City of Hope Church

City of Hope Church Real People. Real Life. Real HOPE. Experiencing authentic connection with God & each other.

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏We pray for fruit that remains — rooted deeply enough in Jesus to last well beyond this se...
08/31/2026

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏

We pray for fruit that remains — rooted deeply enough in Jesus to last well beyond this season.

Fruit That Remains

Some fruit is just there for a season. It comes quickly, looks impressive for a while, and fades just as fast. But Jesus speaks of a different kind of fruit — fruit that remains, fruit with staying power, rooted deeply enough to outlast circumstances, seasons, and even our own effort.

This kind of fruit isn’t marked by how fast it grows or how much attention it draws. It’s marked by endurance. A changed heart that stays changed. A relationship restored that stays restored. A word of encouragement that keeps bearing weight in someone’s life long after it was spoken. Jesus doesn’t call us to chase quick results. He calls us to bear fruit that lasts, the kind only possible when we remain in Him. This week, we ask Him to grow fruit in us and through us that’s not just here for a moment, but for the long haul.

📖 Scripture Meditation: John 15:16
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask in the Father’s name, he may give it to you.”

🙏 Prayer Points:
- Lord Jesus, grow in me fruit that lasts, not fruit that looks good for a moment and fades.
- Holy Spirit, give me patience with the slow, steady work of lasting fruit, rather than chasing quick results.
- Father, let the fruit in my life be evidence of Your enduring work, not my own striving.

🪞 Personal Reflection: What fruit might God be growing in my life that feels slow, but will be worth the wait?

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏 We pray for boldness to go back into to our spheres of influence to tell our friends and ...
08/24/2026

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏
We pray for boldness to go back into to our spheres of influence to tell our friends and family how much the Lord has done for us.

Go Back and Tell!

Has Jesus ever done something transformational in your life? Mark tells us about a man who was being tormented by a legion of demons. After Jesus healed him, changing His life forever, the man did what anyone would do—He begged Jesus to go with Him. But Jesus gives him a different assignment: "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

Not every calling looks like traveling to a far off land. Most look like simply going back into our greatest spheres of influence. This man's mission field was the same family, the same friends, the same town he already knew, and who already knew him. His calling was simply to share his personal Jesus story, told plainly, to the people already in his life.

This week, we consider that our own homes, our own friendships, our own everyday relationships—Those places God has already given us influence—may be exactly where Jesus is sending us. And we intentionally watch for opportunities to share our personal Jesus Story with those He has sent us back to “Go tell!”

📖 Scripture Meditation: Mark 5:18-19
“As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’”

🙏 Prayer Points:
• Lord Jesus, remind me of my own transformational Jesus Story. Let the mercy You've shown me become a testimony that reaches the people in my sphere of influence.
• Holy Spirit, give me the same boldness to tell my story that You gave this man, and thousands of believers since then.
• Father, remind me that my home and my everyday relationships are a mission field, not a waiting room before the real calling comes.

🪞 Personal Reflection: Who in my own home, family, or friendships might need to hear what the Lord has done for me?

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏We pray for the grace to let our light shine simply and naturally, for God’s glory. Visibl...
08/18/2026

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏
We pray for the grace to let our light shine simply and naturally, for God’s glory.

Visible Faith

Jesus says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." Light doesn't have to announce itself. It simply shines, and everyone nearby can see it. This is what faith looks like when it's genuine — visible, natural, impossible to hide. A city on a hill isn't trying to be seen, but the eyes of those around them are naturally drawn to its light.

Jesus goes on to give us the picture of a lamp on a stand, giving light to everyone in the house. Our lives work the same way. We don't strain to be noticed. We simply let our light shine, and "let them see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Notice, the glory is meant to land on Him, not us. This week, we consider the ordinary places God has already placed our lamp stand, and what it would look like to let our light shine there naturally, for His glory alone.

📖 Scripture Meditation: Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

🙏 Prayer Points:
• Lord Jesus, let my light shine simply and naturally, without striving to be seen.
• Holy Spirit, help me stand faithfully where You've placed me, trusting that Your light does its own work.
• Father, reveal the good works You have prepared for me this week so that those who see them will bring You glory.

