Hey Friends…
I bet you’re ready for this coming week to be over. The anticipation and anxiety in our society is palpable as we face a sharply divided and anger-laden election this Tuesday. Even after Tuesday, clarity on the outcome may be painfully uncertain. My hope is that you have already moved well beyond anxiety and that you are truly resting in the Lord. But I need to share with you a very powerful word from God that He has given to me, for us, for Tuesday. I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… before you react to Tuesday… · Will you sign up to seek God’s power and direction together with us as we search out His will for Mt. Hope’s future? Click here to grab one or more 30-minute slots during our 24-hour prayer vigil NEXT Saturday / Sunday, November 9 – November 10 to cover our church in bold prayer. We’ll provide guided ideas on what and how to pray. · Then, don’t miss a mighty prayer meeting and worship night, NEXT Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m. · Don’t forget “The Daily Six”, our 6-minute video released every Monday through Thursday as we study through the Book of Acts together. Click here to sign up for daily reminder emails—or you can just find the videos on our YouTube channel each morning. · Pray today and tomorrow for your Mt. Hope Elder Team as we are away on a three-day strategy and prayer retreat (Thursday - Saturday). We will be praying over each and every one of you by name, seeking God’s wisdom for your needs and growth in Jesus. We’ll be listening to God and crafting some important next steps for our ministries and our church family. We can’t wait to share with you what God shares with us! · Be sure to turn your clocks back Saturday night. You get an extra hour of sleep as Daylight Savings Time ends!! OR… don’t set your clocks back and just accidentally show up early and find yourself in our weekly prayer meeting Sunday morning, 9:15 a.m. in the sanctuary! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who haven’t heard what’s happening on Tuesday. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… God has revealed a fresh word for you and me. It comes directly from the scriptures. It is encouraging. I am super-excited to share it with you. But I imagine you’re super-weary of discussing anything near this topic. The name calling, negativity, fear, anger, threats… it is all terribly exhausting, don’t you think? I am sensitive to this, and I truly do not want to belabor a subject many of us wish would simply go away. But we possess a tremendously different--and hopeful—angle. In Jesus, we can turn our attention away from anger and towards the joy, peace, wisdom, and unity of the Holy Spirit that is available to us. I trust you’ve heard my heart over and over again that we do not place our hope in political matters. Our hope is not in the kingdom of this world, including this great nation we cherish. Our hope is in the Kingdom of Heaven. Period. But neither should we place our fears in political matters. The Lord God Almighty is the one we should fear, not [insert name of your political nemesis]. Period. And yet, politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle declare with fevered pitch the existential danger to our society that their political opponents represent. For those of us who are politically active and engaged, we might even buy into the possibility that our chosen side is correct—that if the other man/woman wins, there is a real danger to our financial, social, and political wellbeing. But is this how God sees things? Slow down. Are you sure? Something is going to happen on Tuesday. It is likely one of three things: 1) Your preferred candidate wins in an indisputable, clear outcome; 2) The other candidate wins in the same way; 3) Neither candidate is a clear winner, and our nation drags on into a protracted debate--and perhaps even civil unrest—about who has truly been selected. Only one of those options will offer you an easy out from anxiety. But if that occurs, your friends and loved ones who vote the opposite will not be so anxiety-free. Several weeks ago, the Lord led me to stumble across a passage in the Old Testament that has a perfectly precise and immediate parallel to our situation. Oh, friends… you’ve got to read this passage and stand in it as we process whatever emotions we experience Tuesday night and the days following! Most importantly, this text of scripture needs to redirect and reframe how we see Tuesday’s outcome, how we interpret its meaning and impact to us, and how we choose to feel about whatever is ahead of us. Have I mentioned that I cannot wait to share this with you? I’m not going to tell you the text of scripture today. You need to come out on Sunday and let’s study it together. Come in-person… do not make this a “I’ll stay at home and watch the service online” weekend (unless, of course, you’re out of town or sick in bed… then join us online!!). Here’s why “in-person” is super-important this week: We need the full experience of “together” with one another and with the Holy Spirit to properly center our response. This is not merely an intellectual exercise to hear a good teaching from Pastor Chris. That you can get on the internet. But we need the full experience of the Body of Christ to properly frame our worldview… in togetherness (see Acts 2:42-47). And that only happens in-person. I sat Wednesday night with our worship team as they prepared. It was powerful. The Holy Spirit has led them to craft a very moving and encouraging worship experience for us. You will meet with God. Our Elders will be coming home from a three-day prayer and planning session filled with the joy of what God has in front of us. They will be eager to share. Our love for one another and the joy of seeing each other will warm our hearts. This will center us. This is the Kingdom of Heaven to which we belong. This is our hope. I’m not going to spill the beans on the scripture God has revealed so that we can all experience it together this Sunday. (For those of you who like to use this Friday email to get your mind prepared in advance, I’ll send you somewhere that’s a little out of the ordinary… to read another blog from a dear friend of mine. My college-era buddy David Drury has had a long and dynamic career leading churches and denominational organizations, mentoring pastors and leaders, and writing compelling wisdom for all believers. This week he published a fantastic study of God’s specific commands for us as we relate to our political adversaries. It is well worth the read… click here.) OK… that’s it for today. Let’s connect on Sunday in-person. God will meet us. We will be encouraged. And we will be centered. I don’t know about you, but a “centered self” will be super-helpful for me this Tuesday night! Much love to all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend
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Well, that’s a brutal subject line, isn’t it?
