Highlands Church Sermon of the Week

When Jesus suffered and died, it wasn’t a temporary fix for sin—it was a once for all time victory that changes everything about who we are and where we’re headed. In this message from 1 Peter 3:18–4:6, Pastor David unpacks: How Jesus’ death and resurrection secure your salvation forever The authority Christ holds over every power—seen and unseen Why living with the attitude of Christ will transfo...

Are you tired of waiting on God to move in your life? What if the waiting isn’t just about God’s timing—what if He’s waiting on YOU? In this week’s message from our series Great Expectations, we dive into 1 Peter 4:7–11, where Peter reminds us that “the end of the world is coming soon.” While we wait, God calls us to live faithfully by doing three powerful things: ✅ PRAY — Be earnest and discipli...

The Upside of Down Times | 1 Peter 4:12-19 | Ps. Steve Johnson

When God lifts you, He lifts you in due time. In this Week 11 message from our Great Expectations series, we unpack 1 Peter 5:1–6 and discover the paradox of the Kingdom: the path up is down. Peter calls elders, younger believers, and all of us to clothe ourselves in humility—because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” When we bow low, God lifts us up in honor. What you’ll learn...

In the finale of our summer series Great Expectations, Pastor David unpacks 1 Peter 5:6–14 and reminds us why heaven is worth the wait—and worth the weight of faithful living. If worry, spiritual pushback, or weariness has been nipping at your heels, this message is for you. Message Big Idea: Being a Christian is worth your life. Jesus is worthy of everything—and eternity with Him outshines every...

Description Celebrate 80 years of God’s faithfulness with us! In this special anniversary message—“These Are The Days: A New Chapter”—we look back with gratitude, stand in awe of what God is doing now, and commit to building for the generations to come. Pastor David traces our story from a living-room gathering in 1944 to today, reminding us that our lives are chapters in God’s bigger narrative—an...

Making History | Hebrews 12 | Ps. Steve Johnson

Our lives will echo beyond our years. In this 80th Anniversary message, Pastor David shares why God calls us to live for those we’ll never meet—so future generations can set their hope on Him (Psalm 78). Learn how to build a legacy that outlives you by embracing four simple commands from Jeremiah 29: build homes, plant roots, find family, and work for the peace of your city. 📖🌱 In this message y...

What if the church was never meant to stay silent in the world, but to shape it for good? 🌎✨ In this first week of OFF-LIMITS, Pastor David Johnson challenges us to rediscover our calling to bring heaven to earth — in our families, our workplaces, and our culture. You’ll see how the church, when filled with the Spirit of God, has always been a force for human flourishing — creating hospitals, sc...

Money is one of the most off-limits topics in today’s culture — even in church.  But Jesus talked about money more than almost any other subject. Why? Because how we handle what we have reveals who we truly trust. In this week’s OFF-LIMITS message, Pastor David Johnson reminds us that God doesn’t want your money — He wants your trust. Everything already belongs to Him, and He promises to give you...

Every human life matters to God — not because of what we do, but because of who made us. In Week 3 of OFF-LIMITS, Pastor David Johnson takes on one of the most important and misunderstood truths of our time: the sacred value of human life. From the unborn to the elderly, from the powerful to the forgotten, from those we love to those we disagree with — every person carries the image of God. 🕊️ Thi...

Sermon Notes: https://mailchi.mp/highlandsla/x-18154758 Every person who has ever lived will face eternity. But what actually happens when we die? In Week 4 of “OFF-LIMITS”, Pastor David Johnson breaks down one of life’s most important—and most avoided—questions: the fate of every human soul. This message unpacks what Scripture teaches about life, death, waiting, judgment, and eternity — and how e...

In a world obsessed with self-definition and endless categories of identity, God’s Word cuts through the confusion with timeless truth. In Week 5 of “OFF LIMITS”, Pastor David Johnson unpacks what Scripture reveals about sex, gender, and identity — and how to live faithfully within God’s Divine Design in a Distorted World. 💭 In this message you’ll learn: Why your identity comes from Christ, not c...

Sermon Notes: https://mailchi.mp/highlandsla/x-18155180 Are you feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of the world? You’re not alone. Anxiety, worry, and fear have become the background noise of our culture—but that was never God’s design for your life. In this week’s message, “The War For Your Peace” (Week 6 of our OFF LIMITS series), Pastor David Johnson unpacks how followers of Jesus can experience...

Money is one of the most emotional and spiritual pressure points in our lives. For many people it creates stress, secrecy, conflict, and anxiety — but it doesn’t have to. God’s Word gives a clear and beautiful plan for managing money in a way that brings peace, freedom, and blessing. In this message, Pastor Steve Johnson lays out six timeless biblical principles for building a life of financial pe...

We live in a world of consumption—alcohol, weed, food, screens, pills, porn, and endless entertainment—all promising relief, escape, and peace. But what happens when the things we consume slowly pull us away from the One we were made for? In this OFF LIMITS message, “Do This In Remembrance Of Me,” Pastor David Johnson talks about God’s heart for communion over consumption. Instead of skirting the...

Faith Without Works Is Dead | OFF-LIMITS | Ps. Trenton Mueller

What if the life you’re longing for doesn’t start with someone else changing—but with you taking responsibility? In this message, It’s Time To Grow Up, we look at what Scripture really says about personal responsibility, spiritual maturity, and the life God has entrusted to each of us. In a world shaped by blame-shifting, victimhood, and excuses, the Bible offers a countercultural invitation: to g...

Why do bad things happen to people? It’s one of the most honest, painful, and universal questions humanity has ever asked. In this message, we step into a subject many avoid but everyone feels: suffering, evil, and where God is in the middle of it all. In Week 11 of our Off Limits series, we build a biblical framework for understanding why bad things happen, tracing the story from creation, throug...

Building A Better Year (2026) | Vision & Discipline What if this year didn’t just happen to you… What if you actually built it—with God? In this message, Building A Better Year, we explore how real, lasting change happens when vision is informed by Godand discipline brings that vision to life. Using Colossians 3, we’re reminded that a better year doesn’t start with resolutions—it starts with new l...

In a culture that celebrates tolerance as the highest virtue, what does it mean to follow Jesus with an undivided heart? In this message from our OFF LIMITS series, Pastor David unpacks how tolerance—when applied to ideas, beliefs, and behaviors—can quietly lead to compromise, spiritual apathy, and divided loyalty. While God calls us to love people with patience and grace, He never calls us to tol...

What happens when something that once felt electric slowly becomes… normal? In this message, “Finding Your First Love” we press pause on the heavy conversations of the Off Limits series to recalibrate our hearts around the joy of salvation—the joy that once defined our faith but can quietly fade over time. Drawing from Romans 5, Revelation 2, Psalm 51, and 1 Peter 1, this message explores: Why joy...

Costly Devotion | Mark 12 | Ps. Trenton Mueller

The Door Is Always Open | Repentance, Identity & the Family of God What if repentance isn’t about shame… but about coming home? In this message from Ephesians 1:3–7, we rediscover one of the most foundational truths of the Christian faith: through Jesus, we have been adopted into the family of God. Not drafted as soldiers. Not purchased as slaves. But welcomed as sons and daughters. If you’ve give...

How To Think Like Jesus | Philippians 4:8–9 Are your feelings discipling you more than Jesus is? In a world driven by outrage, anxiety, and endless scrolling, Scripture gives us a different starting point: fix your thoughts. In this message, we explore what it really means to have the mind of Christ — and how to break the spiral of thoughts → feelings → behaviors before it steals your peace. You’l...