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Hey there, beloved… I pray you have had a wonderful holiday week as we reflect on the coming of Jesus (Christmas) and the coming of a new year (our present potential). You know the pithy little comments we all exchange this time of year—how we’re all destined to fail at and New Year’s resolutions we make by… oh… ‘round about January 8th or so. But I wonder: instead of making a New Year’s promise to yourself, could you look at a promise from Someone Else that might be entirely new to you? Can I tell you about it? Let’s talk in Deeper Thoughts below.
But first… a couple important reminders: · Would you like to take more ownership of Mt. Hope Church? Every believer who decides to make Mt. Hope their home is automatically a “member” of our church by virtue of belonging to Jesus. We are instant family. But beyond that immediate position as a family member of Mt. Hope, there are certain members who go further to make a covenant of partnership to help own and steward our church’s direction. If you would like to explore what our Covenant Partners do, who they are, and what it takes to join those ranks, come hang out with us after church on Sunday, January 11 for a 90-minute orientation session—free lunch included! Click here for more info and to RSVP! · Teens: Youth Group THIS Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Sharon Brown will share her amazing story with us. Snacks, connection and prayer. Let us know if your teen needs a ride home. · A memorial service for Dillion Eisele, son of David and Lynn, will be THIS Tuesday, January 6, at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome. · Ladies: A NEW Ladies Bible study kicks off NEXT week, Tuesdays, January 13 - February 17, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the church. We will study the book "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson and learn to pray in a new way as we draw prayer circles around your family, dreams, and the promises of God! God can move in amazing ways! o Also… mark your calendars for Saturday, January 31, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. for a special event as we make prayer and gratitude journals to deepen our relationship with God. More info to come! · Wanna help us love each other as we eat? We need new volunteers to help with Sunday snacks… it’s a fun and easy task and helps us connect with each other! Contact Joan Lyerly for more info: [email protected]. · This week’s “Daily Six” continues our super-special six minutes each morning in the Word of God, Monday through Friday, on our Daily Six webpage as we focus on some “Best of The Daily Six,” looking back on content from years ago that still inspires where we are in our spiritual growth today. 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 for you email skimmers and you who don’t want anything in your life to be made new. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… I bet this Sunday’s teaching will be entirely new for many of us. Modern believers often shrink from the idea we’re going to discover in scripture because it seems so wildly unrealistic to the actuality of our daily lives. It seems unattainable. It looks like WAY too much work for our already weary, overburdened lives. We mistake the promise of God for a command to muscle up something more out of a life that is already depleted of time or energy to do any more muscling. In seeing the promise like this, we miss something new that God wants to do in you and me—and that He in fact is already doing. Most of us just don’t perceive it. I want to let my good friend and beloved Mt. Hope’r Ray Prescott do the talking today. God has gifted him with a tremendous anointing to write. His insights are important. Then, if you’ll allow me, I’ll do some talking on Sunday. But first, carefully read Hebrews 12:18-29. Also grab Hebrews 12:1, 10, and 14. Notice how Jesus is promising and forming “perfection” in us—holiness is what the scripture often calls it. Sound foreign to you? Maybe here’s why… in Ray’s words: From the beginning of Scripture, holiness is never presented as something God occasionally brings with Him. Holiness is presence. It is God Himself sustaining, filling, and holding creation together. When Moses stood before the burning bush, the ground beneath his feet did not suddenly become holy. It already was. What changed was Moses’ awareness. God did not arrive; God revealed Himself. Holiness was not introduced, it was uncovered. The same pattern unfolds throughout Israel’s story. The tabernacle was not built because God needed a place to live. Heaven and earth could not contain Him. The tabernacle was a mercy, a way for fragile, fractured people to learn how to stand before a holy God without being undone. Court by court, veil by veil, God taught His people reverence. Not because He was distant, but because the human heart was still learning how to remain present in His presence. And then Jesus came. In Christ, holiness did not withdraw from the world, it walked among us. He touched the unclean, ate with sinners, healed the broken, and welcomed the overlooked. Holiness no longer hovered behind curtains or thundered from mountains. It lived, breathed, wept, rejoiced, and loved in plain sight. Jesus did not teach us how to visit God. He showed us how God comes to us. When the veil was torn at His death, and when He rose from the grave, something decisive happened. Holiness did not expand; it was revealed. Access was not earned; it was opened. The separation we had learned to fear was undone, not because God became less holy, but because in Christ, humanity was healed enough to come near. This is why Scripture shifts its language after the resurrection. We are no longer sent to holy places. We are told that God dwells with us. That we are His temple. That Christ lives in us. That the Spirit bears witness within our hearts that we belong to Him. This is not coercion. It is invitation. Many people say they want to hear God, see God, or feel God. Beneath that desire is often a quieter question: Is He real to me? Is He with me? The resurrection answers that question, not with force, but with life. Faith is not chasing God as an event. It is learning to live in response to a living Christ, risen, present, faithful, and near. Not only in extraordinary moments, but in ordinary obedience, in trust, in repentance, in love. We are not asked to manufacture awareness or summon belief. We are invited to recognize what has already been given: a Savior who has entered our world, carried our brokenness, defeated death, and now walks with us by His Spirit. Holiness is not a destination we strive to reach. It is a life we are welcomed into. And the joy of the Christian life is this: we do not walk alone, searching for God in the distance. We walk with the risen Christ, who meets us where we are, teaches us how to live in His presence, and slowly awakens our hearts to the truth that has always been singing beneath our feet: “Surely the Lord is in this place… and now, in Christ, He is with us.” Powerful thoughts, eh? Now… let’s meet!! Sunday. 10:00 a.m… don’t forget your Bible and a pen! Can’t wait! Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend [email protected]
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Hey there, Beloved… Caution. Don’t glance too quickly at the manger. There’s a good chance you’ll see the wrong Jesus. Oh, he’s in there for sure…the little baby in swaddling clothes, just like you expected. But please don’t see him. You’ll likely mistake him for who he really is. Confused? Let’s talk in Deeper Thoughts below.
