Westside Church

As carriers of the death and life of Christ, we are conformed and transformed into the image of Christ. Our identification with and participation in the cross of Christ informs every aspect of our lives and our relationships.

The pilgrimage that takes place during these songs of ascents is both an invitation and a command of and to the people. This is also true for blessing – we are invited to bless the lord and commanded to bless the lord. Our feelings about the need for perfect honesty or authenticity don’t change that. Bless the lord. Lift your arms and eyes.

Worship is not coerced from anyone. True worship is always voluntary. Our worship is somewhat akin to what we do when we have free time, or what we spend money on when we have extra. Worship happens when we want it to. Why do we do this? What does it do for us?

Repentance is the decision to admit that you’re wrong. That you’re wrong about your ability to be your own God and make it on your own. And it is deciding that God, through Jesus Christ, is telling you the truth. How do we make this turn to create a new life path?

Countless have been to church and many claim Jesus as savior, but it’s difficult to seek discipleship. We must allow ourselves to be formed to the way of Jesus by our practices and community.

There is no limit to the presence of God and in his presence we find joy. Joy exists outside of circumstance and because of the eternalness of Jesus -- him being ever-lasting, never-failing -- our joy exists eternally as well. Jesus' promises are consistent and steady us in a chaotic world.

Jesus sees us and listens to us. This seems like a simple thing, but in a world where loneliness runs rampant, being seen and known can be the first step to living a life of hope, peace, love and joy. Accepting the love of Jesus changes everything. It gives us a new perspective on ourselves and our fellow humans. When we accept the love of our Wonderful Counselor is makes space for working toward and caring about others and that leads to living in peace and working towards the flourishing of all creation.

It's tempting to think of "peace" as an exercise in quiet. Bad guys and good guys alike have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of this still, silent landscape of being. This begs the question, "What is the Prince of Peace actually after?" The answer is wholeness. A reconciling of all creation to himself.

The people of God were waiting for deliverance through a Mighty God, a heroic God that would come with swords blazing. Instead he shows up in the smallness of a baby. How do we reconcile what we think a Mighty God should be with how he actually displays his mightiness and brings hope to the world.

Those who truly experience grace will also experience a transformation in the way they view others. If grace is the distinctive of the Christian faith, it ought to be extravagantly offered in our communities.

The idea of grace is so powerful and compelling that it can seem dangerous. What if we throw it around too easily? What if we give people a license to sin? How do we make sure grace is “balanced” by truth? But grace is always lopsided, it’s always scandalous or it isn’t grace. Grace meets us and embraces us long before we “deserve” it. The life of Paul shows us a living color demonstration of the scandalous grace of Jesus. “Knocked flat on the ground on the way to Damascus, Paul never recovered from the impact of grace: the word appears no later than the second sentence in any of his letters." (Phillip Yancey).

In the face of injustice, a price must be paid. We all have a label we deserve to wear for the rest of eternity. There is a price for our sins and our wrongs and it’s way too rich for our blood. But God…paid the price himself to set us free. This is grace.

We've long loved the metaphor of being an "Army for the Lord." It can be confusing. Especially today. Jesus offers a beautiful metaphor in the form of shelter from the storm. Jesus teaches us from the ethos of the Beatitudes and the pathos of the cruiciform that which gives Christianity it's distinctive beauty. This is the beauty we must embrace.

Jesus is tempted in the desert with safety, influence and political power; or, the most common desires of the world. Over the last generation or so, the evangelical church has been more adept at endorsing these dominant desires and is in need of recovering its true form and beauty.

Beauty, mystery and wonder. All three of them go together. We wonder at things that are beautiful and mysterious. Children most often find themselves in a state of wonder because everything is a new journey into beauty and mystery. The greatest wonder of all is the Incarnation. Gazing on the Word made flesh keeps the gospel beautiful.

Patience, prayer and sacrificial love will mark the lives of true followers of Jesus.

Humility is the most direct route to becoming like the God we believe in.

The world is confused and confusing, true religion cuts through the noise and leads us to eternal perspective (and this perspective is seen most profoundly in the way we communicate.)

True religion is more than hearing and even more than believing, it is building a life that manifests the character of Jesus.

The testing of our faith is gift that produces endurance and reveals where it’s lacking.