By Pastor Stephen Hess – Over the past month there has been a recurring and disturbing theme in the headlines: natural disasters. First, Hurricane Harvey drowned the city of Houston with a deluge of rain and flooding of epic proportions. Thousands of homes were destroyed and it will take years for the city to rebuild. […]
current events, sufferingBy Pastor Stephen Hess – A couple of weeks ago I turned on the news and saw images that I found it hard to watch. There were images of men marching at night carrying torches deliberately reminiscent of KKK rallies. There was video footage of men chanting Nazi slogans and performing Nazi salutes. I am, […]
gospel, race, racism, sinBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Some time ago we acquired a toy garbage truck set in our household. This particular set came with play-doh molds to create objects such as garbage cans and bottles. These objects can be dropped into a special compartment on the truck before you drive the truck across the floor. As […]
gospel, sermon seriesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Wichita, Kansas and attend a Ligonier Ministries regional conference where hundreds of believers gathered to study the truth of God’s word. The theme of the conference was “Stand Firm”, and the speakers focused on how Christians can stand firm in their faith […]
culture, faith, pluralismBy Pastor Stephen Hess – As I write this article, preparations are being made for a “Presbytery” meeting that will take place at Highview in just a few days. Quite often when I tell people that I am a pastor they will ask me about the type of church I serve. When I tell them […]
EPC, evangelical presbyterian church, presbyterianismBy Pastor Stephen Hess – There is no such thing as a “perfect church.” In fact, it’s been said that if you find the perfect church don’t join it or else you’ll ruin it! The reason there are no perfect churches is simple: churches are made up of people and there are no perfect people. […]
1 Corinthians, sermon seriesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – The first couple of months of 2017 have been a whirlwind for our family! After being in the adoption process for the better part of year, God answered our prayers and brought a new daughter—Evangeline—into our family. One of the things we have been so thankful for throughout this process […]
adoption, gospelBy Pastor Stephen Hess – As we started the new year at Highview we have been focusing on our theological roots in the Protestant Reformation. 2017 marks the 500th year anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, and consequently we have been using this anniversary as an occasion to study some of our most foundational […]
reformation, reformed theologyBy Pastor Stephen Hess – I once heard a pastor say that there are certain beliefs within the Christian faith that are “bullet beliefs.” Bullet beliefs are doctrines that are so important that you would be willing to take a bullet to defend them. These doctrines are so non-negotiable that you would give up your […]
reformation, reformed theology