September 2019 newsletter

House-to-House

 Family of Hope House Church                                   September2019

Imagination Can Fuel Either Faith Or Fear

In light of the many uncertainties we face in our future, our imaginations inevitably fill in gaps with details we have no way of knowing, thus either adding to our fear or enhancing our faith. 

     In times like these, it's not hard to imagine a lot of things in our world or in our personal lives coming to some unfortunate end. And it’s not hard to see that we naturally become far more anxious when we spend the majority of our time ruminating on that fear end of the spectrum, imagining all manner of worst case scenarios. In accordance with  'Murphy's Law' we assume that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, most likely terribly wrong. 

     On the other hand, when we are operating within the faith end of the spectrum, we are visualizing better than expected outcomes. This doesn't mean we don't recognize the possibility of things turning out badly, but we don't see those outcomes as being inevitable. By faith, we see bad things as less likely to happen than good, and trust that as a people of God, the odds are truly in our favor. 

      So what if we made a practice of  occasionally spending some time prayerfully preparing for the worst, but devoting the majority of our time picturing things turning out reasonably well--and ultimately very well. 

     And to believe that even if bad things happen, we will never have to face them alone, and that God, and God's people, will help us through whatever comes. 

     Until the very, very best finally comes.

• Harvey Yoder

Notes, Prayers and Praises

• KENT PALMER will have his surgery at UVA September 12. Please pray for a good recovery. 
• SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Lewis Overholt (9/5), and David Weaver (9/23)! 
• MY COINS COUNT Drive is on until the October 4-5 Relief Sale. Bring coins and cash to church for this project.
• PLEASE SUPPORT the SOS (Sharing Our Surplus) campaign at the Relief Sale October 4-5 to raise money for refugee relief worldwide.

September Lectionary Texts

1 Jeremiah 2:4-13 Proverbs 25:6-7 Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Luke 14:1-14

8 Jeremiah 18:1-11  Deuteronomy 30:15-20  Philemon 1:1-21 Luke 14:25-33

15 Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28  Psalm 14  Exodus 32:7-14 1 Timothy 1:12-17  Luke 15:1-10

22 Jeremiah 8:18-9:1  Amos 8:4-7  Psalm 113  1 Timothy 2:1-7  Luke 16:1-13

29 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15  Amos 6:1a, 4-7  Psalm 146  1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 16:19-31

September services, worship at 4, meal at 6 pm

1  Location: Park Place meeting room, 2nd floor                        432-0531

Worship and sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study: Paul Swarr                                                    Brown bag meal                                                         

8 Location: Lois Rivera-Wenger 204 Homes Lane, S’tn     502-663-3195  

Worship and Sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger                                     

Bible Study: Kent Palmer                                              Shared picnic meal                                                                                                                                       

15 NOTE: We will meet with the Table Congregation at Community Mennonite at 4:30 pm for a joint session with guests Grace and Yugo Prasetyo, missionaries in a slum area where many make their living salvaging items from a large landfill in Jakarta, Indonesia.   Carry in meal       

                                                                                     

22 Location: Family Life Resource Center 273 Newman Ave.   432-0531

Worship and Sharing: James Stauffer                                     

Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                  Brown bag meal

29 Guy & Margie Vlasits 3399 Caverns Dr., Keezletown            906-0391

Worship and sharing: Elly Nelson

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                    Carry in meal