Westside Church

The Gospel of John: Week 13 | In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus, by handing himself over to his attackers, shows that he is not a powerless victim, but the only one with authority to choose the path of the cross to save others.

The Gospel of John: Week 12 | Jesus invites us to remain connected to him like branches to a vine, trusting that real transformation and fruitfulness comes not from abiding in his life and teachings – choosing to simply be with him – not striving to prove our dedication or worth.

The Gospel of John: Week 11 | The peace that Jesus offers isn’t found in specific circumstances or self-improvement. It is found by realizing that we are vessels of his goodness, and are fully reliant on his presence through the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel of John: Week 10 | While the disciples argued about who among them was the greatest, Jesus stooped to wash their feet. By loving even those who would betray and abandon him, Jesus showed that loving your neighbor has nothing to do with status – it is about lowering yourself in order to lift up another.

The Gospel of John: Week 9 | Mary’s (the sister of Lazarus) bold act of anointing Jesus with costly perfume reveals that true discipleship flows from humble devotion at his feet – not pride, efficiency, or transactional religion that believes God “owes” us something.

The Gospel of John: Week 8 | Jesus’ bold declaration, “I am the resurrection and the life,” confronts the hard question: Why God sometimes seems slow in the face of suffering? We are invited to trust Christ’s nearness in grief, believe in His power to bring life from death, and become a community marked by grace and resurrection hope.

The Gospel of John: Week 7 | Jesus’ declaration as the Good Shepherd invites us to consider what it truly means to recognize His voice amid the noise and competing influences of everyday life.

The Gospel of John: Week 6 | When Jesus declared himself the Light of the World, it was a declaration that asked something of humanity, too. It asked us to keep our eyes open and willing to recognize that before we saw Jesus’ light, we were blind – but by acknowledging his light, now we can see!

The Gospel of John: Week 5 | When Jesus fed the crowd but refused to be made a national savior, he disappointed the revolutionaries who viewed him as a means to an end – just like the Pharisees had before. Instead of seeing Jesus simply as someone who can change our circumstances, we should see and seek him for who he really is: the Bread of Life.

The Gospel of John: Week 4 | Following Jesus means allowing his teaching to change us. When John wrote about Jesus healing the paralyzed beggar, he noted how easily brokenness can become our identity – and how Jesus calls us to leave it behind.

The Gospel of John: Week 3 | Jesus is not half grace and half truth. He is fully grace and fully truth, which allowed him to completely see our sin and then sacrifice himself as a perfect atonement for it.

The Gospel of John: Week 2 | The Jesus who quietly and miraculously turned water into wine, refilling what had run dry, is the same Jesus who overturned tables at the temple, bolding disrupting a system that was denying people access to God. Jesus’ peace does not mean quiet – but it does mean wholeness, justice, and joy for those who take part in it.

The Gospel of John: Week 1 | The Apostle John’s account of the Gospel differs from Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s accounts in that John’s Gospel is a personal reflection on his experience of living and serving in Jesus’ presence. John writes earnestly that Jesus, who was the living, breathing Voice of God, is on humanity’s side.

Through the humility of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the faith of Simeon, and the joy of Anna, we are reminded that the light of Jesus cannot be overcome. We are invited to believe – and expect – that God will move powerfully now, just like he did in the past.

Advent Week 4: LOVE | We are often told that we must always move up, be more, and fix ourselves. During the last week of Advent we look at LOVE, and how it tells us a different story. Instead of climbing higher, loves descends down into our wounds. Love is a person, and he chooses to be with us.

Advent Week 3: JOY | True joy isn’t something we achieve through success, circumstances, or possessions, but a gift produced by God’s nearness. We receive it when we make room for Him in our ordinary lives, which allows us to live in child-like wonder, even in times of sorrow.

Advent Week 2: PEACE | In the second week of Advent, we reflect on peace. Jesus is a peacemaker, and as Christians, or “little Christs,” we are called to make peace wherever we go as well. Peace is not something we get from people-pleasing, arguing, or avoiding conflict at all costs – it is something we learn from Jesus.

Advent Week 1: HOPE | The Advent season begins in a way we might not expect; it begins with longing, questions, and waiting. This hopeful posture of waiting is where God meets us – so bring your aches, longings, and questions to God, and let him form a sense of hope within you.

When it comes to thankfulness and gratitude, we can find ourselves in one of three positions: unthankfulness, reasonable thankfulness, or gospel gratitude. While thankfulness is a meaningful action, gratitude is a posture — a way of being — that we find when we trust that God perfectly loves us.

Vision Part 2 | This week we celebrated Global Sunday and looked back on how God has used Westside to reach people beyond our country’s boarders. As we prepare for the new year, we are reminded that God loves the entire world — not just our corner of it — and how we are called out of apathy and into Jesus’ Great Commission.

Vision Part 1 | Proverbs 29:18 reads, “Without vision, the people perish.” For two weeks, Senior Pastors Ben and Evan are expanding upon how Life, Love, Jesus does not serve as a catchy slogan for Westside Church, but as the foundation for the Jesus-centered community being formed here.

Sunday School Week 8 | Rahab’s story reveals that God’s grace reaches beyond labels, and that even the most unlikely people are welcomed into God’s Kingdom through simple faith. Through the redemptive grace that Jesus brings in the New Testament, all are invited to trade shameful labels and identities for new life in Christ.

Sunday School Week 7 | Joseph’s story shows us that God’s silence is not His absence. When we are deep in the pit, we can trust that God will turn what was meant for evil into good, just as He did through Joseph and ultimately through Jesus.

Sunday School Week 6 | Gideon’s story is one that shows us how God often calls insecure and unlikely people to lead—not because of strength they have built on their own, but because His presence alone qualifies them.