Sand Storm!

I saw something like this in a movie called Hidalgo, but I figured it was exaggerated for the film. I guess not! This clip was filmed in Iraq during a sand storm in 2005 that ran over Al Asad Air Base (where Karl Laeger will be going in a few weeks)!

Awana Awards Night

Last night we concluded our Awana year with an Awards Night. Lots of ribbons and certificates and applause was handed out to clubbers and leaders alike, and it was a great finish to a great year! We also enjoyed a big slide show and hot dog feast. We really appreciate Ashley DeForrest and her faithful sidekick Rebecca Bertolini for making our kids' club terrific! I look forward to being involved again in the fall!

New Hope in UFO Parade!

I went to the UFO Parade downtown on Saturday and enjoyed it as always. What a nutty event! And while our church didn't have an official entry this year, I saw some New Hopers representing in the festivities!

Jeff and Jenny Pomeroy, who own a moving & storage company here in town, put their business on display here (sorry you can't see any faces in the shadows).

Curt and Karen Oldfield have been coming to our church now for exactly one year. How do I know? Because last year they saw our New Hope band in the UFO parade and decided they wanted to check us out (true story)! This year they dressed up their converted VW and towed their kids and some friends in a trailer!
Sonja Mullian wasn't exactly in the parade, but we saw her walk by several times as she patrolled the route. It looks like she's giving a ticket here, but she's actually helping some out-of-towners find the Pet Costume Contest that followed the parade.

It's always good to see folks from our fellowship involved in our community! Hopefully next year we'll be able to put an official New Hope entry in the parade again!

Anne Muehleck, who sings regularly in our New Hope Band, let me know that the Linfield choirs will be performing this weekend. The jazz groups are playing and singing tonight at 8:00 p.m., and the Concert Choir is singing on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Both concerts will be held in Ice Auditorium (Melrose Hall) at the Linfield campus.

I've been to both of these spring concerts before and they're terrific! Admission is free, and you can click here for a map of the campus (Melrose Hall is building #1 on the map).

New Recordings

I just uploaded two new recordings from last Sunday's Mother's Day service to our Sermons, Etc. page on the web site.

One is of Dewey's message from Sunday about Prayer and Fasting. We had a little technical glitch during the recording process, so unfortunately we missed the first 10 minutes or so of the sermon, but Dewey's practical thoughts definitely come through in the 38 minutes we have there!

The second recording is of ten-year-old Cassie Carver's rendition of The New Song We Sing, an energetic praise song. She did a great job and it got a great response from our New Hope family. Enjoy!

Christianity Is True

Christianity claims to give an account of facts—to tell you what the real universe is like. Its account of the universe may be true, or it may not, and once the question is really before you, then your natural inquisitiveness must make you want to know the answer. If Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it, however helpful it might be: if it is true, every honest man will want to believe it, even if it gives him no help at all.

I found this quote from C.S. Lewis in an essay entitled Man or Rabbit? (from God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics). At New Hope we believe that there is real and absolute truth, that this truth can be found in the Bible, and that our daily lives and choices ought to reflect that truth.

Lewis' essay is a response to the question, “Can’t you lead a good life without believing in Christianity?” The whole article is worth reading, but here is his powerful conclusion:

“When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Cor. 8:10). The idea of reaching “a good life” without Christ is based on a double error. Firstly, we cannot do it; and secondly, in setting up “a good life” as our final goal, we have missed the very point of our existence. Morality is a mountain which we cannot climb by our own efforts; and if we could we should only perish in the ice and unbreathable air of the summit, lacking those wings with which the rest of the journey has to be accomplished. For it is from there that the real ascent begins. The ropes and axes are “done away” and the rest is a matter of flying.