The Incarnation
Since we live in Tucson, we know terms such as “carne asada” and “carne seca”. At the very least, we know that if we order either of these at our favorite Mexican food restaurant, that we won’t be getting a salad. That knowledge might help us with the old Latin term “incarnation”. It means “taking flesh” or “being flesh”. In Biblical teaching, the incarnation refers to Jesus, the Son of God, taking flesh to bring salvation to us fleshly human beings.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
It is now December, and for most of us during Christmas season, we think upon the incarnation a lot. In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet told us that a virgin will be with child and his name shall be called “God with us”. Philippians 2:7 tells us that Jesus took the nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And at the end of his ministry, Jesus told us in Matthew 18:20 “surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He came and took on flesh to be among us, to save us, and He promises to remain with us.
The incarnation is the incredible sweet thing our Savior did to live among us so that He might sympathize with our weaknesses and take our place in punishment to redeem us from our sins. Oh, what an amazing Savior! This month we will be focusing in on Jesus’ incarnation on December 15 and 22.
In addition, Jesus is our example. He went into our messy sinful world to save us, and Jesus calls us to enter into other’s messy sinful worlds to help them discover the Savior.
May the thought of Jesus’ incarnation be a blessing to you this month as you think upon His incredible rescue mission.
~Pastor Randy
Commissioning of Pastor Gary Jones
Thanks Hope for bringing in coats and shoes for the children in Mexico!
If you would like a written handout of these recipes, please contact info@hopetucson.com.
Welcome Christian & Lauren Kah!
Hello there Hope family!
It has been a pleasure to serve at Hope as your worship pastor for a few weeks now. What a blessing you all have been already. My wife, Lauren, and I greatly appreciate the support and encouragement we have received from many of you, including the pastors, elders, and staff. What a great community in which we will get to grow together in Christ! I have had the privilege of meeting a decent number of you. However I haven't had the pleasure of meeting many of you yet. So, I wanted to introduce myself.
I was born and raised in central Indiana, and I am a Midwest boy through and through. As such, I am a big fan of the Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts, I love Fall colors and weather, and I come from a “down-to-earth” culture. I was raised in a solid Christian home and was brought up to know who God was basically from the day I was born. I turned to Jesus as my Savior and made Him the Lord of my life as a young boy at AWANA. Ever since, I have seen the Lord work in so many amazing ways in my life.
My whole family is very musical and so I grew up being involved in all-things music including choirs, worship teams, and good ole family hymn sings. This contributed to my love for worshipping the Lord as I grew up and continued into my college years at Columbia International University in South Carolina. At CIU, I studied Bible and Business for my undergrad and then went on to get my MBA. I also got to serve as the Chapel Worship Director during this time but more importantly, this was the season of life when I met the love of my life. We got married in July of 2021 after I graduated with my MBA. Then, a few months later in October, I accepted the worship pastor role at a church in a small town called Mahomet, in central Illinois. After serving there for 3 years, we heard about the worship pastor position becoming available at Hope. After many conversations with Randy and Kevin and much prayer and seeking the Lord, we made the decision to move out to the desert! And the rest is history. That’s the condensed version of the story. So, ask me some time about the details (it’s pretty cool)!
I look forward to what God has in store for this season of ministry as we seek to glorify Him in spirit and truth as a united body of believers. Blessings to you all and I look forward to meeting you personally soon!
In Christ, Christian
Thanks Hope for serving at the two previous Feed My Starving Children Tucson mobile packs in 2023 & 2024!
According to the United Nations, over 700 million people go hungry every day. That’s one in 10 people globally! Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is playing a huge role in helping reverse that trend, and so are churches like Hope in the greater Tucson area.
In 2025, Tucson once again will host a mobile pack for FMSC at OVCN (500 W. Calle Concordia, Oro Valley, AZ 85704), where they hope to pack 1.4 MILLION MEALS in just one week’s time!
Hope Community Church will be serving on February 8 - from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (shift #19). We have 85 spots open and would love for YOU to join us. Kids 5 and up are welcome to come.
Each person volunteering must register! Deadline to register is December 21.
Would you like to be a part of the Hope Community Church directory? If so, the directory will be updated soon so please sign up below. Also, if you are presently in the directory and any of your listing has changed, please make your changes on the link below.
Thank you Hope!! We collected over 214 Christmas boxes this year for OCC.
Thank you God, for blessing us to bless others! We pray that our boxes will be a light that points others to You!
Also, a big thank you to Tammi Moore and her team for heading up the OCC table again this year!
Women's Ministry
Suzi King, Director
sking@hopetucson.com
You are invited to our annual Women’s Christmas Outreach for the residents at the Casa Paloma Women’s Shelter - Saturday, December 14 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Community Room.
Included below is a list of requested items from the residents at the Shelter.
• Shampoo/Conditioner
•Body Wash
•Deodorant
•Razors
•Lip Balm
•Nail Polish
• Socks
• Scarves
• Gloves
• Mittens
• Beanies/Hats
In addition, we will be putting small cookie/treat plates together for the residents of the shelter and walk-in guests. Homemade cookies/treats are great this year along with individually wrapped store-purchased cookies and candies. Just for your information the number of residents, now on site, has increased from 9 in 2023 to 15 in 2024.
If you are unable to attend, we will be receiving items at the office (3130 W. Overton Road), during the following days: Monday - Thursday, December 9th - 12th (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) & Friday, December 13 (8:30 to noon).
Thank you in advance for your participation!
Women’s Ministry Team
A big thank you to all the women who came out for our Jubilee Work Project in November!
