“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.” (Job 37:5-6) Don’t you just love our Praise Service? Taking time to speak aloud the ‘great things’ God has done in our lives over the past year. Not only are they great, but yes, they are often ‘beyond our understanding’. In fact, they usually are beyond what we can understand or imagine. That’s what makes Him so amazing. I love how the verse says His voice thunders in ‘marvelous ways’. And yet, His voice is often the quietest of whispers. Sometimes the great things He does in our lives are merely the softest breath across our souls that speaks calm to us in our anxiety and worry. Sometimes the great things can be thunderous and awesome and larger than life. Those things are usually easy to spot, to remember, and to boldly proclaim. The trick is not to miss the quieter moments and to recognize them for what they are – His holy and hushed version of those great and wondrous things ‘beyond our understanding’. I think we heard some of BOTH at this year’s service!
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. For all the great and wondrous things. For all the quiet whispers and gentle reminders of your faithfulness. You have provided me with more than I could ever have ‘asked or imagined’ (Ephesians 3:20).
Blessed beyond what I deserve… Lois
SPIRITUAL CARE
Why This Baby? He Is Our Shepherd (John 10:11-16; Psalm 23)
WonderZone Christmas Program
There is something more precious than words can describe about our WonderZone Program. These little preschoolers have a way of bringing us joy and capturing our attention as they sing their songs and do their parts in telling the meaning of Christmas. When they are done, we’ll take some time to talk about why this particular baby is the reason for so much celebration. Maybe you just love Christmas and you haven’t thought about why one baby would be special enough to bring the world to a stop each year, but we will look this morning at one of the reasons. Jesus came to be our Shepherd. This term is filled with great meaning and we’ll look at Jesus’ words about it as well as David’s words in the famous Psalm 23. Our prayer is that each person who is here for the program knows Jesus as their Shepherd!
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY: On Hiatus
Our Wednesday night studies are on hiatus for the months of November and December, but make sure to check out the announcements below to see the other Wednesday evening events we have planned!
SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER:
Anyone can join us Sunday mornings at 8:30 in Pastor Mark’s office to pray for that morning’s services. Contact Bob Baumiester for more information (rbaumiester@gmail.com).
ANNOUNCEMENTS
For the month of November, we averaged $10,308 bringing our annual average up to $9502. In addition, our building fund averaged $369 per week. Our target for the year is $9950 and our target for the new year is $9700, so we have some work to do in the final month of 2024, but we know our God is able! Thank you to every Hoper who gives faithfully and sacrificially. We do this together as partners, and each one of us has a part in supporting what God is doing at Hope.
TOY DRIVE FOR GWCM: Due back this Sunday!
Greater Woodbury Cooperative Ministries is collecting unwrapped toys for all ages now through December 8th. We love partnering with them and want to extend the collection opportunity to Hope! Unwrapped toys can be place in the bins at either entrance now through Sunday!
HOPE MERCH: Order by Sunday!
Check out our limited run of custom leather patch Hope logo hats! The perfect Christmas gift for your favorite Hoper. Place your oder by December 8th to receive merch in time for the holidays. You will be notified when your hat(s) is available for pick-up at the church. Any questions, contact Tanner May. Please note, hats are being sold at cost. Hope Christian Fellowship is not making any profit from sales.
LADIES CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA: This Friday at 6:30!
All ladies (post high-school and up) are invited to our “Think Pink Christmas” Extravaganza and Ornament Exchange! We’re so excited for this opportunity for our ladies to get together for some holiday games, fun, food, and friendship! Bring a wrapped Christmas tree ornament ($10 or less) for a fun exchange! See Dana Ott with any questions or reach her at danaott@hopechristianfellowship.org.
WONDERZONE JINGLE JAM:
We’re excited to be hosting our second annual Jingle Jam event for our WonderZone children and their families! Save the date for this special event on Saturday, December 14th from 10:30am-noon. We’ll build gingerbread houses, make Christmas crafts, hear the real Christmas story, enjoy a hot drinks bar, and even take pictures with Santa! Sign your preschooler up today! Contact our Preschool Directory Kara May for more information.
CHRISTMAS AT HOPE:
Mark your calendars for the special services we have planned for the month of December! And be sure to share our social media post and pick up a card from the lobby to invite out your friends and family!
