Hillside Community Church: Recent Episodes
Hillside Community Church
Today we began our Nehemiah series and Pastor Robbie walked us through chapter 1 as we learned that everything we do, should begin with earnest prayer.
Today Pastor Jim explains our final core value of a life on mission and how God wants us to live out this value. Pastor Jim offers some practical suggestions to how we can live this out.
Today Pastor Jim takes us through Psalm 23 in his first message at Hillside Vermillion!
Today Pastor Robbie discussed the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, and taught us how we can use and rely on God's word in our spiritual battle.
Today Pastor Robbie walked us through put on the helmet of salvation, and remembering who our salvation is from God and being firmly rooted in the truth of the Gospel
Today Pastor Robbie talked about the Shield of faith and how when we see how big and powerful God is our faith in him Grows. We can grow in our faith and see God's hugeness and power by reading his word.
Today Pastor Robbie taught us about how were are to put on the shoes of the truth, that truth being the Gospel of Peace of the good news of Jesus.
Today Pastor Robbie took us through the first two pieces of our spiritual armor. The belt of Truth and the breastplate of righteousness.
Today Carl Gutzman introduced us to the idea of Spiritual warfare and how it is our God who fights and has already won for us.
Today we look at what it means to honor our parents and what it means to be parents who parent according to Christ's calling on our lives.
Today Pastor Robbie walked us through what it looks like to have a Spirit Filled Marriage. We examined what the proper roles are for a husband and wife and how they are to treat each other and some questions for those looking to get married or support their married friends.
Today we heard from our missions team that went to Ethiopia in March. They tell us how God moved in them on the trip as well as how they saw God moving in Ethiopia.
Today we walk through Ephesians 5:15-21 and learn how we can walk wisely and be led by the Holy Spirit as we invite the Spirit to fill us and lead us every day!
Today Pastor Robbie walked us through Ephesians 5:8-14 and we learned that in order to walk in the light and to be the light we were created to be, we must live in and spend time in the light that is living with Christ.
Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior with a Gospel message from Pastor Robbie
Today on Baptism Sunday Pastor Robbie gives us a message on the meaning behind Baptism and our beliefs on baptism at Hillside Community Church
Today Carl Gutzman walked us through the beginning of Ephesians chapter 5 as Paul continues to describe the duties of the Christian in their new life.
Today we went through Ephesians 4:25-32 and built off of what we learned last week. We began to answer the question how do we walk in a manner worthy of our calling?
Today Pastor Robbie walks us through Paul's instructions to put off the old man and put on the new. This includes not only leaving your old life behind, but bringing in the new life daily. He explains how we are could to be different in this world and how we can walk worthy of this calling.
Today, we learned that Christ has given all believers gifts according to his purpose for building up the body of Christ. Pastor Robbie encouraged us to identify what gifts we have been given and to use those gifts in serving the body of Christ, the church.
Today Pastor Robbie teaches us about the unity of the church and how we are to be unified in one body, Christ's body, which is the church.
Today Pastor Robbie spoke on the truth of God's majesty and power, and how he is able to do far and exceedingly beyond what we can ever possibly think or imagine.
Today Pastor Robbie looks at Paul's prayer for the Ephesians and explores just how amazing and incomprehensible God's infinite love for us is.
Today Pastor Robbie walked us through the beginning of Chapter 3 and pointed continued talking about the importance of the church, the mystery revealed within it, and how God example's his glorious wisdom to the world and even the Angels.
Today Pastor Robbie explained how the church is being built into a Holy temple for the Lord. With all of us as citizens of God's Kingdom and members of God's family. We are being built up and around the Chief cornerstone that is Jesus Christ. We are called to be an active part of God's church and God's family.
Today Carl Gutzman walks us through Ephesians 2:10 and highlights how we can make 2024 a great year by fulfilling our divine purpose by growing in fellowship with Christ, and by serving God and his people with the gifts and works he set apart for each of us.
This week we looked at the Christmas story in Luke 2. Pastor Dan encouraged us to live out the amazing reality that this story is true! And To proclaim the good news of Jesus birth, death, and resurrection this Christmas season.
Last week we learned about the problem of Sin and the fall of man in Genesis and how God was planning and promising Jesus even from the beginning. Today Pastor Robbie speaks on the promise of a savior king who would come from Bethlehem. This promise, the promise of Jesus, is the hope that kept the Israelites alive in the old testament, and is the hope that keeps us going today.
As we begin our Christmas series this year we begin by looking at the original problem in Genesis 3 that fractured our life with God and with others. But in this passage we also get a glimpse of a Savior to come to redeem mankind.
Many of us believe and proclaim a belief about grace, but often struggle to let that gift transform us. In this message, Paul unpacks the gospel as a gift from God that changes how we relate to God, to ourselves and to others.
In this section of Ephesians, Paul describes the reality of our spiritual state. But despite the sobering truth, Paul goes on to explain the hope of Christ who makes dead people alive.
In Acts 17, we see that Paul was provoked by the idols of the city he was in. This caused him to engage with the people and share the truth of the gospel with them. As we are in our 3rd week of the GO conference, we focus on what it looks like to be provoked and share the gospel locally in the places we call home.
We have discussed a lot of different tools for interpreting the Bible, now it's time to put it all together with an example. How do we take a passage, identify the genre, look at the context, and then apply it to our lives?
How can we as a church make a difference globally? In Acts we learn about the church at Antioch which gave their best to bring the gospel to the unreached places. In week 1 of our GO Conference we hear from our missions partners Samuel Getachew as well as Mike and Kim Adams, on how we can change the lives of those in Ethiopia.
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How can we live with hope in a world that's so upside down? In this passage of Ephesians, Paul reminds his readers of the great power and authority of Christ that is far above all other rule, power, authority and name. Our confidence is in the power of Christ even when it is unseen to our natural eyes.
In this section of Paul's letter to the Ephesians he prays for the church that the eyes of their hearts would be opened to know the hope and greatness of their inheritance in Christ.
As Paul concludes this section of praise, he gets at both the inheritance to come for the believer, and the downpayment of that inheritance that we received as a guarantee of what is yet to come.
We all want freedom, but where is true freedom really found? Often we think it's in the absence of any restrictions, but the New Testament would teach us the opposite. In Ephesians 1:7-10 we learn about the freedom of forgiveness and God's masterplan of uniting all things under Christ.
As we continue our series in Ephesians, Paul continues to unpack the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. This week he focuses on the reality of us being chosen to be holy and blameless and adopted.
While the Bible is one sweeping story, it is composed of several books and in those books, several different kinds of literature. So in order to read the Bible well we need to know what type of biblical literature we are reading. In this episode we explore the various genres from historical narrative to poetry and biblical law.
This week we kick off a brand new series looking at Paul's letter to Ephesus. In verses 1-3 we focus in on the gospel identity that Christ gives us and the reality of the spiritual blessings that we receive.
Not only we want to do life with God and life with others, but we also all have a mission to live out in this life. All believers are called to ministry and pursue the great commission. In this message, we look at the third and final core value: Life on Mission.
When coming to the Bible, it's important that we have some big picture guardrails to keep us on track. In this podcast episode, Robbie and Dan discuss 5 picture guardrails to guide us to a proper interpretation and application of the Bible in our lives.
While we need a vibrant life with God, we also need a vibrant life with others. Community is essential to the life of a Christian. In this message, we explore how the gospel comes with community as we look at 1 Thessalonians 2:8.
We begin a new series looking at our core values as a church. These core values are the way we fulfill our mission of making disciples of reach Vermillion and the world. The first value and starting point of all we do, is fostering a life not just for God, but a life with God.
One of the biggest mistakes when trying to read the Bible is taking something out of context. In this episode we are joined by Tucker Parman and talk through 3 different types of context that are important lenses when trying to properly understand Scripture.
John summarizes his letter in his conclusion, and shares with us the marks of what a believer looks like. He doesn't say these things are how we become a child of God, but are the spiritual birthmarks of those who are children of God.
God is love. This is more than an abstract theological truth, it also means that the natural outflow of experiencing God's love is extend that love toward others. We see that the reality that God defines love is actually really good news for us.
