Hillside Community Church Podcast

Matthew has been telling us about Jesus—that He has the power to heal and to drive out demons. Now Matthew takes it a step further and tells us that Jesus has power over nature itself.  He speaks and the wind and waves obey. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Following the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus started attracting large crowds that would follow him and watch him perform miracles. Some in the crowd were so amazed by his miracles that they wanted to become his disciples. What they learned an important lesson that we'll discover together. Faith comes at a cost, but discipleship costs us everything. - Pastor Arek O'Connell Support the show

What do we do when we're out of options? Who do we turn to for help when we've tried everything in our power and still come up empty-handed? A leper and a centurion turn to Jesus in Matthew 8, hoping that he can help them. What we'll learn in Jesus' interactions with these two men is that in times of desperation, Jesus is the only one who is able and willing to heal our deepest...

One of the major challenges facing Christians in our day is the challenge of finding unity in a very divided world.  It is not easy. But the Bible calls us to unity over and over and over again.  This morning, we’ll look at what King David had to say about unity in Psalm 133. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Jesus has been talking about the upside-down way of the Kingdom of God. He has described a way of living that is challenging and difficult but that ultimately leads to the good life. Now, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that it is decision time. Are we going to go the way of the world or the way of the Kingdom?  Our answer to that question makes all the difference. - Pastor Ron K...

The Bible teaches us that one of the main indicators of our spiritual health is how we treat other people.  If we have a healthy relationship with God, it will impact how we treat the people around us.  As Jesus prepares to conclude the Sermon on the Mount, He tells us what God wants from us in how we treat others. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Of all the commands Jesus gives us, the command not to worry is, for many of us, one of the more difficult ones. Is that even possible?  This morning, we’ll look at what Jesus meant when He called us to set aside worry, and we’ll think about how we might begin to do that. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

We all have treasures—things that we value and protect and seek more of.  Our treasures are the things that matter the most to us. Jesus reminds us that what we treasure will have a significant impact on how we live, and He challenges us to think about what treasures we are seeking with our lives. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Jesus continues to teach us about how we should live as His disciples. This morning, we’ll take a look at what Jesus says about prayer—an activity that was absolutely critical to His work.  In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us two guidelines and a pattern for prayer. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

There is something inside each of us that wants to be noticed and appreciated.  We want others to think highly of us. We want to be respected.  And that’s not all bad. This morning, Jesus gives us a warning. He wants us to be careful not to say “Look at me,” when we should be pointing others to Him. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

As we come to the end of the first section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus ends the first section with an interesting command... Be perfect! Of course, none of us can be perfect, only God is, so what did Jesus mean? He didn't mean to be sinless, he is calling us to spiritual maturity. We'll see from our text that spiritual maturity is learning to live and love like Jesus. - Pastor Arek...

Jesus is continuing to interpret the Hebrew Scriptures—explaining and deepening them as He does so. This morning, we’ll look at some of the most challenging words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: His words about marriage, adultery, divorce, and lust. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Sometimes we religious folks really like the rules.  Tell us exactly what we can and cannot do, and we will live within the boundaries.  We may walk up to the boundaries, but we won’t cross them.  This morning, Jesus begins to tell us, in the Sermon on the Mount, that the “boundaries” are much smaller than we thought–and the consequences more severe! - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Before Matthew tells us about the resurrection, he paints a rather hopeless, depressing scene. After Jesus was put to death and buried, we learn that the most powerful people in the World did everything in their power to undermine God's plans and power. But what the resurrection proclaims to the World is that no power stands a chance against God's resurrection power! And if Jesus is aliv...

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Today is Palm Sunday, so we’re going to jump forward in the book of Matthew to chapter 21.  Here, Matthew describes Jesus coming into Jerusalem and the people greeting Him with palm branches and shouts of Hosanna. As we go through this passage, we’ll see that Jesus shows us a great deal about who He is. Some of it fits our expectations, but some of what Jesus does challenges us to think again abou...

We have two parts to our Bibles—the Old Testament and the New Testament.  We say that both are the Word of God, but how do they relate to each other? How much of the Old Testament are we supposed to follow if we are Christians? This morning, we’ll look at what Jesus had to say about what we call the Old Testament. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Pastor Arek O'Connell explains that suffering is a real, complex, and deeply personal experience—and there are no simple answers that fit every situation. He emphasizes that God is not the cause of suffering; instead, suffering exists because sin entered the world, making pain, brokenness, and injustice a reality for everyone.  While there’s no simple answer, he offers several possible reason...

We have just finished learning, through the beatitudes, what the blessed life in the Kingdom of Heaven looks like for faithful disciples. And while the future promises of inheritance, comfort, satisfaction, and mercy are things we can hang our hope on... What difference does being a beatitude disciple make today? We'll see that our blessed life as a Beatitude disciple allows the world to tast...

We’ve recognized that the beatitudes of Jesus are upside down and counterintuitive to the wisdom of our world. This morning, we’ll finish up the beatitudes with what is perhaps the most counterintuitive beatitude: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.   How can persecuted people be considered blessed? And what about those of us who don’t seem to face much persecution? What...

In this session, Kirk Kingsley teaches that believers can have assurance of salvation because salvation is God’s work from start to finish, not something we earn or keep by our own effort. He says the real fear behind this question is often, “Will God eventually give up on me?” Using Jacob’s life, Kirk shows that God chose, pursued, and stayed faithful to Jacob long before Jacob’s faith looked ste...

In the fourth statement about those who are blessed in the Kingdom of God, Jesus promises that when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be filled.  The next four “blessed are” statements go on to describe what a person who is filled with Jesus looks like and acts like. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

As Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven in the Sermon on the Mount, He invites us to think about what we desire, about what we dream about, about our hunger and thirst.  And He tells us that we are blessed when we hunger for righteousness.  What does He mean? And how is someone who hungers after righteousness blessed? We’ll explore the fourth beatitude this morning. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the...

Pastor Morné Marais teaches that doubt is a normal part of the faith journey—not the opposite of faith—and shows from Scripture that even the disciples worshiped Jesus and yet some doubted (Matthew 28:17). He uses Thomas in John 20 to explain that Jesus doesn’t shame honest questions; he meets people where they are and calls them to believe. He also reads from Lamentations 3 to show that deep pain...

In our series through the book of Matthew, we've just seen Jesus call His first disciples and begin His public ministry. The central theme of Jesus' teaching at this time was all about the Kingdom of Heaven. This morning, Jesus tells the disciples and the crowd what life in the Kingdom of Heaven is really like... and it's not what any of them expected, in the best possible way. - Pa...