My husband likes to tease me that I have a hair trigger between stuffed and starving. If I’m honest, he’s not wrong! I seem to always feel full right up to the moment I am suddenly starving; lightheaded and ‘buzzy faced’, beyond being able to make a decision on what to eat. Fun fact about me – I don’t like to eat unless I’m hungry and I don’t like to feel full. I am always slightly worried that I won’t be hungry in time for the next meal. As you could imagine, all this provides my family with plenty of ammunition to tease me with! However, if I compare spiritual and physical hunger, I don’t think I would ever be able to say I was full spiritually. There should always be a spiritual hunger that keep us coming back to the Word for more. I never need to worry that I’m going to get too full. The Bible talks about spiritual hunger over and over again. And it reminds us that the food we truly need does not come from our kitchen. “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) When Jesus responded to Satan’s temptations, he proclaimed, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) These verses point to the same truth. Our souls need nourishment just as much as our bodies do. It’s easy to recognize when we are physically hungry. I hope and pray we can recognize the hunger in our hearts that only God is able to satisfy.
Feasting on His Word ~ Lois
SPIRITUAL CARE
One or the Other (Luke 7:24-35)
As we begin Passion Week, we are coming into our celebration of the most important events in the history of the world. The death and resurrection of Jesus demand response. Jesus confronted people all through His ministry on their need to respond to Him. In this episode, we see two different responses. One group embraces Jesus and the other rejects Him. Jesus points out the hypocrisy of their rejection and makes it obvious that they turned away because they wanted to, not because they did not have enough information or clarity. This choice remains for us today. Will we put our trust in Jesus? Will we live trusting Him? We have to choose one or the other.
BAPTISM SERVICE: Tonight!
Baptism is an important symbolic opportunity to declare your testimony, and decision to follow Christ, in front of the church body! Join us on Wednesday, March 25th to show support for our brothers and sisters in Christ as they take this next step in their faith journey. We’ll have coffee, donuts, and fellowship at 6:30 before we begin with worship at 7:00. We will have HopeKids! Programs for our preschoolers (0-5).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY: New Series Coming Soon!
In the month of April, Pastor Mark is going to take four Wednesday nights and teach on the process of properly understanding and interpreting the Bible. If you’ve struggled to understand what the Bible says or if you’ve notice that people make it say all kinds of different things, this class will be an overview of the principles that guide faithful understanding of God’s Word. Join us Wednesday nights at 7:00P beginning April 8th.
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
We have an tangible way to welcome Pastor Gregg Buzzelli & Denise as they make the transition from Maine down to New Jersey. They are looking for help on Tuesday, March 31st as they unload a large truck of their items into their new home in Woodbury. If you are available to help anytime after 11:00am please contact Pastor Gregg. Let’s rally around them and show our warm Hope welcome!
FLAPJACK FUNDRAISER:
This past Sunday we heard from nine of our Hopers who will be traveling this August to serve alongside Josh, Jackie, and Caleb Frankeas at Restoring Hope Village in South Africa. We are so thankful for the tremendous generosity showed to them through your financial support! We are asking for your continued partnership in prayer as they plan for their upcoming trip. They also have another opportunity to support them. Join them at Deptford Applebees on Saturday, April 18th from 8:00-10:00am for an unlimited breakfast where all proceeds will support their trip. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
TRUE WOMEN’S BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN: Due back Sunday!
Thank you to everyone who took home a baby bottle to fill with change! Please return your bottles this Sunday and place them on the table at the back of the auditorium. Every coin adds up to provide care, resources, and hope for families in our community! We are glad to partner with True Women in this campaign.
EASTER AT HOPE:
This year we’ll be having three identical Easter Sunday services: 8:00a, 9:30a, and 11:00a. There will be coffee and free donuts before the start of each service, beginning at 7:45. We’ll also be having a Good Friday service at 7:00P with special music, scripture reading, and communion. HopeKids! programs will be available for all ages. Flyers are available in the lobby to spread the word and to invite your family and friends! You can also share our post on social media!
