Highlands United Presbyterian Church

04/22/2026

04/19/2026

Highlands had an amazing time at Montgomery this weekend for the Middle School Spring Retreat!! We learned about how God created us with special gifts and talents that we can use each and everyday to make this world a better place!

03/27/2026

Join us during Holy Week!

03/12/2026

Do you ever have those moments where you are overcome with God’s power, God’s beauty, God’s grace or God’s love? If you experience one of these moments and can capture it in a photo please send your photos to [email protected]
We want to continue to share a God’s Moments slideshow during our Joy Sunday worship service each month, so please keep those photos coming ❤️.

03/06/2026

Throughout the centuries, Christians have used plenty of activities (or spiritual disciplines) to train themselves to align with God so that He may do his work in them. This Lenten season we have been exploring spiritual disciplines together. Last week, we started with meditation and yesterday we explored prayer. We started our discussion with exploring what scripture teaches us about prayer and ended with the practice of praying in color. If you missed the class, we have will have handouts available in the back of the church on Sunday. We have 3 more weeks of our study, so please join us Thursdays at 10am in Harris Hall. Next Thursday we will be exploring the practice of study.

02/07/2026

Souper Bowl of Caring is tomorrow! Bring your canned goods and $ for ACS! 9am we will have a mission project in the family life center! See you there!

12/24/2025

Wednesday, December 24th: The good news is for all
LUKE 2:10-11
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’ "It’s easy to miss the scandal tucked inside the angel’s song.
All the people. The angel doesn’t say, “I bring good news for the religious” or “for the well-behaved” or “for those who have memorized the words to ‘Silent Night.’ "This good news is for the insiders and the outsiders. For the hopeful and the hardened. For the devout and the doubting. For those confident in their welcome and for the ones who have been told their whole lives they don’t belong. Every Christmas Eve, sanctuaries inevitably welcome guests who harbor doubts about their place there. Perhaps a visitor, invited by family, who hesitantly steps through the church doors
for the first time since childhood. Or a “Chreaster,” who only graces the pews at Christmas and Easter. Then there’s the solitary soul, who wants to be less lonely on Christmas amid the soft murmur of prayers and the candlelight reflected in the stained-glass windows.
Let’s remember, then, that it isn’t the pageantry or the candles or even the beauty of the music that makes this night so extraordinary. It’s this truth that breaks through it all. God’s love does not discriminate. God’s love does not wait for us to get our act together. God’s love does not ask us to measure up before it shows up. The good news announced to shepherds on a hillside is still echoing tonight: God’s love is for all the people. This story – this love – is anything but ordinary. It is radical and scandalous and wide enough to hold the whole aching world. Where else do we hear this kind of love proclaimed? Where else are we called to love like this in return? The angel says it plainly: This is not a private salvation. It is good news for all the people. Thanks be to God.
FOR REFLECTION:
Who might be waiting – hoping – to hear that God’s love includes them? How can you embody the good news of all the people this Christmas?
PRAYER:
God of all people, on this holy night, open our hearts to the wide wonder of your love. Break us out of routine, out of narrowness and into the scandalous joy of your welcome. May we receive your love freely — and share it just as freely. Amen.
2025 PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK

12/23/2025

Tuesday, December 23: A star in the east
MATTHEW 2:1-2, 11
“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.’ ... On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
FOR REFLECTION:
What signs let you know that Jesus is present in the world? Most of our loved ones don’t need frankincense or myrrh. But what gift of your time or yourself can pay homage to them as a child of God?
PRAYER:
Star-guiding God, as you led the magi, lead me to Jesus. And when I find him, let my life be homage: the gold of my attention, the frankincense of understanding and empathy, the myrrh of love for neighbor, all to honor Christ in each person I meet. Amen

