Sermons | Church on the Hill

How can we all get along in God’s diverse family? Is it even possible? The city of Ephesus was comprised of people who came from different backgrounds — racially, economically, and politically. It’s no wonder the believers in that city were finding it difficult to come together as one, put aside their differences, and get along in God’s new family.

The 1st-century church in Ephesus had the same problems we face in the 21st century. As we dive into the book of Ephesians we’ll discover how to live in the grace and mercy of God and how to show the world what a diverse church that Loves God and Loves People looks like. 

October 6, 2024

Ephesians: A Revolutionary Idea

September 29, 2024

A Good Name

September 22, 2024

A Good Practice

We all suffer and go through hardships. What are the practices that sustain a good and godly life during tough times? The secret to getting through difficulties like what Job endured are cultivating deeply formed spiritual practices that enable a deeply formed spiritual life. Good and godly practices will anchor us to God and provide strength during life’s storms.

September 15, 2024

A Good Cause

September 8, 2024

A Good Community

The people we choose to surround ourselves with can either help us build a life of wisdom, peace, and integrity or lead us down a path of conflict and regret. Scripture challenges us to be intentional about our relationships, to seek out godly wisdom in others, and to invest in a community that reflects God’s love and grace. The foundation for a good – and godly – life is a good and godly community.

September 1, 2024

Less Worry, More Faith

August 25, 2024

Less Junk, More Health

Food is a good gift from God, intended to nourish and delight us. Yet, for many, it has become a source of struggle—dominated by cravings, compulsions, and the endless cycle of yo-yo dieting. We often believe that more willpower or the next diet will solve our problems. But what if food isn’t the enemy? What if the true solution to our dissatisfaction lies not in controlling our appetites, but in allowing Christ to fill the deepest hunger of our souls? Come, taste, and see that the Lord is good!

August 18, 2024

Less Distraction, More Presence

Our world is full of distractions. There are countless things that pull our attention away from where it truly needs to be. Jesus, on the other hand, calls us to keep our attention focused on one thing. He invites us to a different posture so that no matter where we are, who we’re with, or what is happening we can respond to his invitation and find the satisfaction that only He can truly provide.

August 11, 2024

Less Debt, More Freedom

If any area of our modern life gets twisted and misaligned to God’s will and God’s ways it might be our finances. When we follow the principles outlined in Scripture and learn the real purpose of money, however, and trust the guidance of God’s Word, we can experience a more joyful life aligned with God’s desires. Learn how to avoid the complexities and regrets of worldly financial practices by following God’s wisdom.

August 4, 2024

Less Stuff, More Happiness

True and lasting contentment in this life will never be found in the accumulation of material possessions. Jesus is calling us to embrace the idea of simplicity and finding our sense of contentment in Him so that we can be free from the enslavement to our things and thereby be free to serve others.

July 28, 2024

When God Loves Your Enemy

In Jonah chapter 4, God challenges us to examine our hearts. Are we, like Jonah, only loving and serving God when life is easy and trouble-free? Do we prioritize our comfort over the call of God to be His instrument of mercy to people who are different than ourselves? God " . . . is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" and longs to forgive people. Do we? Will we?

July 21, 2024

Jonah: Chapter 3

In Jonah chapter 3, we see Jonah is finally ready to obey God’s command to go to Nineveh. And yet, once he arrives, his message makes it clear that his heart is not in the task given to him. Jonah still won’t show grace. Yet, God still moves in power through him, with the entire city responding to God’s message. Jonah 3 reminds us that God has grace for everyone from rebellious prophets like Jonah to ruthless pagans in Nineveh.

July 14, 2024

A Severe Mercy: In the Belly of the Fish

In Chapter 2 of the book of Jonah, we see Jonah’s cry for help while inside the belly of the great fish. His prayer to God shows faith in God, while also still lacking any humility for his sins. This week, we explore how God responds when we hit rock bottom, and how we can take the suffering we experience, whether it be self-inflicted circumstantial suffering, and still find God’s grace.

July 7, 2024

The Risk of Running

God has a calling on all our lives. The question isn’t is God calling me, but rather will I follow Him or will I run away and simply go through the motions of following God.

June 30, 2024

Disciples of the Next Generation

June 23, 2024

Walking in the Spirit

We are called to walk in the Spirit, but this can’t happen until we first have surrendered our life to the Spirit’s leading and control. Experiencing the “indwelling of the Holy Spirit” should not be an unusual or weird occurrence. Rather, the Spirit’s work in our life is about increasing the quality of holy love and deepening our own spiritual maturity. There is no need for our lives to run on empty if we are willing to yield control to God’s infilling presence.

June 16, 2024

Gifts of The Holy Spirit

Spiritual gifts are special Divine enablements given to individual Christians by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of serving God in the Church and the world.

