Many passages of the Bible focus on the events of Jesus’ birth, but this passage helps us to know what it means. We see that one of the main reasons God sent forth his Son was to bring his people out of slavery and to adopt them as sons and daughters. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son…” At the right place and at the right time, God sent forth his son to redeem and restore his people. This message explores Galatians 4:3-7, the various ways we try to cope with separation from God, which Paul will call out as slavery, and how God pursues his lost people by sending his Son.

The Bible is filled with many followers of God called to difficult tasks that require them to trust the Lord. In the gospel of Luke we meet an angel making a big announcement to a young woman from a nowhere town about God’s plan to save his people by coming into the world as their eternal king. The big reveal of the text is that Mary would give birth to the king who is “with us”, the one who has come to save his people and deliver them from sin and death. Yet, what we see is that even though this weight would be incredibly hard to bear, she trusts in the promise of God and knows the grace and favor he has given. This message explores the events of Luke 1:26-38 and asks the question about how followers of Jesus stay faithful to God when the road before them seems difficult and they are inadequate to the task ahead.

In our advent series we’ve looked at how our eternal God took on humanity so that humanity could be with God eternally through faith in Jesus (John 1:1-5). This message continues our series by looking at the manner in which Jesus came into the word. The story of Jesus’ birth is filled with shock and surprise; he did not come into the world with great triumph or celebration. In fact what we see in the story is great humility and simplicity, with a birth more like that of a peasant than a king. In Luke’s account of the events we see God actually comes as an outsider to the establishment. This should give us great encouragement in our faith and worship of Jesus! God becomes an outsider to redeem outsiders, which means that God is not looking for the spiritually elite or insiders into the establishment to be his people. God is looking for folks who see their need for the mercy and salvation he offers in Christ which means that the gospel is good news of great joy for all the people.

Description: No doubt, everyone loves a baby, and the baby Jesus, celebrated each Christmas, is no different. But when we only focus on Jesus as the baby in a manger, without looking into who He was before he was a baby, we miss one of the greatest truths about Him. Every human baby we have ever seen or ever will see, came into being when they were conceived - but Jesus existed BEFORE He was conceived - a long, long, long, long time before He was conceived - and even before TIME itself was conceived. And then, at a particular time - the right time - He was conceived and came into our world. Who, then, was Jesus before he took on flesh? And what does this matter? This sermon, the first in our 2017 Advent series, attempts to answer this question.

When passing through the storms of life, how do you fare? Are you stable, sheltered in Christ or do you fret and fear because you have no anchor for your soul? This sermon shows how the apostle Paul took comfort in the presence of God, was confidant in the promises of God and was cared for under the providence of God when he passed through a real storm on the sea. The message calls on Christians to respond to the storms of life with the same comfort and confidence Paul held to - for clearly, Christ takes care of His own.

This sermon is based on Luke’s account of a real trial which took place in real time around a real man named Paul during the first century. Paul, who was Christ’s apostle, was facing his third interrogation before Roman officials for his witness that Christ had risen from the dead. At this trial Paul stood before a king and his wife, military tribunes, city officials and various of their attendants, in all their earthly glory - representing the power and authority of Rome. As the trial progressed, however, Paul told of his life before realizing that Jesus was Lord, how he came to have faith in Jesus, and what his life had been like after meeting Jesus; and in giving this account to these Roman officials, the glory of Rome was eclipsed by the glory of Christ and His gospel. The great lesson for those who do not follow Jesus Christ in the sermon is that the good news of Jesus opens blind spiritual eyes, delivers from the power of Satan, brings people to God and brings forgiveness of sin. The great lesson for Christians from this trial is simple: When faced with an opportunity to tell others about one’s faith in Jesus Christ, the best approach is to give a truthful three part story about how you met Jesus by explaining what life was like before following Jesus, how you came to believe Jesus is Lord and the difference this has made in your life since that time.

Acts 25 gives us a picture of Paul on the receiving end of an abuse of power and injustice. Paul is able to use his Roman citizenship to not only pursue justice and a fair trial, but to fulfill God’s plan of having him testify about the heavenly king of kings before Caesar, the earthly king of kings. This message explores the nature of power and how power without godliness leads to corruption. Followers of Jesus will be encouraged with application for how to live under ungodly abuses of power, as well as challenged to consider how they use the power and authority God has given them.

It is not uncommon for a person who is in the public eye to hear the gospel and seem indifferent or even hostile toward it publically, only to circle back and seek to learn more about the message in private. In our story from Acts 24:22-27 we have an example of this very things from the life of the Judean governor Felix. Felix arranged to meet Paul privately for an interview about faith in Christ after having seen Paul in a public trial. During the private interview Paul proclaimed the good news to Felix and his wife Drusilla. He also reasoned with the couple about righteousness, self control and the judgement to come. As they listened they were brought to a point of alarm and a decision followed. What decision did they make? What difference did their decision make in their lives? As this story unfolds it becomes clear that the gospel brings people to a point of decision, where they either receive the grace the gospel offers or reject it. The message calls those who are not christians to consider Christ and believe, while challenging christians to learn to share the gospel by pointing people to the demands of the law and their own inability to keep it on the one hand while urging them to take God’s cure for death and sin - Christ, who died for us and them, by believing.

In commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, this sermon looks at one of the cardinal doctrines rediscovered by the reformers - the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone - and places what the scriptures teach and the reformers reclaimed alongside the understanding of justification which was held by the Roman Catholic Church of the 16th century. The comparison is helpful and enlightening for all believers, draws a sharp but fair contrast between the two positions and shows from scripture the implications of each. From the message it is made clear which understanding is good news and which understanding leads to bondage and uncertainty regarding one’s standing before a holy God.

On October 31,1517 a Roman Catholic priest/monk of the Augustinian order named Martin Luther nailed a document to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Saxony (modern day Germany) inviting scholars, professors and students to a discussion about the sale and value of indulgences. Luther had no idea that within two weeks of his invitation his treatise would be translated by students from it’s original Latin into the German tongue of the common people, printed in mass and distributed to every town and city in Germany. But with the publication and spread of what is now known as Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses the Protestant Reformation was birthed. In commemoration of that event, the recovery of the simple gospel of Christ and it’s far reaching consequences this biographical sketch of the reformer Martin Luther was presented for the building up of the body of Christ and the encouragement of Christ’s people at West Hills.