December 27, 2015

good morning

welcome to Hillandale we're pleased to have you here is my daughter Maggie still in the room

she was here a second ago I lost her there she is Maggie Phillips busted Maggie and I both got fitbit's for Christmas and so we're competing each day of the number of steps and she beat me big time yesterday cuz I spent the day in the garage with Carter not doing a whole lot of steps but rearranging the garage but Maggie I want you to know why you're sitting there I'm going to be running around up here the whole time during the sermon adding to my steps as is my habit right so I'm just getting more and more and more so we'll see tonight at 9 who the winner is There's a there's a passage in the gospels where John the Baptist begins to doubt because he's in in prison. He's in the midst of this hardship in prison and he says, you know send message to Jesus is is is he the one or am I supposed to still be looking for another in Jesus sends a message back to John and says telling the things that you see going on that you see those in need being ministered to that you see those in prison being cared for that you that you see these things going on tell him that and that's the sign that God's kingdom is around us. There's a passage in Corinthians where Paul says sometimes we don't have the eyes to see what's happening right around us and he challenges us to be people that allow God to open our eyes to the work that he's doing in our own lives and in the world around us. I don't know about you but I need those reminders. Sometimes I can spit up too much time in front of the TV watching the news and it's Seems like all the news is bad news. Can you buy relate to that? And so the focus constantly is on here is all these things that are going wrong. Here is all these things that are heavy here is all these problems again and again and again and all of us can kind of develop critical Spirits where we are eyes are trained to see the things that are wrong instead of seeing good things that are going on. So it's good for us to be challenged to see the good things that are happening. See the way God is working. There's a verse in the Psalms that King David kind of models for us even back in the Old Testament as a man who are the song says a man after God's Own Heart in a song when he's riding about being on on the run in and being under pressure. He pauses and spend some time praising God because he noticed he knows that even in the midst of all the bad that he's dealing with being a king whose Throne is challenged or being someone's having to challenge the king being someone whose Pursuit Pursued and chased by all those challenges. He still pauses and notices the good that's going on with God in his life. And how God is working in his life. And he says this in Psalm 34:18. God is near to the Brokenhearted. He helps those who spirit is crushed. And that great that in the midst of everything that David has going on in the midst of his own hardship his own struggle his own striving for survival and for food and for to run away from the armies that are chasing him. He still has the presence of mind to say even in the midst of all that something that I know that is true that I'm pinning here. So to speak in my song is that God is close to those who are brokenhearted to those who are crushed in spirit. Imagine part of these is able to say that is because he himself has been broken hearted. When you look at his life time span, he experienced so much hardship. He experienced betrayal in his own family experience betrayal within the kingdom experienced political upheaval. He also experienced his own failure and the Heartbreak that that brought to him and that way it must have crushed his Spirit. He knew these words and he knew that even when those things were true about him that God was close to him. So one I want us to open our eyes to the fact that even when we see all the challenges that are going on in the world and all the hardship. We need to pause long enough and and and kind of squint spiritually and say you don't want the truth is that God is close to those who are brokenhearted. God is close to those who are crushed in spirit and we need to have eyes to see the way God's doing that in another song. David says light shines in the darkness for The Godly they are generous compassionate and righteous and some translations of that Hebrew passage flip it around a little bit where Simply says The Godly shine like a light in the darkness. They are generous compassionate and righteous and part of the application of the way. You can flip that Hebrew word around and translate that passage. Either way is the implication that that God works in our lives in such a way that we become his presents that the way the way God ministers to us when our heart is broken or the way God ministers to us when our spirit is crushed the way he becomes a light in our own life, then we can replicate that in the lives of others. I mean, we all have known we may be knowing it right now. But if we're not knowing it right in this moment, we all have had seasons in our life when we've known great hardship. And I hope if we are followers of Jesus Christ in the midst of knowing those hardships. We have also known God's provision.

