Foothills Alliance Church | Audio

The Christmas story: One of the songs from our Christmas Production, Echoes of a Silent Night is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. As I listened to it sung so powerfully at the dress rehearsal last night, I couldn't help but wonder how many of us need Emmanuel to come to us. There is a very human, very real, very emotional story woven through the production that allows that question to emerge and the answ...

Reconciled - Ephesians 2:16-22: Irreconcilable differences. It's the new easy way out of a marriage. Some call it the no fault divorce. Sadly, there's no such thing as a no consequence divorce. What's this got to do with Christmas?! In many ways ... it has everything to do with it! The reality that Jesus came to Bethlehem teaches us that nothing in life is irremediable, irretrievable or irreconcil...

Wrapped Up: Advent. How can we be this close to Christmas already!? We will begin our preparation for and understanding of Christmas with our kids leading the way this weekend in our services. It will be a presentation called "All Wrapped Up" and you will want to be here! The kids and our Worship Arts people will sing and dance and remind us of the real story of Christmas. It is definitely going t...

A Centered Life - Ephesians 5:8-20: I had an appointment at the mall the other day and I immediately felt overwhelmed as I stepped into it with the reality that Christmas is coming faster than a speeding train! I found myself feeling overwhelmed with everything I have to do. The bigger problem with that is that, so often, my soul feels cluttered with demands and expectations and needs and desires....

A Centered Life - John 15:1-8: Who do you want to be when you “grow up?” Not WHAT do you want to be, but WHO? We all can think of others whose lives reflect God in beautiful ways… and we long for that in ourselves. It is easy to get caught up in the “list” of things that we think we must do to make that happen. Or to retreat into the attitude that it is all up to God. Ultimately God is the only on...

A Centered Life - Ephesians 6:18-24: Learning to pray - simply basic to what it means to be a Christian and grow as a Christian. The first disciples came to Jesus and asked him: teach us to pray. And our sermon this Sunday will consider what it means to pray, as Jesus taught them to pray Thy Kingdom Come and how, actually, we can learn to do this as those who are guided by the Spirit in our prayin...

A Centered Life - Romans 12:1-2: Focus. Direction. Strategy. Intentionality. Passion. We hear so much about these things in our everyday life but where exactly do they fit in our relationship with Jesus? How satisfied are we with the health of our soul right now? What is the trajectory of our life if we keep doing more of the same? Could things get better? Our new Prime Minister is fond of saying,...

Global Impact Weekend - Isaiah 6:1-8: It's been said that there are two categories of people ... those who make things happen and those who watch things happen. I've always thought there's a third category ... those of us who have no idea what is happening at any given moment in life! In the grand story of life - are you an active participant or an idle spectator? There's a great leadership book c...

Stepping Stones - 1 Peter 2:4-10: As Blue Jays fever traverses the country ... many of us will always remember where we were when we heard about the seventh inning of the Game 5 series clincher versus Texas! It was an epic moment! And while this weekend might not have the emotional intensity of a three run Bautista blast ... I'm pretty sure it will be a most memorable weekend as we welcome Pastor...

Stepping Stones - Joshua 4: Thanksgiving.  It's always been one of my favorite days of the year (and not just because of the wonder of turkey and dressing and peas and ... yes, I'm saying this ... turnip!!)  It's a time of year that pushes us away from a spirit of entitlement towards a spirit of gratitude.  I know that gratitude must be more than a weekend a year kind of experience... but I'm grat...

Stepping Stones - Matthew 7:24-29, 16:13-18: Let the party begin!  You don't turn fifty that often so we're going to make a big deal of it starting this weekend!  Gordon Fowler is going to join me as we tell the story of Jesus through the lens of Foothills Alliance.  We will laugh ... Gordon will likely cry ... it will be great!!  We'll reflect on the foundational days of Foothills and how that im...

You Are Here - Nehemiah 1-3: What if you had the chance to read your own obituary?  Back in 1888, Alfred Nobel’s brother Ludwig passed away, however, the newspaper mistakenly published an obituary for Alfred.  The article focused on how he had made a fortune by inventing powerful explosives that enabled armies to achieve new levels of mass destruction.  Alfred was shocked to discover that all he w...

