Living Hope Church
19 July 2026
      • Bible Trivia
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      • Psalm 66NIV2011

      • Galatians 5:1NIV2011

  • Praise
  • Forever
  • In the Name of Jesus
  • Your Name
  • Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
  • Moving Forward
  • I Have Decided To Follow Jesus
  • Majesty
  • Majesty

  • The Gospel begins with God

    We continue our series on Relational Christianity.
    Last week, we talked about how God is Relational.
    Today, we are looking at the Gospel, and how it is relational.
    Our understanding of God, the Gospel, and the Church must shift if we are going take hold of the purpose God has for our lives.
    Last week we started by talking about God, because everything begins with Him
    Everything we understand in all of life begins with, and is defined, by God
    When God created everything in Genesis 2, He had Adam (Hebrew for “Man”, or “ground”), name all that He made.
    That is because names create relationship!
    Illustration: If you don’t know me, you may call me “Sir”, or “Hey You”, but those who know me, call me “DJ”, or “Pastor DJ”, or “Brother DJ”. All of these names are relational. One deals with the name my mother gave me. Pastor is my role as a shepherd of this church family, and Brother is my favorite as it points to our common relationship in Jesus Christ.
    The Bible gives us relational names for God too.
    ***Let’s read together***
    Exodus 3:13–15 NKJV
    13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
    —So, God used the ever-present tense “I AM” as His name.
    In Genesis 22, He is the Jehovah Jireh - The Lord will Provide
    In Exodus 17, He is Jehovah Nissi - The Lord is my Banner
    In Judges 6, He is Jehovah Shalom - The Lord is Peace
    Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
    6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
    These are relational connections we have to the King of Kings!
    He also gave things names.
    When you name things, you define them.
    Isaiah 5:20 NKJV
    20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
    Have you ever heard “Sin” or “Rebellion against God” called, “slipping up”, or “messing up”, or “to err is human”.
    Why?
    What about “Disobedience” listed as irreconcilable differences, or agree to disagree.
    Why?
    **Because when we change the names we use for our sin, we feel like the consequence of hell does not apply as much to us**
    This is for me too! WE all deserve hell
    Romans 3:23 NKJV
    23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
    Romans 6:23 NKJV
    23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    As I said last week, Sin Broke Relationship!
    I believe the world and even those who come to church on Sundays wonder why they can’t see a difference between those in the world and those in the church pew...
    Let me tell you why! - They believed a lie that says
    God is not Holy, Righteous, and Sovereign
    Sin is not such a bad thing - It is normal and you can’t help it anyway
    A loving God would not send people to hell
    Jesus was a great person, and only taught good things for a good life
    Be a good person, love God and People, give God credit for things, and you are all right.
    Brothers and Sisters!!!! We are NOT Alright!
    God IS Holy!!
    Sin broke our relationship with God
    Because of it, we are damned to hell as the consequence of our sin
    God loved us too much to leave us in this place - so He sent us Jesus
    Jesus was not just a great person, He is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the one who would come and take away the sin of the world.
    Jesus wants you to have a life of purpose and an inheritance in eternity
    Being a good person is NOT enough. We need a new name.

    We have a New Name

    For those of us who have confessed that Jesus is LORD and believed in life and death that God raised Him from the grave - We have a new name.
    The Gospel - the Good News - is we have a new name!
    We have a new name because we have a new identity.
    Our name was Cursed and Condemned.
    NOW OUR NAME IS CHRISTIAN!!! -
    It was originally used as way to put down those who followed Jesus. They called Jesus’ followers Christians which means “Little Christ”.
    Acts 11:26 NKJV
    26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
    Do you see the Good News of Jesus is that you don’t have to be cut off from God anymore?
    Is it possible that today, you sit here and still feel cut off from Him. You do all the things, but you question whether God exists, cares about you, loves you.
    But He does!
    John 3:17 NKJV
    17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
    says so we would be saved through Jesus!!!
    Saved FROM eternal separation from God - and Saved TO right relationship with GOD through Jesus.
    Have you heard one of the 10 Commandments from Exodus 20:7
    Exodus 20:7 NKJV
    7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
    I heard Brother McCaleb share something on this passage I will never forget. I will share it with you in my own words.
    When I married Adriana, her last name was Hernandez. When we got married, she became Adriana Kennealy. Now those of you who know her, know she has represented the Kennealy name very well.
    When we become Christians, we take on the name of Christ! We become His and the world sees us and know to whom we belong.
    How do you represent His name?
    Let’s talk about what His name does not mean:
    You are not perfect when you take His name - you are called Righteous because of Jesus alone, and what He did for you.
    You are not sinless - only Jesus was without Sin, but you have the power, through Christ, to break the habits of sin that held you in bondage.
    You are not ALWAYS going to be healthy - Paul said our bodies are wasting away, but our spirit is being renewed day by day.
    You are not necessarily going to be wealthy - Being a Christian means honoring God wherever you are, in whatever circumstance
    You are not exempt from Consequences - God may keep you from death, but allow you to have a hospital or prison ministry due to your choices. God allowed Jonah to be alive inside a big fish for 3 days as a consequence of his bad choices.
    **
    Do you see this relational Gospel? The Good news that says
    You were once a slave, but now you are free
    You were destined for separation and death, but now you are connected to life
    You were an orphan, alone, in bondage, and now you are a son and daughter of God
    **
    There is a world of people who are dying in their sin - who need to hear this news.

    Transactional Gospel

    When we treat the Gospel as transactional,
    We don’t care about family, we care about numbers
    We seek a prayer rather than a transformed life
    The Bible and Salvation become something for “Those sinners”
    But the transformational Gospel of Jesus is about restoring relationship with God.
    It must start with you and me.
    Let me share one more story with you:
    I imagine that Jesus did not have such a formal aspect to His teachings, sermons, parables, and lessons. He probably found a good spot to sit and teach in a very close and casual way.

    Good News Restored

    Luke 15:11–12 NKJV
    11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.
    This likely would have gotten gasps and quick attention, because asking for your inheritance was like asking for your dad to die.
    Understand that this son already had his dad’s name - and look what he did with it?
    He rebelled against His father the way you and I do when we choose our own way over His.
    Luke 15:13 NKJV
    13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
    It is likely in this parable that those listening would have simply known that journeying to a far country would have taken a lot of time.
    The ESV uses the phrase “Reckless living” instead of “prodigal living” The word prodigal means “spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant”
    His rebellion broke relationship with his father.
    Luke 15:14–16 NKJV
    14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
    This son spent all this time living his own way - until the money ran out, a famine came - and so did need.
    Jesus said to the pharisees that it is the sick who need a doctor: That is because the sick know they are in need and seek out the doctor.
    My concern for our community - for Abilene today, is that many do not realize they are in need and so they do not realize they need a savior.
    Also, to eat with pigs was one of the worst things for a Jew. I edited my sermon not to tell you what it would be like, because I don’t want to get in trouble. It was bad.
    Luke 15:17–19 NKJV
    17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
    He came to himself - to his senses. He considered His father’s house.
    I think this is important for those who have served the Lord but then left to chase their own desires. Pray they come to themselves and remember what it is to be in the presence of God.
    So, he left and told his Father.
    Luke 15:20–24 NKJV
    20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
    This is it! This is God’s heart for you.
    The Prodigal Son is not about the son, it about the heart of God for His people.
    I hope you experience the presence of God here in this place. He is here.
    He is speaking. If you let Him, He will allow the Gospel to be so much more than just a “get out of hell free” card
    This Gospel is something we receive and something we share - as we experience Him.
    You have a new name in Him - Experience Him in real life. Stop pretending, and be real with Him. He will meet you there, and lead you.
    In the same way that God created man, gave him a name and a purpose, He does the same with you and me. He gives us a new name - Christian, Son, Daughter, Brother, Sister, and a purpose to share this good news with everyone we meet.

      • Exodus 3:13–15CSB

      • Isaiah 9:6CSB

      • Isaiah 5:20CSB

      • Romans 3:23CSB

      • Romans 6:23CSB

      • Acts 11:26CSB

      • John 3:17CSB

      • Exodus 20:7CSB

      • Luke 15:11–12CSB

      • Luke 15:13CSB

      • Luke 15:14–16CSB

      • Luke 15:17–19CSB

      • Luke 15:20–24CSB

Living Hope Church
pastor@livinghopecogop.org
325-500-4763
http://livinghopecogop.org
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