New Hope Baptist Church

09/08/2026

When Jesus awaited His death on the cross, He was not naive to the suffering He was about to endure. He was also an all-powerful God who could have saved Himself from that suffering. So why didn’t He? Why did He choose to endure torture, sorrow, and pain?

Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus endured the cross “because of the joy awaiting Him.” He suffered because of the promise of future joy in restored relationships with His children. Jesus did not find joy in the crucifixion itself. He didn’t have fun when God’s wrath was placed on His shoulders. But He did feel joy in the end.

Before His death, Jesus compared this to the suffering that mothers endure in labor and childbirth. Nearly every mother has endured some kind of suffering in their journey to become a mom. Whether it was physical, emotional, or both, you would be hard-fought to find a mother who wouldn’t endure that pain again to meet her children. The joy that children bring doesn’t erase past pain, but it does make the suffering worth it.

In the same way that a mother is filled with joy when her child calls her by name, belly laughs for the first time, and eventually grows into the person God created them to be, Jesus is also filled with joy.

He rejoices over His creation (Psalm 104:31), He delights in His people (Psalm 149:4), and He’s overjoyed every time one of His children chooses to follow Him (Luke 15:3-10). And to top it all off, Jesus wants us to experience joy, too (John 15:11)!

It’s important to note that not all earthly suffering ends with earthly joy. But even if our happiness is never fully restored on Earth, we can look forward to complete joy in Heaven when we are united with Christ.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Pray:

Jesus, thank you for filling our world with joy. Open my eyes to find joy in the midst of suffering. Help me to remember that whatever life brings, I can look forward to complete joy when I’m united with you in Heaven. Amen.

09/07/2026

If you’ve felt true sorrow or deep grief, then you’re also familiar with the emotional toll of anguish. In Matthew 26, we see that Jesus felt anguish Himself. This passage comes after His disciple, Judas, approached the religious leaders and asked them to name their price to betray Jesus. As He shared a Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus made it clear that He already knew Judas had forsaken Him, and He was painfully aware of the death that awaited.

After their meal, the men went together to a garden called Gethsemane, where Jesus was “crushed with grief to the point of death.” He had completed His mission of teaching people how to live. Now, His greatest and hardest assignment awaited.

On His way to this garden, which sat near the Temple, Jesus passed over the Brook of Kidron (John 18:1). Some scholars believe that in the light of the full moon, Jesus would’ve seen blood flowing downstream from the day’s Passover sacrifices. It’s hard to imagine a more tangible reminder of what He was about to endure.

He’d already been rejected by His own people, betrayed by one of His closest followers, and He was preparing to experience excruciating torture and separation from God the Father. In His anguish, it’s possible that Jesus was already feeling the weight of all of humanity’s sins on His shoulders.

Jesus was fully aware of the suffering He was about to experience, and asked God the Father to take it away—as any human would. Luke 22:43 tells us that in response to this request, an angel appeared to strengthen Jesus. And how did Jesus respond? He prayed so fervently that sweat poured from His forehead as if it were blood.

Even though Jesus did not want to suffer, He willingly endured it out of love. And even on the cross, with His final breath, Jesus cried out in prayer. When we experience anguish of our own, we can follow Jesus’ example: pray, then pray some more. Ask Jesus to strengthen you, as the angel strengthened Him.

Pray:

God, thank you for being with me always. When hardship comes, help me to remember that even in my anguish, you are with me. Fill me with your strength. Amen.

09/06/2026

Baby Moses lesson: ✅
Questions asked: ✅
Answers shouted from EVERY direction: ✅😂

These kids were READY today! I love seeing those little faces light up when they realize they know the answer. They may be loud, but they’re listening!

09/06/2026

King’s Kids!

09/06/2026

John’s gospel tells us that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. After traveling to a town across the Jordan River, Jesus received word that His friend Lazarus was very sick. However, He had already declared that, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death” (John 11:4). For this reason, He waited a few days to visit.

By the time Jesus and His disciples arrived, Lazarus had been buried for four days. At His arrival, Jesus affirmed to Martha that her brother would rise again. She thought He was talking about a spiritual resurrection, which Jesus did not deny.

Jesus waited outside the village, near Lazarus’ grave. When He saw Mary and other people wailing and mourning, it stirred up deep emotions in Himself. Many translations say that Jesus was “deeply moved,” and “troubled.” The NLT translates Jesus’ emotions here as “a deep anger.” But it wasn’t until Jesus was brought to Lazarus’ grave that He began to weep. Onlookers took this display of emotion as evidence of Jesus’ deep love for Lazarus and grief over his death.

