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Not The Way It’s Supposed to Be
Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman

Not The Way It’s Supposed to Be

Kyle Kauffman

The Israelites returned from the Exile, that was caused by their sin, and yet still they were plagued by the problem of sin. The Exile could not remove their sin. It could simply remove sinners from the land for a little while. What were they supposed to do? The same problem remains for us today. We live in a world that is full of sin. We don’t have to look far to see it. We see it in the news, we see it in our neighborhoods, we see it in our homes, and we see it in ourselves. Sin seems to taint everything in this world. And when we come face-to-face with sin we are left wondering – is there hope? There is hope in the face of sin and it’s rooted in God. God sees sin, judges sin, and removes sin. That’s where our hope lies in the face of sin.

Zechariah 5:1-11

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All the Small Things
Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman

All the Small Things

Kyle Kauffman

It’s easy to believe that only those who do great things for God really make a difference in this world. It’s really easy to get discouraged when we are bogged down with all sorts of small things. It’s even easier to feel discouraged when it feels like all those small things are making absolutely no difference. We wonder if it’s worth it. We wonder if we should keep going. Zechariah 4 is a chapter that’s written to encourage us in the midst of all the small acts of ministry that we do here on earth. It’s written to show us that God will accomplish his purposes for the world through the ordinary acts of ordinary people like you and me.

Zechariah 4:1-14

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Hope for Fallen & Failing Followers of Jesus
Visions of Hope Joel Wood Visions of Hope Joel Wood

Hope for Fallen & Failing Followers of Jesus

Joel Wood

It’s all too easy for us to live discouraged in the present because we are haunted by the guilt and condemnation of our sinfulness. We are all too aware of all the ways that we have let God down and failed to obey him or of how we have wronged others. And Satan is all too happy to accuse us and play the record of wrongs over and over in our heads. We respond by beating ourselves up, trying to do better, and feeling discouraged when our best efforts don’t seem to be enough. We have a sneaking suspicion that God is forever disappointed by us at best and angry at us at worst. We desperately need a solution for the condemnation that we rightfully deserve and often live under.

Zechariah 3:1-10

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Opposition Ahead
Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman

Opposition Ahead

Kyle Kauffman

Have you ever noticed that when you set out to obey God it’s rarely easy? The people of Israel met all sorts of opposition in their efforts to build the temple. They started the task with enthusiasm, but soon found that it was both far more difficult and far less rewarding than they thought it would be. When we seek to obey God in some area, isn’t it often a similar story. Praying with our families is difficult. Personal Worship doesn’t seem to produce immediate results. The new ministry we started serving in was exciting at first, but now it seems every week presents a new challenge. The neighbors we are trying to reach want nothing to do with us. God does not promise that we will not face opposition in this life as we seek to obey him, but he does promise to overcome all opposition in the end, and in the meantime to let nothing face us that isn’t ordained by him.

Zechariah 1:18-2:13

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Our God Rules
Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman

Our God Rules

Kyle Kauffman

Has life ever not gone the way you expected or hoped? That’s probably a dumb question to ask, because the obvious answer for everyone is YES! Our lives inevitably look different than what we thought they would. And many times, our lives look different than what we hoped or wanted them to be. The dreams we have for our life collapse around us. The life we find ourselves living seems to be more of a grind then a joy. We find life be far more difficult and discouraging then what we thought it would be. If you’ve ever experienced this, then Zechariah is a book for you! Zechariah’s first vision and last vision is meant to instill hope in people in the face of the difficulties, challenges, and disappointments we face in this life by reminding us that our God rules over everything and everyone.

Zechariah 1:7-17; 6:1-8

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Hope in Odd Places
Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman Visions of Hope Kyle Kauffman

Hope in Odd Places

Kyle Kauffman

We long for second chances. We all know the feeling of having blown it… whether in the immediate past or distant past. How can we get back on track after our failures? Where do we find hope in the face of screwing up yet again? Can I really get another chance at life after I’ve really messed up? Zechariah is written to a people desperately in need of a restart and a second chance. And his initial charge to them is to repent and seek God’s favor. This is the soil that hope grows in when we are discouraged with our own failures. It’s also the soil that the Christian life grows and thrives from.

Zechariah 1:1-6

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Pause to Restore
Press Pause Brandon Fisher Press Pause Brandon Fisher

Pause to Restore

Brandon Fisher

The Sabbath specifically (and rest generally) can so easily become just another duty for us to do. But it was never meant to be this way. The Sabbath is a gift that God gives to us so that we might regularly be restored and renewed. We need to realize that resting will require boundaries, but those boundaries are about restoring health and life (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual). We need to be both carful of making rules where God has made none, and careful of disregarding what God says is good. Resting well will require asking good questions, putting into place good boundaries, and developing good practices and habits. But we also need to remember that none of these things can provide us with the rest we ultimately need. It’s only in Christ that we find true rest for our souls.

Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11; Matthew 11:25-30

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Pause to Relate
Press Pause Kyle Kauffman Press Pause Kyle Kauffman

Pause to Relate

Kyle Kauffman

There is a constant danger in our lives to prioritize things that don’t really matter and deprioritize things that do really matter. Or to prioritize things of less importance of things of greater importance. Part of the danger of being so busy and never (or rarely stopping to rest) is that we never get the chance to ask, “What really matters in this life?” At the top of our list should be relationships. Both our relationship with God and our relationships with other people are meant to be of greatest importance in our lives. This is why God’s greatest commandment is to love Him and love your neighbor. But these relationships get displaced by all sorts of other (often good) things. Pausing both helps us to remember how important relationships are and provides us with the time and space to enjoy the relationships we have.

Luke 10:38-42; Luke 14:16-24; Matthew 22:34-40

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Pause to Rejoice
Press Pause Kyle Kauffman Press Pause Kyle Kauffman

Pause to Rejoice

Kyle Kauffman

Rest is intricately connected to the gospel. God sets his people free from slavery so that they can rest. Jesus invites his people to come to him so that they can find rest. The future we are promised in Christ is a future of eternal rest. Our failure to rest well is in many ways a failure to believe the gospel. When we don’t believe the gospel we look to other false gods to save us. But these gods just end up enslaving us and robbing us of rest. But when we believe in the gospel we are free to rest today because God has finished the work to save us in Christ. And we are free to rest today because God’s promises to us are secured in Christ. We rest well when we believe the gospel and rejoice in all that God has done and promises to do for us.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Matthew 11:25-30; Luke 10:17-20; Hebrew 4:1-11

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Pause to Remember
Press Pause Kyle Kauffman Press Pause Kyle Kauffman

Pause to Remember

Kyle Kauffman

We have a tendency to view rest with either suspicion or as optional add-on to our lives. We think, “If I rest, won’t I miss out on something important in my life, or even worse, become lazy.” Or we think, “Rest is a good thing, but I just don’t have time to rest. Maybe if I get everything done, I’ll rest. Or maybe in another stag of life, I’ll be able to rest. But for now, there is no time to rest.” But from the start for the world, God gave people rest, commanded people to rest, and has connected rest with our faith in him. While the Sabbath looks different for us then it did for the Israelites, the principle remains the same. Rest is not bad, it is good. Rest is not optional, it is necessary. Rest provides the space for us to remember and worship the God who created and sustains everyone and everything. We are invited and commanded to pause and rest so that we might have time to wonder at God, the world he’s made, and the life he’s given to us.

Genesis 1:31-2:3; Exodus 20:8-11

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