ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

From Grandmother to Granddaughter, Passing Along Religious Traditions. When parents are absent or uninterested in spirituality, a grandparent often steps in.



“Baylor sociologists have found that the much-touted rise of the "nones" may not be all it is cracked up to be. Many people who indicate that they have "no religion" on a survey will then go on to name a specific congregation which they attend! A number of evangelicals have grown up with the idea that they do not have a "religion," but a personal relationship with Jesus. Others do not know what denomination to which their church belongs. These findings undercut some of the supposed ascendancy of unbelief.” Thomas Kidd


I completely agree. WSJ:

On Wednesday Senate Republicans…introduced a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood while providing the same dollars to alternative women’s health-service providers….The bill states that nothing in its language ‘shall be construed to reduce overall Federal funding available in women’s health.’ Instead of going to Planned Parenthood, the money would go to health centers, hospitals and other organizations that provide non-abortion services for women’s health.

The leaders on the cultural left are shouting as usual about limiting health care for women and denying their right to choose. But no such right is in jeopardy. Planned Parenthood can finance all the abortions it wants, but it would have to raise other funds to do it. Surely there are enough rich progressive donors in Greenwich and Silicon Valley.

…

In its political ascendancy, the cultural left has become even more intolerant of dissenting views. On gay marriage, opponents must be silenced and are obliged to provide services regardless of their religious objections. And the right to have an abortion isn’t enough; opponents must be forced to pay for it. By all means let’s have a vote about taxpayer funding for fetal organ harvesting.

This week's newsletter from Karen

It’s hard to believe that July is almost done and there are just a few weeks left before school starts.

That must mean it’s promotion time in our preschool, elementary, and preteen departments.

Luke 2:52 reads, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (NIV). This verse always reminds me that 1) growing up is a natural part of a child’s life, 2) as children grow up, it is more than just their physical bodies that should be growing, 3) as children grow up, we must hold them to a higher (but appropriate) set of expectations, and 4) children are not just small adults.

This is always an exciting time as the kids move to a new classroom with new teachers. Some move from preschool to elementary. Some move from elementary to preteen, and some move from preteen to youth. However, change can sometimes be scary for children no matter how much they may be looking forward to the change.

Please be in prayer for all the children this week as they make their transitions on Sunday.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Thank you for all of your prayers last week while we were with our youth at Pineywoods Camp. It was a tremendous time of fun, fellowship, Bible study, and getting our lives squarely focused on God. Truly the best part of the week was seeing one of our seventh graders give his life to Christ! The best part of that was that it was another seventh grader that helped lead him to the Lord! God is good, isn’t He? Please pray that our students will be able to keep their eyes on Jesus as we near the beginning of school. While the mountain top feeling of camp will fade, the truths learned there do not have to!

This also marks the last week that our summer intern, Jeff Robertson, will be with us. Jeff has done an outstanding job of organizing, teaching, mentoring, and loving on our kids this summer. We sure hate to see his time with us come to an end! Please be in prayer for him as he heads back to the University of Mary Hardin Baylor for his senior year of school. God is going to do great things through Jeff. We are grateful to have been a part of his life over the past two summers. Sunday will be his last day with us, so please give him a hug and tell him thank you.

This week's newsletter from Michael

Michael Slaughter is filling in for Gene again this week.
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Summer break is almost over and I am ready to see the entire music ministry gang come back together!

“Find Your Place…” This is our motto for this fall! If you haven't found a place to serve in our church, then we have many options for you to consider. Here are a few:

Vocal Ministries

• Worship Choir: 7th grade-Adults
• SonShine Singers: Median Adults-Senior Adults
• Student Worship Choir: 7th-12th grade
• Kids Music Theater: 1st-6th grade
• Preschool Praise Club: 4 years-Kindergarten

​Instrumental Ministries

• Worship Orchestra
• Worship Band
• Bells of Joy

Media

• Audio
• Lyric Presentation
• Video

A few things have changed in our music schedule and I want to make you aware of them:

• Worship Orchestra/Praise Band/Praise Team, August 5th @ 6:00 p.m.
• Worship Choir, August 16th @ 4:15-5:15 p.m. (Sunday)
• Bells of Joy, September 9th @ 7:15 p.m. (Wednesday)
• Student Worship Choir, September 13th @4:44-6:00 p.m.

