Time change tonight

Don't forget to set your clocks back tonight! We hope to see you at church in the morning all chipper and well-rested!

An interesting quote

But far too often, churches preach and teach the importance of our own moral actions, thereby belittling the importance of what Christ has done for us.

The result is that every time a scandal breaks involving a prominent Christian laid low—South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, Ted Haggard, Mel Gibson—we're treated to an endless news cycle about hypocrisy. But hypocrisy isn't failing to practice what you preach. Hypocrisy is pretending to have beliefs that you don't actually have. Real hypocrisy is rare and difficult to discern.

The battle to overcome sin, on the other hand, plagues every Christian daily.

From the article Sin: The Rest of the Story, by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway

New Hope Song

Yesterday we celebrated our fellowship's 3rd anniversary, and Dewey's message from Matthew 9 was appropriately themed "It's a new day," a real celebration of the new life and hope we have in Christ. As I considered this theme last week, I decided I really wanted to write a song that communicated what we believe as a church--that Jesus Christ can bring new hope to all who trust in Him. We got a pretty good recording of the song, and you can hear it now on our website's Sermons, Etc. page.

Dewey's sermon should be on the page very soon, and it was great. In fact, I blame Dewey for making me a little emotional as I stepped up to sing the song, and you can hear my voice breaking a few times because of it!

As with all the songs we sing on Sunday mornings, I hope this one helps you love and appreciate the Lord even more...enjoy!

New Hope - by Brian Janssen

When I needed an anchor for my soul,
When I needed my broken life made whole
When my heart was hopeless, a Savior reached to me.
I found Truth that set me free.

Now there is hope for me;
Now it's a brand new day.
Now I rejoice to see my burdens are lifted away.
Now I have endless life and love and grace
no matter where I go:
In Jesus Christ I have found new hope.

The Latest Downloads

For those who are fans of Dewey Bertolini's sermons (and who isn't?) I have good news: We are finally caught up on all his sermons on our website's download page! The last few weeks we've enjoyed some wonderful messages from the book of Matthew on changed lives, mercy, forgiveness and awe. So take some time to take in God's Word by going to NewHopeConnection.com and clicking on the Sermons, Etc menu button!

In addition to the sermons, I've also recently uploaded two songs from our last couple Communion services. In September, Jered Caywood and I played a modern version of the hymn Come Ye Sinners, and this month featured Ian Estrada singing Mighty Is the Power of the Cross. Both recordings turned out really nice, and hopefully they will encourage you to appreciate Christ's gift to us even more.

God's Presence

I recently read a thoughtful article by Carolyn Arends that I thought I'd share with you. The title, "Come, Lord Jesus" was followed by the subtitle: Oh, wait. He's already here. It's a refreshing perspective on God's presence and our response. Click here to read the article.

Race Track is Ready...

Tomorrow evening at our AWANA kids club, clubbers will be racing little wooden cars that they painted last week. Dev Jubinville (pictured below) built a 32-foot slotted race track for the cars to roll down, and it should be fun!

Awana starts at 6:00, but if you'd like to just come for the racing, join us at 6:30!

Birthday Cake

Lately we've been celebrating New Hope birthdays once a month with a song and a cake! We just want to thank Al and Bev Blunck for providing the cake for us each month--we appreciate them contributing in their way to help make New Hope a friendly, happy place!