WestGate Church Teaching

What does it mean practically to live life with God? Mark Averill stops by to talk about doing life with God, and how doing life WITH *anybody* is going to require things of us. We talk about what it means to get to know God and what it means to “follow” God. We discuss the metaphors the Apostle Paul uses for this. Also, Dave attempts to make a comparison between human beings and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Speakers: David Tieche + Mark Averill

Just like cars were made to run on gas, human beings were not made to do life on their own. God wants to do life *with* us. And when we decide not to - when we decide to run on our own power and strength – things don’t go well for us. Jesus invites us to do life with him, and when we do we discover life and peace. But…choosing to live life with God often will demand that we make some changes in the way we live, but it’s always worth it.

SPEAKERS:

Mark Averilla (Saratoga), David Tieche (South Hills)

Bible Passages):

John 14

Dave gets in his DeLorean and goes back in time to his sophomore year of high school when his best friend played him a song that contained a radical idea to him at 15 years old and that still seems incredible: that humans can talk conversationally (and safely) to God Himself. Jay Kim stops by to talk about this idea, and we go through John Calvin’s famous “four rules for prayer” that practically help us orient our hearts as we pray. Also, we debrief Halloween, and discuss our family’s costumes.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

The ability to communicate might be the most valuable gift we have in this life. And the most meaningful communication we can experience is the sort of conversation that maximizes relational connection. Life with God offers us the tremendous gift of being able to talk with God. And yet, we so rarely do. And yet, in the Scriptures, we find a God eager to connect with us, inviting us to share with Him our griefs, our joys, our needs as we approach God’s “throne of grace.”

SPEAKERS:

John Ortberg (Saratoga), Jay Kim (South Hills)

Bible Passages):

Hebrews 4:14-16

There’s a saying that “people who talk to God are religious, but people who hear from God are certifiably insane.” And yet, the idea that God is trying to communicate with human beings is actually a central assumption of the Christian story and the Christian Scriptures. Jay Kim and Steve Clifford stop by to share their wisdom and thoughts about what it means for us to be a people who earnestly desire to WANT to hear from God. We talk about the difference between God’s voice and our own internal voice. And how we can cultivate wanting to “listen and obey” God in both desire and practice.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim + Steve Clifford

In our modern world, we are conditioned to believe that the most important thing we can do - indeed the thing that we must do – is BE HEARD. That’s what will give our lives meaning. And as a result, many of our lives today involve so much talking and so little listening. Is it any wonder that we have difficulty listening to God? This week, examine what it’s like to be a people who WANT to hear from God, and not only when we think we need it or because it will solve a problem we’re interested in. Throughout the Scriptures, the phrase “listen and obey” is used of people whose desire is to live a life that’s pleasing to God. And conversely, we find that people who ignore God’s voice, find that it’s then harder and harder to hear.

This week, David Tieche debriefs Beautiful Day with Jay Kim. And they talk about the ancient spiritual practice of The Examen (which Dave is disappointed to learn has nothing to do with “The X-men.”) We then discuss a book that some scholars think might be the most widely read Christian book in the past 300 years that’s not the Bible - a book by a French lay monk who spent all his life in obscurity. This book, titled The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence is an exact antidote for modern people, who live noisy, busy lives where God gets crowded out. And in this, the invitation is to live more attentive, less distracted lives.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

We live in an age of hurry and distraction. There are, at any given moment, 100 things pinging and dinging and vying for our attention (mostly, things trying to get us to buy something). And we live in a time where there is a lot going on. Both hurry and distraction are great enemies to spiritual growth and connection with God. God is not in a hurry. And as we see from the earliest pages of the Bible, all the way through, God is inclined to speak to those who show themselves truly hungry to hear from Him. This week, we talk about some concrete, helpful ways to slow down and become more aware of God’s always-there-presence so that we can live a life WITH God.

SPEAKERS:

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

About 1600 people served at one of our 20 different worksites around Santa Clara County and beyond last weekend, all for the purpose of showing Christ's love to our neighbors. We call this effort Beautiful Day.

THE AFTERWORD | Beautiful Day Celebration

About 1600 people served at one of our 20 different worksites around Santa Clara County and beyond last weekend, all for the purpose of showing Christ's love to our neighbors. We call this effort Beautiful Day.