By Pastor Stephen Hess – If you could choose one word to describe the state of American culture as we enter 2018, what would it be? I would probably choose the word “confused.” The further we move into the 21st century, the more confused we seem to be as a culture about some of the […]
book of genesis, genesis, sermon seriesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Over the past several weeks we have been working through the book of Ruth on Sunday mornings in our current sermon series. When most people think of the book of Ruth, they probably don’t think of the season of Advent or the birth of Christ. However, this Old Testament story […]
advent, Book of Ruth, christmas, Holidays, Ruth, sermon seriesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – As Thanksgiving approaches I find myself thinking about how Christians should celebrate this holiday. Christians have very distinct ways of celebrating Christmas and Easter, but what about Thanksgiving? Do we use this autumn holiday to worship our Lord or is it just another excuse to over-indulge and eat too much […]
Holidays, ThanksgivingBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Over the past month there has been a recurring and disturbing theme in the headlines: natural disasters. First, Hurricane Harvey drowned the city of Houston with a deluge of rain and flooding of epic proportions. Thousands of homes were destroyed and it will take years for the city to rebuild. […]
current events, sufferingBy Pastor Stephen Hess – A couple of weeks ago I turned on the news and saw images that I found it hard to watch. There were images of men marching at night carrying torches deliberately reminiscent of KKK rallies. There was video footage of men chanting Nazi slogans and performing Nazi salutes. I am, […]
gospel, race, racism, sinBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Some time ago we acquired a toy garbage truck set in our household. This particular set came with play-doh molds to create objects such as garbage cans and bottles. These objects can be dropped into a special compartment on the truck before you drive the truck across the floor. As […]
gospel, sermon seriesBy Pastor Stephen Hess – Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Wichita, Kansas and attend a Ligonier Ministries regional conference where hundreds of believers gathered to study the truth of God’s word. The theme of the conference was “Stand Firm”, and the speakers focused on how Christians can stand firm in their faith […]
culture, faith, pluralismBy Pastor Stephen Hess – As I write this article, preparations are being made for a “Presbytery” meeting that will take place at Highview in just a few days. Quite often when I tell people that I am a pastor they will ask me about the type of church I serve. When I tell them […]
EPC, evangelical presbyterian church, presbyterianismBy Pastor Stephen Hess – There is no such thing as a “perfect church.” In fact, it’s been said that if you find the perfect church don’t join it or else you’ll ruin it! The reason there are no perfect churches is simple: churches are made up of people and there are no perfect people. […]
1 Corinthians, sermon series