About Mount Hope Church

We Are Family. Mount Hope Church is a community of people who love God and others—and that includes YOU! As a church family, it’s exciting to grow alongside others of all ages and backgrounds, coming together to experience the hope that is found only in Jesus. It is our desire that as you encounter God’s love and amazing grace at Mount Hope Church, you will truly feel a part of the family as we say, “Welcome Home!”

Practical Leadership At Home

Something I tell the leaders of our NextGen Ministries often is that practical leadership consists of three things: 

  • Being Present,
  • Showing Care, and
  • Creating Memories!

Parents, as I was praying for you this month, I want to encourage you that if you too will focus on doing these three things with your students, your relationship with them will grow! 

Being Present

“Being present” seems so simple—yet it is something that in this day and age we have to work hard to do! Students today spend hours on social media, posting content, making videos, keeping up with trends—all so they can be noticed. When you are with your kids, make it a habit to truly be present. I know it’s hard to put the phones down, but even if it is just for one hour every day, make a rule that all phones get put away and on silent. They may hate it at first, but over time your family may learn to love that hour or two of the day when, in between bites at dinner, homework assignments, or even commercials of a show you enjoy watching as a family, you have conversation instead of checking your phones! Being present… it’s simple, yet so powerful! 

Showing Care

Showing care to your children seems like a given, but if we aren’t careful, we can care for our children’s physical needs and unintentionally neglect to care for their emotional needs! One of the biggest ways I see students today struggling is emotionally. Anxiety and depression are at all-time highs and affecting students at younger and younger ages. As parents it is easy to think this would never affect our kids, but as your student’s pastor, I’m begging you not to make that assumption! Don’t be overwhelmed by the thought of having such a heavy conversation with your student. Many students have it in their heads that their parents/caregivers will be upset with them if they say they are struggling with anxiety, depression, or thoughts of harming themselves. Something simple you can start doing right now is telling your student on a consistent basis, “You can always tell me if you are struggling with anxiety or depression. I will never get mad at you for that!” 

Creating Memories

Lastly, I encourage you to work to create memories with your students! It doesn’t have to be big vacations or costly trips. It can be something as simple as “Pizza Night” every Sunday when your children can each invite a friend over! I’d encourage you to create spiritual memories as well. Taking communion in your home once a month, picking a night of the week to all share something exciting that happened and something tough they want prayer for, or serving regularly at community outreaches as a family are just a few ideas! 

God hand-picked YOU to be there for them in every season, and with the help of your church family and Jesus, this can be the greatest season yet!

Filled – Power of the Holy Spirit

The Lord has spoken the word TRANSFORMATION over Mount Hope Church this year. We learned earlier this year that one of the most significant transformational moments of your life is when you become filled with the power of the Holy Spirit!  

Over these last several months, we have also learned that we are meant to be together. When we live out the best of days or go through the worst, we must be joined together as family. There are times of testing, trouble, and persecution ahead, yet there are times of wonderful joy as well! We are being prepared for an awakening like nothing we have experienced before. As we eagerly anticipate all that God is going to do, I cannot think of anything better than to give our entire church family the opportunity to be filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit. 

You will want to be here on Sunday, August 29 with Pastor Dave Williams at 8:30 & 10:30am and a special 6:00pm service as he leads us into our next series, FILLED. You can’t miss the transformation of Jesus’ disciples before they were filled with the Holy Spirit and after they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They went from cowering in fear to being bold and full of faith. Beyond obvious boldness, prophetic speech, and gifts of the Spirit at work, the disciples were filled with the love of God. Love made the difference between them and the rest of the world. 

In this series, you will discover:

  • The personality of the Holy Spirit
  • What the Holy Spirit does
  • How you can be filled with the Holy Spirit
  • The levels of relationship you can have with the Holy Spirit
  • The gifts of the Spirit
  • The power and wonder of speaking
    in tongues
  • How to walk in the Spirit and so much more!

Following our powerful services with Pastor Dave, Life Groups will kick off on Sunday, September 5th as we dive even deeper into all the Holy Spirit offers us as believers. We know that we cannot succeed spiritually alone; we are meant to do this life together. As we grow personally and help others grow, would you join me in being part of a Life Group this fall?