How can we know what is true instead of what is deception? Critical to the Christian faith is the claim of truth, yet people often try to skew truth and deceive others. In this passage John explains how we can be confident of the truth.
The Bible was written for ordinary people in the ordinary language of the day. But yet it can seem confusing to modern readers. It's important that we learn to read it for ourselves as a means to get to know God and the redemptive story we are living into. Today we begin a multi-part series on how to do just that.
Recommended Resource:
The Bible Project
What is love? In this passage John tells us that our love for others is what can reassure us of our status before God. But love is lot more complex that empty words and heartless actions.
What great love the Father has poured out that we should be called children of God. In this passage, we see a warning from John about false teachers who deny Christ, but then John comforts us with the truth and beauty of being able to be called children of God.
We are all seeking fulfillment in this life. But John warns us to choose carefully what we love. He gives us a loving warning to not fall for the marketing of the world, but to realize that true joy is not found apart from God but with Him.
How do I actually disciple someone? What does that look like practically? To answer that question we brought on the discipleship master, Todd Auch of Missoula Alliance Church.
Don't Know Where to Start? Check out our Discipleship Guide
Learn More About Missoula Alliance Church
How can we have assurance the we really know God? In this passage, John gives us two tests of faith to examine ourselves. These tests reveal the posture of our heart towards God.
How can we have confidence in our faith? In chapter 1, John writes about the historical reality of Jesus as well as the forgiving reality that brings us out of darkness and into fellowship with a holy and loving God.
In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable contrasting the prayers of tax collector and that of a Pharisee. In it we see the self-righteous of one and the humility of the other. We are reminded that our righteousness comes from Christ not from our own status, which should lead to a humility before God and before others.
In Luke 18 Jesus tells a parable about a persistent widow. Many of have prayed earnestly for something, but yet it never came. Or if it did, it likely came later than we had originally hoped. What are we to make of that? How should we continue to pray when they continue to be unanswered?
Who disciples who? Who should I be looking to disciple? In this episode we talk all about discipleship relationships, and how to find someone to come alongside in their faith.
DISCIPLESHIP GUIDE: Why and How To Disciple Someone
What does God do when we seemingly ruin our life with sin? One might assume God gives up on us, to teach us a lesson. But instead we find a gracious Father who runs toward the sinner and throws a party in his honor when he returns home. No one is too far for the grace of God, all they must do is repent and come back.
In Luke 15, Jesus gives 3 parables that show the heart of God for those who are lost. This week we focus in on the lost sheep and the lost coin. We learn that our God actively seeks sinners because of His great heart for them.
You have a ministry. You are called to ministry. The question is, do you believe it? So often we sideline ourselves from discipleship and ministry because we think we need a platform. But ministry is not a microphone, and impactful discipleship can happen wherever your feet are. All it requires is intentionality.
Is God unfair? Why does he gives his grace and good things to those who don't deserve it? In Matthew 20, Jesus gives a parable about vineyard workers who work different hours but all receive the same wage. The workers who worked a full day, complain that they should get more. While it's true that others don't deserve God's grace, the sobering reality is neither do we.
Discipleship. It's a word thrown around in the church a lot. Some churches have specific discipleship programs and even pastors. So what does that word even mean? What is a "disciple"? In this episode we unpack the basic foundation of discipleship to set the tone moving forward about how we can start living into it well as followers of Jesus.
If there is any sin more corrosive and a root toward other sin, it's coveting. But at the same time, if there is any sin more widely acceptable in our time, it's coveting. What's the big deal? In this parable of Jesus in Luke 12 we learn about the true cost of coveting in our life.
What is a parable, and why did Jesus choose to use them in his teaching? The disciples asked this very question, when they noticed the crowds seemingly not understanding Jesus when he used parables. So why did He choose to use them? His answer may surprise you.
In this passage of the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus concludes his manifesto with a sobering examination of true vs false disciples. In Matthew 7:21-29 Jesus says that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. The one who builds his life on Jesus will withstand the storm of judgement in the end.
