Hey All…
Now…don’t mistake me when I go upstage and turn on a microphone. No, your pastor is not going all “cult” and thinking he is divine in any manner. Much the opposite. But I won’t be preparing a sermon for Sunday, and neither will we have a special guest…er…well, unless you count the Sovereign Lord of the Universe as a guest speaker (though He is always present; always speaking). God Himself will be the voice to us on Sunday, and He is going to speak through you. Yep. You. (Oh, and I’ll have a bit to say too.) I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below… But first… · We will be sharing in Communion (The Lord’s Supper) this Sunday. Come prepared to thank God for your salvation. You online livestream folks, prepare some juice and bread from the kitchen to participate as well! · Next Sunday, December 3 begins the Advent Season. We’ll launch a new four-week teaching series through Christmas Eve called “Would You Like a Savior?” Consider inviting some friends and loved ones for a joyful celebration of Christmas and the power of the Gospel. · Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party and Pageant--Sunday night, December 10, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. Join us for a potluck dinner 5:00 – 6:30 p.m., and then a wonderful presentation of the Christmas story from our Kids Connect and youth ministries from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. o We need you to bring some amazing yummies! In addition to Chris Nicholson’s world-famous pork loin and applesauce, click here to sign up on Perfect Potluck to help us coordinate! Don’t forget to bring a card to say what your delicious dish is, and any common allergens. · Ladies…Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Last chance to RSVP as we need a solid headcount--click here for more info and to sign up! · New believer’s small group: starting in December, Chris and Sherri Eads will be leading a midweek small group for those who want to start all the way at the beginning with the basics of the Christian faith. Click here to let us know you’re interested, and we’ll give you all the details! OK, that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who mistakenly think you have nothing meaningful to say. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… It is unmistakable to me that every single Sunday God speaks through me or whomever else we have teaching, leading, or ministering to us. It’s the biblical concept of “anointing,” that God brings a special addition of His power, wisdom, and revelation to any preparation or human thought we have put into our ministry role. You see it every week in how Ryan Sauder, John Dively, or others on the worship team bring us into the presence of God. They are good musicians for sure, and their hearts are so inclined to love God through song that it is nothing short of inspirational. But you know that this power is not from themselves, do you not? The pull… the draw… the sense of God’s presence: This does not come from human hands upon instruments, vocal perfection in song, or preparation and energy. No, this comes from God and is called “anointing.” You see it in how Chris Bowen, Kristie Zoller, Eva Moore, Jessica Sauder and others in our children and youth ministries make an impressive impact in your kid’s or teenager’s lives. We all see this sincere love and attention they have for your beloved children. They deeply care about each of their stories, each of their needs and wants, each of their fears. This is not because they have any particular talent with young people, though they clearly do. No, the strength of their affection and attention to your loved ones comes directly and supernaturally from the heart of God and is called “anointing.” You see it when the Word of God is opened by any of our teaching team here at Mt. Hope. That connection and relevance you sense—and we hear about from you so often—is not coming from any intellectual prowess or creativity on the part of our teachers. No, it comes from God as He “anoints” His Word just as He promised He would do (see Isaiah 55:10-11). But have you ever considered how God is anointing your life and your story? You might think that you have a mediocre, milquetoast, semi-boring life. You might think that God doesn’t notice much of you, and we for sure wouldn’t either. But if you think this way, you are terribly mistaken. The scriptures reveal that God is tremendously and supernaturally involved in the intimate details of your life. Carefully cataloguing every minute and hour of every day in your life, He has been collecting your stories in a journal He keeps right there by His side. He has been journaling about you since the very beginning of time, contemplating each moment, each incident, each reaction, each nuance of you with incredible joy. Don’t believe me? Do some reading of God’s revelation in Matthew 10:29-31; Psalm 139:16-18; Ephesians 1:4-5. So how will your story be the voice of God to us on Sunday? There’s a great tradition around Mt. Hope. It is the “open mic” of sharing testimony of God’s work in our lives. And you have something to tell us, no matter how simple or small you think it may be. We are a family—siblings every one of us, adopted together into this really big home where God is the Father, and we are the kids. This Sunday, our sanctuary becomes a massive Thanksgiving dinner table where we will tell of the goodness of God in our lives. We will regale each other