Willow Creek Weekend Podcast

What is a motivating factor in giving when you decide to give? It’s usually in response to a need; a heartstring has been pulled, and you want to help someone else. When something really hits home, we can feel like it’s worth giving sacrificially–more than we might usually, or perhaps we have to forgo something else to help meet someone else’s need..

Church offerings, or the concept of “tithing,” is typically hard to talk about, hard to begin doing and often is questioned. When many doubt the church's intentions, what good comes from tithing?

Yes, God’s will for your life is much bigger than you could imagine! God wants to use YOU to help heal, restore, and redeem the world. You can change the world in partnership with God’s work in your life. But how?

Temptation is all around us, testing our character and will. Temptation also affected Joseph in the Bible. When faced with temptations such as seduction by Potiphar’s wife, a weak work ethic, and revenge on his despicable brothers, Joseph leans into his faith and resists, choosing instead to show kindness and keep his integrity.

Pastor Dave explores the story of Joseph in the Bible through Genesis –41, where Joseph takes his setbacks and temptations and allows God to use him in ways beyond his wildest dreams.

How do you hold onto your life’s dreams and persevere through tough times when others threaten to derail them or even actively hurt you?

The story of Joseph in the Bible deals with his struggles with a highly dysfunctional family and the ways in which they harm him (Genesis 37–40) when they dislike his big dreams for life.

Joseph holds onto hope through his faith, knowing he will ultimately achieve big things in partnership with God and His purpose for Joseph’s life. How will God partner with you to fuel your big dreams and achieve immeasurably more than you could on your own?

Many of us wonder: what is my life’s purpose? We have big dreams, but do they match God’s will for our lives? And what happens when obstacles get in the way of our dreams?

Remember when you were a kid, and you wanted to be an actor, a firefighter, or a marine biologist, but life got in the way, reality hit, and your big dreams fell by the wayside? Life has a way of presenting challenges that seem impossible to overcome.

As we begin our new series, Divine Dreams, we explore the story of Joseph in the Bible in Genesis 37 and how he persevered through so much, remaining faithful throughout and achieving his big dream.

It’s a new year; we’re all thinking about what we want to do and achieve in the next 12 months. Do you want to hit the gym, read those books you’ve had on your shelf for ages, or pick up a new hobby? 

How about rest? Could resting well be a part of what you want to achieve this year? It’s different, sure! But God Himself takes a rest, and if He can, surely we should too!

God tells us to take a sabbath–a day of rest–because He knows just how important it is for us to do so. God wants you to be healthy in all ways: physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. And He knows that not resting well will affect those things. Rest is a spiritual discipline!

Pastor Dave starts us off right with a message on why we should rest well.

Once you make a decision to follow Jesus, you’re told to go out and evangelize to everyone you know; and all those you don’t know too. Ooof, that sounds scary, right?

What does evangelism really mean? We’ve all seen the guy standing on the street corner yelling at everyone to repent. But that’s not what the Bible tells us about evangelism.

Is evangelism a value we should be embracing? Yes! 

Pastor Betsy uses learnings from the first century church to demonstrate what God is really calling us to do as evangelists.

The biblical Christmas story is one of peace and hope, but only if you see Jesus for who He really is. 

When Jesus, the King of Kings,  was born, King Herod felt intimidated and tried to eliminate the threat to his kingdom. What’s your response to Jesus? You can ignore Him, feel threatened by Him, or choose to follow and experience the wholeness He has to offer.

This Christmas, experience a relationship with the King of Kings, the one born to save the world!

If you ever felt like you didn’t fit into church or God wasn’t for you, you aren’t alone. The shepherds in the Bible were the first to hear the news of the birth of Jesus. The “lowly” shepherds, as they’re sometimes referred to, were not important, high-powered people.

Had Jesus been born in a castle or fortress, He would only be accessible to a select few. Instead, He was born in a stable, so even the outcast and powerless could approach Him. What would change if you saw that Jesus truly was available to us all? Pastors Megan Marshman and Shawn Williams take us through Luke 2 and the Christmas story of the Shepherds in the Bible.