🪞 Personal Reflection: What practical ways might God be inviting me to let His Light shine through me this week? What good deeds could I intentionally do for his glory?

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏 Known by His ScentPaul gives us a beautiful image: "thanks be to God, who in Christ alway...
08/11/2026

Today is our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏

Known by His Scent

Paul gives us a beautiful image: "thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." We are the aroma of Christ. Anyone who spends time close to something fragrant carries that fragrance with them, often without realizing it. When we abide in Christ, we carry His aroma, or His essence, everywhere we go.

Have you ever noticed how a person’s fragrance can travel ahead of them and linger behind them…for better or worse? This is one of the most powerful ways people can encounter Christ. Not through our arguments or our answers, but through the quiet, unmistakable sense that we carry something different—Him. This week, we consider what it means to simply carry His presence into every room we enter, trusting that the fragrance itself is at work.

📖 Scripture Meditation: 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing."

🙏 Prayer Points:
• Lord Jesus, let the fragrance of Your presence rest on me so fully that others sense You before I say a word.
• Holy Spirit, keep me close enough to You that Your aroma becomes my own.
• Father, use my life to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere I go this week.

🪞 Personal Reflection:
What fragrance do people encounter when they spend time near me — and how might that change if I stayed even closer to Jesus?

It’s our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏 We pray for a with-God life — a life of fruitful abiding, where mission becomes an extension ...
07/20/2026

It’s our HOPE Prayer Day 🙏 We pray for a with-God life — a life of fruitful abiding, where mission becomes an extension of our worship. Read our full devotional:

Before Jesus ever sent the Twelve to preach or gave them authority to cast out demons, He appointed them for something that must always come first: to be with Him. The call of discipleship has always been a single calling with layered purpose. Like the first disciples, our sending out should be an extension of our life with Jesus, not a departure from it. This is a picture of the “with-God” life: a life of fruitful abiding where mission is something we do with God, not for Him.

Just as the Twelve carried Christ’s presence into every place He sent them, when we prioritize being WITH God, we bring the Jesus in us near to those who need Him. If we slip into a “for-God” mindset, we will find ourselves performing or striving to produce results in our own strength. But, in a with-God life, mission becomes an extension of our worship. As we serve others, we discover that Jesus is still present, still working both is us, and through us, as we go.

📖Scripture Meditation: Mark 3:14-15
"And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons."

🙏Prayer Points:
- Lord Jesus, just as You called the Twelve to both be with You and be sent by You, let my going never separate me from my abiding. Keep me near enough to carry Your presence wherever You send me.
- Holy Spirit, share Christ’s presence through me as I go about my day. When I step into conversations, tasks, or needs around me, let it be Your power at work in and through me, not my own effort.
- Father, receive my service to others as an act of worship rather than a performance for approval. Free me from the pressure to produce results, and let me rest in knowing my identity is secure in You regardless of outcomes.

🪞Personal Reflection:
Where in my life have I been operating from a “for-God” posture, performing or striving, instead of a “with-God” posture of fruitful abiding?

07/15/2026

Jesus’s invitation has always been simple…
Follow Me: Discipleship
I will make you: Transformation
Fisher’s of People: Kingdom Mission
-Matthew 4:19

It's Our HOPE Day of Prayer 🙏Called in the Middle of the OrdinarySimon and Andrew weren't looking for Jesus when He foun...
07/13/2026

It's Our HOPE Day of Prayer 🙏

Called in the Middle of the Ordinary

Simon and Andrew weren't looking for Jesus when He found them. They were doing what they did every day — casting nets, mending gear, working the same water they'd worked for years. There was nothing spiritual about the moment, at least not on the surface. And that's exactly where Jesus showed up; right in the middle of their everyday routine.

Jesus walked right into their ordinary day and spoke two words that changed everything: "Follow me." But notice, Jesus didn't just call them away from something — He called them toward something He would do in them. He promised, if they followed Him, He would make them into fishers of people. That's still Jesus’s pattern today. He meets us in the middle of our ordinary lives and invites us to follow Him. If we truly follow, there will be evidence of it in how we live. Our relationship with Him should become a doorway into transformation, and that inner transformation gradually shapes us into His everyday missionaries.