But first… four great things going on: · Teens: We’re going to try this again as the weather bumped us last Sunday…Youth Group Christmas Celebration THIS Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Pizza, connection, plus fun & games! · Christmas Eve is Wednesday! Join us for one of two identical candlelight services on December 24—5:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Invite your friends and family to a beautiful celebration of Jesus and presentation of the Gospel. Our service will be a tight one hour in length to make it navigable for your unchurched family and friends. o Parents: Nursery childcare will be available at 5:00 p.m. only; for preschool and older, please bring them into service for a wonderful Christmas experience. o Interested in singing in the choir? Click here to contact Ryan Sauder! · Please help me!! If you’re one of the 100 Mt. Hope’rs who have yet to do so (gulp!)… help!! Click here to take a super-quick but important anonymous survey to help us understand how God is working through Mt. Hope’s content and experiences, what we could do better, what we could stop doing, and what you perceive are your greatest needs. This survey will be invaluable to helping us (and me in particular) shape our plans for the winter season and beyond! · This week’s “Daily Six” continues our super-special six minutes each morning in the Word of God, Monday through Friday, on our Daily Six webpage as we focus on some “Best of The Daily Six,” looking back on content from years ago that still inspires where we are in our spiritual growth today. 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 for you email skimmers and you who dislike manger scenes anyway. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts… Honesty moment: I’m not super fond of teaching on Christmas. [Insert gasp here… “Oh, Pastor! The scandal!!”] Here’s the deal: The Jesus of Christmas is very predictable. He is cute, I’ll give you that. A precious little baby, constantly smiling in every manger scene I’ve observed (moms, c’mon… is that realistic?). Everyone around him is glowing with adoration, arms raised in an exclamation of joy. The shepherds, wise men, angels, and even the donkeys are having their best day ever. But when we look at the manger, when we talk about baby Jesus, when we sing the lovely Christmas carols, does anyone learn anything new? Are we gripped with conviction? Can we feel ourselves profoundly changing right before our very eyes? Is our faith reshaped and emboldened? Does everyone in attendance at church really want to be there? Or are we often just going through the motions--as pleasant and lovely as they genuinely are—regaling ourselves once more with the precious story of the birth of our Savior… who as a baby is, well, kind of adorable? I wonder in all those familiar motions—the carols, the candles, the donkeys, angels, and baby—if we miss something that should be radically transformative to our lives. We miss the Jesus who is absolutely worth giving up everything we possess to gain, and who asks us for precisely that. If what we see the Sunday before Christmas and on Christmas Eve is just the baby Jesus in the manger—and not the Jesus of the resurrection, the Jesus of fierceness and fire, the Jesus returning on his white horse to recapture his bride from the devil’s grip—we are missing Jesus. This baby in a manger was cute and cuddly for a moment. He was profoundly a demonstration of the limitless love of God (Samuel Sierra rocked a teaching on this last Sunday!), that God would stoop down to the lowliest point in the universe and take on the form of an infant who needed to learn how to walk, talk, use the bathroom, tie his shoes (sandals), and eat on his own. Philippians 2:5-11 reveals this so magnificently. But Jesus wasn’t the baby in the manger for long. He grew up. And then he became the Jesus of fire. Here’s how his cousin John revealed it: “One more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). Oh, friends, when we only see the manger Jesus, we miss Jesus. The real and full and fire-filled Jesus—God boldly, powerfully, transformatively in the flesh, face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball with the whole of our life. This Jesus speaks a powerful word that burns away the dross, the brokenness, the sinfulness in our lives. This Jesus unmistakably reveals God’s love. This Jesus hands us a life of radical purpose. This Jesus calls us to repentance, to give up our lives for him and his mission, to love and serve the Lord with everything we have. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to lock eyes with him. Fiercely, passionately, intently gaze into who he is and take every step in our lives with precision along the race he has marked out for us. “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Bam. Did you see it? He sits in the seat of eternal, supernatural power. His eyes flame with the fire of limitless love. His words pierce the innermost parts of our soul. His healing changes everything about us. This isn’t the cuddly baby in the manger. This is the resurrected Lord of the Universe. Friends, let’s meet to worship God and fix our eyes on this Savior! He is why the angels exploded with joy at his birth. They saw what was coming. It was way bigger than a baby. C’mon out… no snow this Sunday. 10:00 a.m… bring your Bibles and a pen! God’s Word to us will be good. So good. Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey friends… Let’s move quickly. I have seven things I need to tell you. Can I stick with that?? We’ll see. But then I do have some Deeper Thoughts below for an eighth…
Ready? Here goes: · THIS Sunday is our Annual Mt. Hope Christmas Party, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. Our Kids Connect and teens will lead us through the story of Christmas in a short and fun Christmas Pageant… BUT THEN… let’s all connect around a potluck Christmas dinner for rich fellowship with the whole church family! Click here to sign up for the potluck and bring some yummy treats! o Parents: TOMORROW (Saturday) is our final full rehearsal for the pageant, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. o Teens: No Youth Group this Sunday. For those helping with the pageant, rehearsal Saturday, 10:00 – 12:00 p.m. and arrival time on Sunday afternoon is 3:45 p.m. · Christmas Eve is coming! Two identical candlelight services on Wednesday, December 24 will give you options to invite your friends and family to a wonderful celebration of Jesus and presentation of the Gospel. 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. Interested in singing in the choir? Click here to contact Ryan Sauder! · Can you personally help me for five minutes? Click here to take a super-quick anonymous survey to help us understand how God is working through Mt. Hope’s content and experiences, what we could do better, what we could stop doing, and what you perceive are your greatest needs. This survey will be invaluable to helping us (and me in particular) shape our plans for the winter season… more on that in Deeper Thoughts below · Ladies: December Tea and Cookie celebration, NEXT Saturday, December 13 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at the church. Join us for food, fellowship, games and fun as we celebrate the Christmas season. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · Did we miss the first Sunday of Advent? Yep. Sure did. Total biff. Last Sunday began the advent season, and somehow your theologically well-trained, biblically passionate, lover of Jesus, and usually intelligent pastor simply forgot to arrange for our traditional advent candle lighting and reflection this past Sunday morning. And while the Kingdom of God will certainly go on, let’s pick it up this Sunday and celebrate the coming Messiah! · This week’s “Daily Six” continues our super-special six minutes each morning in the Word of God, Monday through Wednesday, on our YouTube channel as we focus on some “Best of The Daily Six,” looking back on content from years ago that still inspires where we are in our spiritual growth today. If you’d like to receive daily email reminders and you’re not already getting them, click here to sign up! · Sherri and I want to thank you all SO much for the outpouring of love, appreciation, thoughts, and generous expressions of your care over this last month. We truly cherish our connection with you and are so grateful for how well you express that to us! OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who’ve had enough of my seven thoughts and can’t stomach an eighth. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: It is time to refocus some things. It’s natural for us to leverage the new year to make fresh commitments, promise ourselves we’ll do better at some things, and then make resolutions that we honestly have no real plans to keep. I never make New Year’s resolutions for just that reason, and I’m not going to start now. But regardless of what time of year it is, I do feel a strong conviction from the Lord--and have been feeling this for quite some time—that an intentional adjustment to our focus at Mt. Hope Church is coming. For the last many weeks, our Elder Team meetings have been filled with this conviction. My prayer times with the Lord have been gripped with the Holy Spirit’s pressing. There has been what ancients used to call “a holy discontent” stirring in my gut. Here it is: We need to refocus our efforts on discipleship. Ugh. That’s a churchy word, isn’t it? Every church that has ever existed has used that phrase (sometimes quite boringly) to describe a wide range of activities, classes, events, catechisms, and programs. But most Christians I know, if we asked them what discipleship is, would give a half-hearted if not entirely inaccurate description of it. Discipleship is not a class. It is not a notebook. It is not a small group meeting. It is not a lecture series. It is not six minutes on YouTube, and it is not even six minutes more. Discipleship is not a Sunday sermon, a worship night, a volunteer program, or serving at a soup kitchen. Discipleship is not a list of twelve doctrines to know. It is not an event that can be completed. It is not a box that can be checked. It is not a program you graduate from and there is no diploma to be given. Discipleship is… well… being a disciple—a word we don’t use outside of churchy settings, and thus it has lost all its power to define for us what it means. A “disciple” is a historic idea from a culture long since passed. In fact, the concept really only existed for about 1,000 years as a societal norm in the ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures from roughly 500 B.C. to 500 A.D. Jesus lived about halfway through this millennia-long societal construct where people fiercely committed themselves to closely following a master (in our modern language a “mentor”) to gain command over a particular discipline—political theory, philosophy, religion, a trade, profession, or some specific intellectual pursuit. Rigid structures of constant togetherness with the teacher fostered an irreversible transfer of wisdom, skill, and experiences where at the end of the discipleship journey the disciple had become a carbon copy of the master, ready to disciple someone else. Jesus didn’t create the idea of discipleship. It was the way intensive education worked in his society. Every religion of his day had a discipleship model. So did all the politicians. And the academics. And the blue-collar tradesmen. And the financial moguls. Jesus simply leveraged the model of his society to transfer the entire essence of his life to twelve men he selected to become carbon copies of his identity. And then he told them to go into all the world and make more… make more disciples out of everyone (see Matthew 28:19). So, the Church today hangs onto the buzz word, even though its cultural meaning and structure has slipped into the shadows of history more than 1,000 years ago. And because it is not our common way of growth and learning today, we have no idea what it means. We say we are disciples of Jesus, but what that means and how we do it is nothing at all like what Jesus meant. So, we need to refocus. I do not know what that will look like, and I do not have a new program to announce. I’m calling on you to join me and the Elders of Mt. Hope to fervently pray that God reveals to us all how to be disciples in 2026… the way that Jesus meant. I’ve asked you to give me five minutes to take a survey (click here) that you’ll find is entitled “Mt. Hope Discipleship Focus Survey.” This is not the endgame of our refocus, as you’ll see what we are asking about is all the traditional stuff that every church calls “discipleship”—the content, classes, groups, sermons, and programs we are used to. But the survey will provide a tiny bit of valuable information for us to measure those traditional tools and their usefulness to us as we contemplate the bigger picture of what this refocus is leading us to. My call to you is more than a five-minute survey. It is a call to prayer. Would you begin to seek the Lord along with us to discover His blueprint for what this means for us today?? Then… let’s meet! 10:00 a.m. Sunday… bring your Bibles and a pen! God’s Word to us will be good. So good. Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey friends… There are two things I hope you didn’t miss. If you did, both can be recovered. One will bless, inspire, and guide you in your personal growth. The other will—if you get it—revolutionize absolutely everything about your life. Am I overselling it? Nope. Curious? I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below…
But first, just a few reminders: · Join us for our Annual Christmas Pageant and Christmas Party, Sunday, December 7, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. This extremely fun Christmas event has become a Mt. Hope favorite, with our Kids Connect and teens leading us through the story of Christmas followed by a great potluck Christmas fellowship dinner. Click here for more info and to sign up for the potluck and bring some yummy treats! o Parents: TOMORROW, Saturday, November 22 is our first full rehearsal for the pageant, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. · Teens: Youth Group Sunday, 11:30 – 1:00 p.m. Snacks, connection and deep dive discussion. Ping Jess Sauder for anything youth related… [email protected]. · Ladies: Join us for our December Tea and Cookie celebration, Saturday, December 13 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at the church. Join us for food, fellowship, games and fun as we celebrate the Christmas season. Click here for more info and to RSVP! · THIS week’s “The Daily Six” continues our super-special six minutes each morning in the Word of God, Monday through Wednesday, on our YouTube channel. We’ll skip Thursday (Thanksgiving), and then Friday have some fun taking you behind the scenes as we produce The Daily Six. 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 actually enjoy missing things. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: We all miss stuff. Some of it matters; some doesn’t. When it’s a big deal we missed--an important meeting at work, an assignment, a major bill that was due—realizing we missed it can bring a good deal of embarrassment. When it’s something we would prefer to miss--a car accident, a dental appointment, a large hairy spider walking past—skipping it can be a real relief. Sometimes we don’t realize what we missed was indeed something of great value. The first of two things I hope you didn’t miss: On Thursday and Friday this week, two of my dear friends shared vulnerably and powerfully their personal stories of how God’s Word met them during tremendous hardships. Through perseverance and faith in God’s Word, they discovered strength, transformation, healing, hope, and victory. If you missed Thursday or Friday’s Daily Six episodes, PLEASE jump in with us… you will be blessed. Click here to see Melissa Wiggins’ testimony from Thursday and click here to see Mason Duckworth’s from Friday. It will be well worth it. I promise! The second thing you might have missed is far more powerful. And important. Here it is: It is a choice. Did you make it? Or did you miss it? One of the beautiful aspects of being created in God’s image is our ability to choose. Theologically, this is called “sovereignty.” In the common vernacular, we call it “free will.” You have been given the irrevocable