Important preparation...

Hey there, beloved…
 
Would you be OK if I make this email’s subject line a cheesy double-meaning appeal? First: I would love for you to be a part of an immediate “next step” in preparing Mt. Hope for what God is doing, and we’re going to talk about that THIS Sunday after church (see details below). But secondly: there is a far greater preparation going on in your life… and you might not even know about it. God is grooming you for something with much wider implications than most of us recognize. Do you see it? Let’s talk in Deeper Thoughts below….
 
But first, some IMPORTANT updates for you:
                                                                                                                 
·      Do you want to see the new (revised) building expansion plans for Mt. Hope Church? Our architects have reimagined our potential expansion—to include creating a symmetrical sanctuary expansion—and we think you’re going to like it. Join us for the “big reveal” THIS Sunday after service, 11:45 a.m.!
 
o   This will be part of our IMPORTANT Mt. Hope Business Meeting, THIS Sunday, September 7, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Everyone is invited as we will discuss the revised architectural design and next steps for our potential facility expansion, discuss and approve our fiscal year 2025-26 budget, and our Covenant Partners will vote to formally ratify our revised By-Laws.
§  For those of you who are out of town, this meeting will be livestreamed. Click our “livestream” link on the Mt. Hope homepage around 11:45: www.mthopeloudoun.org
 
·      Teens:  Youth Group: this Sunday 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. with food, fun, and the Word. Parents, they’ll be meeting (and wrapping up) the same time as our congregational meeting, so this would be a great time to get your teens involved in our growing and awesome youth group! For more details, email Jessica Sauder: [email protected].
 
·      Ladies: Join us for Women’s Bowling at “The Branch,” NEXT Saturday, September 13, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Email Tracey Schlitzer for details and to RSVP… [email protected]. We are hoping to close out RSVP’s tomorrow, September 6!
 
·      Help spruce up Mt. Hope’s campus… Join us for our fall churchwide workday, Saturday, September 20, 9:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. We’ll have roles for all… easy lift, heavy lift, and more… fun, fellowship, and food!
 
·      Want to make HUGE a difference in people’s lives? Consider getting involved with our kids and teens… we have roles for teaching, assisting, and even helping behind the scenes. Join us for lunch on Sunday, September 21, from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. to explore what helping might be like… no commitment implied by attending!
 
·      Join me for “The Daily Six” – six minutes each morning in the Word of God, Monday through Friday, on our YouTube channel. 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 you who prefer to stay thoroughly unprepared for everything. BUT…
 


Some Deeper Thoughts:
 
You may not recognize it. Perhaps you do, but if so, you’re in the minority.
 
Here it is. You ready? God has placed a profound calling on your life. This is true whether you know it or not. You have a very specific mission God has ordained for you. It is an assignment that was issued long before you were born. Several assignments, in fact, that will range throughout your entire life.
 
God has been strategizing about this mission since the beginning of time. Once your mommy and daddy set the development of your body into motion, God started tinkering inside your mother’s womb to be sure you were capable and ready for it. You can read all about it in Psalm 139:13-16. (Oh, and it gets mentioned in a bunch of other places, too: Romans 8:28, Ephesians 4:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:11, and 2 Peter 1:10 to name just a few.)
 
But most of us have two problems with this idea of some massive “calling” on our lives. First, most people have ZERO idea what this mission is. It sounds far too grandiose for the humble capacity of our lives. But secondly, even if we did have clarity about it, we certainly wouldn’t think we are capable of fulfilling it. “Grandiose” does not match what we readily recognize in our story.
 
But God has an entirely different view of the situation.
 
Some of you are rolling your eyes already. Some are thinking, “there he goes again, trying to build me up to think of myself in some way that I just can’t see.” For you, talk of some great purpose for your life seems utterly unrealistic. Maybe you’re already getting up there in years and you figure whatever God could have done with you is miles behind you. Or maybe you’re still relatively young, but you don’t have a lot of talents; you’re not someone with a big, bold ego; people don’t flock to your personality, etc. etc.… or that’s how you see yourself, anyway.
 
Others of you are thinking, “Check. Got it. God has designed me for something big and I’m already doing it.” For you, it might be the very successful career you’ve built with God’s help. Or you might be super-clear that your amazing family is the most important mission of your life. And to be sure, both of those are absolutely true.
 
But God has something more.
 
Moses caught a glimpse of his mission early in his life. Then he royally screwed it up. Decades later--in his 80’s—God finally finished preparing him for this mission.
 
(You older friends of mine, please note… in his 80’s. God is definitely not done with you… not until His chariot arrives to take you on to Glory. You’ve got at least one more mission in you. Maybe two. Or three….)
 
For Moses, his calling had to do with opening the doors of freedom for over a million (perhaps as many as 2 or 3 million) slaves who had been living for centuries under horrific oppression.
 
That’s a lofty calling for sure. I’m guessing yours could be a little smaller in scope. But who knows?
 
At first, Moses thought that growing up in the luxury, power, and prestige of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s palace had perfectly set him up to straighten out the injustice. And that’s when he screwed it all up. His first move was murder, which secured him a well-earned death sentence, which led to him fleeing for his life, which made him a decades-long fugitive hundreds of miles from home… none of which is conducive to fulfilling God’s call to effect dynamic political change.
 
But it was precisely that screw-up that enabled God to prepare Moses for greatness.
 
This might be true of you, too. The very things that you see in your life that tell you that you’re nothing special, that God couldn’t use you for greatness, that there’s no significant mission He could give you… these things might be exactly what God needs to set you up for success.
 
Shall we connect this Sunday and discover how? The best prep-work you could do is to be sure you’re caught up with our readings on this week’s “Daily Six.” Click here to catch up!
 
Please join us on Sunday, 10:00 a.m.— in-person (best!!) or online (if you must). The Word of the Lord will reveal how God is grooming us for greatness!!
 
Oh… and bring your Bible with you!!
 
Can’t wait!! Much love to you all…
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend