What Motivates Us?

Written By Holly Hill Church of Christ

“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.

What Motivates Us?
Devotional by: Elijah Bell

Why do you read the Bible? A comment that we often hear is that we study the Bible to learn about how to live a good Christian life, and  that through reading it, we learn how to please God and how to treat others. And while those things are true, they should not be the motivating factors for reading the Bible.

Jesus said in John 14:15, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” You see, Jesus wanted our motivation for serving Him and treating others well to be LOVE for Him, not simply because we know it’s the right thing to do.

We often use the Bible like a checklist of things we know we ought to be doing, and study it to extract a to-do list for our Christian lives, and then we wonder why we find it difficult to check all the boxes. What if instead of using the Bible to learn what we SHOULD be doing, and instead, we looked at the Bible as a story about God and his character, and used it to fall in love with Him? Then our love for Him could naturally fuel our desire to live out the commands, rather than the commands fueling our attempts at loving. See, we often get it backward.

What if a couple got married without knowing anything about each other, and then were told they had to love and care for each other, do kind things for each other, and sacrifice for each other. They may be able to do it for a short period of time, but eventually, if they don’t learn to fall in love with each other, they will stop.

The same is true with our relationship with God. When studying the Bible to learn what sacrifices we need to make, without first falling in love with God, then we will find carrying out those commands to be very difficult. So, instead of using the Bible as a list of to-dos, let’s use the Bible as God’s way of revealing His true nature to us that we can fall in love with.

How do we do this? When studying the Bible, ask yourself what God is revealing to you about Himself, His character, His desires, His promises. “What is God revealing to me about Himself in this passage? Do I view God in this way?” When we do this, we will begin to fall in love with who God is, and that will drive our desire to serve Him, rather than the other way around.

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 October

  • Equip — Invite a church member or family to do something with you outside of the worship assembly.

  • Teach — Share something with your accountability person (or another church member) that stood out to you from a recent Bible study.

  • Serve — Ask a deacon, ministry leader, elder, or minister how you can help, and serve in the way they direct you.

*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.

News

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

  • Send All Announcements And Prayer Requests To Our New Email: office@hollyhillcoc.org
    Starting October 1st, any announcement or prayer request you want sent out to the entire church must be submitted via our new email address: office@hollyhillcoc.org. We will collect the submissions and group them together and send no more than one email per day. Cutoff for submissions is 4pm every day, and the email will go out at 5pm.

  • Special Collection For Potters On October 30th
    October has five Sundays, and on the last Sunday (October 30th), we will be taking up a special collection for the Potters Children’s Home. All contributions that Sunday will go toward the Children’s Home, so please plan accordingly for your contribution. Thank you!

Prayers

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

  • Family of Bob Tankersley

  • Sue Paris

  • David Fair (Asks for prayers for marriage and family situation)

  • Larry Clarke

  • Steve Small

  • Phil and Suzanne Wilkins

  • Samantha Horn and Baby Cora

  • Janis Friend

  • Val Clarke (Surgery to remove braces and screws in her arm)

  • God’s will for the Tom Roach family

  • Prayers for Mission Control Challenges

Upcoming Events

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

  • This Saturday, October 8th — Hayride & Fall Festival
    Don't forget the Fall Festival/Hayride is Saturday, 4:00pm Fall Festival, 5:30pm food, 6:00pm Hayride.

    Please RSVP at 502-229-7540 (call or text) if you are planning to come. Sure would hate to not have enough food.

    You will need to bring lawn chairs, warm clothing and maybe your favorite outdoor blanket for the hayride.

    Hope to see all y'all on Saturday!

  • This Sunday, October 9th— Study Group Night

    This Sunday night will be the Study Group Sunday, meaning the congregation will break out into 3 groups. Men will have a study in the auditorium, women will have a study in Room 12 downstairs, and some of the fathers will teach their children in a separate classroom downstairs.

  • October 20th, 6pm — R.E.A.L. Ladies
    The next ladies REAL meeting will be Thursday, October 20th at 6 pm. The meeting will be at the home of Sharon Dailey. Food will be provided. Please sign up on the list located in the lobby if you plan to attend. Jeannie Lebeau will lead the devotional.

  • Sunday, October 30th — Potluck
    Every fifth Sunday, we have a potluck after morning worship, and then have a short devotional after the meal. There will be no evening service. Please bring a dish to share and stay for the afternoon devotional as well.

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:

  • Backpack Program
    We will continue to work with Westridge Elementary School and provide food for 50 students through the weekend Backpack Program. We need your help to keep this program going for the months of October, December, February and April (see list of needed items below).
    During these months please write (print) a card to encourage them or write your favorite Bible verse to share with them. We can invite them and their families to worship with us.

    If you have any questions please reach out to Tom and Sonia Roach. If you make a monetary donation please write Backpack Program in the memo line.

    Items needed are:

    • Vienna sausage

    • Pull top ravioli cups

    • Shelf stable yogurt

    • Beef jerky

    • Oatmeal

    • Individual cereal

    • Cheese and crackers

    • Mac and cheese cups

    • Mashed potato cups

    • Beanie weenies

    • Popcorn

    • Raisins, pudding cups

    • Jello cups

    • Protein bars

    • Granola bars

    • Pop tarts

    • Cheese dippers

    • Pull top soup cups

    • Easy open green beans and corn.

  • October Mission Control Challenges
    We have 3 new challenges for the month of October that we need your help on. Please see the section above entitled “Missions” for more information.

Long-Term Opportunities:

  • Mission Launch Team
    We are needing individuals to sign up for the Mission Launch Team. People on this team commit to working on the Mission Control challenges each month, and they also commit to encouraging at least one other person to work on the missions as well. We need you to sign up for this ministry so we can grow the Mission Control program organically from person to person. Sign up for the Mission Launch Team at the Mission Control Center in the lobby.

  • 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: office@hollyhillcoc.org

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

Holly Hill Church of Christ
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