HVFC Podcast

Accountability Before God

This powerful exploration of biblical inspiration challenges us to examine the very foundation of our faith: do we truly believe that Scripture is the infallible, inerrant, and verbal revelation of God's will? We're confronted with a crucial question that echoes through both testaments—did the biblical writers claim to be directly inspired and guided by God? The answer reverberates through passages like Isaiah's 'Hear, O Israel,' Jeremiah's direct commands from the Lord, and even Jonah's reluctant obedience. What's particularly striking is how Jesus Himself confirmed that Scripture was from God, quoting the law revealed through Moses and calling out religious leaders who made God's commandments of no effect through their traditions. Pastor Will reminds us that we live in the last days, where false teachers abound and many are being deceived. The call is clear: we must stand firm on God's promises and faithfulness, recognizing that His Word is truth from cover to cover, without error. The systematic nature of Scripture, particularly evident in Matthew 24, reveals God's perfect plan and timing. As we face a world filled with deception and spiritual warfare, we're reminded that our relationship with Jesus isn't based on feelings or traditions, but on the unchanging, reliable Word of God that has been faithfully preserved for us.

Your Testimony is Powerful

At the heart of this powerful message lies a profound truth from Revelation 12: we overcome the enemy through three essential elements—the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and our willingness to not love our lives unto death. This teaching unpacks the incredible power that resides in our personal stories of faith. When we share what God has done in our lives, we're not simply recounting events; we're wielding a spiritual weapon that defeats darkness, encourages fellow believers, and strengthens our own faith. The testimonies from new believers in Wales beautifully illustrate this principle—families transformed, addictions broken, and lives redirected from despair to hope, all because someone shared their encounter with Jesus. Our testimonies aren't meant to make us heroes of our own stories, but rather to magnify the hero who saved us. Whether dramatic or simple, each testimony carries the spirit of prophecy, revealing God's heart and showing others what He's willing to do in their lives too. The challenge before us is clear: stop keeping silent about what God has done, share widely and often, and watch as our stories become instruments of transformation in the lives of those around us.

A Heart Established by Grace

Pastor Will delivered a powerful message from Hebrews 13 challenging us to examine where we truly place our spiritual confidence. Are we building our faith on tangible experiences and controllable traditions, or are we establishing our hearts in the transformative grace of Jesus Christ? Pastor Will draws a compelling contrast between two approaches to worship: one that seeks emotional validation through goosebumps, perfect music, and ideal circumstances, and another that remains steadfast regardless of life's conditions. We're reminded of Job, who in his darkest hour—having lost everything—still fell to the ground and worshiped. His worship wasn't dependent on feelings or favorable circumstances; it flowed from a heart surrendered to God's lordship. Pastor Will exposes our human tendency to create 'tangible spiritual systems'—things we attach to Jesus to make His presence feel real. But when we focus on the experience rather than the Person, we've missed the point entirely. True worship emerges when our hearts are so established in the gospel that Jesus becomes our altar for dealing with sin and our temple where God's presence dwells. This isn't about religious performance or earning God's favor through ceremonial knowledge. It's about the radical surrender that says, 'Not my will, but Yours.' When we grasp that Christ lives in us, we carry God's presence wherever we go, and worship becomes the natural overflow of a grace-established heart.

Past, Present, Future

In a world constantly chasing the next trend, the next revelation, the next secret knowledge, we're reminded of an anchor that never moves: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This timeless truth from Hebrews 13 calls us to look in three directions—to the past, to honor those who finished their faith journey well; to the present, to embrace Jesus as everything we need right now; and to the future, knowing He will never change. We're challenged to examine the lives of faithful believers who came before us, those who endured persecution, completed their race, and died in faith. Their testimonies aren't just historical footnotes—they're living proof that Jesus is sufficient for every trial we face. Pastor Will warns us against being swept away by strange doctrines, secret codes, and the endless search for hidden knowledge outside Scripture. In an age of social media influencers and online personalities promising deeper spiritual experiences, we're called back to the simplicity and sufficiency of Christ. The Word of God contains everything we need to know about Him—no secrets, no hidden agendas, just transparent truth. When life becomes overwhelming and we're tempted to seek answers elsewhere, we must remember that our distance from Jesus is never because He moved, but because we drifted. Pastor Will invites us to anchor ourselves to the unchanging nature of Christ, to finish our race well, and to find in Him alone the love, power, grace, truth, and faithfulness we desperately need.

Daughters & Sons

In this sermon, Peter centers on our identity as sons and daughters - both of earthly parents and our Heavenly Father. Drawing from the fifth commandment to honor our father and mother, we're reminded that this isn't just about having perfect parents, but about obedience to God's design for family. Peter beautifully contrasts our lowercase 'p' parents - flawed and human - with our uppercase 'P' Parent, God Himself. We're challenged to examine which parent we're truly choosing to follow: the Father of Light or the father of lies. Peter emphasizes that while we didn't choose our earthly parents, we have the profound opportunity to choose our eternal Parent. This choice isn't just words or Sunday morning performance - it's revealed through our thoughts, words, and actions. Peter drew from Matthew 15:8, warning us about honoring God with our lips while our hearts remain far from Him. We're reminded that lifeless faith makes no impact, echoing James 2 that faith without works is dead. The good news? As long as we have breath in our lungs, we can make the right parental choice. We can turn from sin - not just apologize and repeat it, but make a genuine U-turn away from darkness. This message calls us to authentic discipleship that starts right here in our church family, loving one another so the world knows we belong to Him.

