Hope Blog

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  1. Advent 2017 Week 2 readings

    Community Updates

    Hello everyone!

    Below are the advent readings for the second week of advent. There really is a lot of good stuff that goes by very quickly on Sunday morning. I invite you to spend some time this week reading slowly, thoughtfully, and prayerfully meditating on this week’s readings and listen for the whisper of the Holy Spirit.

    Hope Chapel
    2017 Advent week 3

    Leader:
    Come, let us walk
    in the light of the LORD.

    Leader:
    Why do we light this candle?

    Leader:
    This candle reminds us
    that Jesus came to be
    the Light of the whole world,
    so that we can rejoice
    with the words of the prophet
    Zephaniah:

    Leader:
    I will purify the speech of all people,
    so that everyone can worship
    the LORD together…
    I will remove all proud and arrogant
    people from among you…
    Those who are left will be
    the lowly and humble,
    for it is they who trust
    in the Name of the Lord.

    WOMEN:
    Sing, O daughter of Zion;
    shout aloud, O Israel!
    Be glad and rejoice
    with all your heart!
    For the Lord will remove
    His hand of judgment…

    MEN:
    And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you!
    At last your troubles will be over,
    and you will never again fear disaster…

    ALL:
    For the Lord your God
    is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
    He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With His love, He will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you
    with joyful songs…

    Leader:
    Mary is an example to us
    of one who lived in this lowly humility.
    Let’s remember her song of praise.

    WOMEN:
    “My soul glorifies the Lord,
    for He has remembered
    the humble state of his servant.
    From now on all generations
    will call me blessed, for the Mighty One
    has done great things for me—
    holy is his Name.

    MEN:
    His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
    from generation to generation.
    He has performed mighty deeds
    with His arm;
    He has scattered those who are proud
    in their inmost thoughts.
    He has brought down rulers
    from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.

    ALL:
    He has filled the hungry
    with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.”

    Leader:
    How can we now wait
    in humble anticipation
    of Christ coming into the world?
    Paul says this in his letter to the Romans:

    MEN:
    May the God who gives endurance
    and encouragement
    give you a spirit of unity
    among yourselves
    as you follow Christ Jesus,

    ALL:
    so that with one heart and mouth
    you may glorify the God and Father
    of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    WOMEN:
    Accept one another, then,
    just as Christ accepted you,
    in order to bring praise to God.

    Leader:
    For I tell you that Christ has become
    a servant of the Jews

    ALL:
    so that the Gentiles may glorify God
    for His mercy, as it is written:
    “Therefore I will praise you
    among the Gentiles;
    I will sing hymns to Your Name.”

    ALL:
    “Merciful God,
    May your Church,
    being gathered together in unity
    by Your Holy Spirit,
    show forth Your power
    among all peoples,
    to the glory of Your Name;

    ALL:
    through Jesus Christ our Lord,
    who lives and reigns
    with You and the Holy Spirit,
    one God,
    forever and ever.
    Amen.

  2. Hope Chapel Advent Readings – Week 1

    Community Updates

    Hi everyone,

    Welcome to Advent 2017! I will be posting all four of our weekly Advent readings online for you to take a longer, more leisurely look at. They go by so quickly on Sunday morning. I apologize that this first week’s readings are late. I will be posting the rest soon. If advent is new to you check out this article.

    If you have any personal or family Advent traditions I’d love to hear about them!

    Hope Chapel 2017 Advent readings –
    week 1

    Leader:

    Come, let us walk
    In the light of the LORD.

    Leader:

    Why do we light this candle?

    Leader:

    This candle reminds us
    that the hope for real, lasting peace is found in Christ; peace that isn’t dependent upon the circumstances in which we find ourselves but upon the promise of Him who always keeps His promises.
    When God Himself is our peace,
    we can be sure
    we will not be disappointed.

    Leader:

    The prophet Isaiah spoke these words to give us hope:

    ALL:

    Comfort my people, says your God.
    Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
    Tell her that her sad days are gone
    and her sins are pardoned.

    Leader:

    O Zion, messenger of good news,
    shout from the mountaintops!

    Leader:

    Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.
    Shout and do not be afraid.

    Leader:

    Tell the towns of Judah,
    “Your God is coming!”

    ALL:

    Your God is coming!

    Leader:

    In the time of Herod king of Judea
    there was a priest named Zechariah.
    Both he and his wife Elizabeth
    were righteous in the sight of God.
    But they were childless because
    Elizabeth was not able to conceive,
    and they were both very old.

