Hillside Community Church Podcast

Romans 5: 12-19 The Bible (and the Heidelberg Catechism) makes it clear that we are in a bad situation. We are dead in our sins and we deserve eternal punishment. It can be really hard to accept that. Isn't there some way we can get out of this? Shouldn't the fact that I'm trying really hard matter? Can't God just look the other way? Isn't He forgiving? Support the show

Hebrews 8:38-39 For any of us, storms can strike in an instant. The doctor calls with bad news. We lose our job. A tornado rips through our house. We are falsely accused of something. When those things happen, our worlds shake. And when those things happen, we need to ask ourselves - what holds my life together? What gives me strength? Support the show

Hebrews 4:14 As we begin the new year we also begin a new sermon series. In this series we’re going to take a look at five questions and answers from the Heidelberg Catechism. This morning we’ll begin by asking why would we look at a 480-year-old document at all and then look where the Catechism begins – question and answer 1. Support the show

The story of Jesus’s birth is known by the vast majority of people. We are reminded of it every Christmas season and every time we see a nativity scene. But did you know that the gospels share different account of the story? Why does Matthew talk about the Magi and Luke doesn’t? Why does Luke talk about Shepherds while Matthew doesn’t? Our tendency is to combine all the stories into one, however,...

Christmas Eve Service - Merry Christmas Support the show

John 1:14-17 For many of us, one of the hardest questions anyone can ask us is this: What do you want for Christmas? We loved the questions when we were younger, but it gets tougher as we get older. This morning we'll take a look at the gifts Jesus brings to us - the gifts that we really need. Support the show

John 1:9-13 We all seem to use Christmas lights in our front yard or on the Christmas tree. But why do we do that? Why is John telling us that Jesus is the True Light? How would you explain this to an unbeliever? This morning we will learn what the Apostle John wanted to say by this expression. Support the show

John 1:6-8; 16; 19-20 This is a time of the year where the stress can feel overwhelming. There are so many things to do and so many people who need us. And sometimes we can feel like we are supposed to take care of everyone. This morning we're going to learn that we can't do everything - and that's good news! Support the show

John 1: 1-5 We start that time of year when we begin to prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus. To help us do that this year, we're going to study the beginning of the Gospel of John, the place where John tell us his "version" of the Christmas story. While John may not tell us about angles and shepherds, he does give us an amazing picture of what it meant for jesus to com...

Thanksgiving Service Support the show

Revelation 21:1-9 Watching the news and looking at what’s happening in the world today our hearts are troubled. Uncertainty and fear can cripple us. This morning Christ has a powerful and hopeful message for us from Revelation 21. He wants us to grasp his vision for the end of the story. It’s more optimistic than we might think. Support the show

Ephesians 6:21-24 How do you end your letters or emails? Do you use something formal, like “Yours Truly?” Or, do you go for something more informal, like "See You Later?” This morning we’ll take a look at how Paul ends his letter to the Ephesians and we’ll see that what he does is give the Ephesians and us a great gift. Support the show

*NOTE: RECORDING STARTED AFTER INTRODUCTORY VIDEO* After we put on the full armor of God one might ask, now what? Paul tells us, now fight! How? Pray! By the way, how is your prayer life? It’s great if you feel like it’s pretty strong. Do you feel like it’s not bad but it could use some work? Do you feel like it’s almost nonexistent? Regardless of the condition of your prayer life, we must pray fo...

Last week we started talking about the armor of God, the armor of God gives us tools so we can stand against the schemes of the devil. We talked about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the boots of readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The morning we'll look at the last three pieces of armor - the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spi...

Ephesians 6:13-15 We’ve been talking about the fact that Christians are engaged in spiritual warfare. This morning we begin to look at the main thing Paul wants to call us to do - to put on the armor of God. If we are going to stand firm in this world, we need to make sure that we are prepared - that we have put the right armor on. This week we’ll look at the first three pieces of our armor Paul c...

Ephesians 6:10-13 Last week we began to talk about spiritual warfare. We talked about the fact that the devil and his minions are real and dangerous to us. This week we’ll take a look at how they fight – we’ll consider what Paul calls “the devil’s schemes”. Support the show

In the final section of Paul's letter to the Ephesians he talks about the battle that all Christians are call to fight - the battle against the schemes of the devil. While parts of the world are very comfortable thinking about spiritual battles, many of us in the United States don't think about them very often. For the next four weeks we're going to learn about spiritual warfare. We...

We’ve been talking about the difference Jesus makes in our lives. We’ve talked about marriages and parenting and this morning we’re going to talk about another really important area of our lives – work. While being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean we all do different jobs, it does mean that we all do our jobs differently. This morning we’ll look at what Paul teaches us about following Christ in th...

Ephesians 6:1-4 What does it mean to honor our parents? Are we supposed to obey them all the time? What is the key role of the parents? Isn’t a child supposed to get education and training at church and school? The 5th commandment, “honor your father and your mother” was given about 3,500 years ago. How do we interpret this commandment today? This Sunday we’re going to look at what we can learn fr...

Ephesians 5:21-33 Paul continues to encourage us to live out the new life we have in Jesus Christ and now he starts to talk about what new life looks like in our relationships. This morning we’ll take a look at what Paul says to husbands and wives about loving each other. Support the show

Ephesians 5:15-20 Like the parent of a teenager, the Apostle Paul is worried about his brothers and sisters in Ephesus. He know that they live in a dangerous world and so he calls them (and us) to be very careful, then, how you live... This morning we'll take a look at what it means to live carefully. Support the show

Ephesian 5: 3-14 We all know that we're supposed to be "good" Christians. But Why? Why do we choose to be righteous when sin is so tempting? Why do we choose to live for Christ when we would rather live for ourselves most days? This morning, we'll explore Paul's answer to these questions. Support the show

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 Paul tells us that if we are trying to follow Christ we will constantly be engaged in taking off the old nature and putting on the new nature. Last week we saw that Paul called us to take off lying, stealing and trash talking and to put on speaking the truth, sharing and building others up. This morning we’ll add one more to the list – Take off anger and putting on kindness, com...

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 If we want to grow in Christ, Paul tells us, there is a constant challenge we have to face. He tells us there are certain behaviors, attitudes, and actions that we need to constantly be striving to develop. This morning we’ll look at four areas where Paul calls us to be working. Support the show

Ephesians 4:17-25 We all want to change. Yet how many times have you tried to change your life and it didn’t work? We all know how hard it is to even pick up a healthy habit once we’re set in our own old ways. We are born with a nature that needs to go through a total transformation. Let take a look at the secret of this life transforming experience that takes place in us. Support the show