If we pause and reflected right now. Could most of us think of a time in which we called out to God. For the health of a loved one. Or for our own hell. for a job situation four other things that were weighing us down and when we pause and reflect and remember we can remember that God provided that he was there in that moment that was dark for us that he came through that he answered those prayers that he provided through a brother and a sister in Christ or through an encouraging word that was able to get us through that season of challenge. I I read on Facebook for a friend this week. She was looking at the date on the calendar and it made her realize that six months ago and I'm on Facebook with pictures of her husband and her children on their whole family celebrating Christmas and a wonderful way, but she said I just remembering that six months ago. I was by my husband's bedside in the hospital begging God for him to survive and here we are celebrating Christmas with him. Happy and healthy. We need that kind of reflection in our online because if we're not careful we can just run through life with kind of the news mentality where all we see is bad news. All we see is bad news. We can have wonderful neighbors. But all we know this is the one time they drive a little bit on our yard and it makes a little muddy ditch and that I would just know he's got his own driveway and that's all we can focus on it every time we pulled our house. We looked to see did that guy get off his driveway a little bit into my yard and we don't bother to think about all the good that's represented in that neighbor on the X in the history. We found for them we can do that at work. We can have a wonderful job that pays us well and treats us well, but we can get hung up on the fact that at the last party they honored everybody on the teams that did that last project but they forgot to include my name on that list and that was probably intends to us when we don't have all these other things we can do it in church life. We can have so many things to be thankful for and grateful for but we can let her I zoom in on one or two things that were not happy with in it. Just from seeing the good. And we can do it around hardship. We can let whatever we're going through we can let it be right here and we can let it block out everything else and scripture challenges us to back up and realize that God is close to us and hardship. And that the way he's ministered to us challenges and invites and equips us to be light and minister to others. Elder the saying right? I'd rather see a sermon any day. Have you heard that saying before rather than just hear one. So even though I'm going to have some folks speak. I think this is an opportunity for you guys to see a sermon this morning rather than just hear one for me. I'm going to invite for different Folks up to come to this mic and share briefly just a few minutes about a Ministry that happens here at the church on a regular basis, but especially about their experience with that Ministry the past few weeks as we did a special emphasis during Christmas conspiracy and the Christmas trees you saw in the lobby cuz I want you to see the sermon this morning. I want you to see the way God is close to those who are brokenhearted. I don't want you to see the way he uses his people to be his light to others. I'm going to start by asking Gary Blake to come forward and he's going to share about our downtown Ministry that happens every week and he leaves that all year round, but also had a special emphasis during December.

I've been blamed for leading this ministry, but it's I am just a we have six different cooking teams six different serving teams and a bunch of folks that clean it happened. So it's a big there's about 40 of our Hillandale family. They're involved in cooking and cleaning up and all those things. So I just come is 1 boys kind of summarizing the experience for all we go downtown every Sunday and it's alright. It's it's a blessing for us to set up and serve a meal and then we also have a clothing that's been donated by you all that. We take down on Sundays and those friends that come and have lunch with us. We we not only share the food. We share also the the clothing and it goes pretty fast. The demand is high and I come to the day with just you no compassion and love Take lots of different shapes and and have lots of different faces. I have a pair of socks and you all with the Christmas tree and and the giving we had about 50 pair of socks that were donated as well as gloves and many other things, but just to let you know that these socks are in such high demand for those that died in the hands of those that we serve because if you think about it the way most of them get around all everywhere they go is by walking. The availability of laundry to wash and clean things or just to have a dry pair of socks when on your current pair gets wet can be is so valuable are socks go fast. And that's that's just you know, a mark of compassion. I guarantee you that their smiles on those of you that have gone downtown and serve with us at seeing the smiles that just a pair of socks can bring on the faces of those who have very little we had a big Christmas dinner. Our folks got together and cook. Then we had baked ham and mashed potatoes and green beans and corn and pies to a chocolate pies and pecan pie and lots of good Panera stuff that Panera donation and we get to take downtown. We had that warm meal and the guys down there. Over and over want me to bring back and tell everybody here how much they appreciated during this time of year with the Christmas season the guys and the ladies are missing family that they're missing a home some missing a shelter gathered around a fire somewhere out in the woods and they need anything and everything that we can bring them with just a smile a handshake a prayer is so much appreciated and I want on behalf of the the team of a 40 or more. I want to just say to you all thank you for for enabling that to happen. Thank you for your part in that and and may you be as blessed as those of us to go downtown or

