WestGate Church Teaching

The story of Abraham in Genesis 12 is the story of God coming to find and rescue Abraham. Jay Kim stops by to share his own personal story about God finding him, and how we modern folks build the equivalent of ziaggaruts to “climb to God” too. Then, Sarah K. Lee stops by to discuss how the story of Abraham actually links back to Genesis 1 and the phrase “the image of God.” And then, at the end, we have a conversation with a cross-cultural linguistics and Bible-translation expert about how important (or not important) history is to understand the story of the Bible.

Often times, when we think of the heroes of the Bible, we think of deeply pious people who were so good and so righteous that God looked at them and said, “That person is exactly the kind of person I could really get something done with.” But the story of Abraham does not do that. Abraham, we are told, lived in Ancient Sumeria and was enmeshed in the worship of lunar gods. The ancient Sumerians believed that they had to build and then climb high structures to attempt to entice the gods to come down. Abraham would likely have believed that, too. But in the story of Abraham, we see that Yahweh confronts and changes any ideas that Abraham might have had. Abraham meets a god who pursues humanity. Who comes down to earth. And this is very good news.

What does it mean to “love” God? Is it an emotion? And how do you know if you’re doing it well? Do you just guess? David and Jay chat about bad definitions and conceptions they’ve had, held and seen and how the story of Abraham actually helps us get a proper, workable, measurable definition. Also, Sarah K. Lee stops by for Bible Nerd Out Time to talk about Abraham’s importance in the Bible and especially to the New Testament writers. And we also answer the age-old question: what do David, Jay and Beyonce all have in common?

Often, when people hear the term “love God” they interpret it to mean something like, "read your Bible" or "pray" or more simply "attend weekend gatherings." It’s usually not clearly defined, and it's certainly not actionable. This is compounded by the fact that the English word “love” itself is so elastic in its meaning. I “love” tacos, but I also “love” my mom. What?

This is where the Biblical story of Abraham is incredibly helpful. As we examine the life of Abraham, through the ups-and-downs of his story, we discover a helpful, real-world definition of what it means to love God.

What does the word “church” mean, as understood and articulated by the authors of the New Testament? Can we glean a proper definition that will help us understand not only what it is, but what it isn’t - AND our unique role in it? David and Jay sit down to talk through a formal definition of “the church” first offered by Dr. Gerry Breshears from Western Seminary. And in the process we see how this definition both challenges and comforts us.

FORMAL DEFINITION: (1) The church is a group of confessing believers (2) under organized, qualified leadership (3) who participate in the sacraments (of baptism and communion) (4) who are being holistically formed as individuals and as a group to follow Jesus by (a) being witnesses who tell the Jesus story with invitation to join (b) being edified and equipped to practice and live in the way of Jesus (c) exalt Jesus as the Messiah, the King of King and Lord of Lords and (d) who build shalom by doing works of compassion, goodness and justice and (5) who gather regularly.

The word "church" in our current culture is a very elastic word. You'll hear it used in wildly different ways.

Are you going to church this week?

That issue is out of hand - the church should do something.

Oh man Chance the Rapper took us to church today!

Lake Tahoe is my church.

The use of the word "church" in each of these sentences is very different, making it confusing. So what is “church?” We examine the birth of the church of Jesus in Acts 2, and show how this early community both challenges our individualistic and consumeristic tendencies and comforts us by inviting us into a beautiful, powerful movement of God Himself to heal and save us and our broken world.

In Matthew 22, Jesus forever linked “loving God” with “loving your neighbor.” Corinna Girard stops by to talk about how important (and difficult) this ethical demand of Jesus is. We talk about the power of dehumanizing language (and how words that describe people as just a little less than equal humans who bear the image of God makes it easier to justify mistreating them. And Corinna shares a story about a very difficult neighbor who has taught her this command of Jesus isn’t always easy to live out - but it’s always worth it. (Corinna also breaks out into a Shania Twain song in the middle.)

We live in a time and a cultural moment where it’s fairly easy to see the fault lines in society. Whether it’s politics, religion, or a myriad of hot-button topics, the reigning gestalt is “if they’re not on my side, then they don’t deserve even my consideration or kindness.” Into this ethos is the way of Jesus, who teaches over and over that a big piece of loving God IS loving people. Even people who aren’t like you. It’s what’s called “Loving your neighbor.” And in fact, not only is loving your neighbor a way to see if you love God, loving God is also the mechanism that ALLOWS you to love your neighbor. Because we receive God’s great love and grace and mercy, we can freely offer it to others.

What do the Muppets have to teach us about church? Well, maybe more than you think. This group of cast-offs and weirdos are all deeply flawed - but their love and commitment to one another doesn’t waver. Is that even possible in today’s world? Andy Gridley stops by to talk about how he learned the value of a local group of Christians trying to “love one another” after he experienced the sudden, tragic death of his father when he was young. And Lisa Averill shares what she’s seen as Life Groups pastor after an incredibly difficult year - and why she’s hopeful.

The last meal Jesus ate before He was betrayed, imprisoned, tortured and killed is often called the Last Supper. And at that meal, Jesus gives one last teaching about what life with Him looks like, telling his disciples to love one another and that the way they love each other will show the world what His Kingdom is like. And although Jesus “loving one another” is not always easy, it’s always worth it, growing us and healing us at the same time.