The Heights Baptist Church: Recent Episodes

Dr. Randall T. Hahn

Listen to sermons from the pulpit of The Heights Baptist Church located in Colonial Heights & Midlothian, VA - Dr. Randall T. Hahn, Senior Pastor.

Before the foundations of the world, God had a plan -- and that plan was you. This week, Pastor Jordan West walked us through Ephesians 1:3-14 and the profound truth that salvation was planned by the Father, accomplished by the Son, proclaimed by us, and secured by the Holy Spirit. You cannot earn it. You cannot lose it. And you did nothing to deserve it -- which means the glory belongs entirely to God. Whether you are wrestling with questions about God's sovereignty, your own free will, or simply wondering if you are truly saved, this message is for you. Salvation is not about your works. It is about Christ's.

a sacred union where two become one, where we help and strengthen each other, and where we work together to point others to Jesus Christ.Whether you are married, single, widowed, or walking through the pain of a broken relationship, there is a word for you: God's grace is greater than our failures, and nothing can separate us from his love.

What happens the moment we take our last breath? It is one of the most pressing questions any of us will ever face, and yet it is one we often push to the edges of our thinking. In this message drawn from 1 Corinthians 15, we are invited to look directly at death and the resurrection without flinching. The passage walks us through the core of the gospel itself, that Christ died, was buried, and rose again, and it forces us to reckon with what that means not just as a historical fact but as the anchor of our entire existence.

it's fundamentally about doing things our own way instead of aligning with God's will.

s start with hearing God on this.

s look at the Great Commandment. Can we obey the great commandment without obeying the great commission? Can we love God, love our neighbor without the great commission? Why would that be a part of loving God and our neighbor?

s read Romans 13:1-7.

3.

filled with mountain peaks and valleys, hard climbs and quiet resting places, seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow.

a question that is asked of and directly answered by Jesus Himself.

t have to fear losing. We continue our 'What is?' is series with the question, 'What is eternal security?' Some call it the 'once saved, always saved' doctrine. To not understand this is to not understand the cross.

s measured.

s start in Galatians 3:1-3.

What comes to you mind when you hear the word church? I assume for a lot of us it is something positive. We do have a lot of people in culture today talking about church hurt, so it is an assumption. But what comes to your mind? A church you grew up in? A place of family memories: weddings, baby dedications, a funeral? The place you came to Christ? I hope your thoughts of the church are good. I feel blessed that all my memories of church from childhood to last Sunday, are good. I thank God for the church and what it means to me, but does that mean I know and understand what God wants the church to mean in my life?

re all interesting but today adds a little spooky to the interesting. What is Satan? Yes, there is a personal being devoted to opposing God and opposing God in and for you. To not believe in Satan is to reject the clear and consistent teaching of Jesus and the Scripture. Connected to this would be a study of angels and demons which we are going to do, but near the end. Today will be the individual character: Satan.

s ministry: He represents us before the Father, welcomes us to draw near with confidence, and rules over all things for the good of His church. Because of what Jesus is doing now, believers can live with security, approach God boldly, trust Him fully, and worship Him deeply.

This is our third week looking at 'What Is the Son of God' and today we will look at His pre-existence and the prophecy surrounding Him. Next week we will look at what Jesus is doing right now. We can give ourselves to no greater pursuit than the knowledge of our Savior. It quickens the heart, strengthens the resolve, and purifies the soul.

questions. Today is the second of four messages answering, 'What is God the Son?' Last week we looked at His death and resurrection, next week pre-existence and the prophecies pointing to His life. Today we look at the humanity and deity of Jesus. The Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the very unique God-man. He is 100% God and 100% man.

Today is the first of four messages answering this question starting with His death and resurrection. That might sound like we are starting at the end of the story, but it is the beginning understanding why Jesus came to us.

t He be really limited if He could only be and do what fits in our understanding. I need a God bigger than my understanding. And indeed, He is. We have seen that God is infinite: infinite in His power, His wisdom, His existence. So, logically, an infinite God is going to do and be things that do not always fit into a finite mind. The Trinity is one of those things. My goal today is not to give you the simple way to understand the Trinity but simply make it clear this is how God reveals Himself.

s read 1 Corinthians 12:4-12.

s the name you need? When you just need help, what name? Is it all the same name, several names? Is the name Jesus on the list? Even we who run to the name of the Lord, can run to other names first.

s purposes. Now with that as a background listen to Jesus. referring to the tithe, the 10%. And again, notice, Jesus says that it is His. Now when God calls for us not to rob Him, His goal is not getting money. His goal is blessing. Show that you understand everything is from Him, show that you respect that as the owner He can call for the tithe, show that your faith is in Him, not money.

help.

There is a common idea in history, in humanity that we are all seeking the same God. We have different names, different ways of getting to this God; but in the end we are going to find out we were all working toward the same God. It is a polite and tolerant idea. It is just not true. The person who affirms this idea knows very little of the god they follow or that others follow. He is God the Father, a title that implies a relationship with a son or daughter. God reveals Himself as the Father of Jesus in 1 Peter 1:3. That is not the God of the Hindus, Muslims, and it is the God the Jews are currently rejecting.

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! - Psalm 113:2-3 ESVThe gospel is not merely what God gives, but God Himself. Through His revealed names, God shows that He is the One who meets our deepest need by drawing us into covenant relationship with Himself.

s call has never been about how impressive we are. It has always been about His grace at work through ordinary, willing people.

s get started in seeing what we can understand about what God is like.

t be sure of anything in theology. I am going to say that the Bible is completely trustworthy and fully sufficient for faith and life because it is incomparable, inspired and inerrant.

When you hear the word theology, what comes to your mind? Is it something done in the halls of academics, the discussions of people not living in the real world? Last week we learned that the word theology is made up of two words in the Greek: theos and logos. Theos means God and logos means words, content, ideas. So theology is words, contents and ideas about God; and everyone has thoughts on and about God. And those thoughts, right, wrong, vague will shape our view and understanding of God, ourselves, life, relationships, everything.

Today we begin a long series on theology, on doctrine. I am calling it What is as I will be looking at what the Bible teaches us about what is the Bible, what is God, what is Jesus, what is the Holy Spirit, what is Satan, what are angels, what is the Church, what is salvation, what is eternal security, what is the great commandment and the great commission, what is man, what is sin, what is Israel, what is going to happen when Jesus returns, what is heaven, and more.

We are starting off our 21 Days of Prayer today. Dr. Hahn shares about our vision and prayer needs, and leads us in the Lord's Supper. The full service is available in our app and online.

s resolutions has, at its foundation, a good cause. A new year means a fresh start. And boy, do we need fresh starts sometimes. What does the Lord really want from you? Is it Worship? Sacrifice? Offerings? Turn with me in your Bibles, to the Old Testament book of Micah. (about 30-40 pages from the end of the OT). We will begin reading in chapter 6: 6-8.

Who is that baby in the manger? Who is that that baby born of a virgin? Who is that baby for whom 10,000 times 10,000 angels would fill the sky to sing and worship? Who is this baby for whom the blue-collar workers would come running? Who is this baby for whom the intellects and the elite would come and bow down. Who is this baby for whom the government would tremble? Who is this baby that would be called the Son of God? Oh, He's Jesus. He's God's gift for you. God's perfect gift for you. All that He is, all that is in Him is God's gift for you.

s word. We are recipients of peace, and we prepare for Christmas by being people of peace, sharing it, living it. And we have talked about preparing a joy that is in obeying God rather than ourselves, to find joy in what our Savior found joy. And today we come to the fourth word of Advent, love. What does love mean, what does it do?

ve looked at hope and said we need to encourage that sure hope with reading our Bible daily. We have looked at peace and said we need to be a people always working at peace as that is a purpose of Christmas. And today we look at joy. Hope, peace, joy are words that adorn our Christmas cards, Christmas songs, and Christmas messages. Important words we can give little thought to. God has for us in Christmas a deeper joy, an eternal joy, but it is maybe a joy that requires the biggest course correction in our lives. Christmas is Jesus coming to this world and showing us life. In Him we learn what joy is.

re prepared', and that is a place of great richness, strength, and joy. Last week we looked at hope in the sermon and then the devotional took you to 5 more places to think on hope and then a day 6 and 7 to repenting and fasting. Today we look at peace in our sermon, and the devotional will take us to 5 more days of thoughts on peace, and then repentance and fasting. So, there is a rhythm.

t forget that Christmas Eve service. With the time, money and energy we give to preparing, seems appropriate to ask, 'Does God think we are prepared?'

love for His Father, His love for You and me that brought Him to the cross.

And here we are at the end of another sermon series, Truths That Kill. We have looked at 3, today will make 4, statements used repeatedly by Christians, by the Church, and by the world that are true statements. But statements that have gained a life of their own apart from the context in which they are true and in that they have become destructive. Today we come to all sin is the same. We will look at the truth, the context, and the problem.

Join us for our Youth Sunday sermon.

ll look at the truth, the context, and the problem.

ll look at the truth, the context, and the problem.

s truth. At different times the Church has addressed certain conditions, ways of thinking among people in the world or people in the church and we come up with these sayings that are true, in that context. But out of that context, these statements have gained a life of their own and have become destructive to the Christian life and Church.

t enough. If all we do is live it without ever teaching it, our kids may copy our habits but miss the heart behind them. Scripture calls us to do both: faith is both caught and taught.

Pastor Shay Osborne explains how every believer has both box ministries (within the church) and circle ministries (their personal circles of influence where they live, work, and play). Using John 1 as a model, he shows how ordinary people—like Andrew bringing Peter to Jesus—can impact lives by simply sharing faith within their circles. We are challenged to move from the sidelines into the game, living out the mission daily.

Here we are, the end. We have been studying Psalms since March 9th. I did two messages just introducing the Psalms. I took 3 messages to walk through Psalm 22 as we prepared for Easter. So that’s 5 messages and 24 other Psalms beyond that including today, Psalm 119, the longest Psalm, the longest chapter in the Bible, and it is a Psalm on the Bible. Psalm 119 is about your relationship, my relationship with this book we call the Bible.

Two of the most well-known stories in the Bible involve David. They are stories of David and. David and Goliath, David and Bathsheba. In David and Goliath, we see how great it is, how great it can be when we live for God and His glory. In David and Bathsheba, we learn that even when we are living for God and His glory, we’re not above, we’re not immune to doing great wrong. Our study in the Psalms today brings us to Psalm 51. There is much to study in Psalm 51 and that includes much to study in the historical moment that produced Psalm 51. That moment can be found in 2 Samuel 11-12.

The title of my message today is “How would you describe church?” There are more than a few words: God, worship, family, beliefs, praise, preaching, casseroles. Another set of words: boring, preachy, judgmental, money, casseroles. Regardless of the words we use, we might want to be thinking about the words God wants to use. If we are going to have church, His words ought to build the program. Turn with me today to Psalm 100 where we find those words.

Israel forgot who God is. The Church, our church can do the same. All we give God came from Him. Do we give God money? It is all His. Do we give God our life? He is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer and the Judge of our life. Do we give Him our time? You woke up today because He deemed it so. We give God nothing that does not come first from Him. If we don’t grasp this, or we forget it, we don’t appreciate how greatly we are loved, and how He has shown that. We possibly act like God owes us.

Job 42:2, Psalm 115:3, Luke 1:37 and a lot of other passages teach us that God can do whatever He wants. Nothing is impossible for Him. He has all power, all authority. No one, nothing can stop Him. That means God could make us obey Him, make us believe, make us worshippers who sing His praises. And He wouldn’t have to sweat to make it happen. He’d be entirely successful, and the world better for it. But He doesn’t. He doesn’t make us obey, believe, worship. There are consequences for not, but He does not make us. He invites us. He invites us to do these things and experience how good He is when we do. We continue our study of the Psalms and that bring us to Psalm 34, an invitation.

From Genesis 1-2 we learn we were created for the presence of God. Therein is our joy, purpose, life. There is not something else. There is not a second and a third thing. To be in and enjoy a right relationship with God is life and life eternal. But Genesis 3, we sinned. Sin makes us entirely not like God and His presence, His heaven. It makes us a life in rebellion. Sin is not just rules we broke, but nature of unholy rebellion. How can the very unholy come into the Holy? When you hear David say, 'Lord,' don’t hear a title or a salutation. Hear a cry from the depths of his soul. Who, my Lord, can dwell with you? Who can enjoy intimacy with their Creator? And then we get an answer, ten actually. Ten answers, character qualities, actions that answer who can live with God.

Today we continue our study in the Psalms with Psalm 37, a wisdom Psalm. Psalm 37 reads like a chapter in Proverbs, a series of short, direct, practical statements on how to live life. They are right and they work. Every one of us needs to hear what God has for us in Psalm 37.

Jesus is the victorious King and eternal Priest who reigns over all creation and intercedes for His people. He has conquered every enemy, including death, and now draws us near to God as our perfect High Priest.

Psalm 111 calls us to worship God with our whole hearts. Through reflecting deeply on His works and character, we grow in knowledge and reverent fear of the Lord, and we are formed into the people He designed us to be.

While the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, they were encouraged to depend on the Lord. As Babylon was defeated and the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland, the Lord encouraged them to depend on Him. Just like the Israelites, we are spiritual exiles living in a world that is not our home. But in God's infinite wisdom, He has us here is a sinful world for a reason. While we are here, we are called to build, trust, and pray, not a physical house, but a spiritual house with it's foundation on Jesus Christ. We have to trust the Lord and depend on God.

Psalm 19 is about your Bible. A more accurate description would be to say that it is about the revelation of God. The first line of this book tells me there is a God. Common sense tells me there is a God. My soul tells me there is a God. Nothing I just said it unique to me, but common for the human experience. But who is this God? Has He spoken? Has He revealed Himself? Can I know Him? Psalm 19 says, yes, yes, and yes. It presents two kinds of revelation. Verses 1-6 show us general revelation and 7-14, special revelation.

Death and deliverance are the themes of Psalm 116. Crying out to God, the writer is delivered from death. As a result of his healing, he has a new spiritual life of worship and witness. This Psalm gives us much insight on how we too can persevere and stay faithful even in the hardest of times. What do we need to practice today so that we are ready when the hard times come?

This week’s message highlights the glory of God as revealed through creation, humanity, and Jesus Christ. Psalm 8 reminds us that even in our weakness, God hears our cries and establishes His strength through our dependence on Him. The vastness of the universe reflects His majesty, and yet He has crowned humanity with honor and purpose. Most powerfully, God's glory is displayed through Christ, who humbled Himself to save us and restore our place in His creation. In every season, we are called to look up, trust fully in Him, and give God all the glory.

We live in profound confusion and chaos on things there should be no confusion and chaos. How did that happen? Turn with me today to Psalm 9 and 10. 9 and 10 are two distinct Psalms that some believe may have been one psalm at one time because the language is so similar, and a flow between the two. Each also has its own distinct message. Psalm 9 directing us to see and enjoy, praise the goodness of God. Psalm 10 reminds us justice will come.

I mentioned back at the start of this series that Psalm 139 is my favorite Psalm. It is the first piece of Scripture I remember being taught, I remember learning and thinking about. My mom and dad adopted me, and my mom used this passage when I was 4-5 years old to explain that God made me and God placed me in a special way into their family. What a blessing for me to be here preaching on it 60 years later.Here are The Heights we encourage with our Bible reading plan to ask the questions as you read: what does this passage teach me about God, what does it teach me about humanity or myself, and what do I need to do considering what I’ve read. The answer to those questions in Psalm 139 is a lot! In Psalm 139 we get to know a lot about God, and it seems David thought this was the best way to get to know ourselves. You best know you by knowing the God who made you.

On this Father’s Day, I am so blessed to be able to say once again, Happy Father’s Day to my dad. How would I describe my dad? I am very proud of my dad. I have 3-4 men who really shaped my life, influenced who I am and how I live. My dad is not only one of those, but the only one who has been there the whole trip. I would describe him this way: Always there. Always help. And that is not just about what he was for me as a kid, but what he has been for me throughout my life. Always there. Always help. And I am going to describe God that way in just a moment, so that puts into perspective how much I think of my dad. Now my dad is not God, but he did make it easy for me to think of God in heaven as Jesus said, my Father.

Behind the scenes of my life and your life is a vast backdrop that is God. Here are my scenes being played out in this area, and your scenes playing out over here. Then another scene from someone else is going on in that arena and another is taking place over there. Sometimes they overlap for a time, but as each one plays out there is the reality of pessimism and hopelessness, but for the panorama of God that is going on behind and within our scenes. In God we see and experience an unobstructed view in all directions. God is everywhere! Moses understood the panorama of God in the process. You see, this psalm is not about Moses nor about life’s circumstances. This psalm is about God! So that is where Moses begins.

You do good, you get good. You do bad, you get bad. It is a rule. It works. It is right and fair. We count on it. It is how we, people of faith, understand God and life. It is very much a part of why we do what we do. We believe God to be just and fair, and so a just and fair God is going bless good and punish bad. And it is a bit of a crisis when the rule doesn’t work. Look with me at Psalm 73.

On this Memorial Weekend we remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the field of battle, and it has grown to including all who have died in uniform. This day was started in 1868 and called Decoration Day. On May 30th of each year communities would decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War. That evolved to the fallen in all of our nation’s conflicts. 1971 is when Memorial Day became a federal holiday observed the last Monday of May. A day of this kind of remembrance is what the psalms would call a day of lament. As we are doing a series in the Psalms, let’s look at a psalm of national lament, Psalm 79.

Who do you talk to the most? Who is your go to, to process what happened today? Who do you want to share the exciting news with or what they did? As names and faces come to us, I am almost positive not one of us thought of the person we talk to the most. Yourself, a conversation that never ends. And we never choose the conversation. It just happens. That might mean our self-talk is taking us to thoughts and places that we don’t want to go, and we are not doing anything to resist because who do we trust more than our own voice. Today we continue our series in the Psalms and that brings us to Psalm 103. As we read it, hear the Psalmist telling himself what to think.

Today we look at Psalm 109, one of the most challenging Psalms in the Psalms. Psalm 109 is where the Bible doesn’t sound like the Bible. And it is not a mistake that it is here. It is reality. When I introduced the Psalms, I said we will see some statements in Psalms we think, 'Is it okay to say that?' This Psalm isn’t justifying these thoughts but acknowledging the reality of these thoughts and showing us where to go with them. Psalm 109 speaks to the reality of the pain and unfairness we can experience in this world and the desperate desire for justice. Who makes you so angry in our world, your world? Where are you at complete loss for how they continue to get away with it? Let’s read Psalm 109.

What is the last song you shared. We love to share music, don’t we, and it is so easy today to do so. Some of us remember if you wanted to share a song, you had to carry the record over to their house, or get them to come to yours, and play it on a stereo, while dinosaurs roamed up and down the street. Used to be a good bit of effort to share a song. Well, whatever effort is or is not involved, God wants us to share a song. Look at Psalm 96.

Can someone have everything they need? I have moments, and so do you, where everything in life is good. I just enjoyed a moment like that back at Christmas, all our kids and grandkids at Christmas dinner. Perfect moment. I think of a mission trip last year Karen and I went on to Zimbabwe, and another trip with the church to Israel. Oh, and a river cruise for an anniversary. Yeah, I like to travel. And yet some of the most satisfying and full moments are a nice dinner on our deck in the back yard. These are moments I might say, 'I have everything.' But doesn’t it feel like David is talking about something more than a moment, more than a good trip, meal, family time? How is that possible?

We are in a six-month study of the Psalms and currently a 3-week look at Psalm 22, a special passage in the Bible. Psalm 22 is quoted 24 times in the New Testament. It was written 1000 years before Jesus was crucified, 300 years before crucifixion was even invented, and it reads like it was written at the foot of the cross. God knew this would be hard to believe so He told us exactly what to look for and then brought it about. Let’s start in the gospel telling of the crucifixion.

We are still at the beginning of a 6-month study of the Psalms, which currently has us in Psalm 22 which gives us one of the most incredible pictures of our crucified and risen King, Jesus. A picture drawn with incredible accuracy of a moment that would not take place for 1000 years. Last week we got an overview of the whole Psalm, and understood it as being the words of Jesus, the experience of Jesus at the cross. It is verse 1 that gives us the 4th statement of Jesus from the cross, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?' That feeling of abandonment would lead to a prayer, and we see that prayer in verse 19. Look with me at Psalm 22:19-21.

In two weeks, we celebrate the heart of Christianity: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It is a stunning event, that none of us would have planned that way. Seemingly, an out-of-control moment for an all-powerful God. So that we could see that this was His plan and purpose He told us in advance what it would look like. Psalm 22 was written between 1000-970 B.C. It is not for another 300 years that crucifixion will be invented by the Assyrians. The Romans perfected and would use it on Jesus in 33 A.D. 1000 years after Psalm 22 is written and it reads like David was standing at the foot of the cross. There is another passage like this, Isaiah 53. It is these that show us, it takes more work to not believe, than to believe. We are going to spend 3 weeks in Psalm 22, the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, 24 times.

We have begun a new series on the Psalms, largest book of the Bible, maybe the most read part of the Bible, an important intersection between theology, life, and feelings. Psalms is where real issues are worked out with a real God. And in this great book, guess what the first word is? Happy. Let’s look at it, Psalm 1.

The 23rd Psalm is a picture Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd being resurrected from the dead. And this reminds us that just as death had no power over Jesus, it also has no power over us because He is our Great Shepherd.

Today we continue an overview or introduction to the Psalms. The goal of an introduction is to have a feel for the whole. We’re not as much looking at the trees as we are trying to see the forest. If you like getting a feel for what the Psalms are, then last week’s message was for you. If you want content or knowledge about what the Psalms are then today is for you. There is a lot to grasp with the Psalms as it is the largest book in the Bible, covers the most time, and deals with not only intense emotions, but a variety of human issues and deep theology. We are going to see real people dealing with real issues and what the leaves them feeling about God, who works through all this with them.

The Psalms are songs. In the days Old Testament Israelites, the days of Jesus, these Psalms would have been sung. Seems that would really date them. How is it that these songs can be favorites of so many across time and style and culture to this very day. My guess is the Psalms are the #1 go to for so many when they open their Bible. Perhaps because they speak so fluently to the human experience.

We have spent the last two weeks looking at scriptural context for our mission and vision statements, and we have seen the heart of Jesus. He is our King, and this is what He has sent us to be and do in His kingdom. What really excites me about this is how much these statements represent what you already are and do. Let’s look today at the mission and vision alive in you.

Today we continue talking about the mission and vision of The Heights Baptist. Since all churches belong to Jesus, they should have a similar mission even as they are personalizing to their own context. Now mission doesn’t change. It can be tweaked as we did last week but not change. What does change is our vision. Vision is how we are going to currently fulfill the mission. We presented our first vision to the church in 2017, and then another in 2021. 2017 was a ten-year vision, but 2020 so changed things our vision needed an adjustment. 2021 presented a 3-year vision, which now calls for us to set a new vision.

For the next several Sundays we are going to be looking at the mission and the vision of The Heights Baptist Church. Now that excites me, but I can respect, recognize the reality that when some hear that they kind of groan and think, 'That’s not what I needed today'. Or maybe even, 'I don’t care'. Why should you care? And with all you have going on, why should this mean something to you today?

Today’s sermon is about tools you can trust, tools that work: one tool that knows everything about us, all our information, but uses that for us, never against us. Look with me at Acts 9:10-20. We’ve been talking about changes and using the life of Paul as a backdrop looking at the changes God made in his life. In this story we see two things God uses, I referred to them as tools, but that might not be entirely appropriate because these two things are the Church and the Holy Spirit.

We have been looking at the life of Paul and how God makes changes in our life or helps us make the changes we want. So far we have talked about life in Christ as the first step to change, then the confidence we have in change, the purpose we have in change; and today I want to talk about God’s purpose for us in change. What is God doing when we are trying to lose weight, read our Bible more, learn to play an instrument, make this a better relationship? When we are trying to change things; what is God doing? That’s an important question because we want to make sure we are lining up with what God is doing, lest we find ourselves, like Paul, fighting what God is doing.

Today we conclude our 21 days of fasting and prayer. Of course, we never actually conclude fasting and prayer. It is an ongoing opportunity, responsibility, privilege to have access to God. We have access to the living God, the One with all knowledge and power, the Sovereign over space and time. Who am I? Who are you, to have an audience with God? And not just once, and not just on certain things; but always, on everything.

Very few seem to feel they know or have a purpose to life. That is tragic. Purpose provides meaning, strength, endurance, direction. Purpose touches who we are and why. Purpose tells us why hard things are worth it. As a follower of Christ, we don’t have to go on a long philosophical journey looking for purpose. We look to Jesus. Jesus says the purpose of life is to know God and His Son.

This morning I want to look at where does this confidence come from that Paul has that he goes on and he turns the world upside down for the gospel, planting churches all over the known region. Where does that confidence come from for him?

It seems that often the gospel is explained as if it is only for the broken, miserable, desperately needy. Paul was none of this. He had money, position, purpose. He was zealous, loved what he did. He was accomplished in every way important to him. He wasn’t needy. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t given to stories of a Messiah, as is evidenced by his desire to kill those who were. But He needed Jesus, received Jesus, and change began.

There is something about this time of year that has many of us evaluating, and some of us will really like where we are and what is happening. Others have some things they really want to be better, want to see changed, and it is wearing them out. Maybe there is even frustration with God. We’ve prayed, gone to church, read our Bible. We’re doing what we know to do, and it is not paying off. We need God to show up and do a God-thing. Maybe there is just something we really need to get right and we’re not sure what to do and we want God to give us a sign. Ever prayed for a sign? Sure. I think we all have. The God who parted the Sea, who rained down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, who walked on water, and rose from the dead is more likely to whisper. Would you hear it? Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings 19:9-18.

Merry Christmas, Everyone! What a blessing to be celebrating altogether our God and Savior coming into our lives so we could know Him personally. Here in America, we spend two months building up to this night. Here at The Heights, we’ve spent a month building up to after Christmas. Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2 give us the Christmas story, and in that is a good bit after Christmas, after the birth of Christ. We’ve looked at a story as much as 2 years after His birth, one that was 12 years, another just 8 days, and tonight a matter of minutes.

Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas Day is upon us, and if you have been at The Heights the last couple of weeks you have been looking beyond Christmas Day with me. Each Sunday we have been in those traditional Christmas passages of Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, but we have been looking at the stories God has given us after Christmas, stories that too often we are quick to move beyond: the flight to Egypt where we learned something about God’s will in our lives, or the story of 12 year-old Jesus where religious leaders saw the depth of His knowledge and we saw the depth of His character, a character we’re to strive to be like. And today we come to another story just beyond Christmas, 8 days to be exact. Let’s look at Luke 2:22-33.

Ten days till Christmas. This is when we crank it up – the stress, the travel, the cooking, the shopping. It’s go time. But here at The Heights we’re already thinking after Christmas. There are wonderful, important, passages included in the Christmas passages, Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2 that are after Christmas, and too often put away in the attic without much attention. So we are looking after Christmas before Christmas. Last week we saw how we follow God’s will. Our after Christmas story today is the furthest removed from Christmas. Like 12 years removed. It is the singular story about Jesus in the Bible prior to the age of 30, and even at 12 we see in Him how we are to live. Let’s read Luke 2:41-51.

There is an after Christmas story, stories we tend to box up and put in the attic too quick. That after Christmas in the Bible has much for our after Christmas. After Christmas is a hard time. Bills. Taking decorations down. The emotional letdown of 2 months of emotional build up. Family, friends moving on. We may have used the two months of buildup to escape life. One day later, life is back in our face, and these stories that follow Christmas have some good direction for us. Our first message today takes us to the harsh and difficult. Can that happen when we are following the Lord? Look with me at Matthew 2:13-18.

I can’t think of a better Sunday to celebrate the Lord’s Supper than a Sunday of Thanksgiving. In all circumstances give thanks. I would guess in this room, watching online, we cover a lot of circumstances from things we are very grateful for to things we are not at all grateful for. But we learned that God is not calling us to be thankful for those circumstances, but in them. That is a big difference. In all circumstances we give thanks that God is good, and in control. In all circumstances, God is working for my good. And God HAS DONE a work in our lives that no circumstance can change or undo.

Our theme in Thessalonians is stay the course, the end is great. And that is an answer to our theme for the year of finding clarity in the chaos: constant political tension, rejection of any kind of biblical worldview, redefining marriage, redefining sex and sexuality, fear of being canceled, waning religious freedom; what are we to do? How do we stay on track? I think Paul gives us some checkpoints, things to make sure we are doing in an overwhelming moment. There are so many things overwhelming, and I say that as we come into the overwhelming season of shopping, cooking, traveling, gathering. Here is what to do in the overwhelmed moments. From politics, to holidays, to culture war, here is a battle plan to stay the course, to find clarity. Let’s read 2 Thessalonians 3.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 believers were told to be encouraged, to encourage each other with the hope of the rapture. One day we are going to rise to meet the Lord in the air, along with our loved ones who passed away in Christ, and together we will be with Jesus forever. That is our hope. That’s what gets us through days of suffering, pain, death in this world. That is what we hang onto when we are overwhelmed by the evil in the world. Now can you imagine believing that, trusting that; and then you hear you’ve missed it. You missed the rapture, the Lord’s return for you. That’s what the Thessalonians had been told and what Paul is now going to deal with in 2 Thessalonians 2.

'Is this the end', was the question the Thessalonians were asking. Whenever Christians are suffering, confused or frustrated with the state of things, we tend to wonder, 'Is this the end'? Most generations have had their issues that led to that question. Our generation: wars, concerns of bigger wars, pandemics, immorality. Is this the end? As we start into the second letter, remember the background. Acts 17:1-10.

Tuesday night, or Wednesday morning I guess, we will have the results and know something about a new President and government that will carry us into the next chapter in America. I am concerned about several things in this next chapter, but particularly religious freedom and biblical morality. I have, we will vote what we believe gives the best opportunity for that. And Lord willing, we wake up Wednesday. Some will wake up with the belief that everything is going to be okay. Others will wake up sure it is the end of America. What should we do Wednesday? Well, pray, like any day. Thank God that He is on the throne and that this will serve His glory and purposes. While an election always feels to us like it is going to change everything, it changes nothing for God. After prayer, then what? Well, we’ll have to go to school, or work, start taking on that day’s tasks. I want to give you a checklist, a list of things to do between Wednesday and Saturday, before we get back here next Sunday. And this list is given to us by Paul at the close of his first letter to the Thessalonians.

Join us for our YTH Sunday Panel discussion. Dylan Aarum our middle school pastor and Ethan Meadows our high school pastor engage with some of our youth in a panel discussion.

As we look at the state of this world, there could be a lot to be distressed about. There is tension in the Middle East, a worldwide pandemic turned our lives upside down in the matter of weeks, political division starting with our leaders and now people in the church. We can't have a discussion without committing sin calling each other names. The Bible teaches that mankind can't survive without Jesus Christ. We know the only hope for the world is when Jesus Christ comes back and establishes His throne. He will right that which is wrong, fix all of the broken in this sin-sick world. We as saints should look forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

What is the rapture? When is it? Why is it? The what is not that hard, and neither is the why, but when has proved a little challenging. Students of this have come to different conclusions. There are reasons for all the views, but only one can be right. Let’s see if we can get close.

Look at what surrounds the call to prayer: humility and repentance. Our repentance may have more impact on America, on Israel, than our requests. Now it is not hard to confess other people’s sins. We can with self-righteousness call out the sins of our nation, or those of Israel. Note the call to humility. There may be many sins plaguing our land that we are not guilty of, but that does not mean we are innocent. This is not just about calling out the sins of the nation, but calling out our own sins as a part of this nation. And how readily we who know the Lord should do this, for we have the security of knowing we have His forgiveness. We are going to do this today with the Lord’s Supper, that which should bring us joyfully to humility as we think on how great God’s love is. To rightly celebrate this moment, it is done in humility and repentance.

Rev. Joel Eguiluz continues this week with 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul is reminding them how they must walk as believers to please God, and as they practice these things, that they continue to grow more and more. Is living to please God truly your goal in life?

Can I be a Christian and be or do ...? To all of these questions I would say, you are asking the wrong question. The question is entirely about self, and when we come to Christ, self-dies. We took off self and put on Christ. It is not even we who live anymore, but Christ who lives in us. See Galatians 2:20. Our desire now is Christ, and all things submitted to Him. We are going to read a passage that speaks so clearly to this question, to the Church today, the believer today, because nothing happening today is new, and God has answered. Look with me at 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

Friends that offend, you need them. God isn't calling us to be offensive, but He is calling us to care and yes, some will be offended by that concern. We won't stay the course in following Jesus if we don't have people in our lives who care enough to ask. Are you building those kinds of relationships, giving that kind of permission?

Everyone has a worldview, a way of looking at and interpreting the world. Some of it is made up of who we are and what we do: male, American, pastor. Much of it is made up of what we trustingly listen to: news, Tik Tok, podcasts, friends. It all shapes how we look at relationships, money, God, sex and sexuality, government, people, people groups, really everything. Your worldview is in operation every day on everything. One would think for something so important we would carefully choose our worldview, but I think for most a worldview just happens to them. Let’s not let it just happen. Let’s purposely choose, and I would the Bible, a biblical worldview. You’re not surprised I’d say that, but maybe asking, 'Why the Bible'?

