Highrock Church

It’s easy to assume we’ll have more time to repair a relationship, deepen our faith, or say what needs to be said. But some of life’s most important moments arrive without warning. What happens if the moment comes before we’re ready? · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

During the Passover meal, builds upon the meaning of the Passover meal by taking bread and wine and identifying them with his own body and blood. Jesus becomes the new Passover lamb. Even as betrayal and suffering approach, Jesus directs his disciples to remember his sacrificial love and to look forward with hope to the day when he will share this celebration with us in God’s kingdom. Looking for...

In this passage, Jesus uses the illustration of a fig tree to teach his disciples about the signs of the times and remaining spiritually alert. Just as new leaves signal that summer is near, certain events will indicate that God’s purposes are unfolding. Yet Jesus makes clear that no one knows the exact day or hour of his return — not even the angels — so his followers must live in a constant stat...

As they leave the Temple, Jesus' disciples take time to be impressed by the incredible stones used in its construction. In response, Jesus tells them to get a good look because these monumental stones would soon be reduced to rubble! Jesus warns them to be prepared but not to panic, for God will be with them even when all human institutions and relationships fail. Even the darkest of times will be...

When a teacher of the law asks Jesus which commandment is the most important, Jesus answers by quoting the Shema (their daily prayer): to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He then adds a second command — to love your neighbor as yourself — which cannot be separated from the first. Genuine faith is centered on sacrificial love because that expression of love is God's very...

The Sadducees — who deny the resurrection — try to trap Jesus with a complicated hypothetical question about marriage in the afterlife. Jesus exposes their misguided assumption that fails to realize the transformation we will experience. He also corrects their lack of belief in the resurrection by pointing to the writings of Moses that they consider authoritative. There God refers to Abraham, Isaa...

It’s easy to believe we’re in charge of our time, our resources, and our future. But what if the story we’re living in belongs to someone else? Jesus tells a parable that challenges our deepest assumptions about control, ownership, and who the story is really about. · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https:/...

As Jesus and his disciples travel toward Jerusalem, he again warns them of his coming suffering, death, and resurrection. Despite this sobering news, James and John are more concerned to use this opportunity to further their own ambitions. Jesus patiently teaches them that greatness in God’s kingdom is not about power or status but about humility and service. Jesus invites them and us to join him,...

In what is a very busy and critical time, people bring little children to Jesus. Rather than welcome them, the disciples try to send them away. Instead, Jesus insists on welcoming them and further insists that we must all become like little children if we wish to be with God. But how? In what way should we be like children? It seems that Jesus intends that we wrestle with this question, exploring...

The disciples encounter someone who is casting out demons in Jesus' name and they proudly report to Jesus that they shut that man down. Jesus corrects them, teaching them to support and encourage everyone who is honoring Jesus. He also strongly warns against leading anyone away from God and into sin. He even urges radical action, using images of removing anything — even a foot, a hand, or an eye —...

A boy’s father pleads with Jesus to heal his son when Jesus' disciples are unable to help. He asks Jesus, "Help us, if you can." When Jesus questions his apparent lack of faith, the father replies, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” This honest request has become the prayer of many ever since. Jesus invites us in, doubts and all! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a...

Jesus heals a blind man, but only partially at first. Why? Shortly after, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, yet he rebukes Jesus when Jesus explains what it means to be the Messiah. In particular, Jesus lays out the necessity of his impending crucifixion. Peter thus reveals that he can see, but only partially, just like the blind man who needed further healing. Jesus also seeks to restore...

Why do some people hear the same words about Jesus and walk away unchanged while others are transformed? If the message is the same, what makes the difference? Maybe the real question isn’t about the seed at all but the condition of the soil. · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

Human traditions and culture can be quite beautiful and valuable, but not if they become an excuse to not love one another. Some of the higher religious authorities travel to see Jesus and when they do, the fixate on how Jesus' disciples fail to follow the tradition of the Pharisees. In a very direct response, Jesus exposes their hypocrisy. He points out that they value their traditions so much th...

Though Herod is intrigued by John the Baptist and recognizes him as a holy man, he is ultimately moved to kill him, and in scandalous fashion. This section of Mark is filled with people who are blinded to what God is doing because of pressure, position, and passion. Herod Antipas wants to become a true king but as Mark has been showing us, the one true king is Jesus. And while Jesus has demonstrat...

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus sends his disciples ahead by boat while He goes up on a mountainside to pray. In so doing, Jesus was sending them into a storm! Obeying Jesus is no guarantee of smooth sailing! What it does guarantee is that they will not be alone. Jesus comes to them and calms their fears just like he calms the wind and the waves. The disciples don't yet understand the signi...

Daily Devo | Jesus Sees Two Daughters Where Others See One (New Testament in a Year, Mark 5:21-43) Upon returning to the Jewish side of the lake, Jesus is immediately caught up in two intertwined stories — a synagogue leader named Jairus pleads for his dying daughter, and a woman suffering from twelve years of bleeding reaches out in faith to touch Jesus. Rather than chastise her for doing what wa...

When Jesus crosses into non-Jewish territory, he encounters a man possessed by a legion of demons. This man is tormented, outcast, and seemingly beyond help until Jesus arrives. Jesus restores the man but the demons destroy a herd of pigs in the process. Rather than respond with faith, the crowds respond in fear and ask Jesus to leave. Do we also ask for God's help, only to resist when we realize...

Forgiveness sounds noble until someone owes you something that can’t be repaid. When the wound is real and justice feels justified, why would Jesus make forgiveness non-negotiable? What happens if we refuse? · · · 👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n 👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

Have those close to you ever thought you were out of your mind? Jesus' family apparently felt that way about him. Meanwhile, the higher religious authorities come down from Jerusalem to "assess" Jesus and his ministry. Their conclusion? Jesus is actually in league with the Devil! Jesus responds but also warns them of the spiritual danger they are in because of their hardened hearts. He specificall...

With seemingly no other way to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus, four friends cut a hole in the roof and lower their paralyzed friend to be healed. Rather than heal the man's paralysis, Jesus forgives his sins. The people who are most shocked are the religious leaders because they believe that only God can grant such a blanket pardon for sin. In order to prove his authority, Jesus then heals th...

Mark has set out to demonstrate that the true good news ("gospel") is about Jesus, not Caesar. Right away, we see the crowds react with amazement at his authority displayed in wisdom and spiritual power. They even acknowledge his unique authority. But amazement and acknowledgement are not the same as accepting the authority of Jesus. It is one thing to say "Jesus is Lord"; it is far greater to say...

Mark opens by announcing the “good news”, of gospel, of Jesus Christ. "Gospel" literally means good news, but it could also be a political proclamation of a coming kingdom. By declaring the good news of Jesus Christ, Mark is directly challenging Rome's "good news" about Caesar. Unlike Caesar, Jesus is the true king who brings real peace. As Jesus begins his ministry, he calls us to "believe the Go...

As Matthew brings his gospel to a close, the risen Jesus meets his disciples and declares that all authority in heaven and on earth now belongs to him. He commands them to make disciples of all nations by going, baptizing, and teaching others to obey everything he has taught them, a Great Commission that falls to us, today! Along with this clear mission comes a promise just as clear: that Jesus wi...

In this painful scene, Peter denies three times that he even knows Jesus, despite his earlier bold promises of loyalty. As the rooster crows, Peter remembers Jesus’ words and realizes the depth of his failure, and he breaks down in bitter tears. But Jesus' warning was not meant to condemn Peter; it was intended to let Peter know that his worst moment would not be the end of the story. Our lowest m...