December 2020 newsletter

 House-to-House

 Family of Hope House Church                 December 2020

Strangers Meeting Around Mangers     

Years ago I read an article by Eddy Hall entitled “A Second Look at the Christmas Crèche.”  He says he used to be bothered by all of the historical inaccuracies portrayed in typical Christmas manger scenes, the ones that have Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus surrounded by shepherds, angels, and wise men, along with assorted sheep, camels and donkeys, all gathered at the stable at the same time and place.

It is obvious from the texts, of course, that the angels return to heaven immediately after announcing the birth of the Messiah, and the wise men in Matthew’s account are led by a star to a house where they bring Mary and Joseph their gifts, not to a manger, suggesting this was some time after the stable birth.

“I’ve long assumed that it was just pure sloppiness,” Hall writes, “Caught up in the less than accurate traditions that surround Christmas, people just didn’t care how the story really happened.”

But Hall has come to believe the Christmas crèche is meant to convey something deeper, that the main focus of these manger scenes is to show how this promised Child brings us all together, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, insider and outsider, shepherds and scholars, not because of any appeal they have for each other, but because of their common reverence for Immanuel, God with us. Even God’s non-human creatures are included in this great celebration of good news.

This unlikely coming together, he says, is the Incarnation story in a nutshell.

                                                                                         - Harvey Yoder

Notes, Prayers and Praises

WE CONTINUE TO MEET ONLINE Sundays from 4-5:30. For a phone connection (audio only) dial 646-876-9923. For video click on  https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Problems? Call 574-606-8917.

PRAY FOR NEAL NELSON who has tested positive for COVID-19 at Envoy Nursing Home and for Elly as she deals with the distress this creates.

DECEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to to Karen Campbell 12/26/69!

WE WELCOME YOUR INPUT on Bible passages to study in the coming year. Esther? Favorite Psalms? One of the New Testament letters? One of the Prophets? One of the books of the Law? Give us your ideas.

December Bible Studies 

Various members of our congregation will lead us in scripture-based reflections on how Christ became born in them and became a lifelong part of their own stories. The fourth Sunday in December will be a service of scriptures and recorded Christmas carols and chorales.

December Services, 4-5:30 pm 

6  Location: on line 

Worship, sharing, scripture and life stories: Lewis and Mary Ellen Overholt

13 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study and interview with James and Ruth Stauffer ℅ Harvey Yoder

20 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing  Lois Rivera-Wenger

Bible Study and life story: Dick Dumas

27 Location: on line 

A Christmas service of worship, sharing and scripture reading, with recordings of sacred music and carols: ℅ Kent Palmer

November 2020 newsletter

 House-to-House

 Family of Hope House Church                 November 2020

An Election Reflection        - Harvey Yoder

We’re hearing a lot about how all-important this US presidential race is, as though the very survival of civilization rested on the outcome.

     I agree that the choices offered  are important, and that how (or whether) to exercise the one vote each of us has deserves a lot of prayerful thought. The following is an attempt to put things in a larger perspective, to look at the bigger historical picture and not just that of our own small corner of the globe.

     First, the United States is only one of 230 nations in the world, and represents less than 5% of the world's people--even though it currently controls the majority of the world's wealth and military might. From a biblical perspective, all nations are of minor consequence in comparison to God’s worldwide, eternal kingdom. As world citizens, we need to think less of governments simply ruling us and more about urging all of them to rule in more just and in less violent ways.

     Second, we need to remind ourselves that a US president is the chief presider and leader of only one of three branches of a federal government, and that the judicial and legislative branches are equally important. This three-part federal system, in turn, shares power with 50 states and commonwealths, each made up of county and municipal governments, and each responsible to the people being governed.

     In other words, we are electing administrator of one branch of one part of a democracy made up of citizens, not choosing a monarch or dictator over a kingdom of mere subjects. Each president's four-year term is less than 2% of this nation's relatively brief history, one that represents only 5% of the total span of civilization as we know it.

     Finally, we (US Americans) are not a “chosen people” whose culture and way of life is superior to everyone else’s. Take our national language, for example. Our one official tongue is English, mostly the language of white Caucasians. While English is popular worldwide as a second language, it is still only one of nearly 7000 spoken around the world. There is no superior race, language or nationality.

Notes, Prayers and Praises

WE CONTINUE TO MEET ONLINE Sundays from 4-5:30. For a phone connection (audio only) dial 646-876-9923. For video click on  https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Problems? Call 574-606-8917.

PRAY FOR KENT PALMER, who is to have some reparative surgery done at the UVA Medical Center November 18.

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Neal Nelson 11/2, Paul Swarr 11/10 and Guy Vlasits 11/21. Neal and Elly Nelson’s anniversary is November 26! Let’s send cards to Neal Nelson, 512 Houston St, Staunton, VA 24401 and Paul Swarr at VMRC, 1401 Virginia Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA 22802.

November Study “Building on Solid Rock”

1   Matthew 7:13-23

8   Matthew 7:24-29 

15 Matthew 5-7 summary

22 Leader’s choice

29 Leader’s choice

November Services, 4-5:30 pm 

1  Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing Lewis Overholt

Bible Study Harvey Yoder

8 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing Harvey Yoder

Bible Study Roy Hange

15 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing  Kent Palmer

Bible Study: Wrap up of Sermon on the Mount Study c/o Harvey Yoder

22 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing  Lois Rivera-Wenger

Bible Study Elly Nelson

29 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing  James Stauffer

Bible Study Dick Dumas

October 2020 Newsletter

House-to-House

Family of Hope House Church                   October 2020

False Prophets: A Layman’s Guide             

I'm told that the best way to learn to detect anything fake, as in counterfeit money, is to become thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the real thing, as in real money. So here are seven of the Sermon on the Mount marks of faithfulness we should expect to see in authentic prophets, as opposed to those masquerading as trustworthy shepherds, according to Matthew 5-7:    

1. They demonstrate the God-blessed qualities described in the beatitudes--humility, contriteness, integrity, peace-making, and justice-seeking, even if it means being ostracized and persecuted. (5:1-12)
2.  They work at reconciliation in relationships rather than harboring anger or causing division, and avoid verbal or physical violence toward others. (5:21-26)
3. They are faithful to their marriage vows and treat members of the other sex with dignity and respect. (5:27-32) 
4. They consistently speak the truth and avoid manipulation and deception. (5:38-42) 
5. They show unconditional and impartial love toward everyone, friend and enemy alike. (5:43-48) 
6. They share generously with others and avoid accumulating material wealth for themselves. (6:19-34) 
7. They do not condemn others, but are careful to discern whether their deeds correspond with "these sayings of mine." (7:1-23)

Notes, Prayers and Praises

WE CONTINUE TO MEET ONLINE Sundays from 4-5:30. For a phone connection (audio only) dial 646-876-9923. For video click on  https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Problems? Call 574-606-8917.

OUR MY COINS COUNT total for Family of Hope was $    . The overall Relief Sale income was $     .

THANKS FOH FOR YOUR GENEROSITY IN raising over $2000 for the FOH Relief Sale Campaign! 

OCTOBER BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Joyce Ulrich 10/14, and Elly Nelson 10/28!

October Study “A God-Focused Life”

4   Matthew 6:19-24 

11 Matthew 6:25-34 

18 Matthew Matthew 7:1-6

25 Matthew 7:7-14

October Services, 4-5:30 pm 

4  Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing Lewis Overholt

Bible Study Harvey Yoder

11 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing James Stauffer

Bible Study Elly Nelson

18 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing Elly Nelson

Bible Study Dick Dumas

25 Location: on line 

Worship and Sharing  Lois Rivera-Wenger

Bible Study Kent Palmer

September 2020 newsletter

House-to-House

Family of Hope House Church                   September 2020

O How We Love Your Precepts!                   

Fewer young adults are active in church than ever, we're told, but they tend to be drawn more to congregations with strongly held beliefs than those with less well-defined convictions.

     The Christian faith, of course, is not primarily about mouthing theologically orthodox statements but living the kind of life Jesus lived and taught. Or in the words of the late Clarence Jordan, "faith is not belief in spite of evidence but a life lived in scorn of the consequences".

