This Week at Little Hills
Pastor Tim reflects on the power of snow and how it impacts us — and what that tells us about God.
Who Gets a Car for Christmas Anyway?
Pastor Tim talks about extravagant gifts and what the Bible says about the truly extravagant gift we receive at Christmas because of the very first Christmas.
Right Things, Wrong Moment
When you prepare a small dinner and twenty guests arrive unannounced, you wish you’d known what was coming—yet knowing what to prepare isn’t the only kind of readiness that matters. Luke 1 tells of a righteous priest who knew exactly what God expected of him, yet when God himself appeared with news he’d prayed decades to hear, he found himself unprepared to simply listen.
Don't Write That Resignation Letter
We’ve all wanted to write that resignation letter—to let the world know the hurt isn’t our fault. Joseph faces that exact urge in Matthew 1, betrayed and confused after he finds out Mary, the woman he is betrothed to, is pregnant — forced to choose between saying his peace and keeping it.
A Year's Changes Come Slowly
Pastor Tim spent time in Busiek State Forest to better think about the time between the Newborn servant coming into the world and when we, His followers, will get to experience His triumph.
When God Derails Your Plans
Plans go awry all the time, and in the moment it feels terrible whether the fault is human weakness or God himself saying no to what we wanted. That’s exactly where Mary finds herself in Luke 1 when Gabriel’s greeting turns her ordinary day—and her entire future—upside down.
This Week at Little Hills
Pastor Tim thinks about how God brought light into existence, we turn from the light, but Christmas is the story of God bringing that light back to us.
He Was Like Me, I'll Be Like Him
Jesus Came to Break the Glass
Maybe you’ve had a Christmas where the lights and the music were all there, but it felt like you were watching from the other side of a piece of glass—present for the season, yet not really in it. Isaiah 53 describes a Savior understands how we feel on that other side of the glass and came to break it.
This Week at Little Hills
Pastor Tim thinks about how we look to the wrong things in life and how Christmas calls us to a corrective.
The Lemonade of Life
We feel like we deserve more and claim that deserved state whenever we have the opportunity. But, God gave us what we don’t deserve and calls us to give to those who don’t deserve.
The Dumpster Tree God Chose
We keep chasing what looks impressive—the success the world promises—forgetting it all carries an expiration date, like a freshly cut tree that soon dries out and becomes trash. Samuel falls into the same trap sizing up Jesse’s sons in 1 Samuel 16, until the Lord stops him cold.
Give More than a Fruitcake
To understand Christmas, we need to understand who Jesus is and what He gave for us. It gives us a direction for what He intends for our lives.
Chasing the New and Shiny: When Evil Looks Right
We’re always drawn to the new and the shiny. In Genesis 3, the serpent made the one tree God forbade look irresistable. Wouldn’t it be nice if everything we shouldn’t do just clearly didn’t look right?
This Week at Little Hills
Pastor Tim reflects on preparations for Advent as we find ourselves at Thanksgiving weekend.
Don't Take a Stolen Truck on a Runway
We get confused and suddenly our actions are working against God’s Will and our own interests — and we don’t even realize it.
Contagious Thanksgiving: More Than Thanking the Current Resident
Amid turkey and pie and football, we can list what we’re thankful for and still miss the point. Psalm 95 won’t let us settle for vague gratitude; it calls us to sing to the Lord and come into His presence with thanksgiving to the rock of our salvation.
This Week at Little Hills
The seasons come and go but God’s faithfulness stays constant and we can hold onto Him throughout.
Being Chex Mix for the World
Are we going to be unified with the world or unified with the Lord? That’s the challenge that Paul hands down to us here.
Two Keys Won't Do
Changing the world for God can sound easier than loving the people close enough to frustrate us. But that’s precisely what God calls us to by calling us to honor the first “neighbors” we’ll ever know: our parents.