All Purpose Excuse Form

Here is an all purpose excuse form, designed to get you out of the trouble you've gotten yourself into. Where there's a multiple choice, pick the one that works best for your situation and just go with it. You'll be surprised how effective this form can be if you just let your instincts guide you!

Dear

a) Mom,

b) Dad,

c) love of my life,

d) Assistant Principal,

e) Local Police Chief,

Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am that your

a) car

b) house

c) pet

d) espresso maker

e) left arm

was severely damaged by my

a) infantile

b) puerile

c) inept

d) comically brilliant but nonetheless sadistic

e) woefully under appreciated

prank. How could I have known that the

a) car

b) jet ski

c) large helium balloon

d) rodent driven sledge

e) Zamboni

I was riding in would go so far out of control? And while it is true that I should not have pointed it in the direction of your

a) house,

b) wife,

c) Cub Scout troop,

d) 1/16th sized replica of the Statue of Liberty, complete with light bulb in the torch,

e) priceless collection of antique knitting needles,

you must understand that it was all meant in fun. The subsequent carnage that I caused is beyond my ability to

a) imagine,

b) fathom,

c) comprehend,

d) appreciate,

e) pay for,

and I must therefore humbly ask your forgiveness. I know that you are perfectly within your rights to

a) hate me,

b) sue me,

c) spank me,

d) take my firstborn,

e) gouge out my eyes with spoons and feed them to the fish in your koi pond,

but I ask you to remember all the good times we've had, joshing around at

a) school

b) work

c) church

d) the bowling alley

e) the municipal jail

and to remember that I am first and foremost your

a) friend

b) child

c) sibling

d) lease co-signer

e) only possible match should you ever need a bone marrow transplant.

I think that counts for more than one prank, especially one that

a) was so stupid.

b) was so silly.

c) would have been funny if it worked.

d) you would have done, if you had thought of it first.

e) I'm going to use again on someone else.

Sincerely, Enter name here (or alias): ________________________

Wednesday Night Bible Study

I poked my head in on the Wednesday Night Bible Study and they were having some good discussion as a part of Gerry's study on the life of Abraham. The study meets from 6:00-7:30 and you're very welcome to join in!

College Bible Study

New Hope had its first College Bible Study on Sunday morning! Josh Peterson handled the teaching, and there were about 8 or 9 in attendance--a great beginning!

The study meets at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays at the church, and if you're college aged we hope you'll check it out!

Free Car Wash

A little perspective

I was able to look out the window to see this incredible sight of the whole circle of the Earth. Oceans were crystal blue, the land was brown, and the clouds and the snow were pure white. And that jewel of Earth was just hung up in the blackness of space.

- Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 astronaut

I had a chance to see a terrific documentary last night called In the Shadow of the Moon. The film documents the moon landings of 1968-1972 through interviews of almost all the astronauts as well as some wonderful video footage. I found it to be fascinating and inspiring!

At the end of the film (right before they scoff at all the conspiracy theorists who say we never went there!) several of the astronauts talk about the philosophical/spiritual impact of seeing the earth from 250,000 miles away. Their theological musings ranged from new age to plainly evangelical. But no matter what their doctrinal conclusions were, there was no denying that their unique perspective had clearly impacted their views of life. A few of the astronauts have expressed something similar to this great quote:

"From the moon, the Earth is so small and so fragile, and such a precious little spot in that Universe, that you can block it out with your thumb. Then you realize that on that spot, that little blue and white thing, is everything that means anything to you - all of history and music and poetry and art and death and birth and love, tears, joy, games, all of it right there on that little spot that you can cover with your thumb. And you realize from that perspective that you've changed forever, that there is something new there, that the relationship is no longer what it was." - Rusty Schweickart, astronaut

What a difference perspective can make.

From here, the Earth seems vast, but from space it just looks like a lonely little marble. In a similar way, our years here on Earth seem long, but from heaven's eternal perspective our struggles are brief and our successes fleeting. I frankly think it's amazing that God can have that sweeping perspective and yet loves and cares for me--just a blip in time and a speck on a marble!

