What did God do this summer??

Hey All…
 
It is SO good to be back with you all after our 8-week sabbatical. Thank you so much for your support, care, prayers, and encouragement. We were overwhelmed with joy to see so many of you last Sunday, to enjoy a meal together, and to hear how God has been at work in your lives. I have much to say to you about all of this… shall we talk in Deeper Thoughts below?
 
But first…
 

• Connect NEXT (our Middle School Sunday class) continues!  All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students are welcome—and any of our 5th grade students that would like to join.
  
  
  
• Newcomers: If you have been visiting Mt. Hope in recent weeks, join us for a Newcomer’s Luncheon, 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, September 13!
  
  
  
• Youth FIRE on Saturday, September 19, at 6 p.m.  Dinner, worship, connection, devotional & discussion. Friends are always welcome. Theme: PURPOSE
  
  
  
• Important Congregational Meeting: Join us to hear all that’s coming and to make decisions for Mt. Hope, Sunday September 20, 11:45 a.m.
  
  
  
• Multi-Cultural Worship Gathering: Sunday, September 20, 5:30-7 p.m. (with a dessert reception afterward) at Columbia Church in Falls Church!  This is another opportunity to worship and connect with the other churches in the NorthStar network like we had last May in Maryland.  It was a powerful and meaningful time—and we’re excited to reunite!
  
  
  
• We have your TSHIRTS!!! Please email Keysha at [email protected] to arrange getting yours if you haven’t, or checking in to see if there are extras in your size!
  
  
  
• There are fresh veggies from our garden available to take in the foyer after church and an overabundance of flowers in the garden for anyone to pick anytime!
  
  
  
• If anyone is interested in using the garden or helping with the property upkeep and landscaping to contact the church through [email protected] — Att.: Christine Biggs.
  • Also, for all you gardeners, there is fresh shredded mulch/compost next to the trash bin FREE to whoever would like it, courtesy of a local landscaping company. Just in time for augmenting and prepping your Fall garden. Tell your friends and neighbors!

 
Ok, that’s it for you email skimmers as those who hate long ones… BUT….
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
God has been at work in you, and He has been at work in me and Sherri. Profoundly.
 
This Sunday, Sherri and I plan to spend some of our teaching time sharing with you the testimony of how God has led us during these last two months, what He has revealed, and what we sense is coming next for Mt. Hope.
 
As you might expect, mixed in among many unexpected twists to our time away, there is much good that God has led, revealed, and spoken. I am very excited to share it with you this week—to include some scripture and a highlight of where we will be headed in our new Sunday teaching series that will begin NEXT Sunday, September 13.
 
But for THIS Sunday, I would encourage you to once again circle through 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 in advance of our time together. I shared with you at the midpoint of our sabbatical that God was especially speaking to me in this text. It became the anchor point to everything He revealed to me—moving me through section after section of the New Testament that links back to the concepts revealed in this letter from the Apostle Paul. I’ll teach briefly from it this week, and then we’re going to dive into a massive study of the New Testament this fall, discovering through a very fresh lens THE central movement of God that is the entire goal of our faith. Gonna be SO cool!
 
But also… we need to talk about what God did in you.
 
Wow. As Sherri and I began the reconnection process, we have heard many stories of how God has moved in our church. Several are personal stories of breakthroughs, healing, victory and momentum in individual lives. Others are seasons of personal challenge and difficulty, but the Body of Christ in this fantastic little church stepped into your stories with energy, focus, love, and care. It has been SO encouraging to hear these stories and to know that God has anointed and led you through genuine, personal, Spirit-led movements of God. These stories are personal, so we won’t share them from stage; they are the stories of those involved, and theirs to tell as God leads. 
 
But there is another layer to what God has done that we can celebrate from stage this Sunday. It’s the overall working of the Body of Christ—people stepping up not only to do personal one-to-one ministry, fellowship, and encouragement, but also to serve and lead in the day-to-day ministry of service that lays the foundation for the personal work in our church. So many of you stepped into new roles to serve the logistics, systems, and experiences of the church to make it healthy and vibrant for all. I’ll have a bit to say in encouragement and celebration for you on Sunday.
 
During our sabbatical, Sherri and I purposely visited and benchmarked with seven churches in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Colorado. Some were churches pastored by good friends of mine; some were great churches I only knew about but wanted to see. All were unique places where God is moving in beautiful ways. But something struck us at every single one: there are certain powerful dynamics here at Mt. Hope that we saw absolutely nowhere else we visited.
 
This is not to say in any manner that these churches were deficient in any way. Not at all. What God has given them is precise, anointed, powerful, and blessed. But it is to say that there is also a very special thing that God has given to us that is unique and perhaps unseen elsewhere—His unique thumbprint for us that is our special calling. I want to tell you about this and encourage us to double-down on this unique thing that God has given to us as our church’s anointing. We are so blessed, and sometimes it takes being away to recognize this to the full.
 
Finally, there are some very specific things I believe the Lord has spoken somewhat prophetically to me—and likely to many of us—through both circumstances and direct intuition from the Lord. Let’s talk about those on Sunday as well.
 
This will be a very special weekend of joy and celebration, to include Pastor John Zoller leading us through the Lord’s Supper during worship.
 
I hope you’ll be able to join us—I realize it’s a holiday weekend, so if you’re traveling, jump in with us online-live, or make a point to pull it up on YouTube later on demand.
 
So looking forward to Sunday and being back in the saddle with you…
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend
[email protected]