📖Scripture Meditation: Matthew 4:18-19
"While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'"

🙏Prayer Points:
- Lord Jesus, meet me in the middle of my ordinary life this week, the way You met Simon and Andrew by the water.
- Holy Spirit, give me ears to hear Your invitation even when it comes in an unremarkable moment.
- Father, remind me that following You always leads somewhere — help me trust the process even when I can't yet see where it's headed.

🪞Personal Reflection: How might Jesus be inviting you to follow Him in a new way in this season of your life? How might you respond to His invitation?

It's our HOPE Day of Prayer 🙏🕊Heal Me. The goal of facing our shadow is never just awareness — it is healing. When we br...
06/29/2026

It's our HOPE Day of Prayer 🙏🕊

Heal Me.

The goal of facing our shadow is never just awareness — it is healing. When we bring what is hidden into the light with Jesus, something profound begins to happen: the grip of the shadow starts to loosen. We see this in Peter. Jesus warned him that there was something in him that could make him susceptible to the devil’s sifting, but Peter wasn’t ready to look. When the pressure came, the shadow surfaced — and Peter denied his Lord three times. But Jesus didn’t leave him there. He came back to Peter not to shame him, but to restore him: “Do you love me?” Three questions for three denials. The place of failure became the place of healing.

We often think that what’s in our shadow disqualifies us. But, that’s not how it works in Christ. He does not discard what is cracked and broken — He is the Master Potter who gathers up all the broken pieces, and restores us to His original design. The invitation is simple: stop hiding and come back to His Light. He will guide us through the rest.

📖 Scripture Meditation: 1 John 1:7
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

🙏 Prayer Points:
• Lord Jesus, be my Healer in the places my shadow has caused damage — in my relationships, my patterns, and my sense of self.
• Holy Spirit, lead me to safe people and safe spaces where what has been hidden can be held in community, not carried alone.
• Father, let the place of my greatest failure become the place where Your restoration is most clearly seen — as it was for Peter.

🪞Personal Reflection:
Where has your shadow caused the most damage — in a relationship, a harmful pattern, or your sense of self? What would it look like to bring that specific place to Jesus this week?

Show Me 🙏📖As we continue meditating on the three prayers of Shadow Work, this week we pray “Lord, show me,” because we n...
06/23/2026

Show Me 🙏📖

As we continue meditating on the three prayers of Shadow Work, this week we pray “Lord, show me,” because we need the Holy Spirit to show us what we cannot see on our own. The heart, as Jeremiah reminds us, is deceitful above all things — and that means our shadow is rarely visible to us without help. One way the Spirit reveals our shadow is through our reactions: the flash of defensiveness, the sudden shutdown, the oversized emotion that seems to come from nowhere. These moments are not interruptions — they are invitations.

Rather than managing the reaction or pushing past it, we can learn to pause and ask: “What is this showing me? What is underneath that?” The Spirit of truth does not show us our shadow to shame us; He guides us into all truth — including truth about ourselves — so that what was hidden can finally be brought into the healing light with Jesus.

📖Scripture Meditation: John 16:13
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”

🙏Prayer Points:
• Holy Spirit, guide me into truth about myself — the parts I cannot see, the patterns I have excused, and the wounds I have learned to work around.
• Jesus, help me see my triggers as doorways rather than threats — and give me the courage to step through them with You rather than manage them alone.
• Father, calibrate my heart to hear Your still small voice above the noise of my own defenses and distractions.

🪞Personal Reflection:
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a recent moment where your surface reaction was revealing something deeper. Sit with God for a moment as you listen for what the Spirit might be trying to show you in those moments.

Today we honor the fathers and father figures who invest in the next generation.Thank you for every prayer prayed, lesso...
06/21/2026

Today we honor the fathers and father figures who invest in the next generation.

Thank you for every prayer prayed, lesson taught, conversation shared, and example set. The seeds you plant today can shape lives for years to come. 🌱

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” — Psalm 145:4

Happy Father’s Day!

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