with stories of how God has worked—in bold, supernatural provision, or in hidden wrestling amid troubling circumstances, or in subtle transformation of our hearts and minds. As we pass the microphone around the room (don’t worry… we won’t stick it in front of you unless you ask for it!), listen closely to the subtle and not-so-subtle ways God has been moving among your family. As each story is shared, I’ll do my best to listen to the Holy Spirit for the scriptural truth that has been manifested in your story. I’ll add some biblical commentary that will be entirely unscripted but will match your story with the promise of God from scripture. So…be thinking and praying. What can you give testimony to God from your life? For those who are uncomfortable sharing in front of a crowd (which I fully understand are many of you!), we’ll have a mechanism where you can write out a story of God’s work on a notecard that I can share for you. Sincerely: no pressure. I don’t want anyone to feel that you must share anything. And logistically, all hundred or so of us who are there this Sunday can’t all speak up. But many of you need to. God has been forging an anointed story in your life that we need to hear. Will you prayerfully consider if you have one to share? I’m so looking forward to this service and can’t wait to see you all. In-person, 10:00 a.m., or online-livestream for those who are out of town. Join us, one and all! Much love…Sherri and I are immeasurably thankful for each of you being in our lives. Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend
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Hey All…
I sometimes get tired of talking about adversity and troubles in life. Don’t you? I’m sure you’re like me and would prefer to always be cheerful and speak only of wonderful things. But as we study the scriptures, this topic cycles back into our field of view every handful of weeks. Life is full of challenges, adversity, and trouble… so I suppose it’s no surprise that God has much to reveal to us on the subject. There’s someone I want you to meet this Sunday. In addition to the Apostle Peter--on whom we are basing our fall teaching series “Effective Faith”—who was no stranger to adversity, there’s a real-time example right here in our immediate context you need to hear from. I’ll tell you more about him in Deeper Thoughts below… But first…a few quick items: · Don’t be late to church this Sunday! We have a baby dedication and a baptism celebration early in the service. This is going to be super-cool! · Teens – Don’t miss youth group this Sunday night, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. at the church! You’re going to get a deeper dive with the fellow I want you to meet in the morning. Parents—be sure your teenager makes plans to attend. More on this in Deeper Thoughts below. · We have a brand-new episode in our weekly “Prayer Experiences” video series. Click here to see Jameson Zoller share his journey with prayer. Growing up as the son of our beloved Pastor John, he still had to forge his own journey and experience with powerful prayer. Don’t miss this compelling story! · NEXT Sunday, November 26, our Sunday worship service will include a really joyful Mt. Hope tradition as we open the floor for testimonies of things God has done in your life. As a part of our Thanksgiving holiday celebration, be thinking of what you could briefly thank God publicly for. So many amazing things have been happening in lives in our church—we want to share with each other as the family of God. · Ladies…Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. RSVP is required by November 22--click here for more info and to sign up! · Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party and Pageant – Sunday night, December 10 – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Join us for a delicious potluck dinner and a wonderful Kids Connect dramatic Christmas presentation. More info to come!! OK…that’s it for you email skimmers and you who never have anything go wrong. Ever. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… We are really good at trying to dodge adversity, are we not? Oh… and we’ve generally gotten pretty good at not just wanting to dodge it, but in actually dodging it… for the most part. We live in an incredibly prosperous time in human history. My wife and I were contemplating this earlier this week. We had just received frustrating news that our insurance company had decided a recent fender-bender on our newly debt-free Toyota was a “total loss,” dropping us into the greatly unwanted, excruciating, and toilsome hardship of buying a new… Wait… we paused. And prayed, “thank you, God, that we live in such a time that our largest first-world frustration is picking out which brand-new SUV to buy with the insurance company’s money…” Life is not always so burdened with grandiosity. Sometimes the hardships are far more legit. Take the Apostle Peter, for instance. We’ve been studying his life and letters to discover what “Effective Faith” really looks like. His story, like ours, had a lot of high points and prosperity. But it also had immeasurable pain and suffering—perhaps a tad more than we most often experience here in our Northern Virginian comfort. On the prosperous side: Peter owned a business. It was a fishing company, and his business partner was a good man and likely a best friend—John, the son of Zebedee. Peter was married; the implications from scripture are that his