If God told you to pack up and move to a new country, would you go? That is precisely what He did with Abraham. The narrative begins in Genesis 12 at a time before God had changed his name from Abram to Abraham. He, Abram, was living in a good land with his relatives in security and comparative prosperity.
 
“Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you (Gen 12:1 NASB).”
 
There is so much to be said about God’s promises to Abram and how God’s redemption plan for the human race took shape through Abraham. However, I want to focus on the faith of Abraham. A faith that would, at the age of 75, pack up all his immediate family and belongings and leave his comfortable surroundings to go somewhere he knew nothing about just because God told him to! While there were many blessings poured out on Abraham in his lifetime and his faith was generously rewarded, what I really want us to examine is his willing obedience that proved his faith.
 
Now, God may not call us to pack up everything and leave to a place He will show us. But He quite regularly calls us to move out for Him right where we are. While Jesus’ commission to the Church to make disciples is world-wide in scope, its application is always to be done right where we are at the time. Simple, sincere obedience is the evidence of our faith. James 2:17 says “…Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep (obey) my commandments (Jn. 14:15).” For Abraham, it was a simple decision to obey the Lord. It is the same for us, it is a simple decision to obey! What is God leading you to do? Where is He leading you to go? Is it a major life-altering move? Or is it the more mundane but no less important decisions to walk by the Spirit in every situation? It is up to us to simply trust Him and move out in obedience.
 
Some of us exercised the faith of Abraham to come here to the Morongo Basin in the first place. I believe He is calling all of us right now to live out that faith with fire and enthusiasm. Because for all the difficulties of this pandemic, we, the followers of Jesus, know the end of the story. Our hope is fixed on the One who has overcome the world. The general will of God for the Church, our church, is to make disciples. In addition, God has given each of us a specific plan for our lives. Let’s move out in the faith of Abraham, the father of faith, in that simple obedience that demonstrates our trust in and love for our Lord Jesus.
In Christ our living hope,

Peace. An elusive but valuable commodity in 2020. Sometimes we think that peace means the absence of conflict. But true peace, God’s peace, is that which keeps our hearts calm in the midst of conflict. Consider Jesus in what was, arguably, the most difficult circumstance of His life, the crucifixion. As He hung there people were mocking and casting aspersions at Him, He was completely deserted by almost all of His friends, and the physical agony must have been excruciating. While all that turmoil was raging around Him and being inflicted upon Him, consider His actions as He hung there: He witnessed to a thief, directed His responsibility for His mother as the firstborn son to His friend John, asked God to forgive the men who were illegally and unjustly executing Him, and recognized when the task was finished. Indeed, His heart was calm in the midst of this horrific conflict!
 
And so, we are told in Colossians 3:15 to, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” That means that we already have the “peace of Christ”, it is only a question of whether or not we will allow His peace to be preeminent in our hearts. The word translated “rule” means to arbitrate. Much the same as a referee or other game official arbitrates for the two teams playing the game. It suggests that the peace of Christ is available to all of God’s daughters and sons but it is the responsibility of His children to LET that peace be the arbiter of all the various things that occupy our hearts.
 
These are tumultuous times in which we live. There are many competing emotions seeking to take over the control of our hearts. Fear, anger, anxiety, depression, confusion, pain, disappointment, sorrow, and many more. And sometimes the drive to try to escape them all is almost overwhelming! But God has not called us to escape this world, He has called us to be His ambassadors to this world. And for that we need peace, nothing less than the very peace of Christ.
 
Only when we step into Jesus’ presence does He take away all the struggles and difficulties of this life. But we have the availability here and now of the peace of Christ to bring calm to our hearts in the midst of this 2020 turmoil. You can let the chaos of life’s conflicting emotions arbitrate your heart, or you can let the peace of Christ rule over all the rest. The choice is ours.
                                                            In Christ our living hope,
                                                                      Pastor Bill

The Bible teaches us to highly value our children and one of the ways that we do that is by providing for them an excellent education. There are numerous places throughout the Scriptures where parents are given instructions on training up their children. We  also find that children were special to Jesus during His ministry here on earth. In addition, it has been the recognition of the church throughout her existence that caring for and teaching our children is one of the church’s biggest responsibilities. A few Bible examples:
 
         Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Pro. 22:6 nasb) 
 
         Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4 nasb)       
        
         And they were bringing children to Him (Jesus) so that He might touch them;    but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant     
and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for          the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mk. 10:13-14 nasb)
 
In connecting this priority to our current situation, probably the second greatest threat of this corona virus pandemic has been its threat to the training up of our children. For not only have the public and private schools been forced to close, churches have been mandated to discontinue all children’s ministry gatherings (see California Department of Public Health publication, May 25, 2020, p.10, 2nd bullet). At a time when encouragement and helpful information from trusted adults are vital to the well-being of our children, those very things have been taken out of their lives. We need to find ways to “Permit the children to come to (Jesus).”
 
Parents, it is crucial for you to embrace your biblical responsibility to provide for the education of your children. Many of you have ‘delegated’ this authority to the public-school system. It is time to reacquire your  obligation and take a more active role in directing your children’s instruction. As helpful as classroom instruction can be, it  provides nothing of the love and nurture of a parent. Also, it is vital for the church, our church to step up our support for our Living Hope parents in their task of training up their children in the way they should go. Among other things, the services we post and the services we host need to be a little more ‘kid’ friendly, both in content and participation. Finally, it is critical that we pray earnestly for our local, Morongo Unified School District as they attempt to develop a plan to safely put children back into the classroom. Whatever they come up with will become the model for in-person instruction. It’s not enough for the church to sit back and decry the ‘sad state of public education’. We must pray much for our students, their teachers, and for those making the plan.
 
I want to pass along a cordial invitation to our Sunday evening service at 7:00 p.m. on Sundays in the Amphitheater. It is a casual format with great worship, teaching and fellowship. Hope you are able to attend!
Yours for making disciples of every nation,

NEW HOPE CHURCH WEEKLY SCHEDULE
SUNDAY
9 am             
Adult Sunday School  
10 am           
Join us for fellowship, coffee and snacks !
10:30 am    
Worship Service 10:30 am
TUESDAY
​6-7:15  Ladies' Bible Study
WEDNESDAY
6:30 pm
Adult Sermon Discussion and Bible Study 
6:30 - 8 pm
Kids Quest and 
Youth Group  
SECOND SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH
Men's Breakfast and Bible Study 7:30 am
Ladies Fellowship Brunch 10 am-noon

​See weekly bulletin
 
For additional information call the church office:
​Mon-Thurs, 10 am - 2 pm -  760 228-1747