Have you ever asked yourself why you believe what you believe? Or maybe you've had a friend challenge your beliefs and it left you feeling disoriented in not knowing how to answer. In this episode we are joined by Cassie Lahm to discuss the importance of apologetics and being able to "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
Resources mentioned:
Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers
Is Easter Unbelievable? by Rebecca McLaughlin
Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
Scribes and Scripture by Peter Gurry & John Meade
Seeking Allah Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
In a world of misinformation and everyday claiming "their truth", how can we know who is actually right? How can we discern one voice from the next? In Matthew 7, Jesus gives us two tests in how to recognize true teachers from those that are false; the doctrinal test and the practical life.
As we near the end of the sermon on the mount, Jesus brings us to a fork in the road. We have to decide which we are going to go. One way is popular but leads to destruction, while one way is unpopular but leads to life. In a world of relativity, Jesus claims that all roads in fact don't, lead to heaven.
We live in a world of hyper criticism that is often done in a hypocritical way. Judgement is not bad in and of itself, but we cannot judge others while we remain blind to our own sin. In order to correct others in a way that build them up, we must first remove our own sin so that we can see clearly enough to properly judge.
The reality and beauty of Christianity hinges on the reality of Jesus being resurrected. Peter writes that this truth is what gives us a living hope. In this Easter message we celebrate the goodness that the resurrection ushers into our lives.
What if we really believed that God gave good gifts to His children? How would this transform how we pray? We often pray for physical needs, but aren't as persistent in our prayer for spiritual things. But this passage reveals the goodness of the heart of God the Father.
Solomon tells us that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments. But in a society where fear is only seen as negative, what does it mean to fear God? In this episode we unpack the good news and delight of the fear of the Lord.
Book mentioned: What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord? by Michael Reeves
When life is all said and done, what will really matter in the end? Will how we spent out lives matter, or was it all meaningless? In the last chapter of Ecclesiastes Solomon concludes his book by encouraging us to fear God and obey his commandments.
Life often feels out of control, and the reality is that it is! But instead of this being a reason not for joy, it actually can be a reason for it. Joy is found in the One who is in control when we are not.
We all are driven by a desire for joy. But we often think I need _____ in order to be happy, so we try to control the outcomes of our life. In Ecclesiastes 11 Solomon encourages us to find our joy not in controlling our life, but in surrendering it to God.
Have you ever had a decision to make but you just couldn't decide? That is where wisdom comes in. Wisdom is knowing the right course of action at the right time. While there are no shortcuts to wisdom, we can surround ourselves with those who have walked the path before us.
Are you on the path of wisdom or the path of fools? This will depend on the inner life of our hearts; one way leads to destruction and folly while another leads to life and wisdom. In Ecclesiastes 10 Solomon analyzes folly and advises us toward wisdom.
Life is uncertain, yet the end of life is certain. How do we live with that reality in mind? We can either become despairing or we can become intentional, but either way it shapes how you live your life. Grappling with death is something the marks the wise, and actually allows us to enjoy the lot God has given us while we can.
We all want to believe that we are self-sufficient on our own. Many think that the answer to our problems is gaining control of our lives. But Solomon argues that the wise person actually realizes that life is out of their control and that indeed they are dependent on God for everything.
Paul says, the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. What then does godly wisdom look like compared to world wisdom? In this episode we explore countercultural wisdom and how it is marked by being slow to speak rather than hasty. We also explore how nostalgia about the glory days is a counterfeit for our future glory day when we are united fully in the presence of God in eternity.
How can we find wisdom? How can we become holy in our daily life? In Ecclesiastes 7 we look Solomon's wise sayings, that often go against the modern sayings of our day. But if we are willing to explore them, we can find wisdom and the one who is wisdom himself.
Wealth isn't bad, in and of itself. But it also can't satisfy in and of itself. It is only when God is on His proper throne in our life that we can actually begin to enjoy possessions and money for what they are, a gift.
We all are searching for satisfaction, the only difference is where we look for it. Solomon has searched for meaning and satisfaction in many things that end up falling short. One of the main things we look to for satisfaction and happiness in our culture is pursuing wealth. We look for jobs that pay the highest salaries, so we can have a bigger house, and better vacations. But in the end will this pursuit be worth it? Will it really satisfy?
