Love. We’ve all heard a plethora of catch phrases and songs about it: ’Love the one you’re with. Love me like a rock. Love is love. Love means never having to say you’re sorry.’ However, there’s only one phrase that truly matters. The Bible clearly tells us that GOD is love. Two such verses are found in 1 John. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8) “…..God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16) Now, let me take you on a little journey. Since God is love, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that we could take the famous passage about love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) that’s often read at weddings and substitute God for the word love? Take a look and see how it impacts that section of Scripture: GOD is patient, GOD is kind. GOD does not envy, GOD does not boast, GOD is not proud. GOD is not rude, GOD is not self-seeking, GOD is not easily angered, GOD keeps no account of wrongs. GOD takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. GOD bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. GOD never fails. Wow! That ought to make us all sit back and give a heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving to our heavenly Father. I know of no one on earth that you could attribute all of those qualities to. And as I was writing them out, I could think of verses in Scripture that go along with those qualities. See if any come to mind for you as well. I’d list them all out but this opening is supposed to be a short devotion! Anyway, those are my thoughts. Shared with you. Something to contemplate.
We are loved by the King……Lois
SPIRITUAL CARE
Relationships in Church (2 Cor. 13:11-14)
Relationships are hard. But they are also essential. Have you ever thought about whether or not knowing Jesus makes a difference in relationships? If it does, what kind of difference does it make? We’re going to look at the close of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and see how he describes some of the things that happen in a Christ-centered relationship. This will be a good chance to see if you are acting like a Christian in your relationships. It also may help you know if the connections you have with other people are good for you or not. Seeing what healthy relationships look like often gives us a clearer picture of the relationships we already have. Ultimately, it only makes sense that people who know Jesus and have the Almighty God living inside them are going to act differently in their relationships with others!
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY:
Anyone Can Read the Bible
Pastor Mark will be wrapping up his study about wisdom tonight, February 19th, and next week Pastor Dan will lead us in a study about the reading bible. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, an autobiographical account of the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty Judge, our Savior. And if God has prepared, preserved, and presented His Word to us, then we ought to read it, right? Whether you are new to Bible Study, or have been doing it for decades, there’s always the temptation to feel ill-equipped or unqualified to unwrap God’s Word. But don’t lose heart, Anyone Can Read the Bible! In this short single-session-series pastor Dan hopes to demystify the process of Biblical study while providing encouragement and some simple tips for diving deep into God’s Word. 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!
COMING SOON: Biblical Doctrines
Beginning March 5th, Pastor Mark will start a new 4 week series on biblical doctrines. Have you ever thought that you really don’t know what the Bible teaches? While we all can probably learn more about the Bible, there are some main doctrines in Scripture that are basic. We’re going to take the month of March and go through about 8 of them. We’ll look at the Bibliology, Theology, Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology and even Angelology. Don’t worry if you don’t recognize those names – we’ll actually learn what they each talk about. Join us to be better equipped to know some of the systematic doctrines in the Bible!
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
If you’d like to join, host, or register your current Small Group, visit our updated Small Group webpage to fill out a form and connect with our team! Current Small Groups are also featured on our website, so you can peruse what might be the right fit for you. If you have a Small Group that hasn’t been added please contact us so we can include you!
PARTNER CLASS: 2 Classes Left
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 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.
COFFEE HOUSE:
We’re getting ready for the upcoming Easter & spring season and we want to kick it off with a “Coffee House” right here at Hope! This evening will be filled with curated live musical performances on Wednesday, April 2nd at 7:00pm. We’ll have a coffee bar with lattes, hot cocoa, and cold drinks along with some yummy treats for you to enjoy. You don’t need to bring anything, but it would be so helpful if you’d sign up in at the Connection Center so we can be sure to save you a seat. Feel free to bring the whole family, or leave the kids home and make it a date night! There will be no HopeKids! programs (or nursery) for this event, but nurseries will be open for those who may need to use them. Pease plan to join us for a fun night and feel free to reach out to Dana Ott with any questions.
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!
MARCH 4TH: Wisdom Quest – Proverbs
The Bible is a guidebook for Christians. But is it possible to understand it for yourself? We’re meeting this time to see for ourselves. Over the past few weeks, many of our Young Adults have been reading some of the book of Proverbs on their own and jotting down a note each day. At this meeting, we’ll take time to share what we’ve learned and how we can use that information in our lives. We’ll also talk about the challenges of reading the Bible and how we can overcome the obstacles of normal life to intentionally and faithfully read God’s Word and learn from it.
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.
CURRENT 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 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:
The book of Daniel follows a young man who was kidnapped from his home land and exiled to a foreign country. Far from home and surrounded by ungodly influences, Daniel had to find a way to remain true to his faith. Join Hope Youth on Wednesday nights as we study the book of Daniel and see how this young man not only held fast to his faith, but stood out and stood up for what he believed. Most teens struggle with that familiar desire to fit in, but in a world growing further away from God, He seems to be asking us “Are you willing to stand out?” Come find out how at Wednesday Night Bible Study from 6:30-8 and enjoy some complimentary coffee and donuts while you’re at it.
30 HOUR FAMINE:
Every 30 hours roughly 7,000 people die of starvation. We don’t think that’s right, so Hope Youth is teaming up with World Vision to make a change and we need your help! We will be raising money for World Vision by gathering sponsors for our 30 Hour Famine fast taking place March 28th-29th at right here at Hope. Your job will be to reach out to friends, family, and trusted adults and invite them to be a part of this life changing mission by donating to your cause! Use this link to register and join our team! Open to all teens 6th-12th.
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
HOPEKIDS!
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.
WONDERZONE EASTER JAM:
We’re excited for this year’s egg-stra special WonderZone Easter Jam event on Saturday, April 5th from 10:00-Noon! This year, we’ll be hosting all of our WonderZone-aged children (infants-PreK) and their grown-ups for songs, games, the Easter story, the Easter Bunny, and an Easter egg hunt (weather-permitting). You won’t want to miss the fun! Click here to sign-up today!
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