Saints‘ Hill Church Podcast

It’s true that every generation feels like the world is unraveling. However, throughout all of history, the disciple of Jesus has journeyed. It’s a narrow road that is neither a war against culture or an assimilation to it, but faithfulness to Jesus. This last Sunday we were joined by one of our friends, Josh Porter, who brought us a word on what it means to be faithful to Jesus as an act of rebel...

This last Sunday one of our elders, Jim Traut, brought us a word on suffering well. The Scriptures assure us that we will go through seasons of great pain and seasons of great joy. The key to living this life well is to trust Jesus. When your trust is in Him, and the promises in His word, your relationship with Him does not get swept away when trouble comes. One of the unique roles suffering plays...

This last Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from one of our friends, Gerald Griffin. He encouraged us with stories from his own community of people coming alive with hunger for God. What does it mean to be awakened to the presence of God, and how do you sustain it for the long haul? In short, if you put God and His glory at the center, everything else falls into place. We need a center of gra...

To follow God is to allow His Spirit to teach you, and His Word to prune you. This allows you to represent the life of Jesus to the people around you as the Father would. When things in life get messy, the invitation is to be reconnected to the Father who loves you unconditionally. He’s not looking for our spirituality, but our surrender. We are going to find ourselves in messy circumstances, they...

As we enter this new year of dependence on God, we must continually be reminded of our why. Asking what our “why” is keeps us near dependency. Our why reveals where we have given into temptation, and invites dependence. Jesus knew his “why.” It was his identity, his mission from the Father, that kept Him in step through every temptation. It is from Jesus that we learn how to steward what God is do...

This last Sunday our senior leader, Alex Rettmann cast some vision for us as we enter the new year. We are invited to live a Kingdom life, not just a Christian life. Jesus didn’t just come to get you into heaven, He came to get heaven into you, so that heaven would come through you. This is the mission God has set out from the creation of the world and when you are on this mission with Him, life i...

This last Sunday Bria taught on the longings of the soul that we discover in the Advent season. During this season we recognize that the truth about our longings is revealed at His first coming, and the complete fulfillment of them comes with His second. So how do we live in the tension between the two? We ought to live as those on whom light has dawned (Isaiah 9:2). We grieve darkness for what it...

This last Sunday we continued in our Advent series by reading Isaiah 9v2-7. This passage teaches us that the antidote to a wandering life of darkness and fearful gloom, is God Himself setting up His government. He didn’t just come to get you into heaven, He came to get heaven into you, so that heaven would come through you. Give all of your preconceived notions about reality for God’s ability, and...

The presence of Jesus is attracted to a yes. This last Sunday we continued in our second week of the Advent series, contemplating the yes of Mary - her response to God’s word. Every human has the ability and privilege to do what Mary did, but to be used by God, we must have a correct response to Him. Your life was created by His voice and designed to live by it. All of God’s words are seed, lookin...

This last Sunday we began the first week of Advent together as a church — reflecting on the coming of Christ into our world. One thing we learn about Jesus is that He set the bar for the generosity of God. When you see Him as the light, your eyes will get healthy and you will begin to see his beauty everywhere. When we stop seeing the world through Christ, all we focus on and see is lack, pain, an...

This last Sunday we heard from one of our elders, Andoni Montaño, on what it means to be loved by God, and manifest His love here on earth. Reading through 1 John 4v7-18 we see that John is taking the focus from how we can love God, to how God loves us. The love you give to others will not be dependent on what you can give but what God has given you. You cannot give what you have not first receive...

Church is designed to happen around a table. It is at the table that the sacrament takes place and the people are transformed. Communion shapes the individual’s life, but it also shapes the community’s life. In one sense it’s vertical - the blood aligns you with God and makes you righteous. It’s also horizontal - it makes us right with one another and unifies us. You can’t individually be one with...

What does it mean for communion to become the very shape of your life? Communion is the physical vision statement for a Christian’s soul. It is the form your life will take if you really want to live. It’s setting aside your will to serve God’s will. The main thing that gets in the way of this pursuit is our glittering images. They demand sacrifices from us that we eventually grow weary in giving....

