Weekly Messages

Ever notice how the holiday season, meant to be a time of joy, turns into a stress-fest?

The pressure for perfection in decorations, gifts, and gatherings, coupled with social media's picture-perfect standards, leads to nothing but all out chaos. Add in the financial strain, family dynamics, and the ticking clock of holiday deadlines – it's the perfect storm of stress.

Question: When the trappings of the holidays rob us of joy, where do we turn?

Scripture suggests something profound: we turn to Christmas itself, not the glitzy chaos, but the real heart of it, the baby born in Bethlehem whose name is Jesus.

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Questions for Reflection and Discussion

How do you typically seek comfort during challenging moments? How might turning to God for comfort change your perspective?

Consider the connection between the Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah and the birth of Jesus in the New Testament. How does the birth of Jesus bring joy, and how can you keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas amid the holiday hustle and bustle?

Reflect on the connection between seeking the Lord, obedience, and the promise of joy in John 15:11. How does joy flow through obedience in your understanding, and how can it transform your approach to life's challenges?

2024 marks an election year, and it is shaping up to be unlike anything I've witnessed in my lifetime. Unfortunately, every four years, our nation appears to be growing more and more divided.

This division has reached a point where the idea of a government embodying justice and righteousness seems unimaginable, let alone one characterized by enduring absolute justice.

Can you imagine? A government so just and so good that there is only and always an ever-increasing peace in the world? It's a scenario that feels like an impossible dream, given the historical trajectory of humanity—even the best-intentioned governments in history have eventually succumbed to the inherent flaws of human nature.

And yet, Scripture teaches that God has achieved what humanity cannot. Through the birth of His Son, a kingdom marked by everlasting authority, justice, righteousness, and peace has been established, and we get to be citizens of this kingdom, now and forever.

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Questions for Reflection and Discussion

The people mentioned in Isaiah's time were not just facing moments of overwhelming darkness but were seemingly content to dwell in it. How do you see parallels between that situation and the current state of the world or society today? Are there areas in your life where you are content to dwell in darkness too?

The victory in Isaiah 9:3-5 is likened to Israel's triumph over Midian, which was unexpected and decisive. Can you share a personal experience where God brought victory in an unexpected way in your life?

Isaiah 9:6 assigns powerful names to the promised child: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Which of these most resonates with you right now? Why?

What practical steps can you take to actively invite the peace of Christ into your life and community?

In a world filled with uncertainties, challenges, and ever-changing circumstances, the concept of hope often emerges as a guiding light for many. However, the world's understanding of hope can sometimes resemble a fragile wish, a desire founded on circumstances and fleeting emotions. It's not so for the people of God.

This Sunday, we will not gather to practice wishful thinking together, but to proclaim a profound contrast between the hope propagated by secular culture, rooted in the temporal and the uncertain, and Christian hope, which is firmly rooted like "an anchor for the soul" in our unchanging God.

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Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Discuss the three-fold foundation for Christian hope as outlined by Hebrews 6 i.e God's Word, nature and character, and the redemptive work of Jesus. How does this differ from the foundation of secular hope? How does this deepen or challenge your current understanding of hope?

Consider the list of New Testament promises mentioned in the sermon (Salvation and Redemption, Victory over Death and Sin, etc.). Which of these promises most resonates with you currently, and why? With which do you most struggle currently, and why?

In practical terms, how can we as a church and as individuals anchor our hope in God's Word, nature and character, and in the redemptive work of Jesus in our everyday lives?

In what ways can this message of hope be shared or applied in your community and beyond?

What do you treasure? One needs to look no further than his or her priorities for the truth. 

Whatever we focus on dictates our actions–make no mistake, you are willing to sacrifice for the thing(s) most valuable to you. Whether it’s money, status, power, safety, or comfort. What do you treasure?

There is only one thing most “worth it;” one thing of “surpassing worth” (of “everlasting worth”) that is truly worth treasuring, where the gain for us and for others is truly worth the sacrifice.

This Sunday, let’s talk about the one thing of surpassing worth in our lives regardless of who we are or where we are and the gain of our sacrifice, should we give ourselves to the pursuit of Him.

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Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Consider the things that people/you treasure. Why do they/you treasure these things? Why do they/you ultimately fall short of treasuring Jesus?

Consider the areas in which we might rejoice in ourselves i.e. our flesh. Which is most enticing for you? Why? How can we have the same “count it all as loss” mentality as Paul?

How does koinonia in the suffering of Christ help you to know Him more?

How does the hope of resurrection encourage you in your life and walk with Jesus today?

Have you ever been asked the question, “What do you do?” For the majority of us, when asked the question, we begin with our career, our work–at least we do if we are proud of what we do, right? In our culture, we are often defined by our work. There are a number of problems with this mentality.

The biggest problem with this mentality, frankly, is that it is unbiblical. We are not defined by our work. The Bible clearly teaches that we are defined by God’s work–the work He has done for us in Christ and is doing in us by His Spirit; however, work is vitally important to all life. Life does not work without work. That’s true in general but also true with our spiritual life as well.

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Questions for Reflection & Discussion

There is a significant difference between “working for your salvation” and “working out your salvation.” What is this difference and why is the distinction important to make?

Behind our work is God’s work. How does this bring comfort to your life as a follower of Jesus?

We are all tempted to grumble and complain. How can you maintain a joyful attitude in the midst of the problems of life?

Who are the people in your life who model Jesus? In what ways do they model Christlikeness?

Similarly, who are the people in your life to whom you model Jesus? In what ways would they say you model Christlikeness?

This weekend is Veterans Day where we honor veterans of our country’s Armed Forces. There is something particularly beautiful about sacrifice that, when you see it, you cannot help but be moved, whether it be a hero's sacrifice for one’s family or country or, in the case of our scripture reading for Sunday, a savior’s sacrifice for the sin of the world.

This Sunday is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Together, we join millions of Christians around the world in praying for the persecuted church. The statistics are startling. There are over 360 million Christians who will suffer high levels of persecution today and every two minutes, someone is killed for their faith in Jesus.* These persecuted brothers and sisters of ours are without question some of the most courageous people on earth. From where does their courage come?

Bring a friend and join us this Sunday as we look to the book of Philippians for the answer in a new series we are calling Surpassing Worth: Sacrificial Living for the Sake of Christ.

Join us this Sunday as we wrap up our Ready to Run series. Let's explore the discipleship strategy here at North Highlands and discover what it means to Learn, Love, and Live Like Jesus.

We often seek temporary prizes or pleasures, but Jesus asks us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness which are imperishable. This week we hear about several lessons from the Sermon on the Mount -  lessons that Christ calls us to put into practice now for an eternal reward.

Our third and final value is an outward facing one: You are Wanted. Every church wants to be a welcoming church. But oftentimes the way churches think of “welcoming” is superficial at best or misguided at worst, opting for an approach that (even if unconscious) avoids all moral judgments and encourages a “values-free” environment in the name of being welcoming.

Well, here at North Highlands, we believe those two approaches to being a “welcoming” church fall woefully short of the biblical standard; we seek to practice a “welcome” that is both deeper than superficial smiles and higher than politically correctness.