Announcements
VBS—It's
almost that time! VBS begins Monday morning. If you can't
volunteer, will you commit to praying for the teachers and the kids
next week? We hope & pray that this week is a blessing for them.
School
Supplies—If
you want to bring some school supplies Sunday, Mary McMillan or
Marilyn Suber can take them Monday down to Room in the Inn, a shelter
for women and children.
Family
Camp—Registrations
are due by August 1. We need to know if you plan to come to stay, or
even if you're only going to come for the day!
New
Hope News
Sermon
Series—We're
at the last sermon in the series What
the New Testament says about...
This week we're focusing on work.
Sunday
School—We'll
explore Proverbs this Sunday @ 9:45.
Sunday
Evening Prayer Service—We're
back this week!
6:00
Pray
for:
Joseph
Townley
David
Smith
Links
A
review of
The
Dark Knight Rises,
and
some thoughts on the darkness
prevalent in Christopher Nolan's films.
Book
Recommendation
Ever
wondered why they called it the land of milk and honey? Or what it
means for Jesus to be a shepherd? Or the vine? Margerat Feinberg
has a wonderful book called Scouting
the Divine
that explores these metaphors and offers some deep insights into the
heart of God through these images that are so foreign to our modern
ears.
Random
Thoughts
Commit
your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act.
(Ps. 37:5) I've been living with this verse a lot lately. I can't
help but wonder how much I really trust in the Lord—I say that I
do, but when I step back and examine my life it looks a lot like
someone who may trust in God but sure has a lot of backup plans in
place! My lips confess my trust in God, but my choices reflect a
fear that God may not always come through.
Of
course, anyone who's looked back over human history would say that
putting my trust in God is a lot wiser than placing trust in myself.
I'm a fallen, sinful, imperfect human. I have my bright, shining
moments, but there are also plenty of moments where I have fallen
short, where I have displayed my humanity. God, on the other hand,
has never broken a promise and is always faithful. He won't answer
every prayer the way I may think I want it answered, but he has
promised that nothing shall separate me from him, and also that love
will defeat evil in the end. He hasn't eliminated evil yet, but his
light continues to shine, even in the darkest chapters of human
history. God has earned our trust.
So
there is a choice to make. Will I trust myself, building up defenses
against life's impredictabilities? Or will I trust God, who will be
faithful to the end, and right through it, who is stronger than death
and the only one to whom nothing is a surprise?
And
once I have made that choice, will I continue to choose to trust God,
each and every day, so that my baptismal promises will be fresh on my
mind each day, so that my faith may be renewed and my spirit
strengthened by the one who has come to save?
Text
for Sunday, July 22
1 Thess 2:8-10
So
deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you
not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have
become very dear to us.
You
remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked
night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we
proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God
also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you
believers.
New
Hope on iTunes
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