Parenting has its ups and downs; its struggles and its joys, and a lot of learning and growing along the way. Learning to survive and thrive in our families, no matter what the circumstances, is a real challenge. Whether you’re a parent or not, this Sermon Seriesfor February will allow you to grasp God’s foundational truth and powerful encouragement no matter what your role or influence.
February 7 - “Parenting is Relational”
February 14 - “The Power of Three”
February 21 - “What God Says to Families”
February 28 - “Everyone Needs a Family”
On February 7 we’ll focus in on the importance of love in our relationships and how being a parent is relational.February 14 we’ll turn our focus to marriage and how to draw strength from God in order to make marriages and families stronger.We will honor those who have a five year anniversary in 2010 (5, 10, 15, 20...) by offering an opportunity to renew their marriage vows.Ray and Pat Bolton along with Gary and Sandy Hauseman will also be sharing our vision for helping couples prepare for marriage throughMarriage Savers.February 21 we’ll be giving our attention to some instructions God gives to us for becoming better parents.February 28 we’ll look at how each person has a need to belong in a family.Gary Zimmerman from Love in Action International Ministries will share with us about developing Children’s Homes overseas.After the service he will also be our guest speaker at a special meal where he will share about the development of a dairy farm in Bolivia to support their new children’s home—Andrea’s Home of Hope and Joy.
If you know of others who could use some encouragement and direction in the daunting task of parenting, invite them to journey with us this month as we explore how Families Make a Difference.
Pastor Gary
01/10 Pastor's Blog
What will the new year bring to Hope Community Church?
New Year’s Eve has traditionally been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year.It’s a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and then resolve to follow through on those changes.Some of the top resolutions made before the clock strikes midnight include spending more time with family and friends, exercising, losing weight, quitting smoking, getting out of debt or getting organized.New Year’s Day then is a time to refocus our energies and prioritize our lives.
I have been thinking about the new year in front of us—praying, and considering options for our Sunday morning gatherings.I’d like to give you a preview sketch of the possibilities being considered.
We will begin the new year exploring our Ministry & Mission Design aimed at providing a place where God grows hope one life at a time: Receiving Hope through Christ, Growing Hope in Community, and Sharing Hope with Others.We will also learn about how this design changes some of our organizational structures.
In February we will shift our focus to Family Life exploring together parenting struggles and learning how to thrive in our families, no matter what the circumstances.We will have a special celebration on Valentine’s Day for those in our congregation who will be celebrating a 5-year (5, 10, 15, 20...) anniversary in 2010.
In March we will give our attention to answering the question “Why Pray?” and then celebrate the resurrection as we enter April.The rest of April, May and the beginning of June we will take a closer look at the book of Philippians with an emphasis on how to enjoy your life in spite of all of the problems that life brings. We will looks at how to reduce conflict, how God helps us to change, how to conquer complaining, how to succeed in life, how to manage stress, explore the secret of a satisfying life, and God’s model for manhood.As we take this deeper look at Philippians we will also celebrate Mothers Day, Fathers Day and celebrate with our Graduates as they cross the finish line and prepare for their next steps in life.We might even have a special “Blessing of the Bikes” for our cyclists.
Summer will include another Picnic on the Hill, Picnic in the Park, Softball, and a special Farmers’ Sunday.As we enter September and October we will focus our time together with a whole church spiritual growth campaign called 40 Days of Community in which we will explore how we are better together as we pursue God’s plans and purposes for our lives.
With a few additional areas of teaching and a fresh look at Christmas, 2010 will be behind us.Will we have grown in our walk with Christ?Will we have achieved God’s plans and purposes for our lives in 2010?Will those around us move closer to Jesus through seeing our lives and hearing our words?I am filled with much anticipation.
Pastor Gary
3/09 Pastor's Blog
If a person wanted to consider becoming a Christian...
If a person or couple experienced a traumatic event in their life and needed help...
If a person or family moved into our area and wanted to find a church...
If a person was lonely and wanted to connect with others...
If a couple or single wanted their children to have good moral training...
...and they showed up at HopeCommunityChurch what would they experience?
· Do we reserve the best parking spots for guests?Or do they have difficulty finding a spot or finding one close to the door?How might we welcome our guests even before they enter our building?
· Are they greeted by persons in the parking lot?The lobby? The sanctuary?Are they invited to sit with others who can “show them the ropes” and introduce them to others with similar interests?Or do they sit alone feeling awkward and conspicuous.
