Obedience, or Agreement?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, ESV)

Mini Devotional

A mini message to take with you this week to help you in your devotion to God.

OBEDIENCE, OR AGREEMENT?
Devotional by: Elijah Bell

An all-encompassing facet of humanity is the desire to RULE. It started from the very beginning with Adam and Eve reaching out and taking the fruit of which they had been commanded not to eat (Genesis 3). This natural desire to be the one calling the shots has manifested itself in many different ways within popular Christendom.

One of the most common ways that people who claim to follow Jesus have remained in the position of rule in their lives is by pretending that they are actually giving up their own will to God, when in reality, they are simply choosing to adopt only such commands of God that they agree with, while ignoring the rest. Their rational may be something like, “that command is only cultural,” or, “God told me he wants me to be happy. I’m doing what God wants.”

This of course, is not true obedience. This is simply agreement. There is a BIG difference. If we follow only the commands of God that we agree with, it’s not obedience. If we obey God only when His commands match what we have chosen to believe, then it is not obedience, it is agreement.

When we choose to obey even when we don’t agree, or even when it will be highly inconvenient or uncomfortable for us, that is what true obedience looks like. We only truly love God when we are truly obedient.

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:2–3, ESV)

An exercise to apply today’s lesson:

Ask yourself, which commands of God are easy for you to follow, and which ones are difficult. Once you have a few items in mind on both lists, then ask yourself, in which of those two lists are you most obedient? If the answer is the former, then the human tendency to want to remain in control of our lives is evident.

As we go about our days today, let us not be guilty of merely agreeing with God. Let us truly be obedient as we continually remind ourselves of the reverberating words of our Lord and Savior, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15, ESV)

Missions

These are the challenges that the congregation is actively working on this month.

Our Missions For August

Equip — Grow in relationships and accountability by sharing one of your weaknesses with a fellow disciple, and asking for prayers.
Teach — Be able to briefly communicate why you are a Christian, and what Jesus has done for you, and be able to provide supporting Bible passages.
Serve — Write out one of your prayers for a fellow disciple, and give it to them, and tell them you’re praying for them.

*Be on the lookout for weekly training videos on our Facebook and YouTube pages, published each Sunday, to help you complete the challenges.

*As you complete each challenge, drop one of the pom-pom balls into the corresponding jar at the Mission Control Center in the lobby so we can see how many people are completing each challenge. One completion per person, per challenge, per month.

About The Categories Of Our Congregational Mission

Equipping Is… Experiencing how to live the Christian walk by sharing with other disciples.

Teaching Is… Communicating (and learning to communicate) the truth of God’s Word with each other and the world.

Serving Is… Doing the work of Christ in the world through love.

News

This section is for any special announcements that are not upcoming events or prayer requests.

Don’t Forget To Sign-Up for the Back-To-School-Bash
Whether you are planning on having a booth, or just attending, we need you to sign-up so we have an accurate count of who is coming and who is helping. Please see the links to the online forms in the section on how you can serve, down below.

Urgent Serving Opportunity Ending Soon!
We need help with the Back-To-School Bash, which is THIS Saturday! Please see the section on how you can serve below.

Progress Being Made With New Audio System
We are moving forward with our plans to renovate the auditorium sound system and audio for broadcasting via our livestream. You may begin to see new equipment arriving as we prepare for the installation.

New Order Of Sunday Evening Activities
The Sunday evening activities for the month of August will be:
- 1st Sunday — Disciples’ Workshop (Part Of Mission Control)
- 2nd Sunday — Study Group Sunday (Women’s and Men’s Bible classes, and men teach children)
- 3rd Sunday — Singing Night
- 4th Sunday — Small Groups (In people’s homes)

‘Mission Control’
“Mission Control” is a system of tools, equipping opportunities, and challenges to help the congregation live out our mission. It will consist of 3 basic elements:
- Mission Control Center — A station set up in the lobby with evangelism and Bible study tools, monthly challenges for the congregation, and a way to track how many challenge completions there have been.
- Disciples’ Workshop — A new Sunday evening activity in which the congregation meets together at the church building and breaks into smaller groups to work together in hands-on training exercises to prepare for the monthly congregational challenges.
- Weekly Training Videos — A new video coming out every week to help give biblical guidance and helpful suggestions on how we can better accomplish our monthly challenges together.

Prayers

Here are some individuals that especially need our prayers this week. Please keep them in mind every time you pray.

Nikki Finley
Larry Clarke
Phil Wilkins
Robin Ibershoff
Zoey Mollette

Upcoming Events

Here are some events that are coming up that you need to make space on your calendar for.

THIS Saturday, August 20th, 4:00 to 6:00pm — Back-To-School Bash
Invite your friends and community members! This is part of our follow-up for VBS! We will have food, carnival games, and prizes. Make plans to attend and bring your children/grandchild and their friends! We will need lots of volunteers, so make sure to check the section below on serving opportunities for more information. Weather may cause us to have to move inside, but we will make it work.

This Sunday, August 21st, 6pm — Singing Night
The service will be dedicated to singing and encouraging each other, with a short devotional.

Monday, September 19th at 6pm — R.E.A.L. Ladies Devo And Fellowship (LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED)
REAL stands for ‘ready,’ ‘evangelistic,’ ‘active,’ and ‘loving.’ Val Clarke started this group to be as warm and welcoming as possible, especially toward visitors, who are welcome. The group will meet every 3rd Monday in various locations.

Friday, September 30th at 6:30pm — Trivia Night
Robert Roach is hosting a trivia night at the church building to provide more opportunities for fellowship and community. Please make it a priority to be there if you can.