When people don’t like someone, they tend to only hear and see what confirms their dislike. It is an uphill battle to change that mind. Good will be ignored. Motives will be questioned. The culture is saying we are a place of hate, we are a people against. I hope we never show them hate, and while there are things God calls us to be against, He really sends us out there with what we are for. We are for people and the gospel. We are for people meeting God-sized life and love. But to have that opportunity we really need to strive, more than the average, to be the best neighbor, the best co-worker, the best teammate. What’s at stake is not people liking us, but people knowing the gospel and an opportunity to connect with God-sized life and love. And that is what Paul is going to show us today as continue our series in Thessalonians.

What do we do when love is defined as smiling at evil? What do we do when hate is saying anything is wrong? What do we do when an America many of us love seems to be passing into the night? What do we do? I would say we have to answer these questions biblically and strategically, as if the church would even agree on what biblically and strategically looks like. Here is where we need to hear the theme of Thessalonians is staying the course, for the end is great. Our staying the course is the best chance for America to turn from idols to the living God. What does staying the course look like.

I am excited today to begin a 13-message series on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. In a world gone crazy we get clear direction from Thessalonians of what to do in real time. This isn’t advice to consider if this ever happens, but directives in the heat of battle. Thessalonians is going to take the complexity of our time and say, 'Keep it simple, stupid.' Okay, not the stupid part. But we really can overthink and that leads to paralysis. Being canceled, being labeled, being rejected keeps us paralyzed. Thessalonians is going to address that. But not everyone is paralyzed in a chaotic world. Some have directions the church needs to take. In

During this series we have said over and over to follow Jesus means you are making followers of Jesus. If you are not making followers, you’re not following. Why does He need me making His followers? The last time I preached on July 7 we saw God has a process from a person coming to Christ to growing in Christ to being rewarded in Christ that involves the Father, Son, and Spirit. The process is entirely accomplished by God. No part of it is dependent upon us, but God lets us participate. Our focus that day was the blessing of being able to touch eternity, to do things that will last forever. Go tell. Go share. Go encourage. Today I add to that: making disciples is our discipleship. We are most learning, most growing, most experiencing when we are helping someone else do the same.

Order your life so that you are walking with Christ. Have the accountability and community that will encourage you to abide with him. Have rhythms of life that allow for you to be with God so much that it fuels your doing for God. When we understand the love of God we will love others. View hospitality as a primary work for evangelism and discipling in your community. Regularly make time to meet with others and have spiritual conversations.

We want to be a church of people growing in relationship with Jesus and helping others to do the same. What roles do church leaders and church members play in the process?

Each of us is called to be a disciple and make disciples. God has given us the home as a primary place to live out this command. This week we look at how to make disciples in our homes.

If you attend church, you might assume it's obvious that you follow Jesus. But what if someone challenged you to prove it? What would you say or do? Is there enough evidence to prove to yourself and others that you are a follower of Jesus?

I would imagine for some of us, maybe a lot of us, this is a new idea, so much emphasis on this one thing: making disciples. We might wonder, why, Why does Jesus need me to make His followers? I mean He made the first batch without me, and they did pretty good, so why now does He need me? Here’s the answer. He doesn’t need you. He lets you.

Today is 4 weeks of 10. Last week we looked at the disciplines, the habits that help us grow in the Lord. And we were thinking about how we grow in the Lord because that’s our definition of a disciple: A disciple is someone growing in their relationship with Jesus and helping others to do the same. I hope you thought about your plan this week. We don’t just wake up one day like Jesus. We have a plan for how we get there. Now if we have a plan, we are purposely doing things to grow with Jesus, to follow Him closely at some point we might wonder, 'Is this working? How do I know it is working?' We need to do is define the target. We know our success in relation to the target.

Today is the 3rd in a series of 10 messages where we are seeking to understand the task Jesus left us with, the thing we are supposed to do until we die, or He returns: make disciples. We finished last week with a working definition of a disciple. A disciple is someone growing in their relationship with Jesus and helping others do the same. We can’t separate being a disciple from making a disciple because a disciple of Jesus makes disciples. Let’s think today about that phrase 'growing in their relationship with Jesus'. What are we doing to grow? What are we doing to keep Jesus in focus, His voice tuned in? We need habits or disciplines to help us.

Last week we began a 10-week series on discipleship. Three takeaways from that: 1) Jesus has called you to be a disciple, 2) Jesus has called you to make disciples; 3) We want to be a disciple-making church. The word disciple seems pretty big to Jesus. Do we know what a disciple is? I think about the only place we hear that word is when we hear 'discipleship', and that is a class you take on a particular night of the week. We are treating discipleship, disciple-making as an event. It starts here and ends there, always at church. But Jesus is calling us to is a way of life. Today we are going to try to define that life, what a disciple is.

What would you like Jesus to find you doing, when He returns? Worshiping at church? Serving food at a homeless shelter? Praying and reading your Bible? On a mission trip? I think I’d feel pretty good with any of those, but what are the odds of Jesus returning while I am doing one of those things? Well, while I do hope He returns when I am doing one of those things, the good news is I could be, you could be asleep, or watching a football game, shopping, or at work answering an email when He returns, and be found faithful and enjoy all that comes with that. Jesus’ challenge here is not about a moment, but a life. Blessed is the servant who has given their life to what Jesus called them to do.

The night before Jesus showed us just how great God’s love for us is, before He was crucified for your sins and my sins; He was in the Upper Room with the disciples where He purposely did something to shape our lives and every relationship in it. Did it work? Is it shaping your life and relationships? I’m sure more than a few of us are kind of scrambling right now to figure out what I am talking about. Turn with me to John 13:12-17.This sermon is part of the Morning of Worship. To view that in it's entirety, look under our Worship videos in the app or online.

Dr. Hahn interviews our mission partners in Zimbabwe, Jeff and Tammy Scorziell.

Do we believe God has a purpose for us being here in America? Are we living like it? It seems God would have us to believe, have us to live like He has us in 2024 America on purpose. This idea can be applied to more than the nation we live in. It can be, should be applied to the family we are in, the school or job we are in, or really any situation. Considering our national conversation, national church conversation, or our theme this year is why today I apply this idea to living in America on purpose.

You were a good mother, a bad mother, or an absent mother. You never got to be a mother. Your mother has recently passed. Whatever is our experience with that word, that position, that person; honoring is your healing. Honoring is your path. Honoring is your hope. Honoring is God's way for you.

Today, I want us to look at an event in the Bible where, in the midst of massive crowds, an individual meets someone who forever changed his life. We find it in Luke Chapter 19.

Today is the culmination of the last three weeks coming out of Easter. And we are going to address one of the most significant aspects of missions at our church. And that is partnerships. When possible, we develop partnerships for a variety of reasons, and we base our partnerships on Relationships, trust and common purpose or goal. Both overseas and local partners have skills, resources and an expertise that may not have or need to have because of our partnership.

I need (or we need as a church) to have a strategy. Not trying to sound business like or corporate, but there are a lot of needs and people out there and there is a limit on time, people and resources it would be impossible try and do everything. And somewhere along the way I am trusting that God has a plan.

Already two weeks past Easter, but you remember we ended our Easter service asking the question, 'How does someone who possesses the good news that Jesus is alive, that I have been saved from sin, death, and hell; live?' What is the appropriate response to this good news? Last week we heard Jesus say, 'I am alive, go tell, go share.' And today we will hear Him say, 'I am alive, go love.'

Last week we celebrated the good news that Jesus is alive. Because He is alive, we can live eternally loved, forgiven, adopted by God, heaven as our home. That is incredible news, nothing more significant to our lives. What do we do with it? Jesus wants us to share it. It’s one thing to share my good news, but a whole other kind of joy and excitement to share what is good news for others. Jesus wants this to be our life.

Good news! Good News! Good News! Jesus is alive, so we can live and live eternally! That’s not only good news, that’s the best, most important news there is. Sadly, it is not enjoyed by all. It’s not good news if one doesn’t believe it. It’s not good news if one is not aware of how bad the news was. I have done a lot of Easter messages on the belief part, the validity of believing Jesus conquered the grave. One doesn’t have to set aside reason to believe Jesus is alive. The evidence is there. It is a step of faith, but it is not a blind step. On this Easter though I want to look at how good this news is considering how bad the news was.

The Last Supper is clearly the most special supper of all time, so special they brought Leonardo da Vinci in to paint it. It is a holy moment. It is a moment so deep in theology, in prophecy, in promise. And in the bigness and specialness of this moment, we can miss the humanness of this moment. Friends, sharing a meal, saying good-bye, and absolutely anticipating when they will sit down again over a meal. Without losing the holiness of this moment, let’s read it in the humanness of it as well. Look with me in Luke 22:14-20.

I’ve always been intrigued by the layout of the gospel of John. We have 4 Gospels in the Bible that tell the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. John does that in 21 chapters, and 5 of those chapters, chapters 13-17, are about what went on in the Upper Room that Thursday night before He was crucified. That means 24% of John covers 3 hours of Jesus’ life. Now in this 24% we see what Jesus was doing, thinking, talking about, and praying for the night before He knew He would be crucified. What would be important to you if you were healthy, strong, of sound mind; but only had about 18 hours to live. These chapters are showing us what Jesus did. He ends with a prayer. I want to look at the end of that prayer, the last thing on His heart and mind before He steps into His passion.

Our giving, your giving means something to Jesus. It is not the actual amount, but that amount compared to what you have. There’s no command here to give everything you have.

What do you hear or see when you hear the word 'repent'? I think of a preacher, sweating, red in the face, yelling from a pulpit, 'Repent you heathen!' Repent sounds harsh, confrontational; and well, we should hear some of that in that word, but Jesus also has this word surrounded by good news. One is not usually announcing good news screaming and judging. Jesus just said the rule of God is here and available. God has a will and a way. If, when you realize your way is not working, not the way; you realize you need His way, good news, you can have it. Here’s what you need to do repent and believe. Get off the road you are on. Stop going the wrong way. And get on God’s way. He loves you. He forgives you. And He wants you to have all that comes with His way, His rule. This is the heart of God.

Today is the second to last in our series on marriage. We all know money matters. Money is big. It is big in our thoughts, our conversations, our work. And it is big every day. Most of us have a thought or a conversation about money way more than we do God. We think, talk, touch money every day. That’s true as an individual and true in marriage. In any report, money will be one of top 5 reasons for divorce. In any report, money is going to be #1 or #2 in ranking for what we argue about the most in marriage. What would solve it? I believe Jesus would say, 'Y’all are acting like owners that don’t agree, when you need to be thinking about answering to the real owner for what you did with His money'. Jesus points to just such a conversation.

Fighting and disagreeing is such a great opportunity to do exactly what God has called us to do in a marriage, to submit and serve. Oh, sure we can do those things when we are not fighting, but that’s not really the challenge, or the growth, or the evidence that I actually am growing in Christlikeness, that I actually am filled with the Spirit. No, it is in the moment of disagreement we find out what God and His word mean to us. Look with me today to Ephesians 5:21-33.

So far in this series we have said that marriage matters because it’s God’s design and because it gives us a unique opportunity to practice being like Jesus and experience how He loves us. We have said that kids matter because they are a valuable gift from the Lord and we have a valuable assignment to point them back to Him. And today is intimacy. Sex matters. I have quoted Hebrews 13:4 a good bit, and will again here.

Today is our third message in our marriage series with the first two saying, 'Marriage matters'. Now we can’t talk about marriage and not talk about kids. There is not a command that every individual must have a child, but there is a command given to humanity and marriage. A purpose of marriage is kids. A great purpose that costs a lot, and where there is great cost, there needs to be great motivation.

As we close the 21 days of prayer, I would like encourage us continue to pursue some spiritual disciplines. Now some you may wonder what exactly is a spiritual discipline? It isn't a term use very often. Well one definition is 'behaviors that help our spiritual growth and enable us to grow to spiritual maturity'. Spiritual disciplines should not be something we do only certain times year, but should be way life.

Why do we honor marriage? Because God is going to judge those who live outside His design. We could stop there, but why is God so big on His design. Last week we saw science struggle to say God’s design, God’s way works, but it did say it. It is worth making it work. So, live inside God’s design for love, sex, and marriage. But what if I told you that marriage is about more than love, sex, and marriage. There’s a greater reason God wants us to honor, respect, protect this relationship. A reason worthy to you.

Last week I told you I would be doing 6 different sermon series this year, but a unifying theme: preparing to live in a culture that is increasingly anti-Christian, or maybe more positively said: being faithful to God in every environment. We do this by relying on the gospel, living the gospel, sharing the gospel, no matter the cost. As I tried to show last week, there may be a cost coming we are not used to paying.

The American Christian has enjoyed an unprecedented life of ease. Out of all the followers of Christ over the last 2000 years, I am not sure what percentage of those would be 19th, 20th, 21st century Americans. Let’s say 15%. In that other 85%, it has been hard to be a Christian. There has been a great cost to following Christ, which He warned in Luke 14 when He said NOT to follow Him before counting the cost. Did we have to weigh any cost to become His follower? I believe it will begin to cost to follow Christ in America.

Some of us may be feeling that way today, like we are trying really hard to please God by doing things (coming to church and reading our bible and giving here and there) and we are about to beef up our efforts with our new year resolutions tonight, we are going to promise to read more, come to church more often, and we are trying and trying and it never seems enough because we always fall short. Jesus extends an invitation, which by the way it is still open, He invites people to come to Him. He turns none away, He says come.

Today I am concluding 4 messages on meeting Jesus in the Christmas story told in the Bible by Matthew. We have met a Jesus who is the promised Messiah, the fulfillment all the prophecies. We’ve met a Jesus who is the Savior of our sins, and oh what a Savior! We have met a Jesus that is the very Son of God. And today we meet Him as our King.

Mary and Joseph, if we can get past seeing them frozen in our manger scenes, they’re just two people, a young mom and dad, looking at a new baby. No doubt they see so much. Shepherds come in and later foreign dignitaries. Who are all these people and why are they coming to see their baby? That would certainly add to the big dreams and ideas. But then perhaps it was this young mom and dad who left the shepherds and wise men wondering when they introduced their baby. 'Here’s Jesus. He’s God.' Let’s read Matthew 1:22-23.

Do you need to be saved? We may feel bad or guilty over a certain sin, but that just highlights all the sins we don’t feel bad about. So even we who believe can have a shallow appreciation of what Jesus being our Savior means. Why am I thinking about understanding and appreciating Jesus as Savior? We have begun a Christmas series, and we are looking at how this Baby in the manger is introduced to us. Last week we met Jesus as the Promised Messiah, and today as the Savior of our sins. Look with me at Matthew 1:18-23.

Christmas is a people time: family, friends and even new family and new friends. We go to gatherings, events, parties, to be with people, even some we don’t like. With all this meeting at Christmas, wouldn’t it be travesty if we didn’t meet Jesus. If Christmas is about anything, it is about meeting God in Jesus. This Jesus out of whom is going to come some wonderful and awful things. Who is this Jesus?

Did you thank God this week for a kingdom that cannot be shaken? Interesting question when we look back over a week where we have given much thanks for things that can be shaken, can be lost. Nothing wrong with enjoying the temporary, but so much more important that our heart’s desire is the eternal. Either way, I am guessing a lot of us have heart full for God right now so where to now?

Giving thanks may be the most important discipline of the Christian life. It is a discipline. We tend to think of it as a feeling that comes from getting or having good things. But biblical giving of thanks is a choice in all things; a daily choice that enables us to see God, love life and people. A daily choice that gives strength, hope, and the ability to endure. We see all this in the life of Joseph.

Dr. Hance Dilbeck, President of Guidestone is our guest speaker as we go into several days of hosting the SBCV Annual Homecoming.

Today we come to our 4th message on the life of Joseph, of course is a part of our study of Genesis. We have seen that Joseph’s life is a special life. It should make us want to watch, ask questions, learn. He has a profound ability to hold onto God regardless of his circumstances. He seems to enjoy a great relationship with the Lord, and the Lord enjoys a great relationship with Joseph. I know the Lord enjoyed being with Joseph because everyone could see it!

More times than I can count I have wondered what God is doing. Funny thing, I don’t usually wonder that when things are going well. Shouldn’t we always want to know what God is doing? But we tend to be most concerned when we aren’t happy, when things are not going well. And we especially wonder that when we have been good, been praying, because then we have done our part, right, and now God, You do Your thing. It is so hard not to want to reduce God to a formula. I do this, You do this, and then good thing happens. We’ve all had times where we feel like, 'God You should have done this, and You didn’t.' Great faith to hold onto Him in that moment. But God has not left us in the dark on where He is or what He is doing, especially in those places where we feel most in the dark. The life of Joseph gives us great insight to this.

The Bible gives to us several provocative, sensual, steamy stories: David and Bathsheba, Samson and Delilah, and our story today Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. The first two stories give us lessons from failure. Joseph though, from success. Filled with sexual tension, possibly even wondering if God’s way even matters, we see with incredible clarity a path through temptation. Let’s read yet another of the well-known stories of Genesis and the Bible.

Caring for the poor is very much a part of God’s heart, the heart of the Jewish faith, the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus makes it part of what it means to come follow Him. Now, there are lots of things that it means to follow Him, but helping the poor is one of only two things that is uniquely attached like this to what it means to follow Jesus. We can and should ask, 'Am I following Jesus if I am not helping the poor?'

God doesn't cause people to sin. God doesn't make people sin. God isn't a bad God, but people sin of their own choosing, but Godis bigger than they are. And God is able to take even sinful people and things, and He, through providence, is able to work that out for His glory and our good.

Even when we know the blessing of trusting in God, we can slide right back to trusting in ourselves. As a matter of fact, we all do it, all the time. Self-sufficiency is our default mode when the alarm goes off every morning. In chapter 32 Jacob is returning home and in awe of what God has done for him and particularly now in God sending him home, but Jacob is also afraid of a reunion with his brother Esau. It’s been 20 years since they were together, and Esau wanted to kill him for how Jacob had deceived him. Jacob sends a message to Esau that he is coming home. He wants to test the waters. The messenger returns saying Esau and 400 men are on the way. This is Jacob’s nightmare coming true.

It is all God’s grace. I have said that over and over through the lives of Abraham and now Isaac as God gives great promises and blessings. As we saw last week, even when Abraham and Isaac fail, God still comes through. It is His goodness, not ours. His grace, not our deservedness. He is faithful even when we are not. Which means at some point we might ask, Does it even matter how I live? I mean God is going to do what God is going to do, right? Our study in Genesis today brings us to chapters 29-30 and it is just a mess of humanity, and God by His grace uses all of it.

Our study today in Genesis brings us to one of the great promises of God: I will be with You. I hope we can understand what that means in Genesis 26, throughout the Bible, and what it means for us here today. So, turn to Genesis 26.

Last week we learned that God is comfortable with our discomfort. It can be a way of testing our faith, our obedience. And today we will see that God does test. God tested Abraham and is going to test you; you, me, all of us. It is not a multiple-choice, or true/false test. We’re not going to guess our way to a right answer. As a matter of fact, probably the hardest tests you have ever taken, whether you even know you are being tested, were given by God.

In Genesis 12 and 15 Abram is called Abram, but when we read the passage in Romans 4, he’s called Abraham. Why the name change? Also, from Romans 4, Paul describes Abraham as never wavering in his faith, so what is going on when he jumps the gun and has a child with Hagar. Good questions in which the answers have some real value to our faith walk today.

If God took the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, which was the most wicked act conducted in the history of mankind and used it for His glory, the same thing is true for anything else we may go through in this world. God is sovereign and in complete control. God is able.

Rev. Jordan West, our Young Adults Pastor continues in Genesis 17 as we look at circumcision and it's importance in the Bible.

God made the heavens all by Himself… earth… animals… trees… you… me… everything, therefore He doesn’t need fleshly help in order to accomplish His will. All He wants us to do is simply believe/trust/wait on God. This is what Abraham & Sarah needed to learn, and same thing that we need learn. God’s way is the only way.

Genesis 1-11 is the big view of where everything came from and why things are the way they are. In Genesis 12 we shift. Moses has led the Jews out of Egypt and is introducing them to their God. Not a first introduction, but now a very thorough introduction from Genesis to Deuteronomy. God is going to use Genesis 12-50 to tell them where they came from and why there are His special people. And that starts today with understanding God’s covenant with Abraham and the Jews. The verses we are about to read referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant. Read Genesis 12:1-5; 15:6-18.

Sometimes things just work out. It was not on purpose that I am preaching Genesis 10-11 today and doing the Lord’s Supper, and yet, wow! These two things landed on this day separately and they absolutely go together. At the Tower God divided us up and at the Table He made us one again. Let’s look today at Genesis 11:1-9.

The flood story is big. It is big action. It is big impact. It has big questions. It is by far the biggest judgment of God on the earth and humanity still to this day. It is just a flood of big going on. But under the surface, pun intended, there are great spiritual lessons, examples for our daily life and walk with God. In the flood God has something for you. Open your Bible with me to Genesis 5:32 and we’ll start there.

The day finally arrived. A day God had said would come a hundred years earlier. The Ark was finished, full of animals and supplies, and Noah’s family. God shut the door the ark. And then God, well, killed everyone. Today and next Sunday I want to focus our attention on some profound spiritual ideas we need to take from this.

Our study in Genesis brings us not only to one of the big moments in the Bible, but one of the big moments in the history of planet earth. So many ancient religions and cultures have a flood story. Do you know why? Because it happened. They’re trying to explain this event in the history of our earth. Do I believe in the flood, Noah, the Ark? I certainly do because Jesus believed in it.

Today we are going to look at one of the not so well-known characters of the Bible, but one that has a great walk with God. You don’t have to be a Bible hero to have a great walk with God. Turn with me to Genesis 5. I am going to read 1-11, and then 21-24.

Well, we are in Genesis 4 today, but going to at Deuteronomy 12:4 and Romans 12:2-3. These verses are about worship, and not just the minutes before a sermon happens in church on Sunday morning. This is about the life offered up to God in worship. One verse says don’t take your cues from the world on how to worship God. The other says don’t take your cues from yourself. In both I elevate myself to the place of determining what God will be pleased with. We live in a culture today that says just the opposite. My passion, my feelings are the only truth. My feelings are what make it right. No. Why not? Glad you asked. Look with me today at Genesis 4.

Today is our sixth message and a message connected to 3 Sundays ago. We looked at Adam and Eve fall into sin. It is kind of stunning that a serpent is talking, but very purposeful, because temptation is always talking to us from wherever we perceive the voice to be coming from. We learned how important it is to trust God, His word, His goodness. In verses 8-24 today we are going to see the fall out of not trusting God and His word, of believing there is a goodness apart from Him. Let’s read 3:8-24.

We used to say it is wrong to smoke marijuana because it was illegal and as Christians, we are to obey the law. Well, it is now recreationally legal in 19 states and medically legal in 36 others. This requires us to think through this issue with a little more thought and Todd Miles will show us what that looks like to think biblically and as a disciple of Christ on this issue. He will also give us a grid to think biblically on other ethical issues not specifically addressed in the Bible. Todd Miles is the author of Cannabis and the Christian, and a professor at Western Theological Seminary.

Adam and Eve failed. It’s hard to grasp just how big a failure that was. Their failure produced every lie, every murder, every rape, every war, every cancer, every divorce, every bad day. Their failure is why the lawn mower breaks. And on and on and on. And they can’t blame their failure on heredity, the environment, or anything anyone did to them. And yet they will blame. We might feel like we can rightly blame, but wherever we place the blame; we still have a problem – we sin, because we choose to sin. Let’s read Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7.

Earlier this year, I came across the passage in Matthew 4 about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Something about that passage really just stuck out to me and I knew that it was what I wanted to preach on if I was given the opportunity.

out. Today we look at marriage. Most people get married, regardless of religion, race, generation, continent, culture; the great majority of people get married. Let’s see what God had in mind. Read Genesis 2:18-25.

Where does identity, our understanding of self, come from? Is it something we create or something we are given? There’s not going to be universal agreement on that, but has a universal answer been given? I believe so. We talk much today about social construct, the social things that build who we are: like little boys are to play with G.I Joes and girls, Barbies. There are constructs we are going to agree with and some we are not. But whether those constructs are right or wrong, I suggest society is not the first place we look for our identity, but to the One who Designed us. Read Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 139:13-16.

So last week our focus was on the 6 days of creation and today the 7th day as we continue our series in Genesis. I am using a sermon today that I have not only preached before, but recently, just two years ago. I think this is so important to our health and well-being and we just don’t get. When I did this 2 years ago, I did a sermon before this one trying to prove we are all walking around on empty. That can happen to any of us at any time, but 2020 got us all there at the same time. And I said what the next two years would be like and it’s been worse. We are an agitated society. Take a breath. Take a nap. If we’d let Him, God would lead us right to reenergized, refueled, and ready to go.

We can choose God or reject God. No other part of creation does that. The rest of creation is doing what it is designed to do. We have a choice to do what we are designed to do, or not. In this role we are also given dominion over this world, both a privilege and a responsibility. We will be judged and blessed accordingly.

Who am I? Why am I? Is there a God? Is there something besides this? Does it matter how I live? Deep, philosophical questions with complex answers? Perhaps, but maybe there are simple answers that go a long way to understanding a lot. God wants you to understand a lot. And that is why He gave us the Bible and that is why it starts with Genesis, beginnings or starting points. I am excited to be starting Genesis. Everything we are dealing with today, every problem goes back to Genesis, goes back to a truth, a foundation we have rejected, walked away from. Perhaps going back to the beginning is a way forward.

Happy Resurrection Day! He is alive! It’s so good to see everyone this Easter weekend and celebrate with you that He is alive! My message today is entitled Two Rocks and a PoPo. Let me start with our passage for the day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-6.

Good morning and welcome to The Heights on Palm Sunday. Karen and I along with 88 of you just got back from Israel, back from the road Jesus was on when they waved those palm branches. It was the most incredible time in the Holy Land, worshiping and learning together as we walked where Jesus walked. And from that excitement and energy I'm here today to share this moment with you. All are welcome to the Table of the Lord who are of the Lord. Are you of the Lord? Does being in church mean you are of the Lord? Does being a member of a church mean you are of the Lord? Does taking the Lord’s Supper mean I am of the Lord? Hey, what if I take the Lord’s Supper in Israel because a bunch of us just did? Does that make us a little more of the Lord? Turn with me today to 1 Corinthians 11:27-29.

Let’s look to the Bible to see what all we can discover about Methuselah and who he was. Turn with me this morning to Genesis Chapter 5 and we begin reading in verse 21. (Gen 5:21-27)

Today’s sermon title is Fighting in the Church! And it is not to tell us not to fight, but to fight! Wait, what?! Doesn’t Jesus, the Bible tell us to work at unity, to not fight? Well, I may have let you assume something about the word fight. When we hear that word, we think of anger and arguing, even pushing and punching. That’s not what Jude is talking about. Sorry, I may have left that impression. And it is not fighting against, but for. So now that we know what he is not saying, what is he saying? Well, let’s start by reading Jude.

It is crazy out there! Dangerous out there! We might even say evil out there! We can’t ignore it. It’s not going away. It is just getting more crazy, more dangerous and more evil. And that’s why we need to fight . . . in here. Huh? Turn with me to the letter from Jude. Go to the end of the Bible and you’ll find Revelation. Jude is right before it. Today is our second of three messages dedicated to understanding and acting on this letter written 2000 years ago so clearly for today.

So, you ready to fight? Can the same Jesus, the same Bible that calls us to peace, call us to fight? Can a people of grace, love, forgiveness put on the gloves? Today we begin a 3-week series in the book of Jude. It’s one page. I like how Chuck Swindoll described this book of the Bible that resides next to Revelation. 'Jude is like a one-room chapel beside a massive cathedral, often lost in the shadow of its towering neighbor,' but not today.

No matter what we are going through, as children of God, help is on the way. While we may be tested by the Lord, we need to have faith in the Lord. We will be sustained by Jesus Christ.

The title of my message today is Preparing for Profit. Not your normal profit, but the big one. We talked last week about coming into big money and how often the proves to be a disaster for people, and that is why the Bible warns about it. Or even the regular profit. You finally get that big raise. In America that means one year from now you will still have the same financial stress and debt. Only in America can more money mean more debt and stress. So we want be prepared for it, not just managing more money, but its impact on our lives. And here is how: be a giver. Pursue blessing, enrichment, by giving, not receiving.

Throughout history money has an incredibly powerful impact on us and we don’t always manage that impact well, nor the money, and that is why the warnings. Is there a way to prepare for money?

So why does God use weakness and helplessness in our lives? Because that is what keeps us touching first, what keep us operating out of devotion, dependence and discipleship. If we don’t touch first each day then our tendency is to get distracted and busy, and look what happens. Someone who loves the Lord, but feels distant from the Lord. Someone who loves the Lord, but easily angered with His people. Someone who trusts the Lord, but worried and bothered about much. Instead of helplessness forcing us there, let’s just choose it. Get up, pray, and read your Bible at the feet of Jesus.

Today is our third week to think about helplessness. As I have been working on this series, and for me that goes back before Christmas, I’ve been amazed in my Bible-reading to see how much this thread of helplessness runs through the Bible. When you are looking for it, you see it. So many verses take on a new understanding. It is not about how strong I am, but rather how much I trust in, depend on God. It is just not my strength and success, but my faith and obedience.

Last week we learned from the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 and a teaching from Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that helplessness is the very place we are to be working from. We need our weaknesses and inabilities for they drive us to cling to Christ where we most experience the power of God. Today we are going to understand the significance of our helplessness; and that God is presenting Himself to us as a Helper.

Much of my prayer life may be asking God to keep me from the place He is trying to get me. That would seem to put my prayers at odds with God. What is this place? Helplessness. Have you ever felt helpless? Did you want to stay in that place? No, of course not. I can’t help but think most of us will do almost anything in a state of helplessness to no longer feel helpless. And when I say 'God wants to get me to this place,' I don’t mean for like a moment for a tune up, make me a little better. And once that is done, rescue me from out of the helplessness. No, this is where He wants me to live and operate from.

This morning I want us to work our way through an entire book of The Bible. And this particular book of The Bible has also been made into a movie. The difference being while this movie is less than 2 hours long it will only take you 6 and a 1/2 minutes to read through the book that we're going to work our way through this morning. Turn with me to the Old Testament book of Jonah. As we work our way through these 4 chapters...just 48 verses in total, I believe God has something for each of us. I believe that there are some very practical lessons that we can learn from Jonah. Chapter 1.

If you have been at The Heights during this Christmas Season you have heard us talking about prepositions, two in particular: around and in. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, many homes, many churches turn to Matthew 1-2 or Luke 1-2 and read the Christmas Story, the real one, the historical one about Jesus. And in those stories, we learn a lot about what went on around Jesus at His arrival. Around Jesus was Bethlehem, a star, a manger, shepherds, and angels. What went on around Him is important because it helps us identify that this baby is indeed the very Son of God. There is a unique Christmas passage though where the focus is what went on in Jesus and from that comes a Christmas command. Listen. Read Philippians 2:5-8.

It is good a good thing to not use our body for evil, but that does not mean we’ve used it for good. The way so many our living in our culture today gives a lot of us a chance to feel very self-righteous because I’m not like them. I haven’t done that. But the command of Christmas is more than just not doing that. The command of Christmas directs me to think and act just like Jesus, to have the same attitude He had about a body. What was His attitude? Let’s look at Philippians 2:5-8. This is our third week with this passage as this is where we are spending Christmas.

It is Christmas, and that means we focus on Christmas passages that give us the Christmas story. These passages tell us what is going on AROUND Jesus at His birth. Around Him there were angels praising and delivering messages. Around Him was a virgin birth. Around Him was a mom and dad traveling to Bethlehem. Around Him was a star and shepherds. And we love what was going on around Him. Our Christmas decorations are made up of what was going on around Jesus: a manger scene in the yard, maybe as a centerpiece on the table, a star on top of the tree. Christmas programs: shepherds, angels, stars, and mangers. We build Christmas on what is going on around Jesus. But there is no command to do that, and that is oaky, but there is a command to build Christmas on what was going on in Jesus. Let’s look at that Christmas passage that tells us what was going on IN Jesus, and the command that goes with it. Look with me at Philippians 2:5-8.

I love Christmas ____________ . What goes there in the blank for you? Lights? Cookies? Movies? Music? Gifts? Bonus! Quite a few words can go in that blank. Elf on a shelf is not one of them. Doesn’t fit. I have word that I don’t think anyone would put there, but should. It is not as natural or easy to say as Christmas cookies or Christmas music, but it is so much more what Christmas is all about than cookies and music and almost all the other words. It is the word body, a Christmas Body. I hope that by time we get to Christmas that will be the first word that comes to our mind. It really is what Christmas is all about. Jesus got a body for Christmas, and in that is our opportunity to see how we can be just like Him.

Join us as we celebrate Dr. Hahn's 20th Anniversary at The Heights Baptist.

We all have things we need to do in life, to this week. We all struggle with letting less important things crowd out the more important things. We need to focus on what is most important. Jesus seems to be saying the act of remembering is how we keep the main thing the main thing. We need in our lives the discipline of remembering.

There is a forever. You are forever. And we are going to spend forever in either Heaven or Hell. One has to ask, What can I do? How can I know? Can anyone know? The good news is God wants You to know and He is patient as you hear and learn. Listen to God’s heart.

