HopeUC Nashville Word of the Week

Join us in this episode as Dustin shares a powerful and timely message on identity, obedience, community, and the strength of belonging.

Through the baptism and temptation of Jesus, Dustin unpacks how the enemy has used the same strategy from the beginning: questioning identity and trying to pull people into isolation. From Adam and Eve in the garden, to Israel in the wilderness, to Jesus being tempted in the desert, this message shows how the enemy attacks through appetite, trust, and worship—offering cheap satisfaction, control, shortcuts, and separation.

You'll hear why God speaks identity be...

Join us in this episode as Rick shares a powerful and practical message on kingdom culture, discipleship, and what it means to be formed as a follower of Jesus.

Through the book of Revelation, Rick unpacks the clash between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. From John's declaration of the One "who is, who was, and who is to come," to the contrast between the mark of the beast and the people marked by the Lamb, this message reminds us that Christianity is not just private belief—it is allegiance to a different ki...

Join us in this episode as the Mitchell family shares a heartfelt, practical conversation on Generational Legacy and what it means to pass faith, wisdom, healing, and testimony to those coming after us.

Around the table, they unpack Psalm 102:18 and the call to live in such a way that "a people not yet born will praise the Lord." Through personal stories and biblical examples like Moses and Joshua, and Mordecai and Esther, they explore how legacy is formed through proximity, spiritual mothers and fathers, intentional relationships, correction, blessing, and shared life.

You'll hear why legacy...

Join us in this episode as Elliot Rudell shares a fiery, vulnerable message on "Generations" and what it means to follow Jesus in a world God Himself is shaking.

Drawing from 1 Corinthians 10, Psalm 78, Hebrews 12, Luke 17, and especially Joel 2, Elliot walks through Israel's story as a roadmap for ours—how God's people can see real miracles and still crash in scandal when they ignore holiness and generational covering. He tells raw stories from the Jesus Movement—radical salvations, wild outpouring, and painful collapse when older saints walked away and young believers tried to build revival without fathers and moth...

Join us in this episode as Pastor Dustin Smith, Pastor Tom Trout, and Jordan Smith sit down together to talk about "Generations" and how God weaves old men's dreams and young people's visions into one burning flame.

Walking through Joel 2 / Acts 2 and the story of Elijah and Elisha, they explore how God is not just the God of your lifetime but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—a 500‑year God you're part of right now. You'll hear stories of revival, miracles, and God's faithfulness across decades, and how those memories aren't meant to stay as nostalgia but...

Join us in this episode as Pastor Dustin Smith unpacks "keys of the kingdom" and how they unlock God's rule and reign in our everyday lives. Walking through Peter's revelation of Jesus in Matthew 16, Pastor Dustin shows how seeing Jesus clearly always comes before carrying real authority—and how God entrusts keys to those who truly know the King.

You'll explore ten practical keys—revelation, faith, prayer, obedience, humility, honor, generosity, forgiveness, unity, and love—and how each one opens specific "rooms" of God's kingdom. Learn why faith is the currency of the kingdom, why most miracles sit on...

In this episode, Shane Willard takes us into the Jewish world of Jesus to show Him as a real first‑century rabbi—and what it means to actually live under His yoke today.

Shane explains how rare the title "rabbi" was, what a "yoke" is (a way of interpreting and living Scripture), and why Jesus was recognized as a rabbi "with authority" (s'mikah). With that authority, Jesus could offer His own yoke—easy and light—and overturn heavy, harmful interpretations that crushed people.

Instead of choosing the best students from rabbinic schools, Jesus goes to the lake...

In this episode, Pastor Dustin shares a passionate, practical message on faith as a "key to the kingdom" in a culture of comfort, convenience, and quitting when it gets hard.

Preaching from Hebrews 11–12, he reminds us that faith isn't just what we believe but what we *do*—a real, costly substance. It's impossible to please God without faith, yet many of us try to follow Jesus at "safe speed," clinging to comfort and control instead of obeying when He says "go."

Dustin uses the picture of the "bride of Christ"—the church—as something costly but wort...

In this episode, Pastor Rick shares a honest, practical message on endurance as a "key to the kingdom" in a world obsessed with ease, speed, and instant results.