     So how does the church demonstrate the kind of radical, Christ-based convictions that are worth living and dying for?

     One of the gifts the Hebrews of Biblical times most treasured was the Torah, the law of God brought to them by Moses and expounded on by their prophets and psalmists. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is an acrostic poem with 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza has eight verses, each of which celebrates the blessing of knowing God's wisdom for living as found in the "Ten Words" and other commands given at Mount Sinai.

     The Torah,  besides being a guide for everyday living, was also the equivalent of their new nation's Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, essential to their identity as a people free at last from Egyptian bondage and exploitation.

     Followers of Jesus should exhibit the same delight in the commands of King Jesus found in his inaugural "Sermon on the Mount", thought to be used as a catechism for instructing first century believers in the faith. Given the authority with which the Servant-King spoke, the Nine Beatitudes and other teachings found in the gospels and the early apostles should be given the highest priority in Christian worship and in our daily living.                             - Harvey Yoder

Notes, Prayers and Praises

WE CONTINUE TO MEET ONLINE Sundays from 4-5:30. For a phone connection (audio only) dial 646-876-9923. For video click on  https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Problems? Call 574-606-8917.

OUR FOH GIVING has increased significantly in the past months, and we should be able to meet or exceed our $16,800 goal for 2020. Meanwhile, keep saving your change (and spare bills) for the My Coins Count project, a Relief Sale, initiative.

BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS TO Lewis Overholt (9/5) and David Weaver (9/23!

THE RELIEF SALE’S SOS CAMPAIGN  to raise funds for MCC generated nearly $15,000 through its Hundreds for Hundreds Walk August 23! Would our house church be willing to join me in forming one of many “$1000 Clubs” to raise additional money by the Sale date (October 3), since income from food sales and this year’s online-only auction will be more limited? Ten of us contributing an average of $100 would make us a part of a “club.”

September Study “Torah From Gospel Mountain” 

6   Matthew 5:33-37

13 Matthew 5:38-48 

20 Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18

27 Matthew 6:5-15

September Services, 4-5:30 pm 

6  Location: on line                             

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder                       

Bible Study: Elly Nelson

13  Location: on line 

Worship and sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                        

20 Location: on line                

Worship and Sharing: Lewis Overholt                            

Bible Study: Dick Dumas                              

27 Location: on line

Worship and sharing: Elly Nelson

Bible Study: Kent Palmer

August 2020 newsletter

House to House 

Family of Hope House Church      August 2020

Matthew's Torah Mountain                                                

- Harvey Yoder

We’re not told exactly where in Galilee Jesus delivered his inaugural sermon in Matthew 5-7, but the Sinai-like peak that has become known as the Mount of Beatitudes near Capernaum could well be the place.

In the manner of rabbis instructing their followers, Jesus "sat down and taught" what we know as the “Sermon on the Mount.” A large crowd listened in, marveling at the authority (exousia) with which he spoke.

At the end of Matthew's gospel Jesus instructed his disciples to again meet with him at a specified mountain in Galilee to charge them with what we know as the "Great Commission”.

"I have been given all authority (exousia)," Jesus says, "therefore wherever you go, make disciples of all peoples, initiating them into God's worldwide rule and instructing them to obey all I have commanded you."

In recent centuries there has been much emphasis on Jesus' mandate to "go into all the world" to evangelize and to baptize, but there have been few examples of missionaries actually teaching people such commands as "do not return evil for evil" and "do not lay up treasures here on earth", as found in the Sermon on the Mount.

Early Christians were convinced that Jesus first and his final instructions were seamlessly linked. Thus the church in the first centuries was known for teaching their members (with authority) to shun all forms of violence and to sacrificially share their possession with those in need.

We need to follow their example.

Notes, Prayers and Praises

WE NOW MEET ONLINE Sundays from 4-5:30. For a phone connection (audio only) dial 646-876-9923. For video click on  https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Problems? Call 574-606-8917.

