Foothills Church (Audio)

Today, I want to talk with you about Christ as our Healer. Let me share a couple of true stories with you. The first story is about a woman named Sue that I was friends with at my church in Chico. Sue discovered a lump in her breast. Second story is our friend Steve Luster, a good friend at re:new and our head greeter.

did you also know that when you grow in your intimacy with God, you also make yourself vulnerable as well? Wait, what? You might be thinking, “I thought the closer we got to God the more protected we were. I thought if I walked close with God, he would protect me from bad things and hard things. I thought if a person followed Jesus closely bad things won’t happen to good people.”Not so! In fact, if you have determined to invest your life in God and cultivate an intimacy with the Almighty, you’re actually asking for it.Some have called this the “Peril Principle.”

I don’t have a problem with being busy. You look at an average day of Jesus’ life; it was probably busier than most of ours. However, it also contained margin, balance, and silence. The problem I have is that we make our business and our productivity into our identity. The problem I have is that we allow our business, title, and job become the thing that gives us value. We are willing to sacrifice relationships in pursuit of a career. When this happens, the result is going to be exhaustion… burnout.

Ephesians 2:1-10 reminds us that we were once spiritually dead—completely unable to save ourselves. But God, because of His great love for us, made us alive in Christ through grace. This isn't a story about what we've done for God; it's about what God has done for us. We were rescued, transformed, and created as His masterpiece for the good works He prepared in advance for us to do.

Budget & Ministry Celebration

Budget and Ministry Celebration

While everything in life changes—leaders, jobs, families, churches, and even our health—God's faithfulness endures forever. Through Moses' final song and blessing to Israel, we discover that our ultimate security never comes from our own strength, but from the everlasting arms of God beneath us. It reminds us to recognize the danger of spiritual drift through forgetfulness and calls us to anchor our hope firmly in Christ alone.

Moses challenged the Israelites standing on the edge of the Promised Land with a critical decision: Would they choose life with God or turn away to other things? After 40 years in the desert, they faced the temptation to credit the abundance of the land to false gods rather than to Yahweh, the true Source of all blessing. This message reminds us that to experience the life God wants for us, we must listen to and lovingly obey Him. The key isn't obligation-driven obedience, but obedience that flows from genuinely knowing God's heart and trusting His love for us. Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God has made this abundant life possible for us today.

Moses prepared Israel before entering the Promised Land. Just as they faced countless detestable practices and false voices in Canaan, we face an overwhelming number of voices today—social media influencers, news commentators, self-help experts, and cultural ideologies—all clamoring for our attention. Moses' message was clear then and remains urgent now: we must intentionally tune out destructive voices and listen only to God. The good news is that our God is not silent. He graciously speaks to us through His Word, and most perfectly through Jesus Christ, the greater Prophet Moses promised. Listening to Jesus is not merely hearing His words—it requires trust-filled obedience that shapes the entire direction of our lives.

God was forming Israel into a radically different kind of community by teaching them about justice, authority, and leadership. As they prepared to enter the Promised Land, God wasn't simply giving them laws for a functioning society—He was shaping them to reflect His character in every area of life, especially when they held influence over others. Power has a way of revealing what's already inside our hearts, and how God's call to justice, humility, and submission to His authority confronts us today. The implications for our spiritual life are profound: we must continually ask what is shaping us when we're the ones holding influence, whether in our homes, workplaces, friendships, or ministries.

What is actually forming you? Are you being shaped by God or have you subtly begun shaping your faith around your preferences and schedule? Through Moses' instructions to Israel about worship, we discover that God doesn't leave our formation to chance. He calls us to center our lives around Him, not because He's controlling, but because worship is formative—it shapes who we become.

What is actually forming you? Are you being shaped by God or have you subtly begun shaping your faith around your preferences and schedule? Through Moses' instructions to Israel about worship, we discover that God doesn't leave our formation to chance. He calls us to center our lives around Him, not because He's controlling, but because worship is formative—it shapes who we become.

God uses wilderness seasons in our lives—those difficult, stretching times—to teach us vital lessons about His character and our dependence on Him. Just as God led Israel through forty years in the wilderness to humble them, test them, sustain them, and discipline them, He does the same in our lives today. These hard seasons aren't random or meaningless; they're opportunities for God to shape us, grow our faith, and build a testimony of His faithfulness. When we remember what God has done in the difficult times, we're better equipped to trust Him in the present and future, avoiding the twin dangers of comfort-induced forgetfulness and pride.