Preaching from Hebrews 12, James 1, and Galatians 6, he unpacks the Greek word *hypomone*—to "stay under pressure without collapsing"—the same word used for Jesus enduring the cross. Life, Rick reminds us, is more like a marathon than a sprint, yet many of us try to live the Christian life at sprint-pace, running on highlight moments instead of stable, daily obedience and biblical depth.

Through his own story of b...

In this episode, Pastor Dustin shares a bold, practical message on the Beatitudes and what it truly means to be "blessed" in a world that celebrates strength, success, and self-sufficiency.

On a hillside under Roman rule, Jesus shocks His listeners by blessing the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. Brad shows how this upside-down list confronts our pursuit of "enough"—enough money, success, influence, and control—so we don't have to need anyone, including God.

Rooted in Matthew 5 (with insights from the para...

In this episode, Brad shares a practical, story-driven message on living aware of God's presence in everyday life—not just in church services or "spiritual highs," but in family chaos, travel, work, and uncertainty.

Through funny and honest stories about awkward Christmas gifts, a Lego monorail with his grandfather, and a trip to Uganda with young kids where everything seemed to go wrong, he shows that the real gift is never just the present itself—it's the *presence*: time with a Father who is with us, teaching, guiding, and working even when we feel like we've missed it.<...

In this episode, Autumn shares a deeply personal and powerfully hope-filled message on what it means to live as people of hope in the middle of real pain, loss, and delay.

Tracing her story from childhood trauma and teen pregnancy to suicidal depression, radical encounter with God's presence, and years of heartbreaking miscarriages and infant loss, she shows that biblical hope is not naïve optimism—it's a "confident expectation of good" rooted in the character of God. Along the way, she unpacks why hope is not optional for believers (it's one of the three things that "las...

In this episode, we welcome special guest J. John, who brings a clear and compelling message on what Christianity really is—not a vague label or a religious system, but a personal invitation from God Himself.

Using John 3 and the famous words "For God so loved the world…," J. John shows how the Christian faith can be summed up in three core gifts: forgiveness from the past, new life today, and a secure hope for the future. Through memorable stories—a father paying for his son's breakages, an artist buying back his damaged painting, and the "car of you...

In this episode, we explore how worship becomes the place where God quietly builds something in us that can hold when life falls apart. Through Kat Huskey's story of walking through infertility, the loss of her mom, and the sudden death of her husband Austin in a plane crash, we see communion with God not as a concept, but as a lifeline. The hidden, ordinary moments of choosing Jesus in worship turn out to be deposits of His character that we draw on in seasons we never saw coming.

We unpack how worship is more than songs—it...

In this episode, we explore what it means to live in the "power of all" in a culture that disciples us to do faith as individuals. Starting in Ecclesiastes 4, we look at God's original design for people to walk, fight, and stand together, then trace that design through the story of Azusa Street, the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, and the early church in Acts, where unity wasn't a buzzword but a supernatural force that shaped whole communities.

We unpack how agreement is a spiritual power—that your life moves in the direction of what you agree wi...

In this episode, we look at what it really means for God's people to be a "house of prayer" in a culture that treats prayer as a last resort. Starting in Mark 11 and Isaiah 56, we see Jesus cleanse the temple and declare, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations," then follow that thread into the New Testament where *we*—the gathered people of God—are now His living temple.

We unpack Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6, showing how the Lord's Prayer is not a magic script or religious routine, but a covenant-shaped pattern for...

In this episode, we unpack what it means to live as a promise‑carrying family in a world where every home has fractures, pressure, and pain. Starting from Psalm 68:6 and Deuteronomy 6, we look at how God places the lonely in families, calls us to pass on His ways "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road," and invites us to build houses shaped more by His promises than by our problems.

Using real stories and biblical examples, we explore the difference between being problem‑focused and promise‑focused. You'll hear how the twelve spies...

In this episode, we unpack what it means to live "function before title" in a culture obsessed with platforms, visibility, and influence. Starting from Luke 16:10, we look at Jesus' insistence that faithfulness in little things always comes before greater responsibility—and how, in the kingdom, God forms our character long before He hands us a microphone or a ministry.

