WestGate Church Teaching

When you hear the word sloth, you might think of cute, furry slow-moving creatures in the jungle. But, sloth is actually a dangerous condition. It doesn't mean being lazy, alone. It means being inattentive to the things that are most important to you and to God. This week we examine how to break free from sloth and how to make the most of our one and only life.

Throughout history, followers of Jesus have been suspicious of the power of money to turn hearts of people away from God and toward...well, money. Jesus warned his followers to be on guard and pay attention to greed, because the love of money, Jesus often warned, is the source of all sorts of evil. And in that, Jesus comes with an offer to liberate us from our heart’s relentless hunger for “more” and to find a treasure even more valuable than money.

Today's culture can feel like a never ending battle of playing the game keeping up with the Jone's. What is God's will for our hearts in this sort of environment. What would it look like if we instead celebrated and cheered on the the accomplishments and success of those around us?

Any time the calendar turns to January 1st, there’s an opportunity for reflection. A new year doesn’t automatically bring a “brand new you” but it does offer us a chance to make some changes. So as we go into 2020, let’s look both behind us and ahead of us. What is behind me that I need to forget? And what new, better and more God-honoring thing has God called me to fix my eyes on this year? Because in the end, real life change has less to do with grand New Years resolutions, and much more to do with some small, godly habits, we can commit to over time.

Right around the time Jesus was born, there was another King in power. His name was Herod, and he was one of the most wildly successful rulers in the ancient world. He build a Kingdom for Rome that was ruthlessly ambitious, filled with self-interest, fueled by outrage, where bigger was better and more was never enough. Sound familiar. The thing is, if we’re honest, we all have a little bit of Herod in us - we want to get, not give. And yet, the Kingdom that Jesus talks about could not be more different. It’s about giving. It’s about radical self-sacrifice. It’s about serving a King, not seizing power to be one. And it’s a Kingdom we’re invited to participate in, even today. It’s a tale of two Kings. And even now, Jesus is asking us: which Kingdom will you live in?

Right at the beginning of the Christmas story in Luke, we encounter a nation and a man who have been waiting. Long expectations mark both, as the nation of Israel groans under the deep disappointment of their own history (and a cruel Roman occupation) and a man named Zechariah groans under the disappointment of being childless. Suddenly an angel appears, and the doubt that God is distant is erased with a simple proclamation: “The LORD has heard your prayer.” Lisa Averill talks about how this one phrase can bring peace in seasons where it seems like God is distant and silent.

In a Christmas story, found in the Gospel of Luke, we find a phrase a common reaction in nearly everyone who comes close to the history-shaping story of the birth of Jesus Christ. And that reaction is Joy. In fact, it’s almost comical how often this word is found in describing how people react. And yet, in our modern world, we find a real lack of joy. It’s in short supply. So how do we get it? How do we hang onto it? We will examine what the Christmas story has to say to us, and the beautiful invitation of God to exchange our hopelessness and cynicism for joy.

The phrase “do not be afraid” is said roughly 70 times in Bible, often as a command from God Himself. If fear is “the anticipation of something bad” then the story of Christmas is that God invites His people to exchange that crippling fear and worry for hope. This hope is not blind, warrantless faith, or forced optimism, but the assurance that comes from the reality that God Himself has come to Earth. And as long as God is with us, we don’t need to be afraid.

For the last nine years, we’ve concluded Compassion Immersion series by studying the life of someone whose life exemplified the beautiful call of Jesus Christ to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This year, we hone in on the life of Arthur Guinness (1725-1803), the founder of Guinness Brewing. We’ll examine Arthur’s belief that life with Jesus should have an impact on every corner of one’s life and the world - and how that theology inspired the Guinness brewery family to transcend boundaries between the business world and the church world and the sacred and the secular.

Jesus’s final command to His followers - which is sometimes called the Great Commission - is a broad call to His people to flood into the entire world as ambassadors of light and life and truth, and transform the planet, village-by-village and person-by-person. But sometimes, this global initiative feels a little overwhelming. Global Compassion pastor Keivan Tehrani stops by to share stories about WestGate Church ministry partners around the world - and how God is working to make that global mandate of Jesus a reality - and how you can get involved and help.