West City Fellowship Podcast

The church is to display God’s Kingdom here on earth so that people are attracted to the Kingdom of God. This is an awesome and important mission, and God has promised to build up His church. But as the church grows, new challenges arise that threaten the health of the church. When the church is unhealthy, its mission to display the Kingdom is jeopardized. So what should we do to protect the health of the church?

With so many different ideas about God (or no God) circulating in society these days, can anyone really know what is true? Are all ideas equally valid? We’ll consider those questions in light of the advice of a wise old rabbi.

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is sobering. Apparently, God strikes them both dead because they held back some money that was supposed to be given to the church. What do we make of this? Is this just a story the church invented in order to extort money from its members? Or, is there something else happening here?

When the Gospel is proclaimed, miracles happen. Lives are changed for the better. People who were estranged from God are reconciled to Him. Therefore, true followers of Jesus should be bold and willing to share the Gospel with everyone they can. Yet, there are people who desperately want to silence the proclamation of this life giving message. Why is this? And how should Jesus’ followers respond?

Sometimes it’s helpful for us to see certain themes in Scripture described or illustrated in different ways from a variety of angles. We’ve said that the church is the new temple of God – that is, the place where God dwells. God builds His church through the proclaimed Word of God which declares that Jesus is the Savior of the World. Those who embrace this Word are miraculously transformed. Sadly, those who reject it remain in a state of paralysis. This Sunday, we see a living illustration of this doctrine as we continue our study in the Book of Acts.

The first few weeks of the early church seemed ideal. They give us a picture of what an awakening or revival can look like. But, what do we do when things don't seem that exciting? What do we do when we start seeing some of the imperfections in the church? When being part of the church becomes challenging? In other words, what should we do between revivals to prepare for revival?

When you hear the term ‘revival,’ what do you think of? And what does the ‘awakening’ mean? Different people different ideas about these things, partly because they have taken a variety of forms throughout history. On Sunday, we took a closer look at one of the first of these amazing moves of God as we continue our series in the Book of Acts.

One of the most important events in the life of the early church occurred during the Jewish celebration of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks. During this time, the Holy Spirit appeared so dramatically that the observers struggled for words to describe what they experienced. So what was significant about the feast of Pentecost? And what can we learn about how the Holy Spirit works in the church today?

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the early church gathered together in a large room to wait for the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised to send them. So, what were they thinking during that time of waiting? What did they see when they looked around the room at one another? What did they do and what did they learn? When we observe this formative time in the early church, we can learn much about who we are as a church community today.

Whether you regularly attend church or not, most people probably have some idea about what church is and what it looks like. But how did it all start? What did it look like in its formative years? What was God up to? And what can we learn from thinking about those things? On Sunday we started out the new year with a new series from the Book of Acts called, ‘To the End of the Earth.’

At Christmas, we have an opportunity to remember that God became flesh in Jesus Christ. For some of us, this just seems too fantastic to believe. Others of us have trouble understanding how God could be both Father and Son (and Holy Spirit for that matter). Still for others, this theme can become so familiar to us that we are no longer able to appreciate its wonder and beauty. This Sunday as we try to address these issues and celebrate this precious time of year.

Let’s face it, we are all pretty independent people – and we like it that way! We don’t like to depend on anyone. Rather, we like to have control over our providing our own food, housing, and money. We like to have control over our physical safety, our health, and our happiness. We even like to have control over what makes us a good person. But the Bible shows us that God wants us to be completely dependent upon Him. We may not like this idea at first – yet, when we understand it correctly, we see that the more we are dependent upon God, the more blessing we enjoy.

There are several places in the Bible where God commands the Israelites to engage in offensive war. These passages can be confusing and disturbing. So, what are we to make of them? Can God still be good and issue that kind of order? Join us as we take a look at some of these very challenging sections of Scripture.

Many of us turn to God during a crisis, but we forget Him quickly when things get little better. Some might say this is just a modern phenomenon where people feel they need a little religion during bad times – but when things are good, their reason kicks in again and they set aside those “superstitions.” The reality is, however, that this sort of wavering is very human and has been going on for as long as people have roamed the earth. In fact, God loves us enough to warn us about it. This Sunday, we examine how God told the Israelites to be careful or they too would forget Him in times of blessing.

Last week Pastor Scott talked about "Loving God" and the first half of the ten commandments given to Moses for the people of Israel. This week we will continue the discussion and dive into the second half. What about loving others? Why is this difficult, easy, foreign, unnatural, or even at times addicting to the point of effecting our relationship with God? On Sunday we discussed the simple, yet complex, command to "love others."

Most of us don't like rules. But in Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the Israelites that God gave ten of them – the Ten Commandments. When we really understand why God gave these commandments, we see that he gave them because He loves us. These commands tell us who God is and who we are - and how we really cannot fully know one without knowing the other. This Sunday, we dig in to the significance of these the best known set of “rules” in the history of the world.

It’s easy for us to take the Bible for granted. But in some parts of the world, people are not even allowed to own one or to gather together as a church to hear it proclaimed. In the United States, we have the privilege of full access to these things, yet we frequently set them aside for other things. This Sunday, we’ll see how Moses reminds the people why the discipline of “listening” to God’s Word (i.e. the Bible) is so critical for those who seek to follow Him.

God told Moses he could not enter the Promised Land just because he struck a rock rather than speak to it in order to get it to bring forth water. At first glance, this seems like a pretty harsh and arbitrary punishment. But when we really dig into the story, we discover a rich understanding of God’s grace and love for us. This message looks at this classic story from the Bible.

Ever felt that you’re just observing life, rather than plunging in and living it? Ever felt like you’ve squandered an opportunity or made a costly mistake? Ever felt that you needed a second chance – or maybe a third, fourth, or fifth chance? In this sermon, we learn how God is a God of second chances.