The Heights Church

Death - Luke 23 (9:15 Service)

"Death"

Bryan Jones

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week.  We have spent the last few weeks talking about our responses to Easter, and this Sunday we’re going to look at how some of the people around Jesus responded to His coming death.
 
There are some things in life that all of us must face, and the story of Jesus’ death shows us two of those things – pride and death.
 
Jesus was crucified between two thieves, and each of them had a very different response to Jesus.  Both were facing death, but while one mocked Jesus, the other turned to Jesus in his darkest hour.  Each of us will come face to face with death sooner or later.  What can we learn from these two men about facing death?
 
On the night before His death, Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples.  As they were going out, Jesus told them that they would all fall away and scatter.  Peter proudly told Jesus that this would never happen to him – and we know how that turned out!
 
Death and pride – two of the things all of us face.  What can we learn about death and pride from Jesus and the people around Him during His last week on earth?

Matthew 26 - wk2

"Response Required"

Dr. Gary Singleton

When it comes to Easter, Americans celebrate in a lot of different ways.  We take pictures with the Easter bunny, and have Easter egg hunts, and fill our Easter baskets with candy.  We gather the family together for Easter dinner or head out for a fancy Easter brunch.  And who doesn’t love Peeps and Cadbury eggs?  
 
Unsurprisingly, more people attend church on Easter Sunday than any other Sunday of the year.  A recent Gallup poll showed that six in ten Americans will go to church on Easter Sunday.  And according to Google Trends, searches for “church” are highest in the days leading up to Easter.  
 
This Easter season we are looking at all the different responses we have to Easter, and this week we’re going to look at what is probably the most infamous response of all time – the response of the traitor, Judas.  Everyone wants to criticize and judge Judas.  He spent as much time with Jesus as the other disciples.  He heard Jesus’ teaching and witnessed all of His miracles.  How could he betray the One who was clearly the Son of God?
 
Well, the more I studied Judas’ response, the more I became convinced that in some ways we are all like Judas.  And like Judas, we all need a Savior.
 
Easter … the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus … requires a response.  How will you respond to Easter?

Matthew 26 - wk1

"Break the Bottle"

Bryan Jones

It was an awkward scene that night in the house of Simon the Leper. Jesus and his disciples were gathered around a table when they were interrupted by Mary breaking her alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.  They grew even more frustrated as the she began to pour out its valuable contents over the head of Jesus. They sat there dumfounded at Mary’s wastefulness. It confused them, infuriated them. They couldn’t understand why someone would do something so impractical.  Yet instead of joining the disciples in criticism, Jesus praises Mary for her passionate devotion and worship. 

If you’ve studied Jesus’ life much at all, you’ll find that He rarely did what people expected, and He consistently called people to live their lives in radical ways that often made others uncomfortable. 

This week we took a closer look at what it means to live lives of radical devotion to Jesus.  

Prayer - wk5

"Enhancing Our Prayers"

Dr. Gary Singleton

Americans are obsessed with food. We have entire television networks dedicated to cooking and eating. Food is the central focus of nearly every social event. We even take pictures of our food and post them on Facebook and Instagram. There are very few things that are more American than food.
 
This week we’re going to wrap up our sermon series on prayer with a look at fasting, admittedly one of the least practiced and least understood spiritual disciplines. With all our attention focused on food, it’s easy to see why fasting is not all that high on our priority list.

But fasting dates back to the earliest followers of God. In Leviticus God commanded the Israelites to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement. In Nehemiah 9:1, we see that the Israelites fast as a part of their confession and worship. When talking about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “When you fast …”  (Not “if” but “when.”) Clearly fasting is important.

 

Prayer - wk4

"Unanswered Prayer"

Pierce Vanderslice

I have poor expectations when it comes to exercising. I expect that if I work out once every two to three weeks, I will have similar results as someone who works out every day. Unfortunately, I’m learning that my expectations are far from reality.

