Hope Fellowship Community Church

I recently took a class where we studied some of the different views of salvation and about sin.
I then took a survey of our church and found that most people in our church are pretty much in agreement with what our church and denominational views.
I think the problem comes in application or experience. "I really believe that God can heal but I am going to save prayer until I have exhausted all other possibilities." "I believe that God is all-powerful but I really think that I should take care of that little issue of smoking myself because God doesn't want to deal with that."
Do I struggle with this mindset also? Unfortunately, yes but we are talking about a God who spoke something into being out of nothing...nothing. We are talking about a God who healed people of terrible sicknesses, blindness, and even had power over death. That all sounds good doesn't it but how do I translate that power into my little melon-sized brain? Do I have to be so broken and hurting that God is all I have before I realize this power? Or can I live in that power today?
Gerry Coates, the executive director of Free Methodist Communications, sent out an email and had a letter in it entitled "Victory Over Sin." I have pasted that letter below and I hope that you are as inspired by it as I am.

Victory Over Sin
"There is no reason why every believer should not have immediate victory over sin. There should be no divorces among God's people ... because the incredible power of the Risen Christ who lives within us is present to give victory over all the difficulties that you are facing -- whether it is in the marketplace, in your marriage, with your children, in your church or community" (Henry Blackaby, "Prime Time America" aired March 27, 2008).
 
This quote was given in response to a question by the host as to the characteristics of the power of the resurrected life. Blackaby's immediate response was that the context tells us that Christ defeated sin, death and hell. He added the statement quoted above. The whole conversation was in the context of Blackaby's book, Experiencing the Resurrection, particularly in relation to Ephesians 1:18-21 (NIV):  "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."
 
I was half-tuned into the conversation until that moment. I thought of how far "the church" is from that reality. The local church I attend is far from that reality. The church in Corinth was far from that reality. Even the church at Ephesus was far from that reality. So is Blackaby promoting a pipe dream? One of the things he stated in the conversation was that "people know what to believe, but they often don't experience what they say they believe."
 
I can't transform the church, but I can do what Christ calls me to do. Pertinent questions for me are: Am I experiencing the reality of the power of the resurrection? Am I leading my family by that experience? Am I actively engaged with at least one other person who is not living in that experience? Can I be an encouragement to him or her?
 
Blessings,
Gerry Coates
Executive Director, Free Methodist Communications

 

How can I change my thought processes or my mindset to match up with the resurrection power of Christ?
Can we not be like the father in Mark 9:24?

"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Over the past eight years, the love I have for my wife, Bev, has been developing and growing. There are times of hurting, times of joy, and times of not so much of either. The love that my wife has for me is amazing. She has put up with my stubbornness, my grouchiness, and all the other "nesses" that no one else really sees. But I know that she loves me. I know that she will stand beside me no matter what. I know that she will be there with me because we have made that commitment to always work things out and never even mention the "d" word. Whatever it takes, whatever we have to do, we will be together. We will always strive to grow and be happy together.

I think about God and that is how I view his love for me. I know that through all my "nesses", he will be there and he will love me for who I am. Psalm 36 says, "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."

Does my love for God look like this? When things don't go my way, do I threaten divorce? Do I give him the silent treatment because I am mad and don't feel like talking it out? Do his "nesses" collide with my own and cause even more confusion and disruption in my life? His greatness and faithfulness overshadow anything that my humanity could wrap itself around. I do not understand his love and how he could love me, even though he knows me completely.

My wife and one of her friends have observed many people's "nesses" and have concluded that everyone has different ones and they don't always match up with everyone else's "nesses." We each have our different "nesses" and are unique in our own way. However, don't let your "ness" be an excuse for your sin. If your "ness" is grouchiness, and you know that it is, don't let it be a crutch to be grouchy...do something about it. Find your "ness" and if it is something that does not please God, change it. Let your commitment to him be an incentive to grow into a loving and obedient relationship with him.  

 

This Christmas we are trying something different. If you are interested, check out adventconspiracy.org and see for yourself. The basics of it is that you don't spend as much on useless gifts at Christmas and you give the money you would have spent to a worthy cause like building wells so people can have fresh water. Our family has decided to make all of our gifts and to support an organization called horizon international.

Consumerism hits almost every part of our lives. If it isn't new, it isn't good. If it's not the latest thing, it is ancient history. I read an illustration about this idea and how even when we go on missions trips, we try to ingrain that into the "poor" culture to whom we are ministering. Check it out here.

