Hillside Evangelical Free Church

"A Mighty Fortress is Our God" is considered Martin Luther's most famous hymn. While many may see it as a battle hymn, it actually seems that Luther wrote it as a hymn of comfort during one of the darkest periods of his life. Some of the text from Psalm 46 was used in writing this hymn, join us as we look at how God is a fortress of help, presence and peace.

Psalm 45 describes a royal wedding, a wedding that isn't just pointing to a king, but ultimately leading us to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. But is Psalm 45 really pointing to Jesus? Join us as Pastor Jim Schultz explains how the Old Testament points us to Christ in so many ways!

Psalm 44 has a different tone than many other Psalms. Instead of a personal lament and cry to God, the psalmist speaks on behalf of the nation and utters a lament to the Lord. As Christians in the West have we lost sight of the corporate nature of our faith? Are there things we should be mourning or bringing before God in a more corporate way? Join us as we explore these ideas in Psalm 44.

Have you ever felt conflicted inside? Where on one hand you know that God is your refuge but on the other it feels like He has abandoned you to these painful circumstances? In Psalm 43 we see this tension by the psalmist, he wants to be near to God but currently is feeling distant from God. If you're going through difficulty, don't run from the God who is your refuge, express that difficulty to Hi...

Where do you turn when you are flooded with grief? How do you lament pain and hardship? In Psalm 42 we look at the practical process of moving forward through grief using the instrument of lament. We discover that you can simultaneously feel great pain and put your hope in God through the difficulty. 

What you build your house on and what you build your life upon matter. When the difficulties of life hit where will you find yourself? Will the floods of hardship reveal a house built on the solid rock of Christ or will it erode the foundations and leave you in despair. Join us as we learn about the importance of not only hearing the teachings of Jesus but also following His example and obeying th...

Just because a person speaks as if they know the truth and are confident in their assertions doesn't mean they are a true prophet or true believer. In this week's sermon we explore the sobering reality that Jesus warns us about; the problem of false prophets and false believers. 

As children we learn that if we want something we need to ask for it, if we're not sure where something is we look for it, and if we're standing outside of somebody's door we knock. In all of those things we expect something very specific: when we ask, we prepare to receive, if we search we anticipate finding what we're looking for, and if we knock we expect the person inside will open the door. T...

Has anyone ever told you, "Judge not lest you be judged!"? While it is a very real and true verse from the Bible, it must be held in tension with the rest of the passage. Just as "Love your enemies" and "Bad company ruins good morals" must be held in tension, so too does "Judge not lest you be judged". In this sermon Pastor Jim Schultz looks at the important question of when to call out sin in oth...

Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful" and called his disciples to "pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." As you go about your days are you approaching life as if there is a plentiful harvest for the Lord? If not, be encouraged that there is a plentiful harvest for the Lord that Christians get to be a part of!

Jesus performed many miracles during his earthly ministry; turning water into wine, walking on water, healing the blind, and the list goes on. While all of these miracles of Jesus are amazing, it can be easy to miss the reason these miracles were performed. Join us this week as we look beyond the miracles themselves and explore their purpose.

Join us this week with Pastor Dave Stevenson as we explore the following big idea: We are to ACT by praising God for He is the great creator and redeemer, infinitely superior to all competing “gods”.

What does it look like to approach Jesus for healing? How do we think about seemingly hopeless situations in our lives? Join us this week as we look at Matthew 9:18-26 and explore these questions.

Sometimes it seems that people are impossible to please. Whether it is fault finding, impossibly high standards, shifting expectations or something entirely different; people can be hard to please. When people weren't happy with Jesus' behavior they called Him "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matt 11:19). While you may not struggle with saying those words to Jesu...

When a paralytic man is brought to Jesus you may expect Jesus to immediately heal his infirmities. Instead of physically healing the man, Jesus chose to forgive his sins. To the religious leaders this seemed like a sign of blasphemy against God, but Jesus then used this as an opportunity to verify His divinity. 

The resurrection of Jesus was both glorious, joyous, and fearful for the first witnesses of the event. Join us as we look at the resurrection story from Matthew's gospel.

"Go"... a small yet impactful word that when spoken by someone of authority, carries a lot of weight. Here in our passage today we not only look at the disciple making commission itself, but also recognize that it is spoken by Jesus, who has authority over Heaven and earth. So what does it mean to follow Jesus in His command to go and make disciples? 

Who is Jesus? It is a question the disciples had to face and it is a question we must face as well. Was Jesus a mere man or is He truly the Son of God? In the text today we look at the miracle of Jesus calming the waves and the sea as well as Him commanding demons to go into a herd of pigs. Both are unusual and significant events and lead us again to our question; who is Jesus?

When you purchase something you probably weigh many factors including how much the item will cost. But when it comes to following Jesus have you counted the cost? It's easy to make bold declarations or promises for Jesus without thinking through the ramifications of such a commitment. In this sermon we look at multiple times where Jesus made His followers consider the cost of following Him. 

Jesus performed many miracles during His time on earth, but what was the purpose? Why were these miracles recorded in the Bible for us to know about? In this sermon Pastor Jim Schultz looks at several miracles of Jesus and explains their significance to us today. 

There's no getting around the reality that genuine authentic faith in Jesus leads to real depth of fellowship and community among believers. But oftentimes the church is messy, there is division and strife, and under the surface there is sin. Listen this week as Steve Morgan shares about the necessity of repentance among believers and the importance of the church being a safe place to grow in Chri...

"Do not be anxious about your life." sounds like a great ideal but seems difficult to live out. With all of the stresses and worries that life throws our way, how are we to live a life free of anxiety? Thankfully there is hope in the good provision and care of God and we're reminded of those things in this sermon. 

What do you treasure? It's a simple question with profound implications. In Matthew 6:21 Jesus says, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." In this sermon we explore that question and what it means for our lives.

Drawing on the Old Testament story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal as both a good and bad example of prayer, we look at Matthew 6:5-15 where Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. While the Lord's prayer is very familiar and often recited in churches, it can be easy to overlook the significant lessons Jesus teaches in this passage. 

God calls people to live out their faith by doing things like giving to the poor and praying and fasting. However, what happens when the very things that are meant to glorify God are used to trumpet our own virtue? In this sermon we look at the susceptibility we have towards hypocritical good works done to receive praise from others.