privilege to set your own direction by choice. The outcome and results of that choice are often beyond your ability to control. But the decision to start down a particular course of action, thought, belief, or idea is entirely yours. Since some choices lead to better outcomes than others, God often has a strong opinion of what we should choose. He recommends those choices with firm instruction in His Word. But we still have the choice. I wonder if you might have missed the most important choice of them all. I know I miss it sometimes (often?). The choice is faith. · Joshua 24:15: “Choose this day whom you will serve…” · Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” · Mark 11:22: “Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God…” · James 1:6: “But when you ask, you must believe…” All these instructions are stated in the imperative. By telling us to do it, it means it is our choice to believe. By telling us to do it, God is recommending this choice as the path to life and abundance. It is our choice, but He really, really wants us to make it. But here’s the twist: The choice to believe God is not to muscle up a mindset modification. It is not so much a choice to change your thinking. It is a choice to change your source. The Bible tells us that faith is a gift that comes from God (see Ephesians 2:8-10). But we are instructed to choose faith. The gift is in the source—where faith comes from. Our decision is to choose the source. Where does faith come from? Romans 10:17—“Faith comes from hearing, hearing the Word of God.” Faith comes from God’s Word. As we hear it—hear it deeply in our soul, listening to its wisdom, owning its truth—faith is formed. But that formation doesn’t happen by osmosis. It happens by choice. When we choose to receive the Word of God as a distinct and final revelation of truth, bold and power-filled faith in God occurs. When we choose to let our faith be guided by our emotions, experiences, expectations, culture, or anything in this world, we’ll have faith—but it will be faith in the things of this life, not in God. This Sunday, let’s meet and dig into this choice. Last Sunday, we talked about choosing the source of our confidence as the Lord and not our own strength. This week let’s open the next layer—choosing the source of our faith instead of being blown here and there by whatever worldly idea is circulating around us. Do a little advance reading if you can… Check out Hebrews 12:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, and James 1:19-25. Then… let’s meet! 10:00 a.m. Sunday… bring your Bibles and a pen! God’s Word to us will be good. So good. Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend [email protected] (*note the new email address!!) … three things you really shouldn’t miss. Hey there, friends… today’s Friday letter contains a profound word of encouragement for you. There is also a heartfelt honor we need to share. And there are three friends you MUST not miss. I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below…
But first, THIS weekend is big…so much going on: · Teens: Don’t miss FIRE Worship Night… TOMORROW, Saturday November 15 from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. Join us at the Mt. Hope Firepit for pizza, connection, music, sharing, and prayer. PLUS, a campfire and s’mores! Invite a friend and dress warmly! o ALSO: Youth Group Sunday, 11:30 – 1:00 p.m. Snacks, connection and deep dive discussion. Ping Jess Sauder for anything youth related… [email protected]. · Ladies: TOMORROW, Saturday, November 15 is our annual “Friendsgiving” event--11:00 – 1:00 p.m. at the church. Join us for food, fellowship, games and fun as we celebrate our many blessings. Turkey and ham are provided; bring a side dish to share… oh, and bring a friend, too! Click here for more info and to RSVP! o Also… save the date for December 13 for our Christmas cookie exchange. More details to come! · TWO memorials for our loved ones this weekend: o Priscilla Shi was a beloved friend to many of our congregation who knew and worshipped with her at CFC and Bridge Community Church. Pastor Will Cravens will lead a memorial service TOMORROW, Saturday, November 15, at 3:00 p.m., at Christian Fellowship Church, 44505 Atwater Drive, Ashburn. All are welcome. o Our church family will celebrate the memory of our beloved Gordon Cavallero THIS Sunday morning through a brief segment during church. · It’s time to mark your calendars for our Annual Christmas Pageant and Christmas Party! This extremely fun Christmas event has become a Mt. Hope favorite, with our Kids Connect and teens leading us through the story of Christmas followed by a great potluck Christmas fellowship dinner. 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 7. Click here for more info and to sign up for the potluck and bring some yummy treats! · THIS week’s “The Daily Six” is going to be super-special– 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 not know what I’m excited about. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: Three things that I am sure will bless you: 1) A profound word of encouragement; 2) an important honor to share; 3) three friends you MUST not miss. A word of encouragement: Have you felt a heaviness about the character-after-character, story-after-story study of the Old Testament we’ve been calling “Knowing God”? I know that I have. Literally every single person we have studied so far has been embroiled in either some great sin or some great tragedy or hardship in their lives. Adam and Eve started us off by gobbling on the forbidden fruit which poured evil into every human life to come. Yea, team! Smart move. From there, their first kids brought jealousy and murder to the table. Noah had to build a boat to save creation from God’s grand reset of humanity. Job picked his sores with broken pottery while trying to stay faithful to God after losing everything. Abraham impregnated his house maid. Isaac let his wife be taken by the king so he could go free. Jacob stole his brother’s birthright. Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Moses murdered an Egyptian and spent 40 years as a fugitive… On and on it goes. Tired yet? But so many of you have been telling me that oddly, the repetitive cycles of sin and rebellion we read over and over again in the Old Testament have given you hope. We read these Old Testament stories to learn how God relates with humans. We see ourselves in them—cycles of sin, rebellion, tragedy and hardship that are an inextricable part of our lives… thanks again, Adam and Eve! But more hopefully, we see God’s grace and mercy over them. Fast forward to Jesus. Beyond these sinful cycles, we read the New Testament to find out how it all works for us NOW, and who we can become NOW. You and I see ourselves in the Old Testament characters for sure. But the New Testament tells us we do not need to stay parked in their story. In fact, the New Testament is “confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation” (Hebrews 6:9). This Sunday, we will begin a new mini-series within the context of our larger study of the Old Testament. Circling through the New Testament book of Hebrews, we will discover the link between the Old and New covenants of God. We’ll see what this has all been building towards. “Confident of Better Things,” we’re calling this mini-series. Bring your Bibles and a pen!! An important honor to share: Gordon Cavallero was a core part of our church family for a number of recent years. Super-quiet, he was always faithful, generous, and loving. You probably met him either at the back sanctuary doors where he often served as a greeter, or at a church-wide workday which he never missed, or out in the parking lot with Jeff Lyerly being your first “hello” on Sunday. Shortly after he passed a few weeks ago, his family met privately to memorialize him. To offer you the chance to honor his memory and celebrate his life, we will focus about 10 minutes during our worship service THIS Sunday to remember Gordon. His family sent us some beautiful photographs and words to share with you. Three friends you MUST not miss: Starting THIS Monday, we will begin to air two weeks of our Daily Six video series that in my opinion will be some of the most meaningful content we’ve ever produced. I will sit with my wife, Sherri, and two of my great friends—Melissa Wiggins and Mason Duckworth—as we study the scriptures together. They will share their own stories of how the Word of God, and our Old Testament characters in particular, have transformed their lives. Their stories are compelling, encouraging, and convicting. You’ll have a hard time not opening your Bible after these episodes! Jump in with us each morning, 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. Shall we meet up? 10:00 a.m. Sunday!! Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey there, Beloved…
