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Hey friends…
I don’t like getting yelled at. Do you? It’s happened to all of us: by a parent, a teacher, a boss. Maybe even a neighbor or friend. Or a spouse. Never fun. But can you imagine getting yelled at by Jesus? Rebuked and reprimanded by him? What might trigger that? Oh…and are we all certain we’re not presently in queue for that difficult conversation? Yikes!! Let’s talk more in Deeper Thoughts below. But first… · Everyone please join us for a super-important all-church conversation and vote about our facility expansion project, THIS Sunday after church, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. At this critical decision meeting, all are welcome and everyone will have the opportunity to weigh in on what God is showing us. o Our Covenant Partners will vote to receive new Covenant Partners into membership, appoint new Board of Administration members, consider if we are ready to formally adopt our revised By-Laws (click here), and decide on the future of the proposed facility expansion. o We will share the results of our Generosity Commitments towards the project. Click here if you would still like to weigh in on the generosity God is leading. · Teens: Youth Group Sunday after service, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., ending about the same time as the congregational meeting. Devotional time, snacks and games! Please contact Jess if you'd like to be added to the Youth Group email list or if your teen needs a ride home: [email protected]. · Ladies: Tomorrow’s planned Prayer Walk at Morven Park has been cancelled. BUT… Mark your calendars for our May event: Zumba to Christian Music with Cynthia Campbell, Saturday, May 17, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · Mt. Hope spruce-up workday: NEXT Saturday, May 3, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Enjoy quality time with friends while beautifying the church! For young and old, and for all experience and skill levels! · Volunteers!! Anyone currently or interested in serving in Kids Connect or Youth, mark your calendars for a volunteer luncheon right after church, Sunday, May 18. · Don’t miss this week’s kick off of our next installment of The Daily Six video series as we begin a brand-new teaching series called “Knowing God”! Join me for six minutes each morning, Monday through Friday, on our YouTube channel as we study through the entire Old Testament together. If you’d like to receive daily email reminders and you’re not already getting them, click here to sign up! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who thoroughly enjoy reprimands. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… I still get serious twitches when I recall being verbally disciplined by my schoolteachers for some occasional—and normal—adolescent indiscretions. Yes, your beloved Reverend did get in trouble at school more than once. I’ve also been hauled into the boss’s office and given a stern rebuke for making corporate mistakes in my adulthood. Some of those painful and embarrassing moments are more recent than I’d like to admit. Rebuke is never fun. Occasionally it is misplaced or overdone—like the time I got excoriated in front of the entire class for over 15 minutes by my World Civ professor my freshman year of college. I had innocently, albeit with very poor timing, joyfully exclaimed a particular thanks to the Lord when I learned that class had been cancelled that day. I missed the part about the reason for its cancellation was her unfortunate illness. She was hurt. She let me and the whole class know about it. Firmly, with red face, raised voice, and copious amounts of spittle spewing from her angry lips. Did I mention the part about it being in front of the whole class? And the 15 minutes? Sometimes, though, rebuke is well-placed. Sometimes we’ve done something wrong, and we need to be called out. As painful as it is, I want rebuke when I need it. There is no way to grow in the areas I am blind to if I don’t hear about it. Jesus rebuked his disciples at a very inconsiderate moment. I think he was being unfair. Obviously, he did not. They were in the middle of grieving. My opinion: that’s really not the best time to call someone into your office and give them the “what for.” They had just stood for hours watching the man they loved being tortured and put to death by crucifixion, a gruesome and outlandishly barbaric way to end a human life. They couldn’t even give his body their respect as oppressive Sabbath laws prohibited even the work of properly burying your loved ones after Friday sunset. They spent their Saturday consumed with overwhelming grief, confusion, despair, and probably anger. Then, the next day, when the women came running from the grave to excitedly declare that Jesus was alive, no one believed them (Mark 16:10). Can you blame them? Resurrection isn’t in the human catalogue of regularly anticipated experiences. Later that day, two of the others came running in telling of this odd fellow they met while walking along the road. He rambled on about the prophecies and a suffering Messiah. Right as they were starting to recognize that he looked an awful lot like their now-dead Jesus, he vanished. Poof. Gone. Huh. That was weird (Luke 24:13-32). Even later still, as they sat around the dinner table trying to figure out what to do next, poof again. There was Jesus standing right there in the middle of everybody. His first words? Not, “Hey everyone, how ya’ doin?” Not, “Whatzzup?” Not, “Surprise! Look who it is!” Nope. His first words? Rebuke. “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen” (Mark 16:14). I don’t know about you, but I’m throwing the unfair flag. How would they believe it? Granted, they had seen Jesus raise a few other folks from the dead. That was impressive. But to expect them to translate that to an immediate and reflexive acceptance that a missing body, a weird fellow on the road, and a spooky walk-through-walls appearance meant that he was resurrected? I think that’s a little much. Jesus disagrees with me. And he disagrees with all of us when we opt to not make an unconditional choice to believe him, believe his Word, and then leverage that Word in bold and authoritative prayer. Friends, to Jesus, disbelief is a rebukable decision. Hebrews 11:6 reveals that faith is required to please God (a.k.a. not be in line for his discipline). Hebrews 11:1 reveals that faith is a decision to believe in that which is unseen. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). How are you doing with faith? Are you in line for a rebuke, even if you don’t think you deserve it? Unfair as it may seem, could Jesus say of you—or me—that our shaky faith is actually stubborn refusal? As we wrap up our study of the Gospel of Mark this Sunday—learning how to be “Powered by Jesus”--let’s explore the part of our faith that is a choice. Let’s see if we’re being stubborn. Or if we just need to take Jude’s offer up to “be merciful to those who doubt” (Jude 22). I won’t yell at us. I’m with Jude on this one. But let’s see how Jesus connects the dots between the two. See you Sunday!! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend
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A sacred Good Friday to each of you, dear friends…
I’m sure you have a certain appreciation for the importance of this great day as it marks the moment the Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins on the cross. For some, I imagine it’s a fairly abstract thought—you know something important took place, but the technicalities of it all seem distant and theoretical. For others, your heart may be full of gratitude and wonder at something which is very concrete to you. Regardless of how you view this Good Friday, I have a more important question for you: What are you doing tomorrow? Let’s talk more in Deeper Thoughts below. But first… · Easter is THIS Sunday, April 20! We will have TWO Easter worship services: 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. Invite your family and friends… we’ll keep it a little shorter--and the Gospel clear and compelling—for our non-churched friends. o Kids Connect will be at 10:30 only with an Easter Egg Hunt to follow at 11:45 a.m. o We will have a nice photo area set up in the courtyard for any families who want to take an Easter photo! · Teens: No Youth Group this Sunday. Join us for the Easter Egg Hunt after the 10:30 service. There WILL be a small section for the youth! · Ladies: Join us for a Prayer Walk through the beautiful gardens and grounds of Morven Park in Leesburg, NEXT Saturday, April 26, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. A light breakfast will be served. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · We have rescheduled our Mt. Hope spruce-up workday for Saturday, May 3, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Enjoy quality time with friends while beautifying the church! For young and old, and for all experience and skill levels! · Volunteers!! Anyone currently or interested in serving in Kids Connect or Youth, mark your calendars for a volunteer luncheon right after church, Sunday, May 18. · Facility Expansion Project: for those who are being prayerfully led by the Holy Spirit to contribute to the expansion of our facility, we are hoping to receive your CONFIDENTIAL “Generosity Commitment Card” by this Sunday as we prepare for our final discussions and decisions on the project. Click here for the online version. o Click here to download our most up to date four-page synopsis of the expansion project and project images. o Join us on Sunday, April 27, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. for our FINAL decision meeting where our Covenant Partners will consider and vote on the next steps. All are welcome to this important discussion; we value your wisdom! · This coming week is our last week of our Gospel of Mark “Daily Six” video series… Click here to jump in! o BUT… tune in next week for more of The Daily Six as we begin a brand-new teaching series called “Knowing God”! o If you’d like to receive daily email reminders, click here to sign up! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who don’t like Saturdays. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… The weather is supposed to be spectacular tomorrow. 77 degrees and sunny, with a warm breeze out of the south. That’s my kind of Saturday! So, what’s in store for you tomorrow? Yard work? Washing the cars? Taking a hike? A trip to the lake? Doing something with the kids? Walking the dogs? Walking your cat? (That’s one I’d pay to see!!) I know for me, the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter is usually a non-event, at least in terms of anything spiritual. I’ll typically have a fairly worshipful moment on Good Friday. I’ll slow down at some point in the day and contemplate with gratitude Jesus’ sacrifice for me. And then, Easter Sunday is always joyful. Who doesn’t like resurrections? But may I be super-vulnerable for a moment? I get more bored with Easter Sunday than I should. It’s the predictability of the service that gets me. You already know the songs we’re going to sing. You could probably preach my sermon for me if you weren’t nervous about public speaking. Read the resurrection story from any one of the Gospels; describe the angel rolling away the stone, the ladies being startled, Peter and John racing to the tomb, everybody being excited and scared all at once, and then Jesus suddenly appearing in the room as if he just walked through a wall. Don’t forget ol’ Doubting Thomas. He’s got to stick his hand in Jesus’ side before he will believe. Make some comment about how that’s kind of like you and me, tell everyone to believe and rejoice. Then dismiss. Everyone is ready for that special Easter brunch. You’d better not talk too long in this service. Sound familiar? Anyone bored yet? Before you fall out of your chair thinking how sacrilegious your pastor has just become, please know that I know Easter is way more important than this. But just like you know we should honor our mom more frequently than the second Sunday of May, be thankful for our dad more often than the third Sunday in June, and tell our wives that we love them more regularly than our anniversaries, we ought to live in wonder and awe at the resurrection every single day of the year. Our one hour on Easter in our fancy (and somewhat uncomfortable) clothes isn’t living the resurrection life in Jesus. It’s a formal acknowledgement of it for sure. But it isn’t living it. This year, God has been stirring me to think differently about Easter. And it’s not about Sunday. It’s about Saturday. Jesus was buried on Friday. Everyone was super sad. The tomb was empty on Sunday. Everyone was stunned, and then confused, and then cautiously hopeful. But what was everybody doing on Saturday? Where was Barabbas? He had just dodged getting crucified for his poorly planned attempt at overthrowing Rome. Instead of being tortured to death, he was home with his family. Wow… that’s a serious change of mood. (You can read his short story in Mark 15:6-11.) How about Simon from Cyrene? I bet he was more distraught on Saturday. He had planned his Friday to be a quick trip into the city for some shopping. Instead, he found himself embroiled in a horrifying experience, compelled by brutal Roman soldiers to carry the cross for a bloodied criminal (so he thought) to Golgotha. (It’s a short read about Simon: Mark 15:21.) Speaking of brutal soldiers: How about that hardened fellow whose day-job was nailing people to crosses? Jesus caught his attention with his very unusual manner of passing. What was this executioner’s Saturday like? (He seems moved. Mark 15:39.) Most of all, I’m curious how Saturday went for the devil. I’m sure Friday afternoon Satan and his skanky minions were breaking out the cocktails and caviar as they watched their eternal nemesis writhing on the cross. This was a colossal victory. Their endless war with a holy God was coming to a cataclysmic triumph—they were about to take over the universe as the life of God was being extinguished. They never saw it coming. Check it out in 1 Corinthians 2:8. And then Ephesians 4:8-10. And then 1 Peter 3:18-22. Saturday did not go well for the devil. At all. But it was the most important day for you and me. Let’s talk about Saturday this Easter Sunday. It is more glorious, more victorious, more joy-filled and hope-inspiring than I bet you’ve ever considered. We’ll do it twice… 9:00 or 10:30 a.m. Oh… and I promise to not speak as long as I usually do. I know you have lunch plans. And your dress shoes you wear only once a year will be bugging you. See you Sunday!! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey everybody…
