South Hills Church - Costa Mesa

You are God’s Plan A to reach the world, and there is no Plan B. This may feel overwhelming at first, it’s important to note that His strategy doesn’t require you to change careers, memorize every scripture, or become a missionary on the other side of the world. In fact, for most of us it means staying exactly where we are. So what part do you have to play, and what is God inviting you to do?

Everybody knows that just like a road trip isn’t complete without music, a church service isn’t complete without worship. We may not know how we know, or why it’s true, we just know it is. Obviously, there’s something powerful about music, but why do we need to sing (what amounts to) love songs to someone we can’t see, hear, or touch? Especially with other people. It’s kind of weird. Why has worsh...

Life is busy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. For many of us, that means we do our best to maximize our time and minimize distractions. That isn’t always a bad thing, but it certainly can be a bad thing. Some parts of life aren’t meant to be rushed, skipped, or sped through. It might be convenient to drive-thru a favorite fast-food spot, or even Door Dash your meal, but it’s just not the sa...

Making room for and compromising with other people can be uncomfortable and annoying. Which is why a lot of us would rather go it alone. We drive alone, eat alone, and binge our shows alone. The catch is: doing so much alone is…lonely. We all want to find people we just click with—people who share our interests, opinions, and preferences. In other words, people just like us. Is that so bad? Doesn’...

So much of what we think we need is dictated by what those around us have. We feel the pressure to keep up with and occasionally one-up our neighbors. But social media has expanded our community of comparison to everyone in existence. Which is a little overwhelming. Why is so much of our self-worth tied to what we have, and why do even those who have a lot often feel worthless? How do we break our...

Statistically, most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet regardless of how much they make. It’s easier to make money than to make a plan for your money. We tend to just spend what we get on whatever we need in the moment, not realizing that some of our needs may just be wants in disguise. How can you tell the difference? Is it the same for everybody? Is it even realistic to...

Most families don’t talk about money, especially to their kids. Which is a shame because money is a big part of life. A lot of us leave home without much of a financial compass. What we do know we’ve cobbled together from peers, commercials, and social media. Most of that advice leads us to crave what we don’t have and spend what we haven’t earned. Few people have taken time to think about their p...

Getting started with something new is tough enough but sustaining a habit long-term is even harder. To create lasting life-change, make what’s important easy to do, and what’s unimportant hard to do. So, how do you do that?

It’s not enough to know what’s most important; you have to say no to what’s not. Most of us are aware we should say no, and maybe even what or who we should say no to. But we’re nervous about the repercussions. So, how do we courageously navigate no with the least amount of collateral damage?

Of all the things we feel like we could or should do, what takes priority and where do you start? Knowing what to do is about clarifying what’s most important to you. So…How do you do that for yourself in this season?

Our culture attempts to convince us we can be, do, and have it all—all at once. But often, the more we do, the less fulfilled we are. Why is that and what do we do about it?

Christmas at South Hills 2023 with Alec Alvarado

Whether you laugh or cringe, we’re all familiar with fictional NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby’s prayer to “Dear 8lb, 6oz newborn infant Jesus.” When he said “I like the Christmas-Jesus best,” he said out-loud what many of us think internally. Christmas-Jesus is adorable, cute, and easy to imagine. We keep the Jesus of our faith small and contained, like an ancient fairy-tale we recite to get warm feeli...

The gifts that the wisemen gave Jesus were deeply meaningful, symbolic and extravagant. Those gifts, according to many, were the impetus for the Christmas tradition of gift-giving. While there is nothing wrong with gift-giving, gift-buying has become an increasingly large focus for many. Christmas for many just means consumerism, debt, and wish-lists. Is it possible to spend less, but give more? O...

Every nativity play we’ve seen has the grumpy innkeeper who turns Mary & Joseph away. We imagine a heartless man slamming the door in the face of a pregnant woman. Scripture actually says almost nothing about who this person was, or why they turned the young couple away. But what we do know is that, whether it was intentional or not, there was an unwillingness to make space that first Christma...

Because of his murderous campaign to kill every boy child under 2 years old, Herod is the obvious villain of the Christmas story. He’s also the easiest villain to look down on, because his actions are so evil we can only compare them to something from a movie. But, while his actions are unimaginable, his motivations are much more familiar to us. King Herod’s grasping for power led him to commit on...

For the most part, our mindset is, “I should be able to do whatever I want, as long as I’m not hurting anyone.” And most of our indulgences don’t seem to be. Who cares if you add more clothes you don’t need to your closet, or sneak an extra piece of cake in the breakroom, or lose sight of your other obligations during NFL season? Although, if what we were doing was hurting someone, would we even n...

Family members aren’t always going to get along. That’s a given. With different personalities come different preferences and perspectives. We’re bound to disagree and get on each other’s nerves. Obviously, we can overlook the small stuff, but what about the big stuff? What happens when someone says or does something deeply wounding that they can’t take back? The type of stuff you can’t undo, or fu...

We all know people who didn’t grow up in a great family but made their way through life leaning on their “chosen” family. These are people they’re not biologically related to, but who love, support, challenge, and encourage them to be their best selves. They needed these extra influences because they didn’t have access to a built-in family. But does that mean that those who do, don’t need addition...

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Family first!” What does that mean though? Is the family unit more important than the individuals in it? Does being a part of a family mean letting go of your personal identity? What if what’s good for them is bad for you? The Bible seems to talk a lot about sacrifice. Is that God’s expectation—that give up our goals and dreams for the sake of our family? What if you’r...

We all have a high need for belonging; to feel like we fit with a group of people. We want to be known, loved, and accepted for who we are. But when it comes to family, it can feel like we have pick one or the other. Like we can either be honest OR accepted, but we can’t be both. Why do some of us feel least comfortable with those we should have the closest connection to? Can you ONLY truly belong...

We all want to be happy. We design our lives around it. We want to have fun, be carefree, and enjoy our day to day. And obviously, we want the same thing for our family. Few things make us sadder than seeing those we love unhappy. But sometimes they are. Happiness is a hard state to sustain. Expectations go unmet, preferences clash, and feelings get hurt. What then? Do we ignore it, try and fix it...

Nobody likes feeling out of control, but for some, uncertainty is their nightmare. They desire self-discipline, certainty, and standards above all things – and they’re willing to sacrifice spontaneity and relationship to get it. The controller’s mantra is “If I want it done right, I have to do it myself.” In our attempt to control our environment, we realize we can’t – so we begin to worry. This c...

We’d all appreciate less demands and more freedom – but for some, this is an obsession of their heart. When we pursue the idol of comfort, we’re more than willing to not be productive at all if we can be comfortable. In our avoidance of stress and expectations, we see people around us as potential obstacles to our comfort – because relationships take work. But for all the comfort we pursue, we sim...