We have been studying Heaven and Hell since September 18, and we will conclude next week. One of the things we have learned is that while the words Heaven and Hell have a general meaning of where people go when they die, Heaven and Hell are actually places, events that are out there in the future, still to come; which leaves the question, “What about now? Where do we go when we die?” That seems interesting, if not really important.

Today is our fifth Sunday on Heaven and Hell, with still two more to go, but we have covered enough to generate some questions which I am going to try and answer. We had about 40 people ask over 75 questions, not 75 different questions. There are duplicates so don’t get nervous how long this will take. We will hear answers we understand and agree with, some that will enlighten. There may be some that still leave us unsatisfied or confused, or don’t like. On those we rest on God’s word, God’s character.

What would make Heaven, Heaven for You? What is it hard to imagine Heaven not having? I imagine most of us have something: a pet, a person, a pleasure, a place. I mean we are sure Heaven is good and wonderful and all, the whole streets of gold thing; but if we are honest, it is just hard to imagine Heaven being all that is promised if found out that something wasn’t there. Could Heaven be missing something? What makes Heaven, Heaven? I can say the answer, already have said the answer in this series; and you know the answer and believe it, understand it, but . . . It is God that makes Heaven, Heaven.

Todd and Veronika Gallagher with their three children are missionaries in Ukraine. As war broke out their plans changed, but they continued to minister to refugees and the church in Ukraine from their home base in Brasov, Romania.

A disturbing concept in Christianity is the prospect that one day vast numbers of people will go to hell. Some of them we know and love; because we all have people we know and love that will not come to Christ. It is such a disturbing idea it’s just easier to ignore or only refer to in the vaguest of terms. The great majority of Christians can go to church for years and never hear about hell. It is just easier to not talk about, but is that helpful? As we see what God has said about hell; let’s keep in mind that our comfort and understanding is not the standard by which this is measured. Let’s keep in mind we do not have a greater idea of love or what is fair than God. Our love and fairness are so far from God’s that it is closer to wrong. We have never come close to loving someone like God does.

We are a physical people in a physical world, and we were made that way by God. And it is in these physical, concrete images of the world that heaven is described to us in Revelation 21. Don’t dismiss these descriptions as having some indefinable, mystical idea. Hear it for what it is. Let’s read Revelation 21.

Why is it so important to study Heaven and Hell when it costs $50, $60 dollars or more to fill my gas tank, when we just learned that our kids are on average 1-2 years behind in their education due to Covid, when we have such a polarized nation, when home is becoming more frustrating, when . . . and where does the list stop of more pressing needs than day dreaming about a Heaven or Hell? What if I were to suggest that clarity and conviction about Heaven and Hell may be the focus we need to navigate our current personal and cultural issues?

Are we really helping, encouraging, providing for people to grow in the Lord, be strong in the Lord, in the context of an increasingly anti-Christian society. Can we stand strong and true? Is our church helping you be and do what God has called you to be and do? As we worked on this, we found ourselves going in a whole new direction. We stopped thinking of discipleship as a class we go to for 8 weeks. I thought about those first century Christians, who had none of these classes, books, training, or even a Bibles. Discipleship had to be the communication of simple ideas and communicated and lived through relationship. We want to introduce you to 6 Conversations, the first one you heard last week. Today, conversations 2-6.

Today and next Sunday I am going to be sharing around our vision and what we are going to be doing here. at The Heights and I think they bring some great opportunities for you as an individual and us as a church. And on September 17, we are going to start an 8-week series on Heaven and Hell. How important we keep in mind the final destination, an eternal destination, as we work through today’s issues in our lives and world. Hope you will join me as we look at the two places, of which one we will spend all eternity.

It looked like baby Moses was as good as dead when Pharaoh commanded that all the Hebrew male children were to be thrown into the Nile river to die. However, Moses was miraculously saved when he was, by faith, placed in an ark. Find out how we, too, can also be saved by placing faith in our ark of safety, Jesus Christ!

THE END! Shut the book! For many, maybe even most, that is where the parable ends because that is what we think the parable is all about. Looking at it from our vantage point, we tend to come to the celebration of the lost son coming home and feel good and warm hearted. That is especially true if we have experienced salvation ourselves, realizing that we who rebelled against God and tried to go our way were welcomed home by our heavenly Father. And because of that, we may think of the audience in front of Jesus being teary-eyed and joyful. But for at least half the crowd that was definitely not the case.

As we continue to look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus in telling this parable, goes to the worst-case anyone in the audience can imagine. He paints a picture of rebellion and dishonor beyond what His collected audience can even imagine. This story He tells is not just attention-getting, it is shocking. It is gasp-worthy!

Beginning today, we are going to do a 3-week sermon series on this parable of the prodigal son, looking at it each week from a different vantage point, through a different character. And in doing so, I am willing to guess that many will find they didn’t know the story as well as they thought.

Today we come to the end of a 3-month journey to remind ourselves of the commands, renew ourselves to the commands of God. And end is probably not the right word. End of a series, yes, but not the end of seeking a growing understanding of the goodness and rightness of God’s commands for our life. As I study these, I grow in awe of God: His understanding of us, of life, so perfect. And of course, in His commands is a light on my evil. In His commands I see afresh my great need for Jesus. And now the last command, a warning about everything we will try pursue to find love, peace, satisfaction, happiness other than Jesus. Let’s read Exodus 20:1-17.

Lying is a unique sin in that one lie almost always demands another. If I steal, I don’t have to steal again. If I lust, I don’t have to lust again. But if I lie, it often calls for more lying. Lying is kind of the protector of all sin. To cover all the sins out there, usually involves lying along the way. And we think of lying as a little sin. Let’s read Exodus 20:1-17.

And here we are at number 8 and heading to the barn. We started this series on commandments, the great commandment and the ten commandments back on May 1; with the first message entitled, Loving God, because that is what all these commands are about: love. Today’s command can be a little like the murder command. Today is about stealing, and I think we run out there to the big examples of stealing and absolve ourselves of any guilt. I haven’t killed anyone, and I haven’t robbed a bank, so I’m in the good here. But as we said on murder, the goal is not just not killing someone, or not robbing a bank. The goal is being like God. So what is that going to mean here. Look with me at Exodus 20:1-17.

Today we are going to focus on the seventh commandment: You shall not commit adultery. What is adultery? Adultery is typically defined as sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse. This is perhaps the commandment that many of us will struggle the most with while on this earth, especially as we understand the heart of the commandment. It’s a struggle because we are sexual beings, that naturally crave physical and emotional intimacy. Part of the struggle is also the sexually immoral society we live in, where we are constantly bombarded with ideas about sexuality that oppose the perfect will of God for one man and one woman in marriage. As we think about adultery, we have to wonder what is at the heart of the commandment.

I just read a long passage (Exodus 20:1-17) to get to a short command. Four words: you shall not murder. Or, said positively: You shall value life. How can Jesus say, in Matthew 5:21-22 that anger brings the same judgment as murder? There is a simple logic here. Life is so precious, is to be valued so highly, we don’t even get on the road that leads to murder.

We continue our series on the commandments today. We have studied the Great Commandment, and today brings us halfway through the Ten Commandments. Today’s command has everything to do with whether or not you can make it in the world. It is all about authority.

Today we look at the Fourth Commandment on the Sabbath. What is the Sabbath? We see its genesis, no pun intended, in Genesis 2:1-3. It says in 2:2 that He rested, and the word is Sabbath. It means He ceased His work. He did not rest because He was tired, for He is omnipotent. He can have powers flow out of Him that create the universe and He doesn’t even need a drink of water. It was His delight to stop after 6 days and celebrate. Sabbath here is not the name of a day, but a reference to stopping one’s normal activity to rest and celebrate. 6 days of work and 1 day of rest was the cycle God gave to us. This is before the law.

This week we continue with the 3rd commandment. When we are told not to take the Lord's name in vain, what does that mean exactly? On the surface it appears like it's talking about our language of swearing/mocking the Lord's name. But I believe that the commandment may also be referring to something more than verbal expression.

Last week we looked at the first one of the Ten Commandments: nothing before God. And while we learned that God tests, we came up with a self-test: Can I give this to God? We also said last week that while the Thou shall nots can sound foreboding and ominous, they are words of kindness. We need to know what is wrong and what is right. We need to know how to really love. And maybe the most important role the Ten Commandments play is they are a witness to us every day that we need Jesus, for we cannot keep the Ten Commandments and all that come from them. So there is a lot going on with these commandments. Let’s move to #2 today, Don’t try to capture God in physical form. Turn to Exodus 20:1-17.

Today we begin our study of one of the most well-known passages in the Bible throughout the world and across religions: the Ten Commandments. I am not saying everyone can recite all Ten, but we know the idea. Some of us remember seeing them posted in schools and various government buildings. Then began the legal battles to take them down, to keep them up. Believe it or not, most Americas still today have a favorable opinion of them being posted, even believe they are relevant. Now while it is a largely favorable view, it is declining view as we as a culture embrace the idea that nothing is wrong, except telling someone that something is wrong. I think posting them is of great value not just for the content, but the symbolism. I also think God is as interested, if not more, on whether they are posted on our hearts. We need the Ten Commandments. They are a moral compass for our soul.

At the Heights, Our mission is to be a church that the 804 can’t live without. It’s a phrase that if you’re here for any amount of time you’ll hear a lot. Many of us may have ideas of what that looks like, but this morning I would like to look at a church in the New Testament that gives us an example of what it looks like to be part of a church that’s influencing its community in such a way that the rest of the World has heard of the impact its making.

All commands can be put under two categories, two great commandments: love God and love others. Last we talked about loving God, and that topic is interesting to most of us. It doesn’t frustrate us to think about it, doesn’t raise questions. We want to love God better. But loving others. Now indeed, there are some others that we want to love better and love more, but the command to love others is not about some of your choosing. It is about all.

Last week we began a new series on commandments. We are going to spend 3 months studying the two great commandments, then the Ten Commandments, as well as others that come from these. We also introduced the idea that this is all about love. Studying the commandments is studying how to love God as well positioning our lives to best experience His love and presence and blessing. So today we start with the first and the great commandment. Turn in your Bible to Matthew 22:35-40.

Possibly the wisest person that has ever lived concluded that life is meaningless. It was Solomon who said that, and it was not a random thought after a bad day, a bad experience, or a bad life. This is his conclusion upon purposely studying all that we put our hands to, to find life and meaning. God put this conclusion of Solomon here in His Word. God wanted us to see this. Why? The key to understanding this book and what Solomon is communicating is 3 words: under the sun. If you only live life under the sun, horizontally, no vertical connection, no relationship with what is above the sun; it will never matter how much you laugh, spend, make, accomplish, achieve or enjoy – you will be empty. He is profoundly communicating that there is no real joy, no meaning life, apart from God.

The time of the Judges was one of the lowest times in the history of Israel. During this time, they turned away from God to the worship of idols, and God allowed their enemies to overcome and enslave them. God did not leave Israel completely without hope. Whenever the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord would raise up judges to deliver them.

Happy Easter, and welcome to The Heights Baptist. What an honor to gather with you here in person and online, and to do so for one reason: He is alive! He is alive! Easter is a Sunday we usually turn to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and look at His crucifixion or resurrection, but today is a little different at The Heights. Today is the 9th message in a series where we have walked verse by verse through the last week of Jesus’ life and we’ve already covered the cross and resurrection. And the story bring us today to what happened afterwards, and that’s where we live, afterwards. Turn in your Bible or Bible app to Luke 24:13-53

Rabbi Paul Klassen from Aliyah Foundation leads in a Seder service. Through this, we have a better understanding of Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the promised Messiah.

Why were the disciples not so filled with anticipation, that they were at the tomb waiting for Jesus? Is it because they were overwhelmed with grief? Scared of the Roman guards? Okay, that’s real. But when the women tell them Jesus is alive, His body is gone, they’ve seen angels – the disciples treated their report like nonsense? Shame on them. Yes, they do go and see what is going on at the tomb, and leave wondering what happened? They’re fools, and they don’t deserve to see Jesus. It’s not right for them to have called this nonsense. Yes, believing someone has risen from the grave is hard to believe. That’s not normal. It’s not even abnormal. It just doesn’t happen. Period. So, there’s that. But there is the power of God for whom nothing is impossible and that makes it possible to believe the unbelievable.

What was a painful moment for you? Can your memory feel that pain right now? I can’t imagine any of us has any kind of experience with pain that would help us understand what Jesus endured. Let me read Luke 22:66-23:46.

When I think of Jesus bloodied and beaten on the cross, it is easy to put that on mean Pharisees, Pontius Pilate, the Roman guards, Satan! And indeed, they did that! But so did His friends, so did you and I. His friends betray Him and deny Him. There is no reason to assume you or I would have fared much better. Let’s look at a little closer as Jesus steps into the most difficult night ever lived.

One thought on this for today though is Judas. What happened to him, why did he do this? He is chosen to follow Jesus, along with 11 others. That takes place early in Jesus’ ministry so we can assume Judas would have seen almost all of Jesus’ miracles. He would have heard almost all of Jesus’ teachings. He would have enjoyed the friendship of Jesus on a daily basis. We might even say, Judas knew Jesus as well as, maybe better than any of us. And not only Jesus, but Judas ran with the likes of Peter, John, Matthew and James. So what happened?

If you knew you were going to die in a couple days, and it wasn’t because of sickness, you’re healthy and mobile, but you are going to die; what would be important to you to do? What people would that involve? What would you be talking about? A hypothetical exercise for us, but for Jesus it was His reality. He is down to a couple of days, and we get to see who He is talking to, what He is talking about, what is important to do in the time left. Luke 21 shows us a day in the life of Jesus, when there are just a few left.

We continue our second week in our study of Easter at Luke's. We are studying this week in Luke 20.

Here I am today starting an Easter series in February, also the earliest I have done that, and Easter is not till April 17. I have so often handled both Easter and Christmas with 2, 3, maybe 4 messages; but there is so much more. And I wanted to do something a little more thorough. I choose Luke, for his expressed purpose of a gospel account that encourages our certainty. When it comes to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we need to be certain, so certain, we’d stake our life on it, as many have.

I hope we are all loving those we need to love well enough that we don’t need a special day, but don’t miss the special days. On this Valentine’s I wanted to take a moment to look at a great expression of love for the One who should be the greatest object of our love. Look with me today at John 12:1-8.

We have been now 5 weeks in a series called, What Would God Pray. God does not pray like we think of praying, but what are prayers, but us communicating to God our desires and our will. Well, God has desires and a will, and we do well to bring our desires and will, our prayers in line with His, and that is where we get the phrase what would God pray. We have gone to the Scriptures that reveal to us God’s will and desires, so as to learn what to pray for ourselves, our family, our church, and today our government.

This morning we are thinking about what God would pray for the Church. If Jesus loves the Church, and we love Jesus and want to be like Him, then would we not also love the Church, and if we love her want to pray much for her?

I’d like to give us 7 things to pray for ourselves considering this appointment. These seven things are my own list. You can certainly look to God’s Word and build your own. The key is praying the Scripture, letting it build our prayers.

I hope you are excited today to find out what to pray, and today, what to pray for family, whether your family is parents and siblings, or a mate, or a mate and kids, or just kids, or grandkids. We are not talking about how to pray or why to pray, which are very important, but going straight to what, what to pray.

This is going to be a different prayer series. We are not going to talk about why we should pray. That’s important, but not what we are doing. We are going straight to what. What to pray for yourself, your family, your church, your nation; and in covering what, we may get some how and why in there. The key is just to figure out what would God pray.

Today we are going to look at Luke 2:40-52 because I just could not leave this one passage dangling, but if I did, it would not be the first time it was left dangling. We don’t study Luke 2:40-52. Oh, we want to know more about the childhood of Jesus, but then ignore the passage about the childhood of Jesus. It is understandable. We come to Luke 1-2 for Christmas, and by time we get to verse 2:20, 2:39 we have what we need and it’s time to move on to the New Year. This passage is not a part of Christmas, and it doesn’t really fit into our study of the life and ministry of Jesus, so it is just left there by itself. But God did give us this story. He wants us to see 12-year-old Jesus. 12-year-old Jesus has something 56-year-old Randy needs, as do you. I think there is something here for a decision you need to make in 2022. Let’s look at Luke 2:40-52.

Now my prayer is for each of you to have the best year ever, but the reality is even if you have your most amazing year, there will be times of struggles, trials, and troubles. How do we face an uncertain future? How do we live untroubled in troubled times?

Today we finish our study of the Christmas story as the Holy Spirit gave it to Luke. It is a story about an 8-day old Jesus, and two other children, Simeon and Anna. Luke 2:21-39.

The headlines for weeks in the Roman Times, Jerusalem Today, and every other paper would have been, Augustus Mandates Census. And that caused a great amount of time, money, and headache. We have been studying the Christmas story for 4 weeks, and now today we come to the heart of the story. Look with me at Luke 2:1-20.

What gives you a sense of awe? You might be thinking, the mountains and the moon sure, but the castles and the football game. Yep, God did that. Look with me today at Luke 1:57-80. This is the fourth of our six Christmas messages from the Gospel of Luke. I have learned so much, been challenged so much in this, and I pray the same had been true for you.

Thinking about the Thanksgiving table, and then coming today to the Lord’s Table, reminded me of how much of life is lived around a table and a meal. There are all kinds of traditions and ways from one family to another, one culture to another, but in a birthday, an anniversary, a Thanksgiving, a Christmas, a wedding, and even a funeral, it always involves a table and a meal and the people gathered around it. Our Lord, the great I am, the First and the Last, the One for whom all things were created by and for and through, Jesus; also lives life around a table, with a meal, and those He loves.

Today is our third of six messages in the Christmas series and it brings us to Mary, a truly incredible woman of God. Let’s remember that Luke is writing to encourage the faith of believers who are being persecuted. This isn’t about Christmas stories and religious traditions. This is about the certainty of why I am following Christ, no matter the cost. Today we are covering an incredible and important passage of the Bible, Mary’s meeting with Gabriel and her response of praise referred to as The Magnificat.

Turn with me today to Luke 1:5-25. We have begun our Christmas series early this year to give ourselves time to work through the entire Christmas story as given to Luke. Today is our second of six messages, bringing us to 1:5-25.

Christmas is all about believing. In the weeks in front of us, we will see Christmas movies, commercials, and cards that call us to just believe. Believe in Santa. Believe in humanity. Believe in the Christmas spirit. And belief is just a warm feeling that doesn’t need things like truth and reality. Now that belief, that warm feeling doesn’t actually accomplish anything, help us solve real problems, but you will feel good, for a moment, at Christmas, I think. I am not sure where this idea of believing came from, but it did not come from the Bible or Christianity. And we see that so clearly in the opening lines of the Christmas story in Luke.

In reading Mark 1:16-20, do you see them there on the shore? Can you see them drop the nets and follow? Do you realize this building, the campus, the ministry shown you today, you – it is all here at this moment because of that moment. They said, yes, not even close to understanding all that would follow in the journey. They just took the next step. Will you?

You will never hear Jesus say, 'I invite you to make a decision about Me.' You will hear Him say, 'Come follow Me.' Jesus invites us to the journey of a lifetime. What will it be like? Well, read the Gospels, see what happens with the disciples, and you will have a pretty good idea of what is ahead. And Jesus has a plan, just for you.

Rev. Jerry Witte, NextGen Pastor, shares about living a life on purpose.

I just finished a 4-week series laying the groundwork for today. There are a lot of things the church needs to do, and God has called and equipped some of us to do those things: Christian politicians can shape law, Christian intellectuals can shape thought, and Christian revolutionaries can bring about change. God calls some to do those things, but He calls all of the church to live and share the gospel. It is the Gospel that is God’s power for life change. If we do not carry the gospel, it will not matter what the intellectual, the politician, or the revolutionary accomplishes, because the heart has not been changed, the heart of people, the heart of culture.

It seems quite clear that God wants you and me to share His work, His love, His gospel with the world. Why does God always say peoples, nations, and world? Would it not be more practical to say friends, neighbors, and co-workers? I wondered that, and then it dawned on me that if He had said friends, neighbors, and co-workers; then theoretically, I could reach a place where I am done.

We are continuing today our series called: The Gospel, Our Life, Our Answer. It is our answer to everything! God has not only saved us from sin, death and hell by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus; not only saved us from running after wrong answers, saved us from the desperation of coming up empty again and again; but in the Gospel we have a new way of living life and relating with people, a way filled with power for good in their lives. We’ve been confused, angered by the philosophies, politics, and sexuality driving our culture today and we wander what the answer is, and what to do. The answer is the Gospel, believing it, living it, and sharing it. And today we look at living.

Now today is not a funeral service. We will do that next Saturday at 11:00, but today is an important time for every one of us. It is also a moment in which God has a purpose for you. He has a purpose in bringing Buddy home for you.

What is an abundant life? It seems the universal desire of every soul is to be loved, to matter, and have purpose. And here is a hard, but daily proved truth: any identity, love, meaning we find in this life can be lost in a moment without warning, creating incredible insecurity. Only in Christ do we have these things permanently.

The Gospel is the power of God for us. It is our power in this world. And, it is our answer, our hope, our identify, our life and life eternal, our job, our worth, our everything – the Gospel. We are a people of the Gospel.

If I were to talk about baptism today, and almost all of us have already done that, would that make this message unnecessary for most? I wonder though if we talk about it enough. We have a great commandment from our Lord to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and strength. And we have a great commission from our Lord, our marching orders if you will until He returns.

My focus today is why does Jesus say you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood to be saved, and then give us the Lord’s Supper. Does the act of what we are doing here today, save us? No. Jesus’ teaching here is incredibly practical and insightful about what it means to put our faith in Him.

As we look both back over the past 18 months and ahead to what lies in front of us, we know that people are suffering in ways we cannot imagine. Today, the church needs to be the church. It needs to there to offer a shoulder to cry on, a word to comfort, a hand to lift each other up.

What do we look like when we are what a Christian, a Christ follower, a disciple ought to be - Equipped, grown up, and built up so that we can do the work of the ministry.

No no matter what have go through, we should never give up, give in, or lose hope. Continue to look to the Lord Jesus, and keep faith in Him. Time soon coming when Won’t have cry no more.

The only way we can be made righteous is not by keeping the law, but by being covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The righteousness of God is different than the world's definition of righteousness.

We know worrying accomplishes nothing, and yet . . . And it is not just that it profits us nothing. It puts us in a deficit. There are a significant number of serious health issues directly related to worry, and then there are the spiritual health issues.

As we continue our series today in 1 John, we find ourselves in chapter 5 where John reviews one of the most basic ideas of Christianity. It is the idea in which our faith is anchored and the idea we share with the world: Jesus is the Son of God. Today we are looking at something a lot of us don’t probably feel like we need proved, but what we always need is our faith encouraged and emboldened; and readied to share, explain, defend.

I am not sure we could put together a simple definition of a good American that would get every American’s approval. But good news for us: we only the need the approval of One. What a blessing that is! It’s a tricky road to travel getting the approval of everyone

You can know you have eternal life. The only way that is possible is if it is based on something other than me. If it based on my performance, my goodness, my resume it feels to me like there would always be reason to doubt. I am, we are inconsistent. We have bad days. But my faith is not in me, and the reason it is not in me is because God told me not to put it in me, but in Jesus.

We are to be measuring up to the standard of Christ who was true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. And the ability to do that has to do with how we control our thoughts.

There are people sharing truth and there are people deceiving. While that has always been true, what is different today is the rapid speed with which truth or deceit, an idea can cover a nation, even the whole world because of the internet and social media. Great masses can be deceived in but a moment.

Love one another. Not a command that would seem to take a lot of explaining, but John is going to go on about quite a bit in our passage today. And not only has he already covered this, but he will again. As a matter of fact, eight times in this short letter he is talking about loving one another.

What we do in America on this day serves us well as we turn to 1 John to continue our series. We could call every one of our gatherings a memorial service, a remembrance that Jesus died for us. And that remembrance should result in careful living of that which He won for us. Let’s turn today to 1 John 3:4-10.

What I love about John is there is no sugar-coating… compromise… wishy-washiness when comes to what he had to say. Everything was pretty much black/white when it comes where we are in our walk with the Lord. In these days & times the same thing is needed. He had love for people, which why this epistle often referred to saints as little children, a term of endearment which reflected his love…care… concern for the saints.

I am guessing most of us feel comfortable walking in the dark in our own home. We know where things are, we trust our senses. But take that same level of dark in surroundings not so familiar, and you pull the toes in a little, put the hands out. We’re not as comfortable or confident so we are much more careful. John has been warning us of the darkness. It seems that he is concerned that we are too confident and not careful. Our passage today reaches a pinnacle in the warning. Let’s read 1 John 2:18-27.

We can’t bond with the way the world does things and have a bond with God. Now when I think, Why not? it is because we believe we have our hate or love for the world under control; and don’t we always think we have things under control, until there not. But the reality is, even under control hate is the antithesis to God. The world is an antithesis to God. How can I love that which hates my God and Savior?

The Bible reveals so much: who is God, what is He like, what is life about, where are we going, good vs evil – and yet with all there is to know and learn, it kind of comes down to what we learn in the kindergarten of spiritual life: love God, love people, be like Jesus. Whatever you know or don’t know, just be sure you are doing that. And when we miss that mark, we have an Advocate.

God’s forgiveness is there for us when we fall, but not there so we can jump safely into fellowship with the darkness. Turn on the light. Build a bond with God, His word, and His people who speak His word into you. Our lying heart needs that.

The word fellowship used in the New Testament is koinonia. While that is a Greek work, it is a Greek word one might actually hear today. Probably that and agape, for love, are the two Greek words a lot of Christians will have heard. Fellowship in the New Testament is not really about a get-together as much as it is conveying an intimate, mutual participation in a life shared with one another.

Today we are beginning a 12-message study of 1 John. It is called first, because it is the first of three letters he sends. It is hard put an exact date on 1 John, but with what we have most put it around A.D. 90. And that would roughly be the age of John.

There’s a lot of similarity to how the virus and vaccine walks through humanity and how sin and the Savior walk through humanity. There is a very real virus of sin. 100% of humanity is affected and the death rate is 100% in this life and the life to come. The virus means I am a sinner and I will die. I can say I have good news, and the response is similar to that of a vaccine. It is not good news if I don’t trust Jesus. Just another religion.

The focus of this meal is bread and wine, the body and blood. The product of a broken body and spilled blood is fellowship, a new intimacy with God and with others. Did you catch that, and others? This body and blood does not just produce a righteous relationship with God, but also a new family of God. Jesus saw past the suffering and saw us relating with His Father and each other in a new covenant of love.

If you missed last week, I really encourage you to go back and listen. I mean really encourage you, otherwise you won’t grasp the significance of today. Last week I suggested, I might even say, proved, that we are walking around on empty. So, if we are exhausted, what should we do? This isn’t rocket science. Rest! If we’d let Him, God would lead us right to reenergized, refueled, and ready to go.

Empty is real. Its impact is real, and I do think knowing, acknowledging this is a part of the battle. I think sometimes as Christians it can be even harder to acknowledge this because there is this faulty idea that we aren’t supposed to struggle. We don’t hit empty. We don’t get depressed. I mean if I am strong in the Lord, that would never happen, right? Why not?

When you are a part of The Heights, you are a part of a family that gives, and God blesses that. God blesses giving. God blesses faith. God blesses obedience. 2020 really helped me appreciate what a giving church we are, and that positions us to be blessed, to be given even greater opportunity for the Lord.

Scripture reveals that outside of Christ, we are spiritually dead, controlled by the world, enslaved to the devil, under the power of flesh, and under the wrath of God. We didn't have the power to save ourselves. Thanks be to God, the scripture didn't end there. We have hope through Jesus Christ.

Can Jesus call us to a 'doesn’t quit' love? I understand there may be people who from a human perspective have committed worse sins against you, than you have against God or others. But, big or small, we never stop failing God. We never stop betraying His faithful love, and He continues to love us.

And today we are back on the topic of marriage and looking at sex and money together. Now these are two topics that certainly warrant a whole message to themselves. I’ve done whole series on these two topics, but today we handle them together. Now in this series we have been asking the question, “Why?” So, why do we have sex and money in a marriage?

What an opportunity we have with a child. We get to obey all these commands that we are afraid of obeying out in the world. We get to teach and train a person to know and love God. You say, I don’t know how? You know more than your 3 year-old. A child is a place where every one of us has a chance to introduce someone to Christ and then help them grow in that relationship with Him. It is our greatest opportunity to do something that can last forever, to touch eternity.

Today we turn from our discussion on marriage to parenting. We are coming back to marriage with little topics like sex and money, but today and next week, parenting. Today Karen and I are operating under a really simple principle for raising kids: have goals, a target, know what it is you are trying to do.

Last week we saw that the Lord’s distinct way for the man to fulfill the purpose was through sacrifice; and today we look at God’s way for wives. If the key word for husbands is sacrifice, for wives it is submission

The will of God for a husband is to make real to his wife what the sacrifice of Jesus looked like, and in so doing better understand that sacrifice himself. Husbands, is the will of God prospering in your hands? Are you wondering what that even means or looks like? Well, God has a picture for us. Let’s look this morning at Ephesians 5:25-29.

Well good morning, and welcome to Why Family? That is the question we are trying to answer as we kick off 2021. Last week we set the context. Today may be a bit repetitive to last week, but last week was more general and today I hope to be more specific and scriptural.

We have arrived at a place in America where it is as important as ever that we know the answer to Why family? If you’re single, divorced, or widowed, and no real thought on being married, you need to know the answer, be able to share the answer. If you’re 16, you need to know the answer and be able to share the answer.

I think most of us just by the nature of our individualism as Americans, do not fully grasp the God-designed role of the church in us experiencing God, His will, His blessings, the life He has for us. From God’s perspective church is essential to life in Christ, and for the American Christian it is maybe more of an accessory for life in Christ

Today makes week 5 we have been on this one verse. We have spent one week on the idea of a government that rests on His shoulders, and then a week each on these different titles, and what they say about Jesus and mean for us. And today we come to Prince of Peace.

We have taken a Sunday and looked at what it means to our world that the government will rest on this Child’s shoulder. We have spent a Sunday each on Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God, so today Everlasting Father. I have made the comment that I wonder if Isaiah fully grasped what he was writing, saying about this Child. What he is describing is so much more than special, more than a great hero, more than a prophecy of a great one to come. He’s describing God, but as a child that has been born, but not born like in beginning because He’s everlasting.

We continue this week in our study of Isaiah 9:6 as we look at Mighty God.

Isaiah 9:6 describes this Child in a way that we can only understand as very unique and special. More than unique and special, the Child is being described as God Himself. It was not unusual for ancient cultures to see their King, Emperor, Caesar, hero as a god; but the Hebrew culture was not one those. The Jewish faith did not see their kings or heroes as gods. I need, you need, everything that all four of these titles contain, and we will see that through this Christmas season, but one that is so personal to me is this first one, Wonderful Counselor.

We’re going to spend this Christmas season with this introduction of the Child in the manger, an introduction that came some 700 years before the manger, the Child, the Virgin. The ideas, the names in this verse not only wonderfully introduce us to the Child that is given to us, but in this we meet the Child who holds all the solutions to 2020, all the solutions to your life. I have five messages: one on each of the names and one on the idea that the government will rest on this Child, and that is where we will begin today.

I guess I could call today a “Thanksgiving Message,” and if I did, I would be doing that because next week is in fact the beginning of my Christmas series. I don’t think I have ever started a Christmas series before Thanksgiving, but I have a series that is 5 messages long and that meant I needed to start next week. So here we go, here’s me being thankful not for Covid-19, but in Covid-19, because that is God’s will.

The last message of Revelation: 24 messages, a number of them over 35, 40 minutes long; and not only would I not call this an in-depth study, I would say we barely skimmed the surface. There is so much here. God revealed the future to change our today. Turn with me to 22:7-21.

For so many Heaven is a place of the mystical, hazy, can’t quite hold it. And that creates a problem. Heaven is to be a real hope, but it is difficult to hope in something we do not understand. We understand and desire the physical because that is the way God made us. God has communicated very physical, concrete ideas of what Heaven is and where it is going to be. What He has communicated is worthy of being a place we want to live forever, a place that gives us a hope.

Today is the 22nd of 24 messages in Revelation, even though we aren’t in Revelation today. This is a supplement to our series. The last several messages have been much about people being resurrected. We have seen the rapture, the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the Great White Throne. All these people coming to life in the future might make one wonder, Where are they right now? Where do people go now when they die?

Every day we walk outside we can celebrate a diversity of how God created everything. Celebrating diversity is celebrating our Creator. Now, to be clear, because diversity is used in a variety of ways today; we don’t celebrate a diversity of ways of rejecting God. We don’t celebrate a diversity of ways of rejecting what He has revealed in His word. But we certainly celebrate the diversity of His creation.

Don’t starve at the dinner table. With God’s presence awaiting easy discovery, why do we continue to seek him in ways apart from what he has spoken. Dig in to the Word of God, Let the Word dwell in you richly, allow the Holy Spirit to make himself home in you. Live within the Power and Presence of God and partake at the great feast that God has prepared for you and for me.

Last week we looked at the return of Christ to this world. Unbelievers were wiped off the planet, the Antichrist and false prophet cast into the lake of fire as Jesus returned as the reigning and victorious King. So now what? Is this heaven? Is this eternity? Not quite yet.

There are 1845 occurrences of the Lord’s return in the Bible, 318 of those in New Testament. It is emphasis of 17 Old Testament books. Seven out of every ten chapters in the New Testament makes reference to this event. The biblical story looks to this moment right here

We continue today in our series on Revelation. This is our 19th message and each one before builds to this one. The whole Bible builds towards this moment right here, the Second Coming of Christ to this world. All of human history will pivot on this moment right here. Time and space pivot on this moment right here. Evil pivots on this moment right here. I don’t think we can over-anticipate this. To full appreciate it, we need to grasp the whole context. It is more than just the end.

We are going to a wedding today. In Revelation 6-18 we have seen the devastation of the planet and humanity. We have walked through a reign of darkness and evil, but we walk out of that into the most glorious moment we could ever imagine, a wedding. Chapter 19 is a bridge between the Great Tribulation and the 1000-year reign of Christ on this earth. It is what takes us from the temporary rule of the Antichrist to the permanent rule of the Christ. Turn with me to Revelation 19:1-10 where we again witness worship in heaven.

We come today to Revelation 17-18, where will we will see the total and violent destruction of this way of thinking that is defined by the city of Babylon. There is more information in Revelation about the defeat of Babylon than there is the Antichrist or even Satan himself, and yet we are not really clear on what Babylon is.

A day will come when everyone on the planet will be required to make a choice. Who are you loyal to? There will only be two choices. Buddha is not a choice. Mohammed and his version of Allah are not a choice. The trees and the mountains and the whales are not a choice. Atheism is not a choice. What is the choice? Turn with me this morning to Revelation 13:11-18.

We continue today with our study of Revelation in chapter 13.

Now, last week in chapter 11 we met the two witnesses and saw their incredible earthly ministry. Chapter 13 introduces us to the Antichrist and the False Prophet, which we will cover the next two Sundays. And for today that leaves us 5 characters presented in chapter 12. Let me read.

If God could just have someone part the water, or walk on it, just a couple of steps. Do you ever wonder why God doesn’t do some of those Bible miracles today? How about one for everyone. Would that not be proof to an unbelieving world? Might help our faith also. And yet, it really doesn’t, not now, not back then. The people of Israel built a gold calf to worship less than two months after witnessing the parting of the Red Sea. Judas saw Jesus walk on water, raise the dead, and feed the multitudes from a sack lunch. It didn’t change his life. And God will again do these kinds of miracles for all to see only to prove again proof isn’t what we need. Turn with me to Revelation 11:1-14.

The last message we saw an interlude between the 6th and 7th seal and today we’re at an interlude between the 6th and 7th trumpet. As we said last time, it is not too late for grace to work, but it does come to an end and that end is in sight. Can you imagine that? Human history as we know it has gone on for thousands of years, and we tend to act like it will just keep going, but there is an end. Let’s read Revelation 10.

In ACTS 26, we find an account of the Apostle Paul sharing his testimony with Agrippa. It is a great study in how to give your testimony. He shares what his life was life before Christ, when he encountered Christ, and what his life has been like since he met Christ. We could take this passage and preach a wonderful sermon on how to develop your testimony, but we are not. Rather we are going to listen in to what Paul shares and see the spiritual progress in his life defined in stages.

Right now, we live in a culture where there is almost the same burden on every member of our community: racism. There are certainly different understandings of that and even contradicting understandings. It has us stressed, angry, and wanting change. While as individuals we may not all be in agreement on what is going on, we ought to be able to rally around how we serve this need in our community. Can you imagine a world where the Church is the answer, the Church shows the way?

Is anyone ever beyond being saved? Well, the answer is no, it is never too late, until we die. As long as we have life, grace can prevail. And there is no greater proof than the group of people we are going to look at today in Revelation.

What we will see today may be different from how you think of the Lord. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God you are about to see in the Great Tribulation is the God at the cross. He is kind and gracious, as well as just and holy; and a day does come for sin to be stopped.

How long, O Lord? How long till justice is done? How long do we have to wait till wrongs are made right? That question is asked in 1000 B.C. in Psalm 13; in A.D. 95 in Revelation 6 and it is being asked today in 2020?

We come today to one of the most intriguing and debated topics in prophecy, the rapture. What is it? When is it? Why is it? The what and why, not so hard. Now the when, that is where the fun is.

Welcome home! I say that knowing we have more people online today than here present, and for many that will be best for a while. But here or online I think we all respect that the church is a people who gather. I’m grateful for technology and what it enabled us to do during this time our nation, our Commonwealth is figuring this out. But I can tell you this, I don’t want to watch heaven online. I want to be there, and gathering and worshiping is practicing, preparing for being there. Open your Bible with me to Revelation 4-5 as we look at two of the most beautiful, powerful, stunning chapters in the Bible.

Today we continue our study in Revelation. We are at the end of Jesus’ messages to seven churches in the first century, and messages to The Heights Baptist, to you and me. Today we look at churches 2 and 6, Smyrna and Philadelphia, two great churches.

American Christians enjoy a freedom that has been largely unknown by Christians of other times and cultures. And yet, we have as little influence as ever before. How can we have so much and it mean so little? Jesus’ message to 3 churches 2000 years ago might shed some light on this. Look with me this morning to Revelation 2:12-3:6.

Revelation 2-3 are 7 personalized messages to 7 churches. To each church the angel of the church is addressed. And while addressing these 7 churches, each message ends with, 'Anyone who has an ear should listen.' That is a challenge to you and me to listen and adjust accordingly. In these messages to the church, listen for the message to you. The 7 churches can be broken into three groups. 1 and 7 are not good, in trouble. 2 and 6 are in good condition. And the three in the middle are in the middle, not so good, not so bad. Today we are going to look at 1 and 7, the church in Ephesus and Laodicea.

Christianity is on trial. Is it worth it to follow Christ? A mom is fed to the lions. A brother is imprisoned. A friend’s business is constantly harassed by authorities. Many of the leaders of this fledgling movement called Christianity have been killed. There is a high cost for following Jesus. Where is God in the midst of that? And Jesus steps up to answer as the key witness in this trial. Is He a credible witness? The truthfulness and authority of a witness has to be established. I am guessing many of us do not feel like Jesus needs to prove Himself, but we do need to hear because our roots need to run deep into the trustworthiness and authority of Christ so we can survive if such a cost comes.

Last week we introduced our series on Revelation from the book of 2 Peter and learned in order to rightly read Revelation, we need to ask, "In light of God’s plan for the future, what sort of person should I be today?” With that we charge into Revelation today with a goal to get our bearings. If we don’t have a sense of direction, a sense of the whole, the pieces confuse more.

Every fall I go away for a several days to pray about and plan my sermons for the coming year. I lay all that before the Lord and ask Him to lead me on what I am to feed you from the pulpit each week in the coming year. Five months ago, I felt the Lord leading me to begin a 24-message series on Revelation, to start April 19. I had no idea of what a Covid-19 was. I had no concept of our nation’s economic self-collapse in fighting a virus. I had no idea that we would be wondering, 'Is this what the end of the world feels like?' I say all that to say, I am not beginning a long series in Revelation today to capitalize on end of the world feelings, but rather because God knew we would need this. God tells us the future for a reason.

I’ve had a very different approach this Easter, not as much looking at what happened on the cross, but on the way to the cross. We’ve seen people and forces trying to keep Jesus from the cross; people and forces fighting to put Him on the cross. We’ve seen the battle raging around Jesus and His resolve to battle that battle to get to that cross for you. I am going to show us today a strange moment for me, we are going to see Jesus’ own struggle with getting there come right up to His greatest resolve to get there. It all happens in the Garden of Gethsemane within moments.

So today we’ll continue our Easter series. We are looking at how Jesus battled for us, how His love fought for us, not just on the cross, but all the way to the cross. Last week, maybe a bit of a different idea, we looked that which tried to keep Jesus from the cross. We saw an enemy in Satan, a friend in Peter, and to a degree even Jesus’ own human nature. Today will be more of what we’d anticipate, and that is the people, the forces trying to put Him on the cross.

It is time to go to the cross! I mean, really, it is on the calendar. Easter is in 3 weeks. I was thinking the other day what is it going to look like approaching Easter this year? Different came to mind. Difficult right after that, oh but then I thought of Jesus. Wonder what words came to His mind as He approached Easter. He was set on getting to it.

When I think of just getting pummeled with bad news, I can’t help but think of Job. Not the whole story of Job, just the really bad day that got it all started. Listen. Read Job 1:13-22.

The Christian cannot lose their mind, act in fear, and forget everything they know from God’s Word in pandemic or any other reason for pandemonium. We have too big a responsibility at this exact moment to be swept up in fear. At this exact moment, we have the responsibility to act like a follower of Jesus. Now what does that mean?

We are enjoying today here at The Heights the faith, the sacrifice, the love for God of people who came before us. What are we setting up for the people who will come after us? Each of these six weeks we have looked a core value of The Heights and today brings us to Sunday Fuels the Lifestyle.

If you have been with us the last few weeks, you remember that we are in right in the middle of our 100-year celebration. We thought it would be good to focus each week on one of our core values, the values that got us here and the ones we hope will be the base for going onto the next 100 years. This week we will looking the core value, We Live To Tell. I will tell you that this one today is what got us here and will be what helps us to continue in the future.

Servanthood, the mentality; serving the activity is absolutely in the running for a word to define the Christian life. The Christian life is ultimately about being like Jesus. We’re not serving to earn God’s love and forgiveness. We’re not serving trying to earn a place in heaven. We’re not serving to prove we’re good. We’re serving because we want to be like Jesus, and Jesus was a servant from washing feet, to meeting needs, to giving hope.

This passage gives us what would be the most well-known command to the Jew of the Old Testament. Instead of holding up John 3:16 at a football game they would hold Deuteronomy 6:4. It is the Great Commandment. Jesus called it the great commandment to love the Lord our God with all we are; and the very next thing said is, 'You gotta get this to the kids, the next generation, always be thinking about the next generation.' This is a way of life in the biological family and it is to be a way of life in the spiritual family. Now we tend to think only of doing this for children, but I would challenge us that the age group behind us is always looking at us – I want to see where I am going – what does it look like to know God, love God up there.

Good morning, Heights Family! We are in the midst of our 6-week celebration of the 100th Anniversary of The Heights Baptist. Each week we are remembering a core value that has made us 100 years strong and today we think on a Life Shaped by the Word.

Today we kick-off of a 6-week celebration of the 100 Year Anniversary of The Heights Baptist Church. You may be wondering when the actual anniversary is, well, it was 100 years ago, at 8:00 last night. We are 100 years old! There was a people who had a vision, a faith. They loved the Lord and believed that love could be could grow, could reach if they did it together. And look at us 100 years later living in their faith and vision.

The stated result of following Jesus; Jesus’ desired result of Peter and Andrew, you and me following Him is that we would become fishers of men. We would spend the balance of our days going and getting, reaching people. And yes, we are going to read the Bible, pray, go to church and a host of other things that all serve to make me the most efficient at reaching people. If I am going to be one who leads one, I am going to lead them to the Bible, prayer, the church; and I have to be there so I can lead them there.

God did not set up a way for strength and life that only a few would be able to attain: the very smart, the very brave, the very official. No, He set up a way that every one of us can do. Every one of us can lead, can help, can encourage someone. Today we add a third way: lead someone to serve. Why would we want to do that? I am so glad you asked. And I will let Jesus answer. Turn with me this morning to Mark 10:42-45.

What you can do and be with the Lord, you can do alone. There is truth to that, but not really. Yes, you can pray, worship, read your Bible, handle a moment of temptation alone; but the one who is doing the Christian life alone, is not doing the Christian life. It is a team and anyone genuinely living the Christian life knows they are on a team and wants to contribute to the strength of the team

What does 2020 hold for you? Will it bring the best relationship ever with the living God? That’s a big question. I am guessing a lot of us are here today because of the idea that question holds. We’re starting a new year and thinking about things we want to be a part of that. Do I need God, want God? Would God be a help? Is God even interested in me? The good news is, yes, He is interested in you.

January 1, 2020 marks a new day, new month, new year, new decade. It is big without the cherry on top of 2020 vision. And when we mark it tends to make us stop and think. And that is where we want good vision. And I don’t think anyone can help us do that better today than Job. Mentioning Job is synonymous with suffering; but we forget, Job’s story begins and ends with him having everything. The bulk of his life was spent in peace, prosperity and happiness. So, who better to help us look back on a good or a bad year?

We have been looking into the Christmas story to learn from characters like Mary, Gabriel, Simeon what they did that made Christmas special for Jesus. I’d like to conclude that series here tonight with the wise men from the east. Let me read from Matthew 2:1-12.

There is something about being a child that makes this time of year so magical, so wonderful. We’ve been talking about what makes a great Christmas, and it really revolves around being a child, doesn’t it? Which is interesting because Jesus said you won’t find God or heaven if you don’t have the faith of a child.

We are in the midst of a Christmas series where we are looking at what we can do that would make a great Christmas for Jesus. We put all kinds of effort into a great Christmases for ourselves or for those we love, but it is about Him, right? What are we doing to give Jesus a great Christmas? So far we have got some help with this from Jesus and then Mary, and now today we return to the Christmas story and look at an angel for some help on giving Jesus a great Christmas.

How do we make it a great Christmas for Jesus? Last week we got some help from Jesus Himself. We saw that what can make a great Christmas is to want what God wants or a desire to do the will of God. We saw Jesus desire the will of His Father, even above His own desire. So Jesus gives us the example, the starting point. And today we will learn something from Mary that adds to this gift of doing God’s will.

I am guessing most of us have some ideas of what would make a great Christmas: a certain present, a trip or family gathering, everyone just get along. Now, we are in a room of people who largely believe Jesus is the reason for the season, right? I mean I hate to sound like a cliché here, but it is His birthday. The only one we really need to be thinking about having a good Christmas would be Him, right? So that is what we are going to study this Christmas: what we can do so that Jesus has a good Christmas.

I have a different Thanksgiving sermon today. I am using a passage that has probably never been used with Thanksgiving before. Well, that’s not true, it has been used at least once, by me. I am preaching a message today I preached 11 years ago on Thanksgiving, and while I rarely do this, I felt this one was wort pulling out again. I don’t think we can ever overestimate how important being thankful. I want to start with a story about a tree. I am reading from Ezekiel 31.

As we wrap up our weekend of celebrating and honoring our senior adults, Rev. Mike Osborne shares about generations, and how each is to continue teaching and reaching the next generation that follows.

So the title of my message today is a tricky one: God Honors the Soldier. I feel like I need to qualify that. That title is not suggesting that God honors every war, that God honors every action of a soldier, or even that God honors every nation that assembles a military. So what does God honor?

We arrive today at the last message of our 2019 Year of the Bible! This has been great, until today. Attempting to cover the whole Bible in 42 messages; yeah, we’re going to miss some big things, and for the most part this curriculum has done a pretty good job until today. To cover Revelation 19-22 in one message . . . No, that’s ridiculous. I decided to cover what comes next: the Second Coming of Jesus. The second coming is synonymous with another phrase in the Old Testament known as the Day of the Lord. These phrases are used to refer to an actual day and a time period. As a time period, the Second Coming of Christ will encompass the rapture, the tribulation, Armageddon, and the physical return of Jesus, a 7-year time period. The Second Coming also refers to a single day the visible, physical return of Jesus to the earth. What a day that will be! A day that will define all of human history and the eternity to come.

Today and next week, and we will have walked through the Bible in 2019. If this is your first time here, you just made it, kind of, to the 41st of 42 messages. I think this has been a great year as we have connected some dots, got a better feel for the big picture, maybe seen some passages we’ve not seen before. And as we now turn the corner to head home we come to a sad story. There’s a conflict between two people in the church, two pillars of the church, two people deeply loved in the church. And there’s not a good ending. I want God to step in and show us whose right and wrong, and then resolution; but we won’t get it.

The decades are adding up that we have been educated to believe we came from nothing and we return to nothing. There’s no God. There’s no after life. This is it. That is what the science says, if we look at the evidence like they do and ignore what they do. When one accepts as true that which they would not normally accept in the lab of science, like nothing can create something. In my opinion science has created an unintended consequence. If we came from nothing and return to nothing; how are we to believe there is any purpose, any meaning in between the nothingness and randomness?

Rev. Ronnie West and a few members of our leadership pipeline team share with the church about the future of leadership development and discipleship at The Heights.

Our love for Jesus does not just lead us to obedience to Jesus, but an eager obedience. Not how can I obey one day, but how can I obey right now. These passages and others show us that delayed obedience can become disobedience. This all means that the time to forgive is now. The time to ask forgiveness is now. The time to bring your finances under the Lord and give to Him what is His, is now. The time to come to Christ is now.

We face problems inside the family, and we face attacks from outside, the world. We can be doing everything right and still face these problems. The only successful way to handle tribulation, problems is under the influence of the Spirit.

As a church, as individuals we value certain things above all others and one of those things here at The Heights is we live to tell. We value this as our commission from the Lord, as our identity, as the thing we are to be doing in all things.

Everything in here (the Bible) hinges on the resurrection. If there is no resurrection, if that did not happen, the Bible says to pity those who believed in Christ only for this world, this life. I am not aware of another religion, philosophy that puts the entirety of its validity on one event and says, 'If this isn’t true, walk away.'

It is very common to feel very alone in pain, to feel like no one knows, no one cares, no one understands. If that’s you right now, you are not alone. Jesus knows. Jesus cares. And He absolutely understands. He’s felt and experienced anything, everything we have. Look at what He experienced in just 24 hours at the cross. I encourage you to take this list I am going to show you, and later read through Mark 14-15 and see each one of these, and more.

Jesus challenged all to a radical change in the way we are to live in community with each other.

There has always been charismatic figures and movements that come and go. Some come and stay: Karl Marx or the Founding Fathers. And in this respect, Jesus was a peddler of ideas and He fully expected you to buy in with everything you are and have. And people were intrigued by this preacher, prophet, peddler of ideas. They really saw Him as quite different.

The Pharisees knew Jesus fulfilled every prophecy and still rejected Him. Why? Because He was not what they wanted. It is almost as if they tossed Jesus back up to heaven and said, Try again, God. That might sound unbelievable, until we understand what they were expecting, and how different Jesus was. There was a reason they felt so justified in saying, He’s not my Messiah.

The Hebrews are waiting to hear, to see, to experience what God is going to do. They are waiting for 400 years, wading through the blank pages between the Old and New Testaments. Many are doubting, many are discouraged, many are asking the question, God, where are You? Then after all those years, God answers. His answer? Immanuel – God with us. He speaks and says, I am with you! I am here! God shatters the silence through the Incarnation.

People go through the motions in all areas of life. We look busy as we wait for the end of the work day or approaching vacation time off. We tell our kids we will play with them and the whole time we are watching a tv show or answering our emails. We go through the motions in worship, maybe doing many of the right things, but amounting to nothing. Malachi is looking at the same thing as he looks at the Hebrew people 400 years before the birth of Christ. Worship without substance, without authenticity. In the message from Malachi, we see a description of all that worship involves.

Throughout 2019, we have been working our way through the entire Bible both in our Life Group studies and our sermon series. For the past several weeks, we have been looking at the prophets as we move toward the end of the Old Testament. Today we find ourselves looking at two men who were contemporaries, Ezra and Nehemiah.

What are the habits in your life? We all have some from praying to smoking to running to watching a TV show? Some make me strong, ready physically, spiritually for the day. Others at best are useless and may be a bit harmful. We all have habits in these categories: useful, useless, harmful. It is really important to know what you got in the useful category and if they will sustain you in the crisis. Turn with me today to Daniel 6 as we open up to one of the favorite stories of the Bible.

The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah give us reason to put great hope in God and His salvation even in the midst of the judgment we have coming to us.

Was Jesus not aware that all the earth might include places people would not be able to freely witness? Oh, He was not only aware, but warned us, warned us with the challenge to press on not afraid of what may happen but ready to embrace the reward if it does.

Rev. Jerry Witte, our NextGen Pastor, shares truths from the book of Jonah that we can apply to our lives today.

We are in a series this whole year where in 42 messages we are going to walk through the whole Bible. Today that has us in Hosea. Hosea’s message, how God is going to use Hosea is very centered around being a husband and father, using those positions to show the faithful love of God. So, I think we can get a challenge for husbands and dads, as well as continue in our study.

People every day fall in love with people they know are not good for them, but they’re in love. Evaluate first, then fall in love. The Bible commands a believer not marry an unbeliever. I have watched more times than I can count a believer fall in love with an unbeliever and then try to figure out how to obey the Lord, and they won’t, almost never. It’s a tricky thing to have heart for the Lord when our heart is going away from Him.

What is one of the biggest things you have ever done for the Lord? What is a big God-achievement in your life? We always want to guard against pride, but it feels good to commit to do something for the Lord, to build, to go, to minister and see it completed. And I am intrigued by Solomon’s focus in the finish. When we finish something it is natural to think, I am finished. There may be something to celebrate, but we are not finished.

Sin makes you stupid! My good friend Greg tells me that almost every week, and he’s right. Sin makes us so confident that it is there to give us something, when it is only there to take. Sin tells us we have this under control, as we are literally spinning out of control. We should be dumbfounded that we who enjoy God’s grace and forgiveness will actually use that grace and forgiveness as a go ahead to sin, because after all, God loves me, He’ll forgive me. We have such a faulty understanding of sin.

Join our panel of youth and our youth pastor, Will Witkovsky.

Good morning, and Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms. There are a lot of great things about America and one of them has to be this tradition of honoring our moms, next month, our dads. We won’t do enough, but it is always good to do something. Send the card. Make the call. Honor your mom. Every time we honor, we give new life to the plan. What plan? God’s plan.

Have you ever wondered if you missed God’s answer? God always has an answer for you. Timing can be a big deal in God’s answers because He is not just giving an answer, but the right and perfect answer.

We have an awful tendency to replace life with death, truth with the lie; and that it why it is so critical I am in this book, with His people, and passionately praying, 'Jesus, my Savior and King, give me an eye, a heart, a desire for You alone.'

God the Father asked the Son to come to earth and die for our sins. It was the Father’s plan the Son fulfilled. God loves us even though we rejected Him and His ways. Our sin separates us from God, makes us so unlike Him, so unlike His Heaven. God is loving, but God is just. They go together. Love demands justice, and justice demands wrongs be made right. What Jesus did for us on the cross was make things right.

Why would be proclaim, celebrate, herald the death of someone we love? Because He is alive. He is coming back. His death and resurrection means we can live, and live forever. Death no longer holds me! Death no longer holds me! What better thing can we be reminded of as we come to this table? What better thing can we share with someone?

Our 42 messages through the Bible this year has us in Judges today. Judges is a tiresome story of man’s failure, the good news being, that is the backdrop to the story of God’s faithfulness.

Today we’re looking at such an important story in Scripture, especially for the American Christian. We are so independent, individualistic, it is hard for us to see the need we have for each other, the responsibility we have to each other; how our own relationship with the Lord affects the whole. My guess is almost no one here views their own relationship with the Lord as having any impact on the health and strength of this church, an impact for which they are held accountable. Today’s story will give us some insight. Turn with me to Joshua 7.

We are all surrounded by voices, some we choose, some we do not; but chosen or not those voices impact whether we remain faithful to the Lord and receive the promises He has for us.

The Ten Commandments, the ten most powerful words ever spoken to mankind; most powerful, most important, most needed. What would we need more than the information in those ten words that answer for every human ever how to love God and how to love others?

Today we will see the Israelites trapped with an army coming for their blood. The good news is, they’re going to see the Red Sea parted. It’s hard not to read the Bible and think, I wish I could see these miracles today, but are we ready to be in the situations that brought them forth?

Rev. Mike Osborne, our executive pastor, share 7 reasons why people don't give, and the reasons to give.

He wants everyone to be a part of the team when the banner of Jesus is hoisted. There are a variety of ways we can talk about each playing our roles, and today I want to look at how we all pitch in to The Heights Baptist being a champion.

Today we are going to see an expert in faith and disappointment: Joseph. When we think of Bible heroes, I don’t think he is on the short list for a lot of us; that’s David, Moses, Paul, Peter. In my opinion, Joseph’s faith in God is stunning and unparalleled; and that is why God shares his life with us.

My title today is It is More Wrestling than Math. Now not Christianity, but American Christians, Western Christians, we want a relationship with God that is more like a math formula. x + y = z. Always. I know where God is, I know what He is doing, and He can always be explained. And if not, He owes an explanation.

The Bible holds out to us some pretty special people, heroes even. But the Bible never holds out someone, something you can’t be. That is so important. We’re going to see a lot of great characters in the Bible that challenge us, inspire us, model for us what it looks like to live greatly for God; but a lot of people make the mistake of identifying a Moses, a David, a Paul as a G.O.A.T., something they can never be. And that is not the truth. We can.

We are continuing our year through the Bible. We are all together going after God’s promise to bless when we read, hear, and keep His word. And today that brings us to Genesis 22. We are going to see God test faith. As a matter of fact, it might be better called a pop test because you don’t actually know it is coming.

This is our third week in Genesis and we have seen that God creates, learned that man sins; and today, God makes a covenant. To understand Genesis, to understand the Bible; we’ll want to understand covenant.

It can be said that Genesis is the most important book of the Bible because it lays the foundation for the Bible. Every major doctrine developed in the Bible is in Genesis. Perhaps the most important verse of the Bible is Genesis 1:1.

I am so excited for 2019 and what it can mean for us as a church and you as a person. I am as excited as I have ever been about our vision and focus for the new year ahead. And my excitement is based on some really concrete things, and one of those things in in your hand, or on your cell – the Bible. The Heights Baptist is going to read through the Bible in 2019.

Rev. Jerry Witte (NextGen Pastor) shares six Bible hacks that will defeat worry in your life.

Jesus is God with us in life, God with us at work and school, God with us at home. Since we have been given 'God with us,' we are to be 'God with us,' for others, be Jesus, be the church for others. Our challenge this Christmas season and our focus for the coming year is to be 'God with us' on our street.

This is a unique series. It is about Christmas. It is about joining God in what He is doing in Christmas. This is how we become a church this community cannot imagine being without and how you personally make it that.

God never says, 'I learned something new today.' There is no information, experience, event that will bring Him a moment of learning because He already knows. He knows everything. He is omniscient.

Today we are continuing a short Thanksgiving series on things we are thankful God never has to say. Last week we saw that God never has to say, 'That was easy,' because easy and hard are irrelevant measurements to Him. He has all power. Nothing is difficult for Him. Today we are going to be thankful God never has to say, 'Marco.' He never has to figure out where we are, what is going on, where someone else is, and put it all together. He is already here, and here for God is everywhere.

As we move through Thanksgiving season, I want to look at some attributes of God or character qualities that give cause to be thankful. I picked three – the Omnis – omnipotent, omnipresence, and omniscience. We will do omniscience on the Sunday after Thanksgiving when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and I think you’ll be really grateful for what that attribute has to do with the Lord’s Supper. Today we will start with omnipotent.

Can you imagine the horror of thinking you had just made it home safely, only to find you missed a base, and were called out? And it was that story that opened my eyes to the gospel of Jesus and eternal life.

The Great Commission has not changed; BUT the ‘times’ have changed. Every generation has addressed the Great Commission in their unique time in history, in their paradigm.

God remembers. He remembers your late nights. He remembers your tears. He remembers your prayers. God remembers, and rescue can still be at hand because of you. Don’t quit. God remembers. How many lives could be on the verge of rescue because of this room right here.

Just as our body is fueled by food, even more so, our lives our fueled by the Word of God. To not have a steady diet of God’s word will make vulnerable the health and strength of our lives. We need a steady intake, a regular reading of God’s word, and of course, it is not just the act of reading; but reading, trusting, and obeying.

There is a lot to translation and we are really blessed today to have so many translations showing us how different people approached a passage and came to what they felt was an accurate translation. That helps all of us get to the most precise and accurate meaning.

The title of today’s message is the same as last week’s, 'What is the Bible', and the simple answer is, It is God’s voice, God’s word for you and me to profit our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It lays down the road for us giving us the lines to drive within, the signs to obey, the directions to take so that we can safely arrive at our destination, a place where we stand gloriously before God looking just like Jesus and being rewarded as if we were.

So central to the Christian faith is the Bible. It tells us who God is, what He is like, what life is about and why things happen. It tells us where we came from and where we are going; what is right and wrong. And there is not another source like this for that information. We are going to spend this fall building a confidence in our Bible. What is it? Why can we trust it? Why is something 2000 + years old relevant for today’s issues? We’ll understand what 'all those translations' are. Yes, this Book calls for great commitment, but brings such true joy and answers.

People don’t want to come to a friendly church. What they want is to come to a church where they have friends. That is why we continually say, 'Life is better Connected!' If we are going to be a church 'where friends become family,' then we must do everything we can to join and embrace our vision, 'Building Relationships that connect all people to God-sized life and love.'

What does it mean to value the next generation? How do you do that and not devalue the current or older generations? Is just having youth and children programs enough? And as a pastor I think about this from the pulpit. What is heard and seen from the pulpit? I feel like we see and hear from the pulpit all of our core values, but the one that has the most minimal presence is the next generation.

Today we are going to look at another fan favorite from the Old Testament, the story or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Last week, I said David beating Goliath was not actually a miracle. Today we will see a miracle.

These last two Sundays of summer I want to look at a couple of Old Testament stories that are great illustrations of what we have learned in 1 and 2 Peter. Today’s is one of the most popular, well-known stories in the Bible, that of David and Goliath.

We have studied 1 and 2 Peter this summer, letters written by Peter to a church that is suffering because of their devotion to Christ. And what have we heard Peter say all through this? To get through today, keep focused on that Day – the day Jesus is revealed to all the world, the day we begin our transition to Eternity. Peter was telling a group of believers in 66 A.D. to hang on, Jesus is coming. What are we supposed to think 1952 years later? Let’s read 2 Peter 3.

Who is Jesus? It's the most important question that can be asked. God's Word can answer who Jesus is. Turn to Colossians 1:15-20 to learn who Jesus is.

Curve balls in life take us outside of our comfort zone, and have us chase things that shouldn't be there. We are all going to come across those things that are unexpected, and we are not going to know what to do next. Thankfully there are examples of people in God's Word who have experienced curve balls, and handled them effectively.

We are on our 8th message looking at two letters from Peter. The first letter was focused on suffering that comes from the world because we follow Christ, but in the second, it is suffering that comes from inside, from false ideas creeping in. The church has always been bombarded with ideas from the world and too often has absorbed those ideas. The ideas can cover the whole gamut of topics but it is interesting how often the ideas are about sex and sexuality, and the authority and accuracy of this book. It is true today.

This summer we have been studying the letters of the Apostle Peter to us; and they are about suffering. Suffering when we are trying to do right, trying to live for Jesus, trying to follow His word. And suffering means stressful living, so Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit addresses that. How do we keep from getting wound up and turning on each other, or God? Let’s see in 1 Peter 5 which is our last chapter of this first letter.

If Jesus is everything, I mean the thought of His presence, His face, His smile is more to us than anything we could ever think or want; then this passage (1 Peter 3:13-4:19) makes total sense. If Jesus is anything less, even a little less than everything; then I think very little of this passage makes sense.

We are continuing today our study of the letters the Apostle Peter wrote to you and me. Last week we looked at 2:4-12 and we were instructed to live carefully in front of our unbelieving neighbors. We want our lives to lead people to see and praise God, not dismiss God. Well, the passage following verse 12 shows what it looks like to live right in front of unbelievers in relation to very significant relationships that affect our day to day lives.

What gives you confidence when you enter the room? We all count on something and the crazy thing is, we are all counting on something we will lose. Oh, and if you somehow manage to hold onto it till the very end, well then you die. How’s that for today’s warm fuzzy thought? Hey, I only point to that reality, and it is reality, because it shows how wonderful the opportunity the Lord has for us really is. God has for us an identity, a life, a purpose and there is nothing in this world that can take it or change it. Every circumstance of this world is just a new opportunity to live it. Let’s see what this is all about. Look with me today at 1 Peter 2:4-12 as we continue our summer series, studying the letters from the Apostle Peter to you and me.

Rev. Ronnie West, our education pastor, shares about our new Community Groups, how to become involved in them, and how we can use the opportunities provided by them to help neighbor and friends connect with our church, and ultimately with Jesus.

I want to talk today about a very common, but difficult word, idea in the Bible: holiness. It is something we are to strive after. It is a devotion to be like God. It is the path we take from the day we are born again to the day Jesus is revealed to all the world.

Last week we started a new series that will take us through the summer, 1 and 2 Peter, letters from the Apostle Peter to you and me on how to live in 2018, how to live in a world where what we value, what we believe is becoming foreign, perhaps even offensive. There are increasing situations right here in the United States where simply believing the Bible, following Jesus, puts you on the outside, and that can result in some negative things.

1 Peter 1:1-7 is how the apostle Peter opens the first of his two letters, and it is these two letters that we are going to spend the summer studying, and even look at through the lens of some great Old Testament stories. I am so excited to hear God’s word through these letters that are going to speak right to where we are as Americans in 2018.

A panel of 5 of our youth, and our youth pastor share during the sermon time for Youth Sunday 2018.

