Hope Notes 9/3/15

Dear Friends of Hope ~

The other morning I took our pup out for her early morning potty run.  The air was heavy with humidity and fog.  As a result, every spider web was visible.  Every silken thread, so intricately woven, was highlighted by the faint rays of sun. Drops of dew glistened from every filament.  You may feel I'm describing a thing of beauty.  But I am not. Webs are objects of fear for me.  I am that person walking through the yard with the pooper scooper held high in front of me lest I walk through one of those webs.  Instead of feeling calm because I could now SEE every one of them and avoid them, I had the opposite reaction. It filled me with more fear because I could see how many there were; I felt surrounded by them. I believe the same thing is true regarding fear/anxiety/worry in general.  The more we 'see' them, the more we focus on them, and the more power they hold over us.  It's like once we begin to notice them, we tend to start looking for them everywhere.  And believe me, what you look for you will find.  What we need to do instead is keep our eyes and our heart firmly fixed on Jesus Christ.  When we keep our eyes on Him we have nothing to worry about, nothing to fear.  He knows our every need.  He is never caught off guard or by surprise.  When we worry about the future, we are borrowing trouble from tomorrow and ruining today.  Instead, we need to stop focusing on our fears and remember that Jesus is Lord over all – He is always in control no matter what things look like!

 

SUNDAY MORNING MESSAGE

FALL SERIES – FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

September 6 – Fess Up (1 John 1:8-2:2)

Confession is good for the soul… but hard for our pride!  When we mess up, our strong and first inclination is to cover up what we've done.  We don't like failing, but we dislike people seeing our failures even more.  It's the reason we have the saying 'caught with their hand in the cookie jar.' Most of the time, the one who took the cookies refuses to own up unless they are caught actually taking them!  But Christianity teaches us to confess.  What does that mean?  How does it work? And why is it so important?

 

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

8:40 – 8:45 for Both Services

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 8:40 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 at 8:30 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

 

SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE VERSE

Psalm 32:8

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you"

 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY

Please Note:  We'll be starting regular Bible study on 9/9

There will be no activities at church on 9/2.

 

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.

 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FELLOWSHIP

 

SMALL GROUP KICKOFF MONTH!

September is the time for us to jump back into small groups. Our first study sheet (the questions that get discussed at small group) will be out on September 27^th.  If you've been a part of a group before, you know how incredibly God uses them. And if you haven't, we encourage you to get in a group!  If you're already in a group, add some new members.  Or split your group and multiply by adding new members to each part of your group. If you're not in a group, there's good news: anyone can form a group.  Just gather up a bunch of friends or meet some new ones and you're a group!  More details on Hope's small groups can be found on the yellow info sheets in the Resource Room.

 

HOW TO START/JOIN A SMALL GROUP 

Once you have a group (or the start of one), fill out a registration form.  If you're full (with 8-12 adults), give the form to Damon Briggs to register your group. BUT if you still have space in your group, we're inviting you to post your registration form on the Small Group Bulletin Board in the hallway next to the prayer room. You'll need at least a facilitator, a host and location, with a date and time so people know when and where you'll meet.  This will be a great resource for those who are looking for a group to join.  Everyone can simply take a look at the board throughout the month and find a group that fits you! If you're having any trouble finding a group, or if you have any questions, contact Damon Briggs at damon.briggs@mitchellandness.com. 

 

SMALL GROUPS FACILITATOR / HOST MEETING

In preparation for the kickoff of our small groups, we want every facilitator and host to join us for a meeting on September 20th.  We will be holding the meeting twice, once after each service that morning in the kitchen.  Pastor Mark will be talking about how we want small groups to run and answer any questions you have.  We want this vital ministry in our church to get off to a great start and for every host and facilitator to have all the info they need.

 

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.

 

YOUTH NEWS

 

HIGH SCHOOL RETREAT – THIS WEEKEND

September 4^th – 6th

Please Note the Change of Date

We will be going to Ocean City, NJ for our annual High School Retreat. Registration forms are available outside of the youth room or on our website. The retreat center we are staying at double booked on us so we've had to move the retreat up a week. The good news is the cost is now $20.Be sure to kick off the new school year blues with another awesome retreat in Ocean City!

 

YOUTH GROUP KICK OFF

MARK YOU CALENDARS!!!!

September 20th will be the official start to our new year. Our middle school and high school groups will be meeting at the church on Sundays from 6:30-8:30 all year long! Come out for another amazing year as we grow closer together and closer to God!

 

CHILDREN'S MINISTRY NEWS

 

HOT FUDGE HANGOUT PARTY!

Wednesday, September 9^th

ATTENTION HopeKids!..........and their parents! 