I have a few core lifetime issues. I imagine you do, too. Some of those issues are points of chronic frustration. Some are nagging, constantly besetting sins. (Some are great, wonderful, life-giving dynamics. But for today’s blog, let’s just own the hard ones so we can gain some victory over them.) In every one of these issues, God is still big. God is not diminished. His potential and His power are not scuttled. How about in your life? Let’s talk in [a shorter] Deeper Thoughts below… But first, some things you need to know: · Time changes TOMORROW Night! Set your clocks back and get an extra hour of sleep! OR… don’t… and come to church and you’ll be right on time for our weekly 9:15 a.m. prayer meeting!! · Teens: Youth Group Sunday, 11:45 – 1:00 p.m., gonna be awesome! Snacks, sharing, and a game. Let Jess know if you need a ride home… [email protected]. o AND… a new and exciting monthly youth ministry event is coming up on Saturday, November 15, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. Join us for “Fire”—a worship and social experience at the firepit (or indoors if weather is inclement). · A few memorials to note for loved ones who have passed: o TOMORROW, Saturday, November 1, 10:00 a.m. – All are invited to support and love Al and Leigh Villaflor as they celebrate the life of Al’s brother who passed a couple of weeks ago. The service will be at the church; Pastor John Zoller will officiate. o Priscilla Shi was a beloved friend to many of our congregation who knew and worshipped with her at CFC and Bridge Community Church. Pastor Will Cravens will lead a memorial at Christian Fellowship Church, 44505 Atwater Drive, Ashburn, on Saturday, November 15, at 3:00 p.m. All are welcome. o Our church family will celebrate the memory of our beloved Gordon Cavallero through a brief segment in one of our upcoming Sunday morning services. No public memorial service has been planned at this time; a private experience has been meaningful for his immediate family. Standby for a date for our church experience. · Ladies: Join us on Saturday, November 15 for our annual “Friendsgiving” event--11:00 – 1:00 p.m. at the church (note the time change). Join us for food, fellowship, games and fun as we celebrate our many blessings. Turkey and ham are provided; bring a side dish to share… oh, and bring a friend, too! Click here for more info and to RSVP! o Also… save the date for December 13 for our Christmas cookie exchange. More details to come! · 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 have already resolved every issue in your life. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: I’m going to be a tad more succinct today, as we’ve decided to experiment with shortening up this Friday blog a bit—and perhaps even cutting back on the frequency of publishing it. (Let me know if you like it shorter, or if the longer and weekly format we’ve been doing is helpful for you!) Here goes for today: I’ve shared with you all many times about some of the systemic struggles in my life. Perhaps the most obvious to me is a subtle but nagging battle with temper. Hopefully most of you have never seen it—I’ve worked hard for decades at self-discipline to not aim or express that anger towards humans. I truly value the beauty and soul of every person, so it’s my sincere desire to consistently choose respect and gentleness even towards those who in a particular moment frustrate me. And… gentleness and self-control are the evidence (fruit) of the Holy Spirit in my life (see Galatians 5:22-25), so if I am willing to let Him lead, and I am willing to keep in step with Him, victory over anger is entirely possible. I don’t always get it right, but God has helped me tremendously. But where I have not gotten this properly submitted to the Lord is when inanimate objects disobey my commands. I drop something. Something breaks. A piece of furniture bites my toe. A tool does not properly complete its assigned task. Every red light in Loudoun County is timed perfectly and intentionally to stop me at every single intersection. That’s when I lose it. Badly. I know where this comes from. Four generations before me did not get their anger properly submitted to Jesus. For them, the anger was rooted in great hurt and trauma. It started with Pryor Boyd, my great-great grandfather who joined Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as a 19-year-old to commit horrific atrocities in the American Civil War. He came home with PTSD and abused Robert E. Lee Boyd (catch the namesake?), my great-grandfather, who then raged at Robert E. Lee Boyd II, my grandfather, who then passed it along to my mother… It’s what theologians call a “generational curse,” and it can be found in Deuteronomy 5:9*. * The Hebrew word often translated “punish” in this verse is a tough one. Most scholars agree it’s difficult to properly translate; perhaps “visiting upon the children to the third and fourth generations” being a more accurate rendering. It expresses the idea of something being gathered to someone. It is demonstrating that in the spiritual realities of creation, sins universally echo forward for multiple generations. But in all this struggle that is yet to be successfully given over to God, He still loves me. He still uses me. He still leverages my life for His glory. He still meets me with spiritual power. My life is still a testimony of His power and anointing. And He does precisely the same for you. Why? Well… this Sunday, we’ll explore it through the life of Samson. Get yourself up to speed by digging into Judges 13 – 16 and then let’s meet… 10:00 a.m. Sunday!! Bring your Bibles and a pen!! Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey, friends…
Can we talk about your size? And I don’t mean your girth. I mean your stature. Your strength. Your position in life. Your success, status, achievement, or even your potential. Are you too big? Could you (could I) stand to lose some “weight” in your identity and gain some size in God’s identity? Let’s talk (if you’re not already too offended…) in Deeper Thoughts below… But first, a few important happenings: · Men: We plan to have a men’s breakfast the last Saturday of every month… but we’re cancelling TOMORROW, October 25. Stand by for details about November and December’s events connecting with each other and with God!! · Teens: No Youth Group after church BECAUSE...Sunday is TRUNK or TREAT! The One and Only, Stuff-of-Legends, State of the Art Youth Tent will be set up at 3:30 p.m., ready to be customized! Teens - we need YOU! Come & help create a fun and memorable space for the kids. · EVERYBODY… C’mon out for a great evening—Trunk or Treat is THIS Sunday, October 26 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.! It’s not too late to decorate a car, hand out candy, greet folks, and be a part of all manner of fun and activities—games, hayride, and more! Sign up in the church foyer on Sunday or email Chris Bowen at [email protected]. o AND… no matter whether you’re involved or not, whether you have kids or not… c’mon out and join the Mt. Hope family to support our kids, meet our neighbors, drink some apple cider, and have a great time!! · Ladies: Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 15 for our annual “Friendsgiving” event--12:00 – 2:00 p.m. at the church. Join us for food, fellowship, games and fun as we celebrate our many blessings. Turkey and ham are provided; you bring a side dish to share… and bring a friend, too! Click here for more info and to RSVP! o Also… save the date for December 13 for our Christmas cookie exchange. More details to come! · 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 are certain you’re just the perfect size. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: I’m sure one of you is about ready to pop me in the nose. You never ask about someone’s weight. We’re all very sensitive about that. But I’m not asking about your body. I’m asking about your soul. There’s a lot going on in there—at least I know there is in me. Desires. Ambitions. Dreams. Goals. Needs. These are all the things I am striving towards in my life. And, inevitably, they are also the things I stress over. Desire unfulfilled leads to frustration. Ambition unrealized leads to anger or resentment. Dreams that seem too unrealistic lead to discouragement. Goals that are frustrated lead to manipulation and control. Unmet needs lead to fear. Psychologists talk about ego. We hear that word and quickly visualize arrogance or pride. Someone with a big ego is someone too full of themselves. Or so we think. But the Oxford dictionary has a broader and more accurate definition: “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.” It is the “part of the mind that mediates between our conscious and unconscious,” that helps us define our “sense of personal identity.” We all have an ego, and it is a necessary and God-created element of our lives. Without a sense of self, we cannot navigate our day-to-day decisions. We can’t take responsibility for who we are and what we do. We can’t be “us.” The problem is not our ego. The problem is the composition of it. We think someone with a large ego is arrogant. Perhaps they are. But I believe God is concerned less about the scale of the ego, and more with how large *we* are versus how large *He* is. Here’s what I mean: We would consider someone with a very low self-esteem to have a small ego, correct? But in reality—at least in terms of how God sees things—their ego may in fact be way too huge. When we think poorly of ourselves, we are disagreeing directly and emphatically with the revelation of God’s Word that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and that God’s works in us “are wonderful” (Psalm 139:14). Our thoughts about ourselves are bigger than God’s. Our sense of self is too large—even though that sense of self is negative. *Our* opinion of a matter being more true, more authoritative, more accurate about our lives than *God’s* opinion—even if our opinion is negative and “lowly”—is making *us* larger than God. Our thoughts become higher than His thoughts, rather than the other way around (see Isaiah 55:8 for the proper sequencing here). For God to be God, we need to become small. In other words, our opinion of reality, of ourselves, of our fears, goals, dreams, etc. needs to become miniscule in comparison to our esteem of God’s opinion and God’s Word. God told Gideon to “go in the strength that you have” and fight against the wicked Midianites who were oppressing Israel (Judges 6:14). What God meant was to go fight in the strength Gideon possessed, but not in the strength that came from Gideon. Do you see the difference? Gideon heard it differently. He thought God told him to figure it out, go be strong, and get ‘er done. So, he immediately went to what made sense to him. He tallied up the men he could talk into joining his army, and he recruited 32,000 soldiers. That's a good, sound military strategy. Well done. But God said, “nope… you have too many men” (Judges 7:2). “Gideon, I need you to be smaller. A lot smaller.” Through a series of exercises, God whittled Gideon’s army down to just 300 men—a ridiculously tiny group to face the tens of thousands of enemy troops just over the hillside. God was going to do a miracle. It would be awesome. You can read all about it in Judges 7:16-25. But God needed Gideon and his men to be *really* small. It’s the only way the supernatural strategy of God’s intervention would work. God needs you and me to be small, too, for Him to do what He is going to do in our lives. He wants to show up. He has very intentional plans for what to do with every one of our circumstances (see Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28). But when our ego—our sense of self—contains too much of us and too little of God, we are going to get in the way. We would never think to do the crazy, irrational, unbelievable things God would do if God was the only one who could pull it off. So… this Sunday, bring your Bibles, and let’s dig into Gideon’s life. Let’s learn how to get really small so God can become really, really big. Gonna be fun… can’t wait! 10:00 a.m. Sunday!! Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey, friends…
Some of you love to sing. Others of you do not. Some of you have beautiful voices. Others of you… well… don’t quit your day job. Nashville will not be calling. But let’s talk church, and let’s be honest. There’s a decent percentage of you who really do not enjoy the music at church at all. Others of you love it, but this week, you might just not be in the mood. So, what’s so important about it? Why do we even do this? Let’s talk (I won’t sing this letter to you…) in Deeper Thoughts below… But first, only THREE quick reminders this week: · Teens: Youth Group THIS Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. with food, fun, fellowship, and the Word. God is doing some really great things in our youth group!! · Get in the fun—Trunk or Treat is NEXT Sunday, October 26 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.! We need your help decorating cars, handing out candy, greeting folks, and all manner of fun and activities. Sign up in the church foyer on Sunday or email Chris Bowen at [email protected]. · 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 have five Grammy Awards. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: Some people purposely come late to church just so they can dodge the singing part. Several have been honest enough to admit it to me. I get it. Music isn’t for everybody. While they say it’s the “universal language,” not everyone speaks that language so well. There are a couple of problems with all the singing we do at church. First, we are never going to get it right for everyone. Music styles are so varied, and our individual preferences are all over the map. Some want something more mellow. Others something more intense. Some want more classic and historic music; others prefer the modern, high-energy tunes. Some want it to be louder; other’s ears are bleeding. It is a universal language in the sense that most humans’ emotions can be stirred with music. But I think its universality is really more like food. We all eat. But open a Cheesecake Factory menu and you have to sift through 20 pages with a hundred options to find what will truly fill you up. Here's another problem with church music: Many people don’t know its proper place in their life, how it is relevant, and what they are supposed to do with it. So, it can become little more than Jesus karaoke (if they sing along) or a mellow concert (if they just stand there and listen). So, what’s the big deal about it? Why do we devote 30 minutes every Sunday to music? Why has every church, synagogue, and temple been singing and playing music at every biblical, God-centered gathering for at least the last 3,500 years? And perhaps more importantly, what’s the big deal for you, specifically? Let’s start with this: If the question is about music in church, we are actually missing the point altogether. Music and singing isn’t the important subject at all. Song or no song. Band or no band. Orchestra or no orchestra. Sing along or sit in silence. Hymns or rock songs. None of that is the point. The point is worship. And worship has very little to do with music. Say what? Yep. Worship is not music. Music is not worship. Worship is not singing. Worship is worship. And whether we like music or not—or whether we like Mt. Hope’s brand of music or not—we all need to worship. Our spiritual survival depends on it. One of our greatest weaknesses in North American pop-culture Christianity is that we have thoroughly confused the idea of worship with the style, technique, and content of our music. The more the instruments and melodies stir our emotions, the more we think we’ve worshipped. The more the volume, song choice, or instrumentation grates on