In this section of Ecclesiastes, we are taught to take seriously our posture and worship before an Almighty God. We are all temples of the living God, part of the Divine household. How can we prepare for worship in the everyday of our lives?
What is your posture before God? How do you prepare for worship? In this section of Ecclesiastes, we see that we should stand in awe of who God is. From our steps to our words, we need to be reverent rather than flippant before the Almighty God.
The world is full of evil, yet so are we. In Ecclesiastes 3 and 4, Solomon paints a bleak picture of the world as he makes us face the reality of evil. Yet the hope remains that God will judge all evil and injustice.
We look out at the world and see a place littered with evil and injustice. What are we to make of that? In this section of Ecclesiastes we look at the reality of evil, the reason for evil, and the remedy for evil.
How can we receive the season we are in as a gift? In part 3 of our Ecclesiastes midweek conversation, Robbie and Dan discuss the bounds of time, our frustrations with it, and trusting God's control over it all.
We all value time, it is our highest commodity that we can never get more of. But time escapes us as the years go by so fast, yet it is out of our control. How can we live now within this reality? How can we live here and now but with eternity in mind? Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 helps us answer those questions.
Where can satisfaction be found? Can it be found in possessions or pleasure or education or work? In Ecclesiastes 2, we see a man who holds nothing back in his quest for satisfaction, but without God as our ultimate satisfaction, the gifts alone end up falling short.
We are all on the search for fulfillment. A life that means something. A life of joy. But most of our pursuits fall short of providing lasting satisfaction. In Ecclesiastes 2, the Preacher says he looked for fulfillment in pleasure, possession, wisdom and work; yet all fell short in and of themselves. The key is looking beyond the gifts themselves, the the giver himself.
In chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon forces us to face reality. In a couple generations, nobody will remember us. No matter what, we aren't permanent. This book starts by tearing down what we often put our hope in, so that better foundation of hope can be built.
Does my life matter for anything? What am I really gaining at the end of all my work in this world? In Ecclesiastes 1, we look at a man who asked the same questions and sought their answers.
Where is your treasure? What do you put your hope in? Jesus says that we can either focus on heavenly treasures, or on earthly ones; but that we can't serve both. In this message, we look to the words of Jesus and how we might live this out in a world of consumerism and materialism.
We are often plagued by chronic worry in our life. Will I have enough money? Will I find a job? Will I be able to pay my bills this month? In Matthew 6, Jesus tackles this issue head on telling us to fix our eyes on something greater, knowing that our heavenly Father knows what we need.
If you say "God is love", you will get the nodding approval of Christians. But if you say "God is Trinity" it nearly has the same effect, more like to results in snoring faces than nodding heads. What difference does it really make in my day-to-day life? In this episode we explore the beauty of God as trinity and how important and practical it is to us.
Isaiah prophesies that Jesus will be an Everlasting Father. But does Jesus act as a father toward his people? In this message, we explore several ways that Christ lavishes his love on us and what it means that this love will never die out.
The baby child we celebrate is also Mighty God. Jesus makes Christianity utterly unique in that he is fully man and fully God. The prophet Isaiah names him not only God, but Mighty God. But how does this seemingly out-of-reach doctrine affect us in our daily lives? In this sermon, Robbie Severson explores how Jesus as Mighty God is extremely relevant and a source of comfort for us today.
We are looking at four names prophesied about Jesus in Isaiah 9, nearly 800 years before the date of his birth. The first name given is Wonderful Counselor. What does it mean that Jesus is an incomprehensible counselor to the people of God? What practical difference does that make in our lives? In this message, Robbie Severson unpacks the beauty of a personal God who leads his people in the way everlasting.
How can we live on mission in our everyday life? Jesus left us with a mandate to go and make disciples. In this episode we explore how ministry is wherever your feet are planted, and that God uses ordinary people and ordinary means to build up the body of Christ.
Many of us find ourselves stressed, exhausted, and constantly hurried. But is this the abundant life that God has offered us? Jesus offers us soul level rest, but many of us are just too busy to experience that rest. In this message, Dan Wilde explores the ancient command of Sabbath as a wonderful gift from God to a weary people.