Justin Justin the three years that I've been here and that Ministry goes back a decade or maybe 15 years, even we protect and anemone for folks who are in those sorts of situations in a transitioning but I can pay you as a general statement. We've seen folks go from being in a condition of homelessness to be off the street to be in a home to be working and back with family and we've seen that occur numerous times and so we don't always get to put a spotlight on that because we honor the privacy of those folks involved, but that's I want you guys to know that's happening. And Jesus invites us to have eyes are open to see what he's doing. Not just to see the problems in the world to be overwhelmed. But to see that he's working in this world to minister to people. I'm going to buy CND faucet to come forward and share about shoe boxes of love, which is a special emphasis during Christmas. I with Russell cave Church of Christ, but also David Fulcher if you're here, he'd rather eat razor and David David leads a monthly Ministry to Russell cave Church of Christ will refer about a meal on a monthly basis. So if you love what you hear from Cindy about the Christmas emphasis know that every month opportunity rolls around, but she's going to share about the very special Ministries that happens during December.

Good morning. I have been helping to do those two boxes of love for I think 16 years. Now. I think of what we finally decided it all came about because of Samaritan's Purse shoebox is no halfway around the world, but we decided that because we knew about Russell K. When you move out there Bible Club where they bring children in every Tuesday night to give them a meal with her at least once a month. They feed them the teaching the Bible and their Christmas parties. So we decided to do when you're that we would make shoe box is full of love. Jesus is Love to give these poor children. I have been told on occasion that the only thing that I've got for Christmas with a shoebox that was to hear the the giving trees have become especially significant this year because we have a Homeschool Group that meets here if it's a secular foam-core crib, and it was opened up. The building and at 3:15, they cleaned my tree early. They took everything off of it on a Thursday and I was scrambling to put some more ornaments on it. It was really awesome because then they came and they helped to pack Compaq into wrap those boxes. And so we were able to share the love of Jesus with some people there as well through our prayer through our fellowship.

There we go. I just wanted you all to see what happens at Russell cave on that Tuesday night. This little fella has a wrapped box full of goodies as well as a Bible story book. He is a second or third grader who has a book that he was actually a little teeny tiny Bible story book. He can actually read himself their children lined up behind him and they're on the right is where the meal is continuing and so impactful for Russell cave and the lady to the church tell me they really really enjoy. It's just a fun festive time. We do it the first Monday in December. So we get done just to fill a box full of love trinkets little trees lots of candy and I just said to the mood in the spirit, but for all of those who participated or he may want to participate in the future, thank you. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus here locally.

One thing that's needed is that's an ongoing Ministry on a regular basis Christmas and throughout the year. And when I was there speaking to the pastor in the past, he'll start to point out things. You see those trees over there was a guy from Hillandale put all those trees in when we need more trees in the area. Tom Cruise's another guy that has a long history of Russell cave and we've assisted with building issues and we even Fred their Pastor not talked about doing a Pulpit exchange sometime and just continuing to build the relationship so that it's an ongoing sustainable relationship that we can continue to be ministered to buy them and to reach out and disturb them too. So that's an exciting opportunity. I'm going to ask

My wife makes fun of me. I don't get nervous when I'm preaching but I get completely nervous with names and David Sanford soon. As I wanted to say your name. I mine just wiped it and blank. I'm going to ask David Sanford to come forward and talk about step-by-step part of the reason I struggle on his name is because the screen says David Stone and David Stone could not be here this morning. And so David Sanford is filling in for him to tell us about Step by Step Ministries. Thanks, Bill.

