BRIGHT HOPE LAUREL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
DEDICATED TO SHARING GOD’S LOVE AND FORGIVENESS WITH THE WORLD
Volume 3, Issue 3
From the Pastor’s Desk - It’s a New Day
“Sun is shining (sun is
shining there's no need to
sleep no more) Day is bright,
yeah (The day is bright and
your heart has it's wings to
soar) It's a new day (Time
will be flying, freedom is at
the door) Feel alright, yeah
(You feel alright, yeah, so
what are you waiting for?)
It's a new day
Different then yesterday
All the concepts fighting for
a place in my mind
Well you'll find It's occupied
with the divine” (http://
www.lyricsfreak.com/z/
zoegirl/#share).
For those not my age, you
may not recognize the lyrics
above. They are from a band
that sang together from 2000-
2006. It was a group of fired
up and sold out Christian
girls who wanted the world to
know of their Savior: Jesus
Christ. The group was named
to sing about what they
desired: life in Christ.
For them, the chance to help
tell others about Christ meant
that it was not just them who
would have a “New Day” but
that through them, many may
experience newness in Christ.
Last December we met at
church and worked on a
newness here. We discussed
who we are in Christ and
what we can do to serve as
Jesus served.
As many of you know, this
has started with our
upcoming Friendship Sunday
breakfast/service and with us
touching base with those we
have lost contact with. Yet it
doesn’t stop there.
As the year progresses, we
ask for your prayers as we
work inwardly strengthening
our own spiritual strength
through small groups, prayer,
Bible Study, movie nights for
the children and teens, and
sharing with those among us
in need.
We also hope to reach
outwardly by greeting
visitors to our community,
providing meals for those in
need, participating in public
events like the parades,
continuing hosting concerts,
actively praying for those
around us in need … yet this
is only the beginning!
February, 2011
love you feel flows out of
Special points of
you as we together go out Interest
into this world each week
with our “nets in hand”  The United Methodist Men
sharing love, mercy, grace, would like to invite all within
peace, joy … being the hands our church family to our annual
and feet of our Savior and meal at the Farmer’s Daughter
becoming what we are called on Saturday, February 12th
to be: Salt and Light for the (Snow day is the 19th).
world.
Once Jesus said that the
fields were ripe but the
harvesters where too few.
May that never be so here at
BHL. May we always have
“tools in hands”. May we
always “plant seeds.” May
we forever be good and
faithful servants of the
Almighty King.
Rev. Johnson
Inside this issue:
FEBRUARY SERMONS 2
FINANCIAL REPORT 2
THOSE SERVING IN 3
WORSHIP (FEBRUARY)
“FACE REALITY, CHOOSE 4
FAITH”
MONTHLY CALENDAR
INSERT
 Scripture and Sermons
Feb. 6 HOLY COMMUNION - “Hunger Pot” Offering
Scripture Lesson: Matthew 5:13-20
Sermon: “When the Light Goes Out”

Feb. 13 Scripture Lesson: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon: “Stay at Home Dad”

Feb. 20 Friendship Sunday

Feb. 27 Scripture Lesson: Matthew 6:24-34

Sermon: “A Sustainable Life”

ATTENDANCE AND FINANCIAL GIVING

January 2011

Average Attendance: 53*

Regular Giving : $ 15724.15**

Average Regular Giving: $ 1931.04** (per week)

Designated Giving: $ 89.43 (Hunger Pot)

$ 25.00 (Student Day)

($ 2,078.15 per week is needed to meet our church budget.)

*This average does not include our snow day on January 9th, 2011.
**$8000.00 of this is from a withdrawal from the UM Foundation. This amount is not included
in the average giving above.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Rich Ashley, Lay Leader

GREETERS: USHERS:

6 Ed and Carolyn Ponder 6 Don and Sheri Mathis

13 Harold and Dixie Tipton 13 Lisa and Mark Anderson
20 Angela Fox and Sherry Lesley 20 Dot Cody and Marsha Boyd
27 Mike and Jenny Miller 27 Liz Benjamin and Scott Crandall

OFFERTORY PRAYER: Rich Ashley, Lay Leader

SCRIPTURE READERS: NURSERY/PRE-SCHOOL:

6 Nicole Johnson 6 Angela Fox

13 Tom Wrenn 13 Liz Benjamin
20 20 Judy Womble
27 Rich Ashley 27 Marsha Boyd

CHILDREN’S TIME: Jenny Miller, Dixie Tipton, Rev. Johnson, and Cammie Monroe

CHILDREN’S CHURCH: Carolyn Ponder; Lisa Anderson

“TWEENS CLASS”: Kathy Wrenn, Lois Lynn Bellemare, & Cammie Monroe

COMMUNION STEWARDS: Dr. Ernie and Frances Powell

COUNTERS:

6 Don Mathis and Assistant

13 John Hamrick and Assistant
20 Rich Ashley and Assistant
27 Don Mathis and Assistant

AUDIO VISUAL: Danny Burnette and Brian Dodge

If you are unable to serve when indicated, please ask someone to take your place .
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SERVE IN ANY CAPACITY, please tell the Pastor.
THANK YOU for your service and dedication to Bright Hope Laurel United Methodist Church!
 Tuesday February 01 2011
Posted by Tom Holladay

“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking
into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matthew 8:23-24 (NLT)

Today‟s devotional is by Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback Church and author of „The
Relationship Principles of Jesus.‟
If you are going to deal with worry and anxiety, the first thing you have to do is face reality.
In Matthew 8, we see the reality of the situation that Jesus and the disciples faced. What they went
"The question is how
through shows us the reality of what we have to face when life doesn’t go the way we plan.
can we keep from
They faced a sudden storm. This is a picture for us of unexpected problems. We often don’t
worrying when life is
know what direction a problem is going to come from or where we will be when it hits.
overwhelming and it
If you build your life around the belief that you’ll be okay this year as long as nothing goes
feels like God is slow in
wrong, you’re going to lose. Because something will always go wrong.
They faced waves. Waves in our life are overwhelming circumstances. For the disciples, the
answering?"
waves in the midst of the storm were higher than their boat. They had overwhelming
circumstances. And the same thing happens to us. A storm hits our life and the
circumstances of it leave us wondering, “How am I going to face that?”
They had a boat. This is a picture for us of inadequate resources. The boat wasn’t big enough to hold the waves that were
coming. We face the same situation.
If only we had all the money in the world, then everything would be fine. But we don’t. If only we had all the time in the world,
then everything would be fine. But we don’t. That’s just reality, and saying anything else is a lie.
Jesus was asleep in the boat. Here were the disciples in the midst of a storm and almost ready to drown, and Jesus, the one
they knew could make a difference, was asleep.
This is a picture of how many of us feel when we are facing a genuine problem in life. We don’t know what to do or where to
turn, and we know God knows what we’re going through. The worse it gets, the more we wonder, “God, where are you in all
of this? Why don’t you do something to change the situation?”
The question is how can we keep from worrying when life is overwhelming and it feels like God is slow in answering?
Anxiety wears you out and it shortens your life, but if you have no other answers, you are going to keep worrying. Many people think
the answer to worry is to somehow pretend that there is nothing to worry about. But the only way to deal with worry effectively is to
face reality and then choose to face reality with faith.

Taken from http://profile.purposedriven.com/dailyhope/post.html?contentid=5725 and used with permission.