…I saw that on Christmas morning y’all are collecting blankets to give to folks who are cold and homeless. Well, I was that homeless man. For 6 years I lived in my car, in shelters, and on the streets. I felt hopeless. Two years ago a group of Christians brought me a blanket and told me about God. Through their kindness, Jesus saved me and he turned my life around.

I’ll be there at your Christmas service. This time I’ll be giving back. I’m bringing some blankets. Thank you for what you’re doing.

-T.A.

Details on our Christmas celebration, click here. To comment on this post, click the “comments” button in the top right.

1. We will be celebrating the incarnation and birth of Christ through song, Scripture, and creative ministry.

2. You bring a blanket as your gift to Christ. We want to collect hundreds of new and gently used blankets that will be distributed to families and individuals who are homeless and cold in and around our city.

3. We will be giving away some cool gifts to those in attendance at our Christmas celebration, including a brand new Kindle Fire.

So come, invite a friend, and join us on Christmas @ 10am at Hope. Bring a blanket as your gift to Christ — it will enable us to warm hundreds of those who are homeless and cold all around our city.

Jesus said, “…when I was in need of warmth, you clothed me. For whatever you do for the least of these, you do it unto Me.”

Click the “comments” button in the top right corner to post your thought or comment.

Here are a few pictures from the Christmas gathering…Enjoy.

Great moments often catch us aware, usually they’re hidden in what might look like small, insignificant moments…Here’s a story from a taxi driver…Enjoy.

Because I drive the night shift, my cab often becomes a moving confessional. Passengers climb in, sit behind me in total anonymity, and tell me about their lives. I encounter people whose lives amaze me, some ennoble me, others make me laugh and sometimes make me weep. However, none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.

Responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town, I
assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers or someone who had just
had a fight with a lover or a worker heading to an early shift at some
factory in the industrial part of town.

When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, then drive away. But I have seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their
only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always go to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked. “Just a minute”, answered a frail, elderly voice. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her late 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out
of a 1940’s movie.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware. “Would you carry my bag to the car?” she asked. I took the bag and then turned to assist her. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing”, I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.” “Oh, you’re such a good boy”, she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?” “It’s not the shortest way,” I quickly answered. “Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.” I looked in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.” I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of the sun creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.” We drove in silence to the address she had given me. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were concerned and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into her purse. “Nothing,” I replied. “You have to make a living,” she answered. “There are other passengers,” I responded and almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,” she said. “Thank you!” I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the
rest of that day, I could hardly talk.

What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

I don’t think I’ve done anything more important in my life. We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. However, great moments often catch us unaware – beautifully wrapped in what others may consider as small insignificant moments.

During the middle ages, churches would sometimes hire mercenaries to fight their battles. Now that would be a little strange today, but it was common practice back then. The church or the priest would sometimes have to fight a battle, so they would hire some soldiers to do their dirty work. But before that mercenary could be sent into battle, the church needed to baptize them. Again, pretty strange and backwards if you think about it.

But what happened next was even stranger… The mercenaries would hold their swords out of the water while the rest of their bodies were submerged, so that God would not control their weapons. Isn’t that interesting? The person was literally saying, “God, you can do what you want with me, but I don’t want you in control of my sword…I’m in control of that.”

A lot of people approach their faith like that. They want to follow God, only not in this area or that area. And many times, finances is that one area. It’s like we’re being baptized, but holding our wallet out of the water…like we’re saying, “God…I’l follow you in all these areas…except when it comes to money.”

I think those mercenaries missed something, and I think we miss something when we don’t trust God and follow God in ALL the areas of our life.

This month, let’s obey God completely, and give generously and cheerfully.

To give online, click here.

“Pastor, this Sunday I really got blessed…for the first time I realized how much of a Jonah I really am.. Since then, I’ve done some serious soul searching and repentance, and I feel like a big rock has been lifted from my back. Thank you, and may God richly bless you and continue to use you to touch wretched men like me with the gospel.”

Email message I received from one of our members in response to Sunday’s sermon from Jonah 2:1-10. Praising God for his powerful work in the hearts and lives of his people.

Join us at Hope Church for an Easter celebration unlike any other. Don’t miss the powerful praise & worship, creative surprises, and a very special message from Pastor Maurice Stargell.

There will be a special outdoor water baptism, as well as a full-blown Egg-stravaganza / festival. And for the grand finale – a sky high, HOT AIR BALLOON EGG DROP with thousands of treat-filled eggs!

Free, but space is limited. Click HERE for your free tickets!