WestGate Church Teaching

There’s an event that is of such importance in the eyes of each of the authors of the four Gospels that all four of them include it in their retelling of the story of Jesus Christ. That event, which is sometimes called the Triumphal Entry is celebrated on the week before Easter which is traditionally called Palm Sunday. But what is it that makes this event so important? As we examine this passage, we’ll see that there are so many little details that the authors include to show us that there’s so much more going on than what might initially meet the eye. Jesus is up to something, back then and right now. And if we have eyes to see, and ears to hear, we might just get caught up in it ourselves.

The expression “desperate times call for desperate measures” shows the uncomfortable truth that sometimes, we find ourselves in a situation that we cannot fix. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown all of us that sometimes, we encounter problems we can’t solve. In the Gospel of Mark, we see a stirring story of some desperate friends who also are in an impossible jam. And in this story, we see them get really creative with their problem solving and really creative with their faith in Jesus. This story is more than interesting: it’s instructive and constructive. It asks us the question, “What do you and I do when we come to the end of our own abilities? And do we believe that God can help?

In times of trouble - like say the COVID-19 global pandemic, for instance - it’s easy to be consumed by thinking about worst-case scenarios. It also doesn’t help that for some folks, “Worry” and “Anxiety” are constant companions. So what are we to do with worry? Jesus, in his famous Sermon on the Mount, talks about worry, and how to escape its grasp. Which is perfect not only in times of a city-wide crisis, but also in everyday life.

There are dozens of voices in the world vying for our attention. Some of those voices are benign. Some are helpful. And some are most decidedly not. During this moment in human history - the Coronavirus Pandemic in March of 2020 - one particularly strong voice is the voice of Fear. And yet, Jesus says that voices like fear are not helpful, and don’t lead to life. In a famous passage in the Gospel of John, Jesus invites people to listen and follow His voice - promising that if we do, we’ll find peace. And rest. And God Himself.

When describing the purpose for why He walked on this earth, Jesus once famously said that he came to “seek and save the lost.” Throughout the centuries, Christians have seen this simple statement to not only say a lot about Jesus, but also is revelatory for what those who purport to follow him should have as a driving motivation for their own lives. And this week we examine the invitation of Jesus to Peter to “make fishers of men” and how that might happen in our lives today.

One of the most counter-cultural and seemingly impossible commands of Jesus comes from the Sermon on the Mount when He said to “love your enemies.” Loving our enemies is a foreign concept. Love and enemies are words that seem mutually exclusive. Putting the two together raises questions. When the Bible tells us to love our enemies what does that mean? And how can we do it?

CS Lewis once famously said that the traditional Orthodox sexual ethic was the single most unpopular doctrine in all of Christianity. And yet, how we think about sex and what we do with our bodies matters not only to our lives - but it matters to God Himself. In this, Steve and Dana discuss the topic of lust - and how it hurts and dehumanizes us - and how we shake free of it.

When you hear the term “gluttony” you likely think of gorging yourself at Thanksgiving. But the “term” gluttony, although certainly including “over eating” is actually more nuanced. Gluttony, in this sense, is about the excessive consumption of anything: food, tv, social media, shopping for the sake of trying to “fill oneself up” with things. But this type of consumption, oddly enough, never truly fills one up? It never satisfies. Which points to the reality that for humans, those things never can truly satiate.

CS Lewis once said that the center of Christian morality revolves around the word “pride.”  Pride, the Bible says, is more than simple arrogance: it’s a state of mind in which we believe that we are the center of the Universe.  It’s literally thinking of ourselves too much, and God not very much at all - which has disastrous consequences. And Pride is not only the thing we most dislike when we see it in others, but the thing we’re least likely to see in ourselves.  But Jesus shows us - clearly with both His words and His life - the way forward. And His antidote, though never easy, is always worth it.

We live in a society that’s filled with anger. Outrage is everywhere. There’s a saying that says, “if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.” But not all anger is legitimate. And anger itself doesn’t automatically make things better. In fact, it often makes things worse. For centuries, Christian teachers have warned against the corrupting power of unleashed anger, counseling through the Scriptures that anger is a potentially destructive force. By examining the very character of God, we’ll find out how to deal with anger, and how to channel it so it doesn’t hurt us or hurt the world.