Hope North Lakes Sermons

Follow Jesus in Culture

Hope Community Church — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:32:48 -0500

Jesus says our cultural engagement should always start with loving like him: “Be formed to love like me by remaining connected to me” and that should lead to unity. But our world and even our churches don’t always feel united. How can looking to Jesus first reshape our intuitions by reshaping what forms us?

Series: Jesus First: Engaging Christ, Engaging the World
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/north-lakes.

(00:08) - Welcome and Purpose in Culture
(01:41) - Suffering and Future Glory
(05:58) - The Spirit’s Help in Weakness
(07:19) - God’s Purpose in Us
(09:13) - Formed Like Jesus
(12:16) - Abiding in the Vine
(16:17) - Love as the Command
(18:21) - Christ Formed in You
(22:01) - Intuition Shapes Our Views
(27:57) - Open Hands, Not Ultimates
(30:48) - Freedom in Gray Areas
(33:09) - Fleshly Patterns Exposed
(35:07) - Jesus First, Others First
(39:41) - The Cross Shapes Us

Look Like Jesus

Hope Community Church — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Before we can assess ourselves honestly or engage anyone well, we have to look to Jesus first. We're saved by grace, not by works, not even our good ones. We don't earn status with God, rather we live out a relationship with him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only from there can we begin to look like Christ toward the people we encounter, especially the ones we disagree with.

Series: Jesus First: Engaging Christ, Engaging the World
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/north-lakes.

(00:07) - Pickle and Polarization
(03:41) - Kingdom Over Binaries
(14:27) - Living Water Offered
(17:48) - Truth Reveals Shame
(23:18) - Jesus Cuts Through
(28:27) - Fully Known, Fully Loved
(31:38) - Personal, Not Performative
(35:38) - Cross Completes Mercy

Look to Jesus

Hope Community Church — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500

To look to Jesus without looking to the whole Jesus is to get him wrong. In this first message of the Jesus First series, we look to Christ as Savior and Lord. We see how his authority, his truth, his compassion, and his example all meet at the cross. He is the one who perfectly lives out the gospel; we don't. He is on the throne; we're not. And when we see him for who he is, it changes the way we engage the world around us.

Series: Jesus First
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/north-lakes.

(00:15) - Welcome Dylan
(02:25) - Our Church Origin Story
(06:05) - The Gospel of First Importance
(13:21) - God’s Grand Story
(18:43) - Fractured by False Stories
(22:58) - Four Ways to Look to Jesus
(34:38) - The Cross Reveals Jesus
(36:05) - The Coming Restoration
(37:07) - Invited Into His Story

Kiss The Waves

Hope Community Church — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0500

It can be so easy to buy into the notion that if we just do enough research, plan our lives well, and practice enough discipline we will avoid trouble. But trouble finds us in a broken world, and where we place our trust when the waves of life come crashing over us reveals what we actually worship.

Series: Jesus First
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes.

(00:10) - Baptism and Birthdays
(01:37) - Jesus First Series
(04:20) - Trouble Comes Anyway
(07:08) - Reading Psalm 91
(09:59) - Understanding Biblical Trouble
(15:14) - Jesus Faces the Test
(19:45) - New Life Says No
(22:43) - Deliverance From and Through
(27:18) - Trouble Is Promised
(33:14) - Jesus Takes Our Trouble
(36:22) - Response and Communion

A Community that Worships Together

Hope Community Church — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500

What does it mean to worship together? The Bible says that God made us, wants to make us his own, and that God is good. Jesus comes as the good shepherd to lay down his life for the sheep, give us new hearts, and bring us home to God. Only when we understand this will we be a community that worships together by finding our joy in God and responding to God with thanks and praise.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:08) - Worship, Community, and Joy
(01:39) - School Year Blessing
(02:49) - Worshiping Together Today
(04:53) - God Our Maker
(09:21) - Made His Own
(13:10) - Good and Faithful Shepherd
(17:53) - Lost Sheep Rejoice