I was talking to my daughters on Thanksgiving evening about how much food we had consumed that day. I told them that we probably ate more in that one day than some people in the world eat in a month. Did you ever hear, "You'd better eat that, there are children starving all over the world." Maybe instead of stuffing our faces and trying to get the biggest and best of everything, we should do something to help some of these starving children. It's time for change.

Take a moment and head over to http://www.churchproduction.com/go.php/article/601 to read a great article by David Martin Jacques.

 

Intro:  Nearly all theatrical lighting designers agree that the most powerful and effective quality of light is color. The power of color can help create intense emotional responses in your congregation. It can also assist in supporting the mood of the worship service and at the same time instantaneously change the mood from one moment to another.

read the rest of the article

 

 

Where is my life headed? How does my life line up with what God has in mind for me? Am I walking on the path that God wants me to walk?

Our life with God is a journey. A faith walk that requires that we continuously strive to love God and love people and live in obedience to God's word.

Marriage and children are a perfect example. If I am not diligent in caring for my relationship with my wife and my children, it can easily slip beyond where I want it to go. If I am not striving to build those relationships and allow them to grow and flourish then I am stagnant. My relationships stop growing.

I worked in a greenhouse in Indiana. I worked around a lot of plants and I brought a lot of them home sometimes. If I got busy and did not take care of my plants, they stopped growing. The plants lacked the nutrients that they needed and life stopped for them. That is what happens when we neglect our relationship with God.

After the initial first step of accepting Christ and his love and forgiveness, we have to continue on in our journey, following that up with baptism and eventually church membership. Our church has a membership covenant or a covenant for growth. I believe that besides the 3 steps I just mentioned, we have other things that are needed but not necessarily in a certain order. Our covenant for growth covers quite a few of those things.

1. I will assume responsibility for my personal spiritual growth through regular Bible study, mutual accountability, reflection and prayer.

2. I will participate in weekly services on a regular basis.

3. I will respect the worth of all persons as created in the image of God, striving to be free of any activities that defile the mind and harm the body, and being just and honest in all of my relationships.

4. I will participate in a small group or Life Transformation Group to increase my understanding of the Christian faith, to strengthen my relationships with others in the church family and to submit to mutual accountability.

5. I will exercise my spiritual gifts within a specific area of involvement, as well as support the church through prayer.

6. I will consistently honor the Lord through the proportionate giving of my financial resources.

7. I will personally share my faith with those within my sphere of influence, and support others who share the Christian faith with those beyond my sphere of contact.

8. I will respond positively to both the persons and decisions of Hope Fellowship’s leadership.

 

If you have a relationship with Christ, you should seriously look at these things and where you are in your life. Next steps are very important...what are yours?

We have started our prayer initiative entitled Praying4America. We received over 50 commitment cards to pray everyday for the requests given in the prayer guides.

My hope is that we all realize the true meaning and power of prayer being a channel to allow God's power and Spirit to fill us and work through us in our lives. So many times we use it as a forum to ask God for help, plead with him about our problems and beg him for more chances when we mess up. If we can realize that it is something we use to connect with him and open up the communication lines then we can allow him to permeate our lives and transform us into his image. It is like using a hose to water the garden. It is not the hose that brings the life to the plants but the water from the source that we have allowed to pass through the hose and give the much needed moisture.

I have my map and I will pray for the requests that I have committed to pray for, but my hope is that I am opening myself up to allow God inside to change me and to empower me with his Spirit.

"Prayer is not about the church. The focus must be on seeking God and knowing him, not on seeking what he can do for us."
Daniel Henderson.

 

Blessings,

Jon

Over the last couple of weeks we have added a number of acoustic panels to our church.  This will help reduce the sound that we have had bouncing off the back wall and then the front walls.  Tomorrow we will test out these sound panels and a temporary lid on the drum set.  In addition, we will be adding a acoustical meter that will allow us to track acoustic frequencies and volume levels.  This will ensure a consistent sound from week to week.  I'm very encouraged by these changes and I'm looking forward to the improvement in our services as a result.

Welcome to the tech arts blog. Here we are shooting to provide some insight on technical issues and how they relate to the church and worship services. In addition, we may even offer some "how to" or other details. Enjoy!

-Brian
Tech Arts Director