Highlands Baptist Church Sermons (Centennial, CO)

In Luke 3 we learn how the prophet John prepares the way for God's Messiah. John's ministry is embedded in world history (vss. 1-3) and biblical promise (vss. 4-6). He calls people to repentance with water baptism being a sign of that repentance. He also gives a stern warning (vss. 7-9, 17). John is not after cheap success with a bunch of false converts whose hearts have not repented and truly tur...

The Christmas Holiday is centered around God sending his Son into the world. It’s important that we not only remember the “what” of Christmas, but also the “why”. We find in scripture that God sent Jesus into the world as an ultimate sacrifice for sin to: ·           show God’s truthfulness and faithfulness to his word and promises (Rom 15:8) ·           be glorified among the gentiles for His mer...

Luke 1:29-56 focuses on two women, cousins who are both unexpectedly and miraculously pregnant, and who both anticipate God’s work with praise. This section contains two parts: (1) the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth, where Elizabeth confesses this about Mary’s baby — “my Lord,” and (2) Mary’s hymn (the Magnificat) where Mary magnifies God by confessing — “God my Savior.” As God works in our ge...

The first section of Luke covers two miraculous pregnancies, and contrasts two different responses to God’s words. First, God miraculously opens the womb of an old woman named Elizabeth, but the focus is on Zechariah’s response of doubt. Second, God miraculously opens the womb of a virgin girl named Mary with a focus on her response of faith. Zechariah (1:5-25): We may disbelieve God’s plan becaus...

One of the most important questions you can ask about anything, especially a faith claim, is whether it’s true or not. One of the purposes for Luke providing “an orderly account” is that we “may have certainty concerning the things” we “have been taught” (Luke 1:3-4). The theme of Luke is: The joyful news that God’s anticipated Messiah-King has come to seek and save sinners, and this salvation is...

As believers, we have a hope (confident expectation) in how things are going to end. Or even better, how the end of redemptive history is the beginning of an even better story! The Apostle John is writing to real people gathered as real churches (Rev 2-3). They are about to experience a brutal persecution under the reign of the Roman Emperor, Domitian. Revelation is intended to give Christians hop...

In Romans 3:27-4:8 justification by faith is contrasted against boasting. The problem is that everyone wants to boast in themselves or to receive praise and accolades from others to have courage and confidence for the battlefield of life. This internal thirst for affirmation isn't necessarily bad. What's bad are all of the godless ways we go about trying to satisfy this internal thirst. If justifi...

In Romans 3:21-26 we find several different terms that help explain the gospel. 1.  Righteousness  (3:21, 22, 25, 26). This term describes right conduct in relation to God and others. It means,  “fulfilling our obligations.” 2.  Redemption  (3:24). The word redeem means “to buy out.” It can also mean deliverance or riddance. The term was used specifically in reference to the purchase of a slave’s...

Romans 3 makes this stunning declaration, "No one seeks God; no one does good, not even one.” How does that hit you? Our heart reaction will expose whether we live by the law (justifying ourselves) or by grace (justified by God as a gift of grace). We’re looking at the storyline of the Bible. Rather than the Bible being a connection of disconnected stories, or a collection of moralistic lessons, i...

In the first two chapters of Romans, Paul recounts the human dilemma in a profound way. While we might like to turn the chapter and focus on the good news, Paul instead reiterates the problem. Everyone sins, and all are responsible for their sin – religious (Jew), irreligious (Gentile), the churched (those with God’s Law), the unchurched (those without God’s Law). In chapter 2, Paul highlights a l...

So far in our series on the big story of the Bible we’ve learned in Genesis about the problem of sin – an explosion of evil into the world that has devastated our relationship with God and us as a human race. How are we going to solve this problem? We find an answer in Romans. We can't do anything to solve our problem of evil and sin. Only God can do something and he has in the gospel. In Romans 1...

Something is clearly wrong with the human race. There is daily evidence provided in our world, our homes, and our churches. The Bible’s clear and single answer is sin. Sin is deadly and deceptive, but it will ultimately be defeated. Whereas Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground condemning Cain’s murderous anger (Genesis 4:10), Jesus’ blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb...

There are three trees that explain redemptive history. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: This tree presented a choice. Genesis 2:9 says that "out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The Tree of Life: (Genesis 2:9; Revelatio...

Even though we have been created in the image of God, something is wrong. Somehow the image of God in humanity has been marred, even shattered. The Muslim, Atheist, Hindu, Buddhist, irreligious, and all of humanity recognize something is wrong. Wars continue, racism is rampant, hate crimes cover the earth, and criminals run free. Even in our own hearts we find discontent, greed, jealousy, dissatis...

What does it mean to be made in God’s image, to be created in His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27)? Every person, born and unborn, gives a particular and unique likeness to God. The word for “image” (Hebrew,  tselem ) has the meaning of something that is carved or cut out. What are the implications of this truth? The image of God matters for identity, value, the sanctity of life, self image, gender, wor...

The single story line of the Bible moves from creation to the fall, from the devastation caused by sin to the rescue and the redemption accomplished by Jesus, and it finishes with the complete restoration of all things at the end. This amazing story begins in Genesis 1:1 with, "In the beginning, God..." In John 1 we see hints of the creation account picked up where we learn, "In the beginning, God...

Like Adam and Eve, all boys and girls are created by the direct act of God and in His image (Genesis 1:26). As such, they have great value. The first Adam who failed points to the last Adam who was perfect, Jesus Christ. Genesis answers four basic questions: Where do I come from? (the question of origins). Who am I? (the question of significance). Why is the world in such a mess? (the question of...

Christ’s evaluation of the church matters most. Christ evaluates seven real churches, at real locations, made up of real people. What does Jesus value? There is a mix of affirmations and rebukes that form Jesus’ assessment of these churches. For example, neither love-deficient doctrinal purity (Ephesus) nor apathetic self-sufficiency (Laodicea) are affirmed by God. However, both a faithful witness...

First, in Matthew 16:18, Jesus said he would build his church (his community of called-out people). He is the architect and he engineers its growth. It’s an indestructible community, for he said, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Christ’s church has something to do with life and death, and the good news of rescue both locally and globally. But how does Jesus build his church? Secon...

God gifted every believer to serve for His glory. That is what we are designed for, and one of our purposes in life. Most will not “preach the word,” but everyone should be using their gift to build up the body of Christ, the church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11). How are you using your gift? If you’re not serving, but only attending, let us help you know the joy of serving Christ’s body...

In John 7 Jesus cries out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” Many years before Jesus shouted this invitation, in Exodus 17 we read how Israel was thirsty in the wilderness. God promised his presence would go before them and rest on a rock. He told Moses to take his staff and strike that rock. Moses did this, water gushed from the rock, and the people were saved.  Jesus invites us...

John gives us a clear and distinct thesis in John 20:30-31. We can summarize John’s thesis in one word:  believe . He says, “I’ve written this book, including these particular signs, so that you might believe.” In the course of twenty-one chapters, John will answer three questions: (1)  What  do we need to believe? (2) What does it  mean  to believe? (3)  Why do we need to believe? There are seven...

John the Baptist pointed to the one who can fulfill our greatest hopes and satisfy our deepest longings. What does John mean by calling Jesus “the Lamb of God”? At the center of the Passover celebration (Exodus 12) was the sacrifice of a lamb, which served as a reminder of God’s deliverance of Israel from captivity in Egypt when the death angel passed-over the homes where blood was applied. The Pa...