This morning I want us to look at a story in Scripture about a mother, or more accurately a mother-to-be. As we look at it, I want you to understand the significance of this event. This is one of the most important events in all the Bible and in history. It is God pulling back the curtain and giving us a glimpse at what is about to happen in His plan. It is critical to the whole message of the gospel.

Murder pollutes the land. Murder is the stand out piece of pollution that everyone sees and notices, everyone knows someone has to be held accountable. But then Jesus comes along and says, You know there is actually a lot of pollution that leads to a murder polluted land that you’re not noticing or doing anything about.

There is to be a death penalty for murder. There are questions to answer, problems to work out; and there is the struggle of knowing about anything mankind does, will be done imperfectly; but there is to be a death penalty for murder; and it is the death penalty that places value on life and how sacred it is.

We are continuing today in our series on how to live in a culture of death. Last week we established where we are, how we got here, and how we are to live and speak. Today and for the next two Sundays we are going to look at specific issues in a culture of death, with today being on suicide. I am excited to have a friend and fellow pastor with me today, Kevin Skellett, Adult Ministry Team Lead Pastor of Southside Church.

It is as important as ever that we understand God’s message of life, believe that message, live that message, share that message; understand what we mean when I say, message. Today I actually want to begin the series with the end. The Bible explained 3000 years ago what is happening right now to us today in America. We made a choice. We chose death. We’ll go from today to taking a look at suicide, murder, the death penalty and the answer God has for us in the midst of all this. Is this a fun series? No, but how important for us to think, to speak biblically to what is happening all around us.

Well I want you to take your bibles as we get started this morning and turn with me to Romans 8. We are going to look at a couple of verses this morning…verses 28 and 29. It is amazing to me how easy it is to quote Romans 8:28 when everything is going my way. But how do you and I respond when things are not working so good.

Thank you for being here and celebrating with us our Lord’s resurrection this Easter weekend. As I say that, I know we are all here for different reasons. We all have a little different story running of what brings us to church today, or any Sunday. I have gone to church all my life, but not for the same reason every time.

Isaiah 53, written 700 years before the cross, perfectly describes the cross and God’s love for us. Now listen to Jesus describe what we just heard Isaiah describe. Read Mark 14:17-24.

Rev. Wes Rose shares about some upcoming missions plans for The Heights Baptist. We also hear from two couples from our church involved in missions.

We have spent a couple of weeks now talking about loving Jesus, and loving what Jesus loves. We saw first that Jesus loves the church. Last week, we looked at what it is we would love about this specific, The Heights, as we seek to love what He loves. And today we see that through giving to God and eternity we focus our heart on God and eternity with a wonderful benefit of escaping worry, and being able to trust Him to provide for our needs.

The psalmist ached to be in the midst of the worship of God with God’s people. He loved what we would refer to as church. Last week we learned how passionate, how committed, how devoted Jesus is to the Church. Jesus loves the Church, and as His followers, we love what He loves. He is all about the Church, so we are to be all about the Church.

While an object, a person, a program may have an impact, none of that should have a greater defining influence on my attitude about the church than Jesus. I am, you are a follower of Christ. My job, your job is to go where He goes, do what He does, say what He says, love what He loves.

We live in a world of injustice. It is a dominating reality on this planet. There are injustices that touch entire people groups and others that are felt very privately and personally. Some injustices devastate life and others just make it more difficult. There is justice brought to some injustices, and too many never have their day. There will be a day that Almighty God, the Judge of all, will say, 'Today'. No one knows why that day will be the day, or why it has not already happened. When all is said and done we will praise God for His justice.

We see God create this relationship in the opening story of creation and humanity. A relationship where we hold fast to one another, we’re one; naked and unashamed. Why would God want us to know they were naked and unashamed? Is that really necessary information? Yes, for God is showing a relationship where there is total acceptance, vulnerability, nothing to hide. There won’t be another relationship like it.

This is one of the most important dates because this is the date that gives you wisdom, patience, love, help, strength for all the other dates and all the other issues.

We are talking about the fighting in our marriage in a way that helps us become one and this is a big one because fighting is clearly what makes us two. My goal today is to talk about what we would do on this date, but we have to have the right motivation going into that date, or maybe the right understanding.

So how do we go on a date and discuss money and keep it on where we agree, when there are possibly bills and disagreements at home waiting for us? The purpose of the date is simply to look at what we have already agreed on, see how we are doing, tweak and adjust as needed, and pray.

Today we are starting a series on marriage, and how we use dating to build and work on our marriage. We’re going to talk about 5 specific dates. I want to keep saying, we are going to see principles that apply in all relationships, so if you’re not married, don’t want to be married, there is something for you in this. And you may learn how to support and help another in their marriage.

Change is not easy. We need a lot of people to be willing to say, “I’ll change,” and I hope you understand why. It is so more can become a part of our family, more can faithfully follow Christ. The change is about positioning ourselves to bring about our vision and mission.

Rev. Mike Osborne shares 'Resolutions from a Wise Man' from Proverbs 3.

Throughout December I have been preaching on a connection between creation and Christmas, showing how Jesus coming to us in what we call Christmas fulfills or addresses issues going all the way back to the beginning of things. Today we see Jesus as the fulfillment to the first announcement, to the promise that we can be restored to God and all that has been lost.

Rest is a part of who God is. Rest is something He has for creation. The seventh day is holy. Holy here means set apart, distinct, not like the others. He blessed this day, and in so doing gives us a principal for living. There is a blessing in rest. There is a blessing in having a day that does not look like the other 6.

Our Christmas series will take us back, further back than our memory or traditions. It will take us back to Genesis. I want us to see Christmas at the beginning of time, and have a greater appreciation of the wonder, the consistency, the love and power of our God.

As we come to the Table, God has some concerns. Believers have tended to come here and miss the importance of unity, memory, and handling this in a way that is just worthy of what has been done for us. It is easy to come to this table and think it is all about me, all about me and God. No, it is not. It is much more about you and the church family together with God.

Two weeks ago we said the first step to the best holiday or Thanksgiving ever was confess. Step two takes us from confess to bless. So we have confess, bless, and now our third step, and you are trying to think of what rhymes, right, thankfulness. If we forget to acknowledge God, and that is thankfulness, if we forget we begin to take credit for all that God has done and provided for us.

Last week we said the first step to the best holiday or Thanksgiving ever was confess. Step two takes us from confess to bless. We sometimes refer to giving thanks as counting our blessings. And that simply means to take time to think on the good things, the blessings in your life.

Well as we start gearing up for Thanksgiving and this season, I want to do a three-week series that I pray will put us all in a place to have our best thanksgiving ever. We can’t control all of our family, or who will win the game, or a host of other things that make life good or bad; but we can set ourselves up for the best thanksgiving ever. And would you believe it is three pretty simple ideas. They will be things you can do before each Sunday ends.

When I say work, we’re not talking about working our way to heaven, for Christ has done that work, and it is only His work that will bring us safely, joyously into heaven. But when I say, work, I am talking about the activity of a Christ-follower. And reaching and coaching might well sum up that work.

We cannot move up the vertical toward God and remain at the bottom in the horizontal. We cannot truly build the relationships with others to what they should be without deepening our relationship with God. It is all about connecting with God and connecting with others. It is about serving – as something done for the Lord and not for people.

Now, we are calling this a measurement, meaning I need to measure my worship, which is basically measuring obedience and what thrills our heart. Am I growing in obedience to the Lord? Is the worth of Him leading me to tell the truth, look away from porn, forgive my enemy, pray, gather with God’s people and sing. Or not? And if it is no, go back to mercy. I mean really, without mercy what is it we think we have?

How am I growing? How am I worshiping? Where am I investing? Where am I connecting? Where am I serving? Who am I reaching? Who am I coaching? I don’t think we can imagine or think big enough of what God would do through that. But that is our goal and we start today by teaching these 7 measures. We are looking at the first one today, How am I growing?

While our vision is to be a church our community can’t imagine being without, our mission is: Building relationships that connect all people to God-sized life and love. Last week I said for us to become that church the community can’t imagine being without it is going to be as important as ever before that we be connected.

We must build relationships that connect all people to God-sized life and love. God has given us great love to experience and a great life to live here at The Heights and we want to share it with all who would hear and receive. We want to be the best, most visible force for good in the 804. We are going to take time this fall in the sermon series and life group to see what that means to us as individuals and as a church.

Can we even imagine not being afraid of what will be on the news tonight? Not afraid of all the rumors about the shut down? Not afraid of the call from the doctor’s office? A life not afraid . . . is that real?

Churches have reputations, good or bad, they all do. Some have reputations that cross the country. Most churches reputation is held to a community. Good or bad they are known for a pastor, a style of worship, a work they do, the way they treat visitors, maybe some event in their past. Sometimes it is what the church wanted the community to know them as, and sometimes not.

We can have the best intentions in rising children with a strong faith but if you don’t have a plan in place other than taking them to church, my experience tells me at best parents will only pass on a moderate to faith at best or children with no faith at all.

Are we a people living life on purpose, on mission? Are we on the mission Jesus, our King, sent us on? America needs us to be on the mission of our King more than ever before. They don’t know that, and wouldn’t ask. But it is the only chance they, the country we love, has.

What do we want out of life? A sense of satisfaction, fulfillment, purpose? Where do we go looking for it? Only in Christ, can you see the full truth about God and about yourself, and that's what you've been searching for all your life.

When there's fulfillment, when there's beauty, when we see God as He truly is - an endless reservoir of fascination - boredom becomes impossible.In heaven we'll be filled with joy and eternal pleasures.

Where is the best place you have ever gone? What is that bucket list destination that you have dreamed about? For the next couple of weeks, I want us to think about a destination. It is not the beach, the mountains, or the lake. It is not a bucket list destination, but it is an ultimate one. It is talked about in the book of Hebrews.

Rev. Ronnie West as he talks about Celebrate Recovery, and how we should not let fear immobilize us, but we should move forward doing what God wants us to do.

I think as I have gone through this series the thing that has struck me is that I do not think enough on the promises of God, step out in faith enough on the promises of God. I am guessing the same is true for most of us. Why is that? Do we just not believe in promises anymore? These promises hold everything we need for whatever we faced last week, or will deal with in the coming week. They have everything we need to live life on purpose, not alone, with strength and wisdom. God’s promises are everything, and everything is yes in Jesus.

My guess is every one of us here has known the anxiety, the fear of being left, and not only left, but maybe left for good, because that is how you think when you are four. Don’t we all stand on the sidewalk at some point between the age of maybe 4-8 and wonder if our parents remembered they were to pick us up. Getting left is awful. We should be able to imagine how the disciples felt when Jesus straight up told them He was going to leave them. These are guys, as imperfect as they might be, have devoted everything they are and have to Jesus. They have followed Him for 3 years. They did leave all to follow Him. They were for a time probably unparalleled in their devotion to Christ, and it has cost them. And now He says He’s leaving! Wait! What! What about the kingdom? What about making everything right? It’s still a mess in this world, and You’re just leaving? Let’s listen to this conversation.

We have all been wronged and treated unfairly. I think there are injustices we end up laughing at, move on from, and really, just forget about all together. But some aren’t that easy. There are injustices that change the course of life. Injustices that left us alone, left us with pain, left us without the ability to trust anyone. God cares about what has happened to us, and He has a way through it and a promise to hold onto. Look with me at Romans 12. Our focus is going to be verses 17-21, but I want to begin reading in verse 9.

Rev. Ronnie West shares about freedom, not just the freedom we have gained in this country from the sacrifices of men and women, but ultimately about the freedom we have in Jesus Christ from the bondage of sin.

Just think, because He never leaves, He is already there when we call out to Him in prayer. He already knows what is going on, knows what led you to pray and knows perfectly how to help. He is there in love, devotion and commitment to you. He is there to help you. He promises.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:13 We have kind of made this verse the spiritual mantra, the pump me up before the big game, the big meeting, the big opportunity. It is a promise that seems to imply God wants me to be a winner. God wants me to be the man. Is this verse just for whatever I want to apply it to and my success? Let’s read the whole context. Philippians 4:11-14

God calls us not to worry, but to trust, with a promise that He will make straight our path through this challenge, this problem, this decision. We have four verbs in our passage: trust, lean, acknowledge and make straight. Three are imperatives or commands for us to do and one is a promise for us to claim. The main idea is simply: trust the Lord, with the next two verbs amplifying what is involved in trusting, one being a negative and one a positive. One thing we are not doing when we trust the Lord and one thing we are doing when we are trusting Him, giving ourselves the opportunity to see Him fulfill a promise to make straight our way.

Does God hear my prayers? There is so much in that question, much more than just “Do prayers get beyond the ceiling, does God hear my voice?” Bigger questions inside of does God hear. Aren’t we really asking, “Does God care?” “Am I important to God?” “Is what is important to me important to Him?” Being heard is big.

Sunday, May 28, 2017 was Youth Sunday at The Heights. One of our students, Brad Atkinson, shared about why we as Christians serve.

I don’t know what your experience has been with promises, but I sure pray as we go through this series that your heart is open to the most incredible Promise-Maker, Promise-Keeper God is. He fulfills every promise, never disappoints, never comes up short. And we need those promises. His promises are not luxuries to make life more comfortable, but necessities to make life work.

We are starting today a lengthy series today that will carry us to the end of July on the Promises of God. There will be 9 messages and that won’t even come close to exploring all the different promises God makes to us, who the Promise Maker is, what all they can mean in our lives; but hopefully it is enough to strengthen and encourage our walk with the Lord and get us on our own to exploring more of the promises and all there is in them for our lives.

What is it going to mean for us to be a Christ-follower in America? Our fears and challenges, while new to us, are not new. Jesus told us we will be hated, even killed for loving Him. There is significant New Testament instruction on living in a broken world against you. One passage, 1 Peter 4:12-19, speaks directly to how we live in a world of suffering, decay and decline that also hates us. It is not our passage today, but provides a good backdrop for what I will read.

We are looking today at how the power of the resurrection will help us navigate politics. I wondered if when I announced that on Easter if it would sound odd to link the resurrection with politics. Those are such different things, different worlds. But I believe, like many of you, that God’s word gives instruction and guidance on every area of life; and that would have to include politics because it so profoundly affects our lives. Those who hope in the resurrection have the biblical responsibility to influence their government.

Would you like to know what the resurrection has for your relationships? Well, the rest of the world also wants to know what believing in Jesus does for your relationships. So since they are watching and wanting to see, for that here is our operating principle for all relationships, from good to bad, intimate to stranger, for those of us who hope in Christ: As Christ did for me.

Hope, the confident expectation it can get better, it can still happen; and that belief is powerful. It gives energy to our body and soul. It can bring a smile in the most difficult situations and be what gets us up to try one more time. Almost anything can happen when we have hope and there is maybe nothing worse than losing it.

Join us for our Palm Sunday service.

If you are new to the series, we’ve been looking at the biblical definition of the Gospel found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. In this definition, we have three clear pieces of the gospel, the first two we have already looked at: Christ died for our sins, and Christ was buried. So that brings us to the third piece, maybe the most exciting and hope filled piece of the gospel: the resurrection. Jesus Christ is alive! Let’s continue to study this great Gospel.

Last week in our efforts to study, to understand, to celebrate the gospel we looked at death. Christ died, Christ experienced death as a payment for our sins. His blood and death was substituted for ours, because by the power of God He could recover, while we could not. This second idea, burial at first glance maybe doesn’t seem so big. We might even wonder why it had to be stated. Seems kind of obvious and not really an addition to information we need in understanding the gospel. But it is very important to understanding that not only did He die, but He went to the place of the dead.

This series is going to be made up of three messages around the words death, burial, and resurrection. So, today we start with death. The gospel, the good news, is Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and honestly, you can spend a lifetime unpacking that.

Rev. Wes Rose, our missions pastor, shares about mission opportunities and partnerships through our church.

Let me say it again, giving is not about bargaining with God to get an answer to prayer, to get a bill paid, to get our kids sent to college. Giving is about our heart and our priority. And God makes a promise that when our heart and priorities are His, we are not going to do without what is needed. So now we are just left with, 'Do I believe Him?' He says, 'Test Me, see what I can do.'

Is this a place that is building what God wants built so that I can join God in what He is doing? Is this a place where I with confidence can put first things first? Look with me at Haggai 1:1-9; 2:6-8.

What is on your prayer list? Maybe it is some of the same things – jobs, houses, retirement. Maybe we try to go more spiritual with our prayer list. Perhaps it is a closer walk with God or spiritual maturity. Do we have a list of things for which we consistently pray?

Here we are already at our 4th sermon in our series on prayer. Man, what can happen when we become even more a person, a family, a church that prays, prays fervently. I am not sure we can imagine. There is prayer, there is faith that moves mountains. I don’t think we always see a lot of that; but I want to. I want us to see it here at The Heights every week. So let’s keep leaning into this prayer thing. Today I hope will be a very practical how to.

As you might guess, we are not looking today at everything Jesus teaches about prayer through the Gospels, but I think what we just read gives us plenty to work on, and more importantly, give the most insecure of us in prayer a bit of confidence. Jesus takes all the pressure off of praying impressively.

Nehemiah goes on the same list as a George Washington, a Winston Churchill. He is a man’s man, a General among generals, a godly man among the priests, a leader of all for all. What I want us to see today is that this great man was a powerful man of prayer. We are continuing today our series on prayer.

There is one thing though that may bring us closer to Him, help us experience Him, know Him, and trust Him more than ever before. That one thing is prayer. Prayer, is where we discover His will, walk in His power, rest in His knowledge, and enjoy His presence. Prayer is where we can do the most for others. Prayer, is where we live life in God.

Rev. James Ford shares about a new ministry that he is moving on to, and also about his walk with the Lord in the decisions leading up to this new opportunity.

Christmas really is all about a gift. I am not referring to the gifts we give each other as important as those can be, or bizarre, or unnecessary; but the gift that God gives us. The real Christmas story is about God giving something of infinite value to Him so there could be an infinite and eternal value to us. God gave us His Son.

While everyone in America may not know, may not honor the reason for the season, we have a lot in common with them at this time of year, and this series is exploring how we use those commonalities as a bridge to sharing the true Christmas story. One of those commonalities experienced this time of year is anticipation.

Listen, we are a people of the Gospel, that means a people here to communicate Good News! Christ followers are in the communication business and when something we are saying makes no sense, we have to fix that, not the world. “Hey world, respect what I believe and celebrate it with me,” is not good news and is not going to communicate well. It takes some work and thought, but I think what is going on in America gives us a great opportunity to communicate this good news, especially at Christmas.

Holidays are so shaped by our family, the time and the conversations we have together, and that can mean something very good or something very bad. You know what else is really shaped by our relationship as a family, the time we spend together, the conversations we have? The Lord’s Supper. Which is an interesting thought because we tend to approach this table in a very private manner, a place of doing personal business with God. And yes, there is an element of that, but we have perhaps as American Christians neglected to understand that this is much more of family moment, than a private one.

Today we conclude our series on the protection of gratitude. Gratitude, that protects our outlook on life, our relationship with others, and even with God. Now, does our relationship with God need protecting. I don’t know. Have you ever asked, What is God doing? Where is He? Why doesn’t He answer? These are very real and very tough questions. They are the questions than can make Thanksgiving difficult. And they are questions dealt with by some of the greatest people of faith. As a matter of fact, maybe the greatest person of faith ever.

We are continuing today our series on the incredible importance of gratitude for our lives and well-being. It protects our relationships with others, our outlook on life, and our relationship with God. Today our focus is on how it protects our outlook on life.

Gratefulness is what keeps you from building a horde of hate. Gratefulness is what keeps you from trapping yourself in an asylum of anger. Gratefulness is the only path to loving and forgiving which is crucial to living in and enjoying relationship.

Prayer is our priority activity. It is our primary initiative and response. We don’t post or tweet first, we pray first. We don’t unfriend first, we pray first. We don’t vote first, we pray first. Prayer is our breathing. It is how we stay alive.

Sermon Notes: https://notes.subsplash.com/fill-in/view?doc=glgimqN0KB

A topic like this one challenges us because the Bible does not speak to movies or R-rated movies per se, AND it is a very new thing in human history. So we are challenged with applying the wisdom and requirements of scripture to new frontiers.

God loves you. Your baggage is a problem. The sin, the failure makes you very much not like God, not like His heaven. And we can’t unload it like it was never there. That is why there is a heaviness in our soul. It is why we can be unsatisfied when we should be satisfied, unhappy when we should be happy. But God loves you and it says here that it pleased Him to send Jesus to unpack the sin, carry what we could not, pay the penalty.

Can I drink? I guessing some are thinking, 'Is this a question?' Funny thing though is that some think it is not a question because the answer is obviously no, while others think it is not a question because the answer is obviously yes. I think that makes this a question.

Sermon Notes: https://notes.subsplash.com/fill-in/view?doc=aRKFADqPb1

What I want to do this morning is build a biblical check list for working through this. It is a starting place. I want to be clear what I am not talking about. I am not talking about guns for hunting. This is not about police or military that carry a weapon and kill under the authority of the state, which God allows in Romans 13. I am talking about carrying a gun for self-defense.

We are continuing today our series called Can I? Today’s topic is can I develop my own sexuality, sexual identity, sexual values? That almost sounds silly in today’s context. I mean it is your body. Right to privacy. And the biggest of all in our culture, your feelings, your truth. And this has brought us to a place in our culture where almost nothing is wrong.

Good morning and welcome to The Heights and to a new series called Can I. We are going to explore a variety of topics like drinking to carrying a gun to how we entertain ourselves; and the goal is not as much yes or no, but how we come to that answer and how we live that answer in a way that serves people around us. Us, now that is an interesting word in light of today’s particular topic: Can I do my own spiritual thing or do I always have to think about us?

There is a problem in our communities, in our nation, between blacks and police officers. The problem is much bigger than that, but it seems that is where the problem is most glaringly showing itself. As I read this passage it seems to me that the church ought to be trying to discover what role we can play in bringing harmony and peace to racism.

Our Next Generation Pastor, Rev. Jerry Witte, shares about how the church and family can work together to make the best use of time to impact and help our children to grow up in the Lord.

Here at The Heights one of core values is sharing the Good News. We want to be faithful as the church gathered that in all we are and do, the Good News is being shared. We also want to help you, the church scattered back into the world at the end of each Sunday to be able to carry that Good News into your work place, schools, daily lives and relationships.

We cannot separate our relationship with God from our relationship with people. There is no situation where I am right and good with God, while there is hate and anger in my heart for a person, a race, a kind of people. To love God is to love people.

Last week and this we have been looking at When Life Seems Off Course. Wouldn’t it be great if life had some kind of a guarantee? Well, it kind of does. Today I want to talk to you about God’s Lifetime Guarantee. Let’s turn to Romans 8:28.

Today, I want to talk to those who are trying to live for God, trying to follow the examples of Jesus, trying to do things right and your life still feels out of order! You know what is worse than coming across a drink machine with an out of order sign? OK, well, lots of things, right? But I am specifically talking about a drink machine with no sign, but when you put your money in nothing comes out! And to make matters worse, it keeps your money! You invested in it, but you got nothing in return. That is how some of you feel with your Christian life right at the moment. You invested, you bought in, but it is not turning out like you thought.

A number of years ago here at The Heights we began a good deeds ministry called Chrestos. We called it Chrestos because in Romans 2:4 it says our good deeds would lead to repentance and Gods kindness. Chrestos is the Greek word for kindness. Chrestos is not actually a word, at least not in our language. And so without intending to we kind of created our own little secret code word. So Chrestos is getting a name change to . . . Love804.

Sermon Notes: https://notes.subsplash.com/fill-in/view?doc=PbSy5y8jA

Rev. Ronnie West examines John 21:7-19 this week.

While Satan’s power is fully controlled by the sovereign and good purposes of God, his power is real and the harm it does is real. We just cried out to the Lord over that harm and where we feel it, but we don’t stop there. Strive for faith and hope in the midst of suffering, but stand in the victory.

How much power does Satan have? Satan has as much power as God allows and not one bit more. Satan plays the exact role God intends for him to play. So really, I don’t need to know how much power Satan has because I know who holds all the power. His name is Jesus.

Knowing that Satan’s first order of business every day is to twist this word in your life so you doubt it; means we must give our greatest efforts to know, understand, and live this Word. We have to know God’s word.

We will look at Ephesians 2:1-10. These passages will help us get four perspectives on Satan's influence: the battle from the air, the battle on the ground, the battle in the person,the battle in time.

Ephesians six says that we have an enemy, he is nearer than you think, and we need a people that can SEE. When it comes to the idea of Satan, there is unbelief, ignorance, embarrassment, and inaction. Much of that is a failure of perception. 2 Corinthians calls him the god of this world. We have had our perception shaped by poor pictures of Satan and this world. We desperately need new eyes. That’s what this series if for. Ephesians 6:11-18 would have us see an enemy, a battle ground, resources, and a body.

I believe my soul, our soul was created just for this: to know the living God, the Almighty, the Most Holy, the First and the Last, the Ancient of Days, the Great I am, the Everlasting Father, as our good, good Father. Jesus wanted us to know God as our Father.

I want to share something with you today personal to my home. Karen and I have 4 kids and have now been through 4 High School graduations. After graduation I gave each one of my kids a priority list of how to finish here and how to start there. Now that I have shared it with all four of them I’d like to share it with you as I believe it has application to a variety of beginnings and endings.

I would like to suggest today that if we live worthy, are worthy of the life Jesus laid down for us, that we will also accomplish being worthy of the soldiers who laid down their lives for us. I can’t imagine a right and good way that honors a soldier, but not the Lord, or vice versa. So let me share a couple thoughts from this passage of how we live worthy of the gospel and in doing that we live worthy of every soldier who laid down their lives so we could freely follow our Savior here in the United States.

Randy Hahn, one of our graduating youth, shares the Word today as part of our 2016 Youth Sunday.

Here at The Heights, we believe that life is better when we're connected with other Christ-followers in our community. Join us in welcoming the Worship Ministry and Senior Pastor of Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Petersburg, VA as they lead our services today. Dr. Wesley Keith McLaughlin is a uniquely gifted and powerful preacher who has served as the Senior Pastor or Mount Olivet Baptist Church since 1984. Join us for the 11:15am sermon.

Here at The Heights, we believe that life is better when we're connected with other Christ-followers in our community. Join us in welcoming the Worship Ministry and Senior Pastor of Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Petersburg, VA as they lead our services today. Dr. Wesley Keith McLaughlin is a uniquely gifted and powerful preacher who has served as the Senior Pastor or Mount Olivet Baptist Church since 1984. Join us for the 9:45am sermon.

There are a group of words that God wants so much to describe our lives, words that so fully characterize the follower of Jesus: respect, honor, submit. These words collide with a life lived for self, and living for self is the most natural thing we do. But respect, honor, and submit all call on me to be first concerned, even serve others well-being; and not be bitter about it.

Last week we talked about choosing oneness in our marriage. A word I did not use last week, but a word that is very important to the work of oneness is vulnerability. To be vulnerable is to let the guard down, open the door, let them in; and man is it hard to do that when you are hurt. Today we look at one of the most amazing things about God that is perhaps the most difficult to practice: forgiveness. God is a forgiving God.

It is difficult to understand, but in marriage there is perhaps a unique opportunity to just touch the edge of glory, the edge of this mystery of the Trinity. God gives us marriage with a purpose of this oneness relationship where we experience His being and practice being like Him.

Well, good morning Heights Family. I want to start this morning spending a few minutes with Jerry Witte, our Next Generation Pastor. We just watched a video introducing a ministry called Married People.

We live in a culture that questions if family, if marriage really gives us any more chance at love, for it is marriage and family that seems to be a big source for so much hurt. So why do it? Why trap ourselves in those bond? Well we saw last week that trapped in those bonds just might be our greatest opportunity to learn love. Marriage and family has not failed us, as much as we have failed to understand what the purpose of marriage and family is.

How is it that the home can have our most meaningful moments and our worst? How do we experience the most hurt and disappointment with the people that love us the most? I think the home will always be our greatest opportunity to experience both love and hurt. Why? Because the home houses the sinners we cant easily get away from.

Happy Easter! We are so glad you are here to join us and a billion or so people around the world in remembering and celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And in that vain, let us refresh ourselves with the story. Ill read portions of the story as told by the Gospel of Mark beginning in 15:22-27; 33-39; 16:1-6.

We are in our 3rd and final week of a short series on Ordinances or Sacraments. In our tradition that is baptism and the Lords Supper. Last week we saw in baptism, we rally to the commitment to be followers of Jesus. We are all the same in that we started following Him in the same place, the waters of baptism. Now today we come to the Lords Supper where I have come to the realization that on a topic we could really spend a lot of time, I don't.

We have begun a short series on Ordinances, also referred to as Sacraments, which in our tradition is baptism and Lord’s Supper. We heard a definition from Augustine describing these as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual reality. Today we are going to look at baptism. We’ll start with understanding baptism and I think that will help us look at the inner reality; and then we will look at how it rallies us as a team.

We are beginning today a short series on Ordinances or Sacraments. Today I just want to do a bit of an introduction, understand these words, ideas, and then the next two weeks we will take a week each with baptism and then the Lords Supper.

Ephesians 2:11-20 calls our attention to 1) the story of connection, 2) the cost of connection, and 3) the means of connection. Most importantly, we see that Jesus has paid all of the costs and recouped all of the losses that are needed to make for peace.

As the church, we have been entrusted to carry the gospel to our community and world. It is actually the last thing Jesus said to us. We are a witness to our family and friends, to a watching society; and part of doing this is using our resources for doing good, for advancing the gospel. We've been entrusted with resources and entrusted to use them for good things. Good things biblically includes paying bills, providing for our family, even enjoying life; and yes, providing for the church and the gospel.

You know where Gods heart is on this Valentines Day. It is on you, this day and every day. The story of the Bible, the message of the gospel is Gods love for you. Probably the best known verse in the entire Bible is, 'For God so loved, He gave'.

There is something we cant lose, and it is a lot more important than our keys, or even the Super Bowl: Gods love and salvation. It is referred to as eternal security, or maybe more well known as, 'once saved, always saved'.

When we are born again, we are a part of family. We are connected. We follow Christ together. We are to place ourselves in a relationship with other followers where we can stir and be stirred to do two things: love and good deeds. That is relationship and that is ministry.

We would like to invite you to join our Senior Pastor from his home as he shares a special message from his home entitled 'To Fear or Not to Fear'.

Life is better when your life is fully connected in the life of the church. I want that statement so bad to rock your world, change your agenda, calendar and priorities. I want it to touch every relationship you have and all you are about. I am guessing it doesn't. What if its true? What if it is what God said?

I want to explain a story that is told in Genesis 3 and John 3. The opening pages of the Bible give us Paradise. And indeed it is the beauty of nature. Nature that is untainted, absolutely pure. We cant imagine. In Gods paradise, not only is there all this beauty, with no garbage, but there is never conflict. Adam relates with all of the animals as he names them. Adam and Eve are one, naked and unashamed, a picture of nothing to hide, no conflict, no competition, absolute openness and acceptance. And best of all, Adam and Eve live with God in Paradise.

Today I would like to suggest 10 Commitments for 10 Weeks. These ten commitments are not just ten things to do, but they are ten things God promises to bless. These aren't resolutions. We already know we don't keep those. This is obedience as a way to find the life you want, and while obedience is a way of life, I am suggesting ten weeks to make commitment bite-sized, to give it a trial run.

This time of year we think about goals for the following year. Those goals are what we believe is the 'best we can do', and they are based off of our assumptions about what the 'good life' is. This morning I would like to suggest that the good life is 'knowing God', and the best we can do this year is to 'walk with Him'.

God is going to be with us for Christmas. What would be on your to do list if God was coming to your house for Christmas: couple dozen more cookies, another Amazon gift card, make up another bed or do you put God on the couch? What do you do to prepare? Is that an unnerving thought?

Today I am calling Joseph the quiet hero in the story. According to Websters Dictionary a hero is a person of exceptional quality who wins admiration for noble deeds, especially deeds of courage. While that is a modern day definition, I think hero today is more often applied to a deed of courage, isn't it, and whether or not they are a person of exceptional quality is really not the focus. Joseph is the whole hero package. We do not see or hear a lot about Joseph in the text, but what we see is profound.

Walking worthy of the Lord is entirely related to what we are with one another, for one another and to one another. The result of being at this table today is that we walk away more like Jesus, and when that happens, it is the people around us who loved, served, and blessed.

I love Thanksgiving. It contains a lot of the same stuff of Christmas without the cost and the stress; right? Same food, family, and football without all the effort. But I love this holiday because it challenges us at a biblical discipline that may shape your understanding of God and life more than anything else. Your gratitude shapes your attitude and that determines the life you experience.

Today concludes our 2015 Global Impact Conference where we here our church members, David and Sheila Johnson, share about their call to missions.

There is no greater and more consistent force for good in the world, past and present, than the Christian Church. Be proud of the Church. Don't be bullied into believing the misinformation and lies. But I would also have to say, Dont expect any thanks from the world. They want the lie. They want to hold onto any place we have messed up in a community or in the world, and that is not going to change. So what do we do? We keep right on doing what Jesus said to do as the world watches.

The vision of The Heights Baptist is to impact our community and world for Christ. That is what we want to be and do together. In making this impact for Christ we must have a vision toward where we live and a vision for the world for that is what Jesus calls us to do.