Become A Life Group Host

We believe you have what it takes to host a Life Group right in your home! Sign up to host this 9-session series starting September 5. Each week, I’ll provide a video teaching with others pastors, questions to ask the group, and a week-by-week discussion guide.

Wake Up America

I love America and thank God that while He could have put me anywhere on the planet, He chose America as my temporary earthly home. However, as I look across our nation and take note of the deception, division, violence, and sexual immorality, I’ve come to one conclusion. We desperately need another spiritual awakening in this nation! What the Scriptures call moral rot has filled this land. We need more than better policies and laws. It’s time for some unusual prayer. It’s time to become more intentional in leading people to salvation through Jesus. For the sake of people headed for the dungeons of the damned, an eternity in hell, we need revival. We, the Church, stand at a crossroads. What will we do? It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize our elected officials, the Church, and each other, but it will accomplish nothing. 

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ – Jer. 6:16

The greatest danger for America is not a virus, climate change, cyberattacks, or the terrorists on the outside, but the moral rot and wickedness within the country—
pornography, adultery, violence, sexual perversion, greed, deception, prayerlessness, and hypocrisy. At the heart of every sin is a rejection of God’s authority. 

When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability. -Proverbs 28:2

The Church is the only one that has the cure to America’s most profound problems. Who else can set people free from years of bondage? Who else can offer eternal life? Who else can transform hearts and lives? As followers of Christ, this is our time to rise to the occasion. The hope for America starts with these words taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people…” (that’s you and me)! It’s our time to pray and to represent the Kingdom of God on the earth every day! 

Will you join me in prayer on Wednesdays at 7:00pm? Together, let’s write a new future through our prayers for our lives, this region, and our nation. 

Heavenly Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son. We pray for our leaders in America—our local, state, national leaders, judicial, legislative, and executive leaders. We plead the blood of Jesus over them and their families. We ask you to direct the hearts and minds of our leaders according to Proverbs 21:1 that says the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and you direct it like a stream of water. May they make decisions based on your will and your plans for this country. Surround our leaders with godly counselors that will agree with your Word. Lord, we ask you to remove from positions of authority those who stubbornly oppose righteousness. Replace them with men and women who will follow your plans for our schools, cities, states, and our nation. Your kingdom come, and your will be done! 

I love you, and thank God that we are in this together!

– Your Friend and Pastor, Kevin Berry

What is Our Purpose?

A MHLS First Year Student Essay by Bram Nguyen

 Wanted Not Needed

I would like to believe that when we were born our parents’ first thought was not, “Why did we bring this child into the world? What purpose will they serve?” But rather, when we were brought into this world their first impression was that they simply loved us and wanted to be with us, not because of anything we had done but because we were their child. We were not created to fill a job, we are not created to fill a need; we are created because we were wanted. Earthly parents want to have children; they do not need to have them. In a similar way, God does not need us:

“nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” – Acts 17:25

Yet, also in a similar way, God wants us. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible tells us one story; in sixty-six different books. It’s the story of God wanting to be with the people He had created.

Immanuel Means: God With Us.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” – John 1:14

All of us at one time were separated from God; removed from His presence not because of His will, but because of our own. We were all born into sin; choosing to live apart from Him. But, God had a plan from before the creation of the world to reconcile us to Himself.

“He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” – 1 Peter 1:20

Humanity had fallen infinitely short of God’s standard. He was completely holy, completely just, completely loving, and completely perfect. And, whoever did not meet those same criteria would become subject to judgement—eternal judgement.

“All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” – Psalm 14:3

And yet, through all of mankind’s sin God still desired to be with the people He had created. He knew that no one would be able to follow the law in its entirety, and that we could not obtain remission for our sins on our own. So, we needed another means of salvation; another means of being reunited with God.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

So, God in His great mercy made another way for us. He stepped out of Heaven and stepped into the world; to accomplish salvation for us. He sent His one and only Son to dwell among His people, and to grant salvation to mankind.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Jesus came—as God in the flesh—lived the perfectly righteous life we could not, was crucified as the unblemished offering for our sins, and rose again to bring us to life with Him. God’s plan all along wasn’t that we would make ourselves righteous, but that He himself would make us righteous. Perfectly righteous before His eyes, not because of the work we had done, but because of the work He had done on the cross on our behalf.

