I want to recognize that for many who are new to the life of Hood River Alliance Church they may not be familiar with some of the different ways available to give, or be aware of different accounts that we have the ability to give to, or even know who helps steward the funds that are given. So, I’d like to take a moment to talk about those things.
Missional Objective #1
In 2024, we will create a ‘Rule of Life’ that expresses and invites us into the practices we see in Scripture that leads to the ‘Abundant Life’ found only in ‘abiding’ in Jesus. (John 15:1-17)
The Hebrew word for faithfulness is emunah and it used 49 times in the OT. Emunah is used of both God and people when describing faithfulness. The word emunah itself comes from the Hebrew root aman, which means to securely trust or rely upon and from which we get our word "Amen."
Some would argue that because tithing is an Old Testament practice we are freed from its constraints because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
This moved me not towards more information, but towards reflecting on a freedom experience of my own. I see some parallels in my story, and I believe, though no one’s experience is the same, that we each can feel something deeply when thinking of a freedom experience of our own.
One writer has said, “The mother love is like God’s love; He loves us not because we are lovable, but because it is His nature to love, and because we are His children.”
While there is no requirement to do so, many of our community groups take a break from weekly meetings during the summer or, roughly, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We think that shifting the focus from a weekly study to other gatherings creates some great opportunities to increase a group’s effectiveness. Your group may want to consider some of these ideas.
Hello, I’m Brian and I spoke at the annual meeting about the Pastoral Search Team (PST) process. Since that was a fairly comprehensive update, I am adapting my talk as a blog post for any in the church to speak directly to those that weren’t able to attend. As a Pastoral Search Team (PST) we want to commit to a high level of transparency and communication with the church body.
One of my desires as an intentional interim pastor is to seek to maximize a congregation’s understanding and insight into how to read the Bible to best understand it’s context which will help to inform our response and application of the text.
Good afternoon, and welcome to our long-awaited annual meeting. We have been on a transition journey for the last almost 2 years and though most of us have been on the ride together and have experienced the different terrain that we have covered, Joe and I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the faithfulness of God to lead us in measurable ways into being a transformed community that loves God and loves others by being fully engaged in the life and mission of Jesus.