Summer Festival at Living Hope!

Join us on Wednesday, June 26th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

for our annual Summer Festival!

The hope of eternal life

…when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 
he saved us, 
not because of righteous things we had done, 
but because of his mercy. 
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal
by the Holy Spirit, 
whom he poured out on us generously 
through Jesus Christ our Savior, 
so that, having been justified by his grace, 
we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.  ~ Titus 3:4b-8

Father’s Day ~ June 16

Heavenly Father, you made us and have loved us and protected us each day of our lives. You are truly our loving Father. Thank you for our earthly fathers. Lead us to respect and honor them, even when it is difficult. If we are now fathers, help us take seriously the great responsibility to be faithful teachers and guides for our children. They are a great treasure given to us by you. Give us the courage to teach your words to our children. We thank you for your rich blessings of family.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds…Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ~ Deuteronomy 11:18a,19

Living Hope’s Summer Schedule

We are beginning our summer schedule this Sunday, June 9th.

Sunday School/Bible Study will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship Service will begin at 9:30 a.m.

A Bible Study/Worship hour will be held on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Please join us this summer!

 

Pentecost ~ the promised Holy Spirit

The night Jesus was betrayed, he told his apostles:

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. ~ John 16:7-11

Between Easter and Jesus’ Ascension:

He (Jesus) appeared to them (the apostles) over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ~ Acts 1:3b-5

Pentecost is the Greek name for the Jewish feast day called the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks.

When the day of Pentecost came, they (the apostles) were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^{[or languages]} as the Spirit enabled them. ~ Acts 2:1-4

(Peter said to the crowd) “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” ~ Acts 2:32-33

The Holy Spirit and believers:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. ~ Ephesians 1:13-14

Where did Jesus go? Where is he now?

Acts 1:7-11 He (Jesus) said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”   After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Acts 7:55-56  Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Memorial Day history…children participated

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp