『Daily Dose of Hope from New Hope』のカバーアート

Daily Dose of Hope from New Hope

Daily Dose of Hope from New Hope

著者： New Hope
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概要

 The Daily Dose of Hope is a devotional intended to provide context and reflection to the New Hope Church Bible Reading Plan. It's our goal to read the Bible in a year together as a family of faith. Five days a week we read. Two days a week we either rest or catch up. Reading the Bible is the number one way to grow in our walk with Jesus. We have to know God's Word to live God's Word. Now for our Daily Dose of Hope.©New Hope キリスト教 スピリチュアリティ 個人的成功 聖職・福音主義 自己啓発
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  • February 10, 2026; I Corinthians 13

    February 10, 2026; I Corinthians 13
    2026/02/10

    Daily Dose of Hope

    February 10, 2026

    Scripture: I Corinthians 13

    Prayer: Today, let's pray from Scripture. Dear God, Your Word says that, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. This is certainly who you are, Lord. Help us live this kind of love out in ways that make a difference in the lives of those around us. More of you, less of me. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

    Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are journeying through Paul's pastoral letters. Currently, we are in I Corinthians.

    Today's passage is I Corinthians 13. This is going to be a pretty familiar chapter for many of you. It's often called the "love" chapter and it is read at weddings and funerals. It's absolutely beautiful prose but we often get Paul's intention wrong when we read it.

    Remember, the Corinthian church was a total mess. They were arrogant, there were strong divisions between rich and poor, there were petty arguments and serious factions, and as we learned yesterday, they were holding up certain spiritual gifts as better than others. Let's just say it wasn't a picture of Christ's love and grace.

    It's in the middle of all of this that Paul tells them what it means to really love one another. This isn't romantic love (eros), brotherly love (philia), but rather agape love. What is agape love? It's the love that God demonstrated to us and calls us to demonstrate to others. It is unconditional, sacrificial love. There is no selfishness in agape but only a concern for the what is best for the other. Paul is outlining this love to the Corinthian church to give them a word picture of what it could look like. Agape is not a feeling or emotion but rather a choice. We make a choice to love others this way and it requires commitment, faithfulness, and sacrifice without requiring anything in return.

    Paul, at the end of his discussion about spiritual gifts, wants to make a very important point. Yes, you can have a gift of prophecy or a gift of tongues, but if you are using it without love, then it is totally useless. And, you have missed the point. These gifts were gifts of grace from the Holy Spirit to uplift and equip the body of Christ. The body of Jesus on earth should be a picture of his love. If it isn't, we have a really big problem. Jesus is love and we are called to be as well.

    One of my seminary professors, when teaching on agape love, encouraged all of us to do what he called the Wal-mart exercise (I've spoken of this in previous sermons). Really, you can go to any place the public gathers. It could be the mall, Target, or Publix. He suggested sitting down on a public bench and just watching people go by for five minutes. For every single person you see, say "Jesus died for this person. He/she is infinitely loved by God. I'm called to love this person as well." For me, this is challenging. I have to be very intentional about not falling into the trap of judging the person because of how they look but truly looking at them, trying to see them as God sees them, and then focusing on how God wants me to love them unconditionally too.

    This has changed me. God's agape love for me is real. My love for others should be too. What would it look like if all of us who are part of New Hope started to "agape" each other? How would this change us as people? How would this change our relationships? How would this change us as a body of believers and our witness to the world?

    Blessings,

    Pastor Vicki
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    6 分
  • February 9, 2026; I Corinthians 12

    February 9, 2026; I Corinthians 12
    2026/02/09

    Daily Dose of Hope

    February 9, 2026

    Scripture: I Corinthians 12

    Prayer: Dear God, You are amazing! How awesome it is that you who created all things are also so intimately involved in our lives. We give you glory and praise for who you are. We are so thankful for your love. We want to know you more. We want and need to hear your voice. Help us set aside our scattered thoughts and focus on you. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers... In Your Name, Amen.

    Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are journeying through Paul's pastoral letters. Currently, we are in I Corinthians.

    Today's passage is I Corinthians 12. Paul starts by reminding the believers of their former ignorance. Afterall, there was a time not too long ago that they didn't know about the one true God but worshiped idols. Now, they know Jesus and have the Holy Spirit within them – the Spirit of the Living God inside their physical body! One of the many transformations that happens to us when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior is that the Holy Spirit gives us a spiritual gift (sometimes even more than one.)

    A spiritual gift could be seen as a God-given capacity that allows each believer to serve and uplift the body of Christ. And how do you get into this body of Christ? In verses 13-14, Paul writes, For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. The body of Christ is Jesus' church.

    The specific word that Paul uses here for gift is charisma, which comes from charis, which is the Greek word for grace. A spiritual gift is a gift of God's grace. It's not something we have earned or developed. But there is a wide diversity of gifts that the Spirit offers, and Paul lists many of these, including the gift of preaching/teaching, prophecy, apostleship, evangelism, and shepherding. There are even more specific gifts under these main headings.

