This Issue:

The Forward Look

Grove Kids

Youth Fundraiser

Brew & Bake

Right Now Media

Summer Intern

Women’s Ministry

River of Hope

Welcome To Hope

HFSM

Beyond Our Walls

Team Schedule

Birthdays & Anniversaries

SHINE HIS LIGHT

HOPE FELLOWSHIP † March 2018

Baked Potato Bar Youth Fundraiser

The Forward Look: Thoughts from Our Pastor’s Heart

THE FORWARD LOOK Thoughts . . . from our Pastor’s heart

Billy Graham died yesterday, the Christian who shaped and influenced Christianity in the United States throughout much of the twentieth century and part of the twenty first. He has been dubbed America’s pastor for good reason. His graciousness and integrity earned him the respect of many, including those who do not follow Christ. What characteristics made him such a great person? He was a man who genuinely loved God and pursued God his whole life. The rest of the qualities I will mention found their bedrock in his faith in God and his cooperation with the Holy Spirit’s work to make him more like Christ. Billy Graham and his association epitomized integrity in their financial dealings, in Billy’s conduct with women, and in the commitments he made and kept. Billy determined not to ever al-low himself to fall into sexual sin. He strictly kept a policy of never being alone with a woman. I heard that he always had his team check out his hotel room before he entered to ensure no one was there. He and his organization in all their years never gave any evidence of financial impropriety and Billy took only a modest salary for his work. He was a man who held to his convictions but was able to communicate them with grace and often good-natured humor. Although Billy was faithful to declare the need for repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ, his preaching focused on the joys and delights of redemption rather than overly emphasizing the degradation of sin. I listened to an interview he had with Woody Allen where he commented on Woody being a sinner but he said it in such a way that neither Woody nor the audience seemed to take offense. Billy was able to communicate the seriousness of sin in a non-offensive way because Billy himself was a humble man who did not take himself very seriously. He insisted that people refer to him as “Billy” and even though he interacted with Presidents and other world leaders, he never came across as too important or as unapproachable. He believed the Bible. The authority and power in his preaching came from his use of the Scriptures and his conviction that God’s word and particularly his gospel had power enough so that if one preached it clearly, it would transform lives. He was not afraid to defend his beliefs and stand for the “hard parts” of the message. Although some of his children, notably Franklin Graham, found it hard to live in their father’s shadow and rebelled for a while against Billy’s faith, it looks like they have all firmly settled into their walks with Christ. Most significantly, none of them, including Franklin in his rebellious days, ever uttered a word of complaint against Billy. Billy leaves a legacy of a well-grounded family as well as the hundreds of thousands who follow Christ because of Billy’s ministry. I worked two Billy Graham crusades, one in Houston and one in New Jersey. It really was amazing how he and his organization could unify the churches from all different denominations to work together to bring lost people to Christ when no one else could do that. Partly that was because Billy stayed focused on the key elements of the Gospel in his preaching and did not wander into the secondary issues that often divide Christians. Truly there will never be another Billy Graham, but the same was probably also said of Billy Sunday, Dwight L Moody, George Whitfield, and John Wesley in their day. The God who made Billy can also raise up other titans of the faith, some who may even have a greater impact in the future. We can dream.

Deut. 6:8 Tie them on your hands and wear them on your foreheads to help you remember my teachings.

I just love studying Jewish traditions! They are steeped in rich purpose, meaning and dedication. The above passage describes one of the Mitzvahs– or Jewish commandments- that is to be practiced daily

during prayers by males over aged 13, called Tefillin. “Tefillin are a pair of black leather boxes containing Hebrew parchment scrolls. A set includes two—one for the head and one for the arm. Each consists of three main components: the scrolls, the box and the strap.” 1 Inside each of the specially made boxes are carefully written, miniature scrolls with exactly 1594 letters. They are passages from the Torah describing unity with God, His miracles, and His power and authority over the earthly and heavenly realms. The hand-tefillin is wrapped with kosher straps around the upper left arm down to the middle finger, so that the box rests on the heart. The head-tefillin is placed on the center of the forehead. The point of all of this is to emulate binding oneself to God, in the head and heart, in all that they think, feel and do. Call me crazy...but right here I’d like to put the word Selah (this is an exclamation used in Psalms).

