WestGate Church Teaching

The Nativity stands as one of the great reminders that God is with us, but if we take a few moments to consider it, we’ll see another level. Not only that Jesus is “God come near.” But considering HOW FAR that journey was. What coming to earth cost Jesus. What is shows about Jesus. The early church had a hymn or song, which the Apostle Paul quotes in one of the most beautiful, soaring passages in the entire New Testament - Philippians 2. And in that song, Paul goes step by step through all the ways that coming to earth showed Jesus’ incredible humility. Giving up his rights, lowering himself, being a servant, and obeying God, even to the point of death. But Paul doesn’t just show us this so that we can be in awe - he says the point is to model this same kind of life. A life of humility.

SPEAKERS:

Lisa Averill (Saratoga), David Tieche (South Hills)

Bible Passages):

Philippians 2:1-11

Title: Down to Earth - Week 1 - The Incarnation

Description:

The birth of Jesus means that God has come to live among us, with the end goal of actually living *IN* us. Bonkers! But what happens if we don’t *feel* that God is very close to us? What happens if God feels pretty far away? Even though we might intellectually know this isn’t true, experientially God feels distant, like our prayers are hitting the wall. Is there anything we can do? Steve Clifford stops by to share some hard-won pastoral wisdom for what to do when God feels far away. Also, we talk about the very best Christmas present that we’ve ever received.

Speakers: David Tieche + Steve Clifford

Title: Down to Earth - Week 1 - The Incarnation

Description:

The birth of Jesus means that God has come to live among us, with the end goal of actually living *IN* us. Bonkers! But what happens if we don’t *feel* that God is very close to us? What happens if God feels pretty far away? Even though we might intellectually know this isn’t true, experientially God feels distant, like our prayers are hitting the wall. Is there anything we can do? Steve Clifford stops by to share some hard-won pastoral wisdom for what to do when God feels far away. Also, we talk about the very best Christmas present that we’ve ever received.

Speakers: David Tieche + Steve Clifford

There is an art genre of known as “capriccio” (ka-PREE-cho) where artists take famous landmarks and depict them in places and times where they don’t belong. The goal is to shock the viewer out of complacency and really consider the beauty of the landmark depicted. The thing is, sometimes the entire Christmas story becomes so familiar, we need to do that with the birth of Jesus. Because when we consider the wonder and miracle that God came down to earth to dwell with humans, with the end goal to live not just with us but in us, that staggering reality really should cause us joy and awe.

Christmastime in the United States is a wonderful time, but it’s also a bit of a trap. If we are not careful, as Christians, we’ll allow the imagery of our culture around Christmas to dominate how we think about Christmas. And although there’s nothing wrong with chestnuts roasting on an open fire, one-horse open sleighs, or silver bells, those images aren’t the way the Bible describes what Jesus came for, and what He’s about. So we examine three images the Biblical writers give us to describe the coming Messiah, who He is, what He does, and how it can change everything. And in the process, this Christmas, we hope to see Jesus a little more clearly for who He is.

Are Nativity scenes dangerous? Not, as in, “could they hurt or kill you” type of dangerous. That’s unlikely. Unless it’s a live Nativity and you get in the way of some angry live camels. But “dangerous” in the sense that they shift our imagination so that we can only see Jesus as a helpless infant. Jay and David stop by to break down three images that tend to dominate the Bible which describe who the coming Messiah is, and what He will do, describing a Messiah who’s anything but helpless. They are a strong tower, a stream in the desert, and a light in the darkness. We talk about how these metaphors given to us by the Biblical authors can more fully inform us about Jesus this season. And they can also transform us - if we’ll let them.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

Are Nativity scenes dangerous? Not, as in, “could they hurt or kill you” type of dangerous. That’s unlikely. Unless it’s a live Nativity and you get in the way of some angry live camels. But “dangerous” in the sense that they shift our imagination so that we can only see Jesus as a helpless infant. Jay and David stop by to break down three images that tend to dominate the Bible which describe who the coming Messiah is, and what He will do, describing a Messiah who’s anything but helpless. They are a strong tower, a stream in the desert, and a light in the darkness. We talk about how these metaphors given to us by the Biblical authors can more fully inform us about Jesus this season. And they can also transform us - if we’ll let them.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

Christmastime in the United States is a wonderful time, but it’s also a bit of a trap. If we are not careful, as Christians, we’ll allow the imagery of our culture around Christmas to dominate how we think about Christmas. And although there’s nothing wrong with chestnuts roasting on an open fire, one-horse open sleighs, or silver bells, those images aren’t the way the Bible describes what Jesus came for, and what He’s about. So we examine three images the Biblical writers give us to describe the coming Messiah, who He is, what He does, and how it can change everything. And in the process, this Christmas, we hope to see Jesus a little more clearly for who He is.

SPEAKERS:

David Tieche (Saratoga), Jay Kim (South Hills)

Bible Passages):

Proverbs 18:10, Isaiah 9:2,6

Most Christians would say that they think about God. Perhaps, even, think about God often, or at least when we’re not too busy thinking about other things. But what if instead of thinking ABOUT God we could make a switch to thinking WITH God. After all, our thoughts determine the orientation and direction of our lives. We examine what it might mean to do this, and what “thinking” with God might look like.

SPEAKERS:

Jay Kim (Saratoga), Corinna Girard (South Hills)

Bible Passages):

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV

Many of us have had the experience of having a good friend, or a spouse, or a co-worker who just *gets* us. If we were to play Taboo!, we would slay. There’s even language for this: we say we are “on the same page” or are “in sync” or “on the same wavelength.” But what if we could do this with God Himself? Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 2 that we can have the same “mind as Christ.” But what does that look like? And how can we get there? Corinna Girard stops by to talk to Dave about that. Also, we talk about how Milli Vanilli ties into the spiritual discipline of Scripture reading.

Speakers: David Tieche + Corinna Girard