WE WILL BE STUDYING THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT in August and September. Dorothy Jean Weaver, retired Professor of New Testament at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, will introduce us to the book of Matthew August 2. She is the author of The Irony of Power: The Politics of God within Matthew's Narrative.

BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Kent Palmer August 10! Alma Jean and Harvey Yoder’s anniversary is August 8 and James and Ruth Stauffer’s is August 30. Congratulations!

PLEASE SAVE YOUR CHANGE (and bills) for My Coins Count!
IN AN ACTION TAKEN SUNDAY, July 6, the church agreed by consensus to have Ellie be our Everence congregational representative, with Susan serving as co-representative. Thanks, Ellie and Susan, and thanks, James Stauffer, for your many faithful years in this role.

August Study “A Declaration of  God-Dependence”

2    Introduction to Matthew’s gospel

9    Matthew 5:1-12 

16  Matthew 5:13-20

23  Mathew 5:21-26

30  Matthew 5:27-32

August Services, 4-5:30 pm 

2  Location: on line                             

Worship and Sharing: Harvey Yoder                       

Bible Study: Dorothy Jean Weaver

9  Location: on line 

Worship and sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                        

16 Location: on line                

Worship and Sharing: Lewis Overholt                             

Bible Study: Elly Nelson                              

23 Location: on line

Worship and sharing: Harvey Yoder

Bible Study: Kent Palmer

30 Location: on line

Worship and sharing: James Stauffer

Bible Study: Dick Dumas

July 2020 newsletter

House-to-House
Family of Hope House Church                             July 2020
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The Mulberry Tree              - Harvey Yoder

The mulberry tree in our backyard produced its usual abundance this year, reminding me of one of our son Brad’s songs I especially like:

oh, the mulberry tree spreads her fruit all around,
she feeds hungry birds, and still covers the ground,
she is always abundant, some call her a weed,
Lord, make me more like the mulberry tree..

now the mulberry tree’s long since gone out of style,
you won’t find her fruit in a grocery aisle,
but she clutters the sidewalks and trails with that fruit,
some stop to eat, some complain for their shoes.

a mulberry tree once grew by my house,
as a child, I would stuff purple fruit in my mouth,
there’s some jam in the pantry, but that tree’s been cut down,
that’s one fewer mulberry tree in this town..

now the Lord sends the rain on the worst and the best,
on the kind and the cruel, on the broken and blessed,
that Love knows no limits, it’s given for free,
it’s the same Love that gave us the mulberry tree,

a mulberry tree once grew by my house,
I would stand there and stuff stuff purple fruit in my mouth,
there’s some fruit in the freezer, but that tree’s been cut down,
that’s one fewer mulberry tree in this town..

now I know I’ve been selfish, my new prayer shall be:
Lord, make me more like the mulberry tree,
Lord, make me more like the mulberry tree…

- Brad Yoder

Notes, Prayers and Praises
WE WILL CONTINUE MEETING ONLINE Sundays from 4-5:30 until further notice. Here’s the number to dial in on the phone (audio only): (646) 876-9923. To participate via video use this link:  https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Call Kent Palmer (574-606-8917) if you have any problems.
WE WILL STUDY THE BOOK OF RUTH in our July Bible studies, connecting it with good news that is embedded in the rest of Scripture, and especially in the life and teaching of Jesus.
BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Los rivera-Wenger, July 30!
VIRGINIA MENNONITE CONFERENCE ASSEMBLY is set for Saturday, July 18, with the theme“Living As Those Made Alive In Christ” based on Colossians 3:12-17. We will be gathering in an online forum in a one-day event via Zoom at 8:30-10:00 a.m. and 10:30-12:00 am. Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Executive Director Ron Byler. Ron will be the keynote speaker, with a focus on MCC’s 100 years of relief work.
COVENANT MEMBERS FOR THE COMING YEAR ARE Karen Campbell, Susan Campbell, Dick Dumas, Elly Nelson, Neal Nelson, Lewis Overholt, Mary Ellen Overholt, Lois Rivera-Wenger, James Stauffer, Ruth Stauffer, Alma Jean Yoder, Harvey Yoder. Kent Palmer, Paul Swarr and Guy Vlasits are Associate Members.

