FAITH

8/30/2026 - Tampico Community Church, Yakima, WA - Mike Hottell Sermon Audio:

Today is July 4, 2026 and it is America’s 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. I am proud to be an American and blessed to live in this nation. I am grateful for the freedom, safety, and opportunity that this nation has afforded me. Though our nation has only existed for 250 short years, it has become one of the greatest civilizations of all time. That said, it is evident that our nation is not healthy. Our nation is experiencing a season of u

6/21/2026 - Tampico Community Church, Yakima, WA - Mike Hottell Sermon Audio: Summary: In this sermon on John 5:1–9, the healing of the lame man at Bethesda is presented as more than a physical miracle. While the man longed for restored legs and relief from his suffering, Jesus was ultimately pursuing something deeper: the restoration of his heart. The scripture shows that God’s greatest concern is not merely our outward healing, but our relationship with Him. Just as the lam

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Today is Good Friday. On this day, nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ was humiliated, beaten, tortured and crucified. Let’s rewind. 30 years before the cross, God’s humility was displayed in the incarnation. God became man, became flesh (John 1:14). The eternal, omniscient, omnipresent God humbled Himself to human form in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus wo

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! Grace – God’s unmerited favor to the infinitely ill-deserving. I heard on a podcast recently that if there is any one subject in studying God and His Word that is to be majored in, it is grace. Grace is a central theme of the entire Bible. In the ESV, the word grace is found nearly 300 times, “chen” in the Old Testament and “charis” in t

Many have heard about Jesus, or about Christianity, or the church. But few understand what Christianity is all about, or who Jesus is and what He has done. The Bible begins in the book of Genesis. God creates humans and the world, and God says, "It is good." But then, sin entered into this world. This is referred to as "the fall of man." Sin is not just wrongdoing, but us choosing our will over His. Humans rebelled, sinned, against God and caused a separation between a right

1 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” 3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. In Psalm 3, David is being pursued by his own son, Absalom. Absalom’s saga against David began in 2 Samuel 13, when his half brother Amnon violated Absalom’s sister Tamar. Absalom avenged his sister two

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. The second Psalm is not attributed to an author in the Old Testament, but the New Testament attributes David as the author. Luke pens in Acts 4:25 (and later 13:33) You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of y

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 ESV Blessed, sometimes translated as happy, is the man. Blessedness or happiness belongs to him. The first psalm begins with three negatives: a man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, does not stand in the way of sinners and does not