WestGate Church Teaching

We all remember what it was like in elementary school to be excluded from that group of friends because you “weren’t cool enough.” Or to be picked last for the kickball team.

It just doesn’t feel good.

But the truth is, kids aren’t the only ones who play favorites - adults do this, too. In fact, you could make a case that human tribalism ("I’m in this group, and you’re not") happens all the time.

But Jesus radically modeled a different form of community, and the first century church did this too.

This week, worship leader Josh Fox examines the strong words of James who says that favoritism simply cannot be a reality in any community that’s striving to be a family like Jesus commanded. In this, Josh talks about what favoritism is (and isn't). How it creeps into our lives. Why it's bad. And how to get rid of it.

Christian author Brennan Manning once wrote that, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” This is called hypocrisy, and it’s no short supply today. James, the half-brother of Jesus and the author of the Book of James in the Bible, would agree with Manning, saying that those that call Jesus “King” must do more than believe that truth - it must transform the way they live. But how? How can we lead lives that are filled with integrity, so that our words and our actions match up? Is it an issue of simply trying harder? James’ solution to hypocrisy likely isn’t what you might think, but it could very well change your life.

James starts off his writings to the early church with an incredibly encouraging insistence that life is hard, and will be difficult. Not exactly a pep talk. But James is convinced that suffering isn’t always a bad thing, and that in fact, it can produce something in us that literally nothing else in life can: maturity. Because if our goal is to become like Jesus, and He suffered, then it just makes sense that we’re going to have to suffer, too. But James says that there’s a way to suffer - a particular way - that can lead to real life and connection to God - but only if we do it right. And James offers advice as a trustworthy guide to get us through the dangerous mountain pass that we all have to go through in this life called “suffering.”

This week, Steve starts with his intro of the Book of James, a letter from a pastor to the early Church in Jerusalem. James says that belief alone is not what Jesus is requiring - but that proper belief always leads to commitment and changed actions.

We'll look at 6 ways that the early Church was radically different than the surrounding culture, and how this call to following Jesus made the early church dramatically effective in their Witness that Jesus was Lord, and that it can help us in that same quest, today.

Gary Haugen is the CEO of the International Justice Mission, a global organization that protects the poor from violence throughout the developing world, not only rescuing victims, but bringing criminals to justice, restoring survivors, and strengthening justice systems. Gary shares stories about how acting for justice on the behalf of those who don’t have a voice is a beautiful and stirring way to bring God’s Kingdom here to Earth.

Our culture is (largely) addicted to speed. But in our rapidly-changing world, the key is not to try to catch up but to give up on keeping up and to discover that there is something more significant than going fast. And that is the power of force. Lead pastor Steve Clifford gives a physics lesson, and explains how momentum only happens with mass and velocity. And having real “mass” or “weight” in our lives can only come when we spend time with God. And real velocity can only be accomplished when we stop the flurried frenzy of busyness and focus on moving in one, singular direction: becoming more like Jesus. But if we do that, we’ll have momentum.

Doing the Christian life alone is not just difficult, it is impossible.  The teachings of Jesus don’t allow for solo, solitary lives - Christianity is a social religion. But this is not an easy way to live.  Community is difficult because we’re different, we’re sinful, we’re easily discouraged and we’re afraid both being know and of rejection.  Lead Pastor Steve Clifford offers four antidotes to these issues from the teachings of the New Testament, encouraging us all move from simply attending church to belonging.

There’s a verse in the Bible (Luke 6:40) in which Jesus says that students, when fully taught, become just like their teacher. This verse has become the mission statement of WestGate Church. We are a people whose goal is to become, ever and increasingly, just like our master, Jesus. To become people who talk to other people like He would. To act like He would, if He were in my place. And to love like He would, if He worked at my job, lived where I lived, and had the relationships I did. For the next three weeks, we’ll be examining what this looks like and what steps we can take - real and concrete steps - to become more and more like Jesus.

Love God. Love One Another. Love Your Neighbor. Those are the three core values that comprise the general mission statement of WestGate Church. We call this Six40 Discipleship,This week, lead pastor Steve Clifford examines the idea of what it means to love God. In our age of busyness, how can we create margin and enough blank time in our schedule to even think about God, let alone enough quiet for Him to speak? Steve offers a simple yet wildly effective way for us to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives to hear from God.

In this final message for Compassion Immersion Steve shares the legacy of missionary Amy Carmichael; and how we can learn to be more compassionate to those around us.

In this final message for Compassion Immersion Steve shares the legacy of missionary Amy Carmichael; and how we can learn to be more compassionate to those around us.