Using real stories and biblical examples, we explore why God often asks us to "narrow our lives" so He can "widen our influence." You'll hear how David's hidden battles with the lion and the bear qualified him for Go...

In this episode, we explore what it means to stop seeing people as distractions to our "real calling" and recognize that people are the calling. Using Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, we look at how the priest and Levite weren't evil—they were busy, on their way to do ministry—and how easily we, too, can cross the road to avoid other people's pain in the name of serving God.

Drawing from Genesis, Cain's question "Am I my brother's keeper?", and Jesus' summary of the law—to love God with all our heart and love o...

In this episode, we explore what it means to stop "reading God phonetically"—seeing some things technically right but interpreting them wrong—and step into the way of the table. Using Peter's words in 1 Peter 4 about being "finished with sin," living in the last days, and practicing deep love and hospitality, we look at how the early church didn't grow through platforms but through tables, homes, and shared meals.

Drawing from Revelation 3:20, the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, and Paul's teaching on communion and the body in 1 Corinthians 11–12, this message unpacks the table as a place of belonging, reconc...

In this episode, we kick off our Culture series by asking a hard but necessary question: are we just putting on good services, or are we actually becoming a people formed by Kingdom culture? Drawing from Jesus' prayer in John 17, Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13 and Philippians 2, and the warning in Ephesians 4 about losing sensitivity to the Spirit, we unpack what culture really is—what we celebrate, what we tolerate, and what we correct, especially when no one is telling us what to do.

Through honest stories, practical examples, and strong biblical teaching, this message challenges performance-driven church mo...

In this episode, we explore what it means to become a true carrier of God's glory. Moving from being a passive audience to an active outpost of His presence everywhere we go. Tracing the story from Genesis to Acts, we look at how the Spirit of God has always brought order out of chaos, rested on God's people for purpose, and now lives in us to release peace, healing, and freedom into the world. Through honest teaching, Hebrew word pictures, and real-life stories of miracles in the middle of pain, this message confronts old religious systems that can't hold...

In this episode, we unpack God's original design for humanity to live as an outpost of heaven on earth, carrying His authority without seizing His throne. Through personal stories, biblical insight, and practical coaching, we look at how "mission drift" happens—when we start making "tacos in a Chick-fil-A" instead of staying true to God's blueprint—and how the Holy Spirit is our essential upgrade to live aligned with His Kingdom. This message invites you to examine where your life may have drifted, rediscover the unique gifts God has hidden within you, and intentionally partner with Him to bring heav...

In this episode, we explore the dynamic mission of believers as lights in the world, tasked with shining the kingdom's truth into darkness. Through inspiring accounts and heartfelt reflections, we learn how submission to God's mission and the power of personal testimony shape our spiritual journey and influence those around us. With stories of salvation and transformation, this message encourages us to actively participate in God's divine plan, moving beyond comfort zones and harnessing the power of ordinary faithfulness. Discover how being an outpost of hope can ignite change and bring light to those in need of truth.

In this episode, we explore the profound concept of the Kingdom of God as a divine monarchy rather than a democracy. Through insightful biblical analysis, we learn how Jesus's call to 'repent' invites us to shift our allegiance to this transformative Kingdom. We'll delve into powerful stories, such as the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas, illustrating how God's Kingdom transforms perceived failures into victories that inspire faith across generations. The message challenges us to transcend radical individualism, embrace our collective identity as the body of Christ, and understand our role as an offensive force for good in the world...

Join us in this episode as we explore how faith is formed in quiet obedience and strengthened through meaningful community. We reflect on how fear, isolation, and performance-based faith can distract us from what truly matters, and how living faithfully in the unseen moments prepares us to endure and grow. Discover why obedience over outcomes, connection over isolation, and hope over panic shape a life that lasts.

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In this episode, join us as we explore the profound truths of the kingdom of God with Pastor Dustin. Dive into the heart of what it means to live under the reign and rule of God, where the kingdom isn't merely a future escape plan, but a present reality impacting our daily lives. 

For more insights and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

Join us in this episode as we explore the profound message of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, delving into the divine seasons of life. Understand how perception and spiritual maturity can align us with God's cosmic timetable. Discover the importance of recognizing your current season to shape your actions and growth, preparing you for what's next.

