This special episode is a bonfire conversation with Hope’s founders and longtime staff, recorded for our 30th anniversary.

Thirty years ago, 14 people from a young marrieds Sunday school class sat in a living room wondering what this thing called Hope Community would be. They had no building and no money, and by their own account they did “so many dumb things” that God protected them through. Their stories keep circling back to the same two things: God providing what they didn’t have, and a church that became a family.

“God is starting new stories every day in the people that are walking through. And He’s not done.”

For more resources from Hope Community Church, or to learn more about us, visit our website at https://hopecc.com

The Last Supper is one of the most memorable and iconic paintings ever painted, and it depicts the last time Jesus would eat a meal before his crucifixion. This week, we take a deeper dive into that night, and aim to make this familiar event shock us once again.

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

Download Message Slides

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:07) - Hope’s Church-Planting Story
• (09:49) - Approaching the Last Supper
• (19:43) - Passover Traditions and Timing
• (21:23) - Jesus Sets Events in Motion
• (23:53) - The Betrayer at the Table
• (26:48) - Jesus, the Bread of Life
• (33:25) - The Cup of the New Covenant
• (38:40) - Remembering Christ Through Communion

In this passage from Mark 14, a woman walks into a dinner party and breaks open a jar of (very!) expensive perfume pouring all of it on Jesus. Some respond with indignation stating, “Why this waste?!” In response, Jesus alludes to another broken jar, his own body, which will soon be broken and poured out. How will you and I respond to such “waste”?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown

Download Message Slides

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:09) - Super Suit To Cross
• (02:45) - Why This Waste?
• (06:28) - Mark’s Gospel Setup
• (09:48) - Passover And Unleavened Bread
• (16:02) - The Broken Jar
• (19:23) - Aroma Or Stench
• (23:52) - Not A Waste
• (26:00) - Broken For Burial
• (30:41) - Leave Her Alone
• (33:17) - Accusations And Grace
• (37:54) - The Cross Defends
• (39:14) - Questions For Reflection
• (42:40) - Broken For Us

Today’s passage from Mark 13 is one of the strangest, most anxiety-riddled chapters in all the
Gospels. Many Christians may seek peace through decoding present realities. But is that how Jesus directs us?
If not, how do we find peace amid the chaos swirling about us?

Series: The Gospel of Mark
Speaker: Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown

Download Message Slides

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:04) - Welcome and Gospel Purpose
• (02:13) - Back to Mark’s Gospel
• (05:10) - Jesus Revealed and Rejected
• (08:08) - The Temple Will Fall
• (12:55) - When the World Quakes
• (14:28) - Decoding the Abomination
• (25:06) - Steady Amid the Shaking
• (30:57) - The Spirit Will Help
• (33:07) - Words That Never Pass
• (35:15) - The Temple Comes Down
• (39:28) - The Son of Man Comes
• (41:47) - Peace in a Quaking World

We’ve been looking at the difficult topic of Jesus First: Engaging Christ, Engaging the world. This week, we will look at a familiar passage (the parable of the good Samaritan) as a spring board to get super practical about how all of this affects our lives.

Series: Jesus First: Engaging Christ, Engaging the World
Speaker: Steve Treichler
Hope Community Church - Downtown

Download Message Slides

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:02) - Water Bottles and Series Intro
• (01:44) - Why This Series Matters
• (05:05) - Good Samaritan Context
• (11:46) - The Lawyer’s Test
• (14:59) - The Robbery Story
• (17:33) - The Merciful Samaritan
• (20:31) - Losing to Find Life
• (23:24) - Discipleship and Perspectives
• (27:21) - Gospel, Idolatry, and Politics
• (31:19) - Relational Fractures
• (35:55) - Small Groups and Disagreement
• (39:23) - Kingdom Values in Action
• (40:42) - Communion and Closing Prayer

Party loyalty says pick a side. Cancel culture says burn the bridge. But before either of those had a claim on us, the love of Christ already did. Truly, he is the only one strong enough to hold together unity amidst diversity and disagreement within the church.

Series: Jesus First: Engaging Christ, Engaging the World
Speaker: Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:07) - First Things First
• (02:15) - Jesus Above Politics
• (06:11) - Christlikeness in Conflict
• (08:57) - A Safe Church
• (12:59) - The Ministry of Reconciliation
• (15:50) - Love Compels Unity
• (21:37) - Guard the Foundations
• (28:06) - Make Room for Difference
• (33:13) - Beyond the Political Binary
• (38:11) - Reconciliation in Community
• (45:51) - Growing Neighbor-Love

In this, our second message in the Jesus First series, we look to Christ so that we might look more like Christ. This means we cast off the binary approach to politics and the ideological approach of negative partisanship. Instead, the love of Christ compels us to move toward the brokenness of our world with both compassion and conviction.

Series: Jesus First
Speaker: Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:03) - Jesus First in Culture

We launched our new series, Jesus First, exploring how we engage a hurting and divided culture, not by starting with “what should Christians think about X?” but by starting with Christ himself. From 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, we were reminded that of first importance is our shared belief that Christ died, was buried, and rose again. Before we can engage the pressing issues facing our city, we must not start with an issue, but with Jesus.

Series: Jesus First
Speaker: Cor Chmieleski
Hope Community Church - Downtown Minneapolis

Download Message Slides

For more resources or to learn more about Hope Downtown, visit hopecc.com/downtown.

• (00:03) - Downtown Parking and Kickoff Details
• (02:35) - Why We See Patterns
• (08:22) - Jesus First in Culture
• (13:39) - The Gospel Above All
• (27:48) - Keep First Things First
• (30:42) - Jesus, Savior and Lord
• (32:02) - Christ Reigns Now
• (34:16) - Hope's Mission in Downtown
• (38:18) - Misreading the Church
• (38:58) - Start with Jesus
• (41:01) - Jesus Plus Nothing
• (43:34) - Loyal to Jesus Alone
• (46:59) - Jesus Shapes Engagement
• (48:42) - Return to First Things