This last Sunday we began a three-week series on Communion, and how the importance of this meal will change our church. The blood of Jesus not only forgives you of your sin, but it cleanses you from the guilt of your sin. This is theologically true, but how many of us experience that reality day to day? The blood of Jesus purchased a new covenant reality. Jesus became the sacrifice and washed you...

This last Sunday we were fortunate enough to hear from one of our deacons, Justin Adsit. Justin gave a teaching on Luke 8v26-39 as a continuation of our Luke Series. This story illustrates one of the most radical stories of the authority of Jesus to heal, save, and deliver. We learn that when Jesus shows up, hopeless situations shift. Expanding heaven on earth can get messy, and we have to lay dow...

This last Sunday, Jake Vigil gave us a teaching on the definition of true, biblical worship. We see all the way back in Genesis, that biblical worship is sacrifice. In the Psalms we learn that worship is about making ourselves a dwelling place for Him. Jesus revealed to the woman at the well that worship is done in spirit and truth. And in Revelation, we see the worship that echoes throughout eter...

What can you expect to give from church and what can you expect to get from church? Alex spent some time this last Sunday laying out the social contract of Saints’ Hill. Churches gather for many different reasons, most of church in the West is a combination of personality preference mixed with a “shining image” of church. Taking time to define your why & how for church will inform what kind of soc...

This last Sunday, one of our elders, Andoni, gave a teaching on the foundation for the prophetic culture at Saints’ Hill. We’ve seen the first fruits of the prophetic in our town as many of us have begun to give away what the Lord has blessed us with. This is amazing. Equally as important will it be to remember & return to our foundation for the prophetic - Jesus. Our perfect model of living a pro...

This last Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from one of our elders, Jim Traut. Jim spoke to us from the Scriptures about forgiveness. Doing forgiveness well is like heart maintenance — it’s like keeping air in the tires of your bike or changing the oil in your car. Fortunately for us, the Scriptures are full of wisdom on how to do maintenance on our hearts and sustain the joy that is promised...

We talk a lot about surrender at Saints’ Hill, but what do we mean by that? Better yet, what do the Scriptures say about the concept of surrender? This last Sunday Bria walked us through a biblical definition of surrender. To be surrendered to God is to give our “yes” to Him, not just to a set of beliefs or behaviors. Our surrender is unto a person, King Jesus. Surrendering unto a set of beliefs o...

Has the mood of your life changed as a result of the gospel? One of our values at Saints’ Hill is that we are people filled with hope and joy. Our strength and protection in life is directly tied to the degree that we understand God’s disposition towards us. When you see the gap in your life between what you are and what you could be, get happy. Remember that it was the blood of Jesus that made a...

This last Sunday we began our annual vision series - where we take some time to revisit the vision of Saints’ Hill, why we exist. If we go all the way back to the basics, we need to know what it means to be fathered by God. We see this framework throughout all the Scriptures: the goal of life is to become unafraid sons and daughters, able to rule in love alongside Christ for the renewal of the wor...

What Jesus’ light can do in your life is tied to your perception. With this parable in Luke 8v16-18 Jesus again is getting at the condition of the heart. The light of Jesus exposes our need. His light leads to one of two options, to recognize our need and surrender, or to recognize our need and walk away offended. If Jesus is light then He will see you. But to those who receive, this is not someth...

Jesus’ message, the kingdom of God, has to do with your heart. More than the mind or will, Jesus is concerned with what you love. In Luke 8v1-15 Jesus diagnoses what can get in the way of receiving and loving His word, His Presence, and His activity. He gives examples of three different types of hearts: the path heart, the rocky heart, and the thorny heart. None of which are able to fully live int...

Do you feel saved? What do your emotions about Jesus reveal? This passage in Luke 7 challenges us by asking what we feel about Jesus. When you gaze upon Him, is your response abandon, or management? These two emotional responses testify to two different realms — the realm of abundance and the realm of lack. Following Jesus means losing control. And it’s the most beautifully liberating thing that c...