But seriously, what good are you? “Whoa, Chris… what got spilled in your Cheerios this morning? You’re not normally so mean.” Don’t misunderstand me. I am wondering what good you are… oh… wait, you’re not probably hearing me right. Let me explain… er, well… I don’t have room here, so let’s just clear this up in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… some big stuff is coming up! · Trunk or Treat is THIS Sunday evening, October 27, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for fun, games, candy, costumes, and decorations. Be sure to invite your non-church neighbors and friends! AND…it’s not too late to help! Volunteer to hand out candy, or help with games, set-up/tear-down, or greeting guests. Click here to let Chris Bowen know you’d like to help! · Will you seek God’s power and direction with us as we search out His will for our future? Click here to grab one or more 30-minute slots during our 24-hour prayer vigil November 9 – November 10 to cover our church in bold prayer. We’ll provide guided ideas on what and how to pray. Then we’ll wrap up with a mighty prayer meeting and worship night, Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m. · Our Sunday morning Prayer Wall is a big deal to us… add a request or pray for others! Remember we also have a weekly prayer meeting every Sunday morning, 9:15 a.m. in the sanctuary! · Don’t forget “The Daily Six”, our 6-minute video released every Monday through Thursday as we study through the Book of Acts together. Click here to sign up for daily reminder emails—or you can just find the videos on our YouTube channel each morning. OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who just decided I have truly lost my marbles. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… “What good are you?” It is an abrasive question, I know. Some of you have let that question bounce around in your head for years. When you look in the mirror and contemplate your shortcomings and failures, your own voice has shouted that question in your brain many times over. Me asking it here merely triggers the sorrow and shame you’ve carried for decades. Perhaps others of you are offended by the harsh and condemning tone of the question. You’ve settled long ago that you were made in the image of God, that you were wonderfully designed, just as Psalm 139:14 declares. You understand that your value is immense, not because others have validated it, but because God has declared it to be so. If you hate my question because it violates your understanding of your deep and abiding value, good. You are healthy. If you are troubled because my harsh question sounds too familiar to the voice of low self-esteem rattling around inside your brain, then you are about to be set free… if you will let the Word of God speak. What good are you? A negative self-esteem hears the question presupposing there is no good to be found. It hears an accusatory tone that shatters all hope of a positive answer. A biblical, God-centered view of self hears the question as a positive quest to find the good that has been intrinsic to you all along—not because it’s good psychological self-help, "power of positive thinking" blather. No, the God-centered view of self recognizes that there is a mountain of good within you because God has created it by His sovereign will and in His limitless joy. You have been created by God as a mighty force of good. Period. End of story. (Perhaps you need to absorb some verses of scripture to confirm this: Psalm 139:13-18; Romans 11:29; Ephesians 1:4-6). But there is a twist. Two twists, in fact. Twist # 1: God created us good (Genesis 1:31). But the good that was created in you and me has been horrifically corrupted by sin. The result? “There is no one who is good, not even one,” David, Jesus, and Paul all declare in the scriptures (Psalm 14:3; Mark 10:18; Romans 3:10). But I have better news: For those who have trusted Christ, our sin problem has been eternally settled in the salvation of our souls. We are made good by the sheer act of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-10). Twist #2 (and most important to the point of this blog): You were not created with great value for your own sake. The good that God has baked directly into your specific, precise, and individual design is not so you can feel good about yourself. This isn’t just for your own joy and mental wellbeing. You were specifically and precisely created by God “for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). There is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit invested in each one of us, and it is for a very distinct purpose. Jesus told us that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will receive power for the work of serving others with the good news of Jesus (Acts 1:8). The Apostle Paul tells us that this same Holy Spirit manifests Himself in us through a variety of gifts, and service, and outcomes—all to serve others and all given to us by the Holy Spirit just as He determines (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). This is all good. But good is not a status. It is not an identity. It is not a self-definition. It is an action. And it is always for others. Galatians 5:22 tells us that goodness is an outflow—a piece of evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. “The fruit of the Spirit is… goodness…” the scripture reveals. The word “goodness” in the original Greek language does not mean you are a “goodie two shoes.” It means there is an active and purposeful outpouring of good from you towards others. Your life is good, in other words, because you do good things for the common good of others. You do these good things not in your own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. The outflow of God’s Spirit in your life is actively good. Oh… and there is one more twist: If we do not recognize the good for which God has designed us, and thereby fail to actively engage that good, the whole body suffers. The Word of God again: “God has combined the members of the body… that its parts would have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it…” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26) This Sunday, let’s continue to explore “The Normal Christian Life.” It is not weird, it is not weak, it is not wandering. Let’s unpack together how God has brought together your beautifully created personality, your many life experiences, your passions and desires, and the spiritual gifts He supplies through the Holy Spirit. We will discover the very powerful purpose each one of us was uniquely created for. We’ll see exactly what our lives are good for. I hope we’ll see you Sunday for this tremendous discovery… 10:00 a.m. in-person (best!!) or online livestream (if you must). Can’t wait!! Much love to all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
I ran out of time last Sunday. I am glad I did. In His unlimited wisdom, the Lord wanted to slow me down so I could see something more clearly, more precisely, more thoroughly. And He knew I needed to have two conversations before I would be prepared to share this with you properly. I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below…and shoot really straight with you. But first…. · Ladies: Our one-day women's retreat featuring Cynthia Campbell and "The Steps to Freedom in Christ" and forgiveness is TOMORROW! Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP! · NEXT UP: Trunk or Treat!! Sunday evening, October 27, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for fun, games, candy, costumes, and decorations. We need your help! Volunteer to decorate a car and hand out candy, help with set-up/tear-down, or greet guests. Click here to let us know… or sign-up at church on Sunday! Be sure to invite your non-church neighbors and friends! · Mark your calendar for a 24-hour prayer vigil November 9 – November 10 with 30-minute time slots for people to cover our church in bold prayer. We’ll provide guided ideas on what and how to pray. Then we’ll wrap up with a mighty prayer meeting and worship night, Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m. · Don’t forget “The Daily Six”, our 6-minute video released every Monday through Thursday as we study through the Book of Acts together. Click here to sign up for daily reminder emails—or you can just find the videos on our YouTube channel each morning. · Are you praying with us every day this week? The Mt. Hope family desperately needs God’s power and direction as we search out His will for our future. Click here to see our call to 40 days of special prayer emphasis and join us by praying daily! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who don’t like precision from the Lord. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… One of you stopped me after service on Sunday with an important word of encouragement. It was the first conversation I needed before we could move into this next layer of our study of “The Normal Christian Life: Not Weak, Not Weird, Not Wandering.” This beloved saint’s eyes were filled with conviction as she said to me, “Don’t be alarmed at the congregation’s silence. You are shocking us.” She meant this in the most positive of terms—we are tackling a critical subject matter from the Book of Acts that most American Christians have never explored. I unpacked with you on Sunday why many of us have never heard of these things (click here if you missed it… it would be worth picking up before this week’s “Part 2”). The shock is in the newness of this teaching for many. It is not a new teaching to the Word of God. It’s just that we’ve not spent much time in it as an American church culture. We need to recognize why this has been neglected so we can lean in with the importance it deserves. Let me tell you about the second necessary conversation. It was ten hours long. Just yesterday. Sherri and I spent the day over in southern Maryland visiting with the leadership of a very healthy church pastored by a dear friend of mine. Their church is identical to ours in style, theology, and specifically in their warm, inviting, and deeply caring relationships. But they excel in two unique areas far greater than any other church I know. First, their focus and success with practical mission to the poor and needy in their immediate community is remarkable. Second, the overwhelming unity, connectivity, and passion within their incredibly culturally and ethnically diverse church family is stunningly extraordinary. (Can I possibly squeeze any more superlative adverbs into one sentence?) “Do you realize what the very first miracle was after Jesus ascended into heaven?” one of these leaders asked with passionate fire in his eyes. “The Holy Spirit’s very first miracle was to pour out a supernatural manifestation of languages that immediately unified thirteen different ethnicities in one divine moment.” He was right. We’ve already read about this in Acts 2:4-12. Last Sunday, I thought my job was to give you a quick academic understanding of a controversial--and for some, perhaps even frightening—aspect of Christianity and the Bible. I thought the goal was to simply protect you from theological error, fear, or confusion. After yesterday’s conversation, it clicked for me in a way that it never has before. I see clearly that this is not just a passing oddity in the Bible that needs to be understood and protected. It is a pivotal aspect of God’s revelation of what He is capable of healing and restoring. Some folks have abused this revelation over the last 120 years in the Church. That’s why my impulse to protect you is so high. The scriptures reveal a supernatural spiritual gift of languages He gave to some who were baptized [filled] with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4, Acts 10:46, and Acts 19:6). Most modern translations use the English phraseology “speaking in tongues” to render the original Greek text that would be better translated as “languages.” According to scripture, this gift is NOT given to every believer as some churches in America teach (see 1 Corinthians 12:27-30). Rather, at His discretion, God gives a variety of spiritual gifts to each believer “for the common good… just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11). There is solid scriptural evidence that this gift also has a manifestation of supernaturally anointed prayer in heavenly (spiritual) languages—what the Apostle Paul called “tongues of angels” (see Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 14:1-3; 14:12-14). The manifestation of this spiritual prayer language is where many in our church tradition get weirded out and might even become fearful. And let’s be honest: Looking at it from any natural perspective, this gift is tremendously odd, unnatural, and could even appear silly or foolish. What’s worse, there are some churches who overemphasize and practice the manifestation of this gift in a disorderly and insensitive way that directly contradicts the clear teaching of 1 Corinthians 14:23-33. The misuse (or perhaps even abuse) of this gift is what I am fiercely protective over you and the culture of Mt. Hope. We cannot ever allow the violation of scripture’s clear instructions from 1 Corinthians 14 in our church. But let’s not toss out the baby with the bathwater either. God has demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit to unify ethnicities, to unite people who were once alienated from one another, and to break down destructive walls of division (see Ephesians 2:12-18). He used one supernatural gift to do so in Acts 2:4-12. But throughout the early church He also used many other outpourings and spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring healing to division, hatred, disunity, and darkness. I bet you’d agree there’s plenty of division, hatred, disunity, and darkness right here in our own neighborhood that could use an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to heal. Truth: Without the Holy Spirit's power, they will not heal. The strongholds are simply too strong. This Sunday, let’s pull up next to the scriptures for a careful study of exactly how He has gifted the Body of Christ to be His witnesses with the power of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:8). Let’s seek together what God has for us in careful conformity to the Word of God. I promise to fiercely protect our biblical and cultural integrity. But let’s also fiercely hunger for all that God has for us! See you Sunday… much love to each of you!! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
Have you ever wondered who was the person that actually threw their baby out with the bathwater? You know that every warning label has a story behind it, don’t you? No joke: there’s a warning label on certain jet ski and ATV fuel caps that reads, “Never use a lit match or open flame to check fuel level.” Who did this once, prompting corporate attorneys to compel the ATV manufacturer to clarify this? So, when we use the phrase, “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” who actually did this? And is there any chance we are doing this very thing with aspects of our spiritual lives? Let’s talk in Deeper Thoughts below…it’s important. But first… · Are you praying with us every day this week? Jesus told us if we pray together, God will answer. The Mt. Hope family desperately needs God’s power and direction as we search out His will for our future. Click here to see our call to 40 days of special prayer emphasis and join us by praying daily! o I trust you’re also praying boldly for the many people throughout the Southeast struggling to recover from two back-to-back major hurricanes. Let’s add to our prayers asking God for what our part should be to help! · Mark your calendar for a 24-hour prayer vigil November 9 – November 10 with 30-minute time slots for people to cover our church in bold prayer. We’ll provide guided ideas on what and how to pray. Then we’ll wrap up with a mighty prayer meeting and worship night, Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m. · Trunk or Treat!! Sunday evening, October 27, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for fun, games, candy, costumes, and decorations. We need your help! Volunteer to decorate a car and hand out candy, help with set-up/tear-down, or greet guests. Click here to let us know… or sign-up at church on Sunday! Be sure to invite your non-church neighbors and friends! · Ladies: Our one-day women's retreat featuring Cynthia Campbell and "The Steps to Freedom in Christ" and forgiveness is Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP! · ALSO… it’s not too late to join our 7-week Ladies Bible Study on Tuesday nights exploring “Jesus & Women in the First Century and Now.” Click here for details and to RSVP! · Don’t forget “The Daily Six”, our 6-minute video released every Monday through Thursday as we study through the Book of Acts together. Click here to sign up for daily reminder emails—or you can just find the videos on our YouTube channel each morning. · Click here for a personal update video from our Family Life Ministry Resident Chris Bowen as he and his wife work through her health crisis with leukemia. OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who don’t enjoy baths or babies. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… How about this one: On a Vidal Sassoon hand-held hair dryer, there is a label that offers “Instructions for use: Do not use while sleeping.” Or this one: on Nytol sleeping pills, the caution reads, “may cause drowsiness.” Or a placard on a chain saw that says, “do not hold the moving end of the saw.” Are people really so unwise that such warnings are necessary? It’s doubtful that anyone knows who it was that once threw a baby out as they drained their bath, but there must have been someone who did. The phrase first appeared in 1512 in a German writing called “Appeal to Fools.” The value of this warning stuck for centuries, to include an 1849 writing in the United States that recommended: “Fling out your dirty water with all zeal… but try if you can to keep the little child.” Regardless of where it started, the warning resonated because there is indeed a tendency in human nature to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Hopefully for you parents, we’re just proverbially speaking. Tragically, friends, I fear we’ve done this with more than one aspect of the Word of God and spiritual power. Let’s talk. We’ve been studying the bible book called “The Acts of the Apostles” in our quest to understand “The Normal Christian Life.” We’ve challenged you to read every verse of this book, two chapters each week. We’ve put together daily six-minute videos to model how to pull a present application from this important biblical text. We want to discover what normal Christianity is—not the Americanized, neutered, watered-down version of following Jesus, but rather the original Christian life initiated and empowered by Jesus Christ himself. As the very first church lived out their new relationship with Jesus, we see over and over again how the Holy Spirit filled the believers. This “baptism of the Holy Spirit” was promised by Jesus and would lead to profound power (see Luke 3:16-17 and Acts 1:4-8). But somewhere the universal body of Christ-followers abandoned this teaching altogether. Most of us have grown up in churches that never taught on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and God’s power. Why? Truth? The Church threw the baby out with the bathwater. Now don’t get me wrong. There has been plenty of foul water throughout the Church that desperately needed to be changed. “Drain the swamp,” is a popular partisan phrase decrying bureaucratic malaise often found in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. But can I tell you that a far more prolific swamp of spiritual disease has existed throughout the history of the broad and universal church of Jesus Christ? On the one hand, the vibrant power of the early church was quickly traded for a wretched politicization of Christianity not long after Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christ. Popes and bishops saw their opportunity to gain power, and for more than a millennium the Church controlled the governance of most of Europe, imprisoning and torturing anyone who did not follow both their strict doctrines and their political demands. The Crusades, the Inquisition, and all manner of spiritual darkness enveloped the Church for over 1,000 years. There was no room for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in this Church. The Holy Spirit does not share His power with power mongers. Ever. On the other hand, there have been great awakenings and outpourings of the Holy Spirit throughout the Church’s history that have rescued pockets of believers from spiritual malaise. Their impact has been profound; their revival long-lasting; the transformation palpable. One of those awakenings nearly revolutionized western culture with a Holy Spirit-empowered deliverance from racism, prejudice, and hatred. I taught on this three weeks ago—if you missed it, click here for the video. (If you were there and want to brush up on the story, jump to the 23:00 mark.) But as we learned in that teaching, this early-1900s awakening was destroyed by the vile hardness of one pastor who split the church and headed off in a terribly unbiblical direction. The result? Churches in our tradition threw the whole thing out. That water needed to be changed, no doubt. It was filled with despicable ideology and a faulty interpretation of scripture. But there was a baby we shouldn’t have tossed down the drain along with it. This Sunday, would you allow me to delve into a somewhat academic discussion on what we have discarded and why, and to see if there is anything we should revisit in the revelation of scripture? We will clarify for you some controversial matters revealed in scripture that have often been misunderstood and misapplied in the Church—perhaps even in our church. You in? Do a little advance reading--which I hope you already did with me in Wednesday’s “Daily Six” (click here)--Acts 8:4-25. Broaden your view with Acts 10:44-48 and Acts 19:1-7. Then, let’s meet!! Much love… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
Would you like to see everybody get along—more than just tolerating each other, but truly enjoying, respecting, and engaging everyone? Would you like to see every needy person in our community supplied with all they desire? Or how about every hurting person healed? Or the discouraged truly happy? Or the fearful renewed with courage? Or the aimless given enthusiastic purpose? I know this sounds quite lofty. But I’m serious. Would you want all this if you could have it? How much would you pay for it? Let’s talk more about this—and an interesting problem called “dross”—in Deeper Thoughts below. I might have a deal for you. But first, just a few reminders / updates today… · Ladies: Join us for a one-day women's retreat featuring Cynthia Campbell and "The Steps to Freedom in Christ" with a special focus on the importance of forgiveness. Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Click here for more details and to RSVP! · ALSO… a new 7-week Ladies Bible Study led by Audie Hall kicks off THIS Tuesday, October 8, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. exploring “Jesus & Women in the First Century and Now.” Click here for more info and to RSVP! · It’s time for TRUNK or TREAT!! Join us Sunday evening, October 27, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for fun, games, candy, costumes, and decorations. This is a great event to invite your non-church friends as we reach neighborhood families with love at Mt. Hope! We need your help! Volunteer to decorate a car and hand out candy, or help with organizing, set-up/tear-down, or greeting guests. We’ll have more info and a sign-up at church on Sunday! · Are you keeping up with “The Daily Six” and our journey through the Book of Acts? Join me every morning, Monday through Thursday, as we work through Acts verse-by-verse. Click here to subscribe to our daily reminder emails, or just go to our YouTube channel and pull up The Daily Six videos each day! And… click here for this week’s study guide. It’s not too late to jump in! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who prefer everyone stay a total mess. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… I hate prerequisites. They annoy me. Like when I go to the gas station and before I can start the pump, I have to first answer an inquisition about whether I am a loyalty member, or if I’d like to become one, or if I’d like a car wash today, or if I know there’s a sale on potato chips inside. (I’ve not seen that last one just yet. But wait. It’s coming.) Don’t give me a bunch of hoops to jump through. Just give me my gasoline. College prerequisites are the worst. They are always the terribly boring classes no one wants to take. But to get to the important stuff related to your chosen career, you must first confirm you have mastered everything known to man about Beethoven’s orchestral masterpieces or how the ancient Chinese handled agricultural economics 3,700 years ago. I hate being told that before I can get to what I want, I must first conquer a bunch of stuff I don’t care anything about. How about you? When it comes to spiritual stuff--the things we truly desire in life such as love, family, happiness, financial stability, purpose, and meaning—it seems there are always a million barriers and endless lists of hurdles to overcome. It’s as if God doesn’t really want us to achieve the most important things in life. If He does, why does He have to make everything so hard? But what if in spiritual realities, the hoops and hurdles and roadblocks really are prerequisites—that the most important things in life cannot be achieved without first passing through a series of genuine preconditions? I know there’s a brilliant PhD somewhere who will explain with a straight face how studying the composition of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is necessary for you to become an excellent certified public accountant. But