Saints‘ Hill Church Podcast

The King is Here: The Year of The Lord’s Favor

On Sunday we continued in our Luke series with a teaching from Jake Vigil. Jake’s message on Luke 4v14-30 paints a picture of our King, Jesus, blowing the jubilee trumpet.

The year of the Lord’s favor has been fulfilled in Him. Because of who He is and what He paid for, we actually don’t have to strive for all of those wonderful things listed, they are our inheritance. Our freedom and fulfillment in life, our salvation, can only be found in the person of Jesus. He is our freedom, outside of Him we have no freedom. Participation in relationship with Him and His kingdom is better than any cultural pushback or earthly solution. Who Jesus is will change your whole life if you let it.

The Answer for Babylon: The Family of Honor

The last two weeks we did a mini series called The Answer for Babylon. We took time to look at the story of Abraham and his family as an answer to the problem of Babylon.

This last Sunday, Alex walked us through the difference between family and empire, and why God uses family to build his nation. Family is the solution to Babylon because it honors people beyond what they can be used for. It is the context for identity, for belonging, and for blessing.

We encourage you to honor those around you by seeing the gift that they are. We will see our family grow and the kingdom produced in this way!

The Answer for Babylon: A Journey of Faith

On Sunday we took a break from our Luke series to talk about the Babylonian experience. Culturally, we have moved from Christendom to Babylon. While at first this may seem troubling, the entire Bible is written for people who are having a Babylon experience…so we turn to the Scriptures to see what it means to live on a journey of faith.

The principle of the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 is this: All attempts to produce meaning, to produce a name on your own or by earth’s strength and tools, will end in confusion. All pursuits of the earthly city, status, comfort, and safety will confuse more than they free.

Thankfully, if we keep reading, we discover that God tells Abraham’s story as the answer to Babel.

The answer to the corrupt confusion of the earthly city is a family of faith. A family of people who move into the unknown with Yahweh, rather than develop their own plan. This faith journey is an adventure of trust, where you get a name rather than needing to create one, and progress is made through delight.

He is our great reward, the joy of being with Him is worth more than we could ever sacrifice. Will be a people devoted to building His kingdom, and not our own.

The King is Here: Seeing Temptation Overcome

This last Sunday we had the privilege of hearing from our very own, Chris Sharp. Chris taught us through the passage in Luke 4 where Jesus is in the wilderness being tempted by the devil.

Chris encouraged us from the Scriptures that the temptation to take health, wealth, and power into our own hands is not foreign to Jesus. That in fact, because Jesus was in every way tempted as we are, and remained faithful to His Father, we too are invited into this reality of victory. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection made it not only possible for us to resist temptation, but to turn what the enemy intended for destruction into a testimony of victory to stand on.

This way of living requires submission in humility. The opposite of what the world would suggest as life enjoyed. The victory is fully lived into when we recognize that we’re not here to build our own kingdom, but to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit in us. The good news is that this Holy Spirit wants to and is able to set us more and more free to the degree that we yield.

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So may we joyfully bring everything before Him that we thought about putting above Him, and receive again His perfect love that casts out fear.

The King is Here: The King is Baptized

This last Sunday Alex taught us through the passage in Luke 3 where we read about Jesus’ baptism and the invitation to participate in the kingdom of God.

Baptism is the washing off of the old life and covenant for the new land God has for humanity. This is why Jesus asks us to be baptized — it changes your identity.

Water baptism is the prophetic act that you are dead to sin alive to Christ. It’s not only a destination change after death, but an identity change in the present. Now all of your life is colored with resurrection power. When you are baptized, you too have a new declaration over your whole life: “This is my child in whom I am well pleased.”

Baptism reminds us that the only way you will find your life is if you lose it. May our submission to Him produce His kingdom in and around us. 

The King is Here: His presence, Our home

This last Sunday we looked at the story of Jesus in the temple as a child in Luke 2. All throughout the book of Luke, we’re watching Jesus model how to be a human in relationship with God. In this specific story He’s showing us what it looks like to be a child of God. 

