the Answer

"What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I... will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15: 50-53). See more

Alleluia! Happy Resurrection Sunday! Christ is Risen. Check out this beautiful Easter banner that is hanging in our church narthex. Many children and youth from our virtual Sunday school and from Breakaway sent in their piece of paper fully colored to make this bright poster.

Today was our third and final service project of Breakaway! Our youth visited the West Fresno Boys and Girls Club and worked with some of the children to plant a garden they will be able to tend together this summer. Thanks especially to Richard from West Fresno Boys and Girls Club and Todd from Eagle’s Nest for letting us work alongside you!

Today was our second service project of Breakaway! We visited Calvin Crest and worked hard on several projects around camp. The Mono wind storm in January left a huge mess at camp and we were happy to help rake and move debris while enjoying the mountain air. Thanks especially to the Calvin Crest staff for having us work alongside you today!

Night 2 worship of Breakaway. Our much more tired students (from hard work today!) continue to worship safely - masked and in the back of the sanctuary.

Calling all high school students inspired to lead! Calistrong is a great opportunity for high school members in the Sierra Pacific Synod - ELCA to participate in youth-led conversation about Jesus, race, diversity, and culture. Their next session is Saturday, January 23. If you're interested, sign up prior using this link so they know to expect you: http://bit.ly/38wlaQY

Vote on which movie you’d like to watch for Hope Family Movie night this February 12! All members, young and young at heart, are welcome to join in on the fun. A themed family devotion, snacks, and activity will be available for pick up the week prior. All movies can easily be streamed or rented. If you have any questions or will not be able to join due to a financial hardship, be sure to let us know. We do not want you to be left out! Use the link below to vote on which movie your family would prefer.

Hope’s youth programming has a fun history of scrapbooking photos from our gatherings. We have a whole lot of photos from the past few years that don’t have pages yet, and we could use your creativity! Join us on Zoom on Friday, January 22 at 7:00 pm for fellowship and to scrapbook together. Photos and supplies will be available for pick up at the church beginning Monday, January 18. Message this page or contact Christa to let her know you are interested.

Sparkhouse is making a free online daily Lenten devotional for youth this year! Sign up here to receive a link when it’s ready: https://bit.ly/3rRexQV

Virtual Sunday School is offered over Zoom every Sunday at 10:00am for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. You can sign up your child for virtual Sunday school with the form below and you can pick up your child a corresponding Sunday school activity bag (filled with lessons and treats!) from our church office between 9:00am- 3:00pm on weekdays. Text @sundayhope to 81010 to receive reminders and updates about Sunday School from the Remind app.

This year we may not be able to celebrate Advent gathered together in church worship, but we can still celebrate knowing that our church family across the valle...y is celebrating along with us! Voices of Hope is a short Advent series brought to you by the members of Hope Lutheran Church. Today's Advent devotion is from member Sharon Peterson. We hope you can tune in once a week to enjoy this devotion. These particular devotions are inspired by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Bible Study, Daily Discipleship, and the original authors are Pastors John and Robin McCullough-Bade. May you and your loved ones be blessed with patience, hope, and health in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We dearly miss you but feel blessed that our church family continues to stay healthy and sticks together in spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic. See more

We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not di...sappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. - Romans 5:3-5 (NRSV) Happy Friday from Hope! Member Julie Hohenbrink took this photo during one of our outdoor services. Remember to always have hope! See more

Happy Reformation Day and Happy Halloween!

What never asks a question but gets answered all the time? A cellphone! What gets wetter the more it dries? A towel! Check out Christa's children's message from October 18 about tricky questions.

The next set of activity bags for virtual Sunday School are ready to be picked up! You are welcome to sing up here: https://forms.gle/XcPUiZ3k5fqtecEp9 and pick them up from our church office lobby tomorrow, Friday, or Sunday morning. Our Sunday School is also looking for two virtual teachers! Contact Christa ([email protected]) if you have any questions or if you are interested in teaching.

We hope you have a JOYful Monday! Thank you to one of our virtual Sunday School fifth graders, Lacy, for sharing this amazing, colorful creation with us!

Church Family Feud starts soon! Stop by to play, watch, or just say hi. After virtual Family Feud we will play family-friendly Quiplash 2 and/or Among Us.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! -Philippians 4:4

We hope you can join us today for the Blessing of the Animals at 4:30! It has been fun to see and even interact with some of your family pets over virtual youth group sessions and Sunday school classes. Come play a short game and share some heartwarming or silly pet stories and be in community with your church family. Today, in honor of Saint Francis, we want to bless the creation that gives us so much wonder, amazement, and love. *Animals or pets are not required - you're welcome to join without any animals and just meet your church family's animals instead, or come share your favorite pieces of nature, too!*

There are some spooky-looking Sunday School activity bags ready for pick up in the church lobby! These Sunday School bags have materials and supplies for October virtual Sunday school (Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25 at 10am) for our K-6th graders. You can sign up for the bags here: https://forms.gle/c3iC352GNLwxoy2b9, contact Christa, or message this account to let her know you’re interested. We would also be happy to drop them by your home if that would be helpful for you.

In the Church, October 4th is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis was an amazing theologian and priest, and is commonly associated with patr...onage of animals and nature. Join us to celebrate this Sunday, October 4th with a Blessing of the Animals! Log in to Zoom from 4:30-5:00pm to enjoy a game, share some pet stories, and bless the animals and nature that put so much joy in our lives. (All animal appreciators are welcome and having a pet is not required!) See more

Did you hear the good news? On Friday, three young women who are a part of the Way, the Truth, and the Life were baptized at our church. Check it out in today’s recorded worship service.

Today Becky Russler is going to talk about her faith journey on The Heart of Hope! You’re going to want to tune in to be in community with your Hope family and hear about how God has been present in Becky’s life.

Something EXCITING is on the horizon! Please join us for our new online series: The Heart of Hope! Each Sunday Christa will meet with a different member of our ...congregation to ask them about their unique faith stories. The series will take place on Zoom each Sunday at 4:00-4:30 pm beginning this Sunday, September 20. We invite you to listen to what God is doing in the lives of our members, ask questions, and encourage each member in their faith journey. Are you interested in sharing your faith story? Let us know! Check out the email blast this week for the Zoom login information or message this account. See more

As you remember your mountain neighbors who have been evacuated from their homes, please also pray for Calvin Crest's leadership. Calvin Crest is about seven miles from the Creek fire at this moment. Many of us at Hope have a special place in our hearts for Calvin Crest because of all of the memories made there at summer camp. Unfortunately, this isn't a unique story. Many Christian summer camps that our members love have been evacuated this season due to fires and other natural disasters. This has been a spiritual, emotional, and financial hardship for the leadership of these camps, especially after most summer programming had do be put on hold due to COVID-19. We hold these camps in our hearts today!