It is easy to live a life that feels full yet remains spiritually divided—not because we've rejected God, but because we've allowed Him to move from the center to just another compartment. Moses' words to Israel on the edge of the Promised Land speak directly to us today: prosperity and busyness have a way of quietly pushing God to the margins. The call to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and might challenges us to move beyond acknowledging God's presence to actually reordering our entire lives around Him.

Israel stood on the edge of the Promised Land after 40 years of wilderness wandering, and before they could step into their future, God called them to look back and remember His faithfulness. This pattern of remembering what God has done is not just ancient history—it's essential for our spiritual lives today. When we forget God's past faithfulness, we begin to doubt His goodness, question His presence, and hesitate to obey His voice. The greatest danger we face isn't the challenges ahead of us, but forgetting the God who has brought us this far.

Isaiah 25:6-9—verses written over 700 years before Jesus' resurrection, explore the profound promises of Easter. We discover that Easter is not just about a historical event, but about God's faithfulness to keep His promises. The resurrection validates everything Jesus taught and claimed, proving He is completely trustworthy. Through Isaiah's prophetic vision of a great feast, we see three powerful realities Easter brings: victory over death, the promise of divine comfort, and the complete removal of our shame. These aren't just future hopes—they're available to us today through the presence and power of God's Spirit in our lives.

On this Good Friday, we gather to remember the depth of Christ’s sacrifice, the weight of the cross, and the overwhelming love that made a way for our redemption.

Jesus, alone, took on our sin and its penalty to bring us peace with God. Isaiah's prophecy reveals Jesus as both fully God and fully human, who willingly endured unimaginable suffering not for His own sins, but for ours. Through the powerful imagery of the Old Testament scapegoat, we see how Jesus literally carries away our guilt, shame, and sin—removing them completely from our lives. His mission was accomplished perfectly, and now He offers forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life to all who trust in Him.

Through Isaiah 65-66, we see that God isn't interested in empty rituals or pretending. He desires humble, obedient hearts that genuinely seek relationship with Him rather than just His blessings. The text reveals that while judgment awaits those who rebel against God, an overwhelming future of joy, restoration, and intimacy with the Lord awaits His faithful servants. This includes the promise of new heavens and a new earth where sin, sorrow, and death are eliminated forever.

God's universal invitation for all people—the thirsty, the weary, even the wicked—is to come to Him and find true satisfaction. Humanity often looks to everything except God to fill the void in our souls, spending our energy and resources on things that can never truly satisfy. But only Christ can quench our deepest spiritual thirst. This passage challenges us to examine where we're seeking fulfillment and calls us to return to the only source that will never run dry—the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

God alone is our Rock and there is no other. God reaffirms His unchanging commitment to His people, promises to pour out His Spirit on us and our children, and exposes the absurdity of trusting in anything other than Him. The message challenges us to identify modern idols in our lives—ambition, sexuality, politics, self-worship, technology, and even family—that we may be asking to bear the weight only God can carry. Ultimately, we are invited to return quickly to our Redeemer when we wander, resting in His sovereign grace that has already swept away our sins like morning mist.

God addresses His people in moments when everything that once felt secure suddenly isn't. When leadership fails, institutions crumble, and plans collapse, a quiet question surfaces: "Where is God in this?" We are challenged to recognize that our security doesn't rest in our circumstances or performance, but in our belonging to the God who created us, redeemed us, and promises to walk with us through every fire and flood. The implications for our spiritual life are profound: we're called to shift from self-reliance to God-dependence, recognizing Him as our only true Savior.

This is a powerful passage that speaks directly to those experiencing prolonged discouragement and weariness. Isaiah addresses a people facing exile and extended hardship, but his message transcends time to speak to our own seasons of struggle. The central truth is this: Though we are finite and frail, God is everlasting in his renewal and care. Unlike our human strength that withers like grass, God's power never diminishes. He is both the majestic Creator of the universe and a tender shepherd who carries his lambs close to his heart. This chapter marks a dramatic shift in Isaiah's prophecy from judgment to comfort, reminding us that God never forgets us during our trials and is committed to renewing, reviving, and ultimately restoring us.

Today is Worldview Sunday at Foothills. This year, we are privileged to hear from Dr. Kathy Koch, author of "Raising Gender-Confident Kids” with co-author Dr. Jeff Myers from Summit Ministries. Come back at 2PM to attend her free afternoon workshop: Resiliency, a Necessity in Today’s Times. Invite your friends and bring your questions for her Q&A. Free childcare is available for the afternoon workshop, but please register your kids for childcare at foothillsCP.org/worldview.