Stay in the Flow

This powerful message by Bill Linkenbach invites us into the transformative practice of abiding in Christ, drawing deeply from John 15 where Jesus describes Himself as the vine and us as the branches. We discover that abiding isn't about checking boxes on our spiritual to-do lists or performing religious activities to earn God's favor. Instead, it's a heart posture—a continuous, living connection with Jesus that flows naturally when we focus on the Father, trust Him in all things, meditate on His Word, and maintain a listening prayer life. The beautiful truth revealed here is that we cannot produce spiritual fruit through our own effort. When we try to manufacture patience, kindness, or self-control in our own strength, we inevitably fail and grow discouraged. But when we remain connected to Christ, the Holy Spirit becomes like a bubbling spring within us that never runs dry. We're not cups that need constant refilling; we're conduits through which God's limitless love, joy, peace, and all the fruits of the Spirit flow to a hurting world. The challenge we face is keeping our spiritual hoses unkink—recognizing that unforgiveness, pride, compromise, and taking our eyes off the Father create blockages in our connection. Through genuine repentance modeled after David's prayer in Psalm 51, we can quickly restore our flow and experience the freedom that comes from living in unbroken fellowship with our Savior.

Marks of the Unshakable Kingdom II

Pastor Will dives into Hebrews 13 and challenges us to examine the marks that identify us as citizens of God's unshakable kingdom. Building on the foundation of brotherly love, we're called to demonstrate hospitality, visit those imprisoned both physically and spiritually, honor the covenant of marriage, and cultivate contentment in all circumstances. Pastor Will doesn't shy away from difficult truths about sexual purity, reminding us that God's design for intimacy is exclusively within the bonds of covenant marriage between one man and one woman. Fornication and adultery aren't just cultural taboos—they're serious violations that God will judge. What's striking is how these marks build upon each other: our love for others flows into compassion, which leads to ministry, which requires purity of heart and contentment with God's provision. The promise woven throughout is beautiful: God will never leave us nor forsake us. When we align our lives with His Word rather than cultural norms, we discover the peace and joy that come from walking in obedience. This isn't about earning salvation but about working out what God has already placed within us, allowing our lives to become testimonies that cause the world to ask what makes us different.

Marks of the Unshakable Kingdom

Pastor Will reminds us of a profound truth we often forget in our darkest moments: God hears us, remembers His covenant with us, sees us, and knows us intimately. Drawing from Exodus 2:23-25, we're taken back to a time when the Israelites groaned under 400 years of oppression and slavery. Their hope seemed utterly lost, yet God heard every cry, every groan, every desperate prayer. This isn't a God who temporarily forgets and then remembers—He actively works all things according to His will and purposes, both past, present, and future. The beautiful truth we encounter is that God inclines His ear to us, leaning in like someone straining to hear a loved one's voice. When we doubt whether our deepest prayers are heard, when we're afraid to voice our most vulnerable requests, God already knows. He hears even the prayers we think but don't utter. This message challenges us to pray those deep, unspoken prayers, trusting that God's timing is perfect even when it doesn't match our Instagram-instant expectations. We're reminded that we live under a covenant of grace and redemption—Jesus wrapped Himself in flesh, lived sinlessly, and died a horrific death out of love for us. This covenant isn't forgotten or set aside; it's the engagement period where Jesus prepares His bride. No matter what storms we face, God sees each tear that falls and hears us when we call.

The One Who Speaks

Pastor Will confronts us with a challenging question: Are we truly listening when God speaks, or are we telling Him to be quiet? Drawing from Exodus 19-20, we encounter the Israelites standing before Mount Sinai, witnessing thunder, lightning, and smoke as God descended to speak directly to them. Remarkably, these people who had committed to serving God, who had seen His miracles and experienced His provision, responded with fear and rejection, telling Moses to speak to them instead because they couldn't bear to hear God's voice. This historical moment becomes a mirror for our own lives. Pastor Will unpacks Hebrews 12:25-29, revealing that we often recognize God's voice but choose to ignore it when He addresses uncomfortable areas of our lives. We create 'off-limits' zones in our hearts, areas we refuse to let God touch because dealing with them would be too costly, too painful, or too disruptive to our comfortable existence. The message challenges us to examine whether we're serving God the way He desires or merely the way we're willing to serve. God's shaking in our lives isn't meant to destroy us but to remove everything that can be shaken so only unshakable things remain. The call is clear: embrace the hard truth, invite God into every corner of our hearts, and choose to listen to the One who speaks, because refusing Him leads us to meet God on Mount Sinai in judgment rather than Mount Zion in grace.

The Two Mountains of God