In this holiday replay from August 5, 2024, Paul instructs us to be continually joyful, and prayerful, and thankful. These are not separate commands. Rather, they are like a 3-legged stool that cannot hold us without all three legs. God deeply cares about our joy, and our joy is possible only when partnered with continual prayer and gratitude!

We will resume new devotionals in the new year that track with our congregational read-through of the New Testament.

https://www.highrock.org/newtestament

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

The Apostle Paul instructs us that continual joy, prayer, and gratitude are all connected to one another and rooted in who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

- Imagine that you are teaching a children's class in Sunday school. How might you explain the connection between joy, prayer, and gratitude in this passage? Perhaps write your answer down in a paragraph or two.

- Why do you imagine that God, through Paul, commands us to do these things? What might be God's motive? In other words, how much does your joy matter to God?

In this holiday replay from July 8, 2024, we consider God's agape love -- the first fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This love is very different from all the other kinds of love that we might experience. But in order to understand it and share it with others, we must first receive it ourselves. It is a fruit of the Spirit, not our own efforts!

We will resume new devotionals in the new year that track with our congregational read-through of the New Testament.

https://www.highrock.org/newtestament

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

Love is the most excellent way, the first fruit of the Spirit -- perhaps the fruit from which all others spring. God's "agape" love is the measure of all things!

- How has God's love challenged your previous or false notions of what love is? Can you remember a time when you first began to understand how different God's love is?

- Where have you seen or experienced God's love, or gained a clearer vision of what it is? What might help you to receive it more completely and share it less reservedly?

In this holiday replay from last year, we see that Joseph faced a difficult choice -- the woman he loved was pregnant and the child was not his. What should he do? Though he likely felt betrayed, he chose a path that would spare Mary of any additional shame, even at great cost to himself. God gave Jesus parents who would raise Jesus in the path of true righteousness, a path of faith, mercy, and self-sacrificial love.

We will resume new devotionals in the new year that track with our congregational read-through of the New Testament.

https://www.highrock.org/newtestament

Christmas Eve Services:

https://www.highrock.org/calendar/christmaseve2025

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

Jesus was raised by two parents -- Joseph and Mary. Today we see some of the character that made Joseph a fitting parent for God the Son.

- However we picture Joseph's understanding of "righteousness", we see that he was willing to pay a high cost to spare Mary any additional shame. If you had to guess, why do you think Joseph might have made such a choice?

- And calling of God will involve sacrifice because it is a call to love something or someone more than we love ourselves. What or whom has God called you to love sacrificially?

Through the prophet Zechariah, God paints a picture of the coming messiah-king, a ruler unlike any other. Riding on a donkey rather than a warhorse, this king proclaims peace not just to Israel but to all nations. This picture is a foretelling of who Jesus would be and what he would do for us. Zechariah’s vision continues to invite us to expect and embrace the peace of Christ which will one day end all war.

Christmas Eve Services:

https://www.highrock.org/calendar/christmaseve2025

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

- Jesus laid claim to this prophecy of the humble messiah-king for himself in all 4 gospels (Matt. 21.1-11; Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19:28-40, John 12.12-19). What do you think might have been so important that every gospel emphasized it?

- According to this prophecy, the power to establish peace rests in the hands of God's chosen messiah-king. Given that peace is ultimately in God's hands, what might be your part to play? How might God be calling you to join with Jesus as a peacemaker?

God’s peace often comes in unexpected ways and places. The angels' announcement of "peace on earth" is given to shepherds - shift workers on the margins of society. God's peace is not reserved for the powerful and privileged, but offered freely to all in Christ. Advent invites us to listen for God’s good news in humble moments, and even dark circumstances.

Pastor Dave's sermon on Luke 2

https://youtu.be/ZUDG3TDi6Yg

Christmas Eve Services:

https://www.highrock.org/calendar/christmaseve2025

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

- What stands out to you about the way God announces peace, and to whom?

- Where in your life, work, and relationships are you hoping for God to bring peace today?

- How might God be inviting you to be a part of bringing peace into the world?

Peace on earth gets sung every Christmas—but the world still feels loud, fractured, and anxious. What if the peace promised that first Christmas was never meant to wait for the world to be fixed?

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👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n

👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

A religious leader named Nicodemus came to Jesus under cover of darkness to seek answers but left with even more questions. One clear answer that Jesus gave encapsulates the entire Gospel, the fullness of the good news. In Jesus, God has come down to us (that's Christmas) and Jesus told Nicodemus that one day, he would be lifted up (that's the crucifixion and Easter). And behind that answer was the simple truth, that God so loved the entire world that he has offered eternal life to us in Jesus.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

- How have the life and teachings of Jesus informed or changed how you understand love?

- Who might Christ be inviting you to join him in loving others in a costly or inconvenient way?

- How does hope in Christ shape the way you give yourself to others?

Many would agree that nothing matters more than love, yet those same people often disagree on what love actually is. What is love? What does it look like? The Apostle John insists that the answers to these questions is that God is love. We know what love is only because God first loves us, which is what Christmas is all about.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

- If a child asked you what love is, how might you answer?

- When John insists that God is love (verse 8), what do you think he means?

- What does Christmas reveal about God's love to you? What does Christmas reveal about how God might want you to love others?

Through the prophet Hosea, we see God as a loving parent whose tender love is ignored and even rejected. God teaches this child to walk, feeds them, and leads them with "cords of human kindness". And this is the love God expresses toward a rebellious, wayward child! God's love is not distant or conditional; it is patient and persistent. It is the love that comes to us with Jesus' birth, when God comes to lead wayward children home.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

• Where do you see God’s patient and persistent love in your own story?
• In what ways are you tempted to resist or overlook God’s love?
• How does this passage deepen your understanding of God’s heart?

God’s love is not distant or detached. In Jesus, God has drawn close to us, inviting us to be part of God's family. Jesus came for everyone, even those who would misunderstand or reject him. God is with us, full of grace and truth, and offers us the right to become true children of God.

From Fast to Feast (Community Meal on 12/17)

https://www.highrock.org/calendar/fromfasttofeast

The registration form for MetroWest is open. The Arlington registration form is closed but there is a contact listed. Be sure to mention the special dispensation from Pastor Dave :)

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For Reflection:

How does the incarnation shape your understanding of God’s closeness to you?

How might your life be different if you were more continuously aware of Jesus' presence with you?

Who or what are the people, places, and practices that help remind you of God's loving presence with you?