If you’re considering joining any of these ministries, please email or give me a call! 

SEE YOU SOON!

What Got Jesus Frustrated

by Tom Goodman

Jesus once looked at his disciples and said, “How long shall I put up with you?”

Yikes. Do you think he sometimes says that of his disciples today?

According to Matthew 17, what provoked his frustration was his disciples’ inability to meet a father’s desperate need. “I brought my troubled boy to your disciples,” the father complained to Jesus, “but they could not heal him.” And Jesus looked at his men, shook his head, and said, “How long shall I put up with you?”

There are only two times in scripture where Jesus came anywhere close to discouragement.

It wasn’t when he faced his great temptations. Nowhere in that passage (Matthew 4) do we hear him say, “How much longer do I have to put up with this?”

It wasn’t when he faced the crowds with their pressing needs. As a boy I remember watching the film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar. In one scene the crowds with their constant needs are pressing in on Jesus and Webber’s Jesus is backing away saying, “Get away from me!” Even as a boy, I knew enough from Sunday School to know Jesus never looked at the crowds with their needs and said, “How much longer do I have to put up with this?”

Even in the agony of the cross, Jesus never said, “How much longer do I have to put up with this?”

There are only 2 times in the Gospels were Jesus speaks with this kind of, well, annoyance. In both instances it is when he sees how little faith his followers have.

Think of that. What frustrates you about your church? Some of us get frustrated when the time of service changes. Some of us get frustrated when the length of service changes! Some of us get frustrated when the style of music doesn’t suit us. Some of us get frustrated when the way we’ve always done things gets changed.

Let me clue you in: None of that frustrates Jesus. But when he sees a church with a feeble faith, according to this text we can be sure he is throwing up his hands and saying, “How much longer do I have to put up with this?”

This Sunday, we’ll look at Christ’s promise that faith as small as a mustard seed can accomplish great things for God’s glory! Join us at 10am for this challenging study!
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ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

The 4 people in North Dakota who create all our fake national holidays

 

Joe Rigney at DesiringGod explains when to baptize our believing children: “Embrace the professions, wait on the water.”

 

Thomas Kidd explains that “there are at least four types of Christians who often get cast as evangelicals who really are not evangelicals, if that term has any meaning.” You might be surprised at those who “might well affirm evangelical distinctives when asked, but they put other emphases [from those evangelicals would hold] at the center of their public message.”

 

More Americans Oppose Obergefell-v-Hodges Than Support It

 

“As my friend and former Obama White House staffer Michael Wear tweeted, ‘It should bother us as a society that we have use for aborted human organs, but not the baby that provides them.’” You should read Kirsten Powers’ USA Today piece on the Planned Parenthood controversy.

This week's newsletter from Karen

I wrote the following article in 2013 the week my son left for school. As I approach the next few weeks getting ready for my daughter to make the same journey, I find myself in almost the same position. Always good to remember how faithful God is to be with us no matter where we find ourselves.

For better or worse, I’m an organized, structured, and detail-oriented person. I want things planned and I want to be able to study the plans several days in advance and have the opportunity to change them to make them more organized, structured, and detailed. This past week God did not afford me this luxury. Ugh! My very nature was being challenged and I was afraid I would “lose it.” Then the following Scripture came to my mind…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV).

I can honestly say that I have never experienced this kind of peace until last week. I had to take many deep breaths and pray through different challenges. And just as promised, His peace – which I did not understand - guarded my mind and my heart. I was then able to look at each situation from a different perspective. This was so important because my son was closely observing my reactions for cues on how he should feel.

Parents, there are so many things that can distract us and keep us anxious. Our children are watching us to see how to react when these things come into our lives. Next time you are faced with this anxiety, I urge you to remember these verses and let God’s peace guard your heart and mind to see things from a different perspective – His perspective.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Youth Camp has finally arrived! We arrived at Pineywoods Baptist Camp on Monday, and have been hard at it ever since! Bible Studies, swimming, worship, canoeing, fishing, volleyball, and so much more… We are keeping them busy, for sure!

