Highrock Church

Our best efforts could never earn what God so freely gives. We might struggle to pray, but the Spirit is literally praying with us and for us. Not only that, God is with us in every struggle, promising to make all things work for our good -- perhaps especially the worst things. We can trust God with this incredible promise because God already took the worst imaginable thing, the crucifixion of God the Son, and turned it into the greatest blessing imaginable! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Is the world an ugly place or a beautiful place? Obviously it is both, but why? Paul reminds us that sin didn't just corrupt us, it twisted the entire created order. But Jesus changes all things. Creation now groans like in childbirth -- there is pain, but with a purpose, and only for a time. The world suffers with us, waiting for God's purposes to be fully restored in us and in the world. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Why should we do as God says? A lowly servant might obey out of fear. An employee might obey for hope of reward or fear of punishment. Those motivations reveal the nature of our relationship. For those who are in Christ, Paul says, our obligation is that of adopted children. We respond to God's generosity, not to gain something positive or avoid something negative, but purely out of joyful gratitude!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Pouring gas into an electric car would be disastrous -- an engine needs proper fuel. It would be similarly disastrous if those who are in the Spirit turn to the old fuel of the sinful nature, which leads to death rather than life. This most basic choice opens or closes the door to so many other important choices in our lives. Let's choose the right fuel!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #6 of Highrock's fall series, "Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Seven Churches of Revelation" by Pastor Richard Lee from Revelation 3:7-13 (NIV)

Finally turning the corner on sin, Paul highlights how God, through Jesus Christ, accomplishes what the Law could not do! All that dark language about sin was not about condemnation. Rather, it was a diagnosis that leads to the healing found in Jesus. The Law, as good as it is, leads to death while the Spirit leads to life -- life for us with God!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Paul concludes his deep dive into our sinful condition by calling it slavery. In our inner being, we desire to do what is right and pleasing to God, but the sin within eventually compels us to do the opposite. We are not in control, but are we without hope?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Paul continues to develop a deeper picture of how sin affects us. Sin is like a disease or a parasite that is able to make us do even the evil things we hate! But that dark diagnosis hides some hope because in some sense, it is sin itself that is at fault! Rather than condemnation, Paul's picture exonerates us in many ways, even though it still leaves us in a state in which we are helpless to escape our bonds. We are going to need help!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Paul feels the need to be clear that God's Law itself is a good thing! However, there is a corrupting force in us that turns that good thing to destructive ends. Paul will soon explain how God resolves this problem but in the meantime, we focus on the importance of not acting out of the fear that leads to sin. Rather, we embrace the love of God that leads to full life!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/Dr. Scott P. Rice's recent book, "Trinity and History"https://www.amazon.com/Trinity-History-God-World-Pannenberg-Theological/dp/1532668120https://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/order/ (one of Scott's favorite bookshops)

Sermon #5 of Highrock's fall series, "Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Seven Churches of Revelation" by Pastor Taylor Burgoyne from Revelation 2:18-29 (NIV)

The Law of Moses was a good thing, even a very good thing. However, this good thing was causing harm in several ways. Rather than lead people into right relationship with God and with one another, it was leading to division and self-righteousness. In response, Paul points out that when we were buried with Christ in baptism, we died to the Law and were united with Christ.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

We have a choice to make, a choice between two paths. One leads to doom and the other to life. Each path is defined by its destination but there is another difference. On one path, we get what we deserve and on the other, we receive not what we deserve but what God graciously offers as a gift. The choice is real and it is ours to make!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Much of life is often very complex but some decisions are simple, even if they are not easy. One of the simplest decisions, according to Paul, is to decide whom we will serve. We can serve sin, that is, anything that we place above God, or we can choose to serve God. We will serve; that reality is inevitable. But whom we serve will make all the difference in the world!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/Election Day Liturgy /Prayer from "Every Moment Holy"https://www.instagram.com/p/DB-QsxOvNG7/?img_index=1

Continuing his discussion of our relation to sin and grace, Paul urges us to no longer offer ourselves as tools for sin. Rather, let us offer ourselves to be used as instruments of God. Even a modest instrument in the hands of a master can be used to create great wonder and beauty!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For the Spotify playlist mentioned:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2siCSXIIyeDRbdzMvsqMhR?si=sejX4iK9SsO7C3g0xq9lYw&pt=c77b9bc7a87d8ff614172ba32f3e00fd

Imagine if you woke up and amnesia had wiped out your memory of important events of the recent past. So much would be lost! Your life would be mired in confusion! According to Paul, continuing to sin is like spiritual amnesia. We have forgotten not only who we are but whose we are, and all that Christ has done for us! What do you need to remember about who you are today?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