June 9, 2024

Greater Things Through the Spirit

Jesus desires for us to do greater things than he did? Wait?! How can this be true? The church of Jesus Christ when empowered by the Holy Spirit, we will be able to do more collectively than Christ could’ve done individually. Today we examine two practical steps we can take to see this reality play out in our lives.

June 2, 2024

Prayed For By The Spirit

The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Helper. Jesus said he would send us help and that He would never leave us. Thus, the Spirit of God is praying for us and is here to help us.

May 26, 2024

Empowered by the Spirit

If the Holy Spirit gives us power, what is it for? It may not be exactly what you think. The good news is that if you’ve encountered Jesus, you have a story to share. God will help each of us share how His story has changed our story. As we address the challenges in sharing our faith, we anchor ourselves with one key idea: we are all witnesses.

May 19, 2024

Encounter The Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Spirit isn’t a force, feeling, or reserved for those deemed to be “super saints.” The Spirit of God leads, guides, and teaches us as He lives within us. The Holy Spirit is what makes it possible for us to follow Christ and to live as his faithful followers. Our Triune God longs for us to encounter Him through the work and person of the Holy Spirit.

May 12, 2024

Jesus Is Greater: The Cross

The Cross of Jesus is provocative. What was once a means of capital punishment was used by God to radically restore the relationship between Creator and creation. We are not merely forgiven by the Cross of Christ, but also enabled to have intimacy with God and provoked to serve the world around us with Christ-like love.

May 5, 2024

Jesus is Greater: Week 5

Do you ever feel like you’re walking on eggshells with God? Sometimes, even when we know better, we still make choices that we know aren’t God’s intended best for our lives. We can often feel stuck in a cycle of sin, shame, repentance, repeat. But what if God wanted a different kind of relationship with us? As we continue our series, Jesus is Greater, we look at what Jesus did so we can get out of this shame cycle.

April 28, 2024

Jesus is Greater: Terms & Conditions

God’s Old Covenant had rules and sacrifices, but Jesus changed it all with a new promise, sealed by his sacrifice. This promise is about change and closeness with God. God’s forgiveness and love are the basis, not our actions, work, or effort. The New Covenant is not based on what we do but what God does for us. Our response is to trust and follow Christ.

April 21, 2024

Jesus is Greater: Week 3

The priests of Israel were the people meant to represent God to his people and the people to God. Yet, these priests fail to live up to their high calling again and again. Israel, and we, stood in need of a better representative, a better mediator so that we could live in right relationship with God. As we continue this series, we explore how Jesus is greater than the priesthood of Israel and how we now are called to be representatives of God to the world.

April 14, 2024

Jesus is Greater: Faithful Beyond Measure

Our society has seen a rise in the power of people being influencers. Everyone, however, can influence and yet, there is no greater influence in our world than the person of Jesus Christ. When we keep our focus on Christ and allow his influence to guide our lives, by His Spirit, we won’t find ourselves drifting away from His truth regardless of the circumstances we’re experiencing.

April 7, 2024

Jesus is Greater: Majesty

The book of Hebrews isn’t written to super saints, but to those who know the hardships of life. The writer tells us that Jesus is greater than any struggle or difficulty. Jesus is greater than any person or issue and that God has always been communicating with His people. The greater question is do we want to hear what the Lord is saying and will we follow Him when He calls.

March 31, 2024

Easter Sunday

If we are given a choice, we prefer things that are full over being empty. Full sounds positive; empty sounds negative. Empty implies want and need, whereas full suggests abundance and blessing. Yet, the emptiness of the tomb on the first Easter implies that Christ’s Resurrection is not for those who consider themselves “full,” but instead, for those who know they are “empty” and need to be filled.

March 24, 2024

Follow Me: Week 6

As Jesus enters into Jerusalem he’s given a king’s welcome. Crowds of people plead that the messiah would save them from Rome’s oppressive rule. Jesus has a different idea in mind, and shows us that Jesus is the king we need.

March 17, 2024

Follow Me: Week 5

Knowing that his time is short. Jesus urges his disciples to stay awake and to remain focused on those things that are most important. If we are going to follow Christ in today’s world we must keep watch and be vigilant as we wait for his return and continue serving him

March 10, 2024

Follow Me: Week 4

Jesus is giving us a final exam. It’s open book and you have all the questions. In so doing, Christ draws a distinction between our head knowledge and our heart knowledge. The essence of Christian faith is summarized with the call to love God and love our neighbor.

March 3, 2024

Follow Me: Week 3

Following Jesus Christ means that we are called to faithfully steward our everyday lives in such a way so that we reflect God’s goodness, grace, and greatness to a watching world. We are the living presence of God to those around us.

February 25, 2024

Follow Me: Week 2

In this sermon anchored in Mark 10:46-52, we explore the profound connection between Jesus' passion prediction, his servant-hearted mission, and the healing encounter with blind Bartimaeus.