Anyone who has grieved knows how complex it can be. Jesus’ humanity was on display as He exhibited not just sorrow, but anger and compassion as well.

Still full of emotion, Jesus approached the tomb, asked to have it opened, and then brought Lazarus back to life! He was still wrapped in his graveclothes when he walked out of the tomb—a true miracle that brought glory to God!

Before he died, Jesus knew that Lazarus’ death was inevitable. He was also confident that He would bring Lazarus back to life. So if Jesus knew how the story would end, why was He so moved by grief? Because He loved Mary and Martha, and met them in their grief.

Jesus was already prepared to bring the sisters’ sorrow with Him to the cross. He was here to bear their burdens, sit with them in grief, and join in their heartbreak.

The same love that Jesus had for Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, He also feels for you. When you experience grief of your own, you can be confident that Jesus is not only present with you, but He also mourns with you. Jesus loves you more than you could possibly know, and you can lean on Him even in the depths of sorrow.

Pray:

Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for truly caring about the little things and the big ones in my life. I know that I can bring all of my sorrow to you. In the same way that you have empathy for my grief, help me to have empathy for others in theirs. Amen.

09/05/2026

We’ve already seen the emotions of Jesus on display throughout the gospel accounts of His earthly life. But this is not the first time the Bible mentions His emotions. They also showed up in Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus more than 700 years before He walked the Earth!

Isaiah 53 was written to the Jewish people while they were exiled in Babylon. They were displaced from their homes, separated from their Temple, and forced to live out Jewish customs in a Gentile culture. These prophecies offered Israel a vision of hope through their future Savior, Jesus.

This hope was personified in Jesus, the Man of Sorrows. Isaiah didn’t describe Jesus in this way because of His own grief and loss on Earth (which we’ll read about tomorrow). He’s given this name because “it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.”

Isaiah was writing to ancient Israel, yes. But Jesus’ eventual sacrifice was not only for the Jewish people He promised to rescue, but for anyone who believes. He carried the weight of sorrow for everyone who believes in Him, including you! Thousands of years before you were born, Jesus was already carrying all of your weakness, all of your sorrow, and all of your sin.

You are not alone in your heartache. You can bring your pain to God, lay it at His feet, and trust Him to bear the weight on your behalf. Will your grief disappear? Will your sorrow go away forever? Surely not. But if you truly surrender to God, there is no doubt that the burden will feel lighter.

Jesus made a choice to take our sin, sorrow, grief, and pain upon himself. He understands the deepest grief not only because He experienced it for Himself, but because, through His supernatural power, He has felt the sorrow of every one of His children.

Pray:

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for carrying my burdens, for sitting with me in grief, and for caring so deeply that your heart breaks with mine. When hardship strikes, help me to know that I am not alone. Amen.

09/04/2026

The Bible tells us that when you declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, He will make you new. Your old life is gone, your sins have been forgiven, and you are living as a new person!

Does this mean you’ll magically stop sinning? Unfortunately, no. God has given each of us free will. It’s up to us to stop living like the world, and to allow God to change our hearts and minds. Becoming like Christ is a lifelong journey, but it’s not meant to be walked alone!

When your heart is filled by the Holy Spirit, you’ll naturally become more loving, peacemaking, patient, and self-controlled. If you don’t see those fruits in your life, ask the Holy Spirit to grow them in you!

Next time anger strikes, bring it to God in prayer. If the anger is obviously rooted in sin, confess it to God and ask Him for self-control. If you’re not sure whether your sin is righteous or not, ask God for discernment. You might ask yourself, “Am I angry on behalf of my selfish desires or God’s righteous desires?”

If you’ve identified a pattern of anger in your heart, there might be something deeper that you need to pull up by the root. The only lasting solution to this kind of deep-seeded anger is to truly humble yourself and ask God to examine your heart. Maybe you’ve been holding on to an offense or prejudice. It’s possible that you have been wronged in a way that can only be healed through an intentional choice to forgive—always through the power of the Holy Spirit and sometimes supported by Christ-centered counseling.

When you identify the source of your anger and do the hard work of healing, you’ll discover a peace that you didn’t know was possible.

Pray:

God, I need you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Purify my heart, and help me to uncover the root of my anger. Amen.

09/03/2026

While Jesus’ life displayed sinless anger, it’s important to establish that not all anger is righteous. There are many passages in the Bible that caution against anger. So, what’s the difference? How do you know if your anger is righteous or sinful? And if anger gives the devil a foothold, how could a sinless God be angry?