Why do we often take our faith for granted? How does the good news often become old news? Could it be that we actually don't see the depths of our own sin, so in turn we don't see the greatness of the gift of God's grace? We are all great sinners, but we have a greater Savior. The more we see that apart from God we have nothing, the more precious Christ becomes to us.
In Luke 10, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan that illustrates how to live as a neighbor. In our last week of the GO Conference, we look a local missions and ask how we can "Go and do the same" in our own community.
In week 2 of our GO Conference we hear from Rick Wallace of Envision Twin Cities (MN). He challenges us as the church to be a people who welcome those who are different than us and those who come from all different places and backgrounds. How can we share the love of Christ by welcoming the strangers that God puts in our life?
Envision Twin Cities: https://weareenvision.com/twin-cities/
How can we grow in prayer? As a church we spent the last 7 weeks learning from Jesus how we ought to pray. In this episode, Robbie Severson and Dan Wilde sit down to discuss the Lord's Prayer, categories of prayer, should I only pray when I feel like it, and how to pray honestly.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, or more literally "pitched his tent" or "tabernacled" among us. In this message we hear from Mike Picconatto of Envision Berlin, who challenges us to be present and take up residence with people. We are simply ordinary clay pots with an extraordinary treasure of hope for those around us. What does it look like for you to Be Present in the places God has called you?Envision Berlin: envisionberlin.com
Hillside Church: hccvermillion.com
In our last message of the series, we look at the biblical concept of the kingdom, power, and glory of God. This doxology is not in the earliest manuscripts, but comes from 1 Chronicles 29 and is a biblical theology of God. This high view of God affects not only how we live, but also how we pray.
Our lives in this world are flooded with temptations. But how can we resist their allure? In this message, Robbie Severson unpacks the reality of the spiritual warfare we are in and how dependence on God is ultimately what we need.
Hillside Community Church: hccvermillion.com
How do we be a people who don't just focus on what we do, but who we are becoming? While we are to be doers of the word, we are also told apart from Christ we can do nothing. So how do we cultivate a life with God which then overflows into the things we are called to in life. In this episode Robbie Severson and Dan Wilde discuss the topic of being before doing.
Hillside Community Church: hccvermillion.com
Forgiveness is at the core of Christianity and the teaching and life of Jesus, both forgiveness from God and forgiveness toward others. But how can we forgive in a world that increasingly has no room for the concept? In this message, Dan Wilde explores how understanding the cost and beauty of the forgiveness we've received allows us to extend that forgiveness to those around us.
Does such a transcendent God care about our practical ordinary and personal needs? In this message, Robbie Severson unpacks Matthew 6:11 and shows us how praying for our daily needs bring a posture of dependance, contentment and gratitude in our lives.
Jesus gave Christians the mandate to make disciples of all nations. But how do we engage people with different worldviews with the gospel? Sometimes we can feel unequipped and flat out awkward in sharing our faith. Robbie Severson and Dan Wilde converse about how the gospel is better news, and how we can have meaningful conversations and relationships in the ordinary places we find ourselves.
Hillside Church: hccvermillion.com
What does it mean to pray for God's Kingdom to come instead of our own? How can we have the courage to honestly pray for God's will to be done, over ours? In this sermon, Robbie Severson unpacks this petition and how we can trust God that his will is for our best.
The second line in the most famous prayer is "Hallowed be your name". What does it mean to pray in a way that honors God's name as holy? How does this affect not only how we pray, but how we live? In this sermon, Robbie Severson unpacks how we can pray with our focus starting on Him rather than on self.
Who we believe God to be, affects how we pray to him. Therefore Jesus shows that it is essential to see God as both a transcendent powerful God, and simultaneously a person and loving Father to us.
Does our life echo the goodness of God and our thankfulness to him? Do we radiate our gratitude to Him? Psalm 100 calls our actions to align with the reality of knowing God in our life. From our singing, to our work, it's all worship when done unto Him.
This audio is a recording from our Fall 2022 community group leader's training. We wanted to provide this resource for leaders that weren't able to make the training in person, or for people who decide they want to lead a group in the future.
Text: HILLSIDEGROUPS to 55498 if you are interested in joining or leading a community group at Hillside Church.