    But while there is diversity in gifts, there is unity in purpose. The body of Christ requires all these different people with different and unique gifts to be working together to ensure that Jesus' mission continues to be carried out in the world. One gift is not more important than another but they are all essential to have a fully functioning body.

    The Corinthians knew about the spiritual gifts. This would not been new information to them. But the problem was how they were using the gifts. Certain gifts were being lifted up as more important than others. And there appears to be a bit of a free for all in how the gifts are being used. So, Paul wants them to know a different way. He wants them to understand that all the gifts work together to bring unity to the church. In fact, the church needs all of the gifts to be fruitful and effective. He doesn't want the Corinthians to stop using their spiritual gifts, but he wants them to do so with maturity. And as we will see in the next chapter, he wants the church to use their gifts with love (rather than arrogance or pride.)

    Do you know what spiritual gifts you have been given? If not, I strongly encourage you to pray about that today. There are some really good spiritual gifts assessments that are free online as well. God has given us gifts for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. If you know your gifts, are you currently making use of them at New Hope or in your local church? There are many parts but one body. Your gifts are needed to form a fully functioning, healthy, thriving community of faith!

    Blessings,

    Pastor Vicki
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    7 分
  • February 6, 2026: I Corinthians 11

    February 6, 2026: I Corinthians 11
    2026/02/06
    Daily Dose of Hope February 6, 2026 Scripture: I Corinthians 11 Prayer: Dear Holy God, Your love is amazing. Thank you for the way you care for us. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us focus on you...Lord Jesus, help us set aside every distraction and take this time to lean on you. We want to hear your voice. Amen. Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We have been walking through Paul's letters and it has been challenging! We've made it through Galatians, I and II Thessalonians, and we are now in I Corinthians. Our reading for today is I Corinthians 11. The first part of the chapter has to do with head coverings. I didn't choose that for our main focus today but I do think it is worth a brief mention. Paul implores the women to cover their heads and the men not to cover their heads. This is confusing to us in a time and place in which head coverings serve an entirely different purpose (typically shade from the sun, warmth, or an accessory). But in ancient Greek and Roman culture, the main difference between a man and woman's attire was that women covered their head with a scarf-like material. The only women who did not do this were high class mistresses, slaves, prostitutes, and pagan prophetesses. Thus, when the women didn't wear their head covering or it fell off in the movement of worship, it was a significant distraction. In a highly patriarchal culture, it definitely sent the wrong signal, one that Paul really didn't want these women to send. Then, there is this whole issue with the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Remember, they didn't have church buildings and they met in people's homes. In fact, they met in some of the wealthier members' homes, because they had bigger homes that could accommodate a larger group. Makes sense. But the wealthier church members, who probably knew each other fairly well because they all ran in the same circles, were meeting ahead of time for a grand meal, that they would pair with communion, and they were eating and drinking and eating and drinking. You can see where this is going. By the time the poorer church members got off work and arrived, the wealthier people had been eating and drinking for quite a while. All the food was eaten and they were drunk. There were also no seats in the main room. So, the poor people were basically sitting in a different area, hungry, without what they needed to receive communion together with the rest of the church. It was like two separate churches, one for the rich and one for the poor. And, not surprisingly, resentment was growing. This is totally patronizing for the poor people. Paul is appalled. You can hear it in the letter, "Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? Why are you bringing this mess to church???" Paul was basically saying that the Corinthians could not call what they were doing the Lord's Supper. Keep in mind, the Corinthian society was very segregated. Rich people didn't associate with poor people. Classes stayed separate. It isn't surprising that the rich in the church didn't want to hang out with the poor people. They were dirty and hard to make conversation with. And the poor people probably were really intimidated by the rich people. Yet, Jesus had set up his church to be different from culture and that is what Paul is getting at here. The Gospel turns things upside down. We can look at Christians throughout the ages – the huge disparity of rich and poor, the way people of color were often turned away at the church door. We had that in our own denomination. I just got done reading White Trash (by Nancy Isenberg), which attempts to tell the story of class in America. And it talks about how the wealthy classes totally discarded the poor. They called the poor "waste people." It was like their lives had totally no value to them. And this is what got me: The wealthy aristocracy, who called the poor whites and blacks around them waste people, they attended church every Sunday. They believed in God, they professed faith in Jesus. And Jesus walked closely with the poor. The Gospel was good news to the poor. So, what happened? As a church, I'm not sure we have really wanted the Gospel message. We like it, as long as it gets us into heaven but we don't like it when it means we have to change our lives and our prejudices and our perspectives. We like wearing a cross but not carrying one. In Corinth, they were basically showing that their belief wasn't genuine. They were demonstrating a value system, it just wasn't Jesus'. I think through the ages, the church has demonstrated a value system, it just often has not been Jesus' value system. What about New Hope? What ...
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    9 分
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