WestGate Church Teaching

Do you remember the first song that you absolutely LOVED? Of course you do. Because you love it. Music has an almost indescribable power to connect us to ourselves, to moments, to life and to each other. But this week, Jay Kim stops by to talk about the theological and spiritual power of music to shape and form us - to connect us to God. We talk about the first song in the Bible (Exodus 15), why that song is so important, why our weekend services include singing worship songs (and why that matters) and the state of modern worship music. Jay also reveals his first favorite song - and the answer will shock - SHOCK! - you.

BONUS CONTENT: There’s also an attempt by David Tieche and Josh Fox to write the *perfect* modern worship song. If you like heresy and bad singing, well, check it out.

In Exodus 15, we see a beautiful song that’s sung by the Hebrew people that memorializes the faithfulness of God in rescuing them from Egypt. An in that song, we’re reminded of the power of music and song to remember. We find that singing brings memory to life. And we learn that as we sing truth, we begin to move from simply knowing to embodying and experiencing.

An exhausted and sick Jay Kim powers through this podcast (his version of Michael Jordan’s Flu Game) to talk about the genesis of our new sermon series Idols and Songs. We discuss why the Biblical mandate to “remember” is important, not only for spiritual health (to keep us away from idolatry) but also for mental health (to keep us away from pessimism and complaint). And we unpack why the modern age – which has iPhones to send us alerts and reminders – actually makes it more difficult for us to remember, not easier.

“Do not forget. Remember.” These simple yet profoundly important words are a common refrain in the Bible. God implores his people to embrace a particular memory, to hold on to particular truths. Why? Because forgetting is the path to idolatry and remembering is the fuel for faith. We’ll learn from the story of God’s people in the wilderness and discover how remembering God’s faithfulness is the key to making it through the various wildernesses we face today

Santa Clara County has more religious faiths represented in its people than any other county in the US. But that raises a question about how we as followers of Jesus live out our faith in a pluralistic culture with folks from many different backgrounds. Steve Clifford stops by to talk about what it means to live out our firm allegiance to Jesus in a culture that doesn’t, how he’s seen this go sideways and how to gentle help folks who have had a bad experience with Christianity (or have heard Jesus presented in a distorted or caricatured way).

Is Christianity intolerant? Is telling people that Jesus is the “way and the truth and the life” close-minded? Bigoted? It sure feels nice to hear Oprah say, “there are many paths to God” but how exactly does that jive with Jesus’ dramatic claim that He is the only way to God? We try to make sense of those questions - and others - and discover that “all roads lead to God” sounds nice, but there’s some tough choices every person has to eventually make along that road about who God is, and what He’s like.

What do you do if you’re a woman and your dad is the pastor of a church that believes not only that the Bible teaches that women must never talk in church, but must also wear veils – and that they are second-class citizens in the kingdom of heaven? This was the question posed to Liz Ditty when she was growing up. I talk to her about her own journey to understand not only these verses about veils and silence, but the Bible’s overall narrative and how women fit into it.

Is the Bible anti-women? Verses that say that women “have to learn in silence and submission” and “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man” are confusing. Not to mention the whole “wives should be submissive to their husbands” verse. It’s hard to believe the Bible promotes such sexist and harmful ideas about women. But does it? How can we make sense of these texts? The truth is quite different than the caricature. Join us to discover the compelling story the Bible actually tells about “a woman’s place”- it might surprise you.

Some of the most troubling passages in the entire Bible are what scholars call the “war texts” - where God commands the Israelites to commit what seem to be war crimes. These texts make God look bloody, brutal and downright barbaric - and these stories are difficult to reconcile with the stories about Jesus. This even leads some people to say the God of the Old Testament is actually different than Jesus. What is going on here? Andy Gridley stops by to share info from scholars and theologians that have helped him. We also turn to the works of Elie Wiesel and Dr. Strange to help us make sense of all of this.

Some of the most difficult and confusing passages of the entire Bible are what are called the “Holy War” texts - where God commands His people to go into battle and kill people. This is deeply troubling because it makes God seem like a moral monster - ordering the killing of babies and innocent bystanders. How can we make sense of these texts? And how do these texts reconcile with the idea of God being loving and good, as expressed in Jesus?