Come on out to our HopeKids! Hot Fudge Hangout Party from 7:00-8:00pm in the youth room.  
Our HopeKids! Hangout team will be hosting an ice cream social and game night for all of our 3-5opportunity to fellowship together as well as introduce our awesome new HopeKids! Hangout Wednesday night program that will be starting on September 16th!  All of our HopeKids! kids need to be here!  We hope you'll join us for a night of fun and fudge!  See Matt Russell for details.

 

GO ZONE

Go Zone is our Sunday Morning kid's 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.

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

                                                                                                            ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

ONLINE GIVING OPTION

It's easy and convenient!  Simply go to our website and click 'Online Giving'.  You have the options to set up recurring donations (like automatic bill pay), or give one time donations as well.  The amount and frequency are up to you.  This will allow many of us to be intentional and faithful in our support of Hope.  Contact Damon or LaTosha Briggs with any questions.

 

ENVELOPES FOR DESIGNATED GIVING

Sometimes, God lays it on our heart to give a little extra for His kingdom.  He may have provided the financial means for it or just the nudge in our hearts.  In order to help make this easier for you as the giver and Hope as the receiver, we have some envelopes in a wall mounted bin next to our regular offering slot.  If you'd like to give to a special project or ministry, just use one of these envelope and check off the correct category.  Please note that these envelopes are not for your usual Sunday offering. 

 

HAVE OUR ELDERS PRAY WITH YOU

The New Testament has this wonderful ministry for the elders of a church - PRAYER.  And we'd like to offer it to anyone who is in need of healing (physical or otherwise) or who needs the power of God to be at work in their lives in a special way.  If you or anyone you know would like to take advantage of this ministry, contact Pastor Mark to set up a time after one of our Sunday services for the elders to pray over you.

 

MISSIONARY MOMENT

JEFF AND LISA SICKLER – WEST VIRGINIA

The following is an excerpt from their most recent newsletter:

A lot has been happening here in West Virginia.  We have hosted several mission teams this spring and summer.  A lot of home repair went on, but most importantly relationships were built and the love of Jesus was shared. We also had a church collect pennies during their VBS and are sending us a check for almost $2,000!  We are going to purchase some firewood for some of our families to keep warm this winter.

 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

·         For future planning of where the organization is going to go. They need ways to increase their income.

 

·         Personally, they would like prayer for their future also.  Who does God want them to reach out to and who will come and be His hands and feet.  They would like wisdom to balance ministry with farming and personal time. Wisdom also with their finances.

 

 

OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

 

CONNECTING AND SERVING AT HOPE

There are so many places to connect and serve here at Hope.  Keep your eyes on this section to be aware of all the different opportunities for you to effectively serve at Hope. There truly IS 'something for everyone' and we want to make it easy for you to know all the different options!

 

KIDS ALLEY CONVOY OF HOPE

Saturday, September 19^th from 12:00 – 4:00

Just a reminder to SAVE THE DATE to help with the carnival games. There is now a signup sheet in the lobby for volunteers.  Contact Brenda Hallahan @ bhallahan@verizon.net.

 

CLEAN UP CREW

Looking for a few volunteers that attend 2nd service on Sunday to pick up trash after the service. See Ken Blythe for details at kblythe99@gmail.com.

 

COFFEE MINISTRY

Helpers needed to set up and take down the coffee station on Sunday mornings.  Contact Karen Blythe at kblythe99@gmail.com if you can help.

 

THIS WEEK'S WORKERS

Nursery 9:00                Faith DeWalt, Jeanne Wurst, Katherine DellaRova

Nursery 11:00               Don & Alicia Heverly

Toddlers 9:00               Karen Blythe, Julia Schmidt

Toddlers 11:00             Amanda Mills, Madison Winstel
Pre K – K 9:00              Bill & Griffin McGinness, Libby LeBeau

Pre K – K 11:00            Karen & Amanda Merriell
1^st & 2^nd – 9:00            Lisa Fiorile, Charlotte Zediker

1^st & 2^nd – 11:00          Kelly Louis, Lucy Muhlbaier

3rd - 5^th   9:00              Mary LeBeau, Nance Reeves

3^rd – 5^th   11:00            Anne & Jim Jefferson
Counters                        Mike & Lois Hartwell

Ushers 9:00                  TBD

Ushers 11:00                TBD

Greeters                        Art Muhlbaier      

                                      Lucy Muhlbaier

                                      Charlotte Zediker

                                      Jeanne Wurst

                              

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 Contact Us Form on our website.  http://www.hopechristianfellowship.org/contact/.  If you have any questions or would like to join the Prayer Team, please contact Bill Berry directly at billandkathyberry@comcast.net.

 

Focused on Him,

Lois

 

 

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