In just four weeks I will be heading out with seven

other Hill-n-Dale members to Show Low, Arizona for

an exciting week of ministry with the White Mountain

Apache Tribe. This is Hill-n-Dale’s fourth trip to

Arizona as we join once again with Teen Mission USA

and Dunamis Ministries.

Several of our team (which happens to be mostly made

up of past and present choir members) have been on

this trip before. This will be my first trip to White

Mountain and I am truly excited about what this week

holds in store for us all. From providing a Vacation

Bible School and building projects to leading worship in a prison, the

opportunities for true ministry are without end!

Please keep our team and the work to be done in

your prayers:

Wayne Blakeman, David Dicks, Emery Emmert,

John Gosper, Dorothy Kern, Sean Rittenberry,

Pam Wade, and Austin Wilkerson.

What an incredible weekend we had a Hill N Dale!  From the viewing of the ‘Passion of the Christ’ on Good Friday to the Saturday morning Sausage & Pancake Breakfast with the Easter Bunny that welcomed many new faces to our doors.  From the moving Saturday evening Baptism Service to the awesome Sunday Morning Celebration Services with the Musical “Raise the Crown” carefully placed in between,  Jesus Christ was Glorified in an awesome and jam packed way! 

The Staff owes a huge thanks to all of you who gave of your time and talents this weekend.  Not only did we build one another up as we remembered all that Christ has done for us but we all reached out in a mighty way.  I ask that you continue to pray for what God will continue to accomplish in the lives that were touched this past weekend. 

Of all the past Easter Weekends that I have been a part of, the Easter 0f 2009  will always be remembered by me as a weekend that was truly moving and rememberable.    May we never forget was has done and continues to do in all of our lives.

God Bless!

At times, my 6 & 8 year olds are shockingly similar. There are moments when I hear them talking in another room that I have to really focus to tell them apart. When sorting laundry, I can never tell their socks apart and the list could go on and on! But a few mornings ago I found myself over hearing a conversation that my wife was having with them both. They were each packing their lunch boxes and my wife said to my daughter, “Kailyn, you have to pack something in your lunch box besides fruit.” Serioulsy, she had strawberries, grapes, apples and some other things that I would never touch. My daughter loves fruit! As for my son, in the same breath and in what seemed to be one continued sentence from my wife’s conversation with my daughter, she turned to Shae and said, “Shae, if I put this apple sauce in your lunch box are you going to throw it away again? This is the child that we have to force to eat anything healthy! The two little people that live in my house have so much in common with each other that at times they seem to be the same person yet in almost the same breath I realize how different from each other they really are. That might explain the disagreements I also hear in the other room, in the car and in the backyard from time to time.

It is really no different in the church. We are all made in the image of God therefore it would only make sense that we have so many things in common with one another. From similar hair styles, clothing choices, musical styles and food preferences we all have many things in common. In spite of the common ground of God’s Salvation and Grace that we all stand on we may find ourselves at times realizing that there are characteristics, preferences and issues that can really set us apart. But in these times, regardless of your age we all need to be reminded in our times of “differing opinions” the challenge that we are given in God’s Word.

^“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2 NIV

 

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10 NIV

 

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 NIV

A Challenge & a Model for Worship from Psalm 95

Psalm 95

 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
       let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
       and extol him with music and song.

 3 For the LORD is the great God,
       the great King above all gods.

 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
       and the mountain peaks belong to him.

 5 The sea is his, for he made it,
       and his hands formed the dry land.

 6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
       let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

 7 for he is our God
       and we are the people of his pasture,
       the flock under his care.

As you look over these words you may find yourself humming or singing these words to a few familiar songs. But more importantly, I challenge you during your public and private times of worship to consider what is really taking place and what God desires from all of us in worship. As you read verse 1, you realize that you are being invited to worship Him. In verse 2 you are being called to truly engage in worship. In verses 3-5 we realize that we are to sing out to the Lord with power and to give meaningful expression to the words that come from our lips. In verse 6 we in adoration acknowledge two sides of God’s character, His majestic greatness & His closeness to us. In verse 7 we find the quietest and most personal part of His worship, the intimacy that he desires from you.

As we sing, pray, study and listen together each Lord’s Day I challenge you to acknowledge all that takes place in our worship services. Worship Him in Spirit and Truth!!

(additional thoughts see “The New Worship” by Barry Liesch)

I must admit, I am out of the habit. When I began my blog I was excited to share my thoughts but that seems to have quickly faded. For that I apologize. At Hill N’ Dale we have been trying to emphasize our theme for the New Year, “A Fresh Start.” So with my blog, why should it be any different? Here is my Fresh Start:

As I work from home on this “Ice Day” here in Lexington I find myself reflecting on the study that my home group began just a week ago. We are studying Max Lucado’s book based on John 3:16. A truly incredible study on the most well known but probably taken for granted passages in God’s word, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

I am quickly reminded that this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus began with the following words from John 3: 1-7.

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”

 ”How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit ^gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’

As we learned from our study that Nicodemus, a good man who was well studied in the scriptures struggled as many of us do with the concept of being ‘Born Again.’ The salvation that God extends is deeply rooted in the fact that one must believe to receive that salvation, not work for it. The working part comes later in realizing that ‘I believe in Him therefore in response I will obey his commands.’ Therefore, we ‘believe and be baptized.’

Max Lucado eloquently explains it this way. When a child is brought into this world, does anyone say “Good job little one!” No, they congratulate the mother. She is the one who did all the work and went through the pain of childbirth. As it is with God, He loves us so much that in order for you to be born again, he experienced separation from His “one and only” son as He died on the cross for you and me. Through his death, burial and resurrection God full filled his plan and restored all “that believe in Him.” Accept and embrace His gift and in return obey all that He has commanded us to do.

 

 

Choir Spotlight: TRACEY WILKERSON

 Tracey was born in Bowling Green and grew up in Murray from the age of 5. Her dad worked for the TVA, so she spent a lot of time at Land Between the Lakes where she developed a great appreciation for nature. She came to Lexington to go to college at UK and remained in town after she graduated.

 About ten years ago a friend invited Tracey to hear Tom Lawson preach on his second Sunday as our interim minister. She came that Sunday and has been attending ever since. Over the years she has become increasingly involved at the church, participating in women’s ministry, Bible studies, outreach, and choir.

 This will be Tracey’s second Christmas cantata with us. She used to sit in the pews and watch us sing, but someone in choir noticed how much she always seemed to enjoy the music, so that person invited (and pestered, and nagged) Tracey to give choir a try. The rest is history! Tracey says “it would be better if I could actually read the music and hit the notes,” but she says that the feeling she gets inside when she sings makes it completely worthwhile for her. She adds that choir practice is like “a mini worship in the middle of each week with your friends – great!”

 Tracey has two high-school age sons that she is very proud of. Austin (16) and Kyle (15) both write songs and play music every day. She loves to listen to them while she cooks or does chores. The boys and their friends have a “Garage Band” that practices every Friday at her house, and Tracey is the roadie.

 Having worked at Adecco Employment Services for 16 years, Tracey likes knowing that she is helping people find jobs. When not working at Adecco, she stays busy with home repair/improvement projects. She also enjoys gardening (her favorite therapy), reading, and walking at the Arboretum.

On Wednesday evening, October 8th at 6:30 p.m. all of Hill N Dale Christian Church will come together for a special night of worship.  The adult praise band, the youth band, the Way Worship team, the Orchestra, along with the HND’ Choir will all come together for a special night of worship.  Make plans now to be part of this special night.  Those who are part of the Vertical Challenge program are also invited to join us!

A special thank you to all of you who have made the beginning of our fall choir season such a great sucess.  This dedicated group of 45 + has come together week after week to practice our monthly special music offerings and prepare for the Christmas Musical!  Thank You! to all of you!

Choir Spotlight:

ALLEN PRIGGE

 

 

 

We have enjoyed getting to know this fun-loving guy for the past year and a half! Allen Prigge and his wife, Joan, joined Hill-n-Dale at Easter of 2007, and a few months later Allen joined the choir as a bass.

