Highland Worship resources

A Message from Your Elders

We know that while we have had much time to prayerfully consider this, you have not. So, we want to invite you into a time of prayer, study, and conversation with your Shepherds over the next few weeks. Here’s the process we’re inviting you into:

1. Before anything else, we want you to commit to praying to God about this. Ask God to bless Highland, for God to help us Build Up the Next Generation and reach the lost, and for God to prepare your heart for study.
2. Second, please read the enclosed “Worship Study Guide.” It’s a summary of why we think this decision is good and glorifying to God. So, as you spend this week in prayer, your elders are asking that you would also spend this week in study of God’s Word using that resource.
3. We know that some of you would like to study this in more depth, so that you can feel confident that it is good and glorifying. So thirdly, we want to invite you to come listen to several important times of teaching. Eric will preach two sermons on the topic the next two Sundays (Oct 30 and Nov 6). Then, at 4pm on both of those Sunday afternoons, Eric and David Jackson—one of our Shepherds, will host a Bible Study to answer remaining questions.
4. Fourthly, as your elders, we want to make ourselves available for conversation with you. You can call your assigned Shepherd anytime. But we also have some designated times where elders will be here at Highland, and ready to talk with anyone who needs to. Those times are listed on the back of your Worship Study Guide.
5. Finally, we know that one of the hardest things about this addition may not be your personal struggle with it, but the way family members may feel about it. We understand! So, on Nov 13 and Nov 16 we’re also going to offer a special class called “How to Have Difficult Conversations with Friends/Family.” You should plan to be part of that.

Ask any elder, and they will tell you, the process that brought us to the decision we are sharing today was a holy one. Time and again, we sensed the Spirit’s direction and confirmation. This journey has brought us closer together as brothers in Christ, and closer to our loving Savior. Our prayer is that our church will know that same bond in Christ Jesus as we move forward.