Join us for round table discussions of the following topics.
Study guides provided.
Wednesday Nights @ 7 PM
Session Seven: What is Church Discipline?
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GOSPEL COMMUNITY
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
The fellowship – Here fellowship is a noun. The fellowship refers to the church, the community of baptized believers.
The first Christians were devoted to the fellowship as a community not to fellowship as an activity. They were not devoted to “fellowship” (e.g., game nights, salad suppers, lock-ins, retreats, men’s breakfasts, potlucks, Bible study groups, and the like). That approach to fellowship tends to work against gospel-based community life. True, it generates lots of activity, but it creates very little authentic community. Again, the first Christians were devoted to Christ’s people not churchy programs.
Likewise, we must be devoted to one another in the “one for all, all for one” sense of fellowship-as-community.
Tim Chester (co-author of Total Church) describes gospel community in this way:
“The first thing to say is that a gospel community is not a meeting. It is a group of people who are committed to Jesus and committed to one another, sharing their lives together and sharing mission together. It is about people hanging out together, doing chores together, eating together, serving in the neighbourhood – all with gospel intentionality. That intentionality includes both a commitment to disciple one another with the gospel and sharing the gospel with unbelievers – all in the context of ordinary life and shared life. It’s not a meeting your attend. It’s not a thing you do. It’s who you are. It’s your identity. It’s your place of belonging.”
The gospel community needs to become our family, our village, our tribe, and our nation. View full article »
Welcome and brief announcements.
Grace and peace to you from the God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Call to Worship – Scripture Reading and Prayer
Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard. (Ps. 133)
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord! (Ps. 134)
Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for he is beautiful! (Ps. 135)
May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth! (Ps. 133)
-Holy is The Lord
-Blessed be Your Name
-Stronger
-How Great is our God
Consecration
Children’s Bible Classes during sermon
Sermon – Communal Reform Acts 2:42-46
Charity, hospitality, generosity, and community are the necessary conditions for authentic church growth. A church that does not embody love will not reach the world with the message of salvation. A church that does not experience love will not be rewarded with growth.
- Prayer Response
Communion
The Lord’s supper is a covenant meal between Christ and his church. Christ invites all his followers to come, eat and drink and be joyful. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not spiritually prepared to share the meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer. The supper is prepared at tables around the sanctuary.
- Psalm 133 — Kendall Felton
Gifts and Offerings
- Doxology
Benediction – May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Hello New Hope!
I hope you are experiencing the power of grace in your life this week. Just a few quick housekeeping notes.
First I want to commend you for responding so well to the charge to gather for worship at 10 am! Much better and well done! Let’s do it again this week and keep improving. It will make a big difference for us and our guests. By the way, don’t be a victim of Daylight Savings Time this Sunday!
God has been sending visitors to us for several weeks in a row. Make sure to welcome them with the love of Christ. One visitor told us that he came back on Wednesday because we were so welcoming to him on Sunday.
Mark your Calendars for our Seventh Anniversary Celebration on April 11. This is a great time to bring your friends and family and introduce them to New Hope Church. According to a good tradition we will feast ourselves on a meal catered by Eddie Deen’s BBQ right after worship on April 11.
A new website is being developed for the church. We have a designated photographer who will be taking pictures of congregational life during worship, Bible classes, and other events. The pictures will personalize the website and give people a better idea of who we are.
Also, to make full use of the website we need to purchase a new audio recorder and a digital video camera. This will allow us to produce and post all sorts of audio-visual recordings online. In a digitalized world this is an easier and more economical way to share information about Christ and the church.
Finally, we realize the current economic down-turn is affecting everyone. It forces us to adjust both our spending and our giving. We understand that things are tight for just about everyone. Our church is not immune, but worship and mission still need to be carried out. If anyone is able and willing to help defray the costs of the catered meal and the digital resources it will be greatly appreciated by us and the Lord. May God meet your needs according to the riches of his grace in Christ Jesus.
May God’s grace be with you,
Marq
Join us for round table discussions of the following topics.
Study guides provided.
Wednesday Nights @ 7 PM
Session Six: How can a Church Be Unified?
“In essential things – unity;
in disputable things – liberty;
in all things charity.”
- Saint Augustine (354-430 AD)