In a similar way, I think often times we have certain expectations for prayer. Our primary expectation is that it will work, and many times it does! We know for a FACT that prayer works, and can indeed change our circumstances and outcomes. But, if we are honest, sometimes prayer doesn’t work the way we hoped, and it doesn’t quite change the outcome like we expected.

This coming Sunday we are going to continue our series on prayer and focus the conversation on unanswered prayer. My hope is that we will have an honest conversation about why God does not always answer prayers according to our desires. If you feel like you are standing in the tension of having great expectations for prayer, but experiencing a different reality, I personally invite you to come and hear what the Lord might want to say to you.

Prayer - wk3

"Intercessory Prayer"

Dr. Gary Singleton

 
This Sunday we will continue our sermon series on prayer with a look at intercessory prayer.  Simply put, intercessory prayer is prayer for others.  An intercessor is one who takes the place of another or pleads another’s case.  When you intercede for someone, you stand in the gap between that person and God.
 
The Bible is full of examples of intercessory prayer in both the Old and the New Testament.  Abraham interceded for Sodom in Genesis 18.  Moses interceded for Israel in Exodus 32.  Jesus Himself modeled intercessory prayer for us in what is known as the High Priestly Prayer found in John 17.
 
The most valuable thing we can do for those we love and care for is to pray for them.  God has commanded that we should intercede for others. 
 
How much of your prayer time is spent praying for others?  Who do you need to pray for?

Prayer - wk2

"Model for Prayer"

Bryan Jones

Martin Luther said, “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.”  As followers of Jesus, prayer is one of our most valuable assets. Every single one of us should be in the prayer business. But I believe most of us would admit that we don’t really have a clear understanding of what prayer is or how to do it. In Luke 11:1, Jesus’ disciples even asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
 
As we continue our sermon series on prayer, we’re going to take a look at the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. Most of us know it as the Lord’s Prayer. We need to learn to pray the way Jesus taught us to pray. We need to spend time on our knees getting to know Him and letting Him know us. 

Prayer - wk1

"Why Pray"

Dr. Gary Singleton

Are there really rules that we need to follow when we pray?  This Sunday we are starting a new sermon series on prayer.  We are going to look at things like why we pray and how we should pray.  We’re going to talk about intercessory prayer, and why some of our prayers seem to go unanswered.  It seems like prayer is something we all know we should do, and yet so many of us struggle with it.
 
We are starting this sermon series with a look at what Jesus taught us about prayer in the Parable of the Persistent Widow.  Jesus used parables to make a point, and His point in this passage is clearly stated in Luke 18:1.  Jesus tells us that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart.” 

ChiAlpha Wknd - Sunday AM

"Fear Not"

Richard Covington - ChiAlpha Sunday 10:50am

Are you afraid of heights?  If you are, then you have acrophobia.  Or maybe you’re afraid of injections.  That’s called trypanophobia.  How about fear of flying?  That’s aviophobia.  We may be different from each other in a lot of ways, but we all have one thing in common.  We are all afraid of something.  
 
Fear is one of our most basic human emotions.  When we sense danger or feel unsafe, we respond with fear.  But God did not intend for us to spend our days living in fear.  In fact, God encourages His followers to “fear not” 365 times in the Bible – one for each day of the year.
 
So if God commands us to “fear not” – how should we respond in those times when we feel afraid? 
 
This weekend is Chi Alpha weekend – the largest event of the year for our students.  Richard Covington will be leading our students as some grow in their faith, and some experience faith for the first time.  The weekend will wrap up on Sunday morning, and Richard will share with us that we can choose to respond to fear in one of two ways.  We can fix our eyes on our circumstances and let fear drive us away from Jesus.  Or we can fix our eyes on Jesus and let Him drive away our fear.
 
Joshua 1:9 tells us to “… Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

ChiAlpha Wknd - Saturday PM

ChiAlpha 2019 - Saturday Night

 

SPEAKER: Richard Covington