Foothills Church is part of the Christian & Missionary Alliance where the heart is: All of Jesus for All the World! Our international workers from Guinea Africa will be joining us to share what God has been doing in their ministry and in the lives of the people that He’s called them to. 

Foothills Church is part of the Christian & Missionary Alliance where the heart is: All of Jesus for All the World! Our international workers from Guinea Africa will be joining us to share what God has been doing in their ministry and in the lives of the people that He’s called them to. 

Daily obedience and trust in God prepares us to trust Him when crisis strikes. Through King Hezekiah's response to both national threat and personal illness, we saw that what we rehearse each day is what we'll repeat in crisis. Just as emergency responders practice for disasters, our spiritual "muscle memory" is built through consistent, daily trust in God. This has profound implications for our spiritual life—when we make it our habit to go to God first with everything, we're naturally prepared to run to Him when the alarms of life go off.

Through Isaiah 32 and 35, we see that God's people in Judah appear stable on the surface, but underneath they had displaced God's rule with political alliances and human strategies. Isaiah's response wasn't a behavioral checklist but a vision of what life looks like when the right King reigns: stability replaces confusion, clarity replaces drift, and restoration comes to barren places. This has profound implications for our spiritual lives today, challenging us to examine not whether we believe in Jesus, but whether He actually has authority over how we live, decide, and respond.

The sermon explores the crisis faced by King Ahaz and the nation of Judah when they were threatened by neighboring armies and the looming superpower of Assyria. In their fear, they had to decide where to place their trust—in military alliances, political power, or in God alone. Isaiah's prophecy points forward to Jesus, who would come as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This ancient struggle mirrors our own today as we navigate global uncertainty, personal hardships, and the constant noise of fearful voices around us. The message challenges us to examine where we place our trust when life feels out of control and reminds us that Jesus alone can overcome our deepest fears.

We witness God's disappointment with Israel's spiritual fruitlessness despite His abundant provision, followed immediately by Isaiah's vision of God's throne room. The contrast between human failure and divine holiness reminds us that no matter how sour our lives may become through sin, every heart can experience the sweet salvation of God. Isaiah 5-6 reveal both the reality of divine discipline for persistent rebellion and the beautiful truth that God is not a quitter—He eagerly forgives, restores, and calls us into His service when we turn to Him.

Isaiah ministered to a nation in crisis—one that had turned away from God despite maintaining religious appearances. The people of Judah were going through the motions of worship while their hearts, homes, and society reflected rebellion against God's ways. Isaiah's message was sobering yet hopeful: sustained patterns of rebellion bring both natural consequences and divine judgment, yet God promises complete restoration and renewal to those who turn to Him. This ancient message speaks powerfully to our lives today, reminding us that no matter how deep our sin or how long our wandering, God can make us "white as snow" when we come to Him.

The sermon explores Hebrews 8:1-13, unpacking how the Old Testament system of priests, sacrifices, and the temple points directly to Jesus Christ. It examines the critical role of the High Priest in ancient Israel—how he alone could enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. This temporary system, though established by God, revealed humanity's desperate need for something permanent. Through Jesus' death on the cross, God established a New Covenant—one where His blood covers our sins eternally, allowing us to enter God's presence not through repeated animal sacrifices, but through the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. This reality has profound implications for how we view ourselves, think about our past, and live out our faith daily.

Christmas means Jesus went the distance for YOU!! From Manger at Christmas to Majesty at Easter. From Manger to Majesty—ALL FOR YOU! And now, since his full purpose for coming has been accomplished, those who trust in him can rest in him, and breathe deep. He’s got you no matter what happens in life. Merry Christmas and enjoy the gift of rest in the Jesus of Christmas.

While the blood of bulls and goats could never truly cleanse hearts or remove guilt through the Old Testament sacrificial system, Jesus offered His own body to accomplish what needed to be done—once for all. His sacrifice wasn't just another covering for sin; it was complete cleansing and removal. Because of what Jesus did, we can now approach God's throne with confidence, our consciences cleansed and our relationship with Him fully restored. This changes everything about how we live and relate to God.

Jesus serves as our Apostle and High Priest, representing God to humanity and humanity to God. Jesus is greater than even Moses, the most revered figure in Jewish history, and He offers us a rest far superior to anything the world can provide. This rest isn't about eliminating hard work or struggles, but about finding soul-deep satisfaction in God alone—freedom from trying to earn His favor, hiding our shame, or seeking the world's approval.

