Saints‘ Hill Church Podcast

This summer, we will be looking at what we believe are some of the most important questions Jesus asks. On Sunday, Pete began with the question Jesus asks in Luke 18v8, “…when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?”

 

This question shifts our focus away from religious activity and toward a faith that endures. 

 

Persistent faith is hope stretched over time—a steady trust in God’s character that keeps praying, obeying, and waiting even when answers are delayed and circumstances remain unchanged. Because our hope is anchored in God’s faithfulness rather than in outcomes, we can persevere with confidence until Christ returns. 

 

Faith believes His promises, hope waits for His timing, and love expresses His heart; together they mark a life that remains steadfast, Spirit-filled, and ready for His coming.

On Pentecost Sunday, Bria read the famous story from Acts 2v1-13 and presented Pentecost as the redemption of Babel - where humanity once sought power and unity apart from God and were scattered. God now gives His Spirit to dwell within His people, creating a unity rooted in dependence on Christ. The Spirit’s power is not given for self-promotion, but for surrender, service, and bearing witness to Jesus.

 

The good news of Pentecost is that God’s presence is no longer confined to a place, but through the Holy Spirit He lives inside of us. We are invited to live in relationship with Him - attentive to His voice, open to His correction and shaped by His love. 

This Sunday, Jacob Vigil taught from Proverbs 3v5-6, exploring the idea that the entire Christian life is about trust. From humanity’s earliest moments to our daily walk with Christ, God continually invites His people to trust Him rather than lean on our own understanding. Jacob unpacked how biblical trust is more than belief — it is a daily surrender of every area of life, intimately knowing and acknowledging God in all our ways. A life of trust leads to the peace God promises and allows Him to make our paths straight.

On Sunday, we continued our Pentecost series with a teaching from one of our elders, Pete Donor.

 

In Acts 1v6-8, the disciples ask Jesus when He will restore the kingdom, but He redirects them away from control and speculation toward surrender and mission.

 

Instead of giving them timelines, He promises the Holy Spirit, who will empower them to live as witnesses of His Kingdom everywhere they go.

 

Holy alignment happens when we stop centering our own plans and start trusting the Father’s timing, allowing the Spirit to shape both our lives and our purpose around Jesus.

On Sunday we began our annual series on the Holy Spirit during Pentecost. 

Acts 1v1-5 highlights a crucial command for the disciple: wait. 

Even after all the disciples had seen, their memories of Jesus and their hopes for the future were not enough to sustain faithful living.  

The Christian life requires daily dependence on the living presence of God through the Holy Spirit. He is not an abstract force, but a person, who teaches truth, shapes hope, transforms character and sustains intimacy with God.  

There is no life worth living outside of His presence. We cling to you, Jesus!

On Sunday we looked at 1 Peter 2v4-10 and what it means to trust Jesus.

 

Peter, though he stumbled, recognized that communion with the Lord is what would hold his faith in place. We too must strengthen ourselves in the Lord by spending time with Jesus.

 

This is how He becomes our foundation. We take Him at His word that He did what He said He would do and we can trust Him. 

 

When we stand on Christ’s finished work we will become temples that host Him and display His glory to the world. 

On Sunday we looked at John 15v1-17 and what it means to be friends with God.

 

Throughout the entire Bible, we read about God coming close and drawing near in friendship to those who desire Him. This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus who offers himself as our way to be in right relationship with God.

 

Through this passage we see that friendship with God is about remaining in His love, and doing what He commands. This is the means by which Jesus frees you from lesser loves and attaches you to His love. This eternal friendship is for our joy and for His.

On Sunday we concluded our Luke series after four years.

 

After His resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples to help them understand that the whole Jewish story finds its fulfillment in Him. He then commissions them with a message and a method.

 

The message that the Resurrection gives us is repentance and forgiveness. These are the two miraculous roads that bring heaven to earth. 

 

The method Jesus gives us, is to wait for the Holy Spirit. He said it was better for Him to go to the Father so He could send his Spirit to be our advocate and our helper. Our posture in all of life is to wait on and be led by the Holy Spirit. 

 

The Resurrection of Jesus makes all of this possible and it’s our privilege to live a life of union with Him.

This last Sunday, Alex spoke about the Resurrection of Jesus being historically plausible, existentially hopeful, and emotionally satisfying.

 

The story that the Bible tells is all about love. Love is threatened by death, and that is why the Resurrection is the answer for humanity. Love that lasts is God’s aim, and that becomes possible with the Resurrection of Jesus. 

 

It’s a powerful idea, but faith only comes when you actually encounter the risen Jesus. He is ready to show himself to anyone who desires to see Him. We are welcomed not into a set of theological beliefs, but into the mystery of His love and the greatest story ever told. 

As we enter into Holy Week, our Luke series has brought us to the passage of Jesus’ crucifixion.  

As we read through this passage we are rightfully shocked to remember that the symbol of our Christian faith, the cross, is indeed a torture device intended to assert dominance and to put fear into the hearts of all who witnessed it.  

So what did Jesus’ death on a cross actually mean?  

He did not die on a cross to atone for something He did, but for the sins of the world. Christ hanging on the cross becomes the symbol of divine power and the way of discipleship. 

The cross is the great eyesore of humanity because it says your power, your money and your enjoyment won’t save you. There’s only one way through and it is to choose to give up your life for the sake of the kingdom.