 

A vocational instructor at LexPro, Allen works with the mentally disabled. He also serves at Hill-n-Dale as a deacon, has played in the church basketball league, and has participated in men’s Bible study and other men’s ministry activities.

 

Allen was born in Chicago, but he grew up in Kentucky since the age of two when his family moved to Versailles.  His singing career began when he was a youth at Versailles United Methodist Church. He later went on to sing in choir at Lindsey Wilson College.

 

There aren’t many sports or activities that Allen hasn’t played or at least attempted. He went to college on a baseball scholarship. He loves to play “corn hole” and regularly challenges his fellow choir members to friendly matches – so be ready anytime there is a picnic and Allen shows up with his game set! He has also been skydiving, and has even participated in the “Polar Bear Plunge” to raise money for Special Olympics (one year it was –4º outside!).

 

Outside of sports, Allen also enjoys watching and caring for birds, bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, or any other wildlife that makes its presence known in his backyard.

 

Allen’s passport bears stamps from England, Ireland, Wales (all from pleasure trips) and Costa Rica and Jamaica (from mission trips). He has also been part of our HND Mission Team that traveled to White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona.

 

Allen and Joan met at a church function at their previous church, and he married her five months later! They have now been married five years, and they enjoy going to the movies and entertaining guests. They own a calico cat named Callie (shown here reclining in her favorite chair).

 

 

A few weeks ago when I preached on the subject of Perseverance I offered a few personal examples of how my family and I have persevered.  Well, the lessons continue, but not without reward.  As we studied Romans 5:3-5 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”  

I have since been inspired to persevere yet again.  As many of you know, my son, Shae began Kindergarten a few weeks ago and for all of us this has been a major transition.  Shae picked up a few “bad habits” during his preschool days and we were afraid that they would carry over into Kindergarten.  And, they did!  However, as we prayed earlier this year that Shae would get the same Kindergarten teacher that our daughter had because of her strong discipline and class structure, God heard and answered our prayer.  With what began as yet another lesson in perseverance has quickly turned around and Shae continues to improve.  I thank you all for your prayers as we persevere on a daily basis and see that verse in Romans acted out daily in our lives.  We are definetely progessing towards our goal with a great deal of new found hope!!

 

By now you may have heard the upcoming change that will be occuring at Hill N Dale on September 7th.  I pray that as you hear and begin to digest that news that you are hearing this news with a prayerfully opened mind.  The news simply is that on this day we will begin our shift in the first service to a more Traditional style in our music and delivery.  In the second service we will make the shift to a more contemporary style.

If I might share that I personally am not a big fan of today’s worship service labels.  The labels “Traditional” & “Contemporary” both carry a great deal of personal expectation, confusion and personal emotion for all of us.  For those who enjoy singing choruses and who still want to attend the first service let me just say that the first service will continue to include both hymns and choruses.    The blend will become more balanced with a goal of at least 55% hymns /45 % blend of choruses.  The greatest change in the 1^st service that will be noticed is the total lack of drums and electric guitars which have been a sore subject for many in the 1^st  service.  We will continue to use our praise vocal teams, the choir, violins, piano, acoustic guitars, and now add the goal of bringing back the organ “as soon as we find someone who can play it” in the first service.  In the first service we will continue to use the screens for lyrics but we will have the hymn numbers listed for those that would like to use the hymn book. 

The 2^nd service will continue with at least one hymn but all the songs will be accompanied by the band.  The band will be relocated to the stage to more effectively lead our congregation.   We will continue to use our praise vocal teams, the choir, violins, piano, and acoustic guitars.  But unlike the change in the 1^st service all the band will play including the drums and electric guitars in the 2^nd service. 

As Phil mentioned on Sunday, this decision was reached after much prayer and fasting by the leadership.   Phil also pointed out that we all, including myself will need to come to worship with an open mind and a continued realization that the worship experience at Hill N Dale includes all of the congregation and their involvement.  We further realize that the distance between Contemporary worship and Traditional worship has grown very wide.  So wide that blending of the styles has created for many confusion and disunity.  Through these changes it is my prayer that we all would find an opportunity at Hill N Dale to worship.  As one church member mentioned,  ”we will be at both services.”   Sounds good to me!  I’ll see you there!