Patience has always been difficult, but it has to be harder for a person in the modern world with instant everything at our finger tips: from the Microwave to Google. Maybe the hardest thing to wait for is justice. Waiting for wrongs to be made right. Waiting for a person to stop doing the harm they are doing. Waiting for God to come fix things. That can be an awful, painful waiting. And that is a place James says we need to put our faith in gear. Turn with me today to James 5:7-12.

Maybe when asking for something…you don’t usually forget to say please. That might not be an issue for you. But I do believe that there are two other words…that we don’t say enough…and that if we would say more often…these words…or I should say…the attitude that these words convey… boy that would make a huge difference in our lives. The words are simply, Thank you. Thank you.

The NFL season, most college schedules, include a bye week, a week they dont play. I hate bye week. Well, what if I told you James has a bye week in the schedule. Thatd be good news because hes been beating us up every week, and he will beat someone up today, but not us. Now, I wouldnt trust me saying that, but lets see. Read James 5:1-6.

I planned to be in James today back in early May, and by the end of May I had planned specifically to be in this passage on this day. Is it possible that was a sin? My normal sermon preparation has me planning messages a year out. As a matter of fact, I am coming up on that. We go on our staff retreat in October and coming back from that I know the calendar. I know what Sundays are open for me to plan, and what Sundays the staff or our programming has me doing certain things. There is our plan, and then there is Gods. But is it a sin for me to have a plan like that?

Today we are going to see James continue to challenge us to a faith in gear, but we are going to hear a very 'Paul-esque' faith in grace. Lets read James 4:1-12.

James is all about proof, and shouldn't we all be? Don't we want there to be evidence of the realness of our relationship with God, that we are on His path? Lets look at James 3:13-18.

Ever had the feeling that someone just cant let something drop, cant move on? No, I am not talking about your mate; but James. James has something here he cant get past and that is our tongue.

People live life around the table, around the meal. And when I say life is lived around the table, not just the big moments and special moments; but every day moments.

Our passage today is the heart of the letter, the challenge of James. 2:14 is the apex of this letter. Everything before it points to it, and everything after it points back. Two questions, with an absolutely implied answer: real faith makes a real difference, has real results. No difference, no results then not real, dead actually.

We are continuing today our study of the letter from James that we are calling Faith in Gear. Last week our passage ended with verse 18 where we saw that God is telling a story, doing a work, and we are the product, the first fruit of that work; and in that we are loved by God more than we can even grasp. This truth was a source of encouragement as we ended a passage that looked at two all-pro tacklers of our faith: trials and temptations. But what ended last week as a source of encouragement will serve as a form of measurement today. God is telling a story. Am I cooperating with Him to move the story forward?

Come to Jesus and youll find joy, peace, purpose, a better this and a better that; and we come to Christ ready to sail down the field of success in life and Christianity until we are jacked up by some all-pro tacklers: trials and temptations. They can take all the fun out of being a Christian.

If our faith has not led to some radical changes, and that usually means discomfort, we should question the faith we believe we have. Today we are going to see a faith that impacts our preferences in people. The word you will see in the text is partiality.

What I would like to do is, instead of trying to make what James is saying clearer I think it is perfectly clear I would like to consider some things that may have been in James mind and the mind of the original readers of the letter, that are probably in ours, that will give these words a little more weight in our imaginations.

I have wanted to teach the letter of James from the New Testament for a while now. I am intrigued by its message. There is perhaps no book of the Bible that will get in your face more about living a changed life because of this faith you say you have. I have wanted to study and teach this letter because Im intrigued by James the person. Do you know who he is? You will in a moment.

The invitation held out in the verses of Isaiah 55:1-2 can be held out to everyone in this room as is. And the invitation that is held out, is held out using the image of food.

How can you know what the right thing to do is? Its actually kind of easy. We look at the one who was right. Always right. Jesus is our guide to knowing what it means to respond in love. If you dont know Jesus, you cant play your role in this story.

Today I want to anchor us to the truth of Gods word. What does God say about marriage? What does He say about homosexuality? And then see how we move forward with both conviction and grace, and that is where the rub is. It seems a contradiction to love and accept, and hold to truth.

It is Gods mind to bring all the people groups together. Where sin divided and brought hatred and self-interest, God unites and brings peace. Yes, God is reconciling the world to Himself, but that includes reconciling us to each other.

The gospel is what begins the Christian life, but we cannot leave it there. The gospel does more than begin life with God. The gospel changes everything, everyday for the rest of our lives. It is the lens by which we will view life and people.

Join us for Lessons & Memories from the Left Anterior Descending Artery as Pastor Hahn returns to the pulpit.

Worship with us and hear encouraging stories of life change & dependence on God, and help us welcome back Senior Pastor Randy Hahn! #notshaken

Our youth worship band lead in worship, and Branson Rose shares about Grace.

This week, we are revisiting the concept of Honor presented at the beginning of the year. Each day, we want to challenge you to commit a specific act of honor. Together, we can impact our community with thousands of these acts and bring honor to the Lord. Daily suggestions for what you can do are available at theheightsonline.com/honor. Share your daily acts of honor online with the hashtag #weekofhonor.

Today we have come to the last sermon in our series on Prepared: How to Stand Up to the Storms of Life. Each week, just before I preach, we have looked at the same sermon bumper. It is based on a passage in Matthew about two builders. For my final sermon, I want to look at that story and focus on that passage: Matt. 7:24-27.

What do you do when the storms hit? How do you keep from losing your song in the midst of the unknown, the confusing, and the unexpected? How do you survive the times when you do feel sucked in, washed up, and blown over? Lets look in the 5th chapter of the book of James to see what help he gives us.

Over the next three weeks, we are going to look at how to deal with storms because like it or not, they do come. We are going to look at how we are to face the physical, financial, relational, and emotional storms that hit us from time to time. Today we are going to look at an event in the life of Jesus that involves an actual weather related storm, but in it we are going to discover some truths for dealing with our type of storms.

This week has really challenged so much of what we have been learning about prayer. Even last week, our pastor, walked us through the specifics of how he manages his prayer life. How revealing and personal that was, and if we apply it to our lives we will see God do some incredible things.

Prayer is everything! It is the way to make everything in life deeper and more meaningful beginning with our relationship with God. Prayer is where we live life with God first and last. That is how we ended last Sunday, and today I want look at a way to make that happen, a way given to us by Jesus.

What is the point of prayer? Practically, it can be frustrating. Who has not wondered if their prayer makes it beyond the ceiling? Theologically, it can be confusing. If God knows everything, then what is it I am telling Him in prayer? If God knows what is best, then do I really want Him responding to my take on things?

Thousands of us are here this weekend because we believe. We believe a man named Jesus was more than a man. We believe He died on a cross for sins, our sins. We believe He rose again and that He is alive today, and through the power of that resurrection we believe Him to be the very Son of God.

I have blemishes on my face and body, on my relationships, on my life. I am not perfect. I am nothing like it. How is it possible to be presented blameless when I can be blamed for so much. The answer is the blood of Jesus Christ, His work for me on the cross. When I trusted in that, right then I was declared holy, and being presented blameless is little more than Jesus completing the work, fulfilling the promise. How incredible is this!

Jesus is the most respected and influential person that has ever lived. Not everyone believes the same things about Him. Some would not believe in His miracles, and certainly some would not believe in the resurrection; though the historical evidence for it is overwhelming. It is in fact one of the most provable historical events there is.

Today I have asked several leaders in their perspective ministry to share what God is doing and how our church is making an Impact in our community and world. These are not trip reports, but snapshots of God working and allowing us to join Him.

We are a body, individual parts of it. We have each been given an ability to help, to bless, to minister to the whole. These verses do not call us to think about what is being done for us, but rather challenge us to think about how we contribute to the whole. And God has made sure we can. We are held accountable both for the command and the ability we have been given to do this.

Your life is impacted, affected, not only by the person next to you, but the person across the room, the person at the other service, the person at the other campus. You may not know or even see this other person, but they are having an impact on your life and wellbeing, and yours theirs. They are having an impact on this church, as are you. What I just described you to is a profound biblical, spiritual truth that is largely unknown and ignored, by both the individual and the church.

Do you want the Lord to honor you? Do you want the Lord to honor your money? In the passages I just read we have a command. We are commanded by the Lord; whether we think He needs or it not, to honor Him with our money. It says with first fruits.

We are continuing today our series on Honor. Now what we are looking at today could have been three sermons. That sounds kind of scary. There are three different issues, three complete messages, but I am going to present them as one. Let’s see if it works. So here we go, if you want life to work, honor the Lord with your body.

We all have them in the course of a lifetime: parents, teachers, coaches, babysitters, and the crème de la crème, bosses. And just about every one of them at some point is going to be wrong, unfair, mean, and possibly the devil. My guess is most of us have at the very minimum a hurtful memory if not a life that has been negatively affected by someone in authority. So why would God want us to honor them?

Last week we looked at what it means to honor marriage, a command from the Lord, and while we certainly see a marital directive, we saw a command for all people, married or single, to honor marriage, to honor the marriage bed. Today we see that we honor the home. We honor God’s design for society.

The church honoring marriage is critical to our strength in an immoral world. Have you ever thought about your marriage as critical to the health of your church? This is not just marital advice, but a command given to all: married, single, divorced, widowed, all of us are to honor marriage.

The next two weeks we are going to be in the home and see what it means to honor marriage, parents, and children. Today though the calendar has picked our topic. Today in America is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Whatever we believe is in the womb, would we not consider life so precious, so valuable, that we would even honor potential life? I know it is more than potential life to God. Listen to Psalm 139:13-16.

I believe today I am beginning the most important sermon series I have ever preached, and I have never made a comment like that about a series. Why do I believe that? Well, for one we are at the start of year. At the start of anything, a lot of us in here want God’s blessing. We want God to honor what we are doing, to show His favor on it, to make it work. But a heavier reason is that same principle in Scripture for finding God’s blessing, for making life work; is something this nation hates, and it is beginning to destroy us. And yes, you and I are a part of this.

The flipping or replacing of the calendar does not, in and of itself, bring newness, but this season, moving from one year to the next, is a time in which many seek improvement. It is a time that we seek to discard those things that hinder us and strive for new growth. You may call it making resolutions, or setting goals, or personal renewal. But whatever you call it, it signifies a hope for the immediate future and a new you!

Rev. James Ford, our Singles and Discipleship Pastor, shares God's Word today from Acts 1:1-12, 2:1-12, 6:8-9, 7:58-8:3, and 16:7-14.

There is a peace about Christmas. It is a place to rest from the chaos in our culture, the chaos on the news, the chaos in the world, and yeah, even the chaos we call home. I don’t believe there is another day or season that has this kind of affect on a culture. It really is unique. Christmas seems to offer something our soul very much longs for: peace.

Let me say it one last time: Mark wrote this gospel to encourage and embolden those first century believers in Rome that Jesus was worthy of following whatever the cost. And those reasons are every bit as relevant for 21st century believers. Today we will see He is worthy because He wins.

The Gospel of Mark piles one reason on another of why Jesus is worth it. I can’t imagine we still need more reason, and yet as we arrive at Mark 14, we have the reason that stands out, stands alone, stands above. A reason I believe becomes a mandate to follow Jesus. What Mark shows us today is our faith, our hope, our very life. Without what we read here, we are consumed by sin and death into a godless eternity in hell. Let me read today the story of the rescue of us from that eternity.

It is one thing to say you believe God loves you and has a plan for your life. It is quite another to let that truth shape the way you think and live. Thursday, every day, you can be thankful that God loves you, and He knows the whole story. He knows where you are in the story, and He knows why this part of the story is important to the next chapter. He has a plan for you, built in love and with a knowledge beyond your ability to grasp. Draw a breath and thank God that He has every part of the story and He will accomplish His good in your life.

It’s nerve wracking, and can be even dangerous when we’re required to follow someone and we’re not confident they know where this is going. So what about following Jesus? Does He know where He is going? Does He know what is up ahead? That is an important question when following. Turn with me today to Mark 13:1-27, 32-33.

Our passage today contains THE question. There is no other question as big, as important, as eternal. Listen for it. You will actually hear it twice in the story. Turn with me to Mark 10:17-27.

I believe our passage to be the key passage, the pivotal passage of the Gospel of Mark. We are going to hear words from Jesus that must ring in our ears everyday, all day.

I am intrigued by the overwhelming evidence of humanity that we know something is not right between us and God; and religion is our attempt to fix it. And yes, people with a religion mentality have at times kidnapped Christianity. It’s our tendency to depend on religion over a relationship with Jesus. Today we hear Jesus confront that reality. Turn with me to Mark 7:1-23.

Death is the last, but the biggest reminder that we live in a broken world. Whatever humanity can fix or make better, we still die, every single day, 155,000 people every day. Death never stops. It is a power, an enemy; but it will not win. It’s defeat to the Lord Jesus has been announced and today we see evidence of His very current and present power over death. Look at Mark 5:21-43.

Last week we saw an illustration of Jesus’ power in the physical realm and today we are going to see that same power in the spiritual realm. Turn with me to Mark 5:1-12 as we continue to our study of the Gospel of Mark. Last week, today, next week we are in a series of stories showing us Jesus’ power and that power is a reason we would follow Jesus no matter the cost.

Have you ever felt desperate in the face of lost love? In trying to do anything to get this love back we become desperate and pathetic, which makes the one who has done the rejecting respect us even less, desire us even less. And that made me think, is that what we are doing to Jesus? While Jesus has loved, we can reject. Would that make Him desperate and pathetic? As we weigh His worthiness, is He nervous we will not find Him worthy to follow? While we have so far in our series focused on the loving character of Christ, We are going to turn now and begin to focus on the power of Christ.

We want our lives to show, not a worthless Jesus, but just how much Jesus is worth in how we live. Last week we saw one reason we would do that is because He cares for us. We follow One who is moved by us. Today see we what that means.

As we walk through Mark we are going to see Jesus’ authority, ability and position. We are going to see His power and His knowledge, and all of those would be reasons we would follow Him no matter the cost. But Mark wants you to see this all-powerful, all-knowing, King of all kings, cares for you.

Mark wants us to meet Jesus, and for that to be anything but worthless. How many people have met Jesus, would say they are friends; but it ultimately proves to not be worth that much. Oh it is an interesting part of our lives, a story we share now and then, we have more affinity for, but ultimately has no real affect. It’s not okay, when it’s God.

Are you a Christian? Do you follow Jesus? There is no more significant question we will ever answer, and yet, I am not sure the question itself is as significant as where or when we answer it. Most of us in here have lived in a time and place that required very little thought to how we answer. American Christians have mostly gotten a pass in weighing the cost of following Jesus. If that pass is about to expire, what will that mean to your relationship with Jesus?

Have you ever had one of those days when everything goes wrong? It doesn’t make any difference how hard you try, it just seems that everything backfires on you? The harder you try, the worse it gets. In a lot of ways that was my story growing up. Thing seem to never work out the way I planned.

My name is Buddy Hamm and I am your campus pastor out in Midlothian. I have been on staff almost 11 years and of those I spent 9 of them as your children’s pastor. The last 1 ½ as the campus pastor out at Commonwealth 20. Today I would like to start with this question… How many of you have decided your future without letting God guide you through it?

Everyone needs a game plan. For those who don’t know me, I am Mike Osborne, the Executive Pastor here at The Heights. I have been in the ministry for 35 years, was a Senior Pastor for 11 years, a full-time vocational evangelist for 13 years, and for the past 11 years have been in my current position. And I am here to tell you that none of that was in my original life plans.

We are kicking off a special series over the next few weeks called Life Verse. We are going to be presenting several members of our staff each Sunday and letting them share their Life Verse with you. We hope you'll join us and get to know a handful of the folks who work here at the church in various ministry roles. Speaking of which, if you don't already know me I'd like to introduce myself: My name is Andy Huff and I serve as the Creative Arts Pastor here at The Heights.

It is hard for us to fathom how special it is to see our God, our Creator, our Savior. Oh, I think we want to and look forward to seeing Him; and yet even then I am not sure we can imagine how special, how awesome, how utterly fulfilling it will be.

We have had a lot fun this summer looking at heaven: what it will be like, what we will do there, how we get in, why we need it; and I have tried to focus on the things that have maybe been kind of a blank for us, and since that has been my focus, there has been something, or shall I say, someone I have not focused on: God! Hey folks, God is the great prize. Without God, Heaven is Hell. There is no joy, no pleasure, no significance apart from Him.

What I hope last week and this week help us to see is that heaven is not boring. Heaven is not a place where we just float around in some eternal bliss. We will live in a purposeful, meaningful and productive way; because that’s what God always intended.

I have great news for you this morning: the best parts of this world are a taste of heaven. If you don’t get anything else from today, maybe just take that line with you. I think one of the reasons we struggle with understanding heaven and what it is like is because we divorce it from reality.

A couple of quick of observations from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: 1. God wants us to have an understanding of what is going on in death. 2. It is okay to grieve; and God provides a way we can do that with hope. 3. God knows what is happening next. He has a plan. We could spend time understanding these verses more, but suffice for today, God has a plan and knows where He’s going. Death creates an unknown for us. What we need in that moment is to remember that this moment is not an unknown for God. He knows exactly what is going on, exactly what comes next, and He cares about you.

This might sound strange, but I kind of struggled with adding this message to the series today. I think there is so much to understand about heaven, so many questions you would like to hear addressed and I have limited time; so why take a whole message to talk about membership in heaven, especially in a group where I would assume so many are already members.

I think mentally we believe in a heaven and we believe it is better than here. Perhaps we know the Bible on teaches heaven is a place where there is not death and disease. There are no bad days. There is reward and good. Heaven is where we see God. But that does that belief translate into real life excitement, desire, hope?

Today we ordain James Ford to the gospel ministry. Rev. Mike Osborne brings a charge to our church body, and Dr. Randall T. Hahn brings the charge to James and his family. Celebrate with us in this ordination service.

You might get an idea of what today’s sermon is about from the title of “A Church Without Servants”. Everyone showed up to church on this Sunday and realized that something was really different. As you pulled on our lot, there were no parking attendants, and no greeters to welcome you. Those arriving to serve that day were told to go to the worship center and participate in the service and not serve. There were no life groups that day, no choir, or orchestra, no ushers, no media crew to do our normal jobs. We just had staff serving. We felt it was important to have a recording of this, even if it wasn’t our normal quality so people could understand what a church without servants means. Watch or listen as Dr. Hahn explains.

On this Memorial Day there is a greater sense of patriotism as we remember those who have fallen for our country and our freedoms. In God’s word I see not only God’s love for an individual, but I also see His love of the nations.

Collin Hahn shared the message this week as part of Youth Sunday 2014.

So what does the Bible say about near death experiences? There are 8 specific stories of someone dying and then being brought back to life in the Bible, not including Jesus or those who were resurrected at His death and resurrection. Three of the eight are by Jesus. Now we have no testimony from any of the 8 about what they saw or experienced during the time of their death. The Scriptures did not record anything they said, but that doesn’t mean they did not tell anyone what they experienced. All it means is that God did not think it important for us to know their story. The Bible though seems to affirm this possibility of experiencing the other side if you will, and coming back. Can that happen? Yes.

We took your questions LIVE via text message. Throughout each service our moderator, Andy Huff, posed questions to our panel of pastors. 11:15am service questions.

We took your questions LIVE via text message. Throughout each service our moderator, Andy Huff, posed questions to our panel of pastors. 9:45am service questions.

We took your questions LIVE via text message. Throughout each service our moderator, Andy Huff, posed questions to our panel of pastors. 8:20am service questions.

You Asked for It! You have been given the opportunity to ask questions and we’re ready to answer. We picked two questions that we will spend a whole message on, today and May 11. These were picked both because of most asked and most current. Today is about suffering and evil and May 11 will be about near death experiences and the afterlife. And then next week we are going to use a panel and hopefully answer a bunch of questions as you ask them live.

Easter is a little different for me this year. I have been to Jerusalem, just a couple of weeks ago. I have been to Golgotha. I have been to the tomb. I have looked in. He is not there. He has risen. He has risen indeed!

Today we enter the week of our Lord’s Passion, beginning with Palm Sunday, when He triumphantly entered Jerusalem, and then next Sunday, Easter, when He rose from the grave conquering sin and death for you and me; so that we could be forgiven and restored in righteousness to God. In the midst of this week, the night before He would go to the cross, Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper, a way to remember and a way to proclaim what He accomplished for us.

John teaches that the true believer should constantly be changing from the time that he comes to faith, until the moment he is perfected when he sees Christ face-to-face. From this, we can understand that the NATURE, the DESTINATION, and the SHAPE of Christian faith is TRANSFORMATION, and that SEEING God fuels that transformation.

Rev. Ronnie West, our Education Pastor, shares a sermon based around his life verse.

This Thursday Karen and I will overlook Megiddo, site of a final cataclysmic battle called Armageddon. Friday we will stand on the mount where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Saturday we will be on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on the water. Monday is the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Upper Room. And we finish at the empty tomb. To say I am excited is just bit of an understatement. I hear so much how the Bible comes alive. Just to walk where Jesus walked.

We base most of what we do on a book written 2000-3000 years ago. Much of our opportunity today in this church came from the faith and work of those before us. So we have to achieve this precious balance between looking back and looking forward, between respecting the past, but not so dedicated to it that we sacrifice our future. Here’s my compass: if it comes from God’s word it doesn’t change. But if God hasn’t directed it then almost anything can be up for change.

Today is the last in our series on the Lamb of Wall Street. Today I want to show you the Lamb calling us to a lifestyle. The lifestyle of the wolf is always more, always bigger, always better. Get it and look like you’ve got it. Happiness and strength are in more. But that pursuit of more comes with great stress. The Lamb has, all that we need, with peace.

No one knows us better than God, and He knows how important it is for us to have something to look forward to, so He has given us the greatest thing of all to look forward to. It is so incredible that it has the power to help us endure suffering, the power to choose right, the power to give us joy in all circumstances. And shocking so many believers do not enjoy this hope. We don’t look forward to it. The it I am talking about is heaven.

Today’s message is not about budgets or giving or what we have or do not have. It is not about what we do or do not do with the money we have. For those things are all products of a choice. Today’s message is about that choice. Money is a way we will serve God, or it will be our god. What would we point to in our lives as evidence of the choice we have mad? Wall Street will tell us to choose money. It is God. It makes the world go round. I think Jesus might say, Money will leave you broke one day.

We are family, and together we do this thing called The Heights. To pray, to give, to serve effectively implies a level of understanding and knowledge. While we are this big place that meets in four services on two campuses, we are still a family, and family has to talk every now and then about where we are and what’s happening.

Guillermo Morales, the national field director of Chosen Children Ministries, shared during our closing services for our 2014 Global Impact Conference.

One of the things I love about our church is seeing more and more people telling God-stories from the mission field. I think to be a church about missions is to be a church that is about the heart of God, and that is just good.

I can’t believe we are already at our fourth and final message on forgiveness, already at the end of January. We started the year off saying forgiveness may be the greatest need in our lives, not just once at salvation, but an ongoing issue. We have spent the last two weeks looking at forgiving others as the way of handling that anger. Today I want to come back to guilt. Because just like Satan will waltz into our lives reminding us of how we have been hurt, he will also remind us of how bad we are. Satan will whisper in our ear, You know what you’ve done, what you’re really like. You don’t deserve to be loved or forgiven. God has an answer for that. Look with me at Romans 8:1, 31-39.

One of my favorite Bible characters is Joseph. His story is told in Genesis 37-50, and I think it is one of the most inspiring stories of forgiveness inside or outside the Bible. I am amazed by the number of people he forgave and the depth of the offenses against him that he forgave. I am amazed how he held onto God through it all. It is not hard to turn all the pain we endure into anger against God.

Last week we talked about receiving God’s forgiveness, saying this was the biggest need in our life, whether that is what we were thinking on January 1 or not. If we don’t have His forgiveness then it doesn’t really matter what happens good or bad this year. Jesus says we gain nothing if gain everything we want in the world, but lose our soul. So forgiveness is the big issue in life, and I think many of us here would say we have that, but are we enjoying it? Are we experiencing its power in our lives?

I am going to suggest our real need is forgiveness, whether we need to receive it or give it. My guess is very few were thinking that was there real need on January 1. Over the next several weeks we are going to learn how to live in it, enjoy it, and give it. We are going to discover the power and life it gives, to forgive.

We want Happiness. God wants Holiness. Why is it that most of the time we will choose Happiness over Holiness? Maybe we have a fundamental misunderstanding of Holiness.

In Hebrew Jesus is Yeshua, and it literally means “The Lord is salvation.” Jesus says when I come under His name, He will confess my name to the Father and the angels.

Frankincense. I could have picked any of the three gifts or talked about all three, but I have chosen one. Frankincense was a fragrance to remind people of God and that is why it was not to be used in common ways.

We are continuing our series today called Christmas words and our word for today is fulfilled. We probably won’t see that word on a Christmas card, and it doesn't evoke those Christmas emotions like the word manger or star; but this is a profoundly significant Christmas word.

There are some words in the Christmas story that make Christmas, Christmas. I want to talk about 5 of them this Christmas season: virgin, Jesus, frankincense, fulfill, and angels. We are going to be looking at angels at our Christmas Eve service, and I am already pretty excited about that one, but today, we are going to look at this word, virgin.

Well here we are at the end of another sermon series, It's Complicated. God speaks into our world, into our lives to give direction and to give what is good for us. We have looked at marriage, homosexuality, living together, divorce, pornography, money, and politics; and today, boycotting. And the issue is not as much boycotting, as how we influence change; and boycotting in a consumer culture has been an effective way in the past for doing that; but effective or not, is it what God would have us to do?

McKrae Game is the Founder and President of the Hope for Wholeness Network. He shares his beliefs on the causes of homosexuality from the approach of someone with same-sex attractions now living a biblical standard.

Dr. Hahn continues the It's Complicated series with our guest speaker, Mrs. Victoria Cobb, President of The Family Foundation of Virginia.

Some of us feel confident in our knowledge of finances or our earning potential; and many more not so confident. But regardless of our financial situation money brings us some pretty bad emotions. This is definitively a place we need to return to God’s simple and straight-forward instruction.

As followers of Jesus we have a command on our lives to honor marriage and what happens in the marriage bed. Last week we listened to God on marriage from one end of the Bible to the other, seeing clearly His design on marriage is one man and one woman for life; and that is what we are to respect, protect, and promote.

Marriage is a gift given to man in the opening pages of the Bible. It is a profound opportunity to experience life and God. It is one of the Lord’s primary tools to shape us, teach us, and grow us; and yes He uses some of the not so wonderful days of marriage and not so wonderful qualities of our mate to do that.

This fall we are talking about some complicated issues; issues that are in the news nightly, issues shaping our culture, issues that divide and anger, issues that make our own homes sometimes very complicated. What makes all this so complicated is that we have passionately different ideas on these issues coupled with the ideas that there is no right and wrong and that personal happiness is the highest standard. The greatest crime in our culture appears to be telling someone they are wrong.

We live in a world of complicated issues. We also live in a world that makes it difficult to talk about those issues. “It’s Complicated” will address these very issues from a Biblical perspective. And you might be surprised to find that when it comes to God’s perspective, things might not be as complicated as you first thought.

Dr. Hahn concludes the series on the Psalms today in Psalm 100.

In Psalm 73, Asaph, a great man of God just told us he almost slipped from the faith, that he actually struggled with the thought that obeying God might not be worth it. Why would something like this be in the Bible? Because it is real, and God deals with, helps us deal with what is real. This Psalm in part is addressing the age old question of suffering, and more specifically, the problem of the rule that good people get good things and bad people don't, doesn't always seem to be working.

The longest chapter in the Bible is about the Bible. Psalm 119 is about your relationship, my relationship with this book we call the Bible. How would you describe your relationship with this? What do you believe about it? What do you believe in it? What impact does it have on your life? How much does it shape your decisions and values?

Guest Speaker, Dr. Donald Fowler, has been in Christian Ministry for 40 years as pastor, interim pastor, and missionary to Bulgaria. Dr Fowler has been a professor at Liberty University for 14 years. His areas of expertise are in biblical and contemporary issues and ancient and modern Israel.

Think of all the things in life you’d like answers to, things you want explained. I would suggest there is really just one thing we need to know: one thing in the midst of a Hitler, a Stalin a bin Laden; one thing in the midst of a hurricane; one thing in the midst of a job loss, or the loss of a child; one thing when you have been betrayed and victimized by evil. I would combine part of verse 1 and 5 to give the one thing we need to know: the Lord reigns, and His decrees are very trustworthy.

The Bible is the singular most read piece of literature in human history, and the most read portion of Bible is probably Psalm 23, so one could make the case that Psalm 23 are the most read words ever. Clearly there is something in here that beckons the soul. And when inside this Psalm, we sense it, feel it; but do we leave with it?

Rev. Mike Osborne continues our study this week in Psalm 55.

Rev. Mike Osborne continues our study in Psalm 44 this week.

James continues our series in Psalm 51 this week.

My name is James Ford. I lead the Singles ministry here at The Heights, and it is my pleasure as we continue our series in the Psalms. This morning we are going to see what makes the people of God so good. Psalm 133 is going to show us some things that will help us thrive among God's people.

What comes to your mind when you think of the presence of God? Maybe you imagine something like Isaiah or Ezekiel experienced in Isaiah 6 or Ezekiel 1 when they found themselves in the presence of God and described for us: beauty, awe, power, lightning, smoke and angels.

We all want to be happy and we are drawn to those who appear to be happy whether we they are or not. God wants you to find happiness. Last week we began a new series on the Psalms. This is the largest book of the Bible, most likely the most read portion of the Bible, it was central to Jewish theology and worship, it is where theology and life intersect, where real issues are worked out with a real God. And you know what the first word of this book is? Happy.

I am so excited about this summer and our study of Psalms. Almost everything about God is in the Psalms. Almost everything about man is in the Psalms. Psalms may be the most read portion of the Bible by believers and unbelievers. We are going to be in the Psalms well into September, and it is my prayer that we will have the same love and knowledge for this special place in God's word as did Jesus, Mary, and the disciples.

On this Father's Day I am struck by the brevity of time and would like to look at a passage that is not specifically about being a dad, but it sure speaks to how not to miss it as a dad. Look at Ephesians 5:15-18.

Daniel Rose was our youth speaker for our 2013 Youth Sunday.

There are a handful of passages in the Bible that have a key to everything ring to them, the secret to life sound about them. I want to look at one of those today. Turn with me today to Matthew 6:25-34 where we will look at a portion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

Memorial Day reminds us to remember that there are men and women who have paid the ultimate price for us to enjoy freedom. They died in battle so we could freely worship, bear arms, and speak, even if that speech is against the government.

A church that will have the greatest impact will value, will prioritize the next generation. God clearly gives a responsibility to the current church, the current generation to value, to prioritize passing the baton of faith to the next generations. It is actually says to think so far out there in the future that we are thinking, planning our church for children not even born yet.

Last week saw that one of God's core values for the church is that we love one another. Today we look at the fifth core value of The Heights, and it flows right out of last week. It is love in action, a culture of serving.

We are a community because of the cross, and our love for one another is the distinguishing mark of this community. The way we relate is to be a significant evidence that Jesus is the real deal.

Today we continue our series called The Core. We are looking at core values of our church family. This is what we value. This is what we are, what guides us, what we do. Here at The Heights we value encouraging, training, and providing opportunity for every follower of Jesus to share the gospel. Witnessing is both our identity and it is our task.

We are in a series right now called The Core. We are looking at the core values of The Heights. Last week we talked about our commitment to Scripture. This book contains every answer we need for faith and life. It is completely accurate and totally authoritative. Today we look at a second core value: our church wants to consistently encourage and inspire you with the worthiness of God.

Core training is key to your posture which communicates your stance, your strength, and how you take things on; and that is what we are going to spend the next 6 weeks doing. We are going to do some training in our core values. These values represent what holds the whole body together. We have 6 core values: a commitment to Scripture, a lifestyle of worship and prayer, sharing the good news, living in community, a culture of serving, and reaching the next generation. Let's start today with this commitment to Scripture.

Perhaps nothing causes us to question God more, feel abandoned by God more than suffering. If He is good, how can He allow suffering, unless He really does not have all power? The first words are “in the beginning.” Genesis tells us how creation got here, how man got here, how evil and suffering got here, and how Israel got here. It is the foundation for the rest of the story, but Genesis is not the first book written. Job is, and Job has one theme: where is God in suffering?

This is our third message of looking at a mosaic of Jesus. We are looking at Him from some different angles, through some different lens, seeking to get a better picture of Him that leads to a fuller response to Him, for He is worthy of our best response. Today we see that Jesus is as the purpose of God meaning our purpose.

Have you ever experienced one of those aha moments? I mean one of those times when you see something that is so amazing that you just stand in awe? John the Baptist had one of those moments.

Jesus called Philip to follow Him. Philip in the Greek language means lover of horses for you horse lovers out there. Of the apostles that get some print, Philip it appears to be one of the more uninitiated in the group. The Scripture shows him in a couple of places not really knowing what to do, missing the point, or just kind of watching when maybe he should have been responding. But that is good news, isn't it? Some of us are trying to understand this whole Jesus thing, but feel a step behind, not really sure how to initiate. Hey, Jesus can work with that.