For more resources and sermons, visit our website or download our app.

Join us as Pastor Dustin Smith unpacks the transformative power of joy and its role in our lives. Discover how joy, rooted in the arrival of Jesus, offers strength and defies despair. Learn how choosing joy is a bold step toward faith and trust, inviting us into a deeper connection with Jesus amid life's challenges.

For more stories and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

In this episode, Pastor Dustin Smith delves into how God often shows up in our lives during times of disruption and darkness. Discover how Advent reminds us that God's presence can bring hope and change in unexpected ways. Learn to recognize His arrival in your life and how to welcome His peace and joy every day.

For more stories and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

Join us in this inspiring episode as Amy Roldan shares a heartfelt journey from striving to resting in the identity of being a child of God. Discover the transformation that occurs when we embrace our inheritance as co-heirs with Christ, moving beyond the pressures of performance and into a confident rest in Him. Amy explores how recognizing our true identity empowers us to live boldly, love deeply, and walk in the fullness of God's purpose for our lives.

For more stories and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

In this episode, Rick White explores the transformative power of gratitude in the Christian life. Discover how thankfulness can reshape your mind, foster joy, and strengthen your connection with God's ever-present goodness. 

For more stories and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

In this episode, Pastor Dustin explores the profound power of gratitude and how it can transform our lives. He unpacks the concept that gratitude is not just an emotion but a spiritual alignment that shifts our perspective and draws us into God's presence. Learn how the lens through which we view our circumstances can dictate our reality and response. 

For more insights and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

Join us as we explore Pastor Dustin's compelling sermon on the urgent call to recognize and embrace God's active work in our lives today. Pastor Dustin challenges us to evaluate our priorities, rise above distractions, and understand the profound invitation to join a divine movement. Discover how stepping into this spiritual journey can reshape our understanding of success, identity, and destiny, opening us up to the transformative power of genuine community and purpose in God's kingdom.

For more resources and information, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

Join us in this episode as David Balestri unpacks the profound concept of being an "Adam to your Eden," exploring how we can invite the voice of God into our daily lives to transform our families, workplaces, and communities. Dave shares insights on hearing God's voice and using that divine guidance to speak destiny and life into our surroundings. Whether you're looking for practical advice on becoming a change agent in your world or seeking to deepen your relationship with God, this message will inspire you to listen, follow, and co-create with God. 

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In this episode, Pastor Tom explores the profound spiritual significance of Thanksgiving beyond simple politeness. Learn how genuine gratitude, nurtured through intentional worship and the Holy Spirit, can transform your perspective and combat negativity. Discover practical ways to embrace a gratitude-filled life, anchored in the unchanging truth of God's goodness. Pastor Tom offers insights on cultivating a thankful heart that reflects Jesus in our daily walk.

For more stories and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

In this episode, join us as we explore the essence of faith with Dustin Smith, delving into the unseen realm that guides our lives. Dustin takes us through Hebrews 11, unearthing powerful teachings and stories from the Bible. He provides insight on how living by faith, rather than by sight, invites us to transform our life circumstances by trusting in promises rather than possessions. 

For more insights and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

In this episode, Rick White delves into the biblical principle of stewardship, urging us to apply it to every area of our lives. Through scripture, he emphasizes our role as a nation of priests, called to carry God's light into our communities. Discover how a personal relationship with God transforms us into active participants in His plan.

For more sermons and resources, visit www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

Tune in as Elliot Rudell breaks down the essence of true stewardship, looking beyond just financial giving. Elliot inspires us to completely dedicate our lives to God, unlocking freedom and peace in the process. With engaging stories and practical insights, he shows how living as faithful stewards can lead to incredible divine moments.

For more encouragement and resources, check out www.hopeucnashville.com or download the HopeUC Nashville app.

In this episode, we dive into the profound call of stewardship within the kingdom of God, emphasizing the need for action beyond just hearing His word. Explore how true stewardship involves multiplying the gifts and resources God has entrusted to us, preparing for His promised increase, and influencing our communities for His glory. We discuss the importance of stewarding with purpose, generosity, and within the spirit of community. Discover practical insights on managing our time, body, and finances to align with God's will and bring transformation to our lives and cities.

For more stories and resources, visit...