us like fingernails on a chalkboard, we think we have not worshipped. Neither of those are true. Music is a tool that will help us worship. God does instruct us to make music unto Him, to sing, to play the instruments, and to make a “joyful noise” (Psalm 100:1-2). (That joyful noise part should encourage some of you. If Nashville won’t be calling you for an audition, go ahead and squawk away in worship anyway. God says you should!) Music is not worship. But it is a tool to lead us to worship. Consider: A hammer is not construction. It is a useful tool to build something. But it is not the building. Music is no more worship than a hammer is a skyscraper. BUT… you can’t build a building without using some tools. And you can’t worship without doing something; making music to the Lord and singing is one of those somethings. Worship is the abundant and thorough assigning of value to God. It is recognizing and expressing—even vocalizing—the worth you place on God. This is where the word comes from: “worthship” used to be how they said it. Somebody with sloppy diction dropped the “th” and it became known as “worship.” When we sing on Sunday, we’re leveraging an emotional tool to assess, contemplate, and express who God is and who He is to us. This process is important enough—and God knew that music is a tremendous language of the soul to aid this process—that believers have been using song both in the Bible and beyond for three millennia to worship. But there’s more. The contemplation and expression of God’s worth to you can take on many forms. The written word. The spoken word. The silent reflection. The anguished cry. The solemn prayer. The bold and joyful exclamation. The contemplation of scripture. The discussion of theology. The serving someone in love. We cannot survive spiritually without worship. And we can’t win against our spiritual enemies without declaring God’s value and standing boldly on our faith. When God wanted the Israelites to decisively overcome enemy giants in the land of Canaan, He asked them to worship. That was His battle tactic. His only tactic. Sing. Shout. Proclaim. And the enemy's walls of defense would supernaturally crash down. You can read all about it in Joshua 6. Instead of trusting their military preparation, their weapons, and their assault strategy, God told them to just sing. And shout. It worked. It will work in our lives, too. When we learn to stand in the middle of our spiritual battles and cry out God’s identity and goodness, the enemy will collapse. The strongholds the devil has erected in our lives are simply no match for God’s identity expressed with passion. This Sunday we will sing like we do each week—and I think our music team is awesome. But this week, would you try something different? Would you focus not on a karaoke sing-along and focus instead on who God is? Let the words and melodies connect with that deep place in your heart where you do indeed value God. And then… then… envision doing this on your own at home. If we learn how to worship anywhere, anytime, in any way, we will be positioned for great victory in any battle. Let’s meet this Sunday… bring your Bibles! And your voices. And your joyful noise! Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Hey there, beloved…
There are a few things I cannot do. Some are legit. Some are not. But where I can’t, maybe you can. Curious? Let’s talk in Deeper Thoughts below… But first, just four quick reminders:
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and you who have zero incapabilities. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: Some of my incapabilities are legit. Some of them are laziness or disinterest. Some are fear.
God had a plan and a vision for Israel. Part of this plan was for them to be the tip of the spear in bringing justice against a profoundly wicked people (see Deuteronomy 9:4-6). The other part of this plan was to reward them with a land of their own, a land of abundance that was “flowing with milk and honey,” and whose grapes were spectacular (Numbers 13:23-27). But to this spectacular plan, Moses’s entire generation said, “we can’t” (Numbers 13:31). God’s intention for us is always laden with immense blessing. See Jeremiah 29:11. But sometimes that blessing will cost us a LOT to get there. For Israel in this defining moment, the cost would be a difficult and drawn-out war. No one wants to go to war. But sometimes it is necessary to confront great evil. There is a blessing on the other side as faithfulness to God’s call is rewarded with rest and peace. Fear got them this time. The “I cannot” wasn’t legit. God was able. The “I cannot” wasn’t laziness or disinterest. It was simply fear. Giants were in the land ahead of them. The risks were high. Dependence on God would be their only hope, and the faith required to willingly place themselves in that situation was more than their emotions would allow. One important note: Fear is not incongruent with faith. I can have faith and still be afraid. I believe God can (and will) do this, but I’m still scared. Faith can coexist with fear. It just rules over it. When I choose faith over fear, the fear does not go away. It is simply put in submission under faith. Faith decides to go forward. Fear is forced to tag along. Moses’s generation chickened out. They chose fear over faith. “Nope. Not going. Cannot.” (Correction: “Will not.”) God couldn’t do anything more with that choice. He never violates human free will. So, God marched them back out into the relatively secure desert to give them the safety they wanted. It was safe in the sense that no one would attack them out there because no one wants to live in a desert. And there they sat. For forty years. It would be a new generation that would finally rise up in faith. Young people. The kids of that fearful generation. They would believe God where their parents had not. In Deuteronomy 31, Moses resigned. He passed the baton of leadership to Joshua, one of the only remaining leaders from Moses’s generation. Joshua was one of only two from the original military scouting team who had believed God could deliver Canaan into Israel’s hand forty years earlier. Ten of his other colleagues said, “we can’t,” and their fear became Israel’s fate. But now, the kids of that faithless generation were ready to believe, so Joshua would lead them forward to take possession of the land. Friends, let’s bring this home to you and me. Does anyone doubt that our current generation of leaders in our society has lost their way? It’s been a long time since “The Greatest Generation” won a world war against fascism and delivered the planet from tyranny. Most of us who are currently in middle to late adulthood--the ones of us who presently hold all the political and economic power—grew up as kids and grandkids of that very faithful generation. WE became the faithless generation who has largely abandoned God in favor of comfort. (Now don’t misunderstand me here… the vast majority of us Baby Boomers and Gen-X’ers reading this letter are personally and profoundly faithful to God. But we are part of a larger culture that is not. Even in the Church throughout our society, a spiritual laziness has decimated our vitality in the things of God. We are not living in the promised land of spiritual abundance and power.) But a new generation is here. They are the kids of these two lazy generations that presently hold power and are keeping our society stuck in a spiritual desert. And these kids might just be ready to believe God and cross the Jordan River. For the first time in decades, statistics are showing a rise in conversion to Christ—and it’s coming from a unique demographic: Gen-Z young people, especially young men. Even at Mt. Hope Church, there has been a subtle but noticeable shift where a TON of young adults are exploring faith in our church. They have a hunger for God that we Boomers and Gen-X’ers need to step up and pour into. This Sunday, one of my lifetime close friends, Pastor Chris Campbell, will open the scriptures for us and challenge us with the transition from Moses to Joshua, and what that means for us today. Chris and I met three decades ago doing ministry with teenagers in central West Virginia. We co-pastored a church in Ashburn for a few years more than a decade ago. These days, he and his wife, Cynthia, are a regular part of our online community at Mt. Hope. Let’s dig into the Word of God this Sunday… bring your Bibles. And let’s look at what we need to do to inspire the faith of a new generation. They can go well beyond any of our own “I can’t’s”. What I cannot do, I bet they can. Let’s empower them, shall we? Can’t wait… Much love to you all… Chris Eads Mt. Hope Pastor Friend Happy Friday, beloved…