Hope you’re all doing well this rainy Friday evening. I’m not writing a Deeper Thoughts today, but be sure to join us on Sunday for a great Palm Sunday celebration! The kids have some neat plans to help us worship, and I will be teaching one of my favorite passages in all the New Testament—a story that Jesus was so impressed with himself that he promised it would be told and retold every single place the Gospel is ever preached. Gonna be great. Updates worth noting… · Due to cold, blowing rain tomorrow, we’ve CANCELLED our planned church workday. We’ll reschedule for some time in May. · Teens: Youth Group THIS Sunday, 11:30-1:30 with lunch & games. AND… Youth Game Night, THIS Monday, April 14, 5:00-8:00 p.m. @ the church. Pizza & snacks, fun & games! If you’d like to be added to the youth group email group, contact Jess at [email protected]. · Easter is NEXT Sunday, April 20: TWO Easter worship services at Mt. Hope: 9:00 and 10:30 a.m., Sunday, April 20. Kids Connect will be at 10:30 only with an Easter Egg Hunt to follow at 11:45 a.m. · Facility Expansion Project: LAST Sunday, we released both an online and paper CONFIDENTIAL “Generosity Commitment Card” for those who are being led by the Holy Spirit to sacrificially contribute to the expansion of our facility. Please click here for the online version. o Our hope is that over the next two weeks—leading through Easter Sunday—those who are being led to contribute will communicate what God is leading. Your response will be strictly confidential, with only our finance team and a select committee of our Board of Administration having access to your information. o Click here to download our most up to date four-page synopsis of the expansion project and project images. o FINALLY… on Sunday, April 27, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., our FINAL decision meeting where our Covenant Partners will consider and vote on the next steps for the future of the expansion project. All are welcome to this important discussion and we value your wisdom! · We are almost done with our Gospel of Mark “Daily Six” video series… Click here to jump in on the final two weeks. And if you’d like to receive daily email reminders, click here for a link to The Daily Six each morning! o AND… stay tuned for more of The Daily Six as we embark on a brand-new teaching series beginning May 4 called “Knowing God.” We will be discovering how to relate passionately and powerfully with our God through the life stories of dozens of heroes of the faith found in the Old Testament. OK…that’s it for today for you email skimmers and… well… actually everybody. BUT… Let’s meet on Sunday… you are so loved! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey everybody…
If you’re keeping up with The Daily Six and our readings in the Gospel of Mark, you might be a bit depressed this week. This one’s a hard one. Jesus is telling us all about the horrible events of the end times AND what will also shortly unfold for the disciples in their lifetime—suffering, sacrifice, and ultimately martyrdom. But wow…how in the world do we pull something positive and encouraging from this? I wonder if you missed it. It’s right there. Do you see it? Let’s talk more in Deeper Thoughts below. But first… · This Sunday will be our next step in the super-important process of considering our potential building expansion project for the future growth and health of Mt. Hope Church. o If you missed last Sunday’s business meeting, click here to watch the livestream with open discussion surrounding new 3-D graphics of the proposed project, a comprehensive budget plan, and strategies to address new financing challenges that have arisen. (Skim ahead to the 10:00 mark where we start talking.) · On Sunday, we will present a confidential communication card (and online communication option) to share the specific personal generosity the Holy Spirit is leading us to contribute. o What one-time financial gift could be given between now and August to provide cash-in-hand for construction? o What ongoing monthly designated giving could be given over 2-3 years to fund the project, or to support debt service and/or reduction? · Sunday, April 27, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., our FINAL decision meeting where our Covenant Partners will consider and vote on the next steps for the future of the project. Lots of other stuff is happening, too: · Teens: Youth Group THIS Sunday, 11:30-1:30 with lunch & games. If you’d like to be added to the youth group email, contact Jess at [email protected]. · Mt. Hope spruce-up workday! Join us NEXT Saturday, April 12 for a morning workday, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. to spruce up the campus for Easter. Email Kristie Zoller for details and to sign up for specific roles you might be interested in: [email protected]. · Speaking of Easter: TWO Easter worship services at Mt. Hope: 9:00 and 10:30 a.m., Sunday, April 20. Kids Connect will be at 10:30 only with an Easter Egg Hunt to follow at 11:45 a.m. · Don’t miss this coming week’s “Daily Six” video series… Click here to jump in on our study of the Gospel of Mark. And if you’d like to receive daily email reminders, click here for a link to The Daily Six each morning! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who rather enjoy reading about martyrdom. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… Our first problem might be that we Americans are addicted to good news. We instinctively run from bad. Sticking our head in the sand on the tough stuff has become a staple of an American culture that is fixated on luxury, ease, and comfort. So, Mark 13 and these horrible events might be our least favorite part of the Gospels, so much so that we might put most of our hope in the idea of a Rapture that will rescue all the saints before the bad stuff happens. But… (EDITOR’S NOTE: I REALLY do hope the Rapture is real. Academic integrity must note that the biblical evidence for it is thin, if not somewhat poorly and conveniently interpreted to suit our hunger for comfort. Oddly, it is a doctrine that has only emerged in Christian history in America, in the last 150 years of our prosperity, with no other global Christian community ever finding it in the scriptures for nearly two thousand years. Click here to see an important teaching I did on this last summer if this is a troubling point for you and you wonder if your beloved pastor is off his theological rocker!) Whatever we do with the doctrine of the Rapture, we can say this one thing: the Rapture didn’t happen for Jesus’ disciples before all the martyrdom and hardship predicted in Mark 13 happened to them. So, to apply this text to our lives with biblical integrity, we can do this: Whatever hardships we face—whether the universal End Times, our own personal “end times”, modern persecution, or just plain old normal life challenges—the promises and instructions of Jesus are useful to us. Right here. Right now. Today. “OK, Chris, you promised in your opener that you would turn this to the positive. Your grade so far in this letter: Fail.” Thanks for the feedback. I have two points of good news for you: First, to tackle this troubling text, I’ve invited Pastor Will Cravens to take a swing at it this Sunday, as he always makes the hard stuff more palatable with his dynamic humor, raw candor, and very down to earth practicality. So, you can rest easy this Saturday night; you’ll not have to wade through one of those heavy Chris Eads drubbings in the morning. Second, and far more importantly, we have lined up an even better, more encouraging, more life-giving, more enthusiastic teacher than Will or Chris could ever hope to be. His name is Jesus. And he preached quite well in Mark 13. Shall we invite him to speak too? Pastor Will, can you please yield some of your time to his piercing words? “Do not be alarmed,” Jesus said. “Do not worry,” he continued. “Stand firm.” That’s positive… sort of… yes? He also offered solutions to keep us confident and secure: “Be on your guard… be alert… keep watch.” (Mark 13:6-35) While you might still feel some discomfort that Jesus did not promise we would skip all the bad stuff, he did offer us a foundationally secure road map through the adversities. The Holy Spirit will be with us, guiding, speaking, empowering (see Mark 13:11). Jesus has a distinct purpose for the hardships which adds some incentive: we will be a bold witness for the Lord as we navigate these troubles (see Mark 13:9). And, most powerfully, he promises we will see him as he comes in all his power and glory (see Mark 13:26). We won’t be alone. We won’t be afraid. We won’t miss the value in all of it. We will be used by him. And God will be glorified and made known. Friends, hardships are inevitable for all of us. It does not have to be the final global End Times for us to cling to these promises and instructions from Jesus. Grab them for whatever rough season you may find yourself in today, tomorrow, or some challenging day ahead. This teaching’s relevance for us is far less about figuring out the details of when and how the apocalypse will unfold. Its relevance is to arm us and equip us with a reflexive reaction for how we handle adversity—whatever its form. Keep your head up. Stand firm in faith that Jesus has seen it all, and therefore has you squarely in his hands. Choose to abandon worry and alarm and pick up confidence in the Holy Spirit’s provision for you. Let’s meet this Sunday and celebrate the confidence we have in Jesus. He thought it worthwhile to lay all this out for us; let’s make it worth our time to hear what Jesus has to say. Can’t wait to see you all… you are so loved! Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend |
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Jesus said, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, & with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Matt. 22:37-39
42507 Mt. Hope Road
Ashburn, VA 20148
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703-729-2707