Step-by-step is really a very compassionate Ministries about 5 years ago. When we started real life we were talking about, you know, what can we do to partner with the ministry that's in the community that has a very big on serving local needs. And so one of the things that we thought of snow, we've had a great involvement with Assurance Ministry over the years, but what happens when young single mothers decide to keep their babies what happens after that what kind of support do they have? And so that's really the niche that step-by-step feels Nessa Ministry that's been around. I started by a group of ladies about 15 years ago and their passion is to minister to single moms. And so that's what they've done over the course of of that decade and a half. It's been our privilege Department within the last 5 years and that takes really a couple of different forms their their schedule really kind of course ponds to the school year. A lot of these mothers are actually teenage mothers. Some of them is as young as maybe 12 or 13 in what what they do is they meet every other Thursday and then they have special programs around Christmas time at the end of the year. And so the the classes that they're meeting times last about 2 and 1/2 hours. They focus they come together that share a meal they have classes and very practical life skills how to balance a checkbook how to take care of children how to put together a resume. How did it go through an interview things that are very helpful in trying to get on their feet but then they also were presented each week with the word of God. And so it's a very compassionate Ministries. It's very focused on serving these ladies are they do an excellent job David and Kate dicks really started bleeding this ministry at Hillandale and date. They also weren't able to be here today. And then one day they started taking care of foster children, then David and Suzanne Stoner really picked up the slack and I know Jeff Cook and Glenn balls and some others and I'm leaving often as service drivers, but it's a very compassionate. Every one of the things that we do or they do rather is they have at the right before Christmas time. They have a store where people donate items Christmas gifts for the children. And so that's one of the things that we've done for the last several years is donate the items that these ladies they they earn money by coming to the classes by participating in exercises by doing different things that they can then spend until it gives them a chance to really own the Christmas that they're able to provide to their children and helps teach responsibility and has been a great teaching tool for them. And so again at the ministry we've been able to help now for 5 years and I'm really excited about it. Hopefully will people be able to maybe participating to a greater level because there are a lot of people right here in our community that were able to blast

Jean and Mary Helen Welsh lead a Ministry to Appalachian Mission of Hope. I don't know if jeans here this morning, they leave that kind of year-round but Tracy but he takes the Christmas Ministry in the Christmas tree and kind of spearheads that and that's a Ministry to Children over in the Appalachian and I'm going to buy Tracy now to come and share about their Christmas tree experience this year with Appalachian.

Good morning. I have the great privilege of talking about and Williams and she actually started Appalachian Mission of Hope it will take a minute because I think this is a great story. She lives in Ohio and just had in her heart that she needs to come help people that were underprivileged. So she just looked on the map and went at the lachua area. So she picked McKee Kentucky Jackson County and they're leaving their just determine how needy these people were so she is smart lady. She has a huge heart. You always made her. She's just precious and she has the money so she called all these churches and

And he gave me a song to sing to you all she whipped out her guitar or acoustic guitar thing. That's awesome bluegrass music perfectly and it was the words in the lyrics were a woman. I'm calling you will all of us were like them, you know, it was a great song and so she told a story after Story of people and their knees and one pic of a story about a little boy who they lived in a dilapidated house and it night time he had to go across the street and sleep with his grandmother because there was no room for him. He had no bed. So we were all all of us were of course remove so we found someone with a truck. We got everybody in the whole church involved in many many people provided and you don't spare room towels dishes. She all kinds of things, you know, well, I don't think food. But anyway, you can just imagine it and then we got to go and help get some of it out. Well that started a relationship for this church just opened its heart and as you know, Robbie was saying the teenagers have been very very involved with also had Gary Blake's group with them the high school or the middle school boys. They've gone down there done a whole lot. We've had I mean, there's so many events that Anne has started and I will tell you so we do Christmas angels, so we started and we would put all kinds of things up there for any age for preschool on at the high school. And there'll be all sorts of gifts and that's what we still do. Every Christmas we done before call Christmas in July when we get school supplies, and we have an event and I give it to all the schools down there. But one thing we've done to and some of you all here. I know have done they would do Easter baskets for the elderly who may not ever get anything and they would put toothbrushes and toothpaste and things like that lotion and give them to the elderly and the elderly had some of them have never got an Easter basket and will try to pay them for these baskets. They would do that.