Ladies, just a reminder that part 2 of the "Saved" Bible study by Nancy Guthrie will begin on Thursday, January 9 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. in the Community Room. If you have any questions please contact Sheree Dennee at dsdennee@msn.com
No Hope Saturday Mini-Conference in December. In January we have a special Women's Mini- Conference on Saturday, January 25. More info to come.
Lynne Hooge, HopeKids Director
lhooge@hopetucson.com
December is such a wonderful month to celebrate the birth of our Savior!
We hope you can join us at our Family Winter Wonderland on December 7th. It will be a lot of fun! Be sure to sign up by December 1st.
Our preschool through 5th grade HopeKids will be singing in church on December 22nd. We are so thankful for Karen Tvrdy, who orchestrated the motions for the songs and has been teaching the kids on Sundays. It will be a special performance! We will have a rehearsal that morning at 8:45 a.m. Check your email for links to the songs, so that the children can be practicing at home too. We will be singing “What a Glorious Night” by Sidewalk Prophets and “Candy Cane” by Mary Rice Hopkins.
Bible App “Kid’s Bible Experience”- Did you know that the YouVersion Bible App by Life Church has a daily devotional for kids? It’s engaging, interactive and has pertinent topics for kids. And it’s FREE! Check it out at the App store.
HopeKids’ Volunteers - Mark your calendars for our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on January 31st, 6:00 - 8:00 pm. We can’t wait to honor you!
Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas!
~Lynne
Our Key Verses this Month:
Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
(Exodus 15:11)
Big Picture Question:
What is God like? God is holy, good and loving.
What We’re Learning:
December 1 (Family Sunday): God Deserves Our Worship; Leviticus 1-4
December 8: The People Didn’t Go Into the Land; Numbers 13-14
December 15: Moses Disobeyed God; Numbers 20
December 22: The Christmas Story – Jesus is Our Greatest Gift, PreK-5th Grade sing in the service
December 29: Special 5th Sunday HopeKids Worship with special guest Timo Towne
December Birthdays
Amelia Walker 12/1
Arbor Nordberg 12/1
Aaron Rockhold 12/2
Kerrigan Smead 12/5
Sage DeVries 12/6
Arabella Walker 12/8
Taitum Hunt 12/9
Cora Brown 12/11
Noelle Brown 12/11
Gavin Roberts 12/11
Harper Nagy 12/12
Brigitta Bellars 12/13
Rory Caffarel 12/13
Cadence McCabe 12/17
Malaya DeGroot 12/24
Molly Collins 12/29
Bring your friends, cousins, co-op and school classmates and neighbors to Awana! Interested in Awana - contact Tim Tolson at timtolson@comcast.net.
Gary Jones, Discipleship Pastor
gjones@hopetucson.com
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
Several groups will be on break during the month of December. Let’s all enjoy the Christmas festivities and remember the “reason for the season”. And let’s strive to be bright lights to our family and friends during this season!
Do you desire to be in a Home Group? Home Groups are a great way for us to grow in community and in our walk with Jesus.
We desire to see everyone connected to a Home Group, so if you are interested in getting plugged in, please contact me
at gjones@hopetucson.com.
Thanks, Home Group Leaders for coming to our luncheon in November!
No Men's Bible Study or Men’s Breakfast in December. Both activities will resume after the New Year. Although we won’t have our usual study and breakfast, we still will have a few fun opportunities for men to connect in December (see below).
Men’s Hike: Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 a.m. in Catalina State Park. Don’t miss the opportunity to be outside, have good conversations, and to take care of the bodies God gave us. It will be a hike that is accessible to most fitness levels. Contact me at gjones@hopetucson.com.
Winter Golf Scramble: Friday, December 20th, starting at 12:00 p.m. at Crooked Tree. Would you like to get together with other guys for fellowship on the golf course? The cost is $60. If you would like to play, email me at gjones@hopetucson.com and let me know your normal 18-hole score so that I can partner you up to make two-man scramble teams.
Led by Carl & Ashley Vereen
As we have walked through November together, we have seen how our great God wants to be in relationship with us. How He pursues you. He loves you. This is especially apparent as we head into December and remember the God who took on flesh to dwell among us, Emmanuel, so that He could make the ultimate sacrifice for us. Choose Him each and every day!
Saturday, December 7: Bible Study @7:00 p.m. in Community Room
Saturday, December 14: Bible Study @7:00 p.m. in Community Room
December 21: No Meeting
December 28: No Meeting
Contact Carl Vereen at carlvereen@gmail.com if you have any questions about HopeLife!
Kevin Mason, Family Pastor
kmason@hopetucson.com
December Calendar for Youth Group:
Sundays, December 1, 8 & 15: Youth Group from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Community Room.
No Youth Group on Sunday, December 22
Youth Outreach - Sunday, December 29 (More info to come!)
Winter Camp is around the corner... Don't miss out!
Location: Emmanuel Pines Camp in Prescott, AZ
Cost: $175.00 per student
Register below.
Bob & Merrillee Whren, Directors
Interested in our Seniors' Ministry? Contact Bob Whren at bwhren@gmail.com.
Our goal is to grow a community of support and encouragement for all families at Hope Community Church who wish to educate their students at home. All are welcome to participate in the activities regardless of what type of school they attend. Children that are not school age are also welcome.
For more details and information on this group, please contact Bre McCabe at bmambros@gmail.com or Tina Edgin at tsedgin@gmail.com.
The Tucson Night to Shine Volunteer link is now live. Don't miss out on this special prom night event that is sure to bless everyone involved. People have already started signing up, so don't wait!
Email tucsonnighttoshine@gmail.com if you have any questions.
To God Be the Glory!
HCC Night to Shine Rep., Jill Manzo
