Hope Notes 6/19/14

 

Dear Friends of Hope ~

Those of you who have been reading Hope Notes for a long time know that I get very excited when it's time for our Teen Service.  I just love seeing our youth stand up and share their talents and their passion with all of us.  It's a breath of fresh, Spirit-filled air!  Not that I have any complaints about Pastor Mark or our regular worship team; I love them so much!  But it does my heart good to see the fruits of bringing your child to church, youth group, bible studies, mission trips, and service projects.  All those times you may have had to 'drag' them here are well worth it when you see how God takes your obedience and lights a fire in your child's heart!  I don't know about you, but I can't wait for this Sunday because our teens always light a fire in my heart with their enthusiasm and sincerity!

 

TEEN SERVICE

June 22nd

At Hope, we consider it a huge privilege to minister to our teens.  God has blessed our church with a lot of them!  But this day is set aside as a blessing of a different type – our teens will be taking over our service and ministering to us!  You can stand behind them by coming out and supporting them – and by joining in as they lead worship!  Let's use this as a reminder to pray for our youth group and to look to the Lord to give us an open door to do everything we can to promote their spiritual health and growth.

 

SUNDAY MORNING MESSAGE – TEEN SERVICE

Fearing Failure (Isaiah 6:1-13)

It was Franklin Roosevelt who famously said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Behind that quote is the idea that allowing fear to control us is not a wise way to live. We probably know that to be true, but how easy is it to avoid living with fear? We often allow fear to govern our actions, or more commonly our inaction. Today we are going to look at the fear of failure. Have you avoided answering God's call out of a fear of failing? What if failure is exactly what God wanted you to encounter? That's exactly what He had in mind for Isaiah.

 

MESSAGES AVAILABLE
Did you know that Sunday's worship service is available on CD immediately following the service for FREE?  Pick up a copy for yourself or for anyone you would like to share Hope with.  Pastor Mark's messages are also available on our website, www.hopechristianfellowship.org.

 

PRAYER HUDDLE

9:30 – 9:35

The prayer huddle is open to anyone who would like to come pray - but it is specifically intended for those who are serving on that Sunday.  So if you're scheduled to be in kids' ministry, greeting, in the tech booth, on worship team, or any other ministry role for a given Sunday, join us at 9:30 sharp to pray together for God's power in each of us.  We can do all things through Christ, and nothing of worth without Him, so let's come together each Sunday to ask for God's Spirit to fill us and use us!

 

SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER TIME
Our Sunday morning prayer time is open to everyone from 9:15 – 9:45 am in the Prayer Room. We pray for the services that morning and for the needs in the church. If you would like to participate, just show up!

 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

 

JUNE CHALLENGE VERSE

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few."

 

JUNE CHALLENGE - COMPASSION FAST

What would you be willing to forgo in order to help a needy family here at Hope? We often treat ourselves to something without a second thought, but for many families just trying to meet their bills is a real struggle. We are going to take a benevolent offering the first week in July designated to help families in need.   We'd like to challenge you to give up something for the month and re-direct the money you would have spent on that item to the offering. 

 

WEDNESDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

7:00 – 8:15

For the upcoming Wed nights (May 21- June 18) Pastor Mark is going to be talking through some 'Rubber Meets the Road" topics.  We'll be stepping out of our normal Bible study in the book of 1 Corinthians to tackle topics like abortion, gay marriage, and God's role in evil.  Childcare is provided.

 

WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS

June 25^th thru July 23^rd

Traveling Light (Max Lucado)

Led by Bob Baumiester

We all lug loads we were never intended to carry. Fear. Worry. Discontent. Guilt. Anxiety. Grief. Perfectionism. Loneliness. No wonder we get so weary. We are worn out from carrying that excess baggage. Wouldn't it be nice to lose some of those bags? That's the invitation of Max Lucado, in his book, Traveling Light. With the 23rd Psalm as our guide, we'll learn to release some of the burdens we were never intended to carry. Let's travel together and hand over our baggage to The BEST Baggage Handler!

 

I Wish Jesus Hadn't Said That (Steve Timmis)
Finding Joy in the Inconvenience of Discipleship

Led by Mike Hartwell
Think about some of the things Jesus said:  "Love your enemies", You cannot serve both God and money", "Take up your cross and follow me".  We may believe them, but can we live them?  This book calls believers to consider ten saying of Jesus that reveal where our affections lie.  We are reminded that Christians are called to abandon, not cherish, the ways of the world and to reject, not pursue, the things that give us status and pleasure.  Being a follower of Jesus is terribly inconvenient because it cuts across our natural desires.  This book helps us to grapple with this concept and accept His verdict on what constitutes the good life.  Doing so will powerfully reorient our hearts.