The question isn't if you delight in something, the question is what is it that you delight in? In Psalm 1, we see that the supreme and lasting thing to delight in is God through his word. Planting ourself by a stream causes a harvest of fruit in due time.
As followers of Jesus we all need community. Made in the image of a relational God, we are wired for deep relationship. But why else is community so important and vital in the life of the Christian? In this episode, we discuss the importance of gospel community and how we try to do accomplish that at Hillside Church.
In Psalm 73, Asaph affirms that God is good, but struggles to see the goodness of God in his daily life. "Why are all the others prospering?" he asks. In order to make it through the ups and downs of life, we need to keep the end in sight and trust the God holds us by our right hand.
In Psalm 27, David finds himself in a terrifying reality that leads to fear and anxiety. His response is honest, but yet he directs his emotions to come under the truth of God. Often we let anxiety rule our lives because we forget the promises of God. God doesn't promise us the absence of hardship but his presence within hardship.
In Psalm 32, David pens a beautiful Hebrew poem about how blessed a person is who is forgiven by God. He says there is freedom in acknowledging and confessing our sin to God, rather than trying to hide it.
In Psalm 8 we read about the grandeur of our God. From the majesty of the skies to the details on the bodies of infants, it all screams at the glory of God. Despite God's greatness in all the earth, he is still mindful of every aspect of us as human beings.
In Psalm 46 we see the ever-present help of God in our lives. He is our faithful fortress even in times of trouble and suffering. Carl Gutzman shares how this Psalm has encouraged his family through tremendous loss and suffering. No matter what we face, we can stand firm because God our ever-present help in times of trouble.
Psalm 139 is one of the most beautiful pieces of Hebrew poetry. David writes of the fully present and all-knowing God. How can we be fully known by God yet still accepted? In this message we explore how the gospel of Jesus offers us the comfort of an ever-present Father who knows us deeply and loves us as sons and daughters.
This Sunday one of Hillside's elders and pilot, Chad Heckathorn, leads the church in his modern day parable regarding Christian living. Using flying as the example he helps us develop personal minimums to protect us and lead us into joy and the abundant life with Christ.
In Psalm 127, we learn that our work is dependent on God, that without him ultimately controlling the outcomes, we toil in vain. Not only is our work dependent on God, but it also matters to God as he uses humans as the means to accomplish his work. Lastly, we explore what it means to rest from work and not let it consume us or our identity.
In these verses Jesus calls us to live a holy life without hypocrisy by not doing things for show, but rather from a love for God. We aren't to give to the needy or pray with a motivation of gaining people's approval and praise, but rather to live in a way that brings glory not to us, but to God.
In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls his followers to not only love those who love them in return but to love our enemies. To love those who hate us is to take on the character of God himself who died for us who were enemies of him before the cross. To love those who hate us is to be Unworldly for the World.
In Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus challenges his disciples and us with a countercultural response to evil towards us. He calls them to not retaliate in revenge, but to go above and beyond with our enemies. This is how we live Unworldly for the World.
How important is truth? In our day we expect people to lie to us and have difficulty nailing down what is actually pure truth. Jesus proclaims the importance of radical truthfulness amongst believers. Our world is hungry for truth, and we have the opportunity to live it out everyday in our lives and words.
Divorce is rampant in our culture and is both celebrated by some as "doing what's best for you" while warned by others that "divorce is like death". But what does Jesus have to say about this matter? We continue our series looking at Jesus's teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. This week we hear his thoughts and commands on marriage and divorce.
Reading Psalm 78, we are looking at what it means to raise up the next generation in our church to love God, have their hope in him, and obey his commands. What does it look like for us to do everything we can to build a church that outlasts us?
This is week 4 of our series as a church: Unworldly For The World. This week we are examining Jesus’s teaching on adultery and the heart. He helps us understand the law by again bringing it to a heart level. We aren’t just to obey the law with our external actions alone, but with our hearts as well. Jesus calls us to fight for holiness by ridding ourselves of anything that may cause our heart to wander from its ultimate joy in him.
