WestGate Church Teaching

Joy isn’t just the main character in Pixar’s 2015 animated classic INSIDE OUT. It’s also what we long for, and often, something we feel is deeply missing in our day-to-day life. Can our lives really be infused with joy no matter what our circumstances? How can we get joy? Does it require conditions to be perfect? And why is it so elusive? Jay Kim stops by to talk about Paul’s letter to the Philippians where he uses the word “joy” or “rejoice” 17 times in this short letter. It’s a main theme of the letter, and Paul’s advice on how to “get” joy is shocking and counterintuitive. We also chat about some specific challenges of modern life that fight against joy - and how the 1999 film “Fight Club” diagnosed the modern sense of joyless malaise and hopelessness (and even sorta predicted 9/11).

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

Life is not easy. Especially not in the Bay Area. And if we’re honest, the stresses of daily life - especially here in Silicon Valley - can not just overwhelm us, but trap us in the doldrums of malaise. So we increase the amount of entertainment or stimulation in an attempt to feel something - but this can have the reverse effect on us: making us numb to life. So...how can we live with joy? Real, true flourishing where we embrace the incredible wonders of life? Astonishingly, more than two centuries ago, a man named Paul tackled that exact question. And his answer was as perplexing back then as it is today. Paul says that true joy is possible, even in the worst of circumstances. He says that the path to JOY is not found by leading yourself, but following Jesus. Paul says that surrender leads to freedom, that decrease leads to increase and that death leads to life. We’ll dive into this short letter from Paul to his friends, and find that it’s as relevant today as it was back then.

SPEAKERS:

Jay Kim (Saratoga), video (South Hills)

Bible Passage(s):

John 4:5-18

In our modern world that elevates individualism, a truth that often goes entirely missing is just how much our lives can impact other people. We affect one another far more than we’d like to admit. And the modern mantra of “privatism” which says “mind your own business and don’t interfere with other people and the way they choose to live their lives” sounds good, but it doesn’t work in real life. And often it’s cowardice, or worse, relational abdication. But how do we proceed to become people, like Jesus, who are full of both “grace” and “truth”? Jay Kim stops by to talk about that, and give some helpful advice for when situations arise when it’s difficult to do both.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

Truly complex problems require us to be people committed to both patient love (grace) but also making sure that we arrive at the correct answer (truth). This is difficult, but the alternative is not good. As author Randy Alcorn once wrote, “Truth without grace breeds self-righteous legalism…grace without truth breeds moral indifference.” But in the Scriptures, we see that Jesus isn’t full of grace OR truth; He is full of grace AND truth. This is the vision set before us—not arbitrary or circumstantial decision-making between grace OR truth but a commitment to live at the intersection of grace AND truth.

SPEAKERS:

Jay Kim (Saratoga), video (South Hills)

Bible Passage(s):

John 4:5-18

Naseem Khalili joins David Tieche for a fun and lively discussion about singleness, desire and what to do when life doesn’t work out like you’d dreamed. We talk about how unfulfilled longings can lead to deep disappointment with life - and even with God. We talk about how the Psalms of Lament can help pave the way for healing. And Naseem shares some practical things that married folks can do to prevent singles from feeling “less than” or like “second-class citizens.”

Speakers: David Tieche + Naseem Khalili

Being single in a world that idolizes romantic love - and often sends messages that life really only begins once you’ve met your soulmate - can often make navigating this season of life challenging. And the fact is, whether you’re single or not - having unmet or unrealizead dreams and desires is painful. And the longer you’re in longing, the more difficult it gets. Naseem Khalili shares about her journey in singleness, and shares some helpful lessons from Scripture that teach us not let disappointment dictate our belief in the Lord, but how to let our belief in the Lord determine how we process disappointment.

SPEAKERS:

Naseem Khalili (Saratoga), video (South Hills)

Bible Passage(s):

Genesis 1

Our guest, Joshua Ryan Butler, joins David Tieche for a frank and pointed discussion about sex and gender featuring questions from our congregation. If the Creation story shows how the pairing of male and female (marriage) reflects the intended whole of Creation, then what do single people reflect? Are they incomplete? A sun without a moon? If everyone is “fearfully and wonderfully” made - then explain people with same-sex attraction? Did God make them “wrong?” Wouldn’t that make God cruel for giving SSA people a sexual attraction they can’t fulfill according to God’s law? Are churches that are not affirming more hostile (in some way) to the LBGTQ+ community? Also how should Christians approach people who identify as transexual, intersexual or asexual? We dig into these topics and more.

Speakers: David Tieche + Joshua Ryan Butler

In recent years, the question of gender and biological sex - not someone’s sexuality or sexual attraction but a person’s internal sense of self and the social expression of that - has become a cultural flashpoint. What does it mean to be “male” or “female”? Is it fixed, or chosen by an individual? Does a person’s biological sex even matter? And what does God think about all this? In this talk, author and pastor Joshua Ryan Butler delves into the theology of maleness and femaleness found in the Creation story in Genesis to bring clarity to this confusing and layered topic.

SPEAKERS:

Joshua Ryan Butler (Saratoga), video (South Hills)

Bible Passage(s):

Genesis 1

SPEAKERS:

Jay Kim (Saratoga), video (South Hills)

Bible Passage(s):

Genesis 1

The Christian sexual ethic has historically been one of the more contentious and contested ideas in our cultural moment. What does the Bible actually say about sex? How is it the same as what our culture says, and how is it different? Is sex really reserved only for straight, married couples? If so, what does this mean for those folks who are teens and young adults, who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, or who are part of the singles community? Does that mean those folks have to deny their sexuality? As we examine this together, we see the Genesis creation account taken with the model of Jesus can provide us a way to see what sexuality is really about, and how, properly understood and defined, can lead to everyone accessing their sexuality in ways that bring life, and not pain or confusion.

SPEAKERS:

Jay Kim (Saratoga), video (South Hills)

Bible Passage(s):

Genesis 1

There’s no topic more confusing or contested in our culture than the topic of sexuality. This week, Jay Kim joins David Tieche to dive in. Sexuality is obviously a part of what it means to be human, but how big a part of our identity should it be? What are some ways that Christians talk about sex and sexuality that are reductionist, or incomplete or even harmful? Is a church merely having a non-affirming stance fundamentally unloving to folks who are gay? And what can we learn from the life of Jesus Himself about what it means to be sexual beings?

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim