May 2020 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church May 2020

Waiting for Pentecost

They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”

(Acts 2:1-8, the Message)

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."
(Revelation 7:9a, NIV)

In anticipating the celebration of the birthday of the Christian church, I'm impressed by how God's Spirit brings into deep oneness diverse people from all over the world. To the extent that today's churches, by contrast, are made up of mostly of people of the same race, language and national origin, we are falling short of reflecting God's original and ultimate intent.

If we believe God is all about bringing people together in an eternal reunion, we need to begin living into that reality now. It's certainly clear that at the annual Pentecost harvest festival described in Acts, God is birthing a new community with this end in mind, a rainbow of people of all colors and with all kinds of differences.

We need to get with the program.

In the Acts 2 account we see urban Romans becoming one with desert dwellers in Arabia, uncultured Cretans with strait-laced Jews, thousands of men and women, young and old—representing three continents and speaking multiple languages. It's hard to imagine any more unlikely candidates for becoming a united family of faith.

We need to re-envison a kind of future that’s all about that grand, eternal reunion, while we celebrate the grand birth of a movement that is a 'pre-union', a living and loving sign of God's future world.

- Harvey Yoder

Notes, Prayers and Praises
FAMILY OF HOPE WILL CONTINUE MEETING ONLINE Sundays from 4-6 until further notice. Here’s the number if you want to dial in on the phone as you would for a conference call (audio only): (646) 876-9923. Enter Meeting ID when prompted: 284 926 9967. If you want to participate via video click this link: https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Kent Palmer (574-606-8917) if you have any problems.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO POST LECTIONARY TEXTS for each Sunday, likely followed by a series based a book of the Bible. Philippians is a possibility for after Pentecost, but your suggestions are welcome.
CHECK FOR CHURCH SCHEDULE AND UPDATES on the Family of Hope blogsite: http://familyofhopehousechurch.blogspot.com/2020/01

May Lectionary Texts
3 Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 23 I Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10
10 Acts 7:2-60 Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16, I Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14
17 Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66:8-20 I Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21
24 Acts 1:6-14 Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 I Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11

31 Acts 2:1-21  Psalm 104:24-35  I Corinthians 12:3b-13  John 20:19-23

May services, 4 pm
3 Location: on line
Worship and Sharing: Elly Nelson
Bible Study: Kent Palmer
10 Location: on line
Worship and sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder
17 Location: on line
Worship and Sharing: Lewis Overholt
Bible Study: Elly Nelson
24 Location: on line
Worship and sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Dick Dumas
31 Pentecost Service Location: on line
Sharing personal Pentecost stories and songs
Membership re-covenanting ℅ Harvey Yoder