Willow Creek Weekend Podcast

On January 1, 2022 you woke up in the same life you had on December 31. Only something feels different. This year can be different.

But it won’t come because of wishful thinking, it will come with a new view of right priorities, and taking next steps one step at a time.

This week we take a look at the story of a man named Nehemiah who had a vision for what God wanted, and started getting to work.

God has good things for us, but it won’t come without us changing perspectives, adjusting direction, and courageously stepping forward

Gabriel encounters the shepherds and says, “Fear not. I bring you good news.” He announces that the fear breaker, Jesus, is here. 

Good news that will cause great joy; good news that causes doesn’t mean life gets easier. Why did they say it’s good news? 

Christmas means that all fear is conquered because Christ has come.

After 400 years of silence, God speaks through the angel Gabriel twice in six weeks. This time Gabriel encounters Mary, and her reaction to the angel’s news was very different from Zechariah and Elizabeth’s. A poor teen girl shows us that however small you may feel. God can use your life. If you are willing to live in faith.

Gabriel encounters Zechariah informing him that his prayers have been heard and his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a boy named John who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Through this encounter, we learn that what God does in you and through you while you wait is just as important as what you are waiting for.

For some at-risk youth in our communities, prison becomes a probability. Jon Kelly, lead pastor of Chicago West Bible Church, teaches out of Mark 5 and shares some of his own incredible story of imprisonment and redemption.

Greed holds onto resources believing that through wealth and resources we will have everything we need to stand up against life’s storms and struggles. But when we live with our fists clenched, holding tightly to the constant need for more wealth, more for ourselves, we cannot have open hands to receive what God has to offer us which is far better and more secure.

• Pride says I’m number 1 and everyone else is not. Humility says God is number 1 and I am not. Pride makes everyone a potential competitor. Humility makes everyone a potential partner. Pride always seeks assurance that you are number 1. Humility needs no proof as it recognizes that God and others are first. This is baptism weekend, so this will drive towards humbling ourselves before God, acknowledging our need, and giving our lives to Him. 

When God’s provision isn’t enough. In Numbers 11 we God’s people have left Egypt but have not yet obtained the promised land. God provides everything they want, but they still grumble and complain. This week we see that envy is getting bitter when others have it better. But we combat envy with celebration and looking for the good right where we are.

Wrath starts as rejection that builds as resentment that boils up to retaliation. We harbor bitterness and resentment at the wounds we have carried and so we allow hate, malice, and wrath to build to boiling points that ultimately poison and destroy relationships and our very own souls. But God calls us to the freedom of forgiveness and release.

 Overindulging an insatiable appetite. Binging. Gluttony is often a food issue but it isn’t limited to food. Binging entertainment. Binging in spending. Overindulging appetites of all kinds that never seem to be satisfied is a way that we try to fill the voids and cope with pain. But Jesus offers us true and lasting satisfaction and sets us free to receive good things like food and entertainment without looking to them for our ultimate satiation.