Connect with Hope

by Mike Housholder
Senior pastor

There are three sets of stories in the Bible that tell of God’s people preparing for the arrival of Jesus. Two of them get the most attention:

First, the Old Testament prophets, and the angels of the New Testament, provide a vision to help prepare the world for the birth of a baby
who would also be their Savior. We celebrate this incarnation of God every Christmas.

Second, there are the words of the New Testament prophets, including Jesus himself, promising his return – the second coming – to usher in
the Kingdom of God in a final and complete way: the end of the world as we know it. Much of the church’s energy and attention has been given to this topic over the years.

The third, more overlooked, set of biblical stories of preparation for Jesus’ arrival takes place early in the Gospels, and focuses on a prophet named John. He boldly proclaimed repentance with an edgy style in order to get people ready for the arrival of an “all grown up” Jesus, who was about to begin his three-year tour of Palestine on the way to a cross and empty tomb. God-sized miracles and healings were about to happen. The world was about to change, forever. And John wanted everyone to be prepared … including you.

In the timelessness of God’s living word, these same words of preparation to meet Jesus will be shared with you this weekend at Hope. I’ll
be preaching a sermon called “Prepare the Way” at all services, complete with an invitation from God to you that could change everything in your life.

Bring a Bible and a few friends – ready or not, here He comes!

In Christ’s Love,
Mike Housholder

P.S. I’m also looking forward to announcing the total gifts for the “Building Hope 4 the World” campaign during my sermons this weekend.
All I can tell you for now is that it’s going to be “hilarious” in a 2 Corinthians 9:7 sort of way!

by Caroline Boehnke-Becker
Teaching pastor

So the question was “How in the world did Mary give birth in a barn?” Beyond the obvious answer (um … the usual way?) this obstetrician cum Bible student has always been intrigued by this story from an angle that most people don’t entertain.

Too often people picture Mary arriving in Bethlehem, panting and blowing because she’s about to deliver on the donkey itself – I mean, we’ve
all heard of women delivering in the car on the way to the hospital, haven’t we? Poor Joseph scrambles to find a place for Mary and then stands helplessly beside her as she pushes the baby out without anyone else around.

Fortunately, for Mary at least, this is a most unlikely scenario.

Read Luke 2:6 closely: “While they were there …” Throughout history, societies have recognized the ideal place to deliver is where you are currently living. Modern obstetricians counsel their patients to avoid traveling once they’re in the 36-37 week range. Certainly Mary received the same advice; she and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem far enough in advance of her delivery that they could get situated in their new location. So Joseph wasn’t galloping the exhausted donkey into town while Mary moaned, “I have to push!”

And poor Joseph wasn’t standing wondering what to do – in fact, he was probably hustled out of the house by the village midwife and
female relatives when Mary went into labor – Middle Eastern social practices frown on women having men deliver babies, even if they are the woman’s husband. And throughout the ages, women have not delivered babies in isolation, but with family and experienced birth attendants surrounding them.

How do I know that?

About 15 years ago, I was paged in the middle of the night by a seasoned labor and delivery nurse begging me to come in and deliver a patient who wasn’t mine. A couple from Ames had arrived in the ER – they were both intelligent, articulate grad students at Iowa State who hailed from the Middle East. This was their third baby, and they received excellent prenatal care. But when the mother went into labor and the couple discovered the doctor on call was male, they came to Des Moines searching for a female physician; their cultural mores demanded it. And the couple was prepared to leave and go to another hospital to find a female physician, despite the fact she was already 5-6 cm dilated. Let’s just say I delivered a beautiful baby less than 5 minutes after I hustled to the hospital, receiving the immense gratitude of both the patient and her husband.

Mary and Joseph, fully embedded in their Middle Eastern culture, surrounded by supportive family, welcomed their baby boy into the world in the same way untold numbers of couples have welcomed their baby into the world.

Does this diminish the Christmas story?  No, it actually enhances it when we realize God chose to be born under the same normal, mundane, profound circumstances under which we all came into the world.  A God who surprisingly chooses to identify himself that closely with his creation is surely a God who bears watching to see what else he may be up to!

by Mark Brandt
Minister of Children and Students

We have all heard the story… right? Jesus was born. Old news …

There seems to be a point where this story becomes routine and it loses its luster, its beauty and its meaning. It becomes “just a story.”

Is that where you are as you enter this Christmas season? For many of us, the Christmas story has been reduced to a-once-year-hear-and-forget-sort-of story. It has its place … and isn’t that nice? We have reduced Jesus to a little tiny baby and tend to forget that this is the same guy who grows up and does all that other stuff! This story is the  beginning of an epic saga of good vs. evil. The characters are compellin,g and the plot is not of this world! It is, in short, The Greatest Story Ever Told!