- December 8th: WonderZone Christmas Program
- December 15th: Christmas Cantata, “The Story”
- December 22nd: GoZone Christmas Program
- Candlelit Christmas Eve Services at 3:30p, 5:00p, 6:30p
2025 BIBLE READING PLANS: Out now!
The new year is a great time to dive into God’s word and make bible reading a part of your daily life! We have several resources to help you engage with scripture, including 2 bookmarks available in the lobby, and a “Five Day Bible Reading Program.” All three programs will help you read through the entirety of scripture in a year. Pick up a physical copy in the lobby, or download the PDF here.
YOUNG ADULTS
JANUARY: 2025 Cupcake Kickoff!
Life is crazy for all of us, but young adults are making big decisions about life and faith that really matter right in the middle of the crazy! Here at Hope, our Young Adult group provides a place to connect, serve, apply God’s Word to real life, and live in relationships with others. Hope’s Young Adults is a great way to grow your faith and find help to navigate the big decisions on the horizon. As we start up the new year, we have some new things happening at Young Adults and we want EVERYONE post high-school through their 20’s to jump in and join the conversations and community! We meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month and will be gathering for our “2025 Cupcake Kickoff” on January 7th at 7:00pm – come on out and invite a friend! See you there!
For any questions about Hope’s Young Adults contact Mark & Dana Ott.
HOPE YOUTH
HOPE YOUTH: Sundays from 6:00-8:00P
Songs of the Season
There’s something special about a Christmas song. A familiar tune, a nostalgic melody, and lyrics that take you back to your favorite holiday moments. But what’s behind the Christmas songs that we hold near and dear? Are they just a soundtrack to the season, or is there a deeper message at their core? Join us as Hope Youth investigates the Songs of the Season to see the things that inspired them and how they are still inspiring us to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY: December 15th
We want to close out our Christmas series and kick off the winter break with our annual Hope Youth Christmas party! If you’ve never been, it’s a blast. PJs, Christmas snacks, holiday games, and silly white elephant gift exchange. We encourage every student to dress in their coziest PJs and bring a gift (worth $10 or less) for our silly gift exchange! It’s really a wonderful time and a wonderful chance for us to wish each other a Merry Christmas!
WINTER RETREAT: Beyond the Weekend
Hope Youth is embarking on a weekend retreat for all students from 6th-12th grade from January 24th-26th! Join us for a weekend of powerful worship, impactful sermons, intense sport tournaments, and the delights of an indoor swimming pool! Last year was a smash hit and we can’t wait to jump back into Keswick’s Beyond the Weekend! We want to make sure that everyone can come out so invite a friend and don’t forget to fill out and hand in the permission slip linked HERE. Let’s make this another awesome retreat to remember!
HOPE YOUTH CALENDAR:
Parents, stay up to date with everything happening on our calendar here!
JOIN OUR TEXT THREAD:
Stay in the loop for all of the most important notifications! Text “”hopeyouth” to (856) 420-6078 to start receiving updates this week!
For any questions about Hope Youth contact Pastor Dan at: danlein@hopechristianfellowship.org
HOPE KIDS
SUNDAY MORNING PROGRAMS:
We offer childcare and classes from our littlest Hopers to our 5th graders every Sunday morning at both services. Each classroom is staffed with friendly, enthusiastic, background-checked team members to ensure your child’s safety. Our WonderZone! serves our youngest children from infants through Pre-K, who are full of wonder about who God is! K-5th graders gather in the GoZone! where we GO for God, GO for growth and GO forever.
GOZONE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM: December 22nd
It’s time for Christmas in the GoZone! Our Christmas Program is Jingle Bell Beach, an exciting musical about a beach Christmas singing competition where the competitors end up learning the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus! The program is going to be here before you know it, so mark your calendar for December 22nd at both services! Program practices are officially getting started, so look out for the parent info letter and make sure your kiddos start listening to their songs. Click here to access the GoZone Christmas music! If you have any questions, reach out to Pastor Ryan.
HOPEKIDS! HANGOUT: On Hiatus for December
For any questions about HopeKids! Ministry contact us at: kids@hopechristianfellowship.org
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