You Are Here - John 1:40-46: Show and Tell.  It was probably my favorite time in school ... except for recess.  That was for sure my favorite time at school!  It was always interesting to listen and learn from classmates who would share their treasures and experiences.  It was likely the first public speaking experience for most of us!  It was pretty hard then, and TBH. ("to be honest" for the les...

You Are Here - Acts 2:42-47: Better Together.  We say it a lot around here.  But what does it really mean?  What does authentic Biblical community actually look like?  Can we really count on each other…lean on each other?  From the early church and modern day life this weekend we’re gonna unpack our vision and consider what it means to do life together.  Our weekend will be so much better and more...

You Are Here - Ephesians 3:14-20: How can it be September already!  (Though, tbh, it feels like November out there!)  I love the Fall ... it has the feel of a second New Year's celebration. It's a chance to get back into our routines and relationships and enjoy the journey of life God graces us with. This weekend, we introduce a series of messages relating to the vision of our church. We've entitl...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 6:7-10: Have you read the book or seen the movie, Pay It Forward?  In it a boy named Trevor takes an assignment seriously and comes up with an idea to change the world; doing undeserved, unearned acts of kindness for people. He doesn’t end up changing the whole world but he makes a difference and gets an A+.  Like all feel good fiction – this one seems larger than life but...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 6:1-6: Relationships. Few things bring us greater joy AND greater frustration. It's the old adage:"I really love the church - it's just the people I can't stand! "When we enter into a relationship with God, we find ourselves entangled in a web of relationships with God's people. How do we find grace in and through those friendships? What kind of friend are we to others? In...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 5:16-26: Conflict. Inner turmoil. Duplicity. Vulnerability. They are all words were not overly fond of but they're also words were sadly far too familiar with. Paul addresses these realities straight up in our passage from Galatians 5 as he teaches about the sustaining, enabling, transforming work of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life. He reminds us of the inner battle...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 5:1-12: Independence Day! We picture fireworks - rockets flaring till dawn's early light, and a flag that flies steadfastly through the night. We don't picture letting go of the symbols that define us, becoming deaf to the noises that surround us, shutting out the bright distractions that invade our spirits; being still, and knowing God. Independence sounds like power and...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 4:1-20: Have you ever wondered why our world is in such turmoil, or whether it is possible to live a truly flourishing and fulfilling life? In this week's passage (Galatians 4:1-20) Paul warns us against forces in the world that seek to enslave us, and he reveals the amazing possibility of a life as God's adopted children. This is a life made possible by God's own Spirit w...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 3:1-14: Danger zones. We’ve all been around them. Some of us seek out dangerous places because we love the adrenaline rush they create. Others of us shy away from them because we’re smart enough to know what might happen! Paul’s 3rd chapter to the churches of Galatia are all about a dangerous place to find ourselves spiritually. He reminds us that this life we’re seeking t...

Camp Freedom - Galations 2:11-21: One of my favorite memories of being at camp was the first night hike our leaders always took us on. Now I realize they do it to wear us out with hopes that we might sleep ... but then I just loved getting out into nature. In my first year at Camp Chamisall, I remember getting lost on this hike with five other kids. At first we thought it would be cool to be lost...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 2:1-10: Recently I was having a conversation with some friends who were telling me of an event they were training for called the Tough Mudder. Basically it's the most insane obstacle course you've ever seen. As a team, you have to climb over massive walls, wade through waist-deep mud, and run through a field of dangling electric wires, all in an effort to be crowned the "t...

Camp Freedom - Galatians 1:1-23: Summer Camp-what images come to mind? If you went as a child or teen maybe it's memories of sing-a-longs at a campfire, skills training, or a summer romance. Maybe you had a spiritually defining moment at summer camp. Camp by the very nature of what it is, takes us out of our routines and presents us with new experiences. It slows us down (remember how much walking...

Defining Moments - Philippians 3:1-14: This will be a fantastic weekend because our young people are leading us! We will be celebrating our High School Grads and blessing and honoring our Dads - it will be awesome! The message will come from Paul's personal testimony of how his priorities in life were transformed when he met Jesus. I believe it was Oliver Wendell Holmes who said "in this crazy wor...