wife was super-supportive of his impulsive and audacious lifestyle. In spirituality, he had a front-row seat to the greatest spiritual movement in human history, seeing Jesus in all his glory; walking on water right next to him; performing miracles in his name; and getting to preach the kick-off sermon for the largest church planting project ever—the Day of Pentecost and the founding of the Christian religion. On the suffering side: Peter’s bold faith and outspoken support of Jesus led to more than one round of imprisonment, beating, and unfathomable legal trouble. He had sharp and painful disagreements with his closest allies. He watched every one of his closest friends be tortured and executed. And then ultimately, he himself was tortured and crucified. That is simply no fun. It is from that keen experience of legitimate hardship that Peter could write to every Christian who would dare to read his letters that we should “not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Hmmm… I’m not sure “overjoyed” really describes my attitude when the heat is turned up. How about you? Perhaps your story has some significant and sincere hardship right now. You roll your eyes--and rightly so—at the Eads’ little sorrow over a totaled automobile, as you right now are suffering the truly big stuff. You’re going through a divorce. Or a terrible medical crisis. Or a financial collapse. Or unemployment. Or an estrangement from a loved one. Or a suffocating loneliness and isolation. Or an intractable addiction. It is different for each one of us. But we all take our turn through the unquestionably difficult seasons of life. I want you to meet a dear friend of mine this Sunday. He’s going to join me in our teaching time—I’ll open up with some exploration of the scriptures like we do each week, and then I’m going to have you meet David Wickward and hear his story. He is a young man in his twenties that has been profoundly living for Jesus from the context of a lifetime with a significant physical disability. But to meet him, you would never know he is disabled, were it not for the obvious external appearance. His spirit, his faith, his warmth, and his abundant love for Jesus speak profoundly to me. And I know he will speak to you as well. (And then in the evening, David will be sharing with our teenagers at a special youth group event, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.) Do a little advance reading before Sunday, will you? Let’s look at what Peter has to say about adversity--1 Peter 3:17—4:19. Also read a bit from Peter’s co-laborer, the Apostle Paul: Romans 5:1-5 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 6:4-10. Oh friends… I know I say this every week. But don’t miss this one. God is going to speak to and shape us all, I promise. Mmmmm…. Gonna be good… Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hi All…
It was an odd invitation, to say the least. I’m not sure what motivated him to say “yes,” but he did. With vigor. The results were mixed and led to unfathomable results—many wonderful and some frankly awful. I’m curious if you would have found the promise in the invitation that attractive. Would you have said yes? Let’s talk more about this in Deeper Thoughts below. But first…don’t miss these great invites, all wonderful, I promise: · We have a brand-new episode in our weekly “Prayer Experiences” video series. Click here to see our beloved Leigh Villaflor share her story of God leading her through immense personal challenges to powerful victory. · Tomorrow, November 11, 9:00 a.m. – noon, join us for a Mt. Hope campus workday to spruce things up for the holidays. But even better than helping us fix up things around the facility, you’ll be sure to enjoy the fellowship, friendships, and hang-out time. Click here to email Kristie Zoller to sign up, or just c’mon out!! · Don’t miss “Stories from the Street” at Old Ox Brewing, TOMORROW night, November 11, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to grab tickets—they’re only $5.00! · Ladies…Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. RSVP is required by November 22--click here for more info and to sign up! · Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party and Pageant – Sunday night, December 10 – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Join us for a delicious potluck dinner and a wonderful Kids Connect dramatic Christmas presentation. More info to come!! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who just indiscriminately say yes to everything. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… It looked like he just walked off his job. I think sometimes we envision his response as something like an “invasion of the body snatchers.” When you read the story without imagining the surrounding context, it seems like Jesus walked past while he was working, threw out a casual invitation to come along, and he just walked out. It’s almost like he was in a trance or something. (Do you remember the Jet Blue flight attendant a few years back who had had enough of his job and quit right before the flight took off? He just popped the cabin door open, deploying the emergency escape slide, slid down to the tarmac, and walked back to the terminal…er…actually… to the awaiting airport policeman. Most epic “walk off the job” ever. But I digress… back to Peter…) He was casting nets from the shore after a long night fishing on the Sea of Galilee. That was hard work, by the way. This was long before