Trunk Or Treat

No HOPE Group at my house tomorrow!

Since we missed ministry week last week, we decided to plug in and help with Northview's Trunk-or-Treat.

The event runs from 6-8 p.m. at Northview.
James said that he'd love some people to be there at 5:30 so they can get everyone lined out and stationed at the various games.

We don't have an official "Creative Team HOPE group" station, so we'll just plug in wherever we're needed.

Come hang out.
Bring some candy (the more the merrier).
And love on some kids as we take a week to be ministers.

We will post Tuesday night about the sermon and we can get some conversation going about the second half of Psalm 23.

Here's the ...

(This is a scoop)

This week is ministry week for our HOPE groups.
However, we're going to wait one week to do ministry.

Northview is hosting a Trunk-Or-Treat / Fall Festival thing on Halloween which happens to fall on next Tuesday. So we will wait a week and plug in and serve there next week.

That means we will meet as scheduled tomorrow night for HOPE group at the Hendrick house.

WITH ONE CHANGE:

We're not going to do a big meal.
So stop by your restaurant of choice on your way and pick yourself up some food.
We'll eat at 6:30 and start study around 7:00 as usual.

Cool?

We'll talk more about the Northview thing at HOPE group.

Not At My House

It's relationship-building week for our HOPE groups.

This is a week for getting to know some people who AREN'T in your HOPE group.

So we won't be meeting at our house.

I'd love to come up with some great idea for what we can do to get to know some people ... some way to hang out with people from another group ... but I don't have any ideas.

If I do come up with a great relationship-building idea, I will post it on here and let you know immediately.

But, unless you hear otherwise ... don't come to my house.

Use this week to go to dinner with that person you've wanted to get to know.

You know there's someone.
That person (or persons) you see at church and you've thought, "I should invite them over for dinner and get to know them."

Well, do it.

Invite them over. Play a game. Eat some dinner. Ask some questions. Make a friend.

Just not at my house.

Chilifest anyone? I have been wanting Wade to make his famous chili and I thought Tuesday night would be a great opportunity. We already have all the stuff to make it, so some other things that might be good with it are:

Rice
Cheese
Fritos
Cornbread
Cake
Cookies
Ice Cream
Pie

Well, I hope I haven't left anything out. Can't wait to see ya'll. ~LIZ

Maybe not a huge gold statue, but ...

What are they?

What are the things that entice us to bow?

Read Daniel 3 to see the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ... three priveledged, young men who chose to be faithful to their God at the risk of death.

I feel like verses 16-18 carry the weight of this passage. S, M, and A didn't make their decision because they were confident that God would protect them from the fire.

They were confident that he COULD and made their decisions based on that reality.

Too often we make decisions based on the outcome (or expected outcome). We let the end "justify" the means.

What if S, M, and A had burned up? Would God be any less faithful?

So ...

What are our idols?

To what do we bow?

In what ways do we doubt God's faithfulness by the decisions we make?

In what ways do we not obey God because the decision to do so seems like it would result in an unfavorable outcome?

In what ways have you seen obeying God confirm that we really are more than conquerors through Christ, just like S, M and A?

I loved that Aaron said these three men did not simply "get through" this trial. They didn't come out of the fire, with some burns, needing to spend some time in ICU...but praise God they lived...they came out VICTORIOUSLY with out even the smell of smoke on them! Wow!

Why don't we see that anymore?

I don't want philosophy...I want examples.

I don't want to know what is wrong with the church today...I want to know what is wrong with US, individuals who make up the church.

Why don't we live like we are more than conquerors already, unafraid to stand up for the Truth and freedom God's Word has brought into our lives instead of bowing to the gods of our culture, our feelings, what others think about us...why?

Hot Diggity

Ok...

I have a HUGE thing of baked beans.

I have 900 hot dogs.

So, maybe we could do hot dogs, baked beans and hamburgers?

If that is ok, then we will need:

sliced cheese
chili?
shredded cheese
chips
lettuce (again, not the bagged kind or I'll have to spray you with Lysol)
tomato
lots of dessert (I really want some more of those cookies, BETHAN)

and hamburgers! I forgot to mention that earlier.
But if no one has time to do the burgers, then we just need some more dogs and buns.
We've got quite a few, but probably not enough for everyone to get full if we don't have hamburgers as well.


I have ketchup, mustard, mayo and miracle whip.
I'll have tea, root beer and sprite.
I'll also have the paper goods.

Sound good?