For the past two years, I have been privileged to lead the “Missions Power Group” for this session of camp at Pineywoods. The “Power Groups” are a specific time each day where our students meet with the other students their age for Bible Study. The Missions group meets during that time, and is completely optional. We teach them the same material that the other groups teach, but we put a bit of a missions “slant” on it. On Thursday, we take the entire Missions group out to do a service project in the community. These kids and adults work hard, and do so with a willing spirit! It is such a blessing to be among these young people. Many of those in this group are interested in missions, and some even feel called to missions work as a vocation. Please be in prayer for them this week!

Thank you for praying for our group from Hillcrest this week. Please pray that God will draw us close to Himself, and in turn, closer to one another. We are also praying for the salvation of any of those coming with us that may not have a relationship with Christ! May their lives be truly changed this week! Thank you for your prayers this week—we can feel them!

This week's newsletter from Michael

Michael Slaughter wrote the following article, filling in for Gene while he and Lynn are on vacation.
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It is a joy serving the Hillcrest family, especially those in choir! Ericka Brothers has been a member of our worship choir for close to a year. Ericka is married to Robert Brothers, and they just celebrated the delivery of their twin boys, Robert Jr. & Richard. The boys came early at 25 weeks on July 13th, and are doing surprisingly well!

I spoke with Erica Monday morning and she is asking that we pray for Richard. The past few days they have had some issues and had to transport him to Dell Children’s Hospital to have surgery on his intestines. He did come through and is in the healing process. Ericka also mentioned he is having some kidney issues which they hope to get resolved soon.

Ericka says that Robert Jr., on the other hand, is doing “PEACHY!” Ericka and Robert are also doing great! Pastor Tom and I had a great visit with them last week. They have a long road ahead of them, and will need our prayers. Please continue to lift up this family.

Who Were the Sadducees and Pharisees?

The Gospels refer often to the Sadducees and Pharisees, as Jesus was in constant conflict with them. The Sadducees and Pharisees comprised the ruling class of Israel. There are many similarities between the two groups but important differences between them as well.

The Sadducees:During the time of Christ and the New Testament era, the Sadducees were aristocrats. They tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest, and they held the majority of the 70 seats of the ruling council called the Sanhedrin. They worked hard to keep the peace by agreeing with the decisions of Rome (Israel at this time was under Roman control), and they seemed to be more concerned with politics than religion. Because they were accommodating to Rome and were the wealthy upper class, they did not relate well to the common man, nor did the common man hold them in high opinion. The common man related better to those who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. Though the Sadducees held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin, history indicates that much of the time they had to go along with the ideas of the Pharisaic minority, because the Pharisees were popular with the masses.

Religiously, the Sadducees were more conservative in one main area of doctrine. The Pharisees gave oral tradition equal authority to the written Word of God, while the Sadducees considered only the written Word to be from God. The Sadducees preserved the authority of the written Word of God, especially the books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). While they could be commended for this, they definitely were not perfect in their doctrinal views. The following is a brief list of beliefs they held that contradict Scripture:

1. They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.
2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27; Acts 23:8).
3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Because the Sadducees were more concerned with politics than religion, they were unconcerned with Jesus until they became afraid He might bring unwanted Roman attention. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united and conspired to put Christ to death (John 11:48-50; Mark 14:53; 15:1). Other mentions of the Sadducees are found in Acts 4:1and Acts 5:17, and the Sadducees are implicated in the death of James by the historian Josephus (Acts 12:1-2).

The Sadducees ceased to exist in A.D. 70. Since this party existed because of their political and priestly ties, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees were also destroyed.

The Pharisees:In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen, and therefore were in contact with the common man. The Pharisees were held in much higher esteem by the common man than the Sadducees. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision making of the Sanhedrin far more than the Sadducees did, again because they had the support of the people.

