Saints‘ Hill Church Podcast

Every year our senior leader, Alex Rettmann, takes time to pray and think about a word that might give an aim for the coming year. This year that word is depth. 

In an age where the Church is thought of as a place to help you realize your project self, we want to put front and center, the Cross.
 
The Cross calls to us, come and die, lay down your life and trust only in Jesus. When we answer the call of the Cross, we can receive the power of the Cross - a life of otherworldly triumph and miracles.  

It requires depth and maturity to recognize that we live by faith in a world of brokenness, while also living with the possibility of heaven on earth. 

Thank you Jesus for the Cross.

 

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12.29.24 Sermon Guide

When was the last time you were filled with wonder? 

 

Advent invites us to remember, to long and to wake up to the reality of God with us. The incarnation of Christ is an invitation - do you want Messiah to dwell with you? 

 

In this Sunday's teaching we look at Matthew 1:18-25 and turn our eyes again to the ceaseless wonder of Christ and the everlasting opportunity to be with God. We learn from Joseph’s story what it means to be ruined and named when you say “yes” to God’s dwelling. 

 

Let us be filled with wonder and awe again as we behold Christ our Lord.

 

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12.22.24 Sermon Guide

In this season of Advent we contemplate two things at once - the first coming of Christ and the second.

Throughout Scripture we see that both come as a surprise.  And in fact - all of God's activity in the world has been surprising.  The Christian life isn't a life of calculating but a life of wonder at the comedy of grace.

God wants to take us on a trust journey of partnership to see his outrageous goodness manifested in our world.

May this season of Advent let the "yes" of Mary rise up in your heart, and may the love of Christ overflow in you and produce the kingdom around you.

 

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12.15.24 Sermon Guide

This last Sunday, Andoni wrapped up the vision series with a teaching on our last core value: we have the privilege of leaving a legacy of heaven. 

Throughout the Scriptures we see the divine principle of inheritance at play: what is done in faith has consequences for the generations that are yet to come.  

We have a glorious inheritance in Christ. When we live into all that He paid for - a life of knowing Him, loving Him and trusting Him - the generation after us will be able to start where we finished. This is how the kingdom of God is designed to spread and grow. 

 

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12.08.24 Sermon Guide

On Sunday, one of our elders, Austin Smith, taught on our core value: we are a people filled with hope and joy.

We as the Church do not define hope and joy like the rest of the world. For us, hope and joy are realities that were made available to us through Jesus’ great sacrifice on the Cross.

Austin used Psalm 16 as a template for gaining the biblical perspectives of hope and joy in any life circumstance.

Upon making our requests known to God, remembering who He is, and reassuring ourselves in what He will do, confidence arises in our hearts - not due to answered prayer, but due to His Presence.  

His Presence is the blessing, the reward, and our greatest treasure - now and forever. 

 

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12.01.24 Sermon Guide

This last Sunday Bria outlined how and why our primary metaphor for the Church is family. 

The family of God is a people led by the Spirit, who experience the fruit of belonging.

The family of God is made up of children - defined by the freedom of dependence and teachability. 

The family of God will share in Christ’s sufferings and in His glory - a people willing to go as low as He did to lay down our lives for one another. 

From the beginning God’s plan has been to draw people to Himself through the covenant love of family. In Christ we see this mission accomplished and we accept the invitation to participate in this family.

 

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11.24.24 Sermon Guide

As we continue in our vision series, Alex shared how the principle of honor is the gospel enacted relationally.  

We are defining honor as: thinking about people the way God thinks about people. The truth is, you cannot honor if you don’t understand the degree to which God honored you through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  

When you begin to understand the value that God places on your life, and your righteous identity in Christ, you are then able to give value and honor away to others freely.  

Listen back this teaching and follow along with the Sermon Guide to explore three ways you can apply the gospel to your relationships and honor those around you.

 

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11.17.24 Sermon Guide 

The Scriptures are authoritative and tell us the truth that leads to freedom.

As we continue in our vision series we want to expand on this value in a way that will help you determine how you engage with the Scriptures. 

The Bible is not a textbook for Christians, nor is it merely moral inspiration. Its complexity should not be seen as a threat, but a feature of the richness of it.

In this teaching Alex gives four tools to help us understand how to read the Bible and one key principle that guides the entire journey: relationship with Jesus.

May love be the fruit of our engagement with the Scriptures!

 

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11.10.24 Sermon Guide

On Sunday, one of our elders, Andoni Montaño, taught on our core value: nothing is impossible.

Through Andoni’s passage from Mark 11:12-25 we see that Jesus has specific desires for His Church.

He desires for us to understand that we live between two kingdoms - heaven and earth. He desires for us to bear fruit in every season by making His house about dependence on Him for the impossible to happen. He desires for us to carry on the ministry of reconciliation as He did.

This value is one we cannot lose sight of in our time. Let our faith be unhindered and let us release forgiveness freely. 

 

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11.03.24 Sermon Guide

This last Sunday we continued in our Vision Series with a teaching on our core value: We are the righteousness of God.

Alex highlighted Jesus’ parable in Luke 18v9-14 where we learn that if you can go low and recognize the truth - your need for God’s mercy - you will be made righteous. If you cannot go low and you insist on obtaining your value, meaning, and reason for life by looking to others, then you will be humbled by God.

We need to be made righteous to be made one. Jesus’ desire was union with us (John 17v24), that we could know Him and love Him, and be known by Him and loved by Him. 

When this is your reality you will be able to live in confident honesty towards God and as an ambassador for Christ on earth.