Hope Downtown Minneapolis Sermons

The birth of a child is a time for excitement, whether you are the parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, or friend. Under no circumstance should a parent ever name their child “No Glory.” But that’s exactly what Ichabod means. Why would his mother choose such a name? And how could this possibly be connected to the birth of another son, who himself was destined for (no) glory?

Cloud of Witnesses
Cor Chmieleski
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Buried within the Old Testament is the story of a woman who drove a tent peg through the temple of an army commander. What kind of religious text is this? How could one scrape together morality from such a biblical passage? What if it’s not about religion nor morality but instead about preaching the gospel more than 1,000 years prior to the death of Christ?

Cloud of Witnesses
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtow...

When Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, Peter does what we all do: he scrambles to preserve the moment & stay on top. But the voice from the cloud doesn’t invite Peter to build something; it calls him to listen. In a world chasing curated wellness and manufactured peace, the Transfiguration confronts our illusion of control and reveals a Savior who walks down the mountain into our darkness to bring us into lasting light.

Cl...

An Old Testament figure named Naaman appeared to have it all––riches, power, favor. But he encountered a problem he couldn’t fix. And through his story we see how God often operates in unexpected or (from a worldly perspective) upside-down ways. Would Naaman (and will we) trust in the solution God offers?

Cloud of Witnesses
Drew Heindel
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

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An Old Testament figure named Hagar identifies God as the One who sees her. As part of our cloud of witnesses, she encourages us to believe that God sees all the details of our lives including those parts we’re ashamed of. More than that, as Tim Keller said, God loves us “all the way to the bottom” seeing all of our unlovable parts yet declaring “I love you anyway.”

Cloud of Witnesses
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church ...

It starts with two brothers and two offerings. One is accepted, the other isn’t, and what unfolds exposes something hidden in all of us—a quiet comparison, a craving to be enough, a soul that won’t settle. You can’t outwork that restlessness, but you can let better blood speak.

Cloud of Witnesses
Davis Johnson
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

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Our current cultural moment lends itself to highly narrated identities. What is a highly narrated identity? It’s a self-conception that is shaped, curated, and reinforced through continuous personal storytelling. Essentially, you’re the author. Scripture confronts this thinking and invites to embrace a new author and new identity, one beyond your ability to manufacture.

Cloud of Witnesses
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Chu...

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently overturns people’s expectations and reshapes their understanding of who God is and what He is doing. He flips the script by working in unexpected places, changing lives, and transforming the world through a group of the most unlikely people. In the most surprising act of all, he dies and rises again—so that now through the good news of the gospel, he can rewrite any story.

Cloud of Witness...

This passage is filled with perils, promises, and planks. The bible often uses narrative to communicate spiritual realities. In this story, a ship is destroyed and those unable to swim cling to wood planks eventually arriving safely ashore. Isn’t that our spiritual story—awash in sin and death until a wooden plank in the form of a cross surfaces and saves us?

Acts: The Story Continues
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church ...

In faith, and in life, we keep score. I’m winning. Ope, I’m losing. Nope, I’m back to winning. Oh, I think I just lost. The great relief we find in the bible is that Jesus has played the game and won. Dear friend, relax…do away with the many scorecards of life…and trust afresh in the good news of Jesus.

Acts: The Story Continues
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

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Some words stretch over time -- literally, awesome, curated, decadent. The word Christian may fall into that category too, loaded with assumptions, baggage, and cultural shorthand. But in Acts 11, we see its very first use in history not to describe the squeaky clean or hyper-religious, but those rescued by Jesus, relieved by grace, and racing to the bottom with love. Being a Christian isn’t about climbing higher, but living in lig...

In the longest narrative in the book of Acts, we see a twist to the story of Scripture that for us, seems like no big deal, but for the early church was earth shattering. The Gentiles are to be included in the church WITHOUT having to convert to Judaism. And, there are plenty of applications for us today as well.

Acts: The Story Continues
Steve Treichler
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

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Early in Scripture, our ancestors were told not to eat from one tree—but they did. Since then, nothing has been as it should be. We keep seeking life and fulfillment in ways we weren’t made for. Is there hope? Yes—through another tree. The cross, a tree of death, has become for us the tree of life. How can we be sure? The resurrection of Jesus is our proof.

Easter 2025
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minnea...

In your sphere of influence, who is the person who comes to your mind as “the very last person who would ever become a follower of Jesus?” If you were to ask the early church that, they would have said, “Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church.” And yet, in God’s ironic economy, Saul not only is converted to following Jesus, he becomes the most influential person ever as a spokesperson for Jesus. Hear how Jesus’ work in Saul’s...

What kind of power really changes a person? In Acts 8, we meet two forces most of us know well: the pressure to follow the rules and the drive to prove ourselves through performance. One scatters the church through fear. The other tries to buy the Spirit like a promotion. But what if real transformation comes not through control or success, but through weakness? Acts 8 isn’t just a story of power, but a quiet confrontation of how t...

In the production of Hamilton, Aaron Burr reflected that he is the villain in American history due to his killing of Alexander. It could be argued that Burr is not the only villain in the story. Similarly, in this biblical passage, Stephen recounts many villains within the biblical story. Who are they and why does it matter?

Acts: The Story Continues
Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

Downloa...