The story of Jesus’ birth isn’t old news; it is GOOD news because it is also the story of US! God’s people! The Bible isn’t “based on a true story”, it is the REAL DEAL, and we are part of the cast. YOUR story matters because it is part of HIStory.

This year, take a fresh look at the Christmas story and examine your place in it! Are you in the story or just a casual reader? Does this story even matter to you anymore? What do you really believe about the story?

Those are some of the questions we want you to wrestle with as we take a closer look at the Nativity this year.

by Jeremy Johnson
re:vive director

Thanksgiving is here! It has a way of sneaking up on us, doesn’t it? And now it’s the next day on the calendar!

But if we are not careful, we can miss it. We miss it because we can get too caught up in all the stuff we need to do. We don’t take the time to just
slow down. Let me say it again – we … don’t … take … the … time … to … just … slow … down …

“That’s why I tell you not to worry about everyday life.” Wait, did I read that right? Don’t worry about everyday life? Have you seen the list of things that I need to get done? Don’t worry?

Worry has a way of becoming such a poor god that so many of us worship on a daily basis. That is why Jesus tells us not to worry. One of my favorite pieces of scripture is Psalm 46. The psalmist reminds us to slow down, “Be still, and know that I am God.” God is in control. God is our refuge – our safe place – to give us a place to stop, slow down, rest, and give thanks.

That is what Thanksgiving is all about – to give thanks to a God who is present, who shows up, and gives us everything we need.

Happy Thanksgiving, HOPE!

Come and worship with us tonight at 6:00 pm in the Worship Center, 7:30 in the Chapel (re:vive) or tomorrow morning at 10:00 am. I’ll be giving a message “Give Thanks?” … I hope to see you there.

by Wendy Liskey
Missions Ministry

“…Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35

Christmas is the time of year that many of us take that verse to heart. The joy we see on loved ones’ faces as they open the gift we’ve thoughtfully and lovingly picked out for them is better than any physical gift we could receive. What a blessing it is to be able to experience that every year.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of a mother or father who cannot afford to give their family members any gifts. They may not even be able to afford a Christmas tree this year. Or prepare a holiday meal. What a blessing it is to be able to support families like this through Hope’s annual Adopt-a-Family program, a partnership with our local mission partner Bidwell Riverside.

Christmas Sharing 2011 marks the 57^th year the Bidwell Riverside Center has provided Christmas help to those in need. Last year more than 850
families were either “adopted” or sponsored by Bidwell. This year Hope plans to adopt over 400 families through our Adopt-a-Family program. This is the ninth year we have partnered with Bidwell.

What does it mean to adopt a family? You, your family or small group will provide gifts of toys and clothing – from a specific, suggested list. You will also provide a holiday meal and deliver all of these items to the family you select. Envelopes with family information, including the gift suggestion list, are available now – on the windows near the Chapel, on the windows of the Gym, and in the Atrium.

Another opportunity to give is something you can do any time you shop at Hy-Vee or Café Hope until Dec. 24! “Scan Away Hunger plates will be in this weekend’s bulletins or at the Mission Center. Scan Away Hunger proceeds will be used by Hope Ministries to help feed and care for homeless and hungry men, women and children in central Iowa throughout the year.

Hope is proud to partner with the U.S. Marines in their Toys for Tots efforts. Collection boxes for new, unwrapped toys and new books can be placed in the boxes at the main entrances from Dec. 3-11.

Just like the mother or father who cannot afford gifts for their family, many times seniors in need are forgotten and alone during the
holidays. Hope is partnering with several local agencies that have identified seniors in need through Share Christmas with a Senior. Suggested gift lists will be available at the Mission Center or online beginning Dec. 3. Return unwrapped gifts to Hope by Dec. 11.

Thank you for participating in 4Ways 2 Give and for sharing the joys of Christmas with families around the Des Moines area.

by Mark Brandt
Minister of Children and Student Minitry

Here’s a recent daily Bible reading posted on Facebook that got some attention.

Amos 5:18-24

¹⁸ What sorrow awaits you who say,
“If only the day of the Lord were
here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
That day will bring darkness, not light.
¹⁹ In that day you will be like a man who runs from
a lion—only to meet a bear.
Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—
and he’s bitten by a snake.
²⁰ Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,
without a ray of joy or hope.
²¹ “I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
²² I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain
offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
²³ Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
²⁴ Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.

On Hope’s Facebook page each morning and here, you can find daily Bible readings that are selected to lead up to the
next weekend’s sermon.

