Five Choices in Chaotic Times

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:15–17 (ESV) Fear is cruel master. It grips and paralyzes us. It causes us to act irrationally. It isolates and imprisons us, but these words from Paul are words of gospel freedom. We know what family we are a part and we are assured of our relationship to God. That reality provides a bedrock for us to move through a fearful world. Especially in light of current uncertainty we need to understand and trust these truths. This week I want to address it directly as we consider this moment. Here's what is going to happen. We are monitoring the situation and have been listening to local authorities. We are planning on meeting at 10:30 am for worship together. We will be suspending our normal greeting time and not take communion on our normal end-of-the-month schedule for now. If you are sick or have a compromised immune system we ask you to stay home. If you are in a vulnerable state due to pre-exisiting conditions or age, we are encouraging you to stay home. We will work hard to make sure all of the service is streamed starting at 10:30 so all can connect. We will work to post the service online as soon as possible afterward. We will be considering other Hope activities on a case-by-case basis such as youth or community groups. We will communicate about those soon. Watch the FB group for the most immediate info. We have limited info on non-Hope activities (outreaches), but anticipate most will be postponed or cancelled. We will let you know when we know.