Joy to the world the Lord has come! At this time of year, joy can be one of the hardest things to fill on my Christmas list. I just can't ask for it at customer assistance, or find it on isle nine in the home furnishing section. It all starts with the condition of my heart and who the source of my joy is! When we read the Psalms we find that King David seemed to always be on a emotional roller coaster, whether he was in deep sorrow or pain, or on the mountain top praising god for His goodness, Psalm 16:11 seemed to be the theme for David's life. It says "In Your presence is fullness of joy". In all things David longed to be in God's presence, because he knew that God was his source of joy, even in the difficult things. He figured out that joy came from the inside out, not the outside in. It sounds simple, but the world around us wants us to believe that joy is found in our possessions. I look around at all the great things man has created, Hi-rise buildings, computers, Ipod, pizza, etc, but nothing has ever or will ever come close to God's creation, you and me created in the likeness of Him. That is where we will find our joy, because that is where He finds His joy, in us. The best gift every Christmas is love, It is not hard to find and doesn't need to be wrapped, you can pick it up at the Cross and has an never ending source of joy. Man's presents will never compare to God's presence! May your homes be filled with God's presence. Merry Christmas from Hockinson Living Hope! Pastor Jon Andersen

Holiday Greetings from Hockinson Living Hope! WOW what a great prison Break series. I was full of compassion as I was praying over all the pain and regrets left on post-it notes at the foot of the cross last Sunday. I am honored to be part of a church that responds to God's touch on their hearts. Freedom always costs us something, our pride, our forgiveness, our rights, or as Pastor John Bishop puts it "what ever consumes you". We all desire to stay out of prison, but some how find our selves locked up over issues of our heart. When my son was about six years old, he asked the profound question "How do people become bank robbers?" Out of some where I answered "One day at a time and one choice at a time". I also tried to explain the "frog in boiling water" theory, which being a boy, he did like that theory better. Some how his questions always effected me more than it did him. I found that it is easy to get comfortable with our heart issues, and not deal with them. But in the end, everyone can see and feel your pain but you. It is hard to give away what we don't possess, and freedom is no exception. Proverbs 4:23 says "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do". The best way I have found to stay out of prison is to guard my heart with God's truth and grace. Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season(and my freedom). Pastor Jon Andersen

I am very excited about the new series "Prison Break". When you think of prison, you think of confined, guilty, alone, and rejected by society. It is a funny thing, you don't even need to commit a crime to find yourself locked up and living the life of a prisoner and never setting foot in a penitentiary. Between the enemy and ourselves standing guard at the cell, there doesn't seem like much chance of getting free, from the guilt, shame, and sin in our lives. The fact is, that when we are Christ followers the real sin is not believing that Christ's blood is not capable of truly setting us free. There are a lot miss conceptions about sin, even in Christian circles. Some hold on to their pain and sin as a crutch to lean or fall back on as to gain sympathy, some see pain of the past as their best friend, in the midst of an argument they can pull it out and use it as ammunition against the ones they love the most. Sin always is always about me, my and I. If you read Genesis those words me, my and I do not appear until after the fall of mankind (Genesis 3:10). The only need Jesus had was to be close to the Father, everything else was about others. God is enough for my every need and every sin, and all my pain. Believing anything less keeps me locked up in prison with only my sin to keep me company. Satan may be the guard at your prison door, but God is the warden, go to the source to get free! "Only God" holds the keys to our prison door, we can be set free today!!! Romans 8:1-2, Invite someone this weekend to experience true freedom! Pastor Jon Andersen

Purity

Sunday meant so much to so many. At Living Hope Hockinson we had 72 single people commit to purity God's way. I love new beginnings, when we allow Christ to lead us to a place of wholeness and hope for the future. He is so faithful to meet us in our moment of need. Purity is large part of keeping us on the pathway to becoming a whole person, and eventually having a whole marriage. It so difficult to remain pure in a culture that mocks you for committing to purity. I am happy to be a part of a church that is not afraid to equipped God's people to live a life worthy of His call. A life of purity as a single person is not attained in a one time event like Sunday, it is a daily choice that takes prayer, commitment, and being willing to be led by the one who can keep you, Jesus. Please pray for those who chose purity on Sunday, to be light to those around them, and for Christ to keep them pure for their future spouse. That they may live before an audience of one. Thank you for your prayers! Pastor Jon A

Hockinson High School is an amazing place to have Living Hope Hockinson! But on Monday I found out that is also an amazing place to be in public Highschool. It is true that you see what people are made of when times are the most difficult, and Monday, unfortunately was no exception. There was a tragic auto accident over the weekend, leaving everyone in shock and disbelief of the passing of Emma Koenig and the hospitalization of Andrew Westensee. Both recent graduates of HHS and loved by all who knew them. The response from the staff at HHS was exactly what it needed to be, completely focused on the students. Opening the school on Saturday for kids to gather and pray, cry, and comfort one another. Monday morning the Hockinson High School commons was open for the kids to gather once again to work through their pain and grief. The teachers allowed the students throughout the day to step out of class to seek comfort in different areas of the building, where counselors, teachers and community pastors were available for the kids. Everything that took place was student led, from the prayer, to the hours of worship and just taking time to grieve. It is times like these that bring us back to the things that are important in life, loving God and loving people! Please pray for Emma Koenig's family and friend's, also for Andrew Westensee's complete recovery! Don't forget to take some time out of your day to show God's love to someone. Pastor Jon Andersen

It was a great Sunday at Living Hope Hockinson! Kids World was in full swing, as usual, the worship team was high energy and everyone was engaged in the weekend!The volunteers at Hockinson never cease to amaze me, they are so faithful and excited to serve and love the Hockinson community each week. The volunteer teams get to the campus early and work hard to transform the High School into Living Hope Hockinson, believing that lives and families will be transformed by our loving Savior. They know that what they are doing , truly is making a difference for eternity. I love the Hockinson team! I am excited about the new series "High School Years" that pastor John Bishop is starting this week. It may be to late to re-do High School, but it is never to late to learn from that time in our lives. Have a great week loving and serving our Savior! Pastor Jon Andersen

Welcome to Living Hope Hockinson. Let me introduce myself, I am Jon Andersen, one of the pastors here at Living Hope. My wife's name is Michele, and she is the love of my life. God has blessed us with four Great kids, Josh, Amanda, Alivia, and Katelyn. I have been a Christ follower for 18 years, sounds like along time as I write this, but as I look back I can see clearly that life truly is a journey taken one day at a time. The best thing about the journey, is that Jesus never gives up on me, dispite myself. I look back and wonder how I would have ever made it this far without His love and direction. It is always amazing to me how God can take the difficult times in life to show His glory. It has taken me a long time to stop asking why am I going through a difficult time, and ask, what are you tring to shape in my character or teach me in this season? James 1:2 -4 Tells us to count it all joy when you fall into trials, because Gods about to do something good in you (paraphrased by me). Hind sight is aways 20-20 with this verse. The key for me is to not let anyone steal my joy, 1/2 the time I lose it way to easy! As Christ followers, the joy of the Lord is to be our strength, so He is glorified through us. Knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God(Romans 8:35-39) gives me opportunity for Joy everyday! Jesus + Journey= Joy, I love simple math! Share some joy this week! Jon A

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