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time…” – 2 Timothy 1

The entire Bible culminates around the story of Jesus coming to earth to save us from our sins—God with us. But why? The “why” behind God sending His son to earth is His “why” for creating us. God sent Jesus to reestablish the relationship we lost with Him, because of sin, that He had intended for us to have with Him since the beginning. God wanted to be with His people.

This is the First and Greatest Commandment

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” – Matthew 22:37

Sometimes we tend to over complicate God’s purpose for our life. Jesus is pretty clear about what God’s desire is for us—that is to love Him. God is not a God of confusion, the purpose He has laid out for us in scripture isn’t meant to be complicated. Throughout the narrative of the Old Testament we see God’s people struggling to grasp the simplicity of His desire for them. The Jewish people often thought that God’s purpose for their lives was to follow the Mosaic Law, and that by doing so they would be doing His will. But, they deeply missed the point of the Law. God gave them commandments not to help them overcome sin, but to point out their sin. And, to point to the deeper message that they needed God Himself to be made righteous. God’s intention was not for them to simply follow a set of rules, but that the Jewish people would love Him enough to want to follow His commands.

And the Second is Like It

“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:39

And, God purposed that not only we love Him, but that we also love our fellow man—in an expression of our love towards Him.

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4:11

To Know God

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” – John 17:3

John 17:3 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It comes straight from the mouth of Jesus—from the mouth of God Himself. In one sentence Jesus explains what it means to live—why we were created.

The most profound assertion Jesus makes in this verse is that eternal life “is” knowing God. Eternal life doesn’t just include knowing God, it’s not just about knowing God, it’s not just “for” knowing God, it “is” knowing God. What Jesus is saying here is that the essence of life itself is to be in relationship with Him.

            “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…” – Ephesians 2:1

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul uses deliberate language to describe what it means to be “born again.” He states that we were once “dead” because of our trespasses and sins—This isn’t figurative language. When he said we were dead, he meant it. Because sin had separated us from God, we were truly dead. Our physical bodies were moving, breathing, and functioning—yet our eternal spirit—was dead.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 2:4-7

The process of us being “born again” into new life was the act of us entering into a relationship with Him. As we came to know God through putting our faith in Christ and turning from the sin that gave us death, we were made alive. Us coming to know God didn’t just give us eternal life, it was the eternal life we had been separated from since the beginning.

The Lord has revealed so many things about Himself to us. Yet, there are an infinite number of things we don’t know about Him. What I find so intriguing about God is that He decides not to completely reveal all of Himself to us at once. Throughout the narrative of the Bible, and even in our personal relationships with God, we see Him unveiling His character and who He is little by little. As if He is intentionally desiring for us to seek and pursue Him more. This is really one of the main reasons for why God gave us the scriptures in the first place. The Bible isn’t just a book of stories or commands from God. In some sense, the Bible is one enormous invitation-letter to knowing Him more deeply.

God’s Glory: the Imago Dei

“And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’” – Isaiah 6:3

Pens were created to write, knives were created to cut, hammers were created to build, and mankind was created to glorify God.

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” – Isaiah 43:6-7

When we are glorifying God we are fulfilling our purpose. When we exalt Him and lift Him up we are doing what we were made to do.

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” – Genesis 1:26

We were created to reflect God’s image back to Him. He gave us His image, and now we give it back to Him. When we look into a mirror the mirror itself isn’t what we are admiring, rather we are admiring the image of ourselves that we see in it. I believe, in a similar way, God loves when we seek to glorify Him because, when we do, we reflect back to Him His own image like a person looking into a mirror.

By Him and For Him

God loves each one person individually, and has specific plans for each one of our lives. However, I think sometimes—in an innocent way—we overemphasize ourselves in the matter. We tend to ask the Lord, “God, what is your purpose for me?” when it might be more beneficial for us to ask, “God, what is my purpose—for you?” This is not saying that we make up or decide our purpose for God—or that we have some sort of plan for Him—but rather that God gives us a purpose that is—for Him.