 

One Of Us Must Be Crazy…. And I'm Pretty Sure It's You (Tim and Joy Downs)

Led by Steve and Karen Jones

Are there recurring areas of conflict in your marriage that you seem to come back to over and over again?  You're not alone.  All of us have conflict in marriage, but what we don't have is a blueprint for resolving it.  This short, funny book by Tim and Joy Downs (Frequent Family Life Weekend to Remember speakers) describes seven underlying issues that are really at the root of most marital conflicts, and offers advice on what to do about them.

 

AUGUST WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

We are planning a month of Family Nights in August - a chance to spend some time with your church family as a FAMILY!  Each night, we have a different event that you can participate in as a family.  From game night to movie night to a picnic (complete with games) we're going to have a blast.  More info coming...

 

WEDNESDAY EVENING CHILDREN'S PROGRAM

7:00 – 8:15

Keep Jesus fresh in your child's mind and heart!  We have classes for children ages 3 – 5 and for those in 1^st – 5^th grades.  Nursery is provided for infants thru age 2.

 

YOUNG ADULTS

7:30 in Youth Room

First and Third Monday of every month

Anyone who has graduated high school up to their early thirties is welcome. See Pastor Mark or Dana for more information. Childcare is provided.

 

GOD'S GIRLS – ON HIATUS FOR THE SUMMER

Women's Bible Study

For women high school age and up.
We will be starting up again on September 15th with an exciting new study!  Be on the lookout for monthly events over the summer. Contact Jennifer Nolan at jnolan1962@yahoo.com to be added to our monthly email list for updates!

 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FELLOWSHIP

 

NEW FAMILIES LUNCHEON – THIS SUNDAY

Sunday, June 22^nd

God just keeps blessing Hope with new families!  If you just recently starting coming to Hope, we'd like to invite you to a luncheon immediately following the service on June 22^nd.  Our Leadership Team and staff want to welcome you to Hope and get to know you a little better.  You don't need to bring a thing – just yourself!

 

HCF SOFTBALL LEAGUE

Root, root, root for our ball team!  Games are played on week nights.  Fields are in Sewell and Pitman.  Come on out and support our players!  Look for the schedule in the Salt & Light or contact Lenny Little for details at littlemanlenny@yahoo.com.  

 

MEN'S BREAKFAST

Second Saturday of Every Month

8:00 – 9:30am

Come and join us for a delicious breakfast and a good time of fellowship/sharing with the men of Hope.  Feel free to bring a friend!  Open to men 18 and older. See Steve Jones with any questions.

 

SMALL GROUPS

Study sheets for Small Groups will resume in September as always!

 

YOUTH NEWS

 

ROOTED WEDNESDAYS

Wednesday evenings at the church.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL / SENIOR HIGH SPLIT

Beginning September 2014

Over the past two years God has done some amazing things in the life of our youth group. In order to cultivate an environment where God can continue to work and grow, we are seriously considering splitting into two separate programs. Beginning this September, our Senior Highers will meet on Sunday nights with our Middle Schoolers continuing to meet on Wednesday. Please keep the youth ministry, its leaders, and students in prayer as we enter this exciting period of transition!

 

CHILDREN'S MINISTRY NEWS

 

READY? SET... GO!

HopeKids! has launched the Go Zone as the new name for our kids Sunday morning service! We are GOing for GOD, GOing for GROWTH, and GOing FOREVER! The Go Zone is a service entirely focused around the kids, in which we connect by playing games, worshipping with one another, and hearing a message from God's Word in fun, creative ways before heading off to Sunday school for the rest of the service.

 

IS IT A BIRD?  IS IT A PLANE? NO, IT'S OUR SUPERHERO SERIES!

Come out to the Go Zone every Sunday in May, and you can rub shoulders with some of your favorite comic book heroes! Word on the street is that Captain America, Spidey, Batman, and even The Hulk will make an appearance at the Go Zone to talk about their favorite superheroes from the Bible and how it impacts the way they "fight crime." You won't want to miss this!

 

GRADUATION!

Sunday, July 6th is Graduation Sunday for the entire HopeKids! Ministry. All students will move up to their new classes if they are of age. We will also be honoring our graduating 5th graders in the Go Zone on Sunday June 29th.  Make sure you come out to support and celebrate with them!

 

Follow HopeKids! Ministries on facebook at:  facebook.com/HCFHopeKids

 

**** SPECIAL VBS 2014 SECTION ****

 

SAVE THE DATE for VBS!

Vacation Bible School will be July 28-August 1 for children 3 years old and up to 5th grade! We'll meet each night 6-8:30pm. The theme this year is Weird Animals. God filled the world with a lot of crazy creatures...including you! When kids feel weird, different, or even lost in a crowd -- nothing compares to the extraordinary love of Jesus!  So mark your calendars! We'll need plenty of volunteers to help out, so if you're interested in being a part of this amazing ministry contact Matt

Russell: mattrussell@hopechristianfellowship.org.

 

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP @ VBS

Aren't available to serve the week of VBS but still want to help? Check out these 2 opportunities. We need your help!

