Acts 11:27-28:During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The famine had not happened yet. The shelves were not empty yet. No one was desperate yet. And …
January has a way of quieting everything down. The decorations come down. The noise fades. The calendar resets. And in that stillness, God often asks a question that is both simple and searching: Why are we here? Not just as individuals—but as a church. As we step into 2026, I believe God is calling Hillside to live with renewed purpose …
Can’t believe this is December already. One moment, we are putting away Thanksgiving leftovers; the next, we are thinking about Christmas decorations. But in all the bustle, I wanted to pause and reflect with you on what God has been doing at Hillside. It has been quite a journey. I remember at the beginning of this year, things felt a …
A few months ago, one of the church members gave me a bulletin from the 2008 50th Anniversary celebration of Hillside Church of God. In the bulletin was an excerpt from a sermon by Pastor Swank delivered on the 20th Anniversary in 1978. I read the article and was overjoyed to learn how this church was built. A few weeks …
If you’ve been around Hillside Church of God lately, you’ve probably noticed that we have received many blessings from God. God’s people have been busy. Many improvements have been made to both the facility and the service experience. We have seen volunteers stepping up. God has been very generous toward Hillside. There is a parable in Matthew 25:14-30 called the …
The Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere, “like the garden of the Lord” (Gen 13:10), so Lot took his hungry flocks there. But choosing to dwell in the best of the land turned out to be one of the worst decision, for the text includes this note: “This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” In fact, a glance …
Few went to Nazareth unless they had to go there. The city sat off the beaten path and high on a hill. Yet it was the perfect placefor the boy Jesus to grow up in safe seclusion, away from the grasp of any who might seek to harm Him. Years later, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus moved His …
Almost 2,000 years before Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem, Jacob and Rachel, another expectant couple, traveled the same road. Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, but she died after delivery, and Jacob buried her near Bethlehem (see Gen 35:19). Rachel’s death foreshadowed the devastation that the territory of Benjamin would suffer in Jeremiah’s time: “Rachel is weeping for her children …
On April 21, 2028, Katherine Wolf suffered a massive stroke. She didn’t lose her life, but she lost her ability to walk, talk clearly, and care for herself. She went from being a California model to a wheelchair-bound patient. She’s endured eleven surgeries and daily fights to regain her strength. More than once she has felt like giving up. One …
Growth is an exciting season in the life of any church. At Hillside Church of God, we rejoice in seeing new families come through our doors, ministries expanding, fresh growth, and answered prayers. This momentum needs to be nurtured with diligence, prayer, and continuous action. Momentum is not just about numbers. It is about staying aligned with God’s mission, so …