Religiously, they accepted the written Word as inspired by God. At the time of Christ's earthly ministry, this would have been what is now our Old Testament. But they also gave equal authority to oral tradition and attempted to defend this position by saying it went all the way back to Moses. Evolving over the centuries, these traditions added to God's Word, which is forbidden (Deuteronomy 4:2), and the Pharisees sought to strictly obey these traditions along with the Old Testament. The Gospels abound with examples of the Pharisees treating these traditions as equal to God's Word (Matthew 9:14; 15:1-9; 23:5; 23:16, 23, Mark 7:1-23; Luke 11:42). However, they did remain true to God's Word in reference to certain other important doctrines. In contrast to the Sadducees, they believed the following:

1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.
2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).
3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.
4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Though the Pharisees were rivals of the Sadducees, they managed to set aside their differences on one occasion—the trial of Christ. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to put Christ to death (Mark 14:53; 15:1; John 11:48-50).

While the Sadducees ceased to exist after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Pharisees, who were more concerned with religion than politics, continued to exist. In fact, the Pharisees were against the rebellion that brought on Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70, and they were the first to make peace with the Romans afterward. The Pharisees were also responsible for the compilation of the Mishnah, an important document with reference to the continuation of Judaism beyond the destruction of the temple.

Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees earned numerous rebukes from Jesus. Perhaps the best lesson we can learn from the Pharisees and Sadducees is to not be like them. Unlike the Sadducees, we are to believe everything the Bible says, including the miraculous and the afterlife. Unlike the Pharisees, we are not to treat traditions as having equal authority as Scripture, and we are not to allow our relationship with God to be reduced to a legalistic list of rules and rituals.

Recommended Resources:Bible Answers for Almost all Your Questions by Elmer TownsandLogos Bible Software.

Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees-Pharisees.html#ixzz3g4xAHPb9

This week's newsletter from Karen

I’m currently reading a book call Listening: The Forgotten Skill. I was surprised at a statistic I came across in this book which compared the amount of time we spend listening to the amount of formal training we get in the skill of listening. According to the author, Madelyn Burley-Allen, we communicate in four modes: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The amount of time we spend in each mode as a percentage of total communication time is 40% listening, 35% speaking, 16% reading, and 9% writing.

We all obviously need training in each of these areas in order to be effective communicators. You would think that the amount of formal training we received in these areas would be proportional to the amount of time we spent using each skill. However, according to Burley-Allen, that is not the case. In fact the actual opposite is true. On average we receive 12 years of formal training in the skill of writing, 6-8 years for reading, 1-2 years for speaking, and 0-1/2 year for listening.

James 1:19 says, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (NIV). How different would the world be if we all took the time to actually listen to what others are saying? I’m not talking about hearing while a hundred other distractions are running through our minds. I’m talking about actually giving others our full attention and listening to them without those distractions.

Parents, this skill is essential for our children who live in a world where messages are coming at them at a “speed of light” pace. How will they know when to stop and listen when their God is speaking?

My prayer this week is that we will be able to come up with strategies to help our children develop their skill of listening so when God speaks to them, they will be able to focus on what He has to say.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Thank you for all of your prayers and support during our Rock Week of Missions here in Austin last week! We had an amazing time together, and we were able to be involved with some great ministry here in town.

Just to give you a recap of last week’s ministry opportunities, our youth baked cookies/made thank you cards and took them to the local Army recruiting station, as well as to the firefighters at David Smith’s former fire station. They also had a car wash, in which they were able to raise nearly $500 to send to Samaritan’s Purse for disaster relief in Nepal. Then, they made 25 food/ministry kits and we took them out into the streets of Austin and distributed them to people standing beside the roads asking for help. We spent two afternoons helping renovate a new church plant, the Fellowship at Scofield Farms. We painted, landscaped, and removed a ceramic tile floor. We also prayer walked down 6th street, up Congress, and had a prayer time in front of the Capital building. Top all of that off with three amazing nights of worship and Bible study, and it made for a great week together!

Youth Camp is next week! Please be in prayer for our students and leaders as we head to Pineywoods Camp in east Texas. Please pray that God will really reveal Himself to each of us in a new and fresh way, and that hearts will be turned to His will!

This week's newsletter from Gene

It was good to see everyone participating this last Sunday as we sang "Days of Elijah." It's a fun song yet with a good message reminding us that the same God who showed himself so strong in the Old Testament is still at work today. Based on what we see around us, we are grateful He is still on His throne!!

