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Weekly sermons and weekday devotions from Highrock, a multi-site church in the Greater Boston area and Online. We create Christian communities that encourage you to ask questions, inspire you to follow Jesus, and challenge you to put love into action.
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![Daily Devo | Sabbath as Eternal Rest[oration] (Practicing the Way, Hebrews 4:6-11)](https://s3.castbox.fm/5f/9f/dd/896eb22372009e643d86d9308efcb0969e_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Daily Devo | Sabbath as Eternal Rest[oration] (Practicing the Way, Hebrews 4:6-11)")
Every Sabbath points us forward to something greater — the eternal rest we will experience with God. One day, all striving will cease. There will be no more stress, no more toil, no more brokenness. The Sabbath is a weekly rehearsal for heaven!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Sabbath looks back to the original week of Creation, re-establishes us in the present moment with God, and calls us into the future hope of what is to come.- Imagine that a child asked you about the encouragement in verse 11: "let us do our best to enter that rest." How might you explain the meaning of that verse?- How does your Sabbath help you look forward to eternity with God?- What practices could you adopt that might increase your anticipation of heaven’s joy and peace?
At the end of a word about true and false worship, God speaks through Isaiah about sabbath. In essence, Sabbath is like a final word on true worship. True worship leads to justice, and sabbath leads to true worship because we make room in our lives to truly invite God in to renew and recalibrate us.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Sabbath is about more than ceasing from work; it is about delighting in God.- What are some of the ways that the world calibrates us to its values and priorities? In other words, where do you feel the push to walk a different path than the way of Christ?- How might sabbath allow for renewal and recalibration to godly priorities?- How might God be inviting you to prepare for a fuller experience of sabbath?
We have already seen that sabbath is founded upon the very rhythm of God in Creation -- that God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. The ten commandments in Deuteronomy brings up another reason for sabbath, that is it given for our freedom. Sabbath was their protection against becoming slaves once again. Sabbath can be our protection as well, reminding us that there are more important things than work, money, status, and control.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:It can be easy to believe that we need to be in control in order to have a good and secure life. Sabbath invites us to relinquish control to God, replacing fear with faith.- Imagine a people filled with fear and the trauma of their past enslavement. How might God's command to practice sabbath have brought both relief and fear? Why might it have been an important protection for them?- What do you fear missing or losing by practicing sabbath? What anxieties push you to continue working when it is time to rest, delight, and worship?
Sabbath is the fourth commandment but long before it was commanded, it was modeled. The God who needs no rest stopped and rested, and delighted in all that had been made. God's rhythm of work and rest was then made into a rhythm for us to follow. All the other cycles on a calendar -- a day, a month, a year -- are written into the stars, but the weekly rhythm is written into us. Sabbath is an invitation for those who are made in God's image to enter into God's own rhythm of work and rest.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:"And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation." - Genesis 2:3- In his sermon, Pastor Taylor emphasized 3 elements to sabbath - rest, delight, and worship. How has your life been enriched by taking time for delight? How has your life been diminished when time is not set aside for delight?- How might God be inviting you to create room for regular rest, delight, and worship?
It's easy to misunderstand sabbath by rigid rule-keeping on the one hand or disregarding it entirely on the other. When the Pharisees challenged Jesus about the disciples gathering grains to eat on the Sabbath, Jesus reframed the discussion, pointing out that sabbath was meant to be a gift, not a prison. Looking at sabbath as a gift is a fitting place to begin!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath." - Mark 2:27- What role has sabbath played, if any, in your spiritual history or the spiritual history of your family?- Have you ever experienced sabbath as a gift from God? What challenges and what benefits did you experience?- What questions do you have about practicing sabbath?
What if the life you’re building by working harder is quietly breaking the soul you’re meant to protect? In a world that prizes hustle and productivity, Jesus invites us into a different rhythm—one that redefines success through rest, delight, and trust.· ·👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd
No one looks to political powers like Assyria these days, but we certainly look to political power in other forms. God invites Israel to no longer trust in these institutions and implements of political and military power and instead look to the Lord. They are invited to finally return home and to trust in the Lord. And what is the price of return? Nothing but the confession and gratitude that will lead God to heal them of their sin. May God heal us all!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:"The Lord says, 'Then I will heal you of your faithlessness'" - Hosea 11:4- We no longer look to Assyria and warhorses for security but what are our modern equivalents? Where do you see people creating modern idols of false hope and security?- Where are you tempted to look for security and significance other than in God? What relieves your anxieties, and how might God be inviting you to return home and find your security and significance in Jesus?
