Hope Notes: Hope Notes 6/29/17

Dear Friends of Hope,
In our family we joke that we must have an invisible sign on our foreheads that says, "Tell me everything". We often find ourselves listening to complete strangers telling us their life story; I have no idea why this occurs, but I'm happy to oblige and provide a listening ear (most of the time). However, I'm afraid that I may now have another sign that says "Show me everything"! At the supermarket the other day, in response to my simple 'how are you doing this morning', the cashier launched into a long dissertation about her weekend and then proceeded to LIFT HER SHIRT to show me her sunburn!!! I really didn't want to see that; I certainly didn't ask to see that. And yet the image was burned into my brain for quite awhile. It was a perfect example of how what we see gets into our heads/hearts whether we want it to or not. We tend to think we can view things without it truly affecting us. That's a lie from the enemy. Everything we look at, read, watch, listen to ..............it all seeps into our souls. Jesus warns us of this in Matthew 6:22-23 "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness." (Side Note: That verse is where we get the saying "The eyes are the window to the soul"). I don't know why we continue to think it's okay to take in things that belong to the darkness. The more we take in, the more we become immune to it. These things begin to not seem so bad after awhile. We don't think we are suffering any ill effects from them. But we are; they are staining our souls and keeping us from being completely filled with God's light.
I offer this challenge to us all - David throws down a promise to God in Psalm 101:3: "I will set no worthless (wicked/vile/vulgar) thing before my eyes". He of all people knew what trouble his eyes could get him into. We should be asking ourselves if what we are looking at is worthless and then make that same promise to our Savior every single day.

SUNDAY MORNINGS
THE WORDS OF JESUS SERIES - (A Study from Luke)
Because we trust and follow Jesus, we thought it would be a great idea to take a walk through the gospel of Luke and dig into the words of Jesus Himself. We'll find them challenging and full of insight. And with open hearts, we'll allow the Spirit to instruct us on how we should walk as Christians in this world.
In Remembrance of Me (Luke 22:14-23)
This is going to be a very special Sunday. Our entire service is going to be built around the words of Jesus as He gives us the Lord's Supper. Over the centuries, Christians have used these symbols to remember Jesus. Our morning will be filled with music and reflection and we'll share communion together. How are you doing at Jesus admonition to remember Him and His sacrifice? Has it shown up in your daily life? Let's take this morning to dig deep into the sacrifice of our Lord and what it means for every person who is a child of God.

MESSAGES AVAILABLE
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.

SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER TIME - 8:30 in Pastor Mark's Office
Do you have a heart for prayer? Our Sunday morning prayer time is open to everyone. We pray for the services that morning and for the needs in the church. If you would like to participate, just show up! "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20) Bob Baumiester leads this prayer time – feel free to contact him with any questions: rbaumiester@gmail.com.

PRAYER HUDDLE - 8:40 to 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 in the Youth Room 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!

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
JULY CHALLENGE VERSE - 1st John 5:11-12
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."

WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY - ON HIATUS
If you're in the habit of coming each week to Bible Study, why not keep on coming in July and help us decorate for VBS?! We'll be decorating from 7:00 - 8:15 pm.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FELLOWSHIP
ANNUAL CHURCH PICNIC - Sunday, July 30th @ 5:00 pm
Our picnic will be here before you know it! Heads up to mark your calendars now so you don't miss out. Look for a signup sheet and more details to follow.

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. Contact Dave or Leah Hallahan at dmhallahan5@gmail.com. Childcare is provided.

GOD'S GIRLS WOMEN'S GROUP - 1st & 3rd Mondays at 7:00
Contact Mary Lebeau for more information at 856-316-6301 or marylebeau@verizon.net

MEN'S BREAKFAST - 8:00 – 9:30am - Second Saturday of Every Month
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.

YOUTH NEWS
SUNDAY NIGHT ROOTED YOUTH GROUP
Our middle school and high school groups meet right here at church! Come out for another amazing year as we grow closer together and closer to God!

YOUTH GROUP SUMMER SCHEDULE
PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO Youth Group on Sunday nights until September.
July 14th - Six Flags
Jul 16-22 - Jr High Camp @ Delanco
Jul 30 - Aug 5 - Boston Trip
Aug 18 - Movie Night @ Hallahans'

WEDNESDAY NIGHT GROW GROUPS
Grow Groups is an opportunity for our middle and high school students to dig deeper into Gods word and the issues that are relevant to their lives.
PLEASE NOTE: Grow Groups are on hiatus for the summer.