God’s purpose for our lives is not so much “for us” as much as it is “for Him.” When a craftsman builds a chair to sit in, the purpose of that chair is not for the chair itself; the purpose of the chair is “for” him—the craftsman. In the same way, we were not created by Him for ourselves, we were created by Him, for Him—Jesus.

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” – Colossians 1:16

Who has Jesus made mankind to be? And, what is our purpose on earth?

When I read over that question my mind automatically wants to rephrase and restate it. “Who has Jesus made mankind to be?,” well the answer to that question is in the question. Jesus made mankind—to be. God’s purpose in creating us, our purpose for this life, our reason for being placed on this earth was simply “to be.” God never needed us; since before the creation of time God lived an infinitely perfect existence in communion with Himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created mankind simply—to exist—and His purpose for us on the earth was to share that perfect communion with Him.

Everyone Is A Minister

by Joseph Mead

At Mount Hope Church, we have seven beautiful core values. These values function as cultural guardrails to keep us on track with biblical truths that the Lord has expressed in our unique church family. One of those values is particularly powerful and very significant for anyone who follows Jesus Christ. It states that, “Every member is a minister. Each member of the body is responsible to help the others grow.”

Can You See It?

Have you ever really stopped to envision what it might look like to have 1,500 ministers all gather in one place to worship Jesus and minister to one another? Can you imagine if every one of those worshipers were spiritual powerhouses like King David, the Prophet Jeremiah, or the Apostle Paul? What if everyone in the room was a person who knew exactly who they were in God, had impeccable godly character, knew their gifts, and were daily doing supernatural exploits for God in the unique area of their calling and anointing? Can you imagine how the earth would shake when these ministers gathered to worship Jesus together? Can you see how darkness and evil would flee the region due to the glory of this holy gathering of the sons and daughters of light (See John 12:36)?

What’s described above isn’t my vision. It isn’t even Pastor Kevin’s vision. This is God’s will and what He has made possible through Jesus Christ. And as believers, we have become the stewards of it! Maybe you need more proof that this is God’s will. If so, let’s look at Hebrews, chapter 8. The writer of Hebrews unpacks a prophecy from Jeremiah from the sixth century. The prophecy declares a day when God establishes a New Covenant with His people, and the outcome is amazing [Jer. 31:31-34].

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And it will not be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother, saying, ‘Know (perceive, have knowledge of, and get acquainted by experience with) the Lord, for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins, and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more” (Hebrews 8:10-12 AMP).

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this prophecy in Jeremiah! He came and made a way for our sins to be remembered no more! He has lavished His grace on us and made us righteous before God. But it doesn’t end there! This mercy also empowers all who believe to have full access to God’s thoughts, ideas, and understanding! Each of us has a unique gift to pray, read, and study the Scriptures with the Spirit of God and then apply the truth He teaches us! This does not eliminate our need for others or our call to honor the five-fold ministry as described in Ephesians 4—for these ministers are also gifts to us to further empower us to come into our full maturity in Christ! However, this does liberate us into personal relationship with God and a responsibility to seek Him for ourselves (See Matthew 6:33).

This new covenant challenges the religious myth that only an elite group of qualified professional holy people have access to God for greater works. Additionally, this myth provides a convenient way out for those who would rather delegate spiritual responsibility to others. The myth of religious pride robs people from entering into God’s unique purpose for themselves. Believing this myth sets up a new veil between them and God (unlike the one God ripped in the Temple), and the separation keeps them at a distance, unable to experience anything close to what Jeremiah prophesied.

This Ought Not Be!

Jesus Christ came to die on a cross and ransom His sinless life for the world (See John 3:16). This spiritual trade made a way for us all to come close to God. The Father in Heaven ripped the veil in the Temple, as if to announce, “Come into the Holy of Holies! Through faith in Jesus, The Son of God, I have awarded you righteousness! So everyone, draw near to Me” (Read the Gospel of Mark, chapter 15). Therefore, we can all pray and be heard, we can all experience the Holy Spirit fill us, we call be given wisdom and godly character, we can all operate in spiritual gifts (See 1 Corinthians 14:1).

