Highrock Church

The people before the time of the Pharisees and Jesus had ignored the Sabbath in very harmful ways but the Pharisees made the opposite error of being too obsessive about the rules. In their zeal, they missed the point of the rules, which is to honor human beings and God. And what could be more true to the spirit of Sabbath than to satisfy your hunger both for food and for God as the disciples were...

Do you feel overwhelmed? Are you caught up in a never-ending fight? God speaks into our fear and frustration, saying, "Be still, and know that I am God!" One simply way to pray this truth is the ancient tradition of the "breath prayer", which we will practice in response to God's instruction. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https://www.highrock.org/daily-d...

When God meets with Elijah, God is not present in all the big signs like the tornado-like wind or the earthquake. Instead, God speaks to Elijah in the silence. It is difficult to find silence today and the world is getting noisier all the time. If we were to withdraw to a quiet place like Elijah or Jesus, might we find God speaking to us as well? Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with...

Of all the Ten Commandments, honoring a day of rest seems the most unlikely to make God's "Top 10". Maybe that's why God devotes more time to that command than any other? When we struggle with the limits given to us by God, it can be helpful to stop, listen, and remember to trust that God is working for our good! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https://www...

Sermon #6 of Highrock's spring sermon series ("Deep: Moving Beyond Shallow Spirituality") from Mark 6:30-32 NIV

The writer of Hebrews tells us that one of the ways Jesus demonstrated his full humanity was in how he cried out to God in tears. Jesus calls us into the abundant life. Do we cut ourselves off from the fullness of life when we refuse to embrace similar passion? Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

David composes a song of lament for the fallen king Saul and his son Jonathan. Just as importantly, David instucts that all the men of Israel should learn and sing this lament. We may think of our emotions as a private matter but what we do with our emotions also instructs others. Through such examples, God invites us into a deeper and more varied experience of life! Looking for a previous devo? W...

Sometimes the loss we experience is not the result of wrongdoing, accident, or tragedy. Sometimes we are displaced because our purpose is complete and it is time to step back as others step up. John the Baptist was not threatened by Jesus' greater success. Instead, John celebrated that Jesus must become more as he became less. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start her...

We are like fragile jars of clay that contain an invaluable treasure -- the very light of Christ! Our humble state can be a gift because when people experience the light within us, that light will point to God rather than us. What a blessing to know that God might use our troubles to transform not only us, but others as well! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here...

Job loses in a day what most of us lose over a lifetime, which is everything. We lose everything. Job remains rooted in God because he trusts God and humbly recognizes that he knows only a small part of his own story. Job's friends are a great comfort to him during this time, until they open their mouths! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https://www.highroc...

Sermon #5 of Highrock's spring sermon series ("Deep: Moving Beyond Shallow Spirituality") from Psalm 23 (NIV)

Most of us expect the road of life to lead us to places of more freedom, more choices, and greater autonomy. Jesus paints a different life trajectory for Peter, and for us as well. Jesus' path was one of love, of laying down his life for others. When Jesus tells us to follow him, he intends for us to travel in the same direction. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start...

Following the theme of Sunday's sermon, we turn to a passage that shows Job letting go of power and control. After hearing God's answer to his complaints, Job confesses that God is too big and too untameable for the limits of Job's understanding and desires. Might we also find peace in embracing our limits rather than grasping for control? Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a frie...

The disciples were so startled to see Jesus that they first thought he was a ghost! Jesus demonstrated that he was not a ghost and that he had indeed overcome death. Jesus' new life not only assures us about our future, it is meant to transform how we live now. Together, we are entrusted to share God's universal offer of forgiveness and new life! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with...

After walking and talking and studying the scriptures for miles and hours, why is it only in the breaking of bread that Jesus' true identity is finally revealed? With no clear answer, believers have been left to wonder for centuries. Is there some way in which Jesus is especially present to us in that moment, especially when we celebrate communion together? Looking for a previous devo? Want to sha...

Jesus walks and talks with two distraught disciples who seem to have given up on the hope they had placed in Jesus. In our spiritual journeys, God can come to us in many ways that we do not recognize, at least initially. We also have the opportunity to walk with others during difficult times, perhaps even providing others the occasion to encounter Jesus afresh. Looking for a previous devo? Want to...

Sermon #4 of Highrock's spring sermon series ("Deep: Moving Beyond Shallow Spirituality") from Philippians 4:4-7, 11-13 (NIV)

When things don't go as planned, it's easy to assume that it's for the worse. But what if God has something better in mind? Faced with the women's testimony about the empty tomb, Peter is not ready to believe. Rather than run from what he doesn't understand, he runs to investigate and is left to wonder about the possibilities! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start her...

As Jesus suffers on the cross, we see three different responses. The crowds depart in grief and confusion, the women friends of Jesus watch and wait, and the Roman officer is moved to worship. To a man who has seen so many suffer, there is something about the way that Jesus faces suffering that deeply moves the man. As we follow Jesus, how might God use our suffering to point others to God? Lookin...

Even from the cross, Jesus extends love those around him. He mourns for the mourners and the fate they will face, he calls out for forgiveness of those nailing him to the cross, and he welcomes the crucified robber's confession, promising him that he will be welcome in Jesus' kingdom. God's love never ends, even at the cross, especially at the cross! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one...

On Palm Sunday, the crowds had greeted Jesus with chants of "Hosanna!" and "Blessed is he!", but now -- just a few days later -- they chant, "Crucify him!" What changed? Jesus didn't change. The fickly crowds had changed, just as our emotions so quickly change. God knows that we need a much firmer foundation. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https://www.hig...

Sermon #3 of Highrock's spring sermon series ("Deep: Moving Beyond Shallow Spirituality") from Genesis 44:12-34 (NLT)

Pilate the Roman governor and King Herod Antipas were political opponents who loved to undermine one another. In Jesus, they finally find common ground and put aside their differences! They are united by their desire to use Jesus to further their own goals, a tendency we probably share more than we might like to admit. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https...

A variety of cowardice and sin pushes Jesus to the cross. Peter's defnial left Jesus abandoned. Then there the guards whose "strength" allowed them to beat a helpless Jesus, followed by the council's pre-determined "justice". All of these people lacked the courage to face the truth, which is exactly why Jesus must be the one to face the truth of our sin, carrying it to the cross with him. Looking...

Entering into the garden, Jesus tells his disciples to pray for strength during the time of trial. Jesus does exactly this and is miraculously fortified while the disciples fall asleep and are not. Why is it so hard to pray? Will we pray for strength during the times of our trials? Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here: https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/