This is week 3 of our new series as a church: Unworldly For The Worldand we are looking at Jesus’s interpretation of the law regarding murder. He gets to the root cause of murder by examining the heart behind it. Jesus touches on the physical action of murder, the verbal action of insulting a brother, and finally the root cause of unresolved anger in the heart.
In this sermon we explore the next teaching of Jesus and his relationship to the Law and Prophets. He claims that he did not come to abolish but to fulfill the law and all of its requirements and how we can live a life of both grace and obedience to God's commands.
We are starting a new series called Unworldly For The World, and simply what does it look like to standout as a follower of Jesus in a way that actually helps our world? We begin this series by looking at Jesus's call for his disciples to be salt and light to the world around them. In this message, we unpack what that means and what it might look like for the people of Hillside to live it out in Vermillion and beyond.
This Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We look at the gospel message by Paul in Ephesians 2:1-9. In this sermon we unpack the reality of what it means to be spiritually dead but then raised with Christ.
We are closing out our series on the Beatitudes, finishing with Jesus' last statement saying, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." Living out the beatitudes causes friction with the value system of our world, and the result is harassment or mockery of those who claim Christ. But Jesus calls us to rejoice when this happen because our reward is great in Heaven.
We are continuing our series on the Beatitudes, this week we dive into verse 9 which says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." In this message, we explore what it means to be a peacemaker and how it differs from peace-keeping.
We continue our Beatitude series by looking at the next one where Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." To see God both now and forever we need a pure heart, but that only comes through the grace of God through Christ who offers us a new heart.
In this next Beatitude, Jesus says, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." But what is mercy and how do we become merciful? In this sermon we look at how mercy is compassion in action and they we are only able to be merciful toward others when we realize how merciful and forgiving God has been to us.
As we continue in the Beatitudes, Jesus promises satisfaction for those who hunger and thirst for this one thing. While we desire and long for a variety of things in our lives (money, career, love, etc.), Jesus points us in a different direction to find our satisfaction in the pursuit of righteousness.
Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." In our culture we often equate meekness in weakness, but in the Bible to be meek is to have power under control.
Jesus continues in the Beatitudes by moving on to the second, which says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." While mourning may take many forms, Jesus is talking about those who mourn over their sin. He promises the comfort of God to them.
In Matthew 5, Jesus begins the most famous sermon of all time. People had expectations for the new inauguration of this "Kingdom", but Jesus begins that saying it isn't the rich or powerful, but those who are "poor in Spirit" who are promised the Kingdom.
In 2 Samuel 23, we are shown King David's last words. The whole story of David through a lifetime of ups and downs, concludes with an unshakeable hope in the King to come.
In 2 Samuel 13 - 14 we experience one of the most gut-wrenching stories in all of Scripture, the scene of Amnon and Tamar. We may wonder why this is even in the Bible, but through this story we see the consequences of not controlling our desires as well as the hope and redemption that our God has devised means to bring the banished one home.
In this passage in the life of David, we explore one of the most famous sin stories in all of the Bible. The story of David and Bathsheba is one of sin, it's destructive consequences, and the forgiveness of God in the midst of it all.
In 2 Samuel 9 David looks for someone to extend the kindness of God to. He is told of a crippled man named Mephibosheth and David invites him to dine at the King's table. In this touching story we are reminded of God's grace extended to any broken and crippled people who are willing to receive the kindness of the King.
In 2 Samuel chapter 7, David finds himself in a moment of rest and prosperity and decides to build a house for the LORD. But God speaks through the prophet Nathan to ensure David, that God is the one who will build a house that will endure forever and that He will dwell amongst His people.
In the middle of the overarching story of David exists an overlooked episode that is easy to pass over. But in this scene of David and Uzzah carrying the ark we are reminded of the holiness and power of God compared to the impurity of man.
We all worship something, whether God or the tangible gods of our culture. In this passage we see Jesus confront a woman in grace about the empty wells she worships.
In Ephesians 4, Paul describes a unified church made up of uniquely gifted individuals. Grace was given to each one of us to help build up the body of Christ.
In Luke 2, the angel of the Lord appeared first to some of the lowest people in society, the Shepherds. The highest news of all time came to the lowliest people and offers great joy for all.