Western Hills Church, Temple, TX

Scripture:  Matthew 5-7

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary:  The message teaches that it is easy to admire someone’s abilities or character without committing to the discipline required to become like them, and the same can happen in our relationship with Jesus. The challenge is this: Don't simply admire Jesus but truly follow Him by putting His teachings into practice. Using the Sermon on the Mount, Scott highlights Jesus’ contrasts between the narrow and wide roads, good and bad trees, true and false disciples, and houses built on rock versus sand. These contrasts emphasize that genuine discipleship is intentional, produces visible fruit, and is rooted in a real relationship with Jesus rather than outward religious performance. Ultimately, the sermon calls believers to build their lives on Jesus’ teachings so they can withstand life’s storms and live as true apprentices of their rabbi.

Scripture:  John 14:15-17,Romans 8:16,Ephesians 1:13,John 16:14,Acts 1:8,Acts 4:13

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: This sermon concludes a series on the Holy Spirit by emphasizing that it is impossible to fully follow Jesus without the Spirit’s presence actively connecting us to Him. Drawing from Gospel of John chapters 14–16, the message explains that the Holy Spirit shapes our obedience through love, secures our belonging with permanence, and reveals Christ’s mission through our lives. Rather than striving to earn God’s approval, believers are “sign, sealed, and sent,” living from a secure relationship marked by the Spirit’s lasting presence. Referencing passages like Romans 8 and Ephesians 1, the sermon reminds listeners that the Spirit testifies to their identity as God’s children and seals them as His own. Ultimately, Christians are called not to perform or live anxiously, but to rest in the Spirit’s connection to Christ—allowing His life to shape their obedience, steady their hearts, and shine through them even in suffering.

Scripture:  John 16,  1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Romans 12:2

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: This sermon teaches that following Jesus in a world filled with confusion and deception requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promises in John 16 as the Spirit of truth. Using the image of a smoke-filled room, the Scott explains how lies—rooted in Satan’s deception—distort our understanding of sin, righteousness, and judgment, but the Spirit anchors believers in what is truly wrong, what is right through Christ, and who ultimately wins. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 2, the message emphasizes that the Spirit reveals truth to us, about us—especially our identity in Christ—and through us, giving believers the mind of Christ and the courage to speak boldly. The Spirit primarily works through Scripture, the renewing of our minds, and life in Christian community, reshaping our thinking and exposing lies we believe about ourselves. Ultimately, the Spirit does not create a new reality but reveals the vibrant truth already present in Christ, anchoring believers in clarity, renewing their identity, and empowering them to live and witness with confidence.

Scripture:  John 14, John 15, Galatians 5:22-23

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: This sermon teaches that when life pressures and “cracks” us, what spills out reveals what is truly inside, and behavior modification alone cannot produce the character of Jesus. Jesus promises in John 14 that the Holy Spirit is our Helper—an Advocate who dwells within believers to make possible what is otherwise impossible, such as loving enemies, forgiving deep wounds, and living with joy in hardship. Rather than trying harder to improve ourselves, we are called to “remain” or abide in Christ, staying connected to Him so the Spirit can form His life within us. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—is not produced by willpower but grows naturally from a surrendered, Spirit-filled life. Ultimately, the message urges believers to stop decorating the outside and instead depend on the Holy Spirit to transform the inside, praying in life’s hardest moments, “Spirit, what would love look like right now?”

Scripture:  John 14:15-17, John 16:7, Luke 11:11-13

Speaker: Scott Meyer

Summary: This sermon begins a yearlong focus on following Jesus as disciples who seek to be with Him, become like Him, and do what He did. Scott's emphasis is that fully following Jesus is impossible in our own strength as he introduces a new series on the Holy Spirit as essential to living the disciple’s life. Drawing from Gospel of John chapters 14–16 and Gospel of Luke chapter 11, he explains that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as an Advocate and declared it better for believers that He go away so God could dwell within them. He emphasizes two core truths: the Holy Spirit is fully God and the Holy Spirit is a good gift from a loving Father, empowering believers from the inside rather than merely guiding them from beside them. Concluding with the testimony of a transformed life, he urges the church to recognize and rely on the Spirit’s supernatural power, which enables true spiritual transformation and faithful discipleship.