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, willingly left the glory of heaven to become fully human—not just to visit us, but to identify with us completely. Christmas isn't merely a sentimental holiday, but the foundation of our salvation. Jesus had to become like us in every way to represent us on the cross, and He had to remain fully God to pay for all our sins once and for all. This profound act of solidarity means we have a Savior who truly understands our struggles, temptations, and suffering—and who has overcome everything that holds us captive.

The supremacy of Jesus Christ is God's final and complete revelation to humanity. Through Hebrews 1, we discover that Jesus is not merely another prophet or messenger, but the radiant glory of God Himself, the exact imprint of His nature, and the One who upholds the entire universe by His powerful word. This passage reminds us that Christmas is not just about a helpless infant—it's about the eternal Son of God stepping into human flesh to reveal the Father perfectly and to make purification for our sins. Understanding who Jesus truly is transforms how we approach this season and anchors us when we're tempted to drift spiritually.

Serving others may come at great cost, but we are called to magnify Christ, not ourselves. Our weaknesses become platforms upon which Jesus displays His grace and power.

Genuine confidence doesn't come from our own strength, abilities, or what others think of us. Instead, our confidence is rooted in Christ and His work in us. Through Paul's defense of his ministry to the Corinthian church, we learned that godly confidence begins with humility, relies on divine rather than human strength, and is demonstrated through consistency in our Christian walk. This has profound implications for our spiritual life. When we stop comparing ourselves to others and start focusing on what God thinks of us, we find freedom to serve Him faithfully with the unique gifts He has given us.

When we truly grasp the rich grace God has lavished upon us, it naturally overflows into rich generosity toward others. Paul revealed a counter-intuitive truth: God's math works differently than ours. Rather than leaving us with less, generous giving actually positions us for greater blessing. This creates a beautiful, reinforcing cycle where recognizing God's rich grace stimulates rich generosity, which leads to rich reward, which in turn enables even more generosity. It's a win-win-win scenario where recipients are blessed, God is glorified, and we as givers experience the joy and reward of participating in God's kingdom work.

God's rich grace toward us naturally stimulates rich generosity in our lives. This sermon walks us through seven biblical principles that challenge us to become the generous people God has called us to be. This has profound implications for our spiritual life, reminding us that how we handle our resources reveals where our hearts truly are and how deeply we've experienced God's unconditional love through Jesus Christ.

Our past experiences often shape our response to correction, causing us to hear condemnation instead of love. Through Paul's relationship with the Corinthian church, we discover that Godly correction flows from affection, not authority, and is designed to heal us, not hurt us. When we respond to God's conviction with humility rather than defensiveness, we open ourselves to the kind of repentance that leads to life, joy, and restored relationships. The implications for our spiritual life are profound: we can stop running from God when we fail and instead run toward Him, knowing His correction is evidence of His love and His desire to make us whole.

As believers, we are called to a ministry of endurance by the power of the Holy Spirit. The sermon delves into the challenges we face in life and ministry, the tools God provides us to endure, and the new perspective we gain through endurance.

Our role as believers is to be ambassadors for Christ. Christ gives us a second chance at a great relationship with God, likening it to a spiritual "reset button." This transformative message reminds us of the profound change Jesus brings to our lives and our calling to represent Him in our daily interactions.

As Christians, what we have to look forward to far exceeds any pain or struggle we face today. It is important to focus on the unseen eternal realities rather than temporary earthly struggles, and live with the confidence of our future resurrection and judgment before Christ.

God's power is magnified when we embrace our human limitations. While we often feel frustrated by our weaknesses and frailties, the Bible actually teaches that these are opportunities for God's strength to shine through us. Just as treasure is carried in clay jars, our human fragility becomes the vessel through which God's power is displayed.

The sermon focuses on how we can persevere in ministry and shine God's light in a world that often seems dark. Our ministry is a gift of God's mercy, not based on our own merit. It highlights the importance of integrity in sharing the gospel and reminds us that only God's power can truly open people's eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ.

The New Covenant, established through Christ, surpasses the Old Covenant in glory and effectiveness. This message reminds us that as believers, we are continually being transformed by the Spirit into the image of Christ, impacting every aspect of our spiritual lives.

This sermon explores the concept of Christians as diffusers of Christ's aroma. It highlights how God places us in Christ's triumphal procession and calls us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere we go. This powerful metaphor challenges us to consider how our lives radiate Christ's presence to those around us, whether they find it appealing or repelling.

Forgiveness is the path from hurt to healing. True forgiveness is not about mustering up our own strength, but rather allowing God's grace to work through us. This perspective challenges us to view forgiveness as a process of cooperation with God, rather than a solo effort of willpower.