If you have been sitting in the audience, yet wanting to be in choir, your chance is fast approaching. You will be hearing/seeing more from Michael as he gets the fall program ready to kick off. Christmas music will be here this week, so he is ready to go!! We will be having a back-to-choir bar-b-que at Lynn's and my home Sunday evening, August 2nd. You will be hearing more from Michael as he puts this together, but just in case we may not have you on the "choir radar" yet, please send him a note, michael@hillcrest.church, and let him know you would like information.

2nd Half members, our next event is a work project at the Austin Area Food bank, 1:30-4:30pm Saturday, August 1st. Even if you are not normally a part of this ministry but would be interested in participating, send me a note, gene@hillcrest.church, and I'll get you info. You are welcome to join us.

God’s Forward Observers

by Tom Goodman

Have you noticed how often the words “watch” and “pray” are combined in the Bible? Our praying should make us more attentive, our attentiveness should lead us more often to prayer, which should make us even more attentive, and on and on in a building cycle.

If we should we watchful, for what should be watching? We should be alert to the activity of God and pray for its success, and we should be alert to the activity of the Evil One and pray for its defeat.

I remember a story from a pastor who was a Vietnam vet. He recounted how his battalion would set up a firebase in the jungle with huge 8-inch guns. Then, companies of soldiers would fan out in four directions from the base, looking for the enemy. Often, when the enemy was found, they would be in much greater number than the company of American soldiers. When that happened, the company would simply get on the radio and call in the coordinates of the enemy so the firebase could rain shells down on them. The vet said that Christians are God's forward observers in enemy territory. And when we encounter the enemy, we must call down the firepower of heaven.

Ever since he visualized prayer in that way for me, it has energized my prayer life. We must be alert to the work of the enemy. We must be sensitive to his ways in personal relationships, church matters, governmental affairs—we must be awake to his whereabouts, and when we discover his acti­vity, we must radio those coordinates to heaven, calling on the power of divine guns.

We must obey the Scriptures that repeatedly tell us to watch and pray. We must pray for the divine activity we see around us and against the demonic activity we see around us.

How alert are you to these things? Some of us are so focused on our own plans, our own pains, and our own pleasures so much so that we have no sensitivity to the spiritual warfare around us. Maybe today you need to confess, “When it comes to my prayer life, I want to be more alert. I’ve neglected to be God’s forward observer, I’ve been AWOL, but I want to count for him again.”

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Subscribe to “Winning Ways” and
it will arrive in your inbox each Wednesday
hillcrest.church/newsletters

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Why Do Americans Drink Coffee?

 

How about taking church attendance using facial recognition software, eh?

 

A Guy Got Struck by Lightning Twice, and His Name Happens to Be Rod

 

“Progressives grew up in an era in which big money corrupted politics, large corporations dominated the economy, and environmental crises threatened the natural world – forces that might rouse the ire of those on the ‘blue’ side of the spectrum today. But the situation was a call to arms for those who were steeped in the Calvinist demand for a righteous society, a kind of moralizing that might be more considered on the ‘red’ side of the current spectrum.” An interesting article by Texas Tech’s Mark Stoll on Teddy Roosevelt and how essential Roosevelt’s Presbyterian Calvinism was to understanding his motivations. “Some recent biographers go so far as to overlook this element of his character completely, but Roosevelt’s friends and colleagues recognized in him, in the words of one friend, ‘the greatest preacher of righteousness in modern times.’”

 

The top 10 religious liberty threats for Christian higher education

Lost in Translation

by Tom Goodman

Mistranslations can be funny, but not always.

The Wall Street Journal reported on some signs at overseas businesses.  The signs were translated into English for American tourists, but the signs lost their meanings in the translations.

Here's one from a Swiss restaurant:
"Our wines leave you nothing to hope for."

Then there's the posted notice in front of a Budapest zoo:
"Please do not feed the animals.  If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty."

One dental office boasted:
"Teeth are extracted by the latest Methodists."

In Copenhagen at least one airline was up front in how it handled luggage.  Its sign read:
"We will take your bags and send them in all directions."

