By Pastor Stephen Hess – For Christians, Christmas is a time when we celebrate the birth of Christ. It is also traditionally a time when we engage in the practice of giving gifts to one another. When you stop to think about it, there’s something a bit strange about this. Christmas is the one time […]
advent, christmas, HolidaysBy Pastor Stephen Hess – “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me, from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” Many will recognize those lyrics from the old Christian song called “This […]
the christian lifeBy Pastor Stephen Hess – One could argue that there are two types of people in the world today: Those who trust the Bible and live life according to God’s word, and those who reject the Bible and live life according to their own wisdom. Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, […]
bible, book of acts, scriptureBy Pastor Stephen Hess – This past summer a couple of stories made headlines about notable Christian leaders who declared that they were no longer believers. The first was Joshua Harris, the prominent pastor and author of the bestselling book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. After news emerged of Harris’s divorce from his wife, Harris posted […]
current events
By Pastor Stephen Hess – From the earliest days of the church, Christians have faced opposition and persecution for following Jesus. This has been apparent during our sermon series on the book of Acts, where the religious authorities of the day could not tolerate the message of Jesus and instead threatened the disciples and “charged […]
book of acts, evangelism, persecutionBy Pastor Stephen Hess – As we have been working our way through the book of Acts this year, one of the themes that has repeatedly come up is the call for God’s people to engage in evangelism. At the very beginning of the book, Jesus says to his disciples, “You will be my witnesses […]
book of acts, evangelism, hospitalityPastor Stephen Hess – Last year during our 25th anniversary the Session presented a new vision statement for our congregation. At the heart of that vision is the affirmation that we exist “To glorify God and make disciples that are completely transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Our elders also shared with the congregation […]
visionBy Pastor Stephen Hess – What does it mean to be an “evangelical” Christian? That question has been the subject of significant debate in recent years. Much of the confusion has come from the fact that people define the term “evangelical” in different ways. Some define evangelical sociologically. When used this way, the term refers […]
book of acts, evangelicalism, sermon seriesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – According to the Bible, there is only one true gospel. This gospel is the good news that because of Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection, sinners can be made right with God through faith alone. This is the message that the apostles preached from the beginning of the church. Yet even […]
gospel, moviesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Recently at Highview we began a sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer has been the focus of Christian teaching in the church for centuries because it is the place in Scripture where Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. Therefore, if we want to learn how to […]
prayer, sermon series