A Community That Is Sent Together

Hope Community Church — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500

News stories abound in the modern world declaring that we are experiencing a crisis of meaning, without hope for a better future, and feeling disconnected from others. Many people are feeling demoralized and desperate. This emerges when we try to conquer life apart from God. Our only hope is that God will tell a better story, give us power beyond the walls of this world, and bless us with a salvation that we do not have to create.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Blessing for the Nations
(04:22) - Psalm 67 Prayer
(06:17) - Babel and Blessing
(12:21) - Israel’s Calling
(15:05) - The Coming Servant
(18:31) - Living in the Snow Globe
(25:26) - Better Story in Jesus
(26:51) - Witnesses to the Ends
(28:50) - Early Church Community
(32:47) - Sent to Share
(38:12) - Desperate People, Hope
(42:12) - Hope Beyond Despair

A Community that Magnifies God Together

Hope Community Church — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500

King David magnifies God in Psalm 34 by writing from the memory of his most humiliating moment: pretending to be insane to escape an enemy king. We find that Psalm 34 is the antidote to our pride and reminds us that God isn't near to the impressive and self-made, but to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. And when we encounter his nearness in Jesus, it changes everything about us and the community we're called to build together.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Gratitude and Welcome
(02:00) - Psalm 34 and Statues
(06:57) - David’s Humiliating Escape
(10:00) - Magnifying the Lord
(14:04) - Taste God’s Goodness
(16:45) - Teach Peace and Fear
(17:44) - Near the Brokenhearted
(20:04) - Pride and Self-Glory
(23:38) - Community Over Accomplishment
(29:26) - Jesus in Psalm 34
(33:39) - Humbled to be Exalted
(36:10) - Living Stones, Not Statues
(37:29) - Trust Jesus and Pray

A Community That Suffers Together

Hope Community Church — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500

The church should be the safest place in the world to be honest, and yet it's often where we're most tempted to wear a mask. Psalm 32 shows us why only the gospel breaks that open: when God has already declared you righteous in Christ, you no longer need to perform righteousness. This creates a community that can be fully honest about sin and struggle together, because nobody here is earning anything.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:08) - Gospel of Blessed Suffering
(01:23) - Welcome to the Weary
(04:06) - Blessed Without Hiding
(09:28) - From Law to Curse
(13:02) - Confession Brings Relief
(17:09) - Hiding Place in God
(21:04) - Jesus Fulfills Psalm 32
(26:22) - Christ Bears the Curse
(30:28) - Okay in Jesus Together
(36:39) - Jesus Alone Was Blameless
(38:16) - Receive His Righteousness

A Community That Belongs Together

Hope Community Church — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500

We live in a world that tells us life is found in carving out more for ourselves because we are the center of the universe. Psalm 16 confronts that directly. The Psalmist has found something better: a life defined not by what he's doing, but by who he belongs to. We belong first to God, and because we belong to God, we belong to his people. This is not something we earn, but something we receive, and that changes how we think about everything.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:08) - Refuge and Community
(02:05) - Launching Community Groups
(05:31) - Confidence in God
(16:58) - Contentment Turns to Praise
(18:31) - The Path of Life
(22:38) - No Other Gods
(29:40) - Psalm 16 Fulfilled
(36:29) - Jesus Walks the Path

The Rule of the King

Hope Community Church — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Psalm 2 is one of the most quoted Psalms in the New Testament. But, on first glance it looks like it is simply a coronation Psalm for the next king of Isreal. Join us, as we take a deep dive into how this Psalm is so much more, and very applicable to us today!!

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Steve Treichler
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Lighting Issues and Introductions
(01:20) - Psalms 1 and 2
(04:03) - Understanding Psalm 2
(05:52) - Royal Coronation Background
(10:47) - The King’s Decree
(14:58) - From David to Messiah
(21:52) - Jesus and the Coming Kingdom
(26:07) - Resurrection Coronation
(28:55) - A Different Kind of Rule
(30:56) - The Kingdom Spreads
(37:51) - Four Kingdom Implications
(40:56) - Response and Communion

Be Righteous, Dude!

Hope Community Church — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Is the Old Testament Law a good or bad thing for the believer in Jesus Christ? This week we go straight into this difficult question by taking a deep dive into Psalm 1.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Steve Treichler
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:11) - Introducing Righteousness
(03:30) - Poetry of the Psalms
(07:52) - Reading Psalm One
(18:21) - Righteousness Exposed
(24:36) - Christ Our Righteousness
(31:46) - Identity and Action
(36:49) - Communion Response

Roots, Risks, and Reverence

Hope Community Church — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 09:00:00 -0500

We are told that the solutions in the modern world — for those moments when we most need help — are to look to self, look to technology, or some combination of the two. But the real answer is an ancient one: look to your Creator, to the one who made you, to the one who bought you and redeemed you. This changes us personally and as a church by making us dependent people who put down roots, take godly risks, and show reverence to God.