Two weeks ago, this particular reading bothered a member of the Hope family and she sought out some advice on what it could mean – what a
great thing! She posted: ”I find the first part frightening and the second part that God is so angry. I guess I just have to understand this is Old Testament but it still bothers me …”

The Old Testament can get pretty heavy at times – plagues, prophets, the introduction of sin into the Garden of Eden, Cain killing Abel … the flood … the Exodus and 40 years of wandering through the desert … so it’s easy to see why someone might think that this portion of Amos sounds scary, maybe even ominous and dark.

What was so great about the post on Facebook was that this woman shared her feeling of confusion and that this happens to nearly everyone who reads the Bible (even pastors or church staff!). Digging into God’s Word can get a weighty. After some research, here’s how I answered her comment.

Go back and read the beginning of the chapter of Amos 5.

A Call to Repentance
¹ Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral
song I am singing:
² “The virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again!
She lies abandoned on the ground,
with no one to help her up.”
³ The Sovereign Lord
says: “When a city sends a thousand men to battle,
only a hundred will return.
When a town sends a hundred,
only ten will come back alive.”
⁴ Now this is what the Lord
says to the family of Israel:
“Come back to me and live!
⁵ Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel;
don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba.
For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile,
and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
⁶ Come back to the Lord and live!
Otherwise, he will roar through Israel^[a] like a fire,
devouring you completely.
Your gods in Bethel
won’t be able to quench the flames.
⁷ You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the
oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.

I posted in response on Facebook: I read this … The leaders had become corrupt and were hiding behind their “religiosity” to take advantage of the poor and destitute to build up their profits! They lived in lavish houses but were living apart from God. SO the judgment that God talks about at the beginning of this passage refers to what is going on at the time of the prophet Amos but is a good reminder of what happens when we turn to our own selfish gain and away from God. This happens again throughout history, including the time of the Reformation when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the chapel door in Wittenburg.

So God is calling the people to repentance through a warning … And his anger was righteous considering the culture at the time …

What am I getting at today?

The point I’m trying to make is that it’s good to admit when something in the Bible might be challenging you. Dig deep and dig often. As we approach another year of reading the Bible together as a church, I’m excited to see people actively getting into the Book. (By the way, there’s a class coming up that teaches Bible studying a lot more, Intro to the Bible — Diggin’ into the Book, with Pastor Richard. It’s on two Saturdays, Dec. 3 and 10.)

by Grant Woodley
Teaching pastor

For since the world began,
no ear has heard,
and no eye has seen a God like you, who
works for those who wait for Him!

Isaiah 64:4

_________________________

I know I’m a little early to start talking about Advent, but I feel the pressure to get out of the gates before the likes of Target and Jordan Creek Town Center, which will open at midnight a minute after Thanksgiving Day ends. (Are you serious?? My pie hasn’t even settled by then.)

So what is Advent, anyway?

Advent is that short, yet intense season of the church year that comes four weeks before Christmas; and Advent is the one time during the year that Christians cultivate the discipline of waiting and great expectation.

But this “Advent Waiting” is no ordinary waiting!

(As if we crazed holiday shoppers know anything about waiting anyway. Although if we buy the presents earlier and earlier, the kids have to wait longer and longer so maybe we’re getting better at teaching them to wait? That’s my positive spin.)

Waiting was the thing I disliked MOST as a kid about this time of year, waiting for that blessed moment when the presents would be opened. Come to think about it, it didn’t matter the time of year, I didn’t like waiting - period - especially during long car rides.

However, the posture of that kind of waiting is a thumb-twiddling powerlessness. All I could do is sit, wait, there was nothing to do, nothing to say. Just sit, be quiet.

At Christmas, we remember that God came to us in human flesh as Jesus. During Advent we practice waiting for this Jesus who will come again, once and for all.

But there’s one very different aspect to Advent Waiting: Twiddling our thumbs is the last thing we have to do. Instead, we experience “between waiting.” We do our waiting sandwiched between Jesus’ complete victory on the cross and victory on the final day when he returns to earth. We wait with a victory that is SO powerful in eternity that its effects begin RIGHT NOW for us on earth.

We start living now, not according to the rules of this day, such as fear and anger, but according to the ways of eternity that our coming Lord has won for us now: ways like peace and joy and freedom.

There may be nothing sweeter than learning to wait upon the Lord.

Happy Advent Waiting!

“Bring all the tithes into my storehouse … I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough
room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” Malachi 3:10

Dear Hope Family,

Four weeks ago, when we started the “Building Hope 4 the World” giving campaign, our goals were simple: connect to God and his church, celebrate God’s abundant blessings, and contribute to God’s mission for us as a church.

