Hillside Community Church Podcast

We’re really close to celebrating the birth of Jesus—and that’s exciting.  God came to be with us!  Jesus came to save us!  But how will He do that?  How will Jesus save those who would follow Him?  This morning we’ll look at the plan that God gave to Isaiah 700 years before Jesus was born and we’ll see the plan for how Jesus will save the world. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Kathy Douma leads this week's Intro to Spiritual Disciplines class on the discipline of "Serving." Support the show

Full Christmas Program audio recording - One of the words that describe many of our lives at this time of the year is the word “busy.”  We are running here and there with things to do, people to see, and presents to buy.  In the midst of all our running, Isaiah the prophet has a word for us: “Listen!”  It’s an important word but the question is whether we can find time in our busyness to slow down...

Last week we saw the need for Jesus—we are sinners who deserve death.  We also saw that God promised to send someone to save us.  This morning we’re going to learn more about that One whom God promised to send—His Servant.  And we’ll see that this Servant is going to do some amazing things. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

This Sunday is the first Sunday of the Advent season. A season where the church collectively anticipates the arrival, or ‘advent,’ of our savior Jesus Christ. Just as he came in the flesh as a baby 2000 years ago to save his people, one day Christ will return again to save his people. What is it that we need saving from though? The book of Genesis shows us that what we need Jesus for and saving fr...

We will think about the question Jesus asked when He had healed ten lepers, and only one came back to thank Him. We'll talk about how they probably were doing decent, good things - and saying thanks just slipped past them. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

It’s such a little thing—the tongue.  It only weighs about 2.5 ounces. But it can do so much. It can destroy and it can give life.  This morning James wants to challenge us to tame our tongues. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Stewardship - it's not just about us telling you to give more money to the church (we know pastors say this all the time). It's really about discovering an amazing thing that God allows us to manage His resources. He works through us and wants us to enjoy it and celebrate it. Support the show

This morning, we’re going to look at an important question that James challenges us with: Is our faith real?  James knows that it’s possible for us to go through the motions, say all the right things, and even believe some of the right things about God but still not have a faith that is real. This morning, we’ll look at how James tells us we can know that our faith is the genuine article. - Pastor...

Did your parents have a “favorite” child?  Was one of your siblings the “problem” child? What about in school—did you ever have a teacher who had a favorite student?  We’ve all experienced the reality of favoritism.  This morning James will challenge us to not let it happen anywhere—especially not in church! - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Kirk Kingsley continues our Wednesdays at Hillside series on the Intro to Spiritual Disciplines. He shares examples of prayer in Scripture and discusses reasons why we do not pray sometimes. He also teaches different ways to pray more often and effectively and grow in greater intimacy with God through prayer. Support the show

James has been offering us wisdom when it comes to doubts during trials, wisdom when we face temptation. What does James have to say in general about wise faith in action? How do we know our faith is real and we’re living it out wisely? James might encourage us to take a deep breath, listen to God’s Word, and take care of the little people. - Pastor Arek O'Connell Support the show

We talked last week about the fact that storms come into all of our lives. People we love get sick and die. Someone hurts us deeply with their actions or their words. We lose a job. This week we’ll continue to look at what James has to say to us about what we should do in the midst of the storms that come our way. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

This morning we’re beginning a sermon series on the book of James.  James is one of the most practical letters in the New Testament and he jumps right in by talking about what we should do when the trials and difficulties come our way.  We’ll take a look at what it means to trust in God when our world feels like it’s falling apart. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Bibles. For most of us, they are something that we have multiple copies of around our house. And if that's not the case, we have access right at our fingertips to download an app and have multiple translations. What are we doing with the Bible? How are we engaging in God's Word? What is the value of being rooted in God's Word? What are some of the roadblocks that get in our way and...

As we finish up our series on judging others this morning, we’ll see one more area where we are called to judge others—if they are someone who is spreading false teaching.  If a Christian is teaching or believing something significant that isn’t true to Scripture, we owe it to them to challenge their teachings/beliefs. This morning we’ll think about when and how we might do that. - Pastor Ron Kool...

Wednesdays at Hillside: Our faith walk is a life-long journey in which we are called to become more and more like Jesus. Each week, we will focus on different spiritual disciplines such as prayer, scripture reading, serving, and more. Some disciplines will be taught lecture-style, while others may include discussion time, small group interactions, or a time of personal reflection. Support the show

Do I have the right to judge the sin of other Christians? There are plenty of areas we might feel comfortable offering judgment, but to look into someone’s personal life and call their action a sin against God? Can’t we just let God take care of that? As uncomfortable as it may make us, Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 5 that it’s necessary for the health of the church and for us to see restoratio...

The Bible says that some of our Christian beliefs and behaviors are expected to be followed by every Christian. They are necessary to being a Christian.  But some of our Christian beliefs and behaviors are left up to the individual Christian—we can disagree on these matters and still call each other Christians.  But what beliefs and behaviors are in which group? This morning we’ll look at what Pau...

“You Christians are so judgmental!”  “Only God can judge me!”  “Why aren’t Christians speaking up more? We should be calling sin what it is—an abomination before God!”  Should we judge other people? Or should we be quiet? This morning we’re beginning a series in which we’ll look at what the Bible has to say about judging other people. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

Where do you look for role models? Who do you want to learn from? Most of us want to learn from those who are great—the successful businessperson, the best football player, the smartest scientist. This morning the Proverbs will tell us to look in a different place for life advice—to four “little guys” who know some things we should know. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

We’ve been talking about wisdom—the ability for broken people living in a broken world to navigate life as well as possible. Wisdom is knowing what to do and having the strength to do it. This morning we’re going to look at what the Proverbs have to say about the biggest barrier that gets in the way of our becoming wise. - Pastor Ron Kool Support the show

We don’t always realize it, but the Bible actually says quite a bit about work. Work was created by God and was intended to be a source of dignity and appropriate pride for all of us. But now we’re working in a broken world (and we are broken people) and work doesn’t work like it’s supposed to.  So how do we navigate work well?  What do the Proverbs have to say about work? - Pastor Ron Kool Suppor...

We all have to deal with anger. For some of us it’s our own anger—we too often blow up and damage the people around us or we clam up and simmer with anger. For some of us it’s the anger of others—our spouse gets mad and yells at us or calls us names.  Anger is a reality in our world and the writers of the Proverbs tell us that we need to learn to deal with our anger wisely. - Pastor Ron Kool Suppo...

Doubts are a tricky thing when it comes to faith. Because unlike sin and grief, some doubts are good to have. Some doubts don’t cause us any trouble because they’re grounded in truth and some can even be useful and constructive. But what about doubts concerning the nature and faithfulness of God? How does Jesus give us good news in the midst of THOSE doubts? Jesus keeps revealing His love for us u...