To further the point, read the miracle of the crippled man in Acts 3. When Peter prayed for the crippled man and he was instantly healed, God wasn’t saying that Peter and John had finally attained to some level of holiness to do miracles now. (I mean, Peter had just recently denied Jesus, months prior.) God was showing what the New Covenant through Jesus Christ is capable of through ordinary men like Peter and John.

“Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: ‘Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?’” (Acts 3:11-12 NKJV)

It wasn’t Peter’s godliness or by John’s power that this miracle happened. It was possible because Jesus had finished what He came to accomplish on the cross and enacted the New Covenant. “For all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them.” And now God had written His ways on the hearts of His people through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (See Acts 2). God had written on Peter’s heart that He has compassion on the poor and the broken and that He came to heal the sick! So that is exactly what Peter did, even though the “holy elite” threatened them and took them into custody for … ah, well … I guess you could say an unauthorized miracle. How insane is that! Religious pride blinded the Pharisees so that they could not see God working right in their midst. Instead, they were more worried about maintaining their spiritual high-ground, their money, and their elite status. The Pharisees missed the dawn of a new day where God had decentralized His Spirit and now sent His grace to every tribe, tongue, and nation!

The New Requirement

What the religious did notice was “…they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 NKJV). There you have it! If there is a “requirement” to minister to others, this new requirement is to “be with Jesus.” The cross of Christ made you worthy, the resurrection made you alive, and the Holy Spirit made you powerful. So, let every member be with Jesus and be a minister, and all do our part “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NKJV).

Keys to Boosting Your Immune System

I sat down with Dr. Jean-Guy Daigneault, Director of Gilead Healing Center, who has been specializing in clinical nutrition, chiropractic, and overall wellness in the Lansing community for nearly two decades. He shared some practical tips that you can do on this journey to better health!

Pastor Kevin: Everyone wants to be healthy, but we know sometimes if feels like all we can do is try not to get something bad, but you and I both know there are some things we can do to position our body to heal itself, just the way God made it. If I cut myself, what does the body do? It heals, because God made it that way. So what are some things we can do to position our body to be healthy, boost the immune system, and heal itself?

Dr. Jean-Guy: That’s a great question! God wants us to be healthy—that’s number one! Our vertical relationship with Him is first. And following the pandemic, many people have had more questions. There are things we know people can do across the board that will help their bodies get the proper raw material to help them function. These are things that optimize—not a treatment or cure for anything—but optimize function. And we can implement what we know about the human body that can benefit us as it relates to the immune system.

Here are some practical ways you can boost your immune system on your way to better health!
  1. Vitamin D: We naturally receive the benefits of Vitamin D from the sun, but Lansing is the second most overcast city in the nation. Over ninety-percent of people across the country are low in Vitamin D, so it is vital that we supplement with a good, inexpensive supplement. You can have your level checked with a simple lab test. Vitamin D also functions like a hormone in our body, so it is important to a lot of different biochemical pathways in your body in order for your body to function as it should.
  2. Zinc: important to take daily to enhance your body’s ability to function better as it relates to your immune system.
  3. Vitamin C: You may think of orange juice, but let’s understand that there are optimal sources of Vitamin C that don’t have as much sugar. If you are taking in a lot of sugar, you will reduce the good effects of Vitamin C in your body.
  4. Reduce Sugar: The more you can reduce the amount of sugar intake—anything that contains sugar or breaks down into sugar—then you will enhance the response and ability for Vitamin C to do what it was designed to do. Our cells have receptors that have an affinity for Vitamin C, but those same cells also have an affinity for sugar. Sugars will hook to those cells at the expense of the Vitamin C.
  5. Fish Oil: This contains Omega-3 fatty acids which we need and don’t readily get enough of in our standard diet. These are good for cognition, eyes, heart, immune system, musculoskeletal system… pretty much everything! Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc, can be traced back to inflammation. Reducing inflammation with quality supplements including fish oil means you are likely to function better. You may think cod liver oil does not sound appealing, but there are various products that can deliver the benefits with a better taste; some have Vitamin A added for even more benefit during the winter months.
  6. Probiotics: Often, your gut—your gastrointestinal tract—is not functioning properly. You may frequently deal with bloating, indigestion, heartburn, or similar issues, and this is often due to imbalance between the good bacteria and bad bacteria in your gut. Because 80% of our immune system is in the gut, if your gastrointestinal tract isn’t working properly then there is trouble. Also, 80% of your “feel-good” neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, are made in your gut. If your gut is not functioning optimally, your body can’t adequately produce these, and there can be links to such things as depression. There is such a vital connection between your gastrointestinal tract and the brain. To learn more, there’s a book that explains this well: The Second Brain, by Dr. Michael D. Gershon, MD.
  7. Multi-vitamins/Minerals: Organic, made from whole foods. Our diets are lacking and need this key supplementation.