The first two goals have been met with extraordinary results! From the friendly “Fireside Chats” and “76 Hours of Reading the Bible” to inspiring worship and an all-church “Jesus Party” with a multitude of Spirit-filled mountaintop moments, we have embarked on this Bible-based and prayer-driven giving campaign, without guilt or pressure, fully surrendered to God. Centered in Christ, we have grown deeper and wider as a church, and experienced the Spirit of Hope. We have connected to God in new, meaningful, and even surprising ways. We have seen beautiful
glimpses of God’s vision for our future: Hope as a “field of dreams” where people gather, encounter the light of Jesus’ transformational love, and then faithfully bring that light to hundreds of thousands in the world around us!

Now, it’s time to fulfill the final goal of the “Building Hope 4 the World” giving campaign at this weekend’s services as we bring our offerings to God – in response to prayer – with a spirit of thanksgiving and joy in our hearts!

Please remember to bring your “Building Hope 4 the World” commitment card (included in your information packet) to worship this weekend. Commitment cards will also be provided in your bulletin. I’m asking each of us to give to “Building Hope 4 the World,” above and beyond our regular offerings to the church, in two ways: a 1-time special gift (cash, check, stocks, jewelry, etc.), and a 2-year commitment (January 2012-December 2013).

Pray about it. Simply ask, “Lord, what do you want to do through me to accomplish your will through this church?” No one
will be announcing the amount of your offering. It’s between you and God. Give according to God’s revelation as a matter of faith, with an awareness of the eternal impact of your offering, and you will experience the joy of cheerful giving! The manner in which you give is more important than the amount! (2 Corinthians 9:6-10, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Matthew 23:23)

Please keep in in mind that all of our offerings to “Building Hope 4 the World” will reduce the remaining $13 million building mortgage, save up to $6.5 million in interest over the course of the loan, and – best of all – move us closer as a church family to our dream of becoming a 50/50 church (half of all offerings at Hope designated for missions and outreach). The day we burn our mortgage is the day we become a 50/50 church!

This weekend, for the first time in six years, we will gather together for services that include a special giving campaign offering. I can’t wait! Each time we’ve done this, the experience has been memorable and moving for us as a church family. Children will bring their coin bank offerings into the Worship Center together with their Kingdom Quest (KQ) class during the service, so they can experience the joy of giving, too. Soon after, the rest of us will come forward and bring our gifts to God. This will be a holy moment – the culmination of four weeks of focused prayer and worship, a new and exciting step of faith for us as a church family, and an opportunity for us to leave a legacy that will last forever as we “Build Hope 4 the World!”

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth … Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-20

In Christ’s Love,
Mike Housholder

P.S.–
If you are out of town this weekend and can’t participate in the “Building Hope 4 the World” offering, please bring your commitment card to the church office during the week, or one of the services the following weekend (Nov. 26- 27). You can also give to “Building Hope 4 the World” online here.

Do you ever wonder why some people, and  some churches, seem to be filled with love, joy, and peace … while others are  burdened with hate, despair and turmoil?

Is the key to finding a full life (John  10:10) just a matter of, well, luck? How the “cookie crumbles”? Getting the  right breaks? Being in the right place at the right time?

Is the growth and impact of Lutheran Church of Hope, and God’s even more radical vision for our future to “build hope for the world” by becoming a 50/50 church, primarily a result of worldly circumstances? (Becoming a 50/50 church means half of all offerings would go toward outreach through Hope, half for the development of ministries to Hope.)

Nope. In truth, a full life for you, or for our church, has everything to do with the sheer power of the Holy Spirit. When He fills our hearts, everything changes for the better and forever.

This “Spirit of Hope” transformed  Zacchaeus and inspired him to surrender half his wealth to the poor. This “Spirit of Hope” transformed Peter, and inspired him to become a rock upon which Jesus could build his church. This “Spirit of Hope” has transformed thousands of us at Lutheran Church of Hope, and inspires us to move toward becoming a 50/50 Zacchaeus-like church for the glory of God!

This weekend at worship, I sincerely can’t wait to preach on this “Spirit of Hope” at all services. Come and be filled, and find the full life God longs for you to know! It’s good to be the  church and to be filled with the “Spirit of Hope!”

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mike Housholder

P.S. This is the only weekend all year I  will ask you to show up twice … once for worship, and then again at the  All-Church “Building Hope 4 the World Celebration” at Hy-Vee Hall on Sunday night. (Doors open at 6:00 pm, program starts at 6:30pm; the 5:00 pm Sunday service will let out at 5:40 pm!) There’s no party like a  church party!