New Look

Hey Everyone,

It's been a while since I updated the blog! I will be try to be more faithful in updating it! We are in a series titled Jesus As Lord. Come tonight and hear more about it! Hillside Church 7:30.

Jeff

How The Gospel Of Christ Is Good For Us

Last night we wrapped up our series on the book, Good News For Anxious Christians and reviewed the major points of the book. This blog post will be short and if you want to know more about what we talked about last night, read the last 10 posts. Also, if you didn't know, you can listen to all the sermons on our website. The link is http://www.hillsidelbc.org/#/media/lumen

The message of the gospel is that Christ has done everything for your salvation. We have a mixed up view that in order to be saved we have to do something. Pastor Bruce used the example last night of drowning. If you are drowning, by definition, there is nothing you can do to save yourself. If you could, you wouldn't be drowning. Christ saves us. He has done the work. You don't have to do anything. This is truly good news and why the gospel is good for us. Next week we will be video chatting with Phillip Cary. He will be answering "all" of our questions so come prepared. If you haven't read the book, you still have one week left!

Jeff

Setlist

Freedom Is Here - Hillsong

The Lord Regins - Gateway Worship

Sing Sing Sing - Chris Tomlin

Maker Of Heaven - Desperation Band

Unfailing God - New Life Worship

Why Basing Faith On Experience Leads To A Post-Christian Future

On Tuesday night Pastor Bruce shared with us about the importance of doctrine. Phillip Cary shares in the last chapter that much of what we based our faith on is our experience is with God. This unfortunately leads to bad doctrine because sometimes our experiences are good and sometimes they are not. For instance, if your life and what you are experiencing makes you feel like God is far away and distance from you, you could create a doctrine in your own mind that says "sometimes God leaves me" or "God has abandoned me". That is what our experience is teaching us. But we need to base our doctrine or what we thinking about God on His Word. In Joshua 1:5 God speaks to Joshua and says, "I will not leave you or forsake you." That is comforting news, especially when God "feels" far away. While we may feel like God is far away, He is actually is very close because he has said he will not leave us. Cary makes the argument that eventually all of the doctrines are lost when we base our faith on experience. We must dig into God word, so that when we do experience hard times, we know who God is, and that he is always with us.

Jeff

Setlist

For Who You Are - Hillsong

Your Name High - Hillsong

Hosanna - Hillsong

You Alone Can Rescue - Matt Redman

Came To My Rescue - Hillsong

Why "Applying It To Your Life" Is Boring

Last night Pastor Brad shared with us about why applying a sermon thought or idea to your life is boring. Many times we are so interested in what we need to do with the message that we miss the most important part, the gospel. This is the good news. This is what Christ has done. Ultimately it is what Christ has done that is the most important thing, not what we do about what Christ has done. Unfortunately this a very common trend in churches today. You will often hear people comment about how much they like a church because it "helps them" or they "learned how to do x,y,z..." Is that what preaching is about? Helping people become better people? Or is it about sharing the gospel with people who really can't help themselves at all? Does the gospel message have added benefits that make our lives better? Yes, of course. But our "better lives" are not the purpose of preaching or the church. Our better lives are the by-product of what Jesus has already done! They are the begin of our faith, not the end or goal. Let us together, focus on the fact that our transformation in Christ, is at the beginning of our faith and ultimately accomplished when Christ returns. In the meantime, we have to share the gospel with everyone so they can experience God's grace and receive eternal life, not just become better people.

Jeff

Setlist

Here For You - Chris Tomlin

Hosanna - Paul Baloche

Glorified - Jared Anderson

How Great Is The Love - Paul Baloche

Stronger - Hillsong

Why You Don't Have To Keep Getting Transformed All The Time

Last night Pastor Bruce shared with us about why we don't have to keep getting transformed. This was a hot topic because many people stayed and spoke to each other about the topic. As Christians, sometimes we get caught up in the latest fad, or trend is Christianity. This is not uncommon. A book becomes a New York Times best seller and suddenly everyone's life is purpose driven and the prayer of Jabez is prayed like never before. While I believe the intentions of these authors in good, I believe that the Christian community takes these book and ideas to the next level. An example would be tithing. Tithing is a wonderful practice and a biblical principle that we should follow. But when we hear terms like "seed money" and "God blesses a joyful giver", what was once a good practice and biblical principle has become a distortion and a lie. God desires for us to become holy, just as our God is holy. But we do not need to become "better" Christians. It's actually an oxymoron. We can't become better, it is Christ who works through us while we are in our fallen state. God has done an amazing work in your life if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Embrace this. Learn more about it in His word and don't be anxious about the work you have to do to become "transformed". I will be on vacation next week and will miss you all terribly.

Jeff

Setlist

Freedom Is Here - Hillsong

Alive And Running - Kristian Stanfill

The Stand - Hillsong

To The Cross - Paul Baloche

How Great Is The Love - Paul Baloche

Why You Don't Have To Worry About Splitting Head From Heart

There seems to be a constant battle in our own heads about how we should make decisions and live our lives. This battle is between the our brains or our logic/reason and our hearts or our emotions. Should we react to situation with logic and reason or should we rely on our emotions to guide us? Many times in our spiritual lives we want to separate the head from the heart so we can "do great things for God" because we don't want our brains talk us out of it. We need to "Let go (of thinking) and let God". Right? Last Tuesday Pastor Brad shared with us about why we don't have to worry about splitting our head from our heart and that God made us the way we are for a reason. God gave us minds to think and hearts to feel and these are not enemies. God wants all of us, not just our hearts. He wants us to feel the emotion of love for Him, but not at the sake of "knowing" him for who he really is. Sometimes when we first meet a person, we can think, "Wow, that person is really good looking." Maybe we admire them from a far and begin to develop a crush or feelings for this person. When you actually meet them, talk to them, and begin to know them, sometimes the beauty goes away because you "know" that person for who they really are. Sometimes the person becomes even more attractive because they are a great person on the inside as well. We need to know God in this way. We need to know who he really is(psst, the details are in the Bible) and also love God for who he is and what he has done.

Jeff

Setlist

The First And The Last

One Way

Your Grace Is Enough

Jesus Paid It All

To The Cross

Why You Don't Have To Be Sure You Have The Right Motivations

Last night Pastor Bruce shared with us about why you don't have to be sure you have the right motivations. Often times when we are making decisions, we wonder what the driving force is behind the decision. This is often a question for worship leaders like myself. If we are introducing a new song, why? Because I like and I want to do it? Yes. Because it will fit with the set as a whole and make a good illustration for the sermon? Yes. Because God placed this song on my heart for such a time as this? All yes! It's impossible to know for sure why I'm introducing this new song because the Bible speaks of the heart being deceitful above all things. I'm sure I could go around and around with the reasons for why I'm doing this, but ultimately I can't tell because I may be lying to myself. The Bible speaks of not looking so much at my motivations, but if my actions are actually helping my neighbor. To use the example of introducing a new song, if that song helps people understand God truth, if that song helps people worship God, if that song helps people understand the gospel better, then it's a good thing and my motives for why don't really matter. Regardless God worked through that song. Sometimes we will have bad motives. Sometime we will have good. Sometimes both. We have to look at things on the basis of whether it helps another, cares for another, and loves another, not as to why we are doing it. The heart cannot examine itself and is deceitful above all things. Let's make sure we are loving and serving our neighbors and be less concerned with why we are doing it. We are doing it because God first loved us.

Jeff

Setlist

Happy Day - Tim Hughes

The Lord Reigns -Gateway Worship

Overcome - New Life Worship

Just to Be With You - Paul Baloche

Unfailing God - New Life Worship