July Study “The Gospel According To Ruth”
5    Ruth 1 “Some Good News For Migrants”
12  Ruth 2 “Hospitable Good News For Outsiders”
19  Ruth 3 “Welcome Good News For The Poor”
26  Ruth 4 “Ruth, A Sign Of Good News For The Whole World”
             
July services, 4-5:30 pm
5  Location: on line                           
Worship and Sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger                     
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder
12  Location: on line
Worship and sharing: Elly Nelson
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                                     
19 Location: on line             
Worship and Sharing: Lewis Overholt                           
Bible Study: Elly Nelson                           
26 Location: on line
Worship and sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Kent Palmer

June 2020 newsletter

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

A Hymn For A Time Of Quarantine 

Tune: “All People That On Earth Do Dwell”

We love to sing those songs of old
That feel like shelters from the cold.
They bring us comfort sweet and strong
Enfolding us from all that's wrong.

Yet, same old songs won't always do
For God is making all things new.
He's doing something fresh today,
And that is why we'll always say,

"Now let us sing some brand new songs
Of praise to whom all laud belongs."
To You we lift our praises high,
To You whose glory fills the sky.

We're not quite sure what now You do,
But we proclaim our trust in You.
You purify our hearts today
To love, extol You all the way

Until, at last, we reach Your throne
And sing the truth we long have known:
That You, alone, are God, most high;
Your honor fills celestial sky.

- M. Lois Rivera-Wenger, June 7, 2020

Notes, Prayers and Praises

WE WILL CONTINUE MEETING ONLINE Sundays from 4-6 until further notice. Here’s the number if you want to dial in on the phone (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. Call Kent Palmer (574-606-8917) if you have any problems.
WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON PHILIPPIANS in our June bible studies.
BELATED BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS to Mary Ellen Overholt 4/5, Margie Vlasits 5/1, and Alma Jean 5/15, and our June blessings to Josiah Dumas 6/9, and Harvey Yoder 6/30. Apologies for not printing the March and April ones!
CHECK FOR CHURCH SCHEDULE AND UPDATES on the blogsite: http://familyofhopehousechurch.blogspot.com/2020/01

June Study “A Life-Giving Gospel From A Roman Jail”

7    Philippians 1 “Our Partnership With Christ Is Our Greatest Joy”
14  Philippians 2 “The Imitation of Christ is our Chief Obsession”
21  Philippians 3 “The Pre-eminence of Christ is our Supreme Focus”
28  Philippians 4 “The Shalom of Christ is our Constant Blessing”

June services, 4 pm 

7  Location: on line                           
Worship and Sharing: Elly Nelson                     
Bible Study: Kent Palmer
14  Location: on line
Worship and sharing: Lewis Overholt
Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                         
21 Location: on line             
Worship and Sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger                           
Bible Study: Dick Dumas                                         
28 Location: on line
Worship and sharing: Harvey Yoder
Bible Study: Elly Nelson

On-Line Church "What's For Dinner?" Lectionary Reflections For May 3

"He will come in and go out, 
and find pasture."

Here are some reflections on the scriptures that are the basis for our on-line service at 4 pm this Sunday: 

Plentiful Food, Lots Of Good Company Acts 2:42-47
Imagine this miracle in first century Jerusalem: Urban Romans are enjoying meals around tables with desert nomads from Arabia. Unkempt Cretans are sharing bread in the homes of kosher-conscious Jews. Men and women, young and old, representing three continents and speaking multiple languages, are eating meals together with "great joy and generosity."

It's hard to imagine any more unlikely candidates for forming a joyfully unified family of faith. But it represents the table to which all of God's children are invited.

As Michael Rosen writes in his poem, The Greatest Table,

The greatest table isn't set 
inside a single home--
oh no, it spans the continents,
and no one eats alone.

...Who hasn't eaten? Join us here,
pull up another chair.
We'll all scoot over, make more room;
there's always some to spare.

... The table talk is musical
with every language shared;
in every face the thankfulness 
is more than any prayer.

