HPUMC - Cornerstone Sermons (Contemporary Worship)

Highland Park United Methodist Church - Dallas, Texas
  • 4.5 (20)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Weekly

Join us each week for contemporary worship with a vibrant community of Christian believers. With a modern voice, Cornerstone links Bible-based preaching with relevant life application.

  1. 6d ago

    Special Announcement & Sermon: It Is Just Beginning

    Rev. Matt Tuggle | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. For many of us, the fall season brings its own sense of renewal. New schedules, routines, and rhythms create opportunities to reflect on where we are and where we want to grow. As we begin a new school year, Philippians 1:6 reminds us that God is always at work. Long before we were aware of it, God was pursuing us through His grace, and He continues that work today.  In the Wesleyan tradition, prevenient grace reminds us that God knew and loved us before we knew Him, justifying grace assures us of forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and sanctifying grace points to God’s ongoing work of transformation and healing in our lives. God is not finished with us, and the good work He has begun is still unfolding. This promise is not only personal but communal. God is at work in us and among us, shaping His church and inviting us to participate in His mission. As we journey together this year, we are called to build our lives around the things that endure: faith, hope, and love.  These virtues are both gifts of God’s grace and markers of spiritual growth. As we follow Christ together, we can trust that the God who began a good work in us will faithfully carry it to completion.

  2. Aug 9

    This Call's for You

    Hannah Buchanan | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. Throughout Scripture, God calls ordinary people by name and invites them into His purposes. Abraham was called to leave what was familiar. Moses was called to confront Pharaoh. Samuel was called as a child. Esther was called to risk her position for the sake of her people. Jesus invited the disciples to follow him, and that same invitation extends to us today.  Following Jesus means more than believing the right things or checking a box. It means becoming attentive to where Jesus is already at work and being willing to join him. Sometimes that means a major decision; sometimes it means a simple act of obedience. The challenge is learning to hear God's voice in the midst of the noise of our lives. We may hear from God through Scripture, prayer, silence, or the wisdom of a trusted friend or spiritual mentor to help us recognize His leading. We don't have to know the entire path before taking the next faithful step. Ultimately, God’s call is an invitation to follow Him wherever He leads. We may not always know exactly what He is asking of us, and we may not feel ready or equipped, but we can trust that the God who calls us also goes with us.

  3. Aug 2

    Four Myths That Kill Community

    Alex Johnston | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. We all long for meaningful connection, yet many of us struggle to find it. While loneliness has become increasingly common, the problem is not always a lack of opportunity for community but misconceptions about how community is formed. This week’s sermon challenged three myths that often keep us disconnected. First, community is not something we simply find. Instead, it is something we build through intentional time, consistency, and sacrifice.  Second, community is not always easy. Real relationships involve disappointment, forgiveness, and the willingness to work through differences.  Third, the most meaningful relationships are not always with people who are just like us. God often uses people from different backgrounds, generations, and experiences to shape and grow us.  Community does not have to match our idealized expectations to be valuable. God provides different layers of connection, from belonging to a larger church family to cultivating a few trusted confidants. The good news is that Christian community is not about finding perfect people or perfect circumstances. It is about committing to one another, bearing with one another, and allowing God to form us into the image of Christ together.

  4. Jul 26

    Expectations

    Rev. Dr. Abe Smith | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. Expectations shape how we experience life. When reality matches what we hoped for, we often feel satisfied. When it doesn't, disappointment, frustration, and even suffering can follow. In Matthew 16, Peter correctly identifies Jesus as the Messiah, yet moments later rebukes him for talking about suffering and death. Peter wasn't confused about who Jesus was; he was struggling because Jesus wasn't meeting his expectations. He wanted a Messiah who would bring immediate victory and change, while Jesus modeled a path of sacrifice and the cross. This sermon reminds us that unmet expectations often reveal deeper desires for control, approval, comfort, security, or validation. When our expectations become requirements for our happiness, they can rob us of joy and peace. Jesus invites us to a different way of living centered not on controlling outcomes but on following him. As we focus less on the gaps between our expectations and reality and more on God's presence and gifts, we discover that true life is found when we release our expectations and follow Jesus.

