Hillside Christian Community

Today we worshiped at Hillside Christian Community, 1050 Campbells Run Road, Carnegie, PA 15106, 412.279.2996, www.hillsidechristiancommunity.org, Ben Kendrew, Senior Pastor.

Scripture – NIV

Genesis 5:28-29 –

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.”

Genesis 6:5-6 –

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

Genesis 6:8-9 –

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

Genesis 6:17-19 –

“I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.”

Genesis 7:5-7 –

And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

Genesis 7:18-19 –

The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.

Genesis 7:23-24-

“Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.”

Genesis 8:1-2 –

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.

Genesis 8:5-15 –

The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.”

Bob’s thoughts –

My memory was that this was a friendly church, but only a few spoke to us today. The Associate Pastor, who preached today, was one of those who greeted us, so I hope the church doesn’t think that is only the pastors’ job.

I appreciated the huge backlit cross on the wall and the countdown clock for the start of the service.

I enjoyed today’s message and felt Christ speaking to me from when I prayed yesterday for God to lead us to where we might meet with Him in worship. I realized today that when I haven’t prayed that request is when we end up at a church with a question mark after it.

I did not expect to need my ear plugs today but I could have used them, and there was an odd tone that made us both feel ill.

A number of the younger youth were in worship today and the pastor did an excellent job of adjusting his message to reach them.

The best was a personal story from childhood of the consequences of giving in to the temptation of peer pressure to do something you know is wrong.

The message again brought us to the question, what is God calling you to do? For some time I grew a large garden and donated much organic produce. I had a sense last year that God didn’t want me to do that any longer (it was wearing me out doing hillside gardening) but I was stubborn…shocking, I know… and tried to continue. After a few of God’s red bricks up the side of my head, I came to realize this was Bob’s idea of what God wanted me to do, and not God’s direction. His peace overwhelmed me when I chose to obey. I look forward to what He has me do next, with a lot less pride getting in the way.

Jan’s thoughts –

It’s been three years since we last visited this church and it turns out the pastors currently serving started just after our last visit.

This is a nicely appointed facility with ample signage. The worship area is stunning with stone work covering the back wall of the stage. The lighting was interesting without being blinding.

A few people greeted us and the associate pastor, who preached, took time to introduce himself and speak for a few minutes before worship.

The current series is called “The Goodness of God” and today’s entry was about “Noah and the Flood.” The first question was: Do you live to please others or God? He went on to speak of details of the event, such as the dimensions of the Ark, the number of animals (determined by Dr. Henry Morris to be 125,000), that the animals were likely young when they were herded aboard by God, and that the total time Noah, his family, and the animals were on the Ark was one year and 17 days.

He surmised that Noah and his family, in the midst of the Flood, had to have wondered how long this would go on since God did not speak to them during the event, and asked how often we wonder how long a particular life situation will continue until God brings a change to our lives. I couldn’t help but notice that Noah stayed on the Ark until God told him to disembark. I will remember Noah the next time the temptation arises to climb off my “Ark” before God gives the go-ahead. In order to live for God we must listen for His direction, and this message was a good reminder.

Our prayer for this church –

Lord, we pray Your church on this hill will continue to be a beacon to the neighborhood. Amen.