West Pines Community Church

The story of David defeating Goliath is one of the most famous stories in the entire body. It has even become symbolic and idiomatic in our culture. We might say something like “face down your giants” that alludes to the story. But what if the story is actually a symbol of an even more famous literary framework in history? A close look at the story reveals a young hero slaying a monster in order to win the princess. That is a story we’ve all heard before. But even more than that, that is fundamentally our story. Do you know where you fit in the story?

04-02-17 SENT to The World by West Pines Community Church

You know, Christians and non-Christians alike have heard of Jesus. Many know some facts and even some stories, but do they really get the message that Jesus brought with Him? It’s amazing to see how easy it is to think we are in “control,” and overestimate just about everything about ourselves. But Jesus has a unique message that strikes at the heart of who we think we are and what we think we can do. Jesus teaches a parable comparing the approaches of two very different men, to God. Therein lies the true picture of the heart that God shows grace to and the one that He resists. That picture comes to vivid life in the Gospel. It is the Gospel that puts in proper perspective the position of man and the position of God. It is the Gospel that displays man in desperate need of God, and God desiring to give grace to man. You see, religion says, “Look what I have done for you!” but the Gospel says, “Look, I have come for you!” The Gospel is the remedy to self-righteousness and shows us a picture of God’s work for us

There are two good friends that for some reason people always think are fighting. Some even think these two are enemies that can never be reconciled. But they are not really at odds at all. In fact, they love being together, always drawing the best out of each other. They are miserable when they are apart. You would never want one without the other. Who are these two friends? Love and Truth. Some people more naturally lean to the side of love leaving out truth. And some people lean more to the side of truth leaving out love. But truth and love are inseparable friends, attached at the hip. They should always go arm in arm.

In The Ring, Part 1: Tolerance vs. Grace by West Pines Community Church

Expect the unexpected when you study the Bible. Most would probably think the scripture teaches that we need to enjoy our earthly treasures less. But surprise, God actually says that he wants to teach us how to enjoy the blessings He’s given us. First, He teaches us that contentment with what we have, not the constant craving for more, is key to enjoying what we’ve been given. But more than that, the Bible tells us that it is truly more of a blessing to have the privilege of giving, than just receiving. When we are generous and get to love someone, it produces a vibrant joy inside of us. But if that wasn’t enough, God has even more in store for us when we learn to be generous. When we give, He gives back!

Activate, Part 3: Compulsive Generosity by West Pines Community Church

It’s 9pm. You are sitting on the couch, winding down from the day in front of the television. You were minding your own business, when a commercial came on that changed everything. It must have been the close up camera angles on the melted cheese. In slow motion the thick strands of mozzarella endlessly trail from the piping hot slice to the rest of the pizza. Somehow now you can even smell the crusty dough wafting from your TV. They know what they are doing. And what did you ever do to them? You weren’t even hungry. But now life cannot go on without the satiation of this craving they’ve induced. In a thousand different ways, through a thousand different mediums this same scenario plays out. It demonstrates one thing: our culture knows how to obliterate contentment. But what we know from the Bible is that God gave us everything to enjoy. The challenge is we don’t know how to enjoy it.

Imagine for a second that you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a brand new sports car, but are so afraid of scratching the paint that you never take it out of the the garage. What if you inherited a priceless work of art, but all of your life it sat collecting dust in your attic. What a waste. There’s no question it is a tragedy to have access to a tremendous resource, but leave it unutilized. One of the biggest sources of regret in life is wasting an opportunity. What if we are each on the cusp of being able to be a part of something great. The only question is will we tap into the opportunity we have. In this series, we intend to ACTIVATE something inside of you. We believe God has called each of us to be catalysts transforming the world around us. There is something that may be lying dormant in your life right now that we want to fire up. Don’t miss this series as we ignite the world changer in each of us.

Struggling With God by West Pines Community Church

What if you decided to get into the business of flipping houses. So, you buy a fixer-upper, that needs a ton of work. You gut the whole thing. You put in a lot of hours and a lot of money. And at the end of all the renovation, the house looks beautiful. You are ready to sell. But there’s one major problem: the location is abysmal. The realtor informs you that it is pretty much hopeless to get someone to buy this house. He reminds you of the old saying: location, location, location. It doesn’t matter how much renovation you attempt, if you are in a bad location, it’s pretty much a waste. Psalm 1 says something similar about our spiritual lives. If you want to thrive, you need to be situated in a place where God’s word is constantly present.

Analyzing a big decision and not knowing what to do can be exasperating. If you’ve been in that situation, maybe you’ve gotten to a place where you just wish someone could come alongside of you and tell you what the right decision is. What if we could have a life coach that always knew the right answer. What if they always could perfectly direct us. The Bible claims to be that for us. It says that we will thrive if we anchor our lives to it. Maybe you’ve heard that before but it’s not worked for you. Where in the Bible does it tell me if I should date this person or take this job? It’s hard to find that page in the Bible. But maybe the problem is we don’t know how to use the Bible. Don’t worry. Think of Psalm 1 as the user's manual. You may be one step away from full access to inexhaustible wisdom and insight.

