From the Pastor’s Desk

In his State of the Union address our President, Mr. Obama, related that “the American Dream is in danger”; but, as Chris-

tian citizens in America our joy and peace has never depended on health, wealth, and prosperity but on the grace and love of

God: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the

power of the Holy Spirit” (Ro.15:13). The fact of the matter is, if the truth be known, we are, even in a recession among the

richest people in the entire world as a nation and as individuals. If anyone has ever had a chance to visit anywhere in the world

and see how “the other half” really lives and then come home, you have to ask, as I did while growing up and seeing others in a large inner

city, “Why do I have so much? Why do my family and friends at school have so much? The roles could have been so easily reversed and I

could have been born in any other country. How come God chose to allow us to be born into such “luxury” compared to many, even more

than most in the rest of the world?”

The verses along with many others that drove me to reconsider the direction and purpose for my life almost 30 years ago came from

Luke 6, 12 and 18: “But woe to you who are rich…Woe to you who are well fed now…Woe to you when all men speak well of

you…”(6:24,25,26). “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and with the one who has been entrusted with

much, much more will be asked” (12:48). “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God” (18:24). As hard as it is for us to admit

we live in a wealthy country, and even though we don’t admit it, we are a very spoiled and rich nation with much treasure, time, and talents.

Worldwide, every single day (24 hrs.), 16,000 children die of starvation and 3,000 more in the world (mostly in Africa) die of malaria,

which is preventable and treatable. 143 million children are abandoned and living in orphanages around the world, and this year, 11 million

of them will die either from hunger or treatable/preventable diseases. Another 8 ½ million children are selling their bodies for sex or treated

as “slaves” and 2.3 million are living with HIV.

We can say to ourselves, “They should have known better than to find themselves in those conditions,” or “That’s just their tough luck,”

or we can ask God to help us see the need and react as God leads personally and corporately. By the way, the world’s population today is

approximately 6.8 billion people with 2.3 billion “professing” Christians. If only just less then 10% of all “professing” Christians would

take care of just one more child, the orphan population worldwide would disappear. It could require more work on our part, inconvenience,

a commitment, or it may cost us our “free” time.

We can ask ourselves, “What are we doing for Christ’s glory? What kind of

lives are we living? What proof is there that we are genuinely grateful for the cost

of having our sins forgiven and taken care of once for all, forever, in Jesus Christ

by faith only?” “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with ac-

tions and truth” (I John 3:18) Looking ahead to our year together, ask God, “How

do You want us to use all our resources for Your glory? Please Lord, show us

even if it seems radical to the world. We want to be good stewards of all You give

us, in Jesus name, Amen.”

Your pastor only and always by grace alone, John

A Publication of New Hope Presbyterian Church (PCA), Abbeville, SC February

The Rev. John R. Fastenau, Pastor 2012

OUR MISSION IN WORSHIP To glorify God by exalting Christ while using Biblical elements as interpreted in the rich tradition of the Reformed Faith.

By Reformed, we mean that we are of the Calvinistic heritage and ever seeking to conform our beliefs and lives to the Word of God.

Notes from the President… Naoma Nelsen

“For Zion’s sake I will not rest and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep silent, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.” Isaiah 62:1

Please join us for the Calvary Presbytery WIC

annual meeting, March 3, at Second Presbyterian

Church in Greenville. We will be electing new offi-

cers for the PresWIC council, as well as voting on

proposed revisions to the bylaws. Also, the New

Hope WIC will be electing a new president and secre-

tary at the March meeting. Please prayerfully consider

if you are willing to serve in one of these positions.