Bind us to God, through head and heart, in all we think, feel and do. Selah. As New Testament Christians, what can we do to bind God’s word to the heads and hearts of our children, in all they think, feel and do? Rote memorization is important and can be done while engaging in physical activity life hopscotch, jump rope, dance moves, music and sign-language. This stimulates neurons and engages both sides of the brain. You can make some things to wear (a shirt, bracelet, necklace, belt, flip flops) that are color coded or have written words on them to memorize Bible facts. Anything you would do to help with learning a spelling list in a fun an engaging way can be done with scripture. Pick out something for your family to memorize together for the week or month and find an exciting way to learn it. Memorization isn’t enough, though. Now take those things that they’ve learned and do some role playing about how to apply those verses. Last summer we learned about the Armor of God and the Fruit of the Spirit. Talk about what that looks like in the spiritual realm at home, church and school. Use opportunities as the Holy Spirit presents them. The Jewish faith considered this a sacred discipline. Jesus used scripture to help overcome temptation and respond to others in difficult circumstances, he thought it was important, too. We have an opportunity to teach our children verses and songs that they won’t forget, even if they wanted to!

1 For this article I referenced the Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center at ChaBad.org

~Michelle

Baked Potato Bar Youth Fundraiser

Tickets will go on sale March 11 in the foyer or

you can contact one of our youth members.

Dress your potato up….

anyway you like!

We missed those of you who were not able to join us at our recent Women’s Retreat at The Lodge at

Danbury. With sixty women there, it was a great opportunity to meet new ladies, start building

friendships with some of them, and deepen relationships with old friends. We talked during shared

meals and over the snack table, and shared deeply during small group discussions. We made luggage

tags and/or played a variety of games together. We learned about each other’s interests through our

Show-and-Tell. (Did you know that we have women in our church who decorate miniature Christmas

trees, paint signs, do beautiful sewing projects, create books, write articles, create characters for and

play war games, do wood burning art, make jewelry, etc.?!!!) We worshipped together, shared

communion, sang the “Sister Song”, prayed for each other, cried, laughed and held Piper for Jennifer.

Jean Hendrix introduced the topic of Christian friendships to us, with her concluding thought being

that we need each other to survive. Through our private devotional times, video teachings and small

group discussions we studied how Jesus modeled godly friendships to us, and how we are to respond

and take action with others. We learned to not compare ourselves with others (including what we

see on social media!!) but instead to choose to deliberately encourage people as an antidote to envy.

We learned how to have the freedom of forgiveness, and to not accumulate collections of hurts. We

were challenged to be a real “neighbor”, and to initiate friendships. We saw how Jesus was

vulnerable with His Father and with people, and how we should be vulnerable with God and others,

too. We were challenged to reflect God’s love by serving others and being peacemakers. And we

were reminded by Julie Swirsky that Jesus needs to be our #1 friend.

We want to thank each of you who served in any way during or in preparation for this retreat

weekend! We are so thankful for all you did and how it contributed to the successful retreat.

We are “Saving You a Seat” for our next retreat in February 21-23, 2020!

We will be having Women's

Mingle at Brew' in Bake Saturday,

March 10, 2018 at 9 to 11 AM.

Come for a few minutes, hour, or

as long as you want!

Do you know a college student who: Loves Jesus? Has an interest in ministry?

Wants to go on a missional driven youth conference? Enjoys dressing up and having fun while working?

Wants to make an eternal difference?

We are accepting applications for the church's summer intern

position. Candidates need to have completed their first year of college and will

need to have references reflecting Christ's character and leadership

skills. Application deadline is March 31.

& We are looking for a Summer Intern

Team Schedule

DATE

Mar 4

Coordinator/Greeter: Kimberly Leal 9:15-10:35: Mary Jo Baumeister, Diana Kidd 10:35-12:15: Michelle Strickland, Marsha Loar, Karen Hemingway CR: Diana Kidd

Guel Family

Isaac Deavenport

Michelle Deavenport

Isaac Deavenport

Mar 11

Coordinator/Greeter: Kimberly Leal 9:15-10:35: Kim Leal, Jacquin Rogers 10:35-12:15: Rebecca Cegielski, Nancy Cramer, Lindsey Fast CR: Kimberly Leal

Kerry Hughes

Sue Hughes

Alma Rodriguez

Bethany Deavenport

Mar 18

Coordinator/Greeter: Kimberly Leal 9:15-10:35: Naconda Frank, Emily Daniel 10:35-12:15: Rosemary Allen, Mark & Marsha Heironimus CR: Marsha Heironimus