Series: Psalms
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Help From the Creator
(02:48) - Psalms of Ascent
(04:06) - God Never Sleeps
(08:20) - Not Self, But God
(11:48) - The Good Shepherd
(15:14) - Church Depends on God
(23:53) - Roots, Risks, Reverence
(29:43) - Trusting God's Provision
(33:18) - Awake Through the Night
(37:42) - Done Saving Yourself?

The King We Needed

Hope Community Church — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0500

The iconic commercials "Be Like Mike' told us that if we just drank Gatorade, we too could do the things Michael Jordan does. What about when it comes to following Jesus? Jesus gives us two examples in Mark 12 – a warning of who not to be like, and a poor widow who is honored because she looks like Jesus. The secret to understanding how to look like Jesus is found in who we understand him to be. Is he merely an example or is he a Savior? Is he a king who comes to conquer our earthly enemies or to accomplish something greater?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:04) - Welcome and Loss
(02:06) - Hope in Grief
(04:44) - Summer Plans Ahead
(05:37) - Be Like Mike?
(06:54) - Psalm 110 Revealed
(12:17) - The Messiah’s Identity
(17:42) - Scribes and Widow
(23:25) - More Than Example
(29:58) - Christ the Sacrifice
(32:58) - Victory Over Death
(35:56) - Grace and Response

Made for Love

Hope Community Church — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Jesus summarizes the whole of human existence: we are defined by loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. These commandments are both a mirror and a window. As a mirror, they reflect our shortcomings — our sin and our inability to love like this. As a window, they reveal the only person who actually loves this way, and how his love for us is our only hope.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

He'll Never Give Up On You

Hope Community Church — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0500

As his opponents continue hunting for a way to trap Jesus in his words, he meets their challenges on their own terms — and opens a window into who God actually is. God owns everything, including the power over death itself. To understand the resurrection of Jesus is to discover that God wants more for your life than even you do.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Preaching and God's Word
(02:35) - Life Beyond More
(03:24) - Caesar's Coin, God's Image
(12:43) - The Resurrection Question
(20:21) - God of the Living
(22:13) - Idols of More
(26:28) - Grace Gives New Life
(29:19) - Knowing God’s Power
(30:52) - Generosity and Belonging
(33:52) - Resurrection Hope
(39:04) - Surrender to Jesus

5 Responses to Jesus

Hope Community Church — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 11:45:06 -0500

The escalating conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders is leading toward a final outcome: his rejection. Two confrontations create an opportunity for Jesus to tell a story that both indicts and appeals to his hearers. How will they respond? What can their response to Jesus indicate for us today?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

Bear Fruit

Hope Community Church — Sun, 31 May 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Jesus curses a fig tree to teach the disciples a lesson about faith in God and how we can't fake it. This story of a tree points to a bigger story - the story of the Bible - which can be told in three threes: The tree in the garden, the tree that formed the cross of Christ, and the tree in the new heavens and new earth that brings healing. What can we learn from a story about a tree?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:18) - Community Groups Launch
(06:01) - Mark’s Fig Tree Lesson
(08:02) - Three Trees of Scripture
(10:21) - Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
(12:00) - Temple Without Fruit
(14:43) - The Curse of the Law
(16:21) - Cross of Redemption
(17:40) - Jesus Becomes the Temple
(18:52) - Abiding in the Vine
(20:54) - Tree of Life Promise

We Never Graduate From the Gospel

Hope Community Church — Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Don’t we all want to be unshakeable? To have certainty and resolve in the midst of anything life throws our way? As we survey two scenes in Mark that demonstrate contrasting ways of thinking, we realize that one of those ways of thinking will actually make us unshakeable – not by changing our circumstances, but by changing us.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:08) - Mark and Unshakable Faith
(02:25) - Bartimaeus Cries for Mercy
(08:34) - Jesus Enters as King
(14:25) - The Promise of David
(22:58) - Mercy Over Glory
(25:34) - Following Through Suffering
(27:35) - Never Graduate from the Gospel
(31:16) - Faith Through Trials
(35:25) - Hearing His Voice
(37:33) - Seeing Christ Clearly

So You Want Your Life to Matter?