I think we get beautiful sense of that contrast from Isaiah 40, one of my all time favorite chapters in the Bible. Look at these sample quotes:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
...All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever."
...He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart;

he gently leads those that have young.
...Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

or weighed the mountains on the scales

and the hills in a balance?
...Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales;

he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
...He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy...

"To whom will you compare me?

Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one,

and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.
Why do you say..."My way is hidden from the LORD;

my cause is disregarded by my God"?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

What a mighty, wonderful, powerful, loving, wise, creative God we worship! So take a moment to think about your current circumstances, whether they are good or bad or mixed, and consider them from God's eternal, all-knowing perspective. Does it make a difference? Shouldn't it?

The Apollo astronauts were given a unique perspective of Earth that changed their view of everything. Let's try to live each day as ones who have been given the big picture from the Creator.

Even in my darkest hour...I will sing

In our Sunday morning worship we’ve been learning a song called I Will Sing, which is a modern worship song of lament.

While lament is a common theme in worship during Bible times, we don’t do much of it in church nowadays, which is a shame. I think it’s dishonest to claim that we always come to church feeling joyful, close to God and generally hunky-dory. Can we still worship when we feel forgotten, lost, hurt, distant? Absolutely. It requires honesty and decision of the will, but these are things that God will bless if we give them to Him.

I’ve included the lyrics to I Will Sing below, and you can hear a recording of it by our own New Hope Band on our website (go to www.newhopeconnection.com and click on the Sermons, Etc. menu button for all our music and sermon downloads).

Want to read some scriptural laments? Lately I’ve been reading Psalm 44 and Psalm 55 which are both good examples of biblical lament, so check those out if you are interested.

I WILL SING
Words & Music by Don Moen
© 2000 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music

Lord, You seem so far away,
A million miles or more, it feels today.
And though I haven’t lost my faith,
I must confess right now
That it’s hard for me to pray.

And I don’t know what to say
And I don’t know where to start,
But as You give the grace,
With all that’s in my heart,
I will sing, I will praise.
Even in my darkest hour,
Through the sorrow and the pain,
I will sing, I will praise,
Lift my hands to honor You,
Because Your word is true.
I will sing.

Lord, it’s hard for me to see
All the thoughts and plans You have for me.
But I will put my trust in You,
Knowing that You died to set me free.

A Blind Date Joke

After being with his blind date all evening, the man couldn't take another minute with her. Earlier, he had secretly arranged to have a friend call him to the phone so he would have an excuse to leave if something like this happened.

When he returned to the table, he lowered his eyes, put on a grim expression and said, "I have some bad news. My grandfather just died."

"Thank goodness," his date replied. "If yours hadn't, mine would have had to!"

Happy Presidents Day

Abe Lincoln was born on February 12th and George Washington on the 22nd, so today we celebrate their birthdays together on Presidents Day. These men both depended the same great God that we worship today, and I believe their faith contributed to their own greatness.

I did some reading online today about Abraham Lincoln and his interesting faith journey. Here are few links to articles I found:

Was Abraham Lincoln a Christian?

The Puzzling Faith of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln: A Man of Faith and Courage

Religious Quotations by Abraham Lincoln

To some great volunteers...

I wanted to say Thanks to Bob Olson, Ben Leslie and Ida Grace Mauser for joining me this morning to work on the landscaping in back of the church! The job's not exactly finished, but we made some great progress: pulling weeds, raking leaves, trimming bushes, and taking away two truck-loads of yard debris to the recycling center.

There's still more to do back there, and if you want to help, you don't need to wait for an official work day...feel free to stop by any time by yourself or with a friend and make our church beautiful!

I also wanted to thank Toby and Dawn Carver and their kids who were coming in to clean the inside of the church as I was leaving today. I appreciate them and the other volunteers who vacuum and clean and set up chairs to get us ready for Sunday morning worship. We all appreciate you!

A Quote

I heard a great quote earlier this week that I wanted to share...