February 18, 2024

Follow Me: Week 1

Jesus made a common invitation to many people: “Follow me.” That same invitation is extended towards us today. Through the story of a man’s response to following Jesus, we look at what that means for us, whether we call ourselves Christians or not. Jesus will work so that we all come to a key realization: if we have Jesus, we lack nothing.

February 11, 2024

Worship is a Lifestyle

Jesus takes his three closest disciples on to a mountain, where they experience the full identity of Jesus: man and Messiah. The story informs us how we are to respond to Jesus, with one key idea: worship is a lifestyle.

February 4, 2024

Transformation is Greater Than Information

A profound change can happen in our lives when we’re open to the ways God’s Spirit uses the Scripture, and we willingly consent to God’s transformative work. Practical, biblical teaching through the Word of God can bring about a genuine encounter with Jesus, leading to personal, internal, and spiritual transformation. When this occurs we experience the truth that transformation is greater than information.

January 28, 2024

Serving Together

We all have a mixed relationship with authority figures in our lives. Some we trust, others we can’t stand. Jesus’ actions in Mark’s Gospel show who he is and what he does with the authority given to him. And it begs the question: What will you do with the authority given to you?

January 21, 2024

We're Better Together

Jesus is giving us a new understanding of what family means so that when others turn against us, misunderstand us, and otherwise try to dismiss us there are others around who can support us, walk alongside us, and be there to enable us to continue pursuing the will of God. This new family is called the church.

January 14, 2024

Love Makes Room

Through the transformative power of compassion and unconditional acceptance, the church can become a place where genuine hospitality breaks barrier, embraces diversity, and creates a welcoming space where everyone can experience the love of God found in Jesus Christ.

January 7, 2024

Following Jesus

There is a gap between what it means to follow Jesus and how we practically do it. Jesus is still calling people who experience the gaps, inconsistencies, and feel like dropouts to follow Him. Following Jesus isn’t about religious rules, but rather about living a transformed life.

December 31, 2023

This Is The Good News

Regardless of the year you have had, God has been and will always be with you. The life of faith at the New Year (or at any time of year) must be grounded on the central idea that our lives – at all times, and all places – are to reflect the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

December 24, 2023

Christmas Eve

God came to earth to end the estrangement between humanity and Himself. The choice we all face is whether we will accept the means – Jesus Christ – that God has chosen to bring us back into a loving, shame-free, hopeful relationship with Himself.

December 17, 2023

Simple Christmas: Love All

The one constant in all of life is God’s love. Even as the world is constantly changing, the Church is called to demonstrate and live out the message of God’s love by loving all people who cross our path.

December 10, 2023

Simple Christmas: Joy

In week 3 of Simple Christmas, we tell the story of the time when Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she would be the mother of the coming Savior. Her powerful response, “I am the Lord’s servant, let it be to me according to your word” is a remarkable response and model for us as Christians today. To make Christmas simpler this year, we want to experience God’s presence with us and give ourselves away.

December 3, 2023

Simple Christmas: Spend Less

While the world is rushing about during the Christmas holidays and the hustle and bustle is draining our spiritual strength. The call of God during the Advent season is one of contentment and peace, which cannot be found in buying more gifts, and spending more money, but in cultivating a deep sense of peace and satisfaction in Jesus Christ.

November 26, 2023

Simple Christmas: Worship Fully

During the Advent season it’s not a matter of will we worship, but rather who or what will we worship. To worship fully we must ensure that the underlying issues of idolatry and injustice are dealt with so that our hearts are aligned with God’s heart. This is step number one toward a simple Christmas.

November 19, 2023

James: The Final Chapter

November 12, 2023

James: To Judge, or not to Judge

Throughout James’ letter to the church, he pleads with Christians to make sure their beliefs and behavior are in alignment. Where there is not alignment, James believes there is an issue of the heart that needs to be addressed. James teaches us about judging others and paired with the teachings of Jesus, we can see a clear message from scripture: being judgmental chooses distance, but being compassionate chooses intimacy.

November 5, 2023

James: Week 6

October 29, 2023

James: Loose Lips...

Our words have the power to bring life or death, to build up or tear down others. James calls us to be mindful of how we use our words, ensuring they reflect our faith and the love of Jesus Christ to others.

March 14, 2021

Listen to Him: Part 4

March 7, 2021

Listen to Him: Part 3

February 28, 2021

Listen to Him: Part 2

February 21, 2021

Listen to Him: Part 1

February 7, 2021

How To Neighbor: Week 6 - Bless

January 31, 2021

How To Neighbor: Week 5 - Share

January 24, 2021

How To Neighbor: Week 4 - Serve

January 17, 2021

How To Neighbor: Week 3 - Good Neighbor

January 10, 2021

How To Neighbor: Listen

January 3, 2021

How To Neighbor: Be

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