I am talking about a much more realistic prerequisite—that for spiritual realities to actually occur as God intended, we must first work our way through a series of intentional hardships. I started today’s email asking how you’d like to see relational harmony, emotional healing, the absence of poverty, encouragement, and joy as the norm among us. “Unrealistic,” you might say. But is that because these spiritual wonders truly are impossible, or is it because the prerequisites for such spiritual victory are too costly for our tastes? Jesus promised--and delivered—the spiritual power to experience harmony, joy, healing, and deliverance that comes only from the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). The outcome of that mighty outpouring (Acts 2:1-4) did indeed bring unity and favor between all manner of different people (Acts 2:44-47). It erased poverty (Acts 4:34). It offered healing and recovery (Acts 2:43; 3:6-8; 5:12-16). And much joy was upon them all (Acts 2:47). His cousin John was a little more forthcoming about its cost: “One more powerful than I will…baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). The scriptures often use the analogy of silver or gold making to describe the painful prerequisites to genuine spiritual power and victory (see Proverbs 25:4-5; Ezekiel 22:18-22; Malachi 3:2-5). If you know anything about precious metals, you know they don’t come out of the ground shiny and ready to wear around your neck. The ore is mined all mixed up with a variety of other elements—copper, tin, zinc, aluminum, etc. It must then be refined--or purified—where the precious metal is extracted from the unwanted elements which are called “dross.” The process of refining always requires heat. For gold, that heat is 1,948 degrees Fahrenheit to be precise. For silver, it’s a comparatively chilly 1,763 degrees. Ouch. The temperature is turned up. Everything melts. The heavier, more precious metals sink to the bottom of the cauldron. The dross rises to the top. The goldsmith uses a flat ladle to skim the impurities off the top over and over again until none of it is left. All that remains is perfect, pure, shiny, and precious metal. Jesus here: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich…” (Revelation 3:17-18). Did you notice the problem starts with not realizing the actual poverty of our condition? We may think the worldly comforts and achievements we’ve built for ourselves are truly wealthy. But Jesus is offering a far richer reality—a spiritual preciousness that is achieved only by fire. As we continue our study of “The Normal Christian Life” on Sunday, let’s turn our attention to understanding the prerequisite of being refined by fire that comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I don’t like prerequisites. Especially when they involve painful things like fire. But the outcome is worth it. Jesus promised. And he delivered. Do a little advance reading if you’ve not already done so this week: Acts 4:31-5:16. Gonna be so good!! Here we go… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
“I’ve got the controls,” my flight instructor said tersely, issuing a command to let him handle the airplane for a moment. I had just screwed up and I knew it. He let quite a bit of silence transpire as I sat there with my hands neatly folded on my lap, looking out the window at the countryside below. “I want you to tell me what you were trying to do back there,” he finally said. A longer moment of silence. “I honestly don’t know,” I replied. “I could tell,” he snapped back. I’ll explain--and tell you how this relates to Jesus—in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… · Are you reading the Acts of the Apostles? Join the Mt. Hope family reading through this important biblical book detailing the first Christian Church as we seek to understand “The Normal Christian Life.” Click here to download this week’s study guide and jump in with us! o Also, check out “The Daily Six” video series and join me every morning, Monday through Thursday, as we work through Acts verse by verse. Click here to subscribe to our daily reminder emails, or just go to our YouTube channel and pull up The Daily Six videos each day! · Let’s pray fervently together! Just as in the early church, the Mt. Hope family is gathering THIS Sunday night, 6:00 p.m. for an evening of prayer, worship, and seeking God for our future. We will provide an important update to our facility expansion plans, pray fervently for God’s provision, and seek the Lord for the future of the ministry and culture of Mt. Hope Church. · Ladies: Join us for a one-day women's retreat featuring Cynthia Campbell and "The Steps to Freedom in Christ" with a special focus on the importance of forgiveness. Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Mt. Hope Church. Click here for more details and to RSVP! · ALSO… a new 7-week Ladies Bible Study led by Audie Hall kicks off on October 8 exploring “Jesus & Women in the First Century and Now”. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · Please be in bold prayer for our Family Life Ministry Resident Chris Bowen and especially his wife, Krista, who was diagnosed very recently with an acute form of leukemia. Chris will need to avoid crowds so as to not risk her compromised immunity as he supports his wife. This presents a huge opportunity to consider joining our kids and teen ministry teams--even if just temporarily—as we depend on dedicated volunteers to backfill roles Chris may not be able to fulfill in upcoming days. Click here for a full update from Chris Bowen. OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who love being out of control. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… I was practicing a rather delicate procedure in pursuit of a new aviation certification. It was an advanced skill set, learning how to land an aircraft that has no forward nosewheel, but rather two main wheels below the wing and a swiveling mini-wheel on the tail. In layman’s terms, it’s kind of like learning how to drive a grocery shopping cart backwards at a very high rate of speed. Most pilots have a touch of ego about them. The culture of aviation breeds bravado. It is not so commonplace to admit when you need help. After this attempted landing had bounced through four or five porpoise moves up and down the runway, my instructor told me to let go. “I’ve got the controls,” he said, first to save his own life, and then to make his teaching point. As we climbed away from the embarrassment, he let me linger in silence for a bit. Maybe he was allowing for a few moments of shame to soften me for the lesson. Or, more benevolently, perhaps he was allowing me to come to my own conclusions on what I had done wrong. The learning occurred when he asked me precisely what I was trying to accomplish. “I have no idea,” I replied. As the aircraft bounced up and down along the runway, I had no clue what to do. So, brilliantly, I just kept wiggling the controls back and forth in hopes that something would do the trick. It did not. You can see the core problem here, can’t you? No one was really flying the airplane. I wonder if we ever do this with our spiritual lives. My flight instructor could see that I was randomly and helplessly twisting the flight controls in search of a solution to a terribly failed landing attempt. I wonder how often our Creator watches carefully as we twist and turn and wrestle and wiggle the circumstances of our life in the vain hope that something will rescue us from the chaos. He knows all along that we have no idea what we are doing. No one is really flying our lives. We’re not letting Jesus handle the controls, but then again, we are not in control either. Aviation culture breeds bravado that seldom humbles itself to let someone else be in charge. Human nature breeds the same in everything. The goal of good flight training is that the student pilot will fly exactly like the instructor when they are alone. The goal of Christian discipleship is that the Christ-follower will live exactly like Jesus in everything we do. But just like in flying, the Christ-following disciple cannot just hope something will work itself out. Someone needs to fly the airplane; someone needs to fly our lives. The Holy Spirit had just been poured out upon the early Christian believers. It was a stunning event, replete with miraculous signs and wonders. The curtain between this world and the spiritual realms had been pulled back. The crowds were amazed. The disciples were emboldened. The world would never be the same. Peter stood up among the crowd and explained what they were seeing. “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel,” he said. “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people’” (Acts 2:16-17). But this mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit was not meant to be mere entertainment. It was not just a novelty, nor was it a freak show. It was a declaration of authority. Peter concluded: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Most of us are more than willing to let Jesus be our “Christ,” which means “savior.” We absolutely love the idea of Jesus rescuing us from our mistakes, just like I was really glad my flight instructor saved me from that terrible landing. But how many of us are truly ready to let him be our “Lord?” “Jesus is Lord” means he is in control. It means he flies the airplane. It means he leads our life, directs our choices, and determines our destination. “Jesus, take the wheel” may sound refreshing. Until he takes us where we do not want to go. Until he asks us to surrender something we do not want to give up. Until he tells us something we do not want to hear. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’” Jesus asked, “but do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) Jesus goes on to use a different metaphor than my aviation example. But the point is the same. Jesus suggests that the one who listens to his words and does what he says will be like a man whose house is built upon the rock; the floods came and the house withstood the storm (see Luke 6:46-49). This Sunday, as we continue our fall teaching series “The Normal Christian Life,” our beloved Pastor Will Cravens will take us into the words of Jesus to settle who is truly in control of our lives. Who is flying your airplane? Who is in control of your life? The stakes are high. My bet on the best pilot is Jesus. But we’d better be willing to hear him say, “I’ve got the controls,” and then let go. Much love to all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
Anybody want to put the brakes on God? I’ll admit it might not be the smartest idea. But let’s be honest. Sometimes we are afraid God will do something, give us something, or lead us somewhere we do not want. So, we may very well unconsciously pump the brakes when God is trying to move. And then other times, we really are crying out for God to do what He has promised, and it seems He is nowhere to be found. Even in those cases, is there any chance we might unknowingly have our foot on the brake pedal? Let’s talk more in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… a few important happenings… · Are you enjoying “The Daily Six” video series? We’ll continue every morning Monday-Thursday to help you study with us through the Book of Acts. Click here to sign up to receive the daily reminder emails, or just go find us on our YouTube channel! · All-Church Workday TOMORROW, Saturday, September 21, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Come fellowship with an amazing group of people and help spruce up the church facility and campus! Fun, laughter, hard work, and pizza all included! · Kick-Off Prayer and Worship Night – Sunday, September 29, 6:00 p.m. – Join us for a very special night of worship, seeking God, guided prayer, and discussions about our Mt. Hope future. As a church family, let’s seek the face of God for our future, to believe God for supernatural provision for our facility expansion, and to listen to the Holy Spirit for each of our individual callings. · Do you want to connect with others at Mt. Hope? Did you know we have an online church directory? You must sign up to participate… we’ll have resources and information for you on Sunday. We’ll even grab a profile photo of you if you’d like! · Ladies: Join us for a one-day women's retreat featuring Cynthia Campbell who co-led our workshop on "The Steps to Freedom in Christ" a few months ago. Cynthia will be revisiting some of those concepts, especially the importance of forgiveness. Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Mt. Hope Church. Click here for more details and to RSVP! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who prefer God stay right where He is. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… Let’s level-set on one important truth: God wants to move in your life. Period. The prophet Joel said it this way: “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on *all* people…even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days’” (Acts 2:17-18). Last Sunday, we began to explore this biblical promise. We looked at the distinct difference between the ongoing, consistent “indwelling” of the Holy Spirit—which every believer has without condition—and the specific event of being “baptized” or “filled” with the “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit. These are two distinctly different works of the Spirit in our lives. If you missed last Sunday’s teaching, or if you feel like it’s still foggy for you what all this means, I’d encourage you to click here to pull up the video and dig in. It is not a question that God wants to pour out His Spirit upon you. Jesus called this a “gift that my Father has promised” (Acts 1:4). As a gift, it is not contingent on anything you do. We do not earn it. As a promise, it is not subjective to shifting whims or conditions. God won’t be swayed. “So, why don’t I see it? Why doesn’t God get moving? Why do I read about this “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit, and I’ve never seen it or experienced it in my life? Why doesn’t God do what He wants to do? Isn’t He all-powerful? Can’t He just do it?” We often wonder why God has not moved more powerfully in our lives. But a firm belief in the integrity and inerrancy of scripture will confirm that God keeps His promise without fail. God wants to move in your life and mine. Period. *But*… these next two sentences are super important: His promise is unconditional in the sense that He will not be swayed away from keeping it. But His promise is not without conditions. Did you catch that? His promise is unconditional in the sense that He will not fail to keep it. But there are conditions that must be met for God to be able to fulfill His promise. If the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the promise of God for every person--including you and me—why doesn’t God get done in more believers what He has promised to do for *all* believers? Is it possible that we have a part to play in this? Is it possible that we are the ones who are holding back the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Is it possible that we are stopping God’s movement in our lives? Acts 2:37-38 lays out two important prerequisites for being filled (baptized) with the Holy Spirit: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Do you see the prerequisites? The first is repentance, which means to pivot away from all that is opposed to God in our lives. The second is salvation—to be certain we are “born again” by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (see John 1:12 and John 3:1-18), which Peter expressed as being baptized in water* in the name of Jesus. (* Remember an important distinction here: The word “baptism” is used in two entirely different meanings in the same teaching in Acts. “Baptism” is a word that simply means to be “immersed.” When we are baptized in water in Jesus’ name, this is a symbolic event we use to express our faith in Jesus and our salvation. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, this is an entirely separate experience of God’s power poured out into our lives (see Acts 1:4-8).) This Sunday, as we continue our fall teaching series on “The Normal Christian Life—Not Weak, Not Weird, Not Wandering,” I am going to tell you a powerful, hope-filled, and yet tragic story. We’ll look carefully at the scriptural prerequisites for God’s movement in our lives. Then, let me illustrate it with a very noteworthy example of how this works. Throughout history, there have been many, many powerful outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Some you have heard of; others you have not. Massive changes to human culture often result from these outpourings. One of these would have absolutely revolutionized America’s struggle with justice and equality had it been allowed its full course as the Holy Spirit fell upon tens of thousands of believers in a humble dirt-floored warehouse all day long, every single day, for three years. Society was about to pivot as the worst leaders of human oppression fell under conviction, repentance, and transformation. And then one man stopped God dead in His tracks. Let’s not be that guy. Join us this Sunday to discover the hope and promise of God’s outpouring, learn how we can do our part to be in position for it, and what we could do to stop it (so we will NOT do that!). Gonna be powerful… here we go!! See you Sunday… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey All…
