Westside Church

Any real relationship begins with vulnerability. The place where we connect with Jesus is through our vulnerability. We can see all throughout the Gospels people connecting with Jesus thru their vulnerabilities. The teacher Nicodemus saying, “I don’t get it”. The powerful Roman centurion who has no power to heal his servant. The sick woman who has now power to heal her body. The traitorous Zaccheus who doesn’t know how to get back into the family. Our starting point is our vulnerabilities, our weaknesses, the places where we aren’t enough or not doing it right. “Jesus is mighty not because of His capacity to overcome hardship but because of His willingness to go through human hardship, like we have to do.”

In order to live with hope in a hard world, we have to get really good at seeing the evidence of our relationship with an invisible God.  We have to see and acknowledge the things that point to His nearness, His awareness of us and His love for us. 

A special treat for you today. A good friend of mine and long time Westsider, Eric Close is with us. Eric has a successful career in Hollywood, starring in shows like Without a Trace and Nashville and movies American Sniper. He also starred and directed in a couple hallmark Christmas films recently. He ended up in central Oregon in the 90’s when he starred in McKenna which was filmed here. It was then that he connected with Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in which he now serves as a board member. He lives in Tumalo with his wonderful wife Keri and has two beautiful daughters. We sat down recently at his home and talked about the importance of and challenge it can be to be grateful. 

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

In the hierarchy of what God wants from us, faith is at the top. Without it, verse 6 says, it’s impossible to please him. Jesus told us even a tiny seed of faith could move mountains and grab the attention of God. So, the burning question is: what is faith?