Highland Baptist Church - Sermons

This week, Pastor John continued our Established sermon series with a message from 1 Samuel 8–13, emphasizing how impatience can lead us to compromise. He challenged us to resist fear and pride, choosing instead to trust God’s timing by walking in faith, because the decisions we make in moments can shape the course of our lives.

This week, Pastor John continued our sermon series Established with a message from 1 Samuel 6-8. Through the text, he challenged us to move from casual faith to wholehearted surrender, reminding us that true establishment begins with repentant hearts before God. No one can stand against the Lord, our one and true King.

Pastor John continued our Established series by showing how easily we place God in second rather than surrendering fully to Him. In 1 Samuel 4–6, we’re reminded that anything we rely on for control, approval, power, or comfort will ultimately fail us. The invitation this week is clear: lay down every rival and let God truly be first.

This week, Pastor John continued our Established sermon series with a message from 1 Samuel 3. He reminded us that God is always speaking to His people through His Word, His Spirit, and His work, often most clearly in moments of darkness. As we position ourselves with surrendered and attentive hearts, God establishes those who are willing to listen and respond.

This week, we kicked off our sermon series Established as we take a look at the different stories throughout 1 Samuel. This week, we looked at the story of Hannah and how she was barren but rooted in God and found His faithfulness amidst disappointment.1 Samuel 1:1-2 Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.Matthew 19:4-6  He (Jesus) answered, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5  and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  6  So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”  I SAMUEL 1:3-18 Being Established DURING Great Disappointment1. Continue in Prayer 10, 12, 13, 16, 26, 27.2. Endure in all Things 183. Worship the Lord  19  1 SAMUEL 1:19-204. Patient in Trust  20I SAMUEL 1:21-28I SAMUEL 2:1-10Christ is the promised King who will establish His people by His victory over death.

In this week's sermon, we discuss our best guess as to what the Lord is doing in and through Highland in 2026.

This week, Pastor John continued our Practicing sermon series with a message from 2 Corinthians 9 on the spiritual practice of generosity. We were reminded that generosity is the joyful use of all God has entrusted to us for His glory and the good of others. As God gives abundantly and shapes our hearts, He invites us to grow from reluctant giving into cheerful generosity.

This week, Pastor John launched our new sermon series Practicing with a message from Psalm 34 on the practice of praise. We learned that praise is often a choice before it becomes a feeling, as it redirects glory from ourselves back to God. As we recount God’s faithfulness, praise invites us to step fully into who God is and all He has done.

This week, the Church gathered as one body at one gathering to worship and pray together. Pastor John spent some time highlighting the power of prayer and emphasizing God as the sole recipient of our prayers.Ephesians 4:1–61. Unity Begins With Us Living Godly Lives 1, 2 2. Unity Requires Intentional Effort 3 3. Unity Is Found in What We Share in Christ 4-6 4. Unity Is Our Great Witness to Greater WacoA divided church preaches a divided gospel.  A united church demonstrates a powerful Redeemer. Communion 1 Timothy 2:1-3 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--  2  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  3  This is good, and pleases God our Savior.

This week, Jeremy Daniel concluded our Christmas Grace series with a message from Matthew 1-2. In the incarnation, Christ stepped down to bring hope, push back darkness, and establish His eternal kingdom. Because of who Jesus is and what He has done, we are invited to enter in, stand firm, push back in faith, and bow down in worship before our incomparable King.

This week, Pastor John continued our Christmas Grace series with a teaching from Titus 2, reminding us that Christmas is the story of grace appearing in the person of Jesus. In Christ, God’s grace came near to redeem us, reshape us, and give us lasting hope. This appearing grace not only saves us but makes us God’s own people, stirring our hearts toward lives marked by gratitude and good works.

We continue our sermon series Christmas Grace as our NextGen Grow Pastor, Drew Humphrey, preaches from Colossians 1. "The Dawn of Redeeming Grace" Colossians 1:15-20Colossians 1:15 GRACE THAT IS SEEN Jesus was not the first being created, and yet Jesus was born."There is no God in Heaven who is unlike Jesus." - Michael ReevesColossians 1:19GRACE THAT IS FULL 1. Grace In MeColossians 2:6-7a 2. Anti-Grace Around MeColossians 2:83. Grace Through MeColossians 2:9-10 Colossians 1:20 GRACE THAT REDEEMS Ultimate Reconciliation: YesUniversal Salvation: No

This week, Pastor John launched our Christmas Grace series by showing that when grace is missing, everything in life becomes distorted. From John 1, we’re reminded that Christ is God’s answer to our deepest need. In Him, truth and grace come together so we can see the gospel with stunning clarity.

This week, Pastor John led us in our annual Cross of Christ service with a message from 1 Corinthians 11:23–26. As we take the bread and the cup, we boldly declare that we are not ruled by sin, not hopeless in life, and not finished in death. In Christ, our sins are forgiven, our lives belong to Him, our hope is secure, and our King is returning.

This week, Pastor John Durham concluded our Desert Rose series with a message from Mark 15, reminding us that Jesus entered the deepest form of loneliness so that we would never be alone. On the cross, He was forsaken so we could be accepted, and His separation allowed for our connection with God. Because Christ fills our loneliness with Himself, we can live with confidence that we are seen, we are not abandoned, and we are called to represent His love to others.

This week, Pastor Jeremy Daniel continued our Desert Rose series with a message from Jeremiah 15 on the cost of faithfulness. Jeremiah’s story reminds us that obedience can be lonely and truth can invite opposition, yet God invites us to bring our pain honestly to Him. In those moments, His faithful presence turns weakness into endurance and suffering into deeper trust.

This week, Pastor John continued our Desert Rose sermon series with a message from Ecclesiastes 4 on the purpose of community. God designed us to form relationships that bring encouragement, provision, and protection. In a world filled with opportunity for isolation, we find our deepest belonging in Christ and in the community of His people.

This week, our Groups Minister Josh Duinker continued our Desert Rose sermon series with a message from Psalm 25. Through this passage, we’re reminded that loneliness is real, but Jesus has the final word. Even in the desert places, God calls us to depend on Him, to wait on Him, and to trust that He can bring life and light where there once was darkness.

This Sunday, Pastor John opened our new sermon series Desert Rose by reminding us that God’s design for healing loneliness is found in genuine community. When God calls us to Himself, He also calls us to one another, inviting us to be a living church devoted to His Word, fellowship, prayer, and shared life together.

This week, Pastor John uses the story of Samson to show how sin disguises itself to draw us in and how temptation patiently targets our weaknesses. While the enemy delights in our downfall, Jesus delights in our forgiveness and transforms what once bound us into a testimony of His grace and freedom.