Hope Community Church — Sun, 17 May 2026 09:00:00 -0500

So you want your life to matter? What if the key to knowing that we matter comes not from manufacturing significance, but receiving it? Jesus doesn't just teach the ethics of the kingdom — he lives and dies them. And when he transfers us into the kingdom of God, we discover a significance so secure that we're freed to serve others regardless of what we get in return.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

Jesus Looked At Us And Loved Us

Hope Community Church — Sun, 10 May 2026 09:00:00 -0500

In life, there are things we have to do, and then there are things we love to do. Between those two is a world of difference. Is Christianity just a list of things to do? Is Jesus merely after our behavior, or is he after something deeper?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Welcome and Mother's Day Acknowledgment
(12:46) - Celebrating Discipleship and the Rich Young Ruler
(16:12) - The Challenge of Wealth and Salvation
(28:27) - The Heart's Affection and Its Transformation
(34:52) - The Rich Young Ruler's Tragic Choice
(37:06) - God's Love and Our Response

God Abandons No One

Hope Community Church — Sun, 03 May 2026 09:00:00 -0500

When his opponents try to trap Jesus in a high-stakes theological debate about divorce, he reframes both the question and the answer around God. The transformative news that God abandons no one is exactly what saves us from treating relationships — including our relationship with God — as consumers who simply trade up when something better comes along.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

Extreme Discipleship

Hope Community Church — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Jesus uses the misguided actions of the disciples to dial up his teaching on discipleship and what it means to belong to him. He is the one who sets the terms on who is in and who is out - and what that looks like. Jesus demands nothing less than an exclusive allegiance and ultimate obedience. Amazingly, he expects that we will gladly give things up for the sake of belonging to him and by doing so, we will find life.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:07) - Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
(03:13) - Misguided Discipleship
(05:03) - The Cost of Following Jesus
(14:31) - Warnings Against Leading Others Astray
(20:08) - Embracing Discipleship Challenges
(29:19) - The Pursuit of True Allegiance
(33:46) - The Nature of Salvation
(35:02) - Responding to the Gospel
(36:44) - Prayer and Reflection on Belonging

True Greatness is Upside-Down

Hope Community Church — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

At a time of arguing among the disciples, Jesus points to a child to redefine greatness. Only when we recognize our need and dependence do we begin to see how upside-down true greatness really is. Only when we understand how God receives us will we ever show kindness to those who can offer nothing in return.When we experience the freedom of grace, we become servants—people who no longer step on others, but serve them in life-giving ways.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(02:35) - The Joy of Gathering Together
(12:14) - Misguided Views of Greatness
(14:04) - Jesus Redefines Greatness
(25:31) - True Greatness in Christ
(31:50) - The Upside-Down Gospel
(35:29) - Living Out True Greatness

Help, Thanks, Wow

Hope Community Church — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

We live in a world focused on technique and optimization, but we aren’t immune to times of pain and failure when life feels out of control. In Mark 9, a father’s prayer in a moment of complete helplessness reveals the shape of true prayer and the nature of faith. Where do we look when life is out of control? The answer to that question has the power to sink us or transform us.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:06) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(13:33) - The Power of Belief
(28:08) - Dependence Over Technique
(34:31) - Help, Thanks, Wow

What Does The Resurrection Mean?

Hope Community Church — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

The Transfiguration in Mark 9 is Jesus pulling back the curtain on his own glory, but he uses resurrection language that confuses the disciples. What does Jesus rising from the dead mean? What does it mean for you? Jesus rising from the dead means that goodbyes aren't forever, and our vindication comes not from within us, but from outside of us.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:07) - Welcome to Easter at Hope North Lakes
(03:38) - The Transfiguration and Its Glory
(19:58) - Jesus Defeats Death
(22:26) - The Resurrection's Meaning for Us
(28:30) - Our Vindication Through Christ
(32:36) - Celebrating New Life Through Baptism

All of Me?

