Skip to content

Highland Church of Christ

Blaze: Dig Deep (Matt. 7:24-27) Chris Altrock – January 29, 2017

Blaze for Soundcloud

 

David’s Rock

3 How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. (Ps. 62:3-4 ESV)

These words were written by a man named David. It was a hard time in David’s life. There were some nasty people in his life at this time. And to describe how they made him feel, David uses the image of an army with a battering ram. That’s how nasty these people were. Can you see them? They are shouting. They have their hands raised. They have this battering ram.

And then there’s David. David describes himself as a “leaning wall, a tottering fence.” He’s like a house or a castle. And these nasty people have been attacking him; so hard and so effectively that David’s walls are leaning in. These people have been beating against those walls. Again and again. And now, they are just about to topple over. Can you see them? These nasty people just need one more good run at David and the walls of his life are going to fall all the way in. And it’s going to bring the whole house, the whole castle, David’s whole life, down with a great fall.

Phew! That sounds like a tough season in life, doesn’t it? I wonder if you can relate.Read More »Blaze: Dig Deep (Matt. 7:24-27) Chris Altrock – January 29, 2017

Making Room: Delight (Matt. 2:1-12) Chris Altrock – December 25, 2016

Making Room Series for Blog

Is life with a baby or young child something that is wonderful and full of joy? Or is it something that is challenging and full of frustration? It probably depends on who you talk to or what day you talk to them. Different people have different perspectives on what life is like with little people.

Rachel D’Apice is a comic who uses humor to talk about life with youngsters. She says you might think that taking a walk with a toddler would be a marvelous to do. In truth, it can be a maddening thing to do. D’Apice uses an imaginative play on Google Maps to illustrate. Google Maps will give you directions from one place to another. Imagine a Google Maps that described the way young children get to a park.[1]:Read More »Making Room: Delight (Matt. 2:1-12) Chris Altrock – December 25, 2016

Making Room: Present (Matt. 1:18-25) Chris Altrock – December 4, 2016

Making Room Series for Blog

In the 1850’s thousands of homeless children lived on the streets of New York City.[1] Many sold matches, rags, or newspapers to survive. For protection against street violence, they banded together and formed gangs. There were almost no social services for these homeless children.

A young minister, Charles Brace, took up their cause. He founded the Children’s Aid Society. Brace worked to get the homeless children out of the city and into the country. He used trains to do this. His desire was to get farmers and others in the midwest to adopt the children–to give them homes and a more healthy way of life.

More than 100,000 children were sent, via “orphan trains,” from New York City to homes in rural midwest America.[2] The children often boarded the train having no idea where they were headed or if they would even be adopted. They were leaving the only place they knew for places and people they’d never seen before.

Read More »Making Room: Present (Matt. 1:18-25) Chris Altrock – December 4, 2016

Go China (Acts 13) Chris Altrock & Hunter Deng – November 20, 2016

20161106 Go Series Center Screen Still

9 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts 11:9-26 ESV)

            When suffering or pain knock on the front door of our lives, most of us just want to know two things: 1) “How long are you staying?” and 2) “What can I do to make your say shorter?” Simply put, we hate pain. But Luke, the author of this book called Acts, reminds us that sometimes positive things are born from pain.Read More »Go China (Acts 13) Chris Altrock & Hunter Deng – November 20, 2016