Hey Church!

 

I know it feels like Christmas was just yesterday, but we’re already starting to talk about Easter with HFC. While we try to make every day a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, Easter is special because many people will show up who don’t have a relationship with Him.

 

That’s why we need your help. Beyond being a vital part of our ‘invite strategy’, we need you to pray for the people God will be sending to us this Easter. We don’t want to get so caught up in planning a great experience that we neglect to pray for God’s blessing. Here are some specific areas where we’d love for you to join us in prayer:

 

1) Pastor Tim as he prepares the message, sets the theme, and leads our staff.

2) Pastor Sarah’s HFC Kids Leadership Team as they work with volunteers to minister to our kids this Easter and for Pastor David and his Youth Leadership team as they work with our youth!

3) For our many volunteers who will be serving during Easter and the weeks beyond.

4) For people who are far from God who will be walking through our doors this Easter. We pray especially that God will soften their hearts toward our message and that they will hear the gospel clearly and accept it.

5) For wisdom and strength to deal with any difficulties as they arise.

6) For our Connections Director, Naomi, as she organizes and rallies volunteers.

7) For JOY to fill all our hearts as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus!

8) For God to open the hearts of many and for them to come to know Him!

 

Thank you so much for praying for us! We’re looking forward to seeing how God answers these prayers in the coming weeks.

 

In Him,

Pastor Tim

 

P.S. This Wednesday, April 5th, we are having a time of prayer – Fast & Pray Wednesday – at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. We’d love to see you there and hear how God is challenging you to pray for our church and the people in our community during this season.

Sunday morning we talked about living a life that is submitted to Jesus all the way. The more we submit to Jesus the more we want to spend time in his word, in prayer and in everything that involves God. Trust me you want him to be in control over your life, can you imagine what it would be like if every time the storm comes you don’t have to worry because you know God is in control.

 

Going all the way could mean dropping something from your calendar or agenda for the day to create space for God. It could also mean taking our discipleship training course to make sure you are equipped to be a disciple who makes disciples. People nowadays need others to go all the way for them to make sure they get an opportunity to spend an eternity with Jesus.

 

People are in need of a savior and it is time for you and me to stand on Jesus who is the firm foundation, the rock on which we stand. I know going all the way is hard because we are already busy with work, school, cooking or cleaning but there is someone out there that needs you to show and model to them what it means to live a life committed with Jesus.

 

With love,

Pastor David

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students at Wednesday Night Kids Club and I had a great discussion this last week about the changes in our Kids Ministry, and my Sabbatical. There were MANY questions and it led to a great discussion. Maybe you have some of these same questions!

 

“Why aren’t we meeting on Wednesdays the rest of March?” We are looking for ways to make Wednesday Night Kids Club and Youth Group available to more families who cannot come the building Wednesday nights, so we will be meeting at different days and times to see what might work best for everyone to get to connect mid week and grow together!

 

“Will this (Wednesday schedule change) be forever?” No, we are just testing it out to see how it goes. In April Wednesday Night Kids Club will be back on campus each week at 7 pm as usual.

 

“Why won’t you be here in April?” I am going on the first part of my Sabbatical (the 2nd and 3rd parts will be in Aug and Oct). I will be traveling to Florida and South Carolina to some Family Discipleship conferences and learning more about how to support, equip, and empower Parents and Families! I will also visit family as I travel to and from these conferences. I will be gone from April 4-30. My first day back will be May 1st.

 

“Who will teach us while you are gone?” Mr Mike will be leading our Wednesday Night Kids Club and we are looking for helpers for him.  On Sundays, Mr Mike will be here to lead for Easter Sunday, and Ms Jacki will lead for the rest of April. We are still looking for 1st-3rd grade leads and assistants for April 9th and 23rd.

 

“Can we call you when you’re gone?” You can have you mom or dad send me an email and I will see it when I get back. It will be really fun to read and see what all you guys have been up to! You can also send me things in the mail, and I will see it once I am back in Texas!

 

“Why are we changing classrooms?” We are growing! We need to make some space so we have room to play games and enough seating for everyone, especially with our 2-5 year olds. It’s really exciting to meet new friends and have a new fun space to hang out in! Making the new classroom will mean that we can have more friends join us! And the 4th & 5th grade class will now meet upstairs in a room designed just for them! This will help with the 5th grade transition to youth group over the summer. 