- selections used by permission

Tables Set With Cups Overflowing With Goodness  Psalm 23
The most beloved of all the Psalms pictures God as a caring Shepherd, and has several references to our being well fed. We are of course not spoon fed, but using the metaphor of our being God's flock, we are led to lush pastures where food is in abundant supply.

Here we are also pictured as being invited to a well-laden table the Host has prepared for friend and enemy alike, where a reconciled people live together forever in God's great household of "goodness and mercy." 

Soul Food For The Suffering And Wounded  I Peter 2:19-25
This letter, written by the apostle who had once frantically denied being a part of Jesus's inner circle (at his trial), reaches out to congregations scattered throughout Asia Minor who are suffering persecution for being followers of the crucified Messiah. 

Nowhere in the New Testament is the teaching of "non-resistance" (to evil-doers) more clear, that Christians are to endure unjust suffering without offering resistance or engaging in retaliation. Rather we are to follow in the very steps of the one we serve, being willing to endure wrong rather than to inflict it, to bear the cross rather than to bear the sword, as Peter himself once recklessly did. 

This passage is the one which Charles Sheldon's classic book In His Steps, is based--and the one which inspired the oft used WWJD? question.

Hosted, Sheltered And Satisfied By A Good Shepherd  John 10:1-10
This is yet another passage using the metaphor of sheep and shepherd. Here Jesus is both shepherd and gate, providing protection for his beloved but frequently leading them out to where there may be danger but where there is also plentiful grazing. Meanwhile there are many would-be and false "pastors" (the word comes from the Greek pástoras or shepherd) who seek to fleece their flock rather than to unselfishly protecting and caring for them.

Jesus's true followers know him by his "voice," they being so acquainted with his words that they can clearly distinguish false prophets from the truly faithful ones. 

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

On-Line Church: "Waiting For God's Next Surprise" - Reflections On The Lectionary Texts For April 19

Our doubts can lead us to a deeper faith.

Here are some reflections on the scriptures that are the basis for our on-line service at 4 pm this Sunday: 

Here, See My Hands And Feet, And Touch My Side John 20:19-31
It's hard to live in a time of uncertainty, waiting for whatever may come next. What surprises may be in store? 

Thomas and the other disciples find themselves unsure and anxious about their future, and find themselves wondering what will become of the cause to which they had devoted three years of their lives. 

Here Thomas, especially, is at a loss about knowing how to go on from here, and is still waiting for more proof of his Master's resurrection. Jesus doesn't criticize him for his doubts and questions but understands his need for personally seeing and touching his crucified body, and invites him to reach out and touch him. 

Can our doubts clarify our questions and create a greater receptacle for Christ's Spirit to fill? How can we, in our times of waiting and wondering, visualize being in the very presence of the risen Christ? 

Jesus invites us to touch him, too, and to freely express our troubled thoughts and anxious feelings. 

Go, Show And Tell The Resurrection Story Acts 2:14a-22-32
Having waited in Jerusalem for God's next miraculous surprise, Jesus's followers finally witness and personally experience a dramatic sign of resurrection life, the powerful breaking in of God's Holy Spirit. 

Like believers in that time, we also grow in our faith by demonstrating new life and by sharing the resurrection story wherever we go. Here Peter, another apostle, boldly tells a gathered crowd how his experience of the risen Christ has totally transformed his life.

Also, in troubled times like these we, like Peter, need to reflect on scripture as Peter did, here quoting from Psalm 16:

"You have made known to me the paths of life;

You will fill me with joy in your presence."

Come, Celebrate The Wealth Of Blessings That Are Yet To Be        I Peter 1:3-4
In these two powerful verses Peter eagerly anticipates the promised inheritance that is ours because of Christ's death and resurrection. This is an integral part of the welcome good news he shares with believers he is addressing, churches who were suffering for being followers of Jesus.

Listen, And Remember Where Your Real Security Lies  Psalm 16

Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

… Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure…

On-Line Church: "Entombed With Christ, We Share His Resurrectional* Life" Lectionary Reflections For Easter

On this day a whole new world is opened to us.