In a countywide baby shower, we're all these expecting young mothers. We kind of had no means anything. They would come out of the hills and they would provide them with you know, all kinds of formula and diapers.

And just kind of organized this in this kind of like the brain for you all will know that the teenagers collect things through the year and there's a ton of actually in that little for your area on around them. And so you can just put anything in there anything and because she'll say they're so poor that you know, when it comes to a choice between food or items they have to choose food. So anyway this year they do that. They just they take a lot of clothes. I think they'd be open to Berea store where they do charge like a quarter of $0.50 for clothing to raise money for these. So it's really a great way that we can actually impact the super poor area that is all of the whole the whole nation does about the evolutionary and here we are and we can make a big difference. But this year I'm what she actually did usually she would have an event and she would publicize it and all these people would come forward and stand in line to get gifts and things of that sort. She was the only Set an event like that years ago and now there's about five or six groups to do that. And also the only group that would do a school supply then and now there's five or six groups that do that, but she said she was actually called by the Sheriff's Office this year and they said we've heard the great things you all have done and we see so many things going on that these families don't come forward and they don't have anyone to bring them forward. So people who have been incarcerated.

And been in jail for drug, she said you know what you all hear on the news is true. It's everywhere there and it's so horrible into the parents are in prison or they're fresh out of prison have no money. So he had the names of all these families and all these kids so they got with an and they actually took them out in the police cruisers and they said they took them in the Cruisers and they wanted to make sure they took an with them because they said it's not a good thing you pull up in the hills and a sheriff in the toys that you are provided. So she said it was absolutely wonderful. So I've been anyway, it's a great privilege to talk to you all about her and I actually I don't see that. I have a book and I want to borrow it first, but I'm actually featured in a book is one of four called on Kentucky's everyday Heroes where she has done so much good in that area and people know what a great job. She's done that she's actually So what we're doing we're one of several churches. I think we got on board, and I think Southland has some things in Crossroads Christian, and they actually go over to Once Upon a Child and how to get their cast off that they can't actually sell so this woman is so creative. And so the fact that we're supporting her, sometimes we can't be the ones always handing out the things but the fact that you all can provide things that you may think it's not important to you. It is a big deal appreciate your generosity and thank you.

In Corinthians Paul describes how many Street happens in the church? He says I planted the seed Apollos watered it and God made it grow. You and I are in partnership with God. I want to make something really clear. The testimonies were giving this morning our testimonies to Jesus. Do you understand that they're not testimonies to Hillandale? They are not testimonies to send efaucet or Gary Blake or Robbie Phillips her and hurry those folks. I know all those folks and they would say yeah, the only reason these things are happening is because Jesus got a hold of these folks. Because of who he was to them then they became the kind of people they are to others. The testimony were sharing is not about Hillandale. The testimony we're sharing is about Jesus Christ. This is what he does with us when we give ourselves to him. It challenges us he invites us he comes to us in our Brokenness when our Spirits are crushed when our hearts are broken. He comes alongside us. He shows us his generosity and his compassion and gives us his righteousness. And then invites us to pay forward so to speak what he has done for us. That's why I love this passage where Paul says this is what's going on with Ministries going on. It's not just that we sit back and say God. Sure wish God would do something about all the problems in the world and we just pray and hope that everything gets solved and it's not that we just push up our sleeves and say well we're going to fix everything ourselves without God involved Paul says the way it works is God calls us to do what we can and then he will bless what we're doing. He will partner with us. And so we take on the task that we can take on and God's involved in that Ministry were in partnership with him. And so this morning I kind of want to challenge us a little bit to think about the new year and will close by the worship team to come forward when you think about the way the psalmist describes those who have been impacted by God those that are considered his children. They are generous compassionate and righteous and so if Jesus has touched your life

If you've accepted him as your lord and savior if you call out to him at some time in your life, and you've prayed and he's answered that prayer.

