Highland Church Podcast

When times are hard we have to be reminded of why we trust in God. In todays lesson Eric points to some truths that help comfort us when dealing with loss.

So what is Gospel-life about? That’s what’s next in Acts. Today is Gospel Life 101. What is basic Christian life about? The Gospel-life, according to Jesus, is a two-step... repent and believe.

Our lesson today is from Matthew 25:14-23. In this passage we are encouraged to do what is good (not easy) and faithful (not fearful). During this lesson we will hear a testimony from the Nowlin family and how they listened to God's calling and did what was good and faithful in their faith journey.

Today's lesson is from Josh Leow. Josh grew up at Highland and is talking about the importance of discipleship. Josh has a great testimony and is living proof of why discipleship is so needed in our churches.

A few weeks ago we shared our Vision for Highland. We call it Build up the Next Generation. So what does this Vision look like practically? As we stare through the binoculars and it comes into focus, what are the details actually like? We call the details, the 5 Benchmarks of the Vision.

Imagine you had robbed someone you were close too (for 2nd time). Last thing they said to you: “I am going to kill you.” You run away. Build your own family over next 15+ years. But you are coming back home. What do you do? In today's lesson, Jacob—who stole from his brother Esau twice—has finally come around on this. He’s heading home in Gen 32-33, and he knows that he wants to be forgiven.

In today's lesson we look at the story of Jacob and Esau. In this part of the story we see Jacob trade Esau for his birthright. Esau traded his long term blessing for immediate satisfaction. This is the modern problem. Our tendency to choose now (immediate self-satisfaction) instead of better (long-term joy, inheritance), actually inclines us to resent the better. Resent faith itself, the church, that raised us and loved us. Rather than resent ourselves, in our shame, we resent the blessing- just like Esau did.

Many of us feel absolutely overwhelmed by our problems. It’s money and it’s marriage. It’s a problem with a child whether adolescent or an adult. It’s a problem with my job. It’s a problem with a friend or someone in your family. It’s a problem with chronic pain or a disease that has completely altered your life and the life of your family. Problems have a way of stacking up until finally we are totally overwhelmed. We want to trust Jesus but we may wonder: “Will Jesus really help me with my problems?”

Our lesson today focuses on when we feel Irrelevant. We want to matter, but to matter we feel like we have to be who their world tells us to be. And it’ll kill you. That identity-pressure will overwhelm you. Make you do what you thought you’d never. This is a lesson in identity work- who does God say you are.

In our lesson today we see that Jacob gets a promise of a power that will stretch across national lines, uniting people under a common king and his cause—and there is nothing on earth that comes anywhere close to that, except the church—the body of Christ.

This week, we continued our “Build Up the Next Generation” series out of the book of Genesis by noticing the “maturing” faith of Jacob over the course of his life.

Today's lesson comes from Genesis 28. It's the story of Jacob encountering God through a dream... and Jacob's in awe of what he sees in this dream. Awe is life-changing. We want that here in this place, don’t we? Don’t we want this to be where people say: “Surely the Lord is in this place! How awesome is this place!” Don’t we want everyone here filled with awe? Isn’t that why we exist?

How significant are the heroes we remember for the forming of our faith? Remembering is right. We need heroes to remember. Our heroes have big influence on whether we stay faithful. Their impact is multi-generational. Giving us courage to stay in the land, to not give up when someone’s against us.

God promised to make Abraham great, bless him, give him land, make him into a great nation (Gen 12). And he did. In Genesis 24 we see Abraham reached retirement. He’s done all the things. But there’s one thing undone: making sure his son has what he needs. He’s come to the point where it's not about him anymore, it's about the next generation, and the ones after. He’s thinking legacy. Generations.

This Sunday is Life Giving Sunday. This is the Sunday that we collect our Outreach Contribution that goes toward supporting some of the best missionaries and ministries around. We will hear from two of those missionaries today and also present a gift to one of our outreach partners, Hopeworks, for transitional housing for men in Memphis being released from prison. Today you’re going to hear some of the Life that your sharing has made possible.

For Mother's Day we look at the story of Hagar and Ishmael. From the moment the child is in her womb, loving him is hard. But where we have limits to providing what we want for our children and loved one's, God promises to hear us and has the power to make them into something.

Tim Stafford continues our Wednesday Night series on Moses. This week we will look at the Ten Commandments.

Eric is joined by HYG Youth Ministers, Ted Crigler, Donnie Stover, and Hanna Thrasher as we honor our graduating seniors. They discuss what the 5 key factors are for making our teens into resilient disciples.

This week, we remembered Jesus’ power to give us freedom from the burdens we carry.

Gary Kenley continues our series on Moses. This week we will look at the interaction between Moses and Pharaoh.