hopes. The size of our army is a vain hope. We can build a mighty military, or an impressive bank account, or a pile of good deeds, and it will never be enough to place our hope into. We can hope in our great strength or talent or skill-set, but it won’t be enough. The war-horse was a tool of war, and many of us hope in the right tool for the job. If we acquire the right set of tools or vehicle or technology, we think we can hope in that.

 But the Word says that neither quantity, or personal ability, or the best tools will ultimately rescue us. They are all an effort to manufacture hope by ourselves. True hope cannot be manufactured by humans. True hope grows out of trust in God.

 And that is the Word from Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana. 

 Today in the Word

Friday Nov 21, 2019

Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Yesterday we learned that genuine hope cannot be manufactured by humans. But hope can be nurtured and grown in us. How can we grow hope? Romans 15:4 reads:

 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

 We can grow our hope through the encouragement of Scripture. When we read of the trustworthy character of God it can grow our hope and trust in him. When we read of others who trust God and made it through their difficulties it can help us to have hope in the midst of our own difficulties. The Word of God encourages hope.

 If you are struggling with hope—if you are feeling hopeless—maybe it is time to hear the Word. Maybe it is time to pick up your Bible, or listen to a sermon, or recall a verse you once memorized. It has the power to encourage you. 

The Word grows hope.

 And that’s the Word.  You can enjoy more of the Word this Sunday at 10:45 at Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.