“Read your Bible.” We’ve heard it before. It’s not new. It doesn’t seem profound. It’s not some radically innovative statement. So then what get’s in the way? We’re busy. It’s hard to find the time. That’s not just an excuse, it’s true. But deep down we only move Bible study down the priority list because we see it as something to check off our already over-extended to do lists. But what if we saw it as something that will guide, direct, mentor, teach, strengthen, bolster, explain, reveal, inspire, and impact every part of our lives? Maybe now we see it as something that takes away from all of the other busy activities that we have. But we should see it as something that will influence, inform and shape every single one of those things we are busy with. But maybe we simply just don’t know how to use the Bible to impact our lives. Don’t let that be an obstacle any more. Here’s how to study the Bible...

When you were a kid did you ever do that science experiment where you put a stalk of celery in water with food coloring in it? What happened? After a while you could see the colored water working its way up the stalk. After a while the celery started taking on more and more the color of the water. This is not unlike our lives. There are many things all around us that we let influence us. After a while our lives start to take on the tint of those influences. The Bible tells us that a wise person understands this principle and so makes sure their lives are saturated with the word of God. In Psalm 1, we are encouraged to be like a tree planted right next to a stream of water. That tree has a constant water source. This is how we are to use the Bible. We should let it constantly saturate us and our families. How would you characterize your relationship to God’s Word? Here are some ideas on how to be firmly planted right next to it...

Of all the things that you have, what would you consider priceless? What are the things you would grab if your house was on fire? What if you knew that there were people who have died to make the Bible available to the world? We learn what makes the Bible so valuable in the story of King Josiah. The Bible was forgotten and collecting dust in the temple. And Israel had gotten completely entangled in idol worship. In this passage we see that without a clear standard of truth, breaking God’s commands becomes normalized. That means sin seems, looks and feels natural. If we don’t have something revealing truth to us, we can find ourselves falling deeper into destructive ways, without even realizing it. The Bible is the light in the darkness. It shines into our lives revealing truth we desperately need to have. We could not put a price on having access to God’s truth.

Essentially all renovation projects begin in the same way. Whether it’s your favorite HGTV show or the house project that’s taking much longer to finish than you had originally anticipated, every renovation begins with demolition day. Before the new and updated can be brought in, the old and outdated must be taken out. Throughout this series, we’re talking about how all of our lives are under renovation. We’re works in progress, aiming to become the people that we were created to be. But in order to get there, there are some things that we need to remove.

It’s a brand new year. It feels like a blank slate, a fresh start. What do you think you will say 12 months from now? What will define 2017? It would be ideal if you could look back on this year and say it was defined by one word - BLESSED. Imagine, you look back on each category and with a huge exhale of relief you can say that while it wasn’t necessarily easy, your life across the board is in a better place. You couldn’t ask for much more than that. Here’s the good news. One chapter in the Bible prescribes how to make that a reality. It lays out a few concrete, practical ideas that are foundational to thriving the way God intended. In this series, RENOVATE, we are going to explore these keystone habits that if can positively impact every single area of our lives. We will refresh our souls and reclaim our lives!

New Year’s Day always feels like a fresh start. You have a whole new year in front of you. You might even have some big goals for this year. Maybe this is the year you hit a big number in your business. Or it’s the year you pursue that promotion. Or you are determined to get out of debt or save for a big purchase. Maybe this is the year you decide to settle down or have a child. With all of the goals you can have for 2017, wouldn’t it be nice to know what the right first step would be? Following the Disciple’s example, we can see the first step we need to take to have an amazing 2017.

There is so much that we are troubled about and frightened over. In the Christmas season life doesn't stop, and many of us arrive at Christmas overspent, under prepared and over anxious. We celebrate with all the bright lights, busy people, gifts and parties but nothing has really changed. We’re still anxious, we’re still afraid of so much. The true story has not impacted us and we hide in all our worries and fears. Yet, the Christmas story teaches us that God has done something, something unthinkable and undeniable which changes everything! God has come! The simple and beautiful birth of this baby is the hope of mankind because He brings salvation and freedom from sin and fear. This great birth is the great rescue. The great lesson of Christmas is that God comes face to face with humanity. This baby can identify with your pain or fear. This is why Jesus can take away your fear, because He is no stranger to it and He walks with you in it!

One of the most memorable icons from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, is Charlie Brown’s tree. In the midst of all the glimmering, multicolored, modern aluminum trees, there is a humble tree that can barely keep its needles on the branches. Linus is surprised they still make wooden trees. But that is the tree that Charlie Brown chooses. The unlikely one. And in the end of the movie, it is the tree that is made to be beautiful, almost miraculously beautiful. It is hard to find a better representation of the message of Christmas. In a humble and overlooked village of Bethlehem, a little child is born. But this child will be the king of all kings. He will be the one who takes the humble and broken and miraculously transforms them into something beautiful. He brings deep, thorough peace.