I want you to take the way that he's minister to you the way he's been generous and compassionate and good to you and make that a model for how you treat others. Listen, when we when we accept fully the love that God has for US Express in Jesus Christ. Then we have the Reserves. We need to take the risk of reaching out and loving and caring for others. Do you understand that connection? Sometimes we hold back and we kind of lives our lives in reserve man, and we don't want to be too generous. I don't I don't want to get too involved. What if it turns into a messy thing or what if what if it's more than I can handle you should be doing more than you can handle.

You know, why because then you will need God to be involved in what you're doing. Too often. We just measure what we try to do in life. We just measure the difference. We're going to make by what we think we can do but we think we can handle and the challenge is to take the Amazing Grace and compassion and miracles that God has worked in our life and our community and our church and our families lives take those and take the risk of reaching out to others. And so for many this is a continued because it's already amazing. I think Jean Wells told me that there were 500 gifts collected for Appalachian Mission of Hope of 180. And everything you hear about is coming out this car gation again this not a testimony to Hillandale. It's a testimony to Jesus. What he can do with just a small group of people who let him get ahold of their hearts. So if you're already doing that, then I commend you and I challenge you to continue to be generous to give. I'll be specific to give away your money as that I said it you should give away your money as much as you are able you should give it to the church. You should give it to those in need. You should give it to charity. You should give your money away that make that nice and clear. Even if you just got a little bit. You should give some of it away. Because it's good for you to even if you do it from a selfish perspective, it's good for your soul. It's it's it's part of the way. We keep money from having a grip on our hearts is by letting it go giving it away showing it who's boss not letting it be boss of her life and I challenge you to continue or if you haven't been to take the challenge of acting in compassion to those and don't just see the problem. So just watch the news inside boy. I hate that that's awful ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you to creativity figure out a way you can get Bob be like and that's that was shared about this morning. Let that problem bother you let it way down on your heart. Let it be so much that you have to go to God in prayer and say this is weighing me down. You got to help me figure out how to do something about this you think God would have cooperated with you in that sort of prayer. Jesus said when we ask anything in his name, he will answer it and that's definitely in his name when you're saying Lord Jesus help me serve those who are broken. Help me lift up the sky. For those whose Spirits are crushed. That's the kind of prayer. He's hankering for us to pray so that he can answer it. And so I challenge you to give your money away and to get involved in acting compassionately for those needs in our world around us. And to pray God's goodness into the lives of those your ministering to the pray that it wouldn't just be a physical change. It would just be a practical meeting of the need but it would be a spiritual event in that person's life that they would know that they don't have to say what isn't Laura do a little just amazing that she did that isn't Hillandale just amazing because you can look at anybody and Laura would probably admit this just like we all wish you can look at any church right and you can find things that are amazing. It's not about us when we're doing these things. It's what Jesus is doing in our lives and in our church. And so we want to do these things that we want to pray that it becomes clear to that person whom or survey that this is God reaching out to them not us. It's not happening because Robbie special not happy cuz this church is special. It's happening to his God uses Ordinary People to do extraordinary things because God is reaching out to them. So it's not just the giving and the acting but it's praying and inviting God's goodness into that situation. Now you might be saying that all sounds good. I need that myself. And if you do is we sing Our Song here in just a few moments. I invite you out to seek me out. I'll be in the back of the worship center. And so if you got a priority. I want to play with you. They'll be a prayer team back there too. So the folks on both sides and the middle. So if you've got a prayer concern you want to call out to God and say got I'm someone for broken heart why am somewhat of a crushed spirit? I need you to minister to me. He Longs for you to call out to him. To ask for his help. So come back and pray with us. If you've got a decision to make come back and find me and we'll talk about that decision. I'll answer any questions you having and pray with you. But this song just be a time in which we call out to God so that he can continue to minister to us so that we can minister to others please stay on.