New Hope Presbyterian Church

Presbyterian Church in America

136 Highway 71

Abbeville, SC 29620

(864) 366-5684

Email: newhopepca@wctel.net

www.nhpres.com Opportunities for Worship & Service

Sunday 9:30 a.m. Prayer Meeting

9:45 a.m. Sunday School

10:30 a.m. Fellowship Time

11:00 a.m. Morning Worship

12:00 noon Church-Wide Lunch

1:30 p.m. Afternoon Worship

Wed. 6:30 p.m. Various Meetings & Ministries

Officers

Session

John Cook

Pat Hodge Barry Jones

Wayne Sears

Deacon

Richard Culbreth Glenn Ellis

Owen Uldrick

A New Website Welcomed Submitted by: Barry Jones

New Hope’s new website has been up and running since about mid-November. At the time of this writing there are 36 members who have

registered. They are not necessarily members of New Hope but they are members of the site. Membership to the site gives additional rights to

see prayer requests, view photo albums and make comments under the Pastor’s Desk section. Below is a short overview of the website. If you

have internet access and have not registered, we hope you’ll sign up so you can participate in the member only sections of the site as well.

Home page – Tells the site visitor who we are and how to get in touch with our pastor, or the church office with links to the PCA home

page. Also includes a scripture verse of the day and a link to the weather channel.

History – Shows the condensed history of New Hope written by Mrs. Frances Culbreth in 1999.

Bulletins/Bell Rope – Past copies of the weekly bulletin, monthly Bell Rope and also letters from our missionaries are found here.

Calendar – An electronic version of the Bell Rope calendar. Here you can click on events to find locations and click on names to wish the per-

son a happy birthday or anniversary. You can also see the nursery schedule for each Lord’s Day.

Location – Overview of where New Hope is located in Abbeville and there is a map link for driving directions to the church.

Pastor’s Desk – Here members of the site can post kind and constructive comments to our Pastor regarding sermons or lessons. Intended to be a

blog section for “conversations” among the members of the site regarding sermons, lessons, books read, etc.

Prayer Request – By far the most used portion of the site. Our prayer requests are not being emailed as before but posted here. You cannot see

these without site membership.

Guestbook – Here is where a “guest” perhaps surfing the net can leave a comment. Or a visitor to one of our services can later leave a com-

ment.

Officers – A page showing our Elders and Deacons.

Sermons – Here you can go to hear recordings of our morning worship services. Not just the morning sermon but the entire service from Prel-

ude to Benediction.

Photos – A photo album section. Members can upload photos into an album for other members to enjoy. A pictorial directory album is in-

cluded.

We Believe – Gives a statement of what we believe borrowed from the PCA website with a link to the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Continued on page 2

God’s people…. are not victims in a broken world but victors

walking in Christ triumph. Christ-followers are overcomers, not the overwhelmed. In-

formed by God’s inerrant Word, they see life in biblical perspective, making decisions with clarity, confidence, and courage.

Searching God’s Word and surrendering to God’s Spirit enables Christians to under-

stand and respond to the circumstances of life in a broken world. Doubt is banished by confi-

dence, confusion is replaced by clarity, and fear gives way to courage as we anticipate the ex-pansion of God’s kingdom in this world and

the glory of the King in the world to come. Taken from: Tabletalk

Sharing Notes

Dear New Hope family,

I would like to thank you all for the gift card that was given to me. My contribution is just a small one and

without the help of many others, it would not get done. My work

is only possible because He ordains it. Once again thank you all -

we enjoyed our evening out as well.

Donna Bailey

NOTE FROM THE SESSION

The Session and Deacons will meet February 15 at 7 pm. Please

let the officers know of specific prayer request or any spiritual

needs you may have.

A Monthly Devotion Submitted by John Latham

TRANSFORMING YOUR PRAYER LIFE

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…

JAMES 4:3

What do the following bestseller titles communicate to you about

our society: The Virtue of Selfishness and Looking Out for Number

One? What does it mean to you that we buy books like these in

droves? Tragically, selfishness characterizes our age. Our society has

hurled God from the throne and crowned self as monarch. Then

we’ve turned around and treated God as the conduit to all our de-

sires. We “conjure up” God as if He were a genie in a bottle, com-

manding Him to manipulate the world to our liking.