Here are some reflections on the scripture texts that are the background for our on-line service at 4 pm this Easter Sunday: 

The Greatest Miracle Ever: In A Garden Full Of Life  John 20:1-18

In John's account of the crucifixion he notes there was a garden nearby. This was not the Garden of Gethsemane, an "olive grove" not far away--where Jesus prayed in agony and where he was apprehended--but a second garden where he was to be laid in a newly created tomb.

Gardens are phenomenal signs of new life, where seeds are buried, die and give birth in incredible abundance. It is in such a place where Jesus' body was buried, and from which he rose in triumph.

This miracle is for us. We are to die with him and be raised with him: In our baptism, many of us were given these words as we were taken by the hand and raised to our feet, "...as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so you too are raised to a new life." (Romans 6:4)


A Second Great Miracle: Our Sharing In Christ's Resurrection Colossians 3:1-4

Imagine being empowered to live like Jesus. Imagine God's Spirit transporting us to where Jesus reigns supreme over all, where our minds are controlled by our Master's mind. Imagine our hearts being in tune with where Christ's heart is, full of love for a world of unimaginable need.

WWJD isn't meant to be just a slogan, but a question that affects everything we do or even think. Risen with Christ, we now have a new permanent address, the same as our Lord's, and a Christ-blessed, reprogrammed mind that revolutionizes everything about how we live our lives.

A Third Miracle: Our Being Reconciled With Former Enemies  Acts 10:18-34

Imagine being invited into a relationship with, and into the home of,  people you've always felt alienated from, or even hostile towards. This is how the apostle Peter must have felt when called to go to the home of Cornelius, a high ranking official in the despised Roman army, one which had cruelly occupied his country for decades. 

But here he is, witnessing a repentant new believer, a once hardened general, on whom the Holy Spirit has filled with God's 'resurrectionary'* new life. The transformation is unmistakeable. Peter has no choice but to welcome him and to baptize and embrace him as a fellow-believer. 

A miracle indeed.

On this Day We Shout Praise To The God Of Resurrection  Psalm 118: 1-2,  14-24

There is nothing left to do, nothing better to do, than to breathlessly shout our Hallelujah, or our "Holler-lujah!" Easter is forever and for everyone, for every seeker and follower of God, even in the centuries that preceded the resurrection miracle, as in the words of the ancient psalmist:

The Lord's right hand has done mighty things!

The Lord's hand is lifted high!

...We will not die but live,

and will proclaim what the Lord has done.

The Lord has chastened us severely,

but has not given us over to death.

This is the day the Lord has made,

let us rejoice and be glad in it!

- from Psalm 118

* Check this link for some Russian Orthodox "Resurrectional" hymns, starting with Tone 1.

On-Line Church: "Grasping For God In A Time Of Great Suffering" Lectionary Reflections For April 5

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Here are some reflections on the scripture texts that are the background for our on-line service at 4 pm this Sunday: 

Matthew 27:11-54 Jesus Experienced Every Form Of Suffering Imaginable
Crucifixion was used by the Roman occupiers to inflict the most agonizing and prolonged pain possible on any who dared threaten their rule. The Persians apparently invented this barbaric form of execution as a means of terrorizing their opponents, and the "gallows" referred to in the book of Esther was likely an early example of someone being impaled on a pole and left to die, according to one source.
     But prior to Jesus's wrists and feet being pierced through with nails and the entire weight of his body being brutally suspended from the upright cross beam, he had been mercilessly beaten all over his body and on his head, which had been "crowned" with thorns.
     In addition, there was the emotional pain of feeling abandoned by God as well as cruelly mocked, shamed and falsely accused by a crowd of people demanding his execution.

O sacred Head, now wounded with grief and shame weighed down; Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown. 

How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn; 
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn. 

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinner’s gain; 

All mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain. 

Lo, here I fall, my Savior; ‘tis I deserve Thy place. 

Look on me with Thy favor; assist me with Thy grace. 

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend, 

For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? 

O make me Thine forever; and should I fainting be, 

Lord, let me never, never, outlive my love for Thee. 

