Hopeless and Happy – Matthew 5:3
February 25, 2024
Hello Kingdom Family,
Welcome to our Jesus-centered community. We are glad you are listening to today’s message.
Our purpose statement is “We are People Helping People Experience a Jesus-centered Life.”
This eight-week series examines the most famous ever given, The Sermon on the Mount, by none other than Jesus himself. Jesus’s audience was the outcasts of his day, and they were the first to engage this incredible message and design for living. We will unpack the nine Beatitudes presented by Jesus. It’s a series you don’t want to miss. Today we unpack Matthew 5:3, and look at the first Beatitude, and what it means to be “poor in spirit.”
Questions to ponder:
1. What does it mean to be “poor in spirit?”
2. How would describe the “good life.”
3. What does it mean to be hopeless?
4. How is it possible to be hopeless and happy?
Below is the link to the Bible Project podcast referenced in the message. We highly suggest you support the Bible Project and all their work. https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/the-bible-project-podcast/
Here is the link to the reel I referenced during the message: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/tzWU1xkj24nZxfG2/?mibextid=N9fs7i
If you have been blessed by this message, please share it with others.
Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and like us on Facebook.
If you would like to support Hill-Tran Ministries, please go to www.hilltran.org/online-giving/. You will have a drop-down menu to choose which campus you wish to support, HUMC or TUMC; then, you can select which fund and how much you want to give. We would greatly appreciate a gift of any amount. PayPal is the provider of our electronic giving, so it’s safe and secure.
Peace,
Hill-Tran Ministries
- Harold Long
- BEatitudes
- Matthew 5:1-12
- Matthew 5:3
- Ashrey
- Baruk
- Beatitudes
- Emmet Fox
- Hopeless
- Hopelessness
- LBGTQ+
- Love
- Markarious
- Poor in Spirit
- Powerlessness
- Sermon on the Mount
- Spaghetti
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
- Wesley UMC Festus Missouri
Reconciling The Holidays – 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
November 26, 2023
- Harold Long
- Reconciling The Holidays
- 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
- Amends
- Charles Dickens
- Christ
- Church
- Faith Community
- Hellen Keller
- Home
- Jesus-Centered
- Jesus-Centered Faith
- Jesus-centered life
- Jesus-Centered Living
- Jesus-looking God
- Love
- Love and Service
- Ministry of Reconciliation
- Parable: The Abbot and The Hermit
- Peter Scholtes
- Reconciliation
- Reconciling The Holidays
- They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love
- Transforming Love of Christ
- Work Place
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Today’s message focuses on 2 Corinthians 5:11-22, where Paul shares the transformative love of Christ with the people of Corinth. Paul is in defensive mode due to false teachers, accusers, haters, and wicked people attempting to taint the gospel message and the character of Paul.
A Jesus-looking God
December 25, 2022
- Harold Long
- Christmas
- Hebrews 1:1-4
- Advent
- Darkness
- Die to Self
- Hope
- Jesus is the Light
- Jesus-Centered
- Jesus-Centered Faith
- Jesus-centered life
- Jesus-looking God
- Joy
- Joy to the World
- Light
- Light of the World
- light vs dark
- Love
- Morgan Freeman
- New Year 2023
- New Year's Day
- New Year's Resolutions
- Peace
- Personal Inventory
- Surrender
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
On Christmas day of 2022, we lean on the lectionary and the Hebrews 1:1-4 Scripture, teaching us that Jesus is God’s entire manifestation and essence. As Christians, we worship and follow a Jesus-looking God. Thank you for joining us for today’s message.
It Just Ain’t So
November 6, 2022
- Harold Long
- Dear Friend
- Luke 20:27-38
- All Saints Day
- Amends
- Charles Wesley
- COVID-19
- Dear Friend
- Delusion
- Excluded
- Four Big Pillars
- Halloween
- It Just Ain't So
- Jesus-Centered
- Jesus-Centered Faith
- Jesus-centered life
- John Wesley
- Love
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Reconciliation
- Sandy Beach
- Suffering
- Wounded
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Today we unpack Luke 20:27-38 from the CEB. We look at “All Saints Day,” the subject of resurrection from a Jewish and Christian perspective, and lastly, address a famous Mark Twain quote through the late great Sandy Beach, author of “Dear Friend: Meditation and Journal for your Spiritual Journey.”
Do You See Yourself The Way God Sees You?
