WestGate Church Teaching

One of Jesus’ most famous teachings is the story of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus dramatically challenges the ethic that love is best spent only on people you love and like, and that some people are worthy of self-sacrificing love, and others are not.  In this story, Jesus purposefully links the idea of “loving God” to “loving your neighbor.”  We examine why this teaching is so important and discuss some ways to practice living this out in a world that’s filled with people who have contempt for their neighbor.

Jay and David take some time to attempt to answer the question posed by the 90s Eurodance hit song from Haddaway, “What is love?” First, they work to come to a proper definition of the word love. Then, they explore why the Bible repeatedly and emphatically says that when it comes to loving God, it’s critical to remember that God loved us first. And finally, Jay shares some practical advice to help folks who might be asking the question, “What do you do when you don’t “feel” God’s love.” Also! To commemorate the start of the NFL season, David and Jay swap stories about one of the all-time great Bay Area football players - Bo Jackson.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

By one measure, the Silicon Valley is filled with success. We have more than we’ve ever had. But we’re also working more than we’ve ever worked. We believe the myth that we can achieve and accumulate our way to the lives we want, and then when we’re exhausted with that chasing, we run to our preferred habits (Netflix binges, weekend getaways, coffee crawls, yoga, et al), believing that the relief will lead us to the lives we want. It doesn’t. In this series, we examine the invitation of Jesus to follow Him and His promise that He will give us life, and life overflowing. The way of Jesus, though, stands in stark relief to our cultural narratives, with Jesus inviting us to be people give, who serve, who commit to each other, and whose private and public lives are centered around living life with God. And in inviting us down this road, Jesus is actually inviting us to the life we actually, truly, deep down not only need, but want.

SPEAKERS:

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

The title of this sermon series is THE LIFE WE WANT, which implies that it’s possible for us to live in such a way that our choices are taking us toward a life we DON’T actually want. Jay and David talk about the primary cultural values in Silicon Valley and how these can deform us, if we’re not careful. We’ll examine the modern idea that community means carefully curated groups filled only with people I like and approve of - and how that can actually turn us into people who don’t love well. We’ll look why our modern leisure time isn’t actually filling our souls. And we look at the counterintuitive idea that it is serving - giving, and not accumulation - that is the key to happiness - and why that is.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

By one measure, the Silicon Valley is filled with success. We have more than we’ve ever had. But we’re also working more than we’ve ever worked. We believe the myth that we can achieve and accumulate our way to the lives we want, and then when we’re exhausted with that chasing, we run to our preferred habits (Netflix binges, weekend getaways, coffee crawls, yoga, et al), believing that the relief will lead us to the lives we want. It doesn’t. In this series, we examine the invitation of Jesus to follow Him and His promise that He will give us life, and life overflowing. The way of Jesus, though, stands in stark relief to our cultural narratives, with Jesus inviting us to be people give, who serve, who commit to each other, and whose private and public lives are centered around living life with God. And in inviting us down this road, Jesus is actually inviting us to the life we actually, truly, deep down not only need, but want.

SPEAKERS:

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

For the past three weeks, we’ve examined not only the reality of a spiritual realm, but also the idea that all of humanity is locked in spiritual battle with a vicious, lying spiritual enemy - the Satan. This week, Steve Clifford stops by to talk about the good news - we have a God who is not only immeasurably more wise and powerful than the Devil, but equips His children to win this war. Speaking of losing battles, Steve also talks about the Dallas Cowboys and David throws out a hypothesis about systemic sin and the NFL.

Speakers: David Tieche + Steve Clifford

In the book of Ephesians, Paul, after warning the early church about the dangers of the spiritual war they are in, offers a long series of encouragements, saying to “be strong” and “stand.” Paul then enters into an extended metaphor, using a Roman Centurian’s battle armor to explain how those who follow Christ are not only equipped well in the battle against the Satan, but are set up to be more than victorious.

SPEAKERS:

Steve Clifford (Saratoga), Jay Kim (South Hills)

Dr. Gerry Breshears, professor of theology at Western Seminary in Portland, OR, drops by to drop some knowledge about what the Bible says about the spiritual realm. Dr. Breshears dives into the tough questions about angels, Satan and demons and tackles some perplexing passages of Scriptures that seem particularly strange to our modern ears.

Lies - in the form of deceptive ideas - are the devil’s primary method of enslaving human beings. And yes, this impact individuals but those lies also become normalized in culture and society, and pretty soon, up is called down and down is called up and entire human societies in a vicious cycle of ruin. Jay and David talk about what big lies have become normalized in our society, and, in general, what kinds of things help Christians live in the truth and stay in the truth. Also: David remembers the life and work of Frederick Buechner, a brilliant author who had a tremendous influence on his life and Christian faith.

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

Speakers: David Tieche + Corinna Girard + Steve Clifford

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim

Speakers: David Tieche + Ben Pierce

Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim + Andy Barron

Jesus says, in John 8, that the Devil’s primary method of warfare against humanity in the war of good vs. evil is lies. Lies. We examine how this has been the Devil’s strategy since the beginning, and how the lies that Satan told in the Garden of Eden to the first humans are the lies that he still tells us today. Lies about what the truth really is (did God really say…), lies about outcomes if we just do what we want (you won’t die) and even lies about the motives of God (He’s holding out on you, wants to keep you down.) We’ll look at this, and how to break free from lies and be a person formed by what’s actually truly true.