Or here's another from a Japanese hotel, which led to some misunderstandings, I imagine:
"You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid."

That's like the laundry in Rome that advertised:
"Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time."

Finally, there was the sign at a Paris hotel that advised:
"Please leave your values at the front desk."

Those signs are good for a chuckle.  But it's tragic when things get lost in the translation between Christ's vision for his church and actually seeing the church in action.

That's why we've started a new sermon series called "The Church You've Always Longed For."  We're looking at six challenges from the Gospel of Matthew; and if we rise to those challenges, we can be a better church.  Last week we began the series by looking at how to place divine truth ahead of human tradition (listen here).  This week we continue our series with a lesson on how to let love overcome prejudice.  You can prepare for the message by reading Matthew 15:21-39.

This series is for your seeking friends as well as for believers.  Some start to consider Christ and then give up their examination of Jesus because a certain Christian or a particular church has disappointed them.  But isn't that like rejecting Beethoven's genius because your kid's middle school orchestra performed his work so poorly?

Christ's vision for his church is an ideal worth realizing.  To love Jesus means loving what he loves -- and, according to Scripture, Jesus "loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).  Let's get together and figure out how to love the church as he did.  Join us this Sunday at 10!

This week's newsletter from Karen

July is one of my favorite months of the year. Why July? Because July means it's camp month.

July 6-9 the 1st and 2nd graders will head out to Reunion Ranch in Georgetown for Kidz Kamp.

It's going to be a busy month, but like I said, it's my favorite. I love taking the kids to camp because I get the chance to interact with them in an environment that is all about having fun - all kids’ #1 priority.

I think God uses times when we are out of our normal patterns to get our attention. No different for kids. Camps provide that opportunity for kids and I've had the privilege of seeing God speak to many kids in a camp atmosphere.

Pray this week that the kids we take will hear from God as they have a safe, fun camp experience.

This week's newsletter from Steve

This week is Rock Week for our youth. Please pray for us as we undertake in-town mission work. We are looking forward to a great week together, and cannot wait to see what God will do in our midst!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We are in a “scattered mode” as summer is in full swing and our people are traveling everywhere. It is always interesting to me to hear where all our people have been, or are going. Several of our members’ jobs take them to various parts of the country and the world on a pretty regular basis. Vacation travel plans take others to many destinations. Please be in prayer for those traveling.

One of our own who will be traveling this week is Anna Grace Dickard. She leaves at the end of this week to begin her journey, which will include some stops here in the US for training, then on to the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya to begin her 2 year term of service as a house mother. The Rift Valley Academy provides education for missionary children throughout Africa. Anna Grace was a student there as she grew up in Africa, where her parents are IMB missionaries. Rift Valley Academy is owned and operated by African Inland Missions, but many of our International Mission Board missionary children go there. Pray for Anna Grace as she makes this journey and for her ministry there.

Your giving is a major factor in her being able to do this ministry. The Mission Team, using a portion of your undesignated offerings that goes to missions, will be providing about one half of her financial needs for the next two years. Thank you for your faithful giving. Just over 10% of everything you give through the budget offerings each week goes to fund missions.

Jump into July!

by Tom Goodman

From pancakes to picnics, we’re doing something special every Sunday in July. Bring a friend and enjoy these special events with your Hillcrest Family:

July 5 at 10am: Pancakes and Praise. This Independence Day weekend, our worship service will take place in the Multipurpose Center (MPC). We’ll meet at 10am for a pancake brunch—and the organizers tell me they’re planning patriotic pancakes, so you’ll have to come see what that’s about! We’ll stay in the MPC for the worship service around the fellowship tables. Expect the festivities to end around 11:30am. Our thanks to Pam Dahl and her Common Ground group for hosting this!

July 12 at 5:30pm: Family Movie Night. Bring your lawn chair or comfy quilt for this one, and we’ll turn the MPC into a big living room for the whole Hillcrest Family. We’ll watch Big Hero 6 and visit the free concession stand. We don’t want to run out of goodies at the concession stand, so help us plan by registering for this event at our website.

