WestGate Church Teaching

As we launch into the new year, it's easy to want to change everything at once. Set new goals. Make resolutions. But how often does that really work? Instead, what if less was more? What if we stopped looking to change a bunch of things and focused our attention? And, what might happen if we did that over the course of many years? What might our lives look like with that kind of focus? Join us as we discuss the power of ONE THING.

As 2017 comes to a close, Steve and Dana Clifford lead us in a time in a time of remembering the past year, and concentrating our efforts on the Scriptural mandate to “give thanks” as a discipline that reminds us that God is with us and that God is for us. And we also take time as a community of God to resolve to walk with God this year, because our lives are shaped by our deepest loves and our deepest commitments.

In the story of the first Christmas given to us in the first books of the New Testament, we see a number of astonishing plot twists, including some unlikely characters. Perhaps most fascinating are the Magi, these mysterious men from the East who were not Jewish, and certainly not followers of the Jewish God Yahweh. And yet they see something. The tables are turned and these wise men see true Wisdom born in a manger, and these kings see the true King. As we look at their story, we’ll see, once again, that God shows up in unexpected ways to unexpected people. It was true then. And it’s true now.

In the opening pages of Matthew, Mark and Luke, all three authors make a bold claim: the story of Jesus is best understood as a story of two rival Kingdoms. Teaching pastor David Tieche walks us through the history of the Kingdom of Rome and how its core values of power, oppression and fear were not only challenged, but were usurped by the Kingdom of Jesus. But those kingdom values persist today, and we have a choice. Which Kingdom will we choose to represent? Which Kingdom are we pledging allegiance to? And how can we best represent this Jesus Kingdom of peace, justice and wholeness.

There’s no doubt that we live in a noisy and distracted world. But what if that noise and distraction is not only hurting us, but it’s hurting our ability to truly connect with other people? In this week, Lisa Averill examines what the discipline of being “attentive” looks like, and how this simple practice can help us truly listen to not only to the people right in front of us, but also to God, who very well might have something to say to us about how our life might help someone else.

How would you complete this sentence. “Jesus came…” There are three ways that the New Testament completes that sentence. And while the first two are well known (“The Son of Man to give his life as a ransom for many” and “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”) the third one is more surprising. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking.” But for Jesus, eating and drinking was always more than simply food and beverage. Teaching pastor David Tieche explains how Jesus uses the table as a way to extend the Kingdom of God, and change people’s lives and destinies. And how we - if we partner with God - can do the same.

Mark Twain once famously said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” We all know that an aptly timed word of encouragement is like oxygen to the soul. But the terrible truth is that we humans have the power of life and death in which words we choose to say, and which words we don’t. But what if being a person who lives like Jesus means speaking life. What if we were careful and intentional about speaking words of actual, profound life into the lives of people around us. And what if, by looking for the best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we are doing what God does all the time? And what if, by speaking words of appreciation and love, we are actually participating in something sacred?

Is Christianity unfair to women? Does the Bible say that men are supposed to be in charge all the time? There are many churches that put restrictions on the roles that women can play in the life of a local church, including whether they can teach, or lead, or serve as elders. In this message, WestGate Church lead pastor Steve Clifford explains why he’s come to believe that these restrictions on a woman’s involvement aren’t necessary, and how the whole of the Biblical narrative points to God forging a new community where men and women are equally gifted, equally called and equally made in the image of God. During this message, Steve will also address several of the key Bible verses that are often used to limit women’s roles in churches, and explain how the church can be better (and more beautiful) with the full involvement of both genders.

C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity once wrote: “The Christian view of sexuality is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is “Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.” This view is so counter-cultural - and indeed so seemingly against our native instincts - that we are left with two options. Either the Christian teachings on this topic are wrong, or our instincts about sexuality are. But in John 8, we see an encounter that Jesus has that shines some light on this controversial and difficult topic of sexuality. And as always, we find that if we follow Jesus and His teachings, we can find life and freedom.

This week marks the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, which marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. With a nod to Luther’s refusal to recant his most deeply held beliefs, lead pastor Steve Clifford spends some time attempting to articulate - with all diligence and precision - the central, essential truths that WestGate Church holds to and build not only our church, but our lives upon. In addition, God’s church is a place of wild diversity and local churches also have distinct personalities, so we wanted to outline a few theological distinctives that make WestGate Church unique. We don’t expect every church or every Christian to adhere to these distinctives. But they’re how we see things.