Mornings of the Roundtable
Last Sunday we launched out series “We Still Believe” with the PLT roundtable discussion as the main part of the “sermon”….
Hatching a New Year
On Sunday, we had a dear friend of HSCC and missionary, Jim Hatcher preached to kick off our 2023 year!! Jim and Lynette have been connected to HSCC for 41 years and on the mission field for 36. Wow, what faithfulness. Jim shared authentically about his nomadic experiences as a missionary, and how a longing for HOME is…
What Do We Believe?
As we head towards our sermon series “We Still Believe” I’d like you to read and consider the Apostles Creed, copied below. I grew up in a church that recited this weekly and appreciate the simplicity and clarity. This brief, yet powerful confession has been…
Choose Your Own (Advent)ure – Christmas Style
Did you know that when Pastor Danny and I originally launched this blog/pastoral letter, we wanted it to be a place where we could share the gold “nuggets” that God has taught us during our sermon preparations? These nuggets, for one reason or another, couldn’t be included in the time to preach during the Sunday worship, but for us have been encouraging, eye-opening, and useful in…
Peace & Vision
This past Sunday we considered the real “Peace” that Jesus brought when He came to earth as announced by the Angels. We discovered that He left us His peace through the sending of the Holy Spirit we have with us now all the time. Remember the…
What is Hope Made Real?
On top of seasonal busyness, the holidays can stir up a lot of heart-content too. Last week, Danny reminded each of us to breathe. Such a good reminder! Let’s take another breath this week as we consider another theme from our Advent sermon last week, Hope, Hope is often spoken casually as a wish, a desire—something that would occur if….
Happy Holy Days
What a pleasure to experience our annual Thanksgiving service last Sunday. Weren’t you grateful for all of the gratitude? And how about that POTLUCK?? I got in line as one of the last people and the tables were still completely stocked full of food and deserts. The conversations around the…
How to be Thankful
I want to give a special encouragement to our church community to be sure to attend and participate in this Sunday’s worship service at 9:30am. As most of you know, this special service is one of the best of…
Whose the Fairest Ministry of them All? (Clue: it’s all of us!)
Okay, if you missed our Ministry Fair—I’m not saying you missed out (We don’t want to trigger any FOMO PTSD for those youngin’s) but…it was super fun! Here are some initial reflections on our time together…
Gifts for EVERYONE!
This Sunday at 11am, there’s an exciting event for everyone who attends HSCC—the Ministry Fair! Now many of you have been to a “market fair” or “county fair” but this event is strategically placed at the end of our Bestowed sermon series—why, you ask? Well…
Finding a Way to Believe
As we traverse through our Bestowed series (studying the work of the Holy Spirit among us through giving spiritual gifts and shaping our stories), last Sunday we bounded down an uncommon trail in the modern Church’s conversation surrounding spiritual gifts. A conversation about the Supernatural. As we learned, the modern list of spiritual gifts is actually a conglomeration of…
Lemonade Reflections
Last Sunday at 12:30pm, a large gathering took over High Street Community Church front lawn and parking lot. As the warm sunlight finally broke through, Andrew Trowbridge launched his 5th Annual Lemonade Stand to support Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz. Dozens of Westsiders…
Gifted Homework?
This week I uttered a strange statement during the Equipping Hour…”you have homework!”. It wasn’t the normal charge—to put into practice what the Lord has given to us in message or class in the ACE—it was actual reading/writing/arithmetic stuff….
Grateful for the Ordinary
The past few weeks have been pretty warm. Actually some of those days were down right blazing HOT. How did you manage the heat? Did you lose some houseplants? Was sleep a challenge? Did you take 5 showers a day? I was in Southern California for…
Shipwrecks, Storms, & a Holy Ghost
Are you ready for an epic adventure? The end of Acts reads like a synopsis of a blockbuster film: riots, beatings, starvation, storms, shipwrecks, pagan islands, and more. As we finish our Summer in the Spirit series, we’re also finishing the journey with the Apostle Paul. And in the midst of this, we’re considering staying mindful the activity of the Holy Spirit in the midst of our uncertain journeys.
Lord of the Harvest
During the last month, my household has been enjoying 3 different kinds of peaches, an abundance of plums, and now we are harvesting nectarines and tomatoes. Apples and raspberries look to be in the coming weeks. We’ve given some…
Living “Wide Open”
Our upcoming sermon is called “Wide Open” on Aug 7th, dealing with Acts 10 and the faith being made open to the whole world. Up until that time most believed that faith in God was…
Creative Ways to Connect This Summer
It is the middle of summer. I hope you are enjoying the extra daylight, warm days and all the activities that happen this time of year. Let me encourage you to do them WITH people. An encouragement for fellowship…and summertime is a wonderful time for it. Here’s a few creative ways to connect with others this week…
Invisible Person
As we continue on in our “Summer in the Spirit” series I want to make sure we don’t miss the most basic and the most important truth—the Holy Spirit is a person (not human, but a distinct entity). The Holy Spirit is…