The Heights Church

I Am - wk1

"I Am the Promised One" - Genesis 12:1-3

This time of year it’s so easy to get distracted by the busyness of the holiday season. As our “to-do” list grows, we can easily lose focus on what we are celebrating. So this Christmas season we are going to spend four weeks focusing on Jesus. We are going to see that Jesus is the One who was promised by God. He is the One who is the offering for sin. And He is the only Way that leads to heaven. This morning we will start by looking at the word “promised.” Promises are easy to make and hard to keep. Most of us have experienced a broken promise, and it’s easy to become promise weary. But from ancient times God made a promise through Abraham that He has already kept. Jesus is the Promised One - but we have to believe in the One who was promised.

Unyielding - wk3

"Selfish Desires" - Galatians 2:15-21

Over the past couple of weeks we have been studying Galatians 2, and we have seen that God calls us to be unyielding in our mission to bring the gospel to every relationship. Satan wants to shut down our mission, so he uses false teachers to criticize and confuse us, and bad theology to distort our message. This morning we learn that there is one critical point on which we must be absolutely unyielding, and it is this: Justification comes by faith in Christ alone. Being a good person doesn’t make us right with God. Doing church work doesn’t make us right with God. To be justified ... to be made right with God ... we need a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus.

Unyielding - wk2

"Bad Theology" - Galatians 2:11-14

Our mission here at The Heights is to be disciple-makers who take personal risks to bring the gospel to every relationship. If you are living on mission and taking risks ... then you can be sure that you are going to face opposition. Satan doesn’t want you to bring the gospel to anyone, so you can expect him to do everything in his power to silence you. We are studying Galatians 2, and Paul tells us that we are to be unyielding in our mission. Last week we learned that Satan uses false teachers to criticize and confuse us, and get us off mission. This week we will take a look at how Satan uses bad theology to distort our message. Good theology compels you to live on mission, but bad theology will shut down a life on mission every time.

Unyielding - wk1

"False Brothers" - Galatians 2:1-10

Our focus for 2016 has been on our mission at The Heights - taking personal risks to bring the gospel to every relationship. We can’t accomplish this mission by just hanging out with our church friends. We have to enter into conversations with people who don’t know Jesus. But Satan is not taking this lying down. He tries to convince us to back off, be quiet, and go back to being good little Christians who mind our own business. He strategically places false voices around us who disguise the truth and divert us away from the mission that God has give us. Beginning this morning we will explore how God calls us to be unyielding in our mission. Only God can give us the wisdom to discern the difference between God’s truth and the enemy’s lies.

Todd Phillips

"Complete Joy"  1 John 1:1-4

This morning we welcome Todd Phillips to The Heights. Todd is the Founder and Executive Director of The Last Well, an organization that seeks to eradicate water borne illness in Liberia by providing clean water and sharing the Gospel with every person they serve. Todd previously served as Senior Associate Pastor at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall and Frontline Teaching Pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C. Todd and his wife, Julie, have three children and live just outside Dallas. This morning Todd will share with us from 1 John 1:4, that experiencing complete joy this side of heaven is inescapably tied to sharing our faith with others.

 

Bryan Jones

1 Samuel 17 - Fear & Anxiety

This morning we welcome Bryan Jones to The Heights. Bryan has a passion for teaching, discipleship, evangelism, and making much of the name of Jesus. Bryan most recently served as Director of Student Impact, the high school ministry of Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. He has been married to his wife, Stephanie, for 10 years and they have a two-year-old son, Tristan. This morning Bryan will look at a familiar story from 1 Samuel 17 - the story of David & Goliath. From this story we learn that there are two things we must focus on - the promises of God, and past victories.

  

Contagious Generosity - wk2

"Sacrifice" - Romans 12:1

This morning we are wrapping up our two-part sermon series on contagious generosity. People who generously give their time ... their treasure ... and those who generously share the gospel inspire others to do the same. What motivates them to give so sacrificially? How can we jumpstart contagious generosity in our own hearts? Paul gives us the answer in Romans 12. The primary motivation for contagious generosity is God’s generosity towards us in Jesus. If you want to jumpstart contagious generosity in your life, then spend time reflecting on God’s generosity toward you - and then make the choice to sacrifice some of what you have been given for the benefit of someone else.

Contagious Generosity - wk1

"Offering" - Genesis 4:1-7

This morning we are starting a two-part sermon series on contagious generosity ... putting the needs of God’s kingdom and other people on par with our own needs. Notice that contagious generosity does not mean putting those needs ahead of our own, though some obtain that level of generosity. Contagious generosity starts small and grows. We find the key to contagious generosity in the story of Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel both gave an offering - but one pleased God and the other walked away from God in anger. From Cain and Abel we learn that generosity reflects the heart of God ... greed is a disease of the flesh.

  

Piercing Darkness - wk3

"Engage in the Battle" - Ephesians 6:18-24

Have you ever experienced a time in life when the darkness just seemed overwhelming? How did you respond to that darkness? Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that the first thing we must do is recognize that the enemy is not flesh and blood. Our enemy is real and his name is Satan. Last Sunday we learned that in order to prepare for our battle with Satan, we must put on the armor of God. This morning as we wrap up our sermon series “Piercing Darkness,” Paul gives us one last instruction for the battle we are facing. When we find ourselves under attack, our first response is often to talk to our enemy ... or at least to talk to someone about our enemy. But Paul tells us that when we find ourselves under attack we need to talk to Jesus, not the enemy.

Piercing Darkness - wk2

Check Your Gear - Ephesians 6:13-17

This morning as we continue our study in Ephesians 6, we are looking at the armor of God. When we hear the word “armor,” we think of war...of preparing for battle. Last Sunday we learned that every one of us is engaged in a battle with our adversary, Satan. Winning the battle with Satan requires putting on armor ... the armor of God. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that putting on the armor of God will enable us to stand firm against the evil one. Are you ready to go to war? The first step in preparing for battle is to put on the armor of God.