Hope Community Church — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0500

God loves and desires every part of us, not just the best parts. The gospel declares that it is the worst in us that draws God closer, and he longs to transform our ugliness to resemble his beauty. God wants all of us. Discipleship is a union with Christ that demands all of you, defines you most of all, and transforms you all the way.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:04) - Opening Reflections
(14:23) - Losing to Gain
(26:09) - The Pursuit of Union
(31:33) - Turning In Our Running Shoes
(33:34) - A Call to Commitment

Let There Be Sight!

Hope Community Church — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0500

A simple argument about bread turns into a spiritual eye exam. By connecting the healing of a blind man with Peter’s confession, Mark reveals that true sight is a gift of grace—formed not by human reasoning, but by seeing Jesus rightly in his death for sinners.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

The Danger of Demanding of Jesus

Hope Community Church — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Why in the world did the very people who should have recognized Jesus so ardently reject him? Take a look at this week’s passage to see how an attitude of demandingness can lead you straight away from God.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Steve Treichler
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:04) - Introduction and Personal Updates
(01:25) - Health Challenges and Community Support
(02:17) - The Gospel of Mark Series
(03:07) - Jesus and the Pharisees
(03:59) - A Woman's Faith
(08:41) - The Faith of a Gentile Woman
(09:26) - Contrast Between Outsiders and Pharisees
(09:50) - Jesus Feeds the 4,000
(11:54) - The Disciples’ Cluelessness
(13:43) - Pharisees Demand a Sign
(15:49) - The Danger of a Demanding Spirit
(27:52) - The Response of Job
(29:38) - How to Avoid a Demanding Spirit
(33:17) - Invitation to Reflect and Respond

Anyone Can Get In On This

Hope Community Church — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0600

In a world that values inclusion, the words of Jesus in Mark 7, spoken to a desperate mom, come off as harsh and even offensive to us. However, if we push past our initial response and do the work of digging in to understand what's happening, this passage unlocks a beautiful truth about the gospel that transcends our greatest hopes for what inclusion might look like. We see that anyone can get in on this, but not in the way we might expect.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:06) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(13:18) - A Mother's Faith and Persistence
(17:02) - Healing the Deaf and Mute
(25:00) - God's Plan for All Nations
(38:37) - The Humility of Christ and Us
(42:49) - Responding to the Gospel

Losing Our Religion

Hope Community Church — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0600

When Jesus is asked why his disciples don’t follow the rules, he responds by calling an entire group of people hypocrites. This charged encounter ends with Jesus declaring that what makes someone unclean before God comes from within—from the heart. Yet remarkably, it is our hearts, not our rule-keeping ability, that God is after. We learn that it is an appeal to God’s mercy, not our own spiritual résumé, that leads to life.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(29:00) - The Need for Heart Change
(30:07) - The Parable of Two Prayers
(40:05) - Embracing Gospel Humility
(40:45) - No Condemnation in Christ

Jesus in the Boat

Hope Community Church — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0600

This week's passage uses a phrase that seems to sum up modern life: making headway painfully. We're told and sold the idea that we are only one piece of advice or one product away from stepping into our fullest selves. What if our bigger problem is that our hardened hearts have failed to understand who God is and what he's come to do? Only when God's chosen Savior in our boat will our hearts soften and our lives be opened up to grace.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(31:41) - Making Headway Painfully
(41:36) - The Power of God's Glory and Nearness
(43:12) - Jesus Meets Our Greatest Need

All This And Christ Too?

Hope Community Church — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0600

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” The prophet Isaiah asks this piercing question, and if our restless, unsatisfied hearts are any indication, it’s one we’re still asking today. Sociologists describe the paradox of choice and the hedonic treadmill as reasons satisfaction never seems to last, no matter how great the purchase or how lofty the achievement. So where can lasting satisfaction actually be found?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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(00:04) - Introduction to Today's Message
(01:28) - Fruit Stripe Gum and Life's Dissatisfaction
(02:20) - The Miracle of Feeding the 5,000
(04:19) - Old Testament Connections and Shepherd Themes
(09:40) - Discipleship and Learning from Jesus
(11:58) - The Miracle's Significance
(15:00) - The True Bread of Life
(17:43) - Understanding Our Dissatisfaction
(27:13) - The Idolatry of Satisfaction
(29:54) - Jesus as the Ultimate Satisfaction
(34:44) - Invitation to Lasting Satisfaction in Christ
(35:58) - Transition to Communion Time

