5/19 Announcements

1. *WELCOME TO HOSANNA! – *If you are a new or returning visitor, please be ushered to the gym after-service to a seat with a welcoming plate sheet, and let our Welcoming Team serve you a meal and a cup of water – free at no cost! Our church lunch is always free for all. It is our joy to serve you! *Today’s menu is delicious Korean curry! Stay with us after-service to break bread. Fill-out a yellow newcomer’s contact card so that we can keep in touch. We welcome you into this family of Christ’s loving arms and remain here for you as His body to grow and flourish together!
2. *UPDATES from Bethany Korean Presbyterian Church –
   • *We are continuing our prayers for Christian Education Head and Youth Minister Ha Cho and his wife Mrs. Sarah Seon Hyeon Cho’s visa situation in Korea, for their safe and timely return. While the youth minister is absent, any further questions about the youth ministry can be directed to Deaconess Kris Lee, director of youth ministry.
3. *PRAY FOR NEW STAFF SEARCH PROCESS – All who have received God’s calling for one or multiple staff roles are encouraged to apply for each one. On the homepage of our website is a direct link to information and instructions to apply. Until the staff roles are filled, there is no deadline for applications. Above all, let us keep in prayer this search, for the Lord knows the needs of His church and will supply in His way and time. May the Lord bring His good and faithful choice servants.
4. *TODAY, SESSION/ELDER BOARD gathering, 1:30pm @ Corner Room – The elder board will gather for their monthly meeting today for prayer, discernment, and direction to guide Hosanna into God’s future path and ways. Please pray for our elders!
5. *TODAY, SUNDAY FUNDAY for JOSHUA life group families, 1:30pm-3:30pm @ the Park’s home – The Texas summer heat is dawning! Cool off from the high temperatures today (expected to reach 93 degrees) with the splash/inflatable pool day at the Park’s home driveway. Parents, make sure to bring water shoes and extra dry clothes/underwear for your children. Reply in the group chat.
6. **THIS FRIDAY (5/24) ***BREAK WEEK*** AGAPE life group – Our young adult AGAPE ministry of college, postgraduates, and newlyweds are having a break week this Friday. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and we'll resume our life gatherings on the following Friday (5/31), location TBA.
7. *NEXT SUNDAY (5/26) HOSANNA PRESCHOOL GRADUATION – Abe Park! – Hosanna Preschool Worship is nearing its one-year anniversary! Praise God for all that He has done! This also means we have our first graduating class – brother Abe Park! Congratulations to Abe and the Park family on this milestone. Next Sunday, we will graduate Abe with a commencement blessing from Hosanna Preschool Worship into the Bethany Children’s Ministry. Please come ready next week to bless brother Abe in his transition to the children’s ministry with your congratulatory prayers, love, and affections in Christ!
8. *NEXT SUNDAY (5/26) MINISTRY TEAM LEADERS gathering, 1:30pm @ Corner Conference Room – It’s that time again for our Deacons, Elders, appointed servants, and Advisors to gather, as we do once-every-two-months, for testimonies of God’s hand at work, concerns to be addressed, Kingdom visions to be dreamt, becoming more faithful to His mission, and most of all to pray for all of you. Please pray for all our ministry team leaders!
9. *REMINDER TO GET INVOLVED IN W.O.H. AND M.O.H. – women’s & men’s ministries! – On Wednesday evenings, all the Hosanna sisterhood gather to edify each other towards godly womanhood. They are about to finish a season studying 12 extraordinary women of the Bible, and moving towards another study on lies women believe and the truth that sets them free. On Saturday afternoons, 1:00pm at coordinator Jake Jeong’s home, all the Hosanna brotherhood gather around a new season together with the book Knowing God by J.I. Packer. Join, find genuine Christ-centered community, strengthen your walk with Jesus and each other!
10. *WELCOMING 2024 YOUTH GRADUATES – TASTE OF HOSANNA! (6/2, Sun) – In two weeks on the first Sunday of June, all grade levels will be graduated and promoted to their next step. This means we have an opportunity for a possible first visit from the 2024 youth high school senior graduates to experience and have a TASTE OF HOSANNA! *At 10am, we will have an assortment of bagels, juice, and coffee in the Corner conference room to get to know the new graduates. After-lunch at 1:00pm, we will have bubble tea for an extended time of fellowship. *Please join us at 10am and 1pm, make yourself available, enjoy the food/desserts, and above all bless and welcome the new graduates to taste Hosanna as their flourishing next step with Jesus!
11. *KINGDOM EXPANSION PRAYER – We are moving to pray for a wider vision of God’s Kingdom to expand through the global prayer guide for the persecuted church and persecuted Christians worldwide from The Voice of the Martyrs organization. Today, we are praying for our persecuted Burkinabe brothers and sisters in Christ in west Africa.
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13. Prayer Topic: Persecuted Christians in Burkina Faso (west Africa)
14. Scripture – 1 PETER 4:12-14
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    **Prayer Topic: Persecuted Christians in Burkina Faso (west Asia)
         The small country of Burkina Faso is in West Africa surrounded by Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, and Ghana. It is one of the least developed countries in the world with approximately 64% of the population practicing Islam.
         Burkina Faso has seen a sharp rise in Islamist activity since 2016. Militants linked to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaida, who had been largely contained in neighboring Mali and Niger, have crossed porous borders in the north to broaden their influence in the Sahel region. Christians have been a primary target of the Islamists’ campaign since April 2019, when approximately 70 Christians were killed and five churches were attacked. More than 200 churches have reportedly closed in northern and eastern Burkina Faso because of security issues and threat of attack. Islamist activity also has increased in the southwestern part of the country, with more attacks on churches and the murder of several pastors. As many as 10,000 Christians have fled their homes as a result of violence and threats against Christians throughout the country. More than 1.7 million people in total have been displaced by the conflict, adding to an already strained economy amid political uncertainty.
         The main persecutors are Islamists linked to the al-Qaida and ISIS terrorist groups. Large churches operate openly in the capital, and until recently even Christians living among Muslims in some villages had freedom to practice their faith. However, attacks against Christians have increased dramatically in recent years, and today, few Christians remain in the northern and southwestern parts of the country. Bibles in French and the Moore language are readily available in the capital, but few Bibles are available in minority languages. Distribution is difficult because of security issues in the countryside. The literacy rate is less than 35 percent nationwide, and most people would prefer a Bible in a local language such as Fulani.
     
    *The Scripture for today is:
     
    Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 PETER 4:12-14)
     
    Prayer by Pastor Chester:
    Our Father, we lift up to You our Burkinabe brothers and sisters in Christ in west Africa. Lord, our hearts weep at this senseless violence, the 70 Christians killed in 2019, the terrorism that has shut down over 200 churches in the northern and eastern area, the churches that have been attacked and the pastors who have been murdered, alongside millions of families and children displaced by violence and a strained economy. We pray, in the powerful name of Jesus, that You will bring Your order, Your justice, Your judgment upon those who raise the sword against Your beloved church. Lord, may persecution only grow the gospel stronger and brighter in the hearts of our Burkinabe co-laborers in Christ. Protect them from the evil one. Provide for them. Let nothing shake their trust in You. May their weapon be the truth of Your eternal Son and the Kingdom He is bringing midst this suffering. Let even joy in sharing with Christ’s sufferings sustain them today, knowing prayers from an unknown Jesus community like Hosanna is interceding for them fervently. Let us never take for granted this freedom and grace to gather today in worship of You, our true God with His eternal Son and Spirit. We long for this same grace to this distant land, in the Lord and Savior of the Burkina Faso people we pray, Amen & amen.