Abiding
“If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:6–8)
In many modern translations of the Bible, the word “abide” has been replaced by the word “remain”. It is nearly the same concept, ‘abiding’ and ‘remaining’. Both of these terms work for portraying Jesus’ command to believers to stay connected to Him.
When we first come to Christ, we turn from sin and trust Jesus. At that moment, He indwells us, and we have relationship with Him. We are united with His death and united to His eternal life. From then on, we are commanded to do things to maintain that close relationship – to remain/abide! Things like connecting ourselves to HIS WORD through Bible reading, study, and memorization. We build relationship with Him through prayer. We learn more about Him through fellowship, worshipping together, and being a part of a Home-Group.
As we do these things, we will be fruitful, bring glory to the Father, and show ourselves to be true disciples. If we don’t stay connected, we will not be fruitful. The grapevine in ancient cultures was useless as a wood. You could not build with it; you could not make pegs with it; you could not bake bread or keep warm from its fire. The grapevine only was useful when it was producing fruit. This is why Jesus wants us to remain connected in every way to the Lord. If we don’t, we just are not good for anything!
How can we do this? One simple way to stay engaged with the Lord is to make a commitment to daily Bible reading. I recently read a scientific study that found that people that read their Bibles four or more times per week are: 228% more likely to share their faith, 59% less likely to view pornography, 30% less likely to struggle with loneliness, etc. The research showed that daily Bible reading (especially when paired with prayer and church attendance) showed a consistent drop on destructive habits compared to those who did not practice the habit of daily Bible reading.
Let’s work hard to make daily Bible reading part of our individual life. Look for opportunities to read the Bible as families before dinner and together with our Home-Groups. It is one of the key ingredients to abide/remain with Jesus!
~Pastor Randy
National Day of Prayer - Thursday, May 1 from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room.
The theme verse this year is:
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
We will be praying for what the National Day of Prayer calls the 7 pillars of influence in our culture:
Family
Media & Entertainment
Church
Military & First Responders
Education
Government
Business
Please come and join us for this powerful time of prayer!
Jace Gordon Burrows
Christian Kah
Worship Pastor
ckah@hopetucson.com
Hey Hope,
It was a blessing to worship with you over Easter last month. We had such a sweet Good Friday service at our Overton property and then an amazing Easter Sunday service. What an awesome privilege it is to worship together on these days celebrating and remembering Christ’s death and resurrection. If you were unable to attend the Good Friday service, I just wanted to include a few pictures from that evening.
Looking forward, I am excited to continue singing songs of praise together with God’s people! Don’t forget to check out our Spotify playlist so you can be prepared to sing along with the team.
Blessings,
Pastor Christian
HopeKids raising money for our Easter Projects! They collected $3,568.64. Way to go HopeKids!
Women's Ministry
Suzi King, Director
sking@hopetucson.com
Thanks to all the women who joined us to make journals for the RNR Team and blessing kits for the VBS Team. We had a great time of service and fellowship!
The Fulfillment of Christ
How do Christians follow the Old Testament? All of it? Some of it? What parts? We’ll answer that and take a deeper dive into the gifts of Passover and the Sabbath.
This conference will be taught by Greg Lavine, Co-Lead Pastor at New Life Bible Fellowship
April Marriage Matters Mini Conference
Interested in being baptized? We will be celebrating baptisms on Sunday, June 1. Contact Gina at info@hopetucson.com if you would like to be baptized!
Lynne Hooge, HopeKids Director
lhooge@hopetucson.com
Hello Hope Families!
May 25th is Promotion Sunday!
Our HopeKids that are finishing 1st & 3rd grades will move up to their new classes on May 25th. (The preschoolers starting kindergarten in August will move up on September 14th).
Congratulations to our promoting 5th graders! The promoting 5th graders will attend church for worship on May 25th and then join the middle school class.
Our Key Passage This Month:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 6:23)
Big Picture Question:
What is the fair payment for sin? The fair payment for sin is death.
What We’re Learning:
May 4 (Family Sunday) - God Used Samson; Judges 13-16
May 11 - God Provided for Ruth; Ruth
May 18 - God Provided for Hannah; 1 Samuel 1-3
May 25 - Eli’s Son Disobeyed God; 1 Samuel 4-6
Space is limited and filling up fast! Check your email for the link to sign up or pick up information at HopeKids Check-in on Sundays. For now, registration is only open to our own HopeKids due to limited space. But, we would love Our HopeKids to reach out to their unchurched friends! Please contact me if you know kids that might like to join us. We will let you know if and when we are able to open up to our friends from other churches.
VBS Mission’s Focus: We will be raising money for our friends at To God Be the Glory school in the Philippines again. We want to continue the relationship we have built with them and support them. Our Philippines team will be taking our VBS to do with them in October. There will be a contest between the boys and the girls to see which team can bring in the most money. The winners get to slime the pastors at our finale. Start saving your money now!