July 19 at 5:30pm: Game Night. Bring your homemade ice cream, some goodies for the snack table, and come enjoy board games and volleyball. Our thanks to Rebekah Fountain and her Common Ground group for hosting this!

July 26 at 10:00am: Baptism in the Park. An annual tradition! We’ll start off at Hillcrest with our regular 10am worship service. Instead of our small-group hour at 11am, head to Emma Long Park with your lunch. We’ll eat together, celebrate baptisms, and spend a lazy afternoon under the oaks and junipers. To participate in the baptism ceremony, adults need to complete the Discover Hillcrest course. The next one is July 19 and you can contact me to let me know of your interest. Youth should contact Steve Cloud and children should talk with Karen Raulie. There’s a great video explaining the importance of baptism at www.hillcrest.church/baptism.

New Summertime Sermon Series. This Sunday we begin a new series called “The Church You’ve Always Longed For.” It’s an exposition of Matthew 15-18, where Jesus shows us his expectations for those who belong to him. Read ahead and pray in preparation for this important summertime study.

This week's newsletter from Karen

As I was reading through some lessons for children I came across this one. Try it with your children this week.

Who Do You See?

Items needed: mirror and a Bible with a marker in Exodus 20

Ask:
How is the Bible like a mirror? (It shows us the truth about ourselves, it shows us where we have sinned, etc.)

When we look in a mirror, we see what we look like and what we may need to change. God’s Word is like a mirror. It helps us see what is wrong and what we need to change. God recorded His rules (Ten Commandments) in Exodus 20. Read them aloud and talk about our failure to keep them. (Have we always put God first? Have we always told the truth? Have we always honored our parents? etc.)

This would be a good time to talk with each child about faith:
Do you believe in Jesus?
Do you understand why He died on the cross?
Have you ever sinned? Young children are often unwilling to admit they have sinned–even though you know they have. Explain what sin is (breaking God’s rules) and point out examples of sin, but it is the Holy Spirit who must convict of sin.
Are you ready to make the decision to trust Jesus to take away your sins? 

Some good verses to read with the child are:

• John 3:16 (God loves you and sent His son to die for you.)
• Romans 3:23 (All have sinned.)
• Romans 6:23 (The payment for sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.)
• John 1:12 (All who believe in Jesus and receive Him are adopted into God’s family.)

Taken from Splink, July 8-14, 2012.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Next week, July 6-8, is our in-town Mission Trip for 2015, called Rock Week! We will be serving lunch at the Soup Kitchen all three days, doing some fix-up work for a local church plant with the Austin Baptist Association, and other activities to raise money for disaster relief through Samaritan’s Purse. These activities alone would be amazing, but that is not all!

Students will sleep at the church Monday and Tuesday nights. We will be having a worship service each night in the Summit at 7:00 PM! Bible study will be led by Jesse Hicks, from Spring, TX, and worship will be led by Joey Porter of Austin. We will also have late-night activities, so the schedule will be full! Rock Week will be over after the evening Worship time, so that is when parents need to come pick up students. In fact, parents are more than welcome to come and participate in the evening worship services at 7:00 PM each night.

Lastly, the cost… There is no cost to participate in Rock Week. The only thing that we ask is that students come with a willing heart to be used by God, and a good work ethic. It will cost you some time, maybe even some sleep, but in the end, it will be well worth it!

We are looking forward to a great week together, and can not wait to see what God will do in our midst! Please let me know if you have any questions!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We had an excellent trip to Orlando this past week with the youth choir!  Thank you for your prayers. We did lots of driving, just over 2,500 miles from when we left Sunday morning until we returned Saturday night. The kids were really fun to be with and the conference was very well scheduled with outstanding speakers, good rehearsal times, an very good experience working with kids in a transitional home shelter, then topped off with a recording Friday before we left. It will be neat to get to hear the full recording of 800+ students singing. It was very good live. Thank you Michael for a job well done!!

The new van was a real treat to get to drive and use. It should serve Hillcrest well for many years. We averaged 19.4 miles per gallon for the entire trip, during which the van was loaded and running two air conditioners the entire time, including 4 days of driving in Orlando. Pretty impressive!! Thank you Church!!