Highland Church Podcast

We live in a time with intense pressure on exclusivity. But what about Jesus? To us, that name is Essential! There is a pressure against exclusivity in all of its forms. And at times that is good and holy. But when it comes to Jesus, it is not. The message is that he is for everyone, but he is a must for each one.

Today we are in Acts 11. Barnabas, from Acts 11, has the kind of faith that is truly living the Gospel Life. Today we look at the way Barnabas' Christian life started and how you can be more like him this year.

For some, the New Year is just another day. Yet, for others it is not. You may even look forward to beginning a new year. As we move into 2023, Jim Martin shares with us a passage that can help guide us through the year from Isaiah 41:8-10. He also share three things that can help us start fresh in the New Year.

Today is the day on which all hopes rest—Emmanuel, God with us. Everything we hope in and for rests on this. The Christmas message: The author of life is right here, with us. He breaks the impenetrable barrier. That’s what we call a “miracle”. And if that miracle has happened, then anything is possible.

This is the radical claim of Christianity, and the one the first Christians spent all their time making: That all the different hopes in Old Testament Scripture, separated threads of meaning, have been woven together into one person—Jesus Christ.

Today's lesson is from Acts 3. Peter and John just stepped out of Utopia where the Church is together, growing, sharing, praising, all with glad and sincere hearts. And what is the first thing God puts in front of them? Brokenness.

Jesus says to his followers in Acts 1: “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” A global mission, that also encounters nearly immediate opposition. This wont get easier, it will get harder. And so, they pray. They devote themselves to prayer. The early church was always praying. Almost anytime you drop in on the church, and ask what were they doing? Well… they were praying. Literally Acts 2:42 reads they devoted themselves “to the prayers.” Today we will talk about why they did this and what it looks like for us today.

We have been studying Acts 2:42-46. Today we will look at the passages that bracket those verses- Acts 2:40-41 and Acts 2:47. Because we want to be cautious of judgmentalism, its easy for a good church to focus on good things: like helping those in need. But in our effort towards good things, we can’t lose sight of the greatest thing—what God wants—to save more people.

We are back in Acts 2 again this week. We are looking at what Peter said the early church was devoted to. These are the practices of the gospel-life that touch the foundation of Christ. A Life that binds us together, brings praise to God and through which God saves souls. This week we will look at how the church submitted itself to the teaching of the Apostles.

Acts 2 is a pivotal moment in the Church. We find some key practices given to Christ followers. These are the practices of the gospel-life that touch the foundation of Christ. A Life that binds us together, brings praise to God and through which God saves souls. Today we look at two of those practices and how to live those out with each other.

This is part 2 in our lessons about adding an instrumental worship service at Highland. Worship is not our idea, its Gods. He made us for it, and tells us to do it. But it's also why what God cares most about in our worship is our heart. God tells us that music and song should be included in worship. What accesses the heart like nothing else? Music and song.

For many of us, Worship is deeply personal. When you talk about worship, you are talking about the core of who we are. And you should. Worship is the way our hearts connect with God. In our lesson today we will talk about how acapella worship (traditionally our worship style in Churches of Christ) and instrumental worship are both good and glorifying to God. For those reasons we are becoming a both/and church.

Our lesson today is about trust. It’s hard to trust these days. Christian leaders continue to fall. Caught in sin. Everytime they do, the name of Jesus becomes harder to hear on their lips. That’s why Paul says watch your life & doctrine closely. It matters that you trust your leaders. I don’t think enough churches hear their preacher say—You can trust your elders. But I want you to hear it from me: I trust these men. I am so thankful to God for them. You can trust them.

Today's lesson comes out of Mark 2:1-12. The friends of the paralyzed don’t view their relationship with their brother—a man in great need—as accidental. They feel a responsibility. They are interested in him. In what hurts him most. In what he most needs to be healed of. And they will do all they can to see it done.

Today we look at what it means to belong to Christ and His Church. Its only by God’s grace that any of us are welcome to the table. Seen by the doctor, found by the shepherd. Only by God’s grace that any of us belong. If we want to belong with Jesus, we must make sure he knows he does too. Belonging does not mean affirming. Levi didn’t stay a tax collector. Zacchaues paid back everything he’d stolen. The leper was healed. The paralyzed man walked. Belonging does not mean affirming. But we have to feel like we belong before we believe and behave.

Paul (and I think Jesus) believed that the single person can give their whole undistracted, undivided devotion to the Lord. Not to the self. And in doing so, communicate to the world, the sufficiency of Christ.

According to the Bible, love has a lot to do with everything. Some version of the word “love” is used 686 times in scripture! We are living in a world with 3 different operating definitions of love. In today's lesson we will explore these definitions and how we are called to love others, even when that love gets messy and creates tension between the people we love.

As spirit-powered witnesses we tell the story of Jesus everywhere. But we must tell whole story. Whole gospel-story produces whole gospel-life. There are 2-dimensions of God’s character, that we see in Jesus, that provoke repentance and belief: God’s Kindness and God’s Judgement. We must share both of these dimensions to tell the whole story.

Is a prayer a guarantee? No. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to “work”—at least right away. But scripture tells us God delights in our prayer. Today we look at Acts 2:15-26 and what that passage tells us about prayer and what else we are called to do alongside of prayer.

What is my purpose? Ever think about it? What does God want me to do, us as a church to do, and would he help? (not my job. My reason to exist. What motivates me. What drives me—and us!) Jesus is clear about his purpose, and he is empowered by Spirit to do it: His purpose is to Proclaim… to witness about God.