Spring of Hope

Buy  my books   " Joy in the Journey "  and  " Song in the Night" on Amazon now              Experiencing sound quality issues?  Please Click here  Does God Really Care?     Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35-41 (Jesus Calms the Storm) The passage we are reading today, Mark 4:35-41, is one of the most familiar stories found in all four Gospels. It’s a story of Jesus calming a storm while on a boat with His disciples. However, this moment is not just about a miraculous act over nature—it’s about faith, fear, and God's care in the midst of life’s storms. There are two instances in the Gospels where Jesus calms storms. One was when Peter wanted to walk on water, and Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. In that story, Jesus wasn’t initially in the boat with them. But the passage we’re focusing on today is different. This time, Jesus is already in the boat with the disciples. ...

Buy  my books   " Joy in the Journey "  and  " Song in the Night" on Amazon now 20% goes to missions               Experiencing sound quality issues?  Please Click here   Do You See What I See? 2 Kings 6:15-23 Today I want to talk about another prophet I am preaching on, following last week’s message about the prophet Elijah. Today’s focus is on Elisha, who was the disciple and successor of Elijah. To understand his story, we need to explore how people of faith respond to moments of crisis, because every one of us either has faced a crisis, is facing one now, or will face one in the future. There is a lighthearted story that illustrates how easily panic can take hold. A senior citizen once called her doctor’s office and asked the nurse, “Is it true that the medication you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?” The doctor replied, “Yes ma’am, I’m a...

Buy  my books   " Joy in the Journey "  and  " Song in the Night" on Amazon now 20% goes to missions               Experiencing sound quality issues?  Please Click here   Journey after the manger Matthew 2:13-23 Many of us feel that Christmas is now behind us—and yes, in one sense, it is. The decorations are coming down, or perhaps they already have. The carols have faded, and life has settled back into its familiar rhythm. Many of us actually hope for that return to routine, especially when the rhythms of life are already well known to us. Matthew’s Gospel meets us at this moment—after the celebration of Epiphany, after the angels have departed, after the shepherds have gone home, and after the wise men have returned to their own lands. It shows us what faith looks like when life moves forward. As I mentioned earlier, the Christmas story does not end with the...

Buy  my books   " Joy in the Journey "  and  " Song in the Night" on Amazon now 20% goes to missions               Experiencing sound quality issues?  Please Click here   Have you been to Jesus? Matthew 12:1-1 The visit of the Magi—the three wise men from the East who came to see the baby Jesus—is a well-known story. I don’t think I need to retell or explain it in detail to any of you here. I hope not. It is a beautiful story, one we have learned and remembered at many different times in our lives. Yet interestingly, we do not often hear it preached in churches, perhaps because it appears in only one Gospel—Matthew’s Gospel. The opening hymn we sang today, “Westward Leading, Still Proceeding,” guides us poetically toward the baby Jesus and gives the impression that the star moved from east to west. But we all know that stars do not actually move; the earth mov...