House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church January 2015
God chose to live in a mobile home
"And the Word became flesh and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us..."John 1:14 (Amplified)
"Wherever
I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a
word with any..., saying, 'Why have you not built me a house of
cedar?'"2 Samuel 7:7 (NRSV)
In a recent Advent lectionary
reading, King David is troubled about the fact that he is living in
luxury in a new palace while the ark of the covenant, representing God's
presence, remains in a mobile tent.
For over four centuries,
ever since their emigration from Egypt, God's visible "home" for the
Jewish people was a portable tent, a “tabernacle”, rather than a
permanent temple. Apparently God preferred it that way, having given
elaborate instructions (Exodus 25-27) for this modest size "mobile home"
and having never given any directions for building a more expansive
structure dedicated to the worship of God.
King Solomon,
claiming God's approval, took it upon himself to build the first
permanent Jewish temple, with elaborate features but still relatively
small compared to many of today's places of worship. His temple was
destroyed and then rebuilt on a somewhat more modest scale under
Nehemiah after the Jewish return from their exile in Babylon.
In Jesus' day King Herod built a beautiful temple that symbolized the
hopes of a nation, then under Roman oppression, that was longing for its
former glory under King Solomon's rule.
It is clear that Jesus
was never impressed by such signs of religious splendor and power. He
never owned any real estate and chose to consider his followers as his
living home, his sacred dwelling. Never once did he instruct his
followers to go into all the world and construct buildings for worship,
and members of the first century church met in each others' homes and in
other available spaces.
God likes tents, prefers to live in
mobile homes, in a people who are solely devoted to his mission as
announced by the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
Notes, prayers and praises
SPECIAL JANUARY BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to James Stauffer 1/8, Susan Campbell 1/17, Becky Morlan 1/28, Dick Dumas 1/30
OUR ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING is Sunday, January 11.
THE HEIFER INTERNATIONAL Christmas offering was $300.
LOIS RIVERA-WENGER will be doing voluntary service in Phoenix through April. Pray for her as she takes on this assignment. Her address is: c/o Hospitality Service, 4443 West Vista Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85301. Her cell phone number remains the same.
January Lectionary readings
4 Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 147:12-20 Ephesians 1:3-14 John 1:1-18
11 Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29 Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1:4-11
18 1 Samuel 3:1-20 Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51
25 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:5-12 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20
January services worship at 4, meal at 6
4 Location: James & Ruth Stauffer 1250 Parkway Dr 22802 574-6141
Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Paul Swarr Carry-in Meal
11 Annual Business Meeting: Guy & Margie Vlasits 3448 Caverns Dr., K’town 908-0391
Worship
and Bible Study: Harvey
Yoder
18 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Ave. 432-0531
Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer
Bible Study: Dick Dumas Finger Foods Meal
25 Location: Susan Campbell 1361 Lincolnshire Dr, 22802 564-1524
Worship and Sharing: Susan Campbell
Bible Study: Elly Nelson Carry-in Meal