When Life Feels Like Defeat

Hope Community Church — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0600

Where can we turn when hope feels lost? The Bible tells story after story of moments when defeat seemed inevitable—until God worked in unexpected ways to bring about redemption and victory. Following Jesus will often feel like losing, but in Christ we learn that it is always worth it.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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Local Boy Makes Good

Hope Community Church — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0600

When Jesus returns to his hometown to minister, he’s not greeted with a red carpet—he’s met with resistance. Rather than being honored, he’s rejected. The people who have known him the longest fail to truly see who he is. By reducing Jesus to a caricature of himself, they miss entirely the life-giving relationship he’s inviting them into.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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(00:06) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(03:01) - The Savior We See
(04:23) - Turning Our Eyes to Jesus
(06:03) - Invitation Sunday
(09:16) - Understanding Our Hometown Stories
(11:05) - The Authority of the Gospel
(20:01) - Unbelief in His Hometown
(24:34) - Caricatures of Jesus
(33:18) - Surrendering to Transformation
(39:24) - The Cross Subverts Our Expectations
(42:43) - The Invitation to Relationship

Jesus Heals Two Daughters

Hope Community Church — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0600

Mark’s account of these two daughters gives us a timeless picture of the hardest realities of human life. In these twin stories, we stare disease and death in the face, and we feel the weight of true desperation. And yet, like a diamond hidden in rough stone, what emerges is something of immense value: weak, imperfect faith resting in a powerful Savior.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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(00:03) - Introduction and Welcome
(16:12) - Celebrating Steph's New Role
(28:49) - Jesus' Power Over Death
(36:32) - Faith Over Fear and New Life

Power & Compassion

Hope Community Church — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0600

Jesus crosses the sea for one person—one broken, bound, hopeless man—and what follows is a breathtaking display of both divine power and divine compassion. And in that display, our self-righteousness is undone: about our own need, and about how generous or compassionate we imagine ourselves to be.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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(00:04) - Welcome and Announcements
(12:33) - Transition to the Suffering Man
(20:15) - The Power of Jesus Over Evil
(22:06) - Understanding the Pigs
(24:08) - The Fear of the People
(32:47) - The Compassion of Christ
(36:41) - Jesus' Ultimate Sacrifice
(42:03) - The Power and Compassion of God
(43:38) - Invitation to Relationship with Jesus

2026 Vision

Hope Community Church — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0600

What is the grand story we are part of? What role does Hope North Lakes play in that story? How are we going to help more people start a relationship with Jesus in 2026? How are we going to help more people strengthen their relationship with Jesus in 2026? What will utter dependence look like? Jesus is not a reluctant Savior but one who rejoices over sinners coming home to God and we can trust in him to act.

Series: Vision 2026
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Welcome and Vision for 2026
(27:41) - Kids' Ministry and Community
(30:09) - Invitation Sunday and Outreach Plans
(33:35) - Small Groups and Discipleship
(39:26) - Trusting God for the Future

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

Hope Community Church — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0600

What if we stopped looking to the mirror for transformation and instead looked to God—would our lives be any different? Is that why Jesus says, “You must be born again,” before promising the gift of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit comes to dwell within us as both God and gift, making us alive to God’s love and power to change us from the inside out.

Series: Christmas 2025
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(18:44) - The Gift of the Holy Spirit
(40:10) - Understanding God's Love Through the Spirit
(42:28) - The Ultimate Inside Joke of the Gospel

To Us A Son Is Given

Hope Community Church — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0600

Isaiah declares that a people walking in darkness will see a great light. When the light comes it is the Son of God who comes to us not on our terms but on his terms. He comes as an infant and dies as a man, willingly giving his life to end our estrangement from God. Will we receive him as a gift given to us?

Series: Christmas Series 2025
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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(00:05) - Christmas: Giver Given Gifts
(03:23) - Light in the Darkness
(07:09) - The Virgin Birth
(07:29) - Jesus Enters the Scene
(13:07) - The Incarnation Explained
(18:21) - God's Plan of Love
(18:40) - Reconciliation Through Christ
(22:10) - The Unique Message of Christmas
(23:44) - Understanding the Nuns and Duns
(26:16) - God Comes Toward You
(30:47) - Receiving the Gift of Christ
(35:00) - The Gospel Unveiled

The Father’s Generous and Gift Giving Heart

Hope Community Church — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0600

The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is filled with God’s story of his continual giving to his creation, culminating in the best gift ever, Jesus Christ.