Pastor Kevin: There are many ways that Gilead Healing Center is here for our Mount Hope family and entire community, from chiropractic care to nutrition, healing prayer, counseling, and general medicine. Doctor, would you pray a prayer of covering, for divine health over all who are reading this today?

A prayer from Dr. Jean-Guy:

Father God, we come before you with humility on behalf of everyone who is reading this. I pray for every one of you to know that God wants you to be healthy. I pray for wisdom and discernment to take care of your body and have the desire to do that. God’s Word tells us that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit so I pray for you at this moment, starting today, you will have the desire to take care of yourself, to be better, to do God’s work. We know we can’t do that unless we have our health. So I pray you will have the ability, desire—not only for yourself but for others around you—to have that wisdom and discernment to help your body, your household, and the people you love and care about. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Teaching Your Kids To Hear the Holy Spirit

Learning to hear God’s voice can be our greatest asset. It’s an important tool to have in life and it’s something in which we get to teach, guide, and help our kids grow. 

How we communicate this to our kids changes when we recognize that God is eagerly sitting on the edge of His seat waiting for our kids to call on His name so He can show up in incredible and powerful ways.

Prayer isn’t a one-way call; it’s two-way communication between willing listeners and speakers. How are we teaching our kids to be still and listen for the voice of God? It can seem like a challenge in itself, as kids are constantly having things pull on their attention, but it’s a worthwhile endeavor when we see that their future life with God starts now.

God wants to speak to us. He wants to speak to our kids just as much.

Here are 5 practical tips that can help you lead your kids in hearing God’s voice more regularly.

1. Model it. 

Kids need to see you praying and telling them what God is speaking to you. Whether that’s in your personal devotional time, or simply praying out loud when you’d normally keep it inside, talk to them about how you have been listening to the voice of God. 

2. Give Opportunities. 

Kids need to be given permission and real practical opportunities to hear God’s voice. How did this look for you when you were first listening for the voice of God? Was it someone praying with you and giving you permission to sit and be still, or was it someone who encouraged you in how God wants to be in every situation we face? 

3. Celebrate. 

Celebrate what you want repeated. When your child says something that they believe has come from God, celebrate it—even if they’re talking about how God told them they’d win their soccer game on Monday—celebrate it! Always celebrate the attempt and guide where you can. 

4. Make it normal. 

In everyday life, we have the opportunity to invite our kids to listen to God’s voice, to hear from Heaven. When kids are in the car, put some worship music on and tell them to ask God something. Your kids are arguing? Tell them to ask God what He thinks about their siblings. 

5. Be specific. 

The more specific the prayers, the more specific the answers. This gives our kids the opportunity to recognize the faithfulness of God as they continue to grow their relationship with Him. 

God is speaking to us all the time. Ultimately, we just need to take the time to listen to His voice.

As leaders, parents, grandparents, and guardians, our job is to help them and lead them in the way they should grow. Tuning into the Father’s heart is a muscle that grows with exercise and practice. God has equipped you to do this, to join with your kids on the exciting adventure of faith! Keep going… you were made for this!

Speak To The Mountain

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Mark 11:22-24

When Jesus said, “whoever says to this mountain…,” He was teaching us something crucial. If you change what you say, you can change your life. What do you say to the “mountains” in your life? It might be time to change what you are saying. There have been times when I have blown it and said all the wrong things, but eventually I would come back to the truth of what God has spoken.