          1. Decorating Team - We are looking for some talented crafty and artsy people to help us           turn the church into a jungle!  We are having two decorating days: June 21st 9am-          12pm and July 26th 9am-12pm.  If you're interested in helping please contact Matt           Russell: matt@hopechristianfellowship.org.

          2. Spreading the Word - On Saturday, June 28th from 10am-12pm we'll be handing out           flyers in the community to invite people to our VBS this summer.  Please sign-up on the sheet in the lobby so we know you're coming.  Help us reach out to our neighbors!

 

NEW SPECIAL NEEDS CLASS AT THIS YEAR'S VBS!!!
We've been thinking about offering a special needs class for this year's VBS. We have some very experienced people willing to serve these children. We'd like to know what kind of interest or need there is for this in order to offer it. Please let Matt Russell know if you know anyone who would be interested at mattrussell@hopechristianfellowship.org.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

PARKING LOT

We'll be taking an offering on June 29th to try to help us bridge the gap on our parking lot project.  We still need about $6000 to completely pay for this project.  Please pray about this and give as God blesses and leads.  We're really thankful that God has opened this incredible opportunity to fix our parking lot at such a tremendous discount, and we're confident that He will provide!

 

BAPTISIMAL NEWS

We have some exciting news - we now have a baptismal and will be planning a baptism service in the near future!  Look for updates in the coming weeks on dates and info.

 

HOPE'S 10^TH ANNIVERSARY

We will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary as a church on July 20, 2014. We would love everyone to join us for this special day of giving thanks and praise to our amazing Lord.  Do you have a story you could share about how you came to Hope and about God's work in your life through our church?  If so, please write it down for us; we'd love to read what God has done and maybe compile a booklet of testimonies.  It doesn't need to be a literary masterpiece - just some simple words straight from your heart!  Just respond to the Hope Notes (or send a separate email to hopenotes@hopechristianfellowship.org). You can also hand it to Lois Hartwell in person if that is better for you.  Deadline is  Sunday, June 29th.

 

HOPE FOR RECOVERY

Tuesdays at 7:00 pm

A Christian based, 12-step approach for those struggling with addictions of any kind.  The group is a safe and confidential place for men and women to find strength and HOPE through sharing and fellowship. Contact Liz McCool with any questions at irelandjim@netscape.com.

 

OPPORTUNITES TO SERVE

 

MEALS MINISTRY

Here at Hope we like to take care of our people!  When we know someone who recently had a baby, has an illness in the family, or any other occasion where having the burden of preparing a family dinner removed would be a big help – we like to take care of that for them!  If you would be interested in occasionally making or delivering a meal, contact Pat Nolan at pationolan@comcast.net.

 

SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER GROUP

We'd love to have people come and pray with us for the needs of the church and for God's power to be at work in our morning service.  You don't have to commit to coming every week, but our elders are asking those who are able come and join us!

 

SAINTS PRISON MINISTRY

We have two missionaries right here in the body at Hope!  Jim Jefferson and Bill McGinness travel with the prison ministry's softball team to bring the gospel to those in prison.  They sacrifice their family time and finances to do this.  We can help ease their burden and support them by praying for them and giving as we feel God leading.  Each man needs to raise $1000 in order to cover their own expenses.  If you are able to give, simply write a check made payable to Jim or Bill and offer it to them.

 

FOOD PANTRY

It's time for some pantry staples!  We are in need of peanut butter, jelly, canned or packaged soup, and cereal. 

Please check the expiration dates of any donations and place in the basket located outside the kitchen door. Contact Karen Blythe with any questions or if you are interested in helping with our pantry. Thank you!

 

THIS WEEK'S WORKERS

Nursery                          Art & Lucy Muhlbaier, Ryan Winstel

Toddlers                        Grace Brown, Kacy Maska, Prisca O.
Pre K – Kindergarten    Kim Lawlor, Megan Foster
1st & 2nd                      Kelly Louis

3rd - 5th                        TBA
Counters                        Damon Briggs, Don Frazeur
Greeters                        Tony Dariano

                                      Mickey Dariano
                                      John Brazelis

                                      Lisa Fiorile                                                    

Wed. Evening                TBD

 

HOPES PRAYER TEAM
If you have a prayer request, please fill out a prayer request card and drop it in the offering slot at the back of the church on Sunday or use the "Prayer Request Form" on our website. If you have any questions or would like to join the Prayer Team, please contact Bill Berry directly at billandkathyberry@comcast.net.

 

PRAYER REQUESTS

Diane Beardsworth – For her mother-in-law, Louise Beardsworth.  Admitted to the hospital after a fall; found out she has congestive heart failure and fluid on her lungs.

Sunday Morning Children's Opening – Let's keep Matt Russell in prayer as he leads in this venture for our children.

Middle School/Sr. High Split – Prayers for our youth and their leaders as they prepare to transition to this new format coming in September.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." Ephesians 6:18

 

 

Made New in Christ,
Lois

 

 

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