CHILDREN'S MINISTRY
GO ZONE
Go Zone is our Sunday Morning kid's service, planned especially for 1st - 5th graders. Our goal is to encourage the kids to live with their focus on "GOing for GOD, GOing for GROWTH, and GOing FOREVER!" This service includes worship, games, and exploring important biblical truths in fun and creative ways before heading off to Sunday school.
Follow HopeKids! Ministries on Facebook at: facebook.com/HCFHopeKids

MOVE UP SUNDAY - July 10th
Attention parent's of upcoming kindergartners! Sunday July 10th will be move up Sunday for kids transitioning into the next grade. This year we are changing things up and having the kids going into kindergarten move up to the GoZone! instead of staying in the 4 & 5 year old class! Make sure you drop them off and register them in the GoZone room!

MAKER FUN FACTORY VBS - July 24th - 28th
Hope Christian Fellowship's Vacation Bible School, IS BACK from July 24th - 28th! Are you ready for a wildly creative, inventive, and interactive adventure with God? If you are, than you'll love attending this year's Maker Fun Factory VBS! Where you'll learn that you were created by God and built for a purpose! Come join us for a fun filled week! Register today at http://www. hopechristianfellowship.org/ vbs-registration/

HOPE ANNOUNCEMENTS
SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR KIDS ALLEY
During the month of July we will have collection bins at both entrances for donations of school supplies for the children of Kids Alley. A list of supplies needed is on each bin. Help equip these children for the upcoming school year; no child should have to go to school without the materials they need!

NEW CARD COLLECTION BOX
They're here! We have a new system to collect our various communication cards in just one spot instead of at different locations around the church. If you have a prayer request, you can fill out the orange Prayer Request card and our Prayer Team will lift it up in prayer. If anyone has a need or knows of someone in need, one way to let us know is to drop a yellow Needs Request card into the box. Our guests can fill out the blue Visitor Card and drop it in the box. To make it even easier, you will find all three cards right there on the box! Boxes are located at the front of the auditorium.

HOPE SHARE - DON'T THROW IT OUT – SHARE IT!
Make sure to check out Hope Share on our website – it's a place to share things we no longer use and to look for things we need! It's easy to upload photos of items you'd like to give away and to search for that special item you just might need!

GIVING AT HOPE
We make it easy to give as the Lord leads. There are envelopes and a drop box in the back of the auditorium. If you prefer to give electronically, we have online and texting options. Just go to our website and check them out! www.hopechristianfellowship.org

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.

OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE
CONNECTING AND SERVING AT HOPE
There are so many places to connect and serve here at Hope. There truly IS 'something for everyone' and we want to make it easy for you to know all the different options! You can check out our Ministry and Service Opportunities brochure (on the glass tables and in the Resource Room) and also keep your eye on this section as we post any pressing needs.

SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS – TEACHERS WANTED
From time to time, Hope changes gears on Wednesday nights and breaks into smaller groups. The focus of these groups are different topics of interest that can help us take real steps forward in our walk with God. We're going to be holding these workshops once again in September. The elders are inviting anyone with teaching gifts who would like to lead a 4 week workshop to contact Pastor Mark and get an outline and topic to him by the end of August. That way, our Leadership Team can review and approve the teachers and topics and have a signup list available through August for participants in each workshop. For more info or questions, see Pastor Mark.

THIS WEEK'S WORKERS
Nursery 9:00 ----TBA
Nursery 11:00 --- TBA
Toddler 9:00 ------Morgan Frye, Leah Aureli, Bethany Gabriel
Toddler 11:00 -----(Need teachers), Natalie Mariani
Pre-K/K 9:00 ----- Pat & Elisabeth DellaRova
Pre-K /K 11:00 ----Lauren DellaRova, Prisca O.
Ushers 9:00 -------TBA
Ushers 11:00 ------TBA
Wed. Nursery ----- None
Counters ---------- TBA
Greeters ----------- Debbie Davis, Sharon Sambucci, Katrina Mariani, Greg Corroado

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 Hap Cunningham: hapcunn01@gmail.com.
PLEASE NOTE: We would greatly appreciate it if you could keep the team updated on your request. Situations can resolve or change for the better/worse. Praises are always welcome! This will help our team know best how to pray for you.

Unworthy Yet Loved,
Lois

Note: If you do not wish to continue receiving Hope Notes, simply reply to this email and I will remove your name from the list. Any correspondence for Hope Notes goes to Hopenotes Email.