Hillside Baptist Church

09/07/2026

09/06/2026

Do Not
Conform to This World

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)
What does it mean to conform to the world? To conform means to be molded, shaped, or influenced by the patterns and values around us. The Bible is not speaking about the physical earth, the mountains, rivers, or the people God created. Rather, "the world" refers to the sinful system of thinking that rejects God's authority and encourages people to live according to their own desires instead of His truth. It is a culture that often says, "Do what feels right," while God's Word says, "Do what is right."

As Christians, we live in this world every day. We work, raise our families, attend school, shop, and interact with people who may not know Christ. We are to love others without adopting the world's values. We are to show kindness without compromising truth, extend grace without approving sin, and stand for righteousness even when it is unpopular. We cannot always choose the environment around us, but we can choose the principles that guide our hearts.

Romans 12:2 tells us how this is possible: "be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." A transformed life begins with a transformed mind. As we spend time reading God's Word, praying, worshiping, and obeying Him, the Holy Spirit changes the way we think. Instead of asking, "What does the world want me to do?" we begin asking, "What would God have me do?" When our minds are renewed by Scripture, our actions, attitudes, and decisions begin to reflect Christ rather than the culture around us.
Every believer faces the daily choice of either being shaped by the world or transformed by the Word. The pressures of this world are strong, but God's grace is stronger. May we be known not for blending into the crowd, but for faithfully following the Lord Jesus Christ with lives that honor Him in every circumstance.

09/06/2026

WHILE YOU ARE WAITING, GOD IS WORKING
Acts chapter 12 takes us into a prison cell in the middle of the night. Peter had been arrested, chained between two soldiers, and guarded by others outside the door.
Herod intended to bring him before the people after Easter, and Peter had no idea what the next day would bring. Yet in the middle of all those circumstances, we find Peter sleeping. He was not pacing the floor.
He was not trying to figure out how to escape. He was asleep. And while Peter was waiting in that prison, the church was praying for him. Peter could not see what was happening outside those prison walls, but God was already working on his behalf.
Sometimes we find ourselves in our own “prison”—a situation we cannot change, a problem we cannot solve, or a season of waiting that seems to go on and on.
We pray, but nothing seems to happen. We look at our circumstances and wonder, “Where is God?” Acts 12 reminds us that the silence of God does not mean the absence of God. Peter could not see the angel coming. He could not see the chains falling off.
He could not see the open doors. The church could not see any of it either. But God was working behind the scenes before anyone could see the answer. “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.” (Psalm 34:15)
We may be waiting today, but we are never waiting alone. God is not limited by what we can see, and He does not need us to understand everything He is doing.
Our part is to pray, trust, and wait on Him. “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14) Peter's prison was not the end of his story, and your waiting season is not the end of yours.
So if you cannot see God working, keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep waiting. The God who was working in Peter's prison is still working today—even when we cannot see it.

08/04/2026

I don't know who you are, but this is for you!

08/02/2026

Three Essential Truths About Salvation

One of the clearest verses in Scripture concerning salvation is Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Grace is God's unearned and undeserved favor toward sinful mankind. We cannot earn salvation through good deeds, religious ceremonies, or personal righteousness. It is God's gift, made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If grace is God's gift, then faith is the hand that receives that gift. Faith is trusting completely in Jesus Christ and believing that His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to save us. Jesus repeatedly called people to believe on Him. In John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Salvation is not found in trusting ourselves but in trusting the finished work of Christ.

Jesus also taught that repentance is necessary. Repentance is more than feeling sorry for sin; it is a change of heart and mind that turns a person away from sin and toward God. Jesus began His public ministry with the words, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15).

Later He warned, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Repentance does not earn salvation; rather, it is the humble response of a heart that recognizes its need for the Savior.

Grace is the gift God offers. Faith is how we receive His gift. Repentance is the sincere turning of the heart that accompanies coming to Christ. None of these can be separated from the others without losing the biblical picture of salvation.

God graciously calls sinners to Himself, they repent and believe the gospel, and by faith they receive the free gift of eternal life, by Grace - we do not deserve the gift.

He calls every person to repent and believe the gospel. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:1-2, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand..."

May we never forget that our salvation rests not in what we have done, but in what Christ has done for us.