Highland International Church

1 Thessalonians 3 v 11 - 13

Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land, says Proverbs 25 v 25. And Paul receives a refreshing drink when Timothy brings good news back with him from Thessalonica. Paul had sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonians but now finds himself encouraged in return. Truly, Christian fellowship is a 2-way street. Watch full Video Service - https://youtu.be/j96Qhlu-...

We live in an age of profound scepticism, a time when many are deeply suspicion of any kind of truth claim and especially truth that claims to be true for everyone, everywhere. But we also live in an age of profound susceptibility and gullibility, a time when many are prepared to believe the most outlandish conspiracy theories and swallow the dodgiest of health products. Into this mix comes the st...

Join us to hear how the death and resurrection of Jesus can set us free from slavery to our fear of death. From Hebrews 2 v 14 - 17. Full video service - https://youtu.be/X5rqbLE7cJw

It will soon be Passover. Jerusalem is bursting at the seams. An excited crowd makes its way down the slopes of the Mt of Olives, surrounding a figure riding on a donkey. They are waving palm branches and shouting 'Hosanna!' The donkey does not look very old and carefully picks its way through the Kidron Valley, up into the City of Zion. The whole city is stirred and asks: Who is this? Watch on Yo...

Join us to find out how Paul strengthens and encourages the young Christians in Thessalonica. He does not sugar-coat any pills, but gives them something better to chew on. Watch full service on YouTube - https://youtu.be/wIL2Pz2IoPA

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. But it can also make the affections wander. Paul has not been able to return to Thessalonica and the Christians there are beginning to wonder whether his affections have moved on to new people in new places. Paul's response is clear: You may be out of my sight, but you are not out of my mind and not out of my heart. Join us for the next instalment of 1 Thessalo...

Plants needs to be nourished and fed it they are to be healthy and grow to maturity. So too do church plants. Paul as the planter of the church in Thessalonica writes to encourage the young believers to keep growing in their faith and to support them as they face the hostile winds of persecution. We too need the Word to be at work in our lives to encourage our growth as Christians and strengthen u...

Bringing up children is never easy. It's time-consuming, costly, but at its best a labour of love and an investment for life. The same is true of spiritual children, young believers who are infants in Christ, who need to be nurtured and cared for by those prepared to be mothers and fathers in the faith. Join us to hear how Paul, Silas and Timothy went about it in 1 Thessalonians 2 v 6 - 12 Full vi...

One way to discredit a message is to try and discredit the messenger. One way to attack the gospel is to attack those who speak the message of the gospel. And it seems something like this was happening in 1st century Thessalonica. So Paul writes, not so much to defend himself, but to defend the gospel and the young church that had been planted by the gospel. And at the heart of his defence is God....

Join us to hear how the Thessalonians lives had been turned around by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and what that looked like on the ground: how they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. Full video service: https://youtu.be/BLS6t6K2b3c

In the early hours of 2nd Sept last year, Donnie Campbell smashed the record for the fastest ascent of all 282 Scottish Munros under his own steam. By the end of 31 days, 23 hours and 2 minutes, he had climbed the equivalent of more than 14 Mt Everests, run 833 miles, cycled and threw in a bit of kayaking as well. Here, he and his wife Rachael take a more reflective look at last year's great achie...

We hear a lot today about 'lived experience''. Usually the phrase is used by those who have been through some trauma or experienced injustice in some shape or form. But the book of 1 Thessalonians speaks about a different kind of lived experience: one that comes about when the gospel that creates the church also shapes the church - to share the gospel. This was the 'lived experience' of the Christ...

How can we tell whether an election has been authentic? In modern liberal democracies, there is usually a raft of regulations and procedures in place to make sure the results are reliable. The bible speaks a lot about election - God's choosing of his people in Christ from before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1 v 4). But how can we tell whether our election is authentic? In 1 Thessalonians 1...

Paul had to make a swift exit from Thessalonica when things turned nasty there during his second missionary journey. But he has just received encouraging news about the young church from Timothy. So now he writes to encourage them to keep going and to answer some of their questions and concerns. Right from the start of his letter, Paul uses his greeting to remind the Thessalonian Christians of the...

Jacob is now dead. How will Joseph deal with his brothers now that their father is gone - with a grudge or with grace? Joseph recognises that God's ordering and control of all that has happened to him - what is known as God's providence - has itself been a servant of God's grace. How then could he be anything other than the same to his brothers? As so often with Joseph, he points us forward to THE...

There is something daring and bold about hope and especially a hope that refuses to die even in the face of death. And that is what we see at the end of Genesis 50. Joseph dies, but his hope lives on. Neither a false optimism nor a wishful thinking, it's a hope grounded on the unchanging character of God and his trustworthy promises. This is not 'the thing with feathers', as Emily Dickinson put it...

What has Genesis 49 got to do with the first Sunday in Advent? Quite a lot, actually. In Jacob's blessing of Judah, we are given a glimpse of a future King who will own the obedience of the nations as surely as he owns the ruler's staff and sceptre. Partially fulfilled in David, the son of Jesse, it points us beyond King David to great David's greater Son, the Son of the Most High whose kingdom wi...

Jacob is coming near to the end of his life. It's a time to look back and to look forward - a time to point those coming after him to the God who has been his Shepherd all the days of his life and the Angel who has redeemed him from harm.

Walter Mischel published a book 6 years ago called 'The Marshmallow Test'. In it he describes the results of his experiments with 4 and 5 year olds when they were given a choice of either eating one marshmallow immediately or waiting for 20 minutes to be given two marshmallows. Mischel then followed these children into their adult years and found that those who had shown 'deferred gratification' -...

The President of the USA is often described as the 'most powerful man in the world'. But how should he (and it always has been a 'he' so far) or any of us, for that matter, use the power we have? In Genesis 47 we see how Joseph - arguably the second most powerful man in the world at that time - uses his power honestly, responsibly and for the benefit of others. In this, once again he points us for...

What does it mean to bless someone? And what is the significance of an elderly pensioner from Palestine blessing the Pharaoh of Egypt? Join us as we take a bird's eye view - and a worm's view - of Genesis 47 v 7 - 10 Listen on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9xmfxonGTs&t=3934s

Joseph identifies with his family and mediates on behalf of his family - all to bless his family as they move to live in the land of Egypt. It points us forward to the One, greater than Joseph, who identifies with us, mediates for us and all in order to bless us. And what a blessing! If we are able to grasp even a little bit of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, then we will be able to echo...

In the 1964 film, James Bond asks Goldfinger: 'Do you expect me to talk?' 'No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!' is the memorable reply. Of course, (plot-spoiler alert) Bond escapes and lives to fight another day. But in the real world, death always comes calling, sooner or later, to everyone. And the question then arises: Are we ready to die? The story of Jacob's reunion with Joseph in Genesis 46 he...