  5. Jul 19

    What's It Worth?

    Hannah Buchanan | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. When we hear the word worship, we often think primarily about music. But throughout Scripture, worship is much bigger than singing. Worship is our response to who God is and what He has done. The Psalms are filled with invitations to praise, give thanks, celebrate, bow before, and honor God because He alone is worthy. The English word worship comes from an Old English word meaning "to ascribe worth." Every day we assign worth to something. We give our attention, energy, affection, and devotion to what we value most. While those things can include work, family, success, or comfort, our default is often to place ourselves at the center of our lives. Corporate worship invites us to make a different choice. Rather than remaining spectators or consumers, God calls us to become participants. Singing together is not simply about enjoying music or evaluating a performance. It is a spiritual practice that shapes our hearts, reminds us of God's faithfulness, and reorients our lives around Him. When we sing, pray, and worship together, we join generations of believers who have declared God's goodness through every season of life. Worship becomes one of the ways God forms us into people who love Him above all else and carry His presence into the world.

  6. Jul 12

    What Is the Good News?

    Rev. Billy Rainey | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus stands in the synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61, proclaiming good news to the poor, freedom for captives, sight for the blind, and liberty for the oppressed. Then, he makes a startling declaration: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). In that moment, Jesus announces that God's promised kingdom has arrived in and through him. The good news is more than forgiveness of sins or the promise of heaven after death, though it certainly includes both. The good news is that through Jesus, the kingdom of God has broken into our world. God's reign is bringing healing, restoration, justice, peace, and hope to a broken creation. Jesus invites us to live in the tension of the "already and not yet": the kingdom is present now, but it has not yet come in its fullness. As followers of Christ, we are called to be people of living hope, acknowledging the brokenness around us while refusing to let it define us. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we participate in God's work of bringing glimpses of His kingdom into the world through acts of love, mercy, justice, and faithfulness.

  7. Jul 5

    Family Vacation: Blind Spots

    Hannah Buchanan | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide. One of the greatest challenges in any relationship is that we all have blind spots, those things others can see about us that we cannot see about ourselves. Like a driver who fails to check a blind spot before changing lanes, our unseen attitudes, habits, assumptions, and behaviors can lead to costly collisions in our relationships with God and others. In 2 Samuel 12, King David is confronted by the prophet Nathan after David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. David could clearly see the injustice in Nathan's story about a rich man stealing a poor man's lamb, but he could not see the same injustice in his own life until Nathan declared, “You are the man” (2 Samuel 12:7). David's willingness to listen, repent, and return to God became a turning point in his story. The sermon reminds us that growth requires humility. We need trusted people who love us enough to tell us the truth, and we need the courage to receive that truth. Ultimately, Jesus is our "true mirror." As we fix our eyes on him through Scripture, prayer, and community, he reveals both who we were created to be and the areas where we need transformation.

  8. Jun 28

    Family Vacation: Breakdown

    Hannah Buchanan | Click/tap here to view the Sermon Reflection Guide No matter how carefully we plan our lives, there are moments that force us onto unexpected detours. Financial struggles, broken relationships, grief, illness, disappointment, and unanswered questions can leave us feeling lost and overwhelmed. Joseph's story is one of the clearest examples of this reality. At 17, Joseph's life seemed full of promise. Yet he was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten. For 13 years, Joseph endured one breakdown after another. Throughout the story, however, one truth is repeated: "The Lord was with Joseph." God's presence did not remove Joseph's suffering, but it sustained him through it. Over time, Joseph's suffering became a place where God formed humility, faithfulness, courage, and compassion within him. The story's redemption extends beyond Joseph. God also works in the lives of Joseph's brothers, the very people who caused his suffering. Through grace and forgiveness, God restores a broken family and brings healing where there had been betrayal and guilt. Ultimately, Joseph's story points us to Jesus, the God who enters our suffering rather than remaining distant from it. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we can trust that our breakdowns are not the end of the story.

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Join us each week for contemporary worship with a vibrant community of Christian believers. With a modern voice, Cornerstone links Bible-based preaching with relevant life application.

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