Righteous anger is always aimed at sin. It’s often oriented toward false teachers who use God’s own words to point people away from Him. This kind of anger actually indicates faithfulness toward God’s truth. It overflows from a passionate love for God and deep knowledge of His heart. And it is always paired with a compassionate desire for all people to know the love of Jesus and follow Him. It’s based in quiet humility, not condescending pride.

Sinful anger, on the other hand, can be impulsive and self-centered. It’s often anger toward people, as opposed to righteous anger toward sin. In Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), we see two fictional religious leaders who let their hatred toward a people group stop them from showing compassion. The Pharisees’ anger toward Jesus was on display in several passages we’ve read.

For you, sinful anger might show up in a rude gesture after you’ve been cut off in traffic. It could be the passive-aggressive tone you use when your spouse’s clothes are next to the laundry basket, not in it. Your anger is obvious to everyone when you yell at your kids. Anger in these situations is clearly sinful. But in other instances, the line between sinful and righteous anger can be quite thin.

Anger at a sinful person? Equally sinful. Anger because a pastor is condoning sin? Righteous.

Anger at someone for following a different religion? Sinful. Anger when someone blasphemes God? Righteous.

Anger when something didn’t go your way? Sinful. Anger when someone is mistreated or abused? Righteous.

When the line between sinful and righteous anger starts to get blurry, the best way to find clarity is through honest prayer. Remember, righteous anger is a controlled response. Sinful anger is a hasty reaction. For most of us, most of the time, our anger is rooted in sin.

Pray:

Holy Spirit, open my eyes to my own anger. Help me to discern whether my anger is righteous or rooted in sin. Fill me with peace, patience, and self-control. Amen.

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

God hates sin. And while Jesus’ life displayed the ultimate example of forgiveness and grace, there were some sins that made Him deeply angry.

Over the centuries, the Pharisees’ understanding of God had become deeply procedural. They had lost sight of the “why” behind God’s commandments and focused more on rules (both scriptural and man-made).

In Matthew 21, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, in an event we now celebrate as Palm Sunday. While He was in the city, Jesus visited the temple. This was the central place for God’s people to pray, worship, and make sacrifices to God. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, animal sacrifice was the path to forgiveness for sin and a way to offer praise to God.

But when Jesus walked into the temple, He didn’t find people drawing near to God. Instead, He found a bustling marketplace where people sold sacrificial animals for up to 20 times more than they would’ve cost elsewhere.

Imagine walking into a church and being so overwhelmed by vendors selling Bibles that you couldn’t hear yourself pray. Now, imagine that the Bibles ranged from $300 to $1,200 in price, with a $50 add-on for communion!

What should’ve been a center for worship had become a “den of thieves.” In ancient Israel, thieves often used caves to store their stolen goods and to plot their future crimes. Jesus spoke intentionally, implying that this was not a one-time sin. Rather, it was a long-term, systematic plan to keep exploiting God at the expense of His people.

Rather than helping people draw near to God, these religious leaders created new barriers to entry—all because of greed. This made Jesus angry.

This wasn’t the first time Jesus cleared the temple. You can read about a separate, but similar situation in John 2:13-17.

The passage we read from Mark finds Jesus in the temple another time. In this situation, the Pharisees hoped to catch Jesus in sin. They believed that healing a man on the Sabbath was sinful, but to Jesus, they were missing the point. These religious leaders were more concerned about following God’s rules than they were about modeling God’s heart for people, and this made Jesus mad.

In each of these instances, He displayed a unique emotion—righteous anger. This type of anger is justified because it aligns with God’s righteousness. It was not a self-centered, reactive anger. It was an intentional, controlled—yet passionate—response.

Exploitation and greed made Jesus angry. His anger was stirred up by the hypocrisy, pride, and deception of religious leaders (Matthew 23) as well as when compassion is met with roadblocks (Mark 3). Jesus was angry at His own disciples when they tried to stop little children from approaching Him (Mark 10).

What do all of these instances have in common? People are trying to stop each other from accessing God (often in the name of God). God wants to be close to His children. His deepest desire is for us to draw near to Him and to walk alongside Him. When someone tries to stop that from happening, righteous anger is justified.

Pray:

Jesus, I want to draw closer to you and I want the same for everybody else. Please reveal any hypocrisy, greed, or pride in my heart that could push people away from you. Use my life to represent your heart for people. Amen.