 

Maybe you had some of these same questions, or maybe you have other questions! I would love to answer them. Please email me at PastorSarah@hfcog.org and I will be happy to answer. 

 

I am excited! For both the movement of God in our Kids ministry, and for my Sabbatical. I would love your prayers that momentum would continue to build over April while I’m gone, and that all teaching positions be filled by the end of March before I leave. I would also appreciate your prayers for safe travels, for my health to remain steady during my trip, and that my time away would be fruitful as I learn more about Family Discipleship. At HFC we want to be disciples making disciples, and this includes not only our kiddos, but the family as a whole. I cannot wait to learn more about it and share it all with you once I return.

 

Many Blessings,

Pastor Sarah

I was working out to an exercise video on YouTube this morning. This one had a running clock and showed you what percent of the workout was completed as you went. Let me just tell you, at 52% I was about completed. Going part of the way and doing the warm up was easy. Going half way made me sweat. But going all the way… now that is the goal.

 

This Sunday we are going to start a new sermon series on 1 John called, All the Way. We are going to discover how we can go all the way in our faith, in our obedience and in our love for God and others. We also going to celebrate the fact that Jesus went All the Way for us on the cross, and he is still going all the way for us today.

 

Let me give you a couple ideas for how you can go all the way with Jesus even before the sermon series starts…

 

1. Go All the Way by serving during We Serve month. There are several different opportunities already or maybe you have another idea for how you, your Community Group, or the whole church can serve this month.

 

2. Go All the Way in prayer. As we talked about during 10:25 on Sunday, revival in our community starts with the prayers of those already following Jesus. Resurrection Sunday is coming up on April 9th . Begin praying now by name for those who do not know Jesus. Pray now for opportunities to invite others to worship. Pray now for a mighty move of God’s Holy Spirit.

 

3. Go All the Way to Kenya. It is a big investment in time, money and energy but God is able to work through you to impact the lives of people on the other side of the world. If you are interested reach out to Pastor Tim or Douglas Wakhu as soon as possible. You can also go All the Way by giving financially so that someone else can go.

 

All the Way in Him,
Pastor Tim

My house backs up to a busy road, and there are two really big trees that hang over my back fence. I’m not sure whose responsibility it is to maintain them, but that’s beside the point. They aren’t mine, but affect me constantly because the leaves fall into my yard and build up under/behind my hedge bushes, and the limbs hang down low onto my roof and bang around when it storms, and the birds build their nests and poo all over the hedges below… Safe to say I am not a fan of these trees. On numerous occasions I have fussed and complained and wished they’d be taken out. I have allowed myself to be upset over these big old trees that cause so many problems.

 

A few weeks ago I awoke to a huge crash that sounded like it was directly outside my window. The sound was horrible. The squeal of tires, the crunch of metal, the bang of multiple impacts, then an extremely loud thud and a continuous horn blast that lasted for 10-15 minutes. I could hear people talking, then yelling, frantically calling for help. Then I heard the sirens of ambulance and police arrive. I heard the jaws of life as they had to cut the driver out who was unconscious and laid over the steering wheel. It was horrendous. All right outside my window.

 

Do you want to know what kept that multiple car collision from hitting my house? Those two trees! The bark is torn off, they have deep gashes in them, and they are cracked and broken now. These last 3 years complaining about those two trees and wishing they would be torn out – all the while God knew they needed to be right where they were to protect me from that collision. All I could see was the inconvenience of raking leaves, the annoyance at hearing the branches bang the roof, and the work of cutting off a few limbs – I was missing the blessings! The shade those giant trees provide my whole yard, the amazing cardinal nest in the branches, the protection they could provide should a wreck happen directly behind my house…

 

We don’t always see how God is working; we might feel like our prayers aren’t being heard because we aren’t getting the outcome we want. We might be complaining about an inconvenience or hardship that we don’t see the point of. But I can testify to that fact that God is working – even when we can’t see it or understand it. When we look for the negative, we will see it everywhere; but when we look for the blessing and provision of God, we will see it instead. This week I would challenge you to look for God’s provision and blessing in your life and circumstances and to focus on that. Then praise Him for it!!! Give Him the glory for what He has done. Even when you didn’t see it coming…

 

Many Blessings,

Pastor Sarah