motorboats and powered hoists for the nets. It was all rowing, and lifting, and lugging. All night long. And apparently today, it included some overtime along the beach to make up for a lousy overnight deep-sea haul. As Jesus walked by Simon Bar Jonah and his brother Andrew he called out, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” That seems like an odd promise. What is fishing for men, anyway? But the response—at least as it was recorded—was super-simple. And super-decisive. “At once they left their nets and followed him,” Matthew wrote. A more academic study would reveal that certain rabbis or philosophers would make such an important invitation in those days. But it wasn’t unexpected, and it certainly was not a casual ask. It was more akin to an invitation to an internship or residency in a prestigious institution. It meant to join an intensive course of study that would utterly consume the student’s life. Those who answered were called “disciples,” which meant something more than just being a schoolboy. It was a position of great distinction. Typically, the more popular and powerful the teacher, the competition to be chosen as a formal disciples was fierce. With that understanding as a more thorough backdrop, it makes sense why Simon and Andrew would drop everything to accept the invitation. To do otherwise would be to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime. It turned out, hindsight being 20/20, that it was, in fact, the opportunity of all time. Word had spread like wildfire about this wild-eyed rabbi from Nazareth. The famed and equally charismatic prophet from the south, John the Baptist, had recently baptized Jesus in a very public display of grandeur, even with reports that a voice from heaven declared Jesus to be God’s own son. After a 40-day sabbatical in the desert that was anything but restful, Jesus returned to Galilee and began to preach in all the synagogues. He spoke with power and authority—something synagogue goers had never experienced from their rather sleepy and boring pastors. He was dramatic for sure, stepping on the toes of the folks in his home synagogue so much that they tried to throw him off a cliff. And then he got to casting out demons and healing people. The word about him became electric. But then it got personal. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick. A very high fever had gripped her, and it was likely going to be fatal. They got word to the newly famous miracle worker, and Jesus came to their home. He healed her. And then later that night he healed the entire town from all manner of diseases and demons. It was after all this that Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow him. You can read all about it in the Gospel of Luke, chapters three and four. This makes way more sense in context, does it not? But I’m still curious. Would you say yes? Would you be willing to refocus your life and invest in such an intensive course of study that would utterly consume everything about you? And what of that weird suggestion of “fishing for men?” Does that even appeal to you at all? This Sunday, Pastor Will Cravens will be continuing our fall teaching series, “Effective Faith,” where we’ve been studying the life and letters of the Apostle Peter. Those of you who know Will probably see him as I do—a modern expression of the same bold following of Jesus that Simon Peter lived. As Will shares unfathomable of stories of life-change coming from the most desperate of inner-city streets, you will be stirred. And the question will be clear. In the context of your life, your home, your circumstances (you don’t have to travel anywhere to follow Jesus, BTW), the question remains. Jesus asks it: “Will you follow me?” God will help us figure out what that means for our immediate context… this Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Can’t wait!! Please don’t miss it. It will be a phenomenal morning. Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey dear friends…
Have you ever been absolutely certain that you had something in hand, only for it to slip right through your fingers at the last moment? You nailed the job interview; they never called you back. You were certain you had aced the test; the score was dismal. You just knew your team was going to win the championship; you got shellacked. Has this ever happened to you spiritually? Emotionally? I think it might happen more often than we realize. I’ll have more to say about this in Deeper Thoughts below… But first…a few quick updates: · Church Facility Workday, NEXT Saturday, November 11, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. Make some friends, have some fun, and brush up the campus for the holidays. Email Kristie Zoller to RSVP and let her know the things you’d like to help with! · Join Pastor Will Cravens and his crew of missionaries to the homeless for compelling “Stories from the Street” at Old Ox Brewing, Saturday night, November 11, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Click here for more info and to grab tickets—they’re only $5.00, but they will sell out quickly!! · Good grief, Charlie Brown… can it be true?? Christmas is upon us!! o Ladies… mark your calendars and RSVP for Cookie, Tea, and Craft Celebration – Saturday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. RSVP is required by November 22--click here for more info and to sign up! o Mt. Hope’s Annual Christmas Party, Pageant, and Pig-Out (Ok…it’s not really called that…but I thought it was cute…) Sunday night, December 10 – 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Join us for a delicious potluck dinner and a wonderful Kids Connect musical presentation. More info to come!! OK…that’s it today for you email-skimmers and you who never get anything wrong. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… Peter was certain he had nailed it. He got Jesus’ praise, for sure. Not only did Jesus call him blessed for what he had just said, he even gave him a brand-new nickname, one that would stick for at least a couple thousand years. He was finally able to ditch his pesky given birth name—Simon—which, while in Hebrew had a lovely meaning of being a good listener, in his native Greek language had a less flattering connotation of being “flat-nosed.” But he had indeed listened well. All those profound teachings from the Rabbi had finally sunk in. While his other buddies were still bickering over where everyone would sit in Jesus’ upcoming regal court, or which Jewish prophet Jesus was reincarnating, or which sacramental law he was going to break next, Simon was carefully calculating what he really believed about Jesus. And then it was test-time. When pressed, he raised his hand like an anxious schoolboy and blurted out the answer. “Oooh… oooh… I know! I know! You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!!” While I might have just added a phrase or two for dramatic effect, Jesus was clearly impressed. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” These were not insignificant words. A revelation from the Father was unheard of among even the most faithful Jewish men. We men are mere mortal sinners; only the great Patriarchs ever got to meet with God. Even then, they never related to him as Father. To even suggest such intimacy and familiarity with the Holy Creator was nothing short of blasphemy. But Peter saw right through all the religious complications and theological obstacles. He was convinced that Jesus was so much greater than the suffocating rigidities and dogmas he had grown up with. Deep down he just knew this man was more than a prophet, more than a teacher, more than a man of God. He was the very Son of God—God incarnate, come to save the world--and Peter—from their sins. Do you remember when you first had that enlightenment? When you first believed? When the fog of understanding finally lifted and you saw with unmistakable clarity that Jesus Christ was very real, very present, very personal, and very much your savior? It was electric, was it not? (Some who read this may still be shy of that magnificent breakthrough. Doubt and fear and questions still dominate your mind. If that’s you, worry not. You’re on the right road, and the breakthrough is still coming, I promise. Keep seeking. He will find you. He said He would—you can find it right there in Philippians 1:6.) But where are you today? Fast forward through all the months and years of normal human hardships; the massive weight of daily circumstances and responsibilities; the press of perpetual anxiety, faltering relationships, insurmountable debt, and never-ending disappointments. Has it caused your faith to cool? Or stagnate? Or falter? I think if we are super-honest with ourselves, we realize that white-hot faith can chill far quicker and far easier than we wish. It certainly did for Peter. In just…oh… something like a handful of days. Once Peter had his God-sized revelation of Jesus as the savior of the world, Jesus set right away to explaining how that salvation would come to be. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things… and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Peter would have none of it. “Never Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Why would he think that? If Jesus was God-incarnate, how could he suffer and be killed? If he were come to save the world—or at least Israel from their wretched Roman oppressors—how could he save anything if he were killed? Dead guys can’t save much. They are dead. This round, Jesus was not impressed. He gave Peter another nickname. This time it was ugly. “Get behind me, Satan,” Jesus called him. Ouch. He continued: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but rather the things of man.” Friends, I think this is where we all trip up. We may love Jesus well enough. We may have all manner of useful faith. We may be inspired and encouraged and enthused by his love for us. Church might bring us a mountain of joy—especially when the music is brilliant and the preacher is on fire. We have no shortage of faith in Jesus. But we still have in mind the things of men. This Sunday, as we continue our fall teaching series based on the life and letters of the Apostle Peter, let’s take a look at how we can drift so quickly to fixing our minds in the wrong direction and miss our victory by half. You can read the stories before Sunday—and I hope you will. Matthew 16 and 17 are where you’ll find them. Do a little reading in advance and see if you can find yourself in the story. But do not let the devil bring you any shame. There’s a whole lot of victory coming in Peter’s life… you’ll see it in John 21, and Acts 2, and Acts 3… and 4… and 5… and… Let’s pick up some bold faith and the even bolder Jesus. We’ll find Effective Faith, I promise. Keep seeking. He will find you. He said He would… Much love… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend |
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