June 12, 2022
- Harold Long
- Romans: I'm Not Ashamed of the Gospel
- 1 Corinthians 7:23
- Isaiah 54:10
- Romans 5:1-11
- Romans 8:1
- Titus 3:7
- God's Love For Christians
- Impaired Vision
- Love
- New Pair of Glasses
- Twisted Perception
- Uncondtional Love
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Welcome to today’s message, “Do You See Yourself The Way God Sees You?” Today we continue our message series titled “Romans: I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel.” Our scripture today is Romans 5:1-11, and we unpack the meaning of “God’s view of you when you give your life to Jesus and exercise your faith and repentance.”
The Greatest Thing In The World – Experience The Enduring Power of Love – 1 Corinthians 13
May 15, 2022
- Angel Williams
- Harold Long
- Special Services
- John 13:34
- John 15:13
- Matthew 22:34-40
- 1 Corinthians 13
- All For Family
- Angel Williams
- Foster Children
- Foster Parents
- Fostering Children
- Henry Drummond
- Love
- Loving Children
- The Greatest Thing In The World
- Hillsboro UMC
Welcome to this week’s message, “The Greatest Thing In The World – Enduring Power of Love,” centered on 1 Corinthians 13. Our message today is influenced by Henry Drummond, the author of the masterpiece “The Greatest Thing In The World – Enduring Power of Love,” which is the same as the title of today’s message. Today’s message has two speakers, Angel Williams and Pastor Harold Long, sharing the subject of love, which is the foundation for living a Jesus-centered life. With “All For Family,” Angel Williams kicks off the message by sharing her testimony and how “All For Family” got started. Next, after the scripture reading of 1 Corinthians 13 by Deb Padgett, Pastor Harold Long helps us unpack 1 Corinthians 13 and shares the testimony of his daughters, which is a powerful demonstration of love in action.
There’s Room For Everyone On The Nice List
December 12, 2021
- Harold Long
- Christmas At The Movies
- 1 John 3:16
- 1 Samuel 16:7
- Ephesians 6:1-4
- John 15:9-10
- John 3:16
- Philippians 4:6-9
- Romans 12:6-8
- Adoption
- Christmas Cheer
- Christmas Spirit
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Healing
- Love
- Nice List
- Pain
- Reconciliation
- Suffering
- The Delusion of Inequality
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
Welcome to our Advent Message Series, “Christmas At The Movies.” Our message centers on the Christmas classic “Elf.” We hope you enjoy this message series, especially after coming off another year of COVID-19 and the political divide. It’s time to learn from Jesus and have fun doing it. Today, our message is titled “There’s Room For Everyone On The Nice List,” delivered by Pastor Harold Long. Please join us as we learn about the Spirit of Christmas from Buddy the Elf and the Word of God.
Time is of the Essence, and the Essence is Jesus
August 22, 2021
- Harold Long
- Summer In The Psalms
- Psalm 90
- Death
- Dying
- Faith
- God's Wrath
- Hope
- Love
- Time
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
We are continuing in our message series, “Summer In The Psalms.” Today we will unpack Psalm 90 and tackle the hard questions centered around time management, dying, God’s wrath, and how to live a Jesus-centered life with the borrowed time we are allotted here on earth.
Faith, Hope, and Love
May 2, 2021
Welcome to today’s message titled “Faith, Hope, and Love.” Our guest speaker for this message is Tom Johnson. Tom unpacks 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 and helps us understand and practice the attributes of faith, hope, and love in our everyday lives.
Ignorance is Bliss: Wake Up America
April 18, 2021
- Harold Long
- The Gospel of the Kingdom
- 1 Samuel 8
- Acts 3:12-19
- Galatians 3:26-29
- Anti-Christian
- Atlantic Slave Trade
- Augustine of Hippo
- Christendom
- Crusades
- First Century Christianity
- Holy Wars
- Indian Removal Act
- Jesus
- John Wesley
- Just War
- Just War Theory
- Kingdom Living
- Love
- Peace
- Saint Augustine
- Slavery
- Social Justice
- Social Principles
- Social Reform
- Systemic Racism
- The Gospel of the Kingdom
- UM 1972 Social Principle RE: War
- Violence
- War
- World System
- Hillsboro UMC
- Transformation UMC
How does a Jesus-looking God contrast against the Christianity of American and the world abroad? How is it throughout history that so many people committed evil acts and atrocities in the name of Jesus and as professed Christians? Please join us as we learn how to accept our past and, in turn, share the true nature of Jesus Christ and what kingdom living looks like in the 21st century.