But we shouldn’t treat God as a means to whatever we want. He

isn’t a means to our own ends; He Himself is the end we should

seek. If we think otherwise, we should ask the Lord to change our

selfish hearts.

Selfishness is at the root of many an unanswered prayer. When

we “ask amiss,” we ask for fulfillment of our selfish desires, not for

the furtherance of God’s kingdom. But Christ showed us, through

the Lord’s Prayer (found in Matthew 6), that we must seek God’s

kingdom first, not our own. The first petition in the Lord’s Prayer is

“Hallowed be Thy name.” We should make it our priority to praise

and honor God when we pray. The second petition reads, “Thy king-

dom come.” We should diligently beseech Jesus Christ to bring His

kingdom into this world and into our lives. The third petition is “Thy

will be done.” We need to lay our will at Jesus’ feet and ask Him to

fulfill His purposes through our lives.

Today pray, “Lord, what would you have me do this day?” Then

make yourself available to do His will and further His kingdom in

whatever way He desires. Pray every day, focusing your petitions

not on yourself but on your King.

Seven days without prayer makes one weak.

ALLEN E. BARLETT

From: New Every Morning by Dr. D. James Kennedy

Pray without Ceasing

First and foremost, when we pray God says to “keep asking the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, that He may give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, SO THAT WE MAY KNOW HIM BETTER.” Ephesians 1:17

Pray for our nation and its leaders; for true spiritual revival; for convic-tion of sin; and turning back to God.

Pray for our missionaries: Guillermo & Jennie Salinas & family, Gary & Robin Alward & family, Rick Brawner, Stephen Speaks, Rob Hamby, Will & Martha Faires, Gary Watanabe, Paul Henry, Mo Montenegro, Kristen Trace .

Pray for those in the Nursing Home: Ruby Link, Elise Kroeze, Henry McCord and Bea Finnan.

Pray for Gin Bailey, Anna Lou McCord, Howard Culbreth, Irene Ellis, Joyce Cooper, Sunni Wickiser (cancer) ,and Terry Love in their various struggles.

Pray for New Hope: Session, Deaconate, and Committees.

A New Website Welcomed….continued from last page

Site members can contact any other site member directly and privately via the website. By clicking on your name

after you have signed in you will be taken to your home profile page. Along the top you will see a “Browse all members”

link. Click here to see a page showing all the members. You can click on a member and you’ll be taken to their profile

page where you can write them a note publicly on their “wall” or you can send them a message privately without the need

for an email address.

The Elders and Deacons of New Hope collectively determined a new website was needed for New Hope. Our site can

be modified as we grow and is very interactive. We hope this update and brief overview was helpful. It is our hope and

prayer the site will be an instrument of God to be used by Him in many ways.

Visit us online anytime and anywhere in the world at: www.nhpres.com

Welcome Newest Members

George, Karen, Josh, and David Barton The Barton’s come to us from Massachusetts. They have purchased a farm in Abbeville County and are raising dairy cattle. David has served as pastor in the Reformed Baptist Church.

Mrs. Lillian Evans Mrs. Evans is the mother of Pat Evans. Pat and his wife, Pearl joined New Hope February 13, 2011. Mrs. Evans was raised Baptist and as an adult was a mem-ber of the Catholic church. In Pat’s own words, “She has come “home.”

Welcome Covenant Child Welcome Missionaries

A baby shower was held for Julienne Marina Gamble at New Hope following

the Morning Worship Service, Sunday, January 15, 2012.

Julienne is the adopted daughter of Bruce and Eva Gamble.

Welcome Precious Covenant Child!

Ryan and Karen Culbertson, along with their chil-

dren Elanor “Ellie” Grace (7) and John Thomas (5)

visited New Hope Sunday, January 22, 2012. The

Culbertson's have accepted a call to serve in Rey-

nosa, Mexico with the MTW/BEAMM (Border

Evangelism and Mercy Ministries) and Isaiah 55

Deaf Ministries. Please pick up their card and learn

of God’s work in their lives. They covet our prayers.