This section of Hosea begins with an image of God as a loving parent and Israel as a child who chooses to run away. Like a heartbroken parent, God continues to call out but each effort only pushes Israel further away. One day, God will roar like a lion, not out of anger, but in a call for God's children to finally return home once again..Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:"I will bring them home again," says the Lord (Hosea 11:11)- Have you experienced people you love choosing to distance themselves from you? Have you, perhaps in the past, chosen to push away those who have reached out to you? How does your experience help you understand God's heart in this passage?- Do you feel that your life is currently moving closer or further away from God? What might help you to continue to respond to God's call to return home?
What is planted in the ground seems so small and inconsequential, but the harvest it yields can be tremendous. Extending this metaphor even further, God says that those who sow the wind (and what could be more insubstantial than the wind?) will reap the whirlwind (a tornado of destruction). What seeds do we sow today? Are we sowing seeds that will lead to destruction, or seeds that may lead to the promised fruit of the Spirit? Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:“They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind." - Hosea 8:7- Israel's choice of leaders and false gods (golden calf) both centered around what they falsely thought would bring them material comfort and security. Are we in danger of making a similar mistake today? Explain.- Planting the wind seems so small and inconsequential, but wind can become very destructive. Are you wrestling with any seemingly small and inconsequential temptations that could lead to self-destruction if left unchecked?
Contrary to the popular saying, what you do not know can hurt you. In this case, the people did not know God. More than just a lack of head-knowledge, God accuses the people of having no real relationship with God. Knowledge about God can be a great start to real relationship, but it is a terrible substitute for real relationship. For all our knowledge about God, do we truly know God? And if we don't know God in love, how will the world know?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Knowledge about God can be a great start to real intimacy with God, but it is a poor substitute for real relationship.- Have you known people who knew a lot about God but didn't seem to really know God? How did you experience those people? In contrast, what impact did people have on you when you sensed that they truly knew and loved God?- Have you ever thought of yourself as a priest (1 Peter 2:9)? How do you feel about the idea that your relationship with God has an inevitable impact on others?
Daily Devo | Does God Even Like Me? (Prophet & Loss, Hosea 2:17-23)Many believers are rightly convinced that God loves them, while at the same time wondering if God actually likes them. Perhaps God's love is merely a duty and an obligation? After all, God knows exactly who we are when no one else is looking. The beginning of Hosea's ministry shows clearly that God knows exactly who the people are and who we are, and still, God loves us passionately. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Despite Israel's infidelity, God communicates passion and desire for restoration.- Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe that God likes you? How would you describe God's feelings for you?- Compare your answer above with how God's passion is described in this passage. In what ways does God's expression of love contrast with your own intuitive sense?- How might God's passion for us (including for you) affect how you feel towards those who have failed you?
Sometimes hope feels like a cruel joke - distant promises when you’re drowning in present pain. But Hosea dares to suggest that God’s love can cure even our chronic unfaithfulness and teach us a new, better way to live.· ·👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd
After all the warnings and bad news, Amos lands on a vision of what could be, and because of God's faithfulness, what will be. His message envisions a day of transformed government, renewed creation, and restored relationship with God. It was important then that the people did not lose hope in what God could and would do. It is just as important that we do not lose hope today!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:After so much bad news, Amos shares what is good news. It is a vision of good news that would be fulfilled only in and through the good news about Jesus.- How do you feel about the state of your worlds today? What about your nation, your region, your church, and your home? What reasons do you have for being hopeful? What reasons do you have for concern?- Write out some ideas for what you might pray for in those realms of life. What promises or aspects of God's character might you call upon as you pray?
