Courageous Parenting – At Highland, we want to encourage parents to raise their kids in God’s ways, setting a foundation that lasts a lifetime and goes against the challenges of our modern culture. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” As parents, you are the primary disciplers of your children; it is a great privilege for us to partner with you in that discipleship. 

This teaching was in partnership with Zealous Youth Conference.
The Zealous Youth Conference is a two-day gathering designed to unite high school students from across Central Texas and beyond. Hosted by a team of young adults and high school students with a heart for ministry, Zealous creates space for worship, biblical teaching, and intentional community. More than just an event, Zealous is a movement that seeks to empower young people to live with passion and purpose, rooted in the hope of the Gospel, and Living in Light of Eternity. https://zealousyouth.betterworld.org/

For many, “advent” means a countdown to Christmas. Whether we envision candy-filled Advent calendars or lights draped over houses with nativity scenes out front, Advent marks a happy season of celebrating. But the word “advent” comes from the Latin adventus, which is about a “coming” or an “arrival.” 

Advent season isn’t just about celebrating the first coming of Jesus; it’s also about waiting for His second coming. While you and I missed the first coming of Christ, we now live in the waiting period for His future arrival.

When we consider God's promises to Israel, their waiting, and how many missed Jesus when He arrived –– we learn two truths about waiting:

1. Waiting reveals what we truly hope in.
2. How we wait can determine whether we’ll recognize God’s provision when it comes.

Here’s the truth: You can be surrounded by God’s promises and still miss His provision.
Israel proves that.

So, what do you do when God seems silent? How do you wait in a way that recognizes Jesus when He comes?

This sermon explores why the everlasting nature of Jesus changes how we pray, how we see our lives, how we understand our identity, and how we worship. The same God who holds all eternity in His hands chose to enter a tiny moment in human history, to forgive, restore, dwell with us, and bring us into His family for good. Christmas is more than a season. It is the Everlasting Father drawing near so that you can belong to Him forever.

Acts 3:4 - 4:13
How do the hard parts of your life, the pressure-filled moments reveal what you truly believe? How can abiding in the presence of Jesus change the way you respond to life?

Acts 4:14-22
(1) When you live from the presence of Jesus, the work of God in your life becomes undeniable.
(2) When you truly dwell with Jesus, His presence becomes the natural overflow of your life.

We do apologize for the audio cutting out at the end. Below are the Seven Ways Jesus was Transformed in the Secret Place:

1. Major Decision - Luke 6:12 - Jesus prayed all night before calling His disciples.
2. Rest and Renewal - Mark 6:30–32 - Jesus invites His disciples to withdraw after a busy season of teaching and ministry.
3. Opportunities to Teach and Share - Luke 11:1 - Jesus was praying and His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray.
4. Intense Spiritual Battle - Matthew 26:38-39 - Jesus prays all night ahead of his betrayal and eventual crucifixion.
5. Peace in Overwhelming Times - Luke 5:15-16 - Even more the crowds were pressing in so Jesus withdrew all the more.
6. Humility after Great Ministry - John 6:15 - Jesus withdraws after feeding the 5,000 and the people try to make Him king.
7. Comfort in Grief - John 14:10-13 - After hearing of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus immediately leaves to go be alone with God.

1. How we experience God’s presence. 
2. How we engage with the darkness of the world. 
3. How we are transformed.

1. We still repent when we sin, but now we know we are not enslaved to it.
2. We cannot free ourselves from sin, only Jesus can.
3. God remains consistently Just and Merciful.

Through stories, Scripture, and honest reflection, this sermon looks at the three “secret camps” our souls can live in: Secret Sin, Secret Neutral, and Secret Prayer, and how moving toward secret prayer transforms our relationship with God from performance to presence.

Because being all in for God isn’t about looking put together on the outside — it’s about who you are when no one’s watching.

A divided heart brings confusion, but an all-in heart brings peace.

Caleb challenges listeners to shift from a “have to” attitude to a “get to” posture, seeing every part of life as an opportunity to honor God. Gratitude, he reminds us, is both the mark of a mature believer and one of the strongest witnesses to the world, especially in hard times.