I have two important Mt. Hope guests to tell you about. The first I’ll mention in our “happenings” below—a testimony of God’s faithfulness in the 190 years of Mt. Hope that is sure to encourage and challenge you this Sunday. The second will be in our Deeper Thoughts below. We have a guest blogger from within Mt. Hope whom God has given some very powerful words for us… I can’t wait to share them with you! But first, some happenings: · Meet our special guest, Greg Gardner, THIS Sunday at church. Greg came to Christ as a teenager at Mt. Hope Church several decades ago during a time of great spiritual momentum in our church. He will be with us this Sunday to share his testimony… and to receive from us a treasured historical piece of our church that I think you’ll be encouraged by. Don’t miss it!! · Teens: Youth Group THIS Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. with food, fun, fellowship, and the Word. God is doing some really great things in our youth group!! · Join us NEXT Saturday, October 11, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for a fun morning exploring the history of Mt. Hope. We’re going to be cleaning up our cemetery headstones, trimming up cemetery grounds, and other fun history stuff! RSVP to Sherri at [email protected] or text 571-437-3127 so we can have enough supplies for all who are coming! · Mark your calendars and get creative—Trunk or Treat is coming Sunday, October 26 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. We need your help decorating cars, handing out candy, greeting folks, and all manner of fun and activities. Sign up in the church foyer on Sunday or email Chris Bowen at [email protected]. · 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 don’t like visitors. BUT… Some Deeper Thoughts: Sometimes other people can say it way better than me. If you were with us last Sunday, you’ll probably agree it was both a powerful and provocative service where God met with us in His Word. Click here to catch up on last Sunday’s teaching if you missed it. Throughout this “Knowing God” series we have been studying the Old Testament, seeking to understand our God from the context of His self-disclosure before the full and final revelation of Jesus Christ. All the mercy, grace, forgiveness, and spiritual promise we know from the New Testament has its roots in the revelation of God’s character and will in the Old Testament. And yet, we find a few uncomfortable things about our God in those pages. One of them is God’s anger. Last Sunday, we touched on the negative emotions of God in Exodus 32. He was responding to extreme betrayal and unfaithfulness towards Him. There’s no way around the discomfort here. But my good friend Ray Prescott--a relatively new Christ-follower who has been with us at Mt. Hope for a few months now—wrote a reflection on the topic that he shared with me. It’s good. Really good. So… with his permission, I want you to read it. Here goes: Some moments in Scripture don’t just challenge the mind, they unsettle the soul. The anger of God in Exodus 32 is one of them. While Moses stood in the glory of God atop Sinai, below him the people fell into darkness. Impatient hearts once again turned to idol worship. They cast gold into fire and shaped it into a calf. And they bowed. They sang. They declared, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.” God saw. Before Moses ever descended the mountain, before the tablets were shattered, the Lord’s voice broke the silence: “Now leave Me alone so that My anger may burn against them and I may destroy them.” We recoil. How can a God of love speak such wrath? But what if this is not the tantrum of a wounded deity, but holy grief desiring a loving relationship and using the moment to train a trusted servant? What if His words are not meant to destroy, but to draw out something deeper in Moses? God sees the end from the beginning. He is never surprised. And yet He speaks as if He is. Why? Because sometimes, God speaks not just to inform, but to transform. God doesn't react like we do. He doesn't lash out. Instead, He speaks words that form. His declaration of anger wasn’t a loss of divine temper, but a test designed to raise up a leader. Consider a leadership principle: sometimes, when forming a young leader, we don’t assign blame for organizational failure. Instead, we name the problem and invite the leader to own the solution. We give them space to rise. God does this with Moses. He doesn’t blame him for the golden calf. He doesn’t undermine his authority. Instead, He draws Moses into the gap, awakening his responsibility and intercession. And Moses rises. He pleads. He stands between judgment and mercy. He even offers his own life on behalf of the people. In that moment, Moses is not crushed by God’s words; he is formed by them. A true leader is forged, one who speaks for his people, even at great cost. This moment is not isolated. God had once threatened Moses when he neglected to circumcise his son. Again, He spoke strong words not to destroy, but to awaken. And now, on Sinai He does the same. We see similar patterns in Numbers 11 and 12. When the people grumbled about hardship and craved meat, and when Miriam and Aaron opposed Moses out of jealousy, God responded not with random rage but with purposeful action. In each case, God's “anger” led to a refining moment, exposing the heart, surfacing the real issue, and calling for repentance or responsibility. So, what is God’s anger, really? Scripture says He is “slow to anger” (Exodus 34:6), and His wrath is not like ours. God’s wrath is not impulsive rage; it is the grief of a holy love desiring a relationship but encountering the horror of sin. It is His fierce love for righteousness colliding with the damage sin does to what He loves. It is sorrow and justice intertwined. Divine wrath is not the opposite of love; it is love in conflict with evil. It is the pain of a Father watching His children destroy themselves. Even Jesus, overturning tables in the temple (John 2:13–17), was not reacting in rage, but acting in righteousness, calling hearts back to holiness. His zeal was not for destruction but for purification. Behind it all is covenant. In Genesis 15, God made a covenant with Abram. Abram fell asleep, and God alone walked through the broken pieces of sacrifice, promising: If this covenant fails, I will bear the cost. That promise is mercy. In Exodus, we see it extended through Moses. But it is fulfilled in Jesus. Christ, the true intercessor, doesn’t just plead for mercy. He becomes the sacrifice. So yes, God is intolerant, but rightly so. We are intolerant of injustice, of abuse, of harm. Why would we expect less from the One who is perfectly good? Divine intolerance isn’t cruelty; it's holy love. God will not tolerate evil because He loves too deeply to let it remain. In a time where anger is often reactive and destructive, God's words and actions stand apart. Precise. Intentional. Formative. And redemptive. This is not a story of divine mood swings. It’s a story of a God who raises up leaders. A God who never breaks covenant. A God who speaks hard truths to awaken deep love. May we learn to hear even His hardest words as invitations to rise. May we, like Moses, learn not just to lead, but to love. May we see that God's intolerance is not the end of grace, but the beginning of responsibility. And may we never forget that Jesus walked through the pieces, and bore the cost, so that mercy would never be revoked. Hebrews 12:10–11 (NIV): “They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Powerful, eh? OK… let’s keep going in the Word this Sunday… bring your Bibles. Can’t wait!! Much love to you all… 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
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