Series: Christmas 2025
Speaker: Steve Treichler
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:15) - Introduction to the Christmas Message
(02:34) - The Perfect Gift
(03:55) - The Father's Generous Heart
(05:33) - The Bible's Redemption Story
(13:00) - The Darkness of Humanity
(14:01) - God's Promise to Abraham
(20:02) - Deliverance from Slavery
(23:34) - The Law and the People
(26:01) - The Unexpected Messiah
(31:15) - The Gift of Righteousness
(32:57) - The Encounter with Nicodemus
(36:33) - The Essence of the Gospel
(39:15) - The Glory of the Giver

Shelter from the Storm

Hope Community Church — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0600

We all look for comfort and answers in the midst of the storms of life. When the disciples turn to Jesus in a moment of crisis, they don’t know what to expect. Amazingly, seeing what Jesus does in the midst of their crisis causes them to have greater fear. What can fear teach us about storms and the Savior?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(26:13) - The Joy of Giving
(30:36) - Navigating Life's Storms
(33:47) - The Tether of Faith
(36:17) - Meeting Fear with Faith
(37:13) - The Love of God in the Storm

The Small Yes

Hope Community Church — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0600

We tend to like things big and expect greatness on demand, but Jesus’ stories of seeds remind us that God’s kingdom grows in hidden places and humble beginnings. Ultimately, it’s Jesus’ own faithful yes—His obedience all the way to the cross—that opens the way for God’s transforming grace to take root in us. And when we trust Him with even our small yes, we’re drawn into a growth and beauty that amazes us.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:09) - Welcome to Together Sunday
(23:33) - The Seed's Purpose in Our Lives
(25:59) - Saying Yes to God

Come to Light

Hope Community Church — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0600

When Michael Scott said, “I’m ready to get hurt again,” on The Office, he was actually tapping into the tension that we live with when it comes to opening ourselves up to love and be loved. We live in the space between openness and rejection, security and vulnerability, knowing that relationships always come with the possibility of pain. We long for a love where we can be fully seen, fully known, and fully loved without fear. This is where the Bible surprises us: when hidden things come into the light, we don’t find shame—we find grace beyond expectation and a love we can’t lose.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Christmas Season Kickoff
(02:16) - The Gospel of Mark
(23:41) - The Nature of Shame
(27:20) - The Junk Drawer of Our Souls
(32:03) - Jesus and Our Shame
(36:06) - The Light of Grace

Mystery and Clarity

Hope Community Church — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0600

In a time when AI can offer quick answers to our deepest questions, mystery can easily get pushed to the margins of our lives. If clarity is always at our fingertips, what place does God’s mystery have? And why does God sometimes veil his actions and words? In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus teaches that there is a secret to understanding God and his work—but it doesn’t come through simple resolution. Instead, it emerges in the tension between mystery and clarity and it can only be grasped by hearing with faith.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Welcome to Hope Community Church
(33:06) - Embracing Mystery in Our Lives
(36:16) - The Secret of Faith
(39:49) - Clarity in Confusion

When You're Here, You're Family

Hope Community Church — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0600

Some parts of the Bible can leave us scratching our heads. In this passage, Jesus speaks a word of grace that slices through confusion and reveals something astonishing—God is doing something new, offering a freedom and security deeper than we’ve dared to hope.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:07) - Opening Prayer
(16:19) - The Nature of Blasphemy
(28:01) - The Church as God's Family
(32:59) - Building a Community of Faith

God's Kickball Team

Hope Community Church — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0600

We often hear, “You hold the pen—write your own story.” But chasing that ideal can leave us burdened and searching for meaning. What if there’s a greater story already being written—one that invites us in, not because of our worthiness or impressiveness, but because true love has found us?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

