My husband likes to tease me by calling me Mrs. Webster (as in the dictionary) because I like words. Sometimes I’ll use a word and he’ll ask me what it means. When I explain, he’ll say – then why not just say THAT? My response is often something like – it just didn’t feel like the perfect word! We have so many words to choose from, whether we are writing them (hello Hope Notes) or speaking them. The Bible tells us we need to choose our words carefully because, “What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.” (Proverbs 18:21 GNT) I recently came across a post that said something like, once out there, our words can only be forgiven but not forgotten. We really need to think about what we say to someone! I’m sure we’ve all experienced the power of our words when we follow the guideline found in Proverbs 15:1 – “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” The quickest way to deescalate an argument is to speak softly. Conversely, if we match the volume of our ‘opponent’, we can watch the disagreement ratchet up another few notches. Matthew 12:36 tells us that, “on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say.” Yikes! This verse is straight from the mouth of Jesus about how powerful our words are and how they will impact our eternity. As for the written word here in Hope Notes, I would say that my desire is for my writing to simply speak to you what God has spoken to me. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight….” (Psalm 19:14 ESV)
Yours in Christ… Mrs. WebsterSPIRITUAL CARE
What It Costs To Follow Jesus (Luke 9:56-62)
Following Jesus is the greatest thing you could ever do. In theory, we all agree on this. But there are places in Jesus’ ministry where He describes the cost of doing exactly that. If we’re honest, we’d like to ignore the price we are called to pay to be a Christian. More than that, we probably do not fully understand what Jesus is saying as He talks about what we will give up or lose when we choose to belong to Him. How can we believe this is the most wonderful life to live when it costs so much? Maybe we should tune into our Savior who chose this type of life first and see what He’s trying to show us as He talks about the cost of following Him.FAMILY NIGHTS: Coming September!
We’re so excited to announce that starting Wednesday, September 9th we’ll be having fall Family Nights here at Hope! Join us at 6:15pm for FREE dinner for the whole family before we head into our classes at 7:00pm. We know weekdays can be hectic with school and work – so consider your Wednesdays taken care of! Come feed your stomach and your soul! We’ll have HopeKids! Programs for all our our little ones, starting from nursery up through 5th grade. Hope Youth will also have a class for our teens.BIBLE STUDY: And When You Pray
Does prayer ever feel like a burden or an unfulfilling duty? Join us for a 4-week Bible study beginning September 9th at 7:00pm as Pastor Gregg digs into scripture and helps us rethink what it means to talk with God and discover the purpose, benefit, and joy behind our prayers.
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 are excited to be kicking off Family Nights & HopeKids! programs (infant-5th grade) on September 9th! We’d love to invite you to connect with our kids during our midweek services, pointing them to Christ and helping set the foundation of faith that has lasting impact! We have space for additional team members across all teams: Nursery 1, Nursery 2, Preschool, GoZone, and a brand new Registration Team to welcome the many families who attend! Sign up here to take a turn once a month with our kids this fall!NEW TO HOPE CLASS:
If you’ve recently visited or started attending Hope, we want to invite you to join us for a Wednesday night hosted by Pastor Mark & Dana, and designed especially for you! We have a New to Hope Class from 7:00-8:00P on September 16th where we will answer your questions, introduce our ministry, and get you started on knowing your way around Hope. Please sign-up at Connection Center to let us know you’re planning to join us. Don’t miss this helpful and fun night!
PARTNER CLASSES:
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 classes on September 23rd, 30th, and October 7th 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 at Connection Center. To read more about what it means to become a partner at Hope, click here.WOMEN’S RECOVERY GROUP:
Our Women’s Addiction & Recovery meeting happens here at Hope on the 2nd & 4th Thursday of each month. All women are invited to join us this tomorrow, August 27th at 6:30pm. Come break addictions and strongholds in Jesus’ name! For any questions, contact Lisa Fiorile.MEN’S BOWLING LEAGUE: Last Call!
All men 18 and older are invited to join our Hope Men’s Bowling Team. We bowl Monday nights starting September 14th at 6:20PM at Bowlero Deptford, for 32 weeks of fun and fellowship. Cost is $20 a night. Contact Bruce Clark at 609-820-4858 if interested and sign-up at Connection Center by this Sunday, August 30th.
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 each month at 7:00P!
COOKIE KICKOFF: September 1st
Young Adults is back! Jump in for our Cookie Kick-off and join the fun and conversation! If you’d like to bring a batch of a favorite cookie (store-bought or homemade), we’d love it! Let Dana know and we’ll look forward to sampling some yummy treats! We’ll be discussing freedom – our ideas of freedom are pretty unique to our own time and culture. In America, freedom is deeply connected to our ideas of individual rights but is it the way that God defines freedom? If we’re mistaken about what true freedom is, we may be chasing something that isn’t actually freedom! Come join the conversation and let’s see what the Bible says about true freedom.
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For any questions about Hope’s Young Adults contact Mark & Dana Ott.
HOPE YOUTH
Youth Group meets weekly on Sundays from 6:00-8:00P beginning September 13th. Open to all 6th-12th graders!
FINAL POOL PARTY: August 30th
Looking for one last hurrah this summer? Don’t miss out on Hope Youth’s final pool party of the year! All 6th-12th graders are invited to join us for an afternoon of swimming, yard games, and delicious grill food on Sunday, August 30th from 3:00-6:00pm. Whether you’re new to Hope Youth, a regular, or just visiting you can come down to 973 Johnson Rd., Sicklerville for an iconic summer send off! Bring a towel, bring your swimsuit, and bring a friend. We’ll see you there!
YOUTH GROUP KICKOFF: September 13th
Hope Youth is coming BACK! We had such an amazing summer but we couldn’t be more thrilled to get back together and back in the Word with you! That’s why we’re starting the year off in style with a night FULL of team competition. We’ll duke it out in a series of exciting challenges as students learn about commitment to community this year! Kona Ice will be free for everyone who attends, but our winning team will get their choice of treat while everyone else will get to enjoy a free kiddie cup. All students from 6th-12th grade are invited to be a part of this epic comeback. Bring a friend and we will see you there!
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: Starts September 9th
We are so excited to have HopeKids! programs up & running again for infants through 5th graders during Family Nights this fall. We can’t wait to snuggle and care for your infants, build connections and set the foundation of faith with your preschoolers, and engage your elementary schoolers in activities to build their Biblical literacy. As we jump back into our midweek programs, all K-5th graders are encouraged to bring their Bibles each week to earn prizes and learn how to read from Scripture themselves! Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity in the middle of your week to teach your kids to prioritize their faith!
Check out our social media (and more) here!
For any questions about HopeKids! Ministry contact us at: kids@hopechristianfellowship.org
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