"The early Christians did not need a shot in the arm every Sunday to keep them going. They knew Jesus and they upset their world, and worried the devil, and gave wicked rulers insomnia, and started something that jails couldn't lock up, fire couldn't burn up, water couldn't drown, and swords couldn't kill. This world has never been moved by cold, calculating brass hats, but by fools, with their facts on fire. You may belittle the experience and speak of the dangers of emotion, but we are suffering today from a species of Christianity as dry as dust, as cold as ice, as pale as a corpse, and as dead as King Tut. We are suffering not from a lack of correct heads, but of consumed hearts."

-- Dr. Vance H. Havner (1901-1986)

Wednesday Night Bible Study

Last night Gerry Clark led the first of our new Midweek Bible Study for adults. He sent me the following report/recap of the evening:

We had 8 in attendance for the first midweek Bible study where we are studying the life of Abraham. We discovered that in our great desire to discover and do God's will we will have our ups and downs. Sometimes we obey God, other times we don't. Sometimes we trust God, at other times we doubt. We want to boldly step out by faith, but we fear the unknown. By learning from Abraham's mistakes and successes we too may be called God's friend.

Gerry is a good teacher, and I heard there was lots of questions and discussion. The group meets during Awana from 6:00-7:30 p.m., and I'm sure you'd benefit--give it a try!

Happy Valentine's Day

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

Jeremiah 31:3

I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations...

For great is your love, higher than the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 108:3-4

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

Psalm 145:8

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:4-5

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

Anybody up for a work day?

I was just looking at the weather forecast, and the next several days look dry and (relatively) warm! That includes Saturday, so I've decided to have my own little work day at the church to clean up our shabby "back yard" on 4th Street.

If you'd like to join me, I plan to be there 10:00-12:00 on Saturday morning. I have a few garden tools, but I don't have a pick-up truck or any place to take yard debris, so if you have access to these that would be helpful!

There are weeds to pull, bushes to trim, leaves to rake, and sidewalks to scrub/power wash. Dewey's been talking about God's gifts to us to serve His church, so here's a practical way put that into action! Hope to see you there!

Just one of the reasons I don't go ice fishing

Easter Choir!

While we met at the Senior Center, it just wasn't logistically possible to do any choir things, but now that we're in our new place we've got the space on Sunday morning and a place to rehearse during the week! So, we'll be having our first ever Easter Choir at New Hope, and I hope lots of you will participate!

There are just four rehearsals on Wednesday evenings right after Awana, 7:35-8:30 p.m., on February 27, March 5, 12 and 19. (We may have an additional sound check/rehearsal after our Good Friday Service on March 21st, but we'll see how the month goes).

There are no auditions, so if you can carry a tune jump on in. The choir is for anyone High School age and above (mature middle schoolers may audition with me).

I've got a couple really good songs to work on, and I know we have a lot of singers in our fellowship. We'll be up front for three Sundays, March 9, 16, 23.

If you have any questions, give me a call at (503) 472-1144 or email me. Hope to see you there!

Aaaaah!!!

Just say no!

Sunday Morning Gathering

We enjoyed another great Sunday together yesterday (some might even describe it as "super")! Dewey's introduction to spiritual gifts encouraged us that God has given each of us a special way to serve His church. Our corporate worship was sweet as we praised God for His greatness, pledged to honor Him in good times and bad, and sought to be his servants. And the ladies who went on the retreat this weekend formed an ad hoc women's choir and blessed us with one of the rounds they learned.

I counted 178 people in church yesterday, and we have visitors every week! I hope and pray that everyone who comes on Sunday, whether they have been with us since October 2006 or they've just joined us for the first time, will connect with God and with each other in a meaningful way. I look forward to meeting again next week!

Women's Retreat

The ladies had a fun retreat this weekend at Aldersgate Conference Center in Turner. They enjoyed games, skits, teaching, a make-over, manicures, good food and lots of fellowship! There are lots more pictures on our web site. Just go the Photos menu button, and then click on the two gallery links titled Women's Retreat - February 2008.