Even as a child, Jesus knew where His home was. His home was in His Father’s Presence. In that day, the temple is where you would go to interact with Yahweh, but because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross, we now have access to His Presence at all times and in all places. We get to make our home in Him. 

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May we see the fruit of the Spirit increase in our lives as we continue to make our home in His Presence.

The King is Here: Does God still speak?

This last Sunday we picked back up in our Luke series, with the story of Anna and Simeon hearing from God. As we worked through this story in Luke 2, our aim was to answer these questions:

Can someone hear from God? What would God tell them? What would happen if He did speak?

Throughout the Scriptures we see two different words for “word” in the Greek. Logos referring to the written word and Rhema referring to the spoken word. We believe that God is still speaking and Rhema still happens. It is in fact the foundation of prophecy.

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At Saints’ Hill, when we prophesy, we participate in heaven coming to earth, the glory and purpose found in that is what we were made for.

May we become someone’s encounter with the destiny and promises of God by hosting His Presence well.

2022 The Year of Why

This last Sunday we kicked off the New Year with a message from Alex Rettmann on where we’re headed this year as a church family. At the beginning of every year we take time to ask what God might be saying over us as a church specifically for the coming year. What we felt collectively was that 2022 will be the year of why.

We believe that the best way to get ready for the new thing God is doing is to ask why a lot. We need to ask why about many of the things we do and believe in order to discover if we have any old wineskins that just won’t suffice for the new wine He intends to pour out (Mark 2v18-22). There are two things specifically that we want to focus in on: our theology and our methods.

We must ask ourselves questions about our theology to make sure Christ is the main thing. There is a danger of drifting from what the church was supposed to be when we emphasize and celebrate things that Jesus neither emphasized or celebrated.

“Open my eyes to see and understand what is major to you Jesus; may my life be about You and not a philosophy.”

We ask ourselves questions about our methods to make sure family remains the metaphor of our church. Saints’ Hill exists to increase relationship between you and God. It isn’t a business or a social club…it is first a place to meet God, to remember your first love. Everything else flows from that and won’t be programmed by us. The church is only as valid as it is effective in doing what Jesus did.

In the coming year, may God give us a value for the wine, for more wine. May He grant us wisdom to know where we need new wineskins this year.

The King is Here: Good News that causes Great Joy

On Sunday we had our Christmas gathering where Alex taught us through Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, this good news that would bring great joy for all people.

The coming of the Messiah is good news, not just a good story. It’s good news because we need it. What we understand from the Scriptures is that humans were designed to be close to God and free but now they are far and enslaved from worship of lesser things.

The good news of a savior is that you don’t have to save yourself! Someone came for you, and He is the good news. If you have Him, you have life — abundant life. No fear of death, freedom from the need to be in control, freedom from fear of what people think, an eternal destiny. The news is that a Savior is here to reverse all the effects of the fall by reconnecting humans to the Father who made them.

We pray that this week you will be able to celebrate life abundant. To enjoy Him and all He’s done for you. Merry Christmas!

The King is Here: Stewarding Favor

This last Sunday Bria taught us through the passage in Luke 1 where the angel Gabriel appears to Mary. The lesson that we learn from this story is one of identity and blessing.

The angel appeared to Mary and called her highly favored before he even spoke of her calling/mission. Identity and favor come before calling and responsibility. We steward the favor of God by believing what He says about us.

Blessing is a big responsibility. What we see in Mary’s story is that the promises of God will cost us something — but the cost is nothing compared to the reward.

Get around people who will help you steward His promises, like Mary did with Elizabeth. When the cost seems great, praise Him. Declare the faithfulness of Him who promised. Respond to God’s promises with celebration. When we choose gratitude, fear has no room to exist.

We believe that God is eradicating the fear of man in our family, so we say yes again to gratitude, celebration, and joy. We will count the cost again and again and declare that He is worth every bit of what He asks for.