The exploration of the moon and stars, the ocean depths, and the intricacies of the human body; all tremendous frontiers. But it is more than just getting to these frontiers. It is knowing the One who created them, and being in even more awe of Him.

These next two weeks we are going to look at the next frontiers, eternity, and the great opportunity we have to do what Jesus said, "Tie your heart to eternity; so much joy, so much fulfillment, so much wealth."

God can build a champion for Himself in victories and defeats. We can do no greater thing for our lives than to literally choose to not trust your heart, not trust your way, but instead see what God’s plan is on every step you take.

God’s goal for us is so much bigger than keeping a resolution. He has enabled us to impact the world. Let’s start by understanding how we get our lives in a position to count for something.

God’s goal for us is so much bigger than keeping a resolution. He has enabled us to impact the world. Let’s start by understanding how we get our lives in a position to count for something.

God’s goal for us is so much bigger than keeping a resolution. He has enabled us to impact the world. Let’s start by understanding how we get our lives in a position to count for something.

As we approach the new year, many look forward with excitement and new goals, while others may fear what the new year will hold. James 5:13 tells us to sing praise with the cheerful, and pray for the those who are sick and suffering.

Zechariah prophesied about it. The angels sang about it. It is all through the Bible. What is it? Peace. I think the word peace would make most people's list of Christmas words. What is peace?

People have generally assumed there is a God, different ideas about Him, but certainly assume He is there. With that assumption comes some questions. One question that is on the mind of anyone who believes in God is, What does He look like?. The old man with the grey beard seems to have really caught on. I think things like the Sistine Chapel and Charleton Heston probably cemented that view, although nowhere in Scripture is God referred to as being either an old man or having a long, grey beard. As a matter of fact, we seem to ignore what is said about Him. It doesn't get much straight-forward than this: Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God. 1 Timothy 1:17)

Dr. Hahn shares about why we need Christmas, especially at a time surrounding the recent Connecticut school shooting.

The God of the Bible is a God who wants to be known by us and close to us. I am not sure we can fully grasp what an amazing thing that is. He is holy and pure, untainted by wrong. We are thoroughly contaminated. Sin has touched, infected, contaminated our entire being. But the God of the Bible is loving, compassionate, and gracious. Though He will not relate with our filthy condition of sin, He actually made a promise that He would do just that. It is one of the great Christmas promises.

At Christmas we celebrate God coming into the world in His Son Jesus. Jesus entered this world to go to that cross and because of that cross there are an abundance of gifts that have been purchased for us. Last week we looked at the gift of forgiveness, and today in maybe a gift you didn't see coming: success.

The Bible shows us a tree, and under that tree are gifts. We have an eternal wealth of gifts that come for one reason, because Jesus Christ entered this world. That's what we are celebrating this coming month. Jesus has entered the world!

Rev. West shares about God's calling in our lives, and also the call of CHBaptist 10 years ago to bring Dr. Hahn as senior pastor.

Dr. Hahn shares about our new multisite campus in Midlothian, VA starting in March 2013 and our new service that will start in February 2013, and walk of prayer he and our church have been through.

What is the church? A building? Something we do on Sundays? No, the church is a group of people who are banking their whole life on the confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The church is people who have turned from sin and confessed their hope in Jesus as the Son of God to be saved and are baptized to prove that faith. It is God's will that we are purposely connected to His church. There is not a single verse that would suggest otherwise. There is certainly room for checking things out and making sure a particular church is where God is calling us, but our goal should be to figure that out so that we can either join or move on to find the place we should.

It is difficult to imagine a nation that would think of the Christian Church and state as friends working toward the same cause. If you were here last week you heard me blame that not on a particular President or Congress, but on the Church. It is the church that turned from the true word of God. It is the church that has stopped evangelizing. It is the church that stopped voting for Jesus, and if we don’t vote for Him with our daily lives then what kind of government do we think we are going to get? And now we have to consider how we vote for a government that is against Jesus and His Scriptures? How do we vote November 6, 2012?

If you will turn with me to the book of Ecclesiastes, in the first three verses of chapter one we will find two phrases that define this book (read). The first defining statement of life by Solomon is that everything is meaningless. To make sure you know he means it, he says it thirty-seven times in twelve chapters. The second phrase is "under the sun".

As I read the end of Romans, I see Paul sitting in a coffeehouse over a cup coffee with friends. It didn't start that way. The letter to the Romans starts behind a high pulpit with academic robes. Romans gives us some of the beefiest topics in the Bible. Then Paul takes off the academic robes, rolls up his sleeves and says, "Let's get to work", as he starts to address the radical change the gospel should have on our relationship with God, the world, ourselves, believers, unbelievers, even the government. The gospel affects how we look at everything, and how we relate with everyone. And now we come to the end of this letter. I see him being quite casual, conversational, sitting over a coffee dreaming and reminiscing. Join me in Romans 15:22 to the end.

We have been talking for a couple of weeks now about being a part of this famous group called "church people". The world has a tendency to make fun of, persecute, or just ignore our illustrious little group. There might be a few times we deserved it. But whatever we have been or are now, we will be the last ones standing. We are conquerors in Christ. We conquer not with guns and bombs or even with politics, and not for land or rule; but with love and good news and for the souls of men. That would make a good recruiting line? Is that what we are doing though? What do church people do? Maybe the bigger issue is what does God believe church people are to do. Let's see if we can figure this out.

In Jesus we have a Savior and a Friend. We come into this new relationship with Him and for most of us our first thoughts are how do we live for Him. What is right and what is wrong? Sometimes we will go to the Bible for answers. I think a lot of times we just kind of end up taking our cues from other believers or the church we attend. Church people have a big impact on how we understand and live the faith. That can be very good and not so good.

There is growing attitude in America that it is okay to love Jesus but hate the church. Biblically that is impossible, but it doesn't feel impossible to them. They must have had the same problem in the first century because the rest of Romans is about how to be church people without ruining the Gospel. The Church is made up of more diversity than any other group of people on the planet, and there is the expectation from Jesus that we will not only get along, but actually love and care for one another, and these chapters tell us how.

We always talk about what is great in our lives. Always. Listen to people this week. Listen for what they talk about and what they talk about with excitement. What do they go on and on about? So here is the question: Is God as great to us as that which we go on and on about?

Kris shares about the journey that he and his family have traveled with the Lord as they learned at Christmas 2008 that their daugher, Gracyn, had a virus that attacked her heart, and left her clinging to life needing a heart transplant. (Gracyn's song used by permission.)

It feels so good that the start of football is in sight. What an exciting time of year. The days of August are about conditioning, learning, training, and practicing. Why do they do that? So they can play the game and play it well. Now, think of coming to church as conditioning, learning, training, practicing. When we leave practice, when we break from the huddle, where is our line of scrimmage? The answer is people. People, relationships are where we live for Christ.

When I say stress we think of things like: bills, a conflict in a relationship, work, schedule, or fear over something looming on the horizon. Stress is a real feeling. I wonder if the things that cause us stress are really not the cause, but symptoms themselves. What could bills, a hectic schedule and conflicts possibly be symptoms of? Perhaps the cause, the bigger problem is Me Management. If me is not being managed well it is going to make bad financial, relational, and personal decisions.

Do you ever look in the mirror and think, I have to do better than this, but it is not your body that you are talking about? It's your life. You want more. You want better. Maybe you would even say, I want God’s best for my life. If you were going to get God's best for you right now, what do you think you would have to do? Listen, God wants you to have His best.

Does it seem like being a Christian in America really does not necessitate much change? How are we so different from people who don’t know, don't care about Jesus? If there was a change from dark to light, from child of the devil to child of God, from an eternity in hell to an eternity in heaven, from following self and the world to following Christ; should there not be a clear difference between us who follow Him and those who do not?

Rev. Osborne concludes his series on Change.

Rev. Osborne begins a two week study on Change.

Maybe for us today the issue is not what the act of God is, but that God is. Maybe what's needed in your life and in my life is not the particular answer to a prayer or a particular miracle that we are seeking, but it is to experience the living God and His glory.

I know there is debate about the founding fathers being Christians or theists, most of that being an attempt to rewrite history away from this nation's Christian roots; but regardless of what any one founding father was, they were in fact respecters of God and the Bible. They looked publicly and purposely to God and the Bible for guidance as they built this new nation. While they built a nation that would respect people of all faiths, they uniquely promoted Christianity and the Scriptures as a guide for this nation. That is not historically debatable. This is why July 4 is not only celebrated in society, but in church.

As come to Romans 11 today we finish a major section of Romans, chapters 9-11. In this section we have asked the question, "What about God's plan for the Jews". Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, and this thing we call the church started out with Jews, but as it was now growing by Gentiles. Fewer and fewer Jews were making up the church. Was God done with Jews? What about His promises? If they did something to undo God's promises, does that mean we can do something to undo God's promises?

The job of a dad is to so effectively represent God before their kids that when they realize dad is not God, they immediately fall in love with and trust their heavenly Father. That's big. Let's go simpler. Be the kind of father that the heavenly Father doesn't have to overcome.

God's sovereignty should result in our rest and security. And as good as that might sound, someone could ask, "Are we just pawns to the story God is writing?" Is there any real choice here? Are the elect ushered off to heaven and the unelect to hell? It is God's choice and that's it? Can man be anything but a pawn in God's sovereign rule?

Have you ever read something in the Bible that God said or did and thought, "That doesn't seem right?" Sure you have. Today we continue our study in Romans and we are entering a new section, chapters 9-11.

There are over 60 major prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the first coming of Jesus. Some were clear and concrete, some difficult to understand, and some seemed strange; but 100% of these prophecies were literally fulfilled. God has a good batting average at fulfilling His prophecies and it is best to take it just like it reads. Yes, there is symbolism and yes there are some difficult passages, but it is going to happen.

Today I want us to remember and celebrate mom's craziness for me. God has put a person on this planet that was wired to sacrificially live for you, wired to not quit for you, wired to make one last call, send one more email, talk to one more person for you. She may not always be right. She may not always handle it right. She might embarrass or annoy you. Her eyes might pop out of her head and her hair shoot out because you are not appreciating just how much she is for you; but she is indeed for you.

Jesus tells us what is going to last, what will survive even hell. The church. The church is that body of people that is built on the confession: "Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." That confession lasts. All that invests in that confession lasts. When you invest yourself in the church you are investing in what will stand against the fire, investing in what is Christ Himself, investing in His love.

We know God is working everything together. That word work together has the idea of weaving. God is weaving all the pieces of my life together so that it fulfills this great purpose. When God is done weaving all the events, all the people, all the successes, all the failures, all the hurts and wrongs; you will look like Jesus.

I want to introduce you to two people today that are always praying, for you. I am sure there are some in here right now who would wonder if anyone is or has prayed for them. And the answer is yes. There are two praying for you who have unparalleled access to the Father. They pray with great fervency, wisdom, insight, and compassion. They pray perfectly, every time, saying exactly what needs to be said for you. Look at Romans 8:26, 34.

Rev. Ronnie West, Education Pastor, shares about lessons he's learned over the years.

I would like to suggest today that the resurrection makes clear His right to make a really challenging call on your life and mine. Look at Luke 14:25-35.

There are problems in this world, and there can be even more problems that come with being a Christian in this world. So at some point don't we want to say, "Lord, is there any advantage to being a child of the King? I know what the Bible says, but I am getting my teeth kicked in down here." Look with me at Romans 8:18-25.

In our passage today Paul goes further in encouraging us to live life in the Spirit by showing us it is more than just escaping rejection, but how much we are wanted. Look with me Romans 8:12-17.

I have 5 messages planned for Romans 8 that I am going to call Your Life in Romans 8. In this first one we see that our lives are no longer condemned and what that means. Let's look at Romans 8:1-11.

Caleb Williamson, one of our students, shares the message from our Youth Sunday 2012.

"You've got to pull yourself up by the bootstraps!" This phrase that has been around since the 19th century though no one has really been able to trace it to its origin. The idea behind the phrase is you have to improve your own condition. No one is going to do it for you. They are very effective for pulling boots on, but it is impossible to lift yourself up by them. There is a bootstrap theology that has proved to be a great frustration to believers.

There are many passages that talk about what we give, why we give and our attitude in that giving. I believe it is clear a follower of Christ is to give a minimum of 10% of their gross income to the church. I believe we should give to other gospel causes and missions, but the tithe is to come to church first according to Malachi 3:10.

Dr. Hahn shares his personal testimony about tithing and what the Bible says about tithing.

The finances of America are a disaster. There is almost nothing we are doing right. We are as wealthy as a nation and as individuals as probably any country ever and we are on the verge of bankruptcy. Do we really need to make a case that we need a new way? I suggest God's.

God the Father enjoys watching His kids have fun. Why does the world believe, after watching us, that to become a Christian means to stop having fun? I do think we have to be careful. Our fun can become sin, or worse become our God. But does that mean no fun? Where is God on fun? Turn with me today to John 10:10.

God gives one operating principle that makes the home work. That one principle can be stated in one word. Look with me at Ephesians 5:21. Our one word is submission.

Our topic today is about new habits. Here it is: have the habits Jesus had. Let's go home. I mean, if I am His follower, then would that not mean I am a student of His life and those things He built into His life as habits I would want to build into my life, right?

As we look at what would make 2012 the year of all years that we maybe think about this in a new way. Instead of our natural focus on the physical - we think about the impact that the spiritual might have. We think about the difference that a heart for God would make on this year. I think the great king of the Old Testament, David, can give us some real insight here.

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:33-34. We are going to see today that the garbage in, garbage out principal is true not just of food; but of entertainment, relationships, learning, morals, and your walk with God. Are we aware of how much our life is being affected by what we put into it?

Rev. Ronnie West, our education pastor, shares about living a life of a trader, trading in the old life, and receiving the new life in Christ, and sharing that with others.

"Merry Christmas." Who knew those would ever become such powerful, confrontational, divisive words. Who knew that wishing well being for someone around a particular holiday could be so offensive? But words are powerful and the name of Jesus is the most powerful word uttered by human lips, so there should be no surprise that it will be an offensive word. The more the name is attacked the more I know, I have the right one.

Christmas memories are some of my best memories. I remember my Christmases at Second Baptist Houston. And here is why: that is where the announcement of Christmas became personal. That is where I learned what the angels announced that most holy night, and that their announcement was for me.

There is one name that stands above the others, a name that defines us in this world. It is a name we almost never refer to ourselves with. It is the name “slave", slaves of Christ. Isn't it interesting that the dominant word to describe who and what we are is a word we never use. It is the word used in our passage today to answer why sin can no longer be a part of our lives. Turn to Romans 6:15-23.

As a believer in and follower of Jesus, the Scripture teaches that we are freed from sin. Sin has no power over us. I wonder if there is a single believer in here today who feels that way. Romans 6:1-14 describes for us a process of transformation, where what is true about us becomes something we can practically experience.

I fear that sometimes the church has been guilty of taking the fun out of life. It is certainly the view the world has of the church. We have made the word pleasure almost synonymous with sin. God likes pleasure. He gave it to us.

The passage we are going to look at today gives us one of the most amazing portraits of God's love there is in the Bible, especially in this genre. It is a discussion of God's love for us. This passage teaches a lot about us, but it is not about us. What it is teaching about us is simply to provide the backdrop for where God displayed His love. We are going to see two things about God's love. First, it is amazingly not self-centered. And second, it is amazingly sacrificial.

Have you ever heard some words that were an overwhelming relief? But maybe words like "you're cured", "you're free", "you passed", "you won", or today, "you got the job". These are words that seemingly save our lives, give us hope, give us a chance, get us off the hook. There is a flood of relief that washes over us. That should be happening as we move through Romans.

The faith you show in getting on a plane is a biblical like faith. That is not how our culture defines faith. Our world sees religious faith as something you do instead of evidence or fact. Science and fact have been juxtaposed with faith as if they were opposites. The biblical concept of faith though is not something you do in the absence of evidence, but in light of the evidence.

Wallace Nix is the director of Chosen Children Ministries. He shared about his life change, and call to missions and why we should all be part of missions.

Each of the chapters we have looked at in Romans is dealing with some different issues, but it ends up at the same message, and so I really did think, "Again?" And yet, with all this repetition, it dawned on me, we actually don't get it.

Would it surprise you to know this morning that God has a finished picture of you? It is a picture that He dearly loves and treasures. Not a random photograph of some awkward, embarrassing, or even sinful moment in your life. No, a finished, complete, picture of the person He has created you to be.

As we come today to Romans 3:21 we enter a new section of the book that will carry us through chapter 5. This section could be called God's gift to you. Look at 3:21-31.

I have preached ten messages so far in Romans and the last five were a pretty detailed look at our depravity. We are not good. We might have good moments and do some good things, but the presence of impurity, that poison, you remember, is always there. You know, there is tremendous value in us walking these through the wilderness and remembering what we were like before Christ. It is more than just a valuable. It is a necessity.

I want to answer two questions: 1) Does Jesus believe in and talk about hell? 2) Who does Jesus talk about being in that hell? There is much we could discuss in these two questions and beyond these two questions, but there is also an incredible simplicity in the answer to these questions.

There are a lot of places we could go in Scripture today for some direction. But I do know this: Jesus is coming back. That is what should define how we live, even more than times of prosperity or times of suffering. Look at 2 Peter 3:14-18.

Rev. Reeves shares about our FAITH program and how we as Christians should be ready to share our faith in Christ with others.

The Bible. Sixty-six different books written over 1600 years with about 40 different authors. Written in 3 different languages on 3 different continents. Is there a connecting thread that brings it all together? Today's message looks at that central theme that weaves it way through the Scriptures and how we are to respond to it today.

Many of us have heard of the story of the "Good Samaritan", but did you know there was a story about a "Bad Samaritan?" What made her bad were some of the same things that makes each of us bad. Then she encounters Jesus! Let's look at what Jesus tells her and us about how our lives can be forever changed.

I have so far preached 9 sermons in Romans. The last 4 have not been a pleasant look at mankind, at you and me. Paul has laid out the case for our depravity. Depravity is about our relationship with God more than each other. The term simply means morally corrupt. It does not mean that we commit every sin, but it does mean we sin and we have within us the ability to commit any sin.

Dr. Hahn talks about celebrating the love that Jesus Christ has for us by observing the Lord's Supper, and our time of evaluting and reflecting on our love for Him.

People who have good news have a smile on their face. People who have good news focus on the goods news. People who have good news want to share it. People ought to be knocking on our doors and offering to take us out for coffee just to hear about this good news, but they are not. Why not?

Even rejecting Him, there is a fear in man of eternity, how am I going to fare standing before God. Concerned, we look around and compare ourselves. Am I in the front of the pack or at least the middle?

We are going to continue our study today of the letter to the Romans. It is not a study of the United States. It is a study of humanity and our depravity. Sadly, as we read this passage it sounds like a perfect description of the American culture.

What is your God like? Do you have a Genie in the bottle God? Is He a kind ol' grandpa who tells you stories, gives you money for candy, and just makes you feel good to be at his house?Or, is your God just up there watching? He minds His own business and let’s you work it out for yourself? I would assume a lot of us in here have a little more accurate understanding of God, but I think all people have a tendency to hold views of God that in reality makes them God.

What is your attitude about the gospel? Does the Bible prescribe an attitude for those who have received the Gospel? Let's refresh ourselves on the Gospel, the good story of that which we are to have an attitude about.

The title of our message today is When Its Tough Being a Christian. So, when is it? How about when people make fun of you or persecute you for being one? Or there is a cost to being one: like not being promoted or losing a job, or ignored and left out by family. These kinds of things make it hard.

Turn with me to Romans 1:1-7. We begin our series in Romans in earnest now. We have taken two weeks to just get an introduction. In these opening verses we are going to see that Paul was not just saved from being a murderer, or a legalist. He was not just saved from sin and death. He was saved to something.

Today we continue our introduction of the letter to the Romans. This is placed first among Paul's 13 letters in the New Testament. While the Gospels give us the words and works of Jesus, Romans is going to delve into all that the death of Jesus means for us.

Dr. Hahn talks on Mothers's Day 2011 with his mother and wife.

I am going to do two introductions to Romans, today and the 15th. Today I want you to just get a little bit of a historical feel of Paul, the book, Rome. Then on the 15th it will be an overview of the book itself. We will see what is in it. After that, we will begin working through Romans pretty much verse by verse. I believe it will take no less than 50 sermons.

As we come to the last part of His prayer, we see Jesus pray very specifically for you and me, He prays for people who are going to believe in 2011. Let's see what Jesus was thinking about for you, the night before He was crucified. Turn to John 17:20-26.

Jesus starts to pray for His disciples' safety. Incredible. He is going to be violently executed the next day and He is thinking about their safety. What would make them safe? Look at John 17:6-19.

We saw last week that Jesus' primary focus in His prayer was that God be seen and worshiped. This thought continues on into the verses we just read. Jesus is praying over how He will bring glory to the Father and it is by using the authority that the Father gave Him.

Big moments and big prayers - they go hand in hand with life in Christ, and it was no different for Christ.

Now in this area of serving, it more than just have the same attitude as Jesus. We are created in the image of God. So, if Jesus is a servant, and we are created in His image, then not only are we being commanded to serve, but we were created to serve. So if we were both created and commanded to be like Him - now we are getting to the core of purpose. People wander all over this earth looking for their purpose, their value, their worth. It is right here. And not only were you created and commanded to serve, but you were even gifted to do so.

I would imagine most of us at one time or another have had the feeling that someone was watching us. Maybe you even caught them watching you. At first it is bewilderment. Are they looking at me? Do I know them? Then we move from bewilderment to fear. Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to wipe something off or pull something up? Once we are convinced we are in the good, then we get perturbed, "What are you looking at?" Generally speaking, we don’t like being watched. It puts us on the defensive. But you know, we are being watched.

Today we want to continue the story, but we different from last week, we want to put some faces with the story. Your prayers, your giving, your walk with Christ in this Church is not just impacting ideas and visions, but actual people. I hope today you will see how the Lord is using CH Baptist to impact our world, our community, and people.

I don’t know the exact date, but it was a Wednesday night in February of 2003. I had a vision of what God wanted to do with Colonial Heights Baptist Church and I wanted to share that. I called a group of people together from throughout the church to meet with me and talk about this. There were probably 30 people in the room.

Hebrews 9:27 says we have an appointment with God and it is death that ushers us into that appointment. A part of that appointment will be an audit.

Now if there is only one way, I guess it then becomes kind of natural to wonder about all those who didn't hear about the one way. To be honest with you, I find it somewhat interesting that we can spend our whole lives without ever thinking about people on the other side of the planet and their spiritual well-being, but when confronted with our own spiritual well-being we cannot get past what happens to people we have never thought about before.

Why would someone come to Christ and His church, if we are indeed the cause of so many problems in the world and some of the worst people in society? If our lives are living proof that Jesus and the church make no difference, then really, why?

"If there is a loving God, why did He let this happen?" My goal today is to give some answers that give us reason to hang on.

We need to affirm that God has indeed communicated one way? If He has, then that is our responsibility whether society appreciates us for it or not. We do not fear and obey society. We fear and obey God. If He has called us to communicate one way, then we communicate one way!

Unfortunately for many in our world today, the Bible is not valid for verifying anything. It is interesting how quickly man dismisses the Scripture when it has never, that is a big word, but It has NEVER been disproven scientifically, historically, archaeologically, or spiritually.

Every person on the planet asks questions about God. Is there one? Has He spoken or revealed Himself so that we can know Him? How do we get to God? Is there more than one way? If there is a God, why is there is evil and suffering? Does God have a purpose for my life?

Let's take another opportunity to look to the life of Mary and see what she treasured about Christmas. Look with me this morning to Luke 2:19.

Now Christmas is a gift. It is God's revelation that He is entering the world in His Son, as a baby, and that baby will become the payment for my sins, so that I can live eternally in heaven as God's child. Well that wonderful revelation leads Mary to break out in song. When is the last time you broke out in song?

What would it be like to be Mary, to be hearing the unbelievable, the impossible? I am excited about this series. Mary is an amazing woman of God that has been largely ignored in the Protestant church.

Did you know that it is the Lord's desire that we as a church, you as an individual regularly experience His power and presence. It is not God's design for that to be something unique and special.

It is as simple as this: if you go to that appointment trusting in yourself: your works, your religion, a plastic Jesus, your efforts to be something; then you are in trouble because there is nothing you can do that covers your sin. There is nothing you can do that can make you like God. But if you go to that appointment having put your faith in what Jesus did for you on the cross, you are declared righteous - declared to be like God! Your appointment goes from being one of judgment to one of reward.

Water is a symbol of new life in the church, and yet, that very same water has divided the church. Whole denominations have been developed over water. What am I talking about? Baptism. Where do we begin in discussing baptism? This is an issue many of us formed our belief probably more on our religious heritage than Scripture.

Today we take on another of the most well-known stories of the Bible: Jonah and the whale.

Now we come to a giant in the landscape of great stories of the Bible. His name is Moses.

Dr. Hahn and Rev. Wilbur (worship pastor) discuss worship and where we are going in the worship ministry at CHBaptist.

Isn't that the point? Let's get into the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and see if there is a reason to have faith, even when God doesn't . . . Turn with me to Daniel 3.

Today we come to what might qualify as one of the most well known stories in the Bible, David and Goliath. We love an underdog. It gives us all hope, "maybe me, maybe I could."

We should read and study them asking, "Why did God record this for me to interact with thousands of years later? What does God want me to do with this story this week?" We are going to begin today looking at Noah and the flood.

God has given you an identity, and it is one that will bring you real power, confidence and direction. It will set your life on a course of eternal significance.

What do we do in the face of adversity, in the position of rejection, in depths of loss - we go back to Jesus and back to Jesus and back to Jesus. We do everything we can to make it all about Him. Our message today is simply this: living for Christ always produces a win.

Jesus wants you to be compassionate. What do you think that means? Were you compassionate this week? Can you point to it? Was there a place where you could have, and didn

Dr. Hahn explains about our new 3rd Service on Sunday nights starting September 19, 2010, and other vision and direction for CHBaptist. Exciting day at CHBaptist.

Rev. Mike Osborne continues our summer series "Signs of Life".

Rev. Mike Osborne continues our summer series "Signs of Life".

Rev. Mike Osborne our Administrative Pastor brings our second sermon in our Summer 2010 series.

An introduction to our Summer 2010 series by Rev. Ronnie West, Education Pastor of Colonial Heights Baptist Church.

On this day we celebrate freedom I thought we'd take a moment to think about the freedom Jesus fought for. Heaven paid a high cost for our freedom and calls the church to respect and protect that freedom.

Turn with me to Luke 22:14-20. Do this in remembrance? The command of this story that we know so well is simply this: do this and remember. Don't forget.

Dr. Hahn preaches on the Christian's role in going in missions, and prays for those leaving on mission trips this summer.

This tenth great word, like the nine before it, is God in His kindness warning us of something we cannot control, something that will run away with our lives, something that probably really does cause the Devil to laugh as he dangles bait out in front of us and we go after it with all we have. God warns us about coveting - it steals our ability to ever be satisfied, to ever enjoy.

What if there was one question I could ask myself, one guiding principle that would keep me out of sexual immorality, lying and stealing; and really help me obey all the commands?

The Lord gives us a seemingly obvious command: do not murder. It is our sixth great word, the sixth of the Ten Great Commands. What I would like to suggest this morning is that there is just a little more going on in this sixth great word than just, "Don't kill each other."

What do parents want to give kids? Based on this fifth great word, I think the Lord might say the best thing we can give them is a respect for authority- beginning with you mom and dad - be respectable and expect it.

I want to answer several questions as simply, but as thoroughly as I can in this format. What is the Sabbath? What day is the Sabbath? What rules are we to follow, or what are we to do? How is it for me?

The Ten Commandments are a witness to us every day that we need to trust in Jesus. Last week we saw God's first great word for us: Put Him in the God spot in our lives, and nothing else, for nothing else works. Today we come to look at the second and third of these great Words.

A Gallup poll said 85% of Americans believe the Ten Commandments are still binding today - only 15% could name as many as five. We need these Ten Great Words. They are a moral compass for our soul. They answer the questions, "How do I love God", and "How do I love others?".

Human history has a lot of great people. And no matter how you define greatness, they all have one thing in common: they're dead. And today's great people will join them. They are all dead, except one. His name is Jesus. Do you believe that?

We can't fix everything. We have to depend upon others in life and those others, for a variety of reasons don't always play their part.

We can't fix everything. We have to depend upon others in life and those others, for a variety of reasons don't always play their part.

Parenting is an interesting thing. It is a place where we have great goals, but often very little action in pursuing those goals. That is not meant to be a judgmental statement. I think it is true of most of us.

Parenting is an interesting thing. It is a place where we have great goals, but often very little action in pursuing those goals. That is not meant to be a judgmental statement. I think it is true of most of us.

We make decisions and we see them as nothing more than - a decision. We do not see our decisions as connected, but every one of them is and they lead you down a path.

We make decisions and we see them as nothing more than - a decision. We do not see our decisions as connected, but every one of them is and they lead you down a path.

Do you walk out the door each day knowing it is all God's? Do you make decisions as if it was yours, or His? Will your kids leave home knowing it is all God's? This is a big deal.

Do you walk out the door each day knowing it is all God's? Do you make decisions as if it was yours, or His? Will your kids leave home knowing it is all God's? This is a big deal.

What do we mean when we say, "We don't know how to communicate?" Is this a knowledge issue or a motivation issue? Let's go to God's word and see how really simple communication is if we follow God's way.

What do we mean when we say, "We don't know how to communicate?" Is this a knowledge issue or a motivation issue? Let's go to God's word and see how really simple communication is if we follow God's way.

Have you noticed that the world promotes every kind of sex, but the one described in the Bible? To watch TV and movies one would assume that married people don't even have sex and if they do, how exciting can that be?

Have you noticed that the world promotes every kind of sex, but the one described in the Bible? To watch TV and movies one would assume that married people don't even have sex and if they do, how exciting can that be?

Just as the Lord has a distinct way for the man to show God in the home through sacrifice and loving leadership; the distinct way He has for you is submission. Something by the way that God actually calls of all believers.

Just as the Lord has a distinct way for the man to show God in the home through sacrifice and loving leadership; the distinct way He has for you is submission. Something by the way that God actually calls of all believers.

As the leader of the home, the head of the wife, you lead in showing the family God and it is a picture of servant leadership. The role of the husband in the marriage is to lovingly lead.

As the leader of the home, the head of the wife, you lead in showing the family God and it is a picture of servant leadership. The role of the husband in the marriage is to lovingly lead.

The DNA of a marriage is the DNA of God. Do you see? If we are not living in light of any of this, not only are we failing at God's purpose for marriage, but we will be using marriage in the wrong way which makes everything harder.

The DNA of a marriage is the DNA of God. Do you see? If we are not living in light of any of this, not only are we failing at God's purpose for marriage, but we will be using marriage in the wrong way which makes everything harder.

Do you hear what the home is passing down: confidence in God, remembrance of His great works, and obedience. These are the things that bring God's blessing on a life and home.

Do you hear what the home is passing down: confidence in God, remembrance of His great works, and obedience. These are the things that bring God's blessing on a life and home.

Here is the simple plan of the Bible. Here is where both evangelism and discipleship start - and it is not in the church. It is in the home. Parents, teach your children how to know and love God, by knowing and loving God in front of them.

Immanuel means God with us. Jesus is God with us, and God being with us, God being near, ultimately is the answer to every issue in our lives. He has sent His Son into the world so that we could see and know and experience and live with God.

Very simply stated, the gift of God's Son gives us a chance to live in eternity with God. We are going to live eternally, but the other option is hell.

Jesus entered this world so that you could know the God who spoke all things into existence. He entered this world as the Babe of Bethlehem so the voice of God could bring light and order and meaning to your life.

Holidays do not create stress. They just intensify the stress that is already there. Whatever is bad throughout the year is going to be really bad during the holidays.

Perhaps the most disturbing concept in Christianity is the prospect that one day vast numbers of people will go to hell. As a matter of fact, I think there are a number of passages that would suggest that most people will go to hell.

Perhaps the most disturbing concept in Christianity is the prospect that one day vast numbers of people will go to hell. As a matter of fact, I think there are a number of passages that would suggest that most people will go to hell.

Heaven is the hope that God has given to us, but it is difficult to hope in something we do not understand. God wants us to understand Heaven.

Heaven is the hope that God has given to us, but it is difficult to hope in something we do not understand. God wants us to understand Heaven.

Here is what we are going to answer today: What is the millennium? When is Satan dealt with? When are unbelievers dealt with? And in that question we will look at what where we go when we die now.

Here is what we are going to answer today: What is the millennium? When is Satan dealt with? When are unbelievers dealt with? And in that question we will look at what where we go when we die now.

Jesus came a first time to provide a rescue for what is going to happen when He comes the second time. Man ruined this earth. Satan has ruled over this earth. But Jesus is coming back to reclaim and restore this earth.

Jesus came a first time to provide a rescue for what is going to happen when He comes the second time. Man ruined this earth. Satan has ruled over this earth. But Jesus is coming back to reclaim and restore this earth.

The Antichrist and False Prophet are a counterfeit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That is what Satan does. He offers a counterfeit to lure us in so he can destroy.

The Antichrist and False Prophet are a counterfeit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That is what Satan does. He offers a counterfeit to lure us in so he can destroy.

What John brings us in Revelation is not a distant idea, but a very clear picture of what is soon and coming. Today we are going to look at the Great Tribulation.