Naconda Frank

Natalie Frank

Madison Frank

Patty Vandaveer

Travis Vandaveer

Mar 25

Coordinator/Greeter: Kimberly Leal 9:15-10:35: Taylor Knox, Valery Rogers 10:35-12:15: Kalai Harden, Hong & Lynn Li Wade

Michelle Deavenport

Christina Alamo

Kaylie Knox

Eldon Baumeister

Kaylie Knox

Hope Fellowship continues to support the River of

Hope. One of the many ways we provide support is

by collecting food for local area pantries. Please

place your non-perishable donations in the River of

Hope collection bin at the Welcome Center. For

March 2018 we are asked to donate: Canned Fruit.

However, you are not limited to donating only our

assigned food. The River of Hope was established

by Brazosport Ministerial Alliance and is funded by

area churches. May God bless your faithfulness in

giving to this ministry.

Now, every person at Hope Fellowship can access over

15,000 Bible studies. RightNow Media has studies for

small groups, families, students, leadership development,

and much more. It’s like a Christian Netflix. Account

information is: www.rightnowmedia.org

pastor@hopefellowship.com Password: trainme

Beyond Our Walls prayer requests –

Pregnancy Help Center (PHC) – Thank God for working through people. More than $155,000 was

raised at the banquet in January. Ask God for wisdom for those making decisions about the how

to best use the funds. PHC in Port Lavaca opened on 2/12 and one in Galveston hopes to open in

March. Our local PHC has had a big part in helping birth these new centers. Pray for their

directors, Heather Jones and Julie Johnson. And, of course, pray for the dozens of women and

their families in crisis pregnancies that come to PHC.

Threaded Leaf Project - Some of the college students supported by TLP are graduating. Pray for

God’s direction for them as they use their education to help their country and tell others about

Jesus. The next trip to Cambodia will be this summer where, for the first time, TWO seasons of

clothes will be planned. Pray for wisdom for those planning the designs. Pray that God will go

before them for fabric selection and as they continue to build relationships with shop keepers,

drivers, etc. Ask God to water the seeds planted in their “tuk tuk” driver, Mr. Koh, so that he sees

his need for Jesus. Ask God to supply the funds for Leslie Swirsky & Danielle Markham, both

planning to be part of the team. Pray that God will work out ALL the details, beginning with the

tickets. There have been issues with that purchase

Texas Port Ministry - Pray for wisdom, good health, “God appointed connections”, protection

from our enemy for Mike Potts & Rich Terry as they regularly visit with men from the ships and

drivers of the trucks. These men are local Hope missionaries who are used by God to touch lives

from all over the world! Ask God to continue to water the many seeds planted in those that come

to this amazing ministry. As spring break approaches, don’t forget to donate the small toiletries

from your travels. There’s a small basket on top of the River of Hope chest in the foyer.

All Day Outing and Picnic

SAVE THE DATE!!!!

March 24, 2018 We will be having an all

day outing, and picnic at Brazos Bend

State Park. More details to come soon!!

Keep an eye out for our Hope Fellowship

church app coming soon!! You will be able

to listen to past messages, keep up to

date with church happenings, and take

care of all your giving!!!

Check out our social media!

Hope Fellowship Lake Jackson

twitter.com/MarkSwirsky2

pinterest.com/pinnersofhope

Staff:

Mark Swirsky, Senior Pastor

Raymond Knox, Worship Leader

Jason Rogers, Director of Youth

Michelle Deavenport, Director of Children

De’Stani Lara, Secretary

200 Lake Road • Lake Jackson , TX 77566 • www.hopefellowship.com • (979) 297-8356

Aaron & Emily Heinrich 12th

Wayne & Amy Brune 27th

OUR MISSION

WE EXIST TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE BRAZOSPORT AREA AND THE WORLD BY

WINNING, BUILDING, AND EQUIPPING DISCIPLES.

Karen Potts 12th

Mike Cheatham 13th

Robert Edwards 14th

Chloe Daniel 24th

Luke Nimtz 24th

Christina Davies 26th

Aaron Heinrich 27th

Patty Vandaveer 27th

Kate Allen 29th

Callie Cheatham 29th

Lottie Kiecke 31st

Richard Terry 31st