Camp NH Story

Over the summer many kids from all 3 campuses went to Camp New Hope.

Our very own Dylan Counts loved it.  He writes...

I loved camp! One of my favorite parts was canoeing and riding a horse and maybe, well NOT maybe...I LOVED shoe-dini!!! I liked being on the top bunk of Elm cabin. I loved going to bed at 10:00pm and waking up at 7:00am. Even though I felt like 2 hours of sleep, it was still fun!

Thank you, New Hope, for letting me go to camp!

Dylan Counts

 His parents did too...

We were blessed to have our son, Dylan, go to camp this year. This was his first year ever going to camp and when we asked him if he was interested, he told us he would try it out for a day!! Needless to say, it was one of the best weeks of his life!

As a parent, with your kid away, it was great to see pictures throughout the week at camp! We looked forward to pictures being posted each night of the different activities of the day! We also liked the idea of being able to send emails and care packages to the kids!

Our Dylan got hurt the last night at camp. It was nothing major, but they called us once he was cleaned up to let us know what happened and let us decide how we wanted to handle it. We appreciated the call to let us know what was going on and to let us, as parents, do what we felt was necessary.

From the time he was checked in to the time he left, everything was very organized! We were very impressed with the way things ran and as a parent, those things are important to us.

We are thankful that Dylan had the opportunity to go to camp and for the life-long experience that he was able to get from it!

Thank you,
Jason and Traci Counts

Don't miss out on Camp New Hope next summer!

PS - I think you can find some footage of Shoe-dini on Facebook.

Overcoming Additiction [Going Deeper]

Last Sunday we talked about addictions.

We asked, "What has mastered you?"
We talked about taking it to God, taking it public and taking it down.

Most of us struggle with one form of addiction or another. What makes an addiction so hard to break? Our struggle with addiction is an internal battle with indwelling sin. Read Romans 7:19-8:6.

• Is Paul battle with himself or something else (v 19-20)?
• Where does this battle take place (v21)? 
• The word wretched means frustrated and exhausted from self-effort. Who set Paul free? How does God see us while we are still struggling with sin (8:1)? 
• What does Paul say is the key to walking in freedom (8:3- 6)? 

What role does our thought life play in our addictions?
Read Galatians 5:16-24.

Within every believer there is a battle between the flesh and Spirit. The flesh (some versions use sinful nature) is the tendency within us to operate in our own strength and rely on our old ways of making life work. What does Paul instruct believers to do in order to break free from the deeds of the flesh (v16)? What does this mean?

Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

• How do we usually view our weaknesses?
• Why did Paul boast in his weaknesses? 
• How did God use Paul’s thorn in the flesh benefit him? 
• How can God use our addictions to do this same thing in our lives?
  

Read James 5:16 and Galatians 6:1-2.

• Why is it important to confess our sins to each other? 
• How do we carry one another's burdens? 
• What do you think Paul meant by, “the one who is spiritual?”
  

Your Next Step...

• Commit to carrying another’s burden by praying and encouraging them until they are free.
• Who do you need to solicit help from and be accountable to?
• What steps will you take this week to break free from your addiction?
  

40 Days of Love Campign

Starting on October 18th we will launch a church wide campaign that will impact every aspect of our church called 40 Days Of Love. From Hopeland into the little theater on Sundays and out into small groups during the week we will be exploring how faith and love impacts all of our relationships.

During this series I (Pastor Kevin) am asking everyone who calls New Hope Ashland home (teenagers and above) to join a small group as we go through 40 Days of Love together. We are asking that you commit to meet in a small group once a week (on Sunday or Wednesday evenings) for six-weeks. Your group will follow the six-week DVD study taught by Pastor Rick Warren. Each group member will also receive a free study guide and have the option to purchase a copy of The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Pastor Tom Holladay, the companion volume to the 40 Days of Love study.

The goal of this study is to learn what the Bible teaches about God’s love and our lives—and how those two things intersect. We were made for relationships and the more we learn to how to love authentically, the more like Jesus we become. Please check “join a 40 day group” on the connect card.

Worship Service Time Change | Vote

One thing that our leadership team is evaluating is what time should we start service? We know that may don't like the 11:22am starting time because it bleeds in to lunch time and the middle of the day. Especially for those of you who serve.

So I wanted to quickly poll you, but keep two things in mind when you vote...

1. What time is best for someone who is far from God?
2. What works best for our volunteers?

Note - having service too early will put a strain our our ministry teams because of setup time.

Baggage [Going Deeper]

Hope this posts help you go a little bit deeper on our Baggage Series.

• Read Isaiah 61:1-3
What does God promise to do for those who have been wounded by life? Who did Jesus come for? How does Jesus fulfill this prophecy?

• Read Matthew 5:3
The word “poor” means poverty stricken, helpless, so poor that he can only obtain a living by begging. Why is it important that we recognize our spiritual poverty?

• Read Psalm 109:21-22, 26, 20-31
How is God glorified through healing our brokenness?

Christ has restored for us what was lost through the fall: our relationship with God and abundant and eternal life. Read the following verses to discover what else God desires to restore to us.
• Read Psalm 23:3; 41:3; 51:12; Jeremiah 30:17; Malachi 4:6; James 5:15

• Read Colossians 2:13-14
Forgiveness simply means we release the person from the debt they owe us. On what basis did God forgive us? How many of our sins are forgiven?

• Read Colossians 3:12-13 and Ephesians 4:32
How are we to forgive others? How does forgiving help us get free from past baggage?

• Read Ephesians 4:26-27 and Hebrews 12:15
Forgiveness is for our benefit and God’s glory. What happens to us if we don’t forgive those who have wounded us?