Ephesians 6:10-18 includes the well-known passage about putting on the armor of God. My favorite part of the armor is, without a doubt, the shield of faith. I remember when I first learned that the ‘flaming arrows’ were representative of doubts and troubling thoughts. It was an ‘aha’ moment! I pictured Satan shooting these arrows of worry, doubt, and fear at me. With the shield of faith in place, they can bounce right off! I recently read another component to this concept in my devotions. It said that if God’s Word is firmly etched into our minds (and hearts); it is like carrying a concealed weapon against the enemy; wielding the Sword of the Spirit (vs17). Don’t you love that?! God knew how many battles would originate in our minds and so he gave us the tools to combat them! Each morning I am determined to put on my armor and saturate my mind with God’s Word. Reload my ‘gun of faith’ so to speak. There could be no better preparation for the day ahead!
Putting on His armor……Lois
SPIRITUAL CARE
Our Awesome Redemption in Christ
(Colossians 1:15-23, Joel 2:21-27, Romans 8:18-28, Isaiah 44:22, Ephesians 1:5-7)
Believing in Christ saves our souls, but it doesn’t stop our suffering. In fact, it can often increase our suffering, because living out our faith means a life that puts us at odds with the broken systems of this fallen world. Yet, God’s promises of redemption are so profound that Christians should overflow with hope and gratitude! Let’s meditate on those promises together and uncover the power and breadth of God’s redemption.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY:
Putting Wisdom to the Test led by Pastor Mark
We are studying two Old Testament books in the “Wisdom” genre. Some people think that life is all about making right choices so that you don’t face the fallout of bad choices. Reading Proverbs can make it seem that this is Biblically true. But Job and Ecclesiastes examine what we should learn when the foundational ideas of wisdom don’t seem to work. Job is a pretty familiar character to many people, but we’re going to try to sort out the details and dialogue so that we can see the message and purpose of the book as it connects to the teachings of Proverbs. Ecclesiastes is not as long of a book but it has similar connections to the wisdom found in Proverbs. Let’s take a journey together through “real life” and the confusion that derails many people when good people suffer unfairly, or when you seemingly have it all but feel so empty inside. Join us Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for coffee & donuts followed by our study at 7:00. We’ll have HopeKids! and Hope Youth programs for kids 0-12th grades!
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
GOOD NEWS CLUB:
This past Sunday we got to hear from one of our local missionaries, Matt Berger, as he shared an update from Child Evangelism Fellowship. The after school program he helps to run, Good News Club, meets in our Woodbury elementary schools and is the largest in the county! They could use some more volunteers to help them run this program. Evergreen club starts up February 5th, and West End club starts March 13th. If you are interested in partnering with CEF, contact Matt here!
IRON MEN: February 3rd
All fathers of children up through high school age are invited to join this small group with intention to cultivate strong relationships with one another, build trust and grow a robust community of men who are not afraid to be vulnerable and support one another through life’s challenges big and small. We will be navigating through the book and study guide of “The Jesus Style”. We meet on the 1st & 3rd Mondays of each month. No need to sign-up, just show up! If you have questions, please contact Bob Esser (856-889-7939) or Chris James (856) 693-9061).
WOMEN OF HOPE: February 3rd
All ladies post high school are invited to join us for our women’s bible study on the 1st & 3rd Mondays of each month! Come out at 6:30 for a time of fellowship, discussion, and prayer. Bring your bible and a friend! If you have any questions, contact Mary LeBeau.
If you’ve recently visited or started attending Hope, we want to invite you to join us for a Wednesday night designed especially for you. We have a New to Hope Class from 7:00-8:00P on February 5th where we will answer your questions, introduce our ministry, and get you started on knowing your way around Hope. Please sign-up in the lobby to let us know you’re planning to join us. Don’t miss this helpful and fun night!
MEN’S BREAKFAST: February 8th
Men 18 years of age and older are invited to our monthly Men’s Breakfast. We feature prayer, full participation study — all enjoyed with a free hot breakfast and terrific fellowship.
PARTNER CLASS: Starts February 12th
If God has brought you to Hope and convinced you over time that this is the church for you, we’d love for you to officially join us. This is our way of doing ‘membership’, but we use the word ‘partner’ instead because it connects us to the Biblical idea that we are called to partner together in ministry. We are now offering our partner class on February 12th, 19th, and 26th at 7:00P. The classes will cover the way our church functions as well as what we believe. Current partners are also encouraged to attend! Please sign-up in the lobby. To read more about what it means to become a partner at Hope, click here.