Important Dates:
VBS Volunteer Training Lunch – May 4th from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Community Room
If you will be helping the week of VBS, please plan to join us on May 4th to receive important information about VBS and pick up your t-shirt.
VBS Prep Days – May 13th & May 20th from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
We will be preparing materials and working on the set and decorations for VBS
VBS Finale – May 30th from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
We will be wrapping up our fun week with special treats. The team that raises the most money for the To God Be the Glory School will get to slime the pastors that night!
Donations needed!
Thank you for all your generous gifts so far! We could still use Amazon, Walmart, or grocery store gift card donations to purchase remaining supplies and the food for snacks. You can also designate a donation to VBS in the Hope Offering. Also, we need to borrow 4 pop-up canopies. If you are willing to let us use those for VBS, please contact me at lhooge@hopetucson.com.
May Birthdays
Mikey Colella 5/2
Neill Foss 5/2
Wren Bernard 5/4
Paxton Burrows 5/8
Addison Roberts 5/12
Ella Mason 5/15
Ana Sophia Kugler 5/16
Oliver Brown 5/19
Henry Rockhold 5/23
Charlie Schwarz 5/26
Ruger Walker 5/26
A HUGE thank you to our faithful Awana Leaders who served over this past school year! You all are awesome!!
Awana Ministry Director
Tim Tolson
Cubbies Team (4 & 5 year olds)
Teresa Mote - Director
Christian Northrop
Sparks Team (K-2nd grade)
Marilyn Tolson - Director
Dave Braun
Leslie Chambers
Stan Davis
Donna Davis
Diane Jensen
Max Mote
Jessie Northrop
Kim Peak
John Turner
Bethany Walker
Ronnette Williamson
Truth & Training Team (3rd-6th grade)
Tammi Moore - Director
Keith Banales
Gina Braun
Nancy Funk
Tim Pedersen
Mark Seekatz
Teresa Seekatz
Steve Williamson
Grand Prix Participants
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)
HG Leaders, our next leader meeting is Saturday, May 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We'll meet in the Community Room. Our last meeting together at the beginning of March was very encouraging. I loved getting to hear from you all about your experiences currently in your HGs. My hope is that these meetings will fill your cups and not just be another "meeting" that you have to attend. Don't miss out on the next one!
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.
Men’s Breakfast is on Saturday, May 17th from 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. in the Community Room. A few local Gideons will be sharing with us. Gideons International is a ministry that has been instrumental in spreading Bibles all over the world. Also, if you are free, consider arriving an hour early to help out with work projects on the church’s property.
Men's Bible Study will continue to meet on Friday May 2nd and 16th from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. in the Community Room. This Bible Study is a great time to dive into God’s Word, pray, and build relationships with other men. This study is for men of all ages.
Camping Trip! We’ll be having a camping trip for men of all ages and their sons on Friday, June 20th to Saturday, June 21st. This will be an overnight trip in a cool location near Tucson. It will be a great time to bond and enjoy the outdoors!
If you are a young adult, we’d love for you to get connected with others in a similar season of life. We spend time together to grow in community, study God’s Word, pray, eat, and have fun. Join us!
Tuesday, May 6th – No meeting.
Tuesdays, May 13, 20 & 27 – 7:00 p.m. @ the Joneses
For more information contact Gary & Paty Jones – gjones@hopetucson.com.
Thank you to our Hope Family for supporting our 2025 Rock Nest Team. The generous Easter offering and the yard sale donations are helping us pay for our traveling expenses.
Update: We have just completed 6 weeks of training. The next 2 months we will continue heart prep and team building, as well as raising support. Please pray for our team as God prepares our hearts to serve, for one passport to arrive, and for RNR camp staff as they prepare for all the camps this summer. Thank you!
Hope 2025 Rock Nest Ranch Team
Abby Amante
Jake Braeutigam
Beth Bumb
Frank Bumb
Erika Gnagy
Bren Marshall
Uriah Thiessen
Jackson Turner
Valerie Turner
Joel Vereen
Maile Williamson
Makoa Williamson
Marshall Williamson
Ronnette Williamson
Steve Williamson
Kevin Mason, Family Pastor
kmason@hopetucson.com
May Calendar for Youth Group
Sunday, May 4 &18: Youth Group from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Community Room
Sunday, May 11: NO Youth Group (Mother's Day)
Sunday, May 25: Youth Group Off Site - More Information to Come
Sign Up for Youth Summer Camp! Don't miss out!
Miami Missions Team
We will be partnering with a church in Miami to run a VBS program for inner-city kids. Our team of 10 will set out on June 21-28.
Pray that our efforts will...
Build up the local church,
Reach these precious inner-city kids with the hope of the Gospel,
Strengthen the faith of the students on our team.
Our Team
Annie Braeutigam
Jake Braeutigam
Timothy Edgin
Madelyn Fuller
Josh Morgan
Isaiah Peak
Kevin Mason
Joseph Stadelman
Libbie Turner
Makoa Williamson
Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
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.
