Greetings Hopewell Family,
As we work our way through winter, I pray that you are staying
warm and safe, and that God is filling your lives with his peace,
joy and purpose. As we remember the blessings of Christmas we know
that our savior has come to bring joy to the world … through us.
In order for God to use us to be a blessing to others, we do need
to stay close to God, and let Him guide our lives. That principle
is one reason we are working through our current Sermon Series at
Hopewell, “There’s An APP for that!” We are taking several weeks
to consider specific lessons from God’s word that are only useful
if WE apply those lessons to our lives. I’ll say a little more about
the Series in a moment, but I want to particularly thank Bill Liverett
for all his efforts to record the Sermon at Hopewell each week and
then post it to our website. I encourage you to take the time to
listen to any sermon that you miss … God might have some specific
word of comfort, challenge, or insight just for you, and now those
words are just a ‘click’ away. Thanks Bill!
In the first week of the Series we focused on James 1:22-25, where
God tells us to “be doers of the word, not merely hearers …”. Applying
the lesson of scripture makes all the difference – or said another
way “Application is everything”. As one of you said to me “Paint
that sits in a bucket doesn’t do any good to protect a house – It
has to be applied!” It’s the same way with God’s word and our lives.
I have chosen five major teachings of God’s Word that can deeply
affect our lives if we apply them.
So in week two we considered the “APP” of Forgiveness. Taking a
look at Romans 12:17-21, we considered the command to “overcome
evil with good” – to choose the path of forgiveness. If you struggle
with holding grudges, that would be a good message to listen to.
The next APP in our series was Confession, learning to break the
power of the secret sin or the untold story. Confession is God’s
way of inviting us to ‘real change’ wherever our lives really need
to change.
As we move into February we will consider three other Life APPS:
Rest, Trust & Encouragement. I hope you can join us!
As a final word, I want to thank and honor all who are serving
in leadership positions this year. We are glad to welcome John Ditmars
back on the Session, and Debbie Jones as a new Elder in our midst.
Please pray for them and for all the Elders & Deacons as they
hold key leadership positions. May God lead us all to Do and Be
what He wants us to be, not more and nothing less. The Session in
particular cherishes your prayers for us to discern what new initiatives
God might have for Hopewell this year.
In Jesus’ Love,
Pastor Brad
Pastor
Brad Moger