GALENTINE’S BRUNCH: February 15th
Calling all Ladies! Our annual Galentine’s Brunch is right around the corner and we’re excited to get “Pretty in Pink” with all the best gals around! Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 15th from 10:00A-noon and plan to join us – feel free to invite your girl gang, too! We’ll have a yummy brunch, some fun games, a photobooth, and we’ll take a few minutes to talk about the unrelenting love of Jesus. Our women’s events are for all women post-high school and up, so look for the event on Facebook and sign up in the front foyer today. If you’d like to bring a sweet treat to share, you’ll see a spot on the sign up sheet for that too! Contact Dana at danaott@hopechristianfellowship.org for more information.
YOUNG ADULTS
Meets the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays at 7:00P
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. Open to anyone post high school through their 20s!
FEBRUARY 4TH: Under the Influence
There are substances that affect us all around us, all the time. Many people use nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, CBD or just straight-up weed, and many others. How do you decide what you want to allow to affect you and to what degree? Or do you even make a conscious decision? Some substances can have life-altering consequences. Others are seen as safe. People use them to help them cope and to manage the burdens and stresses of life. What should someone following Jesus do about substances? Bring your experiences, your ideas, and yourself to be a part of this discussion. We need every one of you so this can be as full and rich of a discussion as possible! Plus, we’re going to have plenty of pizza for everyone to enjoy!
For any questions about Hope’s Young Adults contact Mark & Dana Ott.
HOPE YOUTH
Sundays from 6:00-8:00P
Through varied lessons, small group, worship, and fellowship we teach students 6th-12th to see how much God loves them, how valuable they are, and the peace that a relationship with Jesus can lead them to.
NEW SERIES: Flowing Through Scripture
Every year Hope Youth challenges the world’s tendency to turn Scripture into bite sized sayings by doing a survey of the entire Biblical narrative! This year we’ll be focusing on the theme of water. Whether it’s the parting of the Red Sea or the miracle of Jesus walking on Water, God has used this powerful element to communicate key truths about His character time and again. Join us on Sunday nights starting February 2nd as we journey from Genesis to Revelation, explore key stories along the way, and apply God’s grand message to our own lives!
HOPE YOUTH ON WEDNESDAYS:
We talk about diving deep into God’s Word on Wednesday and this year we plan to go even deeper. Before we start our Biblical survey series (coming February 2nd) we are going to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, specifically the theology of creation, on Wednesday nights at 7:00P! Together we will explore creation, hear some competing theories, and see what all of Scripture has to say concerning the subject.
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.
NO OUTSIDE FOOD POLICY:
To create the safest and simplest experience for our kids and volunteers, we are implementing a “No outside food” policy in our Toddler, Flex, and Pre-K classrooms. All of our provided snacks in the classroom are gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and made in facilities free from these allergens to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all of our little ones. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation! Reach out to Kara May at karamay@
HOPEKIDS! HANGOUT: Sundays from 6:00-8:00P
All K-5th graders are invited to join us for special snacks, games and activities that expand upon what we’re learning on Sunday mornings. We’ll continue studying “The Heart of God” to see how we can reflect God in our everyday lives, this year and every year!
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS IN WONDERZONE:
Our Nursery 1 team is excited to care for your infants (0-18m) while our Nursery 2 team loves on your toddlers (18m-2yr). As we start a new year, our Preschoolers (3-5yrs) will dive into a brand new “Growing with God” study designed to help preschoolers learn about the reality of God’s love through play and apply it in their daily lives! You won’t want to miss out on this awesome opportunity to prioritize and pour into the foundation of faith for your little ones — we hope to see you there!
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS IN GOZONE:
GoZone Remix is back for 2025! K-5th graders will love our fun and exciting midweek program, where we review Sunday morning’s Bible story with new video, new games, and new small group activities to remix the experience. Plus, a WEEKLY Scripture Memory Verse Challenge with prizes to reinforce the Bible story of the week! You don’t want your elementary kiddo to miss out on this opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and fellowship with other HopeKids!
For any questions about HopeKids! Ministry contact us at: kids@hopechristianfellowship.org