Ignoring God

In 2 Kings 5, we meet Naaman a commander of the army of Aram.  He was a good commander and was held in favor because of the victory that God brought him.

The King of Israel had a problem.  He was already having border troubles with neighboring states when Naaman, one of the key military leaders of Aram, showed up with a letter from his king requesting a cure for Naaman’s leprosy.  You can imagine the distress that caused, I mean, who has that kind of power?  The text says the king went straight into despair and mourning.  He figured that was an attempt to provoke an invasion of Israel.

But tragically, the King was unaware of a greater problem.  Even though he was part of the Jewish nation he had no concept that God could be called on to help him with his problem.  The king had ignored the gift of God’s presence and power for so long that it never occurred to him to call on God’s prophet, Elisha, for help.

It is a wonder that the king could miss it.  All around him, Elisha had been doing amazing things in God’s name:

• purifying poisoned wells,
• defending Judah and Israel from foreign invasion,
• providing for the needs of a widow,
• restoring life to a child.

These deeds were so incredible that a slave girl in Aram had heard about them and believed, but Israel’s king either didn’t believe the reports or he had his own agenda.  After months or years of avoiding or ignoring Elisha’s witness, the king had lost any conscious respect for God’s presence in Israel.

This is not an unusual problem.  Like the king, we too can move away from God.  People get out of the habit of going to church, or of spending time in the Bible and prayer.  Pretty soon it is easy to lose perspective on what God is doing in our life.  It becomes too easy to ignore God.  The king of Israel ignored the gift of God’s presence and power.  What about you?  What will you do with the gift of God’s presence and power?

Our Adult Sunday school class will meet this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the large Sunday school room.  Please join Lowell Gross and others for a wonderful time around God’s Word!!  We will continue our study of the Acts of the Apostles.  This Sunday we will focus on Acts 25: Paul’s Trial before Festus!!  Please bring your Bible.

Men’s Bible Study

Our Men’s Bible Study meets every Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. in the Community Room at Panera Bread.  Oner the next several weeks we will explore some of the Psalms.  Next Tuesday we will explore Psalm 1.  All men are invited and encouraged to join us!!

Exploring Hope Class

Come to our next Exploring Hope Class!  Exploring Hope is a gathering designed to communicate a brief overview of what is important to us here at Hope, including our history, what we believe, our values, our focus, our direction, and how to get connected.  Our next Exploring Hope Class will be THIS Sunday, April 21st, after worship.  The two-hour class will include lunch in our main Sunday school room.  If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Pastor Glen.  If you plan to attend, please complete the sign-up sheet in the Welcome Center!

• Until someone in the congregation volunteers to be the Coordinator of the Prayer Requests and Praise Report, HCC requests that all individual prayer requests, praises, and updates be emailed to our church administration email address at admin@hopechurchwaynesboro.org  to be included on the weekly report.
• We will make every effort to share all requests for prayers with the understanding that the requests need to be current and active as well. 
• Each prayer request will be listed for four weeks unless we receive a request or update to keep a specific prayer request on the report.  
• At the end of four weeks, prayer requests that have not been updated will be moved to “Request For Continuing Prayers” which will show a listing of names only.  Thank you to everyone for the many ways in which your prayers uphold those on the prayer list.

April Birthdays

Wayne Mahanes (4/19); Roger Graham (4/20)