If our sin highlights just how gracious God is, then wouldn't sinning more just highlight God's grace even more? Paul answers this objection with a reminder that we have died to the world in order to experience new life in Christ, but what does that mean, exactly? And if new life in Christ comes only through dying to self, are there ways that God might be inviting us to die a little bit more today?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #4 of Highrock's fall series, "Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Seven Churches of Revelation" by Pastor Dave Swaim from Revelation 3:1-6 (NIV)

Just as Adam's sin changed everything for everyone, Jesus' righteousness and grace now also changes everything for everyone -- but how, exactly? In addition to ultimate questions about our connection with God, grace is now supposed to rule how we relate even to one another. How might God be inviting you to relate to others more through grace today?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

All human beings share a deep and mysterious connection -- what happens to one affects us all. This connection is especially pronounced in the case of our inheritance from Adam (the first human) and Jesus (the ultimate human). Paul shows us that our connection to these two people illuminates not only our origins but our ultimate destiny!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

When times are tough, or when we have been less than faithful, it might be tempting to doubt that God is for us. But because our relationship with God is based on God's faithfulness rather than ours, we can have great confidence that God is for us. More than that, we are called "friends of God". Family is a given but you choose your friends. God chooses us!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Through Abraham, God revealed that we can be right with God solely by putting our trust in God. We call this trust, "faith". This face, Pauls says, leads to a peace with God that transforms our lives, empowers us to find joy even in times of suffering, and strengthens our hope for the future!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #3 of Highrock's fall series, "Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Seven Churches of Revelation" by Pastor John Mury from Revelation 2:8-11

With Abraham as a model, Paul exhorts us to have a faith that never wavers. It seems like an almost impossible example to follow until we remember that Abraham's journey took several detours and that Abraham once even laughed at the idea of God's promise! So what exactly is our faith supposed to look like?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

It is clear from Paul's example of Abraham that God grants life forever based on our willingness to trust God's promises, not on the basis of our obedience to God's Law. Then what is the purpose of God's Law? Could it be that life forever is granted solely on the basis of faith but obedience to God's instructions enables us to live life to the full, even now?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Daily Devo | The Father of All Who Believe (Romans 4:9-12)Abraham was right with God through faith for 13 or more years before any signs of obeying the later law of Moses. He is thus the forebear of all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile. Abraham knew little but what little he did know about God led him to put his trust in God. But does that idea open the door for faith to show up in other places as well? Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

In demonstrating the truth of what he says, Paul appeals to Abraham as the father of the Jewish nation -- but Abraham also started out as a Gentile! There was no nation of Israel and God would not give them the Law for over 400 years. Since Abraham's relationship with God was based on faith (Gen 15:6), he serves as a demonstration that we all come to God through faith rather than obedience to the Law.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Apart from faith, Paul spoke of the Law as having such limited power that it can only make us aware of our own guilt. But through faith in Christ, the Law can be fulfilled and we can be cleansed of all guilt. But how? There are many ways to unpack the answer to thist question, but they all start with Christ's goodness. Through faith, the Law can finally produce goodness in us by driving us to Christ, the source of all goodness. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Having established the bad news, Paul finally begins to lay out the good news. No one comes to God through perfect obedience to the divine law, rather, we all come to God through God's mercy and grace! Not only is this truth fully revealed in Jesus but the clues were always there, even in the earliest writings of Moses. We all come to God as equals -- equally in need of God's grace!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #2 of Highrock's fall series, "Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Seven Churches of Revelation" by Pastor Meghan DeJong from Revelation 2:12-17

Paul concludes that God's Law is good. However, the Law's goodness does not have the power to transform us and give us life. Rather, its goodness shows us how far we have to go and how powerless we are to make that journey on our own power. We are helpless -- that is the bad news -- but the good news is coming!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

As Paul begins to wrap-up his discussion of the bad news, he begins to address some final objections and potential loopholes. For instance, if knowing all about God and being part of a community of such people does not make us good enough, then why bother? Paul is clear -- such things have great value! But they are a trust given to us to share with others, not something that makes us better than anyone else.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Have you ever received a package in which the contents do not match the outer packaging or labeling? That outer label is unhelpful and might even be dangerous. Similarly, Paul tells his fellow Jews that their outward religious acts are valuable only if they come from the heart. Such integrity might be impossible without a God who grants us new hearts through the Spirit!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

As Paul continues to explain the universal brokenness of all humanity, he anticipates and defuses potential excuses. In the previous passage, we saw how a lack of knowledge is not an excuse. In today's passage, we see the flip side -- that knowledge of God's instructions and even knowledge of God does not make us right if we are not faithful to what we know. Hypocritical religion hurts everyone and turns people away from God.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

For this holiday, here's a replay in which Pastor Kim shares that people often say that they feel distant from God because of a self-critical spirit or an image of God that is harsh and condemning. In this Psalm, we see God as slow to anger and abounding in love, a parent who is compassionate and gentle. What experiences and assumptions do we carry with us that warp our sense of who God is?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #1 of Highrock's fall series, "Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Seven Churches of Revelation" by Pastor Dave Swaim from Revelation 2:1-7

Continuing to address a congregation divided by spiritual pedigree and ethnicity, Paul emphasizes that they all had a connection to God's law. Jews had the Scriptures and were educated to know the Lord from a young age. Gentiles, even without the written Law, have a sense of God's law written into their consciences. We thus all share a connection to God's law and we all share the experience of breaking that law. We therefore have no excuse to judge others! Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

How can we help one another to become better versions of ourselves? Not by judgment, though that is often where we turn. Instead, God demonstrates that it is grace and kindness that leads to life change. Sin is real and harmful, but the path forward is the Good News of Jesus, not laying the bad news on other people's shoulders.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Paul has introduced himself as a chosen messenger of the Good News of Jesus. That Good News is an answer to some rather bad news, which he begins to lay out in today's passage. This bad news all starts when we are too proud to honor God and too entitled to be grateful for all that God has given us.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Paul's eagerness to visit the church in Rome will eventually end with his execution! Still, he is undeterred because he is unashamed of the good news of Jesus, for it is the power of God at work to save all. Are we similarly unashamed, or do we need to experience more of its power for ourselves?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

In his opening greeting, Paul declares that he is a bond-servant of Jesus, chosen to bring the Good News of Jesus to all people. This simple greeting hides a subversive message, that the love of Jesus challenges all other allegiances -- including loyalty to the emperor! What loyalties might the Good News challenge and transform in us?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #5 (and final) of Highrock's fall series, "Imago: Relationships that Reflect Our Maker" by a guest preacher, Prashan de Visser, from Matthew 5:9. Prashan is the founder and president of Global Unites, an organization that facilitates peacemaking environments and conversations among conflict-ridden groups in often war-torn nations.

Paul asks us to join him in praying for everyone, everywhere. For himself, he asks for boldness and faithfulness in his present circumstances rather than ask for escape from those circumstances. May we pray for the boldness to make the most of every opportunity rather than escape from the challenges that God uses to create those very opportunities to glorify God!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Paul tells us that we will need the full armor of God in order to resist the strategies of the Enemy. Just as God seeks to unite all things in Christ (Eph 1:10), the Devil's strategy is to sow division, distrust, and discouragement. To fight against such schemes is true spiritual warfare!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

We are to submit to one another not only in our marriages but in all relationships, and always out of reverence for Christ. Like with wives and husbands, Paul addresses two other pairings -- children and parents, slaves and masters. Rather than support any inequalities, Paul continues to counsel mutual love and respect. As valuable as political freedom might be, spiritual freedom and personal dignity matter even more!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Yes, wives are encouraged to submit to their husbands. However, that simplistic understanding misses the shocking truth that this passage also calls husbands to submit to their wives! While that might not seem shocking today, it was nothing sort of revolutionary 2,000 years ago! And it's not just husbands and wives -- we are all called to submit to one another, to serve one another, out of reverence for Christ. Who is God inviting you to serve today out of reverence for Christ?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

The Bible continually contrasts the path of wisdom with the path of foolishness. Ultimately, to be wise is to live in a way that makes sense given what is real and true. Paul thus encourages us to make the most of every opportunity, shining God's light into the darkness around us. God is our ultimate reality, and worship is one of the most powerful ways we are reminded of this truth!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

Sermon #4 of Highrock's fall series, "Imago: Relationships that Reflect Our Maker" from Matthew 18:15-20

We often begin any pursuit by asking, "What would be pleasing to me?" When we start from such a place, it is hard to believe in limits to our lusts and greed. Instead, Paul reminds us that we are children of light and real life and joy is found in seeking what pleases God. Let us ask and explore what pleases God rather than just what pleases ourselves!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

There are so many ways that we tear one another down through our words and actions. "Instead, be kind..." says Paul (v32). This exhortation is not just simplistic advice. Instead, Paul is reminding us to be like children who imitate our heavenly parent -- a God who has been incredibly kind and forgiving to us!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/

What we wear (like a uniform, business casual, or a wedding ring) can powerfully shape our actions and attitudes, and even how we view ourselves. Paul uses this image of clothing to describe our new identity in Christ. We are called to take off the old clothing -- our old ways of thinking and living -- and to put on Christ, our new identity.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/