How to Save a Life

Hope Community Church — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0500

We love stories with clear-cut villains—where it’s easy to point fingers and identify the good guys and the bad guys. But the storyline of the Bible compels us to see things differently. In an account about religious leaders and a man in need of healing, we uncover a deeper spiritual problem than we ever imagined: our own hearts are hard toward God. What can melt a hard heart?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:05) - Introduction to the Week's Sermon
(01:43) - Emotions that Melt Our Hearts
(01:46) - The Gospel of Mark Unpacked
(06:08) - Hardness of Heart Explained
(07:28) - Jesus’ Righteous Anger
(08:56) - The Pharisees’ Plot to Destroy
(14:09) - Authority Clash in the Gospel
(15:09) - Crowds Following Jesus
(16:01) - The Dangers of Chronological Snobbery
(18:26) - Reading the Bible’s Grand Story
(21:43) - The Heart Problem
(28:41) - Faith and Authority in Action
(31:05) - Jesus’ Mercy and Our Trust
(33:19) - The Rich Mercy of God
(35:40) - Closing Prayer and Reflection

The Gospel is Not Lawn Care

Hope Community Church — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Like someone obsessed with their lawn, we’re constantly looking outward—measuring our lives, our status, and our efforts against others. In this search for a sense of rightness, we often end up unloving, insecure, and exhausted. Rather than producing love, our striving for justification breeds comparison and contempt. What we need is a love, rest, and freedom that doesn’t come from us but to us—a grace that resets our hearts and shifts our gaze from outward striving to upward dependence.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:06) - Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
(14:30) - The Scandal of Jesus' Ministry
(32:32) - The Gospel is Not Lawn Care
(33:58) - The Challenge of Love and Justification
(38:03) - A Culture of Love and Acceptance

Forgiveness is Not A DIY Project

Hope Community Church — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Mark 2 paints a portrait of a man going from lifelong paralysis to joyful walking down the street. And this happens in an instant! How was he made well? By the words of Jesus. But it's what Jesus does first that confronts us with the true nature of grace. Grace won’t operate on our terms, or come from within us. Before the man is healed, he is forgiven by Jesus. This teaches us that our help comes from outside of us and that a transcendently greater reality–God’s kingdom–is breaking into our world. What might it look like for grace to get us on our feet?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

(00:03) - Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
(25:10) - The Need for Outside Help
(30:39) - Understanding Forgiveness
(37:29) - Life-Changing Grace
(40:31) - Closing and Communion

Who Do You Belong To?

Hope Community Church — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0500

So often, we feel isolated and like we are in a desolate place because we’ve bought the lie that “belonging to ourselves” is where life is to be found. And we’re burning out because of it. It takes this story of a leper, unwilling isolation, and a surprise encounter with Jesus in a desolate place to take the weight of the world off of our shoulders, restore us, and bring us out of isolation into the freedom of belonging to God.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

Authority We Can Trust

Hope Community Church — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0500

For good and bad reasons, trust in authority is waning. And yet, we feel a need to look somewhere for hope and leadership. We need an authority figure who is powerfully and relentlessly committed to making all things new. We need an authority figure who is personally invested in our lives. We need authority we can trust. Where can this person be found?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

Not Defined by Our Performance

Hope Community Church — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0500

What if every day didn’t have to feel like a performance review? What if we could find relief from keeping score or from wondering if we'll ever be enough? Jesus announces that the time is at hand to believe the good news, and this good news has the power to finally set us free from being defined by what we do. No more being defined by our performance!

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

The Smile of God

Hope Community Church — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Why does Jesus get baptized? And what does it mean that He came to “fulfill all righteousness”? In Mark 1, these surprising moments reveal the heart of the gospel — a Savior who stands in our place and sets us free from living for approval. In Jesus, we receive a new lease on life under the smile of God. And this comes not by pretending we have it all together, but by being honest about our shortcomings and turning to Him for approval and grace.

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

New Beginnings

Hope Community Church — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

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For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes

Jesus Rocks!

Hope Community Church — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0500

As we zoom out the biblical story, we see that Exodus 17 is not about a random rock in the wilderness, but about Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, the bread of life, and the Rock that was struck with the blow of justice so we rebels could find ourselves swept up in a story that leads to eternal and overflowing gratitude to God.

Series: Cloud of Witnesses
Speaker: Paul Stiver
Hope Community Church - North Lakes

For more resources or to learn more about Hope North Lakes, visit hopecc.com/northlakes