Happy Tuesday, New Hope Ashland!
I hope you were all as blessed as I was by Jamey Ragle this last Sunday in worship. I think I may read the newspaper a little too much and follow the news shows too closely because my spirits were way down until Jamey came along and gave me someone to laugh at...me! I loved what Jamey said about our happiness resting in our own attitudes and it got me thinking that I spend too much time dwelling on all that is depressing in our world without giving equal attention to all the great things going on. We had people make a first time commitment to Jesus as their Savior this last Sunday! Praise God! We had about 40 people, plenty of food, and great fellowship at our potluck breakfast before service! Hallelujah! We have all of our small group leaders and hosts for the next round of small groups! Thank you Jesus! And all around the world, people are rising up to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Amen! There's lots of work to do in our world as we try to bring the message of God's love to every person, but let's not allow that to take away our joy of a life spent in relationship with a loving God.
This Sunday, we'll get back into our "Vintage Church" series as we take a look at some of the practices of the church, those of preaching, communion, and baptism. Are these dusty old traditions we do because "that's what we've always done"? I hope not! These are supposed to be joyful celebrations between us, a sinful creation, and our perfect Creator! Let's examine the Scriptures and shake off any dust that may be hindering our relationship with God as we participate in these activities. We'll also continue taking small group sign ups this Sunday on the Connection Cards. We have groups for men, women, couples, and youth and I think we all fall into at least one of those categories!
Have a blessed week, NHA, and we'll see you on Sunday!