- based on the 13th century Salve caput cruentatum

Philippians 2:5-11 Jesus Is The Supreme Example Of Suffering For God's Glory And Others' Good
Even as one who was "in his very nature God," Jesus did not claim his right to extravagant honor and divine protection as "something to be grasped." Our Lord gave up everything for the sake of demonstrating the full extent of God's love. Stripped of everything that was rightfully his, he clung to God alone.
     Jesus shows us that complete condescension and total sacrifice are the way to exaltation. Through Christ's perfect obedience in the face of unbelievable suffering, our every knee will bow and our every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

Psalm 31:9-16 David's Desperate Plea In A Time Of Great Fear
In one of his many laments, David begs for mercy in the face of the mortal danger he faces from his many enemies. "There is terror on every side, and they threaten to take my life."
     This is a great prayer for times like these, when one of our "enemies" is a pandemic that is frightening and life-threatening to all of us.
     "But I trust in you, O Lord: I say 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands."

Isaiah 50:4-9a The Sovereign Lord God Advocates For All Who Suffer Unjustly
Isaiah is given divine insight into God's heartfelt concern for those who suffer wrongfully. The prophet is given an "instructed tongue" and the ability to know "the word that sustains the weary."
     The apostle Paul, well acquainted with grief himself, was undoubtedly inspired by these words when writing to the church in Rome (Romans 8). He doesn't deny or even try to explain unjustified suffering, but accepts it as reality, and affirms Isaiah's promise in the words, "If God is for us, who can be against us?  ...Who is he that condemns?  ...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through the One who loves us."

Recent photos at the Vlasits' house

Some nourishing Bible study, followed by food and fellowship at Guy and Margie's.

April 2020 newsletter

House-to-House

 Family of Hope House Church                                  April 2020

“It will not always be as it is now”     

Devotional writer James Baer tells about a Russian family he visited years ago who had the words, “It will not always be as it is now” written in large print on a placard on their dining room wall. 

     It turns out that years before the father had spent years in a Soviet prison for refusing to enlist in the Russian army because of his conviction that as a Christian he could take part in war. It was then that the mother had written these words and posted them as a sign of hope for herself and her children, trusting that one day their father would return and things would be better. 

     When the father was finally released and life greatly improved, some friends asked why she had not removed the words from her wall. Her reply was simply, “Because it’s still true that “It will not always be as it is now.’” 

     Just as in times of stress, as in today’s corona virus infection, we need hope, so when things are going well we need to remember that all nations, economies and cultures will eventually face crises and tragedies of one kind or another, and that things can change rapidly, for the better or worse. 

     Meanwhile, we need to have a heart that suffers with those experiencing illness and loss, and do everything we can to offer them help, just as we would have others offer us if we were in similar straits. 

- Harvey Yoder

Notes, Prayers and Praises

• FAMILY OF HOPE WILL BE MEETING ONLINE Sundays from 4-6 on a temporary basis. 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 (participant number does not matter). If you want to participate via video click this link: https://zoom.us/j/2849269967. Thanks to Kent Palmer for setting this up. Contact him  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 Easter, but your suggestions are welcome. 
• PRAY FOR NEAL NELSON who suffered a knee injury from a fall at Envoy of Staunton Nursing Home.

April Lectionary Texts

5  Isaiah 50:4-9a  Psalm 31:9-16  Philippians 2:5-11 Matthew 27:11-54

12  Acts 10:34-43  Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24  Colossians 3:1-4  John 20:1-18

19 Acts 2:14a, 22-32 Psalm 16   1 Peter 1:3-9   John 20:19-31

26 Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 1 Peter 1:17-23  Luke 24:13-35

April services, 4 pm 

5  Location: on line                             

Worship and Sharing: Elly Nelson (focus on Passover)                           

Bible Study: Roy Hange

12  Easter Sunday location: on line

Worship and sharing: Lois Rivera-Wenger

Bible Study: Harvey Yoder                                                                                                       
19 Location:  on line                     

Worship and Sharing: Lewis Overholt                              

Bible Study: Elly Nelson                                           

26 Location:  on line

Worship and sharing: Kent Palmer

Bible Study: Dick Dumas