Welcome to our New Site

So, thanks to Ritchie White, we’ve been able to theme our new web design in black and white - a timeless look.  Thanks, Ritchie!  These photos capture a fresh perspective of the life of Highland Community Church.

A few changes to note:
1. Church updates will be posted on our Facebook page.

2. This page will offer more “official” updates.

3. The church continues to use Soundcloud to stream sermons.  Click link above.

4. You may now give online through this site. However, we need a few days to get the page done.

5. The church email system has been updated.  Those addresses can be found on the Contact page.

6. If you have suggestions regarding our website, please let us know.

 

- Rob

Valley, or a Cave?

Due to technical difficulties, the sermon was not recorded today.  So, I decided to do the next best thing, which is to provide a written copy of the sermon, to the best of my ability.

WALK IN THE LIGHT
If you’ve been around Highland for some time, you have, perhaps, heard me encourage believers to: ‘Walk in the Light.’  What I’ve written below offers a bit more context for my encouragement (which actually comes from Ephesians 5:8).

Let’s begin by looking at this critical statement Jesus makes when speaking with Nicodemus in John 3:17-21:

“For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God. “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

LIGHT TAKES AUTHORITY OVER DARKNESS
When the sun comes up over the darkness, everything is under its presence; the vastest ocean, the tallest mountain and the deepest valley.  The same is true for people.  All are in darkness.  All encounter the Light (Jesus).  The intent of the Gospel is that those in the darkness will encounter the Light and then choose to yield to the Light as their only hope, submitting to “His” authority. 

THE VALLEY
Even when you are in a deep valley struggling with sin that you hate, if you are looking to the Light of Christ as your only hope, then you are in the light of His presence. You are walking in the Light. Press on! Walk in the Light!  Let the conviction of the Holy Spirit refashion your life into Christ-likeness every step of the way!

THE CAVE
However, if ones’ deeds are evil, then that person will seek to find a retreat from the
Light, such as a cave.  You see, valleys are a part of every Believer’s journey, but people who go into caves when they see the Light are intentionally hiding their deeds, because their deeds are evil.  (Notice in the passage above Jesus says: ‘For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it...’, this speaks to the intentionality of the heart.)  Now, the Light still rises above these caves, so, just because they are dark places and people who intentionally avoid the Light dwell there, does not mean that these dark places escape the authority of judgment the Light brings.

So, not only does the Light of Christ have authority over and expose the high, low and dark places, but most importantly, it reveals the intentions of ones’ heart. 

JESUS JUDGES THE HEART
This explains one of the most heart-piercing statements Jesus makes that is found in Mark 4:21:  

He also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand? For nothing is concealed except to be revealed, and nothing hidden except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!”

So, in essence, if one engages the Light, then submerges it into a dark place, then the intention of the heart has already been revealed by the Light they are attempting to submerge.  This statement speaks to the intentional response one makes when they encounter the Light of Christ. 

The question for each of us then becomes (even if we are in “a valley” wrestling with sin), are we walking in the Light?  Are we submitting ourselves to the authority of Christ allowing Him to expose our intentions and desires?  Or, are we ‘avoiding the light’ by seeking out dark places in hopes of hiding our evil deeds and desires?

I pray that if you’re in a valley, that you press on beyond the cave-mouths, into the Light of Christ. While realizing that those cave-mouths may look like a tempting place to rest or find comfort, understand that this luring is a deception of Satan - press on!


- Rob

LIGHT BREAKS DARKNESS

Last Sunday night, Carrie and I went to bed around 11pm.  I was unable to get settled and fall asleep, which is unusual for me.  I just sensed that something was brewing outside, in the streets.  Sure enough, around 11:45, I heard a frantic knock at the door.  I rushed to answer it and greeted two very frightened teenagers.  

They came into our living room and began to tell Carrie and me that their older sister just moved into the neighborhood two weeks ago with her newborn, along with her boyfriend.  

Due to family issues, their mom and the boyfriend were at odds.  While they were over for a visit that evening, an altercation had unfolded.  The boyfriend had become so upset, that he told the entire household that he was going to get a gun and “shoot up” the place.  He left, then returned with a gun and began to shoot throughout the house. These two teenagers grabbed the newborn and made a desperate attempt to get out of the door to safety.  They placed the newborn into the floorboard of a car, closed the door to the car and then ran for their lives.  Hence, the knock at our door.

As they sat on our couch, they had a one-track mind.  They wanted to call their mom and make sure she was alive. Asking to use our phone, they began calling her again, and again.  On their fourth attempt, she answered and gave them assurance that she was okay.  She let them know that the police had arrived and that the situation was under control.  I  watched life literally return to their faces as they received this news.  They then called their father and he came to get them from our home.

While the teenagers were waiting for their father to come pick them up from our house, Carrie began asking them how they knew us because they did not look familiar to us.  They told us that they did not know us at all.  “You mean you didn’t know that this was the Pastors’ house?”, Carrie asked.  “No”, they responded.  Carrie then asked why they ran to our house to which they responded, “We saw the light and we just ran to it.”

My Father-in-law, who pastors Edgewood Baptist Church, once said that opportunities often come in the form of interruption.  The purpose of the Light of Christ shining within us is that it would interrupt the darkness around us.  Our porch light being on that night serves as a great illustration of what, in reality, our lives are meant to look like as believers in a dark world.  May our lives shine so brightly that those living in darkness would be drawn to it, and in so doing, find “life and the light of men” (John 1:4). 

- Rob

JUST BECAUSE IT’S REAL DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE.

In the Jesus Storybook Bible, the Genesis 3 account is entitled, "The terrible lie." Satan comes to Eve in the form of a serpent and entices her with a deceitful question about her relationship with the Lord.  

It reads: “...the snakes' words hissed into her ears and sunk down deep into her heart, like poison.  'Does God love me?' Eve wondered.  Suddenly she didn't know anymore.  "Just trust me," the serpent whispered.  "You don't need God.  Just one small taste, that's all, and you'll be happier than you could ever dream."

The story continues: “Eve picked the fruit and ate some.  Adam ate some, too.  And a terrible lie came into the world that would not leave.  It would live in every human heart, whispering to everyone of God's children: ‘God doesn't love me.’"

THE REAL LIE

This terrible lie that ‘God does not love me’ is real. You can hear it.  Feel it.  Believe it. Act on it.  Respond to it.  Being deceived by this lie is a state of reality for many. 

Paul writes: “But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 

                                                                                                   2 Corinthians 4:3-4

It’s vital to note that, just the because the lie is real, does not make it true.

REAL LIFE

"The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." 

                                                                                                                John 1:16

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."  

                                                                                                            John 3:16-17

God overcame the terrible lie with an everlasting truth - that He loves us.

Submitting to Christ as Lord, we get to exchange the real lie for real life.  My hope is that you encounter the glory of the risen Christ and get to make this great exchange.

 

- Rob