YOUNG ADULTS
If you are post high school through your 20s, our Young Adult group provides a place to connect, 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. We meet the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00P in the GoZone!
MONEY: April 7th
In this stage of life, most of us don’t have a ton of money. We have plenty of financial stress and needs, but we’re either just starting out in our working career or we’re still borrowing a ton of money for our education. If we don’t choose to think differently, money (or the lack of it) seems to define the quality and stress level of our lives. But what if we are developing unhealthy ideas about money without even realizing it? The patterns we allow now will stick with us until we confront them and change them. So, let’s take a night and look at some of the basic ideas about money that we find in God’s Word. Maybe we will find that we don’t have to live like money has as much power as everyone seems to think.
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For any questions about Hope’s Young Adults contact Mark & Dana Ott.
HOPE YOUTH
All 6th through 12th graders are invited to join us on Sundays from 6-8pm for games, bible study, worship, and more!
HUNGRY FOR CHANGE: Current Series
Giving to those in need is more than just a nice gesture and more than good deed, it is the outflow of a key teaching of Jesus, one he reiterates and models throughout the gospel of Luke. In this series, as we prepare our hearts for the Hungry for Change mission project, we will be exploring Jesus’ teachings to give to those in need, understanding what core aspect of Jesus’ mission that this action flows out of, and learning how we can apply it to our daily lives. Join us as we sit at the feet of Jesus and learn how we can be Hungry for Change.
WEDNESDAY NIGHTS: Exodus, Our God Saves
Exodus begins with a genocide and only ramps up from there. The parting of the Red Sea, the 10 Plagues of Egypt, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Exodus and in our Hope Youth Wednesday Night Bible Study we will be diving so much deeper. As we read through the classic Exodus narrative we will be looking at what the story says about God, how we can apply it to our own lives, and see how the whole Exodus story points to a baby boy who would be born in Bethlehem. Join us on Wednesday nights from 6:30-8pm for our new series “Exodus, Our God Saves.”
HUNGRY FOR CHANGE: Missions Event
Hope Youth is serving Woodbury this spring with its Hungry for Change mission project! Hope Youth will be collecting sponsorships and dry goods as they prepare their hearts and minds for an overnight fast and fellowship event. There are two twists this year, as for the first time ever we will be partnering with other local churches in the area as well as donating all of our proceeds to Greater Woodbury Cooperative Ministries! The event will take place at First United Methodist Church of Collingwood from 5:30pm on Friday April 17th until 1pm on Saturday April 18th. To be admitted, students must raise a minimum of $50 and collect 10 dry good donations. All students from grades 6th-12th are invited to be a part of this powerful mission seeking to serve those in need in our own backyard! Don’t miss out on the fun and fellowship as we serve God and Woodbury. Students can learn more and sign-up here!
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.
WEDNESDAY EVENING PROGRAMS:
Our WonderZone and GoZone teams are excited to continue sharing Jesus with all of our infants-5th graders alongside of our adult Bible Study on Wednesday nights! Classes open at 6:45pm for all of our HopeKids! Our team can’t wait to continue cultivating relationships, diving into Scripture, and establishing a foundation of faith with all of our little ones!
WONDERZONE EASTER JAM:
Our annual WonderZone Easter Jam event is coming up on Saturday, March 28th from 10:00am-Noon! We are so egg-cited to welcome all of our WonderZone-aged children (infants-PreK) and their grownups for songs, games, crafts, the Easter story, the Easter Bunny — and even an outdoor Easter egg hunt (weather-permitting)! You won’t want to miss the fun!! Click here to sign-up today!
GOZONE EASTER JAM:
This year, we will be hosting all of our elementary schoolers (K-5th graders) and their grownups for an egg-stra special GoZone Easter Jam on Saturday, March 28th from 2:00-4:00pm! We’ll have music, games, crafts, and some fun competition as we dig into the story of how Jesus died for us and the good news of His resurrection! Sign up for the fun here!
Check out our social media (and more) here!
For any questions about HopeKids! Ministry contact us at: kids@hopechristianfellowship.org
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