12/22/2025

Monday, December 22: Receiving and giving God’s love
PSALM 95:6-7
“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.” “O come, let us adore him” (Hymn #133, Glory to God). We sing this hymn every Advent, every Christmas. But how often do we really pause to do what it says: to come before God — not with a wish list or a weary sigh, but simply to say: I love you? Psalm 95 is a call to worship, a summons to bow down, to kneel, to sing — not out of obligation, but from a deep, unfiltered love for the One who made us. The One who still holds us in God’s hand. Advent is filled with so much anticipation: waiting for hope, peace, joy and love to break in again. But perhaps part of our waiting includes wonder at our own ability to love and at how much our love truly matters. Maybe we need to remember that this season isn’t only about receiving God’s love. It’s also about returning it. Too often, even in our closest relationships, we forget to say what matters most. We assume people know we love them, so we don’t say it. We forget that adoration is not just sentiment; it’s something we express. Let’s not let Advent slip by without expressing our love directly to God. Let’s tell Jesus we adore
him. Let’s sing it, whisper it, pray it, write it, mean it. “O come, let us adore him — Christ the Lord.”
FOR REFLECTION:
What words of love and adoration do you want to say to God this Advent? What’s keeping you from saying them?
PRAYER:
God, I adore you. I love you. You are my Maker, my Shepherd, my Savior. Let this be a season when I say it more often and mean it more deeply. Amen

12/21/2025

Sunday, December 21st: We are not alone
MATTHEW 1:23
“‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’” Love shows up — not with all the answers, or with easy fixes, but with presence. That’s the kind of love we meet in Advent. Not distant. Not clinical. Not observing from afar. It’s a love that is with us. In the pain. In the joy. In the questions. In the blood, sweat and tears of being human. Emmanuel. God with us. Advent love is the staggering love of the incarnation. God doesn’t send instructions. God comes in human flesh to live our life and grieve our grief. God knows what it feels like to be tired, to be anxious, to be left behind and left out. God’s love is not abstract. It is love that breathes, walks, weeps. A love that stays. As a pastor, I once sat in a hospital room beside a man who had lost the ability to speak after a head injury. I talked to him for a while, filling the silence until I ran out of words. I considered leaving – even started gathering my things – but then he reached out, grabbed the arm of my chair and gently pulled me closer. He couldn’t say it, but he didn’t have to. He wanted me to stay. So I did. We sat together in silence, holding hands, praying prayers we never spoke aloud. When life collapses, what people remember most isn’t what you said. It’s that you were there. Advent reminds us that we are not alone. Not in our suffering. Not in our celebrations. Not in our ordinary Sunday afternoons. God is not just for us or above us. God is with us.
FOR REFLECTION:
When have you experienced someone’s presence as a form of love? How might you offer someone else your presence this week as that kind of love?
PRAYER:
Emmanuel, thank you for the kind of love that shows up: not with platitudes, but with presence. Help us feel your nearness today, and help us mirror your love by showing up for others, too. Amen.
2025 PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK

12/21/2025

Saturday, December 20th: Joy longs to be shared
JOHN 15:11
“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” When something delights me – a beautiful line in a book, the first snowfall, a ridiculous meme – I
can hardly keep it to myself. I want to run and tell someone: “Look! Listen! Taste this!” Sharing my joy multiplies it. Makes it real. Makes it full. When my son, Isaac, was learning to talk, his whole world revolved around two things: balls and trucks. From his car seat in the back, he’d scan the world with wide eyes. As soon as he spotted
something wonderful, he’d shout with uncontainable glee: “BALL!” “TRUCK!” He needed me to see it, too. Because joy isn’t something to hoard. It doesn’t last, it doesn’t stay whole when you keep it to yourself. Joy longs to be shared. Jesus knows this. That’s why he doesn’t just teach joy — he gives it, “that my joy may be in you,”
he says. Not just any joy. His joy. God’s joy. The kind that pulses with love, connection, and life abundant. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He wants our joy to be complete. And here’s the holy secret: sharing joy completes it. Jesus shares his joy with us. In turn, we are called to share it with our people, our neighbors, the weary and the wondering. This Advent, may your joy not be quiet. May it call out from the backseat. May it point and shout and insist: “Look! See! This is good!”
FOR REFLECTION:
Who shares joy with you in ways that make it complete? How can you pass along that joy this week?
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for sharing your joy. Make my heart quick to notice beauty and eager to share it. Let my joy be loud, generous and full. Amen