What John brings us in Revelation is not a distant idea, but a very clear picture of what is soon and coming. Today we are going to look at the Great Tribulation.

Today we begin a new question in our What Is? series. What is the End? It will take me seven weeks to answer that question and you see in the bulletin how I will do that. It is important to understand why God has given us this information about the end.

Today we begin a new question in our What Is? series. What is the End? It will take me seven weeks to answer that question and you see in the bulletin how I will do that. It is important to understand why God has given us this information about the end.

What is the Great Commission? It is your task until the Lord brings you home. It is your job to tell people that you know Jesus Christ, He is the Son of God, He has been raised from the dead, and through Him they can forgiven of their sins and have eternal life.

What is the Great Commission? It is your task until the Lord brings you home. It is your job to tell people that you know Jesus Christ, He is the Son of God, He has been raised from the dead, and through Him they can forgiven of their sins and have eternal life.

Handling the enemy of change.

We continue our "What is?" is series with the question, "What is eternal security?" Some call it the "once saved, always saved" doctrine. We need to be able to understand this. To not understand this is to not understand the cross.

We continue our "What is?" is series with the question, "What is eternal security?" Some call it the "once saved, always saved" doctrine. We need to be able to understand this. To not understand this is to not understand the cross.

The Bible says that people need to be saved: rich or poor, young or old, mean or nice, famous or infamous or completely unknown, the happy, the sad, the successful, the unsuccessful, the people with all kinds of friends and the people completely alone. They all need to be saved.

The Bible says that people need to be saved: rich or poor, young or old, mean or nice, famous or infamous or completely unknown, the happy, the sad, the successful, the unsuccessful, the people with all kinds of friends and the people completely alone. They all need to be saved.

Last week we began our study of, "What are angels and demons?" and today we will look at, "What is Satan?"

Last week we began our study of, "What are angels and demons?" and today we will look at, "What is Satan?"

We are moving along in our What Is? series and today we come to the question, What are Angels and Demons? Next week we will look at What is Satan?

We are moving along in our What Is? series and today we come to the question, What are Angels and Demons? Next week we will look at What is Satan?

We continue today our "What Is?" sermon series and we are answering the question: what is the church? Last week we looked at Lord's Supper and Baptism and this week the church in general. Next week: angels and demons.

We continue today our "What Is?" sermon series and we are answering the question: what is the church? Last week we looked at Lord's Supper and Baptism and this week the church in general. Next week: angels and demons.

We are free. The victory has been won. When we go through the waters of baptism or to the table we call the Lord's Supper, we are not there trying to win or earn something.

We are free. The victory has been won. When we go through the waters of baptism or to the table we call the Lord's Supper, we are not there trying to win or earn something.

I hope Father's Day is a time of evaluation for all dads. Am I doing what God wants me to do as a dad? I like the simplicity of God's directions to dads in Ephesians 6:4.

We are going to look at both the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you leave with nothing else today leave with this: The Holy Spirit has gifted you and will produce in you a life that blesses and serves others. Both the gifts and the fruit are all about others. Let"s read 1 Corinthians 12:4-12.

We are going to look at both the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you leave with nothing else today leave with this: The Holy Spirit has gifted you and will produce in you a life that blesses and serves others. Both the gifts and the fruit are all about others. Let"s read 1 Corinthians 12:4-12.

What is the Holy Spirit? He is not a vague force or impersonal power. The Holy Spirit, just like the Father and Son, is a person. Personhood is defined as having intellect, emotions and a will. The Holy Spirit displays all of this.

What is the Holy Spirit? He is not a vague force or impersonal power. The Holy Spirit, just like the Father and Son, is a person. Personhood is defined as having intellect, emotions and a will. The Holy Spirit displays all of this.

Today I want to focus on two things Jesus is doing right now. There are some very necessary things to our lives that Jesus is doing all the time, but I want to focus on two favorites of mine. Jesus defends me and prays for me. Turn with me to Romans 8:31-34.

Today I want to focus on two things Jesus is doing right now. There are some very necessary things to our lives that Jesus is doing all the time, but I want to focus on two favorites of mine. Jesus defends me and prays for me. Turn with me to Romans 8:31-34.

We continue today answering the question, "What is God the Son?". This is our third of four sermons on this question and this question is one of 20 we are answering as we march through 2009.

We continue today answering the question, "What is God the Son?". This is our third of four sermons on this question and this question is one of 20 we are answering as we march through 2009.

We continue today answering our twenty, 'What Is?' questions. Today is the second of four messages where we are answering 'What is God the Son?'. Last week we looked at His pre-existence and the prophecies surrounding His life. Next time we will look at His death and resurrection. Today we study the humanity and deity of Jesus.

We continue today answering our twenty, 'What Is?' questions. Today is the second of four messages where we are answering 'What is God the Son?'. Last week we looked at His pre-existence and the prophecies surrounding His life. Next time we will look at His death and resurrection. Today we study the humanity and deity of Jesus.

We are going to take four sermons to answer the question, "What is God the Son?". Today we will look at His Pre-Existence and the prophecy surrounding Him. Next week we will look at His humanity and deity. Then we will review the meaning of His death and resurrection and finish by looking at what He is doing right now.

We are going to take four sermons to answer the question, "What is God the Son?". Today we will look at His Pre-Existence and the prophecy surrounding Him. Next week we will look at His humanity and deity. Then we will review the meaning of His death and resurrection and finish by looking at what He is doing right now.

The term Father, which is applied to the first member of the Trinity implies a number of significant relationships with the first being His relationship to the Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesus is eternal. He did not have a beginning. Mary Beth being born made me a father, but Jesus being born is not what made God the Father. They have had an eternal relationship as God the Father and God the Son.

The term Father, which is applied to the first member of the Trinity implies a number of significant relationships with the first being His relationship to the Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesus is eternal. He did not have a beginning. Mary Beth being born made me a father, but Jesus being born is not what made God the Father. They have had an eternal relationship as God the Father and God the Son.

What does it mean that to have this historical character we know as Jesus? What does it look like to have Jesus? What difference does it make that I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

There is one, unique and true God. Whatever the Trinity it is, it is not the presentation of three Gods. And that is not just an Old Testament idea. The New Testament also insists that there is only one true God.

There is one, unique and true God. Whatever the Trinity it is, it is not the presentation of three Gods. And that is not just an Old Testament idea. The New Testament also insists that there is only one true God.

What we know about God comes from His kindness to reveal Himself and give us the capacity to know and understand Him. These names are specific revelations from God for our daily living and relationship with Him.

What we know about God comes from His kindness to reveal Himself and give us the capacity to know and understand Him. These names are specific revelations from God for our daily living and relationship with Him.

We have a God who cares for our well-being and our future and the best thing for our well-being and future is Him. So let's get started in seeing what we can understand about what God is like. We are going to start with His attributes. These are the character qualities of God and there are a couple of things we need to understand about these.

We have a God who cares for our well-being and our future and the best thing for our well-being and future is Him. So let's get started in seeing what we can understand about what God is like. We are going to start with His attributes. These are the character qualities of God and there are a couple of things we need to understand about these.

Unfortunately for many in our world today, the Bible is not valid for verifying anything. It is interesting how quickly man dismisses the Scripture when it has never, that is a big word, isn't it? It has NEVER been disproven scientifically, historically, archaeologically, or spiritually.

Unfortunately for many in our world today, the Bible is not valid for verifying anything. It is interesting how quickly man dismisses the Scripture when it has never, that is a big word, isn't it? It has NEVER been disproven scientifically, historically, archaeologically, or spiritually.

When you hear the word theology, what comes to your mind? For too many, theology is something done in the halls of academics. It is the discussion of people removed from the real world. We need to shed the academic shroud we have left it in and realize that theology is for the working man. It is for where you live, breathe, and eat. It is for where you laugh and where you cry. It is the anchor that holds.

When you hear the word theology, what comes to your mind? For too many, theology is something done in the halls of academics. It is the discussion of people removed from the real world. We need to shed the academic shroud we have left it in and realize that theology is for the working man. It is for where you live, breathe, and eat. It is for where you laugh and where you cry. It is the anchor that holds.

If your kitchen table is like mine, this is where the bills land first. That means they are opened here and sometimes discussed here. If your home is like mine, not all of those discussions are fun. We sit here and we try to figure things out.

How much are we supposed to give? OOH! That is the no-no question. That is why we don't come to church, isn't it? The only thing we like less than being told to give, is how much we are supposed to give. But if we can get past the church or the pastor always asking for money, and if you do actually come to this church you know we are not always up here asking for money. We talk about this once a year. Jesus said this is a major heart issue. I think when we have a major heart issue, once a year is not too much.

How much are we supposed to give? OOH! That is the no-no question. That is why we don't come to church, isn't it? The only thing we like less than being told to give, is how much we are supposed to give. But if we can get past the church or the pastor always asking for money, and if you do actually come to this church you know we are not always up here asking for money. We talk about this once a year. Jesus said this is a major heart issue. I think when we have a major heart issue, once a year is not too much.

Do you know what topic God talks about more than speaking, loving, and forgiving? As a matter of fact, it is the topic He talks about more than heaven? Money! 16 of Jesus' 38 parables deal with money and possessions. While there are some 500 verses on prayer and 500 on faith, there are 2350 verses in the Bible on money and possessions!

Do you know what topic God talks about more than speaking, loving, and forgiving? As a matter of fact, it is the topic He talks about more than heaven? Money! 16 of Jesus' 38 parables deal with money and possessions. While there are some 500 verses on prayer and 500 on faith, there are 2350 verses in the Bible on money and possessions!

I don't see anywhere in the Bible the idea that we were created just to survive, to get by from day to day. We were created to be like Him. God is not just getting by. He moves and lives with meaning and purpose. We were created to be like that.

It has been a wonderful journey for us as a church this past month to go through this experiment of Living Like We Were Dying. I am hearing some great stories of what God has been doing in your lives. Many are working at not just marking time, but really seeking to live life for what matters most. It has been a good lesson for me at realizing how much I don't live with the end in mind.

As we dig into this issue of forgiveness, I want to establish the baseline of God's expectation. As Christ followers, we are given a high standard when it comes to relationships. Romans 12:18 says, "If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone." Live in peace with EVERYONE. There isn't much wiggle room in that phrase. There is no disclaimer, no exception clause, no loophole.

The Bible teaches you can't have an authentic encounter with the gospel of Jesus without a detonation of love taking place. That's the NORMAL Christian life. It is abnormal, it is dysfunctional, and it is a sign of heart disease to not be loving. You see, when you taste God"s grace, when you see darkness of your own soul and you realize that God loves you, forgives you, and wants a rich relationship with you, it changes everything. When we embrace that grace love is the byproduct. It shows up in our face. It shows up in our words. It shows up in our relationships on all levels.

Today we want to speak sweeter, and remember why: you are going to die and stand before God. Life is quick. You have a set number of days and then your life is over. You have seven less days to say the right words, seven less days to correct the wrong ones. Your words matter to God.

I want us to think about it for a moment, right now. Imagine you have died, and you are standing before the Lord. What would you like that to be like? Here is your challenge: live with the end in mind. Live in a way that brings the end you want.

No real surprise here, we have been thinking about Christmas. I challenged all us with the thought at the beginning of this series that while familiarity is warm and comfortable, we should not let our familiarity with this story, this time of year, cause us to disengage our mind and our heart. Any real surprise on the songs we sung this morning? Of course not, and you would be disappointed if we didn"t do those songs.

It is funny how our little traditions and ways of doing things are like the law. Our traditions are what we have to do or it is just not Christmas. Well, on that note we asked last week, what does God want us to think about when we think about Christmas. We looked at Mary first and saw that the Lord wants us to think long on Jesus, to significantly ponder Him. We think on Him until we know how to respond. Today we are going to look at the shepherds. Their story is quite different from Mary. Mary's thoughts are coming over a period of nine months. She is reflecting on the announcement of the angel Gabriel of her pregnancy, the virgin birth, and how the angel gave her fiance, Joseph peace about all this. She is reflecting on the conditions over the birth and the events that followed. So Mary's thoughts are coming at her over a period of time where she has an opportunity to think about each one. The shepherds' thoughts literally explode on them. They are at work, the night shift, when the sky opens and there are a multitude of angels. The shepherds are literally seeing Christmas fly at them.

I wonder though if there are things that should come to our mind when we think about Christmas, that God wants to come into our mind. Well, you know I think there are and I guess there are a number of ways we could look at what God wants us to think about when we think about Christmas. I thought for this Christmas season we might look into the minds of the original cast. What were they thinking that very first Christmas? Is there something in what they were thinking that should be guiding what we are thinking? I want to look into what Mary, the shepherds, Jesus, and God the Father were thinking on that first Christmas.

I have a bit of a peculiar introduction to a Thanksgiving sermon. I am using a passage that has probably never been used in conjunction with Thanksgiving, but it is the one God directed me to use, so here we go. I want to tell you a story about a tree. Actually it is not my story. It is God's. Listen to this story about a great tree. I am reading from Ezekiel 31. Our tree here was awesome. It had no comparison in its height and breadth. It was magnificent, beautiful and strong. Many came and found rest in its shadow. It was the envy of all tress. I can't say it better than God - it was the tree of all trees. Right up to the point God cut it down. It may be great and look stronger than anything else, but God can bring a tree down the moment He decides. The tree had become proud. It began to believe it was the source of is greatness. It began to believe it was the source of all it had. You do know God is not talking about trees here. He is talking about nations, about churches, about people, maybe you. When we begin to believe that we are the source of what is good in life, when we do not acknowledge that it is from God, we are literally making ourselves to be God. It is the biblical definition of pride and arrogance. It is the sin of Satan and it is the sin that brought about a fallen world. Arrogance and pride puts us a nation, a church, a person on a collision course with God.

I have good news for you today. Jesus has a valuable identity for you. It is an identity that gives you worth now and in eternity. It gives you worth before men, and God. It is an identity you can live out whether you are 13 or 83; whether you are strong or sick; rich or poor. This identity is effective whether you are single, married, widowed or divorced. It works when you have the best job in the world and when you just got laid off. This identity can make our life count everyday. Let's look and see what this identity is. Turn with me to Acts 1:8.

We have been studying the Gospel of John since April, and we come today to our conclusion. If John and the Holy Spirit have been successful you are now firmly entrenched in the faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The result of that faith is that you have life and life eternal. That is why John wrote this Gospel, that you might believe and have this life.

I cannot imagine who would want to be President of the United States in 2009. Whoever wins has some very difficult days ahead of them, in which the potential to have to make choices in which they will get beat up are pretty high. There are so many big issues to get right and no one ever gets them all right. A President always deals with a lot of very important issues, but it seems like right now this person will be dealing with a lot of very critical issues from oil to Iran, terrorism, Wall Street, a government in huge debt, and probably one or two things we don't even know about. They are all such huge issues. I just want to pay my bills. I just want to see my kids educated and raised in a good world. How am I supposed to get my arms around the huge issues this President will have to deal with? It is easy to just throw our hands in the air and say, “Whatever happens, happens. It is not like I am going to make any difference.” The Lord does not give us that option. He wants us to care, to pray, and to be involved.

That was a pretty popular commercial back in the 80s and that line, "Where"s the beef?" became a cliche for where is the real thing, where is what we are really looking for. I think it was so popular one, because it is funny, but also because it hit a nerve. We live in a culture that dresses things up with glitz and glamour, but not a lot of substance. We got a lot in the window, but the stock room is empty. Things give the appearance of depth, but in reality are very shallow. Maybe sometimes we even have that problem in our own life. I don't want us to liken God to that old woman, but can you imagine with me God asking, "Where is the beef?" as He looks in our lives. We need to do more than imagine, we need to know it. He does ask. He doesn't ask for the beef, but He does ask, "Where is the fruit?" Let's look and see where this happens. Turn with me this morning to John 15:1-6. We are studying today our seventh "I am" statement in the Gospel of John. We have also studied seven signs performed by Jesus in John and are going to finish our study soon with looking at seven witnesses. These signs and statements teach us who Jesus is and what He is for us. He is our chance for a life that counts as we go to stand before God. Look with me at John 15:1-6.

We live in uncertain times. The way is not clear, and it has gotten so complex I am not sure anyone knows anymore which direction to go or whose fault it is or who has an answer. Throughout history each generation has its moments: different challenges, fears, or failures. Each generation probably tends to see their challenges as the greatest, as the most defining challenges ever. Our generation is at just such a moment. It is both the severity of the issues and the number of issues. Pick your crisis. We are in a war where the end has gotten confusing. The housing bubble has popped and is severely affecting the economy. Who knows what is happening on Wall Street other than a lot of greed and a lot of bad politics. We are lead to believe we should be living in complete fear of our environment. We also have some real moral issues in our culture on the verge of exploding. I mean we really kind of have a “sky is falling” thing going on here. And the amazing this is, a lot of Americans could care less because they are so overwhelmed by their own crisis: overwhelming debt, taking care of parents whose health is failing on one end and kids who are failing on the other. And it goes on and on. I can't list all the different things that are overwhelming us as families or individuals. Let's just go watch TV. Maybe tomorrow it will all be fixed. One thing is for sure, and we see it in every thing I have mentioned: pretending there is not problem is not going to fix anything. So what do we do? There lies the problem. The answer seems so complex and so hard and so much change. Let's go back to just watching TV. No. That is not an answer. Jesus, on the other hand is. And He is the Master of clarity. You want to know what to do, where to go, how to get there?

We spend the better part of our life trying to get it. It would be nice if there was one clear "it", that we could set our sights on and pursue until we get it, but there are lots of things out there trying to convince you that they are it, and they're not. That is a lot of what this movie, City Slickers, is about, finding that one thing that makes life worth it, that one thing life is all about. Unfortunately, the movie sends you to the wrong answer also. It tells us that "YOU", you are it. The sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the birds, animals, trees, flowers and 6 billion people - and I am it. Life is all about me. That doesn't even make sense. Is the secret to life 6 billion people walking around thinking, it is all about me? And then we die. A lot of people live by that philosophy, but the answer to life should also answer the big questions of life: Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? Why is there evil? Is there justice? Whatever it is, it should answer these questions. The secret to life being me does not answer those questions. This (point to self) is not it. Is there an it? Is there one clear "it" we can set our sights on? You know I believe there is and you know where or rather who I am going to. Turn with me this morning to John 11:23-26.

In September of 2003, Colonial Heights Baptist purchased 38 acres. You should have a good feel for where that is. In January of 2004 we elected as a church to move to this location. In April of 2004 we put together a 20-member project team that would guide our church family through the process of selling the old building, erecting a new one and moving. To prepare us, I took the Project Team on a vision tour. I wanted them to see large church campuses and be able to ask questions of those churches about what to expect and what challenges we might face. We visited churches in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Something we all learned on that trip was before we even pulled onto the church property we could tell if they had a master plan or not. That lesson became so big it changed our direction. We came back and instead of launching into building, we launched into a master planning. It changed our calendar and guided our choice of architects because they had to offer master planning services. That master plan was a big part of 2004/05, but we really have not looked at it as a church family since then. But, we do have a plan to develop our entire property.

I don't know that I can say definitively what is the most well-known passage of Scripture among believers or even unbelievers, but if I was guessing I think it would be Psalm 23. [Read] This great Psalm tells me there is a God. He is not an impersonal force, or a far off deity who may or may not care about me; but rather this Psalm introduces me to a very personal God, He is "my Shepherd," and He has everything I need: provision, rest, peace, encouragement, guidance, courage, companionship, comfort, protection, power, and security. There is something there for all of us! If there is a god, certainly this is the very kind of god we would be looking for. Most of us know very little about sheep or shepherds, but this sounds pretty good.

The Jews certainly knew this Psalm and would have had it memorized. The heritage of the Jews was as shepherds. They knew what a really good shepherd looked like and meant to sheep. The sheep don't even acknowledge it, but their very lives are in the hands of this all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful shepherd. Their faith was that their God was like that good shepherd. As well known as the Psalm is to the general world, it is even more intimate and more of a hope to the Jew. So can you imagine praying to and trusting in this Shepherd, and then one day you are in town and you stop and listen to what looks to be a rabbi or a teacher of some sort and He says, "I am that Shepherd you have sought in Psalm 23."

It is fun to be on a team, even better, a winning team. Follow the merchandise sales of the Super Bowl Champs, National Champs, World Series, NBA Finals; and you see those sales shoot through the roof. We like to identify ourselves with the winning team. Now, the die hard fan is the one who wears those colors even when the team loses and loses and loses. Looking around here today it is clear we have some die hard fans. I am one of these guys who tends to get the gear of his favorite teams.

My favorite team: the church. There is the capital "C" church which is all genuine believers of all time everywhere. When we repent from our sins and turn to the Lord Jesus we are immediately a part of that team. That is to be evidenced in our being a part of the local team or the little "c" church. It has changed my life to be added to the team of the capital "C" church and I don't mind telling you I am pretty proud to belong to the little "c" church of Colonial Heights Baptist. A team has up and down seasons and our team is having a pretty good season right now. I don't do stuff like this in worship very often, but I think periodically it is good to get an idea of how the team is doing. There are a variety of ways to do that, and the simplest for right now is just some stats.

Darkness almost universally is related to bad: from monsters under the bed, nightmares and stubbed toes; to confusion, lack of knowing, inability to see and understand; to evil. Even when we find comfort in darkness it can actually be for bad reasons. We might like the dark because it gives us a place to go and hide where we don't have to deal with ourselves and the world; or we go to the darkness to hide our activities. While it is related to so much bad, we are also intrigued by it. A great example of this is two of the biggest movies of all time have darkness as a major them. In Star Wars we see the evil emperor tempt Luke "to come to the dark side of the force." And this summer has produced what looks like may be the biggest movie of all time, The Dark Knight. People walk out of that movie all making the same comment, "It's dark." Whatever our attitude, fears, comforts, or understanding about darkness, the reality is we do not want it. No one wants darkness in their marriage. You don't want darkness in your finances. You don't want darkness in your community. You don't want darkness in your boss or your governmental leaders. We live in a world that has been profoundly touched by darkness, where we are profoundly touched by darkness. And, it is in darkness that people are most likely to ask, "Where is God?" Darkness is not God's plan for you or for any part of your life. The Bible tells us there is a God. First page, first sentence, says, "In the beginning God." It goes just a few more lines and we see the first recorded words out of that God's mouth. Do you remember what they are? Then God said, "Let there be light." - Genesis 1:3

What is bread? It is life. It's sustenance, nourishment, energy, fullness. It keeps us going. So we live for it. And whatever we live for ultimately defines our life. It determines how we treat people, our priorities, our attitude. It becomes our life. And are you ready for this: most people eat the wrong bread. Of course, it is not hard to eat the wrong bread because every piece of bread on this earth is the wrong bread. It doesn't matter if it is sour dough, pumpernickel, white or wheat, even the low carb stuff. It is the wrong bread. No matter how much you eat you will be hungry the next day. We give our lives to obtain something that never actually works. Sure for a moment, but then tomorrow, hungry again. This bread represents not just food, but money, clothes, relationships, achievements, vacation, desires - they all can mean so much for a moment, fulfill for a moment; but tomorrow, hungry again.

I said this is the wrong bread, but that implies there is a right bread somewhere. Turn with me to John 6. We are continuing our study of the Gospel of John. We have looked at 7 signs, and now turn our attention to 7 "I AM" statements. The 7 signs point to Jesus being the promised Messiah, the Son of God, but what does that mean to us? What is He for us as the Son of God? That is what a lot of these "I AM" statements are going to be about. Look at John 6:30-40.

What about God? What about when He doesn't show up? Talk about counting on someone . . . talk about being let down. And now what? I was supposed to count on Him, and He didn't show up. Things didn't work out. Where was He? What was He doing? Does He care? Maybe He can't do anything. For many of us these questions have rolled through our head.

We are looking today at maybe the most powerful of Jesus' signs, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. There is so much to learn in this story, and more than I can tackle today, but I want to use this passage to answer three questions: 1. What is the most important thing in life? 2. What is God doing in my life? 3. Is Jesus limited in what He can do in my life?

We see miracles throughout the Bible, but giving sight to the blind is actually kind of rare. There is no such miracle in the Old Testament, and no one other than Jesus is attributed with giving sight to the blind in the New Testament. But giving sight to the blind is the miracle Jesus does the most. Including this one, there are 8 references to the blind being given sight in the Gospels. In the Old Testament the giving of sight to the blind is associated with God Himself, and it is also referred to as a messianic activity, or something that would point to the Messiah, a sign. So what we just read, in its simplest form, is a sign that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Last week we studied John 6:1-15, the fourth sign where Jesus fed the 5000. Today we want to study the fifth of seven signs that we are looking at in the Gospel of John. To see the impact of this sign you have to understand what is going on around it. It takes place on a boat. When the disciples all get in the boat Jesus is a celebrity. Look at 6:14-15. When they get off the boat His popularity is going to begin to radically change. Look at 6:60 and then 66 (that is not the 12, but other followers). You say, "What happened?' It starts with Jesus challenging all these people running after Him. Their pursuit of Him is both selfish and superficial. It is just about feeling good. In 6:26-27 He rebukes their pursuit of the physical and the temporary. So you know right away that people are like, "Whoa, look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed." But then Jesus begins to teach them about the eternal and spiritual and we receive some very profound teachings. I mean a lot is introduced in this chapter.

We are looking today at the fourth of seven signs Jesus performed and the Gospel of John shows us. Other than the resurrection, this sign we are looking at today is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all four gospels. That means something. These writers have as a resource all the things Jesus said and did for three years, and they pick and choose different things to build their case for the gospel, but they all picked this one event. As a matter of fact, by the time John wrote his gospel, the other three had been in circulation for a couple of decades. That is one reason John's gospel tends to be a little different than the other three because he knows what is already out there and he wants to add new insight from things in Jesus life that had not been covered, but he repeats this story. That says something about the impression this event left. Let's look and see what it is. John 6:5-13.

The word righteous appears 3070 times in the Bible. As a professional student of the Scripture I can officially and authoritatively tell you, "That is a lot." Righteousness is a theme of Scripture. What does it mean? I would imagine the average person is really not sure. In the seventies it was synonymous with the word cool, awesome, great, "righteous." I am confident many of the things they were referring to as righteous, the Scripture would disagree. I think if you were to take a poll today you would find people's response to this word mostly negative. If we use it all, it is probably in the context of referring to someone as "self-righteous." That is someone who thinks they are better than everyone else because by their own judgment they keep a list of rules better than others. The American Christian is often viewed this way by the general public. They think we sit in here and say, "We are better than you because we go to church. We are better than you because we don't do . . . (fill in the blank). It is really important we understand righteousness because God is calling us to it.

Does God know where I am? Does He know what I am going through? Can He help me? Many of us in here would answer these questions yes, yes, and yes. We may even be able to put Scripture references with each one of these questions. But that doesn't mean we always feel like God knows where we are, or what we are going through, or that He can help us. One reason our feelings can't always catch up with our faith is distance. We feel like God is way up there, a place we can't reach. Scripture teaches that God lives within believers and never, not even for a moment, leaves them. We believe that, we know the verses, but then we talk about God way up there and way far off. When you are not experiencing the nearness of God, Jesus wants you to know He can work through the distance of your feelings.

Our story starts on the third day. This is taking us back to 1:43, where is says Jesus left for Galilee. This is the third day since Jesus began that trip, and He is now in Cana of Galilee. Cana is a small, out of the way village. Couple of quick observations about the story: first, there is no mention of Joseph, Mary's husband. After the birth of Jesus, Joseph is only mentioned once more and that is story of a trip they took to Jerusalem for the Passover when Jesus was probably about 12. There really is no reliable tradition or source that tells us what happened to Joseph, though it is safe to assume he probably died sometime between Jesus being 12 and this moment right here, where Jesus is probably around 30. Notice also that verse 11 says this was His first miracle.

We are beginning today a study of the Gospel of John. To study John is to spend time with someone who really knew Jesus well and he wants you to know Him well. He doesn't want us to just say, "Hey, I met Jesus." He wants us to be able to say, "Hey, I know Jesus."

Today is the end of a series, and the start of another. We are ending a series in which we have been talking about what we want people to see when they come to our church. We have focused on some key things: we want people to see God's glory and His people responding to it. We want people to see us loving one another. We hope they see a church that has a compassion for the world, for those who do not have Jesus. We hope you see a church that stands on God's word. The Bible, this is the only message we have. Each of these things are vitally important to us being the church, but when I come to this passage today - this is it. We want them to see Jesus. God's purpose for our life is to see Jesus

Now, Moms, the Scripture calls us to honor you, but it also defines what an honorable mom looks like. We would not be doing justice to the day to not take a glimpse at God's design for an honorable mom. There are a number of passages and examples throughout the Scriptures, and I will use four from the letters of Timothy and Titus.

An interview by Jimmy G of Richmond, VA AFR affiliate WAUQ of Dr. Randall T. Hahn about the grand opening of our new church facility which occured on May 18, 2008. Used with permission of WAUQ.

When people come to Colonial Heights Baptist they need to see me preaching the Word, but they also need to see you doing proclaiming the message of this Book. They need to see the Bible in our faith, in our actions, and in our message. We have nothing to share with people that is not in this Book. This our fourth message on what we want people to see when they come to Colonial Heights Baptist. We want them to see the Bible.

When we see people we make judgments about whether or not they are good or bad and how that affects us. We like what they have or we don't want anything to do with what they have. We may look at people with prejudices or preconceived ideas. I guess the truth is we have a wide range of thoughts and ideas that come into our mind when we see someone. I guess the worst thing we do in those thoughts is judge people as being worthy or unworthy of Jesus. I am sure more than one person is thinking, "When have I done that?" There is a verse we all know, and a lot of the world knows, and it is almost never used right.

Last Sunday we began a series to help us think and prepare as individuals and as a church family for what we want people to see when they come to our church. We started last week by saying we want them to see God's glory and our responding to it. We are going to end this series by saying we want them to see Jesus. I think Jesus would say to us today that when they come here, they had better see us loving one another.

If you are a member of this family, then this house is something God has given you, and He will hold you accountable for what you do with it. Will we be ready to stand before God for what we did with this? He will hold you accountable for what people saw when they got here. I am going to begin today a series on what I believe God wants them to see, and therefore what we want them to see.

Colonial Heights Baptist is not this pew, or the old sanctuary or the new sanctuary or the sign out front. Colonial Heights Baptist is you and me, it is us. That is a physically and spiritually true statement. The building is just an inanimate object that serves our purposes as we serve the Lord. Having said that, it is pretty hard to say the words Colonial Heights Baptist and not think of the building. What brought us together and what houses much of what we do together is this building. And it is in this building that some pretty special things happen in each of our lives.

Why is it not anymore crazy to believe Jesus rose from the dead? Think about all we have done today or are going to do: new dresses, hiding eggs, coming to church, go home and have a big dinner, not to mention our living the Christian life - and the reason we are doing all this is because we believe a man was killed and buried on Friday and was up walking around and greeting people on Sunday. Does that make sense? No. But here we are. In the scientific world we live in is it just silly to believe like this? Actually you don't have to be in the scientific world of today. Jesus' followers had a pretty hard time believing it also, even when Jesus told them He would rise again, and even when they started hearing reports of it - they didn't believe. Belief is hard, but your life depends on it.

Jesus had never wronged them. If they knew who He was they may have seen Him raise Lazarus from the dead days earlier. Or, maybe they saw Him bless children as parents brought theirs to Him. They might have heard Him say, "Blessed are the peacemakers." He wanted people to know God. How do they demand His execution? How do they choose a murderer to be free in their community over Jesus? That is not a safe choice. That is just stupid.

How thrilling, how heroic the life of an uncover agent. There is one area of life though where there is nothing heroic or thrilling about being undercover. There is one place that undercover is failure. Jesus has not called anyone to be undercover.

We look at the call of Easter on our life. The events that make up what we call Easter are the most significant in history. The world and life literally teeters on Easter. It is more than just a series of events out there in history. Those events speak to us . . . call to us. It is a call of love and we want to respond.

When God speaks to money it is for our benefit. We are going to look today at what we need to understand about money and what we need to do with it. I hope to give us a starting point for wise decisions.

God talks about money. Jesus constantly talks about money. Someone might respond, "Well, Jesus talks about a lot of things, why focus on that?" Two reasons: 1) Jesus talked about money more than any other topic. And, 2) Money is one of the biggest issues in our lives. That means in a big way we need to know what God says about this area of our lives.

third in series What are you a part of at CHBC

2 in series What are you a Part of at CHBC

series on heroes

Christmas Series

Christmas Series

Christmas Series

Part of Eohesians Series

Part of the Ephesians Series

Dr. Hahn sharing his story.

The fifth in Dr. Hahn's subseries on the family from Ephesians

Part of Family series within Ephesians series

Subseries on family from Series in Ephesians

Sub series on family from Series in Ephesians

marriage - beginning of subseries on family as we continue through Ephesians

16 in Series on Ephesians

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14 in Series on Ephesians

13 in Series on Ephesians

Ephesians Series

11 in Series on Ephesians

Continuation of Ephesians sermon

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8 in Series on Ephesians

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7 in Series on Ephesians

5 n Sermon Series

4 in Ephesian Series

3 in Sermon Series

Second in a series from Ephesians

An overview of the setting of Ephesians