He refused to explain the Bible to us. He wouldn’t tell any of us. We were a group of four teenage fellas who had gotten really hungry for all that God had for us. Our youth pastor, Scott, had been teaching through the Book of Acts just like we are doing this fall at Mt. Hope. When he spoke about the Holy Spirit from Acts 1 and 2, we were completely lost. So, we went to Scott. “What does this mean,” we asked. He refused to say. It was maddening and brilliant all at the same time. I’ll tell you why in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… LOTS of important things coming up: · Ladies… TOMORROW, September 14, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. put on your cowboy boots and hat and come line dancing with us! Click here for more info and to RSVP! PLUS… SAVE THE DATE for Saturday, October 19 from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. for a One-Day Women's Retreat at the Mt. Hope Pavilion! More details to come! · All-Church Workday… come hang with an amazing group of people, all while helping spruce up the church facility and campus on NEXT Saturday, September 21, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. · Kick-Off Prayer and Worship Night – Sunday, September 29, 6:00 p.m. – Join us for a very special night of worship, seeking God, guided prayer, and discussions about our Mt. Hope future. Through the fall season, look for a series of powerful prayer and worship gatherings, prayer vigils, and at-home guided prayer experiences. As a church family, let’s seek the face of God for our future, to believe God for supernatural provision for our facility expansion, and to listen to the Holy Spirit for each of our individual callings. · Also, as we refresh our vision for prayer as a church, look for a brand-new prayer wall and prayer cards this Sunday morning. Plan to share your prayer needs with us. Individual prayer partners will carry each prayer need before God and follow up with you until God supplies the answer. We’re getting serious about seeking God in fresh and powerful ways! · Do you want to connect with others at Mt. Hope? Did you know we have an online church directory? You have to sign up to participate… we’ll have resources and information for you on Sunday. Oh… and Dave Firestone will have his camera along to grab a profile photo of you if you’d like! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who prefer to not understand scripture. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… You’d think a good youth pastor would be super excited to tell his fired-up teenage boys all about the Bible. Especially when they ask. But nope. He refused. He had a method to his madness. And it worked. You see, Pastor Scott was wandering into a section of scripture that just about every other church in our tradition steered well clear of. Historically, there had been some churches who had taken these passages of scripture and wandered into a little bit of weirdness with them. Since there had been a lot of confusion about the subject in those days--and in some cases, some fairly dangerous misuse of the topic—churches like ours had all but abandoned teaching on the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” It was considered too risky. People might misunderstand. Folks might get swept into false doctrine. Some might get overly emotional. Others might feel alienated and fearful. So, most pastors in our church tradition just skipped this part of the Bible altogether. But there was a problem with that strategy: Jesus didn’t skip over it. He told his disciples to press in: “Do not leave Jerusalem,” Jesus said, “but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). “What does this mean, Pastor Scott?” we eager teenagers asked him after the youth service one night. (An important note if you are somewhat theologically astute… you might recognize these terms: We were not in a “Pentecostal” or “charismatic” church whatsoever. Our church was just like Mt. Hope—a middle of the road, evangelical, Bible teaching church with a fairly calm and mainstream worship style.) We stood there anxiously awaiting Scott’s explanation. He quietly opened his Bible, thumbed back to the same passage in Acts, and read it out loud to us again. Then he closed the Bible and looked at us. We waited. He stared. It got awkward. “Um… Scott, so what does it mean? What is this ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’? What does it look like?” He opened his Bible again, read the passage aloud, closed it again, and continued his creepy stare. About a week later, all four of us made an appointment to meet with Scott at his home to talk more about this. In that context, lazing on his massive 1980’s puffy blue couch, he gave us more time. This time when we pressed him, he opened his Bible and read us a bunch of passages--Luke 3:7-17; John 14:15-17; John 16:7-15; Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:1-12; Acts 4:31; Acts 8:9-25; Acts 10:1-48; Acts 19:1-7. “Now we’re getting somewhere,” we thought. And then we verbalized the question everyone had out loud: “So, what does this look like? When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, how will we know? What will it look like? What will it feel like?” You can probably guess what Scott did next: He opened his Bible, began to read the passages again… Scott never added a single word of interpretation. He offered no explanation. He did not give us a model of what it looked like. He never showed us a video. He did not take us to a church service where people talked about it. He refused to give us any instruction whatsoever. Brilliant. This did two things. First, we got super hungry. We could not be content without knowing for ourselves what God had for us. Without Scott giving us any guidance except the raw words of scripture, we were certain there was something we didn’t yet understand, and God was going to have to reveal it. This led us to seek God fervently. When God answered, it was obviously God. Secondly, Scott brilliantly protected us from an over-emotionalized, experience-seeking, theologically distorted error that some folks in more charismatic traditions had fallen prey to. He forced us to find only what God was revealing, not what man would impose upon us. Friends, I wonder if we have been undersold on this topic. Some of our churches have avoided it altogether, leaving us entirely unaware of what God intends for us from this text of scripture. Others have run headlong into it with a zeal and enthusiasm that over-emphasizes and hyper-emotionalizes it, taking it where it was never intended to be. This Sunday, would you trust me to unpack these texts with you and give you some clarity? I’ll be a little more forthcoming that Pastor Scott was—you are adults, and we can handle sorting this out together. But I also promise you that we will discover a scriptural promise that fits right here in our own tradition and style without getting weird. If you have any background with this topic that makes you a bit nervous, I’ll take really good care of you, explain the controversies that surround the topic, share my take on scripture, and explain why Mt. Hope is who we are with it. Do some reading in advance… the texts are all up there where Scott read them to us. Then, let’s seek out the scriptures together!! Much love to all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
