Hill Country Bible Church Dripping Springs Sermons

Solomon continues to use the certainty of death to inspire a realistic view of life. Life activities, approved by God, should be viewed as gifts from the Giver for our enjoyment. Furthermore, as Christians, we can begin to appreciate their value, in the here and now and as a foretaste of heaven.  

The make-up of God's Kingdom is counterintuitive; meek, humble, and repentent are just a few descriptions of those that enter. The authority is ultimately God's; He makes and keeps all the rules. it is to His glory. Our observed experience with human authority is different. it is corruptible. We judge it's efficacy based on how it serves us. In the end, we trust in His eternal plan, not what we ob...

Most decisions we face do not neatly reduce to black or white responses. (The ones that do should be obvious.) Instead, we need to choose between bad, good, better, or best. We can have Biblical wisdom that is gained two ways; knowing God’s word and our life experiences. Then we can apply that wisdom to consider our response.

Sinfulness causes our hearts to gravitate toward discontent. We assume that having just a little more will satisfy us. It never does. Finding meaning in life is not done through the constant pursuit of more material things. Instead, we can enjoy life with a heart, given over to Jesus, that is content with what we have.

We must accept our limits and boundaries as created beings. Once we do that, we can enjoy life as a gift from God, not something we master for our personal satisfaction. This includes the way we approach worshiping the Lord.

People recognize that the meaning of life comes from something other than having better jobs, houses, vacations, and such. We want better but better at what? Solomon shows us that compassion, contentment, community, and wisdom are the things that are better than their alternatives. We embrace life for what it is, not what we want it to be.

Solomon continues with the theme that, as temporal beings, time exerts tension in our lives. However, he moves from the finality of live at death to contrast a series of pleasant and distressing times or seasons. We desire to avoid times that are distressing. Rather than trying to control them, Solomon encourages us to experience joy by submitting to God's sovereignty instead.

Solomon’s records his attempts to find significance. They are no different than the things we pursue.  Even at the pinnacle of his earthly success, none of it satisfied. Yet, he begins to give us a glimpse of the way to find enjoyment. Rather than striving for gain, we enjoy life for what it is, a gift from God.  

We can grow frustrated with the apparent smallness of our lives. We assume fulfillment lies outside of our circumstances, pursue it, and then grow frustrated all over again. Solomon makes this point saying, everything “under the sun” is futile. Yet, right next to it, he adds a second theme; we can be called to joy by something deeper than the things around us. We just need to accept our limits.

Is everything futile, meaningless or vanity? Solomon opens Ecclesiastes with this attention-grabbing claim (v.2). Throughout the book he builds on this point, declaring the reality of living in a fallen world. However, the book is not about despair. It shows us how to have contentment and satisfaction despite the brokenness of our world. By living in grace, as disciples of Jesus, it challenges us...

In Scripture we see faith and faithfulness translated interchangeably because faith is more a belief. Faith manifests itself in faithfulness, which is obedience and action in accordance with the Lord’s will. We know how to do that through daily devotion to the Lord remembering who He is and what He has done.

Jesus described Himself as "..gently and lowly in heart" (ESV), a remarkable claim to a world that values bolder qualities. Yet throughout His earthly ministry, time and again, He showed that gentleness led to unlikely relationships with unlikely people in unlikely places.

Daily we observe acts of kindness and goodness or generosity. As Jesus' disciples, these acts should have depth. Our attitude should be to act in a way that we are affirming the infinite value in people with our time, money, talents and other things God has put at our disposal.

Patience is more than just waiting. Biblical patience often calls for “stamina and grit” in the face of hostility and persecution. It is grounded in love and modeled after Jesus’ love for us.

Rather than just respite from a hectic, stressful world, Biblical peace offers the promise of the unity of God’s Kingdom. Rather than feeding the contempt of others that can come from amplifying our differences, it shows us that we have oneness in Christ.

Sorrow and grief were an undeniable part of the life of Jesus. Yet, He was joyful as well.  One does not preclude the other. As His disciples, we can find joy by abiding in Him; both as individuals and as a community of believers.

God’s plan is for us is to dwell in His eternal presence. That is our aim and where we are meant to be. As experience Biblical love, we are drawn closer to the perfection Jesus prayed for us (John 17) when He prayed for union with Him and with each other.

Love is not an abstract list of traits. Paul gives us a personification of love. It is a description of Jesus, the One who loved perfectly. In following Him, we experience His love. That changes our hearts and we show ourselves to be His disciples by the way it is reproduced in our lives.   

Scripture shows us that love is different than the world defines it. Good things can happen through anyone. Exercising gifts with Christ-like love, produces spiritual fruit, eternal in nature. As a people with hearts given to God, this love is a hallmark of Jesus’ disciples.  

Confession is an act of declaring truths of our faith. When we confess our sinfulness, it is the step we take in affirming God’s grace through Jesus. Confession leads to our repentance. Repentance leads to God’s forgiveness. Forgiveness demonstrates our restored relationship with God.  

Sunday services are a glimpse of the worship that takes place, throughout eternity, in heaven. God brings together intrinsically different people, praising Him. We make a harmonious sound; something we can only do among a company of believers.

Sunday morning sermons are not enough. We share personal application of God's word in our lives through intimate, Bible-based small group relationships. As interdependent members of one body, we grow as disciples of Jesus together by fulfilling ministry in small groups.

Reading Scripture with a right motive shows us God’s desires for righteous living by bringing us face-to-face with Jesus.  We read His Word, to both learn something and meet Someone.  

There are over 300 mentions of Jesus’ return in the New Testament. The early church had a conviction that Jesus had been resurrected and that He would return to usher in the new heaven and new earth. His return will complete the reconciliation of people to God and mark the end of history as we know it.

There is extensive historical evidence affirming the resurrection of Jesus. He was raised through the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit is at work in His church today and shows us the life changing transformation only He can bring.