We have a firm “No-Christmas-before-Thanksgiving” rule in the Hawkins home. For those of you who are reading this with the twinkling lights of a well-established Christmas tree in the background, that’s fine. I get it. I don’t have anything against early decoration. But we are a turkey-before-tree, yams-before-yule, and carols-after-cranberry family. Part of that is […]
Our 5-year vision
We believe God has called the people of Chapel Hill Church to achieve great things for the sake of Jesus Christ and his kingdom over the next five years. CareWe will care for our local community with mercy and compassion, without expectation of anything in return, because we are obedient to what Jesus told us […]
I’m so blessed!
The other day I was driving home, pondering… if I am honest…worrying some… about several challenges facing our church. As I drove along in a funk, a song came on the radio. I’d never heard it before…but it captivated me like no song has in a long time. The song was called “I’m So […]
Legacy Sunday
Twelve years ago, I shared with our elders what I believed to be the three priorities for our coming decade. Not that we didn’t have other things to attend to, but these three would be our particular focus. I called them the “3 Ds”: denomination, debt, and discipleship. First, denomination. We were increasingly aware that […]
Advent Serving Opportunities 2022
The Season of Advent is about two things: looking back (to Jesus’ birth) and looking forward (to Jesus’ return when he makes all things new). The first-century Jews who eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah and those of us who await the return of King Jesus both share a deep longing for God to […]
Fret not
I “rediscovered” a psalm recently: Psalm 37. Of course, I’ve read it countless times over the years, but somehow, it jumped out at me. I’m calling it the “Don’t fret” psalm. Pull it out and read it. David encourages the reader three times in the first eight verses, “Fret not yourself.” “Fret not yourself because […]
Three things to do during our mid-term
Recently, someone introduced my kids to an updated version of “slug bug,” replacing VW Bugs with Teslas. Unfortunately, our community is significantly affluent that this results in one of them hitting the other every 30 seconds. So, I decided to change the game. Instead of hitting each other when they see a Tesla, I invited […]
Why dwell upon death?
One of the biggest differences between my homeland, the UK, and the US is where people are buried. In the UK, graves are primarily located around the exterior of churches, rather than exclusively in designated cemeteries, like in the US. On our recent trip, our kids were fascinated with these church graveyards. They loved to […]
Remembering friends of Chapel Hill
As part of St Andrews Sunday 2022, we remember those who died in the past 12 months who were not members of Chapel Hill Church, but had connections to our congregation. Glen Forest Hutchison November 18, 2021 Quinn (Eldon) Farnes December 2, 2021 Lynn Peixotto December 14, 2021 Melinda Grace Wagner January 21, 2022 Luke […]
Invite your one!
This is the way. I am your father. May the force be with you. Star Wars has been a focus in our house recently! Have you ever noticed how weirdly similar these phrases are to things we say in church?! Jesus is the way, Our Father, The Lord be with you… To someone unfamiliar with […]