    Leader:

    Once when Zechariah was chosen
    to go into the temple of the Lord
    and burn incense,
    an angel of the Lord appeared
    and said to him:

    ALL:

    “Do not be afraid, Zechariah;
    your prayer has been heard.
    Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
    and you are to call him John.
    He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
    even before he is born.

    ALL:

    And he will go on before the Lord,
    to turn the hearts of the parents
    to their children and the disobedient
    to the wisdom of the righteous—
    to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

    Leader:

    When his time of service was completed,
    he returned home.
    After this his wife Elizabeth
    became pregnant.

    Leader:

    As we remember
    God’s faithfulness to Elizabeth,
    we can agree with
    Paul’s confession to the church in Rome in Romans 8:15-25

    Leader:

    This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next Papa?

    ALL:

    God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are.  We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.  

    Leader:

    And we know we are going to receive an unbelievable inheritance! If we go through the hard times with Him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with Him!

    ALL:

    That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times.  The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next.

    Leader:

    Everything in creation is being more or less held back.  God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

    ALL:

    All around us we observe a pregnant creation.  The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs.  But it’s not only around us; it’s within us.  The Spirit of God is arousing us within!

    Leader:

    We’re also feeling the birth pangs.  These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance.  That is why the waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother.

    ALL:

    We are enlarged in the waiting.  
    We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us.  But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

    ALL:

    “Almighty God,
    give us such a vision of your purpose
    and such an assurance
    of your love and power,
    that we may always cling
    to the hope which is in Jesus Christ our Lord
    who is alive with you and the Holy Spirit,
    one God now and for ever.
    Amen”

  3. Manly Men of Hope Retreat – January 5-7

    Community Updates

    Announcing the first (in a long time) Hope Chapel men’s retreat! The retreat will be held at Twin Lakes YMCA Camp at 2300 South Bell Blvd, Cedar Park TX 78613. We will begin at 7 pm on Friday evening and wrap up by noon on Sunday.

    Over the course of the weekend we will be talking about “The five liberating truths!” What are the five liberating truths? You will have to come to the men’s retreat to find out!

    Contact Brett Hart for more information and to register click here – Register

  4. “14 Stations” Exhibit in Gallery

    HopeArts

    14 STATIONS
    A Painter and a Prophet: the 14 Stations of the life of John Boyle, Painted by James B. Janknegt

    March 2 – May 5th
    Celebrate this body of work that was created over a 14-year period. The works represent 14 scenes from John Boyle’s life and together with The Royal Painter, James Janknegt, visions of The Prophet came to life on the canvas for all of Austin to witness. The works are accompanied by GODESE Prose, a lyrical language that links together words and conceptions, creating a hidden ‘parable-like’ experience inviting the viewer to go before The Throne of God that they might have the eyes to see and the ears to hear what The Spirit is saying.

    Artist Talk: A Dialogue between The Royal Painter and the Prophet. Sunday, March 5th, 2017 5:30 PM at Hope Chapel. Get a glimpse into their 14 year relationship and how these works came to be commissioned. Q & A.

  5. Gallery Exhibit — Women of Hope: “True Names”

    HopeArts

    Currently hung on the Sanctuary Gallery walls is an exhibit by members of the Women’s Ministry at Hope Chapel, entitled, “True Names.”

    “As women of hope I believe God calls us to reach the generation following us, and the one that has gone before us. A bridging of generations. It is in the beautiful weaving of young and old that God reveals our True Names. The pieces displayed reflect the artist interpretations of theirs or corporately our True Names as women. No more labels. Simply woman hearing the song of heaven as He sings over us our names.” – Lisette Espinosa

    This will be an evolving installation, with additional pieces going up over the length of the show.

  6. Waldrip Exhibit Now On Display

    HopeArts

    Currently up on our sanctuary gallery walls and placed around the building is a 2-D and 3-D exhibit by Marian Waldrip.

    Marian’s profile from her website:

    “Marian Waldrip is an artist, painter, and sculptor whose art shows her unique gifts of insight and power. Insight into the human soul, spirit, and power to forcefully and keenly portray them. Classically trained, and highly knowledgeable in anatomy, she works in both 2D and 3D.”

    “Marian has studied sculpture and art history under Stanley Marcus at the University of Texas at Permian Basin and figure drawing under Dr. Vincent Mariani at the University of Texas at Austin as well as special studies in sculpture at the Elizabet Ney Conservatory in Austin, Texas.”

    Marian’s work effects the viewer on profound and immediate levels, leaving the viewer with a resonating sense of presence lasting long after encounter.