Highrock Church

Paul here challenges the Galatians for abandoning the gospel of grace and turning back to a system of earning God's favor through obedience to the law. He reminds them that their own experience points to the truth — they received the Holy Spirit by believing the good news about Jesus, not by obeying a set of rules. In addition to their own experience, the very writings of Moses point to Abraham's...

Paul recounts a significant confrontation with the apostle Peter in the city of Antioch. Although Peter initially enjoyed fellowship with the Gentile believers there, he backed away when Jewish believers from Jerusalem arrived. These believers from Jerusalem argued that the Gentiles needed to follow the Jewish religious laws in order to be acceptable to God. Rather than stick to his convictions, P...

Paul opens this letter with a strong warning. The Galatians were being misled by people teaching that additional religious requirements were necessary in order to be accepted by God. In response, Paul declares that there is only one gospel and anyone who brings a different message should be rejected, even if they were an angel from heaven. The gospel is God's message, not a human invention; it sta...

Paul concludes his letter with a final warning, a call to self-examination, and a blessing so poetic that we still use it today in our gatherings. Paul urges the Corinthians to take seriously the issues he has addressed throughout the letter. Rather than focusing on judging Paul, they should examine themselves to see whether they are truly living in the faith. He exhorts them to embrace the joy th...

Paul continues his boasting from the previous chapter, but only to illustrate how pointless it is. Instead, Paul declares that he will boast only in his weaknesses, such as his unnamed "thorn in the flesh". Why? Because his weakness makes God's power at work in him all the more visible. Our talents and strengths can be used by God but they also can redirect credit from God to us. Instead, God's po...

Have you ever felt like your relationship with God has gone quiet or just . . . a bit boring? What if the mystery of God was never meant to run out? What might change if you got curious about God again or in a different way? · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals

Paul now attends to the matter of his own authority. There were some who challenged his authority, likely to set up their own authority instead. They accused Paul of being a paper tiger — bold on the page but timid in person. Paul responded by assuring them he could be bold in person (he had, after all, been a former persecutor of the church). However, he preferred to handle conflict quickly so he...

What's the best way to spend money if we want to maximize our happiness and joy? Paul's encouragement to the Corinthians essentially answers that question for us. By using the image of a farmer sowing seed, Paul emphasizes that we harvest in proportion to what we invest. Those who give generously will receive generously from God, but it doesn't stop there. Paul emphasizes that receiving more is re...

Everyone wants to learn how to grow. Everyone wants to learn how to have healthy community. The topic that few want to hear about is financial giving. There are so many reasons to give, including the opportunity to create the personal growth and community we desire — but the deepest reason is that Jesus is a giver. He became poor in order to make us rich and the invitation is to actually follow Je...

How can the same emotion (grief) produce such different results? Paul contrasts godly sorrow with worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow focuses on loss, embarrassment, or consequences and ultimately leads to spiritual death. Godly sorrow, however, leads to repentance, restoration, and life. Feeling bad about sin or about ourselves can actually be destructive. True repentance is more than feeling bad abou...

Welcome to a new ministry year! After a big launch day yesterday, we're going to replay a devotional on today's passage from June 28, 2023. In this text, we see a broken-hearted Paul addressing a church that has not loved him in return. Rather than assert his authority as an apostle, Paul chooses to pour out his heart, asking the Corinthians to open their hearts to him as well. Like a spiritual pa...

Have you ever done something that looked brave while secretly terrified of something much smaller like admitting a mistake, asking for help, or letting someone see behind the curtain? What if real courage has nothing to do with being fearless? And how might this kind of courage help you value the things that really matter? · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-mi...

This passage is one of Paul's most profound chapters on the difference between the old covenant of the Law and the new covenant of the Spirit. The new covenant is a new way of relating, as different as being an employee is from being family. He argues that the gospel brings a greater glory than the covenant given through Moses because it transforms people from the inside out. Looking for a previou...

Paul explains that he chose not to make another painful visit to the Corinthians because his desire was not to cause sorrow but to build them up in love. Instead, he gave them time to resolve a difficult matter before he might visit them again. Paul uses this incident to reminds us of the importance of both truth and grace. Sin must be confronted, but repentance should be met with forgiveness and...

One word comes through clearly and repeatedly in the opening of Paul's letter, and that word is "comfort". We might be tempted to think that God is absent (or even non-existent!) when we suffer, but Paul assures us that God is the one who comforts us in our troubles, even when that comfort comes through other people. And Paul is not just engaging in wishful thinking; he is speaking from the recent...

Throughout this letter, Paul has been encouraging the Corinthians to move from spiritual adolescence into greater spiritual maturity, to move from a focus on "me" to a focus on "us" and God. As Paul concludes this letter, he gives a very practical way to live what they have learned — he challenges them to put aside money every week for a large gift for a church in need and he exhorts them to recei...

Happy Labor Day! In this replay from March 14, 2022, we consider Paul's description of what the resurrection body will be like. Like a seed that falls into the ground and emerges as new life, so it will be with our bodies. Jesus' resurrection body gives us some clues as to what life will be like but there is so much that we are not told. What we do know is that we will no longer live in fear of di...

Have you ever felt like your faith and your job live in two completely different worlds? One for Sunday mornings and one for Monday - Friday. What if there was never supposed to be a divide? How do you close that gap? · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals

Spiritual gifts are important, but what truly matters is love. In that light, some gifts are to be more desired than others. We might desire talents or gifts that elevate us above others but the way of Jesus is the way of love. Therefore, the gifts we should seek to use are the ones that are best able to lift others in love. God will not be impressed by how gifted we are, especially when all those...

How do you know if you are more or less spiritual than someone else? The Corinthians had been using their spiritual gifts as a measuring stick to judge one another. Paul makes it clear that they had it all wrong. Spiritual gifts (or any good thing) are not something to elevate your status. Instead, spiritual gifts are given to us by God so we can lift others up, not ourselves. God gives us spiritu...

In most areas of life, a gift is intended just for the pleasure of the one who receives it (for instance, a birthday gift). Gifts from the Spirit are intended for something more -- they are meant to give each of us a vital way to serve and bless others. We each are given a gift so we might become givers. (This devotional was originally shared on February 22, 2022.) Looking for a previous devo? Wan...

The celebration of the Lord's Supper is often called "communion" because it brings us together with Christ, or at least, that's what it's supposed to do. The Corinthians were experiencing the exact opposite effect. The wealthy members of their church didn't have the eyes to see how they were excluding and diminishing the poorer believers. How might we similarly be killing community because of a la...

People today will often point to this passage in an attempt to (mistakenly) argue that the apostle Paul had a low view of women. To this day, scholars debate over the difficulties in translating this passage. Whatever might be debatable, it is clear that Paul expresses support for a woman's authority to pray and speak in church, even in cases where there are social norms that might need to be addr...

Most of us know exactly what we should do and choose the easier thing anyway. We call it self-care. We call it being realistic. We call it just the way things are. But what if that "easier thing" has a name and a grip on you that only gets tighter? · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals

As we consider Paul's discussion of spiritual maturity and freedom in Christ, we return to a discussion from February 7, 2022. Many of the problems in the Corinthian church arose because of people insisting on their rights, but in a way that left little room for love. Paul offers his own life as an example of another path. We can follow Jesus, asserting our rights or even laying them aside in orde...