Rooted
We’re still worshiping from home! Joe & Crystal lead us in song, and Pastor Rich explores biblical images for where we can draw life and strength from to help us in these unusual times.
Today’s audio contains the entire service, including segments pre-recorded at people’s homes.
The message begins around the 18 minute mark, if you want to skip to it.
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Nobody Is A Nobody: Just Passing By
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Message begins at 13:08
Think-Big-Think-Small (by Pastor Josh Broward)
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Message begins at 7:21
Top Ten – God First And Only
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Message begins at 11
Grand Opening Celebration – Sunday, Sept. 20
It’s a big day! Not only is it our 9th Anniversary as a church, but we’re also celebrating the grand opening of our new home behind Harley Davidson on Hwy 30! We hope you’ll join us!
Join us at 9:00 or 10:30 for worship (more on that here).
Then stick around, because at 11:30, the party starts! We’ll have a picnic lunch right there behind Harley Davidson, complete with dogs, brats, and burgers on the grill. We’ll have a moonwalk and 4-in-1 combo inflatable for the kids (and kids at heart). We’ll have the bags game, the ladder toss game, plus ping pong, air hockey, and foosball inside.
So come on out, visit this new church, and meet some of your neighbors. It’ll be all kinds of fun!
Simple Christmas
Christmas doesn’t have to be complicated.
If you’d like a little less stress and a little more joy, then join us this December for 3 simple messages and a candlelight Christmas Eve service.
Sundays at 9:30 am:
- Dec. 7 – simple celebration
- Dec. 14 – simple relationships
- Dec. 21 – simple gifts
And then, Dec. 24, join us at 7:00 pm for a relaxed service of Christmas carols, the Christmas story, and Holy Communion.
To learn more about Living Hope, contact Pastor Rich at 219-462-1245 or rich@livinghope.info.
Backstory: Genesis
Every good character has a backstory. In movies, books, graphic novels — a character’s backstory is essential for knowing why they do what they do. So… why do we do what we do? What is our backstory?
This summer, we’re spending some time going all the way back to the beginning, to the part of the Bible that gives the backstory for all of us: Genesis. What we discover there gives us insight into who we are, why we’re here, and where we’re going. These are the stories that shape us all. We hope you’ll join us!
Softball Deadline
Sunday, April 29
Wanting to play softball with the Living Hope team? Then make sure you talk to Ben Polhemus by Sunday, April 29. If this is your game, we would hate for you to miss out!
Contact Ben (email / phone) to register, ask questions, etc.
DQ Treat Night
Wednesday, May 23, 6:30-8:00 pm
At the Dairy Queen on Sturdy and Laporte
Everyone is invited!
What could be better than a DQ dipped cone and a chance to meet some other folks from Living Hope. Unless you prefer Blizzards. Or Dilly Bars. Or milkshakes. Or…
WIRED Game Night
Friday, June 29, 7:00-9:30 pm
At Jonathan & Jill Wilson’s house (2656 Calaveras Dr., Valpo – Google map)
For students 6th-12th grade
The last Friday of the month is WIRED Youth Game Night. There’s always food, there are always good games, and it’s always fun!
Feb. 4, 2007 – The Best Sex You’ll Ever Have
(back to main Good News About Sex page)
THE BEST SEX YOU’LL EVER HAVE
February 4, 2007
GOD CREATED SEX!
…male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.†Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV)
Why?
1. To produce children
2. To promote unity and intimacy
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (NIV)
3. To provide pleasure
Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving doe, a graceful deer. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Proverbs 5:18-19 (NLT)
Also see the Song of Songs… a whole book in the Bible about it!
GOD WANTS YOU TO HAVE GREAT SEX!
1. So he created the perfect context: marriage.
Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations? Certainly – but only within a certain context. It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 (The Message)
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25 (NIV)
The best sex you’ll ever have is in the safety of a committed marriage relationship.
Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. Hebrews 13:4 (The Message)
Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me – a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others. I do, though, tell the unmarried and widows that singleness might well be the best thing for them, as it has been for me. But if they can’t manage their desires and emotions, they should by all means go ahead and get married. The difficulties of marriage are preferable by far to a sexually tortured life as a single. 1 Corinthians 7:5-9 (The Message)
2. So he has given us guidance in the Bible.
The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality – the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.†Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 (The Message)
• Sex isn’t all about you! Satisfy your spouse!
Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it’s for the purposes of prayer and fasting – but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it. I’m not, understand, commanding these periods of abstinence –only providing my best counsel if you should choose them. 1 Corinthians 7:5-6 (The Message)
• Don’t withhold sex unless (1) it’s temporary, (2) you both agree, and (3) it’s for the purpose of spiritual growth.
3. So he gives us a fresh start.
Don’t you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers—none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God. There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NLT)
Christmas: Based on a True Story
December 3-24, 2006
Love it or hate it, it’s that time of year again. Christmas. What’s it about? What is it, exactly, that we’re supposed to be celebrating? Brave the weather and join us for this four-part series as we discover ways that the Christmas story intersects with each of our stories.
Don’t miss Christmas Eve…
Sunday, December 24, your kids will be with you in the service, because Santa Claus is coming to tell the true story of St. Nick! Join us at 9:00 or 10:30 am for the service, and then stick around to get your picture taken with ol’ St. Nick.
There will be no evening service this Christmas Eve.
Teen Christmas Party
Friday, December 1, 6:30-9:30 pm
at the Wilsons’ house
Two things you need to bring (besides yourself):
1. Your favorite Christmas cookie/candy/treat to share.
2. A wrapped “white elephant” gift for the gift exchange. It needs to be a gift that anyone can enjoy (or at least laugh at), and you can’t spend more than $3 on it, so be creative!
(If you don’t know a “white elephant” gift is, Google can help.)
If you need directions or more information, please contact Pastor Danae Hezlep (email / phone).
Preschool Christmas Party
Saturday, December 16, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
at Rich & Jen Ortiz’s house
701 Jefferson St., Valparaiso
(Google Maps / Mapquest)
Parents, if your kids are 2-5 years old, then this is for you!
(Well, it’s mostly for your kids, but you get the idea.)
Lunch will be served, and every child will go home with a prize. RSVP is required for planning purposes, so please contact Pastor Danae Hezlep (email / phone) to let her know if you can make it.
Christmas Caroling
Tuesday, December 19, 6:30-7:30 pm
at Whispering Pines, 3301 N. Calumet Ave., Valparaiso
(Google Maps / Mapquest)
Help bring some holiday cheer to the residents of this nursing home! We’ll bring the song sheets. You bring your smile and a willingness to sing, even if it’s off-key. Wearing the loud Christmas sweater you got from Aunt Millie last year is optional.
(Afterward, we’ll probably stop by Culvers or ColdStone for dessert.)