God shares with Amos a vision for how God will judge Israel for her sins, but Amos twice asks God to relent, and God listens to Amos' request. Amos appears to change God's mind! This amazing moment actually is part of a long tradition of faithful people who appear to change God's mind -- Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus' mother Mary. What is happening? Do these people change God's mind? Is God training us to intercede for others, or inviting us to be part of God's work of redemption?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Amos seems to have no objection when the expressed intent is to rebuild rather than destroy. Perhaps that was God's intent all along?- How does it affect your image of God to see such a long tradition of people arguing with God, bargaining with God, or appearing to change God's mind?- How does it affect your understanding of humans, including you, to see that God desires to have such an interactive relationship with us? How might this understanding affect how you pray?
God warns the people not to go to Bethel, or to Gilgal or Beersheba! Why not? Those places had been key places in their spiritual history, places where their heroes had personal encounters with the living God. They had been key places but in Amos' time, they had been corrupted into places of idolatry. When corruption is that deep and widespread, it can be tempting to just retreat into silence, but God offers a different direction for us all to follow.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba are ancient history! Why should we care about them today? - Imagine you are helping with youth group and a teenager asks you that question -- how might you respond?- What problems do you see today that are rooted in a false religion or worldview? What might a faithful response look like for you?
Most of what we have been hearing from the prophets has been directed toward Israel, the people of God. Here in the opening of Amos, we see that God also has much to say to the other nations as well. We see an overflowing of violence and sin, along with incredible patience from God, a patience that was about to give way to justice. Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:When we are tempted to think that God is slow to address the injustice we face, Peter reminds us that that the Lord is not slow, but patient, wanting to give all the opportunity to repent. (2 Peter 3:9)- When you feel that you are being attacked or treated unfairly, what helps you to be patient, loving, and forgiving? Does it help to remember that God sees and is with you? Does it help to remember how God has been merciful to you? Is there something else that helps you to be patient and trusting in God?
Surely it would take a special kind of arrogance to presume to speak for God, but Amos does not presume to speak for God. Instead, Amos, a poor shepherd and fig farmer, faithfully says "yes" when God chooses to speak through him - despite his lack of any special religious training. Jesus likewise chose and commissioned his followers to speak for him, bringing his grace and truth to the entire world (Matthew 28:19-20). Are you willing to say "yes" to Jesus?Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Amos has no apparent qualifications other than the fact that God chooses him and Amos says "yes".- Have you ever known someone who turned down an opportunity that was offered to them because they didn't feel qualified? Were they truly unqualified or was there another reason for saying, "No".- Have you ever turned away from a spiritual opportunity or interaction because you didn't feel qualified? Perhaps you stayed silent rather than voice what you believe? Do you find Amos' example encouraging or convicting? Why or why not?
We love the idea of justice - until it interrupts our comfort or costs us something. But what if God isn’t impressed by our worship songs at all unless our lives also flow with justice? Amos’ fiery words push us to face the disconnect we’d rather ignore.· ·👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd
Has it ever seemed like God did not, would not, or could not fulfill a promise to you? In such times, it can be vital to remember how God has faithfully kept even "impossible" promises in the past. In today's passage, God repeats an ancient promise that seemed beyond imagining for those in captivity. That promise would one day be fulfilled, not only to them, but to all of us in Jesus!Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:Remembering God's faithfulness in the past can help us to hold onto hope in the present.- What examples of God's faithfulness in the Bible are especially meaningful to you, and why?- What examples of God's faithfulness in your life are especially meaningful to you, and why?- Is there some way that God may be inviting you to trust in God's faithfulness today? Who are the people, what are the places, and which are the practices that might help you to trust more deeply?
Jeremiah finally switches from 100% bad news to a mixture of good news and bad news. He presents them some good news -- it's time for stability and peace! The bad news is that this stability will take place as exiles in Babylon for 70 years. The good news for us is that God's people have often felt like exiles even in their own homelands and have thus found healing, health, and hope in Jeremiah's instructions.Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:https://www.highrock.org/daily-devotionals/For Reflection:The people are not to retreat into their own conclaves and sanctuaries. Neither are they to engage in a cultural war to take control of the levers of power. Instead, they are to flourish and multiply, seeking the "good of the city".- Have you ever found yourself being drawn into a culture war? What advice might Jeremiah have for us? What advice might you have for people caught up in such conflicts?- What might God call you to do to be a blessing to the secular or pagan world around you? How might we together seek the "good of the city"?
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