Scripture:  Luke 4:14-21, Mark1:14-15, Mark 10:41-45, John 13:14, Colossians 2:15, Acts 16:2526

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: This sermon concludes a four-part series on following Jesus as our rabbi, emphasizing that true discipleship means spending time with Him (habitation), becoming like Him (formation), and ultimately doing what He did (imitation). Centering Luke 4, the message highlights that Jesus carried out His mission—proclaiming freedom, healing, and hope—by the power of the Spirit, the same Spirit now given to believers. Scott identifies three key aspects of Jesus’ life that disciples are called to imitate: speaking truth boldly, serving humbly, and bringing light into darkness. Drawing from passages in Mark, John, Acts of the Apostles, and Colossians, the sermon shows that Jesus redefined greatness through service, confronted false cultural narratives with truth, and defeated the powers of sin and evil through the cross. The church is challenged not merely to admire Jesus but to imitate Him daily by praying, “Jesus, how would You live my life today if You were me?”

Scripture:  Romans 8:29, Luke 6:39-40,Galatians 3:3, Matthew 11:28-30

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: The sermon teaches that the goal of the Christian life is not merely to get to heaven, but to become more and more like Jesus each day. Everyone is always being formed by something.  It may be stories, habits, relationships, experiences, and environments.  Disciples of Jesus must intentionally choose what is shaping them. Becoming like Jesus is a lifelong process that requires the power of the Holy Spirit and our active participation in the practices of Jesus. Spiritual formation is not achieved by knowledge alone or passive faith, but through cooperating with God as we adopt Jesus’ way of life. Our lives are “under construction,” and by God’s Spirit, we are being transformed to reflect Christ more clearly until the end.

Scripture:  John 15:4-8

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: The second in a four-part series exploring what it means and looks like to Follow Jesus. The sermon teaches that the goal of the Christian life is not merely to get to heaven, but to become more and more like Jesus each day. Everyone is always being formed by something.  It may be stories, habits, relationships, experiences, and environments.  Disciples of Jesus must intentionally choose what is shaping them. Becoming like Jesus is a lifelong process that requires the power of the Holy Spirit and our active participation in the practices of Jesus. Spiritual formation is not achieved by knowledge alone or passive faith, but through cooperating with God as we adopt Jesus’ way of life. Our lives are “under construction,” and by God’s Spirit, we are being transformed to reflect Christ more clearly until the end.

Scripture:  Mark 8:34, Mark 1:16-20, Mark 2:13-14, Mark 10:21

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary: This message introduces 2026  as a year focused on rediscovering what it truly means to follow Jesus.  Everyone is constantly being formed by something, and the church must move beyond attendance and information toward genuine spiritual formation. Using Jesus’ invitation to “follow me,” a call to discipleship that means becoming an apprentice of Jesus — being with Him, becoming like Him, and doing what He did. The goal of faith is not simply being right or religious, but being transformed into the character and life of Christ through an active relationship empowered by the Holy Spirit.  This challenge is for each person to consider who or what they are following and to commit their lives to following Jesus as their rabbi.

Scripture:  John 1:1-18

Speaker:  Scott Meyer

Summary:  

The apostle, John’s “Christmas card” in John 1, shows us that Christmas is the miracle of God stepping into the world through the incarnation of Jesus, the Word made flesh. It highlights three gifts Jesus brings: He is the Light that overcomes darkness and reveals truth, He gives believers a new identity as children of God, and He offers inexhaustible grace. Christ's coming is not about human effort to reach God but about God descending to reach humanity and bring humanity into relationship with God. Through Jesus, God becomes present with us and offers rescue.  The invitation of Christmas is to receive the Light, accept our identity as God’s children, and live from grace instead of guilt.