Sunday Service: December 7, 2025 • Guest Preacher, Pastor Carlos Reyes at HOPE Church in Clarksville, MD ---

Sunday Service: November 30, 2025 • Pastor Jason Choi at HOPE Church in Clarksville, MD ---

Pastor Jason teaches that the Church is entering a crucial season requiring deep spiritual discernment—not simply distinguishing good from bad, but discerning what is good from what is truly God. Using 2 Timothy 3, he warns that many things may appear godly yet lack the power of God, and believers must grow sharp in recognizing the difference. He explains five key “S’s” of Christian identity—son, servant, sinner, saint, and soldier—and emphasizes that becoming a soldier of Christ strengthens discernment by freeing us from the distractions and comforts of “civilian” living and calling us to simple, obedient, mission-focused faith. Yet while we live as soldiers in our waking moments, we rest as sons and daughters who enjoy the Father’s unwavering love and smiling presence, especially in seasons of darkness. Just as a child needs a nightlight to see their parent’s loving face, Christians need places of spiritual encouragement—community, prayer, worship—to remind them of God’s delight in them. Ultimately, discernment grows through obedience, identity, and intimacy with the Father, whose faithfulness remains even when ours falters.

Sunday Service: November 16, 2025 • Pastor Q Kim at HOPE Church in Clarksville, MD ---

Pastor Q’s sermon, “Stephen, the First Martyr,” traces Stephen’s godly character, bold witness, and sacrificial death as the first Christian martyr. He highlights how Stephen, a Spirit-filled servant chosen in Acts 6, displayed extraordinary wisdom, grace, and power—so much so that opponents could not refute him and resorted to lies, stirring hostility that led to his arrest. In Acts 7 Stephen responds with a sweeping retelling of Israel’s history, exposing Israel’s pattern of resisting God and ultimately rejecting the Righteous One, Jesus. Enraged, the leaders stone him, yet Stephen sees Jesus standing at God’s right hand and dies with Christlike forgiveness on his lips. Though Stephen’s life seems cut short, God uses his martyrdom to scatter believers to Judea and Samaria, fulfilling Acts 1:8, and his death deeply impacts Saul, who will later become Paul. PQ concludes that Stephen’s “crown” reminds us that God redeems suffering, advances the unstoppable gospel through hardship, and calls the church to faithfulness, hope, and courageous witness even in difficult seasons.