Here are a few of my favorite things to say over my life, taken right from the Word of God:

  • I keep on asking and will be given what I’m asking for.  (Matt. 7:7)
  • God is making me great as a result of His blessings.
    (Is. 51:2)
  • The Sovereign Lord has given me words of wisdom so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning, He awakens me and opens my understanding to His will.
    (Is. 50:4)
  • I can hear the still small voice of my Father coming from behind me telling me clearly what to do.
    (Is. 30:21; Ps. 25:4)
  • My life is marked with God’s smile and blessings! Thank you! (Ps. 67:7 MSG)
  • I speak about things I have seen and perceived while keeping company with my Father. (Jn. 8:38)
  • When the Lord issues His “marching orders” for my life,
    I march. (Num. 9:17-23)
  • Before something happens, God confides in me and lets me know what I need to do.  (1 Sam. 15:2; 9:15 MSG)
  • I have a God-listening heart, hearing clearly the voice of my Father. (1 Kings 3:9) 
  • You have opened my ears so I can listen to your voice! Thanks, Lord! (Ps. 40:6b MSG)
  • The Lord is with me, so I succeed in everything I’m given to do! (Gen. 39:2)
  • I am blessed with wonderful harvests and plenty!
    (Is. 30:23)
  • The Lord Himself is my wonderful teacher and He gives me great wisdom. Thank you! (Is. 28:29)
  • The Lord both determines and directs my steps.
    (Pr. 16:9)
  • You have granted me unusual wisdom even as you did Zechariah. (1 Chron. 26:14)
  • You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. (Ps. 16:5-6)
  • I fear you and obey your commands and I will be wealthy. My barns are overflowing with increase. Thank you!
    (Ps. 112:3; Pr. 3:10)

Have fun making your own list of declarations from the Word of God over your life and family!

Grace & Peace

Dear friend, I found this prayer that the Apostle Peter prayed for believers who were facing difficult times, and I’m praying this prayer for you! 

“May God give you more and more grace and peace.” – 1 Peter 1:2b

In a world that was becoming increasingly hostile toward Christians, Peter knew that believers would need grace and peace. They would soon feel the hatred and rejection of an unbelieving world. Their faith was about to be tested in a way that they had never experienced before. Yet, at the same time, they were jumping for joy because of Jesus. They had an inward joy that could not be touched by this world. 

I know this last year has been a difficult season for many. Yet, because of Jesus, we have every reason to jump for joy. The days before the return of Christ will be filled with both difficult times and times of massive spiritual awakening! On Sundays, we are going through Peter’s letter to believers. He tells us how to live with inward joy while in a world that becomes increasingly hostile to Christians. His counsel for you might not be what you want to hear, but it’s what you need to hear. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he will give you counsel that will refresh, inspire, and sustain you!

“More and more grace and peace…” I speak these words over you as a declaration of God’s favor over your life! I’m telling you, more and more of God’s grace and peace is chasing after you! Say it out loud, “Right now, God is giving me more grace and peace!” Worry has tried to chase you down. Fear has tried to take hold of you. But, Beloved, even right now, God’s grace and peace are settling down over you like a blanket. I hear the Lord whispering to your heart: 

My Dearly Loved Child, 

From before you were born, I’ve had my eye on you. I have always loved you. There has not been one day of your life that I have not had my eye on you. Yes, even in the times when you thought you were forgotten, rejected, I have had my eye on you. Yes, I have guided and guarded you all the days of your life. 

I know the path I’ve called you to is not easy. I knew there would be moments of great joy and moments of heartache. I know all about the moments of celebration with friends, and I know the bitter sting of rejection. There will be moments of trials and troubles that you must endure. Here is what you must know, I AM with you! As I was with Moses, I AM with you. As I was with Gideon, I AM with you. I am not with you any less than I was with them, and that is all you need; I AM all you need! 

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.”
– 1 Peter 1:6

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
– Romans 5:3-4

Endurance means to stay under; to have staying power; to remain under what feels uncomfortable. It’s your staying power in trouble today that develops you for the trouble and victory in tomorrow. 

I sense a stirring from the Holy Spirit. I’m praying that as the world comes out of the season marked by COVID, we enter a season of spiritual awakening like we have never seen before. Renee and I love you, thank God for you, and are keeping you covered in prayer!

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