A Congregation of the Florida-Bahamas Synod.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Check out the websites from our sister churches:    Living Waters and Holy Trinity    

NEW FM RADIO STATION.  Anyone can now listen to any of the worship services in their vehicles by tuning into FM Radio station 88.3, from our parking lot.  Please join us Saturday afternoon 5:30pm, the Sunday morning 8:30 AM parking lot service or the Sunday morning 10:00 AM worship services.

PLEASE GO TO SERMON SNIPPETS TO SEE PASTOR JEN'S FULL WORSHIP MESSAGES.

16th Sunday After Pentecost Sept. 19-20, 2020

Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Hope Lutheran Church,   Since the beginning of January, our Congregation Council has focused on the three great listenings in order to purpose our God-given purpose statement here at Hope where we are led by the Spirit to serve God and share Christ’s love with all.

The three great listenings are both simple and profound, inviting us to keep our ears and our hearts open to the direction that God is sharing through his Word, his Spirit, other people, and the world. The first great listening is when we listen to God-listening for God’s direction in the Word as we hear it read aloud or read it in our devotions, as we study it in Scripture discussion, as we hear it preached and sung and prayed in worship, as we experience it anew as we share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Listening to God is essential for us on our path as disciples of Jesus so that God’s guidance, God’s correction, God’s encouragement, God’s boldness can embolden us as we strive to be Jesus’ hands and feet and voice and heart in this world. We listen to God.

The second great listening is to listen to each other in our congregational family.  We share the miracles we see and the God Sightings we experience with each other to support each other on our journey. We listen to the concerns of our brothers and sisters as we pray for them and with them. We listen to each other in worship as we greet each other, show care for one another, extend the peace in waves and bows and words of peace shared, and join our voices together in our praise of God and God’s good creation. We listen to each other.

The third great listening is our listening to our community. Once we have been encouraged and sustained and forgiven and loved by Confession and Forgiveness, Word, and Sacrament, we are then sent out into the world to listen to our brothers and sisters. Listening means we see and pray for and remember and seek to fulness the needs of our brothers and sisters near and far. We might see needs expressed in social media like Facebook and we pray for them and with them. We see neighbors expressing needs and concerns and we reach out in love to support and assist as best we can. We share those needs with our Pastor and the Congregation Council so that we can, as a family, respond to those concerns for our neighbors. We listen to the community.  Listening to God, listening to each other, and listening to our neighbors helps us to discern where God is leading us as his people so that we can continue to make a difference in this broken world. So, my friends-KEEP LISTENING!  I am listening with you and praying for each of you ~~~ Pr. Jen+