Living Hope's Podcast

Adam sinned and evil spread, killed, and multiplied, forming destructive patterns and cycles for societies and people. Then Christ obeyed, and His victory changed everything. In this sermon, The Grace King, Pastor Jess explains how the ultimate victory of Jesus means He has the grace to put His allegiance in us. This sermon will encourage you to see Who has the final word and what that means for us as those who seek to have His allegiance formed more deeply within. Listen today; you’ll be so glad you did!

Time for a heart check—do you resist it or receive it? Guest Pastor Jared Lyons from Texas shares a powerful sermon on the Parable of the Sower and the condition of our hearts. He challenges us to consider if our hearts are hard, shallow, crowded, or good. You’ll be encouraged to consider not only what influences your heart today, but what it means to live with a heart that has good soil, ready for exponential seed growth with a full hundred-fold harvest in the Kingdom of God!

We often think about faith as something we have, something we gain or grow. What happens when we read the word faithfulness in the Bible as not about our own faith but the faithfulness of Jesus? As we continue in our summer series with this sermon, The Disappointing King, Pastor Jess explains how Jesus was completely faithful to God, and it is this faith, this holy devotion, that He puts in us. It’s an episode you don’t want to miss!

It’s hard to know what to think or say when facing suffering. We wonder if we simply need to try harder, pray longer, fake-smile more….but what if suffering is not something to run from? What if, instead, suffering leads to the transformative work of God within us? In this sermon, The Changing, guest Pastor Jared Strickland challenges us to consider the purpose and place of suffering. Through the story of the transfiguration found in Mark 9, Pr Jared explains how we can embrace suffering and walk through it being transformed in our mindset, posture, and outlook. 

What’s in your inheritance? What if it’s the power of God for all who believe? Listen to this inspiring sermon by Pastor Eric Jaquith from Puebla, Mexico. Through honest testimony and the truth about the power of God found in the book of Ephesians, Pr Eric explains how the power of God frees us from anxiety and emotional turmoil and empowers us so that we can then lift others up. 

The debate has gone on for decades and still continues today—law or grace? In the third sermon of our When in Rome series, The Torah King, Pastor Jess challenges us with the idea of Jesus being not separate from, but instead the new and perfect Torah. You may find yourself asking who God wants to change us into as we live as His people serving in a different category of Kingdom, a Kingdom based not on legalism or policy, but genuine heart change and fidelity. Listen here today!

Let’s talk about the gospel! It might sound like a familiar word, but what is it, really? Is it a story, a letter, a theological idea, a moment on a cross? In the second installment of our summer sermon series, The Servant King, Pastor Marcus Soveral gives us a clear explanation of what the gospel actually is and why this matters today. Get ready, this sermon will help set the context for this When In Rome series and will encourage you to walk a bit differently this week. 

We begin our new When in Rome series with this first sermon, Live Like a Rebel, where Pastor Jess explains the context and purpose of the book of Romans. He describes how Jesus, our wounded King, took our sins through His wounds and poured out forgiveness and restoration. As you listen you will find yourself encouraged to be those who lay down power and privilege to do the same. This sermon sets us up for what is going to be a powerful summer sermon series! 

Pastor Donna Lasit is a long time friend of Living Hope and her life is a testimony of faithful legacy. As a pastor, leader, daughter, and mother, she is filled with wisdom that is relevant not just for moms on Mother’s Day, but for everyone desiring to live their lives as those who pass down truth with intention and purpose. In her sermon, Things I Learned From My Mom, she shares lessons passed on from generation to generation.

It’s easy to think we have the right to it—to the blame, the offense, the grudge, the gossip. The truth is that it’s much easier to take a seat on the throne and act as judge than stay on our knees where we are known by our love and forgiveness. In the final installment of our Exorcised series, The Unforgiving, Pastor Jerushah explains how Jesus calls us to close the book on vengeance and to become those who will walk in lavish forgiveness. 

We’ve been talking about it—evil wants to create lies that become foundations in our lives. It seeks to separate us from Jesus and it’s what our King came to defeat. But, what does it mean to be those who defeat evil? What weapons are we using and what is the perfect weapon used by our King Jesus? In the next installment of our current series, Exorcised, Pastor Jess explains what the sword of Jesus looks like and what that means as we seek to be those who live in victory over enemy mode. 

Pointing fingers is easy, especially when it comes with the label of “evil”. But what, really, is the anatomy of evil and how is it different from sin? How do we respond as we begin to recognize enemy mode not just in the world around us but in ourselves? In the second installment of our Exorcised series, Pastor Jess explains the distinction between sin and evil and how evil leads us to turn on enemy mode causing us to live in avoidance and offense. 

It’s a big question and one that may stop us in our tracks—what is evil? More importantly, what does God do about evil? In the first sermon of our new series, Exorcised, Pastor Jess explains how history reveals evil and how God responds to the evil that wants to steal from us the created world He has given to us. 

What does the throne of our risen King look like? Our Covered in the Dust sermon series concludes with this Easter Sunday message, Covered in Hope, where Pastor Jess Strickland explains how our King Jesus rules from a cruciform throne where He rescued the world not from suffering, but through suffering.

If the cross is where the Kingdom begins, what does that tell us about the enthronement of Jesus? We are invited to reflect and remember the significance and meaning in the events of Holy Week. Continuing in our Covered in the Dust series, Pr Jess helps us see the crucifixion as the enthronement of our King and to hear His Kingdom edicts of forgiveness and restoration. 

Who is my neighbor? What happens when the answer to this question gets, well, complicated? As we continue in our Covered in the Dust sermon series, Pastor Jerushah Tanner guides us through a deeper look at a very familiar story—the Good Samaritan. She challenges us to think beyond our Sunday School understanding and to truly answer the question: What does Jesus mean when He calls us to love our neighbors?

We have heard the phrase—”I am the Light of the world.” What did Jesus mean when He made this claim? In the fifth sermon of our Covered in the Dust series, Beware of Sight, Pastor Jess Strickland explains how Jesus came to bring light to blindness—and not just the physical kind. 

When offense, hurt, or stress come, what do you grab? Do you pick up the sword and strike? Or, do you hear the invitation of Jesus to join Him and instead of the sword, to pick up a towel and serve? In the fourth installment of our Covered in the Dust series, Grab a Towel, Pastor Jess Strickland explains how laying down our God-created will and saying no to willfulness enables us to walk more freely in His love and mercy for others. 

Consider this—Jesus, fully God and fully Man, walked this Earth, and while doing so, He read the Old Testament. He listened to it, studied it, repeated it, and applied it. In the third installment of our Covered in the Dust series, Pastor Jess addresses how Jesus, who has complete and perfect understanding of willingness, understood the God of the Old Testament.