1. Gossip & deception are dangerous (v.18–19)
2. Gossip keeps drama alive (v.20–21)
3. Gossip feels good in the moment but poisons us (v.22)
4. Gossip comes from a heart problem (v.23)

We also see how the gospel offers hope for a new heart and a better way forward - choosing to speak life instead of death (Prov. 18:21).

• Words direct our lives – like a bit in a horse’s mouth or a rudder steering a ship.
• Words can destroy our lives – like a spark that sets an entire forest on fire.
• Words reveal our hearts – blessing and cursing expose what’s really inside us.

1. When we turn to the Lord with honest questions in faith, He will hear us and respond according to His good will and purpose (vv 2-3a).

• The key to our questions of God is to let them push us toward Him, not away. 

2. To step away from God's guidance is to willfully step toward destruction, (v 4).

• cf. Deut. 7
• To step toward God’s guidance is to willfully step toward knowing and walking in God’s love.

3. The ways of the Lord are surely higher than my ways, (v 5).

• cf. Isaiah 55:8-9
• The difference between God and man is revealed, not to discourage us from seeking Him, but to keep us humble in light of His goodness.

When I see the brokenness around me, do I move toward people with the heart of Christ, or do I pull away in judgment?

God can take the smallest seeds of gospel truth and grow them into great stories of gospel salvation.

Steps to Advancing God's Kingdom

• Know and Understand the Gospel
  • Method 1: The Gospel message answers four big questions. (1) Who is God? (2) Why are we in such a mess? (3) What did Christ do? (4) How can we get back to God? 
  • Method 2: The Romans Road - Romans 3:23; 6:23a; 6:23b and 5:8; 10:9; 5:1 and 8:1
• Pray
  • “We should never talk to people about God until we talk to God about people.”
  • Don’t overestimate your role in advancing GOD’S Kingdom.
• Just Do It
  • Give yourself grace when you share your faith. 
  • Focus on people’s separation from God, not on being morally upright. 
  • Be compassionate and maintain a tender heart toward others. You are a sinner in need of grace too.
  • Ask lots of questions and be a good listener. 
  • The goal is to win a soul, not an argument. 
  • Trust Christ for the response. 

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Message points:

3 Ways Jesus brings about inward renewal:

1. The renewal of our Heart
2. The renewal of our Identity
3. The renewal of our Purpose

Text: Titus 2:11-14

Message points:

3 Reasons Jesus Came to Us:

1. Jesus Came to Save Us
2. Jesus Came to Change Us
3. Jesus Came to Fill us with hope

Text: OT Overview + Nehemiah 9

Message points:

1. God is overwhelmingly gracious
2. Mankind is thoroughly rebellious

Text: Genesis 1-3

Message points:

3 Things we must understand to gain clarity and confidence about who we are and why we are here:

1. We have a Creator
2. We have an Enemy
3. We have a Promised Savior

Either God is faithful to keep all His covenants, or He can’t be trusted to keep any of them. If God has ceased to love Israel and has broken His covenant with the people He chose for His own, how can we trust His love for those who believe in Jesus the Messiah? Why this matters to me today: If God changed His mind regarding Israel, how can we trust that He won’t change His mind regarding believers today? 

- Jeremy Daniel

- Drew Humphrey

- Ben Calkins

- Hannah McIver

- Abe Yeager

• You are living a life in bondage, captivity, enslaved without a relationship with Jesus. 

Tonight I want you to know there is hope for you.

• You have come to know the love of Jesus and yet you still are living in bondage to something. 

Tonight I want you to know there is rest for you.

• You know the love of Jesus and are walking in His freedom for you.

Tonight I want you to remember the great price of your freedom and stand firm.

This is the power of the gospel through adoption. GOD LOVES YOU BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU. Nothing can change that, not even your doubts. So, embrace it. Live in it.

He’s referencing Psalm 36:1, identifying the root cause of sin as the failure to fear and honor God. Any society that commonly assumes that God will not discipline sin in this life or judge it in the next will have no fear of God and will therefore give itself increasingly to evil…

Hello America…

I don’t believe anyone in our society today has more information and opinions thrown at them than teenagers. And our country is giving itself increasingly to evil…where will you find yourself?