Thursday, October 6th — Potters Pick-Up
The folks from Potters will be here on this date to pick up the items the church has donated for the Tuesday’s Treasures thrift store. Please have all donations in by this day, and feel free to stop by to help load the truck. They usually arrive around 10am, but call to make sure.

Saturday, October 8th — Hay Ride & Fall Festival
Games, activities, food, 4pm to 6pm. Hay ride at 6pm. The event will be held at the Bowman residence.

How You Can Serve

There are a lot of ways you can get involved and do the work of God in our community!

For more information or for help signing up for any of these ministries, please call the church office at: (502) 227-7796.

Limited-Time Opportunities:

Volunteers Needed For Back-To-School Bash (Aug. 20th)
I have a great opportunity for you to do the work of ministry. We are hosting a Back-to-school Bash for our elementary program! We are going to do a cookout and carnival game night from 4:00-6:00 pm on August 20th. This will be a great follow up opportunity to bring all our VBS visitors back to the building. The goal is food, fun, fellowship, and faith!
We will need your help to pull it off! We will need a high volume of volunteers to make this happen.
We will need volunteers for security, work on helping feed the group, and creating carnival games. I have included a volunteer signup sheet below. To really make this a member driven work of ministry, we want you to design, manage, and staff the carnival games! This will be a great opportunity for you to intentionally interact with our visitors and guests! They will travel from station to station and get to know the people that make Holly Hill a great congregation! I am so excited to see what ideas for game stations you all can come up with! I would encourage you to really swing for the fences and let’s do something out of this world! Channel the carnival theme and those amusement park game ideas and do it big! It would be even greater if you could find a way to incorporate a Bible theme. We will also provide tickets that the kids can redeem for candy and prizes for completing all the games!
I’m going to include the link to a signup sheet with some spaces for you to put your name and booth idea! If you don’t have an idea but would like to participate, I’ve also included some inspiration. One last word about supplies: We have some supplies here and we will have some budget for this event. If you’d like to donate whatever you need for your booth that would be cool, but if you’d like to be reimbursed for your expenses that is also an option but please talk to Kurt before you make any purchases you’d like reimbursed.
You can find a sign-up sheet here for participants:
Back to School Bash at Holly Hill Church of Christ (google.com)
A volunteer sign-up sheet here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4ba8ae22a0ffc52-back

Carnival Games Ideas:
17 Best Carnival Games - FREE Game Ideas! (carnivalsavers.com)
10 Carnival Games for Family Festivals (thespruce.com)
Some quick and easy ideas:
- Face painting.
- Ball toss (knock stuff over)
- Pop a Balloon with a dart game!
- Taken Ideas: Fishing Gallery (Bell). Shooting Gallery. (Montooth) Ring Toss (Bowman)

August 28th — Food Pantry Donations (Mini Pack the Pulpit events)
To better meet community needs and not overly burden the congregation, the elders have approved a change for the pantry: Mini Pack the Pulpit events — Each with a particular focus:
- Aug. 28th — Collection for Backpack Program (Needed items to be announced)
  - NOTE: All cans should be pull tops. So the children can place in the microwave.
  - Ramen Noodle Packages
  - Nutri Grain bars
  - Easy Mac
  - Chef Boyardee Ravioli
  - Vienna Sausages
  - Granola Bars
  - Fruit Cups
  - Fruit Snacks
  - Individual Applesauce Cups
  - Oatmeal Packets
  - Individual Cookie Packs
  - Beanie Weenies
  - Canned Tuna
  - Canned Soups
  - Cheese and Cracker (Individual Packs)
  - Pudding Cups
  - Individual Cereals

Baby Gift Card for The Horns (Due by September 4th)
Sarah Jones is collecting money for a gift card for Jeff and Sam Horn to welcome Baby Cora in September.

Donate To Potters Home, Tuesday’s Treasures Thrift Shop (By Oct. 6th)
To support the Potters Children’s Home, the church is gathering items to donate to their thrift store, Tuesday’s Treasures, in Bowling Green. We’re looking for gently used household items, clothing, toys, furniture, etc. This is not an opportunity to get rid of broken junk, but to generously donate to help a good cause. Please donate items that are in a condition that you would want to use. Items can be dropped off at the church building.

Long-Term Opportunities:

Tech Team Support — The Holly Hill Tech Team needs help. We would love to have a few more people trained and available to set up the livestreams and audio equipment. It’s a fairly simple task and you’ll be well trained before being thrown into the seat alone. If you’re interested, see Nick, David, or Brad.

Greeter Ministry — We’re looking for people who are friendly and outgoing to welcome our guests and members each Sunday morning. If you are interested, contact Tom Owens.

Card Ministry — Every Sunday there are cards spread out on a table in the lobby that will be sent out to various church members and guests who need encouragement. You can help serve and encourage by making sure to sign these cards each week.

Casey Blessing Box — The Caseys are collecting items to give away to those in need in their Blessing Box. Currently, they are accepting donations of: Can goods of fruit and vegetables. Crackers, or cereal.

Shriners Children’s Hospital — Donna White is collecting soda can tabs to donate to the children’s hospital. Please leave your donations in the lobby.

Holly Hill Church of Christ
1020 Holly Hill Drive
Frankfort, KY 40601
Web: www.hollyhillcoc.org
Phone: (502) 227-7796
Email: hollyhillcoc@gmail.com

Service Times:
Sunday Bible Class: 10am
Sunday Morning Worship, 11am
Sunday Evening Worship, 6pm
Wednesday Evening Bible class: 6:30pm