· Are they able to find information about our church as well as directions to the nursery, bathrooms, and sanctuary?Or do we assume they will find their way on their own?
· Are they given a warm, casual, relaxing welcome by those around them or do we spend most of our time talking with those we already know?
· Do we welcome them with hospitality offering them a cold or hot drink?In our society it’s odd to just stand in a crowd doing nothing.A simple Styrofoam cup brings a sense of ease for those joining us for the first time.
What barriers have we created or failed to tear down for those who take the risk to join us for the first time?For those hoping to experience the love of Christ among us?We must break down the barriers of fear before people are able to hear and accept the message of Christ’s love.
Isaiah tells us to prepare the way for the Lord.His encouragement to fill in the valleys, level the hills, straighten the curves, and smooth the rough spots is a call for us to demolish the obstacles that keep others from meeting the Lord.
Listen! I hear the voice of someone shouting, “Make a highway for the LORD through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth road through the desert for our God. Fill the valleys and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”Isaiah 40:3-5 (NLT)
Pastor Gary
01/09 Pastor's Blog
A worthy resolution
Anticipating the New Year, many evaluate their lives and make New Year’s Resolutions hoping the next year is far better than the last year. If you Google “Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions,” you’ll get over 28 million hits. You’ll find the Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for couples, for college students, for moms, for sports fans and even the Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Brittney Spears and O.J. Simpson.
You’ll discover that the top ten resolutions for the average American include:
1. Quit smoking. 6. Try something new.
2. Lose weight. 7. Work on your spiritual growth.
3. Quit drinking. 8. Take a trip.
4. Go back to school. 9. Pay off the Christmas debt.
5. Spend more time with your family. 10. Get a better job.
If you are like many in our world, you’ll make at least one resolution as you begin the new year. As your pastor, I’m hoping you will join me in making a resolution in the spirit of number 7 above: read the Bible from cover to cover this year with my church family. Reading the Bible can have many positive effects. You’ll learn more about the Creator of the univers —about His character, about how He has worked in the lives of His people, about how He desires to work in your life. You’ll grow more confident in your life as you follow God’s instructions. You’ll learn to know God’s will for your life. Your prayers will have more energy and greater results. You’ll grow wiser and gain greater understanding.
I anticipate a remarkable journey as we “walk thru” the Bible together. So go ahead—join the millions who are making resolutions and commit to reading the Bible more this year than last year.
Pastor Gary
What difference does the first Christmas make?
The other morning I heard an atheist telling reporters that he and his family celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday.No doubt he celebrates a Santa Claus holiday in a home decorated with pine trees, lights and colorful ornaments.This December he will be like most people from BerksCounty having schedules heaped full of a myriad of seasonal activities.He along with many of us will be in attendance at Holiday concerts and programs.Some will reluctantly participate in company parties while others will gratefully embrace the chance to spend an evening with others.Most of us will brave the aisles of numerous retail establishments searching for the perfect gifts for those we love and others on our Christmas list.Most will eat too much and spend too much.So what makes us different from the atheist?If others were to consider your life and compare it with the atheist what differences would they observe?
This Christmas Season take time to consider a few questions:What difference does the first Christmas make in my life?How does the coming of a Baby impact my daily activities?Consider what others observe about your life, remembering you may be the only Christ Follower they know.What is your life telling them about the One who was laid in the manger?
My desire as we celebrate this Christmas is that you would give Jesus a very special birthday present.The most valuable of all gifts you can give is a gift of your time.I’m wondering if you would give Jesus a gift of time - time spent this next year learning about God as you read His word.My hope is that each person here at Hope, fifth grade and older, will join in reading thru the Bible.You won’t be doing it on your own.You’ll be encouraged by me and others at HCC throughout this year as we read thru the Bible together.We will be providing tools to help you “read thru” and each Sunday I plan to preach a message based upon the prior week’s readings.
To get us started we will be sponsoring an unusual Sunday morning and afternoon on January 4.You won’t want to miss this fascinating Sunday when we welcome Peter Hook from Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, who will provide an introduction to the Old Testament in a very interesting and festive way.
I hope I can count on you to join us in this exciting adventure thru God’s word.Who knows— maybe by next Christmas those who observe you will know the manger baby a little better than they do this year.