Let’s get back together again this Sunday! Three reasons: First, simply because we miss seeing everyone all in one place together. Now that summer is over, let’s meet! Secondly, we are launching a brand-new fall teaching series that I believe will have profound impact on how we follow Jesus. But perhaps most importantly, I want to find out if you and I are weirdos, or if we are just plain normal. “Whoa, Chris… hang on… did you just call me a weirdo?” Well, before you get offended, hear me out… more on this in Deeper Thoughts below. But first…wow… a TON of stuff happening as we kick off our fall season: · TOMORROW, September 7, 11:00 a.m: join us for a memorial service to celebrate the life of our dear friend Chris Nicholson and share a delicious meal afterwards in his honor. For those able to bring a potluck dish, please click here to sign up for what you’ll bring. If you want to try your hand at one of Chris’s great recipes, click here for some of his favorites! o IMPORTANT: So our hospitality team who worked so closely with Chris can attend the memorial service--rather than being downstairs fixing everything up—if you are bringing food, please arrive no later than 10:50 a.m. so we can get your items staged and the team upstairs for service. o If you are unable to attend, you can click here for a livestream of the service in real-time. This link may also work for later “on demand” viewing. · THIS Sunday, we launch our new fall teaching series “The Normal Christian Life: Not Weak, Not Weird, Not Wandering.” This series will be an intensive study of the Book of Acts—a bold snapshot of what following Jesus looks like when it is truly “normal.” More on this in Deeper Thoughts below. · Also this fall, look for a series of powerful prayer and worship gatherings, prayer vigils, and at-home guided prayer experiences. As a church family, let’s seek the face of God for our future, to believe God for supernatural provision for our facility expansion, and to listen to the Holy Spirit for each of our individual callings. I’ll tell you more about this on Sunday. · Jump into a small group this fall! We’ll be working through the Book of Acts together, and there’s no better time to get involved with a fresh start. We’ll tell you more and give you a path to involvement on Sunday! · Ladies: Put on your cowboy boots and hat and come line dancing with us on Saturday, September 14 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to RSVP! PLUS… save the date for Saturday, October 19 from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. for a One-Day Women's Retreat at the Mt. Hope Pavilion! More details to come! · All-Church Workday… come hang with an amazing group of people while helping spruce up the church facility and campus on Saturday, September 21, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who are very certain you’re not weird. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… What has been your experience with religion? With Christianity? Can I tell you mine? I grew up in a fairly agnostic home. My folks never really wanted much to do with religion. We had a perfunctory little bit here and there—Christmas Eve and occasionally Easter; for a couple of years, we tried the “family goes to church every Sunday” thing at the local Presbyterian church. It was mediocre at best. Anyone remember those little clip-on neckties? They were a perfect fit for miniature 8-year-old Chris. I got very little out of church. All I remember the minister talking about were the funny cartoons he read that morning in the newspaper. For real. That’s all I remember. Nothing about Jesus. Nothing about the power of God to transform me. Nothing about the need to give my life over to Jesus and be saved. And certainly nothing about being filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s anointing. Simply put, to me, religion was lame. Church was even more lame, Christianity irrelevant. And I never heard about the radical, life-transforming, world-altering, filled-with-power side of Jesus Christ. This led 8-year-old Chris to grow up to be the very wise 10-year-old Chris who boldly declared on the religion page of his Cub Scouts badge book that I was an atheist. I did not believe in God. When I told my parents that was what I was writing in my book, they shrugged. Then at age 14, I met Phil and Carolyn Holliday. Their son Brian promised a robust social life at their church’s youth group which might satisfy my new-found interest in young ladies. So, I went. And hated it. At first. But then I saw the power. The youth pastor was a total fanatic, his eyes filled with fire and passion. Many of the students would raise their hands and adore God--sometimes even weep—during worship. Teens were devoting all their energy to living for God. They prayed with authority and boldness. They expected the miraculous, and at times, they saw it. They went “witnessing”—a 1980’s version of going door-to-door to tell strangers about Jesus Christ and ask them if they wanted to be saved. New teenagers came to youth group in droves, and almost every one of them gave their lives to Jesus the first time they showed up. One night, we went “witnessing” at the Park View High School football game over in Sterling. The fire in our souls was so intense that for hours after the game, we sat in the back of Guy Wilson’s pickup truck and prayed for the Holy Spirit to baptize us with His power—just like Jesus instructed his disciples to seek in Acts 1:4-8. Jesus answered. I was forever different. My parents thought I had joined a cult. But what I had tapped into was real Christianity—not the stale, lifeless, going-through-the-motions drudgery of the old churches we had visited. This was authentic. This was power. This was transformation. Why am I telling you this? I believe that far too many Americans—even many American “Christians”—experience faith as a drudgery at worst, and at best, a mediocre adjunct activity to their otherwise super-busy lives. What’s worse, most Americans think that’s the normal state of religion. To them, it’s all that Christianity is meant to be, and all that it is capable of being. When Americans see someone over-the-top, super-devoted to Jesus Christ, they consider them a fanatic. Someone weird. Someone really abnormal. But when we read the New Testament, crazy intensity about Jesus is described as if it were just plain normal. The power of the Holy Spirit is standard. Seeing the promises of God fulfilled is ordinary. Radical Christ-following--even to the point of persecution and death—is typical. Do you see this kind of Christianity these days? Do we see it even here at Mt. Hope? Let’s go “all in” to look at the vibrant Christianity of the Bible. Let’s be bold and honest enough to look in the mirror and see if we are anything like the “normal” pattern of Holy Spirit-filled, supernaturally empowered Christ-following that the New Testament describes. Or are we something less “normal”? “The Normal Christian Life: Not Weak, Not Weird, Not Wandering.” Are you up for discovering what this really looks like and how to step into God’s very real plan for your life? I am. I need this. I hope you’ll join me. Here we go… Sunday morning, 10:00 a.m. Let’s meet!! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey Friends…
We’ll keep this quick and focused today as Sherri and I are away on our vacation enjoying much-needed reconnection deep in the mountains of West Virginia. We will be back to work this coming Wednesday, September 4. In the meantime… some important updates: · A powerful celebration of life for our beloved Chris Nicholson will be held at Mt. Hope Church NEXT Saturday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. As you likely know by now, Chris passed into the arms of Jesus on Tuesday. Please plan to join us next week to honor his life, to care for his family, and to celebrate all that his life meant to us. o The memorial service will be immediately followed by a church fellowship potluck luncheon in honor of how Chris always treated us to a great meal together. Early next week we will send out an online potluck sign-up, to include suggestions and recipes of some of Chris’s culinary favorites for those who might want to celebrate him by bringing their own rendition of a world-famous Chris Nicholson best. · The men’s breakfast and challenge originally scheduled for next Saturday will be cancelled so we can focus the day entirely on Chris Nicholson, as is fitting. We’ll reset for a later date. · Join us THIS Sunday for a great Sunday worship experience. Pastor Randy Richardson will be bringing the Word of God as we are out of town. o But more than just filling in for me, Randy shared with me that prior to our vacation announcement, God had given him a specific word for us that will bridge nicely between our “God’s Game Plan” series we just ended and our next exciting teaching series that begins on Sunday, September 8: “The Normal Christian Life: Not Weak, Not Weird, Not Wandering.” · Ladies: Put on your cowboy boots and hat and come line dancing with us on Saturday, September 14 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · But wait, ladies, there's MORE… SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, October 19 from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. for a One-Day Women's Retreat at the Mt. Hope Pavilion! Cost: $30 (includes light breakfast and a lunch), but if cost is an issue, please talk to Tracey or Sherri because we want you to be there! More details to come! · All-Church Workday… come hang with an amazing group of people, all while helping spruce up the church facility and campus on Saturday, September 21! More details to come! OK… that’s it today. No “Deeper Thoughts” for this one, but God is showing me a LOT of great things that I can’t wait to share with you next week!! Much love to all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend |
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